The first courthouse in Baraboo stood on the north side of the square at about 120 Fourth Avenue. The second story was used by the pioneers, not only for a courtroom but for church, school, lecture and dancing hall. On one occasion citizens began to arrive for both religious services and a dancing party, there being some mistake in announcing the two events. For a time there was some question as to how the matter would terminate when a violin was brought forth and the floor was soon filled with dancers indulging in the light fantastic. After being deserted by the county officers, and while being used as a saloon, the building was burned on the night of July 4, 1857. The Al. Ringling Theatre The beautiful Al. Ringling theatre, 136-140 Fourth Avenue, just west of the old courthouse site, was erected by the oldest of the circus firm of Ringling Brothers on the ground once occupied by the Wisconsin House, the brick portion of which was known in pioneer times as the Little Dutch Tavern. The theatre, a building of unusual beauty, was built in 1915, at a cost of about $100,000. The interior is of French design; instead of a gallery there is a crescent of seventeen boxes above the main floor. The building seats almost 1,000 persons and was opened to the public on the night of November 17, 1915, the owner, then in ill health, being barely able to be present. Mr. Ringling died soon after, January 1, 1916, in the large mansion around the corner to the right. The Al. Ringling Residence The Al. Ringling residence of Lake Superior brown stone was erected in 1909, the cost being about $100,000. Here the funeral of a brother, Otto Ringling, was held in 1911. Otto was born in a small frame house that stood about where the north wall of the mansion is located. The only sister of the Ringling Brothers, Mrs. Harry North, and her family now occupy the home. The First Church Across the street to the east of the Al. Ringling residence stood the first church in the Baraboo valley. One winter day in January, 1850, a band of Christian workers cleared away the snow, erected a building 36 by 74 feet from rough boards, filling the spaces between the walls with sawdust, and covering the floor with the same material. A bronze tablet on the treebank marks the site. An Early College In the days before high schools every village with any pretence to enterprise and enlightenment had a select school or college. The building at the rear of the Ringling residence, 221 and 223 Fifth Avenue, was the home of the Baraboo Collegiate Institute, established in 1858. With the opening of the free high school in Baraboo in the late 60's the institution closed its doors. Originally the building faced the east. A Literary Atmosphere The street later boasted a literary atmosphere as a little farther to the west, at number 316 Fifth Avenue, lived Jack Boyle, the genial author of the widely read Boston Blackie stories, during the winter of 1919-'20. Library Where a Church Stood