The Oak Grove School, also known as School District No. 4, was built on Wisconsin Highway 88 near Gilmanton in 1913. The first Oak Grove school burned down in 1913. This new school closed in 1967, along with the Gilmanton School District #1, Gilman Valley School, and Griffin School. They were consolidated into the Gilmanton State Graded School. It is now a private residence and a beauty it is.
The Wisconsin Historical Society describes the building as “Romanesque Revival.” It describes the architecture in detail, saying,
“Constructed in 1913, the Oak Grove School is a front-gable, one-room schoolhouse with a stone foundation and walls clad in brick with stone sills and trim. The gable roof is covered with asphalt shingles and features cornice returns and a brick end chimney on the west (rear) elevation. A date stone in the peak of the east gable reads ‘School Dist. No. 4 - 1913.’”
That is true. That is one way I spotted it while driving home on Highway 88 from a tour of the Montana Ridge area.
Lyman Claflin and Ezra Hutchinson were the first settlers in Gilmanton in 1855. They came from Vermont. The first school was built in Gilman Valley, followed by the Griffin area, Oak Grove, and four corners. The first high school was established in 1911.
