Monticello

 A town called Monticello was laid out by James Hilldrup and a man known as Sanders in 1851 at the present-day corner of West County Road 900-North and North County Road 700-West, northwest of Frankton. The following year -as Indiana passed a law providing for the statewide operation of a system of free, common schools- a log schoolhouse was built on the south side of 900-W, just west of the crossroads. It was built of 10-12” square logs, measured 12 x 20 feet in size, and featured two doors and three windows with a fireplace on its eastern end (Monticello, 1976).

A new, brick, schoolhouse had been erected by 1880, on the land of J.C. Montgomery just south of Big Branch (Kingman, 1880), and this school still exists today as a home. The log school still stood, catty-cornered, at least through the 1960s. The land it sat on can still be seen today, as can some minor remnants of its existence (Old-time, 1969). In 1886, the schoolhouse, along with the District 4: Canady school, was “completely wrecked” by a tornado that swept through the area (Anniversary, 1914)

For most of its existence, the school at Monticello was known as Pipe Township’s District 6 (Country, 1896). Later it was redistricted to become District 5 (Notice, 1921).

Along with Pipe Creek Township’s District 4: Cannady and District 8: King schoolhouses, the Monticello school seems to have been closed in 1920, in order for its students to consolidate into the consolidated school at Frankton that was completed in 1921 (For, 1921). That year, the three schools were placed for sale at public auction (Notice). 

Today, the building is a home. 

References

Monticello Will Hold Reunion (1939, July 26). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 7. 

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

Old-time Home Remedies Remembered By Davis (1969, March 18). The Anderson Daily Bulletin. p. 4.

Anniversary of Cyclone (1914, May 12). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 1.

Country Schools (1896, September 25). The Elwood Daily Press. p. 1.

Notice of Sale of School Property. (July 2, 1921). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 7.

For Frankton Building (1921, June 27). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 8.