Where did your grandparents go to school?

Printer-friendly

Did you ever wonder how your great-grandparents, grandparents and parents learned to read and write when they were young?

In the 1800s, one-room schools dotted Jasper County.  The schools were built by neighborhoods, and the teachers who taught in the schools were often boarded by area families.

The individuals who taught in the one-room, rural schools were very special people. During the winter months they would get to the school early to get a fire started in the stove, so the building would be warm for the students. All grades and subjects were taught in this one room by one teacher. 

These school buildings were used not only as schools, but by churches and as community centers to hold meetings.

Transportation for children who lived too far away to walk was provided by a horse drawn “bus”.  It was usually a wagon with some benches and might have been enclosed to protect the children from the weather.

With the growth in the area and the need for improvements in education, one-room schools slowly ceased their operation. The buildings have either been torn down or purchased by landowners for other purposes.  

Visitors to the Jasper County Fairgrounds can see one of the few remaining one-room schoolhouses in existence.

The Rosebud School, part of the county's historical village at the fairgrounds, served as a place for worship and class meetings on the Grand Prairie circuit of the Methodist Protestant denomination in Jasper County beginning in September 1876, according to the Indiana United Methodists.

The school was donated to the Jasper County Historical Society and moved to the Fairgrounds in 1977. Visitors may drive by the building at any time, and the interior is open during fair days.