Lost Woods/Possum’s Glory

Many frame schoolhouses were erected in Adams Township during 1854, two years after a state law that allowed for the operation of free, common schools went into effect (Forkner, 1914). In 1880, the frame schoolhouse was located on the land of Granville Ellison in Section 2 of Adams Township, just east of Sly Fork at what would later become West County Road 500-South (Kingman, 1880).

The school was erected in a heavily-timbered site remote from other settlements; in 1880, there wasn’t so much as a dirt road leading to it (Kingman). For this reason, it was called Lost Woods (Bock, 1970). Later, the school was known as Possum Glory (Phillips, 1975) likely due to the preponderance of certain wildlife in the area (Jackson, 2018).

The extant schoolhouse was built in 1886 (Madison, 2021) about half of a mile east of the original building. In 1922, the state board of health issued orders condemning the schoolhouse as unsanitary, along with five others in Adams Township (Condemns, 1922). That year, the school at Markleville was expanded and remodeled (Bock, 1969). A new, consolidated school called Fall Creek Heights opened in 1928 (School, 1928) and it appears as though the District 1 school, along with Districts 2, 3, and 5, were abandoned at that time (Plat, n.d.).

Today, the District 1 schoolhouse is a dwelling.

References

Forkner, J. (1914). History of Madison County Indiana. A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People and Its Principal Interests, Volume 1. book, The Lewis Publishing Company. Chicago, IL.

Kingman Brothers. (1880). History of Madison County, Indiana with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches. Chicago, IL.

Bock, G. (1970, October 29). Adams Township Had Ten School Districts. Anderson Daily Bulletin. p. 4.

Phillips, V.B. (1975, July 27). ‘Brush, Swamp’ Days Recalled. The Anderson Herald. p. 11.

Jackson, S. T. (2018, June 10). Of Lost Woods, Poley Walk and other odd place names . The Herald Bulletin. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://www.heraldbulletin.com/community/of-lost-woods-poley-walk-and-other-odd-place-names/article_557c0fb8-c678-570c-8ced-cf905d6ea0f0.html.

Madison County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2021). Parcel ID: 48-13-02-400-001.000-001

Condemns Six Adams Township School Buildings (1922, April 14). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 1.

Bock, G. (1969, June 3). This is Year of Last Good Bye for Markleville H.S.. Anderson Daily Bulletin. p. 4.

School Terms to Close Next Week (1928, April 14). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 1.

Plat Book of Madison County Indiana (n.d.) W. W. Hixson & Co. Rockford, IL. map. Map Collection, Indiana Division, Indiana State Library.