| Additional Information: | 2019 City of New Berlin survey recommendation write-up:
Located at the northeast corner of S. Sunny Slope Road and W. Cleveland Avenue, the former Hickory Grove School consists of three phases of construction, all of which were executed in the 1950s. All three blocks of the school are faced with brick and topped with a flat roof and include large expanses of windows—all typical of 1950s-era school construction. Little in the way of exterior alterations is immediately evident.
Hickory Grove School was originally built in 1952, with additions following in 1954 and 1956. A school has been at this location since 1851, when it was known as District School No. 2 or as Bennett’s School, as the log structure stood on land donated by Ezra Bennett. In 1867, a cooper shop was moved to the property and that building was used as a school until 1900. That year, a new frame school was built on the parcel by George Koeffler at a cost of $1,000. Located within a grove of hickory trees, the school was formally named Hickory Grove in 1914. By 1941, the single-room schoolhouse had become too small for the reported fifty pupils and a barracks building was added on the west side of the 1900 school. Seven years later, after purchasing additional land, another barracks building was added, this time on the east side. Between 1950 and 1951, plans for a new school building were discussed and approved. The new four-room school, which included a multi-purpose room, was completed and opened for classes in 1952. Designed by Derald West (See Chapter 3 for biographical information) and built at an approximate cost of $76,500, enrollment in the school numbered 135.
Just over one year after the school’s opening, an addition was needed. In August 1953, construction began, which added four classrooms, an activity room and two bathrooms. Construction of a final, two-story addition was begun in 1955, at which time enrollment was cited as 340 students. At an estimated cost of $215,000, the final addition, consisting of eight classrooms and two kindergarten rooms, was designed by Milwaukee architect Alfred Siewert (See Chapter 3 for biographical information) and opened for classes in the fall of 1956.
While the new Forest Park Presbyterian Church was under construction at 2300 S. Sunny Slope Road in 1955, both Sunday School and worship services were held at Hickory Grove School. As well, the New Berlin Civic Association and a local Cub Scout pack are known to have held their meetings at the school in at least 1955.
By 1960, students at the school numbered 787 students and use of temporary buildings had been employed, including use of Forest Park Presbyterian Church for four kindergarten classes. In order to accommodate the projected number of students (850), Orchard Lane School was built in 1960. Hickory Grove School closed in 1979 and, the following year, a portion of the building was utilized as the New Berlin Senior Center. The building was ultimately sold by the school district to the City of New Berlin in 1983. Today, the school building, known as Hickory Grove Center, is utilized as a polling place, as well as a program location for the New Berlin Recreation Department.
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| Bibliographic References: | Historical & Architectural Resources Survey, City of New Berlin, Waukesha County, Wisconsin prepared by tes | Historical Consulting, LLC, 2019.
Footnotes for 2019 City of New Berlin survey information provided below:
A historic (1959) photo of the school is included in Juds and Totten, New Berlin, Wisconsin, 64. See also pages 57, 60.
“Hickory Grove School,” New Berlin Almanack (Vol. IV, No. 1), Winter 1969, 1, includes a photo of the 1900 school building; the Almanack article notes that the school was opened on 7 April 1952, while a 1955 article cites its opening as October 1952, Leila Haverberg, “Hickory Grove School Students Form Part of Lunch Program’s Menu-Planning Committee,” Waukesha Daily Freeman, 17 February 1955, Section 2, page 2.
Building permits for 2600 S. Sunny Slope Road, 1 August 1953 and 21 October 1955; “Woods Into Playground,” photo and caption, Waukesha Daily Freeman, 4 November 1955; “Hickory Grove Gives Okay to Addition,” Waukesha Daily Freeman, 10 August 1955, 3.
Forest Park Presbyterian Church, services and Sunday School schedule, in the Waukesha Daily Freeman, 15 April 1955, 12.
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