Source: Ruth M. Brubaker, THE HISTORY OF PLEASANT TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS 1835-1962 (1979), p. 443.

HENPECK SCHOOL (DISTRICT XV)

District 15 was located in the southeast corner of Pleasant Township. It also included a part of Paw Paw on the south and Chester on the east.

The first settler was Mr. George Krichbaum, who settled in Chester township in 1838. He cast his first ballot at North Manchester which then was only a place of about three houses. There were at that time but seven ballots cast. Among the other settlers at about this time were Mr. Rager, Mr. Brindle, and Mr. White.

Where today we find fine farms and pleasant homes were in those early days covered with swamps and forest. There is a large ditch running through the district which drains the land. The first roads were corduroy and in muddy weather were hardly passable. Since that time roads have been much improved.

The first schoolhouse, built of logs, was erected about 1851, and was known as "Eckman School." It was situated one mile north of Paw Paw township and across the road from Chester township. The first teacher was a Mr. W.S. West, who taught there in 1851-52. This house was replaced by a more substantial frame building some years later, the first teacher in the house being Mr. John Andrews, who in 1898-99 was living in Chicago. This house was abandoned in 1882. In the same year (1882) a brick house was erected one-half mile south of the former, the first teacher being, Mr. P.B. Pashong, who in 1898-99 was an undertaker in Des Moines, IA.

The social life of the people in early days was vastly different from that of today. Their main pleasures consisted of hunting, corn husking, rag sewing, etc. Their nearest neighbors were nearly a mile apart and the nearest market was in Wabash. Their houses were built of logs, and frequent visitors were the mosquitoes from the numerous swamps in the district. Their food consisted of corn and rye bread made from coarse hand ground corn and rye.

In 1873 there was a Debating Society organized in the schoolhouse by the older people of the district. later this was supplemented by a Literary work by the pupils, and it is to this society that the school owes its present name of "HENPECK". The object of the society was to advance the oratorical powers of the neighborhood. But in 1898-99 neither society existed.

As far as known this school was closed down in about 1909-10 as were many of the one-room schools. For a number of years this brick building was used for different things, mostly storage. But after a while it came to the place that it needed work done to it. With it not really serving much good, the party who owned it tore it down. The only thin one can still see where the school was in the pump and a couple of the trees.

The Henpeck school held reunions starting back in 1913 and it is known that they were held as late as 1941 or even later. They had been held at the home of Emet Schanlaubs, Long Lake and other places in the community.

In 1940 the reunion was held at the Conservation Hall and one of the old school teachers was present, David Ulrey.