Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Kossuth No. 3 - Palm Grove ************************************************ 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 November 2, 2007, 2:10 am KOSSUTH NO. 3 - PALM GROVE Marie G. Krejcarek Kossuth District No. 3 in the early days was often referred to as the Reif Mills school since it was located only about one mile from the Reif Mills church. In 1918 when district schools were named, the school was named the Palm Grove school. That name was chosen because of its nearness to the Palm Grove cheese factory which burned down in 1919. Kossuth No. 3 district was set up for educational purposes early in the 1850's. No written records of the establishment of the school are available, but Wm. Antholz, the present clerk, has supplied much valuable data through personal research and contacts with old-timers. The school site was included in a grant given by the United States government to an unknown officer who served in the Mexican War for work well done. This grant was made during the presidency of Millard Fillmore. This officer to whom the land was granted sold it to Philip and Heinrich Vogt for fifty dollars. In 1868 John Jackel bought the property from Henry Vogt, and he in turn sold it to Anton Neuser. In the sale a lease of 1/4 acre was given to School District No. 3, Kossuth, for the school site. The site was sold to the district about 1880. The original school district contained sections 19-20-21-28-29-30-31-32-33. When Franklin District 6 was set up in 1898, parts of Kossuth No. 3 were detached from the original area. Later other areas in the southwestern and southern parts of the original district were detached and added to Franklin No. 8 and Manitowoc Rapids No. 10 because the Branch river cut off this area from the rest of Kossuth No. 3. Since there were no bridges over this river at that point at that time, it was difficult for the children from that cut-off region to get to the Palm Grove school. Today the district is made up of sections 20, 21, 29, and parts of sections 19, 22, 28, 30, 31, and 32. The first school held in the district was a German school in a private home. It was located one mile north and one-half mile east of the present school site. The first public school was a makeshift building of logs, one-half mile south of the present site on what is known as the Vraney farm. The school terms were at first irregular because of the shortage of teachers who could speak English. The second public school, located on the present site, was built sometime in the 1860's. It is reported that a single pine tree five feet in diameter was used to get the lumber to build this frame structure. It had clapboard siding, once painted red, but later remembered only as a weather-beaten old building. This structure was razed in 1881 and the lumber used to build a cheese factory on the northeast corner of the Frank Delsman farm. That building was destroyed by fire in 1902. The third and present brick-veneered building was built in 1881 at a cost of $885, and was then commonly known as the Neuser school. It is located on the S. E. corner of the SW 1/4 of section 20. At first it contained a large cloak room on the eastern end with the rest of the building being used for a classroom. About 1923 the school was enlarged by building a new entry and tearing out the wall between the old entry and the classroom. At that time, too, the woodshed was moved and added to the west end of the school. Today the school is well-kept, has electric lights, a floor furnace, adequate library shelving, single chair type desks, reading table and chairs, and other equipment found in modern schools. The building itself lacks many of the standards expected of modern schools. According to the town clerks' reports to the county superintendent begun in 1870, the enrollment figures for this school show the usual trends common to rural districts. In 1870 the town clerk's report shows that 110 pupils were enrolled. Attendance figures for succeeding five year intervals were as follows: 1875-86; 1880-99; 1885-99; 1890-91; 1895-61; 1900-78; 1905-63: During the later 1900 the enrollment has averaged about forty. The present attendance is seventeen, although there are fifty-two pupils of school age residing in the district. The names of the teachers prior to 1872 are unknown. Summer and winter terms were common up to 1873. Some of the teachers from 1872 to 1906 were Viroqua Sheldon, Edwin L. Clark, Josie Howarth, Louis Truettner, John. A Hussey, V. B. Sheldon, Celia Lawrence, B. L. Oakley, Celia and James Fitzmaurice, Carrie Edwards, Amanda Zander, Katie Egan, Alice Cary, J. McKeough, Ella Bartke, John Regan, J; L. Morrissey, Adelle Lawrence, Maggie Gary, Arthur Bleser, Peter Mittnacht, Hanna Lorrigan, E. C. (Dr.) Cary, Mayme Green, and Agnes Olson. The voters at the annual meeting in 1891 passed a resolution that only teachers with at least a third grade certificate, with three years of experience, and with the superintendent's recommendation be hired. It should be noted that this district has always tried to get the best teachers possible. Some citizens serving as school clerks from 1872 to 1906 were John Bolan 1872, Mich. McKeough 1873, Jos. Eatough 1873-5, Wm. Eatough 1876-80, Mich. McKeough 1881, M. C. McCarthy 1894-98, Valentine Dirkman 1899-1904. The failure of the Manitowoc State Bank in the 1890's resulted in the calling of a special meeting in this district for the purpose of determining how Mich. McKeough, the school treasurer, should be reimbursed for losing about $300 of district money through that bank failure. It was agreed that the district would bear one-half of the loss, while Mr. McKeough and ins bondsmen would have to bear the rest of the loss. The first settlers having land in the original district were M. McKeough, John Decker, A. Fitzmaurice, P. and H. Vogt, R. Rostern, Wm. Smith, P. McShane, F. Massmann, A. Stafford, D. Sullivan, P. and N. Reif, T. Dalwig, L. Voelker, F. Brockhoff, F. Braun, Wm. Eatough, T. Dirkman, and B.Delsmann. Graduates of the last forty years who have made names for themselves are: A. J. Ahtholz, a former county teacher, now superintendent of schools at Spooner, Wisconsin, and president of the Wisconsin Education Association in 1943; Erwin, Norman, and Erma Kubsch, Emma Hrdina, and Geo.-McKeough, all of them county teachers; Frank Vraney, a Manitowoc real estate man; Emil Kirt, assistant superintendent at the Oriental Mills; and others who have become successful in their field of endeavor. The district has scenic and historical places of interest. About a mile south of the school, midway between Branch and Reif Mills, is a well-known spot for all old-timers- the old swimming hole at the old Rank Mills which once were grist and saw mills. All that remains of those mills now are some stone walls almost entirely overgrown with cedars. One of the mills was a three story frame building which was later torn down and the lumber used to build the barn now standing one-fourth mile south of the Branch school Few men or boys living within a few miles of this spot in the early days avoided stubbing their toes on the stones in the river. Even today the spot is a favorite picnic place and attracts residents for miles around on warm summer evenings. The once prosperous village of Reif Mills is also in the district, but since it was fully described in the history of Franklin Jt. 6, no history of this hamlet is given in this history. 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/kossuthn162gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 8.1 Kb