Crawfis Institute

 Upload a photo

John Crawfis was born in Berne Township and moved to Putnam County in 1834, where he made a considerable fortune. After the death of his wife, Crawfis willed his money to a trust to be used in establishing teacher training institutes in both Fairfield and Putnam counties.

The land was purchased to build his Fairfield County school in 1889 and the building served as the township's high school for the first two years. The institution was opened as a place of higher learning in 1891 to meet the terms of Crawfis' will. The institute continued into 1931 when economic difficulties forced it to close. The buildings became part of the Berne Union schools into the 1940s when the local grange rented the buildings for their programs.

The building stood vacant for some time after this and rumors began to circulate that the place used to be a mental hospital. (There is no supporting evidence to these claims). The building now serves as a private residence.