Reelsville (500?) Built 1954
October 15, 2024
October 15, 2024
Researching gyms from bygone eras that no longer actively host high school basketball games in Indiana has been an incredibly rewarding process. I've read countless articles and observations from people who share my strange love for these old gyms and their history. The Hoosier Hardwood Project by Chris Smith & Michael Keating along with Historic Hoosier Gyms by Kyle Neddenriep have been invaluable resources in helping me uncover places that I need to visit. The most famous old gyms still standing are often featured in both these publications and a few other places. Versailles, Vincennes, and of course the Hoosier Gym come to mind. Anyone interested in the history of Hoosier Hysteria has heard of these places. Every once in awhile, I stumble upon someplace that hasn't really been covered before. It always feels a little like finding a needle in a haystack and gives me a jolt of excitement. Every one of these gyms has a story to tell and deserves recognition for hanging on this long, in whatever form it may be. This happened this summer when I discovered Veedersburg, and then again last week when I learned about Reelsville by Googling every former school in Putnam County. It was a two hour drive, but it was worth every second.
Reelsville sits right off of US-40 in Putnam County. The school first started playing basketball in 1922. They didn't have much tournament success for awhile. They went 24 years without even winning a single sectional game, much less the whole thing. When they did finally get their first postseason victory in 1946 at the Greencastle sectional, they carried that momentum all the way to the regional final. What a run that must have been. They didn't get a new gym until 1954 and played there until consolidating into South Putnam in 1969. The school continued on as an elementary until 2013. A few years ago a private individual purchased the school and grounds and turned the gym and surrounding baseball fields into a community center. The gym is currently used for community events and can be rented out by the public. The old school building itself is rapidly deteriorating and will most likely be razed at some point in the future. The community center president Mr. Todd Oney attended the school himself growing up and was kind enough to give me a tour.
Walking into the gym, my first thought was how much it reminded me of Bryant in Jay County. The roof and ceiling structures are almost identical with the arched design and giant wooden cross beams holding it all up. It feels long and narrow, and the old bleachers have been removed on both sides. Mr. Oney told me they were taken out when the school system sold the building. Because of this, there is a lot of empty space along both sidelines. Judging by the size of all that room you can imagine there were once 6-7 rows of bleachers along each side. The sideline walls are bare and painted white. Large square windows interspersed with thinner rectangular ones used to sit prominently above but have since been blocked in. There are large sets of double doors through which you enter behind one baseline. The only things of note along this side are two old pegboards used for P.E. classes that haunted children like me with no upper body strength for decades. A big red stripe runs across the wall halfway up on each baseline wall. In one of the corners on this side is a large red concession stand with two old Reelsville Indians pennants adorning it.
The opposite baseline side displays a small stage that also reminds me of the Bryant gym. The curtain has been removed which makes it feel very open. In the rafters of the stage you can find the names of former students who signed them over the years. A set of blue wooden stairs leads up to the stage from inside the gym. To the left of the stage is a curious little opening in the bottom of the wall that has small pieces of wood partially covering it up. To the right is a neat Reelsville Elementary sign that probably sat outside at one point. Mr. Oney also took me downstairs under the gym to where the old locker rooms used to be. When the community center gained possession of the gym from the school, there was a few feet of water that had to be pumped out. They've since been able to stabilize it to avoid this happening in the future. These areas always floor me when I have the chance to see them. Back on the court, the hardwood has been stained a classic light-golden color. I don't think it's been redone recently, but it still has a nice sheen to it. The baskets themselves hold the most unique feature in the entire gym. The hoops can be raised and lowered, but that process is done by utilizing a manual rope and pulley system that looks like something you would find in an 1800s hayloft and not a 1950s gym. It's incredibly cool.
When I first heard of Reelsville, and on my drive out to it, I kept having some strange images of old-timey Hollywood in my head. While the name may sound like it has something to do with classic films, the place is anything but Tinseltown. In reality it fits the mold of many other unincorporated communities in Indiana that lost their schools to consolidation. Like only a handful of these small towns though, they've managed to do a good job of salvaging a big piece of their history in restoring their old gym. There's still a lot to do here, and relying solely on donations and the occasional event is barely enough to keep the lights on, much less take on big capital projects. They are making it work though, and I pray they are able to do so for years to come. I wasn't aware of the Reelsville gym before this trip, but I hope through this many more people are. The work the community has done here to preserve their history deserves to be recognized along with the others like them who love our state's favorite pastime.
