Lost/Mader

White River Township’s District 1 school was commonly known as Lost, based on its location in a dense forest (Hinshaw, 2008). Originally, the schoolhouse -then known as District 4- sat on the northwestern corner of North County Road 300-East and East County Road 400-North on land owned by G.W. Bousman (Warner, 1865).

A replacement schoolhouse was erected on the same site in 1894 (Hinshaw), but it was moved across the road to the southwestern corner of the intersection in 1913 after White River Township filed suit (Petition, 1913) for a portion of J.C. Mader’s land (Tucker, 1882). Its new location led locals to also refer to the structure as the Mader school (Hinshaw). 

The District 1 school closed in 1919 in order for its students to attend the township’s consolidated school, McKinley, which was built in 1911. William Coddington purchased the old Lost schoolhouse in 1924 (Hinshaw) and remodeled the structure into a residence. 

Today, the building -hardly identifiable as an old schoolhouse- is still a home. 

References

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

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

Petition for appropriation of real estate (1913, June 26). The Winchester Democrat. 

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