HISTORY OF FENTON AREA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The first school house was built in 1838, just four years after the founding of Fentonville, and was located on the southwest corner of Rockwell and Park streets. The building was a wooden structure and the first teacher was Mr. Nottingham.

The first populated area in Fentonville was around the intersection of Leroy Street and Shiawassee Avenue, but after the railroad came through the north of the Shiawassee River, many families settled on that side of the river. The population grew and in 1850 a second school was built in the vicinity of Leroy Street and Caroline Street. About five years later, this school was moved one block east to the corner of Caroline and Walnut Streets. The move was necessary to make room for more businesses on the former site.

By 1861, school enrollment had increased to the point that 1861 needed a new and larger school building. The present Fenton Middle School stands on this site at the corner of S. Adelaide and Ellen Streets, and was known as the "Central Building".

The Fentonville area continued to grow and in 1879, the School Board decided to decentralize the location of additional school facilities. The Board authorized the building of two ward schools. The North Ward School was built at the corner of North East Street and Second Street, which now the location of a church. The South Ward School was built on the northwest corner of South East Street and South Holly Road, and this location is now that of an apartment building. A third ward school, built in the 1880's, was located behind (West) of the Central School Building, and was a one story brick building. The South Ward and North Ward schools were two story brick buildings with bathrooms in the basements accessible from the outside only.

The first Superintendent of Schools was George Cochran, and his annual salary was $1,000. The Principal's salary was $800 per year and the teachers were paid $320 annually. The school enrollment was just over 700 and the annual budget for the schools was $4,500.

While not part of the public schools of Fenton, it is interesting to note that during the 1870's, there were three institutions of higher learning located in the Village.
These were:
THE FENTON SEMINARY was built in 1869. It was four stories high and made of field stone. David Latourette, a local banker and businessman donated the site and a large part of the construction costs. This was a Baptist institution and a branch of Kalamazoo College. The original building still stands at the corner of High Street and State Road. Mr. Wedge was the first principal.

RIDLEY HALL for girls was built in 1875 on one and one-half acres of land on Thurber Street, between First and Second Streets. It was an Episcopal institution. The school was short lived, but in 1884, another school of higher learning, known as the FENTON NORMAL SCHOOL occupied the building. The structure was demolished in the late 1920's.

TRINTITY EPISCOPAL SEMINARY, also called LATIMER HALL, was a school for boys. It occupied the top of the hill on Davis Street, between West Shiawassee Avenue and the gate to the Oakwood Cemetery. The structure burned in 1906.

In the early 1920's, the population growth of the Fenton area resulted in a congested high school building. Classrooms made to accommodate 25 pupils often contained 40 to 50 students. A new high school building was completed in 1922 at the cost of $130,000. The school district already owned the 16 acres site at the Central Building on Adelaide Street, so the new high school was erected in front and around the old Central Building. This building, of Gothic architecture, was made of rose mission brick, was three stories high with dimensions of 40 feet by 180 feet. It contained 17 classrooms and could accommodate 800 students. The old Central Building was remodeled into a gymnasium on the first floor, with classrooms, a study hall, locker rooms on the second floor. The athletic fields were located along West Street, just west of the high school.

The Class of 1921 was the last class to graduate from high school located at the Central Building. The Class of 1922 held their graduation exercises at the Colwell-Cook Opera House. The opera house was located downtown on the second floor of the building at the southeast corner of Leroy Street and Caroline Street, which during mid-century housed the D & C Store. The Class of 1923, with nineteen graduates, was the first to hold Commencement in the new high school gymnasium.

The Class of 1924 was the first class to have a Senior "Skip Day". They went to Lakeville for a picnic and roller-skating. This class was also the first class to hold the "Junior Prom" in the new gymnasium.

The student enrollment continued to grow each year, so that in 1937 it was necessary to add a two-story annex to the north side of the main building. The annex contained 10 classrooms, Superintendent's office and hallways connecting the first and second floors of the new building with the three stories built in 1922.

In 1941, the E. Ashley Phillips family donated about 7 acres of vacant land on the south side of Ellen Street to the school district for use as an athletic field. A new lighted football field, baseball field and a small building housing locker room facilities were constructed and the complex was dedicated in 1942. The FHS Alumni Association donated a sign on the field honoring the Phillips family at a rededication ceremony in 1997. At that time, a monument honoring the students of Fenton High School who served in World War II was moved from the Pine Grove lining the south side of the field to the main entrance area of the Middle School. The Middle School then occupied the space where the high school building built in 1992 was once located.

At mid-century the school district required temporary classrooms and used space in the local Methodist and Episcopal Churches for some elementary students. Therefore, in 1950, a new elementary school was built on Ellen Street just west of the high school building. The new building was named the Clyde Furlong Building in memory of Mr.. Furlong. Mr. Furlong served on the Board of Education for many years.

In 1956, two individual classroom units were built on Wood Street. They were called the East and West Fairfield units and are currently being used for special education groups. During this same time period, the Riggs, Craft, Cranston Denton and Silver Lake School Districts were annexed to the Fenton Area School District.

In 1957, two new elementary schools were built. NORTH ROAD SCHOOL sits on 11 acres of land just west of Adelaide Street off of North Road. STATE ROAD SCHOOL has a 12-acre site and is located on State Road southwest of High Street. Subsequently, both schools have been enlarged and enhanced. Again in 1960, the district opened the Eastern Elementary School on a 15 acre site at the end of 4th and 5th Streets, five blocks east of North Leroy Street. In 1982 the school was renamed Tomek Eatern Elementary School in honor of Charles Tomek, the Principal of the School who died while serving in that capacity.

Again, under the pressure of increased enrollment, the School Board made the decision that they could no longer accept students from the Lake Fenton School District, as had been done for many years, unless that district would agree to consolidate the two districts and participate in the costs of constructing new facilities. The two Districts engaged Michigan State University to conduct a feasibility study on the consolidation of the two districts. The study's recommendation was to consolidate the two districts. In the subsequent public election, the Fenton voters approved, but the Lake Fenton voters decided against the consolidation.

Subsequently, the Fenton School Board approved the addition to the high school building that connected with the Furlong Building and formed a rectangle with an enclosed courtyard. In addition to providing new classrooms, it contained the Jennings Gymnasium, band room, vocal music room, locker rooms for boys and girls, the principal's office, wood and metal shops and a maintenance work area. The gym was named in memory of John Jennings, Class of 1879, who was the owner and publisher of the Fenton Independent, a local newspaper. Mr. Jennings bequeathed a substantial portion of his estate to the Fenton School District. The District Administrative offices were relocated to 104 Adelaide Street, the former residence of Joseph Bottecelli.

The Village of Fenton became the City of Fenton in 1964, and by 1967 the need for a new and larger high school was apparent. Under the then existing State laws pertaining to the financing of new school construction, the District would have to exceed the millage limitation in order to fund the new construction. The State would allow for the issuance of new bonds if the District could obtain the approval of the voters that approved the new construction and authorized the maximum of 7-mill assessment. Under these conditions the State would guarantee the bonds and help pay the interest on the bonds until prior bond issues were paid off. The voters approved a bond issue for $5.7 million that provided for the purchase of land and construction of present high school.

The high school was built on a 100 acres site on West Shiawassee Avenue, just south of Owen Road and east of US Highway 23. The new school contained a gymnasium with a seating capacity of 2,300, a swimming pool with seating for 500 spectators, an auditorium with 500 seats, a TV studio, computer labs, facilities for band and vocal music, cafeteria, industrial arts, wrestling practice room, weight training rooms and lockers for girls and boys. On the grounds of the new school were located a football stadium with seating for 3,400 spectators, baseball diamonds, softball diamonds, soccer fields, bus garage, lighted tennis courts and a new district administration building. Construction was completed by the fall of 1969.

In July of 1990, the three story portion of the "old high school" built in 1922 and located on Adelaide Street was demolished. The remainder of the old high school buildings was renovated, including the old gymnasium. The gymnasium is the only part of the old original "Central Building" of 1861 that remains. A $8.6 million bond issue funded the project.

The voters approved a new bond issue in 1998 for $41.6 million. This bond issue has been used to construct the new ANDREW G. SCHMIDT MIDDLE SCHOOL. This new middle school serves 7th and 8th grades. The school was named in honor of the current Board President for his 24 years of service on the Board of Education, his many hours helping the band, vocal music and tutoring of students. The bond issue was also used to fund many new additions and renovations to all schools in the District. The Intermediate School (formerly the Middle School), located on Adelaide Street, now serves the 5th and 6th grades.

In 1999, the Board of Education purchased land in Rose Township as a possible site for a new school, if and when the need arises. Land values are rising rapidly and the decision was to look to the future needs of the district at this time.

Since 1926, the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools has continually accredited Fenton High School. Only two other Genesee County schools have this distinction. Fenton High School has been on the University of Michigan's accredited list since 1876, at which time only five other schools in the state were accorded that recognition.

Contributed by Pauline Frances Foley , Class of 1950

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