Brooks

In 1866, Fall Creek Township’s District 6 schoolhouse was located at the northeast corner of R.P. Kimberlin’s land at the corner of what’s now Brooks School Road and East 116th Street (Warner, 1866). 

The land may have originally been deeded to Kimberlin from the Brook family, as Brook’s Grove was a popular spot for school reunions a century ago. That picnic spot appears to have been situated just across the road from the schoolhouse (Brooks, 1918).

The current structure was erected in 1891 (Stoops, 1982). It measured 23 x 38 feet and featured a slate roof and a 3-inch deep water well (Notice, 1943).

Its history as a working schoolhouse is muddled since a 1934 attendance survey of Fall Creek Township’s schools doesn’t list it as in operation (Total, 1934).

A 1938 attendance roster of Fall Creek Township’s schools doesn’t list the Brook’s School as functional either (The Grades, 1938), but the obituary of a long-time Fall Creek Township teacher, Notra Young, advises that he taught at the District 6 schoolhouse through the winter of 1939-40 (Notra, 1940). It’s likely the the schoolhouse closed temporarily and was later brought back into operation. This also happened with the Bethlehem school, a two-room structure.

At any rate, two of Fall Creek Township’s old schoolhouses -Brooks and Highland- were put up for sale by the township trustee in 1943 (Notice). The schoolhouse passed into private ownership for several years.

In 1993, the administrators of Fall Creek Township moved into the old schoolhouse, which was renovated and added to in order to accommodate their needs (Fall, 1993). The building has been expanded several times in recent years but is still used by the township. 

References

Warner, C. S. (1866). Map of Hamilton county, Indiana. atlas. C.A.O. McClellen & C.S. Warner. 

Brooks Reunion (1918, August 20). The Noblesville Daily Ledger. p. 5.

Stoops, F. (1982, May 21). Many Old Hamilton County School Buildings Still Stand.

Notice of Sale (1943, August 30). The Noblesville Ledger. p. 3.

Total School Enrollment Shows Loss 141 (1934, October 2). The Noblesville Ledger. p. 6.

The Grades In Fall Creek (1938, October 10). The Noblesville Ledger. p. 1.

Fall Creek building opened (1993, January 11). The Noblesville Ledger. p. 12.

Notra Young Took His Life By Own Hand (1940, October 26). The Noblesville Ledger. p. 1.

Fall Creek building opened (1993, January 11). The Noblesville Ledger. p. 12.