Schoolhouse
Construction on the Pioneer Village Schoolhouse began in 2007 and was completed in 2014. The Educational Heritage Association, an organization created in 2002 to collect and preserve school memorabilia from the past and present of Vigo County Schools, sponsored the building of this cabin with a grant from the Wabash Valley Community Foundation in 2005 and various fundraisers (money was raised to buy the materials necessary to construct a log schoolhouse in Fowler Park).
Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent, Keith Ruble, agreed to build the log schoolhouse, free of charge in his spare time. Unfortunately, Mr. Ruble’s spare time was very limited and it took seven years to complete the building. It was finally finished in 2014, with the help of several other park employees and some inmates from the Federal Prison. The one-room schoolhouse measures 22 feet by 18 feet with a front porch and a fireplace to supply heat in colder months.
The benches were built by the Federal Prison inmates in their woodshop, copying Mr. Rubles’ model bench. Small individual slate boards were constructed by Guarantee Roofing, and South Vigo High School woodshop students encased the slates in wooden frames. The roof is made of cedar shingles, which swell up when wet to keep out the rain. The schoolhouse was officially dedicated in October 2015 during the annual Pioneer Days. The schoolhouse continues to be sponsored by the EHA of Vigo County for all Pioneer Village events including Pioneer Days, Mini Pioneer Days, Christmas Walk, Pancake Breakfast, and Summer in the Village.
