Winchester Library- Former Winchester State Grade School

The Winchester School was built around 1910 by the Turtle Lake Lumber Company for the benefit of their employee’s children. All materials for the building were harvested and milled locally by the lumber company. The building has two rooms, one was for the older student class room and the other for younger the school also had an outhouse behind it. It was used for over 50 years before it closed.

When the Turtle Lake Lumber Company built its company town they named it after its main investor, Walter* Winchester. The lumber company had this building built and hired staff for it around 1910. Prior to this, taught by Anna Buck at the Divide Resort from about 1902 until the school opened. The school provided an education to area children in grades first through eighth. One room was for grades first through fourth and the other was fifth through eighth. For further education, students needed to travel to Mercer, Minocqua, Ironwood or Wausau. The school property exchanged hands a few times after the Lumber Company Sold off its assets and was eventually donated to the town. In 1940 the school near Birch Lake closed, leaving the Winchester Schoolhouse the only functioning school in town. The Winchester Public School continued to function into the mid 1960’s when school consolidation occurred. Once the school closed, the town found other uses for the building. It was used as a community center, storage and even an ambulance garage. In 1986 a committee was formed to turn the building into a public library. In 2015 renovations were done to restore the original schoolhouse aesthetic. This effort done by a mix of private contractors and volunteers, some of whom were former students. Today it still functions as a library and community center. The library provides educational events for residents of all ages and is the center of the local historical preservation effort. Winchester residents, both seasonal and permanent attest to this building being the heart of its community for over 110 years. Known teachers here included; Bertha Adkins(Principle Circa 1917), Mrs. McDonald (1920-1922), Jess Laundrie (circa 1938), Mrs. Dodge (1959-1960), Mr. Balstad (1963), Mrs. Carrow (1961-1966), Mr. Armstrong (1963-1966) and Mr. Engle(1940-1953). 

Eagle River News (Eagle River) January 1st, 1917.