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Lincoln Consolidated School collection

 Collection
Identifier: 07.LCS

Scope and Contents

The Lincoln Consolidated School collection documents the development of Michigan's first large consolidated school district. In the 1920s, ten small school districts, mostly one room school houses, were combined to form one large school district. The collection is arranged into 8 series and multiple subseries. The Administration series includes budget information, Eastern Michigan University Relations, fundraising, reports and surveys, directories, resolutions, record books, and personnel. The Board of Education series contains information about administration, meeting minutes, and the schools' superintendents. The Curriculum, Faculty, and Staff series contains block prints, curriculum materials, curriculum council meeting minutes, faculty and staff information, teacher and school registers, teacher laboratory manual, and student teachers. The History series includes books about the school district and surrounding areas. The Publicity and Outreach series includes clippings, correspondence, conference proceedings, the Mariner, memorial programs, retirement speech, and special programs. The Graphic Materials series contains class composites, photographs, and scrapbooks. The Moving Images series includes three reel to reels and a umatic tape. The Realia series includes bus driver/chauffer pins, school souvenir programs, baccalaureate and commencement programs, play bills, and a book of Brick School songs.

Additions to the collection in 2023 included 1929-1933 newspaper clipping scrapbooks mostly documenting athletics, records from one room schoolhouses that formed Lincoln Consolidated, WWII scrapbook documenting Lincoln Consolidated pupils and staff in service, film reels and video cassettes, saved newspapers, and various scrapbooks created by teachers, class historians, and past pupils. Records date from 1920-2006 and are included in the above arrangement.

Dates

  • Creation: 1920 - 2006

Conditions Governing Access

Researchers are asked to request materials 24 hours prior to visiting the the University Archives.

Biographical / Historical

The Lincoln Consolidated School was founded in the early 1920s. Eastern Michigan University played a large role in helping to combine ten rural school districts, most of them one room school houses, into one large school district. This had only been done once before in Washington State. The Lincoln Consolidated School helped to blaze a trail for all other school districts both in Michigan and around the United States that were hoping to accomplish a similar goal. Lincoln Consolidated worked closely with Eastern Michigan University not only as a funding source, but as a place of education for many of EMU's student teachers. Consolidating the schools was a huge success, growing quickly and is still in operation today.

Extent

21 Linear Feet (1 record center carton, 15 oversized folders, 3 reel to reel boxes, 2 large specimen boxes, 2 archive boxes, 2 legal archive box, 2 halfsize legal archives boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Lincoln Consolidated School was founded in the early 1920s. Eastern Michigan University played a large role in helping to combine ten rural school districts, most of them one room school houses, into one large school district. This had only been done once before in Washington State. The Lincoln Consolidated School helped to blaze a trail for all other school districts both in Michigan and around the United States that were hoping to accomplish a similar goal. Lincoln Consolidated worked closely with Eastern Michigan University not only as a funding source, but as a place of education for many of EMU's student teachers. Consolidating the schools was a huge success, growing quickly and is still in operation today.

Title
Lincoln Consolidated Schools collection
Status
Completed
Author
Elizabeth Searls, Brooke Boyst, CA
Date
2025 April 28
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Eastern Michigan University Archives Repository

Contact:
Bruce T. Halle Library, Room 310
955 West Circle Drive
Ypsilanti Michigan 48197
734-487-2673