Colby City

Colby City

Colby is one of the thriving towns on the line between Clark and Marathon counties, dividing allegiance between them. Formerly the Marathon County half was called Hull and there was a lack of harmony which prevented the best development, but a city organization overcame this defect, and now Colby presents a united front in the line of progress. It is near the Big Eau Pleine River, one of the tributaries of the Wisconsin River, and was a station on the old Wisconsin Central - now the "Soo" line - in the early logging days of 1872, and so was a prominent place before some of the rest of the county was known.

Colby was named after Gardner Colby, of Boston, of the Colby-Philips Construction Company, who built the railroad for the Wisconsin Central Company, of which his son, Charles L. Colby, was president. It now has an electric light and water plant representing an investment of $35,000, and which has been in operation since 1903. There is a good city library. The population in 1918 is 869.

The principal industries of Colby are the manufacture of cheese and dairying. There is also in the city a cheese box factory, giving employment to about thirty men, and which at one time was used for the construction of silos. There is also a foundry and machine shop, sawmill, flour and feed mill, marble works, pop factory, four blacksmith shops and a grain elevator. The mercantile and associated interests are represented by three general stores, one grocery and bakery, two hardware stores, one furniture store, one drug store, two millinery stores, two shoe stores, one meat market, one harness shop, two barber shops, a garage, the ''Soo'"' Railroad Insurance offices, one newspaper and one bank. There are also five churches and two school buildings - one graded and one high school.

Ira S. Graves and his brother, Leroy Graves, were the first white men to penetrate this region with a view to locating here. They built a mill about a mile below the present site of the village. The railroad was built north from Marshfield in 1872-73, and a logging station called Station 51 was established at Colby. In 1873, George W. Ghoca established a store here and the following year built a hotel. Ferguson Brothers and J. S. Edminster started sawmills. On the Marathon County side, Bune Brothers & Patterson established a store. The hamlet of Colby grew up around the Ghoca store, and the hamlet of Hull about the Bune Bros. & Patterson. For many years there was an intense rivalry between the two hamlets, but this has been eliminated to a large extent by the incorporation of the city.

In 1890 Colby was already a flourishing hamlet, with stores, offices, shops and factories representing most of the ordinary branches of business to be found in the cities. These enterprises included four large general stores, two hardware stores with tinshops connected, two drug stores, two flour and feed stores, one millinery store, three hotels, two harness shops, four blacksmith shops, two boot and shoe stores, one fanning mill factory, a sawmill and a planing mill, a bank, and many smaller places of business. The professions were also well represented, and the village contained a town hall, a high school and three churches.

The city of Colby was incorporated by act of the legislature, approved April 1, 1891, the act to take effect at once. The first election was to be held the first Tuesday in April, 1891, which fell on April 7. It resulted in the choice of the following officials: Andrew Flaig, mayor; Fred Roth, treasurer; John Riplinger, assessor; J. C. Gotchy, city clerk, Aldermen - West Ward, F. Bredemeyer and Adam Kuentz; East Ward, N. P. Peterson and August Kuehl. Supervisors - West Ward, Joel J. Shafer; East Ward, Herman Neumeister. Justices of the Peace - West Ward, H. Bruns; East Ward, N. J. White. Constables - West Ward, Phil Henkel; East Ward, George Collier.

Colby Electric Light and Water plant was erected in 1902, at a cost of $2,000. It was destroyed by fire in 1908, but was subsequently rebuilt, the tower being constructed in that year at a cost of $2,500. In 1916 a concrete reservoir, costing $2,000 was constructed.

Like most other cities, both large and small, Colby has sustained some losses from fire. The most notable instance of this kind, and the only one of great importance, happened on Nov. 2, 1886, when fire broke out ina barn located on the present site of the bank. Before it was brought under control Brehms Hotel and store, Firnstahl's shoe store, C. A. Driese's saloon and cigar factory, and several barns and outbuildings, were destroyed, together with four horses, On Sept. 20, 1897, a fire department was organized, with John J. Grimes as president, Henry Eder, secretary ; W. H. Bryant, treasurer, and Frank Firnstahl, chief. The apparatus consisted of a hook and ladder truck and a hand-pump fire-engine, water being obtained from wells and cisterns. After awhile, perhaps because little or no demand was made on the department, interest died out and the department fell into a dormant condition, but in 1902 it was reorganized, with J. E. Lyons as president; John J. Grimes, secretary; Henry Eder, treasurer, and Frank Firnstahl, chief. Since then the department has been kept in an efficient condition. At the present time its apparatus consists of one large horse-drawn hose cart, one hook and ladder truck, an aerial ladder, and one chemical. John J. Grimes is now president; E. L. Wicker, secretary ; Fred Lulloff, treasurer, and William Wilde, chief.

It is a creditable fact that a city as small as Colby should for the last nineteen years have maintained and patronized a public library. It was established in February, 1899, and now contains 1,218 well selected volumes, a room in the city hall being devoted to library purposes. Mrs. E. L. Wicker is the librarian, and the board consists of Mrs. H. Krepsky, Mrs. J. Weix, C. J. Kraus, M. G. Kersten, J. J. Grimes and Mrs, C. J. Bryant, all of whom are active in advancing the interests of this important aid to mental culture,

On Aug. 10, 1873, a meeting was called for the purpose of forming a new school district, to be known as Joint School District No. 1, of the Town of Hull in Marathon County, and the Town of Beaver in Clark County. At the election held August 30, the same year, Ira S. Graves was chosen clerk; G. W. Ghoca, treasurer, and Levi Woodbury, director. The first school building was erected in 1873 at a cost of 5450. The first teacher was Ruth H. Smith. The great advance that has taken place since those days in educational demands and facilities is shown in the present condition of the school system. The present school building was erected in 1910, at a cost of $22,000, and is a red brick structure, with two stories and basement. It contains eight rooms, and is provided with hot air toilets and with a hot air heating system. There are eight grades, which are under the charge of five teachers. The present officers are: O. R. Briggs, director; E. D. Loos, treasurer, and John J. Grimes, clerk. The high school district is made up from a part of two townships and the city. The schoo] is a red brick building of two stories and basement, and was built in 1906. It contains six rooms and two ante-rooms, and is provided with a library and gymnasium. There are modern toilets with hot and cold water, the building being heated by steam. A regular high school course is furnished, S. A. Williams being the principal.

The cheese-making industry has been carried on in Colby, or the vicinity, for the last twenty-five years or more, and so excellent has been the product that it has extended the fame of this little city as the home of the Colby cheese, not only throughout the United States, but to many other parts of the world. The Steinwand Cheese Factory, in Section 26, Colby Township, was established in 1882 by Andrew Steinwand, a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, who, with his family, settled in Clark County in 1875; and the factory has been operated continuously ever since, making the famous soft cheese which has given Colby its reputation. Andrew Steinwand retired in 1895, since which time the business has been carried on by his son, Joseph F. Another son, Ambrose M. Steinwand, is proprietor of the old Schultz factory in Section 3, Colby Township, having purchased it in 1898.

Another enterprise of this nature was started in Colby city, under private ownership, in July, 1916, the Colby Star Cheese Factory, which is located in that part of Colby, which lies just across the line in Marathon County. The building was erected in 1916, and is provided with living rooms upstairs. The factory at present has thirty-five patrons, the number having been steadily increasing. About 350 cows furnish the milk, of which 1,135,800 pounds was received in 1917. For this the farmers were paid $25,434, the product being sold for $27,844.35. The amount of butter fat produced during the same year was 119,736 pounds. The proprietor of the factory is Henry G. Mauel.

The Colby postoffice was established in 1872 in the store of George Ghoca, who was the first postmaster. He was followed in that office by I. C. Ghoca, whose successor was George Walbridge. After Mr. Walbridge came J. W. Wicker, who served four years, then Samuel J. Shafer, who also served four years, as did Joseph S. Shafer, Samuel's successor. Then

President McKinley appointed H. J. Blanchard, who was postmaster for eighteen years and six months. The present incumbent of the office is Mrs. Carrie Kautsky, who was appointed in 1916. Colby was made a money order office during the postmastership of S. J. Shafer, and a postal savings bank under that of H. J. Blanchard. Two rural routes were established in 1904, there being one carrier on each route. The postoffices of Wein, Cherokee and Green Grove were then discontinued. In 1900 the Colby postoffice was robbed of $700 in stamps and money.