New Washington High School - Highwayman Yearbook (New Washington, IN)

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Schools in Indiana . were built during the 1800's. They were roughly hewn, one-roomed log cabins with dirt floors. Both old and young students sat on wooden slabs which served as benches. Years later, the schools still had just one room, but were made of wood or brick with slate roofs. After 1900 most of the smaller schools closed and were replaced by multi-room district schools. The schoolrooms at this time were not always comfortable-no running water or indoor restrooms. The teacher or older students carried in buckets of water and left them in the back of the room or hallway. Stu- dents used a granite dipper to drink from these buckets. Heat was produced by a large pot-bellied stove in the center of the room-while students sitting next to it were too warm when those farther away were still cold. And there weren't any school buses either. Eventually the school buses replaced a horse-drawn wagon called a hack but in many places the students had to walk several miles each day. School terms were only seven months each year. but the school day began at 8:15 in the morning and didn't end until 4:00 in the afternoon. THE FIRST SCHOOL IN NEW WASHINGTON for advanced study was the Presbyterian Academy which was built in 1894. It occupied a two-story brick building on the square which is now the Masonic Lodge. The early settlers of this area fought and struggled for their education, and for the opportunity to learn- reading, writing, and ciphering which set the basis of today's education. Stan Arthur Jim Barlow Sheri Barton Brad Bowell Terry Bowman Don Brison Lecia Brison Ruby Brown e-qg H..F L. $ i ...H uhkr Jk a'h-A- ..