The original 7-room schoolhouse is still standing at the corners of Long and Madison Streets; it is now an apartment building. The town could have purchased the building for a dollar in 1928, when a bigger school complex replaced it. The village, instead, walked away from the property; the building was eventually converted into a profitable apartment house, which is now called Hinkle's Apartments.

The Hinkle family (Mary Ellen) approached Robert Hines (Founding member AAHS) in the fall of 2003 indicating the original school bell was located in the attic of the apartment building and that the Hinkle family would like to donate it to the Ashville Area Heritage Society. Mary Ellen Hinkle, Robert Hines, and Michael Cummins (trustee AAHS) along with Kenneth Cookson (Manager Hinkle's Apartments) observed the bell in the attic location in December 2003. At this time an informal meeting was held with trustees of the AAHS who approved the acquistion. Discussions were also made with the Hinkle family and the trustees concerning the move of the bell from the apartment building to the Small Town Museum complex in 2004.

Bell In Hinkle Apartment Building Attic December 2003

Our Thanks go out to the Hinkle Family and their generosity...

Update:  3/6/04 - We now have the bell in-house at the museum.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to the firemen who volunteered to bring the bell down from the top of the old school building and in the rain no less.  Thank you gentlemen for your strength and help in preserving Ashville's heritage.  You are part of what makes this village a great place to live.

Left to right: the late Michael Lon Cummins, Past President AAHS, Scott Bausum (on one knee), Dan Heeter, John Henry, and Heith Good

See an article about where these bells were made