The Story of the Severson Learning Center

Oscar Severson was born in Cambridge in 1896, the son of business man Louis Severson. He graduated from Cambridge High School in 1916. (The Historic 1908 School Building began as our K-12 building.) He is remembered as a good student and athlete. He volunteered for World War I, serving overseas. When he returned, he worked at several Cambridge businesses before joining the Cambridge State Bank, where he worked for the rest of his life. In 1948 he married his longtime sweetheart Mabel Guernsey, a nurse. The couple had no children. At the request of Mr. Severson the property now known as the Severson Learning Center was given to the School District of Cambridge at the time of his death in 1989.

Severson Learning Center features a typical, handsome farmstead of southeastern Wisconsin, with a white farmhouse and red barn surrounded by about 54 acres of arable fields currently farmed by the local FFA Alumni. About 20 acres of land is in 4 woodlots. A “sugarbush” of 75 Sugar Maples has been planted in woodlot A.  A large pond with year round water lies between two of the woodlots. A wetland scrape is nestled within the “L” of the southern-most woodlot. Two community gardens providing vegetables for the local food pantry are located close to the house and barn. A small apple orchard is also located close by.  Facilities include: Temporary shelter for classroom use, 1 small rustic classroom building, 1 small tool shed, and a large barn, currently housing FFA student animal husbandry projects.

The educational opportunities at Severson Learning Center are as varied and interesting as the site itself: geology, soil science, forestry, natural resources, wildlife management, botany and biology as well as language arts, visual arts, music, math, history and social studies. Future projects include student oral history interviews with older residents, student GIS –made trail maps, student-produced educational signage along trails, student-built benches along the trail, a student/volunteer-built open shelter, maple syrup production, orchard and berry production, etc.