Hill School and Park View Park

Hill School and Park View Park. . , Between 1847-1890, this was the site of a Lannon stone building, Hill School, that was built on land donated by Joel E. Bidwell. School commenced here on January 17, 1848 and about eighty pupils could be accommodated. It employed only one teacher in 1880, yet aimed to be a first-class district school. , The first school built in the Village of Prairieville, now known as Waukesha, was made of tamarack logs in 1837. It was down the hill on Madison Street, on the west side of the Fox River. When the west portion of the village was made into a separate district, Hill School was built here on the hill to replace the log school. It was the only public school in Waukesha until 1854. The William Blair House was right across Barnard Street, Which is called Randall today. , In 1854 the east portion of the village built the stone Union School on Grand Avenue. In 1886 the Hill School district was united with the Union school district. Three years later, Thomas Spence, known for his famous Spence's Observation Tower just a block up the hill to the south, sold land at 618 Chicago Avenue for a four-room brick school building. It was named Blair School in honor William Blair, and opened in September 1890. , In October 1890 the Joint School District No. 1 of the Village of Waukesha and the towns of Waukesha and Pewaukee, paid $300 to the three heirs of Joel Bidwell to purchase the Hill School site. Then for the sum of one dollar, on August 18, 1891, the School District executed a quitclaim of its title in the Hill school site, to the Trustees of the Village of Waukesha, for the uses and purposes of a public park. The Hill School was demolished between 1891 and 1895 and the site was landscaped. It has been used a a park ever since. , While the Tower Hill neighborhood is named for Spence's Tower, the origin of the name Park View Park is unknown. Spence also developed the nearby Horeb Springs Park and the Hyde Park Hotel and Baths in 1886. The hotel had 60 rooms and was advertised as having handsome grounds. It was located at the northwest corner of Madison and Spring Streets, just a block away. In the opposite direction to the east, there is a beautiful view of downtown Waukesha. Whether Park View Park refers to the view a park or from the park, either would have been fitting. , In 1984 the Madison Street Historic District was added to the National and State Register of Historic Places. The gently sloping, triangular-shaped corner lot of Park View Park is listed as a contributing property at 500 Madison Street. , In 1984 the Madison Street Neighbors, Inc. contributed a concrete pad with park benches. Members of the Tower Hill Neighborhood had a stone monument built in 2014 and created a garden around it. In 2019 the Tower Hill Neighborhood Association, Inc. adopted the park. They expanded the gardens and donated the Lyman Whitaker wind sculpture titled "Spring" to adorn the Tower Hill monument. Grant funds were procured for park amenities in 2023, including a meandering path to a historical marker. The residents of the Tower Hill neighborhood, past and present are proud to celebrate the rich history of their community. , Provided by the Tower Hill Neighborhood Association, Inc. in partnership with the Waukesha County Community Development Block Grand Program 2023.