RCA Photo of the Week - July 17, 2025

Thorington School has been in the news as of late for a good reason. The Washington Township Board of Trustees bought the property back in March, and they plan on moving it to a different spot along 31 Mile Road to make it a focal point for a park. On top of that, Romeo High School students led by trades teacher Craig Bryant are going to work on constructing and restoring pieces of the schoolhouse using materials donated by local companies.

Although little is actually known about its building origins, what we do know comes from Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli's book A History of the Romeo Community School District 1824-1976. In it, she says that the school had been in existence since the 1840s. The land, in which it stood, was owned by James Thorington as part of his 158-acre farm. Thorington was a Vermont native who came to Michigan in the early 1800s. By 1819, he was living in Macomb County. In his later years, he retired to Romeo where he purchased a home at 117 Bradley Street. His son James M. Thorington took over the farm, "continuing to lease the school property" (p. 129).

The schoolhouse as we know it was erected in the 1860s according to a design suggested by the State Superintendent's Office.

As part of her research for the book, Buzzelli took the photo you see here in 1975. The Thorington Schoolhouse appears to be in fairly good condition surrounded by bushes. After it consolidated in 1955, the building was used as the Lake Cusic Grange Hall for over a decade. What's also interesting is that there's a spire on top of the bell tower. That's absent in pictures of the school taken in the last 35 years. We can only assume that it went missing sometime after 1975.

Buzzelli also took pictures of other schools in the Romeo-Washington-Bruce area and used old school records as part of her research. Along with the photo seen above, these can be found in the Romeo Community Schools Administrative Center Collection housed at the Romeo Community Archives.

To see more photos and documents from the Romeo Community Schools Administrative Center Collection, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890.

Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Romeo Community Schools Administrative Center Collection, 1975; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, June 30, 1955, p.I-5 and August 7, 1991, p.1-B; and The Record, March 19-25, 2025, p.1 and p.4

RCA Photo of the Week - July 10, 2025

Last year, we acquired four collections. Romeo Community Archives volunteer Jim Tyler donated one of them - a set of digital copies of photographs that he and his family took between the 1930 and the 1970s in Romeo.

Jim was born in 1938 and grew up in the village with his parents, brother Dean, and half-brother Bob. His mother Irene owned a beauty shop in downtown Romeo, while his father Raymond was a photographer. Jim graduated from Romeo High School in 1956. Soon after, he joined the military and later the missionary.

Even when he was away, Jim visited Romeo from time to time. He also took up photography as a hobby because he caught the camera bug from his dad. He snapped pictures of the Romeo and Washington areas, especially in the 1960s and 1970s.

This photo seen above was one that he shot in 1963. It shows downtown Romeo facing south on Main Street. While we were working on the digital collection, Jim talked about the origins of the pictures. With this one, he mentioned that he took it while he was in his car, and the light was still red. Said light turned green by the time he was done. Don't worry, he was still being a safe driver.

What's fascinating about this photo is the businesses that occupied South Main Street in 1963. We identified five of them in the picture alone. These include the Community National Bank and the Romeo Texaco Service Gas Station (with the star logo) on the right side. The PNC Bank and the Peaches Brunch House occupy those spaces currently. On the left side, there's Schaaf's Pharmacy near the front, the Gamble Store (a hardware store with the green logo background), and the Detroit Edison Company in the back. Today, Paramount Roofing, Two Friends Dog & Cat Grooming, and Tech City Electronics are in those buildings as of now.

It's always interesting to see how downtown Romeo looked like in the past.

Are there any other businesses that you can identify in this photo? Let us know.

To see more photos from the Jim Tyler Photograph Collection, check out our online Archives Catalog. For other inquiries, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890.

Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Jim Tyler Photograph Collection, 1963 and Romeo Telephone Directory, January 1964