A Look Inside the One-Room Schoolhouse in the Shadow Town of Bliss, Michigan
The old Bliss one-room schoolhouse sits right across the street from the old general store. The store actually looks like it may have been originally built as a hotel – the balcony gives it away.
This old school has been renovated into a home and even has a basement...wasn't a basement rather unusual for an old one-roomer? Just wondering.
This little hamlet is located in Bliss Township, Emmet County, about 13 miles southwest of Mackinaw City. Charles Barton became the first postmaster when the post office began operating in 1878; it was christened 'Bliss' after the township, which was named after Aaron T. Bliss, one of Michigan's wealthiest lumbermen who later became governor of Michigan in 1901.
The area was originally occupied by the Ottawa tribe until settlers and homesteaders began permeating the land in 1874. By 1877, so many people had set their roots down here, that several townships had to be organized to handle them all – Bliss Township was then split into six separate townships.
By 1910, Bliss' population had shrunk to 75; by 1918, it was 31. In the 2000s, you might be able to count the residents on the fingers of both hands. The little village of Bliss still stands at the intersection of N. Pleasantview Rd. and E. Sturgeon Bay Trail. Just about everything to see in Bliss – almost – is right there in the vicinity of the intersection: the one-room school, the church, the old general store/hotel, and the cemetery. Another old school sits further west and the famous Bliss Polo Fields are a few hundred feet southeast of town.
In the gallery below are a few photos of Bliss and a good handful inside the old school since it was made into a residence!
Inside the One-Room Schoolhouse in the Shadow Town of Bliss
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