Ashland in Ashland County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Northland College

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, September 2, 2009

1. Northland College Marker

Inscription. North Wisconsin Academy, founded in 1892 by the Congregational Churches, provided the first high school education available to young people of the small, isolated lumber camp, sawmill and farm communities in the area known as the Great Lakes Pinery, but commonly referred to as “A God-forsaken Waste.” It stretched across the northern third of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.

The Academy was to be co-educational, to have a program of classical studies, to train both mind and character, and to be geared to the resources of the pioneer families it was intended to serve.

The laying of the cornerstone of the Academy Building on July 14, 1892, was an historic moment marking the advance of educational and cultural opportunities into northern Wisconsin.

In 1906 the Academy expanded its program to become Northland College, and on March 7, 1907, the Academy Building was renamed Wheeler Hall, a tribute to the Rev. E. P. Wheeler, first president of the Academy.

This building, diagonally across from this site, is a landmark of progress to area citizens and a revered spot to every student who ever attended the Academy or College.

Erected 1976 by Wisconsin Historical Society. (Marker Number 224.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this

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topic list: Education. In addition, it is included in the Wisconsin Historical Society series list. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1659.

Location. 46° 34.828′ N, 90° 52.367′ W. Marker is in Ashland, Wisconsin, in Ashland County. It is on Ellis Avenue (State Highway 13) north of 16th Street east, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1411 Ellis Avenue, Ashland WI 54806, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Wisconsin’s North Shore. It is also in the American Midwest,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Corn Belt,

and on Lake Superior’s South Shore Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Great North Woods,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Soo Line Decapod - 950 (approx. 0.8 miles away); Security Savings Bank (approx. 0.9 miles away); Doctor Edwin Ellis (approx. one mile away); Schooner Lucerne (approx. 1½ miles away); Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy (approx. 1.6 miles away); Radisson-Groseilliers Fort (approx. 2.2 miles away); Voices in the Mist (approx. 3.1 miles away); Lands Along the Lake (approx. 3.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ashland.

Also see . . . Northland College. (Submitted on October 20, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)

Photographed by Luci j Baker Johnson, May 20, 2023

2. Northland College Marker

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, September 2, 2009

3. Northland College Marker

Northland College sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Gary Sonnenberg, August 1, 2023

4. Northland College sign

Located directly across the street west of the marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 15, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 17, 2011, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 1,731 times since then and 71 times this year. Last updated on November 6, 2022, by Devon Polzar of Port Washington, Wisconsin. Photos: 1. submitted on October 17, 2011, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. 2. submitted on May 14, 2025, by Luci j Baker Johnson of Seattle, Washington. 3. submitted on October 17, 2011, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. 4. submitted on August 11, 2023, by Gary Sonnenberg of Waukesha, Wisconsin. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.