History of Lowell

On January 3, 1916, the newly constructed New Irving School opened its doors for the first time to students living on the far East Side of Madison. The school would be known informally during the early years as “East End School” likely because of its location directly adjacent to the end of the east side trolley line that connected the area with the central city. Prior to construction, the school grounds were known as “Circus Hill”, the site of local circuses that attracted crowds of folks who often swarmed the nearby Hess’s Corners for refreshments on show days. During its first year of existence, the school was renamed “Lowell Elementary”. When it began in 1916, the school was fairly small with just 8 classrooms surrounding a central gymnasium. Despite being small in size, however, the school enrolled 411 students in that first year, and by 1919 was overcrowded. In 1927 an addition was added to the school and included a Nutrition Room located on the third floor to serve the educational needs of students suffering from tuberculosis. With the addition, the number of students attending Lowell surged and by the late 1920s, enrollment peaked just short of 1,000 students!