SCHOOL HISTORIES FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP

The Riverside school, the Highland school, the Kellnersville school, and the 
Menchalville school are all houses now. (all information on this page sent in
by researcher/see contributors page)
 
 
All the school histories are from "A Centennial History of the Manitowoc County Districts" 
1848 – 1948. by Rappel, Joseph J.
 
Franklin township was once a part of Manitowoc Rapids, of Maple Grove, of the 
original Franklin township made up of Franklin and Cato, and finally in 1857 
the present-sized township. During these changes from one township to another, 
school districts were organized in these territories. Prior to 1857, there were 
only four school districts set up in the present Franklin area. 
They were: Franklin 6 (now Franklin 1 and Jt. 2), 
           Franklin 8 (now Franklin Jt. 8, Jt. 6, and Jt.9), 
           Franklin 13 (now Franklin Jt. 3 and 13), and 
           Franklin 14 (now Franklin 4 and Jt. 14).  
Cato Jt. 7 also consisted of a part of the Franklin area.  After Franklin became 
a township by itself, new school districts were organized and numbered from number 
1 up and to fill in missing district numbers, but not always in the order of their 
organization.  The missing district number 5 is unexplained after much research. 



FRANKLIN 1 – GRASSY KNOLL


 
Franklin district No. 1 was named Grassy Knoll school in 1918 by the pupils 
because the school is situated on a grassy knoll near the NW corner of section 20, 
Franklin. Prior to this it was often referred to as the Stoker school because of 
the connections that members of that family had with the school. Today Franklin 
residents call this the Phillips or the Mangin school because it is located near 
those farmsteads.
 
In 1856, according to the township assessment roll, this district was Franklin 
No. 6, and consisted of sections 6-7-17-18-19-30. On April 20, 1859, Patrick 
Hogan, the town superintendent of schools, changed this district number to 
Franklin No. 1. A few years later, Franklin districts number 2 and 3 were set 
up and certain areas of Franklin No. 1 were detached to become parts of those 
districts. Today the Grassy Knoll district is a very irregular area in western 
Franklin township. The land on which the school is located was granted to the 
state of Wisconsin by the United States on Nov. 28, 1848. Paul Mangin Sr., on 
February 12, 1867, purchased the property from the state.
 
The first schoolhouse, a log building, was erected in the 1850’s. There are no 
records of it’s size and general construction. The equipment consisted of crude 
home-made furniture common to the early pioneer schools. At the first election, 
Alanson Hickok was elected chairman. This school served the district until 1890 
when the present building was erected. The old schoolhouse was sold to Joseph 
Krummel, Sr. and removed to the farm to be used as a granary.
 
The present frame school was built in 1890 by Tom Brown, assisted by George Kupsch, 
for $500. He supplied all of the necessary lumber and labor for the structure. The 
furniture then consisted of large home-made seats and desks, large enough to seat 
four pupils each. The children used slates and slate pencils, with the blackboards 
being “black” boards. The schoolhouse is about 24 x 28 feet, one-story high. There 
is no basement, and the main floor consists of a classroom and two entry-cloakrooms.
Four windows on each of the long sides supplies the light for the classroom. The 
interior walls and ceiling are covered with tin. A few cupboards fail to care for 
the hundreds of books and texts now piled in various parts of the building. A stove, 
without provisions for ventilation, heated the schoolroom. Single and double desks 
of the unadjustable type were used. Up to 1946 a large school bell on the roof 
called the children to their classes. This bell was removed in the interests of 
safety and for other reasons. Franklin No. 1 was one of the very few county districts 
maintaining a school without electric lights and most other modern conveniences.
 
The enrollment has fluctuated with the years, but the winter attendance was for years 
greater, for when the older boys and girls from the farms and from the parochial school 
at Maple Grove attended. The erection of St. Patrick’s school seriously affected the 
enrollment in Franklin No. 1. County records show that the highest enrollment occurred 
in the 1870’s when the average attendance was 65 pupils. For the rest of the period up 
to 1906 the average has been between 30 and 50 yearly. Although only five pupils 
attended in the 1930’s, the school remained in continuous operation until the fall of 
1947. Faced with demands for extensive modern improvements, the voters in the spring 
of 1947 voted to discontinue operating the school and to transport the few pupils to 
the Menchalville school.
 
The names of the early settlers are still prevalent in this community. District and 
county records list these as the pioneer Irish settlers: John Touhey, Pat Murphy, 
John Flanagan, Theo. Morrissey, James and Pat Mullane, James and David Long, John Doolan, 
Tom Goggins, Robert Cummings, John Hennessey, Pat Mullins, Dennis Shea, Wm. Playfair, 
Peter Stoker, the Corrigans, Enrights, Hartnetts, and Hickok. Playfair and Hickok 
served on the county board from 1850 to 1860, while Peter Stoker represented the town 
from 1878 to 1884. A later resident, Tom Sullivan, also was town chairman and later 
an assemblyman. Peter Falvey, a district resident, is the present town chairman.
 
A number of the pupils of this school at the turn of the century became teachers. 
Among them were Elizabeth Cohan, Edward O’Hearn, Helen Falvey, James O’Hearn, 
Peter Falvey, and James Doolan. More recent district residents who became teachers 
were Lucille and Mary Daley, Marie and Wm. Falvey, Margaret Cohan, Marie Harlow, and 
Veronica Nate. Other well-known former residents are James Sullivan, a government 
inspector; Rev. E.A. Radey, pastor of Holy Innocents at Manitowoc; and Jos. Kupsch, 
an eastern sales representative.
 
The district has always put it’s leading citizens on the schoolboard. Their duties 
were to hire the teacher, provide the best in teaching and learning conditions, and 
to handle the financial affairs of the district. Among the school officers serving 
before 1910 were James Mullane, Peter Stoker, Wm. Playfair, Jos. Kupsch, Dan Mangin, 
Pat O’Hearn, Alfred Stoker, and Tom Sullivan, Jos. Baroun Sr., John Philip, John Radey, 
and Dan Falvey.
 
Franklin No. 1 maintained summer and winter terms of school until 1873. The winter 
sessions were from November to April, while the summer session of three months 
lasted from May to August. At one time this district paid the highest wages of all 
the Franklin districts, but in general the salaries have been average or below average.
The first nine month term was held in 1898. The teachers’ names on record in the 
county office are: Agnes Classen 1872, Mary French 1872-3, G.W. Johnson 1873, Jere 
Falvey 1874, Angeline Heath 1876, Celia Fitzmaurice 1877-8, Mary Maloney 1879, Katie 
Mullins 1894-5, Mamie Guhin 1896-8, and Anna B. Morrissey 1904-5. Others who taught 
here before 1906 were Chas. Whalen, James Corrigan, Neal Mulcahy, Patrick Guhin, 
Joseph Morrisey, and Bertie Goggin. The texts used in the 1970’s and 80’s were Sanders 
readers and spellers, Monthieth’s geography, Phineas and later on Kerl’s grammars, 
Wilson and Swinton’s histories, and Ray’s arithmetic. Robinson’s arithmetic and 
McGuffey’s readers were also used in the first pioneer school.
 
At the turn of the century, it was customary to hold spelling bees in the winter with 
neighboring schools. Contestants would be selected, and to add greater interest, the 
young men and women of the district were invited to take part. These contests began 
by singing “America”. Each school had a school yell which was used to the fullest 
extent by the winners. At the close of the school term the pupils and their parents 
enjoyed a public picnic and dance. Assembly at the schoolhouse at 9 A.M., the closing 
day would begin with a program of recitations and songs. Then a parade to the Nate 
cheese factory was in order. From there conveyances were provided to transport the 
merrymakers to Zahorik’s dance hall in Taus. There dinner was served by the teacher 
and parents. In the afternoon a program was given, while the evening was devoted to 
dancing, with music furnished by Frank Rathsack, Fred Stoker, Albert Radey, and 
Albert Yohanek. In later years, school fairs were popular.
 
The Branch River flows through the district. Along this stream on the Edward Brown, 
Paul Mangin, and Anton Rathsack farms, Indians made their homes in conical wigwams 
during the summer months. The old settlers exchanged their farm produce for venison 
and tallow with the Indians. Many of the settlers attended their pow-pows which often 
were noisy affairs because the redskins were under the influence of the white man’s 
“firewater”. Remains of their fireplaces were but recently obliterated.

A short distance east of the school was the site of a sawmill operated by Peter Stoker. 
This mill was in operation until the turn of the century when the Stoker farmstead was 
sold and the family removed to Glen Flora. The mill was dismantled and taken to the 
new family location.
 
The first cheese factory in the western section of the township was erected upon the 
present Phillip farmstead by Peter Stoker and James Mullane. The present “old-timers” 
recall the day when they were patrons of the factory, when milk was delivered by oxen.
In later years the Nate factory was established and flourished for years but is now out 
of existence too.
 
A brick yard was established in the early 1900’s by Joseph Baroun Sr. and Frank Rathsack 
upon the property of the former. The pits and kiln still remain. Today Franklin No. 1 
is a quiet, prosperous community of farms.



FRANKLIN JT. 2 – CLEARVIEW


 
Franklin joint district No. 2 was given the name Clearview because a clear view 
of the district lands can be obtained from the school. People in this section of 
the county often refer to it as the Gallagher school because the school site was 
purchased from the Gallaghers. It is now often called the Fenlon school because 
of the close association that the Fenlons have had with the school.
 
This district was originally part of the old Franklin school district number 6 
located along the western tier of sections in Franklin. Town superintendent of 
schools, Michael Keehan, on March 10, 1860, ordered the organization of Franklin 
No. 2 and called a meeting of all legal voters in the area. At the time of it’s 
organization, an area of land in the township of Maple Grove was added to this 
district and this became Franklin joint district No. 2, joint with Franklin and 
Maple Grove. Many changes have occurred in it’s boundary lines so that at present, 
the district lines are most irregular.
 
The site of the school was purchased from Douglas Gallagher for $50 and is located 
on the town line between Maple Grove and Franklin at the northwest corner of the 
NW 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of section 6. The first school was a log building of unknown 
size as the early district records are unavailable. It was crudely furnished with 
homemade benches and heated with a cast iron stove in the middle of the room. By 
1872, it had served it’s usefulness and it was torn down.
(Note: Douglas Gallagher was not born until 1870-1871. (Census data puts his DOB 
in this range.) So I think it was his father, John Gallagher, that first sold the 
property for the initial school./from researcher-see contributors page) 

The second schoolhouse was built in 1872 according to county records and cost the 
sum of $250. It was a small frame structure painted red. There were two or three 
windows on three sides with front of the room used to hang “black” boards. The old 
homemade desks were used until double desks were purchased in the 1890’s. The 
building was about 20 x 26 feet and had no cloakroom. When it was abandoned in 1913, 
it was sold to John O’Hearn who moved it a short distance south across the road. Mr. 
O’Hearn used it for storage and animal shed until it fell to ruins and was finally 
leveled in the early 1940’s.
 
At a special meeting called on November 23, 1912, at 2 PM, the question of building 
a new school was brought up for consideration. The vote to build was favorable as 
was a proposition that the district residents do the hauling of the sand and stones 
for the foundation before December 15, 1912. Evidently the old school was condemned 
for the hurry in erecting the foundation, to show the educational leaders of the 
county and state that the district intended to build and that the district was 
entitled to state and county aid. At the special meeting the sum of $1600 was voted 
to pay for the construction of the school building.
 
The third school, the present one, was built in the spring and summer of 1913. It was 
a modern building for that time, being 34 x 38 feet, with a schoolroom 27 x 27-1/2 feet.
The classroom is lighted by large windows at the left and rear. A small entrance shed 
is located at the front of the building facing west. The door opens into a hallway 
leading up several steps to the cloakrooms at the northwest corner of the building. The 
hallway and cloakrooms have natural lighting from two windows facing west and two from 
the north. Two doors from the combination cloakroom open into the classroom. Between 
the two cloakroom doors, a built-in library houses the text and library books. The 
northeast corner of the building has a small storage room from which a door leads 
directly out to the toilets located at the rear of the schoolyard. The southwest corner 
of the building is a combination teachers’ and storage room lit by three windows – two 
from the west and one from the south. The classroom was heated by a round heater without 
a ventilation system. Single seats and desks have replaced the old double desks. Good 
slate blackboards line the west wall of the classroom.
 
Franklin Jt. No. 2 has always been a one-room school. It never has been a very large 
school according to enrollment records on file in the county superintendent’s office.
The largest attendance occurred in the 1870’s and 1880’s when over 50 pupils attended.
By 1913 when the school was built, the enrollment was still over 40 although the daily 
average was below 30 pupils. With the opening of the parochial school in Maple Grove, 
the attendance dropped to a low of 14 with an A.D.A. of only 3 in 1922, so the voters 
suspended school for the year 1923-24. It was reopened in the fall of 1924, but again 
suspended in the fall of 1925 when an average of 4 pupils attended daily. This school 
then remained closed until the fall of 1930 when 8 children were to be enrolled. By 1944, 
the cost of operating the school for six pupils had risen so high that the voters again 
voted to suspend school and transport the pupils to the Wayside school. The school is 
still suspended although 10 children are transported to a public school out of a school 
census of about 40 children of school age.
 
Early settlers in the Franklin Jt. 2 school district, according to old assessment 
records, were John Touhey, John Flanagan, Theo. Morrissey, James Mullane, James Long, 
Martin Fenlon, John Gallagher, Dan Haggerty, and Patrick Hogan. County records show 
that Pat Hogan was clerk of the school from 1870 to sometime in the 1880’s. Other 
residents serving as clerk before 1906 were: Henry Maas, M.J. Gallagher, and Tom 
Morrissey. Other board members before the county school annuals were issued were 
August Gaedke, Tom Sullivan, and Martin Fenlon.
 
School sessions were for fewer months than the average county school. There are no 
records that two terms were held yearly, but in 1875 a teacher was hired to teach a 
one-month summer term. The average term in the 1870’s and 80’s was for four to six 
months. Even as late as 1906, a seven month term was common, and it was not until 
1936, when nine month terms were required to qualify for state aid, that nine months 
of school were held.
 
Good Irish teachers were in demand in this Irish community, according to the names of 
teachers on file in the county office. Since the list is very incomplete and district 
records are limited, it is possible to report only a few of the many outstanding 
teachers who taught in this district before 1906. Those on record were Margaret Reed 
1872, Jere Falvey 1873, Thos. Burke 1874-8, Martin McMahon 1878, James Burke 1879, 
John E. Sullivan 1880, Mary McKeough 1895-6, Eleanor Mullins 1897, Anna Cavanaugh 1898, 
and Mabel Smith 1904-5. Many of the former students became prominent in their chosen 
field. Among the more prominent pupils of this school is Goff Morrissey who served as 
principal of the Reedsville and Chilton high schools for many years.  
 
Branch River, which meanders through the eastern part of the district has some 
recreational value but the low marshy land along it makes much of this part of the 
community worthless for farming. The whole district is assessed at less than $200,000, 
not enough to maintain a modern school system without excessive taxation.



FRANKLIN JT. 3 – MCKINLEY


 
Franklin joint 3 school district includes the village of Maple Grove and should be 
the Maple Grove district. The voters at the annual meeting in 1918, however, wanted 
to name it in honor of some American president and so the name McKinley was chosen.
 
The Franklin joint No. 3 school district was organized on June 27, 1863, according 
to township school records on file with the town clerk. It was formed by detaching 
areas of land from the old Franklin No. 6, from Franklin No. 13, and from Maple 
Grove No. 10 (formerly the Reedsville district). Several changes have been made to 
the original boundary lines, for in 1890 a part of section 13 in Maple Grove was 
attached to this district; in 1895 a part of section 32 in Franklin was detached 
and added to Cato Jt. 7.
 
The first schoolhouse was a log building on a piece of land owned by John Hogan. 
The site was about one-half mile south of the present schoolyard. No information 
is available as to the size of the log structure, but it, no doubt, was a small, 
one-story building of one room with homemade furniture and a cast iron boxstove. 
This school is said to have been destroyed by fire in 1874. School then was conducted 
in a vacant building which was formerly a store located on the present Ambrose O’Hearn 
farm. Some public school pupils must have attended the parochial school from 1875 to 
1879 for the district records show that $100 per year was paid the parochial school, 
evidently for tuition.
 
On March 21, 1880, a special school meeting was held for the purpose of purchasing 
a school site. The voters favored a location as near the center of the district as 
possible. A committee of three voters, composed of Thomas Goggins, Michael Doolan, 
and William Mullins, was selected to investigate the possible sites. They selected 
the present site in section 30, on county highway G. The schoolboard bought this 
one-half acre site located adjacent to the St. Patrick congregation cemetery from 
Thos. Burke for $100 on February 27, 1881.
 
It was not until May 29, 1881, that the voters after much discussion decided to buy 
the Thos. Mangin hall at Mangin’s Corner for $500 for a school house. The agreement 
made with Mr. Mangin was that he was to move the hall on the school site before 
August 1, 1881. The building, the present school house, was placed on corner stones 
18 inches high. The hall had to be remodeled into a schoolhouse consistent with the 
times. Bryan Lorrigan, William Mullins, and John O’Hearn were appointed on the 
building committee. The job of remodeling was let to the lowest bidder who would 
furnish proper security. The building when remodeled and completed was 24 x 40 x 12 
feet with two front doors, opening into cloakrooms. The schoolroom was furnished 
with double desks and seats, a teacher’s desk, a heater type stove, and the usual 
blackboards, maps, and library book cases. The total cost of the building and equipment 
was about $830.
 
The voters at the annual meeting, usually voted the length of the school term, specified 
whether a male or female teacher was to be hired, let the bid for furnishing the firewood, 
and voted for a school officer. Records show that female teachers were usually hired 
during the 1880’s and 1890’s. Seventeen cords of maple wood were purchased for $11.55 
in 1881. A fence costing $32.75 was erected around the schoolyard in 1887. The 
specifications were that the posts had to be 8 feet apart, with black ash poles or 
2 x 6 inch scantlings placed top of these posts. The fence itself was to be made of 
pine boards, four boards high. A gateway 12 feet wide for a driveway was to be left 
at the front of the schoolyard. In 1902, a woodshed was built and shutters were placed 
on the schoolhouse windows.
 
Before the establishment of the parochial school at Maple Grove in the 1880’s, Franklin 
joint No. 3 had an attendance of 60 to 75 children each year. The town clerk’s report 
to the county superintendent of schools for 1880 shows that 60 pupils were enrolled, 
but by 1885 the number attending had dropped to 30 out of a school population of 117 
children of school age. After that date there were great fluctuations in enrollments 
every five years. In 1890 there were only 18 pupils enrolled, but by 1895 there were 
41 enrolled with an average daily attendance of 22. A total of 14 children with an 
average daily attendance of 4 were the figures for 1910, while only 4 were enrolled 
in 1915.  During the school term 1917 – 1918 there were no children enrolled. For 
that term the teacher came to school in the morning and at noon, rang the bell, and 
went home for the rest of the day. For that he received $80 per month for eight 
months. Naturally the voters at the next annual meeting voted to suspend school, but 
in 1921, the district re-opened the public school for 12 children who maintained an 
average daily attendance of 3 for the year. In 1923, the number of district children 
wanting a public education had decreased to such an extent that it was no longer 
profitable to continue operating the district school. For several years the one or 
two public school children were educated in the parochial school, but for the past 
20 years none of the district children of grade school age is under public school 
expense.
 
The first schoolboard members were John Hogan, John Hennessey, and Michael Cain. 
County records show that John Hogan served as clerk until 1879. Other clerks prior 
to 1906 were M. Mulcahey, James O’Hearn, and John Mullins. Others serving on the 
board according to county records were J.P. Sheahan, John Rolland, and John Cummings.
 
The list of teachers who taught at Franklin joint 3 school is incomplete. The county 
record lists the following as having taught here before 1906: John Mulholland 1872, 
John P. Sheahan 1874, M. Mulloy 1877, J.W. Corse 1978, J.P. Donohue 1879, P.H. Long 
1894, G.W. Kings 1895, Pat Linane 1896-7, Nellie Walsh 1898, and Lawrence Morrissey 
1904-05. The last teacher in 1918 and again in 1921-22 was James O’Hearn. The 
preferred nationality of the teacher hired is indicated by the names listed above.  
During the early 1870’s, this district had the distinction of paying the highest 
wages for teachers in the town of Franklin. John Mulholland in 1872 was paid the 
magnificent sum of $50 per month! After 1880, the teachers’ wages were average or 
below average for the township. Eight month terms were common long after the other 
county schools were maintaining nine month school years.
 
In 1943, the voters at the annual meeting authorized the sale of the unused school 
building. Bids were taken but opposition to the sale developed among some district 
residents and the sale was abandoned. With the passing of years, the old school 
first erected and used as a dance hall became more and more dilapidated. Finally 
in the summer of 1947, the voters again decided to put the school building up for 
sale through bids. Again opposition to the sale developed. A petition signed by 
about a dozen taxpayers was served on the board in September calling for a special 
meeting to vote on the question of selling the school property. The special meeting 
was held at 2 PM on October 14, 1947. The vote was 27 to 5 not to sell the school 
house and site.



FRANKLIN 4 – RIVERSIDE


 
Franklin school No. 4 was named the Riverside school by the voters in 1918. It was 
so named because it is situated near the banks of the Branch river directly across 
the road from the school. A pleasant view of the river ravine can be had from the 
high corner location of the school site. To most residents of this and nearby 
communities the school is known as the Taus school since it is located only a short 
distance east of that village.
 
According to the town clerks’ records, the district was organized April 22, 1867.  
Prior to that time the land in this district belonged to Franklin 8, 13, and 14 
according to the Franklin assessment roll of 1856. At present it includes all of 
sections 15 and 22, and parts of sections 16, 21, 23, 26, and 27, all in Franklin.  
This new district was organized because of the distance to nearby schools.
 
In December 1870, a special meeting was called for the purpose of building the 
district school. John Zahorik donated one-fouth acre from the SE corner of his 
farm.  This land was deeded to the district as the following transcript indicates: 
“John Zahorik and wife Anna Zahorik to School District No. 4 Franklin; One-fourth 
acre in the SE corner of the SE 1/4 of NW 1/4 of Sec. 22, T. 20 N, R. 22 E. dated, 
acknowledged, and recorded July 15, 1871. Value $5.00.” 
 
Before the schoolhouse was erected from 1867 to 1871, “temporary schools” were 
operated for short terms. One such school was held on the Jacob Gerl farm in a 
vacant building. Another, it is said, was to have been held in a vacant log shanty 
one-fourth mile north of Taus. Maggie Stokes is said to have taught several sessions 
in these temporary schools.
 
The first log schoolhouse was built in 1871 on the site purchased. It was erected 
nearer the southeast corner than the present school stands. Logs, rough boards, 
flooring, shingles, hauling and labor time were donated. The small outlay of cash 
needed was raised by a “per capita” tax based on the assessed value of each person’s 
property. The structure was 18 x 24, with two windows on each side. There were no 
blackboards to break the whitewashed wall surfaces. Strong planks were nailed 
together to make long benches, set up in parallel rows facing the front of the room.  
The seating capacity was intended for 45 but many more than that attended during the 
first few years. There was no belfry or bell of any kind. Water was gotten from a 
spring 80 rods from the school on the bank of the river. The school board members 
of Andrew Kralik, Max Boehm, and Barney Carrol acted as building committee. The 
first school was sold in 1884 to Jos. Naidl, Sr. who moved it to his farm for a 
summer kitchen.
 
In 1883, the voters decided to erect a new school. Before building, another 
one-fourth acre of land was purchased for the school site from Geo. Zahorik for $10.  
The second log schoolhouse was 28 x 36 x 10 feet, built on a stone foundation, and 
cost $343. Two years later it was clapboarded and painted for $100. Slate blackboards 
and a hand bell were purchased. Factory made, patented, double-desks replaced the 
planks, with the girls seated on one side of the room and the boys on the other. A 
favorite punishment of the teachers was to make naughty girls or boys sit on the 
wrong side of the room! A five foot high, solid board fence was erected along the 
west side of the schoolyard. Wood was purchased at 85 cents a cord to fire the 
“hot blast”, large, boxstove heater. The second school was sold to Max Boehm, Sr. 
for $100. He moved it to his farmyard across the road from the school, and is now 
used as a storage building.
 
The third and present school building was built in 1909 for $3,200. It is a frame 
structure 38-1/2 feet square. The schoolroom proper is 27 x 37 x 12 feet. The entrance 
section of the building has porches, cloakrooms, a basement stairway, and a library.  
The basement is full size and houses the heating and ventilation systems. The double 
desks from the second school were used until 1931 when sixty of the latest type, 
single, adjustable, chair-type desks were purchased. Electric lights were installed 
in 1936. During the first years of the new school, Geo. Zahorik discovered and piped 
a spring well in the basement, but in 1936 a new well was drilled. Before water was 
available on the grounds it was obtained from Boehms. A yearly payment of $5 was 
voted for this water supply. Free textbooks were adopted in 1935. The school has 
many modern conveniences found in our leading county schools, but outdoor toilets 
are still used.
 
Although the district is comparatively limited in size and extent, it is densely 
populated even at the present time. This area is quite distant from the parochial 
schools, but still they and other factors have had their effect on the school 
enrollment. The town clerks’ reports to the superintendents show that in 1870 there 
was an enrollment of 66. For the rest of the 1800’s, the average attendance yearly 
was 70 to 80 pupils. Since 1900 there has been a gradual decline in enrollment but 
Franklin 4 has always been considered a large school.
 
The early settlers were Bohemians, Irish, and Germans. In 1890 the Bohemian families 
were Zahorik, Kralick, Wachal, Marek, Polifka, Korinek, Ohleus, Hynek, Vogeltanz, Naidl, 
Wattawa, Junk, Kadler, Kutil, Kanak, Kopidlansky, Radey, and Mraz. The six Irish 
families were McKeough, Kelley, Nugent, Gleason, McGurty, and Carrol, while the Germans 
were represented by the Boehm, Dickert, Gerl, Reitmeyer, Lensmeyer, Ertel, Hill, Bauman, 
and Pfeffer families. Most of them were farmers but some of them engaged in a “side-line”. 
A well-known graduate of this school is Jos. Zahorik, the popular register of deeds.  
The many hundreds of former pupils made fine records for themselves in their chosen work.
 
The list of school officers prior to 1906 is incomplete. The names of the first school 
board members are given above. Those on record as having served later were Andrew 
Kralick, up to 1877; Geo. Zahorik, 1877-1880; and John Hynek, Math. Lensmire, Joseph 
Zahorik, Sr., and Henry Hill serving in various capacities from 1894 to 1906.
 
Records reveal the fact that summer and winter terms of school were held until 1875.  
The summer sessions were conducted by female teachers, while the tough winter terms 
were presided over by a male instructor. Irish teachers seemed to be preferred if 
one can judge from the following list of teachers who taught in this district: Maggie 
Stokes 1867-71; Julia Ricker 1872 S&W; Ann Fitzmaurice 1873 S; Patrick H. Lynch 1873 W; 
Celia Fitzmaurice 1874 S; Peter Carrigan 1874-75; P.H. Lynch 1876-77: D.R. Solar 1878;
C.L. Whelan 1879: W.A. Crowe 1880; Jos. Zahorik, Sr. 1881; Mary A. Pankratz 1894; 
John H. Kassa 1895; Dennis E. Hickey 1896-7; Geo. Martin 1898: Edward Elmer 1904; 
Walter Bleser 1905; and Jos. M. Zahorik, Jr. 1907.
 
During the eighties and nineties the school witnessed many exciting “spell-downs”.  
Much rivalry existed between the good Irish and Bohemian spellers of school districts 
No. 1 and 4.  The winner of this contest was awarded a medal of honor until the next 
contest. Riverside pupils will long be remembered for the many township and county 
prizes which they won. Christmas programs are still given to “packed houses”. School 
fairs and exhibits were held in the 1920’s. This school has served as an examination 
center for prospective eighth grade graduates for years.
 
The mail for the school has come from various post offices since its organization.  
Records show that mail was gotten from Elk, Prag, Kellnersville, Maple Grove, Taus, 
and Cato as the years passed on. The village of Taus, first called Elk, was begun 
about 1880. Jos. Zahorik, Sr. established and conducted a general store, tavern, 
and dance hall. He also served for many years as town clerk of Franklin and Manitowoc 
register of deeds. His son, Joseph Jr., holds the latter position today. Andrew 
Kralick was a blacksmith; Mraz, a carpenter; Boehm, a sawmill operator; Wachal, 
a mason; Fogeltanz, a wagon maker; and Hausner, a carpenter. The ruins of the sawmill 
can still be seen along the Branch river, near the school. Hausner’s hall, east of 
the bridge, was the scene of many day and night long wedding celebrations. The hall 
is now remodeled into a dwelling. Winding Branch river serves the community as fishing 
and recreation spots.



FRANKLIN JT. 6 – HIGHLAND


 
Franklin Jt. 6 is joint with the towns of Franklin and Kossuth. The district school 
is built on high land so in 1918 when schools were named the district officers 
called it the Highland School. Residents of this and surrounding communities call 
this the Reifs Mills School or sometimes the Polivka Corners School since it is 
located near these villages.
 
The present Franklin Jt. 6 was organized in 1898. The assessment rolls for the town 
of Franklin for 1856 show that there was a Franklin No. 6 at that time. The first 
Franklin No. 6 bordered the township of Maple Grove and consisted of sections 6, 7, 
8, 17 and 30. In 1856 this district was set up for taxation purposes only and had no 
schoolhouse. Today the first Franklin No. 6 is parts of Franklin Jt. 2. Franklin 1, 
and Franklin Jt. 3.
 
In 1860 the present Franklin Jt. 6 was a part of Franklin 8, Kossuth 2, and Kossuth 3.  
It now includes land in sections 13, 14, 23, and 24 in Franklin, and parts of sections 
7, 18, and 19 in Kossuth. When the present district was organized in 1898, the district 
land was detached from Franklin Jt. 8, Franklin Jt. 9, Franklin 4, Kossuth 2, and 
Kossuth 3. It took the designation of Franklin Jt. 6, evidently, because that was the 
first number which neither township had. No reason for the formation of the district 
was advanced, but the distance of some of the families from existing and surrounding 
schools seems to be the logical reason.
 
Only one schoolhouse has been built in this district. The frame structure was erected 
in 1899 at a cost of about $800 by Havlicek and Hynek. It is a one story building 
located at the southeast corner of section 13, township of Franklin. It is one mile 
south of Polivka Corners and one mile north of Reifs Mills. The schoolhouse has an 
average-sized schoolroom with two cloakrooms. There are three windows on each side of 
the school. It still has the old-fashioned double desks, wainscotted sides, and up to 
1948 had no modern heating and ventilating system. Electric service was installed about 
1935, but thus far only electric lights are used. The walls and ceiling were covered 
with beaver-board about 1930.
 
The school has always been a one-room rural school. In 1906 the enrollment was 44, 
but by 1914 the attendance had increased to 60 pupils which was about the largest 
enrollment in the history of the school. By 1920 the number of pupils had dropped to 
45. In 1935 the enrollment was 25. Today the average attendance is about 12 pupils.  
This decrease has resulted because many pupils now attend the parochial school at 
Kellnersville and because of other factors common to rural conditions today.
 
Some of the early settlers of this area were the Anton Neuser, Joseph Kochan, 
Geo. Baumann, Mat Havlovitz and the Havlinek families. The Reifs were the most 
notable of the old community.  During the past decade the Krejcarek, Baumann, 
Hynek, Ledvina, Cisler, Novy, Polivka, and Yanda families have made names for 
themselves in teaching, business, and farming.
 
John Hynek was the first clerk of the school district. There seems to be no written 
record of the other district members who served prior to 1906.  
 
The first teacher in this school was Mary McKeough who received $20 per month. Other 
teachers who served up to 1906 with the year in which they were taught were: 
Mayme McMahon 1901; Sophia Jens 1902-3; Mayme Laughlin 1904; Rose Ledvina 1905-6.
 
Although Reifs Mills is not a part of this district, the history of this village was 
so well studied by Donna Mae Schuette, a pupil attending the Highland School, that 
it will be included. Reifs Mills got its name from the fact that the Reif brothers 
owned and operated grist and saw mills, a coffin factory, and a broom handle manu-
facturing concern. John Reif manufactured broom handles from about 1875 to 1890 when 
the factory burned down. It stood on the present John Shimon farm. The grist and saw 
mills were operated by Anton and Louis Reif. Anton Reif made coffins until about the 
year 1900. Later on he made butter churns. Peter Reif made sun clocks about the years 
1875 to 1880.
 
The first cheese factory was owned by Peter Nicolai and was built on the present 
property of Stephen Swetlik.  Another cheese factory was situated on the corner 
across from the present Cisler Tavern.  Tom Doyle made cheese in it about 1910.
This factory burned down, so a few years later the old grist mill was turned into 
a cheese factory. As the years went by, the old grist mill-factory changed hands 
several times. In 1942 it was sold to Schallers from St. Nazianz who tore it down 
and hauled the lumber to that village.
 
The present Cisler Tavern was erected over a half century ago by William Kadow. Later 
owners were Wm. Svacina, Geo. Baumann, Joseph Vraney, and Joseph Cisler. There were 
several dance halls in the area. One was built as an addition to the Svacina tavern.  
Another was located at the present location of the John Reznichek garage, while the 
third was situated just west of the St. Augustine church.
 
About thirty years ago, the old saw mill was torn down by Jos. Frye and the lumber 
used to build some houses at Francis Creek. The first mills were run by water power.
A well-constructed dam on the Branch River was built which lasted until one spring 
when the spring floods broke it up and washed it away.
 
The Reifs Mills blacksmith shop operated for years by Jacob Hynek was sold about 1938 
to Arthur LaFond. About 1901 there was a dam on the Joseph Hynek farm to raise water 
in the Branch River so that the logs could be floated down to the saw mill. The mill 
made shingles and flooring and did planing. Other business places which have 
disappeared are the Reif Tavern where the John Herman home is and a cheese factory 
at Polivka Corners. The St. Augustine church about a half mile east of Reifs Mills 
was erected about 76 years ago. A Catholic school was built just east of the church 
but that was torn down years ago. Today the village of Reifs Mills has gone the way 
of many other once-prosperous villages of the county, but the district school 
continues to function.



FRANKLIN JT. 8 – SUNNY SLOPE


 
Franklin joint district N. 8 was named the Sunny Slope school in 1919 because the 
land directly east of it slopes towards the rising sun. The school is more commonly 
known as the Hussey school because several generations of the Hussey family have 
lived across from the school site. More recently it has become known as the Maple 
Crest Sanatorium school because it is located a short distance north of the sanatorium.
 
The school district was organized about 1850 and at that time consisted of the east 
one-third of the present Franklin township made up of sections 1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 
23, 24, 25, 26, 35, and 36. At about the above date, Charles Detterick bought the 
land on which the first school was built from the government. A certificate of entry 
was made for this land on Nov. 15, 1848, but the patent was dated April 1, 1850.  
On Sept. 24, 1857, Chas. Detterick sold the land to August Ganz, Sr. Later he sold it 
to August Ganz, Jr. in 1884. He, in turn, sold it to Jacob Anders. On Oct. 20, 1899, 
Jacob Anders sold the one-half acre of land on which the school stood to Franklin Jt. 
District No. 8 for $57. Since the school site was small, the district bought another 
half acre adjoining the school yard to the west from Jacob Anders in 1904 for $47.
The deed for that was dated June 22, 1904.
 
Since the formation of the original district, many changes in the district boundary 
lines have occurred. Franklin districts numbers 4, 6 and 9 each took a share of this 
district as they organized. Not only has Franklin No. 8 lost areas of land in Franklin, 
but it has added parcels to it which were taken from Kossuth 3 because it was easier 
for pupils to get to Franklin No. 8 than to get to Kossuth No. 3 over the unbridged 
Branch river during the later 1800’s. The town clerk’s report to the county super-
intendent indicates that this district was joint with Kossuth as far back as 1870. 
At present Franklin joint 8 consists of parts of sections 23, 24, 26 and all of 
sections 25, 35 and 36 in Franklin, plus parts of sections 29 and 30 in Kossuth.
 
The first unhewn log schoolhouse was built about 1850. It was one of the first school 
houses erected in the present Franklin township. The school was built by the people 
of the community. The cracks between the logs were chinked and plastered, but still 
the building was not warm during the winter months. It stood about 25 ft. east of the 
present schoolhouse. This left little playground available so the children played on 
the road. Long benches were used for seats. Only one blackboard, four feet square, was 
used. Each child had his own slate and books. The old log building was torn down and 
no special use was made of the logs when the next building was erected.
 
The second log school was built about 1870. A few years later the logs were covered 
with siding by John Pitts who lived at Branch. He also painted the school, using 
kerosene instead of oil in mixing the paint and so it became the “Little Red Schoolhouse”. 
The seats were made of pine boards, and still only one little blackboard. The texts 
were purchased by the children. At that time reading books up to the fourth reader 
were used. When a pupil had completed that book, his reading course was finished! The 
older pupils attended school during the winter months only. The second building now 
stands on the Mike Reimer farm, across from the school and is being used for a chicken 
coop. When the third school was built, it was purchased by Jerry Hussey for $30 and 
moved to his farm, now owned by Mr. Reimer. 
 
The third and present schoolhouse was built in 1904 and is of frame construction 
costing $1735. It was built 25 feet farther west than the location of the first 
two buildings. The school contains a full basement with furnace, a large entry and 
cloakroom, a library room, and a large, correctly lighted classroom. The third 
school was the first to have a large bell and bell tower. The school has modern 
teaching and learning equipment and is one of the better kept schools in the county. 
In April 1909, about 36 box elder trees were planted on the schoolgrounds by Jerry 
Hussey, Sr. and Bernard Fetzer.
 
There are no enrollment figures for this school prior to 1870. The town clerks’ 
reports to the superintendents after that date indicate that in 1880 the attendance 
was at the high of 85 pupils. For the rest of the 1800’s, the enrollment averaged 
between 40 and 70 pupils yearly. These figures include the older boys and girls who 
went to school during the winter months. The establishment of parochial schools at 
Kellnersville and Whitelaw as well as other rural conditions have affected the 
attendance in more recent years. For the year 1945-46 the enrollment was 17 pupils.
 
Early settlers of this community were farmers. Joe Fullmer, James Kennedy, Mike 
Radlinger, W. Hund, Jim Johnson, Pat Gleason, Peter Reif, Jos. Andre, Jos. Neuman, 
and August Ganz were among the first settlers in the original district. One of the 
best known of the schol’s graduates was Geo. Kiel who served as town chairman of 
Franklin for 17 years, chairman of the county board, secretary of the Manitowoc 
county fair board, and clerk of the school district for years. Recent graduates 
who entered the teaching profession were: Elwood, Milton, and Marion Kiel; Blanche, 
Helen, Edwin, Victor, and Clarence Shimon; Dorothy and Anna M. Fetzer; Anne, Mary 
and Helen Hussey; and Wencel Oswald.
 
The earliest school officers served without pay, but by 1904, the clerk and treasurer 
received $8 yearly, while the director received $5 for his services. At present the 
maximum salary yearly for board members is set by law. The list of names of citizens 
who served on the board is very incomplete. Those on record are: Clerks James 
Kennedy 1872-74; Peter Reif 1874-5; August Gans 1876-79; Peter Reif 1894-5; and 
school officers Wm. Kiel, Geo. Wellner, Jerry Hussey, and Jos. Novy from 1896 to 1905.
Those from 1906 on are listed in the county school annuals.
 
The county superintendent’s records show that summer and winter sessions of school 
were held up to 1875. The district paid salaries above that of nearby schools as the 
average from 1870 to 1905 was about $35 per month. Whether this pay included board 
is unknown. The town clerks’ reports list Sanders, Swinton, McGuffey spellers; 
Sanders readers; Ray and Robinsons arithmetics; Mitchells, McNallys and Harpers 
geographies; Phineas and Kerls grammars; and Pictorial and Swinton histories, as 
the texts used from 1870 to 1900. The recorded names of teachers for this school 
are Thos. O’Neil 1872 S; Veroqua Sheldon 1872 W; Aurelia Lawrence 1873 S & W; 
Johanna Lueps 1874 S; Thos. W. Byrnes 1874-75; Ida Baker; Dora Squire 1877; Robert 
Koukuhl 1878-79; Bridget O’Dea 1895-96; Peter Marlborough 1897-98; Clara Knutson 1904; 
and Mabel Pankratz 1905. Others remembered by older residents were Mary Murphy, 
Neil Doyle, Annie Watt, and Celia Fitzmaurice. Those after 1905 are listed in the 
annuals.
 
During the early years of this school, Lutheran church services were held in the 
school on Sunday afternoons. School fairs were popular in the 1920’s. Children 
brought their best vegetables, grains, and fruits to be exhibited. For the past 
several years 4-H Club and the farm spray ring organization have held evening 
meetings in the school.    
 
This district has two places of interest to residents and visitors. Beautiful, 
well-kept buildings and grounds of the Maple Crest sanatorium are located in this 
community. Branch river winds its way along the eastern boundary of the district 
and affords recreation and scenic beauty.



FRANKLIN JT. 9 – KELLNERSVILLE


 
Franklin Jt. District No. 9 has always been known as the Kellnersville school 
since it is located one mile west of the village of Kellnersville. Some of the 
early residents called it the McCarthy school because the site was purchased 
from the McCarthy family. Since the first school was painted white, the Bohemians 
often referred to it as the “Bila Skola” which meant white school.
 
Town records kept by town clerk Jos. Menchal show that Franklin No. 9 was set up 
on May 10, 1858. The district was originally a part of Franklin No. 8 and Franklin 
No. 14. As closely as records could be checked, it was found that this district 
became joint district No. 9 about in 1868 when parts of sections 6, 7, 18 in 
Kossuth were added to the original district. In later years a small piece of land 
in the town of Cooperstown was added to Franklin Jt. 9. Thus the Kellnersville 
district now is joint with Kossuth and Cooperstown. When Franklin Jt. 6 was 
organized in 1898, this district lost a large area of land to the southeast.
 
Long before the first school was built, older residents gathered one night a week 
at someone’s home to learn to read and write the Bohemian language. Such gatherings 
were under the leadership of men like Harous and Klacal. The first log schoolhouse 
was supposed to have been built about 1858 on the present school grounds which is 
located on the southwest corner of section 1, Franklin. The one-half acre plot was 
purchased from John McCarthy. In 1912 and in 1929 additional half-acres were 
purchased each time.
 
The first schoolhouse, a frame structure, was built by Charles Pinger for $450 in 
1872. It contained one room with 3 windows on each of the long sides. In 1903, an 
additional eight or ten feet was added on to the front of the school for cloakrooms 
and to house the pump at a cost of $430. It then was a building about 25 x 50 feet 
having no basement. The exact location of the old school can be determined by 
noticing the placement of the old pump. The building had double seats, chairs, 
blackboards, and other equipment common to early schools.
 
After almost seventy years of service, the old school was sold and torn down. It 
was replaced in 1929 by a modern brick structure 37 x 54 feet. It houses a full 
basement with fuel, furnace, and playrooms. Indoor toilets were installed but were 
later replaced with outdoor ones because of the difficulty of heating the school.  
The first floor of the structure has a hall, two cloakrooms, a large, airy, well-
lighted classroom, a library room, a supply room, and a kitchen. The school is 
modernly equipped with the latest single type desks, files, radio, electric lights 
and service, and plenty of bulletin and blackboard space. The grass-covered 
schoolyard has shade trees and playground equipment. The school, the equipment, and 
the yard reflect the pride that the district takes in its educational institution.
 
According to the town clerk’s reports to the county superintendent of schools, the 
little white school house at Kellnersville must have bulged with pupils in the 1870’s.  
The reports show that in 1870 there were 109 children enrolled, while in 1875 a total
 of 115 pupils attended school. By 1880 the attendance had dropped to 79. Thereafter 
there was a fluctuation in attendance until by 1910 about forty pupils were in school.  
The establishment of the parochial school at Kellnersville, as well as other rural 
factors, brought about this decline. The enrollment for the past few years has 
averaged about fifteen pupils.
 
Early settlers in this district were the Keehans, O’Briens, Breys, Muenchs, Brunners, 
Stokes, Swobodas, Burkes, Gralls, Menchals, Hyneks, Shandas, Hewitts, Pankratz, 
Kellners, Milbauers, McCarthys, Herricks, Seidls, Deckers, Hruskas, Potucheks, 
Hamacheks, Feits, Chizeks, Freimuths, Cherneys, Shimeks, and Ledvinas.
 
The success which former Kellnersville pupils have made for themselves in agriculture, 
business, and the professions reads like a “Who’s Who” for Manitowoc county. Some of 
the more well-known are as follows:
 
Teachers:  Lawrence, Mayme, Ida, Rose, and Jerome Ledvina, Emma Freimuth, 
           Mildred Cherney, Marie Augustine, Martha Seidl, Jos. Hurka, Raymond and 
           Hannah McCarthy, and Edw. Saur.
 
Lawyers:  Lawrence and Jerome Ledvina.
 
Government:  Judge Jerome Ledvina; Jos. Ledvina, former clerk of circuit court; 
             Charles Hynek, Manitowoc Rapids town clerk; John Pinger, Franklin 
             town assessor; Charles Muench, rural mail carrier; Joseph A. Kellner, 
             sheriff; Lawrence Ledvina, assemblyman; and Jos. Menchal, Franklin 
             town clerk.
 
Business:  Michael Kellner, John Kellner, Robert Guttmann, Edward Kohlbeck, 
           Edward Ledvina, Jos. Muench, Louis Sleger, Victor Yohanek, Edward 
           Lorrigan, John Shanda, Charles Hynek, the Shimeks, the Martin sisters, 
           Sam Pick, now of Milwaukee, Walter and Emil Stokes, and Charles Cherney.
 
Religion:  Rev. Jacob Decker, Rev. Shimek and Sister Flora Seidl.
 
Doctors:  Dr. Lydian Guttmann, Dr. Edward Konop, and Dr, Victor Kellner.
 
Contractors:  Matt and James Mleziva, Anton Cherney, Anton Hynek, Frank Chizek, 
              and Edward Ledvina.
 
No record of the school officers prior to 1872 is available. Some of the citizens 
who served from that date to 1906 were George Reindl, James Maloney, John Shanda, 
Michael Kellner, Sr., Michael Keehan, Charles Pinger, Joseph Cherney, Frank Stokes, 
Frank Muench, Sr., Jos. Hurka, Math. Keehan, and Wencil Hynek. The last named 
officer served continuously for twenty-four years from 1907 to 1931.
 
The records do not show that a summer and winter session of school was held after 
1872. Men teachers seemed to have been preferred and so a higher salary scale was 
maintained than in some of the surrounding schools. 
 
Teachers teaching after 1870 were:  Peter Carrigan 1871-74; John E. Garry 1874; 
M.N.Smith 1875; David Solar 1876-78; Thos. Burke 1878-80; James Burke 1880; 
P.J.Taugher 1881; John Hewitt 1882-85; Hannah McCarthy 1885-89; Julia McKeough 1889-90; 
Lizzie Meany 1890-3; Elma Lawrence 1893-6; Katie Doolan 1896; L.W.Ledvina 1897-99; 
C.J.Mulcahy 1899-1900; Anna Muench 1900-02; Mrs. Hannah Lorrigan 1902-05; 
John Connors 1905-06; and 1907-08; and Lawrence Morrisey 1906-07.
 
The teacher in the first school stressed the mastery of the “three R’s”, although 
history and geography were taught. Learning the A, B, C’s was a regular routine.
Some of the common classics were taught to the older students. Regular spell-downs 
were held with the children lining up in two long rows to see which side would win.  
Town spelling contests were held usually about the first Friday in May. In the first 
school the pupils sat on a long, red recitation bench. Many times the rain and snow 
pelted into the old school. The old box stove did not give off enough heat to prevent 
the lunches from freezing in the pails.   
 
Kellnersville was not always known by that name. Before 1873, the post office was 
called Prag in memory of Prague, the capital of Bohemia.
 
One of the first businessmen in this district was Michael Kellner who owned a grist 
mill, a store and hotel, and a postoffice. A sawmill operated by Frank Chizek is 
now torn down. Saloons were operated by Charles Stokes, Jos. Kellner, and Wachals.  
Adam Jirkovic operated a cheese factory. Blacksmith shops were owned by Joseph 
Marshek and Charles Muench. Lawrence Ledvina, Sr. was the village shoemaker. St. 
Joseph’s Catholic Church and school were established almost with the beginning of 
the village. 



FRANKLIN 13 – FRANKLIN


 
Franklin school district 13 was officially named the Franklin school in honor of 
Benjamin Franklin, the great American statesman and inventor. To most residents 
in this section of the county it is referred to as the Pfeffer school because the 
school is located near the Pfeffer farms.
 
Franklin No. 13 was organized when Franklin township included the town of Cato and 
was the 13th district set up in that combined municipality. The district was 
organized in the summer of 1856, just before Franklin No. 14 was set up. Since its 
organization, areas of land have been detached to become parts of Franklin school 
districts 1, Jt. 3, and 4 which were set up later than district 13. The original 
No. 13 included all of sections 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 33, and 34 in Franklin. 
Early settlers of this area in 1856 were Pat O’Hearn, A. Hubbard, James Kirby, 
S. Nolan, Theo. and Reuben Piper, A. Sheehy, John Reddin, H. Hubbard, and 
L. W. Dunham.
 
The first schoolhouse was built shortly after the district’s organization. The log 
structure was located on a site one-half mile south of the present schoolyard, on 
the land now owned by Thos. Kostechka. There are no official records concerning 
this school because the available written records date back to 1869. Joseph Pfeffer, 
an early settler, furnished some information about this log schoolhouse. Homemade 
wooden benches, blackboards, and tables were used to supply the necessary furniture.  
Summer and winter sessions were held at that time with the three month winter 
session beginning in December and the two month summer session for May and June.  
Clementine Robinson, the teacher in 1869, received $20 per 22 day month in the 
summer and $25 per month in the winter. Evidently it was worth $5 per month more 
to teach school in the winter when the young men and women attended. The sum of $5 
was voted for books at that early period.
 
In 1871 this log building was abandoned and sold to a Mr. Relling who remodeled it 
into living quarters. Later on, Jos. Svacina, who purchased the farm on which the 
log building was located, razed it and used some of the building for a new house.  
The voters at the annual meeting in September, 1870, authorized the construction 
of a frame building. Oleus Olson was engaged to furnish the material and to build 
a schoolhouse, 18 x 24 x 8 feet, with one outside door opening into a 6 foot entry 
extending across the width of the building. There were to be three windows on each 
long side, said windows to be made up of 10 x 12 panes with 12 panes to a window.  
The building was placed on a stone wall which was built up 12 inches above the ground.
The outside of the building was clapboard and painted. For his labor and the material 
Mr. Olson was paid $300. The school was built on the present site purchased from Ole 
Nielsen and his wife May for $15 on March 21, 1872.
 
Mary Doolan was the first teacher in the second school, receiving $25 per month for 
her services. The two term year was still in vogue at that time. The box stove kept 
the school fairly warm during the cold winter months. In 1875, Mat Reddin was paid 
$50 to make some building repairs and to make 14 desks and seats which seated four 
to six pupils each. Yearly kalsomining (*whitewashing of plaster surfaces) and repairs 
were made to the building until 1901 when the voters authorized the construction of 
the present schoolhouse. The old frame building was turned into a woodshed and for 
the teacher’s garage.
 
The present school was built in 1901 for about $650. It is 24 x 40 x 12 feet, of 
frame construction, and placed on a stone wall two feet high. The building has three 
windows for each long side and one window for the entrance side. Two entrance doors 
from a concrete platform open up into the cloakrooms, one for each sex, although the 
entrance at the southeast corner was kept locked for years and the cloakroom used for 
storage purposes. Between the two cloakrooms, the schoolroom extends to the front 
window with this part of the room used for storing the dinner pails and for a semi-
washroom. The front wall is covered with slate blackboards. The library books are 
stored in movable cupboards, and the heating system is a victrola-type stove without 
a ventilating system. The double desks, which replaced the homemade seats and desks 
in 1901, were used until the school closed. During the years the building was used, 
the walls and ceiling were whitewashed every year. No electric service was provided 
the building.
 
The enrollment for this school was never very large. During the winter when the older 
boys and girls attended, the attendance was greater than in the summer. The largest 
enrollment occurred in 1899 when 68 pupils attended. The greatest number of pupils of 
school age was about 80 in 1895, while at present there are less than 50 children 
between the ages of 4 and 20 years. With the passing of years during this century, 
the enrollment in this school continued to decrease. One cause of this decrease was 
parochial school attendance at Reedsville, Maple Grove, and Whitelaw. By 1946, the 
attendance had dropped below ten, therefore, the voters at the annual meeting in 
July 1946 voted to suspend their school and transport the remaining pupils to nearby 
operating schools. The school continues to be suspended for the present.
 
Summer and winter sessions were held during the early years of Franklin 13. The 
teacher’s salary for the summer term was lower than for teaching the winter session. 
After 1900 when single terms were held, the length of term averaged seven or eight 
months. This was one of the last of the county schools to abandon the eight month 
school year. The teachers usually stayed for one term because of the low pay and for 
other reasons. Names of teachers for this school prior to 1906 were Clementine Robinson, 
Mary Doolan, Jennie Silsbee, Ida Murphy, Agnes Classon, Melora Shove, Annie Lawrence, 
Celia Fitzmaurice, James Cahill, Bert Johnston, and Dan Peppard for the 1860’s and 70’s; 
Cora Lawrence, Hattie McIntosh, Josie O’Connor, Nellie Doyle, Katie Mullins, and Emma 
Lawrence for the 1880’s; J.P. Shambeau, Anna Meehan, Geo. Kings, and Hannah Lorrigan 
for the 1890’s; and Mayme McMahon, Hilda Halvorsen, and Walter Bleser for 1900 to 1906.
 
The earliest school officers on records for 1869 were clerk Stephen Hubbard, treasurer 
John Strohfeldt, and director Mathew Reddin.  Other district residents serving on the 
board in some capacity were James Piper, Charles Strohfeldt, John Meehan, G.F. French, 
John Kostechka, Chas. Krueger, Wm. Reitmeyer, Chas. Krohn, John Mayerl, Orrin Piper, 
and Jos. Pfeffer. The last named served for 30 years on the local school board.
 
The district has no places of historical interest, although this area was a favorite 
hunting and camping place for Indians because stone arrow points, spears, and hatchets 
have been found by the hundreds. The Branch river running through the northern part of 
the district provides residents with fishing and recreation grounds. The prosperous 
farmers of today are meeting the educational needs of their children through trans-
portation to larger and more modern schools nearby. 



FRANKLIN JT. 14 – MENCHALVILLE


 
Franklin joint district number 14 officially became the Menchalville district in 1918.  
The school house is now located one-half mile east of Menchalville in section 4, town 
of Franklin.
 
Franklin No. 14 was organized on November 8, 1856, on order of N. A. Harris, town 
superintendent of schools. Franklin at that time consisted of the present townships 
of Franklin and Cato. Since Franklin No. 14 was the first school district organized 
in the northern half of the present Franklin township, many changes have occurred to 
its original boundaries as the present districts surrounding it were organized. The 
original Franklin No. 14 consisted of sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 15, and 16. It 
was not until 1896 that this district became joint with the town of Cooperstown, and 
not until 1914 that it became joint with the town of Morrison in Brown County. Today 
this area is a joint school district, joint with Cooperstown and Morrison.
 
The first log schoolhouse was erected soon after the district was organized. It was 
built across the road from the present school site. Old timers remember this school 
as a small building with shuttered windows and equipped with pioneer schoolroom 
furniture. The old log building was destroyed by fire about 1883.
 
In 1884, a special school meeting was called to vote a new school. The residents, 
keenly interested in providing an education for their children, voted that a hewn 
log building 32 x 22 feet be erected. A new school site, the present one, was also 
voted. The building was erected at a total cost of $457 and was equipped with desks 
and benches 7 feet long. The blackboards were just “black” boards. The building was 
lighted with windows from the entrance and the long sides. A boxstove supplied as 
much heat as it could. The other equipment consisted of a pail and dipper, a woodbox, 
and a teacher’s desk. The small schoolyard was fenced off from the road by a board 
fence in 1890. After having served the district for about 20 years, the second 
building was torn down and the logs used for a new school.
 
The third schoolhouse was constructed in 1901. The old logs were placed upright to 
form the walls of the new school and covered on the outside with siding while the 
interior was lathed and plastered. This building, about 24 x 36 feet, had three 
windows on each of the long sides and a center one to the front. Two doors from an 
open wooden porch lead directly into the two separate cloakrooms – one for the boys 
and one for the girls. The space between the two cloakrooms was a part of the 
schoolroom in which the old boxstove and shelves for the lunch buckets were located.  
Since the blackboards and recitation benches were at the opposite end of the room, 
the teachers had to take time out between classes to thaw out by the stove during 
the winter months. On many a cold day, all classes were held around the stove. The 
third school boasted of patented double desks, a library case, and a bell tower. The 
building was sold and dismantled in 1940.
 
The fourth and present brick schoolhouse was erected in 1940 at a cost of $5,600. It 
has a full basement with a fuel room, a heating and ventilating plant, and a playroom. 
The main floor consists of an east entry with steps leading to the basement and to 
the cloak and classrooms. The eastern part of the building also houses a combination 
cloakroom and separate chemical-type lavatories. The classroom, about 30 x 36 feet, 
has a well-built library along the south wall, with blackboards on the north wall. 
Window lighting is from the left and rear of the room. Modern, single desks replaced 
those used in the old school. Electric lights were installed in the winter of 1947.
 
The schoolgrounds which at first consisted of one acre was added to in 1912 when about 
1/4 acre was purchased from Jos. Wiesner. In 1940, another 1/8 acre was purchased from 
Ed. Spurney to the west. Today the grounds have well laid out playground equipment and 
play areas. Franklin Jt. 14 has always had a one-room school. 
 
The Menchalville school did not have extremely large enrollments until the early 1900’s.  
Records on file in the county superintendent’s office indicate that only 45 pupils 
attended in 1870. After single terms were held, the enrollment averaged from 35 to 60 
yearly. By 1895, only 53 out of a school census of 110 children attended school. Today 
the school census has dropped to between 50 and 60 children of school age with about 
half that number attending the district school.
 
Franklin district No. 14 is now settled largely by Bohemians, but Irish settlers were 
among the first to come to this area. The township assessment roll of 1856 lists 
Mich. Rolland, Pat Hart, Mich. Joyce, Miles McMahon, John Hayden, Pat Keehan, 
Steve O’Neil, R. Grady, R. Collins, and Pat Barrett. Stephen Menchal, after whom the 
crossroad village is named, settled here in the early 1890’s. He operated the first 
postoffice for the community until the coming of the rural free delivery. Today the 
names of Menchal, Shebesta, Slager, Ramiker, Tisler, Stedl, Sauer, Stradal, Rolland, 
Kopidlansky, and Korinek as well as others are common to the district. The many 
graduates have become prominent in their own local communities.
 
The voters of this district always have selected prominent leaders of the community 
for their school officers. Richard Rolland is listed as the clerk from 1870 to about 
1890. After that Jos. Haas senior and junior served in that capacity from about 1890 
to 1940. Other district residents on the Board prior to 1906 were Richard Collins, 
Jos. Decker, Dennis Grady, Matt Shimek, and Stephan Menchal, who served as treasurer 
of the Board for 27 years.
 
School records date back to 1870. The list of names of teachers reported to this office 
was incomplete. John Judge, who lived in the district, taught this school in 1870 to 
1872 during the winter terms. For the summer terms, Mary Cummings taught those years.  
After 1873, single terms of five or six months were held. Teachers up to 1906 on record 
in the superintendent’s office were:  1874 Pat Lynch; 1876 P. H. Hewitt; 
1877-8 Chas. Whelan; 1879 John F. Sims; 1880 John O’Connors; 1905 Walter O’Connell.  
A later teacher, Jos J. Rappel, became county superintendent of schools.
 
Franklin Jt. 14 has no places of historical or scenic interest. The rolling hills and 
level lands are dotted with well-built farm buildings. The crossroad village serves 
the surrounding community as a restricted trading area. The pride that the district 
takes in its school is reflected in the modern structure and the conveniences which 
the citizens have provided for the children of the community.