Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Kossuth 4 - Rockwood 
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KOSSUTH 4 - ROCKWOOD
Mrs. Margaret Gruber

    In 1908, the Allwood and the Rockwell Lime Companies petitioned the Chicago
and Northwestern Railroad Company to establish a depot in this village. As it
was necessary to have a name for this depot, the officials of the railroad
decided upon the name of Rockwood by taking a part of the name of each lime
company. In 1918 then, it was only natural that the voters of Kossuth district
number 4 should adopt the name of Rockwood School for their educational
institution.

    Kossuth Dist. No. 4 was organized in 1853 and then consisted of sections 22,
23, 26, 27, 34, and 35 in Kossuth, plus section 31 in T. 20 N., R. 24 E. Many
changes have been made to the district boundaries since its organization. The
legal proceedings for- several of these changes are on file with the district
records. Today, the district is one of the largest and richest in Kossuth and
includes all or parts of section 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35, and 36 in
T. 20 N., R. 23 E., and section 31 in T. 20 N., and R. 23 E.

    The first schoolboard was charged with the task of purchasing a school site
and having the school built. On January 23, 1854, the board purchased for the
district one acre of land from Carl Gramlich. This site is located in the N. E.
corner of the NW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of section 35 which is not the central part
of the present district. Additional parcels of land were purchased and added to
the school site in 1868, 1907, 1923, and in 1939 so that today the schoolyard
consists, of about two acres.

    Four different school buildings have served the district up to the present
time. It is said that the first log schoolhouse was located off the present site
in a ravine south of the present Ervin Anthold home. This school was said to
have been opened soon after Wisconsin became a state. In 1854, the voters of the
newly organized district, voted for a new site and a new school. It was a
one-room school made of cedar logs. In 1881, the voters decided to remodel
according to a paragraph taken from the minutes taken at a special meeting held
June 20, 1881.

    This cedar log building served the district until 1898, when it was sold at
public sale as shown by an account of the auction. The auction was held July 16,
1898, and Henry Rumpf was hired by the district for 25 cents to keep bidding up
the price of the schoolhouse. Henry Oestreich finally bid $16.50, but Rumpf bid
$17 so the building was not sold at this time. The sum of $10 was realized,
though, for blackboards, school bell, stoneboat, stove and pipes, and some other
"trash". Later on the building was sold at private sale to Charles Tills who
used in building a home. This home is now occupied by the Wm. Kappelman family
in the Meadow Brook district.

   At the annual school meeting on July 5, 1897, the voters decided to build a
new structure. It was to be of brick, 28 x 52 x 14 feet high costing $1,100, and
patterned after the school buildings of that day. The building had windows in
the long and in the entrance sides. The schoolhouse had an entrance, a
cloakroom, and a large classroom which was heated by a large heater. Real slate
blackboards, 4 feet wide, were provided. By 1912, the enrollment became so great
that the state required the addition of another teacher. The long schoolroom was
then partitioned into two rooms and a new entrance was made on one of the long
sides so that it would serve the new room. (See the 17th County Annual for a
picture of this school). In 1924, this building was abandoned and sold to Peter
Massman who dismantled it and used the brick in building his present home.

    At a special school meeting held March 7, 1923, the voters discussed the
advisability of building a larger and more modern school to meet the rapid
increase in enrollment. At another special meeting held March 28, 1923, the vote
to build was favorable. The new two story building is constructed of red brick,
has north and south entrances leading to halls which divide the lower and upper
floors into two classrooms each. The basement houses a playroom, the lavatories,
and a modern heating-ventilating plant which is now equipped with a stoker. The
equipment is modern and meets graded school standards. The building was
completed and dedicated in September 1924. Today the school plant is valued at
about $40,000. School records show that the school bell was once a train bell
and was given to the school by the railroad company on the condition that it
would never be sold. This bell has been the school property since 1898.

    Kossuth Dist. No. 4 was a one-room school until February 7, 1912 when it
became a two-room graded school. Walter Reich was the first principal and
Blanche Jana the first primary teacher. Darwin Schuette and Edwin Ewen were
members of the first graded school class. At an annual meeting on July 16, 1923,
the voters decided to add a 9th grade and hire a third teacher, making this a
1st class state graded school. In 1924, the 10th grade was added and a fourth
teacher added. The members of the first 10th grade graduating class were Elva
Grams, Viola Herman, Orval Hessel, Grace Kortens, Margaret Mohr, Katherine
Mulholland, Mae Rohrbach, Jos. Schleis, Martha Seidl, Mabel Specht, and Gilbert
Steinbrecker.

    County and district records do not give attendance records prior to 1870.
District records of attendance are complete from 1871 up to the present. By
1871, there were 73 pupils in attendance. District records show, too, that the
two term school year was in vogue as late as 1879. The largest enrollment
occurred in 1898 when 102 pupils were taught by Chas. Meisnest. In 1912 when
Rockwood set up a graded school there were 87 pupils enrolled. In 1928, there
was a total of 132 pupils enrolled. By 1948, the enrollment had decreased to
about 70, including the ninth and tenth grades, so for the school year of
1946-1947 only three teachers were employed-two for the grades and one for the
high school. There are still about 150 pupils of school age in the district but
the parochial school at Francis Creek has affected this school's enrollment. The
decline of the lime industry has also affected the enrollment tremendously in
the last decade. Upon recommendation of the State Department of Public
Instruction, a special school meeting was held Monday evening, March 22, 1948,
to vote on the discontinuance of the 9th and 10th grades. The voters assembled
voted to discontinue offering high school courses after the 1947-1948 term by a
vote of 29 to 5.

    Present day residents are descendants of these early settlers as shown by
district and county records Names common now and in. pioneer times are the
family names of Ewen, Mohr, Bolle, Bleser, Krumdick, Hardrath, Delsman, Meyer,
Schuette, Tills, Massman, Alswede, and others. Mathias Ewen, a pupil of the
first school, was an active leader in later school affairs. He was followed by
his son John, his grandson William, and now his great grandson William, Jr. on
the schoolboards. Peter Massman, the present director; has served continuously
for 45 years. Other board members before 1906 were clerk Thos. Mohr 1874-93,
treasurer Nick Meyer 1872-82, and clerks J. C. McCarthy and M. Senn 1872-74.
Henry, Ed. and Richard Ahlswede were members of the board too. The district
school has had many of its graduates enter the professions, business, industry,
while many have become prominent farmers in this and other communities.

    Mrs. Mary A. Fearney Madden of Providence, R. I. was the first teacher. She
taught the three "R's". The girls were taught knitting and patching and did not
study arithmetic. For her salary she received donations of money and food.
Nicholas Meyer was the first teacher in the cedar log school. Under the terms of
his contract he had to teach German and English, one half day each. A few others
who taught this school up to 1906 were Nick Watry 1871, Wm. Ross 1872, Louis H.
Truettner 1873, Selma Klingholz 1873 and 1877, A. Wittmann 1876, Esther Burnett
1878, J. A. Koelzer 1879, Eva Murphy 1880, Frank Meisnest 1894-5, Chas. Meisnest
1896-98, and Otto Drews 1904-05.

    Rockwood district is proud of the record of its school alumni in World War
II, for 110 of its former pupils served in the armed forces. The first casualty
in this war was Ensign Robert Tills who lost his life at Pearl Harbor. Two army
nurses, Lieut. Olga Brazzalle and Lieut. Edith Suchomel, were graduates of
Rockwood.

    The Rockwood school has served as the community center for community
activities. The Rockwood Community Club was well-known in this section of the
county for its plays, debates, etc. It disbanded during World War II, but
reorganization plans are being made. Boy Scout Troop 13 holds its weekly meeting
in the recreation room. The yearly school picnic is an enjoyable affair. Every
family in the district is invited and attends.

    Some interesting district resolutions were found in the records. In 1871, it
was resolved "that the schoolhouse be closed on Sundays and all religious
meetings be prohibited being held in the schoolhouse hereafter". Evidently the
building was used for church purposes up to that time. In 1872, it was resolved
that a teacher be employed capable of teaching English and German - two days of
German and three days of English weekly. In 1883, it was resolved to teach
German all the time that "the law allows". A note written to the teacher by a
parent regarding some boys who were looking in through the saloon windows, about
a half century ago, is also on file with other records. The teacher wrote "To be
kept for future use" on the note.

    The pages of school history which could be written from the records kept by
the district officers would show that Kossuth district No. 4 residents have
always been keenly interested in their school. There is no doubt that the
educational needs of the future generation will always be of the highest
standards for this district.


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 


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