Historical Images of Porter County

Washington Township School, 1913
Washington Township, Porter County, Indiana

Date: 1913
Source Type: Postcard
Publisher, Printer, Photographer: Unknown
Postmark: February 6, 1913, Danforth, Illinois
Collection: Steven R. Shook
Remark: The message on the reverse of this postcard is as follows:

"Dear Emma,
I do hope you are much better and will soon be entirely well again. How a person should appreciate good health! Isn't that right? This is a picture taken near Valparaiso, Ind., of a country school house. With much love and all good wishes,
Dora W."

The fact that the message mentions that this school is near Valparaiso, and it is constructed of white brick undoubtedly identifies it as the Washington Township School located a few miles east of Valparaiso.

The August 18, 1936, issue of <i>The Vidette-Messenger</i> provides some historical information concerning this school, as follows:

"In 1911 a white brick structure was built by the late E. D. Cain, who was then trustee. It consisted of two good-sized rooms with a corridor and cloakroom between. Grades seven and eight and two years of high school occupied the one room, and the lower grades the other. The cloakroom later was used as a tiny classroom.

In 1917, during Fred Schwinkendorf's term as trustee, two classrooms were built on and a third year of high school was added. After some time and effort a commission for a four-year high school was obtained, which commission expired every year. In 1928 under the trusteeship of the late Morgan Porch, a $48,000 addition was built, and a continuous commission was granted for all twelve grades.

The Washington township high school is the only white brick school in the state. It is a long and low building with a spacious lawn set off by shrubs and trees, and rather resembles a country clubhouse. Mrs. James Wilson tells us that her uncle, George Partial, before mentioned as one of the earliest teachers of the county, planted the locust trees around the Malone school when he taught there, and that they became a landmark. These trees still stand in front of and behind the old part of the Washington high school.

The building contains four grade rooms, a laboratory, two classrooms, an assembly room, an office, a storeroom, furnace and boiler rooms, a gymnasium, a large and attractive dining room, and a home economics room with an electric range and tables equipped with hot plates. The school is a center of activities of the entire community. An athletic field of several acres affords recreation facilities.

At present the faculty consists of four high school teachers, four grade school teachers, and a music supervisor. Unless the record has recently been beaten, this school has the highest ranking of any rural high school in the state on the basis of scholarship of its alumni in college. Washington has three Phi Beta Kappas among the alumnae.

The first class graduated in 1917, and the alumni now number 116. Every year they hold a banquet at the school."

The 1917 addition to the school mentioned in this newspaper item was added to the left side of the school seen here. A second entrance, similar to the one seen hear was included with the addition.

The road bed seen in this postcard image is present day Indiana State Road 2. The photographer was looking north when taking this photograph.

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Image and related text prepared by Steven R. Shook