Michigan One Room Schoolhouses: Alanson Schools

Saturday, May 30, 2015

EMMET COUNTY

At one time there were about 48 one-room schoolhouses in Emmet County. Here are 15 of them.

Canby School

(Photo taken January 2014)

LOCATION: Northeast corner of Canby Road and Levering Road (aka CR-66) in Bliss Township

Current Use: Private Residence

East Bliss School

LOCATION: Southwest corner of Sturgeon Bay Trail and Cassidy Road in Bliss Township

Current Use: Private Residence

South Bliss School (1881?)

LOCATION: Southwest corner of Pleasant View Road and Sturgeon Bay Trail in Bliss Township

Current Use: Summer Residence

West Bliss School

LOCATION: Northwest corner of Sturgeon Bay Trail and West Bliss Road in Bliss Township

Current Use: Private Residence

Carp Lake School

LOCATION: 6187 East Gill Road in Carp Lake Township (west of US-31)

Current Use: Church

Larks Lake School

Schoolhouse & Bell on Stone Pillar

LOCATION: On Larks Lake Road (between Melody Lane and Robinson Road) in Center Township

Current Use: Storage Shed

Unknown School

LOCATION: 3981 Resort Rd, Alanson in Littlefield Township

(Northwest corner of King & Resort Roads)

Current Use: Private Residence

If anyone has information about this school, please leave a message in the COMMENT section following this post.

Ayr (aka Brutus) School (1906-1955)

LOCATION: 3989 US-31, Brutus in Maple River Township

(Northeast corner of US-31 and Brutus Road)

Current Use: Township Hall

Unknown School

LOCATION: 5511 Brutus Rd – in Maple River Township
(about a mile west of the Ayr/Brutus School)

Current Use: Church

I found a PDF file on the Internet entitled, “The History of Brutus and Maple River Township” (placed on the web April 2014) written by Maurice Eby. He’s a long-time resident of this area and majored in history in college. According to his paper, (page 10 – The Early Schools), “The next school was built in 1894-95 and is now the Mennonite Church. A second room was added in 1906.”

Red School (1883?)

LOCATION: 2025 Red School Road, Brutus in Maple River Township

From the intersection of M-68 and US-31 in Alanson, turn north on US-31 for 4.4 miles to Red School Road. Turn left and drive 1.9 miles. The school will be on the left side of road near the intersection of Johnson Road and Red School Road.

Current Use: Township Use

Five Mile Creek School (1880-1950)

LOCATION: On M-119 (aka Tunnel of Trees) between Five Mile Creek Road and Middle Road in West Traverse Township (near Pond Hill Farm whose address is 5581 S Lake Shore Dr, Harbor Springs)

Current Use: Maintained by the Five Mile Creek Community Association

Bradley School

Current Appearance and Original Appearance
Former Appearance and 1908 School List

LOCATION: 7330 Robinson Road in Readmond Township

This building was in such bad shape people didn't even recognized it as a school. They thought it was a big shed. Fortunately, someone was browsing in an antique shop and saw some old pictures and recognized the building. She (I’m sorry I didn’t get the owner's name) shows us the photos. The school was called Bradley School – District #3. She has a small booklet with some information about the school from 1908 (name of school, teacher name, pupil names, etc.). The owner hopes to find the school's bell.

Current Use: Storage but eventually a weaving/looming room.

Ferdy School

LOCATION: 1982 Beckon Road in Readmond Township

(Northeast corner of Beckon Road and Larks Lake Road)

Current Use: Unknown

Good Hart School (? - 1950's)

LOCATION: North side of Robinson Road - about a half mile east of M-119 in Readmond Township

Current Use: Privately Owned

Stuntsmanville School (1906-1958)

LOCATION: 3009 State Road, Section 23 in Friendship Township

(southeast corner of Stuntsmanville Road and State Road – aka C-77)

This two-room school was the first brick school in Emmet County.

Current Use: It has been a private residence

Cross Village (District #1) School (1883)

LOCATION: 5971 Wadsworth Street, Section 34 in Cross Village Township

(Stone Church Road and Shomin Street form a two block long “U”shape road - the school is located at the back where the two streets meet – Wadsworth Road intersects the two streets)

The original school bell is located on the property.

Current Use: Township Use/Community Center

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.