St. Peter’s Catholic School is locally significant for its contribution to education within Eagle River and the surrounding area. Designed by Wisconsin Rapids architect Anton F. Billmeyer and opened in 1926, St. Peter’s Catholic School offered an elementary education coupled with religious instruction. The school’s core religious curriculum developed students as practitioners of the Catholic faith and as future members of the Catholic Church. Combining both an intellectual and spiritual education was a priority for Catholic families and the concentration of Catholics in the region is reflected in the large St. Peter’s parish which constructed this school in 1926.

The St. Peter’s School is locally significant for the history of education as one of only four total schools in the county offering elementary education. This school was also significantly larger than the other three, and continued as a school, in some cases, decades longer than the others. The other historic period elementary school in Eagle River, for example, is the Mayo School. The Mayo School had only two classrooms, opened in 1924 and closed in 1953. The era of school consolidation meant the closure of rural one-room schools which brought children into town to attend school. The construction of graded schools met this demand and St. Peter’s School, one of the largest graded schools in the county continued in active use through 2004, far outpacing the longevity of the other historic period graded schools. The St. Peter’s parish prioritized religion-based instruction and provided a high-quality education for the families of the county.

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