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Groundbreaking

Our Project Overview

Lyles Station residents collectively understood the importance of education as the basis for progress. They created the local schools, which would become the basis of substantial human success. The reputation of the schools was that they educated without excuse, demanding excellence from the minds that entered the building, with the full support of the surrounding community. The community’s central theme was that future opportunity depended upon quality education. The quality of education that Lyles Station children received was evident in their capacity to aspire to greater personal success. The Heritage School allows students to participate in a unique historic classroom environment. Students will be exposed to the education techniques of the period (late 19th early 20th century) in a living museum type of format.

Teachers and other personnel will be trained to reflect the current circumstances of the period, referring to the “President” as the president who was sitting at that time. Students are introduced to lessons as they were taught at that time and life experiences authentic to the era, such as careers in farming, commerce etc. before 20th century technology.

LSHPC seeks to develop, with the guidance of a professional curriculum specialist, a curriculum to be used in the school. The curriculum will consider the extraordinary history of the community as well as broader issues of community race relations and school segregation.

Lyles Station

The goal is to recreate, with reasonable accuracy, a sense of life and learning in Lyles Station in the 1920’s when the school building was new, the school, and community thriving. The LSHPC envisions a program similar to that operated in Monroe County at Honey Creek School, but different in that it will be rooted in the specific heritage of the Lyles Station community, an African American community.

Development phases of the Heritage school include the development of curriculum/content design and the creation of a historical/interactive learning environment.
The goals of the project are to combine the authenticity of historical experience, teaching pedagogy and topics, while being supported by contemporary educational technology.

For both projects the larger goal is to share the Lyles station story locally, regionally, and nationally.

Each of these projects will serve as a model for other such communities throughout the United States and the corporation anticipates serving as a resource to other African American communities and organizations who strive to recreate our hidden history.

The Lyles Consolidated School was constructed in 1919 and continued to hold classes until 1958. The ensuing years took a heavy toll on the building’s structure. In 1996, a former resident of Lyles Station concerned about the potential loss of the community’s heritage, began meeting with Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana and its African-American Landmarks committee, resulting in the formation of the Lyles Station Historic Preservation Corporation (LSHPC).

School Construction

The LSHPC was established for the specific and primary purpose of preserving the oral, written and physical history, artifacts, building and land which identifies and/or describes events, activities and life experiences of the people and the community known as Lyles Station in Gibson County, Indiana. In 1999, the same year that the Lyles Consolidated School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Historic Landmarks Foundation listed it as one of Indiana’s Ten Most Endangered Places. The Lyles Station Historic Preservation Corporation acquired the property and began renovations on the building and developed a two-fold plan for use of the former school. This plan called for the establishment of a museum/local history center which would provide an opportunity for the public to witness the accomplishments and contributions of African-Americans, specifically those persons with heritage in rural southern Indiana, and the development of the Heritage School.

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The Heritage School will allow students to participate in a unique historic classroom environment where they will be exposed to the educational techniques of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in a living museum type format. Working in cooperation with the North Gibson School Corporation, teachers and other personnel will be trained to reflect the current circumstances of the period, for example, referring to the “President” as the president who was sitting at that time. Students will be introduced to lessons as they were taught at that time, and will discuss life experiences authentic to the era, such as careers in farming and commerce of the day. Sack lunches and outdoor restroom facilities will further complete the authentic experience of the students. Visitors to the Heritage School will be able to view classrooms in progress without disrupting the students via remote monitors.

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The Museum/Local History Center is committed to research, development, the preservation and display of the Rural African American experience in the 1800-1900 in Indiana. The museum will provide an opportunity for the public to witness the accomplishments and contributions of African Americans specifically those persons with heritage in Rural Southern Indiana.

It is anticipated that the museum will document the lifestyles and journeys of many of Lyle’s founding fathers as well as celebrate the accomplishments of those who left the community to make their mark upon the world. The museum will house a gift shop which will allow visitors to purchase items which commemorate their visit to this historic site.

Renovations to the Lyles Consolidated School building are expected to be completed in the spring of 2003 with the Heritage School commencing operation as well.