Shawe Memorial High School /

Father Michael Shawe Memorial Jr./Sr. High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Madison, Indiana. It is run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Founded in 1952, the first class of freshman students was taught in the former St. Michael's Elementary school building, until 1954 when the new facility on Madison's hilltop opened. But in 1951, the dream of a Catholic high school in a town of less than 10,000 people seemed almost impossible. Back then the hilltop of Madison was mainly all farmland, some of which had been donated to the local Catholic Church (St. Patrick’s) years before, but had not been used for much of anything. That year, the Catholic priests in Madison and Jefferson County would realize exactly just what to do with the donated land. Long before that, Catholics in Madison had gone through several changes and setbacks, all beginning in the very early years of the 19th century. The town of Madison, Indiana was first settled by traveling hunters in the early 19th Century. In 1809, the town was officially mapped out by Col. John Paul. It wasn’t until 1815 that residents of the town witnessed a Catholic Mass. Catholicism was not highly respected