Memorial Hall
1511 Ellis Ave., Ashland, WIThis property is locally significant as an excellent example of an early twentieth-century women's dormitory in the Tudor Revival style and is the only building of this style on the Northland College campus. Constructed in 1926. Memorial Hall is the oldest building on the Northland College campus retaining its historic integrity. It is also an example of the work of architect Thomas Shefchik and an excellent representation of his ability to design in Period Revival styles. The period of significance dates from the beginning of construction in 1926 to the completion of the building in 1927.
Northland College is located in the Northern Wisconsin community of Ashland, Ashland is nestled along the southern shore of Lake Superior in the Chequamegon Region. The city is now the region's industrial center but developed considerably later than settlements on Madeline Island located in the Apostle Islands just to the north, home to early fur-trading posts and missionary efforts. Historians of Northland College have underscored the importance of the Madeline, the Island's missions, and later tourism, in the development of the College.
Native American oral tradition places their first habitation in the region in the 1400s, although earlier indigenous peoples may well have populated the Apostle Islands. Ojibwa migrated from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, via the Sault Ste Marie area. After a settlement on the tip of Chequamegon Point, they established a defensible settlement in the middle of Madeline Island. Their success proved to be their downfall for the Island evidently could not support the growing population and apparently, the Ojibwa left Madeline Island in about 1610 Archeological studies and written resources, however, place the first Native American settlement on the Island in the late 1600s - contemporary to the advent of the fur trade in the region.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.