This website is dedicated to my teachers and coaches from the Colonel Crawford school district.
I grew up in Crawford County Ohio and have always been interested in the old one-room schoolhouses that I saw empty and abandoned along the country roads. They are icons from our past, showing the emphasis that the early settlers of the county placed upon education. Over 10 years ago, I had taken some photos of the remaining schoolhouses in Whetstone Township. Sadly, I noticed recently that two of those old schoolhouses are now gone. I felt that it was needed to take photographs of the remaining old schools in Crawford County before more of them fade away. Along with much assistance from an extremely comprehensive book titled Rural Schools of Crawford County Ohio, 1820 to 1930, as well as from old maps of Crawford County from the website Historic Map Works, I was able to find and photograph a total of 19 old schoolhouses. These include two that are now used as township buildings (in Auburn and Sandusky Townships) and also one that had been converted into a house that is now abandoned. One, the Harvey School, has been restored to its original condition! I recently added the North Auburn School, which is not listed on my maps of the schools. In addition, there are approximately 12 more such schools that have been impressively converted into homes, for a total of about 30 remaining old schoolhouses in the county. I hope you enjoy the photographs as much as I did taking them while traveling around Crawford County and talking to local people. A special thanks to my daughter Jessie for helping me with this website! Bill Hartman |