The School at Niagara

 
The village of Niagara Wisconsin nestled along the bank of the Menomonee River did not exist until 1900.  Kimberly- Clark built a mill there and a village to go with it.  The paper company had done this before when it established a mill just north and east of Appleton and named the town Kimberley.  William Waters had a long history with the company, having designed an office building and plans for a house which was built by both Mr. Clark and Mr. Shattuck.   He was asked to design a school for embryonic community and perhaps plans for housing as well.   Where once there was a wildness there soon was a village of streets lined with tidy cottages, churches, and a school.

The school was a wooden frame structure which sat on a stone foundation.  The plan was not unlike the schools the architect had planned earlier in his career, but more utilitarian look about the design.  The school served until the early 1920’s and was replaced by brick building.    

Oconto High School

 
A short notice in an 1893 newspapers announced that seven architects had presented plans for the new Oconto high school and that those of William Waters were selected, also mentioned was that the building was to coast $32,000.  This was to be the third building to house the high school and it was completed in 1894.  The school had a center pavilion, three stories high which was flanked by sections of two stories.  The building sat on a high limestone foundation with the superstructure made up of red brick and limestone trim.  Four large chimneys dominated the roof line which was capped with a tall bell tower.  Both side section had an entrance, and the front door was not centered but was to the far left, tight against the side section, this gave the building an unbalanced look.  

By 1939 however the school was in bad condition and was condemned, the second and third stories were removed, and classroom wings added, more additions came in 1951 and 1961.  By 1969 a new school was built. 

Stevens Point, Third Ward School

 
In 1888, there was a short notice in the Stevens Point newspaper which stated that William Waters was in town to settle maters with the school board concerning the new Third ward school as well as call other parties that were interested in working with Mr. Waters.  The Oshkosh architect had also that year supplied plans for the new Fifth Ward school, which used the same blueprints as a school in Neenah.  The Third Ward school was a departure for Mr. Waters, all his schools were a least two stories, so it seems odd that he designed a one-story schoolhouse. 

The new school had the look of rural school and perhaps that was because at the time the third ward was underdeveloped and sparsely populated.  I have no information as to how long it served or what ever became of the building.   I’ll update this post if more information becomes available.