Ely School Colfax Township

This was the first Ely School. There is some doubt here as to the date when it was originally contracted. Supposedly Roy Webster went to Ely's July 10, 1895 to contract for the school and a document was signed and 21 scholars attended. In other information, the school started September 7, 1891. The teacher was Kate Baldwin and the director was Arnold Ely. Children attending were Allah Sealey. Mertie E. Ely, Jessie E. Lynch and Laura E. Austin. The school burned in 1919 and was rebuilt.

Ely was then a stone school on Chippewa Lake Road, east of Big Rapids where the road north to Chippewa. Two teachers, Mrs. Vernon Burch and Mrs. Dale Vredenburg, taught at the new Ely School. The School was closed May 19, 1971.

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