Whitewater’s Historic Schools

In 1840, the earliest white settlers established a school district in Whitewater and built a small log-constructed school.  In 1844, this building was replaced with a brick structure measuring 24 x 28 feet.  The building was located on what is now the site of the Birge Fountain in front of the White Memorial Building and was known later as the “Little Brick.”

In 1854, a much larger school was built on the southeast corner of Prairie and Center Streets (now Big Brick Park). It was known as the “Union School” and the building served primarily west side students in Whitewater for several decades. It is left of the church building in the above photograph.

Whitewater citizens built a school on the east side as early as 1857 and the building was either replaced or enlarged in 1872.  The above image is the oldest the historical society has in its collection. The appearance of this building could be from either date.

By the early 1880s, it was determined that the 1854 “Union School” was inadequate to serve the growing west side of Whitewater.  In 1884, it was replaced with the above building and opened as an elementary school.  The building was affectionally known as the “Big Brick." In 1889, the school district introduced a high school program in the building, but the program soon gained in popularity.  By 1894, the school building was entirely consumed with the high school program and became known as Whitewater High School.  West side elementary school pupils were moved nearby to the recently vacated Esterly House, a building that became the Esterly School.

The Esterly House (above) was originally constructed around 1860 and used as the home of George Esterly, Whitewater’s most prominent industrialist in the 19^th century.  The house had large rooms and a very large lot located at the end of Center Street. When the Esterly company left Whitewater in 1892 and George Esterly died in 1893, the house became available. The Esterly School was used until 1927, when it was razed for the new Whitewater elementary and high school building (later the old Franklin Junior High School, not extant).

Meanwhile, the east side of Whitewater was also growing and in 1906-07, a large addition was made to the original building (above). This addition doubled the size of the original building and the new building served this area of Whitewater for 50 years.

The Twentieth Century

The twentieth century brought significant changes to Whitewater schools.  While population growth remained stable until after World War II, new ideas in education and educational buildings changed the city’s school system.  The earliest of these changes occurred in the high school.  New courses like shop, home economics, and physical education were introduced and spaces were needed in buildings to accommodate them.  A new type of high school with large gymnasiums and industrial arts spaces along with modern science laboratories were being built after 1900. 

In Whitewater, by the later 1920s, the old Esterly School, built as a house, was outdated and the “Big Brick” high school building could not accommodate more students and modern programs.  In 1927, it was decided to demolish the old Esterly School in favor of a modern high school building that would also include an area for west side elementary pupils as well. 

Building the new high school (above) began in 1927, but early in that year, before the new building was completed, the old “Big Brick” burned to the ground.  After scrambling to provide classrooms for the rest of the 1927 school year, this new building was opened for the fall of 1927.  It was used as both an elementary and high school until a new west side elementary school was completed in 1953.  With its gymnasium and updated classrooms, it was the city’s first truly modern school building and was popularly known as “city high.”  In 1959, when a new city high school was completed, this building became a junior high school for 7^th and 8^th graders known as Franklin Junior High School.  It was used as such until another new high school was built in 1994 and the building was demolished in 1999. 

Between 1945 and 1964, America’s population boomed with a generation that was soon known as the “baby boom.”  The baby boom population began to effect schools by 1950 and by the mid-1950s, school buildings were bursting at the seams in most places.  An early solution in Whitewater was the removal of elementary school age children out of the high school and into a school of their own. 

The new west side school was completed in 1953.  Designed by noted Madison architects Law, Law, Potter & Nystrom, the building was Whitewater’s first “modern” elementary school and still serves the city today. The core building has been remodeled and expanded several times proving the versatility of its original design. 

The East Side School (above, left) also saw some changes during the mid-20^th century.  The photograph on the left is interesting because it shows an interesting fire escape for this older building. The image on the left shows a large tube "fire escape" that was placed on the side wall in the summer of 1945.  This addition is fondly remembered by east siders today.  But, in 1955, the “fire escape” was removed for a “baby boom” era addition, seen in the photo on the right.   

In 1966 the old section of the building was finally demolished and a new central core section was built.  Around 2002, the 1955-wing was demolished in favor of a modern wing and alterations and additions to the building have continued to this time. 

A major change to Whitewater’s two elementary schools was made in 1961, when they were given names, Washington School for the east side and Lincoln for the west side.  Also, the new junior high school was given the name Franklin Junior High School. 

Capping off the “baby boom” school building era was a new Whitewater High School building, constructed in 1959.  It was designed by Kenosha architectural firm Lawrence Monberg and Associates in a mid-20^th-century streamlined manner with large window banks.  This post card (above) shows the new school.  The building was converted into a three-grade (6-8) middle school in 1994 when the new high school nearby was completed.  Most of the building from 1959 is extant with only a few additions or alterations, including enclosure of the large window banks. 

By the 1990s, the need for a building to replace the older Franklin Junior High School along with a small boom in the school population resulted in a decision to build a new high school and use the 1959-era high school as a middle school. The new building, designed by popular school architects Bray and Associates, was completed in 1994.

Lakeview School

Prior to the 1950s, most rural schools most rural schools were run by their own local districts and tightly controlled by the farm communities that supported them.  As early as the 1910’s and 1920s, some rural districts merged to build newer multi-room schools with better facilities, but most rural districts clung to their local control and one-room schools. 

In the 1950s, funding for schools became dependent on state revenue and with this funding came new rules from the state superintendent’s office.  Most one-room schools could not meet new state standards. But many rural families still wanted local control, so they began consolidating with other rural districts to build facilities that would meet early state criteria.  In 1956, this consolidation effort resulted in eight individual districts in the Towns of Whitewater, Richmond, and La Grange merging into a new Joint District #1.  This new district decided to build a modern elementary school building on the west side of Whitewater Lake. 

The baby boom affected rural areas as well, and within two years, an addition was made to Lakeview School. And, by 1961, the state of Wisconsin demanded that all elementary school districts be attached to districts with high schools.  Parents of Lakeview School had to determine which district they would attach to and chose Whitewater since most of their students went on to Whitewater High School. 

To absorb all of Lakeview’s students, the Whitewater School District would have had to make major additions to their elementary schools or build a new school in town.  Because Lakeview was a modern school that met state standards, it was determined to maintain this facility as an elementary school in the Whitewater School District.  It has remained an elementary school since that time, updated and enlarged along with other schools in the district (see above photo). 

Schools at the Normal School and Teacher’s College (UWW)

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater began as a state teacher’s college and as part of student training, the school operated an elementary and high school program.  “College High,” the high school program operated for a number of years and ended in 1959.  The elementary school program operated into the 1970s and in 1960 a new building, now known as Roseman Hall, was built for the training school. College High classes were held in other buildings on campus.