History of Seneca, Wisconsin
Some excerpts from the 1953 Shawano County Centennial book.
It is a long, long trek back through the years of pioneer history to the time when Shawano County comprised a vast and trackless forest, and contained perhaps one of the finest stands of pine in the world.
At first, Indians alone traveled these rivers, then came missionaries and explorers in about 1630. The first white man to come into this vicinity was Jean Nicolet, a Frenchman, sent upon a diplomatic mission from the far distant colony of Quebec.
The purpose of Nicolet’s mission was to negotiate a treaty of peace between the Winnebago, the powerful Indian tribe located to the west of Lake Michigan, and the Huron.
In 1660 Pere Menard and Pere Allouez (Pere means father in French) established missions among the Indians. Allouez founded a mission at the junction of Shawano Creek (the channel to Shawano Lake) and the Wolf River in 1672.
Around 1800, the land speculators started arriving to buy up the timber, build dams, sawmills, and float pine logs down those same rivers.
Like other parts of Wisconsin; the early history of the Town of Seneca, which includes Tilleda, is connected with a river, the North Branch of the Embarrass.
The history of Tilleda starts with the Town of Seneca before the river was used for log driving as far up as Tilleda.
As the timber line was pushed back on each side of the big rivers, the timber dealers started up the branches of the small rivers, because it was easier to take timber nearest the water.
Pine & hemlock logs floated on the rivers, while hardwoods did not. Forests were cleared, but hardwoods were burned as scrap until the railroads ran rail spurs into the area and the harvesting of hardwoods began.
In the 1850’s a logging camp was started near Embarrass by the Matteson Brothers.
This started the movement up the Embarrass River with a dam built by William Smith at Pella, which was called Smithville at that time. Later the Grosskopf family took over ownership.
Christian Friedrick Maas “Old Fritz” stopped at Smithville when he came to this country from Germany in 1867 and stayed overnight with the Westphal family.
“Old Fritz”; married 3 times, with 11 children; was the father of F.C. Maas, August G. Maas, Richard and Henry Maas, Elizabeth “Lizzie” (Mrs. Henry Schumacher) and others.
As far as it is known, “Old Fritz” Maas was the first permanent settler. August G. Maas remembers that he was four years old when his father came to this country.
“Old Fritz” walked up from Pella and slept in a hollow basswood log the first night, because he got too far from Pella to get back the same night. The next day he started building a brush lean-to, after he decided on his location.
The old Homestead Laws required a settler to register his claim at a land office and live on the land for five years before he could get a title or land grant from the U.S. Government.
That is why in the minutes of the first Town of Seneca Board meeting, held April 1871, the people called themselves “free holders”, for none of them had a title at that time.
Maas’s Bar - Tilleda 1953
August Maas built this building in the late 1920’s as a rooming house to accommodate loggers and millworkers; a saloon was later incorporated into the building; and was then known as the Tilleda House & Saloon.
A glass of beer was 5 cents, 2 oz. of whiskey or brandy was 10 cents, dinners were 25 cents a meal any time of the day, room and board was $3.50 for a week; bars had no rules or regulations as to when they could be open. In later years, some of the rooms were made into two apartments.
August Maas owned the Tilleda House & Saloon until he sold out in 1945.
Many men grew a beard to participate in the Shawano County Centennial Celebration on July 12, 1953.
Pictured on the porch from Left to Right: Dennis Reinert, Robert Wohler, unknown by post, Orly Pederson, Bob Felts, Eugene Ashenbrenner (by middle post), Willard Trinko, Fred Lemkuhl (Present owner at the time), Helmuth Giessel, Joe P. Ashenbrenner; Frank Trinko holds the horse on the left and Llewellyn (Wimpy) Reinert stands in the wagon on the right. The team and wagon were owned by Emil Giese.
Town of Seneca Schools
District #1
NAME: Tilleda
LOCATION: 1st school- E side of inters. of Rock Road and County Road G
2nd school- W. side of County D in the village of Tilleda.
In the SE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of S. 15.
District #2
NAME: Seneca
LOCATION: South of intersection of Zimdars Road and County Road D
Jt District #4 (Seneca, Herman & Red Springs)
NAME: Range Line or Roosevelt
LOC: On Roosevelt Road, on the SW corner of the Town Line and Roosevelt
Rd intersection. (NE 1/4 of the NE 1/4 in Section 12.)
Jt. District #6
NAME: Rippling Brook (1898)
LOCATION: South side of Highway 29 between the Old Hwy 29 and Maple Lane. East of the Maple Lane intersection. In the NW 1/4 of Section 20
Tilleda - District #1
NAME: Tilleda
LOCATION: 1st school- E side of inters. of Rock Road and County Road G
2nd school- W. side of County D in the village of Tilleda.
In the SE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of S. 15.
“What Does It Mean To Be Educated In A One-Room School?”
By Chaplain Marshall Schultz
Marshal is a 1962 graduate of Bowler School an he and his wife Vanice, live in Dallas, TX.
I spent grades one to four in the northern room of the school house in Tilleda, WI, and grades five to eight in the southern room. I came out of a humble two-room school and never used an indoor toilet until I went to Bowler High School my Freshman year.
The amazing thing to me about the one-room schoolhouse is that there was (1) only one teacher in the room (2) who was teaching multiple grade levels and, (3) teaching multiple skill levels, and (4) doing this all at the same time. The wide diversity of student ages in a one-room school meant it provided opportunities for the older students to help their younger peers, which is an attribute that today’s schools find desirable, but difficult to achieve.
I refer to a one-room school house even though Tilleda was a two-room school. Tilleda was the only two-room school in all the rural schools that fed into Bowler High School.
The one-room school was key to the value of building the local community. The parents of the students took responsibility to provide drinkable water, wood for the stove, or helped build the structure itself including the two out-houses, one for boys and the other for girls. With just one teacher, male or female, cooperation was essential as the older students mentored, helped and assisted learning for the younger ones.
A typical school day ran from 8:30 a.m. to about 4:00 p.m. with morning and afternoon recesses of 15 minutes each and an hour period for lunch. The older kids hauled in water, brought in fire wood, stoked the furnace, etc., while the younger students cleaned the blackboards and took the erasers outside for dusting by hitting them together.
Getting to and from school in the early years, meant kids had to walk, or were driven in a buggy/sleigh pulled by horses or they even rode a personal family horse. Years later, some kids had bikes which they rode, but only in good weather. By the time I attended Tilleda Grade School, I was picked up every day of the school year and taken back home by a car or bus.
The day was divided into many short periods. To keep students busy, the teacher made assignments and then called students to her desk to recite what they had learned. While a few students recited, others continued to work on their own. A teacher may call up her 3 rd grade geography students for 15 minutes and ask them questions about their assignment. When they were finished, she would give them their next assignment and send them back to their desks to learn it. Then, she would call up the 5 th grade arithmetic students. This went on all day. At their desks, students read their books or worked problems with chalk on the chalk boards.
The “Three R’s” were in focus in one-room schools: Reading, writing including penmanship, and arithmetic. These three got top billing and were taught more than any other topics, because they are skill based and progressive in nature. Additional items were grammar, history and geography.
Log School House - District #1
The first School District in the Town of Seneca, District #1, was organized on September 18, 1871, and a public school was constructed. The log school was located at the intersections of what is now Rock Road and County Road G. The school closed in 1898 when the boundaries were changed to include Tilleda. Some of the children went to the new District #1, now located in Tilleda, and some went to District #2 at Seneca School.
The first School District in the Town of Seneca, District #1, was organized on September 18, 1871. The log school was located at the intersections of what is now Rock Road and County Road G. The school closed in 1898 when the boundaries were changed to include Tilleda.
The school sat in the middle of this underbrush.
Seneca School - District #2
NAME: Seneca
LOCATION: South of intersection of Zimdars Road and County Road D
On September 15, 1877 Seneca School District #2 was formed by the Town of Seneca Board. According to the official records for the township, the area of the district changed over time as other school districts were formed. Despite these changes, the schoolhouse site always remained at the northwest corner of the southwest quarter of section 25 in the Township of Seneca. When the district was first formed, a half acre was taken by the township for school purposes. The location of this site is on the south side of the intersection of County Highway D and Zimdars Road. The cement stairs from the school can still be seen on the stone fence just west of where the school once stood. This site is currently part of the John and Susan Buckett farm.
Due to the lack of records little is know about the early years of Seneca District #2. However, facts were gathered from the school board records from 1924 to 1950 and the annual school reports starting in 1913. Additional information came from a few former students of Seneca District #2.
While we do not know when the pictured school building was built, the records tell us of some improvements and changes made to the structure. During the summer of 1928, Wisconsin Power and Light Co. wired the school for electricity at a cost of $50. In 1930, at a cost of $24.60, storm windows were placed on the west windows only. This was a common practice. New roofing was put on by C. P. Felts for $92.40 in 1931. That same year he also was hired to make repairs to the outside toilets. The building was painted and the front enclosed in 1938. The bell tower was removed in 1942.
Keeping the school heated must have been no easy task. Every year bids were let out for firewood. Twenty to thirty cords of hardwood and a few cords of softwood, cut 16 inches long were purchased from local farmers. It was the responsibility of the teacher to build the fire each day. During the day one of the older boys would be given the job of firing up. In 1929 a new furnace and chimney were installed at a cost of $815.38. The new and old furnaces were located in the basement and were both gravity heating systems. No forced air. With the old furnace there was a just one large floor grate in the middle of the classroom above the furnace. To keep warm on a cold stormy winter day the students would often stand on top of or near the floor register to stay warm. The floor grate was removed and duct work was installed to better distribute the warm air. With the new furnace fresh air entered in from a vent in the west side of the basement was heated and went up the duct. To accommodate the new furnace a new chimney built onthe west side. The old chimney, located on the south side of the building, was not removed until 1935.
Not only was heating the school much different than today, so were the drinking water and toilet facilities. Drinking water was obtained from a hand pump out in the school yard about 50 feet west of the school building. One of the older boys in the school was given the task of pumping water and bringing it into the school where it was poured into the ‘bubbler' or drinking fountain. This drinking fountain was a large earthenware container that had a small spigot at the bottom and was setting on a stand. There were two outdoor 'three holer' toilets. One for the boys and one for the girls. They were teaching algebra, physics, English history, and rural economics. In addition to the duties and responsibilities of teaching, janitorial duties were expected to be performed on Saturdays. Many of the teachers boarded with local families.
The final year of operation for Seneca District #2 was 1949-50. In 1950 the area that comprised the district was consolidated into the Marion and Bowler school districts. The site of the school is now in the Marion school district. In 1950 those students in the Marion district began attending the grade school at Leopolis. The school building and property were put up for sale. The building was purchased by Donald Loveland and torn down for salvage. The land was sold to Herbert and Emagard Zimdars in 1952 for $50 and incorporated into their farm.
The following is a list of the teachers and the school year(s) they taught at Seneca District #2 starting in 1912. Alvin Maas (1912-13), Claude Felts (1913-14), Louise Hacker (1914-16), Adolf Hoening (1916-17), Agnes Beran (1917-19), Alma Simonson (1919-20), Gertrude Dietzler (1920-21), Doris Foote (1921-22), Sadie Balke (1922-24), Ethel Een (1924-26), Rose Grimm (1925-26), Ella Umland (1927-30), Irma Genke (1930-31), Milan Sousek (1931-34), Edwin Loberg (1934-35), Doris Eggert (1935-36), Irma Raddant (1936-39), Melvin Wisnefske (1939- Jan. 1943), Gene Brunke (Jan.-May 1943) Catherine Steckbauer (1943-44), Margaret Klement (1944-45), Miriam Linsmeyer (1945-46), Carmen Schmidt (1946-47), Mrs. Edna Rutte (1947-50).
Seneca School, Dist. #2 was formed by the Seneca Town Board on September 15, 1877. Seneca School District #2 closed in May of 1950 and was consolidated into the Bowler and Marion School Districts. The high school students in the Bowler district went to Bowler High School and grade school kids went to Tilleda Grade School. The high school students in the Marion district went to Marion High School and the grade school kids went to Leopolis Grade School. Teacher was Louise Hacker.
The present site of the old school is now in the Marion School District.
Seneca School Dist. #2 Stage and curtains set up for the Christmas program. Evergreen boughs to decorate for the season, but also to cover the sawhorses and planks used to form the stage. Planks were put between the desks to form seating for the audience.
Rangeline Log School - District #4
(Seneca, Herman & Red Springs)
NAME: Range Line or Roosevelt
LOC: On Roosevelt Road, on the SW corner of the Town Line and Roosevelt
Rd intersection. (NE 1/4 of the NE 1/4 in Section 12.)
Rippling Brook - District #6
NAME: Rippling Brook (1898)
LOCATION: South side of Highway 29 between the Old Hwy 29 and Maple Lane. East of the Maple Lane intersection. In the NW 1/4 of Section 20
This district was formed in 1898 in western Town of Seneca. The school was built and classes began that fall. It was located between Old 29 Road West and Maple Lane, on the south side of Highway 29. The school was built on an acre of land in the NW1/4 of the SW1/4 in Section 20. The land was least to the district by Henry Schultz.
The schoolhouse was a wood building without a basement. It had a pot belly stove for heat. Students in the upper grades carried the fire wood daily, in winter time. The woodshed was behind the school with a toilet on each side. There was a hand pump from which the students also carried water to fill the bubbler. Inside was one large room with the desks and a bench on which the students would sit for classes. Large blackboards covered the front wall by the teachers desk. Hooks on the wall near the door held the students jackets. The stove was to the right of the doorway with the water bubbler on the left.
A wagon was bought for $240.00 in 1916. It was used to transport four students to another school district. In winter the students would build snow forts and have snowball fights. They also played Fox and Goose. Summer was a time for softball games, ante ante over the woodshed, and kick the can. They also had a swing and a merry-go-round.
At Christmas time the students, with help from their teacher, would get plank from the Henry Schultz farm and build a stage. The stage curtains were bed sheets that students brought from home. They also brought rugs for the stage floor. The Christmas program was one of the highlights of each year. Every student had a part in the program. Upper grade students would have several parts to learn as they would be in more than one play. Students also went into the area woods to find a Christmas tree.
In 1933 the School Board decided to put an addition onto the building. The estimated cost was $600. After a great deal of planning, the total south end of the school building was cut off and moved back twelve feet. This allowed for the side walls, roof and floor to be filled between the existing building and the south wall. Everything went well and the total cost of the addition was only $323.65. Thirty three students and their teacher, Miss Alto Brown, began school in the newly altered building in the fall of 1934. School Board members at this time were Henry Schultz, Edgar Wendt and Albert Buelter.
In 1938 the School Board paid $289. For an entry which enclosed the front steps of the building.
Several teachers at this school boarded with the Henry Schultz family. Their farm was just west of the schoolhouse. Mr. Schultz also built fire at the school every morning in winter.
After the school closed, the building was sold to Carl Posselt. He moved it to Thornton and remodeled it for his home. The woodshed was sold to Frank Giese, and was moved to his farm just north of Highway 29 on Maple Lane. Both the school building and woodshed are still standing today. The acre of land was returned to the Henry Schultz / Roy Schultz farm.
One memory from the old school days is the day some upper grade boys decided to play a prank. When the teacher went out to use the outdoor facilities, the boys pulled down all the window shades and locked the door. When the teacher came back and couldn't open the door, she walked to the Schultz farm next door. Mr. Schultz was the janitor and also on the School Board so he had a key. Mr. Schultz came back with the teacher and unlocked the door. It was believed that parents of the boys involved were notified.
Some of the teachers that taught at Rippling Brook over the years were: Cora Germundson, Alta Brown, Phyllis Siebert, Dorothy Lemhouse and Lorraine Brown.
Some School Board members were: R.A. Schwarzkopf, Fred Reinert, F.A. Schultz, Henry Schultz, Edgar Wendt, Albert Buelter and C.R. Maahs.
