Waterville is a tiny town on Highway 10, about halfway between Pepin City and Durand. At one time in its history, it hosted some nine schools. This is the Forest Vale School No. 8. The nameplate says it was established in 1879. It is now a private residence.
A “History of Waterville” notes that schools were named based on the “general locations of the schools or from a family that might have donated the land upon which the school stood.”
In the case of Forest Vale, the school was located in a valley. I assume that valley was the Chippewa Valley.
This history goes on to say,
“Most of the Town of Waterville by 1900 was served by rural one-room schools, which were all formally referred to by number and district within Pepin County.
“Many of these schools closed by the 1940s. In the early 1960s, all the remaining rural schools closed their doors and were consolidated into larger districts of Arkansaw, Durand, and Plum City.”
An excellent site highlights “One Room Schools of Pepin County, WI” on Facebook. It presents lots of photos. I have “borrowed” one taken at the Forest Vale School to show here:
