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DeWitt School

DeWitt School is a Michigan historical marker in Spring Lake Township, Ottawa County, dedicated 1982.

Ottawa County · dedicated 1982 · 17710 West Taft Street, Spring Lake Township

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Built in 1891, DeWitt School typifies the one-room schools of the turn of the century. It stands on an acre of land that was donated by the DeWitt and Bosch families. Classes for grades one through eight were held in it until 1957. At one time, a single teacher taught from twenty-five to forty students by holding one ten-minute session per subject for each of the eight grades. The original school district covered approximately four square miles, and many children walked more than two miles to and from school daily. Nearly two decades after the school closed, planning began for restoring it as a living museum for area school children. By 1979 the classroom resembled its 1891 appearance, featuring gas lights, a wood stove, an octagonal clock, a hanging globe, lunch pails, and desks.

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Marker data: Michigan History Center
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