Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Cooperstown No. 6 - Twin River ************************************************ 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, 7:49 pm COOPERSTOWN NO. 6 —TWIN RIVER Beatrice Fenlon Cooperstown district number 6 is now known as the Twin River school because it is located a quarter mile north of that river. Township residents often refer to it as the Radue school because the school is located on the Wm. Radue farm. Cooperstown No. 6 was organized as a school district eight years after Cooperstown became a part of Manitowoc county. On November 3, 1858, the district purchased 12Vfc square rods of land for a school site in the N. W. corner of the N. W. 1/4 of the N. W. 1/4 of section 10, Cooperstown, from Michael Drees and Elizabeth Heiser for the sum of $2. It is still the school site at the present time. The district is now made up of all or most of sections 3, 4, 5, 9, 10 in Cooperstown. The first schoolhouse was constructed of logs and was located a few feet northeast of the present building. The remains of the stone foundation of this old structure are still in evidence. The school house faced south while the new building faces the north. A single door on the south end of the log building opened into a classroom with three small windows on each long side. There was no entry nor cloakroom so the outer wraps and lunch pails were stored in the schoolroom. A box stove in the middle of the room toasted the pupils seated near it but had little or no effect on those who were forced to be seated on the outer circle of its radiance. The schoolroom furniture consisted at first of crude homemade desks and benches, "black" boards and a teacher's desk . A tin dipper used by all to get water from an open bucket was placed conveniently in the room. At each annual meeting, the voters decided who was to furnish the fuel for the year. The successful bidder had to deliver this fuel according to definite specifications, at a specified time, and usually specified as to how it was to be piled or delivered at the school. A small woodshed housed the kindling and firewood. The schoolyard, purchased in 1851 was added to in 1910 when Fred Mathias donated a strip of land along the west side of the original schoolgrounds. He gave this strip to the district because at that time a new road was built west of the school. The donated strip of land was between the road and the old schoolyard, so Mr. Mathias gave it to the district as an addition to the site. From time to time the schoolyard was fenced according to the school records. Since these records were for years written in German and Bohemian, it was difficult to translate all of the transactions recorded. The old log schoolhouse was repaired from time to time. The logs were covered with siding, the roof re-shingled, the floor replaced, and the broken window panes replaced as the need arose. The building painted a gray color became older and more delapidated. Finally in 1915, it was abandoned and sold to Matt Sladkey for $43.25. The old woodshed was sold to Frank Kozlovsky for $5. In 1916, the stone walls of the old school were removed and the remaining corner stones covered with dirt. On February 20, 1915, a special school meeting was called to decide the question of building a new school. The vote was favorable for a frame building 36 x 34 feet, with the schoolroom itself 22x28 feet, at a cost of $2,750. The building was to have, a stone basement. At first the voters decided that the district residents would do the building and the hauling of the building material and that they were to be paid 20 cents an hour. This decision was later rescinded and the contract was let to architect Leo J. Lee and contractor Ferdinand Schultz. The fine frame schoolhouse has an entrance which blends into the general architecture of the building. Double doors open into a hall from which a door at the northeast corner opens to stairs leading to the basement. From the hall, steps lead up to double doors opening into a cloakroom across the front of the building. This room is lighted by two windows at each corner. From this cloakroom a doorway takes one into a small washroom in the northwest corner of the entrance addition. Two doors, one at each end of the long cloakroom, open into a class room which at first was furnished with double patented desks. These have been replaced with single, bench-type seats and desks. A large enclosed library cupboard along the north wall houses the many library and text books. The room is well lighted by many windows on the south and west sides. The front of the schoolroom, is to the north. Electric lights were installed in 1946. The school is equipped with the best of learning and teaching needs. It is modern except for indoor lavatories and running water. The basement houses a large fuel, play, and furnace room. There is no evidence that summer and winter terms were ever held in this district. The annual enrollment was always below that of other county schools. In 1880, for instance, only 30 pupils out of a school census of 136 children were listed as attending. The highest enrollment occurred in the 1890's when about 60 pupils were in attendance. During the past 20 years, the yearly enrollment has averaged between 15 and 20. The German parochial school at Maribel has some effect on the attendance in Cooperstown No. 6. The pioneer settlers of this district were farmers. Certain family names appear several times in the list of names of residents serving on the school board. The county records show that these taxpayers served the district as clerk of the schoolboard before 1906: John Chavert 1872-74, Herman Radue 1874-96, Matt Sladkey 1896-1940. Others serving, as recorded in the county records, were August Gauger and John Kvitek. The first teacher's name on record is Ella Burns who received a salary of $240 for the term. Names of other teachers as recorded in the county office were: Leopold Kellner 1872, Thos. Burke 1873, Mary Ross 1874-5, Jessie Ross 1876, E. N. Sartell 1877, Allan Ransom 1878, Bert Johnson 1879, Robert Shambeau 1894, Susan Kane 1895, John Elmer 1896-7, Martin Kvitek 1898, Irene M. Hall 1904, and Mabel Richards 1905. The records show also that short terms were common as was the average salary for teachers. Those factors may be the reason why yearly changes of teachers resulted. Cooperstown No. 6. has no places of scenic or historical interest. Devils river, a branch of the West Twin River, winds through the district, providing fishing grounds for the residents. Rich deposits of gravel are being used by road builders and contractors. Today this farming community has provided, a modern school house for its communty, [sic] but the low enrollment and the high cost of operating a one room school are problems to be faced. 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/cooperst114gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 7.5 Kb