Property Record
4228 W BONNIWELL RD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | BIGELOW SCHOOL |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 68196 |
| Location (Address): | 4228 W BONNIWELL RD |
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| County: | Ozaukee |
| City: | Mequon |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1929 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1986 |
| Historic Use: | one to six room school |
| Architectural Style: | Colonial Revival/Georgian Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | WILLIAM J. REDDEN |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Bigelow School |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 7/27/2000 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 4/14/2000 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | DESCRIPTION This school building is a one-story red brick structure with a raised basement. With L form, this building has an intersecting low-pitched hip roof wide, flaring eaves. Windows are multiple-pane double-hung sashes. The entrance consists of a panel door decorated with sidelights and topped with a very large fanlight. The entrance is recessed and further decorated with with a brick surround and stone keystone. A brick belt course with stone tabs separates the first and the basement levels. Above the entrance is a stone plaque surrounded by a brick frame with stone tabs. The stone inscription reads, "Bigelow School." There is also a shed on the property. ARCHITECTURAL/ENGINEERING SIGNIFICANCE This building is a good and intact example of early twentieth century school building that features details from both the Prairie and Neo-classical Revival styles. This building is one of several intact late nineteenth and early twentieth century small schools in Mequon. Most have a good level of integerity and they all represebt high quality school construction in the last era of small schools used in the twentieth century. Because of its fine architectural details and high level of preservation, this building is significant for architecture in Mequon. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Bigelow School was built in 1929 and was one of the last small schools built in Mequon in the twentieth century. This and other small schools were phased out in the 1960s during the era of school consolidation. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This building represents one phase of the development of education in Mequon. Like most rural areas, Mequon had a number of small school "districts" that served the education need of rural children. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, new, "modern", schools were constructed to provide additional space and better achool facilities for the students. The Bigelow School was typical of the school type built during this era in Mequon. These building were not only improved facilites but were more architecturally elaborate than buildings constructed in other rural districts. Because this building represents an important part of the development of school facilities in Mequon, it is significant for history. |
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| Bibliographic References: | [a] Plat Maps for the city of Mequon, 1867-1980, on file at the Mequon Historical Society, Mequon, Wisconsin, or the Archives at the State Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin. [b] Taxs Rolls for the city of Mequon, 1857-1930, on file at the library, Mequon, Wisconsin. [c] Field observation based on architectural and historical information. [d] Information from the owner of the property. [e] Information from the building's datestone or inscription. [f] Freistadt Historical Society, Freistadt and the Lutheram Immigration, Mequom: Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1989. [g] L. Rehm, Mequon History, on file at the Mequon Historical Society, Mequon, Wisconsin. [h] C.W. Butterfield, History of Washington and Ozaukee Counties, Chicago: Western Publishing Company, 1880. [i] Information from the Mequon Landmarks Commission, Mequon, Wisconsin. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |