Millersburg relic lost to fire

By ANDREA FURLONG

North English Firefighters respond to a fire at Hawkeye School, rural North English, Monday, June 1.

Millersburg lost one of its last standing one-room schoolhouses to a fire the evening of Monday, June 1.

North English Fire Chief David Knipfer said the fire department was called to respond to a fire at 1511 325th St., rural North English, at approximately 11 p.m. Hawkeye School, which sat seven miles west of North English and five miles southwest of Millersburg, was completely engulfed in flames.

Keith Gingerich, who together with his wife, Mildred, owns the school building and the 200 acres surrounding it, said he noticed the fire as he exited his garage, which sits to the east of the school.

“I thought they could save it if they came right away. There wasn’t much on fire when we first saw it,” he said.

Mildred Gingerich said the couple had used the school to store various odd and ends over the years.

“We didn’t really have anything of value in there because we were aware that we shouldn’t,” Mildred said, referring to the school’s proximity to the highway and passersby.

Chief Knipfer said he suspects arson as the cause of the blaze.

“It had to be set . . . there’s no electricity in it and no one’s living there—how else would the fire get started?” he asked.

While no one was injured, locals are trying to grasp the loss of a school that’s stood the test of time and remained in good condition since its closure in 1958.

“Those things happen, but we hate to see them happen,” said former Hawkeye School student Bill Bender, Keswick.

Students were taught in Hawkeye School throughout the 40s and 50s. The school closed 50 years ago, when the district it belonged to became part of the Deep River-Millersburg School District. The exact age of the school is unknown.

Emergency services that responded to the fire included the North English Fire Department, the Millersburg Fire Department, the North English Quick Response Service and the Iowa County Sheriff’s Department.

There are no suspects at this time. The fire remains under investigation by the state fire marshal.

 

 

UPDATED June 5, 2009 9:45 AM