Mission Update July 2023

The mission of URSCC is to research and educate about the Underground Railroad and its legacy in Cass County, MI.   Brownsville School is a legacy of the UGRR.  It was integrated from the day it opened in c. 1840 until it closed in 1957.  The 1860 plat map of Cass County shows over 100 properties owned by 35 Black families in Calvin Township.  It also shows five public, one-room schoolhouses, including Brownsville.  Many citations in the literature attest to these schools being integrated.  Evidence supports that Brownsville may be earliest and longest integrated, one-room, public school in Michigan.

Brownsville School, a Greek Revival frame structure, stands largely in its original state.  URSCC will preserve Brownsville, repairing the foundation, windows, floors, and roof.  Brownsville will open to the public in 2024.  The  school will feature photos of Brownsville and other early integrated public schools in Cass County.  A documentary about the UGRR and its legacy in Cass County, including interviews with students that attended Brownsville and Cass County’s other integrated schools, will air there.  Friends of Brownsville School, a Committee of URSCC, will assist with preservation goals. URSCC and FBS hope Brownsville School #1 becomes a living symbol of this community and its rich history.

See Press Release July 2023 for more information about URSCC’s new direction for Brownsville.