The second Marquette High School, which operated from 1875-1900 on Ridge Street, is seen. (Photo courtesy of the Marquette Regional History Center)

MARQUETTE — As the school year winds down, let’s take a look at the history of some of the many schools that came and went in early Marquette.

In the earliest years, schooling was rather informal. The first recorded school opened in 1849 with two teachers and just four students including the Harlow and Bignall girls. Looking at genealogy records shows that the teachers were the newly married Anna Eliza Barney, age 16, and Emma Everett, only 10 years old. Their students were younger still, Ellen Harlow was four and Mary Bignall only two or three.

By 1850, a boarding house, the Marquette House, had been built on the northwest corner of Baraga and Lake streets. A large upper room was given over to school purposes during the week and served as a place for church services on Sunday. The year 1851 saw the construction of the first school building, a log cabin on the northeast corner of Front and Main streets.

In April 1852, School District #1 was established and two prominent early settlers were the board of inspectors, Philo Everett (father of Emma) and Robert Graveraet. The duties of these men were not spelled out but it is reasonable to assume that their positions were comparable to the modern school board.

The year 1853 saw the opening of two new schools: the Washington Street School was located on the south side of the street, across from where Old City Hall now stands, while Mr. Rademaker opened a school for 20 German-speaking children in an upstairs room at the Werner home on Spring Street. The Washington Street School was later moved across the street to the site of Old City Hall and expanded.

The Washington Street School burned down in 1875 when children playing during their lunch break knocked over the stove. Unluckily the temperature that day was well below zero and the fire hydrant was frozen. In addition to the lack of water, the fire fighters were disorganized. It was said that “there were one hundred crazy people all trying to be chief.”

Temporary quarters were found for the students, three teachers held classes for 170 students in the basement of the Methodist Church while a fourth teacher taught her 60 students in her own home. Ultimately a “low and rambling” building replaced the burned structure.

The records are unclear regarding the final disposition of this structure. School board records indicated that initial plans were to move the building to Bluff Street near Harlow Park, where it presumably became the Nester School. Some later records say that the building was torn down in preparation for the construction of Old City Hall in 1894. Whether it was moved from Washington Street or newly built on site, Nester School was in use as an elementary school by 1895.

The Nester School appears to have been named after Timothy Nester, a local politician and businessman who dealt in real estate and timber lands. The school operated until the 1950s, probably closing when Sandy Knoll and Parkview opened in 1957. The vacant building was rented to the Michigan State University Extension Office and was later sold in July 1963 to its current occupant, American Legion Post 44.

Jumping back in time, other early schools include one established by Father Sebastian Duroc, the first resident Roman Catholic priest for the community, who arrived in February 1857. That spring, he oversaw the construction of a two-story frame building on a site at the rear of the present Cathedral. The building served as a combination chapel, school and residence.

1859 saw the establishment of a Young Ladies’ Seminary, operated by Mrs. Sarah Newton and Miss N.E. Smith. The location was not given but it was in the home of one of the ladies. Tuition for a 14-week term was $3 for the primary grades and $6 for the upper grades.

That same year saw significant overcrowding in the public schools leading to some classes being held in the court house. Dr. George Blaker, a physician and weather observer noted, “Forty children, ages three to ten, were huddled together on four benches. The room was far too small for so many children and there was no shade of convenience. It was a miracle they could be kept well, or even alive, in such a setting for seven to eight hours daily.”

In response to this need, Dr. Morgan Hewitt donated land at the corner of Pine and Ridge streets (now the site of Pine Ridge Apartments) for the first high school. Initially the site was strongly opposed due to its remoteness on the outskirts of town. Despite this objections, the school was built on the site. One notable feature of the building was separate entrances for the boys and girls.

The high school on Ridge Street opened in 1860 and operated until 1875 when it was torn down and replaced with a new building which was double in size. This second building was destroyed by a fire in February 1900. During the two-year building period, high school classes were held at city hall and elementary classes convened at local churches and the Coles Block on the corner of Bluff and Third streets.

Instead of a single building, a complex of three new structures known as Howard-Frobel was built on the site. Froebel Elementary, named for Friedrich Froebel, a famous German educator who advocated the concept of kindergarten, and the boiler buildings were built first and opened in 1901. Howard High School, named as a memorial to Howard Longyear who drowned in 1900, was the last to be built, opening in 1902.

In 1961 the Marquette School Board ordered the removal of the Howard-Froebel complex based on the cost of improvements required by the state fire marshall. Some local residents who attended the school report that it had narrow hallways and an overall run-down appearance.

These are only some of the many schools that have come and gone throughout Marquette’s history. Some, like the Nester School, still survive while serving new purposes in the community. Others, like Howard-Froebel, have been totally erased from the landscape and now persist only in the memories of the children who attended.