Kittelson Records History of Stoughton High School: 

“In 1876 a four-year high school* opened in Stoughton, utilizing a portion of the 1862 building for classes.  Stoughton High School, which was the only high school for a number of miles around, attracted 65 students during its first year.  Although Stoughton’s population grew steadily from 1850, its rate of growth, boosted by Norse immigration, took a steep upward turn after 1880.  This resulted in considerable crowding of the physical facilities by resident students as well.  The overflow of students was shunted into a number of private rooms in the community, rented for that purpose by the School Board.” 

“Finally in 1892, a separate three-story high school building was erected near the older school.  A little more than a decade after the Stoughton High School building had been erected in 1892, the facilities were over-crowded again.  The building, which was intended to accommodate only 100 students was jammed with 152.  

After a village-wide election to authorize borrowing $40,000 to construct a new High School building failed by a vote of 258 to 115, the School Board instituted a program to inform the community of the necessity for a new facility.  In the Summer of 1906 a bond issue was approved to erect a $47,955, three story, 350 student capacity building adjacent to the old High School building.” 

“Stoughton’s next High School was opened and dedicated on February 28th, 1908.  (The cost of the new school was $61,000.)  The existence of a large, new physical facility enabled Stoughton High School to revise its course of study to take advantage of a number of new Wisconsin laws providing state aid to schools inaugurating new programs.”  

“In the early 1950’s the Stoughton High School building was once again overcrowded.  The School Board planned a $360,000 addition to the west end of the main building.  Although the Stoughton electorate at first disapproved the bond issue in 1952, a later one passed and the building renovation was completed in 1955.“ 

“By the 1960’s the Stoughton Community was approaching its former turn-of-the-century level of prosperity and population High School enrollment reached new peaks and building facilities were again inadequate for Stoughton high school needs.  In 1962 two referendums for a new two million dollar high school complex failed.  In 1965 a third attempt to secure approval for a bond issue passed.  When the new high school opened on the West end of Stoughton in the fall of 1967 it marked the first time in nearly a century that Stoughton High School had a three year program instead of a four year one.” 

* The 1876 addition/remodel added a new front to the 1862 school to accommodate the increased number of high school students in Stoughton.  This front addition housed high school classrooms.
 
Kittelson Records History of Stoughton High School 
David Kittelson, a former Stoughton resident, made available for Courier-Hub publication a history of Stoughton high school which he originally compiled for a class while attending the University of Wisconsin.