Clearing, The
About this property
The Clearing Folk School, usually called just The Clearing, is a 125-acre (0.51 km2) continuing education institution located near Ellison Bay, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded by Jens Jensen in 1935. A successful landscape architect, Jensen began acquiring a private summer estate in 1919; the estate, re-landscaped by Jensen, became the nucleus of the school. Jensen was inspired by the folk high schools of his native Denmark. Jensen lived in The Clearing as a widower from 1935 until 1951. After his death, The Clearing was operated by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau for 37 years as a rural retreat, conference center, and continuing-education institution. Following The Clearing's independence as a nonprofit corporation in 1988, The Clearing has continued to fulfill these roles, with a concentration on adult education and as a meeting place for senior citizens. The Clearing describes itself as a place for "classes in natural sciences, fine arts, skilled crafts and humanities." The Clearing's emphasis on "regional ecology" is seen as providing continuity with founder Jensen's own aspirations and beliefs. The appreciation of "regional ecology" from a landscape perspective, a focus of continuing education at The Clearing, has helped to drive the emerging professions of landscape ecology and spatial ecology. As of 2012, the Clearing offers classwork throughout the year, except for March, April, and December. Day-to-week-length appreciation classes center on collective learning through discussion, conversation, and hands-on work. During the high season (May–October), the folk school specializes in weeklong appreciation classes; in November, January, and February, day classes and daylong workshops can be experienced. The Clearing Folk School was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 1974 as site #74000080. Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) No. WI-8, "The Clearing, 12171 Garret Bay Road, Ellison Bay, Door County, WI", 4 data pages "Jensen Will Open School of Nature Archived November 3, 2021, at the Wayback Machine" (continued Archived November 3, 2021, at the Wayback Machine) Door County Advocate, Volume 74, Number 14, June 14, 1935
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Clearing, The listed on the National Register?
Clearing, The was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 1974.
What type of historic resource is Clearing, The?
Clearing, The is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Clearing, The?
The period of significance for Clearing, The is recorded as the listed era.
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