The Halfway Prairie School is located in the Town of Mazomanie at the junction of County Highway F and State Hwy 19, 2.5 miles north of the Village of Black Earth. The 0.6-acre school site sits is part of a larger 75-acre property. Halfway Prairie School is the oldest rural elementary school in Dane County. This one-room school was operated from 1844 until it closed as a result of consolidation in 1961. It was given the name of Halfway Prairie because it was halfway between Mineral Point and Portage, a popular transportation route for early miners.
The Friends of Old Halfway Prairie School open up the school on holidays and Sunday afternoons 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. from Memorial Day through Labor Day so that visitors can view the inside of the school in its authentically restored condition.
This park is supported by Friends of Old Halfway Prairie School.
Halfway Prairie School is Dane County's oldest existing country schoolhouse. Repeated remodelings conceal an original framework of logs. The land was donated for school purposes in 1844 by Mary Fowler, a widow and member of the British Temperance Immigration Society. This one-room school was operated from 1844 until it closed as a result of consolidation in 1961. It was given the name of Halfway Prairie because it was halfway between Mineral Point and Portage, a popular transportation route for early miners. In 1964 Dane County accepted land and buildings as a park site.
More information can be found on a historical marker at the park.
