Scope and Content[Excerpts from a history of education in Michigan, western Allegan County, and especially early schools in Douglas, presented by Nancy Budd at a recent local history meeting. A bibliography follows the main text.] 1610 First European explorer enters Michigan. Under French rule ... education was the function of the church and a number of priests tried to get schools started in various locations. Most were short lived and inferior in character. The Indians were nomads and not interested in formal education. For the most part the French and the British were not interested. It was the Americans who brought the zeal to settle communities, with the first agenda being schools and churches. (Thomas, p. 507; Vol. VII, p. 42 and Vol. XIV p. 284.) 1785 A bill suggested by President Thomas Jefferson providing for the survey and terms of sale of the land west of Pennsylvania and north of the Ohio River was adopted. This included a clause making the reservation of lands for the support of schools. The territory was to be divided into townships six miles square and each township into tracts one mile square and "there shall be reserved from sale the lot No. 16 of every township for the maintenance of public schools within said township." (Vol. VII, p. 18) 1787 In July the famous Ordinance of the Government of the Northwest Territory was passed. Among the provisions is the well known clause, "Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to the good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." The 1 6th section of each township became a principal source of the State Primary Fund. (Vol. VII, p.18; Tattle, p. 590 and Thomas, p. 507) 1805 The Territory of Michigan was organized and the rights and acts of the Northwest Territory were conferred to the Territory of Michigan. Thomas writes that the early settlers were from New York and New England where the school was the first institution in a community. It preceded the church. When a half a dozen families lived within a two or three-mile radius a school house was built with paths blazed through the forest trees so the children could find their way. The school house was the focal point of pioneer life, and its importance cannot be too strongly emphasized. When the settlers came from the east many of them brought along a few school books such as their parents had used." (Thomas p. 510, 511) 1827 "Four years after the organization of the Legislative Council, an act was passed providing that every township containing fifty inhabitants should provide themselves with a schoolmaster of good morals to give instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, orthography [spelling], the English and French languages, as well as decent behavior, for such terms as should be equivalent to six months in the year" or pay a fine. (Vol. I, p. 452). 1835 By act of the Michigan Territorial Legislature, Allegan County was established. In May a convention was called to form a State constitution and apply to Congress for admission into the Union. Delegates to the convention agreed that education should be a distinct branch of the government and the proceeds of the sale of Section 16 was to go to the State and not the township. This was done. No other States had done this. (Vol. I, p.38; Vol. VII, p.21) In so doing, "Worthless land fell upon the State at large and benefits accrued to all alike." (Tattle, p. 598). 1836 Fred N. Plummer, son of early settler, Benjamin Plummer wrote, "Miss Mary Peckham taught the first school in Saugatuck township in a room in our house just west of the Plummer mill, on a farm owned by my father in about 1836. I think she taught three months and she boarded at our house at the time." (Hutchins, p. 11) "The first school of which there appears to be any present recollection was taught on section 4, upon the east bank of the river, and not far from Singapore... There was, after that, a private school in Saugatuck, taught by Miss Jane Powers, but touching that as well as other early schools in the township but little can be said, since the early school records were burned many years ago." (Ensign, p.333) 1837 In January after Michigan finally became a state, the first State Superintendent of Public Instruction, John D. Pierce, presented a code of school laws which were adopted. The township was the unit. Each township had three inspectors to organize school districts, examine teachers and grant certificates. One of them was to visit schools two times a year and make annual reports to the county clerk. (Thomas p. 511; Vol. I, p. 38) The first report does not include Newark. "It is probable that in Newark township no district was legally organized the first year, though the children at the mouth of the river must have been provided with some private-school instruction." (Thomas p. 516) 1838 Fred Plummer continues, "The Singapore school house was built about 1838 (Heath, p. 42 says 1837) two or three years after [Mary Elizabeth Peckham] began at our place, after which she taught several terms, I think until she got married." (Hutchins, p. 11) "The Singapore school house; the first school established in western Allegan County which was built in 1838 stood and still stands at a point about a mile South and East of the site of Singapore, on the road to Saugatuck, and is still used for school purposes, tho on a road over which there is very little travel at the present time." (Hutchins, p.12) 1843 "I remember well the first Monday in April 1843 at the close of the hard winter, the voters went to the Singapore school house to town meeting on snow shoes over snow four feet deep." (A. H. Stillson quoted in Hutchins, p.10) 1846 The first graded or union school was built in Flint. The term union school has less to do with combining districts as it did with having separate quarters for the grades. The buildings were larger, there were more children, more teachers, it was more efficient and more economical. (Thomas p. 512) 1848 Jonathan Wade located his property in what was to become Dudleyville [later part of Douglas] getting a patent from the State for $193.80. (Search of records by John Pahl) 1850 The report for Allegan County shows there were 44 schools and 44 teachers. As the population increased, this became uneconomical and inefficient. (Thomas, p. 512) 1852 A school house was built on the Singapore Road at Oak Openings Camp. Then the school house was built in Pine Grove at Saugatuck. Mary Peckham was succeeded by Miss Jane Bixby. (Heath, p.42) 1855 The butcher and May families, 1 3 in all, moved to the north half of Wade's land. William A. May, who later called himself the "original boy of Douglas" would have been four years old. (Lane) 1857 On March 4, 1857, Jonathan Wade and his wife sold to School District No. 3 the property now across the street south from the post office, for $15. The deed was recorded March 6, 1 (Pahl) 1859 The school Inspector's reports, available beginning in 1 859 report 24 students at Douglas. 1860 On January 1 the school property was platted which means it was purchased and attended before it was platted. (Pahl) 1864 Jonathan Wade's patent of 1848 wherein he purchased from the State for $193.80 the Primary School Land represented by Certificate # 2947 was recorded. Why so late, we do not know. 1866 On March 24, 1866, Michael B. Spencer and his wife sold to the school trustees the land for the Douglas Union School. It was built probably that summer ready for occupancy for the school year of 1866-1867. The School Inspector's Report of September 2, 1867, stated it was a union school with a value of $4,500. 1867 The trustees of School District No. 3 sold the former school property to Robert Woodhull for $500. (Pahl) However, there may have been a school prior to the one on the Wade property. This is part of an article William A. May wrote some time around 1920 to 1926, "The first day school in Douglas was kept in a small dwelling them on the ground now called the "square" where baseball games are played, A Mrs. Whipple being the first teacher. This lady afterward became Mrs. Robert MacDonald. Then a schoolhouse was built on what is now the corner diagonally opposite where the Masonic hall stands, and the bulling is now the same as when first put up except for a small extension added to its front." The inference is that Mrs. Whipple taught before this schoolhouse was built, for May speaks of Mrs. Whipple teacher and ", ..then a schoolhouse was built.. ," which would have been in 1857 or 1858. Regarding who was the first teacher, we have seen that William May says it was Mrs. Whipple, and he was there to be taught by her for perhaps one year before she married Mr. McDonald in 1859. Charles Lorenz says Mrs. Minerva Whipple was Robert's second wife, and says Cordelia Vradenburg McDonald, Robert's first wife, was the first teacher in Douglas. May Heath, p.48, says merely that Robert McDonald's wife was the first teacher, giving no name, but she infers it was Cordelia as she does not mention a second marriage. Bibliography [Ensign] History of Allegan and Barry Counties, Michigan (D. W. Ensign & Co.: Philadelphia) 1880. Heath, May Francis Early Memories of Saugatuck (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing & Co.) 1947, Hutchins, Henry Hudson Recollection of the Pioneers of Western Allegan County (Pavilion Press: Douglas) 1977, Lane, Kit Douglas: Village of Friendliness (Commercial Record: Saugatuck) 1987. Lorenz, Charles J. The Early History of Saugatuck and Singapore, Michigan, )830-1840 (Published by Author) 1983. Michigan and Pioneer Historical Collections Vol. 1-40, 1877-1929. Thomas, Dr, Henry F, A 20th Century History of Allegan County (Lewis Publishing Co.: Chicago) 1907. Tattle, Charles Richard, ed. General History of the State of Michigan (Detroit Free Press: Detroit) 1873.