Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Eaton No. 1 - Niles School ************************************************ 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, 7:59 pm EATON NO. 1 — NILES SCHOOL Marion Miley Eaton School District No. 1 was organized about 1854. At that time, according to the Eaton Assesment Roll, the district was made up of the S 1/2 of Section 10, all of Sections 11, 12, 14, 15, and all of Section 13 except the SE 1/4. During the succeeding years the Rolls show constant changing of boundary lines while the other districts were being organized. Today the district is made up of the W 1/2 of the SW 1/4 of Section 3; the SE 1/4 of Section 4; the E 1/2 of Section 9; all of Sections 10, 11, 14, and 15; and parts of Sections 12, 13, and 16. Eaton District No. 1 is known as the Niles School. It has always been known by that name. It was given that name because the land on which the school was built was purchased from Delia Niles. Some of the other settlers of that time, according to the Assessment Roll, were T. Noonan, P. Dowd, F. M. Boucher, P. Burke, J. M. Curtiss, N. K. Johnson, the Tylers, Tosten Knutson, Nels Swenson, A. Severson, John Murdock, John Eastwood, and C. Schwalbe. Information concerning the first school is limited due to the fact that no records are available. The first school in Eaton was taught in 1854 by Miss Therese Mott in her mother's home, which was about one-fourth mile east of the present school building. The Herald-Times of 1931 printed an interview with Knute Gulhaug, who was an old resident of this district. In this interview Mr. Gulhaug stated that the first school building was erected sometime between 1855 and 1860. It was located about eighty rods west of the present site on a piece of land which was a part of the Tyler farm now owned by Mrs. P. W. Donovan. He stated that the school house was built of rough, unhewn logs, and was a small, almost square building built on the north side of the present highway. There is no record of what was done with the building after it was abandoned. The second school, the present building, was erected in 1871 for about $600. It is said that Herman W. Tyler helped build this school and taught the first term in it. Teacher records in the County Superintendent's office verify the fact that Mr. Tyler taught the school in the winter of 1872-73. According to Mr. Gulhaug the school was built by Mack Tyler and Ed. Balwing. The school was constructed of pine lumber cut from four pine trees taken from the Johnson woods. The present site can best be described: North 450 feet of the west 207 feet of the NW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of section 15. It now contains 2.11 acres. The school room furniture and equipment were of the types common to the schools of that period. Since the erection of this school many changes have been made. When the present Highway 151 was constructed, land was taken from the northern side of the school yard. To compensate for this, the State purchased and added land to its southern boundary. New equipment and conveniences were installed as the years passed. In 1895 new blackboards were added; a school bell purchased in 1903; a ventilation system installed in 1907; movable desks were added in 1911; and electric lights were installed in 1939. The Niles School has always been a one-room rural school. The enrollment during the later 1800's was said to be large. It is reported that Martin Johnson, Wells Tyler, Frank Tyler, Charles Huntley, and the two Niles girls were among the first pupils. During the 1900's, the highest enrollment was 39 pupils in 1916. The lowest enrollment of eight pupils occurred in 1944. Eaton District No. 1 is a farming community, but during the early history of the district some business places were established. In 1865, N. K. Johnson built a sawmill. Later on he erected a store, a cheese factory, and a saloon in a little settlement called Slab City which was located a short distance northwest of the present school site. The place was called Slab City because of the slabs of wood that were piled along side of the road. Slab City also included Good Templar Hall, a blacksmith shop, a carpenter shop, and several dwelling houses. All of these are no longer in existence. Many pupils have wended their way to and from school since the first log school was erected. Among the graduates who have won recognition are Jacob Wilbersheid, a former teacher and now a prominent Racine Lawyer; Ben Krueger, a Manitowoc business man; Merritt Johnson, a former county teacher; Elwood Haberman, a minister; and the Knutsons, who have a family of teachers. In addition to these the Swensons, Kruegers, Tyler, and Schwalbes have made names for themselves in farming and in business. Since there are no early records, the names of people serving oh the school board are difficult to obtain. The records in the County Superintendent's office show that J. M. Tyler served as clerk from 1872 to 1874 and again from 1876 to 1898. R. Throndson was clerk from 1874 to 1876. In 1904 Grant Tyler became clerk. When the school was first built, summer and winter terms prevailed. In later years night school was held for a few terms. Names of some teachers from 1872 to 1915 were: Herman Tyler, Wm. Tifts, Mary Knapp, Mark Waldo, Katie E. Dempsey, H. L. Markham who later became a prominent Manitowoc lawyer, G. A. Nagel, Catherine and Anthony Taugher, Dora Clausen, Mae Brady, Margaret Wiltgen, Helen Reinholdt, Ella Qualley, Celia, Inez, and Frances McCarthy. District records kept since 1894 show that teachers received about $400 during the 1890's. Places of interest in the district include the Presbyterian Church established in 1858. At first the services were held in the school house. The church was active till about 1865 when interest lagged. In 1895, the church was revived and the present structure was erected. Today the church is known as the Niles Community Presbyterian Church and has services every Sunday, but has no resident pastor. Another old time building was the Niles post office erected in 1856. A part of this structure is still standing on the Donovan farm. It was the first post office in the town of Eaton at which the stage from Manitowoc to Kiel stopped. With the institution of he rural free delivery, the office was discontinued. In connection with the post office was the Tyler grocery store. Records reveal the fact that court trials were held in the post office building. 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/eatonno1116gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 7.1 Kb