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.