Welcome to Rome (Wisconsin) - a town for all seasons! - Welcome Signs on Waymarking.com

From the Rome web site:
"About the year 1854, the Town of Rome was formed in Adams County. The first record of an election stated that W.W. Burhite was elected as supervisor chairman. Josef Smith and Morris Burroughs were elected as supervisors. Loran Finch was elected as clerk and J.R. Hammond as treasurer. Mr. Burroughs also served as Justice of the Peace. Bela Burhite and Frank Higbe served as constables.

The average vote tally in the early days of Rome was 45 to 65. Elections were held in one of the school houses, town meetings were held in someone's home.

In 1858 as more people moved west into the Town of Rome, school districts were formed in the more settled areas. Parents began to realize the importance of an education for their children.

The first school in the Town of Rome was built about 1859 and called the Chester School. In 1887 a new and larger school was built to accommodate all the children. Some years later a cement block school was built. Teachers wages in the mid 1880's were $8.00 a month for a three month school term. Wages later went as high as $35.00 per month for a longer school term.

In 1866 only four pupils attended the Horten School, with a new larger Horten School constructed between 1876 and 1879. This was also the same time the Barnum School was constructed. Around 1870 lumber from the Barnum mill became available and a new school was built. Vandreesen School was built of logs in 1898 with Larry Myhill serving as the first teacher.

Spring Branch School was constructed in 1891. In April 1926 a fire swept through this part of Rome. The Spring Branch teacher Rhonda Soterman and her students were credited with saving the school from the fire. Many homes were threatened in the area but there was no loss of life.

The Douglas school district was formed in the early 1900's. There was also a Marth school but it burned to the ground a few years after it was constructed.

Mr. Calvin Chester become the first town superintendent of schools in 1858 and by the year 1901 there were 253 school age children in the Town of Rome.

There are no schools today in the Town of Rome. All students attend Humke Elementary School, Alexander Middle School and Nekoosa High School in Nekoosa, WI.

Between 1913 and 1916 a partial survey by the Wisconsin Archeological Society revealed Adams County was rich in effigy burial and ceremonial mounds. Many of these were built by prehistoric Indians dating back to 4500B.C. The mounds were shaped like lizards, birds and animals. Only important members of the tribe were given the honor of such a burial. There was one rare buffalo mound located in the Town of Rome, sad to say it is now located at the bottom of Lake Petenwell. The dimensions of this mound were 70 feet by 22 feet and about 2½ feet high. There were a total of 26 mounds in the Town of Rome."