Michigan One Room Schoolhouses: OAKLAND COUNTY

Monday, November 30, 2015

OAKLAND COUNTY

Howarth School (1859-1955)

LOCATION: Friendship Park, 3380 W Clarkston Road, Orion Township

(on the east side of Clarkston Road just south of Baldwin Road)

Current Use: Museum - It was designated a Michigan Historic Site on January 27, 1983.

Howarth School was moved from its original location at the corner of Silver Bell Road and Bald Mountain Road in Orion Township to Friendship Park. We stopped and talked with a kind and helpful woman working at the current Howarth Church. She told us the school was moved about five years ago (making it 2010).

Poppleton School Troy #8 (1877-1978)

LOCATION: Troy Historic Village, 60 West Wattles (aka 17 Mile Road) in Troy

(just west of Livernois near the northwest corner of Wattles and Livernois)
Current Use: Museum - It was designated a Michigan Historic Site on August 22, 1981.

This brick school was moved from its original location at the intersection of Big Beaver and Crooks Roads to the Troy Historic Village in 1980.

For information on the Troy Historic Village, please click on the following link:

Troy Historic Village - Poppleton School

Stoney Creek School (1848-1952)

LOCATION: Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, Rochester Hills, Avon Township

The address for the farm is 1005 Van Hoosen Road; however, the Michigan One Room Schoolhouse Association lists the address for the school at 1051 Washington Road.

Current Use: Museum

Since we went to the Farm first, we drove a short distance to the school via Van Hoosen Road (a dirt road) which curves to the left. We found the school near Washington Road (left side of road).

A coatroom was added in 1935. In 1949-50 “the middle lobby and north wing” were added to accommodate the rising number of students.

The school was added to Michigan’s list of registered historical sites in 2006.

For more information on the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, please click on the following link:

Rochester Hills Museum - Stoney Creek School

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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.