Schoolhouse project

Though it hasn’t been used for its original purpose in more than seven decades, the former schoolhouse remains the hub of Salamonia.

Town council meetings are held there.

It has hosted community gatherings such as Thanksgiving dinners.

It is available for rent for wedding receptions, graduation parties and other events.

“It’s used for everything, from births to funerals,” said Salamonia clerk-treasurer Connie Southworth.

At more than a century old, though, it needed some help.

Thanks to a variety of funding sources, the town of 148 residents in southeast Jay County completed projects this year to help keep Salamonia Schoolhouse Community Center stable and accessible into the future.

“This is the only thing we have in Salamonia to remember it by,” said Don Shauver, a long time town board member. “It’s of historical value to everybody that knows about it.”

The schoolhouse, built in 1911 adjacent to its predecessor that was constructed in 1887, had some clear maintenance needs.

It was in need of a new Americans with Disabilities Act accessible ramp. The one that was installed when the town added on to the building with ADA accessible restrooms in 2006 had been problematic for years. Running parallel to the south side of the building and then making a 90-degree turn to the south, it was difficult to maneuver and not quite as wide as it needed to be.

The interior walls of the building were also bubbling because of water leaking through the brick.

The town was able to address those two issues this year.

A new ramp that angles from the east side of the restrooms to the walkway leading to the main entrance — it has no turns — is in place. It was funded in large part by funding from the first round of the state’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI). (Currently, proposals for READI 2.0 are in the planning stages.)

The East Central Region — Jay, Randolph, Blackford, Grant, Henry, Wayne, Delaware and Fayette — received $15 million that went to 19 projects. The Salamonia Schoolhouse Community Center got $9,000 for the ramp, with the remaining cost covered by money passed on to the town from economic development payments for wind farm projects.

“This grant has felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Shauver. “We wouldn’t have been able to make these repairs without it.”

“READI investments have been instrumental to fill gaps for projects that have a profound impact on communities throughout the East Central region,” said Trevor Friedeberg, president and CEO of the East Central Indiana Regional Partnership in a press release. “The Salamonia Schoolhouse READI project is a shining example of how communities of all sizes have been able to realize the positive impact of the program. We are very proud of this project and the work being done by the residents of Salamonia to lift up their community.”

Salamonia addressed the water issue with some tuck-pointing work paid for with federal coronavirus relief funds through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Shauver speaks proudly about the history of the schoolhouse, which served first through eighth grade students from 1911 through 1950. He shares stories about how the students would wash up for lunch — there was no indoor plumbing — and play tetherball during recess. (The original pole is still in place.)

After it was closed as a school, for a time the building was used as storage for the town’s firetruck. Now restored as a community center, it can hold up to about 75 and is rented out almost every week.

Future improvement plans call for fixing the plaster inside where damage is visible from moisture leaking in and refurbishing the windows, which are original to the building. It’s all part of the mission to preserve this history of the town.

“I think it’s our responsibility to preserve it and carry it on to the next generation,” said Southworth, thanking all those who helped make the most recent renovations possible. “I would hate to imagine not having at least this central meeting place in this town. We would have nothing.

“I think the building itself is very important to the Town of Salamonia.”