Dublin Core
Title
Finding Aid of Paradise Township School Records, 2014
Subject
Kingsley (Mich.)
Schoolhouses--Michigan.
Description
Describes the collected Paradise Township School Records, 1896-2002.
Creator
Kingsley Branch Library, Kingsley (Mich.)
Source
Local History Collections, Kingsley Branch Library, Kingsley (Mich.)
Publisher
Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City (Mich.)
Date
00-00-1896
00-00-2002
Contributor
None.
Rights
This document is protected by copyright law. Contact the Kingsley Branch Library for permission to reproduce, display or transmit this document.
Relation
Paradise Township School Records, held at Kingsley Branch Library, Kingsley (Mich.)
Format
PDF
Language
English
Type
Document
Identifier
kbl-lhc008-ptsr-findingaid.pdf
Coverage
Paradise Township, Grand Traverse County, Michigan
PDF Text
Text
Kingsley Branch Library
Local History Collections
Paradise Township School Records, 1
LOCAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS
KINGSLEY BRANCH LIBRARY
213 S Brownson Ave., Kingsley MI 496490427
Creator: State of Michigan Public Schools,
Paradise Township, Grand Traverse County
Title: Paradise Township School Records
Inclusive dates: 18962002
Bulk dates: 19001932; 1990s
Extent: 3 linear feet; 1 oversize folder
Call number: KBLLHC 008
Language: Material is in English
Acquisition: Anonymous donation; records from District 6 donated by Edith
Blackhurst, Mayfield (Mich).
Accruals: Periodic additions to the collection are not expected.
Access: The collection is open without restriction.
Photographs: See box 1.
AV Material: None.
Digital Material: Visit the online repository for images in this collection that
have been digitized: http://localhistory.tadl.org
Copyright: Copyright for records are publicly held. For more information,
review, “Records Retention and Disposal Schedule for Michigan Public
Schools,” published by State of Michigan, Records Management Services.
Processed By: Amy Barritt, 2014
Kingsley Branch Library
Local History Collections
Paradise Township School Records, 2
Abstract
Collection of records and memorabilia that details the history of the schools within
Paradise Township, Grand Traverse County, Michigan. Most oneroom schoolhouses in
the township had consolidated within larger school districts by the mid1940s; the surviving
school district is Kingsley Area Schools. Series in the collection are Photographs,
Kingsley Area Schools, District 6 (Mayfield School) and District 3f (Summit City
School).
History
Following the traditional pattern of formal public school development in Michigan, Paradise
Township boasted around 16 different oneroom schoolhouses at the turn of the 20th
Century. Most of these were governed by the parents of the children attending the school,
and kept in operation between a mix of state funds and inkind contributions made by
parents. Between 1871 and 1885, the Michigan State Legislature passed a series of laws
concerning how much formal education was required of the students in the state. This is
about the same time the Traverse City branch of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad
was completed and Grand Traverse County was settled in earnest.
By the best resources available at this time, the following is a list of those schoolhouses:
Buck, Marsh, Summit City, Mayfield, Bancroft, Dell, Marshall, Bartlett, Gray, Tompkins,
Nickerson, Briggs, Blackman, Kingsley, Sparling and County Line. Most of the
schoolhouses were named for settlers in the area or the school’s proximity to a village.
Few records have survived from most of the schoolhouses listed above. This may be in
part because no formal statemandated records retention and reporting schedule existed
for pupil and fiscal records until the 1940s. For most, only the physical building and
surviving students remain to mark the schools’ existence.
By the mid1940s, the surviving oneroom schoolhouses had largely consolidated to larger
school districts. Shortly thereafter, we assume because of population decline in some
villages and the restructuring of state funding, Kingsley Area Schools became the sole
surviving school district in the township.
Scope and Content Note
Collection is organized by the school district that created the record. The Photographs
series stands apart from this organization; all images from any school district or house
appears within this series. This series also includes a number of photocopies, as well as
originals.
Kingsley Branch Library
Local History Collections
Paradise Township School Records, 3
Kingsley Area Schools series includes largely memorabilia and items of historical
interest rather than records. For early records, contact the Paradise Township Offices,
located in Kingsley, Michigan.
District 6 (Mayfield) series are all original records. Pupil Records make up the bulk of this
series, but there is additional information about school operations to be found in the
subseries School District Meeting Minutes and Accounts. It is likely a school existed prior
to 1896, but no records have been found. Also, the school was in operation until May 1939;
exact date of consolidation is unknown. These records were all salvaged and saved by
Edith (Halladay) Blackhurst, a former teacher of the Mayfield School, who donated them to
the Kingsley Branch Library, Kingsley, Michigan.
District 3f (Summit City) series are also all original records. Students who attended this
school lived on the county line, and so may have actually lived in either Grand Traverse or
Wexford county. The subseries School District Meeting Minutes and Accounts contains
much detail, as the secretary was very thorough in note taking early on.
Kingsley Branch Library
Local History Collections
Paradise Township School Records, 4
Container No.
Description
Photographs [series]
Box 1
All schools
Kingsley Area Schools [series]:
Newspaper Clippings and Memorabilia
Newsletters
September 1985 June 1991
September 1991 June 2000
September 2000 September 2002
Sports
Girls’ Basketball scorebooks, undated, 194041, 194445
Folder 1
Donkey Basketball poster, ca. 1970
High School Sports Calendar, 19901991 (2 copies)
Staff
Group photograph, 1990
Group photograph, 199394
Box 2
Student Work
“History of Kingsley,” 195859
Writings, 198788, 1992
Yearbooks
“Arbutus,” 1937
“Memoirs,” 1957 (photocopy)
District 6 (Mayfield) [series]:
Teacher’s Contracts, 193234, 1939
Pupil Records
Transcriptions of Records
Box 3
7 September 1896 21 December 1900
September 1903 27 May 1910
12 September 1927 25 May 1928
3 September 1928 24 May 1929
1 September 1929 23 May 1930
6 September 1932 25 May 1933
28 August 1933 11 May 1934
4 September 1934 21 May 1935
3 September 1935 15 May 1936
7 September 1936 22 May 1937
School District Meeting Minutes and Accounts
7 September 1896 30 June 1932
Kingsley Branch Library
Local History Collections
Paradise Township School Records, 5
Container No.
Description
District 3f (Summit City) [series]:
Box 4
Pupil Records
September 1903 1908
1914 1918
2 September 1935 8 May 1936
15 September 1936 8 May 1937
5 September 1939 11 May 1940
School District Meeting Minutes and Accounts
13 July 1903 September 1911
9 July 192314 September 1936
Local History Collections
Paradise Township School Records, 1
LOCAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS
KINGSLEY BRANCH LIBRARY
213 S Brownson Ave., Kingsley MI 496490427
Creator: State of Michigan Public Schools,
Paradise Township, Grand Traverse County
Title: Paradise Township School Records
Inclusive dates: 18962002
Bulk dates: 19001932; 1990s
Extent: 3 linear feet; 1 oversize folder
Call number: KBLLHC 008
Language: Material is in English
Acquisition: Anonymous donation; records from District 6 donated by Edith
Blackhurst, Mayfield (Mich).
Accruals: Periodic additions to the collection are not expected.
Access: The collection is open without restriction.
Photographs: See box 1.
AV Material: None.
Digital Material: Visit the online repository for images in this collection that
have been digitized: http://localhistory.tadl.org
Copyright: Copyright for records are publicly held. For more information,
review, “Records Retention and Disposal Schedule for Michigan Public
Schools,” published by State of Michigan, Records Management Services.
Processed By: Amy Barritt, 2014
Kingsley Branch Library
Local History Collections
Paradise Township School Records, 2
Abstract
Collection of records and memorabilia that details the history of the schools within
Paradise Township, Grand Traverse County, Michigan. Most oneroom schoolhouses in
the township had consolidated within larger school districts by the mid1940s; the surviving
school district is Kingsley Area Schools. Series in the collection are Photographs,
Kingsley Area Schools, District 6 (Mayfield School) and District 3f (Summit City
School).
History
Following the traditional pattern of formal public school development in Michigan, Paradise
Township boasted around 16 different oneroom schoolhouses at the turn of the 20th
Century. Most of these were governed by the parents of the children attending the school,
and kept in operation between a mix of state funds and inkind contributions made by
parents. Between 1871 and 1885, the Michigan State Legislature passed a series of laws
concerning how much formal education was required of the students in the state. This is
about the same time the Traverse City branch of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad
was completed and Grand Traverse County was settled in earnest.
By the best resources available at this time, the following is a list of those schoolhouses:
Buck, Marsh, Summit City, Mayfield, Bancroft, Dell, Marshall, Bartlett, Gray, Tompkins,
Nickerson, Briggs, Blackman, Kingsley, Sparling and County Line. Most of the
schoolhouses were named for settlers in the area or the school’s proximity to a village.
Few records have survived from most of the schoolhouses listed above. This may be in
part because no formal statemandated records retention and reporting schedule existed
for pupil and fiscal records until the 1940s. For most, only the physical building and
surviving students remain to mark the schools’ existence.
By the mid1940s, the surviving oneroom schoolhouses had largely consolidated to larger
school districts. Shortly thereafter, we assume because of population decline in some
villages and the restructuring of state funding, Kingsley Area Schools became the sole
surviving school district in the township.
Scope and Content Note
Collection is organized by the school district that created the record. The Photographs
series stands apart from this organization; all images from any school district or house
appears within this series. This series also includes a number of photocopies, as well as
originals.
Kingsley Branch Library
Local History Collections
Paradise Township School Records, 3
Kingsley Area Schools series includes largely memorabilia and items of historical
interest rather than records. For early records, contact the Paradise Township Offices,
located in Kingsley, Michigan.
District 6 (Mayfield) series are all original records. Pupil Records make up the bulk of this
series, but there is additional information about school operations to be found in the
subseries School District Meeting Minutes and Accounts. It is likely a school existed prior
to 1896, but no records have been found. Also, the school was in operation until May 1939;
exact date of consolidation is unknown. These records were all salvaged and saved by
Edith (Halladay) Blackhurst, a former teacher of the Mayfield School, who donated them to
the Kingsley Branch Library, Kingsley, Michigan.
District 3f (Summit City) series are also all original records. Students who attended this
school lived on the county line, and so may have actually lived in either Grand Traverse or
Wexford county. The subseries School District Meeting Minutes and Accounts contains
much detail, as the secretary was very thorough in note taking early on.
Kingsley Branch Library
Local History Collections
Paradise Township School Records, 4
Container No.
Description
Photographs [series]
Box 1
All schools
Kingsley Area Schools [series]:
Newspaper Clippings and Memorabilia
Newsletters
September 1985 June 1991
September 1991 June 2000
September 2000 September 2002
Sports
Girls’ Basketball scorebooks, undated, 194041, 194445
Folder 1
Donkey Basketball poster, ca. 1970
High School Sports Calendar, 19901991 (2 copies)
Staff
Group photograph, 1990
Group photograph, 199394
Box 2
Student Work
“History of Kingsley,” 195859
Writings, 198788, 1992
Yearbooks
“Arbutus,” 1937
“Memoirs,” 1957 (photocopy)
District 6 (Mayfield) [series]:
Teacher’s Contracts, 193234, 1939
Pupil Records
Transcriptions of Records
Box 3
7 September 1896 21 December 1900
September 1903 27 May 1910
12 September 1927 25 May 1928
3 September 1928 24 May 1929
1 September 1929 23 May 1930
6 September 1932 25 May 1933
28 August 1933 11 May 1934
4 September 1934 21 May 1935
3 September 1935 15 May 1936
7 September 1936 22 May 1937
School District Meeting Minutes and Accounts
7 September 1896 30 June 1932
Kingsley Branch Library
Local History Collections
Paradise Township School Records, 5
Container No.
Description
District 3f (Summit City) [series]:
Box 4
Pupil Records
September 1903 1908
1914 1918
2 September 1935 8 May 1936
15 September 1936 8 May 1937
5 September 1939 11 May 1940
School District Meeting Minutes and Accounts
13 July 1903 September 1911
9 July 192314 September 1936
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