110. Douglas Elementary School

Location: 261 Randolph Street, Douglas
Date: 1957 to present

With four classrooms and a multipurpose room, this Douglas Elementary was built to replace the grand Douglas Union School at 130 Center Street. The cost was $90,000. At the time, the careful attention paid to proper lighting, temperature control, ventilation, lavatory facilities, interior colors and even chalkboards was considered advanced for a “country” school. The building won an Association of School Administrators award for excellence in design. Additional classrooms were added in 1963 when the Douglas and Saugatuck school districts were combined, and then again in 1994 and 2023. The original new school is now incorporated inside of these additions.

In 2008, a stationary school bell that had been on display at the front of the elementary school was “given back” to the Douglas Union School. Today it rings in the summer to call people for “Tuesday Talks” or whenever the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center wants to mark a special occasion.