Marshall Michigan Public Schools

Shortly after building their log cabins the pioneers began to think about the establishment of a school for their children. Mr. Sidney Ketchum managed to procure a teacher from Ann Arbor, and Miss Ann Brown held her first classes in a loft in one of the local cabins. By 1832 a pioneer schoolhouse was erected. This small frame building, the first in the country, was built on what is now Mansion Street near the present Presbyterian Church. The teacher was Miss Eliza Ketchum. The building not only served as a church, town hall, courthouse and meeting place for all public assemblies; a house of law, politics, religion and letters. In the early days of Marshall history the village was separated into two hamlets, called the Upper Village and the Lower Village. One clustered around the Marshall House (present-day Marshall House Antique Centre) and the other at the west end centered around the Calhoun County Court House (present Brooks Fountain). After much deliberation it was decided to build a new "Union" School in the midst of a boggy swampland in the center of town. The land cost $525 and the building $5,375.91. The architect was T.T. Gregg and contractors were O. P. Austin and Benjamin Drake. The Marshall Union School first opened for classes on April 8, 1851. A stately building "First High School" no longer stands in Marshall. This building was a high school in Marshall between 1900 and 1959. Visit Marshall Public Schools today. Back to the top of this page     Back to the Marshall Michigan Home Page Back to the Marshall Home Page History Index     Excerpts of "A history of Marshall" used by permission from Richard Carver, all rights reserved. Ordering Information