Lexington Schools

From "Lexington" by Mary Wilson and Sharon Y. Asher, published sometime after 1975.

THE LEXINGTON SCHOOLS

Educational opportunity in the territorial days of Indiana was limited and little effort was made to organize school until after the area gained statehood. The Constitution of 1816 committed the State to the establishment of a complete, progressive school system ranging from the district schools to the university, free and open to all.

Between the Constitutions of 1816 and 1851, very little real progress was made toward a realization of the school system proposed in the first constitution. Township schools were provided in districts in which there could be attendance of twenty-five or more students. These schools had very short terms, were poorly equipped and were taught by inadequately prepared teachers who were in most instances paid by subscription from the patrons. There was no public source of revenue, as the principle of taxation for public education had not been advanced. In addition to these district or common schools, seminaries were established during this period in many of the counties. These were intended to provide secondary education and to furnish the link between district and the college.

In 1849 the first tax law for the support of schools was passed in Indiana which consisted of a levy of ten cents on each one hundred dollars of taxable property.

In reviewing how little was accomplished in the field of education during this formative years, one must not fail to take into consideration all the conditions that prevailed. The country was new, presenting many problems. There was a wide diversity of geographical conditions in the State and there was a wide diversity of personalities among the settlers who came to populate it. New England, the Virginias, the Carolinas, and Kentucky contributed to the tide of emigration that settled the State. The people had to have homes with the necessities and some comforts of life before the education of their children could become a burning issue. There were forests to clear, swamps to drain and homes to build, even while they were trying to get sustenance from the soil. Distances were long and transportation was difficult, slow and expensive. The building of good roads was delayed and during winter months people were shut in and compelled to lead a confined existence. It is not strange then that so little progress was made; rather, it is surprising that progress was made at all!

ONE ROOM COUNTRY SCHOOLS

Due to the bad roads and long winters many one room schools were built in Scott County. Six of these schools were constructed in and around Lexington.

GREENBRIER SCHOOL was one of the earliest. It was located on the William Wilson Farm about three miles northeast of Lexington on the Madison Road. This log building had one window and a large fireplace. The benches were hand-hewed logs. Reading, writing and arithmetic were the principle subjects taught and a slate was used to write On. (This school building was also used for church services and it was here that the New Albany Presbytery held its first meeting at Lexington, Indiana.)

As progress was made in the school system, the Scott Irish group decided to build a new school so it was moved to a frame building on Margaret Jenning's farm, approximately a mile south of the present location.

Around 1900 the county built a series of new brick one-room schools. Greenbrier School had its third building located about a mile from the second building on the Madison Road. Eliza Wilson LaMaster, who was a pupil in the log school, said it was built in a field of green briars so thick that you could hardly walk through it. Thus, the name "Greenbrier" remained as the school's designation.

CONCORD SCHOOL was located about three miles east of Lexington near the New London Road. The school was in a brick building and no record can be found indicating how it acquired the name "Concord."

BEECH GROVE SCHOOL was located three miles north of Lexington and built in a grove of Beech trees. Two different schools were constructed in this grove.

FROG POND SCHOOL was located northwest of Lexington in a brick building. It is believed that a pond full of frogs nearby lent the school its name.

PLYMOUTH SCHOOL was located west of Lexington on the Plymouth Road.

KIMBERLIN SCHOOL was located about three miles west of Lexington on the Vienna Road. It was built beside the Kimberlin Church and was named after John Kimberlin, one of the first settlers in this section of the country.

IRELAND SCHOOL, a log building about two miles south of Lexington, was located on the Kennedy bottom land. Jane Middleton was its first teacher. In 1866 a second Ireland School was built on the Blair Farm on Irish Road approximately one fourth miles from the older school. It is said that the young male students in this school were particularly devilish. They would slip in at night and put sacks in the stove pipe to smoke the teacher out the next morning. No women teachers wanted to teach here because of this mischief. When the school burned one night, many believed the prank of stuffing the stove pipes was the cause of the fire!

It is believed by some that another school, the SPLIT STUMP SCHOOL, was located by an Inn and Copper Shop. It served as a stop over for any one traveling from Charlestown to Madison. Many older citizens of Lexington, however, say that Split Stump was too close to the Ireland School for an additional school to be located there.

The earliest schools had log seats and fireplaces. As progress occurred the use of wooden desks and seats and pot-bellied stoves placed in the center of the room for heat were used. Blackboards were placed on walls with chalk for writing. New subjects were added. Drinking water was provided by a well usually outside which had one dipper hanging on the pump for all to share. There was little or no playground equipment and the children often walked three to four miles to school through the woods with only a path to follow.

With the building of better roads and increased population and a stronger tax base the one-room schools began to disappear from the scene. As each closed,its students were taken by horse-drawn vehicles to other area schools. The first school in Lexington was built of logs sometime in the early 1800's. Exactly where it was located is not known. The second school building was located on Hunt Street across from the Christian Church. This one room brick building, first built for a Masonic Lodge in the early 1800's, later was given to the school system for a girls seminary. However, it was not used for girls only for boys attended school along with them. The building, which is still standing, was sold for a private home over eighty years ago.

The Lexington High School, which began as a seminary, was a two-storied brick building with one long hall between the rooms, located on Cherry Street. Although the courses were taught by exceptional teachers, the school did not last long for the building was sold and the proceeds were added to the common school fund.

When the county seat was moved to Scottsburg in 1872, the old courthouse was remodeled and used as a school building. The first normal school held here was in June of 1886 and taught by a Professor Munden. This continued for several years with Professor Bovard, J. G. Chambers, J. T. Engle, Mattie Ramsey and many others as instructors.

In 1889 the courthouse was torn down and replaced by a new brick building in the same location. For several years before a regular high school was established, subjects similar to the high school subjects were taught in the grade school building.

In 1895 a complete three-year high school course was given by Mr. W. N. Parks, the eighth grade teacher. No diplomas were given and it was not known as a high school. Of the five students who started this course, only one - Ella Lothrop, finished it. Mr. Parks did not grade the papers for they were sent to people in the county specialized in that particular line.

In 1896 diplomas were issued for the first time. These were for a three-year course and so stated. There were 15 students the first year. In 1897 a four-year course was established.

During the early 1900's it became evident that one instructor could not teach all the subjects required for a four-year course, so the school was again cut back to three years.

At this time baseball was the chief athletic activity. These games were seldom interscholastic and usually intramural and with other town groups. There were no regularly adopted school colors at this time.

Under the principalship of Mr. Whitehead from 1911 to 1915 the school choose red and white as the colors. Basketball games with other schools were played for the first time. The courses were again cut to a two-year program of study and remained so until the present building was built in 1922.

The first term in 1922 in the new building was taught by Mr. D. C. Hill. Only freshmen were enrolled. The following year two new teachers, Mr. Morrison and Mrs. Ruth Storen (later Mrs. Ruth Holmes),were added to the faculty. The next year Mr. Floyd James was added to the faculty and a Junior Class to the student body. The following year, with a fourth-year class approaching, a commission was applied for and granted. Mr. E. H. Gamble took Mr. Floyd James' place on the faculty. Mrs. Ruth Hardy was added as the Home Economics teacher. This comprised the first four-year graduating class from Lexington High. There were twelve graduates, six of whom went on to become teachers.

These teachers were here for another year, then a complete change was made. New teachers were brought in and more subjects were added to the curriculum.

In 1962 a special school for handicapped children was added to the Lexington School System, located in the building that was the barn at Englishton Park. Mrs. Wilma Fieldhouse served as instructor.

Due to the increase in population, the new building of 1922 was not adequate for both grade and high schools. Lexington, as one of the smaller schools in the county, was unable to obtain funds to build a larger building.

The trend in 1965 in education was to consolidate county schools into one central school. Once again Lexington School was cut back to eight grades. The high school was consolidated with Scottsburg High School and Lexington students were transferred by bus each day.

In 1967 a multi-purpose room and kitchen were added to the Lexington School building. In the Fall of 1970 the seventh and eighth grades were also transferred to Scottsburg, leaving six grades at the Lexington School.

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