BRIDGE SCHOOL

MICHIGAN'S FIRST PUBLIC SCHOOL

Pioneer settlers of Raisinville Township, Monroe County, Michigan, were the first citizens in Michigan to fully organized a school district and provide a building and financial support for basic education. On April 7, 1828, a township meeting and election was held at the residence of George Sortor in Raisinville Township. Following this election, a special meeting was held with those present, for the purpose of dividing and organizing the township into school districts. George Sortor deeded parcel of land to Raisinville Township on April 23, 1828 for the purpose of building a school. The pioneers then built a log school house on the western boundary of the George Sortor farm. They named it after the nearby Bruckner Bridge, newly completed across othe Rivier Raisin. A larger structure, built entirely of walnut replaced the log house in 1832. The present brick building was erected in 1868 and added to in 1910. It served as a school continuously until 1950 after its consolidation with Dundee Community Schools. This school satisfied the basic education needs for the Sortor children and their neighbors for well over a hundred years. 1, 2

George Sortor and Elmer Charles Sortor served as members of the school board.

NOTES:

Wakefield, J. P. and Younglove, S.E., 100th Anniversary Bridge School, The First Public School in Michigan, The Monroe Business Men's Association, 1928.
Text and Locations of Historical Markers in Monroe County, Michigan, 1973

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