DE MOTTE | It's one thing to read about history in a text book. But 250 third graders from DeMotte Elementary and DeMotte Christian schools recently got the chance to experience a bit of local history when they visited the town's historic Fairchild House.

The majestic, two-story brick colonial revival structure at 212 Ninth St. SW is one of the oldest homes in DeMotte, built in 1922 by Fred Wolff and his wife, Charity Mae Fairchild, the daughter of the town's original settlers.

In 2004, Pat Kopanda of DeMotte and others formed Fairchild House Preservation Inc. to purchase the building and preserve it.

The large living room with its massive, double-sided fireplace provided the perfect venue for Kopanda to tell the story of the Fairchild family and explain how life was different for the early settlers. "They had to grow their own food. There was no electricity. Think of it. Times were hard," she told the children. In fact, she said, before running water, the settlers would drink from rivers, using their teeth to siphon out the bugs before spitting them out.

Afterward, Mason Chorzempa was particularly impressed with how an older house was moved from the property before the Fairchild House could be built, exclaiming, "They jacked up the house and moved it with horses!"

State law mandates that Indiana schools teach local history. Norm Chappell, a board member of Fairchild House Preservation, Inc., says, "They're getting a little bit of the history of their town. There are so many people moving here. As far as knowing the background of the community, I don't know that they know that much about it."

Kopanda said that while the home is used by many nonprofit organizations for their functions, and can be rented for weddings and showers, "I would particularly like to use it for the school children."

However, some old myths die hard. One student proclaimed, "They're saying it's haunted. When I walked in, it did not look haunted."

Kopanda quickly put that rumor to rest. "This house is not haunted," she said.