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Education in Morgan County
To learn about
schools in Martinsville, click
here.
In addition to
religion, education was one of the first institutions to be established in a
frontier area. The familiar one-room schoolhouse was a constant in any early
community. Typically these schools were subscription schools where families
with children banded together and hired a teacher of suitable training.
These schools were multi-functional; they served as meeting places, polling
places and in some instances, as churches. As the idea of public education
gained support, these subscription schools slowly gave way to the opening of
tax-supported township schools. Local school boards exercised a measure of
control over the schools so that teacher qualifications, school terms and
curricula became more uniform. The only hold-over from the days of
subscription schools was the school itself. The one-room schoolhouse
persisted throughout the nineteenth century into the early-twentieth century
when school consolidation was introduced.
Consolidation of rural schools presented
both positive and negative aspects. Larger schools allowed for more
teachers, better facilities and more students. With the advent of paved
roads and school buses, the school no longer had to be within walking
distance. Despite consolidation's advantages, proponents of the neighborhood
school saw the closing as contributing to the exodus of young people from
the farm as well as a decline in community spirit. Like the advent of public
schools decades before, school consolidation produced dramatic changes in
the educational system.
Indiana's educational system, like its
transportation system, was greatly impacted by the Land Ordinance Act of
1785. Provisions in the Ordinance allowed the leasing of public lands to
support local schools. The sale of one section of each thirty-six mile square township
would be set aside for a school. However, this system was not always adhered
to and abuses occurred. In many areas subscription schools and private
academies were prevalent until the 1850s when a free public school system
was instituted in Indiana. The state authorized the levying of taxes for
school construction as well as establishing standards for teachers and
providing money for school libraries. It was during the late-nineteenth
century that the familiar brick one-room and two-room schoolhouses
proliferated. These township schools were built within several miles of each
other so that students could walk to them. However, by the early 1900s these
romantic symbols were slowly being replaced, victims of consolidation.
Between the years of 1890 and 1900, over half of the state's 8,000 one-room
schools had been abandoned. These schools were replaced with larger grade
and high schools usually located in the township's largest community.
The evolution of the state's educational
system is reflected in Morgan County's remaining school buildings. The
county has retained one of the state's largest collections of one- room
schoolhouses. Nearly 20 of these rapidly vanishing structures are found scattered
throughout Morgan County. The Wilbur School in Gregg Township, now
undergoing restoration, is representative of these simple brick buildings.
This c.1885 school now serves as a community center.
As Morgan County's schools were
consolidated, larger schools were opened, usually in or near the township's
primary town. The Green Township Elementary School, one of the schools in
the Martinsville system, is a good example.
In northern Morgan County, the Friends
strong educational presence is reflected in the Mooresville Friends Academy
Building. This 1861 Italianate style school was listed in the National
Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Wilbur Schoolhouse
(c.1885), Wilbur, Gregg Township
Green Township Elementary School (1938), Green Township
Mooresville Friends Academy (1861), Mooresville |
