The Stony Hill School is a

one-room school One-room schoolhouses, or One-room schools, have been commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, and Spa ...

where on June 14, 1885, the teacher and his students held the first observance of "Flag Birth Day." For this, the site was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976.

History

The 19-year-old teacher at the school, Bernard J. Cigrand, had a profound love for the

flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

. Cigrand began specially honoring the flag on June 14, 1885, at the school, the anniversary of the flag's adoption. In 1916, inspired by Cigrand's actions, President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

proclaimed June 14 to be

Flag Day A flag day is a flag-related holiday, a day designated for flying a certain flag (such as a national flag) or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation's adoption of its flag. Flag days are usually codified in national s ...

, though the day was not officially established by an

Act of Congress An act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

until 1949, and Cigrand became known as the "Father of Flag Day". Coincidentally, the school ceased operations in 1916. In 1947, the National Fraternal Congress moved for the school to be restored and by 1952 the restorations were complete. The school was built some time before 1880, a small one-room school with walls of

fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...

rubble, and with a hip-roofed porch across the front. The windows have board shutters. With The school is now a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

and is a site of annual Flag Day celebrations.

References

External links

Ozaukee County Historical Society
School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin One-room schoolhouses in Wisconsin Schools in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin Defunct schools in Wisconsin History museums in Wisconsin Museums in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-museum-stub