Michigan One Room Schoolhouses: Allegan County Michigan Historic Sites

Thursday, September 17, 2015

ALLEGAN COUNTY

Burton School (1886)

LOCATION: Southeast corner of M-40 and 128^th Avenue (aka A42) in Heath Township

Current Use: Privately Owned

Fairview School

LOCATION: Southwest corner of 130^th Avenue and 26^th Street in Monterey Township

Current Use: This two-story brick school is now privately owned/residence

Frayer/Fraser School

LOCATION: Southeast corner of 38^th Street and 136^th Avenue in Heath Township

Current Use: Privately Owned - Demolished Fall of 2016

Hoyer (aka Oakview) District No. 6 School (1899)

LOCATION: Northeast corner of 130^th Avenue and 34^th Street (just before the pavement ends) in Monterey Township

Current Use: Privately Owned

Jewitt (aka Brownell) School District No. 5 (1918)

Jewitt School - Exterior & Interior

LOCATION: Allegan County Fairgrounds, 150 Douglas Street, Allegan in Allegan Township

Current Use: Museum - part of the John Pahl Historical Village at the County Fairgrounds In 1971, the school was moved from its original location to the Historical Village.

Refer to my Blog Post on the John Pahl Historical Village for more photos and information by clicking on the following link:
Allegan County Fair - John Pahl Historical Village

Peachbelt (Ganges Fractional District No. 1) School (1867-1971)

Peachtree School in Ganges Twp & Sign

LOCATION: 6292 124^th Ave (aka M-89), Fennville, in Section 2, Ganges Township

At the southeast corner of 124^th & 63^rd Streets

Michigan Historic Site: July 26, 1978

Current Use: Peachbelt Studio Gallery

Wetmore (District No. 4) School (1898)

LOCATION: Northeast corner of 30th Street and 122nd Avenue in Section 3, Allegan Township

Current Use: Private Residence

Brown School

LOCATION: 180 46th Street in Section 32, Cheshire Township

(southeast corner of 46th Street and 102nd Avenue)

Current Use: Private Residence

Wildwood School

LOCATION: Corner of 103rd Avenue and 54th Street in Section 27, Lee Township

Current Use: Unknown - good condition with rusty swingset on property

Monterey Center (District No. 2) School (1874)

LOCATION: 2971 30th Street (aproximate address) in Section 21, Monterey Township

(west side of road - a little south of 130th Street, Monterey Center)

Current Use: Private Residence

Pickle Street School

LOCATION: 2991 134th Avenue (approximate address) in Section 10, Monterey Township

(on the south side of the road just east of 30th Street)

Current Use: Art Studio

South Monterey (District No. 1) School (1867)

LOCATION: 2646 30th Street in Section 33, Monterey Township

(southwest corner of 30th Street and 127th Avenue - about 8/10's mile south of A-42)

Current Use: Private Residence

Foster School (1888)

LOCATION: Southeast corner of 32nd Street and M-40 in Section 20, Trowbridge Township

(north of 104th Avenue)

Current Use: Private Residence - center section is the brick building

Crow (District #4) School (1869-1904)

LOCATION: Southwest corner of 102^nd Avenue and 62^nd Street in Section 35, Casco Township

Current Use: Abandoned

Ferris (District #4) School

LOCATION: 624 46^th Street (north of 106^th Avenue) in Section 18, Cheshire Township

Current Use: Privately Owned/Residence

Jones (District 2f) School

LOCATION: 1697 146^th Avenue in Section 3, Dorr Township

(northeast corner of 146^th Avenue and 17^th Street)

Current Use: Privately Owned/Residence

Orr (District #7) School

LOCATION: Corner of 113^th Avenue and 62^nd Street in Section 35, Ganges Township

Current Use: Privately Owned/Residence

Reid (District #5) School

LOCATION: Corner of 119^th Avenue and 64^th Street in Section 13, Ganges Township

Current Use: Township Hall

Dunningville (District #1) School (1888)

LOCATION: Corner of M-40 and 126^th Street in Section 27, Heath Township

Current Use: Privately Owned

Lemon (aka Hillcrest District #2) School (1892)

School and Plaque

LOCATION: Northeast corner of 126^th Avenue and 38^th Street in Section 25, Heath Township

Current Use: Privately Owned/Residence

Plainview (District #9) School

LOCATION: Northeast corner of 142^nd Avenue and 26^th Street in Section 13, Salem Township

Current Use: Privately Owned/Residence

Status of other one-room schools in Allegan County:
Lindsley School (Cheshire Township) - GONE (torn down many years age - per guest comment)
Sycamore (District #2) School in Dorr Township - DEMOLISHED (per guest comment)

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.