Parker

The first schoolhouse at Parker, later to become Monroe Township’s District 5, was built in 1848 and it was replaced by a newer structure in 1860 (Hinshaw, 2018). Monroe Township built a two-story school at Parker, enlarged twice, in 1875 before yet another school, known as the “Primary Building (Local, 1888)” was built for grade-school students at the northeast corner of Howard and Fulton streets in 1887 (Half, 1910).

In 1894 Monroe Township deeded all school property to the town of Parker, but this was reversed in 1909, a year before a substantial new school was completed north of Parker in 1910 at a cost of $36,000 (New, 1910). The building was nearly identical to the school built at Farmland a year prior, and its likely that its construction led to the closure of the primary schoolhouse that still stands. 

The 1910 building served as a high school until 1963, when a new consolidated high school called Monroe Central opened east of town on Indiana State Road 32. The building at Parker became briefly became Monroe Central’s only elementary school in 1974 after a tornado destroyed the eleven-year-old high school. Ultimately, the old Parker High School closed as an elementary in 1983 and was subsequently demolished (Public, 2018). 

Today, the former District 5 schoolhouse at Parker -officially Parker City since 1975- is the only schoolhouse still standing in the community. Today, it’s a private residence (Town, 1975). 

References

Hinshaw, G. (2008). A History of Education in Randolph County, Indiana. Retrieved February 13, 2022.

Local News Items (1888, November 23). The Winchester Journal. 

Half a Century’s Advance in Parker City’s Schoolhouses (1910, October 7). The Muncie Morning Star. p. 6.

New Commission Comes (1910, February 17). The Muncie Morning Star. p. 6.

Public Education in Randolph County, Indiana. 2018. Sharing history for 68 years in Randolph County, Indiana. Randolph County Historical Society and Museum. Retrieved February 13, 2022, from https://rchsmuseum.org/schools.

Town renamed ‘Parker City’ (1975, January 21). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 15.