The first school-house in Mason was built in the spring of 1837, and Miss Lucy taught the first school that summer, for which she received one dollar per week, her pupils numbering eight. Mrs. George W. Shafer recollects that when she and her brother, Wright Horton, came here in the fall of 1838, a frame school-house was standing, painted white, and the school was taught the following winter by Mary Ann Rolfe, afterwards the wife of Zaccheus Barnes. This house stood originally opposite the house now occupied by Mrs. A. E. Steele, but has been removed and is not used as a dwelling by Mr. Vandercook.

In 1864-65 the matter of choosing a site and building a new school-house was discussed in the district (No. 1 of Vevay), and the sum of $600 was voted to purchase a site for a new building. This money was afterwards, October, 1865, voted to be used in building an addition to the old school-house, and was thus expended. The building then in use was a frame structure, which is now standing northeast of the jail. Through the energy of C. D. Huntington and two others, a project for building a new and larger school-house was finally put to a vote and passed in the affirmative, the Union school being organized at about the same time. Sept. 21, 1868, it was voted to raise $15,000 for the purpose of building, the proposition being carried by a vote of fifty-three to seventeen. The site chosen included the north half of lots 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, in block 23, with the alley adjoining said lots, and one rod in width off the south end of lots 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, and the west half of lot 1 in the same block (23), also lot "A" and the part of "A" street south of the south line of Oak Street, and all of lot "E" except the south four rods. The contract for building was let to John E. Spencer, and D. D. Hoag, and the house was erected in 1869-70. It is three stories high, constructed of brick, and is an imposing edifice. The old school-house was sold to Dr. McRobert for $300. The several departments in the school are: First and Second Primary; First and Second Intermediate; Grammar and High School. The present school board consists of the following persons: J. C. Cannon, Moderator; Milton Ryan, Director; George W. Briston, Assessor; Theron Van Ostrand, H. L. Henderson, N. A. Dunning.

From the school inspector's report for the year ending Sept. 1, 1879, are taken the following items:
Number of school-children in district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Number attending during the year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Number days school taught . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Number seatings in school-house . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Value of school property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 20,000
Number of teachers employed (one male, seven females) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Wages paid same (males, $1000; females, $2410). . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 3410.00
Total expenditures for year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 4902.75
Amount on hand Sept. 1, 1879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155.83

Taken from:
"History of Ingham and Eaton Counties Michigan, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Their Prominent Men and Pioneers", by Samuel W. Durant.
Published by D. W. Ensign & Co., 1880.
Page 211 - 212