Michigan One Room Schoolhouse

tuesday talks 2015


When the bell rings at 11am Tuesday August 4th, I shared the story of the Peachbelt Schoolhouse (ca 1867) rehabs and its various incarnations. The Tuesday Talks series at the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center's Old Schoolhouse on Center St. in Douglas is free and open to the public.  The Society's current 2016 exhibit "Water" is on view at the Pump House Museum. The Society has the largest membership of any Historical Society in Michigan! 

MORSA presentation 2014



This spring I was asked to be a presenter at the MORSA’s annual conference.  Yes, there really is a Michigan One Room Schoolhouse Association! The theme was Adaptive Uses of One-Room Schoolhouses.This was the first time I sat down with my photo archive and pulled together a slide presentation of the entire history of the schoolhouse from my earliest 1880’s photo through to the present. I learned at the conference that there are 19 schoolhouses in Michigan still in operation.

 

The 1978 Peachbelt Schoolhouse Restoration by Phil VanEyl

 The 1978 Peachbelt Schoolhouse Restoration by Phil VanEyl

"I still remember going there for the first time after we closed the deal. As I was sitting in the middle of an empty floor looking at all that needed to be done, I was hoping that someone would knock on the door and offer me a $1 for the place. I might have taken it."