Alamo Township Schools
General Information and Sources
The following sketch is from History of Kalamazoo County, Michigan, by Samuel W. Durant, published in Philadelphia by Everts & Abbott, 1880.
“Numerous schools in the township denote the lively interest manifested by its residents in the cause of education. All of them follow the régime prescribed for the ordinary district school, and a graded school of a higher order is one of the developments of the future. The school buildings are comfortable, but by no means pretentious, the one at Alamo Centre being more spacious than the rest, and from its size and location somewhat imposing in appearance.
The earliest school-house in Alamo was built in the Finch Settlement, on the southeast corner of section 1. It was constructed of logs, on land appropriated for the purpose by William Finch in 1837. Miss Powers first filled the onerous position of teacher of this school. The second school building in the township was constructed of tamarack logs, on section 22. This was discarded for a more imposing brick building, and later a frame structure was used. For some years after, the three buildings were all standing as a monument to the progressive tendencies of the trustees of the district.”
Sources
Manuscripts
List of one-room schools still standing in Kalamazoo County in 1982
Hultmark, Sarah.
Manuscript, Local History Collection, Kalamazoo Public Library
Books
Alamo Township, most northwest corner of Kalamazoo County, Michigan: past and present
Snow, Florence
Published by the Author, 1958
H 977.417 S67
History of Kalamazoo County, Michigan…, 1880
Durant, Samuel W.
Evansville, IN: Unigraphic, 1976
H 977.417 H67u (oversize), page 299
Maps and Atlases
Map of Kalamazoo County, Michigan
Geil & Harley, Philadelphia. 1861
History Room atlas case, left shelf #2
Atlas of Kalamazoo County, Michigan from Recent and Actual Surveys and Records
F. W. Beers & Co., New York. 1873
Library of Congress
Illustrated atlas of Kalamazoo County [Michigan] with early and present history of Kalamazoo County
Sauer, William C.
Wm. C. Sauer, Detroit. 1890
History Room atlas case, left shelf #1
Standard atlas of Kalamazoo County, Michigan
Geo. A. Ogle & Co., 1910
History Room atlas case, left shelf #1
USGS topographic maps for Kalamazoo County
Several editions
History Room map case, left drawer #1
Compiled by Catherine Larson, Local History Specialist, Kalamazoo Public Library, 1999. Last updated 20 August 2020.