Sedgwick County High School
Location: Sedgwick
County: Sedgwick County
Date Constructed: 1936
Built by: WPA
Architectural Description:
Architectural Description: This is a one-room rectangular school house oriented west to east on its site. It is frame construction on a concrete foundation which is part of the one-room basement below. The schoolhouse has a gable corrugated-metal roof and several double-hung windows including seven on the south side alone. There is a small entry porch on the west side and a half-story addition with a gable roof on the east side.
Historical Background:
Historical Background: The schoolhouse was a WPA project. The total cost of the building was reported in newspapers as $2,968, which included two WPA grants and a local contribution of $785 from School District #58. The application lists contractor Theo. Sharpe as preparer of the plans. G.E. Olson, the WPA District #1 construction engineer, supervised for the district. This schoolhouse was the second Sunrise School and replaced a building to the southwest that was likely built before 1900. The first Sunrise School was deemed inadequate not only because it was too small for the number of students but also because it had poor lighting. The new school’s location would also drastically shorten the travel distance for the children in attendance. The merchants of Sedgwick donated a stage curtain to the school, which is now on display at the Fort Sedgwick Museum in Julesburg. The Sunrise Club, a local club for farm wives, bought the schoolhouse when it was annexed and still maintain it today.