Gourdneck Prairie / Webber School
Schoolcraft Township
Location: District #6 – Section 14, southeast corner of V Avenue and Portage Road.
Kalamazoo County 1890, Published by Wm. C. Sauer. Local History Room Photo by Sarah Haltmark, c.1981, History Room Photo File P-1286
This building was constructed in 1870, just north of Gourdneck Prairie Cemetery on land donated by Joseph Frakes, who is buried in the adjacent cemetery, along with other members of this pioneer family. It was later called Webber School, after members of the Webber family who owned adjoining land for many years. The school became part of the Vicksburg Community School District in the 1947 consolidation, and was last used for regular classes in 1957-58. Building still standing in 2011.
Teachers
1925-27 Marian Hill
Compiled by Catherine Larson, Local History Specialist, Kalamazoo Public Library, 1999. Mapped October 2008. List of teachers compiled by Lisa Frazier, KPL Intern. Last updated 24 May 2022.
Sources
Manuscripts
List of one-room schools still standing in Kalamazoo County in 1982
Hultmark, Sarah.
Manuscript, Local History Collection, Kalamazoo Public Library
Misidentified on this list as “Brick School,” even though the sign in the photo clearly identifies it as Gourdneck Prairie School.
Articles
“Schoolcraft preserves part of historic past”
Kalamazoo Gazette , 19 October 1969, page 12, column 4
Maps and atlases
USGS Topographic Maps for Kalamazoo County, 1922/1950 (Schoolcraft Quadrangle)
History Room topographic map case, drawer 5B, folder 37
The location of this school has been reversed with Brick School on this map.
Files
Teachers’ and School Officers’ Directory, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, 1925-1947 (title varies)
Shelved in a pamphlet box with H 379.774 K149 (History Room Storage)