and New York came to the Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School. It had an average enrollment of more than 300 students annually for many of the years it was open. School is in session The Native American children at the boarding school received basic academic instruction in grades kindergarten through eighth (K-8) at the Mount Pleasant School. The strict and structured schedule was focused on vocational training and religious education. Classes were offered in English language, woodworking, farming, sewing/tailoring, laundry, housekeeping and basic first aid. The coursework included teaching students how to adapt and fit into "white culture". Rumors of extreme abuse suffered by students as told by locals permeate the locale. The documentary film Indian School: Stories of Survival includes interviews with attendees of the Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School and some of their descendants. The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe maintains a YouTube channel documenting remembrance ceremonies for the students who attended and died there. Mount Pleasant Branch of the Michigan Home and Training School Classes for the Native American children at the school continued until the school closed on June 6, 1934. The property was transferred by the federal government to the State of Michigan for use by the Michigan Department of Mental Health services. After that, it was called The Mount Pleasant Branch of the Michigan Home and Training School. The intent of this home and training school was to house and train mentally handicapped young men. Many of the boys were abandoned; some were juvenile criminals who did not understand their crime or charges in court, and even more of the residents were mentally or physically handicapped. A majority of the residents had some kind of mental health issue. Closure The facility closed in 2008; the State of Michigan made the decision to close due to budget shortfalls at the state level and a dwindling number of patients being assisted at the location. Since their closure, the buildings have lain empty and abandoned. Today, the majority of the buildings' windows and doors are broken or boarded over and the buildings lie in disrepair. The interiors of the buildings are filled with old and used furniture, unused medical supplies, trash, and anything that was left behind by the staff. Much of the appearance of the interior is due to years of neglect and after the closure, the complex was left abandoned and vacant, which left the