Leiphart School has remarkable history; fundraiser planned

Looking around inside Leiphart School, the one-room schoolhouse at the Midland County Fairgrounds, one word comes to mind: simplicity.

Mint green paint covers the walls and an original, gray colored desk sits in the corner. This desk rests on top of well-worn wood floors. There is one spot on the floor that outlines a nearly full circle where a potbellied stove used to sit.

The room itself may seem rather ordinary, but the history that took place there that is remarkable.

From about 1881 until 1950, children from kindergarten through eighth grade, many of whom were siblings, sat at their desks and learned their subjects all in one room, and mostly from one teacher. The concept today, with more populated towns and larger schools, seems harder to imagine, but for the students of Leiphart School it was a reality.

In one section of the room are off-white shelves that contain framed copies of photos. One photo from 1910 shows 26 children standing next to their teacher, Grace Sugnet.

Leiphart School is at least 133 years old and was once located on Jefferson Avenue, then known as Old State Road. Driving north on Jefferson today, it is easy to miss the grassy field set apart by a few short, wood pillars and some cable rope, where Leiphart, and eventually the two-room schoolhouse that replaced it, once stood.

After the two-room school was built, around 1950, Leiphart was kept intact but moved to the fairgrounds.

In recent months, 13 people some who went to Leiphart and some whose relatives went have formed a committee. Their hope is to raise the funds needed to renovate the school. The group would like to maintain the originality of the school and its design, while providing updates and some needed repairs.

There is value in preserving the history that goes with Leiphart #4, said Barbara Rice, associate broker at Mid-Land Realtors.

Rice talked about the nostalgia of a quiet, simpler way of life that the schoolhouse represents.

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Leiphart School has remarkable history; fundraiser planned