History of the Public Schools in the City of Grand Rapids

To understand history it is necessary to be able to see the source it its timeline not yours. And if you grew up after the 1960's,
you are looking from a very different timeline. "The decade of the 1960's will go down in history for its restlessness and turbulence, but also for the changes and expansion it caused in our society's way of life. -- (bringing) about a significant number of sociological as well as institutional changes--."  ^Jung . Now the 60's are history and the new century reveals even further growth in automation, fast personal transportation, even faster communication that would make understanding earlier history's lack of automation,  slow personal transportation and even slower communication even more difficult.  To understand Michigan school history it is necessary to know that during this social upheaval,  the state government made a power grab wresting control over the  local school boards and replacing the taxpayers' common-sense  with well-credentialed and well-paid "experts".

The public schools in the City of Grand Rapids began in 1850 when the newly created City annexed three township schools,  two from Grand Rapids Township and one from Walker Township. Townships were created with the authority to tax land for public schools under  the Land Act of 1785 and the  Northwest Ordinance of 1787 before the United States Constitution was even written (1788) much less ratified and before Michigan became a state. (1837).

These early laws said:  "Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged" while ensuring  that "No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments, in the said territory". The Land Act of 1785 provided the financial means: "There shall be reserved the lot No. 16 of every township, for the maintenance of public schools within the said township".

Because public schools were attached to the land, land records reveal some of the earliest and still existing primary records.  As people slowly moved westward it wasn't just ma, pa and the two kids but grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles and siblings and cousins and in-laws and neighbors. So it was likely that every student in a small local school, public or private,  was related or at least from the same ethnic and religious background. Diversity wasn't an issue, survival was the issue.

The City of Grand Rapids was settled by these groups of westward moving pioneers resulting in strong ethnic neighborhoods.
Each neighborhood had its own identify with its own school, church and stores: Dutch, Polish, Lithuanian, Black, Jewish, German, Roman, Sicilian, Syrian. There was friendly rivalry between these neighborhoods.

The first school in what would be the City was the Baptist mission school, located just south of future Bridge St,   for the Odawa (Ottawa) and Ojibway (Chippewa), who had settled on the west side of  the rapids of the Grand River south of Bridge Street..  According to local legend which might have been just a myth, the white settlers sent their children in canoes across the river to this Baptist mission school until private schools, none lasting for very long, were built on the east side of the river. The Catholic mission, which was located near Butterworth and the future Gelock Pl SW, had a cemetery which lasted until 1861 while the Baptist Mission was closed by 1836.^McGee . 

Even though most of the village was actually in Walker township, the river stood in the way so the village would be under the legal jurisdiction of Grand Rapids Township. The City was created in 1850 from sections 19 and 30  of Grand Rapids Township and sections 24 and 25 of Walker Township. By 1848, Grand Rapids Township had grown so populous it had at least six schools so spit it's schools into districts. Two of those districts would overlap the Village of Grand Rapids and both of these school buildings were actually in the village; District Six which included the north half of Section 19 and District One which included the south half of Section 19 and all of Section 30. The dividing line was the 1/4 section line in Section 19 along which ran Bradford Street.

District #6
The City annexed Coldbrook School from District 6 of Grand Rapids Township. It was named for the creek it overlooked.
This district was the smallest, poorest and most rural.

^{1853 Henry Hart}

District #1
The City annexed this centrally-located union (graded) school from District #1 of Grand Rapids Township. This was the most populist and richest district,

 ^{1853 Henry Hart}

District #2
The City annexed one school from Walker Township. The first school in the future City was at the Baptist Mission. which was abandoned in 1836 at about the same time as a township school was established at the NW corner of First and Turner. The Catholic Mission continued until at least 1843 while the cemetery existed until 1861.^McGee

 ^{1853 Henry Hart}

  In 1849 Grand Rapids Township had built a new school  made from stones taken from the river bed.
                            It was 44 by 64 feet and had three large study rooms, six recitation rooms, a dressing room for girls,
                            and a room for the  library and school apparatus. There was an octagonal dome, covered with a tin roof
                            which held the school bell.^{4 Baxter} It was two stories with a low basement but it soon became necessary
                            to use the basement and  the earth around it was dug away and scattered over the school grounds.
                            This was the school the City  annexed in 1850. Today it is Central High School

The City began with  these three independent school districts, 1, 2 and 6 with separate boards of education: future Central, future Union and future East Leonard or perhaps North Ionia.

The Big Three

Bibliography with Grand Rapids Public Library call numbers.

Annual Catalogue of the officers, instructors, and students of Grand Rapids Public Schools East Side 1860- , Dept of Public Education . M379.1 G76ac

Annual Reports of the Grand Rapids Board of Education 1872- , Board of Education.  M379 G76a,

Austin, Franklin H., A History of the Organization in the Public Schools of Grand Rapids, Michigan. MKG379.Au7                                          

Baxter, Albert. History of the City of Grand Rapids, Mi. Munsell & Co, 1891 republished 1974 Grand Rapids Historical Society.  M977.456 B333

Belknap, Charles.  The Yesterdays of Grand Rapids. Dean HIcks Co., Grand Rapids, Mi. 1922. R977.456 B412

Chapman's History of Kent County, MI. Chas. C. Chapman & Co, Chicago, IL, 1881.  977.4 C366

City Assessor's Records 1936-, City Archives on State Street

City Engineer's Records, City Hall

Cuningham, Bill. City Archives.  Personal Interview. 2005, 2006

Dillenback & Leavitt, History and Directory of Kent County. Daily Eagle Steam Printing House, Grand Rapids, Mi, 1870. M977.455 D582

Etten, William J.  Citizens' History of Grand Rapids, Johnson Company for the Campau centennial committee 1926. 977.456 Et75

Funk, Tim. GR Bd of Ed, Administrative Assistant, personal interview, 2006. 

Gillis, Edward. Growing Up in Old Lithuania Town, Grand Rapids Historical Commission, 2000. 977.456 G416g

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Last modified: 08/05/11