Schools – City
The first school built in the city of Fond du Lac, was a grade school, built in 1843. It was located on Main Street, between Second and Third Streets, on land owned by Mason Darling.
The first high school was started in 1859, by renting the second floor of the Sewell Store. It was located on Main Street, between Merrill and Johnson Streets. The first high school building was constructed in 1865 on Merrill Ave., and rebuilt in 1873 after a fire destroyed the original building.
Between 1860 and 1893, as the population increased, 17 schools were built. Most of them were small wooden buildings. The schools were named after the street that they were located on. (First St., Second St., Fifth St., Amory St., Cherry St., Cotton St., Grant St., Hickory St., Marr St., Prospect St., Ruggles St., Rees St., Sibley St., Walnut St.)
Beginning in 1894, those wooden school buildings were replaced by larger brick buildings, and these newer brick schools were named after Presidents and other famous Americans. (Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, Grant, McKinley, Union/Wilson, Franklin, Cleveland, Bragg, Garfield)
246-37505 High School Merrill Ave
January of 1859 marked the beginning of high school education in Fond du Lac. Classes were conducted in rented rooms at the Sewell store on N. Main Street between Johnson and Merrill. The first instructors at the school, Edwin C. Johnson and Miss M.S. Merrill, had 100 children under their guidance. The first high school, constructed on Merrill Ave in 1865. A fire destroyed the building in 1873. The school was rebuilt.
1290-37505 East Merrill St High School
Fond du Lac high school, rebuilt in 1873 after fire destroyed the original school building. In 1925 an auditorium was added to the school, and it became Roosevelt Junior High School. Roosevelt was torn down Chegwin School built in its place
First Street School
First Street School, later replaced by Bragg School.
D 01051 First Street School
This photo of First Street School, is from the book "Fond du Lac Illustrated", published in 1891.
1241-3753 Grant Street School
Grant Street SchoolThird Grade
1898-1899
Fourth Grade at First Street School, undated
First Street SchoolFourth Grade
undated
1268-3753 First st school grade 5 1895
First Street SchoolGrade 5
1895
4109-41 Merrill Institute
Merrille Institute, established in 1866. First classes were at the home of W. C. Ogden on Division St. and were under the direction of Miss Matilda Merrille. She had graduated from Syracuse University and came to Fond du Lac in 1859. shortly after arriving, she left for Madison, to become the second woman to serve on the University of Wisconsin's faculty. She returned to Fond du Lac in 1866 to open her all-girl school. The curriculum offered at the avademy was the same as the public schools, but also included courses in French and music. The academy was chartered by the state in 1868-69 and a building was erected in 1868 on the corner of Cherry and Union Streets (now Hamilton Place and Military Road). The school is one of Fond du Lac's first landmarks, listed in 1973. Some teachers: Galloway girls, Dr. Wrights daughter, Rose Bragg, Miss French, Gussie Moore music - 3 Martins. (early students: Kate Edgerton, Ed Breitzman, Jessie Griffith, Earl Lachs, Jessie Sexsmith, Millie Waffle)
2547-8423 Grafton Hall
Grafton Hall School for Girls and Young Ladies was intended for girls twelve years and older, and started out as the Sisterhood of St. Monica for Widows. In 1893 the Grafton Hall Corporation was organized. By 1895 two more lots were added and in 1896 the building was completed at a cost of $45,000. Classrooms, study halls, a library, dining hall and kitchen were located on the first floor. Bathrooms, an infirmary and single bedrooms were on the second floor. The third floor was used for music classes during the day, and recreation at night. The school offered studies in Ancient Classical, Larin Scientific, Modern Classical and English.
6546-9732 Washington School
Washington School, 233 Doty St. Fond du Lac; Constructed in 1896 at a cost of $20.000. Razed in 1974.
1291-37505 Lincoln School
Lincoln School was constructed in 1896, and opened in 1897, at a cost of $9,000. Emma Burrows was the first principal.
1289-37505 Jefferson School
Jefferson School, 107-121 E. Ninth St. A 10 room school was opened in January 1901 at a cost of $22,075. Miss Elizabeth Nugent was the principal. The school was razed in 1981, and the area is now Jefferson Park.
1292-37505 Grant School
Grant School, constructed in 1901 on Marr. St., at a cost of $9,190. Miss Etta Gault was the principal. In 1908, the building suffered extensive damage in a fire, which started in the Crescent Garage, and destroyed three Fond du Lac Churches. During the fire, the fire chief who was in the smoke-filled building, fell down a flight of stairs and had to be taken out on a stretcher, giving fuel to a rumor that he had been killed in the fire. He survived, and the evening became known in local history as "The Night The Churches Burned". Between 1940 and 1981 the Grant School building was used as City Hall.
6550-9732 McKinley School
McKinley School, 238-244 Amory St. was constructed on the site of the old Amory Street School, in 1904, with Miss Bridget Crowe as principal. The cost was $19,900.
6544-9732 Franklin School
Franklin School was constructed in 1907, at a cost of $19,900. It is the only brick school building that is still standing, and being utilized by the school district in 2021. It is a continuing tradition at the school to ring the large school bell on the first and last day of the school year.
6545-9732 Cleveland School
Cleveland School, was built in 1907 at a cost of $15,000. Miss Betha Saak was the principal. The building was razed in 1976.
6551-9732 Union/Wilson school
Union School. 102 S. Union St (now Military Road) was constructed in 1905 at a cost of $13,583. It did not follow the pattern of naming the new brick school after prominent people, and so the name was eventually changed to Wilson School. With the construction of this school, over one-third of the old wooden school buildings had been replaced by new brick buildings in less than eleven years time.
2599-37505 Bragg School
Bragg school was constructed in 1914, at a cost of $47,710. The school was dedicated to local resident and Civil War General Edward S. Bragg, and was built on the grounds of the old First Street School.
6540-9732
In February 1922, senior high students were transferred from Merrill Ave. to the new senior high building recently constructed on Linden Street. The old high school building on Merrill Ave. was operated as a grade school for one semester, and then in the fall of 1922 it became Roosevelt Junior High School. However, from the fall of 1922 thru 1925, there was also a ninth grade class of freshmen in the new school building on Linden, and they were referred to as Garfield Junior High for those three years. In the summer of 1955 Fond du Lac High School was named Lowell P. Goodrigh High School in memory of the former city school superintendent who served from 1920 to 1940. The building is now Franklin Grade School.
6541-007 Vocational School
Fond du Lac Vocational School was organized in 1912 and held classes on the 3rd floor of the Model Laundry building. In 1918 it moved to the old Hauser & Dix brewery building at the corner of Portland and Sheboygan Streets. By 1964 a new building was constructed and named Moraine Park Techinical Institute.