USA > Michigan > St Joseph County > History of St. Joseph County, Michigan; Volume I > Part 31
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
occupied by the United Brethren, then by a Baptist sect, and at the time in question served as a dancing hall. For various reasons this plan was abandoned, and it was decided to build a church. Very fortunately a site was procured in the residence section of Main street, between the two depots.
Early in the spring of 1904 the concrete foundation walls were built for a church of 34x64 ft. The cost of the site and the founda- tion exhausted the building fund of $750. Father Kaufmann then wrote a letter to forty wealthy Catholics of Detroit, in which he set forth the condition of his mission and the necessity of a church in a city of over 5,000 inhabitants. The returns were encouraging; about $3,000 were received, and in November the building was com- pleted, the dedication taking place on the fourth Sunday of that month.
THE MASONIC BODIES.
Three Rivers Lodge No. 57, F. & A. M., was instituted under dispensation in 1852 and chartered in 1853. Its first worshipful master was Ezra Cole, who served under the dispensation and two years under the charter. Thomas M. Greene, who presided in 1868- 73 and 1876-7 and has filled all the other chairs, is an honorary member of the lodge today. It is in a flourishing condition, with more then two hundred members, and its present officers are as fol- lows : Orrin F. Howard, W. M .; Burton H. Warner, S. W .; Charles F. Dock, J. W .; George M. Wolf, treasurer; Clarence A. Howard, secretary ; Albert Lampman, S. D .; Warren A. Klocke, J. D .; Ar- thur Silliman, tiler.
Mr. Silliman, who joined the lodge in 1859, is its oldest mem- ber. At the time he was initiated the following were members, who had all joined previous to 1856: Ezra Cole, Herman Cole, J. A. Kline, Jacob D. Kline, Abraham Smith, Sterling Harding, Abner Leland, George Gillespie, Abisha Hoisington, Norman Hoisington, Harvey Dille, Charles Ludwig, W. C. Brokaw, T. C. Oliver, A. C. Thiel, J. Broadbent, Joe Hile, David Orton, P. L. McMurtrie, R. E. Case, T. M. Clark, S. A. Smith, George M. Knight, C. Duell, David Bateman and Peter S. Bell.
In 1856 the following were initiated: J. C. Morse, D. H. Wheeler, H. Ohl, John Cowling, C. C. Hutchinson, D. S. Mead, F. C. White, Peter Colver, J. Hutchinson, Norman Cole, G. M. Cleveland and W. G. Caldwell; in 1857-O. B. Bean, J. F. Slenker. W. L. Worthington, M. V. Sweet and L. T. Wilcox; in 1858-James
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
H. Lyon, J. H. Tubbs, W. H. Reed, I. C. Bassett, William Griffiths, Lewis Salsig, Reed M. Boutwell and Richard C. Griffiths; in 1859- J. B. Handy, John Gilbert, George Elliott, Dr. Sidney Her- rick, T. J. Edwards, Arthur Silliman, Dr. S. B. Sill, J. N. Rishel, B. B. Reed, W. E. Wheeler and J. S. Osborn.
Salathiel Chapter No. 23, R. A. M., so named in honor of Judge S. C. Coffinberry, was instituted under dispensation in 1859 and chartered in January following. Ezra Cole was its first high priest, Thomas M. Greene serving in 1872. John Cowling was for fourteen years high priest of the chapter and was long secretary of most of the Masonic bodies.
Three Rivers Council No. 7 was chartered February 2, 1860, with B. F. Doughty, T. I. M .; John Cowling, P. C. W., and H. H. Cole, recorder.
Three Rivers Commandery No. 29, K. T., was chartered June 20, 1872, with twenty-four members and the following officers: L. S. Stevens, E. C .; S. B. Kingsbury, Gen'o; D. D. Thorp, C. G .; J. Eastman Johnson, prelate; John Cowling, recorder; L. T. Wilcox, treasurer. Thomas M. Greene is its only surviving charter member.
THE ODD FELLOWS.
The Odd Fellows of Three Rivers are very strong, their lodge (Excelsior No. 80) being chartered January 19, 1860, by the fol- lowing grand officers : B. W. Dennis, M. W. G. M .; Charles L. Dib- ble, R. W. G. W .; J. G. Bugbee, R. W. D. G. M .; B. Vernor, R. W. G. S. That year was the forty-first anniversary of the institution of the order, and was celebrated by the local body with great enthu- siasm. The first noble grands were Isaac C. Bassett and Cyrus Roberts, who both served during the initial year of the lodge. Ex- celsior Lodge No. 80 has now a membership of over two hundred. S. Y. Miller is N. G .; William Strickland, V. G .; W. A. Barrows, R. S .; E. P. Hart, F. S .; William A. Wolf, treasurer.
Curtis Encampment No. 39, of Patriarchs, was instituted Feb- ruary 22, 1870. It has a present membership of more than eighty, with the following officers: James Bunn, C. P .; George Allcook, H. P .; W. L. Brown, S. W .; I. O. Hains, J. W .; W. A. Barrows, secretary ; George Trickey, F. S .; J. J. Foster, treasurer.
KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS.
Three Rivers Lodge No. 43, Knights of Pythias, was instituted on February 8, 1883, with the following charter members: J. C.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
Sanderson, C. W. Kemberling, Charles Starr, O. F. Millard, E. M. Clark, H. D. Cushman, F. B. Watson, W. H. Titus, F. H. Case, H. L. Chadwick, F. N. Tucker, C. E. McCain, W. O. Pealer, A. R. Al- vord, C. H. Prouty, C. E. Dexter, D. W. Thayer, S. F. Street, E. F. Saunders, C. U. Fisher, L. O. Miller, W. E. Clark, John Vos- burg, J. B. Burns, H. A. Wing, P. L. Bodmer, Max Westheimer, J. B. Handy and A. E. Silliman.
The first set of officers were as follows: O. F. Millard, P. C .; F. B. Case, C. C .; W. E. Clark, V. C .; H. D. Cushman, P .; F. N. Tucker, K. of R. and S .; C. W. Kemberling, M. of F .; J. C. Sander- son, M. of E .; A. E. Silliman, M. at A .; H. L. Chadwick, I. G. and C. E. McCain, O. G.
Following is a list of the past chancellors, from the time the lodge was instituted, to the present time : W. O. Pealer, H. L. Chad- wick, J. I. Specht, W. E. Clark, A. W. Scidmore, W. W. French, O. D. Hummell, F. B. Watson, R. L. Duncan, F. E. Buergin, F. W. Starr, L. O. Miller, N. W. Garrison, D. D. Arnold, W. J. Cook, M. J. Huss, Andrew Patrick, J. M. Pauli, F. N. Whitesell and J. J. Dikeman.
Officers now serving: Webb W. Walter, C. C .; Fred N. Whitesell, M. of W .; Edward N. Brough, V. C .; Bert A. Lewis, P .; Fred E. Buergin, K. of R. and S .; Herbert I. Wright, M. of F .; Will Waters, Jr., M. of E .; James K. Gibbs, M. at A .; C. S. Eberly, I. G .; R. A. Rensenhouse, O. G.
Trustees-Andrew Patrick, Richard L. Duncan and J. M. Pauli.
The lodge now has a membership of 230 active members, and the regular meetings are held every Wednesday evening in Castle Hall, which is the second floor over the First State Savings Bank.
THE G. A. R. POST.
Ed. M. Prutzman Post, No. 44, G. A. R., department of Michi- gan, was organized in September, 1868, with the following officers : B. M. Hicks, P. C .; Samuel Chadwick, S. V. C .; A. W. Snyder, J. V. C., P. Bingham, Chaplain ; R. R. Pealer, Adjutant; A. B. Ran- ney, Q. M .; W. S. Woodhead, S. M .; C. P. Buck, Q. M. S .; H. H. Whipple, Surgeon ; J. W. Bannan, O. G .; J. P. McKey, O. D.
The successive commanders of the post were : R. R. Pealer, W. H. H. Wilcox, Philemon Bingham and B. M. Hicks, until the surrender of the charter in December, 1871, in consequence of the disbanding of the department.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
A reorganization was effected in 1882 as Post No. 72, of which the following have been commanders: M. H. Bumphrey, J. P. McKey, J. I. Specht, R. R. Pealer, James Bonton, W. C. Porter, Lewis Morrill, A. A. Udell, S. R. Burns, W. N. Hodge, R. M. Kellogg, J. L. Haines, B. E. Andrews, G. A. B. Cooke and W. W. VanHorn.
Following is a roster of the present officers : J. D. Wolf, P. C .; E. C. Graham, S. V. C .; A. L. Garrison, J. V. C .; Henry Kramle, Chaplain; H. W. Snyder, Surgeon; W. R. Matthews, Adjutant; J. P. McKey, Q. M. ; G. A. B. Cooke, S. M .; Allen Wescott, Q. M. S .; Jackson Young, O. D .; James Hartgrove, O. G. The post has a membership of 50, in good standing.
D. A. R. AND MRS. LUCY F. ANDREWS.
Three Rivers has the only chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in the county-Abiel Fellows Chapter, which was formally organized at the home of the late Mrs. Lucy Fellows Andrews, on the 4th of December, 1905. Mrs. Andrews was ap- pointed regent of the chapter by the state regent, Mrs. Irene Chittenden, of Detroit, and she, in turn, appointed the following : Mrs. Anna W. Barrows, registrar; Mrs. Harriet Ikeler, treasurer ; Miss Ruth Pancake, secretary ; Mrs. Minnette Coon, historian.
The chapter was named in honor of the regent's ancestor, Colonel Abiel Fellows, and has enjoyed a steady growth, from a membership of twelve to one of forty. The charter members were as follows: Mrs. Lucy Fellows Andrews, Mrs. Harriet Ikeler, Misses Kate and Sadie Fellows, Mrs. Emma Pancake and Miss Ruth Pancake, and Mesdames Minnette Coon, Eleanor K. Champ- lin, Josephine Bouton, Anna W. Barrows, Susan F. Perrin and Catherine Smith.
There seems to be no more appropriate place than at this point to briefly picture the life and activities of the able and noble woman who was mainly instrumental in founding this branch of a splendid order of patriotism. Mrs. Andrews passed quietly away, on Saturday morning, at her home in Three Rivers, on the 6th of April, 1907. The news of her death spread rapidly over the city, and everywhere expressions of sorrow were heard. The passing of Mrs. Andrews removed from Three Rivers one of the most prominent women, not only in the city and county, but in the commonwealth at large, where she was widely known in con-
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
nection with her work in the State Federation of Women's Clubs, and her activity in the promotion of the Lucinda Stone Memorial fund. Mrs. Andrews was chairman of the committee which had in charge the raising of this fund for a scholarship in the Univer- sity. It was through her efforts that this fund was started at the state meeting of Women's Clubs, held in Kalamazoo in 1906.
Mrs. Andrews was a practicing lawyer in Three Rivers, a member of the St. Joseph County Bar association.
Lucy Fellows Andrews, who at her death was fifty-nine years of age, was born in Prairie Ronde, Kalamazoo county, May 13, 1847. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. O. H. Fellows, and she was one of a family of nine children. Her early education was re- ceived in the schools of Three Rivers and later she attended the Mrs. Lucinda H. Stone private school for girls, at Kalamazoo. She married Bishop E. Andrews in 1873, and after her marriage entered his office in the study of law. She was admitted to the St. Joseph County Bar in 1877, after which she practiced law with her husband.
Mrs. Andrews was very active in women's club work, es- pecially in her home town. At one time she was vice president of the State Federation of Women's Clubs, and at the time of her death was chairman of the Stone Memorial fund. She was also chairman of library board of the State Federation, and as stated, was the organizer and first regent of the Abiel Fellows Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1906 she was a delegate and in attendance at the National convention of the order at Washington, D. C. Mrs. Andrews was survived by her husband Bishop E. Andrews, one son, Edward H. Andrews, and four sisters: Mrs. Alice E. Hacket, Arthur, N. D .; Mrs. Ora D. Carpenter, Phelps, New York; Mrs. Maude F. Aspinwall, Jackson, Michigan; and Miss Annie Fellows, Schoolcraft, that state.
Funeral services were held at her home by Dr. A. C. V. Skin- ner, assisted by Rev. George Longaker, and the burial took place at Riverside.
M. W. A. AND OTHER SOCIETIES.
Three Rivers Camp No. 840, M. W. A., was instituted Febru- ary 19, 1889, with Leo Miller as its first venerable consul; A. Y. Masser, W. A .; John A. Fulcher, banker; E. E. Wilcox, clerk. The camp has a present strength of about 290, and the following officers : William T. Copp, V. C .; Garfield A. Hackenberg, W. A .;
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
Richard L. Duncan, clerk; John O. Pollock, banker; Osro J. Kidder, escort; Charles L. Prouty, sentry ; Edgar C. Brown, watch- man; George H. Delano, guard; Frank L. Millard, janitor; Isaac L. Keen, C. F .; Arthur W. Scidmore, C. P. No. 840 has the honor of being the oldest camp of the order in Michigan.
The Three Rivers Court of Honor (No. 468) was organized in September, 1889, and has a membership of over 160. There are also well established lodges of Daughters of Rebekah (No. 191) and K. O. T. M. (No. 87).
CHAPTER XIV.
CITY OF STURGIS.
RAILROAD EXPANSION-HON. J. G. WAIT AS A RAILROAD MAN-NOT REALLY STURGIS UNTIL 1858-HOTEL, STAGE LINES AND MAILS -STURGIS AS IT IS-PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM-CITY WATER, LIGHT AND POWER-FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY-CORPORATION AND FIRE DEPARTMENT-TOWNSHIP AND CITY CEMETERY-METHOD- IST PIONEERS-BAPTIST CHURCH-PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH- -EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN, ST. JOHN'S AND TRINITY-ST. JOHN'S PARISH HOUSE (EPISCOPAL) -PIONEER MASONS-ODD FELLOWS AND OTHER ORDERS-STURGIS W. C. T. U .- WOMAN'S LITERARY CLUB-THE LOCAL PRESS-GROBHISER-CABINET MAK- ERS COMPANIES-AULSBROOK & JONES FURNITURE COMPANY- STURGIS STEEL GO-CART COMPANY-ROYAL CHAIR FACTORY- OTHER INDUSTRIES-BANKS.
Unlike Three Rivers, Sturgis has never enjoyed the early advantage of natural water power, being located on a prairie in the southern tier of townships, and forming almost a triangle with Three Rivers and Colon, which lie in the valley of the St. Joseph. It secured a decisive advantage over Three Rivers, in 1851, when the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern was completed through it and White Pigeon. The charter of that road prevented it from being built nearer than three miles from the Indiana state line and bound it to establish one of its stations, within the county, on the St. Joseph river. It was so thoroughly the general belief that the line would be constructed through the center of the county, touching at Three Rivers and Constantine (one or both), that little attention was paid to the claims of Sturgis and White Pigeon to the south. But the result shows that they worked to advantage, or, at all events, that the railroad company had its own ideas as to the most direct and feasible route.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
RAILROAD EXPANSION.
In 1853, however, the charter of the St. Joseph Valley Railroad was utilized by its owner, the Michigan Southern, and a branch was constructed to Three Rivers. In 1867 the Grand Rapids and Indiana road was built through the county from Sturgis north, through Nottawa and Mendon, and in 1871 the Michigan Air Line (now the Michigan Central) was completed through the central sections, touching at Centerville and Three Rivers. So that after the latter date, Three Rivers and Sturgis stood on a par in regard to railroad communication, north and south, east and west.
HON. J. G. WAIT AS A RAILROAD MAN.
It was the liberal amount ($30,000) subscribed chiefly by the people of Sturgis and White Pigeon, which induced the Michigan Southern road to put the line through the southern, instead of the central portion of the county. No one was more prominent in promoting the interests of the southern part of the county, and of Sturgis in particular, than its sturdy pioneer, Hon. Jonathan G. Wait. First, he was largely instrumental in securing the right-of- way for the Michigan Southern through Branch and St. Joseph counties and, as a contractor, he afterward built the fences along the right-of-way, as well as the depots from Coldwater to Niles. Again, in the late fifties, he assisted in the organization of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company and ten years later did more than any one man in actually putting it through the county, thus giving Sturgis a north and south outlet. Mr. Wait's services were so invaluable in these connections, that a digression is here taken from the main narrative to do him justice in detail.
Jonathan G. Wait was born in the town of York, Livingston county, New York, November 11, 1811. His parents, Josiah and Martha Ann (Graham) Wait, were natives of the town of Alstead, State of New Hampshire, but in early life moved to the town of Ovid, New York, and from thence to York, before named, and thence to Perry, Lake county, Ohio. He came of good English and Welsh blood and from several generations of New England farming stock. He lived on his father's farm until he was four- teen, and when seventeen commenced teaching district schools, which occupation, for portions of the time, he followed for several years.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
In the fall of 1834 Mr. Wait left Ohio for the territory of Michigan, traveling through the southern part of the same, as far west as Laporte, Indiana, and thence returned to Ohio. In the spring of 1835 he moved to St. Joseph county, and made a per- manent location on Sturgis prairie, in what was then known as the village of Sherman. For two winters, succeeding his first location on the prairie, he taught the village school in the old log-house that was first erected in the place for that purpose.
In the year 1836 Mr. Wait began to build in the village, and that season erected four dwelling-houses. He also began the manu- facture of boots and shoes, cabinet work and chairs, employing from ten to fifteen workmen. In 1841 he commenced business in the mercantile line, and was engaged therein fifteen years, as well as in the manufacture and sale of lumber in Bronson, Branch county, where he owned and operated two saw-mills during the same period. In 1849 and 1850 he was the agent of the Michigan Southern Railroad Company, to procure the right-of-way and other- wise aid in the construction of the road. He also had heavy con- tracts on the road for building depots and fences, culverts and bridges, and furnishing ties. He built all of the buildings from Bronson to Sturgis on the road, furnished the ties from the former place to White Pigeon, and fenced the road the same distance. In the fall of 1850 he was elected to the legislature of Michigan as a Whig, during Governor Barry's administration. Hon. T. W. Ferry, afterward United States senator, was a member of the house that same session, and Hon. I. P. Christiancy (also United States senator at a later date) was in the senate. At this session occurred the greatest and last struggle between the Michigan Cen- tral and Michigan Southern railroads, in which the Southern came off victorious.
In 1857 Mr. Wait assisted to organize the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company, and was elected a director thereof, which position he held for many years. During that year he also graded and bridged twelve miles of the road between Sturgis and La Grange. In 1860 he was elected to the State senate, and re- elected for two succeeding terms-six years consecutively. Dur- ing this time he had charge in the senate of the bills providing for an extension of time limited for the construction of the Grand Rapids and Indiana road, by which the land-grant was saved to the road, the bills being successively passed through both houses and becoming laws. This action was the foundation of the final
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
success of the road, as, if the land-grant had lapsed, the road would never have been built. Mr. Wait was, for several years, engaged in the location and construction of the road, and was amply rewarded by meeting with full success.
In all things pertaining to the prosperity of Sturgis, Mr. Wait ever evinced the liveliest interest. In the early days of his residence in the township then called Sherman (including Sher- man, Burr Oak, Fawn River and Sturgis), he was the town clerk, supervisor and justice of the peace for several years. In politics he was a stanch Republican, being elected to the house of rep- resentatives of Michigan in 1850 as a Whig, and to the senate in 1860, 1862 and 1864, as a Republican. In 1860 he commenced the publication of the Sturgis Journal, a radical Republican paper, in which he discussed the political issues of the day with marked ability and vigor. He continued to edit and publish the Journal for fourteen years, when he disposed of it to his son, who con- tinued to conduct it for a time. In 1872, as an acknowledgement of the faithful service rendered by the Journal to the Republican cause, Mr. Wait received the appointment of postmaster of Sturgis, which position he held for some years.
On the 20th of October, 1839, Mr. Wait was united in mar- riage to Miss Susan S. Buck, a daughter of George Buck, of Erie county, New York, and the second family to settle on Sturgis prairie in 1828. Mrs. Wait was born in Erie county, New York, June 8, 1821, and removed with her father and his family to Michi- gan, as before stated. She became the mother of twelve children.
NOT REALLY STURGIS UNTIL 1858.
In 1828 George Buck and John B. Clarke built their log houses on the site of the Sturgis of to-day, but the locality had no name but Sturgis prairie until 1832. In that year Philip H. Buck, son of George, who had been accidentally killed three years before, sur- veyed and platted a tract of land 60 by 165 feet, on either side of the old Chicago road in section 1, and called it Sherman, as has already been narrated. In 1834 Andrew Bachus, who had pur- chased Clarke's land, laid off a plat on the west side of the present Nottawa street. Other additions were made and the settlement was in quite a perplexed state of mind as to its real identity until Febru- ary, 1857, when the state legislature replatted everything under the name of Sturgis; William K. Haynes, William L. Stoughton
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
and E. H. Wallace, as commissioners, recorded the same February 5, 1858.
HOTEL, STAGE LINES AND MAILS.
The first hotel of the village was kept by John B. Clarke and was situated on the site of the present Elliott House.
The second stage line (after Savery's) to touch Sturgis was established by General Brown, DeGarmo Jones and Mr. Forsyth in 1833. From 1836 to 1840 the rush of travel westward through St. Joseph county was immense. Extra coaches were often run daily, sometimes two or three a day. It followed that the mail matter which went over the same route was also heavy-sometimes weigh- ing nearly 1,500 pounds! The benefit of this unusual rush was mainly enjoyed by Sturgis, as it lay upon the most convenient route from Detroit toward Chicago and the farther west; and this advan- tage was retained until the early fifties, when both Sturgis and Three Rivers obtained railway connection.
STURGIS AS IT Is.
The village of Sturgis was incorporated in 1855 and the city, in 1896. It is now given a population of about 3,800. With refer- ence to railroads, it is located on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, at the intersection of the Grand Rapids and Indiana; also at the crossing of the Battle Creek and Goshen branch of the Michigan Southern. In relation to larger cities of the Middle West, Sturgis is midway between Toledo and Chicago, ninety miles south of Grand Rapids and fifty north of Fort Wayne. Its twenty manu- factories, or more, employ about 1,000 men, the leading industrial line being the manufacture of furniture. The city has also large manufactories of children's go-carts, steel tanks, plumbers' sup- plies, sash, doors and blinds, proprietary medicines, wooden ware, etc.
Sturgis has a fine system of water works and lighting, the plant being owned and operated by the municipality. New works are nearly completed about sixteen miles northwest on the St. Joseph river, some three miles north of Centerville, from which power will be supplied to various points along the valley and even to the in- terior. The place also enjoys a particularly efficient public school system, with its high school on the university list, and a free city library is an additional factor in the intellectual progress of its
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
people. Seven of eight flourishing churches and numerous benevo- lent and charitable bodies give the city spiritual and moral stamina and substantial place in the higher life of Michigan communities.
PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The public school system of Sturgis is conducted through a fine three-story brick building, surrounded by spacious grounds in the central part of the city, and a structure of small, but adequate size, to accommodate Ward No. 3. The last report showed that there were 739 pupils in these two schools, divided as follows: High
STURGIS UNION SCHOOL
school, 106, and grammar, primary and kindergarten departments (in the same Central building), 541; Ward No. 3 school, 382.
The Sturgis High school is organized on the most modern peda- gogic methods. As stated, it is on the accredited list of the Univer- sity of Michigan and other universities of the west. This does not mean that graduation from the High school is alone sufficient to secure admission to western state universities; in order to enter college or university without such examination, a certificate of rec- ommendation from the High school faculty endorsing the candi- date's scholarship and character is necessary. The Sturgis High school has physical and chemical laboratories which are especially complete for a city of its size. Each is in a separate room on the third floor. The building, as a whole, has a substantial appearance
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