Reed School Restoration
Neillsville, Wisconsin
Before 1960, most rural Wisconsin kids were educated inone-room schools, like Reed School near Neillsville. The school was built in 1915 and provided education for first- through eighth-graders with one teacher until 1951.
One-room schools reflect a more rural and less mobile time in our history. Low student-to-teacher ratios allowed for individualized learning. The wide range of ages provided opportunities for older students to help younger ones. These desirable attributes are difficult to achieve in schools today.
Gordon Smith's memories of first grade at Reed School in the 1940s were the catalyst leading to its restoration and reopening as the Wisconsin Historical Society's 10th historic site. Through the generosity of Gordon and Helen Smith of Potomac, Maryland, Reed School is again an educational institution a recreated one-room school where today's students can experience a day in the life of a rural 1940s pupil. Smith funded the top-to-bottom restoration. His family foundation also provided an endowment for the school's educational programming and ongoing maintenance, ensuring its continuation into the future.
Smith hired Isthmus Architecture, Inc. of Madison to design the restoration and oversee construction. In cooperation with staff from the Wisconsin Historical Society, Isthmus completed preservation plans and construction drawings in less than four months. Twelve months of construction followed, as workers gave the school a cedar shingle roof and repaired windows, doors and masonry. Architects also designed a wheelchair-accessible entrance tucked in the rear of the school. As decades of overgrowth were removed from the property, the original baseball field and outhouse emerged, and a new sustainable composting toilet facility found its place.
On the interior, Isthmus documented finishes and wall colors, which workers replicated. Tin ceilings, plaster walls, and woodwork regained their original luster as tradespeople discretely added modern mechanical, electrical and security systems. Original furnishings were restored and period furnishings added to recreate the appearance of Reed School in the 1940s.
A gala celebration took place on June 10, 2007, to rededicate Reed School as the Wisconsin Historical Society's first 20th-century era historic site. To plan a visit or set up a school tour, see the Reed School website for more information.
Read more about the history of Reed School in the historic property records on our website.