Michigan One Room Schoolhouses: Grice House Museum Harbor Beach MI

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

HURON COUNTY

Adams School District No. 3 (1930-1988)

Old Adams School - Exterior and Interior

LOCATION: Grice House Museum, 865 N Huron Ave, Harbor Beach

Next to Waterworks Park

In 1988, the school was moved to the Grice House Museum in Sand Beach Township

Current Use: Museum

Adams School (1988 – still active)

New Adams School - Exterior and Interior

LOCATION: 4151 Section Line Road, Bad Axe

North side of road between McDonald & McKichen Roads in Sigel Township

When we arrived, work was being done on the exterior and interior of the school

Current Use: K-8 School

Ashmore School (1927-1958)

LOCATION: Northeast corner of Eppenbrock and Toppin Roads in Sand Beach Township

Current Use: Privately Owned – storage building

Big Burning School District No. 1 (1891 – still active)

LOCATION: 1501 Van Dyke Road

Northwest corner of Van Dyke (aka M-53) and Richardson Road in Colfax Township

Current Use: K-8 School

Eccles School District No. 4 (1886- still active)

LOCATION: 5754 Section Line Road, Harbor Beach

South side of road between Minden and Parisville Roads in Sigel Township

Current Use: K-8 School

Kipper School District No. 6 (1907 – still active)

LOCATION: 4499 Kipper Road, Harbor Beach

Northwest corner of McDonald and Kipper Roads in Sigel Township

Current Use: K-8 School

Red School aka Bloomfield No. 1 and Stuart School (1887-2000)

LOCATION: 4500 Filion Road

Southeast corner of McDonald and Filion Roads in Bloomfield Township

Obviously, the red school is no longer red.

Current Use: Bloomfield Township Hall
The dates (1887-2000) were provided by a Bloomfield Township Official

Rock Falls School aka Sand Beach No. 2 (1873-1956)

LOCATION: 1198 S Lakeshore Road, Harbor Beach

Northwest corner of M-25 and Jenks Road in Sand Beach Township

Current Use: VFW Hall for Post 9344

Schulte School

LOCATION: Southeast corner of Sand Beach (aka M-142) and Eppenbrock Road in Sand Beach Township

Current Use: Private Residence

While driving in Huron County, we noted the status on the following one room schools:

- Swayze School in Bloomfield Twp (Minnick & Minden Roads) – GONE (2013)

- Gore School in Gore Twp (Pochert & M-25) – GONE (2011)

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.