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                                COOPERSTOWN
    Cooperstown township was not originally a part of Manitowoc County as
set up
by legislative act in 1848. It was not until February 9, 1850, that the State
Legisla-
ture enacted legislation that Cooperstown be detached from Brown County and
an-
nexed to the county of Manitowoc. The school districts in Cooperstown were
organiz-
ed in the order of their numbering from 1856 to 1858.
                  COOPERSTOWN NO. 1- COOPERSTOWN
                                Dolores Soukup
    C.ooperstown disrict. No. 1 nas always been
known as the Cooperstown school because it is
located near the village of Cooperstown. The
present location of the school is a quarter mile
west of Cookle's corner. A man by the name of
Cooper registered the land in this area so the
township and the village were named in his hon-
or. It is said that Moses Allie, a pioneer settler,
purchased much of the land around Cooperstown
when he settled here.
    Cooperstown No. 1 school district was or-
ganized about 1850 and included areas now parts
of adjacent districts. The first record of a school
meeting was for 1857. It was held in the Clifford
King home to determine the site of the first
school, to elect officers, and to raise money to
erect the school and pay other necessary ex-
penses for the year.
    The first log school was erected in 1857-8
and was located a quarter mile west of the pres-
ent site. The site selected was then the center of
the original district. The land on -which the
school was built then belonged to John Remark,
now Robinson's corner. The log building was
about 18 x 24, had pine flooring, and cost about
$75, for that was the amount raised at the first
were large enough to seat five pupils each and were placed so that there
was an aisle
down the middle of the room. Prosper Allie was paid $8 t o make and to deliver
these
benches to the school. The heating plant consisted of a round wood stove.
Each fam-
ily sending children to school in 1862, for instance, had to contribute a
half cord of
wood or pay more taxes. The tax at that time was $1.50 on every 40 acres.
No record
is given of the disposition of the old log school.
    The second schoolhouse was built in 1878 at a cost of about $620 and
was located
on the first site. It was a frame building 24 x 36 x 11 feet and was patterned
after
school structures of that early period. Improvements were made to the new
struc-
ture in the 1880's by purchasing double desks, installing two blackboards,
and adding
a bookcase. Maps were also purchased about 1890. The total cost of the above
addi-
tions and improvements was $175.00. About 1890, a well was dug, a new pump
pur-
chased, and a new tin cup to hang on the pump was acquired. A teacher's desk
was
purchased the same year for $6.50 and in 1894 a bell was added. About the
same time
the district residents decided to beautify the schoolyard by planting trees.
After serv-
ing the district for 29 years, the school was torn down and -the site abandoned.,
The
schoolhouse and equipment brought a total of $54.35 when sold.
    The third and present schoolhouse was built in 1907 at a cost of about
$2,500.
The one acre site for this school was purchased from Moses Allie. The new
school is
26 x 48 feet with a schoolroom 25 x 40 feet in size. It has a full basement
with a
basement furnace heating and ventilating system. The main floor consists
of an entry,
a cloakroom, a library, and a classroom. Five windows along the east and
west walls
cause cross-lighting. It was not until 1915 that the new school was plastered.
At pres-
ent the walls and ceiling are covered with tin. Today Cooperstown school
is a semi-
modern building with electric service, a few single desks, but still retaining
many of
the old double desks, drinking fpuntain, recitation table and chairs, and
plenty of
bulletin boards. The schoolyard contains several good pieces of playground
equip-
ment. The old outdoor toilets are located to the rear of the schoolyard.
    Strange as it may seem, the enrollment in this school was never very
large until
the 1900's, even though the school census reports show that about 100 children
of
school age lived in the district. In 1870, when winter and summer terms of
school
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