26 Apr Broadway School
Little is known or written about a school that once set south of the Wabash Railroad on the east side of Broadway between Kocher Street and State Street. That is, except, for the many poems, music and published works, left to my mother by the teacher, Joseph A. Wall.
The only pictures of the school, of which I am aware, are those taken by my mother’s family who lived in the two story house just south of the school (near Pulley/Kellam). The house still stands today. The school is visible in the background, looking north.
The school, with grades one through eight, was a brick structure with as many as 50 students and one teacher, and continued in use until near 1930. The one room building with its centrally located wood burner provided more than enough heat for those nearby but offered little comfort for the pupils at the outer edges of the building.
The last years of the one room school was fast coming to a close as more modern schools with more modern heating systems were under construction in the 1920s
It was affectionately referred to as “Broadway On The Hill” in the writings by Mr. Wall and the people of the area were referred to as” Lime Kiln People”. Mr. Wall left over 150 poems, published works, and music with lyrics as well as pictures of the students in front of the school. Over his 52 year teaching career Mr. Wall taught 3,586 pupils in seven different school Districts. His life ended tragically in 1938 when he was struck and killed by a car at the intersection of U.S. 224 and Simpson Road.
Many offspring of the students who attended Broadway School still reside in the Huntington area as well as descendents of Mr. Wall.
A slight bit of additional information about the school and about Mr. Wall is available in the Indiana Room at the Huntington Library.
Submitted by: Lowell Richardson