School District No. 1 Chesterfield - New Baltimore, MI USA
N 42° 39.007 W 082° 49.263
17T E 350727 N 4723570
The Weller School, or School District No. 1 Chesterfield is located at the Chesterfield Historical Village in New Baltimore, Michigan having closed in 1954.
Waymark Code: WM16CF3
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 06/30/2022
Views: 1
From the Chesterfield Township Historical Society marker on the school:
Weller SchoolElisha Weller owned the land on which the school was situated for many years. In May, 1831, Elisha purchased three 80 acre parcels of farm land in Chesterfield from the United States Government. To date, the earliest records which we have been able to find are reports which were filed with the State of Michigan by the School Inspectors for the Township of Chesterfield. An early map shows a school situated on Gratiot at 22 Mile Road and this school was known as District 1 (Weller School). These records date back to 1862. We assume that the school is at least that old. Classes were taught continuously in that school until 1954. With school consolidation, Weller School had become a part of the L'Anse Creuse School District along with other "one room schools". In 1954, the school district combined the students from Weller, Hartway, Bates, Milton, and several other schools in the newly built Chesterfield School on 23 Mile Road.
In 1996, the Odrobina family donated the Weller one room schoolhouse, which was located on Gratiot Avenue and 22 Mile Road to the historical society. Available records for the school date back to 1862. Classes were taught continuously in that school until 1954. The school and the outhouse were moved to the Historical Village in August 1996. The outhouse from the school has been rebuilt and stands alongside the school building. An annex was added to the back of the schoolhouse for a furnace, restroom and storage. The bell tower was rebuilt in 2021 in honor of the 25th anniversary of the schoolhouse move. -
Chesterfield Historical Society