Property Record
3015 KINNEY COULEE RD S
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Fauver Hill School |
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| Other Name: | Gundersen Clinic LTD |
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| Reference Number: | 72365 |
| Location (Address): | 3015 KINNEY COULEE RD S |
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| County: | La Crosse |
| City: | Onalaska |
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| Year Built: | 1924 |
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| Additions: | 1957 1966 1974 |
| Survey Date: | 19952015 |
| Historic Use: | elementary, middle, jr.high, or high |
| Architectural Style: | Other Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | Yes |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
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| 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 Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. Not enough information provided to evaluate NR eligibility. [10/6/15 ct] 2016 Community Survey: This former school building is comprised of four primary periods of construction that date to 1924, 1957, 1966 and 1974. The building’s original 1924-25, one-story, plus raised basement, hipped-roof block is evident along the northwest/STH 16. Sheathed with brick, it includes a projecting, one-story gabled entry above which reads “Fauver Hill School” and “1924,” inscribed in stone. A large rectangular chimney rises from the roof. Extending to the southwest from the 1924 block is the two-story, hipped-roof 1957 wing. Centered within its southwest elevation is a one-story, gabled and projecting entrance with a metal-and-glass door. A bank of three windows are located along each level to the left (west) of the door, while a similar bank of four windows is found east of the entry. The two-story, flat-roofed, 1966 brick-clad wing extends from the rear of the 1924 and 1957 blocks. The visible northwest elevation is entirely devoid of fenestration, while the southwest elevation carries regular window openings along each level. The rearmost, 1974 brick-faced, gymnasium block is also topped with a flat roof, nor does it include any windows. The first school in this area, which was then known as the Town of Campbell, was built in 1867. In 1880, that school was replaced by a new, one-room school building, also known as District #3 School and which was built on the subject parcel, upon land donated by David Claude Fauver. It was not until 1919 that the school was renamed Fauver Hill School. Shortly thereafter, the more modern, concrete block and brick-clad Fauver Hill School was completed in 1925 at a cost of $8,944.07. Although still only including one classroom, it also included a library, storage room and kitchen. By 1932, bus transportation was provided to those children that lived more than two miles from the school and, four years later, running water was installed by Works Progress Administration workers. Crowding was evident by the early 1950s and, in 1953, the seventh and eighth grade classes were transferred over to the “Campus School” at the State Teachers College in La Crosse. Despite that change, additional space was still needed and an addition was made to the subject building that was completed in 1957. At the same time, additional land was purchased for a playground and a parking lot, while the new brick-faced wing provided for three classrooms, two restrooms, a teachers’ room, kitchen and a multi-purpose room. A hot lunch program was started and two cooks were hired, along with a janitor and four additional teachers. In 1960, the school joined the Onalaska School District and the following year Kindergarten was added. In 1966, another addition was made to the school. Attached to the building and extending to the southeast, this two-story, brick-faced wing included four classrooms. Finally, in 1974, a concrete block-constructed gymnasium was added at the easternmost end of the facility. In 1978, the parcel upon which the school was located was incorporated into the City of Onalaska. In 1983, the school, which had most recently housed K thru 4th grade, was made into a Kindergarten Center and all elementary school-age children were sent either to Northern Hills or Pertszch Elementary schools in Onalaska. Conversely, all district kindergarten children were transported to this school building. Increased elementary school enrollment throughout the district resulted in the approval of an $11.8 million referendum (in 1997) to build a new elementary school and kindergarten wing. Two years later, Eagle Bluff Elementary School and Onalaska Kindergarten Center were completed and the subject property was sold to Gunderson Lutheran Hospital for $1.4 million. The subject facility was, thereafter, used for exercise and health education programs; however, the building is no longer utilized at the present time. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Datestone. Citation information for 2016 recommendation below: Fauver Hill Kindergarten Center (Onalaska, WI) Records, 1915-1999), MSS 092, Available at the La Crosse Public Library Archives, La Crosse, WI, Guide to and summary of records available online at http://archives.lacroseelibrary.org/collections/schools/mss-092, Accessed July 2016; Dolbier, From Sawmills to Sunfish (1985), 202-03. The date of construction for the gymnasium is identified as 1970 in Dolbier; however, it is noted as 1974 in the school records; therefore, the school records date is the one that is utilized in this discussion. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |