Few People Know Wisconsin Was Home To The First Kindergarten In America

In the mid-1800s, education took a big step forward in the little town of Watertown. A German immigrant started something that would completely revolutionize education in America – she created a kindergarten. The school is still there and you can see where it all began. Just head to Watertown and tour one of Wisconsin’s historical sites – the first kindergarten.

The first kindergarten in the United States was founded by a German immigrant named Margarethe Meyer Schurz in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1856. She would leave a big mark on the educational world.

Schurz was a trained teacher who had studied the methods of Friedrich Fröbel, the founder of the kindergarten movement in Germany.

She believed that young children should be nurtured and educated through play and hands-on activities, rather than strict, traditional academic instruction. She first opened her kindergarten in her home and later expanded into a small, one-room school.

Eventually the Schurzes left town, and the kindergarten operated off and on for many years. It later housed several businesses, including a cigar factory, fish store, and religious book store.

Watertown eventually realized that the building had significant historical value and should be preserved. In the 1950s the building was moved by the Watertown Historical Society from its original location on North Second St. to its current site alongside the town’s historic Octagon House.

Today, the old school is an interesting museum that’s open to the public. Kindergartens are common across the United States today - but here, you can see where it all began!

Learn more about America’s first kindergarten and the adjacent Octagon House on the Watertown Historical Society / Octagon House website. Interested in exploring further? You’ll find many more incredible attractions in Wisconsin by visiting the Badger State’s small towns and cities.