Huntsville

The first Huntsville school stood just north of what’s now the northeast corner of South Huntsville Road and South County Road 510-West in Huntsville proper (Warner, 1865). The school was later moved east to face what’s now South County Road 500-West, or Main Street in Huntsville (Tucker, 1882). 

The town of Huntsville operated the schoolhouse from the 1870s up until 1891, when the school’s operations reverted to the purview of West River Township, and the school operated as District 5 until 1894 (Hinshaw, 2008). At that point, a larger, three-room schoolhouse was built north of Huntsville at the southwest corner of South County Road 500-West and West County Road 600-South. The District 6 school, known as Bronson, consolidated into it upon its completion (Hinshaw). 

Three years after its closure, the original schoolhouse was sold to the Grand Army for use as a meeting hall before becoming a blacksmith’s shop until the 1920s. 

The three-room school at Huntsville was either replaced (Hinshaw) or expanded (Barrett, 1977) in 1911 to become a four-room building. A gymnasium wing was added in 1921.

In 1953, the abandoned building was remodeled to serve as the Huntsville Community Center. It retains that status today (Barrett). 

The 1911 school was used as a high school until 1952, when its upper grades were sent to the District 10 school at Modoc, both part of the newly-formed Union Township School Corporation. The building lasted until 1957 under the name of East Union Elementary, when it closed (Modoc, 1957). It was demolished the following year 

References

Warner, C.S (1865). 1865 Wall-Map of Randolph County. C.A.O. McClellan & C.S. Warner. Waterloo, Indiana. map.

Tucker, E. (1882). History of Randolph County, Indiana. book. Chicago, IL; A.L. Kingman.

(Hinshaw, 2008). Today, the school still stands on the farm, used for agricultural purposes. 

Barrett, M. C. (1977, April 10). Town of Distinction. The Muncie Star. p. 35.

Modoc Arranges Union Township School Dedication (1957, October 31). The Muncie Star. p. 19.