1840 brought the first publicly funded educational facility when the state of Michigan promoted the building of brick buildings for the house schools. In 1855 a site was purchased at the corner of Ottawa and Shawnee Streets, and in the next year, the school was finished.
Michigan's public education system started in 1840 with the building of brick schools. The purchase of land at the corner of Ottawa and Shawnee Streets in 1855 paved the way for the school's construction a year later.