Greenwood City

Greenwood City

Greenwood, situated not far from the geographical center of the county, is platted on a rise of ground, at the junction of the Black River and Rock Creek. Its pretty artificial lake, its sightly business houses and residences, its high water tower, its gently undulating adjacent farm lands, and its miles of good roads radiating in many directions, all tend to add to its beauty and charm, while its two railroads - the Fairchild & Northwestern and the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie, better known as the "Soo" - add to its importance as a trading and shipping center. Its principal shipments are dairy products.

later Albert Lambert built a mill not far away, and the locality became one of the pioneer milling centers of the county. In 1854, Elijah and Frederick Eaton arrived, and the former purchased the Van Dusen & Waterman mill. Lumber camps were established, and the place became known as Eatonville.

Robert Schofield came to this vicinity in 1855. Charles W. Carpenter arrived June 10, 1857, took up a large tract of land, and erected a log cabin, which, sided over, is still standing. In 1859 he sold out to S. C. Honeywell, who engaged in farming and lumbering. From time to time others came in.

Homer M. Root arrived in December, 1869. At that time S. C. Honeywell and Collett Durham had frame houses here, John Bowerman, William H. Begley and Stephen Andrews had log houses, and there was also a log schoolhouse, all on the east side of the river, while west of the river stood the mill of Elijah Eaton. The first merchant was 8. C. Honeywell, who had a small stock of goods in his house.

In 1870, Chandler & Brown, from Black River Falls, opened the first regular store, and the same year, W. H. Begley opened a hotel. Begley operated the stage coach from Black River Falls, and employed Jesse Crane as his first driver. On this stage line, two and a half miles south of Greenwood, Henry Huntzicker had a log tavern. A half mile further south, George H. Huntzicker had a log cabin. Between the two, but across the road, Jacob Huntzicker had his home. In 1875, George H. Huntzicker erected a larger tavern, which he operated until the late eighties.

The village of Greenwood was platted June 6, 1871, by William Welsh. He was assisted by Charles Hogue, Oscar Nutting and Frank Brown. The name was given by Mary Honeywell, later Mrs. Smith Honeywell, as befitting the beauty of the natural surroundings. It was replatted Aug. 16, 1895, by William B. Agnew for some sixty owners.

The first birth after the village was laid out was that of Maude Brown, daughter of B. F. Brown. The first marriage was that of John Honeywell and Rachael Hodges in the fall of 1871. The first death was that of Elijah Eaton, Dec. 4, 1872.

Settlers at first came in slowly. In 1890, the year before it was incorporated, the village contained three general stores, two hardware stores, two meat markets, two blacksmith shops, two millinery and dressmaking establishments, one wagon shop, one grocery store, one confectionary store, one flour and agricultural implement store, one harness shop, one shoe shop, one furniture store and factory, one hotel, one barber shop, one public hall, one Odd Fellows hall, one Methodist Episcopal Church, one photograph gallery, one creamery and one sawmill.

Greenwood has since then enjoyed a steady growth in importance and prosperity. Its three greatest disasters have been the fire of 1885, which destroyed eight buildings and left a blackened gap in the village, the fire of 1900, which destroyed the Kippenham & Palms heading mill, and the flood of 1914, which took out the dike dam, the dam and mill at Hemlock, and the bridge across the Black River, in addition to other damage done in this region up and down the valley.

Greenwood was incorporated as a city by act of the legislature (Chapter 131, Laws of Wisconsin, 1891), approved April 2, 1891. The first election was held May 5, 1891, in charge of the officials of the town of Eaton, Oscar Fricke, 8. L., Gates and John Stoneburg being the inspectors; John Huntzicker and Kinzie Andrews the clerks, and William Fricke and Robert McCalvy the ballot clerks. The successful candidates were: Mayor, David Justice; aldermen, Robert Schofield, B. F. Thompson, L. W. Larson and David Shanks; treasurer, S. M. Andrews; clerk, Elias Peterson; assessor, H. H. Hartson; police justice, A. A. Hartson; justices of the peace, T. A. Anderson and E. T. Pratt; supervisor, John Stewart. Among the other candidates were G. L. Buland, G. D, Andrews, H. W. Hunt, Jesse Crane, Henry Oxford, G. B. Begley, A. M. White and Albert Dingley. The first meeting of the council was held May 19, 1891. Ed. Hommel was made street commissioner, marshal and chief-of-police; H. J. Thomas was made health officer, and F. M. Carter and Michael O'Connell were made the constables.

The principal municipal improvements consist of the waterworks and fire protection, the electric light system with its magnificent dam, and the public library.

The library is supported by the city, and contains some 1,500 volumes. It is housed in rooms over the postoffice, in charge of Mrs, Ida E. Thompson.

The waterworks system was installed by Richard S. Kountz, of Neillsville, and operated as a private concern until taken over by the city. In 1911 the city added to the system a 40,000 gallon standpipe at a cost of $3,300, and the mains have been extended at various times. Water for fire protection and domestic use is pumped by electric pump with power from the power house. There is also for emergency use a steam boiler and steam pump, and a fifty-horsepower kerosene engine.

The fire department equipment consists of two hose carts, hand drawn. The department, which is entirely volunteer, is headed by Albert Schwarze, chief; William Schwarze, assistant chief, and C. C. Hoehne, foreman.

The dam across the Black River at this point was started in October, 1905, and accepted by the city council Aug. 6, 1906. Constructed with a twelve-foot head on a solid rock foundation, the dam proper is 253 feet long, of concrete, fifteen feet wide at the bottom, with an apron of thirtyfour feet. The spillway, six feet lower than the bulkheads on either side, is about 166 feet long, with six gates, 4 by 5 feet. The fishway is also 4 by 5 feet. The crib, under the powerhouse, is twenty-four feet. In constructing this dam, fourteen carloads of cement were used, three times as much sand, and five times as much gravel, making 126 loads in all.

The power house is 16 by 34 feet, with an eleven-foot ceiling. The wheel is a 33-inch turbine, 106 horsepower, with 175 revolutions per minute, under a 12-foot head of water. The dynamo is of the 60-kilowatt, 60- cycle, alternating current type, runs 900 revolutions per minute, and requires 75 horse power with full load. The system covers nearly four miles of poles, with seven street arc lights of 1,200 candle power, twenty-

The new school building, started in 1913, and opened in 1914, is of vitrified red brick, 61 by 100 feet, three stories high, with a complete gymnasium, in addition to the usual recitation, assembly, cloak and office rooms. The equipment is modern throughout, with steam heat, fan ventilation, hot and cold water throughout, and both tub and shower baths. The cost of the completed building was about $35,000. The force consists of nine teachers. There are four graded rooms, two grades to a room, and a full high school course, with special instruction in Domestic Science, Manual Training and Agriculture. The first school in this vicinity was taught by David Hoseley in a log cabin, on the present site of the La Crosse Brewery Building. This was during the war, and for a time the roster was limited to the children of Elijah Eaton, 8S. C. Honeywell and John Dwyer. The next school was kept at the cabin of Robert Schofield. After the village was surveyed a location was selected on the village site at the present location of the Greenwood State Bank Building. In the summer of 1881 a four-room frame building was erected at a cost of $7,000. At first only two rooms of this building were occupied, then three, and then four. The structure was used for educational purposes until the present school was erected. It is now occupied by the city as a city hall.

The cemetery is also under the control of the city. Formerly, it was under the supervision of the town officers. It was laid out in the late sixties, and is well situated a half mile west of the village, near the Black River.

The railroads have contributed materially to the prosperity of the city, the Wisconsin Central, now a part of the "Soo" system, having been built from Marshfield in 1891, and the Fairchild & Northwestern, the "Foster Road," having been built from Fairchild in 1895.

The Farmers and Citizens Club has been interested in the welfare of both city and country, while the newspaper and the two banks are doing their share to assist in the general development. The local telephone brings the people in closer contact. A shipping station furnishes an outlet for the dairy products of the region, and the principal business industries are the Greenwood Cheese House and the Greenwood Roller Mills. The American Society of Equity buys and ships stock for the benefit of its members.

The Greenwood Cheese House and Parafining Station was started in 1915, by the C. E. Blodgett Cheese, Butter & Egg Co., of Marshfield. It is an important factor in the development of the dairy interests of the county, as the sixteen cheese factories tributary to Greenwood send some 90,000 pounds of cheese here each summer to be parafined before shipping to the general trade.

The Eau Claire Creamery Co., with headquarters at Eau Claire, has operated a branch at Greenwood since 1906. The factory was erected as a creamery by Carl Gasshorn, who sold to the present company. Some cheese and butter was made as late as 1917, but the establishment is now entirely devoted to pasteurizing and shipping milk to outside points.

The Greenwood Roller Mills were built in 1916 by N. C. Foster, of Fairchild. The capital stock is $20,000, mostly owned in Greenwood. The mill has a daily capacity of fifty barrels of flour, and also turns out considerable feed. It is operated by steam power, and equipped with five sets of double rollers. The elevator, which is operated in connection, has a capacity of 25,000 bushels. H. H. Hartson is the manager.,