Corydon

Description:	Corydon’s public schools began with the establishment of the Corydon Seminary in 1827. The school was held in what originally was the State Treasury building on the northwest corner of Walnut and Mulberry Streets. By 1845 the school had outgrown this building, and the trustees purchased the Lutheran Church property across the street on the northeast corner of Walnut and Mulberry, and remodeled the church as a school. This building burned during the Civil War era, and a new two-story, frame building was later constructed on the site. Joseph P. Funk took charge of the Corydon school in the late 1870s, and under his direction a graded system was established and a high school was organized. Initially known as Corydon Normal, the secondary school became called Corydon High School. Both grade and high schools were conducted in the two-story frame building at Walnut and Mulberry. Corydon High School held its first commencement in 1879 with eight graduates. Initially, commencement exercises took place at a local church as the school did not have a hall large enough to accommodate such an event. This changed, however, in 1886 when a large addition was constructed on the north side of the building with an assembly hall on the first floor and classrooms above it on the second story. Construction took place in the spring, and the last few months of school that year were held at the fairgrounds. Corydon’s high school program continued to expand, and in 1895 it extended from three to four years. In 1902, Corydon High School became the first high school in Harrison County to be accredited by the state. The popular development of normal, or teacher preparatory, schools during the late nineteenth century gave rise to the establishment of Ohio Valley Normal College in Corydon in 1896. This institution erected a large two-story brick building on the eastern edge of town between Chestnut and Walnut Streets. It held its first commencement in August 1898 with twelve graduates. The college experienced success for a few years and trained many students who went on to teach in Harrison County schools. By 1908, however, the college was no longer in operation. In the spring of 1908, the Corydon School Board purchased the college building and grounds for $1.00 and assumed the debt on the property. The large brick building then served as the Corydon High School for the next twenty years. Meanwhile, the two-story, frame building on the northeast corner of Walnut and Mulberry Streets continued to serve as the Corydon Grade School. This building underwent various alterations over the years as the student body continued to grow, and in 1913 the town approved the construction of a new grade school building to be erected just north of the old one at the southeast corner of High and Mulberry Streets. Work on the school building began in June 1914 and was completed by the end of the year. School began in the new two-story brick building in January 1915. The following March, the old frame building was sold, and soon after, torn down. Education for African American children in Corydon initially began in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, which purchased a lot on Poplar Street in 1851 to erect a building to be used as a church and a school. In 1878, the Corydon AME Church purchased property in the northeastern part of town and constructed a church and a parsonage. The parsonage was used as a school until 1891, when a separate school building was built nearby on Summit Street. Originally known as the Corydon Colored School, this one-story, frame building served as both grade and high school for Corydon’s African American students. The high school held its first commencement in May 1897 with four graduates. The high school was discontinued in 1925 due to a low number of students. The grade school for African American children continued until 1950, after which all students were integrated into the Corydon schools. The school corporation continued to use the small schoolhouse as annex classroom space for a number of years before selling the property in the late 1980s. The school building was restored as a historic site and renamed the Leora Brown School in honor of its beloved longtime teacher. The building is the oldest standing African American schoolhouse in Indiana.Schools in Corydon continued to develop throughout the early twentieth century as the town’s population increased. In 1928 a new high school building was completed on Chestnut Street. This two-story brick building served as the Corydon High School until 1954, when a new facility was built south of town. The brick building on Chestnut Street then became the Corydon Junior High School. Corydon Grade School continued to operate in the brick building at High and Mulberry Streets until the mid-1960s, when a new elementary school was also built south of town. This building, with various additions and alterations, continues as the current Corydon Elementary School. The current Corydon Junior-Senior High School complex was constructed in 1986, and the 1954 building (with additions and alterations) serves as the Corydon Intermediate School, which serves grades four through six.
Origin:	1876-1956
Source:	http://cdm17251.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p17251coll5/id/294
Collection:	Harrison County Schools
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/
Copyright:	This image may be printed or downloaded by individuals, schools or libraries for study, research or classroom teaching without permission. For other uses contact: genealogy@hcpl.lib.in.us
Geography:	Corydon, Indiana
Subjects:	Schools Students Graduation Ceremonies Alumni & alumnae Teachers

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