Stone School, 1911

2600 Packard Road

Stone School, 1911

Constructed in 1911, this is one of the most picturesque rural schoolhouses left in Michigan. One-story with a high attic, the building is of uncoursed fieldstone with a terra cotta tile roof, topped at the intersection of its four gables by an open belfry complete with school bell. White boxed cornices vividly contrast with the multi-colored stone and red tile. Oculus air vents are located in each gable. This building replaced an earlier fieldstone school dating back to 1853.

The Stone School District dates from 1826 when a small band of pioneers who had settled around the present intersection of Packard and Platt Roads decided their children needed schooling. They selected a site in an oak grove on the Nordman farm and hired Miss Elzada Fairbrother as teacher. By 1827 a building had been constructed that was called the Mallett's Settlement School.

In 1853 the district was divided because of an increasing number of children. The new district was called Pittsfield District No. 7 fractional, and the first stone building was erected on this site by volunteer labor using materials from nearby farms. This building served until 1911, when a larger school was needed. With great enthusiasm the people of the district tore down the old structure and helped build the new school. Stones were salvaged from the old building, and additional stones donated by the Ticknor and Hutzel farms.

Over time additional wooden buildings were erected to accommodate the growing school population. From 1918 to 1927 these buildings were used as a training school for student teachers from Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University) in Ypsilanti. By 1947 the school population had greatly increased and a bond issue was approved to build a new school across the road. The old stone school was boarded up after the new school was completed in 1949.

Countless people, seeing the charming school unused, sought to acquire it but it remained empty until 1958 when Miss Jean Dickinson opened a nursery school in the building. To this day it remains a nursery school-- and a building which is regarded with affection by local residents.