Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

752

PIONEER HISTORY OF INGIIAM COUNTY

thereon for the purpose of holding court, but for some cause no
court sessions seem to have been held there; sometimes they held a
justice's court at Hiram Parker's, but these were later held in
Mason in a building used for a hotel until the Mason court house
was built.
The Wilson school was so named because F. L. Wilson owned
and operated a saw mill near the place where the school house
was erected, and also because Mr. Wilson was the contractor who
built it.
The first school meeting was held some time in 1868 in a rude
shanty put up by B. B. Noyes on his place as a temporary dwelling,
and at this meeting a committee was appointed consisting of
Elijah Brooks, F. L. Wilson and B. B. Noyes to select and provide
a site and build a school house. Tie land was finally purchased
of Luke Aseltine for $50, a bond for this amount drawing 10
per cent interest, being given him as late as January 16, 1872,
signed by F. L. Wilson, director, Christopher Johnson, assessor,
and William H. Ames, moderator. This bond was sold to John
Rayner February 13, 1872, and is still in possession of the district.
The first school was taught in the dwelling house of B. B.
Noyes (where the meeting had been held) by Mrs. Henry Hawks,
for 12 shillings per week-instead of $105 per month-and Mrs.
Hawks boarded herself at that! Several terlrs of four months
each were taught by her, there being an average attendance of
something like 20 children.
Mr. and Mrs. Hawks owned the 80 adjoining the Noyes farm on
the west, so she had but a short distance to go, as the Noyes
"shanty" stood under a big maple, which is still there, only a few
rods east of where their present home is now located.
The first settlers in the Wilson District were L. S. Bates and
B. B. Noyes and their wives, who came in 1865. The next year
there followed a number of families-Elijah Brooks', John Diamond's, George and Aaron Garrison's, Fred Sipley's, Joseph
Worden's, Andrew McCormick's, John Strope's, Peter and Luke
Aseltine's, Dennis Wright's, Christopher JohnsoIn's and Wilson
B. Hicks', all of whom took up their abode in this wilderness,
there being over 3,000 acres of land with the timber so thick on it
that the only direction anyone could look and see any distance was
straight up!