04/14/2021
Check it out - the historic Mooresville Gymnasium was featured in this month's Indiana Landmarks magazine and on their page! https://www.facebook.com/IndianaLandmarks/photos/pcb.10159222132118914/10159222130318914
In December, Mooresville celebrated the 100th anniversary of its historic Mooresville Gymnasium, marking the landmark’s long history within the community. Dedicated in 1920, the gym became Morgan County’s first facility built specifically for basketball. On the condition they would be repaid and with the promise of free passes to home games in the first year, Mooresville residents and businesses made $100 loans to the school’s athletic association, raising $23,000 to build the new gymnasium. The school’s boys basketball team helped dig its basement and transport gravel for the concrete foundation.
The gym served the high school until 1959, when the school corporation built a new high school and gym. It continued to use the old gym for junior high team games and elementary school physical education classes. In 1996, as the aging gym began to fall into disrepair, locals formed a committee to save the building, raising donations and securing a $77,150 grant from Lilly Endowment for much-needed renovations.
Today, Mooresville Gymnasium is part of a campus of historic buildings, including the 1861 high school (known as the Academy) and 1936 Newby Memorial Elementary School. Still owned by the school, it’s primarily used as a gym for the Mooresville Junior Basketball League and occasional school functions. The gym floor and stage underwent improvements last year in preparation for the gym's 100th anniversary.
(Photos: Courtesy of Mooresville Schools)
