RIPON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — When national Republicans gather in Milwaukee for their convention next summer, many may want to take the short trip to Ripon to see where their party was born.
But, as of Monday, the “Little White Schoolhouse” — believed to be the place the party was formed — has a new location in town.
That move is impacting the building’s place on historic registers, upsetting some.
Early Monday morning, Ripon’s Little White Schoolhouse, known as the birth place of the Republican Party, took a ride through the city, making its way to its new home on W. Fond du Lac Street.
This is the sixth time the building has moved.
“And we hope the last, but we know that, really, the thing that has made this place so significant is the building itself and what happened in there,” said Mandy Kimes, executive director of Ripon’s Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber of Commerce owns the building.
Kimes says the new location provides visibility and access for visitors, especially right before the Republican National Convention next summer in Milwaukee.
“We really want to keep the Little White Schoolhouse as unaltered as possible,” said Kimes. “And, so, having this other location, this building right next to us, we’re going to be able to turn that into a visitors center where people can come in, have an experience, learn what they’re about to see and really enjoy it.”
It moved to its most recent location on Blackburn Street in 1951.
But the brand new location on W. Fond du Lac Street is facing criticism from some.
Timothy Bachleitner, chairman of the Fond du Lac County Republican Party, says he’s disappointed.
“This national treasure has now been moved right in the midst of an Ace Hardware, a vape/smoke shop instead of being able to stroll one block away and see the buildings where the men who founded the party have their names adorned on them,” said Bachleitner.
The Wisconsin Historical Society sent a letter to national, state and local officials on March 20 regarding the request to relocate the building.
They said the National Historic Landmark and National Register of Historic Places programs jointly determined that moving the building to the proposed location was not appropriate.
Local Republicans say they just found about the delisting over the weekend.
“That is a cause of great concern,” said Bachleitner.
“We were surprised to receive that denial in late March and as soon as we received that, we sent our letter requesting our appeal to the Department of Interior and, honestly, weeks have gone by, and we haven’t heard back from them,” said Kimes. “We believe we can correct the perception and misunderstanding in this process.”
The schoolhouse plans to open for the season the first weekend of May, as long as the move goes as planned.
