Roosevelt school sits with historic charm between Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge. In fact the building sits partially in each community. Built during the 1920s building boom of area homes & schools, it is Ferndale School District’s last operational school building from that era after Washington School / Kulick Center closed in 2021. The bungalow style architecture evokes sentimental memories from past students, staff, & neighbors while still serving the Ferndale School District well.

SITE SELECTION & CONSTRUCTION
Roosevelt School was built on the same grounds as one of Ferndale’s earliest schools, the Ridge Road School which had been built in 1913/14 and served for about 10 years.

To make room for the construction of the Theodore Roosevelt School, the Ridge Road School, which had originally faced Ridge Road, was moved eastward to the rear of the school property and faced Oakridge Avenue in 1920. Water service was added to that school at that time.

Ridge Road School continued to be used while Roosevelt was being built and was listed as “The Annex” when Roosevelt school opened in 1921. By 1926 Ridge Road School appears to have been demolished.

In May 1920 the School Board selected Architect, Mr. Charles Fisher of Pontiac to design the “new Pleasant Ridge School” and contractor, Mr. M.B. Hunderford to build it. In June they authorized Mr. Fisher to draw up plans for a “one story building, bungalow type without basement, same to include as many rooms as possible keeping within the appropriation.” By August they approved architectural plans presented by Charles Fisher. In October 1920 there were still land squabbles with prominent Pleasant Ridge land owner A.F. Wilcox

After months of negotiations, and visits to Lansing, land was taken from A.F. Wilcox on April 6, 1921 to build Roosevelt school. An interesting account of those proceedings is shown below.

It is unclear when ground was actually broken for Roosevelt school, it is often listed as 1920, but may have been as late as April 2021 when sufficient land was finally acquired.

Roosevelt School was opened and dedicated on Thursday Oct 27, 1921. The Royal Oak Tribune published a detailed account on Oct 28th. Ironically, the obituary for A.F. Wilcox was printed right next to the open house story. Both can be seen below.

A June 22, 1921 memo from Theodore Roosevelt’s Son shared how his Father would have felt about the school being named after him. His Father, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, had been the 26th President of the United States and passed away in 1919.

Roosevelt was originally an eight room school facing Ridge Road (now Pinecrest). The school cost $91,428.00 to build (about $1.6 Million in 2025) and had an enrollment of 313 pupils in 1921. Fifty-nine additional students attended special programs in the old “Annex” at the back of the school property.

It is easy to confuse early photographs of Roosevelt School with Washington School which was built about the same time and of similar design. One noticeable difference is that Roosevelt School had finials, often called “urns”, on the roof while Washington School did not.

Roosevelt’s first big addition was built in 1926 which used the land that the old Ridge School sat on. A diagram of the new Roosevelt School layout can be seen on Sanborn maps of the day below.

In 1932 grades seven and eight were added to Roosevelt School. In 1939 the Cambridge and Oakridge sides of the school were added. These wings included basement rooms at their eastern ends, which in the past have served as the school's cafeteria and shop class areas.

The space between the two wings continued to be used as a playground by Roosevelt students until 1949, when the gymnasium was constructed in this open area and the two wings were joined by the addition of four classrooms (two upstairs and two downstairs) at the east end of the school.

Roosevelt remained a K-8 building until the completion of Ferndale High School in 1959, when the seventh and eighth graders were moved to Lincoln Junior High School at Nine Mile and Livernois (where Ferndale Foods is now)

The 1969 addition on the Ridge Road side of the school added four classrooms and a large music room. The June 1997 renovation added a new media center.

SCHOOL LIFE
Roosevelt's first principal was Miss Edith Cargill. According to her daughter, Mrs. Sue Evans of Pinehurst, North Carolina, her mother was principal from 1921-1923, when she had to step down to get married.

Miss Dorothy Brooks, fondly remembered as "our Miss Brooks", was principal from 1923-1933. Mr. Paul Best was principal from 1933-1942 and later became assistant superintendent of schools. Best Junior High School was named after him.

In the September 7, 1932 issue of The Daily Tribune the following teachers are listed for Roosevelt School: Ruth Albers, Mary Burkit, Bernice Butler, Hazel Darling, Evelyn Edwards, Alice Graves, Georgia Hallman, Helen Heisler, Amy Jacobson, Florence Keightley, Maurine LaBatt, Anne MacNeven, Hazel Miller, Alma Mitchell, Irene Mooney, Stella Nicols, Norma VanHome, Greta Wixson. Mary Burkit was a beloved kindergarten teacher known as "Miss Mary". Many alumni have visited Roosevelt and spoken fondly of their "Miss Mary".

A 75th anniversary booklet published in 1996 shared a list of all Principals, Teachers, and most staff. It also shared an apt 1941 quote from Roosevelt PTA Historian Mrs. C.S. Hom:

"Too often the history of a group seems most desirable after long years of organization. By the time it has developed enough of importance to warrant a record of its accomplishment, its beginnings have faded even in the memories of its founders."

And so it is, that many of the names of those who helped build and shape Roosevelt's reputation of excellence have escaped recording.

Roosevelt has served more than 5,000 students since it first opened its doors in 1921. Many of Roosevelt's students in later years were second and third-generation Roosevelt students. Pictures found highlight many activities like the Safety Patrol, sports teams, drama and music events, choir, TV production, and even table manners!

Teacher Diane Mato’s 1995-1996 sixth grader used archived files and the Royal Oak Daily Tribune to help write the 1996 75th anniversary booklet as part of an assignment. It is said that the class also wrote and presented a play about Roosevelt School’s history!

The Roosevelt Parent-Teacher Association has a long tradition since at least the 1940s. A popular fund raiser was the “June Fair” with games & food in a carnival atmosphere. Fun was had by all judging by the fun photos found!

100TH BIRTHDAY PARTY
Roosevelt Elementary’s 100th Birthday celebration was held on Oct 22, 2021. The museum was asked to gather photos and memorabilia for a display at the party.

Principal Diana Keefe and her team decorated the school with historical facts and presentations to help visitors enjoy the history of this beloved school. The museum’s display board gathered lots of interest, and a few visitors donated photos and a trophy from their school days to the museum.

During preparation for the event, the school district found two big binders of historic photos and news clippings stored in a “tunnel” at the high school. One binder was created by Miss Laura Duddles in 1963 upon her retirement. That was updated and a second binder created in 1972 by Katherine S. Frank when she retired. The school loaned these binders to the museum to be scanned and they are now part of the museum’s archive.

The museum followed up with the school district and recovered dozens of boxes of material from the high school basement. The area was being remodeled and these things were about to be discarded. The material covered the entire district and included historic 100+ year old School Board Minutes as well as student photos from all locations. The museum will hopefully be able to sort and store all this “new history”!

FUTURE PLANS
The Ferndale School District issued plans in September 2022 about the future of this wonderful school building at 2610 Pinecrest. Classes in Roosevelt (Ferndale Lower Elementary as it is now known) were moved to a newly built and state-of-the art facility on Rosewood in Oak Park. The last class at Roosevelt was June 7, 2024 after 103 years of teaching.

The ribbon cutting ceremony for the new facility on Rosewood was June 10, 2024 with classes starting that Fall. Roosevelt was refurbished and became the central office & administrative building for the Ferndale School District as of July 1, 2024. We are very encouraged that this historic building has a future!

SEE ALSO

The history of Washington School, with a very similar vintage and design is available HERE

Recap of Ferndale Public Schools: HERE

Angel Pocock-Smith memorial HERE

The museum has several scrapbooks, clip, and many photographs from Roosevelt School over the years - stop by the museum to see more!

If you have memorials, photos, or memories to add please contact: info@ferndalehistoricalsociety.org