A History of Black Education in Gibson County It is very difficult to find a real beginning for Black education in Gibson County, but I should like to start with the provision of the Constitution of 1816, when Indiana became a state, it was stated that Negroes were not to be permitted to attend any school. Under the provisions of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, every 16th section of every township would be granted to the people for the use of the schools of that township. “ Some Negroes and their friends petitioned the legislature to set aside a fair share of the school revenue for the education of their children. The state refused and even passed a law in 1837 that excluded Negro children from school. Again the legality of the law was challenged and an appeal was made to the State Supreme Court. The Court handed down a decision upholding the law and it was interpreted to mean that schools were for white children only.”(John W. Lyda, The Negro in the History of Indiana pp .41 & 43.) To get schools for Negro children was a fight that lasted for 53 years—from 1816 to 1869. During this period Negroes were regarded as a race apart—one that was weak economically. Their opportunities for progress were very limited and socially they were a people apart. However most Negro parents wanted more for their children than they had. The U.S. Census of 1820 listed 30 Negroes living in Gibson County and the Census of 1850 showed 2,150 living there, but they were not citizens—they were still classified as slaves. There were 3 areas of black population. Lyles and its surrounding suburbs, Patoka Township, White River Township & Montgomery Township The first schools were started about 1865 and were known as subscription schools. The teacher was paid through monthly subscriptions from the patrons. The fee was $1.00 or $1.50 per month per pupil. The first school was at the Switch Settlement (Lyles). Class was taught in the log building used by the Hardshell Baptist Church as a place of worship. The teacher was Mr. R.A. Halleck, a white man. Over in the Roundtree suburb (Black Bridge area) or the White River Township the first school was in the residence of Mr. Bill Newton and his wife was the teacher. The first school of the Sand Hill Settlement was in the log building used by the A.M.E. Church as a place of worship and it was located on the site where the late Marvin Hardiman and wife Sylvia Hardiman now reside on the north side of Highway 64 West. Negro children were first admitted to the public schools in 1869. The Civil War had come and gone and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution had been enacted. The law that provided for the admission of Negro children to the public schools provided for separate or segregated facilities. It permitted school corporations, if they chose, to provide schools to which all pupils, regardless of race might be admitted, or for separate schools in districts where there were enough Negro children for a school. If there were not enough children, they might attend a white school. After the law of 1869 was passed, the subscription schools were replaced by Township Schools but they retained their same names. The Switch School was replaced by a 3 room school across the road from Wayman Chapel A.M. E. Church. Then in 1922 Lyles Consolidated School was built while Mr. W.A. Dill was Trustee of the Patoka Township. The white children were enrolled in Baldwin Heights School and Lyles Consolidated School became an all black school. It continued in operation until 1958 when a dwindling enrollment caused it to be integrated into Baldwin Heights in Princeton, Indiana. |
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History
The legacy of Lyles Station, a small community located 4.5 miles west of Princeton, Indiana, began in the early 1840’s as a settlement of freed slaves, Rivers. One of these early settlers, Joshua Lyles, donated 6 acres of ground to the Old Airline Railroad to establish a rail station. In 1886, the settlement was officially named Lyles Station in honor of Joshua Lyles and his contribution. The town flourished during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, developing into a self-sustaining community of approximately 800 residents. At its peak (1880-1913), Lyles Station consisted of fifty-five homes, a post office, a railroad station, an elementary school, two churches, two general stores, and a lumber mill. However, the 1913 flood of the Patoka and Wabash Rivers left much of the area under water, marking the start of the settlement’s decline. Today, only a few homes remain in the community of Lyles Station but nearly half of the residents are descendants of the original black settlers. Along with the scattered houses, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a grain elevator, and the schoolhouse are all that stand as a physical reminder of the once- thriving settlement of Lyles Station, Indiana. However, the spirit of freedom and perseverance which made the town prosper is still very much alive in the hearts and minds of those individuals who have worked to restore the Lyles Consolidated School building. Ground breaking on the renovation project was held in June of 2002 and in May of 2003, the dreams of preserving the Lyles Station legacy were realized with the opening of the restored Lyles Consolidated School. |
| Bottom Land. Flood of 1913 W.H. Roundtree |
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