Michigan One Room Schoolhouses: VAN BUREN COUNTY

Saturday, September 24, 2016

VAN BUREN COUNTY

West Brick School District No. 6 (1871-1960)

West Brick School and Plaque

LOCATION: Corner of CR 378 (aka 30^th Ave) and 69^th Street in Bangor Township

Current Use: The West Brick School Alumni (a non-profit group) is working to preserve this school. This is a labor of love and donations are always appreciated. Thank you to Catherine Green (President of the Alumni Group) for sharing information about this school. When completed, the renovated school will be used as a community center/museum.

Wood School #6 (1869 to Present Day)

LOCATION: Northwest corner of 66^th Street and CR 378 (aka 30^th Ave) in Bangor Township

The approximate address for this school is 29884 66^th St or 66029 30^th Ave depending on which street you use to enter the school grounds. When I Googled “Wood School, Bangor Township Michigan” the search results showed the Wood School address as 35594 66^th St, Bangor. This incorrect address is about 1.5 miles south of its true location.

This is one of a handful of still active one-room schools in Michigan. I have been told by several different sources that there is a waiting list to attend this school.

Current Use: Active One-Room School

Evergreen District No 7 School (early 1860’s - ?)

Evergreen School and Bell Tower

LOCATION: Bloomingdale Depot Museum, 108 Van Buren St, Bloomingdale

The Evergreen School was originally located at the intersection of CR 380 and 44th Street in Section 31 of Bloomingdale Township. In 2012, the Bloomingdale Area Historical Association had the school moved to the Village of Bloomingdale on the Depot Museum property (school is on Spring Street off Van Buren Street). Like any project, the completion of this restoration is dependent upon available funding.

Current Use: The local historical society has plans to create a historic village which will include the school.

Ackley (#7f) School (?? – 1997)

LOCATION: Corner of CR-380 (aka 28^th St) and CR-681 (aka 58^th St) in Geneva Township

Approximate address is 20100 CR-681.

Current Use: Private Residence

Geneva Center (#6f) School

LOCATION: Northwest corner of CR-384 (12^th St) and 64^th St in Geneva Township

Current Use: Private Property

Jericho School (1882-1895)

LOCATION: Intersection of CR-380 (aka 28^th St) and M-43 in Geneva Township

Current Use: Party Store

Riverside District No 8 School of Geneva (1903)

Riverside School and Plaque

LOCATION: 11900 68^th St in Geneva Township

Northwest corner of CR-384 (aka 12^th St) and 68^th St

Current Use: Privately Owned

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Michigan One-Room Schoolhouses

I enjoy traveling and history and I document everything through another hobby – photography. Among my favorite subjects to photograph are one-room schoolhouses.

Okay, I am going to date myself but I attended a one-room school (Price School in Victor Township, Clinton County). The building was sold a long time ago and a field of corn now grows where the schoolhouse once stood. If anyone has a photo of Price School I would love to receive a copy!!

Those schoolhouses that have survived may now serve as museums through preservation efforts by local historical societies. Some have been converted into private residences, businesses, or are used by local government units. Unfortunately, most have been torn down or have been left in a state of decay. These disappearing structures represent a piece of history and looking for them is like going on a scavenger hunt.

Most schools were named after the land owner who provided the land for the school, a nearby town, or a local natural feature. Price School was named after its location (northeast corner of Price and Chandler Roads).

Everyday I walked about a mile to Price School – uphill, in the snowy winter, carrying my books … okay, during good weather I rode my bike. Since children walked to school back then, these one-room schools were built every few miles – depending on available funds and population of school-age children. Often the one-room schools were located in the township’s sixteenth section because that was the center of the township.

Like most one-room country schools, Price School had one front entry door but a few schools had separate doors – one for the boys and one for the girls.

Generally schoolhouses were painted white (cheaper) but there are some schools painted red. In Michigan, wood was plentiful and it was the most often used material for building the school. However, brick (and a few stone) schoolhouses were built too.

So, when we travel through each county in Michigan, I always keep watching and hoping to photograph these buildings before they disappear from the rural landscape that is part of our American history.

This blog site will be a work in progress. Each time I discover and photograph a historic schoolhouse, I will add that photo and whatever information I have on the school by editing the blog post that corresponds to the Michigan County the schoolhouse is located.

Please respect private property and view those former schoolhouses from the public right-of-way.

Some information (e.g. school names or dates) contained in this blog was obtained from Historical Societies, the Michigan One-Room Schoolhouse Association, or County Equalization Departments.