SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – It’s a part of Spring Arbor’s history and it can barely be seen from the M-60 at it’s spot behind McDonald’s.

A location between Warner School and the Police and Fire Departments is where the Snyder School now rests.

The Snyder School isn’t just another school it’s a one-room schoolhouse that’s been in Spring Arbor since 1840.

It was orginially located by the Seventh Day Adventist Church until the church moved and then in 2001 the Snyder School was moved to it’s current location.

The Snyder School is very different from the college campus it is across the street from and from Warner School that sits almost beside it. On average 20-22 students would sit on benches in the school. Today students are sitting at desks and class sizes can be up to the 30s. The blackboard was pieces of wood painted black. Now, we use projectors and dry erase boards. The students had to use outhouses. Students today get to enjoy the wonders of indoor plumbing. The building was heated by a wood burning stove. Today, there is a thermostat in almost every room and the temperature can be whatever we choose, it won’t be just “cold” or “hot.”

Beverly Cunningham, the creator of the Historical Committee that moved the Snyder School, graduated from this one-room schoolhouse when she completed the eighth grade.

It cost between $50,000 and $60,000 to move the building and renovate it.

“That price is unheard of for this process. I know of a one-room schoolhouse in Ypsilanti that is already at a budget of $220,000 and the job isn’t complete yet,” said Cunningham.

It’s a piece of Spring Arbor history that most people probably don’t even know is there, but from it’s hiding spot behind McDonald’s this historical building will be a reminder to anyone who passes through the doors that Spring Arbor’s history will live on, forever.