Michigan One Room Schoolhouses: Keweenaw Heritage Sites

Sunday, May 31, 2015

KEWEENAW COUNTY

Copper Harbor School (1850)

LOCATION: 346 Gratiot (aka US-41), Copper Harbor in Grant Township

Current Use: School for pre-K through 8^th grades
In addition to being Michigan’s northernmost school, the Copper Harbor School is one of only 20 actively operating one-room schools in Michigan.

Rathbone (aka Eagle Harbor) School (1853-1872)

LOCATION: Corner of Center and Third Streets in Eagle Harbor in Eagle Harbor Township

This school is a Keweenaw Heritage Site. It was designated a Michigan Historic Site on December 10, 1971 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Current Use: Museum

For more photos and information refer to my blog post on Keweenaw Heritage Sites by clicking on the following link:
Denice's Keweenaw Heritage Sites Blog Post

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.