This file portion of www.watertownhistory.org website
America’s First
Kindergarten
150 years
1856 - 2006
The Watertown, Wisconsin, Historical
Society, owners and operators of the famed Octagon House Museum and America’s
First Kindergarten, paid special tribute to the 150th anniversary of the
founding of the kindergarten on
The event was held on the grounds of the historical society, located at
919 Charles St., Watertown, WI. The
public was cordially invited to attend the afternoon festivities which included
brief speeches from Mrs. Jessica Doyle, wife of the Governor of the State of
Wisconsin, Elizabeth Burmeister, Secretary of
Education for the State of Wisconsin, John David, Mayor of the City of
Watertown, Joel Kleefisch, State Representative, Dr.
Doug Keiser, Watertown Unified School District Superintendent, as well as
officials from the Watertown Historical Society. The celebration began at
The kindergarten was founded in
America by Margarethe Meyer Schurz,
wife of the famous German-American statesman Carl Schurz. Mrs. Schurz was a native of Hamburg, Germany, and as a young
woman learned the principles of the kindergarten from its creator, Friedrich Froebel. In the
1850s she came to London, where her sister had founded the first kindergarten
there.
While in London she met and married
Carl Schurz, then a fugitive from a Prussian jail.
They came to America shortly thereafter and settled at first on the east coast
and then in 1855 they came to Watertown where Carl Schurz
had relatives. Once here Carl began an active career in politics, while his
wife set up housekeeping. But she longed for something that would give purpose
to her life, so she began a small kindergarten class in the
Schurz family home, which was at one time located
at
The class proved to be very
successful, but the noise of the children was too much for her husband, so she
was forced to move her class to a small frame building located originally on
the corner of N. Second and Jones Streets in Watertown. At the time the
dwelling was being used as a private home by Carl Schurz’s
parents.
It was in this little building that
the kindergarten took off. The original class numbered only about five
students, the Schurz children Agathe
and Marianne, two Juessen girls (cousins of the Schurz’s) and the lone boy Franklin Blumenfeld,
son of the editor of the local German-language newspaper. Mrs. Schurz ran her school through 1857 when the Schurz family moved to Milwaukee. The kindergarten
continued sporadically here, always operated as a private school, through the
nineteenth century, finally becoming a part of the public school curriculum
after the turn of the last century.
Mrs. Schurz
died from complications of child birth in 1876 and her remains are believed to
have been transferred to her native Hamburg, Germany. Her husband, Carl, rose
through the political ranks, first aiding Lincoln in his bid for president in
1860, then becoming a general in the Union Army during the Civil War, later
Secretary of the Interior under Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes and ultimately he
went to work in the publishing field. He died in New York in 1906.
As for the kindergarten building,
after the Schurz family left Watertown, the building
passed through many hands, becoming a cigar factory, fish store and religious
book store. In the 1920s a local women’s
club, the Saturday Club, erected a memorial marker to designate the historical
significance of the building. Then in 1956, exactly 100 years after the
founding of the kindergarten, the little building was in danger of being
razed. It was through the efforts of
Mrs. Rudy Herman and Gladys Mollart of the Watertown
Historical Society that the structure was saved and moved to the grounds of the
Octagon House, where it now rests. It has been open to the public since 1957.
Image Portfolio
Click to enlarge
150th program Watertown Mayor Jessica Doyle
Charlotte Groth John David Wife of WI Governor
Elizabeth Burmeister Douglas Keiser Joel Kleefisch
Sec of Education School Superintendent State Representative
2006
Roots of
kindergarten firm in Watertown
Watertown Daily Times, commentary, 08 29 2006
This past Sunday Watertown and area
residents came to the famed Octagon House grounds to pay tribute to the 150th
anniversary of the first kindergarten in the United States.
It was fitting that this ceremony be
held at the site that now houses that first kindergarten building which was
first used for that purpose back in 1856 by Margarethe
Meyer Schurz. Although for much of her life she was
overshadowed by the political legend of her husband Carl, it was her contribution
to American education that has elevated her to prominence in that field.
Kindergarten started as a rather
small program for two of the Schurz children and a
couple neighbor children in this wild territory known as Watertown. It was only
20 years after this community was settled that her contribution to education
was started.
Since that time, kindergarten
expanded throughout the country and years ago became the standard offering in'
all schools, public and private. Today
the program has expanded so far it is now offered in forms we're sure Margarethe never even imagined - pre-kindergarten, full-day
kindergarten and even 4-year-old kindergarten. All of these programs are
extensions of what this remarkable lady accomplished back in 1856.
While Margarethe
and her husband, Carl, called Watertown their home only a few years a century
and a half ago, the marks they both left on Watertown are indelible and are
forever part of our community's rich heritage.
The fact that Elizabeth Burmeister, Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction,
took the time to be at the anniversary program places special emphasis on the
importance this tool is in the educational community.
Watertown and Margarethe
Meyer Schurz are famous because of this novel program
that is now 150 years old but it is the generations of children who have passed
through kindergarten who have benefited the most.
Our congratulations and appreciation
go out to the Watertown Historical Society and all those who worked hard to,
make this celebration successful.
Cross references:
2006
Webster School
kindergartners scurried around the First Kindergarten building playing
olden day games and learning about Margarethe Schurz. The event
was held in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the First Kindergarten. Watertown Daily Times, 06 28 2006
2006
Kindergarten
anniversary brings out state dignitaries
Watertown Daily Times, 08 28 2006
