Brady 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.
“The first school district organized in what is now Brady was that at present known as fractional district No. 1, in the northwest corner. The second is still known as No. 2, lying east of the village of Vicksburg. A neat brick school-house was built in 1874, near the residence of William Jenkinson. No. 3 was next on the list. In the winter of 1839-40 a school was taught, probably by Harrison Whaley, in a log house built for a dwelling by a man named Brooks. The building had been vacated and was utilized for a temporary school-house. A log school building was erected about 1841-42, near the present residence of J.M. Beebe, on a knoll which was known as “Mount Zion,” the “Hill of Science,” etc., and was used a number of years. This school-house was the scene of many lively occurrences in the “pioneer days.”
From the report of the school inspectors for the year ending Sept. 1, 1879, the following items, relative to the schools of Brady, are taken:
Number of districts (whole, 5; fractional, 2)…….. |
7 |
Children of school age……………………………… |
441 |
Attendance during the year……………………….. |
333 |
Number of days school taught……………………… |
1136 |
Number of volumes in district libraries…………… |
304 |
Number of school-houses (brick, 3; frame, 4)…… |
7 |
Number of sittings…………………………………… |
477 |
Value of school property…………………………….. |
$6800 |
Number of teachers employed (male, 7; female, 8). |
15 |
Wages paid teachers (male, $898; female, $408)… |
$1306 |
Total resources for the year…………………………. |
$1956.64 |
Amount on hand Sept. 1, 1879…………………….. |
472.62 |
Total expenditures, less amount on hand…. |
$1484.02 |
Thanks are tendered to John W. Darling and wife, J. M. Beebe, P. Bohner, D. E. Rishel, Bradley S. Williams, of Kalamazoo, and numerous others, who have assisted in the compilation of the foregoing sketch.
Sources
Books
History of Kalamazoo County, Michigan…, 1880
Durant, Samuel W.
Evansville, IN: Unigraphic, 1976
H 977.417 H67u (oversize), page 299
Manuscripts
List of one-room schools still standing in Kalamazoo County in 1982
Hultmark, Sarah
Manuscript, Local History Collection, Kalamazoo Public Library
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, 1918 (Leonidas Quadrangle), 1922/1950 (Schoolcraft Quadrangle)
History Room map case, left drawer #1
Compiled by Catherine Larson, Local History Specialist, Kalamazoo Public Library, 1999. Mapped October 2008. Last updated 8 March 2012.