The Walworth County Historical Society 

Blooming Prairie Schoolhouse

An Annual Invitation

Dear Teachers, Parents and Students;

You are cordially invited to share the "Living 1880's School Days" program of the 1889 Blooming Prairie Schoolhouse, while retired teachers guide the learning. The schoolhouse is located in the Park of the Walworth County Fairgrounds, students and guests will enjoy themselves as the teachers do the teaching, wearing the fashions of the time and following its manner.

Enthusiastic responses of over 5,000 students attending in the over 10 years of this living history experience encourage the Walworth County Historical Society to continue the two-hour sessions on Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays. The ringing of the school bell will announce the start of classes from early May  through the first week of June  for the spring term. For the fall term classes are held September through October.

The sessions, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from noon to 2:00 p.m., include a guided tour of the Webster House Museum either before or after the two hours of classes. The Webster House Museum is a restoration of an 1850's home where many antique items are examples of another way of life in bygone days. In its Boyd Carriage Barn on display are an 1850's carriage, a cutter, and farm equipment. These historic sites, museum and one-room school are located only a short five minutes walk from each other.

Reading reprints of McGuffey readers and spellers, using slates for figuring arithmetic problems and singing 19th century songs are hands on experiences of learning as done in 1889. Every student finishes a drawing and during recess all play games of the era. Each child receives a "Blooming Prairie School" diploma and at the close of the session, the children pose on the schoolhouse steps for a class picture.

Students eat their lunches at the Park picnic shelter near the schoolhouse, or in case of rain, at the Museum. The guided tour is given at reasonable school rates per student. Homemade sugar cookies and lemonade are a treat prepared for them and served by curators in costume.

Adjustments in the time schedule can be made to meet your travel situation by calling Jane Rahn at 262-724-4306. Please print the following registration form and list students names and ages so we can prepare name tags and diplomas. We will make our lessons age appropriate as we copy lessons from books of the 1880s to teach the different grade levels.

We look forward to enjoying with you and the children the ways of learning and living in Wisconsin more than a century ago!

The Teachers of the 1889 Schoolhouse

Please send the following information for the 1889 Schoolhouse in the Park of the Walworth County Fairgrounds, Elkhorn, Wisconsin and the Webster House Museum to:

Jane Rahn, N3678 Oak Hill Street, Delavan, WI 53115-3111.

We will contact you to confirm the date(s) for your field trip.

Tours given on Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays.

School Name ___________________________Telephone:________________

Teacher's Name ___________________________Telephone:_________________

Date of tour requesting ______________ and _______________________

Grade Level_______________ Number of students_____

Lesson plans available for grades 1-12

List of Students Names Must be submitted

 (Needed for preparing name tags and each student's diploma)

County Fair-goers Visit Blooming Prairie School

There were over 20 pages of signatures in the guest book in the 1889 Blooming Prairie Schoolhouse during the 1998 Walworth County Fair.
One visitor, Florence Wiedemer Buchanan explained how the 110-year old schoolhouse had been built on her father's farm. He agreed with other area families that there was a need for a larger one than the one built in 1856. Florence attended the Blooming Prairie School reunion in 1991 and was also interviewed about her experiences attending class in the one-room school.

Let history come alive!