Millgrove

Though a one-room, frame building preceded it, the first substantial District 11 school at Millgrove was built in 1886. It was likely lost in a fire in 1902 (A history, 1986), at which point another was constructed. Both the 1886 building and its successor  -red brick, one-and-a-half stories, and featuring a bell tower- operated two-year high schools until 1908, though they were not accredited by the state of Indiana as was typical of many rural schools that offered advanced coursework (Spurgeon, 1994). 

The second Millgrove school burned down during the summer of 1929. Due to the township’s bonded financial limit being reached for the construction of other schools, it was impossible to replace, so its students were dispersed amongst the township’s other schoolhouses (To Transfer, 1929).

By 1931, Jackson Township had paid down enough debt or accumulated enough funds to construct a replacement high school, a two-story, brick, Art Deco structure (Album, 1994).

Along with the Trenton school and the Dildine school, the District 11 school at Millgrove closed in 1963 when the Jackson Township Elementary School was opened three miles to the north (New, 1964).

The Millgrove school was abandoned in the mid-1990s after an attempt to convert it into a nursing home failed (McBride, 1997). Today, all that remains of the ninety-year-old building are its foundations and portions of its walls.

References

A History of Blackford County, Indiana : with historical accounts of the county, 1838-1986 [and] histories of families who have lived in the county (1986). book. The Blackford County Historical Society. Hartford City, IN.

Spurgeon, W. (1994, March 18). Our Neighborhood. The Muncie Star. p. 4.

To Transfer Pupils (1929, July 13). The Muncie Star Press. p. 3.

Album of Yesteryear (1994, February 27). The Muncie Star Press. p. 15.

McBride, M. (1997, June 2). A stop along the old Pan Handle enjoyed boom times. The Muncie Star Press. pp. 7-8.

New Jackson School to Open on Monday (1964, February 23). The Muncie Star Press. p. 7.