Property Record
925 W MAPLE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | LANCASTER SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL |
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| Other Name: | LANCASTER JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 45363 |
| Location (Address): | 925 W MAPLE ST |
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| County: | Grant |
| City: | Lancaster |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
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| Year Built: | 1925 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2009 |
| Historic Use: | school – elem/middle/jr high/high |
| Architectural Style: | Late Gothic Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | PARKINSON AND DOCKENDORFF |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | EXHIBITING "KEEP-LIKE" ELEMENTS WHICH CONTAIN THE BUILDING'S MAIN ENTRANCES, THIS SCHOOL BUILDING IS A SIMPLIFIED EXPRESSION OF THE COLLEGIATE GOTHIC STYLE. THE 1925 (A), THREE STORY STRUCTURE HAS A RECTANGULAR PLAN CONFIGURATION, A FLAT ROOF AND A BRICK EXTERIOR. THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WAS ATTACHED TO THE EAST IN 1950. (D). THE BUILDING IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: LANCASTER'S FIRST SCHOOL WAS ORGANIZED IN 1837 AND LOCATED IN A LOG CABIN USED BY MAJOR GLENDOWER PRICE, THE TOWN'S FOUNDER. (B). THIS INITIAL EDUCATIONAL EFFORT WAS SUPPORTED BY VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS. IN 1843, A PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING WAS ERECTED THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF LANCASTER'S SCHOOL BOARD WHICH CONSISTED OF PROMINENT CITIZENS NELSON DEWEY, J. ALLEN BARBER, AND DANIEL BANFILL. BY 1854, THE SCHOOL HOUSE, WHICH WAS SITUATED ON THE CITY'S SOUTH SIDE, WAS OVERCROWDED AND IN 1856 REPLACED BY A NEW STRUCTURE. IN 1868, AGAIN FACED WITH OVERCROWDING, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT DECIDED TO CONSTRUCT A "LARGER AND MORE IMPOSING" BUILDING ON THE SAME SITE. THIS STRUCTURE WAS DESTROYED BY A STORM SOON AFTER ITS COMPLETION (JUNE 1868) BUT REBUILT THE NEXT YEAR. (C). A HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH SHARED THE SCHOOL BUILDING ALREADY STANDING, WAS ADDED TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S OFFERINGS IN 1875. WHEN THE SINGLE STRUCTURE PROVED INADEQUATE, A BUILDING DESIGNED TO HOUSE THE PRIMARY GRADES WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1887. (IT WAS LOCATED ACROSS THE STREET FROM "SOUTH SCHOOL" AND IS NO LONGER STANDING). IN 1894, A SCHOOL WAS BUILT ON THE CITY'S NORTH SIDE (BETWEEN MADISON AND JEFFERSON STREETS) AND WAS KNOWN AS "NORTH SCHOOL." IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY (1925), THIS STRUCTURE ON WEST CHERRY STREET WAS BUILT AS LANCASTER'S HIGH SCHOOL. DUE TO THE DETERIORATING CONDITION OF BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH SCHOOLS, A NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WAS CONSTRUCTED ADJACENT TO THE HIGH SCHOOL IN 1950. (D) WITHIN THE LAST TWENTY YEARS, A MODERN HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING HAS BEEN COMPLETED ON LANCASTER'S NORTHEAST SIDE; THE FORMER HIGH SCHOOL IS NOW USED AS A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL. A LARGE MODERN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ADDITION IS ALSO NOW ATTACHED TO THE ORIGINAL SCHOOL BUILDING AS WELL. THIS ADDITION HAS ITS OWN AHI# AND ITS ADDRESS IS 861 W. MAPLE ST. THE ORIGINAL BUILDING NOW HOUSES THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S OFFICES. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. 1927 SANBORN PERRIS MAP. B. CASTELLO HOLFORD, HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY, WISCONSIN (LANCASTER: THE TELLER PRINT, 1900), P. 427. C. HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY, WISCONSIN (CHICAGO: WESTERN HISTORICAL CO., 1881), P. 663. D. THE 1859-1959 CENTENNIAL OF ST. CLEMENT PARISH. (LANCASTER: BY THE CHURCH, 1959), P. 84. Grant County Historical Society Newsletter 11/2017. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |