Miscellaneous Columbus Indiana Topics

[Babs]

Yes, there was a 5 and 10 cent store in the 25th Street shopping center, as well as Northside drugs. I do not remember Gene's bakery being there but it could've been. Krogers was where Aldi's is now at that end of the strip mall. It could've been our first strip mall, David.
Before it came along, everyone went to town and when you went to town, you went to
"The Greeks".

Babs :-)

[David Sechrest]

I do hope that everyone here has a wonderful Thanksgiving day!
Other than being cold here in Columbus, the weather should cooperate for travel, and I hope that any of you that are "going over the river and through the woods" have a safe journey.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday, and I'm looking forward to this one. All my kids should be present and accounted for, except my daughter that's attending college in Tulsa OK. This will be the first Thanksgiving that all my kids won't be here, and I'll really miss her.

Anyway...be safe, and enjoy all the goodies!

[fiddlestix]

We're new to town. I'm interested in researching the history of the brick school house on Silgas Rd. (550 N). I know that it was called the Quick School and was built in 1885. Where would I begin to learn more? Thanks.

[David Sechrest]

fiddlestix said:

We're new to town. I'm interested in researching the history of the brick school house on Silgas Rd. (550 N). I know that it was called the Quick School and was built in 1885. Where would I begin to learn more? Thanks.

fiddlestix, welcome to the Historic Columbus Indiana Message Board!

The old Quick School was also known as School No. 11. It was built in 1871. In 1942, it was sold and became a home.

I would check with both the local library and the Historical Society for additional info. Also, it doesn't hurt to either call or stop by and introduce yourself to the local owners. Maybe they can shed some info as well.

[David Sechrest]

Earlier this week, I began working on a new folder called "Main Street"/Downtown History. After adding about two pages here, I decided to delete the folder. Since it was considered a rough draft for an article on the website, I could see that it would be best to keep it for another day...

Plus, I'm still stymied by the location of Crump's Opera Hall on Washington St. For those of you who followed George and my discussions last year regarding the place, in running across that ad for J. B. Cobb and the ad saying his place of business was on "the corner of 4th and Washington," now I'm wondering which corner. Will Marsh stated the location before Crump's was a drug store. Early maps show a drug store on the ne corner repeatedly over the years.

The 1879 map does show a place of business, identified as Cobb, close to Cummins Bookstore. However, I don't think that is J. B. Cobb's place of business. Another Cobb popped up around that time and opened a music place of business. Whether the two were related, at this point, I haven't been able to figure out.

Regardless, according to the 1872 ad, Crump's was on either the ne or nw corner!

[fiddlestix]

admin said:

fiddlestix said:

We're new to town. I'm interested in researching the history of the brick school house on Silgas Rd. (550 N). I know that it was called the Quick School and was built in 1885. Where would I begin to learn more? Thanks.

fiddlestix, welcome to the Historic Columbus Indiana Message Board!

The old Quick School was also known as School No. 11. It was built in 1871. In 1942, it was sold and became a home.

I would check with both the local library and the Historical Society for additional info. Also, it doesn't hurt to either call or stop by and introduce yourself to the local owners. Maybe they can shed some info as well.

[richard]

fiddlestix,

I sent your question to a fellow that spent a lot of time in the northern part of Bartholomew County. Below is his first answer.

Richard



As for your question. First that school was named Quick after Judge Tunis Quick who owned the farm and lived just north of the school. When you are going east on 550N take the road north or to the left right at the corner and Judge Tunis Quick lived on the farm on the right. It was later owned and lived in by George Lowe. George had 2 daughters Christine who married Russell Peel and her and Russell are both dead now but they had 2 daughters Janet and Jean. They are both still living here in the county in fact Jean had a daughter that married Bird Welmer's youngest son Davis. Very sweet girl. George's other daughter Emma married a Scheidt who lived on the Hartsville Pike Rd. east of Columbus and had 2 sons named Don who is still living and Norval who has been dead several years. Emma just died a few years ago and was getting well into her nineties.

Also Judge Quick built the house on River Rd. where Charlie Kaler's widow now lives.

As for the old one room schools you have to find a map that shows it and it will have a number on it. That is Flat Rock Township and I think I can find out the number for you when we get the moving along a little more. We are still torn up pretty much.

Hope this helps you some but can dig out more as this is just off the top of my head.

If she is in a big hurry to find info check with Mrs. Grossman in the Clerk's office and tell her I asked her to give this person or whoever all the help she can give. Mrs. Grossman is a great lady and easy to work with.

Charlie

[fiddlestix]

Re: The Quick School--
Thanks for the info. I've met the previous owners. We're buying the house and will move in in several weeks. I'm a teacher with three small children. How appropo that there will again be a teacher and children there!
Thanks again!
Deb

[fiddlestix]

RE: The Quick School

Thanks so very much for the info. from your friend. I certainly appreciate his answer and your forwarding my question to him.
Deb

[Deleted]

David,

In the folder that you had on last week it gave the location of Joe Wooley's Livery, if you recall we could not find the location last year, at the time we thought that it may have been on 4th St. between Washington and Franklin St on the south side mid block.
Well as it turns out it was mid block on Washington st. on the east side between 4th and 5th, the old Murphy's location.
There is a picture on the board some place showing it and next to it on the south side is a building that looks like it may go to 4th St and to me looks like it could be the Opera House???, if so the Opera House would have been on the NE corner of 4th and Washington.
Was the Crump house on 4th St. mid block on the north side, about were Smiths Row is today???. Something to think about.

[David Sechrest]

On May 21st, George wrote
>>In the folder that you had on last week it gave the location of Joe Wooley's Livery, if you recall we could not find the location last year, at the time we thought that it may have been on 4th St. between Washington and Franklin St on the south side mid block.
Well as it turns out it was mid block on Washington st. on the east side between 4th and 5th, the old Murphy's location.
There is a picture on the board some place showing it and next to it on the south side is a building that looks like it may go to 4th St and to me looks like it could be the Opera House???, if so the Opera House would have been on the NE corner of 4th and Washington.
Was the Crump house on 4th St. mid block on the north side, about were Smiths Row is today???. Something to think about.<<

George, I don't know why and cannot explain this, but I've always had a feeling that Crump's was located on that NW corner. However, with that said, it makes much more sense that it was on the NE corner. Crump's home sat on 4th Street and across from the 1st National Bank. That would have put it just slightly west of Smith's Row today. It makes perfect sense that ole F. J. owned that entire area, and built his theatre there. The early map shows a drug store on that location (1879) and even Will Marsh acknowledges that the area where Crump put the Opera Hall had been a drug store for many years.

I find it strange that that area wasn't called Crump Corner, or Crump Block. Heck, we had Irwin Block, Keith Block, and others. Why not a Crump Block? I'm also surprised that the Crump family doesn't appear in the1879 Atlas. By then, the Crump family would have been one of the most influential families in Columbus.

As of late, I've been spending some time at the library, going through the 1879 and 1880 papers, trying to find when Crump's Opera Hall burned. I hope it will provide some additional info.

Boy, that Cobb tie-in last week got me really excited! And that's one of the problems with trying to do research, i. e., in this case, assuming the Cobb business on the 1879 map was owned (and still in the same place) and the same business that ran the ad in the 1872 paper.

One of the things I wondered after looking at that 1879 map of downtown Columbus was why someone drew those heavy lines on the map itself, and in essense, blotting out the names of some of the businesses. Even scanning the map at 1200 dpi and then playing around with it using Photoshop, I still cannot make out some of the text. Originally I thought the writing on the map was done by two different people, but after closely examining the printing, I ruled that out. Then, the question arose: When did Columbus change the cross street names to numbers? Well, I've gotten as close as sometime between July and September, 1879.
The same year that Atlas came out. And that makes me wonder if those lines and the names of the cross streets were added after the "original" was finished.
Supposedly, the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis has copies of a very early Columbus newspaper, even predating the first issue of the Republican in April, 1872. Which newspaper, I cannot recall. But, I foresee a phone call and roadtrip to check things out.

[Ricky_Berkey]

I just wanted to invite anyone interested to come out and take on of our daily Columbus Vistors Center tours. It is a 2 hour tour around Columbus with several short walking segments and interior building visits. Every tour guide presents things a bit differently but all are good. I myself like to sneak in as much historical perspective as I possibly can. I will be giving the morning and afternoon tours on Saturday June 17. Starts at 10am and 2pm but you should plan on being there about 30 minutes early to sign up and to watch the video.

[RER]

"Columbus Indiana Early Postal System 1830s"

"Indiana in the 1830s had various postal routes and many were four-horse coaches. James H. Wallace & Co. received $1,893 a year compensation for carrying mails over the Madison route which included Greenwood, Franklin, Edinburg, Columbus, Scipo, Vernon, Lancaster and Wirt." A very interesting web site talks about America and Indiana's postal system in the early days and is a refreshing read. Go to this site:
www.connerprairie.org/HistoryOnline/postal.html

Note: The info above is quoted in part from the Web Site.

Bob

[RER]

"Morgan Packing and Cannery Company, early 1950s"

The Morgan "Cannery" (referred by name) was located at 1206 Michigan Avenue in Columbus. As a very young kid I peddled my bike in the summer at times, to watch the outside process of tomatoes and corn being trucked and horse and wagoned into the conveyance systems. The plant was seasonal during the corn and tomato maturity periods. The Cannery employed many folks for outside and inside jobs. I recall people would even come from Kentucky to work in the temporary positions until fall closure.

The company apparently owned numerous tomato fields at the time for the seasonal picking and canning process. At a very young age around 1952 or 1953 maybe, I would go to the field areas around Columbus and work a few days picking the reds. The odd shaped baskets would only bring if I recall properly about 25 cents. So it took a lot of picking and hauling back to a central location to get the money credit on your name. Many days I would take salt with me so I could enjoy the biggest of the best, in the fields. Sometimes, I wonder if I didn't eat more than I picked.

When I was almost legal age to work I spent one summer working in the warehouse area of the cannery. My uncle at the time worked part time in security and assisted me in getting a job. I recall the process was the truck dumping into outside ground conveyance systems into the plant for both products processing. The tin cans were processed and sterilized in the process and the tomatoes or corn would be automatically placed into cans and sealed with the last part of the tin can. Then they were cooked in large vats for a period of time and removed for cooling and boxed for the warehouse pallet stacking.

The smell of tomatoes cooking was acceptable but at time the corn smell would get a little smelly. They washed down the concrete floors constantly to keep the place clean and less odor of course. I think the area that accumulated the shucks (corn shell or husks) emitted the worst odor until they were trucked or horse and wagoned off and disposed of.

I guess this was another one of my summer kid jobs and experiences to make a little money. Jobs were not as available then as today for kids. There was also a rail system near the plant for transporting the pallets and trucks would also pick up pallets for distribution.

Many town families would drive to the outside plant area and purchase fresh corn and tomatoes.

Bob

[richard]

If you attended, followed or played sports at Columbus Indiana from the 1940's to the year 2000, you no doubt will recall Bobby Wissman. Today’s Columbus paper, The Republic, has a feature on Bobby on the first page of the sports section.

Bob has been a lifelong bachelor and dedicated 60 years to score keeping. The 85-year-old had to be sidelined after a second broken hip in 2000. The lifelong resident grew up on California Street and his father worked at Irwin Union Bank and helped run the Farmer’s Market.

Bobby graduated from Indiana Business College in 1943 and worked as a teller at Irwin Union for a few years. Softball and baseball were what got Bob hooked on score keeping.

He would average three or four hours a night at the County Stadium. In tribute, Diamond 4 is named Bobby Wissman Field.

These days, Bobby is living at the Four Seasons Retirement Center. He organizes prediction contests and writes a sports report to keep the residents informed about the area professional teams. When the Pacers and Reds are playing he has his supper in his room so he can follow the games.

[RER]

"Morgan Packing and Canning Company" (Bringing Forward From Another Section)

I just discovered in the Mom and Pop Grocery Store sites in this Historic Web Site pages something worth bringing forward again to mesh with what I wrote earlier, on the "Canning" plant. Mr. Bill Pumphrey's composition and posted Oct 24, 2005. I will quote word for word his statement: "Columbus had a large canning factory, Morgan Packing Company. When season was in dozens of wagons loaded with corn and pulled by horses would line up at 13th and Hutchins Ave to be unloaded. When they ran out of sweet corn, they would can corn. The way they did it you couldn't tell the difference." Composition by: Bill Pumphrey posted by David.

Note: Bill states he was born in 1930. I was born in the 40s so the experiences and observations have a consistent span of years; until the horses disappeared. Does anyone else have information later in the 50s or 60s. I have no idea when they closed or what happened later.

Bob

[RER]

"Haw Creek Leather Company Columbus Indiana"

Located at the junction of 1st Street, Jackson Street and Washington. Periods from 1900 through about 1949. The location is near White River. The company and building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, since 1998. The significance of the company was judged, based on industry and architecture.

Bob

[RER]

My Great, Great Grandfather's Recount of Bartholomew County from 1821 to 1887 printed in the Edinburg Courier Newspaper November 3, 1887"

He speaks of his father and families before himself, and a comprehensive recount of the the hard days of the settlers. He lived in Bartholomew County for about 15 years he says. He states the first mill in the county was built by Isaac Rains on the Flatrock River. He was born in 1801 and died in 1889. It is a little long, but an enjoyable trip of reading if you haven't read it before. His recount provides approximately 185 years of some Bartholomew County information and over 205 years of pioneer life and more. Keep in mind as you read this that Bartholomew was organized in 1821 and had only 3 or 4 cabins and General Tipton had departed. In 1830 the County had 5,480 settlers. Enjoy his adventures:

_____________________________________________________

EDINBURG COURIER
E. M. Hardy, Editor and Proprietor.
Terms of Subscription:
The Subscribers living in the County;
per Annum................$ 1.50
To Subscriber living Outside the County,
Per Annum................$ 1.65
Always in Advance
Entered at the Postoffice in Edinburg,
Ind., as Second Class Matter.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1887.
The Only All Home Print Weekly
Paper in Johnson County!

REMINISCENCES
OF HAPPY DAYS A LONG TIME AGO.
An Interesting Sketch of Pioneer Days
by a Venerable Reader of The Courier
The editor has asked me to relate, as I have seen it, the story of "Ye olden time."

I thought I could best do this by giving a sort of connected narrative of my father's and my own experience in primitive Indiana.

My ancestors came originally from Wales, and what is peculiar of them they were all red-headed. Grandfather lived in Delaware during the stormy period of the revolution, and wagoned for the American army seven years. My father was born in Sussex county, that State, in 1760. A few years after grandfather crossed the Chesapeake into Pennsylvania. But he soon became dissatisfied, and, packing up his horses, he with several companions followed the trace of Braddock's memorable march across the Alleghaney to what was called the Laurel Hill. All goods they took with them were carried on horseback, and for this purpose a pack saddle was used. This was made taking two limbs shaped something like the letter V., inverting them and nailing clapboards across them to make the sides. A board nailed at right angles with ends of the limbs, formed a rest for whatever they wished to carry, and the thing was complete. My grandfather and his companions formed a settlement at the foot of Laurel Hill. Here was built the first mill in that part of the country. They were compelled to go ten miles to find a suitable place for the mill. They built it on a little stream known as "Shirtee." My grandfather did the millwright work. Stones for the burrs were procured from the neighboring hills and dressed down by him. An old axe was driven in a stump and on this was forged all the mill irons. At first only corn was ground on this mill, but afterward a bolt was made and flour made from wheat. The surrounding country was very wild and the Indians troublesome. One day my father was sent on an errand. He came to the house of a neighbor which had been attacked by Indians. On entering he found that the whole family, excepting the wife and small child, had been tomahawked and scalped. They carried away the wife and child and when she became so fatigued she could no longer carry it, they caught it by its heels and dashed its brains out against a tree. The mother afterwards escaped and returned to the settlement. Along the little stream "Shirtee" were a great many sugar trees, and one spring several families camped up and down this stream in order to take advantage of the sweet flow and convert the sap into the next year's supply of sugar. The sugar season was nearly over, but there came one night a hard freeze, which started a fresh "run." The man in the camp lowest down the stream wished to borrow a gimlet with which to freshen his trees and started to the camp above him to get it. On arriving at the camp he discovered that the whole family had been tomahawked and scalped by the Indians. He run on to the other camps and found them all in the same condition. It was a horrible sight to look upon. They had been dead several days, and dogs had torn some of the bodies. The man returned to his camp, procured aid and went and buried those who were killed. They were buried without coffins for they had none.

Grandfather remained in this settlement until my father was 18 years old, when he moved to Lexington, Ky. He descended the Ohio by means of a flatboat to the mouth of the Licking KY, and from thence he proceeded to Lexington by means of packhorses. From here he moved to Washington KY, a little frontier. Indians here were very bad. They came across the Ohio river and stole the settler's horses and took them back with them. In order to protect themselves from these raids the whites organized a company of horsemen who were always to be on the look out for Indians and ready to give them chase at a moment's notice. In this way they often succeeded in overtaking the Indians before they reached the Ohio, and in getting back their horses. On one of these occasions all but two of the Indians had gotten across the river. One time they went nearly a hundred miles into Ohio, near to what is now Chillicothe. Here they found the camping ground of the Indians, made a raid upon it and recovered many things that had been stolen from them.

While living here my father was married to Elizabeth Elrod, of Virginia. Ten years afterward he moved into what is now Pike county, Ohio. Here I was born in 1801. He built the first mill ever built in that part of the country. He moved twenty-five miles west into an entirely new country, now known as Brown county, Ohio. Here he built another mill. When the settlement had grown he had his mill enlarged and did what was considered a big milling business. He remained here until 1821, when he moved to Bartholomew county, Indiana. He resided here until his death in 1850.

I was about 20 years old, when father came with me into Indiana. It was March, and it either rained or snowed every day of our journey. The roads we had then; were quite different from what we now have. Simply clearing a way through the underbrush and fallen trees, and marking it by "blazing" the trees along the way made them. Such a road was called a "trace" and was given the name of the person who first opened it. We followed these "traces", One of them, called Wetzel's, led past what is now Franklin. We left this "trace"and followed the banks of Flatrock. We crossed the river and camped near what was known as the "big clearing," one mile northeast of the present town of Edinburg. The "big clearing" consisted of 50 acres of ground that had been cleared and fenced with a brush fence." This had been cleared by several, among others George Cutsinger, an uncle of the proprietor of the starch works. Here we bought enough corn to last us a year. The tent in which we staid was an odd one. It was made by driving forked stakes into the ground, laying poles across these and then covering the whole with bed quilts. We raked up leaves for our bed, and with a big fire in front lived with more comfort than might be thought possible. We staid here one week and built a cabin for my brother. When it was finished the remainder of us pushed on farther south, following the range line to what was known as the "Bozell neighborhood," a point a few miles east of what is now Taylorsville. Here we renewed our camp. It was in the spring, and winter still lingered. On the 20th day of April snow fell to the depth of four inches, and it was very cold. As soon as possible we built a cabin to shield us from the rain, snow and cold. This cabin was indeed a primitive affair. It was built of logs; clapboards formed the roof and doors; the windows were holes in the sides of the house made by cutting out a part of a log. This opening was covered with greased paper, and the window was complete. The floor was made by splitting logs and laying them flat side up. For a bed we made benches and laid boards across.

The woods in this section of the country were thick and heavy and were full of wild game, such as wolves, deer, turkeys, coons, etc. Thousands of birds sent forth their sweet strains to cheer the lonely settler. Snakes, also were abundant. Near my father's cabin was a treeless tract of some eight or ten acres, which was known as the prairie. It was covered thickly with grass and my father cut off each year for hay. One year while mowing it 25 black-rattlesnakes and copper-heads were killed. The black-rattlesnake is not found here now. Its average length was two feet. Although small it was much dreaded because of its extremely poisonous fangs.

While living in this settlement I was married to Miss Elcy Harvey. The girl who thus became my wife, and who was to help bear my griefs and share my joys, was born in New York, but had come to Indiana from New Jersey.

Wife and I settled in Bartholomew county. I cleared a farm of 160 acres, built house, barn and stable and planted an orchard. A near neighbor was the venerable Van Meter, who now lives in Iowa. While living here a child of this VanMeter died. In these primitive days no hearse could be had and the coffins were home-made. I made the coffin for this child. For lumber I used plank, my loft. These were cut into something of the shape of the modern coffin and then nailed together. The lid was not fastened on until the body was in position, then it was put on and nailed down. To-day that would be heathenish, but then it was the best that could be done. When the child had been placed in the coffin; the last look had been taken, and the lid fastened down, the father took the box on horseback to the graveyard where it was deposited in the ground there to await the coming of the last day.

The first mill on Flatrock was built in Bartholomew county by one Isaac Rains. This mill would be a curiosity to the present generation. At a certain point the river made a bend in the form of a great horseshoe, the water flowing around a body of land and then returning almost to the point of starting. Across the narrow neck of land thus formed he dug a large ditch, and turned a part of the stream into it. It had considerable fall and flowed with great force. Across this ditch he placed a log into which he had inserted paddles. These paddles reached down into the waters and the force of the current pushed each one on as it dipped into the water. Anyone who has seen the cornstalk flutter mills that boys place in small streams will readily understand how this mill was made. To one end of the log he attached a wheel and his power was complete. With this pair of home-made stones he ground flour enough to feed the settlers. The second mill built on Flatrock was built by Ithamar Drake, near what is now Girton's mill.

I lived in Bartholomew county about 15 years. The county was wet and consequently there was much malarial sickness, so much so, that I concluded to leave for a more healthy locations, and accordingly I moved agin into woods in the southwest corner of Shelby county. Again I set to work to clear away the forests and kept at it until I had the timber cut off of 160 acres. Here I have lived ever since in peace and quietude.

Now a little more as to how we lived and what we enjoyed in these pioneer times. As son as possible we had schools. The school house was built of logs. For a window one log was taken out the full length of the house, and over the opening thus formed greased paper was pasted to keep out the cold. To make the desks pegs were driven into the wall and then boards or puncheons were laid on these. Benches, for seats, were made by splitting a tree through the middle, dressing off the flat side of these pieces, and putting legs into them. These seats, of course, had no backs and at best were very tiresome. With a big fireplace across one end and a desk for the teacher, the house was ready for business. The schoolmaster was not licensed, but taught what we would now call a subscription school. His qualifications needed not be great. If he could successfully teach "readin", "riten" and "rithmetic," he was eligible to the office of schoolmaster. Such were the beginnings of that great system of common schools of which Indiana may well be proud.

The food of those early times was cornbread and meat. We had pork and wild meat, bread was baked in ovens before the fire. Stoves had not been introduced. After a while the settlers began to raise wheat, but the first crop could not be used. It was called "sick wheat," from the fact that when eaten it caused the person eating it to become sick and vomit. On account of the richness of the soil the wheat dried up or blasted before it ripened. Hominy was a daily dish. Potatoes were introduced later. For our clothing we raised wood and flax, and sometimes a little cotton. These were spun and wove into cloth by our wives and mothers. The linen cloth made of the flax was worn in summer, but in winter we wore a heavier cloth known as "linsey," which was made by mixing wool along with the flax. No underclothing was worn, and overcoats were seldom seen. But many had what was called a "hunting shirt," a large, loose sort of a coat, made of "linsey" and worn over the other clothing. For our feet we had shoes our own make. Boots were never heard of. We not only made our shoes but often we tanned the leather. Deerskins were used in making moccasins. I remember seeing a preacher in the pulpit wearing a pair of these deerskins moccasins. Our summer hats were made of straw which we plaited with our hands, but for winter wear we either bought a fur hat from the store or made a cap of coon-skin.

We amused ourselves by jumping, running, wrestling, throwing handspikes, etc. On the 14th of February the young people celebrated St. Valentine's by gathering together and "drawing" valentines. This was done by writing on little slips of paper the names of all the boys and girls in the party. The slips on which the boy's names were written were placed in one hat, and those on which the girls' were written, placed in another, and the two hats passed around. The girls drew from the hat containing the names of the boys, and the boys from the hat containing the names of the girls. The boy who drew one girl's name three +different times must send her a valentine. These valentines were cut from paper, and had written on them some few lines of poetry. Here is a sample, it being merely rhyme:

On the fourteenth of February
It was my lot to be merry.
Lots were cast and one I drew,
kind Fortune says it must be you."

The lot of the pioneer was a hard one. The forests had to be cleared away, and the roots and stumps dug out. The implements we had with which to do this were poor concerns. Our plows had wooden mold-boards, our harness was made of ropes, out food was simple, our clothing scanty, our advantages few, our knowledge limited to the things around us, and yet we were happy.

Wm. P. Records

[RER]

"Records School House 1869 to 1942"


David Shecrest's other Historic Columbus Indiana web site has an index of the 2003 History of Bartholomew County from the Bartholomew County Historical Society. Apparently, the "Society" has a book and it is for sale (which I don't have) and it lists the school. It states at David's Web Page (scroll down to Records School):

www.historiccolumbusindiana.org/bcindex.htm

Records School House Bartholomew County, Nineveh Township, page 213 (Aka School No. l) In those days part of that township was in North West Bartholomew County. The 3rd picture below is Bartholomew County in 1875. Note Nineveh is upper left corner of map.

Anyway, you say so what, and get to the point Bob. Well, here is a picture of the school and the one room teacher in another picture. The Teacher is Eva Records. The story goes once the children completed school here they went to Edinburg High School and not Columbus. Part of the land then was the future Atterbury Army Camp, and split of two counties. Enjoy these two pictures (the school has been torn down for years):



Teacher Eva Records and two of her wall pictures that hung in here classroom. The pictures look like Betsy Ross making a flag (with 13 stars) and Valley Forge Battle possibly.



Here Besty Ross is showing a 13 star flag to George Washington.





Nineveh is upper left corner of the map that follows (late 1800s county map) This map is dated 1875:

[RER]

"Records School House From 1869 to 1942 because of WWII and the Construction of Camp Atterbury"


Nineveh Township formerly part of Bartholomew County School district was eliminated, by the formation of Camp Atterbury during WW II. In the year 1869 six district schools were shown on a plat of the township. One was the Records School, one and a half miles east of the village of Kansas on the Kansas-Edinburgh Road.

At the time Atterbury was formed in 1942, there were only three township schools in operation. They being "The Records School, The Kansas School and Hogbottom School." Read the first paragraph at this next web site for the closures:

www.indianamilitary.org/Timelines/1942.htm

The last known teachers names were Ralph Roth, Ray Stillbower and Miss Alta Harrell. Miss Eva Records taught in the Records School in the very early 1900s. My father J.L. Records attended the Records School until his high school transfer to Edinburg.

On January 1, 1942 the Atterbury Army Time Line Report said that the Records School House and the Kansas School house were going to close very soon and the third Hogbottom School House (also called the Renner would be moving students also).

In the earlier days there were over a hundred one-room school houses in the Bartholomew County Townships, built to be within a reasonable walking distance of farm and village residents.

Reference source: Columbus Historical Society 2003 book, pages 213, 300.
Thanks to Richard's research in his book.

Reference of School Closure (Atterbury Time Line 1942: www.indianamilitary.org/Timelines/1942.htm

Bob