Hessel School

	Hessel School
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Hessel School, c. 1940
Location	3206 West Cedar St.; Hessel, Michigan
Coordinates	46°0′21″N84°25′48″W / 46.00583°N 84.43000°W Coordinates: 46°0′21″N84°25′48″W / 46.00583°N 84.43000°W
Built	1937
Architect	G. Harold Thompson
Architectural style	Colonial Revival vernacular
NRHP reference #	100004234 [1]
Added to NRHP	August 5, 2019

Last updated August 26, 2019

The Hessel School is a former school building located at 3206 West Cedar Street in Hessel, Michigan. It is now a community center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.^[1]

National Register of Historic Places Federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.

History

The area around Hessel was first settled by Europeans in the 1880s. The first school, located just behind the location of the present building, was constructed in 1887. By the 1930s, this school was outdated, and in 1936, a new school was funded through the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA chose architect G. Harold Thompson from Mullett Lake, Michigan to design the new school. Construction began in early 1937, and the new school opened for classes in September 1938, with the auditorium section of the building opened in December. The school served students from grades K-5. After fifth grade, students transferred to the nearby Cedarville School, or, in the case of many Native American children, to the Holy Childhood Indian boarding school in Harbor Springs.^[2]

Works Progress Administration United States federal New Deal agency charged with creating work in the 1930s and 1940s

The Works Progress Administration was an American New Deal agency, employing millions of job-seekers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. It was established on May 6, 1935, by Executive Order 7034. In a much smaller project, Federal Project Number One, the WPA employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. The four projects dedicated to these were: the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), the Historical Records Survey (HRS), the Federal Theatre Project (FTP), the Federal Music Project (FMP), and the Federal Art Project (FAP). In the Historical Records Survey, for instance, many former slaves in the South were interviewed; these documents are of great importance for American history. Theater and music groups toured throughout America, and gave more than 225,000 performances. Archaeological investigations under the WPA were influential in the rediscovery of pre-Columbian Native American cultures, and the development of professional archaeology in the US.

Native Americans, also known as American Indians, Indigenous Americans and other terms, are the indigenous peoples of the United States, except Hawaii and territories of the United States. More than 570 federally recognized tribes live within the US, about half of which are associated with Indian reservations. The term "American Indian" excludes Native Hawaiians and some Alaskan Natives, while "Native Americans" are American Indians, plus Alaska Natives of all ethnicities. The US Census does not include Native Hawaiians or Chamorro, instead being included in the Census grouping of "Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander".

Harbor Springs is a city and resort community in Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,194 at the 2010 census.

In 1958, the Cedarville School was expanded, and all elementary education was transferred to that location. The Hessel School was closed. The building remained empty until 1964, when the school district sold it to Northern Michigan Publishing Company.^[2] The company closed in the late 1960s, after which the building was vacant for a time.^[3] In 1972, it was sold to Azor D. Sheffield, who remodeled it into a residence.^[2] Azor Sheffield died in 2013, and his daughters inherited the property. They listed it for sale in 2014.^[3]

In 2015, the Sheffield family sold the building to the Hessel School House Corporation, an organization of mostly former Hessel School students or their descendants. The group rehabilitated the building, completing work in 2016. The school now serves as a community center, with arts and nature education, markets, and community and private events.^[2]

Description

The Hessel School is the one-story reddish brick Colonial Revival elementary school building with irregular native limestone detail. The limestone is used as quoins at all corners, and as lintels over the windows and doors. The building is symmetrical, with the main spaced forming an I-shaped footprint. Two small wings extend from the rear of the building at the center. The building has gable roofs, with a small hexagonal central bell tower. The front of the building rests on a concrete slab, while the rear has a basement underneath. The main facade has a central entry covered with a semicircular portico, supported by two Tuscan columns. The entry is flanked by two six over six double hung windows, with a three-pane transom above. The other windows in the building are similar. At each end of the building, the classroom wings project forward. Each contains two windows near the corners. The gable ends above are white-painted wood clapboard are with cornice returns and circular roof vents.^[2]

Colonial Revival architecture was and is a nationalistic design movement in the United States and Canada; it seeks to revive elements of architectural style, garden design, and interior design of American colonial architecture.

The interior of the building contains a central auditorium with two classrooms, one on each side. The main central entrance opens into a vestibule, which continues into the central auditorium space. A stage is located at the rear wall of the auditorium. Off the auditorium are doors opening to the classrooms on each side, and to restrooms.^[2]

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References

1 2 "Weekly List 20190809". National Park Service. August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Debra Ball Johnsons (February 28, 2019), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Hessel School, National Park Service
1 2 "Timeline". Hessel School House. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

External links

Hessel School House

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[nps-1] 1 2 "Weekly List 20190809". National Park Service. August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[nom-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Debra Ball Johnsons (February 28, 2019), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Hessel School, National Park Service

[hist-3] 1 2 "Timeline". Hessel School House. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

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