The Van Brunt Memorial School at 611 Mill Street in Horicon was designed as a combination school in 1922 by the prominent La Crosse architectural firm of Parkinson & Dockendorff. As a rural combination school, it served as Horicon’s only public school and housed primary (kindergarten through middle school) and secondary (high school) grades in separate wings. The two-story and basement school was designed in the Collegiate Gothic style and features brick cladding with decorative limestone details. The school’s interior has original historic finishes such as marble wainscoting, terrazzo flooring in stairwells and corridors, and oak wood built-in cabinetry.

After Horicon’s original public school was destroyed in a fire in 1920, wealthy local citizens donated funds for the construction of a new school on the site in honor of the Van Brunt family, who were prominent local manufacturers of grain drills. The Van Brunt Memorial School opened in September of 1922 with 651 students spanning from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. The school played an important role in the community, serving as the town’s only public school building until Horicon High School was completed in 1964. After 1964, the Van Brunt Memorial School continued to serve as the town’s only elementary and middle school. The Van Brunt Memorial School received additions in 1955, 1966, and 1993. After 96 continuous years in service, the Van Brunt Memorial School was sold in 2018 when voters approved the constructed of a new school building.