Fremont Township
~~Schools~~
Clark Co., Wisconsin
Clark County Schools
Fremont Area Schools
Big Four School – District 4
The Fremont Town Board set the boundaries of the Big Four School in 1884. The school was built I 1903. The school was closed in 1958. The students were transferred to either Marshfield School District or Granton School District.
Chili School – District 7
School District number 7 was created and the school built in 1903. The first teacher, Georgina Kapca was paid $30 per month. Mrs. Mona White was the teacher when the school was closed in 1957. The last salary paid was $238 per month.
Cozy Corner School – District 8
The school in Cozy Corner was built in 1913 in the southeast corner of Section 18 on land leased from W. R. Happe, Sr.
Herman Kettel built the basement wall. Arthur and Edwin Happe did the carpenter work on the building. The toyal cost of the building was about $1,550.
The officers of the first board were Gordon Davis, clerk, F. M. Chitwood, director, and C. A. Happe, treasurer.
The members of the Building Committee were Richard Beilke, George VerKilen, and Arthur Happe.
There were 43 legal voters in the new district.
The first term of school started January 5, 1914 with Vera Pietenpol of Granton as teacher. On July 7, 1919, the school was named Cozy Corner School. Larry Fagan, Withee, was the teacher when the school closed in June 1959.
East Fremont School
In 1957, when all the rural schools had been divided into High School Districts, the Marshfield School System built the East Fremont School to accommodate the children in grades 1 through 6 from Chili and rural Marshfield area. Lunches were prepared in Marshfield and delivered daily to the school cafeteria.
Forestside School
The town board set the boundaries of Forestside School in 1884. The school closed in 1959 and consolidated with the Marshfield school district.
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1919 Class Photo (written on the back: "Part of Forestside School Pupils 1919"); contributed by Kent Alexander.
Forestside School – 1940
Back row left to right: Ruth Davis, Helen Green, Norma Bartz, Pauline Geldernick, Teacher: Vivian, “Drescher” Thiede, Norman Meissner, James Geldernick, Silas Kleinschmidt, Walter Davis.
Second row standing: Verna Grobe, Margie Montag, holding the flag are Delores Peterson, Mae Baumgartner, Arlene Bartz, Gladys Green, Audrey Bump, Evelyn Bartz, Joan Drescher.
Third row: Jr. Patek, Glenn Kleinschmidt, Willard Geldernick, Norbert Kleinschmidt, Douglas Meissner, Percy Bump, Richard Geldernick, James Green.
Bottom row: Wayne Green, Warren Patek, Norman Davis, Everett Bartz, Elmer Grobe, and Robert Geldernick.
Fremont School – District 5
Town of Fremont 1912 – 1913 Ora Davis, Teacher
The Town Board set the boundaries for this school in 1884. The first school was built in 1911. The second school was built in 1922. The school closed in 1942. The school was consolidated into Cozy Corner School. Later they joined the Granton School District.
Grant School – District 5
Little information exists about this school. It was a white frame building. The school closed in the late 1950s. The students were transferred into the Marshfield School District. The building burned in the 1960s.
Heathville School – District 1
The first Heathville school was built in 1870. It was a small log school house, located one mile east of the present site, across the road from what is not the Ron Sheppard Farm, which was then in Town of Weston. The first teacher was Joe Marsh.
In 1880 the old school house was torn down and a new modern og house school was built. It was named after Andrew Heath, an early settler of the area.
The first church services the early ssettlers attended was held in Heathville school with Rev. Benton, a Presbyterian minister officiating. The log school was used until a frame school was built in 1900. The first teacher in the new school was Lessie Heath Davis. A school term was 2-1/2 months.
In 1903, there were 47 students enrolled.
In 1902 the frame building was destroyed by a fire. School was held in a house rented from Henry Knoll, Sr. until the spring of 1921.
In the fall of 1921 a modern school was opened. In 1946 the school was closed and the students were transferred to schools in Valley View, Cozy Corner, and Romadka in the Town of York.
In 1950 the school was reopened under the Loyal School District. The school was finally closed in 1964. The last school teacher was Betty Picus.
Pine Circle School – District 3
The school building for Town of Fremont School District Number Three was built about 1893 on a site one and one half miles south of Chili. It was moved in November 1906 to the southeast corner of Section 28 on land purchased from Louis and Mary Lindow in.
William Lindow remembers that the ten to fifteen foot tall pine trees were dragged in and planted around the school while he was writing his eighth grade examinations.
In 1920 the name Pine Circle School was chosen by its teacher Nelda Drescher, now Mrs. Harry Schlinsog, and the school board.
The school was closed in December 1958. Marlyn and Mary Lindow purchased the land and buildings.
It is interesting to note that there have been members of the Lindow family in this building continuously, either as owners or students, since it was built.
Valley View School – District 9
Valley View School was created by the Fremont Town Board in 1915. The school was built the same year. The school was closed in 1957 and the students were transferred to the Loyal School District. The school building was sold and was is still standing in the Town of York (1973). The one acre of land went back to the adjoining farm owned by Robert Rollins.
Sources: This information was transcribed from the Town of Fremont History Book and contributed by Kent Alexander.