Education in Manitowoc County
Jambo Creek School, with teacher Esther Kasten, during the 1944-1945 school year.
Education has always been an important focus in our county. It was only a year after the first permanent settlers came to Manitowoc from Chicago that our county’s early pioneers began to establish schools for their children. The first school in Manitowoc County was a room in a warehouse on the corner of 6th and Commercial Streets in Manitowoc, owned by Benjamin Jones, a prominent citizen. Soon schools began popping up across townships and by the end of 1850 schools were located in Centerville, Cato, Newton, Rockland, Meeme, Mishicot, and Liberty. A short history of two of our county’s schools, Jambo Creek and Greenstreet, gives you a quick lesson on our area’s one-room schools.
Jambo Creek, Gibson Township
The Jambo Creek district was one of the first to be organized in Manitowoc County. The first log school building was built in 1847 and was also used as a church by early residents.
The second school building (pictured) was built in 1873 at a cost of $378. The walls of the school were wainscoted up to the window sills with the rest of the walls and ceiling lathed and plastered. A privy, 9 by 5 feet, was built at a cost of $12. It was partitioned through the middle and had two doors – one of the finest at the time!
In 1932 the school was remodeled. The entrance was moved and electric lights were added in 1946. A historical marker was placed on the grounds and dedicated in 1922, telling of how the first white man’s trading post in Manitowoc County was established near the site. The school building is no longer standing.
Greenstreet, Cooperstown Township
The first school building, constructed of logs, was built in 1856 by John Chloupek. Chloupek, from Francis Creek, constructed the school for $300.00.
School records show that little money was spent on supplies in the early years of the school. In 1857, the district spent sixty-seven cents for a broom, a pail, and a pitcher. The next year blackboards, chalk, a door lock and a register were purchased for the school.
In 1881 a new school building was constructed, and the original log schoolhouse was sold to a local farmer, Frank Holly, for $13.00. The new building was erected by Charles Habeck for $720.00 with an understanding that each farmer had to supply a load of stones for the foundation. Farmers also had to haul bricks from Manitowoc for the construction. The brick school building was in use until 1910 when a new site was chosen for a schoolhouse. A new school was built in the center of the district, with one acre of land acquired from August Kempfert in the southwest corner of section 26. The school is no longer standing.
In the 1960s, the schools of Manitowoc County consolidated into the present school districts. While few one-room schools remain standing along our county’s roads, they will forever serve as a reminder of the dedication our local communities had to education.