Trafalgar (700?) Built 1939
July 28, 2026
July 28, 2026
When I go and visit old gyms, it's really neat to see them when it's clear they've barely been altered since their days of hosting high school basketball games. Clinton, Vincennes Lincoln, and Mexico come to mind among many others. Do I wish I could see every old gym I visit in that kind of condition, sure. That would be awesome. The reality of the situation is that most of the old gyms I go to haven't hosted varsity games since the 60s. That means if they're still standing and in decent condition six decades later, they've probably been used for various purposes during that time. Many have been turned into middle or elementary school gyms. Others are community centers. Some have been turned into private businesses or residences. I've even dined in one that was was turned into a restaurant. At the end of the day, if a gym has survived this long, I'm just happy it's still standing. Another cool use these gyms sometimes find a second life as is a church. Sometimes the gyms are left "as is" and used as multipurpose facilities for a congregation, while other times they're turned into the sanctuary for a church. I've come across a handful of these the last few years, and you can find them in the Fading Gyms section of the blog. For the first time this summer, I was able to see inside an old gym that's headed down this path, but wasn't quite there yet. Jason Abney is a pastor from Martinsville, who along with his wife Shelly, is working to turn the old gym in Trafalgar into a new home for their congregation. When I got there in July, the renovation was in full swing, but only about halfway done. As I talked with them and heard their vision for the gym and the old school building that's attached, I was moved by their sincerity and passion for what they want to do in the Trafalgar community, and the space inside the gym will be a big part of it.
There's a big old capstone right by the entrance to the gym that says 1939 on it. This is obviously the year the gym was built. I'm not sure if that's also when the original Trafalgar High School building that's attached to it was constructed, or if that was built beforehand. Most of the time those grand brick high schools were built in the 1900's-1920's when all the local one-room schoolhouses were consolidated in a given township. The gyms were often added on a few years later. What I do know is that the Trafalgar Redbirds played in this gym from 1939-1967 until they consolidated with Morgantown and Ninevah into Indian Creek. The Redbirds never won a sectional playing in this gym, but they did manage to win a very early one back in 1917. In those days, a sectional title took you straight to the state finals, where they lost to the eventual champion Lebanon. After the high school closed, the gym served Trafalgar Elementary for over four decades. The last ten years it's been occupied and then unoccupied by a variety of different tenants and business owners. This time though it feels like it's found the right caretakers to give it a meaningful purpose for a long time.
Trafalgar is straight out of the 1930's WPA gym playbook. A nice brick structure, permanent wooden bleachers along the sidelines, a slightly curved roof, and a stage on one end. These beauties never disappoint, even if they don't vary that much from each other. I hadn't been to one in a while, and it was good to be back. The old wooden bleachers were taken out by the time I made it to the gym, but it looked like there would have been enough room for about 5-6 rows on each side. Along the upper sideline walls are big square windows that I assume were filled in before the current renovation started, but I can't say for sure. The original hoops with the wooden bottoms were still hanging up which was cool to see. The old stage was still intact as well, including the red ribboning running across the top of it. They've actually built the stage out further in front of the original one which will be the front of the sanctuary. An old scoreboard also still hung proudly high up on the wall opposite of the stage. The hardwood floors were probably my favorite thing that I saw in the gym. They're stained a very dark gold color that you don't see that often. It's gorgeous. At center court was a hand painted picture of a little Native American boy. I'm guessing this was due to the fact that the Indian Creek mascot is the "Braves," and this was an Indian Creek elementary school for many years. It's not a Redbird, but it's a pretty cool design.
As I was talking with with Jason and Shelly about their plans for the gym, they handed a basketball to my son so he could shoot around while we talked. He had fun, I learned a lot, and I got to take some pictures of the gym while it still mostly resembled a gym. It was a great visit. Normally I feel pretty bummed when I learn a gym is going to be torn down or turned into something that completely strips it of its Indiana basketball identity, but I didn't really feel that here. I don't talk about my faith much on here, because that's not really what this blog is about, but as someone who grew up in a loving church family and has thankfully found another one as an adult, I'm excited for the future of the Trafalgar gym, Jason and Shelly's congregation, and the impact they're going to have on the community. When we walked back out to our van, my son who must have heard us talking asked, "Daddy, are they going to turn this gym into a church?" I told him they were. As he often does, he responded over-enthusiastically with, "Wow, that's a great idea!" A great idea indeed.
