ROCKLAND JT. 2H-WOODCOCK


Verna Mae Hougen


    Rockland s c h o o 1 district
joint 2 is and has for years been
known as the Woodcock school
because the site on which the
school is located was donated to
the district by John Dexter
Woodcock. The schoolhouse is
now located on the S.W. corner
of Section 33, township of Rock-
land.
    The Woodcock district is
reputed to have been organized
about 1851 when this area be-
longed to the' original Eaton
township. The present Rock-
land sections 31, 32, 33, and S½/2
of section 34 lying south of the


JnVidt1LUWUo Jc . n V e r anU near
which sections this school is located, belonged' from time to time to Eaton,
Walders,
and Rockland townships. This school district then has been listed as Eaton,
Wal-
ders, and again as Eaton school district No. 7 as this area changed its township
name.
After the above named sections were incorporated permanently as a part of
Rockland
township in 1869, this district was renumbered and became Eaton Jt. 2, joint
with the
tQwnship of Rockland. Since th# first schoolhouse was located in town of
Eaton, the
district was designated as Eaton Jt. 2. When the new schoolhouse was built
in 1883,
it was located in Rockland so it was given the designation of Rockland Jt.
2. Since
its organization, many changes have occurred in the boundary lines, but the
northern
boundary is still the winding Manitowoc river.
    The first schoolhouse for the district was a small log structure about
14 x 20
feet. It was erected in the early 1850's and stood on the A. C. Tuft farm
south of the
present site. It served the district until 1883 when it was sold for $8 and
eventually
torn down and used for firewood. The little log school had windows on three
sides.
The cracks between the logs were chinked to keep out the rain, snow, and
cold.
The furniture consisted of rude homemade benches and desks. A box stove,
a small
"black" board, a woodbox, and a bucket and dipper completed the
school's equip-
ment.
    Due to the increasing' enrollment with the coming of more settlers, and
to pro-
vide a better school building for its children, the district in 1883 voted
to erect a
new structure. John Dexter Woodcock donated a corner of his farm for the
site.
The frame school, the one now in use, is about 24 x 36 feet in size. It cost
the district
the sum of $633 according to county records. It has a combination entry-cloakroom
and a good-sized classroom. A semi-enclosed storm porch encloses the entrance.
The usual windows on the long sides cause objectionable cross-lighting. During
the
1930's a door replaced one of the windows at the northeast corner of the
schoolroom
so that the toilets and woodshed at the rear of the school would be more
convenient.
The school is heated by a floor furnace. A woodbox placed in the wall between
the
schoolroom and the entry was partly removed in the 1930's so that open library
shelving could be placed along this wall. Electric lights were installed
about 1938.
Other conveniences added in recent years were a steel filing cabinet, a telephone,
primary work table with chairs, and single seats and desks. The schoolyard
in en-
closed on two sides by a board fence. The playground equipment consists of
a merry-
go-round. The pupils are called to their day's work by means of a hand bell.
    The Woodcock sehool has always remained a one room rural school. During
the
first years of the log school, the enrollment was about 12 for the three
month term.
'By 1870, the town clerk's report to the county superintendent showed that
a total of
55 pupils was enrolled for the winter, and summer sessions. During the remainder
of
the 1800's, the attendance ranged from 50 to 65 yearly. The highest enrollment
oc-
curred in 1905 when 70 pupils were attending. The attendance for the last
few years
has been from 10 to 20 pupils which is high since the number of children
of school
age averages only about 40 for the district.
    According to the early assessment rolls, some of the first settlers were
M. Weg-
ner, L. Marcks, J. M. Tyler, M. Streckert, N. Porter, W. Woodcock, F. M.
Boucher,


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