Sugar Grove-History - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

On June 6, 1823 Merrideth Bond entered land from the U. S. Government, the S. W. 1/4 of the S. W. 1/4 of Section 7, Township 18, Range 5 West, Ripley Township in Montgomery County, Indiana.  The land was sold to Archibald Burkett, who in turn sold it to James Gilkey.  James Gilkey was born in Butler County, Ohio on August 3, 1800.  He never married and died February 17, 1862 and in buried in the O'Neal Cemetery south of Yountsville, Indiana.  He was the son of Robert and Sarah (Kircheval) Gilkey.

In the Crawfordsville Journal, May 15, 1873 it was reported that J. A. Clark, trustee of Ripley Township planned to build a new school house during the summer months.  The school was called Staem Corner because there was a tile mill across the road from the School and the tile mill owner opersted a large steam engine to make the tile.  Since it was located at a cross roads, the school was named Steam Corner.

In the Crawfordsville Journal on August 13, 1893 we find that Ripley Township trustee Samuel Henry Gilkey purchased an acre of land and planned to move the Steam Corner or Sugar Grove School across the road to its new location.  This land was first entered from the U. S. Government by Jacob Stonebreaker, November 11, 1829.  It was the S.E. 1/4 of Section12, Township 18, Range 6 West.

Steam Corner School was heated by a wood stove.  Sherman Luzader cut wood for the school and filled the wood shed which was located at the northwest corner of the school.  Dallas Peacock did the firing of the stove and swept the floors and was paid $0.25 every Friday.  The children walked to school in all linds of weather.  There was no well at the school and the children carried water from a near by farm house.  At night the students set their ink bottles by the stove to keep the ink from freezing.

They continued to have school in that building until 1917-1918.  Mrs. W. F. Sharp was the last teacher.  On March 2, 1921 Jesse Clore, the Ripley Township trustee, sold the land back to the heirs of the farm.  The school was purchased and moved to another farm and used as granary or a storage barn.  Later on it was torn down and some of the lumber was used in building a new house on state road 32 West.