This is number 22 of our series, "The Old Schoolhouses of Decatur County." Our inspiration for this series came from an old book picked up at an antique shop about the history of schools in Decatur County from 1820 - 1978. It was an incredible project by the Rural Couples Club to celebrate the Bicentennial Year of the U.S.A. (1776-1976) Added inspiration for our geocaching series comes from one of the Hoosierdogs being a teacher in the Greensburg Schools. The inspiration for the series name comes from the poem, "The Old Schoolhouse" by John Greenleaf Whittier.
Still sits the schoolhouse by the road,
A ragged beggar sunning;
Around it still the sumacs grow,
And blackberry vines are running.
Within, the master's desk is seen,
Deep scarred by raps official;
The warping floor, the battered seats.
The jack-knife's carved initial;
The charcoal frescoes on its wall;
It's door's worn sill, betraying
The feet that creeping slow to school
Went storming out to playing!
This school was also known as School #1 in Marion Township or also Robbins School. A few of the early teachers of Mt. pleasant were Dale Allen, Ethel Fisher, Frank Jackson, Marcellus L. Jackson, Fay Kercheval, Mayme O'Hare, Edith Remy, Fred Smith, John Thrine, and Tillie Zetterberg.
In 1824, every able-bodied male person, except minors, was responsible for a day's work in his school district once a week, until the school building for that district was completed. If they could not do that, then they were to pay a fine of thirty-seven and one-half cents for each day's failure to do so, so as to aid in the work!