Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Mishicot 3 - Saxonburg ************************************************ 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 21, 2007, 6:09 pm MISHICOT 3 —SAXONBURG Hazel P. Eisenmann Mishicot school district No. 3 is known as the Saxonburg district because the early settlers of this community came from Saxony, Germany. They named this area Saxonburg in memory of their German state. At one time, in 1853; the entire township consisting of what is now Gibson and Mishicot was called Saxonburg by order of the County Board. .The first settlers in this community settled here about 1845. The school district was organized in the early l850's and was then known as Mishicot No. 4. After Mishicot became a township by itself in 1858, the school districts were re-numbered and this area became district No. 3. The extent of the present district coincides remarkably well with the old district No. 4 of the 1850's. The first school, a semi-log frame structure, was erected about 1850 and was located a half mile south of the present school, on what is now the Adolph Eisenmann farm. The exact location was just north of the present Eisenmann barn. It was a small building about 20x24 feet with two windows on each long side. The school equipment consisted of crude desks and seats, a drinking pail and dipper, and a stove in one corner of the room. There were no cloakrooms .and cupboards so the children's wraps and lunch pails were stored in the schoolroom. During the cold winter days, the lunches froze despite the roaring fire in the stove. After nearly 50 years of service, the building was sold to August Schroeder for $11, and is still standing and used for a granary on the present Roedger homestead. The second and present schoolhouse was erected in 1899 on the present site. It is a frame structure planned by C. H. Tegen. The building was framed by August Schroeder for which services he received $155. The total cost of the new school was $1,128 according to county records. The building is about 28 x 38' with four windows on each of the long sides and two on the entrance side. An open porch leads into an entry through double doors. On each side of the entry is a cloakroom. The schoolroom now has well-built open library shelving along the south wall between the two doors leading from the cloakrooms into the classroom. The front of the schoolroom still has a teacher's platform. The walls and ceiling are covered with tin. Modern schoolroom equipment and conveniences, such as electric lights, single-adjustable seats and desks, radio, electric plate, bulletin boards; a steel file, chairs and worktables, a sandtable, maps, and reference books have been added from year to year. A door in the northeast corner of the schoolroom leads to an attached basement entry. The basement houses a modern heating and ventilating system. The full basement, poorly lighted, is a combination fuel, furnace ,and playroom. The building also has a large attic, well-lighted by two windows on the entrance side. The schoolyard has more than the average number of pieces of playground equipment. The well-kept building and playground as well as the excellent equipment supplied indicate that the district is deeply interested in the education of the children enrolled. Mishicot No. 3 had summer and winter sessions up to about 1875. The three month summer session began in April and ended in July, while the winter term extended from October to March. The residents of this district saw to it that their children took advantage of the schooling offered, for the county records show that about two-thirds of the children of school age attended school each year. The highest enrollment occurred in 1870 when for the two sessions a total of 75 pupils was enrolled. For the rest of the years between 1870 and 1905, the yearly attendance averaged between 40 and 65. Even in the 1900's, Saxonburg was considered one of the larger county schools. In recent years the enrollment has averaged 25 pupils out of a school census of about 70 children of school age residing in the district. It was interesting to note that the present school census lists about as many children as the census lists of the later 1800's did. The decrease in attendance is due to earlier graduation and parochial school attendance. The Mishicot assessment roll of 1856 lists these as settlers in this area: John Brodkorb, Gottfried Mueller, Carl and Fred Brockmann, Carl Pfening, Chas. LeClair, John Reif, Fred Jonas, Joachim Meyer, Carl Fleischer, Fred and Albert Voight, John Schroeder, Fred Witte, John Stelzer, Heinrich Assmann, and John Huss. Some pupils who attended the first school were Ella and Fred Witte, Chas. Mueller, Edw. and Jos. Puta, John Benzinger, Sr., Wm. and Clara Lensing, Pauline Benzinger, Emil Bernhardt, Arthur Stelzer, Louis Heyroth, Hugo Roedger, Wilbert Mueller, and Wm. Brodkorb. Former pupils of Mishicot No. 3 have added many names to the list of prominent Manitowoc county citizens. Among those entering, the teaching profession were Edgar, Clara, Rose, Lillian, Fred, and Esther Jonas; Edna and Edward Wentker; Esther, Elsie, and Myrtle Schroeder; Amanda and Melvin Heyroth; Anna, Amanda, and Alma Halberg; Ella Witte; Chester Mueller; Milton and Roland Stelzer; Ellen Lensing; Leon Strouf; Earl and Jennie Stoneman; Carrie Schmidt, and Hazel Puta. Earl Stoneman became a professor at Whitewater; Anna Halberg is supervisor of schools in Washington, D. C; Fred Jonas became an attorney; Edgar Jonas became a prominent judge in Chicago; and Edna Wentker and Amanda Heyroth became a county supervising teachers. In addition to these teachers, Otto and Hugo Bernhardt became ministers, and Hazel Mueller entered the nursing field. Many of the more prominent and progressive farmers of Manitowoc, county are graduates of the Saxonburg school. Members of the first schoolboard were Fred Mueller and Fred Witte, Sr. Others who served on the board prior to 1906 were Henry Mueller 1872-74; Fred Halberg 1874-80; Fred Witte 1890-96; Louis Heyroth 1896-1906, and Gustave Brodkorb, John Schroeder, John Benzinger, Otto Bernhardt, and Addlph Seidl. During the early years of the school, the majority of the teachers stayed only for one term. The county records show that the salary paid these early teachers was low or below the average paid in Mishicot township. It was not until the 1900's that higher than average salaries were paid to the best teachers obtainable. The names of teachers on record in the superintendent's office for the years prior to 1906 were: Henry Cuff 1872 S, Mary Cuff 1872 W, Louise Hockmeyer 1873 S, and 1874 W, Henry Braasch 1873 W, Wm. Ross 1876, E. A. Berfedict 1877, Floyd Benedict 1878, Mary Packard 1879, Ida Klingholz 1880, Robert Shambeau 189-, Dora Halverson 1894-5, Henry Behlow 1896, Walter Runge 1897-9, John Shambeau 1899-1903, and Hermus Besau 1904-05. Teachers after 1906 who became well known were Earl Stoneman, professor of agriculture; Anna Halberg, who became a leader in the Washington, D. C. schools; Henry J. Antholz, Supt. of Schools at Spooner and once president of the Wisconsin Education Association; John E. Teporten with the Wisconsin Vocational Dept. at Madison; Bert Vogel, a leader in rural education in Wisconsin; Ladimir Hrudka, superintendent of schools at Cicero, Illinois; and Edna Wentker, a county supervising teacher. The residents of the Saxonburg district have always made use of the school's facilities. In addition to the usual basket socials, seasonal programs, and card parties, the school has served as a meeting place for 4-H clubs, farm organizations, and literary societies. The Saxonburg Dramatic Club in existence in the early 1900's sponsored yearly plays which gave that community an enviable reputation. Saxonburg today is a community of progressive and prosperous farmers. Many of the pioneer family names are still common to the district. The Saxonburg cemetery, a few rods east of the public school site, is the final resting place of many of the pioneer settlers of the Mishicot area. 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/mishicot206gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 8.7 Kb