Michigan One Room Schoolhouses: Rural Schoolhouses in America

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

MISSAUKEE COUNTY

Star City School

LOCATION: From Highway 127 (Houghton Lake - Exit 194) go about 9 miles west on M-55 to Star City Road – turn north on Star City Road for about 3 miles. The school is on the east side of Star City Road (just north of Wagner Road) in Section 24, West Branch Township

Current Use: Privately Owned – used for storage

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

CHIPPEWA COUNTY

Wilson School (1902-1935)

LOCATION: Heritage Park & Military Museum, 6277 W M-80, Kinross, MI

Originally located in Cheboygan County it was moved in 1987 and is now part of this small roadside historic complex that also includes an 1882 log cabin and a blacksmith shop.
Current Use: Museum

Ransomville School

LOCATION: On M-129 (east side of road) north of M-28 and just south of the Charlotte River crossing on M-129 in Section 17, Bruce Township

Thank you Tammy (fellow MORSA member) for identifying this school!

If anyone has information about this school (year built, years used as a school, etc.), please leave a message in the comment section following this post.

East McCarron (Bruce #11) School (1909-1957)

LOCATION: 4533 East 12 Mile Road, Dafter, Michigan

(on the north side of the road between Riverside Road and South Lower Hay Lake Road in Section 35, Bruce Township

Current Use: Private Residence

Unknown School

According to “LighthouseFriends.com” website, there was a one-room school at Point Iroquois (Bay Mills Township). Nine children attended the K-8^th grade school. A young woman was paid by the state to serve as their teacher. I can’t find this school listed on the MORSA website for Chippewa County.

If anyone has information about this school (name, year built, years used as a school, etc.), please leave a message in the comment section following this post.

While driving around Chippewa County, we noted the status on the following one room schools:

- Summerville School - corner of M-28 and Piche Road - GONE.

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.