Mason District Number 5 Schoolhouse

Last updated
Mason District Number 5 Schoolhouse
Mason School House No5.jpg
Front of the school
USA Michigan location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within the state of Michigan
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Mason District Number 5 Schoolhouse (the United States)
Location17049 U.S. Highway 12, Edwardsburg, Michigan
Coordinates 41°46′34″N85°53′52″W / 41.77611°N 85.89778°W / 41.77611; -85.89778 Coordinates: 41°46′34″N85°53′52″W / 41.77611°N 85.89778°W / 41.77611; -85.89778
Area1.2 acres (0.49 ha)
Built1874
Architectural styleT shape
NRHP reference No. 85002153 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 12, 1985
Designated MSHSJune 10, 1980 [2]

Mason District Number 5 Schoolhouse is a former two room rural schoolhouse in Mason Township, Cass County, Michigan built in 1874; the school could hold up to 110 students. [2] The school operated until 1959, when the area became part of the Constantine School District. Constantine School District continued operating the schoolhouse for kindergarten through 6th grade until 1963. The building was transformed into the Mason Township Hall in 1964. In 1973 the building also became home to the Mason-Union Branch of the Cass District Library. [2] [3]

Contents

The school house is listed on both the National Register of Historic Sites and the Michigan registry of Historic Sites.

The current uses are still a split use government building, where the historic school house is used by the Cass District Library for the Mason-Union Branch and the new addition in the back, being used by the township.

History

The Michigan Historical Marker that is placed on the grounds of the Mason School House Mason School Historical Marker.JPG
The Michigan Historical Marker that is placed on the grounds of the Mason School House

The school house was built between 1874 and 1875 at the cost of about $3,000. It has been known as the Sailor School and the Kessington School house. [4] In 1964 Mason Township board bought the building for use as the township hall. In 1973 the Cass County Library founded and established a branch library in the township hall to serve the members of the South-East corner of the county. In 1987, the building was restored. [5] [6]

The bell that was on top of the school house was built by the Gould Mrf. Co of Seneca Falls, New York. The bell weights about 290 pounds and was shipped from New York to Mason. [5]

The bell that sits outside the schoolhouse now has not always been with the school. After the bell was installed it stayed with the building until a reconstruction project took place on the building during the 1970s. The bell was dropped from the belfry and york was cracked or broke. The bell could not be reinstalled so it was left sitting on the ground until a local farmer bought the bell from the township, and then sold it to a family member who lived in Wichita, Kansas. Several attempts were made to buy the bell back to restore it with the building. However the owner refused to sell the bell until 1996 when he contacted the township and stated that he was willing to sell the bell. Two local people went to buy the bell and had the yoke fixed before donating it to the township. After almost 25 years after the bell was sold it was returned to the schoolhouse. [7]

Information from Michigan registry

The narrative description on file with the Michigan registry reads:

The Mason District Number 5 Schoolhouse is a one-story, T-plan, yellow brick structure resting on a fieldstone foundation. Raised dark red brick trim forms Italianate-inspired hood molds over the arched windows and door frame and trims the cornice, forming triangle-shaped downward projections which mimic the appearance of brackets. In the raking eaves, the red brick trim is inset with yellow brick crosses. A double row of red brick also forms a belt course marking the separation between the first floor and foundation on the exterior. A gable-roofed, single-story addition, constructed c. 1988, extends off of the rear of the building. [2]

The text that is listed about the schoolhouse on the Michigan Register of sites for the Statement of Significance reads:

In size and architectural distinction, the District Number 5 Schoolhouse is far in advance of the typical late nineteenth-century rural Michigan school building. Constructed in 1875, the structure served Mason Township as a school for up to 110 students until 1959. In 1964, the schoolhouse was reopened as the township hall. Since 1972, the former District Number 5 Schoolhouse has accommodated the Mason-Union Branch of the Cass County Library as well as the township hall. [2]

The marker text that has been placed on the site reads as follows:

DISTRICT SCHOOLHOUSE This late-Victorian schoolhouse was built in 1874-1875. Constructed at a cost of $3,000, it is made of locally manufactured yellow and red brick. The 1882 Cass County History described it as "the best rural schoolhouse in the State." Its two classrooms could accommodate 110 pupils. The school was used until the local district was absorbed into the Constantine School District in 1959. In 1964 the building became the township hall; and in 1972, the Mason Union Branch of the Cass County Library. [2]

Film

The building and the bell are highlighted in a documentary called "From Moccasins to Main Street" which was produced by Equity Studios Inc. The documentary is a tour of the Native American Sauk Trail what is now US 12. [8]

Related Research Articles

Cass County, Michigan U.S. county in Michigan

Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 52,293. Its county seat is Cassopolis.

One-room school Small rural school in which students of different ages are mixed in a single classroom

One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room. There, a single teacher taught academic basics to several grade levels of elementary-age children. While in many areas one-room schools are no longer used, it is not uncommon for them to remain in developing nations and rural or remote areas. Examples include remote parts of the American West, the Falklands, and the Shetland Islands.

Detroit Public Library

The Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in the U.S. state of Michigan by volumes held and is the 21st largest library system in the United States. It is composed of the Main Library on Woodward Avenue, which houses the library's administration offices, and 23 branch locations across the city. The Main Library is part of Detroit's Cultural Center Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places adjacent to Wayne State University campus and across from the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Chana School United States historic place

Chana School is a Registered Historic Place in Ogle County, Illinois, in the county seat of Oregon, Illinois. One of six Oregon sites listed on the Register, the school is an oddly shaped, two-room schoolhouse which has been moved from its original location. Chana School joined the Register in 2005 as an education museum.

Edwin W. Keightley

Edwin William Keightley was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.

Anderson Schoolhouse United States historic place

Anderson Schoolhouse is a registered historic building near Ashland, Ohio, listed in the National Register of Historic Places on 1977-03-25. It is located at 1202 US 42 South, in Milton Township, Ashland County, Ohio. It was known as the No. 5 district out of seven in the township.

Naomi Institute United States historic place

The Naomi Institute, also known as the Rock Bluff School, is located in the ghost town of Rock Bluff, Nebraska, three miles east of Murray. It was one of the earliest higher education institutions in Nebraska, founded in 1870 as a pioneer college. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Calumet Historic District United States historic place

The Calumet Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District that encompasses most of the village of Calumet, Michigan. The district was designated in 1989 for the community's importance in the history of the region's copper mining industry.

Cass District Library

Cass District Library is the library system which services Calvin, Howard, Jefferson, LaGrange, Mason, Milton, Newberg, Ontwa, Penn, Pokagon, Porter and Volinia Townships in Cass County, Michigan, United States.

Clinton Downtown Historic District (Clinton, Michigan) United States historic place

The Clinton Downtown Historic District is a historic district located in the village of Clinton in Clinton Township in the northernmost portion of Lenawee County, Michigan. It consists of most of the 100 block of U.S. Route 12, known locally as West Michigan Avenue, plus Memorial Park at 200 West Michigan. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 27, 2010.

Bridge School (Michigan)

The Bridge School is a former school building located in rural Raisinville Township in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is recognized as the first public school in the Territory of Michigan when it was founded in 1828. The school district closed in 1946, and the building has served as Raisinville Township Hall since 1982. The Bridge School was listed as a Michigan State Historic Site on December 17, 1987.

Henry T. Brush

Henry T. Brush was an American architect who practiced in Detroit, Michigan in the latter part of the 19th century. Brush was born in Detroit, the son of Amanda Brush. Henry's father was from Canada and died by the time he was 11. Amanda remarried William Cicero Grant, who was instrumental in the early education of Henry and his older brother James. William was a mathematical instrument maker.

Peoria Heights Community Unit District 325 is the unit school district of Peoria Heights and an adjacent area of Peoria along Illinois Route 29 and the Illinois River to the north, all in Peoria County, Illinois. It has one high school — Peoria Heights High School — and one grade school, both the same site.

Erin–Warren Fractional District No. 2 Schoolhouse United States historic place

The Erin–Warren Fractional District No. 2 Schoolhouse, also known as the Halfway Schoolhouse, is a school building located at 15500 Nine Mile Road in Eastpointe, Michigan, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1990.

Green Park, Pennsylvania

Green Park, an incorporated village located in northeastern Tyrone Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States, sits at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 233 and Pennsylvania Route 274. The name was given to a local land tract by James Baxter in the late 1700s and made popular as an unofficial moniker for mid- to late-1800s picnic grounds located at the upper end of Stambaugh Farm Run. The town serves as Perry County's midpoint between the Conococheague Mountain in the west and the Susquehanna River to the east.

Warren Township District No. 4 School United States historic place

The Warren Township District No. 4 School, also known as the Bunert School, is a one-room schoolhouse building located at 27900 Bunert Road in Warren, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1989. It is the last one-room schoolhouse remaining in Warren.

Alma Downtown Historic District (Alma, Michigan) United States historic place

The Alma Downtown Historic District is a commercial historic district in Alma, Michigan, roughly located along Superior Street between the Pine River and Prospect Avenue, and along State Street between Center and Downie Streets. Parts of the district were designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1975, and the entirety was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. It contains 72 structures, primarily brick commercial buildings, ranging from one to three stories in height and dating from 1874 to the 1960s.

Fife Lake–Union District No. 1 Schoolhouse United States historic place

The Fife Lake–Union District No. 1 Schoolhouse, also known as the Cedar Creek School of the Union Township Hall, is a school building located at 5020 Fife Lake Road near Fife Lake, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1983 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It is unique because of the distinctive design of its Late Victorian porch and belfry.

Canton School United States historic place

Canton School is a historic one-room schoolhouse located in the unincorporated community of Canton, Iowa, United States. This school building was built in 1877 of locally quarried, roughly-dressed limestone, laid in a random ashlar pattern. The main facade, however, is faced with concrete brick that is original to the structure. What is unusual about this building is its decorative elements, as most one-room schoolhouses built in Iowa were plain. The eaves and the two-stage wooden bell tower are edged with rather delicate wooden trim, and the windows are capped with concrete keystone hoods. The use of concrete is rather sophisticated for a building in the vernacular-folk architectural style in stone. The building served as a school until 1966 when the area's school districts were reorganized. It served as a church until 1968, and it is now surrounded by a park.

Horton Bay School United States historic place

The Horton Bay General Store is a school building located at 04991 Boyne City-Charlevoix Road in Horton Bay, Michigan. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Historic Sites Online: Mason District No. 5 Schoolhouse Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 24, 2009
  3. ↑ Mason Union Branch Retrieved December 24, 2009 Archived July 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Mason Township Hall Photos Retrieved December 24, 2009
  5. 1 2 Mason Township Historical Data Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 24, 2009
  6. ↑ http://www.michmarkers.com/frameset.htm Archived 2014-07-17 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 24, 2009
  7. ↑ Sumeriz, Lyle (June 26, 1998), "Dedication to ring in bell's return to its beginnings", Hometown (Kalamazoo Gazette), p. 1
  8. ↑ From Moccasins to Main Street; A Journey Down the Old Chicago Road (DVD). Sturgis: Equity Studios, Inc. 2006.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.