Education Oak

A stately oak was the location chosen by the Rev. John Pierce and Isaac Crary for their discussions of the founding of the education system for the territory that was to become Michigan.

The carving is now housed in the main lobby at the Marshall Middle School. Admission is free, but you must check in at the school office before viewing the statue.

Source: Wikipedia

Isaac Crary and Rev. John Pierce

Among the first recruits the Ketchum brothers brought to Marshall was a young attorney from Connecticut named Isaac Crary. He immediately became Michigan’s first territorial representative and then the first state representative to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Isaac Crary

Another early recruit was Reverend John D. Pierce, who moved to Marshall from New Hampshire as a missionary for the Congregational Church. Reverend Pierce had innovative ideas about education, and in 1834 he worked with Isaac Crary to create a plan which would became the first state educational system in the United States. Pierce served as the first state superintendent of education in the country, from 1836 to 1841 (predating Horace Mann of Massachusetts who is also credited with this distinction).

Pierce’s other innovative educational ideas included coordinating elementary schools within districts, putting libraries inside of schools, and establishing teaching qualifications.

In addition, Pierce worked as a preacher, in the state legislature, and he founded The Journal of Education, the first professional education journal in the Great Lakes region.

Rev. John Pierce
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