Clark County, Wisconsin - Chapter 8: County Buildings and Offices, 1918

The first general election in Clark County and the first meeting of the county board was held at the home of James O'Neill, Sr., in Neillsville. At this house also the offices of the treasurer, clerk of the board and register of deeds were officiallly established, though such county business as these officers had, was actually transacted wherever they might happen to be found. July 14, 1856, the home of Nathan M. Clapp was designated as the official treasurer's office, but Mr. O'Neill's home continued to be the county headquarters. Nov. 22, 1856, the board voted to purchase from James O'Neill, Sr., for $300, in county orders, the public square of two acres and 20 rods at Neillsville, and at the same time, leveled a tax of $2,000 for the erection of a court house. The bids were open Jan. 2, 1857, at which time James Furlong's bid of $1,800 was withdrawn, and the contract let to: his brother, Edward Furlong, at $1,895. The last payment was made Jan. qs 1858. From time to time other contracts were let for chimneys, underpining, stairways and the like. It was not until Feb. 7, 1859, that the register of deeds, clerk of court, county clerk and sheriff were ordered to establish their headquarters there, and it was not until still later that the treasurer was required to move his office there.

The original court house, which was used until the present court house was completed, in 1876, is still standing, having been moved a few rods from its old location, to the south side of Fifth Street, between Hewett and Court, where it is used as an express office and dwelling. Since its removal it has been veneered with brick and remodeled. The old building was a frame structure 40 by 50 feet, two stories high, and painted white. On the first floor were six small offices, At the north and south ends, two inside stairways led to the upper floor, where the court room and jury room were located.

In the early days the officers spent but little time in their offices. Persons desiring to transact business with the officials found them at their homes, or business places. Citizens desiring to examine the records did not trouble the officers, but went to the court house and found what they desired. If, by some rare chance, the office should be locked, entrance could be made through the windows which were always left unfastened. There were no vaults or safes until a later date, and the books and records were strewn promiscuously about the tables, chairs and floors.

With the development of the northern part of the county, the need of a new court house became apparent. But there were two questions which delayed its erection. Clark County was a large one, one of the largest in the State, the people of the northern part were somewhat out of sympathy with the people in the southern part, and many of the citizens of the northern and northeastern parts advocated a separation. At one time a bill to divide the county passed the State assembly, received a tie vote in the Senate, and was only defeated by a deciding vote cast by the presiding officer. But greater still than the possibility of division, was the possibility of moying the county seat to Greenwood, or some other more central point in the county. The people in the southern part, therefore, not only strenuously fought a division of the county, but also determined to thoroughly anchor the county seat at Neillsville by the erection of a substantial court house. >

For a time no action was taken in the matter, but in 1874 it became apparent that the question must be acted upon by the county board. The annual meeting opened on November 13, and the court house agitation occupied most of its attention. The members at that time were: John S. Dore, of Grant (chairman) ; Alonzo Brooks, of Lynn; William Darton, of Beaver; W. D. Eastman, of Fremont; James Hewett, of Pine Valley; A. Muir, of Washburn; S. H. Pickett, of Unity; R. J. Horr, of Colby; H. W. Renne, of York; John Salisbury, of Sherman; Harrison Saterlee, of Levis; A.F. Sands, of Mayville; John Sufficool, of Weston; M. B. Warner, of Eaton; William Welch, of Loyal; N. H. Withee, of Hixon; Orrin Wilson, of Mentor, and T. J. La Flesh, of Perkins (Sherwood). One of the first acts of the board was to appoint a committee consisting of A. F. Sands, N. H. Withee and James Hewett to consider the proposition of building a new court house and assisting the various townships in building and repairing roads and bridges. On November 16 the first vote was taken, the original proposition being to appropriate $15,000 for the building of a court house. The result was a tie, those voting for the building being Eastman, Dore, Saterlee, Brooks, Wilson, Hewett, La Flesh, Sufficool and Muir, and those voting against it being Darton, Horr, Warner, Withee, Welsh, Sands, Salisbury, Pickett and Renne. It will be seen that the alignment on the question resolved itself into a difference between the north and south parts of the county, all north of the north line of Township 25 voting against the proposition, and all south of that line, except Mr. Renne, of York, voting for it. Several more votes were taken that day and on the succeeding days, but the deadlock remained unbroken. Varying forms of the question were put, the amount was reduced from $15,000 to $5,000, a change was made appropriating $10,000 for a court house and $10,000 for roads and bridges, but the vote remained the same. Finally, after many days of voting, on November 28, a resolution was introduced, appropriating $1,000 for the town of Mayville and $10,000 for the erection of a court house not to cost more than $20,000, and Mr. Sands, of Mayville, broke the deadlock by voting for the resolution, the final vote being 10 to 8. A building committee was then appointed, consisting of James Hewett, M. B. Warner, John S. Dore, Orin Wilson and N. H. Withee. Plans were secured from the architect, C. J. Ross, of La Crosse, who designed a building similar to the court house he had designed for La Crosse and Columbia counties. In December contracts were let for the various materials, Phileo L. Sprague & Co., of Red Wing, Minn., to furnish terra cotta window and door caps and thirty-six capitals for $450; David Wood to furnish the stone from E. R. Hatch's farm, west of the Black River, for $580, and $5.80 a cord extra of all over 100 cords;

G. W. King to furnish 6,000 good pine lath at $165; Edward King and F. J. Vine to furnish 400,000 good brick; and S. B. Hewett to furnish 25,577 feet of lumber for $2,300. The contract for the construction work was let on June 15, 1875, to C. B. Bradshaw, a Neillsville builder, and the building was completed the following year. Improvements were made from time to time, making a total cost of some $30,000. The heroic figure of "Justice," which crowns the building, is of metal. The original statue was carved from a saw log, but as the years went by the wood deteriorated and it was replaced with the present figure.

The first jail was built in 1866, the contract being let April 21, 1866, to Hewett, Woods & Co., the building to be completed September 1, of the same year. It was a curious structure, made of oak planks, laid flat, and thickly studded with spikes. The door was double, the outside one being of spiked oak boards, firmly fastened with an iron hasp and padlock, while the inside one was of iron grates. The door opened directly into the larger room, which in turn opened into several smaller cells. The jail was never boarded up or painted while owned by the county. It cost $1,300 and on Jan. 14, 1881, was sold to F. D. Lindsay for $25. In 1882 it was purchased by the city of Neillsville, and now stands south of the City Hall.

The second jail was built in 1881, and was accepted by the county board on Jan. 12, 1882. A sheriff's residence was built at the same time. The expenses were borne by James O'Neill, Sr., James Hewett, Chauncey Blakeslee and James Sturdevant, bondsmen of William C. Allen, defaulting county treasurer, in partial liquidation of the county's claims against them. James Hewett was the contractor, the work being overseen by a committee of the county board, who stated in their report that the combined building was much better than was called for in the original plans. The jail was of brick, while the sheriff's residence, adjoining and communicating with it, was a frame structure, two stories high, facing south. With the passing of years the jail proved inadequate, and was condemned by the State authorities. The jail was dismantled, and the sherift's residence was moved to the corner of Fifth and Court Streets, where it is now a most sightly dwelling.

The present substantial jail and beautiful sheriff's residence was erected in 1897. On Jan. 9, 1896, the county board appropriated $12,000 for a jail to be built of brick, iron and steel, with stone foundations, to be as nearly fireproof as possible, to be heated with hot and cold water, and to have a sewerage system. A committee, consisting of Hiram N, Withee, W. H. Mead, W. S. Irvine, Charles Burpee and Henry S. Mulvey, was appointed to secure plans and let the contract to the lowest bidder. This committee decided that to build the jail back of the court house would be a fatal mistake. May 13, 1896, the board considered the matter, and the suggestion was made that the city of Neillsville should furnish a lot and that the jail should be built elsewhere than in the court house square. An animated discussion followed, and the whole proposition was tabled. But at the annual meeting in November, 1896, the board appropriated $15,000 for a building to be erected in the court house square, east of the court house, and appointed as a committee to secure plans and let the contract, L. M. Sturdevant, H. S. Mulvey, W. 8, Irvine, Ole Samuelson and Joel J.

Schafer. The selection of the site met with much opposition, and the committee finally reported to the board that the northwest corner of the court house square was much preferable. But on Jan. 14, 1897, the board reaffirmed its decision to erect the combined jail and sheriff's residence east of the court house, and to sell the old sheriff's residence to the highest bidder. The building was completed that year, and is a handsome, commodious, modern building, well equipped for its purpose in every way, and adequate for the needs of the county during many years to come.

The county has an excellently improved poor farm and alms house in the town of York, the farm embracing a quarter section, and the buildings all being in the best of repair. For many years the succeeding county boards wavered between the county and township systems of caring for the poor. Some of the earliest expenses of the county were for the assistance of paupers. Dec. 26, 1867, the county board appropriated $1,000 to purchase a farm and erect an alms house, and adopted a system by which all poor persons were to be county charges. Charles Sternitzky was appointed superintendent of the poor for one year, William Welch for two years, and KE. H. McIntosh for three years. This commission, on Sept. 24, 1868, purchased the present farm from L. R. Stafford, embracing the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 31, and the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 32, in York. The county system was soon abandoned, however, and for many years the farm was rented. In November, 1880, it was decided to abolish all distinctions between town and county poor, and to establish the present system. At that time, M. B. Warner was elected superintendent of the poor for one year, N. C. Ransom for two years, and William Campbell for three years. A residence was erected by Chauncey Blakeslee, one of the bondsmen for William C. Allen, defaulting treasurer, and accepted by the board Jan. 12, 1882.

The election returns of Clark County have been preserved continuously since the judicial election of April 7, 1868. Before that, only scattering returns are available, the general election of Nov. 7 , 1854, the general election of Noy. 8, 1859, the judicial election of April 2, 1861, the special shrievalty election of May 17, 1861, the general election of May 5, 1861, the special supervisor election of Feb. 21, 1862, the judicial election of April 1, 1862, and the general election of Noy. 4, 1862, being apparently the only early election returns preserved. It is, therefore, with considerable difficulty that a complete list of Clark County officers has been compiled. It is believed, however, that the following list is accurate:

James O'Neill, Sr., was the first chairman of the county board, sitting for the first time Nov. 14, 1854, and retaining the office until 1860, with the exception of the year beginning Nov. 13, 1855, when Hugh Wedge served, and a few months in 1858, when Daniel Gates served. The succeeding chairmen have been appointed as follows: 1862, George M. Arnold; 1863, Samuel Cawley; 1864, James Sturdevant; 1868, Eli Mead; 1870, Richard Dewhurst; 1871, Jones Tompkins; 1872, Ezra Tompkins; 1873, John §. Dore; 1877; M. B. Warner ; 1878, William Welsh; 1879, W. H. Mead; 1880, T. J. La Flesh; 1881, Charles F. Grow; 1882, Alonzo Brooks; 1883, John 8. Dore and Charles Sternitzky; 1884, C. H. Ide; 1886, G. J.

Samuel C. Boardman was elected register of deeds on Nov. 7, 1864, Nathan M. Clapp took office Jan. 1, 1857; Richard Dewhurst, Jan. 1, 1859; C. W. Carpenter, Jan. 1, 1861; William T. Hutchinson, Jan. 1, 1866; R. T. Sturdevant, Jan, 1, 1867; W. T. Hutchinson, Jan. 1, 1869. Mr. Hutchinson resigned to become treasurer Jan. 1, 1876, and Herman Schuster was appointed in his place, being for several terms re-elected. Henry Schildhauer took office Jan. 1, 1887; William Zassenhaus, Jan. 1, 1889; Charles Cornelius, Jan. 1, 1897; Oscar Fricke, June 1, 1904 (died Feb. 14, 1911) ; Elmer J. Rossman, March 1, 1911, and John P. Kintzele, Jan. 1, 1917.

The first treasurer of Clark County was Benjamin F, French, who was elected Novy. 7, 1854. Chauncey Blakeslee took office Jan. 1, 1857; James O'Neill, Sr., Jan. 1, 1861; BE. H. McIntosh, Jan. 1, 1865, and S. C. Boardman, Jan. 1, 1869. In the fall of 1872 Richard Dewhurst received 541, against William C. Allen, who received 536, But Allen, who had acted as deputy under Boardman, assumed the office on Jan. 1, 1873, claiming that many of the votes cast for Dewhurst were illegal, and Mr. Dewhurst was unable to oust him. Allen was elected in the fall of 1874, but the county board refused to approve his bond, and this refusal caused a vacancy, which was filled by the election of William T. Hutchinson, in the fall of 1875, and with the backing of the court, Hutchinson assumed office Jan. 1, 1876. The county, on Oct. 6, 1876, secured judgment against Allen and his bondsmen for $29,235.13. Mr. Hutchinson died Oct. 4, 1876, and Richard Dewhurst was appointed to fill out the term. The election of Niran H. Withee in the fall of 1876 brought about the introduction of business methods in the treasurer's office, which have since been maintained. Mr. Withee served until Jan. 1, 1898. Charles M. Bradford took office Jan. 1, 1893; Edgar P. Houghton, Jan. 1, 1897; Charles Burpee, Jan. 1, 1901; John Huntzicker, Jan. 1, 1903; Robert Kurth, Jan. 1, 1907; Myron E, Wilding, Jan. 1, 1909; Ole C. Anderson, Jan, 1, 1913, and John J. Irvine, Jan. 1, 1917. Messrs. Bradford, Huntzicker, Wilding and Anderson have all gone from the treasurer's chair to the office of county clerk.

Adna S. Morgan became the sheriff of Clark County on Jan. 1, 1857, having been elected the previous fall. Earlier than this the preservation

Samuel C. Boardman was the first clerk of the Clark County Court, sitting at the first session of the court Sept. 6, 1858. Gustavus Sterns took office Jan. 1, 1861, and E. H. Markey, Jan. 1, 1871. R. R. King was elected in the fall of 1874, but never sat at any session of the court. Louis J. Glass sat the September term of 1875, and in the following November was elected to the office. James A. Parkhurst took office Jan. 1, 1878; O. G. Tripp, Jan. 1, 1884; R. W. Balch, Jan. 1, 1887; C. 8S. Stockwell, Jan. 1, 1885. Fred W. Draper, Jan, 1, 1901, and George A. Ure, Jan. 1, 1911.

Richard Dewhurst is the first county judge whose name is to be found in the county records. His signature first appears in this official capacity in 1859. It is possible that James O'Neill, Sr., and Chauncey Blakeslee served before this. S. N. Dickinson was elected April 2, 1861. Chauncey Blakeslee was elected April 7, 1863, and apparently took office at once, the last official paper of Mr. Dickinson being signed April 8, 1863, and the first of Mr. Blakeslee being signed April 12, 1863. Robert J. McBride was elected in the spring of 1869, took office Jan. 1, 1870, and served until Aug. 1, 1877, when he resigned and was followed by C. A. Youmans, Richard Dewhurst took office Jan. 1, 1878, resigned in office and was succeeded by L. A. Doolittle. Since then there have been but four to occupy the office: J. R. Sturdevant, who was elected in the spring of 1881, and took office Jan. 1, 1882; Richard B. Salter, who was elected in the spring of 1889, and took office Jan. 1, 1890; George L. Jacques, who was elected in the spring of 1897, and took office Jan, 1, 1898, and the present judge, Oscar W. Schoengarth, who was first elected in the spring of 1905, and took office Jan. 1, 1906.

B. F. French was the first district attorney of Clark County, his first official court service in that capacity being at the first term of court in this county, Sept. 6, 1858. With a short interim, when B. F. Chase served, Mr. French served until Jan. 1, 1869, when G. W. King took office. Ira B. Pope served a term beginning Jan. 1, 1871. J. R. Sturdevant took office Jan. 1, 1873, and was succeeded Jan. 1, 1882, by C. A. Youmans. Since then the attorneys have taken office as follows: Jan. 1, 1885, L. M. Sturdevant; Jan. 1, 1887, J. C. Campbell; Sept. 1, 1888, James O'Neill; Jan. 1, 1891, L. M. Sturdevant; Jan. 1, 1893, George B. Parkhill; Jan, 1, 1895,

The first superintendent of schools was James O'Neill, Sr., who served without salary. His original appointment came from the town of Pine Valley, then embracing the whole county, He was succeeded by William C. Thompson who, in the spring of 1860, was voted a salary of $25. For the next few years there is some uncertainty as to who held the office. John S. Dore was one, 1866-1867. S. S. Smith was elected in the fall of 1869; R. J. Sawyer in the fall of 1873; H. J. Hoffman in the fall of 1875; John S. Dore in the fall of 1877, and L. A. Doolittle in the fall of 1881. Addie Neff was elected in the fall of 1884; George E. Crothers in the fall of 1888; Emerence Walters in the fall of 1896, and Andt O. Rhea in the fall of 1902. Elizabeth Kennedy was elected in the spring of 1913; Bessie Kennedy in the spring of 1915, and Elizabeth Kennedy in the spring of 1917.