Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Schleswig Jt. 1 - Fountain Park ************************************************ 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 December 30, 2007, 7:19 pm SCHLESWIG JT. 1 — FOUNTAIN PARK Lorraine Janing Schleswig District-No. 1, located in the northeast area of the township, is called the Fountain Park school. That name was derived from the fact that an artesian well on the school grounds shoots forth a fountain of water, and from the fact that the trees and grass on the grounds remind one of a park. To nearby and county residents the name of Wilke's Lake School is more familiar since it is located a short distance from that body of water. To some it is known as the Ucker Road School. The assessment roll of 1856 shows that this district was set up prior to that time. Since the earliest written records for the school date back to 1866, it is impossible to state when the district was organized for educational purposes. The 1856 assessment roll shows that the district was then made up of sections 1, 2, ll, 12, 13, 14. By 1863, after Schleswig 7 had organized, the district consisted of sections 1, 2, 11, 12. In 1893, the W 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of the E 1/2 of the SW 1/4 of Section 36, town of Eaton was added, making this district Schleswig Jt. 1 with Eaton. About the same time the S 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of section 3 Schleswig was added to the district. Christian Schultz gave the district permission to build a school on his land. This was adjacent to and west of the present school site. The school built on the first site was erected in the early 1850's, but no definite district records prior to 1866 are available. It was a log cabin school about 12 x 16 feet. The interior was white-washed, while the exterior was "pointed out" with red clay. A woodstove furnished the heat. Windows on both of the long sides furnished light and ventilation. A row of seats and desks four feet long placed near the sides of the room provided seating and left a large aisle through the center of the room. Wooden blackboards hung on the wall served their usual purpose. The old log school was torn down shortly after the new one was constructed. On September 6, 1880, the voters discussed plans for a new building, but it was decided to repair the old one instead. On July 18, 1887 the voters decided to build a new frame building 34x26 feet. The stone foundation was to be 18 inches above ground and 2 feet in the ground. The new building which is also the present school was built in 1888 and cost about $719. On November 21, 1887, the deed for the school site was recorded in the register of deeds office. The land, purchased from Fred and Mina Gensch for $25, is located in the NW corner of the NW 1/4 of section 12, and was one quarter of an acre in extent. In 1938 an additional one-half acre of land was purchased for $50 from Ralph and Eldora Matznick. In 1898 efforts were made to dig a well east of the school. An iron pump was purchased, but evidently no water was found because the pump was sold in 1902 and the children continued to carry water from neighboring farms. A new well drilled north of the school in 1918 resulted in obtaining an artesian well. In 1911 new blackboards were installed for $18.43. During the years that followed a new stove was purchased, a new woodshed erected, a ventilation system installed, additional blackboards added, the schoolroom replastered, and new desks purchased. In 1937 septic toilets were installed. The school is modernly equipped. Except for the indoor toilets, the building fails to meet modern rural school standards. The district did not maintain summer and winter sessions after 1872. At that time school was in session for five months from October to March. The length of the term gradually increased until in 1911 when nine months of school were held. The attendance has never been as large as in many other county schools because the small areal extent of the district. In 1870 only 21 children were enrolled. By 1880 thirty pupils were going to school while by 1890 the enrollment had increased to 45 which was the greatest attendance for the school. During the 1900's the average has been about 20 pupils. The decrease is not due to parochial school attendance but to other rural conditions. The first settlers in the district were Christ Schultz, Abraham Sy, Christ and Gottfried Paul, Gottfried Wilke, F. Liefert, F. Menke, Jos. Koenig, August Leidke, Fr. Plagemann, and Christ Kletzein. These names suggest the fact that this was a pure German settlement. Some of these family names are still common to the district. Graduates have become substantial farmers and leaders in their communities. The earliest school officers of which there are records were Christ Schultz, clerk, and Gottfried Zahnow, director. Fred Voight, elected in 1877, was the first treasurer mentioned. At that date the clerk received $5, the treasurer $3, and the director $1.50 per year. Clerks who served from 1872 to 1906 were: Christ Schultz, Herman Fisher, Franz Schad, Christ Thiedemann, Fred Gensch, L. F. Voight, and H. J. Hungsberg. The school records show that the district received its first state aid of $50.81 on October 23, 1869. In 1877 the log schoolhouse was insured against fire. The first teacher mentioned was Frederich Lohman, who taught in this school in 1866 for $25 per month. John Stewart was the teacher in 1868. Five month school terms were common until 1878. By 1895 the term had increased to eight months with the teacher receiving an average salary of $35 per month. Nine month terms are now prevalent. Other teachers who taught this school from 1872 to 1906 were: Geo. H McMunn, Geo. Garry, Katie Donahue, Katie Fardy, Fay Richardson, P. W. Donahue, Helen Richardson, Teresa Hobah, August Luebke, E. Kolb, Rudolph Graf, Viola Sullivan, and Nellie Pinter. In the early days a school month consisted of 21 and 22 days. Several businesses were started in the district. Sam Blum owned a clothing store in addition to going from place to place with his sales wagon. He later moved to Kiel Gustave Matznick owned a grocery store and cheese factory. Today the factory is owned by Adbon Kolbeck. Another cheese factory west of the school is owned by Otto Henning. There are several scenic places in the district. Many tourists come to Wilke's Lake during the summer. The shores of this lake are dotted with summer cottages The Sy brothers have two beautiful lakes on their land. These two lakes are privately owned, but the Sys have permitted some folks to build cottages around the larger of the two lakes. Since these waters are unsafe for swimming, they are used principally for fishing. A most interesting and historical place is the Ucker Cemetery located on the Thieleke farm. This burial plot is about one-half mile north of the school site. Years ago some members of the district decided to organize a cemetery association. Since these organizers were not members of any church, the cemetery was of a non-denominational nature. The trustees bought the land from Christina Hensel. The deed to the land was acknowledged on March 2, 1865 and recorded on May 23, 1867. The description given, is as follows: Commencing two rods west from the line at a point north from the S.E. corner of section 2; eight chains, 85 links, running thence west sixteen rods; thence ten rods north; thence sixteen rods east; thence ten rods south to the point of beginning, containing one acre in the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of section 2, Township 17, Range 21. Today anyone who buys a lot in the cemetery belongs to this old association. 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/schleswi232gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 8.2 Kb