Monroe Township in Madison County (IN) has had numerous schools over the years, including many former one-room schoolhouses scattered throughout the township.
Several records have listed the former one-room schoolhouses of Monroe Township as Bush, Caroline, Columbia, Fairview, Ferguson, Gooding Grove, Hall Corner, Innisdale, King, Manring, Mount Pisgah, Olive Branch, Osceola, Scott’s Addition, Spiceland, Starr, Tennessee, and Vermillion.
In Alexandria, Central School was located on the corner of Washington and West Streets. Later the old Alexandria High School was built next to Central on the same block.
Tomlinson School was located across from the IOOF Cemetery on SR 9.
Clarke School was located on the northeast corner of Monroe and Fairview Streets.
St. Mary Catholic School was originally built in 1897 near the intersection of Belmont and Madison Streets. A new school was built and attached to the church in 1987.
The Alexandria Elementary School, later renamed Marie Thurston Elementary, was built on the corner of Central and Tyler Streets and combined pupils from both Tomlinson and Clarke.
Later Cunningham Elementary, located on the corner of Bethel Pike and 200 East, replaced eleven of the Monroe Township one-room schools.
In 1960, the community built a new High School at 304 West 11th Street on the south side of town. The high school included students from all Monroe township schools and changed its name to Alexandria-Monroe High School.
In 1977, that 11th Street building became the Alexandria-Monroe Middle School when the newest Alexandria-Monroe High School was built on the north side of the football field at One Burden Court. The newer Alexandria-Monroe High School building included more room for classes, a library, a cafeteria, an auditorium, and a much larger gymnasium.
Eventually, Cunningham and the Orestes elementary schools were no longer used and the school structure altered again.
In 2021, the public Alexandria-Monroe Elementary School relocated to 308 West 11th Street. That school includes classrooms for children in Kindergarten through grade 6.
The Alexandria-Monroe Jr/Sr High School at One Burden Court, was also renovated in 2021 and includes students in grades 7 to 12.
