North Freedom schoolhouse had long history

NORTH FREEDOM This village lost more than a century of history Monday when flames claimed a former schoolhouse.

In 1902, decades before the building was converted into an apartment complex, the North Freedom School Board voted to establish a school on Oak Street. A new school was needed because the state had condemned the framed building that had previously served as a school, according to local historian Joe Wards book North Freedom: The First 100 Years.

The schools cornerstone was laid in October 1902. The next year, the local library took up residence inside the school.

In 1922, village voters approved adding a gymnasium and auditorium to the school.

The school handled all grades from elementary through high school until the mid-1940s, Ward said. Then, upon graduating from eighth grade as Ward did in 1947 students had to choose to attend high school in Baraboo or Reedsburg.

In 1961, the Baraboo School District annexed North Freedom, whose enrollment had dwindled to 98. The old schoolhouse continued to house classes until 1990-91, said Baraboo District Administrator Crystal Ritzenthaler, who then taught a combination fifth- and sixth-grade class there before moving to the new North Freedom Elementary School in 1991.

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North Freedom schoolhouse had long history