Juneberry Hill Schoolhouse Update #4: The Second Schoolhouse

By Lisa Miller

Our second one-room schoolhouse as it was being torn down from its second location. After the schools consolidated in the late 1920s, the schoolhouse was made into a dwelling with an addition and front steps added.

We bought a SECOND mid-1800s one-room schoolhouse!

While completely adorable, our tiny schoolhouse is obviously not large enough to hold a dozen students and their desks, plus the restrooms, kitchenette, and storage area we plan to add. While looking at plans and searching for building materials from older buildings needing to be torn down or removed, I found another schoolhouse for sale! This one was saved mid-demolition. Its roof, windows, doors, and clapboard siding were already gone. But just in time, someone stepped in and carefully took down the rest of the mortise and tenon frame with hand-hewn white oak beams, poplar studs, heart pine flooring, walnut ceiling, and interior shiplap-- some with the original chalkboard paint remaining. This schoolhouse is bundled and ready to be loaded onto a semi, where it will be brought to rest in our neighbor’s barn until the schoolhouse construction begins in the spring.

Our second schoolhouse was built in 1850 in Posey Township, Franklin County, Indiana. In the early 1900s, the schoolhouse was moved by horses to another location on the family farm further down the small road. There was concern that the huge oak tree, which is still standing, may fall onto the schoolhouse. (I really love that they moved an entire building to a new location instead of cutting down such a massive, old tree. What a feat that must have been at that time!) While I have been unable to find the exact name of the schoolhouse, on a map of Posey Township from 1882, I found the schoolhouse labeled “School No.3” with a dot at the original location.

The old oak tree as it stands today where the schoolhouse was originally located. In front are two decorative stone pillars, marking the entrance to the field the students once used.

The plan is to build these two old schools into one, larger one-room schoolhouse. You may remember in the first video about the first schoolhouse, we were going to set the school where our barn had been located. We are now going to build both schools just down the hill from our home in our front pasture. This will allow us the room we need to grant ample outdoor space for a playground, gardens, and plenty of outdoor space for any future projects or expansion. Marlin and I are very excited about this and look forward to getting the building plans finalized for a mid-spring building time.

What a blessing to have the opportunity to restore TWO historic one-room schoolhouses back to their original purpose! We are amazed and thrilled to be a part of this!

May you find joy in the simple things in life,

Lisa