ADAMS TOWNSHIP — In 1823, Abraham Adams was the first pioneer to settle Adams Township. This was around the time Madison County was formed.

He built a small cabin of round logs just south of and overlooking Ovid.

In 1824, Adams and another pioneer settler known as Manly began building a schoolhouse. The low strong walls were round logs and clay. On wooden hinges hung a slab door, underfoot was pumcheon floor, with the clapboard roof serving as the ceiling.

Oiled paper stretched over openings in two opposite walls, letting in yellow light. A fireplace furnished warmth. Long wooden boards mounted on wooden posts served as both seats and desks. The teacher’s desk was a wooden block. A long wide board painted black was attached to the wall for the students to learn sums.

By 1826, there were five families in the settlement. Between 1827 and 1829, eight more families had arrived and settled further east, creating a need for the second schoolhouse. This school named The Sargent was built ¾-mile north of Markleville. The logs were hewn, and the door, floor and ceiling were made of boards brought from the mill located in Ovid.

Primitive studies

By 1831, eight more families arrived and settled along the trail running from Ovid to Markleville. The third schoolhouse was built two miles south of the Ovid mill and was named The Sullivan Surbin.

As more came to the area there was need for the Lick, as it was named, built in 1832. The fifth schoolhouse was built in the northeast part of the township in 1834. In 10 years, five schoolhouses were built by the settlers. All construction and material were donated by those the schools served.

Schools were in session two to three months each winter. Teachers were employed by the settlers and paid around 40 cents a day and given room and board with the families.

At that time no course of study had been declared. Teachers were expected to instruct in reading, writing, spelling, and arithmetic, but rarely in geography or grammar and never in history.

All instruction was primitive. Reading was conducted while standing along the wall and repeating the words of the text. The writing class stood at a shelf and copied with a quill. Arithmetic involved memorizing tables and solving problems by the rule.

In 1854, the township, in accordance with the act of the General Assembly of 1851, was organized into 10 school districts. A board of trustees composed of William Sloan, Jacob Fisher and William Gilmore was elected and the schools were made part of the public or free system of the state. The five old log houses were torn down and 10 frame schools were built. They were all built by the same contractor for an average cost of $300 each.

The new schoolhouses were much improved, painted, plastered, heated by gas stoves and with glass windows. They were furnished with wall maps, wooden benches and desks. The studies now included reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, geography and grammar. Teachers were paid from public funds and hired by the board of trustees.

Jonathan Rogers, a Quaker from the Pendleton settlement, made frequent visits and introduced the singing method of teaching geography. His teaching, it was said, brought great joy and learning.

Called to school by a bell