Portage County Historical Society

HISTORY OF HEI CORNERS SCHOOL
by
Larry W. Ouimette (UWSP)

The Hie Corners School is an old, one room, country schoolhouse that was built in 1894. It was known as Joint School District No. 8 of the towns of Amherst and Scandinavia. The school got its name from the Norwegian word Hei, which means an upland or moor. Since it was located at an intersection of two roads as well as being located on an upland, it was given the name Hei Corners School. Today that intersection is known as the corner of County trunks T and V.

The very first settlers in that area were Norwegian American farmers, whose great grandchildren still own and farm the land. Two generations of these families attended the school that operated from 1898 to 1945.

These Norwegian families lived near the Portage-Waupaca County line in the towns of Amherst and Scandinavia. The five major families are: Johnson, Swenson, Evanson, Bergen and Borgen.

Turben Borgen was born in 1898, the same year the Hie Corners School was built. His father had attended the first Hei Corners School which was a log school that stood about one-fourth mile west of the present structure on County trunk T. It was built after the first settlers arrived in the area during the 1850’s. It closed in the latter part of the 19th century when the population of the area children declined. The building was moved to Pierce Olson’s farm and used as a stable, until it was torn down in the early 1970’s.

Turben Borgen’s children attended the second Hei Corners School. There were some attending when it closed in 1945.

Soon after the school opened, the number of students that attended grew to more than 60. Because of the large numbers, two teachers were hired and a partition was added to divide the room. The partition was removed when the number of students dropped to 15, which was the average from 1920-1945.

On June 27, 1945, the Hei Corners School Board held their annual meeting. It was at this meeting that it was decided to close the school due to the fact that enrollment had dropped to five students. The members of the Board were: J. Delbert Jacobson, clerk; Leslie Borgen, director; Myron Bobhe, treasurer; and Lillie M. Leppen, principal teacher. The last five students to attend the Hei Corners School were: Richard Borgen, George Borgen, Arlene Johnson, Howard Borgen, and Isla Evanson. It was decided that the remaining five students would attend the nearest school which was the Riverview School which was on County B, east of Amherst. This school was later closed and converted into a house by a local farm family.

The Hei Corners School performed many important functions in the area. The teacher coordinated these functions. The school provided transportation for the children and served them hot lunches throughout the school year.

The school was closed during various times of the year, so that the children could help their families with seasonal chores. The school also was involved in goodwill tasks such as selling Red Cross Seals and collecting money for the Salvation Army. It also provided entertainment by holding socials and presenting plays. In fact, the school was used by local families as a melting pot -- various meetings concerning items of farm interest such as tuberculosis tests for cattle.

Some of the teachers instrumental in the success of the school were:

1920-1924 Loretta Lutz
1925-1927 Grace Allen
1927-1928 Marquerite Hauge
1928-1931 Edna Martin
1931-1933 Vivian Stoltenberg
1933-1935 Lorna Quinn
1935-1939 William Williams
1939-1942 Marjorie Pipe
1942-1943 Helen M. Kolz
1943-1944 Cora Moberg
1944-1945 Lillie M. Leppen

Clyde Jenson bought the building after it was vacated. He planned to move it to his farm and use it as a machine shed. He decided against this idea when he found out how expensive it would be to move the building.

Although he did not move the building, he did decide to remove some of the more valuable items so they would not be damaged or stolen. Some of these items include a bell which he took from the bell tower which is atop the school. Other items include pictures which he took from the walls, and a teacher’s desk, which he donated to the Christian Science Church in Waupaca.

After removing all the items that he considered important, he sold the school to Lyle Borgen, another local farmer. Lyle and Richard Borgen donated the building in 1977 to the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point Foundation Incorporated. The Foundation planned to move the building to the UWSP campus to be restored as a museum by the spring of 1978.

However, the University was unable to receive approval for placement of the building. They in turn donated the schoolhouse to the Portage County Historical Society, which is trying to raise $5000 to move the building to its museum complex in Plover. The Society wants to restore the building because it represents the traditional one room schoolhouse of the period. It has elaborate architecture and the original woodwork still remains. The structure is basically sound, although made of wood.

Authentic one room schoolhouse materials have been collected for the restoration project such as desks and old books.

Henry Swenson, who attended Hei Corners School when it first opened in 1898, had complete records of the early years of the school but, unfortunately, these records were destroyed by a fire at his house.

Footnote: this is the school building described on our Heritage Park page. It is now functioning with about 600 4th grade students each year spending half a day experiencing a one room schoolhouse.