Boscobel High School

Built in 1898 (Richardsonian Romanesque). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

From the record

“Boscobel High School, also known as the Rock School, is a historic school building at 207 Buchanan Street in Boscobel, Wisconsin.”
Wikipedia article Boscobel High School, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 36 National Register listings published here for Grant County · listed in 1986 · category: Building · built in 1898, Richardsonian Romanesque, by Van Ryn & DeGelleke.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 207 Buchanan St., Boscobel, 53805
When was it listed? December 1986
Category. building
City. Boscobel city
When was it built? 1898
Architectural style. Richardsonian Romanesque
Architect. Van Ryn & DeGelleke
National Register reference number. 86003518 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

45,101 words

The chapter on Boscobel City in History of Grant County, Wisconsin, published 1881; History of Grant County Wisconsin, published 1900 names Boscobel. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

Bloomington Lodge, No. 159, 1. 0. 0. F. - Was instituted December 9, 1868. The charter members were T. J. Brooks, E. Mount, Jesse Brooks, F. F. Grant, George W. Nevins and Alonzo Wilson. The lodge was instituted by D. D. G. M. H. Favor, of Boscobel. The first initiates were Brothers S. Woodhouse, D. L. Riley, I. McWilliams, G. W. Harger, C. R. Thomas, Robert Hicks and L. Hoskins. As ancients, Alfred Green, John Woodhouse, H. N. Johnson, M. Hadley and J. H. Sneclode. Of the first elective oflBcers, T. J. Brooks has ceased to be a member. Brother Mount has long since slept the sleep that knows no waking. Brother F. F. Grant remains and also Mr. Jesse Brooks. Of the first initiates three have ceased to be members, but all are living. Of those who first joined as A. 0., Brother John Woodhouse has joined that lodge whose Master's rulings have no mistakes. Brothers Grant, Kidd and Nevina were the first on whom degrees were conferred ; Brothers Grant, Hadley and Riley constituted the first committee to draft a constitution and by-laws. The second elective officers were Brothers Mount, N. G.; M. Hadley, V. G.; C. R. Thomas, R. G.; and R. Hicks, Treasurer. The Secretaries, with rare exceptions, have succeeded to the V. G.'s Chair, and, with more rare exceptions, the V. G.'s to the N. G.'s Chair. The receipts of the lodge for the first term amounted to $468.12, and the expenditures to $372.23.

Passage source: History of Grant County, Wisconsin, published 1881.

The land on which the city was located was bought in 1854 by C. K. Dean, Adam E. Ray, and John Mortimer. The first-named, after¬ ward a prominent citizen of the place, was then a civil engineer em- ployed by the Milwaukee & Mississippi (now the St. Paul) Railroad. The village was surveyed in 1856 by John Mortimer, and named Bos cobel. A good deal of misinformation has been written about the origin of this name. Of course, it is from the French bosque belle, beau¬ tiful woods, but as there has been a Boscobel somewhat prominent in the annals of England for centuries, the name cannot correctly be said to have originated in the inspiration of either the engineer or officials of the railroad which was then being built there. The original plat was afterward enlarged by Parker's, Brown's, Brindley's, and Wat¬ kins's additions.

Passage source: History of Grant County Wisconsin, published 1900.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Boscobel City - 45,101 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

79 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 79 fires within 5 miles of Boscobel High School between 1993 and 2020, burning about 121 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 6 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Debris and open burning	31
Equipment and vehicle use	16
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	11
Arson/incendiarism	6
Recreation and ceremony	3
Smoking	3
Railroad operations and maintenance	3
Natural	2
Misuse of fire by a minor	2
Power generation/transmission/distribution	1
Other causes	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
27 September 2008	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	not named
25 September 1999	Smoking	1.6 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	not named
21 September 2004	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	not named
11 September 2003	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	not named
28 August 2012	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	BROKEN TINE
2 August 2006	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	not named
2 August 2006	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	not named
2 August 2006	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	not named

Every fire recorded in Grant County

Mines and quarries near this property

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Boscobel High School: 1 plant, 1 past producer, 1 producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Edward Kraemer and Sons, Inc.	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Plant
Salzgeber Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Staskal and Son-Sand and Gravel	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Grant County

Storms near this property

33 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Boscobel, the town this property stands in, in 33 storm reports between 1995 and 2021: 14 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 4 flood, 3 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
June 2013	Flash Flood	Boscobel	$7,100,000	Very heavy rain produced flash flooding across the northeast part of Grant County. \|In Boscobel, numerous houses became surrounded by water with evacuations needed, most streets were flooded and cars were under water. 650 homes were impacted by the flood waters with two dozen families displaced. County Roads M and S near Boscobel were impassable due to high water and several other county roads between Blue River and Fennimore were covered with water and impassable. Portions of County Road C southwest of Woodman were under water. The flooding washed out sections of State Highway 133 outside of Woodman and Blue River. Debris was washed down Glass Hollow and Dry Hollow Creeks where it became lodged across railroad bridges in Bagley producing flooding in the town. The railroad tracks through Woodman were washed out. Flooding debris blocked some roads around Patch Grove. 54 canoeists had to be rescued from the Wisconsin River because of rising water.
August 2021	Tornado (EF3)	Boscobel	$430,000	A NWS storm survey confirmed that an EF3 tornado occurred across northern Grant County. The tornado started in Boscobel where damage to trees, power poles and power lines occurred. The tornado then moved east/southeast before dissipating south of Blue River. Along the path, six homes sustained enough damage to be considered total losses while numerous other had minor to moderate damage. No injuries were reported.
July 2019	Flash Flood	Boscobel	$410,000	Slow moving thunderstorms dropped between 3 and 5 inches of rain across the northeast portion of Grant County. Runoff from the rain caused a mudslide to occur along County Highway M south of Blue River and water covered County Highway B southeast of Ellenboro. A mudslide near Glen Haven covered some railroad tracks resulting in a train derailment. Nine cars derailed with one partially going into the Mississippi River.
August 2010	Flood	Boscobel	$300,000	Widespread rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches fell in two hours across much of the eastern half of Grant County. Many roads throughout the county were underwater and closed temporarily, including U.S. Highway 151 near Platteville. Damage did occur to some roads as well as to homes and businesses. The cities that had the worst impacts included Boscobel, Fennimore, Livingston, Cuba City, Kieler, and Hazel Green.
June 1998	Hail	Boscobel	$35,000	no account filed
September 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	$5,000	Trees and powerlines were blown down in the city of Boscobel.
September 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	$3,000	A tree was was started on fire when it was blown onto a power line.
September 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	$3,000	Trees and power lines were blown down in Boscobel.
August 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	$2,500	no account filed
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	$2,000	Trees were blown down in Boscobel.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	$2,000	no account filed
August 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	$2,000	no account filed
September 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	$2,000	no account filed
August 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	$1,000	A road was blocked in Boscobel when a large tree was blown down.
September 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	$500	An estimated 60 mph wind gust occurred in Boscobel blowing down some small tree branches.
July 2019	Flood	Boscobel	-	After thunderstorms dropped between 2 and 5 inches of rain across much of Grant County, several rivers and streams flooded including the Little Platte, Platte and Grant rivers.
June 2014	Flood	Boscobel	-	Heavy rain caused street flooding to occur in Boscobel.
June 2013	Flood	Boscobel	-	Locally heavy rain caused some street flooding in Boscobel.
June 2013	Heavy Rain	Boscobel	-	The mesonet observing equipment in Boscobel measured 7.79 inches of rain.
July 2019	Hail	Boscobel	-	no account filed
June 2017	Hail	Boscobel	-	no account filed
April 2014	Hail	Boscobel	-	no account filed
April 2014	Hail	Boscobel	-	no account filed
June 2013	Hail	Boscobel	-	no account filed
June 2008	Funnel Cloud	Boscobel	-	no account filed
July 2008	Hail	Boscobel	-	no account filed
September 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	-	no account filed
May 2003	Hail	Boscobel	-	no account filed
June 2003	Hail	Boscobel	-	no account filed
April 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	-	no account filed
June 1997	Flash Flood	Boscobel	-	no account filed
August 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	-	no account filed
April 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Boscobel	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Grant County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

2 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph	Property	Distance	Listed
	Central House Hotel	0.1 miles	1996
	Boscobel Grand Army of the Republic Hall	0.2 miles	2007

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 86003518 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Grant County	All 36 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.