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My four sources are:
    Leader Telegram (no date but possibly 1987)
    Gerald Hagen book
    Zelda Connell as told to her daughter Marie Duvall
    History of Eau Claire County School Districts.

Time Line:

1862: A one-room public school was started under the village sponsorship.
The first school was a one-room wooden building located on East Division and Bartlett Ave.

1870: Only two houses in this area at this time.

1870: Railroad reached Eau Claire

1872: Villages of Eau Claire, Eau Claire City and N. Eau Claire were incorporated and
called the City of Eau Claire. Village of East Eau Claire was not included.

1874: A Telegraph station was established in East Eau Claire.

1880: Railroad officials decided to locate a division point between St. Paul and Elroy in
East Eau Claire.

1881: East Eau Claire was then platted by the City of Eau Claire and the Rail
company was established. There were only two house in East Eau Claire at this time.

1882: One room building constructed but cannot be substantiated. The school was a
one room wooden structure heated by a wood stove. It was meagerly furnished with double
seats, few books and a teacher’s desk.

1882: The first church services were held for any denomination. People of all faiths helped
build it, and were entitled to use it for church services. The first church in Altoona was the
old wooden schoolhousewhere services were held every Sunday. The First Baptist Church
of Eau Claire used this building also. The Episcopal Church of Eau Claire purchased the old
school building which was made into the present Episcopal Church.

1883: The contract for the building of a schoolhouse was given to O.W. Hubbard. 20x40 feet,
twelve foot ceiling. The site of the new school was the southwest quarter of Block 5 of Shute’s
Addition. That is the northeast corner of Division Street and Daniels Ave. Initially there were
two teachers with two departments. Eight months was established as the first school term.

1883: A post office was established.

1886: The first established church was the Methodist Church, soon followed by the
Episcopal Church.

1887: Officials of the Village of East Eau Claire secretly went to Madison to obtain the charter
to be come Altoona.

1882: The council approved constructing a three-room school, each room
had three classes. In successive years two additional buildings were used for classrooms from
kindergarten through eighth grade. High school students attended Washington Town High School.

1888: They voted to have nine months of school and added an addition to the school house,
to make it three departments and to grade the school, with the head teacher to be the principal.

1891: It is said that 208 students were enrolled.

1892: A three-room building was erected on the same location as the one room school house
on the corner of Bartlett and Division, and was used by the 3rd to 8th grades. The first and second
grades were taught in a building located just north of the John Lange home. (Building on Division
and Hayden.) The new school building was built just west of where the first school stood, and all
grades were taught there. The small building that was used as a 1st and 2nd grade school, was moved
to its present location, where the Episcopal Church now stands, on First Street West, and still housed
the 1st and 2nd grades until the new building was built. This building consisted of three rooms with
three grades in each room. The first and second grades were housed in the building what is now
St. Lukes Church. The third to eighth grades were housed in the building east of the present school building.

1893: The school district purchased Lots 7 and 8, Block 6 of the Original Plat, located on the northwest
corner of 1st Street West and Hayden Avenue. A school building was erected although one report says that
an existing building was moved in. This building is still standing in 1987 and is now the St. Luke’s Episcopal
Church. This building was always used for the lower primary grades of the school district.

1896: The first newspaper was started and called the Altoona Headlight.

1901: The eight grade class consisted of three students.

1903: A class of fourteen was the largest graduating 8th grade class in the school’s history. Produced a
52 page yearbook called the Altoona Headlight.

1906: The Bethlehem Lutheran Church began.

1911: A new brick building was constructed for all grades through high school. The city vacated 123.75 feet
of Cortland (now Division) Street north of Daniels Ave between Blocks 4 and 5 of Shute’s addition for a
building site. This was adjacent to the original school building. A two-story building was erected and completed
in 1911 providing ample classrooms for eight grades. In 1911 it was necessary to erect another building, and
the old building was sold to the Botsford Bros., who moved it and made three dwelling houses of it. One became
the Howard home, 1419 Garfield, one the John Stahl home, 1819 Garfield, and the other Boettcher home,
1811 Garfield. Since that time the school has made many improvements. Stokers have improved the heating
system. Showers have been added to the convenience of the athletic program. It has purchased a movie machine
and a loud speaker. Many of the rooms have a radio. The school provides recreation in the form of baseball,
golf and basketball. Forensics is a part of the school program. The school band has won recognition in tournaments.

1912: An addition was built. The district sells the building and land on the northwest corner of 1st Street West
and Hayden Avenue to Christ Church of Eau Claire. In April the original school on the north east corner of Division
and Daniels was sold, removed and converted into family residences at various locations.

1913: Need for a district high school was becoming apparent. The voters adopted a resolution to establish
a free high school. The high school opened October 1st, for an eight-month term. The first graduate was
Emma R. Duncan, class of 1915.

1916: The St. Mary’s Catholic Church was begun. St. Mary’s established the first high school in Altoona.
They purchased the Railroad Eating house, moved it across the road to its present location, 214 West
4th Street, and established a school and chapel there.

1920: The first athletics was introduced. A six-team high school track meet was held at the Eau Claire
County Fair, at Augusta. It was the first athletic event. A basketball team was also established that season.

Again enrollment grew and they added an addition to the school. This was used as a high school, kindergarten
and gym. St. Mary’s was then used as a Boy’s Boarding school.

1921: Football was added.

1922: A two-story brick and concrete addition, matching the 1911 school building, including a gymnasium
and more classrooms was added.

1922:Girls athletics began.

1928: Kindergarten was added to the elementary and kept just two years.

1932: High school went from four teachers to three.

1933: The belfry of the school was removed, the roof repaired and an electric bell installed.
The basketball team took second place in Class “B” and state championship in Class “C: track.

1936: Transportation of students was begun.

1937: A band instructor was hired. Arthur M. Howe was the instructor.

1938: Another great year for sports. The Basketball team on the Class “C” State Championship.

1941:Band practice had to be held in the Methodist Church basement for lack of space in the school.
Due to a shortage of teachers the grade school was reduced from six to five teachers. The high school
had three teachers including the principal.

1944: The high school finally got back to four teachers.

1945: The grade school went back to six teachers.

1947: Einer Pedersen was made principal and superintendent

1949: Building of a new school was discussed due to the lack of space.

1950: The school was destroyed by a fire Halloween night. Classes were held in the city hall, (auditorium),
churches and empty store buildings.

1950: November 13, Plans were set in place for a new school. Ten acres of land was purchased from
Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Woodington. The site was south of Bartlett Avenue, between 5th and 6th Streets West.

1951: The purchase of the Woodington land was completed and preliminary plans were drawn up. Progress
on the plans for the new school was discussed at the October 1, 1951 meeting. Early morning hours of
October 31, 1951, the Altoona Public School burned. The alarm was sounded at 3:45 AM. Only the brick
walls and chimneys were left as the building was gutted. The following buildings were used to continue classes:
High School-Altoona Auditorium, 7&8 in the YMCA in Eau Claire, 5&6-Orthopedic School, Eau Claire,
4th- YMCA Eau Claire, 3rd-Lutheran Church, Altoona, 1st &2nd- Methodist Church, Altoona. In a meeting
November 2, 1951 it was decided to continue the plan to combine the high school and elementary students
in the same school building. The spring of 1952 the high school graduated 30, its’ largest class ever.

1952: A 16-room building was constructed. The grade school wing was completed and classes started on
September 22. The high school wing was completed and classes started on October 12. The hot lunch
program resumed on November 15. Open house was held on November 30, 1952 and over 1500 people
signed the guest book.

1955: An addition was added. Two classrooms on the west end of the grade school wing and a gymnasium,
shop area, three classrooms, a stage with dressing and shower rooms under it on the east end of the gym,
and the gym was extended to the west from the high school wing.

1955: The new elementary school was built east of the junior senior high school.

1956: The first basketball game was played in the new gym on November 2.

1961: Another addition was added to the junior senior high school. This addition south of the high school
wing and gymnasium consisted of large home economics room, larger shop rooms, typing and bookkeeping
room, two science rooms, several small rooms and a new boy’s locker-shower room just off the south side
of the gym. The former boys’ and girls’ dressing rooms under the stage were converted to the girls’
locker-shower facility. The hot lunch kitchen and multi- purpose room was expanded and improved.

1964: Construction of a new elementary school was begun and completed in September 1965.

1967: Lighting was installed on the football field, new 66 passenger bus was purchased, and a new position,
superintendent of schools, was created, and Principal Einar Pedersen was promoted to the new position.
Assistant Principal Robert Bredesen was promoted to principal of the high school and middle school. Wayne
West was made principal of the elementary department, kindergarten through 6th grade.

1974: Construction started on vocation-physical education addition to the south end of the high school wing.
Opened 75-76 school year.

1978: A study determines that the district needs a new high school.

1982: Land was purchased between the high school and 7th Street West for use as a future school site.

1983: School board was forced to buy three re-locatable buildings. Two of these were used for high school
classrooms and one for grade school classrooms.

1987: Ground was broken in May, 1987, and construction of the grade school addition and the new
high school started.

1988: The grade school addition was occupied in early 1988 and the high school was opened for
the 1988-89 school term.
 

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