Local History

Education

Kalamazoo School Case

What is a public school education? Most citizens today think of kindergarten through 12th grade, funded by taxes. That was not always the case. A lawsuit known as the Kalamazoo School Case played a major role in defining public school education....

Child Welfare League

Although a weak economy and high unemployment marked the beginning of 1914, an air of hope was spreading across the US. In Kalamazoo, the newly formed Child Welfare League seized upon an idea to acquire needed funds and hopefully to help provide jobs

Dawntreader School

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, published in 1952, is a high fantasy novel for children by the author C.S. Lewis. Inspired by Lewis’ tale of self exploration, an ‘alternative’ school named Dawntreader was established in Kalamazoo in 1971.

Kalamazoo Christian Schools

The first Kalamazoo Christian school was established in 1877 by the Walnut Street Church of Kalamazoo. Several other Christian elementary schools soon followed over the years, and eventually the first Christian high school was established in 1939.

Kalamazoo College

The Michigan and Huron Institute was granted a charter from the territorial legislature of Michigan on 22 April 1833. Now, over 170 years later, Kalamazoo College is known far and wide as one of the premiere liberal arts colleges in the nation. The..

Kalamazoo Public Museum

The library’s museum came into being in 1881 when Horace M. Peck donated a collection of corals, shells, and fossils to the library. The collection remained largely undeveloped until 1927 when the Kalamazoo Public Museum was established.

Michigan Female Seminary

The Michigan Female Seminary was established in 1856 under the auspices of the Presbyterian Synod of Michigan. Located on a 31 acre bluff overlooking Gull Road and what is now Riverview Drive, the Seminary stood as a landmark in the city for more...

Parsons Business College

Parsons Business College was a small independent business school that came into prominence soon after the Civil War. Although the name has changed, the school lives on as one of Kalamazoo’s most important learning institutions.

Rural Schools of Kalamazoo County

Once there were six or eight one-room schools in every township. They are still fondly remembered by area residents, but all have disappeared under the pressure of expanding population, improved…

Spear, Marion R.

In the early years of the last century, a new approach to the treatment of mental and physical illnesses unfolded. Rooted in the earlier “Arts and Crafts” and “Moral Treatment”…

Stone, Lucinda Hinsdale

The mid and late 1800’s were a transformative time in American history in many ways. Traditional American values were limiting to women who wanted opportunities to expand their horizons. However, there were crusading activists who attempted to...

University High School

Shuttered in 1966, there once existed a high school situated atop Western Michigan University’s East Campus. It was called University High School (aka ‘Normal High’ or ‘State High’), and its…

University of Michigan Branch

Yes, there really was once a University of Michigan branch here in Kalamazoo, and it occupied the northeast corner of Bronson Park (then called Academy Square), where S. Rose and…

Wilbur Home and School

Administered by Dr. Charles T. Wilbur, a physician who had been born and educated in Massachusetts, his Wilbur Home and School for the Feeble-Minded was established in Kalamazoo in 1884.