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Historical School Buildings of Rochester and Rochester Hills, Michigan
Item 2 of 6

Avon School District #7 - Ross School

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Rural Avon Township (now Rochester Hills) was divided for public education purposes into rural school districts under the Territory of Michigan's general school laws. Avon School District #7 served students living west of Rochester Road and north of Tienken. For many years, the land surrounding the District #7 schoolhouse was the farm of James and Charity Hayes, but after Azariah Ross purchased the farm and became the school district's moderator, the school became colloquially known as the "Ross School." The Ross schoolhouse was used until approximately 1946, and the district was consolidated with the Rochester Community Schools in 1949. The former Ross schoolhouse is now a private residence.

Images

Avon School District #7 - Ross School, west and south elevations, 2020

Property, House, Home, Roof

House, Home, Property, Roof

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The Avon Township School District No. 7 School has been the location of a schoolhouse since at least 1836. The construction technique and presence of Gothic and Italianate styles of this newer building indicates it was probably built in the third quarter of the nineteenth century.

The original school building was most likely a log or simple frame structure. Sometime in the mid- to late-nineteenth century, a schoolhouse of coursed stone was built on the site, and it was referred to in local newspaper accounts as both “District #7” and the “stone schoolhouse.” According to deed records, the quarter-acre at the corner of Tienken and Brewster Roads was leased to the school district for as long as the district occupied and used the property.

For decades, the James and Charity Hayes farm surrounded the school property, but when Azariah Ross bought the former Hayes farm, Avon #7 became known colloquially as the “Ross District” or “Ross School.” The Ross school was closed after Avon District #7 and other rural districts in the township were consolidated with the Rochester school district in 1949. The building is now a private residence.

Sources

Mallon, Max. One Hundred Years of Rochester Schools, 1865-1965 (Rochester, Mich.: Rochester Board of Education, 1972), p.104.

Michigan. State Historic Preservation Office. Intensive Level Survey, Rochester Hills Historic Districts Survey [prepared for the City of Rochester Hills by Jane C. Busch], 2002, p.297.

William C. Tower to Stephen R. Cox, April 26, 1838, land in the Township of Avon being the south half of the southeast quarter of section 5, excepting one quarter of an acre leased to School District #7 of the Township of Avon for a term so long as the said district shall occupy it, Oakland County Record of Deeds, liber 15, pp. 452-453.

Stephen R. Cox to James Hayse [i.e. Hayes], June 8, 1839, land in the Township of Avon being the south half of the southeast quarter of section 5, excepting one quarter of an acre leased to School District #7 of the Township of Avon for a term so long as the said district shall occupy it, Oakland County Record of Deeds, liber 17, p.327.

Winthrop A. Hayes and Julia A. Hayes his wife to William J. Lomason, October 26, 1885, consideration $8500, land in the Township of Avon being the south half of the southeast quarter of section 5, excepting one quarter acre of land leased to School District #7 of the Township of Avon for a term so long as the said district shall occupy it, Oakland County Record of Deeds, liber 150, p.240.

Michigan Department of Treasury. RG 72-76. Rural Property Inventories for 03N 11E 05 Page 21.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Deborah Larsen

Deborah Larsen

Additional Information