Erin/Warren Fractional District No. 2 Schoolhouse
Historic Photo, sourced from the National Register of Historic Places filing
Erin/Warren Fractional District No. 2 Schoolhouse — historic photograph, 1872, National Register of Historic Places filing, Detroit
National Register of Historic Places Filing
The Erin/Warren Fractional District No. 2 Schoolhouse served as the public school in what is now known as Eastpointe from its construction in 1872 until replaced by a larger building in 1921. The school, restored to its original appearance and used as a museum, is a well-preserved example of later nineteenth-century vernacular, Italianate one-room schoolhouse architecture.
Physical Description
The Erin/Warren Fractional District No. 2 Schoolhouse, a one-story, wooden, Italianate schoolhouse with a cupola, was built in 1872 and served as classroom space for the Erin/Warren Fractional District continuously until 1921. The simple schoolhouse is rectangular in plan. Four round arch-headed windows line each side elevation, while a round arch-headed window flanks the central entry door on each side. The entry door displays a fanlight above the door, with an Italianate hood, supported at each end by a console bracket. Likewise, two of the same windows flank a back entry door, but are the only two windows on the structure without shutters. Closed as a school and sold in 1921, the building was moved several hundred feet east to the southeast corner of Gratiot Avenue and Nine Mile Road. Restored by the East Detroit Historical Society beginning in 1984, the schoolhouse has been moved back to near its original location. The school's site is surrounded by a picket fence. A wooden plank walk leads to a small wooden porch located at the north-facing front facade of the schoolhouse. Two large, wooden doors open into the schoolhouse's vestibule. A fan window is located above the double doors. Above the fanlight, in the center of the front facade, is a wooden roundel with the following inscription: 'Erin/Warren District No.2.' A cupola is located near the front peak of the gable roof. A large, functional bell is located within the cupola; the original bell is on display in the schoolhouse. All windows on the schoolhouse measure seventy-seven inches by thirty inches. Narrow window hoods round the top of each window, revealing the Late Victorian style of architecture previously mentioned. All windows have fixed shutters on either side.
Architect/Builder
N/A
NRHP Ref# 01000412 • Data from National Park Service • Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Historic Photos
(12)Sourced from the National Register of Historic Places filing
Erin/Warren Fractional District No. 2 Schoolhouse — Erin/Warren Fractional District No. 2 Schoolhouse — historic photograph, 1872, National Register of Historic Places filing, Detroit
Public Domain (Michigan filing for National Register of Historic Places)
From Wikipedia
The Erin–Warren Fractional District No. 2 Schoolhouse, also known as the Halfway Schoolhouse, is a school building located at 15500 Nine Mile Road in Eastpointe, Michigan, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1990.
History The first school classes offered in the village of Halfway (now the city of Eastpointe) were held in 1838 in the home of German farmer Christian Gerlach. A log building was used as a classroom in the 1840s, and in 1850 a red frame schoolhouse was built, serving children in Erin and Warren townships. In 1872, the earlier school was replaced with this structure, built facing Grove Road at Nine Mile. A wing was added to the school in 1901, and it was used for school classes until 1921, when a new brick building, the Erin School, was constructed. After the school was closed, it was sold to Kaiser Fuel and Supply, who moved it to the southeast corner of Nine Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue and used the structure as a warehouse, although it remained essentially unaltered. In 1984, the East Detroit Historical Society purchased the building, and moved it once more to within 60 feet of its original site. The historical society restored the building to its original appearance, and in 1987 added a small rear annex housing lavatories.
Description The Halfway Schoolhouse is a one-story front-gabled structure with clapboard siding trimmed with cornerboards and surmounted with a frieze. The front facade is symmetrical, with a double-door entry with fanlight and an arched hoodmold, flanked by sash windows. A roundel containing the school name and date of construction is placed high above the door. A pyramid-roofed belfry with flag staff sits atop the cedar-shake roof. Each side of the structure has four windows identical to the front windows, and the rear has a small modern gabled annex. On the inside, the walls are plastered and wainscoted, and the original hardwood floor is still in place. A cloakroom is located to the left of the entrance, and the original wood stove is located toward the rear of the building. The room is furnished with pupil's desks, kerosine reflector lamps, and a slate chalkboard. The structure is an excellent example, essentially unaltered, of a vernacular one-room schoolhouse.
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Macomb County, Michigan
References
Further reading Robert S. Christenson (1979), The Halfway-East Detroit story, Christenson
Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Building Details
- Year Built
- 1872
- Building Type
- Historic District
- National Register
- Listed 2001
- Ref# 01000412