Sussex Graded School
Updated 09/16/2007
Sources for information below come primarily from the Waukesha Freeman or Waukesha Daily Freeman unless otherwise noted.
1910 (Note: these individuals may not have worked at the Sussex Graded School. A "district school" probably indicates one outside of Sussex, not the grade school.) - Julia Stallman,
age 28, bds with John Weaver family; Seillian (?) Kaiderback, age 21; Mary Rasen, age 25; Josephine Johnston, age 29 (district school); Mabel Blodgett,
age 18 ?, bds with Mary G. Matteson (teacher), age 22; Martha Sennott, age 17 (district school); Theodore C. Klett, bds with John R. Small family; Milo
Brown (district school); Harvey Brick, age 29
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Sussex Grade School, photo by Montgomery, Hartford, Wis. Postmark dated 1913. Mailed to Canby, Oregon. This school was destroyed by fire in 1921. |
1920 Federal Census: Persons listed with "Teacher" as Occupation" living in Town of Lisbon (Note: these individuals may not have
worked at the Sussex Graded School.) - Lela Vaugh, age 25, bds with Ida J. Small and dau. Retta E. Small; Marjorie Kimball (Kimble)
1930 Federal Census: Persons listed with "Teacher" as Occupation" living in Village of Sussex (Note: these individuals may not have
worked at the Sussex Graded School) - Harvey A. Jones, age 27, bds with William Russell; Edman F. Headley, age 18, born in Oregon;
Erna H. Miller, age 21; Erma (Irma) R. Lingelbach, age 23, music teacher; Margaret F. Stetzer, age 22, bds with Charles Lingelbach
family; Anna R. Homister, age 25, bds with Charles Lingelbach family; Muriel Glaven (?), age 20, born in Illinois.
Considerable improvements were made at the Sussex school during the summer vacation. A new black top walk was put in from the bus stop to the bridge. A new sidewalk from
the ? around the new building between the old building; a new fence between Mrs. Morgan's property and the school property. New thermopane windows have
been installed in the two upper ? rooms in the old building. The floors have been sanded on the upper floor. The combination 1st and 2nd
grade room received a complete decoration job, and all new furniture was put in. New ditto machines and a new set of encyclopedias have
been purchased for use by the pupils. A teachers meeting was held recently. Sussex now belongs to the new Co-operative Film
Library that has been organized in the county by Superintendent Winston Brown. A committee of teachers has been appointed to formulate a new report card. Parent-Teacher
conferences will be held at the ? of the first nine weeks performance. Waukesha Daily Freeman, September 23, 1954, page 3 of 26.
1955/ Sept. - Teachers: Misses Louise Middendorf, Jeanette Middendorf, Bernice Graf (Source: Waukesha Daily Freeman Dec 29, 1955.)
1955/ Dec 29 - Ray Wendt took over custodial duties Dec 29., he replaces William Nettesheim who served as custodian since school opened in September.
SUSSEX HAD FOUR MAIN STREET SCHOOLS by Fred H. Keller, Sussex Village Historian, Source: Sussex Sun, Tuesday, May 11, 2005
DESTROYED BY FIRE - This huge, red brick four-room schoolhouse was built for $13,000 directly in front of the old schoolhouse. It opened in 1914, only to burn to the ground in 1922. The last three are featured in this story. The first school was organized in 1849 for Lisbon School District No. 10. This wooden school was built for about $1,700 behind what is now Paul Cain's Service Station on Maple Avenue. The teacher was paid $66 per school year. Later additions to the school included an outhouse for $8.50 and a wood-burning stove for $13.46. (Students were expected to provide the wood.) By 1853, the school building was valued at $150. The original land claimant, William Weaver, leased the land to the school for an annual rent of $2. The student population outgrew the old wooden school, so in 1867 one acre of land next to Sussex Creek, on what was then the extreme eastern edge of old Sussex, was purchased. The second school, a two-room cream brick structure, cost $1,683.41.
The original outhouses were replaced in 1884 with brick outhouses. In 1886, the school was closed in April-May because of an outbreak of scarlet fever. In June the children would not return because of continued fear of the deadly disease. In 1913-14, a new two-story red brick school was built in front of the old cream brick school. Once it was completed at a cost of $13,000, the old school was torn down. The new school still used outhouses, but added electricity and indoor plumbing in 1921. The school included a two-year high school from 1920 to 1947. The school burned to the ground Jan. 30, 1922. Its students scattered to various churches and other open buildings to continue their education while a new $26,000 school was built. Orchard Drive School was built behind it, and Maple Avenue School south of the village in 1962. Main Street School closed in 1979.
In 1988, it was to be torn down, but Save Our School (SOS) prevailed on the village leadership to remodel the building into the Sussex Village Hall, which opened in mid-1990. It has served in that capacity for the last 15 years.
© Sussex Sun 2005