Winnebago County, Wisconsin - Chapter 34, 1880

The only White Settlers in the County, in 1842, were Those Located in the Vicinity of Oshkosh - Products of the County in 1839 - Naming the Place - Post Office Established - The County Organized - Population - First Births and Fi rst Death of White Persons - Fourth of July Celebration - Religious Services - School - Ferry Established - First Roads - First Stores - First Village Plat of Oshkosh - Large Migration from 1846 to '50 - The Villages of Neenah, Menusha, Waukau, Omro and Winneconne, in 1848-50.

is will be seen from the preceding pages, the only white settlers within the present limits of Winnebago County in 1 842, were those located in the immediate vicinity of Oshkosh, which, at that date was merely a little settlement of a few log houses on the farms of their respective owners.

From among the letters written from here in the years, 1838 and 1839, one writer, a lady, says: "We have little of the world's goods, but the promise of a hereafter shines brightly here. " Another says: "We are working hard, with but few enjoyments, but the progress of the settlement, the rich soil promising food in abundance, the good health enjoyed by all, and the care of our families, keep us from repining, and fill us with hope for the future." One writer says: "I have two heifers worth fift)' dollars a piece, and two pigs, and shall get a yoke of oxen, if they can be found, as they are scarce and dear." Another says he "has raised one acre of spring wheat, yielding twenty-eight bushels, and three acres of winter wheat, producing thirty bushels to the acre, and one acre of buckwheat. Flour here is $12; mess pork $30; potatoes 25 cents; beans $3; corn $1.50; wheat $2."

The products of Winnebago County in 1839; were 362 bushclsof wheat; 446 bushels of oats; 21 bushels of buckwheat; 1,000 bushels of corn; 1,960 bushels of potatoes; 200 tons of hay; 4,400 pounds of maple sugar; 2 barrels offish, and $9,000 worth of furs.

About this time a meeting was held at the house of George Wright, for the purpose of voting a name. The names proposed were Athens, Fairview, Oceola, Stanford, and Oshkosh; but Robert Grignon and associates from the river at Buttes des Morts, were the strong party, and formed a majority in favor of the name of Oskosh, in honor of the Menominee chief. The orthography of the original word was, by some mischance, changed to its present form, Oshkosh. The original was pronounced without the "h" in the first syllable, and was accented on the last, Oskosh. There is a difference of opinion about

In 1840, a post office was established, and J. P. Gallup appointed postmaster. The first mail from this county was made up by j. P. Gallup, done up in a piece of brown paper, and carried by Chester Ford, ;««// contractor, in his vest pocket, whose route was semimonthly, from Wrightstown to P'ond du Lac, on an Indian trail.

In 1842, the County of Winnebago was organized. An idea of the public economy of the time may be formed from the fact of the first Board of Supervisors voting to raise a tax of fifty dollars for Cotinty expenses. The number of inhabitants at this time was 135, and in 1845, the population of the whole County was but 500.

The first birth of a white child in the county was that of George W. Stanley, on the 26th of August, of 1838. The first female white child born in the County was Elizabeth, daughter of Chester P"ord.

In 1 840, the first P'ourth of July celebration was held. The entire population assembled in grand array on the lake shore, at the foot of Merritt street. A procession was formed in which a number of Indians joined, who seemed to enjoy this outburst of enthusiasm as fully as their white neighbors. John P. Gallup delivered the oration, and Joseph H. Osborn read the Declaration.

In 1841, a religious meeting was held at Mr. Stanley's house, at which a sermon was preached by Jesse Halstead, of Brothertown. Religious services were frequently held in the settlement, at which Clark Dickenson exhorted.

Miss. Emeline Cook, a sister-in-law of Jason Wilkins, taught a school for some time; but Henry A Gallup, regardless ot the educational interests of the community, married the school ma'am, and selfishly appropriated her services to his education in the science of domestic life.

In 1842, Webster Stanley was authorized, by act of the Legislature, to maintain a public ferry. It was located at the present site of the gang mill.

In 1843, the town of Winnebago was organized, comprising the whole county, and the Legislature passed an act requi^ring that "all elections shall be held at the house of Webster Stanley. "

In 1843, Jefferson P2aton, with Amos Gallup, and Stephen Brooks as commissioners, and Samuel Brooks as surveyor, laid out the first road in the County, the same being from Stanley's Ferry to Neenah.

The lack of a grist mill was a want severely felt by the earliest settlers, and large coffeemills were frequently brought into requisition for grinding wheat. The nearest available mill for a long time was the one at Manchester (Stockbridge), across the lake; and, as there were no sail crafts or large boats, the grist had to be carried in canoes, in the summer time. In the winter the ice afforded a good road. Until roads were cut out, the settlers had to pack in on their backs groceries, flour and such other necessaries as they needed from Green Bay; and many a load of sixty to eighty pounds of flour or pork has Doctor Linde and others, packed on their backs over an Indian trail from Green Bay to this place. The doctor's muscle was pretty good then, and if any one were to question its tension now, he would feel a little indignant.

Green Bay was the great emporium of this section in those days, from whence all the supplies of civilized life, except home productions, had to be obtained.

In 1844, Joseph Jackson built the first frame house in the County on the present site of the Beckwith. In the same year the first store was opened by J. H. Osborn, and the second by Smith & Gillet, .ind the third by Miller & Eastman, in 1846. The first store, that of Osborn's, was in a little addition to Stanley's house - that location was the business center then. In the spring of 1844 Mr. Osborn united with Amos Dodge under the . firm name of Dodge & Osborn. They also had a trading post near the present site of Montello, and in that year put a sail boat on these waters.

Up to the year 1846, the progress of the settlement was slow, and the population of the County was but 732, but this inviting field for immigration was now attracting general attention. The fame of this beautiful lake and river country, with its rich prairies and woodlands, had gone abroad and immigration began to pour in with a rapidity almojit unprecedented in the settlement of a country. A continuous stream rolled in and overspread the County.

In the spring ot 1846, Lucas M. Miller and Edward Eastman, attracted by the apparent advantages of the site of Oshkosh and the rich surrounding country, purchased a tract of land from Joseph Jackson, and erected a store near the present site of Hutchinson's store. Business was now to commence in earnest. They also bought a frame building opposite, which had been erected a short time before for a tavern, and which Manoah Griffin afterwards bought from Miller and converted into the Oshkosh House. The " business center " of Oshkosh then consisted of those two buildings opposite each other - the store on one side of Pa-ma-cha-mit Road and the country tavern on the other. The residence portion was the one frame house occupied b}' L. M. Miller for a dwelling, and which stood on the present site of the Beckwith House. This was the Oshkosh of 1846 - the store, the tavern the dwelling house, and the ferrj- constituted all there was of Pa-ma-cha-mit (the crossing) e.xcept the little store on the present Gang Mill site. Its suburban district was extensive, composed of the adjoining farms and their log houses, with a plentiful supply of Indian wigwams.

The growth of the county in population, might now be said to have commenced, ten years after the advent of the first settlers (the Stanleys and Gallups, in 1836). The population of the county increased in one year from 732 to 2,787. Hotels, stores and dwellings were erected in Oshkosh and Neenah, sawmills and grist mills were built, various branches of industry were established; and the year 1850, found Oshkosh a thriving frontier village, with a population of 1,392; and Neenah also a promising village, with stores and several branches of industrj- started; among others, the pioneer flouring mill of the place, Kimbcrly's, known after as the Neenah Mills.

In 1847, the first store for the sale of general merchandise, in Neenah, was opened b)' Jones & Yale, and in the fall of that year Daniel Priest put in operation a carding mill. The town of Neenah was organized the same year, and a company chartered to construct dams across both channels of the river. In that year the first \illage plat of Neenah was recorded by Harrison Reed The dam was built, but not fully completed, that fall, and the same year the first two fran^e buildings (excepting the old Government mill) were erected by James Ladd, the same being the Winnebago Hotel, still standing, and the barn of the same, which was first built and useil for a boarding house.

Menasha, which was commenced in the erection of two log houses, by Curtis Reed, in 1848, was beginning, in 1850 to assume the proportions of a village. The first frame house was erected by Elbridge Smith. The first store was opened by Curtis Reed, in 184S. In 1S49 the first mill - a saw mill - was built by Cornelius Northrup and Harrison Reed; and the dam, which was commenced in 1848, was completed in 1S50, the saw mill set in operation and Menasha started in that career of manufacturing enterprise which has since distinguished the place

In 1S50, Waukau was also a promising village, and at thattime, could claim no mean pretensions. The first saw mill in the county, excepting the government mill at Neenah, was put in operation by L. M. Parsons, in 1S47. It was a small concern, but it has the honor of priority. In 1S47 the first store was opened there by Elliott & White; and James Deyoe erected the first frame house. In the same year a log school house was built, and a school opened,

In iS4Sa postoffice was established, another store opened by Lester Rounds, and mechanic shop started. A plat of the village of Waukau was made, and the same recorded December 30th, 1S48, and in 1S50 a grist mill was completed. (See history of Rushford.)

The village of Omro was started later than Waukau. A plat of the village was recorded in 1849, '^'icl '" 1850 the place commenced to make that growth which has since developed the stirring and prosperous village of Omro, for full history of which see subsequent pages.

In the early day, the village of Butte des Mortswas the rival of Oshkosh, for the possession of location of county seat. In 1849 the first frame building was erected by F. T. Hamilton, and the first store, for the sale of general merchandise;, opened by the same party. A post office was established the same year. The second frame structure was erected by Augustine Grignon, for a hotel. In 1850 a saw mill was completed and set in operation, and quite a village had sprung up on the site of Buttes des Morts.

E. D. Gumaer completed the first frame building in Winneconne, in 1849. The same year Charles Gumaer and John Atchley constructed buildings, and the Mumbrues erected a frame building for a hotel. In 1850, H. C. Mumbrue built a chair factory, and, during the ^ame year, the Hyde Brothers constructed a ^aw mill. John Scott, in 1S49, opened the tiist store, followed the same season by H. C.

Wolf River Pineries - First Logging Operations - t'irst Logs in the Pineries Cut on Rat River in 1835 - First Saw Mill on These Waters Built at Shawano in 1S43-44 - First Saw Mill in Oshkosh Built in 1847 - The Beginning of the Great Lumber Industiy of Oshkosh and Its Rapid Growth - First Flouring Mills - First Steamboats, the Manchester and Peytona - First Boat Through the Portage Canal - Bridges Across the Fox - Telegraph Line - The First Newspapers - The Condition of the County in 1850.

5HE Wolf River, a large stream, and navigable for one hundred and fifty % miles, flows from the pine forests of 'f^* Northern Wisconsin, and traverses I this county to its outlet, in Lake Winnebago. This fine river, with its numerous tributaries, is one of the best lumbering streams in the State; and gives this county the readiest means for floating the products of the pineries to the many mills engaged in the manufacture of lumber. Winnebago County, therefore, although not a pine growing country itself, being one of the richest prairie and opening districts of the State, is, through its water communication with the pine forests, one of the chief lumber manufacturing centers of the Northwest; Oshkosh alone manufacturing one hundred million feet of lumber, and more, per annum, in good years, and over a hundred million shingles, which, with its sash and doors, are sufficient to /otrt/ over fifteen thousand railroad ears.

The first saw logs cut, in the Wolf River pineries, were those got out by David Whitney, of Green Bay, to be used in the construction of the Government buildings at Neenah. They were cut on the shores of Rat River, in

The next "logging" was done b)' one, Clark, of Taycheedah, and Thomas Evans, of Oshkosh, in the winter of 1843. The next winter, Gilbert Brooks, Milan Ford and Phillip Wright, all of Oshkosh, cut 30,000 feet, on Rat River, which they sold to Harrison Reed for $2.50 per M.

The first saw -mill on the Wolf River waters was built at Shawano, in 1843, by Samuel Farnsworth, and lumber from that point was floated in rafts to Oshkosh during the same year, and sold for $5.00 per M,

In 1847, Morris Firman built a mill near the present site of the gang mill. Forman & Bashford constructed one at the same time at Algoma, and succeeded in completing it a short time before that of F"irman's was finished. The third mill was built by Geer & Co., which was followed by those of Ebenezer Hubbard and L. F. Sheldon.

By the year 1852 the lumber business was overdone. The supply was greater than the demand; lumber that would now be called good second clear, sold for five dollars per thousand.

For several years the manufacture of lumber was not a very profitable business, and that interest struggled against serious difficulties. The buiding of the Chicago & Northwestern railroad to this point in 1858, opened up a wider market and afforded a means of transportation to the great prairie conntry to the southwest. Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, as well as Southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, now became a great market ground for the Oshkosh mills. New mills were now constructed on a large scale with improved machinery and with circular and gang saws; and in 1871 there were in Oshkosh twentyfour large saw mills, si.xteen shingle mills and seven sash and door factories - employing from twenty to eighty hands each. In this year there were sixty odd establishments in Oshkosh run by steam.

The first flouring mill was built at the village of Algoma, now the Fifth Ward of Oshkosh, by D. W. Forman & Co. m 1848. This and the Waukau mill supplied a want that had long been severely felt.

The first steam boat navigating these waters was the little Manchester, built on the opposite shore of the lake, and which made her first trip in 1844. She was the only boat on this lake until the Peytona made her appearance in 1849. The Peytona was a fine boat, built at Neenah by Captain Estis, who also sailed her for some time. She had a very successful career. The old settlers will remember the crowd of passengers she used to carry on her daily trips from Fond du Lac to this place.

The fine steamer, Menasha, made her appearance in 1852, and in 1853 the passenger and freight business on these waters had increased to such an extent that daily lines of steamboats were run to various points.

The fine water communications branching from Oshkosh in different directions made it a central point in travel, and in the transportation of freight to various points.' The steamboats, therefore, did a good business, and the docks presented a scene of great business activity.

In 1847, Stanley's Ferr}', \\hich had been removed from its original location, at the site of the Gang Mill, to the present location of the bridge, was superseded by a float bridge, on the third day of July, 1847, the first team passing over it on that daj-.

In 1850, Messrs. Weed, Gumaer & Coon built a bridge across the river at Algoma. At that time Algoma was a rival of Oshkosh, and confidently expected to outstrip the latter place in growth, business and population.

The county, at this time - 1850 - was pretty well settled, and plentifully dotted with log houses, with an occasional frame house and frame barn.

The land was so easil)- brought into cultivation and was so productive, that a large area was soon under culti\ation, and large crops were raised.

The county now began to assume the appearance of a settled country; and, as building material was cheap, large frame barns began to spring up in every direction. Soon a better class of farm houses were built, and by the year i86ono countyinthe State surpassed, and few equaled Winnebago, in the appearance of highly cultivated farms, with handsome dwell- j ings and soacious barns and out-buildings. The well-painted, substantial farm buildings, giving an air of thrift and comfort, were a matter of surprise to the new-comers from the East. The building of school-houses and churches also kept pace with other improvements; every community had its district school, and its educational interests well attended to.

The population of the county had in this year, 1850, reached 10,167. The population of Oshkosh was 1,392. It contained twenty odd stores, and hotels, mills, mechanic shops, etc., and was making a rapid growth.

The first newspaper in the county was the Oshkosh True Democrat, first published on the ninth day of February, 1849, in the village of Oshkosh by Densmore & Cooley. Thei next was the Winnebago Telegraph, by Morley & Edwards (Hiram Morlej'). Then camel the Oshkosh Republican, by Morley & Hyman. Then the Fox River Courier by McAvoy and Crowley, first published in June, 1852. About the same time the Anzcigcr dcs Nordtvestern by Kohlmann Brothers. The Menasha Advocate was started by Jere Crowley at Menasha in 1853, and the Conservator and Bulletin, the first by Harrison Reed and the latter by W. H. Mitchell, were published in Neenah in that year.