NEWS

Carroll County Group Shows School Spirit

You’re probably familiar with the three “R’s” – reading, writing, and arithmetic. Following a concerted effort to preserve it, the historic Milburn School in Carroll County is poised to teach a fourth “R” – restoration.

Milburn School, Carroll County
Heartland Heritage secured a grant to put a new roof on Carroll County's Milburn School, a measure that will help keep the historic building weather tight while the group plans for its reuse. (Photo: Bonnie Maxwell)

Lesson Plan

At one time, more than 100 schools dotted the landscape in Carroll County, many of them small one-room schoolhouses serving the children of local farm families. With twenty-four of those rural schoolhouses still standing, Carroll County may qualify as a one-room schoolhouse capital. Constructed c.1876, the Milburn School operated until 1916. For nearly a century, the school functioned mostly as agricultural outbuilding, until preservation advocates convinced the school’s owner, Ruth Barnard, that it should be repurposed.

Barnard donated the historic schoolhouse to Indiana Landmarks, and we transferred it to Heartland Heritage, Inc., a local preservation and conservation group. Heartland Heritage wasted no time, using a grant from the Efroymson Family Fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation to install a new roof and tighten the school against winter weather while the group considers its long-term use. Our transfer includes a protective covenant, which will protect the landmark from demolition or unsympathetic alterations.

Milburn School new roof, Carroll County

To learn more about Heartland Heritage, Inc. and the Milburn School restoration project, contact Indiana Landmarks’ Western Regional Office, 812-232-4534, west@indianalandmarks.org.

 

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