Hilltop School, 1954-55, Mayville Twp., Clark Co., WI

History of Hilltop School

By Miss Agnes Lang

The first school house in School District No. 3, Town of Mayville, was located on Section 5, more definitely speaking, it was located on the southwest corner of the southeast quarter. It stood there until 1892 when it was torn down and a new school house erected on the northeast corner of the northwest quarter of the Northwest quarter of Section No. 9.

The old building was built of logs and was surrounded by green stumps and trees. The (new) site (one acre) was purchased from Mr. Charley Meyer for $10.00 which was considered a fair price at that time. The new school house was built by Mr. Bernard Wolf, who had taken the contract for its erection.

The first school board elected to office in District No. 3 was:

Silas Stephens—Clerk

J. R. Norton—Director

A. M. Blaisdell—Treasurer

The first teacher in the old school house was Miss Mary E. Miltimore.

At the time the old school house was built, the only settler on Section 5 was J. Habeck. Now there are 45 residents in the district.

Building operations in those days progressed rather slow for the records show that during the first year only the foundation was built. The following year the main room and a hall was (sic) erected. A few years later the attendance became to (sic) great for the one room and another, but smaller room, was added to the south side of the building and another teacher hired. Both rooms were used for a number of years when the attendance dwindled and only the front room was used. The attendance the first year the new school house was used run from 36 to 40 children.

The assessed valuation of the district is about $200,000.00.

The first teacher in the new school house was Miss Lucy Hawks.

In 1920 naming of the districts was in vogue and the children, after a spirited contest in which a number of names were submitted, chose the name "Hilltop" from its geographical location, and a very attractive sign bearing the name placed over the front door.

This year we had two graduates: Isabel Geiger and Beatrice Gipp.

Only the first eight grades are taught, and the enrollment for the year is 42. Miss Grace Snyder, of Wisconsin Rapids, is our teacher.

The following is the personal (sic) of the present school board:

Carl Plockelman, Clerk

Mrs. John Johnson, Treasurer

Martin Heindl, Director

(This article was written about 1922-23.)

On July 2, 2000, there was a reunion for anyone who had attended Hilltop School. For the occasion, Bernie Staab built this model of the school. Bernie had been a student (1924-25 photo) and was an accomplished cabinetmaker and woodworker.

My mother, Helen Johnson, who took up oil painting after her children were older, painted this picture of Hilltop School. It was given as a door prize and won by my cousin, Charlene (Lapp) Stoiber who had organized the reunion. How fitting is that! (Charlene on the left; Mom on the right.)