The Churches and the Schools

Cline Graybill's barn was an early Baptist Church

A rare picture of the Christian Church with the Christian Tabernacle where early basketball teams played

An older picture of the Christian Church

                        Christian Church

The Haw Creek was instrumental in starting other churches.

                                A later view of the Presbyterian Church (now
                              a daycare)

Ladoga Methodist Church

The Ladoga Methodist Episcopal Church

                                                                    Methodist Church

Presbyterian Church

                  Methodist Church                              

The Catholic Church was on the corner of Messick and Main (234)

                           The Christian Tabernacle was just east of the present Christian Church

Basketball court inside the Tabernacle

The Churches

No history of any community would be complete without leaving a record of the churches that cared for the spiritual needs of its people.  At the present time (2012), there are two active churches within the town of Ladoga.  The Baptist Church is on the north end of Cherry Street and the Christian Church is on the corner of Elm and Walnut Streets.  The Nazarene Church has moved from the corner of South and Franklin to the intersection of 234 and 231 west of town.  The Presbyterian Church is now a daycare and the Methodist Church has been torn down.  The Christian, Presbyterian, Methodist and Nazarene were the active churches when I was growing up in Ladoga in the early 40s and late 50s.  There were several churches outside of town with the most notable being the Haw Creek Church of Christ.

W.L. Anderson in his history entitled The Early History of Ladoga lists the early churches as the Baptist Church, the Methodist Church, the Dunkard Church, the Christian Church and the Lutheran Church.  The first religious service was held in the house of Lucas Baldwin in the fall of 1828 at the request of his wife who had been confined to bed for some weeks.  Although she was not a member of any church, her friends and immediate family were Baptists, so it happened that they held the first meeting.

Beginning with the Baptists, Anderson recorded that the first church was called the Providence Church and met in different houses.  The first Baptist church actually occupied and used for a church was the Cornstalk Baptist Church located across the creek west of David Harshbarger’s place.  Another Baptist Church (Baptists never could get along) was organized two miles west of Ladoga at the Sugar Grove schoolhouse. It was called Mt. Gilead, but was changed to the First Regular Baptist Church of Ladoga in 1850.  It was this church that was instrumental in building the Baptist Female Seminary which sat on the same grounds as the Ladoga Normal and was formed  to educate the young ladies of the area.

The Methodist Church was holding meetings as early as 1830 in houses and groves in the area.  Their principal place of meeting was Joshua Harrison’s home two miles west of Ladoga.  In 1832, they built the Hopewell Church about a mile north of Harrison’s and a few yards east of Eden schoolhouse.  They later abandoned the log house and moved to Ladoga where they worshiped in the Baptist Church and then the Lutheran Church which they left in 1860.  They later built the brick building which served the Methodists well for many years.  The upper floor of Logan Ronk's (Prosser's barn in the 50's) also served the Methodists as a church for several years.

Logan Ronk's barn (Prosser's) early Methodist Church

Most of the settlers who came from Virginia were Dunkards.  They held services in barns and houses from 1831 until 1850 when they built a building a few yards east of the Cornstalk church and called it the Cold Spring Meeting House.  Daniel Miller preached the first sermon in Clark Township for the Dunkards in 1831.  The Dunkards worshipped in the Cold Spring Meeting House for over 20 years until they built the beautiful, brick building known as the Bethel Dunkard Church about a mile northwest of Ladoga.

The Christian Church was organized in September of 1847 as a result of the preaching of an evangelist named John O’Kane.  The meetings started out in the Haw Creek Church south of town then moved into town where it has remained ever since.  The congregation used the Christian Tabernacle for their meetings until 1887 when the present building was built.

Jonathon Shaver built a brick church in 1852 which housed the Lutheran Church and later the Catholic Church.  It was on the corner of SR 234 and Messick Street.   

Grace Denny did a thorough job researching the churches for the 1936 Ladoga Sesquicentennial Book.  She wrote as follows:

Brethern Church—“Although not situated in Ladoga, the Church of the Brethern deserves special mention in any history of Ladoga.  Many of the early settlers came from Botetourt County, Virginia, where there was a strong and influential community of Dunkards.  Among these were the families of Myers, Harshbarger, Peffley, Stoner, Britts, Ronk and Frantz.  In 1831, they united in holding meetings from house to house in Clark Township.  In 1832, Daniel Miller conducted a meeting in a grove by the big spring south of the present Oklahoma part of Ladoga.  In 1850, a meeting house was built near Cornstalk Creek southwest of Ladoga.  This was sometimes known as the Cold Spring Meeting House.  In 1870, Benjamin Kessler donated ground for a church building and a grave yard a mile northwest of Ladoga, and the present story and a half brick church was erected and called Bethel Church of the Brethern.  Daniel Miller was the first pastor.” 

The Brethern saw the need for a church on the east side of the township and built a church midway between Ladoga and Jamestown where the Ladoga Rest Park was in the 50’s.  That would have been on SR 234 and CR 1025 S.  It was called Mt. Pleasant.  There must have been a little community there also called Mt. Pleasant  because Mt Pleasant Cemetery is just across CR 1025 to the east.  Also the Yelton Family genealogy notes that “Perry Yelton was the postmaster and grocer at Mt. Pleasant.  His grocery store was just across the road from the (Yelton) Cemetery.”

Christian Church—“The Christian Church in Ladoga grew out of the missionary efforts of the Haw Creek Church, which is sometimes called ‘The Mother of Churches’ in this vicinity.  In 1833 Gilbert Harney from Kentucky preached a series of sermons and the Haw Creek Church was organized.   Later Raccoon John Smith, an eloquent and forceful Kentucky minister, held a meeting which resulted in the organization of several new churches and in 1847 as a result of the preaching of John O’Kane, an orator and evangelist of note, a move was started to erect a building.    According to Grace Denny, the first Christian Church was housed in the Ladoga Lumber Warehouse, erected on the corner of Sycamore and Main Streets and later was sold to the railroad for a depot.  A new church was then built east of the present brick building.”  Albert Harshbarger told Pauline Walters that there was a Christian Church called Fountain Christian Church east of Ladoga between Fountain School and his home.

Methodist Episcopal Church—“Methodism was introduced into the vicinity of Ladoga about the year 1835.  The pioneers met in the homes for worship and praise services, which was the custom in those days.  The homes of Lewis Miller and Samuel N. Bell were regular meeting places for several years.  The first place for public worship was in a log school house located on west Main Street near the place where the Dave Britts’ home now stands.  From there, the homeless organization went to the Baptist Church, and later took shelter under the roof of the Lutheran Church on east Main Street, now owned by the Roman Catholics (Corner of 234 and Messick Street).  About the year 1856, this little group of Methodists built a frame house on the corner of Franklin and Taylor streets, where the present brick church now stands. (1936)  In October 1871, the members purchased the adjoining lot from Jackson Weakley for the purpose of building a parsonage.   In the fall of 1887, the church started a building fund and a contract was let to Huntington and Son for the erection of a brick building.  The old building was sold to Peter Fudge, who moved it to the second lot west of the Presbyterian Church for a laundry.  Later it was moved to its present location on north Washington Street by Logan Ronk.  The new structure was dedicated on February 24, 1893.”

Lutheran Church—“The Lutheran Church was organized by Jonathon Shaver and his friends who built a brick building in 1852.  This was located on the south side of Main (Corner of 234 and Messick Street); when the church membership declined, the building was sold to the Catholics who maintained a church organization there for many years.  The priests from Crawfordsville St. Bernard’s Church conducted the worship until the death and removal of so many members that it became impracticable to continue the congregation.”

Presbyterian Church—“The Presbyterian Church had its beginning in a petition to the Crawfordsville Presbytery in October 1873, asking for the organization of a church in Ladoga.  A committee was named by the Crawfordsville Presbytery to visit and a church was duly organized.  Dr. Fisk of Greencastle to the young congregation and later in 1876, Rev. T. D. Fyffe began a ministry which lasted ten years.  In 1880, the present building was projected and on July 3, 1881, the church was dedicated.  In 1891, the church building was remodeled and Dr. Tuttle, President of Wabash College, dedicated the remodeled church building.”

Nazarene Church—“The latest addition to the family of the Ladoga churches is the Church of the Nazarene which had its origin in a meeting led by F.L. Terry, evangelist, in a small town hall.  Later, Rev. Guy McHenry a former missionary, held a revival meeting and on February 6, 1926, a district evangelist, J.O. Short organized the group and established the church with 46 charter members.  The church was located near the site of the old Lucas Baldwin cabin on the corner of South and Franklin streets.  Lucas Baldwin’s cabin was the first building in Ladoga.”

      The Nazarene Church was built around 1926.  It has since moved to the corner of 234 and 231.

From Ladoga, Indiana to Yamal, Siberia (the end of the earth or the uttermost parts of the world, Acts 1:8), two Ladoga graduates answered God's call and spent their lives preaching the gospel where no one had ever gone before.

George Markey, a 1959 graduate of Ladoga High School began his ministry in Kiev.  His son David has established a church in Yamal, Siberia.  George's daughter Renee and her husband Graham (Jed) Gourley are missionaries to Bishkek, Kyrgstan.

George and Pam Markey were the parents of nine children, George, Renee, Robin, Rhonda, Melanie, David, Jonathon, Aaron, and Kristen.  Six of the Markeys are still on the field.

Graham (Jed) Gourley, Renee (Markey) Gourley and family

David and Deborah Markey and daughters, Abigail and Selah, missionaries to the uttermost part of the earth.

Judy Pickett, a 1954 graduate of Ladoga High School spent her life in Zimbabwe.  Most of her ministry was at Chidamoyo Hospital, a rural mission hospital in NW Zimbabwe.  A post on the hospital blog on March 14, 2011, noted her passing after a lifetime of serving the Lord in Africa.
                                                         


The Schools

THE FIRST SCHOOL

Formal education in Clark Township began only six years after the first cabins were built in the woods of what is now southern Montgomery County. The first cabin was built in 1825, one half mile east of the cemetery, by a settler named Daniel Clark for whom the township was named. Clark later vacated the cabin in 1829 and in 1831 the first school in Clark Township opened its doors there. There is some question whether Miss Lettie Harrison was the first teacher or whether her brother, Joshua Harrison taught the first class. The author of "The Early History of Ladoga," W.L. Anderson, credits Miss Lettie Harrison with teaching the first class in the summer of '31 with Joshua Harrison beginning in October of '31 and continuing for two more winters. The Ladoga Leader of January 28, 1898, in a history, written to commemorate the opening of the new high school building, recorded Joshua Harrison as being the first teacher in October '31 with his sister taking over the duties in October '32. Whichever is true, Joshua and Lettie Harrison, son and daughter of John Harrison, were closely involved in the teaching of the first school in Clark Township. The school was a subscription school and was, in fact, taught in the very first cabin constructed in Clark Township.

From 1831 to 1854 there were several subscription schools taught in and around the village of Ladoga. Several of these will be mentioned as soon as a general description of the subscription school itself is discussed.

SUBSCRIPTION SCHOOLS

The subscription school, as its name implied, was a school to which the early patrons subscribed. The parents paid a certain fee, usually from 75^C to $1.50 a term, for each student they wished to send. Many times the younger children were sent during the good weather while the older boys worked, and then the older boys went to school during bad weather. The teachers were not well-trained and usually had only a limited education themselves. A person wishing to teach would find a vacant cabin, draw up a subscription paper in which he agreed to teach an orderly school for a certain number of months, usually three, and then begin to visit parents and solicit scholars. The following is a description of the early subscription schools as recorded by W.L. Anderson in the "Early History of Ladoga."

"The earliest school houses had neither stoves nor windows. A big fireplace was in one end of the house where huge logs were burned while openings, covered with greased paper, admitted light. Just below these openings pegs were driven into the wall and extended out some fifteen inches. On these, rough boards were laid for the children to write on while they wrote their exercises in their copy books. The seats were logs halved, flat side up, with holes bored in the underside into which the legs were driven. On these the children sat from three to five hours at a stretch, for they knew nothing about intermission or recess at that time.

"Teachers were severe. Both parent and child thought the "gad" had to be used freely. Sometimes the long rod was brought down upon a number of little backs at a single stroke as they sat in rows. Scholars were severe also and many teachers received rough treatment at the hands of the big boys. They were, at times barred out or whipped out and sometimes "ducked" in the creek until they came to terms with the big boys. Some teachers were compelled to appeal to the law for protection.

"The curriculum of the subscription schools was very basic, with stress being laid on the three R's - Reading, 'Riting and 'Rithmetic, the last only to the "double rule of three." Spelling matches were held on Friday afternoon and occasionally at night and were very well attended. The students usually had no books, but were given wooden paddles with the alphabet either inked on or pasted on. Many schools made the students recite spelling lessons aloud giving rise to the expression 'blab' school.

"As one school would close, another would take its place in a different cabin with a different teacher. In almost yearly succession, subscription schools were taught by William Bruce in 1831 and '32 in a building near Ladoga one mile west of the line on the Big Four railroad; Dr. George Britts in 1833 in a cabin just south of the old mill dam, where Dick Smith's residence stood in 1898; William Noffsinger in 1834 in a cabin on the southwest corner of the plat of east Ladoga above the spring, and also in the Blaylock cabin near Oklahoma; Mark Hardin in 1833-34 taught in a cabin built and vacated by Silas Davidson on the old Robert Miller farm on Haw Creek. Hardin was the first teacher to teach English grammar as a regular subject and he charged extra for it. About the same time Jacob Harshbarger taught on the first farm north of Connettsville. Harshbarger recalled that his first teacher was John Barnett followed by William Noffsinger, Parker Howard, and David Shannon. In 1834 or '35 the first house was built in Clark Township especially for school purposes. It was on Jonathon Shaver's farm and was called Shaver's Schoolhouse. The building had a stove instead of a fireplace, and glass windows instead of oiled papers. The stove was hauled in from Cincinnati. The building was a half mile east of the Clark cabin. George Manners was the first teacher in Shaver's Schoolhouse and was himself one of Joshua and Lettie Harrison's students in the first school. Manners took a special course in English grammar the previous year and qualified himself to teach it to others. Early residents of Ladoga, and especially friends and members of the Methodist Church will remember that the north door of the church had the words "Manners Chapel" engraved over it, possibly in honor of George Manners who was an active and liberal supporter of the Methodist Church.

In 1835 the first school ever taught within the limits of Ladoga opened its doors. It was taught by William Riley Harrison and was located in the Mclntire windmill shop at the southwest corner of the old water mill according to the aforementioned Ladoga Leader of 1898. The author of the Early History of Ladoga called the building, the wheat fan factory. After only three weeks the school was moved to Lucas Baldwin's house, a two-story building on Greenberry Reed's lot at the south end of Washington Street.

In 1836, a log schoolhouse was built in Ladoga on the old Joe Daugherty lot. The log school was located south across Main Street from where Cline Graybill's house is now. This building was used primarily for school purposes, but also served as a meeting place for the three original churches, and many lectures, political meetings and debates were held within its walls. The old log schoolhouse served Ladoga as its only school until 1854. Some of the teachers were David Shannon, Zach Bailey, William Cromer, Sarah Johnson, Tom Harrison, Lou Burroughs, McKay and Gormley, Susan Fuller, Tom Osborn, Charles Ruggs and Sam James. Two interesting incidents are related concerning two of the teachers in the old log school house.

It seems that teachers were always reluctant to give students vacations and when Dave Shannon taught in the old log school house, he was no exception. Thirty-four pupils were in attendance that term, among them were Ben Stover and Jacob M. Harshbarger. At Christmas time the pupils tried the usual method of going to the school house early and locking the door against the teacher. When Mr. Shannon rode up from his home near Parkersburg that morning he realized that it was the 24th of December, and that the boys were in possession of the place, intending to hold it until their request for a holiday was granted. The ' 'big boys" were on the outside of the house. When Shannon saw them, he whirled his horse around and started for home in a hurry. The boys were prepared, however, for a little trick like that. They mounted their horses and took off in wild pursuit. After two and a half mile chase they overtook their fleeing teacher. He surrendered at once and said, "Boys, school is adjourned for one week. Go home and have a good time." It was a holiday they wanted and they got it.

Another incident was related by W.L. Anderson who described himself as an old-time pupil who must have had one of the most unique educational experiences ever in Ladoga history. Anderson said, "In 1852. I began my school career in Ladoga and closed it a quarter century later in 1877. I attended every place where schools were taught in Ladoga during this twenty-five years and perhaps went to school in Ladoga more than any other person. I attended at the old log school house, over Clark and Carroll's harness shop, the old Monon Depot at the free school house once occupied by the Harris brothers, at the Seminary at the Academy, and at the Normal. As far as I know, but one other place in Ladoga was occupied by a school. This was a log building that sat between the old water mill and the slaughter pens.  I saw the ruins about forty-five years ago   (Note: this was written in 1898.)

"How vividly I see the toepath leading first school running from the house where I now live, over-arched by the branches of a mighty forest, hedged in closely by a dense hazel bush.  It struck the 'big road' where the railroad crossed the gravel road just north of town. There was no railroad then.  It ran by Jim Brann's house. (Walter Otterman’s present   home), by Midland water tank, (west of Otterman’s) came out of the woods at Uncle Jim Wilson's (Hughes sisters' present home). The school house stood on the spot now occupied by the old Joe Daugherty house. Across the road was the Baptist Church where the boys played anti-over. On the other side, under the hill, and jutting over the creek was the still house. Near it, but up the hill, was the big spring where stood the bath house where we took shower baths and shivers according to the then new science called hydropathy. West was dense woods.

"Here we had one good teacher named Cromer (William Cromer).  He wore a wig and could scratch his whole head with the movement of one finger.  It scared me.  I feared his head would fall off.  He had a trick all the little children enjoyed.  He would take leaves off the tree and coating them with paint would imprint them upon blank paper in any color desired.  They were very pretty and many a log cabin was decorated with Cromer's pigments."

 Anderson went on to describe how as a student in the old log school he watched out the window at the construction activity surrounding the new seminary. Later the students helped carry the furniture from the old log house to the new school upstairs in the building, occupied then (1898) by Clark and Carroll's harness shop. He later entered the Seminary describing it as "better equipped under Williams (Rev. Gibbon Williams) than any school ever in Ladoga." He also was quite complimentary of the personal concern shown by Williams and his family for the students and for the impact of the religious emphasis upon his life. Anderson left the Seminary in 1858 and attended the Academy from 1858 to 1869. He related that changes in the teaching staff hampered the personal influence that teachers had on students and that he had the feeling of drifting along with the school. This changed with the arrival on the academy scene of M. B. Hopkins who came when the Academy was experiencing financial distress. The Academy flourished for six years under Hopkins, drawing pupils from other states, until it became known as one of the best schools of its kind. Anderson reminisced, "Never before had my progress been so rapid nor my desire for knowledge so strong." He left the Academy in '69 and entered the university only to return to graduate from the Central Indiana Normal School under Harper and Darst in '77. W.L. Anderson concluded his very interesting and informative article in the January 28, 1898, issue of the Ladoga Leader by saying, "Twenty-seven years of my life has been spent in the school-room as pupil or teacher. Memory loves to dwell on these years and the associations formed. My schoolmates are thousands and scattered all over the world. My keenest pleasure is to meet them again as our paths cross in the torturous ways of life and talk over the scenes and joys of our morning." Anderson's school career spanned the years from the subscription schools to the days of the seminaries, academies and finally the free schools. 

SCOTT  TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS 

No history of the schools leading up to the Ladoga Public Schools would be complete without a few words about the early schools in Scott Township. According to H.W. Beckwith's History of Montgomery County, Scott Township began to

be settled around 1820 or '21. The first school house erected in the township was thought to have been built around 1830. John Goodbar is reported to have been the first teacher in that building. However, a Miss Anderson taught in an old settler's vacated cabin before the first building was completed. The settlement was first called Shucktown after its first settler, Jacob Shuck and later Somerset as it was laid out in 1829 by Jacob and Christopher Shuck. Scott Township at that time (1828) comprised all within its present boundaries, as well as all of Clark.

The first school in the southwestern part of the town was taught in a vacated cabin of Robert Harrison by William Bruce in 1829 and 1830. A few years later the citizens built a log cabin school house on what is now the center line of Scott Township, one mile and a quarter east of the center stone. Miss Anderson, who was a noble, conscientious teacher, died while teaching, and it is believed to be about the first death that occurred in that little cluster of early settlers. She was buried near the cabin school house.

     One of the many young scholars whose educational experiences must have had roots in both Scott and Clark townships was Joel Peffley. In A History of the Peffley Families in America, he wrote, "Mother with a fire coal, marking on the hearth, taught me to write, so I could spell before I went to school. About 1837, John and I started to school at Hopewell (in Scott Township) over two miles away. Kelsey was the teacher. Some children had no books, just a board which the teachers made letters on for them. In the summer of 1849,1 taught my first school, three months for thirty-six dollars at the Harrison schoolhouse. Afterwards, I went to school at Ladoga. After I was twenty-one I went to school one term and boarded at Uncle Joe Robinson's. "About 1850 the brick house was built. Jonathon Shaver built it. I taught a school northwest of Ladoga in the summer of 1852 and boarded among the pupils. Jonathon Markey and I made rails for father. I would quit in the middle of the afternoon and go to my writing school which I was teaching at Inlow's schoolhouse at night." Evidently teachers of that day also worked some place else part-time and had a lot of night preparation involved in their profession. Peffley mentioned a couple of specific school houses not heretofore named as the Harrison schoolhouse and Inlow's school house. Nothing further is known about these early institutions."

THE HAW CREEK ACADEMY

In 1838, a remarkable educational venture foreshadowed the academy and seminary movement. This preceded the seminary by some twenty years and, although it was short-lived, it nevertheless, gave a great impetus and laid the groundwork in the thinking of the educationally minded Ladoga community for the Baptist Seminary and the Ladoga Academy. This venture was the Haw Creek Academy. The Haw Creek Church built a log meeting house of hewn poplar logs about 30 x 50 feet in size with a folding partition in the middle. A stationary door was in the middle of the partition, and each division of the middle wall swung upward by means of wooden hinges at the ceiling. The building stood north and south. The south half had a raised floor and a high back door with steps leading down to the ground. The north end had two doors between which was the pulpit. The teachers were James Fanning and his wife Margaret. Fanning himself was a college graduate and his wife was i graduate of a female seminary in Bloomington Mr. Fanning taught the boys and young men in the north half of the building while his wife taught the girls and young ladies in the other room. The great financial crash of 1837-38, the hard times, and the scarcity of money, together with Prof. Fanning'* long illness of fever and ague, caused the closing of the school in June, 1839.

Some of the founders who organized the Haw Creek Academy at their own expense were Gilbert T. Harney, Wm. Rogers, George Stover, and Thompson Ashby. Some of the students were J.F. Harney, later a state senator and judge of the circuit court of Montgomery County. Susan L. Harney, Oliver B., Sallie, and Mary Wilson. D.C. Stover, George, Martha and Betty Ashby. Josephus Rogers, Elizabeth Badger, Wm. Kyle. W.W. and Nancy Daugherty, Mary. John. James and Silas F. Ashby; the children of Eli Harrison. Lewis, Powell, Milton Ashby, Robert Miller. Wm. Hodge, Jesse Grantham and a number from other families were enrolled. William H. Utterback. George Fleece, Sallie Fleece and B.F. Faught also attended.

THE BAPTIST SEMINARY

The subscription schools and the Haw Creek Academy provided a solid basis for the seminary, academy and the eventual free school movement. In 1854 or '55 a new frame school house was built just west of the Christian Church. It was occupied in 1898 by John and James Harris. It was also in 1855 that the Ladoga Baptist Seminary, also called the Ladoga Female Seminary was built. Two buildings were erected. The one was a two story brick which later housed the Normal school. The other building was a two story frame building with a basement which was used as a boarding house for the out-of-town students. It was just south of the brick building and somewhat larger. Alexander Billingsley was the principle promoter, financially and otherwise. The grounds, buildings and necessary apparatus to furnish the seminary cost close to $10,000 of which Billingsley provided $5,000 for its benefit. School began in the fall of 1855.

Rev. Gibbon Williams and family of New York were employed to take charge of the work. Mrs. Williams took charge of the boarding house and Mr. Williams was the general superintendent. Mary Crane taught music and drawing and Mary Ball taught writing. The eldest daughter of the Williams' family, Emily, was the principal; Jennie, the second daughter was an associate teacher; the third daughter, a deaf mute, was deeply loved by all; a son, Daniel, was both teacher and student, as was one niece; the other niece was only a pupil. The first piano made its appearance in the Seminary and was the first seen by most of the pupils. The curriculum of the Seminary was rich and varied, a far cry from the subscription schools. In addition to the basic disciplines, students studied such exotic fields as philosophy, botany, astronomy, music, and art. Amanda Anderson, later to become Mrs. W.B. Gill was the first graduate of the Seminary. The school continued under Williams for four years and succeeded beyond the fondest expectations of all concerned.

THE LADOGA ACADEMY

In   1856,   after   the   Seminary   had   been operating successfully for a year, the leaders of the Christian Church became impressed with the idea that a school should be built to educate only the boys just as the Seminary was educating the girls, although there were some boys in the Seminary. Plans were made to construct such a school to be called the Ladoga Academy. Five acres of ground was purchased near the center of town and stock was sold to finance the school. The building was erected on the ground where the gymnasium now stands at a cost of some $6,000. The first stockholders were some of Ladoga's most illustrious citizens. Among them were: D.C. Stover, O.B. Wilson, J.F. Harney, M.H. Barnes, T.W. Webster, H.N. Wilson, C.H.R. Anderson, Dr. Larabee,   D.D.   Nicholson,   O.K.   Fuller,   A.B. Anderson, James Knox, J.W. Harshbarger, John Fleece and Zach Mahorney. In 1858, the Academy doors were opened. Richard M. Johnson was the principal. Trouble arose at the very beginning of the Academy and a venture that should have strengthened the educational structure of the Ladoga community, weakened it. It had been agreed that the girls would be sent to the Seminary and the boys to the Academy. However, by a vote of the Baptist Association held at Lafayette, it was decided to support Franklin College and money was raised to pay the expenses of Thomas Wood, of Ladoga, at Franklin. At that time Wood was the only member of the Baptist Church attending the Academy. When he left abruptly, a meeting was called to decide whether or not girls should be admitted to the Academy. By a vote of 114-20, it was decided to admit girls. This vote signaled the ultimate death of the Seminary.   Boys had been admitted to the Seminary from the beginning, although no effort was made to secure this patronage. When the controversy occurred, five girls were immediately enrolled in the Academy. Those offended by this action withdrew their boys from the Academy and organized a male school in the Baptist Church. Afterwards a house was fitted for that purpose and Jennie Williams was the teacher. The school, however, lasted for only a short time.

Both schools continued to operate, but were in desperate financial straits. In 1859 Rev. Williams resigned in disgust, while R.M. Johnson left the Academy after threatening a law suit for his salary, which was paid rather than expose the naked condition of the Academy to its enemies. Prof. Bailey, assisted by his wife, her sister Clara Perkins, Clara Smith, and the Dyer sisters took charge of the Seminary for the next four years. At the same time the Academy was running an unsatisfactory course under Young, Campbell and Goodwin who successively had the helm in their hands.

For the first eight years, the teachers of the Seminary were eastern people who were much better qualified to teach than those employed by the Academy; there was also a larger faculty and much more apparatus. It appeared to be a first class institution which cannot be said of the Academy. For the next seven years under Hill and Smith, and Vaughter and DeBolt, the Seminary struggled for life while dying a lingering death. At the beginning of this period, the death of the Academy seemed apparent. It was involved in a debt of $3,500 and was ordered sold to cancel the debt. At this time Milton Hopkins appeared on the scene and agreed to assume the debt on condition that the property was to be his as soon as he should cancel the debt. His proposition was accepted, and for six years, he conducted a school that was as successful as any school Ladoga had ever had. H.W. Beckwith in his History of Montgomery County described education in Ladoga during that time in this way, "Church privileges and school facilities were early provided by the founders of the town, more successfully than usual, because of the morality and intelligence of the people. The leading religious denomination is the Christian Church, following which come the Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics and New School Baptists. All of these have commodious church buildings and regular services."

"For a long time a classical and scientific school was conducted by the late Hon. Milton B. Hopkins, ex-superintendent of public instruction for the state. Mr. Hopkins was equally distinguished as an educator and as a controversial leader in Christian Church. He surrounded himself with an able corps of assistants, and received the warmest support of the entire community. The school became one of note, and drew pupils from other parts of the state. At the same time, Prof. Vawter was at the head of a similar institution, carried on under the auspices of the New School Baptist Church. The latter was likewise largely attended by pupils from nearly every section of the state. It occupied two commodious buildings situated in a beautiful grove west of town. The influence of these schools upon the people of Ladoga and Clark Township was elevating and refining. At this day no community of similar size in the state possesses a higher standard of intelligence and culture."

The Academy lingered a year after the resignation of Hopkins with Aaron H. Morris as principal and then closed its doors in 1871. Mollie Harney delivered the valedictory address and Lida Stover read the last paper, "A Chronicle"; it was reprinted in the January 28,1898, issue of the Ladoga Leader in its entirity

One feature of the Academy work deserves a brief word. In the beginning, a room was set aside for literary work. Two societies were organized the Adelphian for the boys and the Floridian for the girls. Debates, orations, essays, poems, criticisms, etc., were the exercises engaged in. At the end of each year, these societies gave exhibitions which became one of the prominent features of the life of Ladoga. For twelve years, lawyers, preachers, and women of literary taste were developed. Ladoga reaped the fruits of that noble work for many years. The literary society program continued under different names when the free schools began.

The Ladoga Academy. (Only picture I have ever seen)

The Normal School 

The Central Indiana Normal School was the last golden link that joined the rich early heritage of education in Ladoga to the system that has recently been united with other townships and corporations to form an area school such as Southmont Junior-Senior High School instead of local township schools. The normal schools were specifically for the training of teachers and usually repeated the cycle of instruction every year. The Ladoga Normal was chartered in 1876 and continued until 1891. The seminary had just closed for lack of patronage in 1876, when Warren Darst and W.F. Harper of the Lebanon, Ohio. Normal School came to Ladoga looking for a location to start a normal school. Ladoga had always been an educationally minded community as the reader can judge from the history thus far and, therefore, quickly embraced the opportun­ity to secure such a school. A contract was made with Darst and Harper to begin and operate a normal school for five years and the old Seminary buildings were provided without charge. The trustees of the new school were J.D. Brown, Josiah Daugherty, A.M. Scott, C.H.R. Anderson, J.W. Ford, S.F. Ashby, S.F. Kyle, J.F. Harney, J.M. Harshbarger, Marion Rhoads, Stephen Donaldson, and James L. Wilson. Darst and Harper secured a faculty of three, J.H. Woodruff, Miss Dora Lieuellen, and Miss Kate A. Huron. The doors were opened on September 5, 1876, with an enrollment of forty-eight students. Before the year was over, four hundred students were in attendance.

At the close of the first year, Prof. Darst became dissatisfied and left Prof. Harper in charge. Harper demanded a new school building and when the school trustees refused, committed the dastardly act of loading up two of the three faculty members and over 300 students and moving them to Danville, Indiana where they continued their classes. One teacher and 103 students remained in Ladoga. The author's first memory of the Ladoga Normal centers around the story of the clandestine, night-time hijacking of the college by the citizens of Davnille. The students that remained in Ladoga and the citizens of Ladoga were, however, determined to rebuild the thriving school. After Harper left, the outraged citizens brought Prof. Darst back and raised enough money to build a two-story brick building which still stands as the last remaining symbol of the Central Indiana Normal College in Ladoga. The building was later used as a part of Ladoga High School, a National Guard Armory, by the Ladoga Canning Company and as the American Legion Home. The Normal school recovered from the tragic blow and on September 3, 1878, opened with new accommodations. Warran Darst and J.C. Murray were co-principals and the motto was "Increase Facilities! Reduce Expenses! " At the close of the third year, J.V. Combs became principal. This year was probably the greatest year the Normal had ever had. Coombs employed one of the strongest faculties ever and more than 1200 students attended school. The school continued to prosper even though the administration changed frequently, until in 1886 it suffered the final crushing blow. A.F. Knotts, may his name live in infamy, became principal at that time and had secured a good faculty and had collected tuition from a large student body. Knotts had also borrowed money from the Ladoga businessmen in excess of his ability to pay. The day before the spring term opened, Knotts disappeared with all the money and was never heard from again. A hasty conference was held by the faculty to decide what to do. A suggestion was made to declare the term closed, collect tuition for another term and begin again. This suggestion was turned down. Another suggestion was made that the faculty teach for that term without pay. To their everlasting credit and honor, four educators taught without pay for that term to keep the school alive and train the prospective teachers who were enrolled. What an impression that must have made on those students who would soon be teachers themselves. The four teachers who taught without pay were C.C. Crumpacker, John R. Starr, D.O. Smith and A. J. Hall. With such love for and dedication to teaching it is no wonder that the reputation of the Ladoga Normal School was so good and that years later, even after the Normal had ceased to exist, the name was held in respect and reverence.

C.C. Crumpacker and A.J. Hall remained with the school as principals and put the school on a firm footing for a while. They employed two able teachers in Mrs. E.G. Wilson and J.F. Warfel who taught in the public school in the morning and the Normal school in the evening. In 1888, Mr. Crumpacker and Mr. Hall resigned and Mrs., Emma Garrett Wilson became the school's last principal. Mr. Warfel and A.J. Hall assisted Mrs. Wilson who continued until July, 1891, when the school ceased to exist for lack of funds.

In many ways, the Ladoga Normal was years ahead of its time. The following characteristics are some examples of its innovative structure: It had a very complete library which was used extensively by its students; the cost was quite low, maybe too low; tuition was only $30.00 for five terms and housing could be secured for as little as $3.00 per week, which included everything; the school admitted men and women both on an equal basis; the teacher had a class roll, but did not take attendance; the students were graded on a pass or fail basis, but very few failed. Students enrolled, attended classes and were successful because they were highly motivated and got their money's worth; the teachers made allowances for individual differences and weaknesses; class recitations were 53 minutes long and met five days a week. Labs were two hours long.

At one time the influence and respectability of the Ladoga Normal was so great that 82% of the public school teachers in Montgomery County had attended the Central Indiana Normal School at Ladoga. The school was doing such a good job that the county superintendent of schools, John G. Overton, in March of 1886 sent the following statement to all the teachers in the county. "We insist that all persons who expect to teach in the public schools of this county next year attend the Ladoga Normal the spring and summer terms. With all its advantages and facilities in the way of libraries, etc., together with the SPECIAL work laid out for teachers, we think it a most excellent school. Some teachers make the following excuse, that they want the spring and summer months for recreation. In reply to such, we can but say, that if their health is too delicate for them to devote a part of their vacation to self-culture and higher literary attainments, they had better quit the profession and make room for those who are ready and willing to keep abreast of the times."

Such was the reputation of the "Old Normal" The old brick building is all that remains of a tangible nature and it is deteriorating rapidly. However, it's influence has lasted and will last for many years to come.

Cub scouts met at the Old Normal in the late 40's.  Names furnished on request.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

There was no public money of any consequence in the schools until a school fund was established in the 1840's. The excellent work being done by the Seminary, Academy and Normal school slowed the movement toward free public schools. The first school building in Ladoga built from the proceeds of the common school fund, was the frame building which the Harris brothers later used as a residence in 1898. It stood about where the home of M.C. Summers stood at the turn of the century. This house continued to be used for school purposes until the Academy ceased to exist in 1871. It was located where the Charles Warner residence is now, just north of the gymnasium. Then as more room was needed for the increased school population, the Academy was bought by the town, and was the public school building until January 3, 1898, when it was abandoned for the new building. In the latter part of the 1840's or early 1850's the first school board consisting of J.F. Harney, J.H. Oliver, John Barnett, John W. Masterson and D.D. Nicholson, laid the township off into nine districts for school purposes. They authorized the construction of six or seven new frame houses and continued to allow the use of two or three log houses. The frame and log houses were replaced by brick buildings in some places and several of these buildings are still standing. They served the school system very well.

As mentioned before, the old Academy building served as the public school building in Ladoga from 1871 until 1897. It was situated on the public school grounds where the gymnasium now stands. The building was a brick structure of six rooms, but when opened for a school, only four rooms were used.

In 1882, the first graduation exercise of the public school was held under township supervision. The first graduates were Edgar Ashby, George E. Brewer, William Rapp and Urban Stover. Logan Ronk also graduated from the township school at the same time. These schools, however, were continuing schools rather than commissioned high schools.

In 1883, a public high school was discussed but it was 1887 before a course of study could be arranged. This came about as the board employed Prof. J.F. Warfel in the public school in 1885. Prof. Warfel had been teaching,in the Normal school. He was given the job and taught for two years in the grades. In 1887, he received a life license for teaching and was advanced to the principalship of the Ladoga schools with the understanding that he

Maple Grove

would make a gradual introduction of high school work. One year of high school work was introduced in 1887 and the second year began in 1888. Mr. Warfel had an office at the Normal where he carried on both projects and taught high school classes at the Normal. According to an excellent history of education in Ladoga written by Mrs. Pauline Randel Walters, "In 1889, George E. Brewer (one of the first graduates) was named principal and Mr. Warfel was named superintendent, a newly created position. At this time the school term was advanced to seven months instead of six and a half. This continued for two years. In 1891, Mr. Brewer had the high school classes at the Normal and the third year of high school was introduced. At that time, Mrs. Emma Garrett Wilson, a graduate of the National Normal School in Lebanon, Ohio, and a teacher at the Ladoga Normal for several years and later principal at the Normal accepted the pincipalship of the Ladoga Schools. This was in 1896. In 1891, the school term had been extended to eight months and the superintendent had been instructed to strengthen the high school course, lengthen it to four years and apply for a state commission as soon as required standards were met. In 1897, when the new building was being erected, the first year class of the high school was in charge of S.S. Phelps, while Mrs. Wilson had the other three classes at the Normal."

Ladoga High School received its commission in February, "1898, and graduated its first class under commission in May, 1898. There were still many township schools scattered over the township and a 1913 History of Montgomery County indicated that in 1893 or '94, Clark Township had six brick school houses and ten frame buildings. Some of those one-room schools and their locations are listed for the benefit of those readers who had the privilege of attending the unforgettable "one-room school house." Sugar Grove School was south of the Walterhouse farm one half mile on the east side of the road. Maple Grove School was a quarter mile north of Sam Mahorney's house. Fountain School was at the junction of state road 234 and the New Ross road. Ford School was on the Haw Creek road, a quarter mile east of Aliff's. Valley School was northeast of Ladoga just across the dry bridge on the Lee Brookshire farm. Byrd School was west on the Haw Creek road about two miles. Myers School was also north of town about a quarter mile north of Lewis Goshorn's house. Lewis now has the building and uses it for storage. Center School was in Scott Township, about four miles west of Ladoga and a half mile south at the double curve. White School was four miles west and a mile and a half north just before Jack Hester's farm. Fairview School was a mile west of White School on state road 43, one mile south of the New Market road. Harshbarger School was about four miles south of the rest park on Franklin Millers's farm. Stoner School was on Paul Stoner's farm just west of his big brick house. There were also schools named Inlow, Harrison and Hicks in Clark Township and Eden, Hopewell and Parkersburg in Scott Township. By 1926, according to Mrs. Walters' history, only Ford School was still in use.

From 1898 to 1903, the freshman class recited at the new building and the other three high school classes met at the old Normal. Because of improper heating and venilation at the Normal, all classes were given rooms in the new building in 1903. The high school continued to be organized in that fashion until 1907 when all the classes had to be moved back to the old Normal because of overcrowding in the new building. From 1907 until the new high school building was completed in 1918, the high school classes met at the Normal and the first eight grades met in the 1898 structure.

Yearbooks or annuals began to make their appearance in 1906 and were published on a rather irregular basis from that time until the late 40's when they began to be published every year. The first book was called simply The Senior. The second book, published in 1908 was called The Oracle. In 1911, 1915, 1916 and 1918, the school yearbook was called the Ecclesia. In 1936 and 1937 it was called The Drift. These books furnish us with most of the pictures and information about the early schools and scholars. Several editors attempted to bring the history of education up to date with each succeeding publication. 

The Ecclesia of 1918 listed the principals which served from the very first, beginning with J.F. Warfel in 1887 who really organized and developed the program of Ladoga High School by adding more to the curriculum in each succeeding year until a four year program was complete. Prof. Warfel observed that the high school program ended up to be about like the scientific curriculum which was taught in the latter years of the Normal. Principals who followed Warfel were: George Brewer 1889-1896, Mrs. Emma Garrett Wilson 1896-1907, Miss Opal Havens 1907-1909, W.E. Wellman 1909, W.E. Smythe 1910, David L. Stoner 1911. From 1911 to his death in 1915, David Stoner was the superintendent and had assistant principals at the high school. These were: Miss Emma Hall 1910, Miss Maude Watkins 1911, George Blanchefield 1912, Miss Eda Irwin 1913-1914 and Cecil W. Weathers 1914-1916. E.N. Stoner was principal in 1916-1917 and Benjamin Powers was principal for two months in 1917, resigning because of poor health. Paul Jackson finished out his term in 1917-1918. The early superintendents and their terms were: J.F. Warfel 1889-1909, R.D. Squires 1909-1910, W.E. Smythe 1910-1911, David Stoner 1911-1915, Lawrence Guess 1915-1917, E.N. Stoner 1917-1921. 

From 1917 until its close in 1971, Ladoga High School provided quality education and modern facilities resulting in a very stable situation. In 1917, construction was completed on a new high school building with a gymnasium in the basement. Mark Shackelford was the trustee when the new building was constructed. It was a two story building with a basement. There was a large auditorium with a stage on the second floor. The gymnasium and shop were in the basement. There were also six class rooms, an assembly, a dining room, kitchen and home economics department. The new building was connected to the grade school by a tunnel. The principals who served in the 1917 building were: Norris Stoner, John Hogg, George Jackson, E.M. Servies, Harmon Rogers, Chayce Cox, C.B. Salsbury, Lois Otterman, Olin Swinney, and Charles Priebe.

In the late thirties, plans were made for a separate gymnasium. It was completed in 1940. Norman Himes was trustee and George Frantz, Carl Otterman, and Warner Kessler were members of the advisory board. The new gym also housed the shop and mechanical drawing departments. A few years after the new gym was built, the old gym was partitioned off into a band room, a class room and a science lab on the south side and a lunch room on the north side. The gym was connected to the high school building by an angled corridor. Additional construction was completed in 1965 as the shop classes built a shop storage building and work area. In the late sixties enrollment had increased until portable classrooms had to be purchased in 1966, 1968 and 1970.

The state legislature was pushing hard for consolidation of small schools in the 1960's and all ninety counties had to vote on the question. Montgomery County patrons voted four times before getting an affirmative vote for consolidation. In May, 1962, a two unit consolidation was defeated 5,515 to 2,661. In November, 1962, voters rejected a single unit system 4,793 to 3,030. In May, 1964, they defeated a three unit system with Crawfordsville taking in more of the surrounding Union Township. Finally, in November, 1965, voter apathy took over and a three unit system was voted for 691 to 679. The county was divided into three school districts; Crawfordsville Community School Corporation, North Montgomery School Corporation which took in Waynetown, Coal Creek Central, Linden, and Darlington and Southmont School Corporation which included New Ross, New Market, Waveland, Alamo, and dear, old Ladoga High School. The townships included in Southmont were Clark, Scott, Brown and a part of Union.

The illustrious history of education in Ladoga as far as a high school was concerned ended in 1971. Only an elementary school remains as a proud remnant of the educational system which began in 1831 in Dan Clark's cabin, a half mile east of the cemetery and continued on a regular basis for 140 years. During those years eager young scholars and reluctant ones, too, absorbed varying amounts of basic education in one room log cabins with no windows such as the subscription schools, Shaver's Schoolhouse, a marvelous brick building with a real stove and real glass windows, the Haw Creek Academy, the log school house in Ladoga, the Baptist Seminary, the Ladoga Academy, the Central Indiana Normal School and finally the public schools. The public schools were housed variously in the old Academy building, in the old Normal building, in beautiful new buildings built in 1898, 1917, and 1940 and even in portable classrooms in the late 1960's. From 1882 to 1971, 1,597 students graduated from Ladoga High School. The smallest classes were in 1897 when there were no graduates and 1889 when Harry Bell was the only graduate. The largest classes were in 1966 when there were 36 graduates and 1970 when there were 35.

In the fall of 1971, Southmont Junior-Senior High School opened its doors complete with a gymnasium with an indoor track and swimming pool, a solarium, plush carpeting, fifty-five teachers, a superintendent, principal, and assistant principal. There were 1019 students in

grades seven through twelve when school started in the fall of 1971. Some were eager and ambitious while some were no doubt reluctant in their quest for knowledge. All had the advantage of the most modern and convenient facility that money could buy. At the end of the year, 140 seniors graduated and Ladoga High School was only a fond and pleasant memory in the minds and hearts of those who spent their formative years under the banner of green and gold cheering for the only school in the state with the nickname, "CANNERS."