Michigan One Room Schoolhouses: ANTRIM COUNTY

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

ANTRIM COUNTY

Alba School (1881)

LOCATION: 3366 Jordan River Road, Alba in Chestonia Township

On the southwest corner of Jordan River Road and Elm Street but it can be seen from US-131

Current Use: Alba Historical Museum

South Milton School (1850-1865)

LOCATION: 11509 Cherry Road, Rapid City

(Between Hoopfer Road and Wingash Road)

Current Use: Private Residence (it was a gift shop but not any more)

Torch Lake School (1880)

LOCATION: 2592 US-31 Highway North, Kewadin in Torch Lake Township

Current Use: Business (September 2015 - For Sale sign in front of school)

Unknown School (could it be East Star or Ostrom School?)

As seen from C-42 heading east

As seen from C-42 heading west toward Alba

LOCATION: On the south side of the road about 2-3 miles east of Alba on C-42 (aka Alba Highway) in Star Township (west of Olds Road)

Current Use: Private Residence

If you know the identity of this school or have any other information about it, please leave a comment following this post.

Settlement (District No. 2) School

LOCATION: Southwest corner of M-32 and St. Johns Road in Section 9, Jordan Township

Current Use: Probably a community building

Brown (aka Sunny valley) School

LOCATION: 4473 Big Marsh Road or 4891 M-32 on the southwest corner of M-32 and Big Marsh Road in Section 11, Jordan Township

Current Use: Private Residence

This school is listed as a Michigan Historic Site (designation date August 3, 1979)

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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.