The Nankin Mills School was built in 1937 for the children of the workers at Henry Ford's Nankin Mills factory. The school had a large classroom, activity room, two hallways, and a machine shop downstairs. It also had indirect lighting, plastered walls, eggshell colored woodwork, and pine flooring.
The Livonia Public Schools acquired the property in 1969 and the school was used until 1982.
Moving the Building to Greenmead Historical Park
In January of 2015, the donation of the school to the City of Livonia was accepted and preparations to move the building to Greenmead Historical Park began. On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, the school was moved over a nine-hour period from the corner of Farmington Road and Ann Arbor Trail to Greenmead via Joy, Inkster, Seven Mile, and Newburgh Roads.
RESTORATION & RENOVATION
The next phases will include building a foundation, moving the schoolhouse onto the foundation, and restoring the interior and exterior. The school's new home will be on the west side of the Kingsley House.