Property Record
425 OLIVE AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | FLORENCE GRADED SCHOOL & HIGH SCHOOL |
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| Other Name: | FLORENCE HIGH SCHOOL, FLORENCE MIDDLE / HIGH SCHOOL |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 22609 |
| Location (Address): | 425 OLIVE AVE |
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| County: | Florence |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Florence |
| Unincorporated Community: | FLORENCE |
| Town: | 40 |
| Range: | 18 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 21 |
| Quarter Section: | SE |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: | SE |
| Year Built: | 1930 |
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| Additions: | 1958 1973 1975 1999 |
| Survey Date: | 19842017 |
| Historic Use: | elementary, middle, jr.high, or high |
| Architectural Style: | Late Gothic Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | SMITH AND BRANDT (ARCHITECT, 1930); W.H. FARLEY (BUILDER, 1930); DONALD SCHOEPKE (ARCHITECT, 1958); DALSANTO AND SACCHETTI (BUILDER, 1958); SOMERVILLE ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS (ARCHITECT, 1999) |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | 2017: Since the founding of the Wisconsin Territory Constitution in 1836, Wisconsin has mandated and regulated the organization of public schools. At that time, the United States Congress made a donation of land, the sixteenth section in every township, to the Wisconsin Territory for educational purposes. In 1837, the first changes to the Wisconsin Territorial code dictated that towns populated by twenty electors elect a school board of three commissioners with three-year terms to lay districts, lease the school lands in the sixteenth sections to provide funds with which to pay teachers, and hold public school classes for residents’ children. Each district was then directed to elect a board of three directors with one-year terms to construct a schoolhouse, hire teachers for a minimum of three months per year, and levy taxes to support the public schools. Two years later, the code was revised to make families, instead of electors, the minimum basis for school organization; thereafter, every town with a minimum of ten families was required to organize a school district and provide public educational services. The school law of 1839 also required that each town elect five persons annually to act as school inspectors to visit all schools in the district at least quarterly. However, with minimum qualifications or required backgrounds in teaching for these school officials, the system proved inefficient. A law passed in 1848 replaced the multiple school inspector roles with a single town school superintendent. The superintendent was given larger powers of administration and supervision. This town office was substituted with a county superintendent office in 1861. Rural schoolhouses were open a minimum of six months a year, typically during the summer and winter to avoid conflicting with the busy working periods of agricultural life. In 1875, the State of Wisconsin allowed the organization of public high schools, provided that most voters approve the establishment of one funded by local taxation. The first public school in Florence was a graded school constructed in 1883, with the first classes beginning the following year. The non-extant Old Florence Graded School was a two-story frame building with a central bell tower and an L-shaped plan at the western end of a single large block along the north side of Olive Avenue. The school served all grades from 1 through 8, had six teachers, and graduated its first class of six students in 1887. The school grew as the community grew rapidly in the 1880s and 1890s, boasting 209 students in 1889. The school was significantly damaged by fire in 1892, but was repaired. A high school was founded in 1900. The non-extant Old Florence High School, a vaguely Greek Revival three-story wood frame building with a stone foundation, was completed that year, constructed to the east of the Old Florence Graded School. Built by George Baird, the school served grades 7 through 12 and was expanded to the north with an addition in 1913. Besides the Old Florence Graded School, there were at least 20 one-room schoolhouses across the county by the early 1900s, typically serving grades 1 through 8. Almost all of these were small, wood frame buildings with limited attendance. A separate, now non-extant, two-story brick gymnasium building was designed by and constructed by the Phelps-Drake Company in early 1929 between the old high school and old graded school. In March of that year, while the gymnasium was still under construction, a fire occurred on the school campus damaging the unfinished gymnasium and delaying completion. The Old Florence High School Gymnasium was completed in May 1929. The Old Florence High School was destroyed by the fire in March of 1929, with an estimated loss of $50,000 insurance value. A new high school building bond of $75,000 was immediately issued and approved, and W.H. Farley of New Lisbon, Wisconsin was hired as the general contractor. The new Florence High School was designed by Smith and Brandt Architects in the Collegiate Gothic style. The school features a raised concrete foundation, a concrete and clay tile block wall structure, red brick veneer exterior, large wood double-hung windows, a large central entry bay with cut stone panels and concrete steps, Tudor arched surrounding and Gothic arch windows at the entry, stone quoins, stone copping, oak trim, maple and terrazzo floors, central radiant heating, and ‘modern’ drinking fountains and toilets. Smith and Brandt were known for their school designs in northeast Wisconsin during the 1920s and 1930s, often working in a popular combination of Art Deco and Neogothic styles common on educational buildings of the period. The school was completed at the northwest corner of Olive Avenue and Norway Street and opened in 1930. During the early twentieth century, some rural public school districts consolidated with one another and others with the school districts of adjacent incorporated municipalities or more heavily populated unincorporated communities. Consolidation with the public school districts of incorporated municipalities became standard. By the mid-twentieth century nearly all public rural schools closed across the state. Since that time, all public school students from the rural areas attend schools located in the nearest incorporated municipalities, or the largest population centers in heavily rural counties without any incorporated municipalities such as Florence County. This trend held true in Florence County, as more students from across the county began to attend the graded school in Florence, especially as cars became common, and the rural public schools gradually closed. In 1956, a new grade school was designed by Architect Donald Schoepke of Wausau to replace the Florence Graded School building. The old graded school was razed, and the new modern style school was completed in 1958. Constructed by DalSanto and Sacchetti, the new Florence Graded School was connected to the old adjacent gymnasium and included 14 classrooms, a kitchen, and a multi-purpose room. The result was a row of three large school buildings: the extant 1930 high school, the non-extant 1929 Gymnasium, and the 1958 grade school, aligned along the top of the hill along Olive Avenue continuing the tradition of a single centralized educational location in Florence County. The trend of rural school closure continued, with all of Florence County’s rural public schools closing and consolidating into the single county-wide School District of Florence County served by the Florence Graded School and Florence High School by the late 1960s. Florence High School introduced vocational training and adult education classes in 1971 to address some of the local economic issues in Florence County brought on by local population and employment decline. The school expanded again with a two-phased project in the 1970s. The old gymnasium was demolished in 1973 to make room for the first phase of construction which included a new gymnasium, heating plant, technical education classrooms, and vocational offices detached from the other existing Florence school buildings. The second phase of construction, completed in 1975, and tied all the existing school buildings together with central corridors, included locker rooms, large lecture hall, offices, a small library, classrooms, lounge, science laboratories, auditorium and theater, and home economics department. The project was partly funded with state trust fund loans and promissory notes as county bonding was defeated three times in public referendums before finally passing in 1972. The School District of Florence County had over 1,000 students in 1975, 340 of which were enrolled at the high school. In 1992, there enrollment declined to 900 students in the district. Nevertheless, the need to upgrade the district’s elementary school facilities was felt, and a new contemporary style elementary school was constructed just to the north of the other Florence school buildings in 1999. The new Florence Elementary School served Kindergarten through grade 5; while the 1958 grade school became Florence Middle School, serving grades 6 through 8. A year later, a portion of Florence High School was remodeled along with the construction of a public and school library addition. This single story, 20-foot by 60-foot brick addition was constructed prominently along the south-facing façade of the 1975 addition along Olive Avenue. Designed by Somerville Architects and Engineers, the library addition is small and largely unobtrusive, and does not detract from the recognizable form of any of the earlier parts of the school complex nor greatly diminish their respective architectural and historic integrity. The School District of Florence County came close to dissolving completely in 2005 when a school funding referendum failed, making state and national news. The school district did not close, as a $4.75 million operating referendum to keep the schools open was passed in late 2005. Two more referendums followed, keeping the district and its operating schools afloat to the present day. In 2016, the district had 369 students enrolled across all grade levels. The continued decline in enrollment has led the district to consider further consolidation and ways to scale back the size of its facilities. On November 8, 2016, voters in Florence County approved two referendums totaling $14.5 million of work for school additions and improvements. The planned work includes the demolition of the 1958 building to be replaced by a surface parking lot; renovation of the 1930 building and the 1973-1975 addition to create a more efficient use of space; new fabrication laboratories, four classrooms, a secure main entry, kitchen, and renovated ADA-compliant restrooms; and a new two-story addition connecting the east side of the 1930 building to portions of the 1975 addition to the north of it. 1984: HIGH FOUNDATION, ORNATE CENTRAL ENTRANCE BAY W/ CUT STONE PANELSDOOR IN TUDOR ARCHED SURROUND FLANKED BY POINTED ARCH WINDOWS STONE CNR QUOINS SIMPLE PARAPET W/ SEMI-CIRCULAR RAISED PANELS & STONE COPINGSTONE ATTIC COURSE [Date Cnst:(CORNER STONE)] |
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| Bibliographic References: | Adams, Barry. “Florence rebounds,” Wisconsin State Journal, November 20, 2016. Addition to the Florence County School Plans. Blomquist, Nelson and Associates Architects. Iron Mountain. 1972 and 1974. Elementary School at Florence, Wisconsin Plans. Donald Schoepke, Architect. Wausau. 1956. “Florence, 1938 aerial photograph” Wisconsin Historic Aerial Imagery Finder website. <http://maps.sco.wisc.edu/WHAIFinder/> accessed August 11, 2017. “Florence County School will dedicate new Florence School addition Sunday, Nov. 9,” The Florence Mining News, November 4, 1975. “Florence High School Totally Destroyed by Fire,” The Florence Mining News, March 12, 1929. General files on record at the Florence Historical Society, Florence, WI. Heritage of Iron and Timber, 1880-1980. Florence County and the Florence County Centennial Committee, 1980. High School Building for the Union School District of Florence County Plans. Smith & Brandt Architects. Appleton and Manitowoc. 1929. “History – Florence County.” Florence County Historical Society website. <http://www.florencewihistory.org/Pages/FLORENCECOUNTY.aspx> accessed August 18, 2017. Matucheski, Michael. Fern School National Register Nomination. Florence Co., WI. Madison, WI: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1980. “New Florence High School,” The Florence Mining News, October 11, 1930. One Room Schools of Jefferson County. Johnson Creek: Johnson Creek Historical Society, 2006. Pages 1-2. Plat Maps of Florence County, 1915, 1924, and 1964. On record at the Wisconsin Historical Society Library and Archives. Public Library Addition to High School for Florence County School District Plans. Somerville Architects and Engineers. Green Bay. 1999. “Remodeling delays Florence start of school,” The Florence Mining News, August 10, 1999. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Florence, 1891, 1898, 1904, and 1926 updated. On record at the Wisconsin Historical Society Library and Archives. School District of Florence County Middle/High School Addition and Renovations Plans. Bray Architects. Sheboygan and Milwaukee. 2017. Specifications for High School Building for Union High School District of Florence County. Smith and Brandt Architects, Appleton and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. 1929. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. <https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html> accessed August 18, 2017. Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory. Wisconsin Historical Society website. <http://www.wisconsinhistory.org> Accessed August 11, 2017. Wood, Howard L. "The History of Florence County," The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Vol. 3, No. 4. June 1920. Wyatt, Barbara (Ed.). “Pulp and Paper Production.” Cultural Resource Management in Wisconsin: Volume III. Madison, Wisconsin: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1986, Pages Education 1-1 – 3-12. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |