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ebook History of Watertown, Wisconsin
Douglas School
2] 1101 Prospect Street
School No. 3 (began Douglas in 1909)
1901
1st GRADE CLASS
Carl Wilkowski - 1st grade class, middle row, second seat right
Della Wilkowski Lange's younger brother
Carlie died from a head injury following a playground accident Dec 18,1902.
Gladys Mollart, girl standing on the right
c.1904
MISS IDA BARGANZ, TEACHER, Douglas School (School No. 3), grade 2
Among those pictured (order uncertain) are: Adele Block, Ellen Schmutzler, Alice Krueger, Daisy Wiesemann, Leona Sauermann (sp?), Winifred Lange, Gretchen Maerzke, Lily Loeffler, Adela Wendt, Zayda Weber, Josephine Jaedecke, Meta Farge, “a Jewish boy, lived near river off of Lynn St,” Roy Behlke, George Uecher, Arthur Gustmann, Percy Meyer, George Dittmann, __?__ Krueger, Ray Meyer, Oscar Lemmerhirt, Pat Stobe, Art Ebert, Helma Kue__?__, Lily Roth.
c.1905
UNION SCHOOL #3 (LATER DOUGLAS SCHOOL)
501-505 Lincoln Street
Addition made to later. New Douglas constructed on Center Street in 1960-61
12 09 MISS L. JAEGER, teacher in 5th grade Douglas School, handed in her resignation to take effect Dec. 22, 1910, and it was accepted. WG
1911
07 20 SCHOOL FIRE ESCAPE
Sealed proposals for
the erection of a fire escape for the Douglas School will be received at the
office of the clerk of the board of education.
Plans and specifications may be seen at the office of the city clerk . .
. WG
08 08 There were two bids received last Wednesday evening for the building of a fire escape at Douglas School, one from Otto Biefeld & Co. for $165 and another from the Dornfeld-Kunert Co. for $175. The former being the lowest bidder was awarded the contract. WG
1912
07
18 NOTICE
TO CONTRACTORS. Office of the Board
of Education, Watertown, Wis. Sealed
proposals for the laying of cement walks on the north side of Douglas School, situated
in the Sixth ward, according to the rules, regulations and specifications for
the construction of sidewalks adopted by the board of public works, and
approved by the common council, will be received at the office of the clerk of
the board of education until Wednesday, the 7th day of August, 1912, at 7
o'clock p.m. Proposals shall be made per
square foot, on blanks furnished by the clerk of the board. WG
1919
SIXTH GRADE
1929
SECOND AND THIRD GRADES
Second Grade 
Third Grade
1930-33
FIFTH GRADE
1954
c.1958
-- -- FIRST KINDERGARTEN AND STUDENTS OF WATERTOWN HISTORY
Mrs. Gladys Schultz’s third grade class of Douglas School, Miss Bonnie Hansen, practicing teacher. Welcoming the group is Mrs. Don Mable
1959
02 26 Cub
Scouts of Douglas School held their annual blue and gold banquet WDT
08 21 DELAY IN CONSTRUCTION of new Douglas
School
Watertown faces a substantial outlay in the construction
of the new Douglas School in Center Street on a site which the city acquired
early in his decade and which, under a long range building plan, is to be
completed in 1961. That fact was brought
out last night when the first design for the proposed school was laid before
members of the board of education. It
was disclosed that with the school construction due to get underway next year,
the building general school program outlined years ago will be right on
schedule. The site for the new school was
called “ideal” by Joseph Durrant, architect,
representing Durrant and Bergquist of Dubuque,
Ia. WDT
09 23 The
board of education at a meeting last night approved the steps taken thus far in the plans for the new Douglas School
to be erected in Center Street and instructed the firm of Durrant
and Berquist, Dubuque, Ia., architects, to proceed
with the next step in the preparation of
plans and specifications. The
preliminary plans were recently submitted to the office of Al Buechner, state
building coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instructions. Mr. Buechner approved the sketches and plans
as outlined to him and suggested a number of minor changes which will be
incorporated in the general plans. WDT
10 23 Something entirely new in Watertown public
school construction is being planned in the design of the new Douglas School on
which work is due to start early in 1960.
The new school will be “twice the size of the new Schurz School” in the
seventh ward and is to be constructed in Center Street on a site acquired by
the city some years ago. The new school
will have no basement. It will be
fundamentally a two-level structure that will blend into the landscape. It will have ten regular classrooms, two
kindergartens, a large general all-purpose room, three special areas, including
facilities for a handicapped class, a library and storage area as well as
administrative and auxiliary areas. Each
teaching station will have northern exposure and the glare of sunlight will be
entirely eliminated. The school will
also contain kitchen, locker, stage and other facilities. WDT
c.1959
ELSA ROSE
Elsa Rose, Douglas School Teacher
02 23 BIDS ON NEW
DOUGLAS SCHOOL
Base bids on
the new Douglas School to be constructed in Center Street are below the
estimates. They total $509,674, compared
with an estimated total of $577,422 made in advance by Joe Durrant
of the architectural firm of Durrant and Bergquist,
Dubuque, Ia. Maas Bros., Construction
Co. of Watertown entered the lowest base bid for the general contract,
$374,925. While the total of the various low base
bids on the school runs to $509,674, the high base bids reached the sum of
$613,033.21. WDT
-- -- CONSTRUCTION OF
NEW DOUGLAS SCHOOL
1961
01 24 DOUGLAS
SCHOOL ON CENTER STREET
Watertown’s newest elementary school, the Douglas School on Center
Street, is to be ready for occupancy when the 1961-62 term begins next
September, according to school authorities.
The board of education has begun to arrange for school equipment which
will start to arrive in June. The Maas
Bros. Construction Co., Watertown, is the contractor on the new school and work
is progressing. Some inside work is
being done and units of the building are being heated to enable work to
continue during the winter months.
Architects are Durrant and Bergquist, Dubuque,
la. WDT
05 19 RECREATION BLDG CLOSED; ACTIVITIES
TRANSFERRED TO THE OLD DOUGLAS SCHOOL
The city council did the expected last night. It voted to close the recreation building and transfer
all activities to the old Douglas School as soon as the board of education turns
the school over to the city, expected to be around July 1. By so doing the council went on record not to
spend any public sums for repairing the recreation building or arising its
safety standards. The vote on the
measure was 13 to 1 — with Alderman Erich Nuernberg
of the sixth ward casting the only “no” vote.
He had sought to delay any action by having the resolution tabled until
such time as the old Douglas School
has been turned over to the city. WDT
07 28 DOUGLAS
SCHOOL ON CENTER STREET
The city’s newest school, the Douglas School, located in Center Street,
is nearing completion. It will be ready
for occupancy when the 1961-62 term begins in September. Some of the equipment is already in the
process of installation and others will be arriving shortly to complete the
furnishings. The new school is the
largest and costliest of all the city’s elementary schools. The base bid figures amounted to $509,674 but
the grand total, including architect’s fees, furnishings, equipment,
landscaping and developing the playground areas will be around $700,000 or
more, according to estimates. The Maas
Bros. Construction Co. has had the general contract. Work on the building began early in 1960
after bids were opened on Feb. 26 of that year.
The general contract bid price was $374,925. Architects are Durrant
and Bergquist, Dubuque, Ia., who also designed other schools here. WDT
09 14 PROPOSED ADDITION TO AND REMODELING OF THE
OLD DOUGLAS SCHOOL
Another major school problem, which has been in the stage of development
for some time and which recently has grown acute, confronts the city
administration, notably the members of the common council who will have to find
ways of financing it. If the plan, which
was proposed at a special conference last night, is carried through it will
mean some $200,000 for a proposed addition to and remodeling of the old Douglas
School for use by the Watertown Vocational and Adult School. Added to that will be another initial $60,000
for an addition of several classrooms at the high school. WDT
10 20 COMPLETION OF NEW DOUGLAS
SCHOOL PROJECT
1962
04 21 A
renovation program to be undertaken at the old Douglas School to utilize it for
classes of the Watertown Vocational and Adult School
starting in September is headed for favorable action at tonight’s meeting of
the common council. City aldermen,
meeting in committee yesterday afternoon, reacted favorably to the idea and a
resolution to get the project started will be ready for introduction at
tonight’s council meeting. WDT
05 02 Alderman
James E. Bloor yesterday afternoon urged prompt attention in getting the work
of converting the old Douglas School building for vocational school use
underway because, he pointed out, the building will have to be ready for its
new use in September. Mr. Bloor made the
statement during the common council committee meeting at which Theodore F. Guse, president of the Watertown Board of Vocational and
Adult Education, and Vocational School Director Glenn L. Johnson appeared to
present cost figures involved in the remodeling program which is necessary to
make the school adaptable for vocational use.
WDT
05 02 [same
date as previous] The common council at its committee meeting decided to will
refer to the Watertown Board of Vocational and Adult Education a petition
protesting the plan to remove the high wire fence on the old Douglas School
grounds. WDT
1963
11 20 Durrant and Bergquist, nationally known architects who
designed several of Watertown’s new school buildings, will open an office in
Watertown. They will be located in North
Third Street, above the offices of the Wisconsin State Employment Service. The firm has offices in Dubuque, Ia. One of the schools which the firm designed
here is the new Douglas School which was completed in 1961. WDT
1969
05 28 PUPPET
SHOW AT DOUGLAS
A group of Douglas School students from Mrs. Anita McElhanon's
and Gerhardt Axmann's fifth grade classes presented
the puppet show "Tom Benn and Blackbeard" to other students in the
school.
Cindy Klug, Eileen Bellack, Mike Frami, and Russell Hepp, Billy Sellnow, Mike
Pullman.
05 29 TEACHER RETIREMENTS
Mrs. Louise Kehoe, teaching for 42 years, is a
kindergarten teacher at Douglas School.
11 28 PREPARING
FOR THANKSGIVING
1979
-- -- KINDERGARTEN
CLASS VISITS AMERICA’S FIRST KINDERGARTEN
1986
08 25 A
rezoning request and some adamant neighborhood opposition stand in the way of a
Brookfield man’s plans to convert the old Douglas School building into an
apartment complex. “What we’re proposing
is eight very attractive apartments, new housing. They’re doing the same thing right now with
the Kusel building,” said businessman Al Vigil of his
plans for 505 Lincoln Street. “It’s a
very attractive building and would be excellent for apartments. Right now the place is deteriorating.” The people living around the old school
building, however, don’t share Vigil’s optimism. WDT
09 12 The
developers called it an open house, a chance for the neighbors to view sketches
and see how a proposed conversion of a schoolhouse will enhance their
neighborhood. At least one of the
neighbors thought it was a “propaganda sales pitch.” “This will not be subsidized housing,”
emphasized Al Vigil of Brookfield, who bought the old Douglas School and
MATC-Watertown building at 505 Lincoln Street.
“The kind of tenants we want are people in their 50s and older, people
who are looking to retire and want a nice place to live.” Vigil is president of Eagle Marketing
Corporation, a group of investors which is also planning a waterfront
development project in Hustisford. The
organization also developed the Depot Restaurant in Waukesha and is in the
process of opening six steak houses throughout the state. WDT
10 06 A
proposal to convert the old Douglas School to an apartment complex was referred
back to the plan commission after the developer said he was working on a plan
that he believed would satisfy the project’s opponents. R.P. White, representing Al Vigil, said the
Brookfield investor was developing “a complete change in the type of ownership
that he thinks will be acceptable to the entire community.” Vigil had previously proposed to convert the
former school at 505 Lincoln Street to an eight-unit apartment building for the
elderly. The project, Vigil estimated,
would cost $300,000, of which $76,000 would be paid through a community block
grant loan. WDT
1987
01 03 Jones
Intercable, the cable television company in
Watertown, has purchased the old Douglas School. Officials of Jones said they planned no
additional use of the property other than to continue to use the location for
its microwave tower and all associated equipment used in providing cable
service to the city. That site had been
the topic of a bitter controversy involving a developer and residents in the
area. Al Vigil, a Brookfield developer,
had announced plans to purchase the building and convert it into an apartment
complex. However, residents in the area
voiced strong opposition to the plan, and urged that it not be rezoned for that
purpose. WDT
1988
05 20 When
the school bells ring at Douglas Elementary School next fall, Principal Charles
Bruce will not be there to answer their call for the first time in 21
years. Bruce, 60, who has decided to
retire this spring after a lifelong career as teacher and administrator, has
spent a lot of time in school halls.
Except for a one-year absence from the classroom to serve in the U.S.
Navy, Bruce estimates he has spent the last 56 years as either a student,
teacher or principal. “I’ve been in a
pretty big habit of doing that,” he said.
WDT
05 21 Dr.
Suzanne S. Hotter will leave the largest elementary school in the state to
become principal of Douglas and Concord schools in Watertown. Hotter has served as assistant principal at a
Verona school since August of 1986. She
will begin her stint in Watertown on July 1.
Hotter received her Ph.D. in educational administration from the
University of Iowa, Iowa City, in 1986.
She achieved her educational specialty degree from that university in
1980, preceded by her master’s degree in special education there in 1979 and
her bachelor’s degree in home economics at Iowa State University in 1964. WDT
1994
01 23 The
owner of the old Douglas School, 505 Lincoln St., has proposed the development
of a four-unit apartment building on the property. The Watertown Planning Commission Monday
heard about plans for the property, which is currently owned by
Crown Cable, the firm that operates the cable television system in
Watertown. Joe Zuravle, regionalmanager
for Crown Cable, said he has been approached by local
contractors Kurt and Jim Lemminger to
convert the former school building into an apartment building.
Currently, Crown Cableuses the basement of
the building for its electronic receiving equipment. A tower also is located on-site for the
cable system. WDT
1999
02 27 A land division and changes to an existing conditional use
permit for the former Douglas School property were approved by the Watertown
Plan Commission. The owner of the
property, Marcus Cable, sought the changes in order to divide the lot into two
parcels, each of which will be sold for single-family home construction. The old school property has stood vacant
since the building was razed about three years ago. WDT
Cross References:
1919 note: William H. Rohr taught school in the old frame school house where Douglas School now stands.
History of Watertown, Wisconsin