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The Hungarian Settlement School is locally significant in the area of ethnic history as a rare survivor to represent the distinctive heritage of Hungarian Settlement. The school is of local educational significance because of its role in educating both children and adults. It was the principal school for Hungarian Settlement children from 1928, when it opened, to 1943, when it closed. Grades one through seven were taught there, and it is where many an Hungarian child learned English. In addition, adult education classes were held there at night. Hungarian immigrants from the North were first attracted to Livingston Parish around 1896. The stimulus was the Charles Brakenridge Lumber Company, which advertised in Hungarian newspapers for workers, promising employment as well as the opportunity to buy land. Also, the Illinois Central Railroad paid to advertise the area in an Hungarian newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. By 1900, seventeen Hungarian families had moved to the sawmill community. They called their settlement Arpadhon, or “place of Arpad,” in honor of a legendary Hungarian hero.
