Lynn Town

Lynn Town

George Ure and Gottlieb Sternitzky were the founders of the town of Lynn and the little village of the same name. The two pioneers came from Chicago in 1856, Mr. Ure paying $300 for an eighty, which he never saw, but which turned out to be a first class piece of land, now worth thirty or forty times the cost price. They drove through from Sparta with a team. Bartemus Brooks and sons Alonzo, Dan and Erwin, were also among the first comers, and Archibald Yorkston arrived shortly after, and Frederick Yankee with his sons August, William, Herman and Henry, all of whom are well known Clark County residents today.

In the old days it was the custom for all the settlers to club together and go to Sparta for flour once a year. One year Mr. Hoover was so sick that he could not accompany the caravan and when they returned they found him without flour in the house. He dickered with a neighbor for a barrel of flour in exchange for forty acres of land, on which later over a million feet of pine timber was cut by W. T. Price.

Lynn is a station on the branch line of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad up from Babcock where it connects with the main line. This line crosses the Omaha railroad a half mile from Lynn. The two roads were built at the same time and there was a sharp clash when the construction crews met at the junction. The Omaha was pushing through from Neillsville to Marshfield and the St. Paul had dreams of a through line to the Superior country, The St. Paul got to the crossing first and chained an engine to the tracks and had a carload of armed men guard the right of way and for several days excitement ran high although it subsided without any physical violence. The Wisconsin Central pushed through a line to Ashland about the same time and the St. Paul never completed its line, but the prompt work of the contractors in those early days gave it the right of way at the junction although it runs only three or four trains a week while the Omaha has several through trains daily.

Chili

The village of Chili was started when the Omaha road was built in 1890. Before that time the principal settlers in around there were Ira and Sydney Fike who came from Michigan a generation or so before and were logging for a Necedah firm, Whiston Davis was also one of the early settlers. P. N. Christenson operated a saw mill there for many years. Since the village plat was laid out, it has had a steady and sure growth, until now it is a thriving settlement with a bank, a farmers' co-operative produce company, two general stores, a hardware store, cheese factory, garage, harness shop, meat market and potato warehouse, A few years ago Chili occupied a front page position in the newspapers on account of a bold robbery in mid day, a stranger dropping off the afternoon train, entered the bank, held a gun to the cashier and made away with several thousand dollars and not a trace of him was found, although the alarm was sounded and hundreds of men searched every nook and corner for miles around for several days.

Other Villages

The platted villages of Clark County in addition to those incorporated, are Weston's Rapids, Humbird, Willard, Osborn, Poznan, Columbia, Allison, Atwood, Lynn, Chili and Eidsvold. Weston's Rapids was platted Feb. 10, 1859, on lots 8 and 7, and the Northeast quarter of the Southeast quarter of Section 2, Township 24, Range 2 West. It was surveyed by Moses Clark for Samuel Weston. Humbird, formerly Rocky Mound, was platted on land of Almond Alderman, in 1869. Bidsvold was platted June 14, 1884, on land of Jacob Bye'& Co. Lynn was surveyed in Sections 5 and 8, Township 24, Range 1 East, Feb. 12, 1890, by George Ure on land of James G. and Henry Sternitzky. Chili was platted Nov. 13, 1891, on land owned by Ira, F. C. and S. E. Fike, and the Neillsville Manufacturing Co. Columbia was platted Aug. 4, 1893, for the Columbia Improvement Co. Poznan, Sections 34 and 35, Township 29, Range 3 West, was platted Aug, 16, 1895, on land of the Sterling Lumber Co. Willard was platted June 11, 1911, on land of the N. C. Foster Lumber Co. Atwood was platted May 15, 1910, on the northeast quarter of Section 27, Township 28, Range 1 West, for the Tri-State Land Co. Osborn was platted on the Northeast quarter of Section 17, Township 27, Range 1 East, Oct. 15, 1910, by the same company, Allison was platted Oct. 15, 1914, on lots 6 and 7, Township 23, Range 3 West, for the Wisconsin Railway Light & Power Co.

Mapleworks, a stagecoach stopping place, now abandoned, was located about a half mile northeast of the present village of Granton. At one time it was a busy little rural center with two stores, a saloon, a postoffice and several residences, The village had its beginning with Nelson Marsh, and was platted years later by Sylvester Marsh.

Nelson Marsh reached this vicinity in 1857, coming with an ox team by way of Sparta and cutting a temporary road through the trackless forest. He located not far from the present village of Granton, and established a farm and tavern and stopping place on the old stage route from

Neillsville to Stevens Point which was established in 1858. There was a postoffice in his house - Mapleworks by name, although it should have been Maplewoods, the chirography of the early settlers being deciphered wrong by the postal authorities at Washington. The stage route was maintained until the railroad came through and on the old maps of the county Mapleworks is one of the two or three places marked in Clark County.

Charles Cornelius came here in 1877. At that time the postoffice was at the home of Nelson Marsh, and a Grange Store had been started. He bought out the Grange Store, and induced Mike Grasser to open a blacksmith shop, and Henry Limburg a wagon shop. Ernest Crevecoeur opened a furniture establishment, and a physician, Dr. Keller settled here. Later, Mr. Cornelius sold his dry goods department to his brother-in-law, Adam Reichert, and his hardware department to S. L. Marsh. The Reichert store was burned, but the Marsh store was moved to Granton. The little hamlet grew until 1890, when Granton was established, when the business of the village was transferred to the new site.

Romadka is a neighborhood center in York Township, near the end of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. It was formerly the site of a flourishing mill, and the headquarters of extensive lumber operations, and it is still an important place for the shipping of stock and cordwood, John P. Kintzele having several cordwood shipping points in the neighborhood. The name of Mr. Kintzele has been intimately connected with Romadka, and he still has his home and farm there though now serving as register of deeds. In the early eighties, George Hiles organized the Milwaukee, Dexterville & Northern Railroad, and a line was built from Dexterville via Newton to Lynn. Later the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul extended the line through the towns of Lynn and York to Romadka. A survey of this line has been made through York, Loyal, Eaton, and northwestwardly through the county to Bateman in Chippewa County, but the line has not been built beyond Romadka. The story of Romadka is an interesting one. The Northern Manufacturing Co. located at Seymour, Wis., reorganized as the Romadka Manufacturing Co. and in 1883 established a large mill in Section 24, York Township, where they started the manufacture of hubs, spokes and wagon felloes, in addition to general sawmilling. John P. Kintzele came here as their agent. At that time the nearest railroads were the Omaha at Neillsville, and the Wisconsin Central at Marshfield. All the product of the mill had to be hauled out and the supplies hauled in. When plans were made for extending the Omaha from Neillsville to Marshfield, it was thought that the line was to run near the mill, but the survey was changed, so the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul started to extend their road from Lynn to Romadka. There was a merry race as to which should be the first to reach the crossing and thus establish the grade. There was much excitement and many personal encounters between the members of the crew. But the St. Paul crew won, and though the line is now but in little use, and the Omaha runs several through trains every day, nevertheless the St. Paul still has the right-of-way at the crossing. About the same time, the Wisconsin Central built from Marshfield to Greenwood. William H. Upham, logging for Davis & Starr, built a logging road from this line extending through Sections 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, Fremont, and Sections 1, 12, 11 and 14 in York, to within twenty rods of the St. Paul Line. After this logging road was taken up, a part of the roadbed in Section 14 was used for an extension of the St. Paul line.

Windfall was one of the earliest community centers in Clark County. It received its name from the fact that the heavy winds of the pioneer days had left a large area of devastated forest and fallen trees. A schoolhouse was built at the cross roads, a number of farmers settled in the vicinity, and the name became well known. The schoolhouse was afterward moved to Granton, and enlarged, being now used as the ward school of that place.

Riplinger is a flourishing village with good prospects. It is located in Section 17, Unity, on the "Soo" line between Spencer and Owen. Formerly known as Osborn, it has received new life in the past few years, and is growing rapidly, being well situated in regard to the surrounding agricultural country. It is an important shipping center for cattle, wood and wood pulp. It has a sawmill, two stores, a meat market, a blacksmith shop, a garage, two saloons, a school house and a public hall.

Eidsvold is a small station on the "Soo" line, in the town of Thorp, between the villages of Thorp and Stanley. In 1887, it was already a point of some importance. An article written in 1887 says: "Eidsvold contains a combined saw, shingle and hoop mill, employing about fifty men, a blacksmith shop, a boarding house, a postoffice and a general store. The Eau Claire Lumber Co. has a dam across the North Fork of the Eau Claire River near this place, and Jacob Bye & Co., proprietors of the sawmill, plan to build another in the spring for the purpose of forming a pond to hold logs." The principal industries in the village are the cheese factory and general store.

Longwood, on the old maps, occupies a position equal almost in importance to the county seat, while the now prosperous villages of Owen, Thorp and Withee are not to be found. It was a post office and important trading station in the early days, but since the advent of the rural mail carrier is serene in the history of the olden time and its assurance that the development of the surrounding country must ever be its support even if other places outstrip it in importance. It is, however, still a busy little center with a store, a blacksmith shop, a cheese factory, a town hall, church and schoolhouse,

Hemlock is an abandoned village in Warner Township, deriving its name from an island of hemlock trees now washed away. In 1890 it was written: Hemlock is the location of the dam of the Black River Logging Company's dam, also of a grist- and saw-mill, the latter owned by N. H. Withee. The dam was completed in 1879 at a cost of $21,000, and is one of the most complete works of improvement in the county. Of other improvements, the grist-mill was finished in 1879 and is supplied with three run of stone. It is of frame, four stories high, and does a large local business . The saw-mill is also of frame, two stories high, and is furnished with a rotary and upright saw. The total investment is between $10,000 and

$15,000. The settlement is connected with Neillsville by telephone, erected in 1879 at a cost of $800." Nothing now remains but the ruined dam, and the abandoned buildings,

Columbia is a station on the Omaha line between Neillsville and Merrillan. It has a good looking school building, and several nice homes. Several years ago Columbia was boomed by a land company, but the exploitation was overdone and that part of the county until recently has suffered from the after effects of too much publicity.

Shortville, in Washburn Township, has a store, a cheese factory, a school and a church. It was founded by James, Andrew, John, Stephen and George Short.

Globe is an inland town, in Weston Township, ten miles north of Neillsville in the center of a prosperous farming community. It has a creamery, a large German Lutheran Church and school, and a store.

Christie is located on the old tote road, between Neillsville and Greenwood, and for years was an important postoffice in the county. It now has a store, two churches and a school,

Spokeville is one of the oldest hamlets in the county. It is located in the boundary, between Sherman and Loyal, on the "Soo" line, between Marshfield and Greenwood. Formerly, it had a large sawmill. It now has a store, a cheese and butter factory, a boarding house and a church.

Willard is a thriving place on the Fairchild & Northeastern, between Fairchild and Greenwood. It has two stores, a cheese factory, a boarding house, a Catholic Church and a school. A few years ago Ignatz Ceznic started to organize a colony of Slavs and kindred nationalities in the wilderness in the town of Hendren. Today that country is dotted with scores of prosperous farms, and the village of Willard is the market place for them, Mr. Ceznic had the backing of the Foster Lumbering Company, of Fairchild, in his work.

Tioga is located in Section 31, Hendren Township, on the Fairchild & Northeastern, between Fairchild and Greenwood. It has two stores and a hotel.

Shilling is located in Section 30, Beaver, on the Fairchild & Northeastern, between Greenwood and Owen. It has a railroad station, a store and a cheese factory.

Veefkind is located in Section 34, Sherman Township, on the "Soo" line, between Marshfield and Greenwood. It has a store and a cheese factory, a Catholic Church and a sawmill that is not now operated.

Atwood is a new village in Section 21, Green Grove, on the "Soo" line, from Spencer to Owen. It contains the railroad station, a store and a saloon.

Bright is located in Section 20, Greenwood, on the Fairchild & Northeastern, between Greenwood and Owen. It has a railroad station, a store and a cheese factory. The old sawmill is no longer operated.

Reseburg, located at the cornering of Sections 8, 9, 16 and 17, in Reseburg Township, is a trading center with a store, saloon, blacksmith shop, cheese factory, church and schoolhouse. The locality is also known as Mattes' Corners, and Ampe's Corners.

There are also a number of community centers and railroad sidings which bear local names. Some of them were formerly postoffices. West Bridge Junction is in Thorp Township, at the point where the Otter Creek Stub branches from the Stanley, Merrill and Phillips Railroad. Omaha Junction is in Fremont Township, where the Omaha crosses the St. Paul Railroad. Sydney, Tay and Trow are stopping places on the Omaha, between Neillsville and Merrillan. Gorman's and Owego are shipping points on the Fairchild & Northeastern in Hendren Township. Mentor is a shipping point on the same road in Mentor Township. Coxie is a shipping point on the same line, in Section 6, Beaver. Irene, Nevens and Dewhurst are inland centers in Dewhurst Township. Pleasant Ridge is an inland center in Grant, Snow, between Lynn and Fremont, Carlisle, between Levis and Washburn, and Ralph in Hoard. Cedarhurst in Fremont, and Kurth in Grant are shipping points on the Omaha. Boynton and Sawyer's Siding in Lynn are shipping points on the St. Paul. Weston's Rapids and Staftorasville are early abandoned villages north of Neillsville.