4-19-23 little white school house moves to new location

The Little White Schoolhouse has now moved six times. It was first located on the triangle of Blackburn, Thorne, and East Fond du Lac Streets, where it served as a schoolhouse until 1860. When the school outgrew the building it was moved and remodeled to be a private home. In 1908 it was moved to Ripon College, where it occupied three different locations. The building then moved to Blackburn Street in 1951 and as of Monday has moved to 1074 W Fond Du Lac Avenue.  The move of the Little White Schoolhouse carries a great amount of importance and significance for the Ripon community and beyond. The Ripon Chamber of Commerce owns and operates the Little White Schoolhouse and is deeply committed to the preservation and promotion of it. We believe it is a centerpiece of Ripon’s history and heritage and we plan to welcome many visitors there for years to come. We hope to reignite interest in Ripon’s unique history locally, nationally and even all over the world.  The fact that Ripon is the birthplace of the Republican Party is well established. In 1967 a front page article came out in the Ripon Commonwealth-Press reading, “This is it! Ripon definitely established as birthplace of G.O.P.” It went on to explain in great detail how Ripon can be stated categorically as the birthplace of the Republican Party. It then included a list of many sources such as President Eisenhower, records from congress, senators, historians, authors and even the encyclopedia, all confirming this fact.    When the property behind and surrounding the Little White Schoolhouse was purchased in preparation for the Boys and Girls Club, the Chamber of Commerce realized that we would soon be surrounded by a new building with no parking. Looking to protect and preserve the integrity of the building, as well as offer visibility, parking and bathrooms to visitors, the Chamber felt the property being donated at 1074 W Fond Du Lac Avenue would be beneficial to the future of the Little White Schoolhouse. The property offers 2.95 acres of land for various outdoor activities and events, great visibility, easy and safe access for tour busses and the ability to have a visitor center. This way we can keep the interior of the Museum as unaltered as possible and offer a prairie like background that is set back from the road.    The Little White Schoolhouse board assembled a thorough packet of information, pictures and site plans to propose the new location to the State of Wisconsin Historical Society. During that process the committee was able to bring up any questions, concerns or need for clarification about the proposed site and in the end they gave their approval for it to remain on the State Registry. We were encouraged to know that the National Park Service tends to follow the recommendation of the State.  We were very surprised to learn at the end of March, with no communication or opportunity for dialogue, that our approval for the National Landmark designation was denied. We immediately began the process of appeal and contacted many county, state and federal elected officials to intervene on our behalf. We have not intentionally withheld any information and have not yet heard back on the status of our appeal. We are eager to continue advocating for the national recognition of this important historic treasure that is important to Ripon. We are hopeful that a restudy of the landmark will move in our favor.   The Ripon Chamber of Commerce is committed to advocating for this national treasure of such important historic significance and will do everything we can to ensure that many more have the opportunity to visit and learn about the extraordinary history that took place here in Ripon almost 170 years ago.