Story and photos by Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
FREE SOIL — The former Free Soil School building is expected to be demolished later this summer as part of a Mason County Land Bank Authority blight elimination project funded through the Michigan State Land Bank Authority.
The long-vacant structure, located on North Democrat Street, was added to the project earlier this year after grant funding became available. According to Mason County Treasurer Andrew Kmetz IV, who serves as chairman of the land bank authority, the demolition will take place once work is completed on the former Scottville schoolhouse demolition project. Pitsch Companies of Grand Rapids is the demolition contractor for both sites.
The Free Soil project became possible after plans for the former Scottville schoolhouse changed from stabilization to demolition, freeing a portion of the land bank authority’s previously approved $700,000 State Land Bank Authority grant for additional blight elimination projects. According to Kmetz, discussions with state land bank officials led the authority to seek projects that could be completed before the grant expires in September 2026.
The former Free Soil School emerged as a candidate because of its deteriorating condition and an unsuccessful demolition effort that began in 2024. That project stalled after asbestos-related issues left the building exposed to the elements without windows and doors. Earlier this year, Kmetz, Village President Dave Morley and Mason County Land Bank Authority Vice Chair Janet Andersen toured the property before the authority applied to include the school under the grant program. Once approved, the authority completed the required environmental assessments and developed the scope of work for demolition.
Last week, I had the opportunity to document the interior of the building prior to demolition. The photographic documentation was conducted to assist the Mason County Land Bank Authority with its grant requirements and to preserve a visual record of the historic structure.
Copies of the images will be placed in the Mason County Historical Society’s Rose Hawley Archives, where they will become part of the permanent historical record of the village and its schools.
The former school complex opened in 1913 and served generations of students in northern Mason County. The final senior class graduated in 2007, and the district later consolidated with Mason County Eastern Schools. The building has remained vacant for years and has continued to deteriorate.
Its demolition is part of a broader effort by the Mason County Land Bank Authority to return blighted properties to productive use through remediation, redevelopment and grant-funded projects. Following demolition, ownership of the property will remain with the Village of Free Soil as a build-ready site for future development. Some materials from the building, including bricks, are expected to be preserved and made available to the community as a way to honor the school’s long history.
.png)
