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Local School District is
Caretaker for Small Cemetery
Watertown
Daily Times, 07 27 2001
Classrooms
are not normally affiliated with cemeteries, but that's exactly the case here
in Watertown. The Watertown Unified
School District, through an unusual set of circumstances, is caretaker for a
burial plot just south of Watertown.
The small
site on Coffee Road is not used for history lessons or other classes, although
it contains the remains of Civil War veterans and ancestors of local residents.
Whitney Cemetery, covering nearly
two-thirds of an acre, is adjacent to a former school. Both were school property at one time. The land where the school building is located
is now privately owned, but the Watertown Unified School District retains
ownership of the adjacent cemetery.
The district
was left with the cemetery through a series of ownership changes.
Addison P.
Thompson originally purchased the land from the United States government on
April 14, 1845. Less than a year later,
on Dec. 12, 1845, he sold it to Clark M. Whitney.
On Oct. 23,
1851, Whitney and his wife Harriet sold the school grounds to Joint School
District No. 11 at a cost of $10. The
following year C.M. Whitney donated the burial ground to the district to add
more land area to the school site.
In April of
1956 the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction dissolved the small school
district, and a year later the land was purchased by the city of Watertown. In 1958, the city sold the school building to
Allen Dietzel who in 1987 sold it to current owner
Bill Reichertz.
When the
Watertown Unified School District was formed in 1966, the city gave the school
district all former school properties, including the cemetery land.
"We
just maintain it as needed. We're not
going to let it get overgrown," said Dale Zabel,
supervisor of buildings and grounds, who added that time and weather has erased
most of the names from the gravestones.
Zabel said it
costs less than $500 a year to maintain the cemetery and noted the city has
also assisted in cleaning up the brush. In
the 1980s, Boy Scouts of America Troop No. 43 helped
with clean-up efforts. Zabel noted the district currently has no use for the
cemetery.
Civil War
veterans are buried at the cemetery and the most recent grave was in the early 1900s.
Currently,
the school district maintains the cemetery at the request of Earl Lehmann, of
Watertown, who has relatives buried on the grounds.
"I have
four ancestors buried out there," he said. "They did a tremendous
job. It was a monumental task to begin
with. They selectively let some trees
stand. It was gratifying to stop in
there to see my stones uncovered and more."
Lehmann has
an infant aunt and uncle, great-grandmother and great-uncle Fredrick buried at
Whitney Cemetery. His great-uncle was a
Civil War veteran who served from 1861 to 1865.
Lehmann
recalls visiting the cemetery in 1924 when there were 60 gravestones. During the summer, he visits the cemetery
about once a month.
There aren't
as many gravestones standing now because some have fallen over and have likely
sunk into the ground over the years, said Zabel.
Records from
the genealogical society also show Whitney School dates back as early as 1874. Initially, the school was open five months a
year. Classes were held November,
December, January, April and May. The
teacher's salary at the time was $26 a month. The teacher's salary declined the next two
years to $24 and $20 respectively.
By 1878, the
school year was six months long. In
1891, the school board voted to construct a new 30-by-20-foot school building
at a cost of $845. An eight-month school
term was in effect from 1891 until the 1930s when the term was increased to nine
months.
Dave Yelk, warehouse coordinator for the Watertown School
District, said visiting the school is like taking a step back in time. He said the original chalkboards and tile are
still in the little schoolhouse. There
is also a sign, visible that says School District No. 11.
Lynn Reichertz, Bill's wife, said her husband loves owning the
school-house and currently uses it for storage.
1976
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The following
is reprinted from the Jan. - Feb. 1976 issue of the Milwaukee County
Genealogical Society Reporter: |
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WHITNEY CEMETERY |
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NEAR WATERTOWN,
WI |
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Whitney Cemetery
is a very small and long abandoned cemetery located on County Trunk X between
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FRED 'K
LEHMANN |
E. LEHMANN |
J. (or I?, ed.) M. LEHMANN |
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CO. G |
(EARNEST -
TOP OF STONE) |
(IDA - TOP
OF STONE) |
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11TH Wis.
Inf. |
Geb. Den/ |
Geb./ |
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(no dates) |
Gest Den/ |
Gest./ Sept 1875 |
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GEORGE
BRADLEY |
THOMAS
BRADLEY |
CHARLIE BEHREND |
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died/ |
died/ |
b. |
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AE 63y 11
mos. 9 days |
18 yrs
& 1 mo. |
d. |
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Inscription
not readable, but can read at bottom of stone "erected by mother) |
(Three
other stones not readable) |
1986
Watertown Daily
Times, 10 26 1986
C. Russell Jenks, son
of James and Nancy Jenks, 404 Elba Street, recently received the Boy Scout
Eagle Award, the highest progress award in Scouting. The award was presented in a ceremony at St. Bernard’s
School. Less than one percent of all
Scouts obtain the award. Jenks is a member of St. Henry’s Troop 43. He was a Webelos
Scout and earned the Arrow of Light Award.
With the troop, he has held offices of assistant patrol leader, patrol
leader, troop scribe, troop quartermaster, assistant senior patrol leader,
senior patrol leader and junior assistant scoutmaster. He is now an assistant to Scoutmaster Dennis
Johnson. He has also been active with
the Order of the Arrow, serving as chapter secretary. To earn the Eagle Award, Jenks earned 21
merit badges and has recently completed the restoration of the Whitney Cemetery, south of Watertown on
county trunk X. Jenks and others under
his leadership put in 560 man hours to complete the restoration.