Inscription
Built in 1891, DeWitt School typifies the one-room schools of the turn of the century. It stands on an acre of land that was donated by the DeWitt and Bosch families. Classes for grades one through eight were held in it until 1957. At one time, a single teacher taught from twenty-five to forty students by holding one ten-minute session per subject for each of the eight grades.
The original school district covered approximately four square miles, and many children walked more than two miles to and from school daily. Nearly two decades after the school closed, planning began for restoring it as a living museum for area school children. By 1979 the classroom resembled its 1891 appearance, featuring gas lights, a wood stove, an octagonal clock, a hanging globe, lunch pails, and desks.
Location
Sources
More markers in Ottawa
Ottawa Beach
Holland, MI
Ottawa Beach is a well-preserved example of the summer cottage resorts that developed along the Lake Michigan shore during the late...
Grand Trunk Depot
Grand Haven, MI
This depot was constructed in 1870 as the western terminus of the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railroad.
Blendon Landing
Allendale, MI
In the mid-nineteenth century a site called Blendon Landing was located in this vicinity on the Grand River.
Dutch in Michigan
Holland, MI
On February 9, 1847, the Reverend Albertus C. Van Raalte and a band of Hollanders founded the city of Holland.
Hope College
Holland, MI
In 1851, four years after settlers from the Netherlands founded Holland, the Pioneer School was established to meet some of the...
