Property Record
5212 COUNTY HIGHWAY M
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Wisconsin Industrial School for Girls |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | Oakhill Correctional Institution |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 4646 |
| Location (Address): | 5212 COUNTY HIGHWAY M |
|---|---|
| County: | Dane |
| City: | Fitchburg |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 6 |
| Range: | 9 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 35 |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1915 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1991 |
| Historic Use: | sewage utility |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Wood |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Wisconsin Industrial School for Girls |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | 9/13/1991 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 4/17/1991 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation.,BLDG #1 208, RESERVOIR BLDG #1210A , DIGESTER TANKS BLDG #121 0B, SEEPAGE BEDS BLDG #120 6, PUMP HOUSE S## roll negatives filed with State Facility Survey project. In 1875, a benevolent organization of women in Milwaukee founded the Wisconsin Industrial School for Girls, a reformatory. After the State of Wisconsin assumed responsibility for its operation, it initiated construction of a new facility on this 405-acre farm in 1931. The site chosen, amidst wooded hills and cultivated lands, was thought ideal for a model institution. Scattered around a looping access road are ten two-story stone dormitories. The imposing stone school building at the head of the expansive green once contained administrative offices, classrooms, a music room, a domestic science room, a "beauty culture" lab, a sewing room, and a combination gymnasium and auditorium. The entire complex is in the Neo-Tudor idiom, with prominent front-facing gables, clipped gables or jerkinheads, and arched entry portals of carved stone. The cottage-like dormitories reflected Progressive Era ideals, which held that a home-like setting governed by trained, insightful surrogate parents would help the girls develop into responsible citizens. Cottages made it possible to segregate the girls by age and type of delinquency. Iron bars and room locks were absent, in keeping with a home-like environment; nonetheless, an electric signal indicated when a girl opened her door at night. In 1976, the complex became a minimum-security correctional institution for men. Stone piers resurveyed April/May 2013; no visible changes. Note: these stone piers along CTH M are not part of the NRHP district. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |