March 17, 2009

Woods School in Lake Geneva

Posted to Geneva Lake Area , Janet Giovannetti

It just wouldn’t be right to let St. Patrick’s Day pass without a tip ‘o the hat to an Irish connection in the Geneva Lake area. If you’ve driven between Lake Geneva and Williams Bay, you may have noticed Woods School at the corner of Highway 50 and Snake Road, approximately halfway between the two towns. Just 21 years after the first explorers, the Kinzie party, visited the area, the Wisconsin Central Railroad Company received a charter to build a railroad from the state line at Genoa Junction north through the villages of Geneva, Elkhorn and Whitewater, according to the school’s website. Many of the railroad construction workers were Irish immigrants who settled in this area with their families. The location became known as Irish Woods. In 1858 Woods School was established as part of the Geneva Village School system.

The land for the first school was donated on the condition that it always be used for school purposes. The original building was moved in 1886 in exchange for additional adjacent property, and a new brick building was erected in 1896. That structure is still used as the kindergarten classroom. A later addition in 1900 is the current art room. Woods School became an independent school district in 1929. Despite efforts to force consolidation, Woods School has remained intact, and additions in 1950, 1965, 1969, 1973 and 2000 brought it into the 21st century. Woods School celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008.

For more information about Woods School, visit its website at woodsschool.com.

Posted By: Janet Giovannetti

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