Ward Township School No. 5 to Host Open House | News

An open house is scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Ward Township District School No. 5. 

Last year, nearly 300 people attended the annual open house at the school. The one-room school was originally constructed in 1891 and remained in operation until 1911 when it was closed as several of the smaller schools were consolidated. 

When it was constructed, there were 125 small schools in the county. By 1920, nearly all of them had been closed and replaced through consolidation.

In 2014, the Friends of Ward Township District No. 5, Randolph County, Indiana, Inc. was founded with the goal of restoring the school. In 2015, the Community Foundation of Randolph County provided them with their first grant towards the completion of the project. In 2017, the school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Over the years, the Indiana Historical Society helped to obtain a number of Heritage Support Grants made possible by the Lilly Endowment. The grants provided nearly 60% of the restoration costs. The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs provided a grant for the construction of a replica of the original bell tower. Indiana Landmarks has also provided valuable guidance for the project over the years. 

The overall plan is to establish an education resource center that elementary students can visit during field trips. They would be able to experience what a day of school would have been like at the turn of the 20th century in these one-room schools.

This year’s open house will showcase some of the new additions over the past year. They include a pull-down map of Indiana from 1886 and an “Indiana Educational Series, First Reader” text book from 1901 that belonged to Doll Myers, a student at the school. Other plans for improvements over the coming year include the installation of a red cedar fence to better define parking and recreation areas and freshly-cut limestone steps for the school’s entryway.

Mike Densmore and his family will be at the open house serving homemade ice cream and other treats. Volunteers will also be on site during the open house to answer questions and share details of the plans for the school. 

Ward Township District School No. 5 is located at 970 E. 700 North near the intersection of county roads 700 North and 100 East. Although the event is free to attend, donations are appreciated.