Part Two: Township Years Continue
The 1894 Polk Atlas is the only known source for the township school district boundaries that are known today. They. changed over the years. The intent is not to identify township schools but to identify the origins of some of the City schools. I have identified the township schools based on their location as shown on this 1894 map and the 1907 Ogle map. Obviously there are no City records for township schools that were not annexed by the City.
Although some of the township schools were annexed by the City, it did not
relieve the townships from continuing to provide schools for their children,
mostly children of farmers. These schools were small, often one-room ungraded
school houses through the 8th grade. The parents who could afford to, would pay
tuition for their children to attend a City High School to complete their
education.
Township school districts began to cease to exist in the 1960's as the state
mandated that every school district must have a high school causing mass
consolidation of districts thus ending the rural one-room country school-house
which was still common when I was a child. Although township
governments ruled villages they were subordinate to cities. So to preserve
township "power" in the 1960's, Paris, Walker and Wyoming Townships incorporated
into the cities of Kentwood, Walker and Wyoming. Only Grand Rapids Township
continues to exist today as a local government and hence has the best available
information on its former schools but the district boundaries are unknown.
FYI - Outside the City of Grand Rapids
Since I was looking through the reconstructed deed book page by page I just
wrote down whatever I found.
Sidney S. Haskins TO School Dist. No. 4, Cannon
9 Rods fo (sic) the North and South by 4 Rods East and West, Southeast corner,
Section 23-8-10
(Copy barely readable)
Mar 13, 1848
School Dist. 2
Part of the NE Commencing 23 rods south of
Section 31-8-9 (This would be Grattan Twp)
H C Smith To School Dist. No. 2 Plainfield Dec 26, 1840 Book C Pg 122
School house Site in N W cor. NE ¼ 4 rods Sqr. Sec 23, T8N, R12W
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