Researching older schools led me to discover a White School out on Broadway Avenue. Growing up on that street, I would have passed by it every day so I wondered where this school stood. Much to my surprise White School is still standing having been converted for New Bethel Southern Baptist.
The school was establised in 1854 as Perry Township School No. 4 and was located on corner of Broadway, Middle Mt. Vernon Rd, and Red Bank Rd. It was purportedly located next to a white house which is how it got the name White School.
A new building was completed in 1927--its cornerstone still visible on the side of the church. In 1936 a large addition in the rear nearly tripled the size of the school. It contained a gymnasium, auditorium, and additional classrooms.
White school was acquired by the EVSC in 1950s when the Mud Center area was annexed by the city.
The school was closed in June 1973 and its kids were sent to the old Daniel Wertz in Howell. Ironically enough Daniel Wertz moved just south of White School in the 1980s when the landlocked school outgrew its site.
The EVSC sold the property and New Bethel Southern Baptist relocated from S Helfrich Ave. The new chapel was built on the front of the church, making the old school hard to recognize from the street. Aerial and side view of the building, however, hint at the old White School that used to serve rural Perry Township.
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