A fundraising campaign to turn the site of a former school building into a park has begun in the city of Niles.

Niles History Center Director Christina Arseneau tells us the Ferry Street School was built in 1867, initially as a school for students of color. Over the years, it was used for various purposes, but then it burned down in 2023.

“Once that happened, in order to preserve what was left, we started working with the Ferry Street Resource Center, who had occupied the building, trying to come up with a plan to save what was left and preserve the history of that building and do some interpretation with it,” Arseneau said.

Arseneau says the idea of turning the site into a park that preserves what is left of the Ferry Street School came out of those talks. Because the original facade of the school is the only thing left standing, that will serve as an entryway of sorts for the park.

“We’re hoping that it’ll be a park that’ll be used by everybody in the Niles community. People can come in almost anywhere and it can host small music shows, concerts, or family reunions and just be a general place where people can come and learn a little bit about the history of this important building.”

The new Ferry Street School Memorial Park will include seating and a stage.

Arseneau says the city already has some funding lined up for the project, but a crowdfunding campaign through Patronicity is seeking another $15,000. If that goal is met, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation will kick in another $15,000 to bring the project up to its $130,000 goal. We have a link to the donation page at our website, and donations can also be sent to the Niles History Center.

You can donate right here, and the campaign runs through April 25, and if all goes well, ground could be broken on the new park this summer.