Lyles Consolidated School

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Lyles Station was founded in prior to the Civil War by Joshua and Sanford Lyles, former slaves from Tennessee. Joshua Lyles returned to Tennessee and encouraged other former slaves to come join him in Indiana. Many decided to do just that, and, at its peak in 1912, there were 600 residents of Lyles Station. The community boasted fifty-five residences, a train station, post office, two general stores, two churches, an elementary school, a lumber mill, a blacksmith shop, and a cemetery. When a flood hit in 1912, the decline of Lyles Station began as residents left this farming community for more stable living in Evansville, Terre Haute, and Indianapolis.

The Lyles Consolidated School was not constructed until circa 1919, and it was viewed as a symbol of more prosperous future for both the community as a whole and for individual students. The school was integrated until 1922 when a discipline issue between a white student and a black teacher resulted in the transfer of the white students to Baldwin Heights School in Princeton, Indiana. The school remained open to African American students until its closure in 1958. Unfortunately, the community of Lyles Station continues to disappear as residents move to more populated areas and buildings begin to decay. The Lyles Consolidated School is one of the few buildings that remains of the once thriving community and currently functions as a community museum.