Michigan One Room Schoolhouses: Thomas A Edison School

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

BENZIE COUNTY

McKinstry School (1875)

LOCATION: 3760 Mick Rd, Frankfurt in Blaine Township

Current Use: Privately owned BUT it is a Bed & Breakfast - check the Old Red Schoolhouse website for availability!

Frederickson School (1891)

LOCATION: 4527 M-22, Section 24 in Blaine Township

(on east side of road between Herring Lake Roads and adjacent to Upper Herring Lake Nature Preserve)

Current Use: Unknown

Corner Grove (District No. 2) School

LOCATION: Corner of Grace Road (aka CR 606) and M-22, in Section 2, Gilmore Township

(on Grace Road across from Gilmore Township Cemetery)

Current Use: Private Residence

Morgan School (1868-1950)

LOCATION: 9971 Esch Road in Section 7, Platte Township

(at the corner of Esch Road and Indian Hill Road – east of M-22)

Current Use: Grange Hall?

Platte No. 2 Drake School (1891-1943)

LOCATION: Corner of Fowler Road (aka CR 610) and Valley Road (aka CR 677, Honor in Section 16, Platte Township

Current Use: Museum operated by the Benzie Area Historical Society

Thomas A. Edison (or West Almira) School (??-1963)

LOCATION: Corner of Maple City Highway (aka CR 669) and Fowler Road (aka CR 610) - Almira Road may change to Fowler Road at this point - in Section 16, Almira Township

Current Use: Private residence

Bendon (or Inland) School (1888)

LOCATION: Corner of Bendon Road (aka CR 665) and US-31 (aka Benzie Hwy & Honor Hwy) in Inland Township

It is next to the Inland Baptist Church which is located at 19915 Honor Hwy

Current Use: Abandoned

Nessen City School (1892)

Before and After Pictures

LOCATION: Southeast corner of Karlin Rd and Rockford Rd, Nessen City in Section 34, Colfax Township

According to the owner, the original school was two-stories but the second story was removed around 1938 to save on heating costs. In May of 2017, I returned to this schoolhouse to photograph its restoration progress.

Current Use: Privately owned - purchased in 2014 and restored for family and community gatherings.

David Grayson School (1864)

LOCATION: 1041 Pioneer Rd in Section 33, Homestead Township

(southwest corner of Pioneer Road and Homestead Road)

Current Use: Private Residence

Unknown School (1877-1894)

LOCATION: 845 South Michigan Avenue (aka US-31), in Benzonia

(northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Walker Street)

Current Use: Residence or Small Business

If you know anything about this former schoolhouse, please leave a message in the COMMENT section following this post.

Wallin School

LOCATION: 17067 Wallin Road in Section 16, Colfax Township

(southeast corner of Wallin Road and Long Road)

CURRENT USE: Wallin Community Club

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.