Douglas Union School / Douglas Union School

In 1866, faced with the growth of what were then the separate villages of Douglas and Dudleyville, Saugatuck Township Districts No. 3 and 4 merged forming Union District No. 3. The Douglas Union School opened for classes in September 1866. One male and one female teacher taught 129 pupils that year. Early newspapers reported church services, concerts, and social events taking place in the building’s second floor hall. When it closed in 1957, the school had four classrooms. They were converted to apartments during the 1960s. The bell, made by the Buckeye Bell Foundry of Cincinnati, Ohio, was removed and relocated at the new elementary school. Opened in 1866, the Douglas Union School is one of Michigan’s oldest surviving multi-classroom school buildings. With its bracketed eaves and belfry, the school reflects Italian Villa architecture. Two years after the school opened the state superintendent of education reported that “Douglas has a new building, and a good one for a small place.” Incorporated in 1870, by 1873 the village had four general stores, a hotel, several flour and lumber mills, and between 700 and 800 inhabitants. The school served the village and the surrounding area until 1957. Douglas Union School is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.