Sedgwick County High School
Location: Sedgwick
County: Sedgwick County
Date Constructed: 1920, 1937
Built by: WPA
Architectural Description:
Architectural Description: This is a two-story flat-roof school done in the Collegiate Gothic style. It has a one-story flat-roof addition to the rear and a one-story gable-roof garage/shop attached to the northeast corner. The school is made of red brick with white brick highlights on the sill course and as quoins. Decorative terra cotta tiles of cream and blue also adorn the building, some in floral designs. Two projecting bays flank the main entrance bay and are topped by a crenelated parapet. The brickwork on the east and south elevations of the garage/shop addition imitates the main building’s brickwork. The two other walls are red clay tile.
Historical Background:
Historical Background: The school was built in 1920 and was designed by architects Wilson & Wilson of Denver. The general contractor was W.F. Pigg with a winning bid of $65,000. The garage/shop addition was built in 1937 and was part of a WPA project that included shop buildings for the high schools in both Sedgwick and Julesburg. Purportedly, the high schools were very competitive and would not allow one school to progress ahead of the other. The federal grant was for $6,820 and the local contribution was $3,808. The project also included the demolition of an old frame high school in Ovid, and salvaged materials were to be reused if possible. The Sedgwick County Schools were restructured in 1964 and, along with Ovid schools, became the Platte Valley Schools. After shuffling students around for several more years, the school was sold in 1995.