Originally, the Barton Elementary School building was built to serve as the primary public elementary school for the small village of Barton, which was annexed by West Bend in 1961. The growth and continued physical expansion of the building between 1924 and 1969 exemplify the development and evolution of the modern graded school in the former village of Barton and the city of West Bend. While many new school buildings were constructed in West Bend during the post-World War II period, these new schools were built to augment, not replace, existing functional schools such as Barton. The continued expansion and modernization of early-twentieth century school buildings was a critical piece of the Washington County school board’s approach to serving the children in the public school system.

The Barton Elementary School retains sufficient exterior and interior integrity to convey its significance as a long-lived school that reflects the interconnected expansion and evolution of public education in Barton and West Bend through the twentieth century.