Mills continue to grind, covered bridges carry traffic, and rural churches still come alive each Sunday morning.  The one-room schoolhouse, however, is surely a thing of the past.

Some were built of wood, others of sturdy brick, but all had a cloak room to the left for the boys and one to the right for the girls. One large room with windows across the back wall, a potbellied stove, and slate boards were typical. Displayed high above the chalkboard was the alphabet in both tall block letters and cursive script—the Palmer method. Remember?

And then, recess! A romp in the walnut grove nearby and a few minutes on the seesaw or the swinging tire provided a brief respite from the long morning of studies inside.

Located nine miles north of North Vernon, Indiana, on Hwy. 3, it was built in the very early 1900s. Walnut Grove School served the youth of northern Jennings County until the late 1950s when the land was sold back to descendants of the original landowners as stipulated in the original donor agreement.

COUNTRY SCHOOLHOUSE is a companion painting to COUNTRY CHURCH

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RAY DAY
ray@rayday.com