HISTORY...
The Old Schoolhouse has had many changes, but it’s original purpose was obviously a schoolhouse. It has been standing since 1866, being one of the oldest buildings in Douglas and the oldest multi-classroom school building in Michigan. Jonas S. Crouse built the building on land donated by the Spencer family, calling it the Douglas Union school. It was a beautiful building, and has outstanding 19th century architecture. Initially it was an elementary school teaching lower grades, but for a brief time in 1916-1917 it was used as a high school. Unfortunately, in 1957, a new school building was built on Randolph street. This new building was very modern and new, so the Douglas School Union closed in 1957. The old schoolhouse was made into apartment buildings in 1963 after being vacant for some years. Then, in 2007, the apartments were transformed to what it is now, a history center.
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