History
Dr. Marvin Pittman, a professor at what is now Eastern Michigan University, was a proponent of public education. In 1921, he had the innovative idea of consolidating the one-room schoolhouse districts south of Ypsilanti into a single district that would provide agricultural training and give students a pathway to attend university. Because of his advocacy organization, Michigan Trailblazers, the districts consolidated in 1922 and 1923, and in fall 1924, The Agricultural Rural Training School No. 1 of Ypsilanti and Augusta Townships opened at the corner of Willis and Whitaker Roads. The community then chose to name the district Lincoln Consolidated (although the Trailblazer District was considered). [5] Originally, the teachers were instructors and students from the University, then known as Michigan State Normal College. [6]
On December 5, 1925, the building was destroyed by a fire. It reopened in 1927 after being rebuilt. The architect was The Warren Holmes-Power Company. [5] Additions were built in 1936 and 1951. [7] The building serves today as Brick Elementary. [8]
Several schools in the district share a campus with the original building. Model Elementary, named after a schoolhouse that had been built in 1844, was built there in 1956. The current Lincoln High School was built in 1961 and expanded in 1996. Lowden School, an 1853 schoolhouse, was restored and moved to the campus in 1989. Lincoln Middle School was built in 2001. [7] Childs Elementary was built north of campus in 2003. [9]
