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Charleston Township District School #3 ledger

 Item
Identifier: RH-A-4275

Scope and Contents

The collection is composed of one ledger from the Charleston Township District School #3, 1919-1926.

The cover indicates that the ledger was produced by W. M. Welch MFG. Company. The ledger is titled Welch’s System Combining Attendance, Classification, Gradation, and Close Supervision.

The ledger is 76 pages filled with information regarding the Charleston Township District School #3, including teachers, student names, grades, material taught in class, condition of school and amenities, daily schedules, and salaries. It also contains an envelope which houses a note giving information regarding the amount of money the school and its library have.

The ledger also contains year-end summaries that break down the size of classrooms, the make-up of the classrooms, and statistics regarding attendance. Included in this is the age and grade of all students. The students ages ranged from 4.5 to 16, and they were taught in the same room, regardless of grade. It also contains detailed information regarding the condition of properties owned by the school, including the seats, blackboard, water supply, globe, and maps.

Dates

  • Creation: 1919-1926

Charleston Township Schools

The following sketch is from History of Kalamazoo County, Michigan by Samuel W. Durant, published in Philadelphia by Everts & Abbot, 1880: “It is uncertain who taught the first school in this township, nor have we learned that any was in existence prior to 1837.

“The first board of school inspectors met April 10, 1838, and organized seven school districts. It is quite certain that during the same summer log school-houses were erected in at least four of the districts mentioned. In October, 1838, reports were received from the directors of districts 2, 3, 6, and 7, but the statistics regarding the same have not been preserved.

“The following year (1841) reports were received from seven school districts.”

Further information about Charleston Township Schools is provided by Kalamazoo Public Library.

District #3 School, Charlestown Township

District 3 was located on the south side of Miller Driver (Territorial Road), just east of Michigan Avenue. One school is named in this area, the Imus School, according to the Kalamazoo Public Library.

A known record of teachers begins in 1921 and goes to 1946 when Charleston Township Schools is no longer listed in county school directories, presumably absorbed into a larger district.

Further information about Imus School (district 3) is provided by Kalamazoo Public Library.

Extent

1 Volumes

Language of Materials

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection came from Galesburg Public Library.

Physical Description

The collection amounts to .10 cubic feet and is composed of one ledger, dated 1919, for the Charleston Township District School #3. The ledger measures 13.75”x10.5” x.375”.

The ledger is leather-bound with a cardboard front and back. It is made up of different kinds and sizes of papers, including graph paper, lined paper, and papers typed in black ink with blank spots for teachers to fill in information. The ledger contains many pages filled with writing by the various teachers, written in black and blue ink as well as pencil.

The ledger is in good condition, although it is beginning to show age. All pages show yellowing. Also, many pages in the ledger have perforated edges, with some pages having been torn out of the ledger and others having tears along the edges. Many pages also have creases. The leather on the cover is beginning to tear.

Title
Charleston Township District School #3 ledger finding aid
Status
Completed
Author
Bailey Miller; Stephanie Chapman
Date
2021-11-09
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Western Michigan University Archives & Regional History Collections Repository

Contact:
Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center
1650 Oakland Drive
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5307 US
(269) 387-8490