One-room schoolhouse hits the road Tuesday - Hilkrest School will be moved from fairgrounds to new location at Rassbach Heritage Museum
Monday, June 25, 2007 10:27 AM CDT
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Students from 1931-32 pose in front of Hilkrest School, then located in Dunn County’s town of Sherman. The school served the district until 1962. The Dunn County Historical Society will move the school from the county fairgrounds — where it has stood since 1964 — to the grounds of the Russell J. Rassbach Heritage Museum in Menomonie’s Wakanda Park. submitted photo/for dunn county news
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Hilkrest School is on the move.
The Dunn County Historical Society (DCHS) is returning to its own roots with one of its current projects. The Hilkrest one-room school, built in 1872, was moved to the Dunn County Fairgrounds in 1964 as one of the society’s first large-scale projects. It has been open during the county fair each year since.
On Tuesday, the school will be moved to the grounds of the society’s Russell J. Rassbach Heritage Museum in Menomonie’s Wakanda Park. Once relocated, the building will be restored, with exhibits improved and expanded to tell the story of rural schools in the county. Before consolidation of county schools in the early 1960s, the number of rural schools reached 145.
About the school
Originally situated in Sherman Township (about 9.5 miles north of Menomonie on County Highway F), Hilkrest School is a classic example of the one-room schools that were common in Dunn County until consolidation.
Built in 1872, it replaced an earlier Hilkrest School that opened in 1868. The school closed briefly from 1944 to 1947, then remained in use until May 1962. In its last year, Hilkrest had 17 to 20 students, who then transferred to the Wheeler or Boyceville schools.
“Relocating the school to the Heritage Museum will allow us to keep the exhibit open to the public for the full summer season,” said Rich Sterry, DCHS board member and Hilkrest project chair. “If we can raise enough support, we’d like to keep it open year-round.”
Stepping back in time
The Heritage Museum is host to more than 1,000 school children and other group visitors a year. Bringing the school to its new location will enhance school tours and provide other visitors with additional opportunities to see the rural school exhibit beyond the county fair dates. School children will see first-hand how classes were conducted before today’s technological advances.
“Community support for the project has been excellent,” said Roy Ostenso, DCHS board president. “We’ve already raised support to cover moving the school through gifts from our membership, private donors and business sponsors like S&C Bank. Through our Heritage Partners program, DKS Construction has donated site preparation work, Cedar Falls Building Systems has donated the concrete work, and Dunnville Cutstone Company has donated sandstone facing for the foundation.”
The historical society is still seeking funds and volunteer hours from interested groups and individuals to restore the building. The Society’s exhibit committee will create interpretive exhibits describing the history and benefits of rural schools.
Invitation to join project
“While financial support is important, we’re also seeking participation in the form of oral and written histories, photographs, textbooks and examples of school work from the rural school era,” said Sterry. “We invite anyone who was a teacher or student at one of these rural schools to join us in this project.”
Interested parties should contact the society by phone at (715) 232-8685 or by e-mail at dchs@dunnhistory.org.
A recent Heritage Sunday event in April featuring five former rural school teachers was well attended and further presentations are planned as part of the project.
Also being moved is the Tainter Playhouse used by the children of Andrew Tainter, who was one of the founders of the Knapp, Stout & Co., Company lumber empire.
Moving route
The route of the move on June 26 is as follows:
Leaving the Dunn County Fairgrounds going north on 17th Street to Stout Road, turning left (west) to Main Street and proceeding west to Second Street West.
Turning right (north) onto Second Street West to First Avenue West, then turning right (east) onto First Avenue, followed by a left (north) onto Broadway and across the bridge.
Immediately after crossing the bridge, the entourage will turn right onto Wolske Bay Road and travel up Wolske Bay hill to Wilson Street going north. It will continue on Wilson Street until turning right (east) into Wakanda Park.
The moving contractor expects to get under way about 9 a.m. |
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patt sprague wrote on Nov 4, 2007 2:51 PM: