Cedarburg High School And Grade School (Now City Hall)

Now we will move on to two buildings that used to be Cedarburg's high school and grade school. These two buildings mean everything to Cedarburg, city hall occupies the original high school where it meets the needs of the community. The grade school now is home to the festival planning for the many festivals here in the town throughout the years. Their establishment would help throughout the years the education of Cedarburg's young students from then to the present day.

Frederich Hilgen. as mentioned before, is one of the principal founders of Cedarburg. His son, William Hilgen, an architect, designed the building, and a stone master named John Vollmar helped build the structure. After building and establishing the school, the high school was dedicated in 1908 and served as the leading high school due to the explosion in Cedarburg's population. City hall now occupies the former school. The city hall was built years after, according to, again, an explosion of people moving into the town and establishing residences. This was also done to address the needs for the education of the town's children and young adults. City Hall now occupies the building, addressing community needs, education, and other issues in Wisconsin and American communities. Since Cedarburg, over the years, would experience an uptick in its population. Specific needs would need to be met for the educational needs of the students living in the town and other rural areas near Cedarburg.  

One example of this change in the community's educational needs happened in the 1950s when Clarence Thorson became Superintendent of Cedarburg schools in 1949 and would retire from the role in 1969. Due to the city hall occupying the original high school building, Thorson and the community voted on reform in the schools due to another population growth in the town. As a result, passed a new school budget where new elementary, middle, and high schools would be built. Since city hall occupied the old high school, the new Cedarburg High School, with a budget of $800,000, would be built and established in 1957. The high school built and established in 1957 stands today on W68 N611 Evergreen Blvd. In addition, other schools would be built; for example, Thorson Elementary School would be named after the superintendent and built in 1949 on a budget of $1,719,000; the elementary school is still here today, lying on the line between Cedarburg and Grafton.

Romanesque features on the building make the characteristics of the structure very original. For example, in the rear of the building, an original section resided both the grade and high schools. This part was constructed of rock-faced limestone from Anschuetz Quarry in Cedarburg. In addition, concaved arches grace the building, and simple massive shapes come from the Romanesque tradition. However, the wooden brackets and the ornamental gable in and outside on the building are more of an inspiration from the Victorian era of buildings and structures. The grade school was built in 1894; the building was and is still named the Lincoln building. The style of that building comes from an Italianate design with a flat roof and a modillioned cornice on the building. The original high school would be named the Washington Building to differentiate between the grade school and the high school.  

Cedarburg History: Legend And Lore. Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Library Of Congress, 1976. 92.

Zimmermann, Russell H.. The Heritage Guidebook: Landmarks And Historical Sites In Southeastern Wisconsin. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Heritage Banks, 1976. 196.

A Walk Through Yesterday: In Cedarburg, Wisconsin. 2005.

Arendt, Laurie. Ozaukee County Wisconsin: A Photographic Journey Into The Past. Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Ozaukee County Historical Society, 2004. 94.

Zimmermann, Russell H.. The Heritage Guidebook: Landmarks And Historical Sites In Southeastern Wisconsin/Highlights Of Historic Cedarburg. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Heritage Banks, 1976.

Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, Lincoln Public School, Cedarburg, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, 13405. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI13405

Wisconsin Historical Society, Wiesler, High School And Graded School, 121932. Viewed online at (https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM121932).

Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, Cedarburg High School, Cedarburg, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, 13406.

Cedarburg School District: Challenging Students To Achieve Their Goals And Dreams. Accessed April 29th 2022. https://www.cedarburg.k12.wi.us/.