The New Carlisle Historical Society is planning to offer tours of the old Madison Street School in June.

In preparation for the big day, we went with New Carlisle Mayor Mike Lowrey, New Carlisle Fire Chief Steve Trusty and New Carlisle Historical Society President David McWhorter as they toured the building to see what areas should be on the tour.

Trusty is very familiar with the building, since the Fire Department often has training exercises in the old school. “In the summer, we’re in here about every Saturday.”

He was explaining the former use of many of the rooms, and offering advice about which rooms should be off limits.

“I would not advise taking anyone into the auditorium,” he said. The floors were covered with plaster that had fallen from the roof, the wooden seats had rotted and several heat ducts had fallen.

There were several rooms that Trusty advised to leave off of the tour because of the vulgar graffiti on the walls.

McWhorter had not been in the building in almost two years, and was appalled at the deterioration that has occurred since he last visited.

There were a number of items in the school that made you feel like you were in the 1930’s. The main furnace was still there, but had rusted badly.

“They had to discontinue this furnace because of its efficiency,” said McWhorter. “Had they updated it, they might have been able to keep the building open longer.”

The gymnasium floor was covered with at least a couple of inches of fallen plaster.

“That has all fallen in the past two years,” said McWhorter. “When I was here last, you could see the floor.”

Trusty pointed out the metal supports for one of the basketball backboards. “You could probably take your fingers and crush this, it’s rusted so bad,” he said.

Lowrey asked if the steel beams made the structure more sound. “Look at the basketball backboard,” said Trusty. “That’s also probably happening to the steel beams.”

There was water dripping from the gymnasium ceiling. It had not rained in four days.

There were dozens of bicycles in the building, many of them were more recent models. Lowrey believed that deputies were putting unclaimed bikes in the building. Trusty said that kids were breaking into the building and riding their bikes thru the hallways.

The boy’s locker room was pretty much intact. The fixtures were still there and undamaged.

There are a lot of items that would make the building a scrapper’s or antique dealer’s dream. Dozens of metal lockers still intact, display cases that were intact (many with broken glass panes), the furnace, chalk boards and various odds and ends would probably bring a good price at a scrap yard or an antique show.

One room held a maze that the Fire Department built for training purposes. “Imagine crawling through that with full gear and air tanks, then dragging someone out of it.”

Trusty and Lowrey agreed that the Historical Society will have to do a lot of work to make it inviting to visitors. They did not think that a tour would be a serious safety issue, but they strongly advised visitors to use extreme caution in the building.

Despite the extensive deterioration, this reporter envisioned children seated in the classrooms, playing basketball in the gym or eating lunch in the cafeteria. This was this reporter’s first visit to the Madison Street School, and I am glad I was there.

The tours are scheduled for June 10. Photos and a video of the tour are expected to be made available. More details will be released as the date draws closer. You can contact the Historical Society at their website, www.newcarlislehistoricalsociety.org.

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