Redevelop Old Jasper Action Coalition is announcing their latest project; a one-room schoolhouse that will be located next to the Schaefer Barn in Old Jasper. ROJAC believes the history of the one room school house is important to preserve. In 1901 there were 113 in Dubois County. The building will be the old Alexander school located in Madison township south of Ireland. ROJAC saya the building will be moved and restored to its original state. It will have many uses, such as a point of interest for school day trips, library outreach programs, public events and parties and it will be an additional tourist attraction. It will also feature an Exhibit of the contributions of George R. Wilson and Margaret A. Wilson to Dubois County. Schoolhouses of early Dubois County will also be featured. The project will be funded by John and Carma Habigof Jasper. The school itself has a long history. In 1820, it was one of the first 3 schools in Dubois County and was located near the present Shiloh Church and was known as the Shiloh school. It was moved in 1859 to the present location on the Kellams farm. It then became known as the Alexander school Alexander descendants of the Kellams family. In 1915 the school burned and the new school was built in 1918. The building is being donated by the Kellams family. In a release ROJAC member Dave Buehler says ROJAC was organized in 2003 with a goal for Old Jasper to become a major destination point for tourism and to become a source of PRIDE for Jasper. Buehler notes they have a membership of over 400 and a board of directors that is mostly intact from the beginning. Buehler says with the depot, clock, stamped brick sidewalk, city mill, tourist train, GAB Boulevard, Autoplex removal, Schaefer Barn area in place, and now the pending development of the Cultural Center, The River Center, and the one room schoolhouse, they are very excited about the future of Old Jasper.
