A Brief History of the La Crosse County School of Agriculture and Domestic Economy

Abstract

A Brief History of the La Crosse County School of Agriculture and Domestic Science is a seminar paper written as partial fulfillment of the requirements for a masters degree at Wisconsin State University at La Crosse between the summer of 1964 and the summer of 1965. The La Crosse County School of Agriculture and Domestic Science located in Onalaska, Wisconsin, was opened in 1909 and closed in 1925. The school was the fifth of its kind in the state of Wisconsin. Special instruction in agriculture and domestic science aimed at educating young men and women for Intelligent and profitable living was the primary objective of the school. A number of courses including a two-year course, a four-year course, a one-year course and several special short courses and extension work were provided to accomplish these objectivos. A total of two hundred and sixty-nine students graduated during the sixteen year history. Tuition was free to all La Crosse County residents. Six regular teachers and one principal made up the entire school faculty. The number of students ranged from one hundred and fifty-seven during the first year to a low of forty-nine during the 197-1-918 school year. A failure to enroll a sufficient number of students was the primary reason for closing in 1925. This is the first written history of the institution. Through an investigation of school publications, county newspapers and microfilm, County Board Proceedings, in addition to personal interviews with former students of the school this brief history was written.