Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Cooperstown Jt. 4 - Rosecrans ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wi/wifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com October 30, 2007, 5:51 pm COOPERSTOWN JT. 4 —ROSECRANS Kalhryn Keehan Cooperstown joint district number 4 has always been known as the Rosecrans district because the village of Rosecrans is within the area. It was officially designated by that name in 1918. The village of Rosecrans is said to have gotten its name from the fact that Cranse or Kranz had a business place at that place. Mrs. Cranse, whose name was Rose, was popular and the leader in the business establishment. The people of the community referred to the place as Rose Cranse's which was later changed to Rosecrans when the post-office was established. Cooperstown No. 4 set up as a school district soon after the township was organized in 1856. It was not until 1860 that school money was given the district according to town records. Since the district organization, land from section 20 was added to district 3 in 1919, an area in section 33 was attached to Franklin Jt. 9 in 1931; and in June, 1942, a small parcel of land was added to Cooperstown 4 from Franklin which then made this Cooperstown Jt. District No. 4. Today the district stretches two-thirds of the way across the township with the schoolhouse not centrally located. The first log schoolhouse with only three windows was built about 1859 on a site about 1/4 mile north of the present schoolyard. It is reported that the location was in the midst of dense forest with paths from the various homes leading to it. The school had a few rows of crude benches, a "black" board, a cast iron box stove with the smoke pipes extending through the roof, and the usual water bucket, dipper, and broom. In 1870, the entire expense of a five month school term was $143. The old log school was abandoned after it had served its purpose, and very likely was eventually used for firewood. In December 1877, Clerk John Yench was paid $2 to post notices of a special meeting to decide the question, of building a new school. The vote was favorable and so the voters decided to buy a half acre of land for a school site from Joseph Libal for $10. The location is the present one and is described as the S.W. corner of the NW 1/4 of section 28, Cooperstown. Before the building operations could be begun, the site had to be cleared of trees and stumps. Joseph Libal was paid $8 for this work. John and Volrath Trapp built the frame schoolhouse for $144. The new equipment and other new building items brought the total cost to about $169. New homemade benches and schoolroom furniture were made. A large cast iron stove cared for the heating. The school was ventilated by opening the windows along the three sides of the room. Pine boards painted black were still used for blackboards. The beginning of a library was evidenced for a library cupboard was a part of the meager equipment. The interior walls were covered with wide boards, usually painted a pale green. The floors were of wide pine boards which later became full of cracks, slivers, and humps of knots. Evidently, the frame building built in 1878 became too crowded as the district became more settled for at the annual meeting in July 1900, it was voted to build an eight foot addition on to the west or front end of the school at a cost of $207. The schoolhouse could then accommodate about 45 scholars. Because there was no well on the schoolgrounds, water was gotten from John Marshek across the road for $2 yearly. In 1891 Mathias Zeman was hired to drill a well for $26.50. At the annual school meeting each year, the voters decided who was to furnish the wood, a school officer was elected, the opening date of school decided, the length of the school term set, and possible teachers to hire at a salary suitable to the voters were discussed. The enrollment increased steadily so that by 1905 there were 74 pupils attending. A new state law passed by the Legislature required schools with more than 65 pupils enrolled to provide an additional room if state aid was to be paid. Accordingly, in March 1907, Clerk Eman Shusta posted notices for a special school meeting on April 1, 1907, to decide on the question of building a new building with two rooms, and to authorize the schoolboard to borrow not to exceed $2800 at an interest rate of not to exceed 5%. Other resolutions regarding the repayment of the loan were also passed. The meeting was in charge of Chairman Frank Spevachek, clerk Eman Shusta, and tellers Joseph Opichka and Frank Anders. The vote to build was 33 to 1 in favor. Another special meeting was held at a later date to decide the type of structure, its size, and other matters pertaining to building operations. At the second special meeting the voters, 16 in number, voted 12 to 4 in favor of a frame building. The structure was to be 38x42x12 feet, outside dimensions, with the basement walls to be 7 feet high and 2 feet thick and made of field stones. The building walls were to be double boarded, papered, and tinned on the outside. The roof was to be squared and covered with tin and was to have a bell tower. Building operations began in July 1907, and the school was completed by September at an approximate cost of $2575. Before building began, an additional half acre was purchased from Anton Marshek for $55 to add to the original site. Various district residents contracted to do work to construct the new school. Jos. Hodik contracted to dig the basement for $18.50; Frank Anders contracted to haul sand and gravel for $23; Frank Zeman agreed to build the basement walls for $150; and Dick Krumdick did the carpenter work. C. Schwantes was paid $15 for the new school plan. The old frame school used up to 1907 was sold at public auction in June, 1907, to Albert Shimon for $70. The money for the new two-room school was borrowed from Eman Shusta, Frank Opichka, and from the state. The new school has two large classrooms separated by sliding doors, a good-sized library, two cloakrooms, and a large entry with one part leading to the basement and the other to the cloakrooms. The window lighting conforms to the code. The walls are covered with tin. At first the two rooms were heated by two large heater stoves, but these were replaced by a basment furnace in 1926 and again in 1943. The school lacks some modern conveniences expected in modern rural schools. Outdoor toilets and no electric services are two major handicaps. The school enrollment trends are shown by the fact that larger and ever larger schoolbuildings were in order as years passed. The decline in enrollment came shortly after the two-room school was erected. From a high of 79 pupils in 1907 to 49 in 1911 caused the district to revert to a one-room school again in 1913. Today the average attendance is between 15 and 20. Some of the early settlers were John Yench, Michael Healy, Wenzel and Joseph Libal, Wm. Bruss, Frank Wanish, John Haberly, Frank Hodek, Wencil Chvala, Joseph Cigler, Joseph Lipesh, Charles Krish, John Engelbrecht, Frank Fidler, Albert Zeman, John Marshek, Jos. Yindra, Frank Zeman, John Reedy, Mich. Mulqueen, Albert Shimon, Wm. Haberly, Henry Sager, Leonard Petska, and Patsy Fagan. Early school clerks were M. Healy 1872; John Yench or Yenotz 1873-1886, and Jos. Fidler 1894-1906. Others who served on the boards before 1906 were Albert Zeman, Albert Petska, Frank Wanish, Sr., Emil Shusta, Wm. Bruss, Wencil Chvala, and Joseph Cigler. After 1906 Jos. Shusta served on the board for years. As the teacher records are well kept from 1869 on in the clerks' record books, it is possible to list all of them from that date up to 1906 when the county annuals began to be issued. The very first teacher was said to have been a Mr. Uranik. A Bohemian teacher, Albert Harous, is known to have spent a week at each Bohemian family in the district to teach the children how to read and write their native language about in the 1860's. The known teachers were Annie Watt 1869-72; Wm. H. Nelson 1872; Wm. Earles 1872-6; Otto Listen 1876-8; L. Morrissey 1878-80; Bridget Lynch 1880-1; Mary Hewitt 1881-3; Jos. Pospisiel 1883-5; Jos. Morrisey 1885-6; Tim Burke 1886-9; Victoria Pelishek 1889-91; Mamie Lee 1891-96; Susan Ludowise 1896-8; Lizzie Taugher 1898-9; Edward Elmer 1899-1903; John Walsh 1903-4; C. E. Westgate 1904-5; Chas. J. Mulcahy and Chas. J. Moldenhauer 1905-07. Anna Ruby and Mary Goggins were the first principal and primary teacher in the two-room school. A later teacher, Thomas Frawley became county superintendent of Kewaunee county, Tim Burke became an attorney, a sheriff of Brown county, and later a state senator. Rosecrans village was a thriving business place before the railroad came to Maribel. John Yench owned a store and saloon; John Engelbrecht owned a small business place; Albert Petska operated a store, tavern, and dance hall; and Tom Petska was the village smithy. The Rosecrans postoffice was in existence until the coming of the rural free delivery. The district has large gravel deposits and sand and gravel are shipped to distant places by the Maribel Sand and Gravel Co. The Cooperstown swamps are along the western boundary of the district. Cranberry bogs and Wigwam village are situated in the southwestern part of this community. Additional Comments: Extracted from: 1848 - 1948 CENTENNIAL HISTORY of the Manitowoc County School Districts and Public School System EDITED BY JOS. J. RAPPEL, COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 1948 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wi/manitowoc/history/schools/cooperst112gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 9.9 Kb