The Fond du Lac County and Milwaukee County Republican parties are opposing the relocation of the Little White Schoolhouse – where the national Republican Party was born – because it will result in the historic building being automatically delisted from the National Register of Historic Sites and the National Landmark Registry.
However, the Little White Schoolhouse was moved anyway on April 17, 2023, dramatic video and photos show.
“We are extremely disappointed that the Ripon Chamber of Commerce has chosen to disregard this decision and move forward with their plans to move the Little White Schoolhouse despite the consequences,” said Timothy Bachleitner, chairman of the Fond Du Lac County Republican Party.
Continued Bachleitner, “Moving forward, we urge the Ripon Chamber of Commerce to reconsider their decision and find a more suitable location that meets the necessary criteria for listing in both programs and would allow the building’s status as a National Historic Landmark to be restored.”
Republican Party of Milwaukee chairman Hilario Deleon said in a press release today,
“This is a clear tactic by a Progressive leftist chamber of Commerce, attempting to erase the Republican Parties Abolitionist root and Foundation. Disregarding the recommendation made by the National Historic Landmark and National Register of Historic Places is deeply disturbing, especially around the 158th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. We at the RPMC will not allow our Anti-Slavery History to be shoved under the rug. The RPMC fully stand United with the Republican Party of Fond du Lac County in taking all necessary action to preserve the Historical significance of our HOME.”
The Republican Party was born in the small schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin, out of the anti-slavery movement.
“A meeting in this simple, one story clapboard and frame schoolhouse on March 20, 1854, and another in Jackson, Michigan, on July 6, to protest passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which permitted the extension of slavery beyond the limits of the Missouri Compromise, drew dissatisfied Whigs, Free Soilers, and Democrats. These meetings were the first of those that led to the formation of the Republican Party,” says the website Ripon1854.com.
The schoolhouse is open for visits and guided tours. In addition, the website says, the Little White Schoolhouse is “where Alvan E. Bovay gave the name ‘Republican’ to a new political party.”
The decision to move the Little White Schoolhouse dates to last September,
According to a September 2022 article in the Ripon Press, the schoolhouse is being moved adjacent to a former credit union, which will be turned into a “souvenir shop, multimedia display, and bathrooms.” The current schoolhouse lacked bathrooms and the move is supposed to increase its visibility, the article states.
The Ripon Historic Preservation Commission approved the move, stating that the Little White Schoolhouse was previously moved five times. In addition, the article stated, there would be more parking and the “opportunity to expand,” and the land would be donated by a Ripon resident.
The Little White Schoolhouse stood at its location since 1949, where it was moved after a hotel burned down, according to the Ripon Press, which added that the goal was to highlight Ripon in time for the 2024 Republican National Convention.
“Our county party recently submitted an open records request regarding the proposed relocation of the Little White Schoolhouse to 1074 West Fond du Lac Street, in Ripon,” said the Fond du Lac County GOP’s head.
“We received a copy of a letter written by the Wisconsin Historical Society and sent to the Ripon Chamber of Commerce, as well as local, state and national officials which informed the recipients that the National Historic Landmark and National Register of Historic Places programs jointly determined that moving the building to the proposed location was not appropriate. As a result, the move was not approved and would result in automatic delisting from the National Register of Historic Sites and the National Landmark Registry,” Bachleitner wrote.
A March 20, 2023, letter from Daina Penkiunas, of the State Historic Preservation Office, says that both the National Historic Landmark and National Register of Historic Places Programs determined that moving the building to 1074 West Fond du Lac Street “is not appropriate” and the property “will be automatically delisted” if it’s moved.
According to Bachleitner’s statement, the Republican Party of Fond du Lac County “believes that delisting the property will have serious implications for the building’s historical significance. We believe that the Little White Schoolhouse is a crucial part of Fond du Lac County’s history, and we remain committed to ensuring its spot on both registries. We also recognize that it is vital to respect the National Historic Landmark and National Register of Historic Places Programs’ decision.”
