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Rappel, Joseph J. / A centennial history of the Manitowoc County school districts and its public school system, 1848-1948
([1948])
Two Creeks, pp. 204-207
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Page 204
TWO CREEKS The present area within the township of Two Creeks was not originally a part o- Manitowoc county. It was not until 1850 that this area was attached to our county as a part of the Two Rivers township. Two Creeks remained a part of Two Rivers until 1859 when it was set up as Rowley township by order of the County Board of Super- visors on July 13, 1859. That name it retained until November 20, 1861, when the County Board voted to change the name to Two Creeks because the name Rowley was "objectionable on account of personal associations" -see "Development of Town Boundaries". The southern half of the present township of Two Creeks at first was a part of the present Two Rivers No. 6 school district. After the incorporation of the township the school districts were numbered as they are at the present date-1948. TWO CREEKS NO. 1 -LAKE VIEW Sara Kane Two Creeks School district Number 1 was officially desig- nated the "Lake View" school in 1918. The reason for the selection of this name was that a fine view of Lake Michigan is possible from the school prem- ises. The school building is lo- cated a quarter mile north of the present village of Two Creeks on Highway 141. It is located in Section 11 of the township of Two Creeks. The district is now composed of Sec- tions 2-3-10-11-14-15 and a part of 13. Prior to 1918 the school was known as the Nero School and much later as the Two Creeks School. It is still known by the latter name by the residents of the nearby communities. The name "Nero School" was given to the first school because it 'was situated in the then thriving village of Nero located about one mile east of the present village of Two Creeks. The village of Nero has disappeared and only a few evidences of its existence now remain. School records show that the district was organized about 1860. -The first school building was built at Nero in the summer of 1861 at a cost of $275. It was built on contract by H. Luebke on a half acre of. land offered to the district by Mr. Luebke. The building had an exterior of brick over a wooden frame struc- ture. It was forty feet long, twenty feet wide, double-boarded with eight windows having 10 x 14 inch lights. Wooden benches were used for seats. The equipment con- sisted of a box stove, two blackboards, record books for the school officers, a flag, tables, pictures, maps, and chairs. The sum of 15 dollars was raised to pay for these furnishings. The second school building was erected in the summer of 1880 at a cost of about $1,000. It was located on the southwest side of the present school grounds. The build- ing again was a frame one with brick on the outside. The old building at Nero was. sold to a Herman Thiem for $18. Records tell that the building was so cold on winter days that the children's lunches were frozen. To eat these lunches the pupils had to thaw them out by putting the lunches on the stove where the bread would toast. It seems that much of the equipment used in the first school was transferred to the second building. Nero was still the post office address in 1898. The third school building, the present one without the remodeling which was done since its erection, was built in 1915 at a cost of $5,747.50. It is a frame building which was built by carpenter Ed. Schwab and mason Emil Gustek. The school is now modern in every respect with a steam heating system, drilled well, a pressure water system, indoor flush toilets, adjustable desks and seats, electric lights and plate, and all the latest and best teaching equipment. The old woodshed and an outhouse were sold at public auction for $7. The schools in this district were one room affairs until 1916 when two teachers were employed. The enrollment at that time was 66. A state law passed in 1905 forced districts with an enrollment over 65 to employ two teachers. Prior to 1905 no limit of the number of students per teacher was set. In 1932 the enrollment had gone down to below twenty-five, so the district voted to become a one-room school again. School enrollment in this district fluctuated from decade to decade. During the time that Nero was a thriving Lake Michigan port, the enrollment varied from 50 to 204
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