Located only about a mile from the farm of William Carl Heiden was the Bridge School, the oldest public school in the state of Michigan. It was established as a log cabin in 1828. Throughout its long history, this school provided educational opportunities for children from the farms and homes within about a two mile radius. The school is located at the northwest corner of Dixon and Ida-Maybee Roads a short distance south of the bridge over the Raisin River.

William Carl and Mary (Rambow) Heiden attended the school as did all thirteen of their children. Many of their grandchildren, nieces and nephews also attended the famous one-room school. There was one teacher, often a man, who taught lessons to each of the eight different elementary classes each day. While a particular class was being taught the remaining students were expected to stay seated quietly doing their lessons. Often, children would listen in on other classes and were well prepared when they moved up to that class the following year.

Heidens and their relatives were always involved in school activities at Bridge School. Wilma (Heiden) Bicking won two county wide spelling bees during her days at the school. Verdell (Heiden) Giebel and Harold Heiden served on a student committee that helped beautify the grounds by planting trees. William Carl Heiden served on the Arrangements Committee for the 100th Anniversary celebration in 1928. Many of the children played special roles in various school productions. Marie (Heiden) Tommelein played on the girls traveling basketball team.

The Bridge School served the Raisinville Township community for a very long time. In 1928, a big celebration was held to honor the passing of the school’s 100th anniversary. A special pamphlet titled, “100th Anniversary of Bridge School” was produced for the occasion. The following is a summary of the history of school as it appeared in that pamphlet.

by S.E. Younglove
Monroe County Historian

On April 7, 1828, after the meeting and elections for Raisinville Township, a special meeting was held for the purpose of organizing school districts. It was decided to have three districts more or less of equal size based on the number of households. District One was composed of Monroe Township. District Three was primarily in Erie Township.

District Two would lay totally within Raisinville Township. Its boundary description was, “extending from the east line of the James Knaggs farm on the north side of the river, and the west line of the Francis Farwell farm on the South side of the river, both running west to the Indian Reservation and extending four and one half miles back from the River Raisin on either side.” It was the first to officially organize and begin the schooling of children.

The first school house was built in 1828 on the west line of the George Sortor farm, later known as the William Gibson farm. It was made of logs from surrounding woodlots. Four years later in 1832, the building was enlarged. Another expansion in 1843 was made of 2 inch thick black walnut planks.

By 1868, although the size of the district had been reduced, the number of students was on the rise. It was then decided to construct the brick building which remains as part of the current school. The walnut school building was moved to the Ralph Zorn farm also known as the Henry Younglove farm where it served as a tool and buggy shed. In 1910, a brick addition was made on the north side of the building.

The land on which the Bridge School stands passed through many hands in history. In June, 1811, Oliver Wilson was patented a tract of land extending from the River Raisin to the present village of Ida. He transferred rights to 540 acres to Joseph Campeau who secured the rights of the Indians to the tract for one flint lock shot gun and one barrel of whiskey. In 1846, the land was sold to Bemis and Nogar who in 1881 conveyed one acre of land to District Two. This is the size of the site as it remains today.

From its beginnings, the school was open to all regardless of age. In 1840 the age limit was placed at 21 with a small fee charged for those between 21 and 24 who wanted to attend. The buildings were always available for use by people of the community for social, political, religious or business gatherings.

In the early days of the area, the only way across the river was by means of an 18 foot long canoe hewn from an old cottonwood tree. It was used to ferry people, livestock and goods. The first bridge, the Bruckner Bridge, was built in 1828. At that time the area was inhabited by the Pottawatomie and Wyandotte Indians under Chief Tecumseh.

In 1828, Raisinville Township offered a bounty of $2.00 for any wolf killed in the township. Any person allowing a stallion to run at large was liable for a fine of $10.00 but would only be fined $3.00 if they let a ram roam free. In 1833, the Supervisor of the Township was allocated the sum of $20.00 for the care of the poor. He used only $9.71 that year for the purpose.

Although all 13 of Wm Carl and Mary (Rambow) Heiden's children completed the 8th grade at Bridge School, only 2, Wilma (Heiden) Bicking and Norma "Jeanie" Heiden went on to attend high school in Dundee. In those days, an 8th grade education was considered enough for most people to find a job or to work on the farm. It was not easy for students to move on to the next level of education in those days.

High schools were located in the towns such as Dundee and Ida and there was no free bus service then to carry distant students to school each day. People who wanted to attend had to arrange for their own transportation and this was not always easy. Most students had to pay for their rides or share the cost of commuting and the money for this was not always available. In the early part of the twentieth century, even some public schools charged tuition fees and many of them required the student to pass entrance exams.
 

By the late 1940's, the movement in education was toward closing down the one-room schools and consolidating them into larger, community school districts. In 1946, Bridge School ended its long existence as a place of learning. The Raisinville District No. 2 was incorporated into the Dundee Community School District and an extensive bus system was initiated to carry students into Dundee each day. Some of the students from the Bridge, King or Fonia School also attended Ida Public Schools in nearby Ida.