Among the many fine red brick schoolhouses built in Oconto County was the Claywood School. It was built in the old Norwegian settlement of Claywood, along Claywood road, about 6 miles north of Gillett. At the time, the surrounding area was primarily dairies, produce farms and orchards owned and operated by growing families. Anette Phelan had been the teacher at the original school in 1899. The railroad coming to Claywood in 1898 brought new prosperity for marketing local products. The new brick school was opened in 1903.

Small log and wood frame schools were giving way to one or two room brick buildings. The red bricks were made locally from Oconto River clay and often trimmed with white "Cream City" brick named after Milwaukee, which had that nick name. Great pride and care was taken in the construction and architecture, which can be seen in several remaining retired school buildings throughout the county.

The consolidation of schools into districts in the mid 1900's heralded the retirement of the country one and two room schoolhouse. Ownership of many reverted back to the farm land owners. The photo above was taken in 2004 and the building was being used as a storage garage.