Frank Vraney, a Manitowoc real estate man; Emil Kirt, assistant superintendent
at
the Oriental Mills; and others who have become successful in their field
of endeavor.
    The district has scenic and historical places of interest. About a mile
south -of
the school, midway between Branch and Reif Mills, is a well-known spot for
all old-
timers- the old swimming hole at the old Rank Mills which once were grist
and
saw mills. All that remains of those mills now are some stone walls almost
entirely
overgrown with cedars. One of the mills was a three story frame building
which was
later torn down and the lumber used to build the barn now standing one-fourth
mile
south of the Branch school Few men or boys living within a few miles of this
spot
in the early days avoided stubbing their toes on the stones in the river.
Even today
the spot is a favorite picnic place and attracts residents for miles around
on warm
summer evenings. The once prosperous village of Reif Mills is also in the
district,
but since it was fully described in the history of Franklin Jt. 6, no history
of this
hamlet is given in this history.


                          KOSSUTH 4- ROCKWOOD
                             Mrs. Margaret Gruber


    In 1908, the Allwood and
the Rockwell Lime Companies
petitioned the C hi c a g o and
Northwestern   Railroad  Com-
pany to establish a depot in this
village. As it was necessary to
have a name for this depot, the
officials of the railroad decided
upon the name of Rockwood by
taking a part of the name of
each lime company. In 1918
then, it was only natural that
the voters of Kossuth district
number 4 should adopt the
name of Rockwood School for
their educational institution.
    Kossuth Dist. No. 4 was


Uorgnuize         a t O  -Jt I.LJ.liA UAS"
sisted of sections 22, 23, 26, 27, 34, and 35 in Kossuth, plus section 31
in T. 20 N., R.
24 E. Many changes have been made to the district boundaries since its organization.
The legal proceedings for several of these changes are on file with the district
records.
Today, the district is one of the largest and richest in Kossuth and includes
all or parts
of section 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35, and 36 in T. 20 N., R. 23
E., and section 31
in T. 20 N., and R. 23 E.
    The first schoolboard was charged With the task of purchasing a school
site and
having the school built. On January 23, 1854, the board purchased for the
district
one acre of land from Carl Gramlich. This site is located in the N.E. corner
of the
NWV4 of the NE¼A of section 35 which is not the central part of the
present district.
Additional parcels of land were purchased and added to the school site in
1868, 1907,
1923, and in 1939 so that today the schoolyard consists of about 1two acres.
    Four different school buildings have served the district up to the present
time. It
is said that the first log schoolhouse was located off the present site ih
a ravine south
of the present Ervin Anthold home. This school was said to have been opened
soon
after Wisconsin became a state. In 1854, the voters of the newly organized
district
voted for a new site and a new school. It was a one-room school made of cedar
logs.
In 1881, the voters decided to remodel according to a paragraph taken from
the min-
utes taken at a special meeting held June 20, 1881.
    This cedar log building served the district until 1898, when it was sold
at public
sale as shown by an account of the auction. The auction was held July 16,
1898, and
Henry Rumpf was hired by the district for 25 cents to keep bidding up the
price of
the schoolhouse. Henry,,Oestreich finally bid $16.50, but Rumpf bid $17 so
the build-
ing was not sold at this time. The sum of $10 was realized, though, for blackboards,
school bell, stoneboat, stove and pipes, and some other "trash".
Later on the build-
ing was sold at private sale to Charles Tills who used it in building a home.
This
home is now occupied by the Wm. Kappelman family in the Meadow Brook district.


101