22 Thursday, September 5, 2024 BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com
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BY JOHN HENDLER
View Newspaper Group
One of the homes on display for the
59th Annual Marshall Home Tour
Sept. 7-8 is the Chisholm School,
located at 13875 20-Mile Road.
Once a quaint one-room school-
house, this property is now a unique
apartment space that was painstak-
ingly restored by the Withee family.Renovated Chisholm School part of Marshall Home Tour
Chisholm School is shown before its renovation.Pictured is the school after its renovation by Bob and Deb Withee.Built in 1933, the Chisholm School
was once an integral part of rural life
in Marengo Township.
Bob and Deb Withee purchased the
property in June 2019 after discover-
ing it by chance a few months earlier
while the couple was on a motor-
cycle ride on 20-Mile Road.
“Even though I grew up in
Marshall, I had never remembered
seeing that building,” said Bob. “I
was not aware of the history of the
building. We were riding by, and I
had always had a fascination with
fieldstone buildings. There’s just
something about them that is roman-
tic. I waved to Deb and said we
should go back. The front door was
kicked in. It was just begging for
someone to trespass and go look at
it. So, we went in.”
Inside, the 800-square-foot building
was a mess.
“People had been dumping trash
in there for years,” said Bob. “It was
amazing. One of the last farmers
who had owned the land had let his
sheep and cows inside, as well.”
After he learned about the build-
ing’s history, Bob said it had a lot
of potential because of its historical
value.
“The owners at that time were actu-
ally thinking about bulldozing it,” he
said. “I spent some time negotiating
with them to sell it to me.”
The Withees spent a couple ofyears restoring it, installing new
plumbing, electrical, natural gas,
HVAC, a kitchen and counter tops
and a laundry room. They also built
a garage.
“But you can tell it’s a schoolhouse
by the way it’s outfitted inside,”
said Bob. “We tried to maintain the
schoolhouse theme. It has an original
slate chalkboard. There is a bell in
the bell tower so people can ring the
bell. It’s kind of eclectic inside.”
Nearly two centuries ago, Thomas
Chisholm, one of the original
pioneers in Calhoun County and
Marengo Township, procured the
land that would become a one-room
schoolhouse on the property.
In 1933, a lightning strike caused
the building, now with electricity, to
burn down.
Within months, a new fieldstone
building was constructed.
That building was one of eight
one-room schoolhouses (Chisholm,
Samson, Hewitt, Pierce, Rice Creek,
Kibler, Carverville and South Brick)
that eventually led to a consolidated
K-8 system and the creation of
MarLee School in 1963.
“Upon entering, people will see the
slate chalkboard and old-style pull-
down maps that were in just about
every classroom back in the day,”
said Bob. “There is also an old-style
See HOME TOUR on 23