Withee Town

Withee Town

The village of Withee, with a population of 500 or more, is situated in the northern part of Clark County, on the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway, about two miles east of the Black River. It has telegraph and express service, while its leading business enterprises are a bank, sawmill, creamery and newspaper. The principal industries in the vicinity are farming and lumbering.

It was in the summer of 1870 that the first permanent white settler came to the vicinity of what is now Withee. He was James 8. Boardman and he came from Minnesota. George W. Richards and David R. Goodwin were the next comers, and every year brought a few more,

Winneoka post office was established in 1874 with Bernard J. Brown as postmaster. He kept the office at his farm and added a small stock of goods which he sold to the neighboring settlers. Previous to this the settlers had received their mail through the post offices at Chippewa Falls and Greenwood, and had packed or toted all their provisions from those points.

On Nov. 23, 1880, the first passenger and freight train ran over the new line of the Wisconsin Central Railway (now the "Soo" line) from Abbotsford to Chippewa Falls, and opened up the development of that timbered country with a rush. The settlement at Withee thrived and soon became a prominent station on the new road. It was named after N. H. Withee, a school teacher from Maine, who was county treasurer for several consecutive years and enjoyed the entire contidence of the electors of the county.

On Aug. 27, 1881, the village was platted, the survey being made by J. A. Dupre. In the same year the first store was built and was operated for two months by E. A. Eaton, who then sold out to W. S. Tufts. The next building erected for business purposes was put up by William Valiquette as a saloon. In 1890, the Tufts store was one of the largest in the county. Mr. Tufts was then the postmaster, the office being at the termination of the stage line running from Neillsville through Christie, Greenwood, Hemlock and Longwood to Withee. In the same year Withee had another general store, a grocery and confectionary store, a hotel, a blacksmith shop, a saloon and a large lumber yard. The village was then the shipping point for the D. J. Spaulding mills located on the Popple River at the present site of Owen. The arrival of the Danish people in 1894 gave a decided impetus to the village and surrounding country.

Early in 1901 steps were taken for the incorporation of the village, the survey being made March 4 by C. S. Stockwell, and a census taken March 8 by E. B. Clifton, the latter showing a population of 304. The application, made March 9, was signed by John Christenson, P. H. Hansen, Joe Krom, W. C. Tufts, Chr. L. Wasgaard, O. C. Jensen, D. Conley, J. W. Davidson, W. T. Nielsen, Hans Frederiken, R. Johnson, Christ Jensen, Alex. Laberge, Mrs. L. Moody, C. A. Brown, Louis Thibert, C. W. Funk, Prime Laberge, Chas. Kuehl, Paul A. Paulson, C. H. Senn, T. H. Barber and W. H. Smith. The petition was granted April 27, the same year, and the vote of the inhabitants being in favor of the proposition, the village was incorporated shortly after. The first president was C. W. Funk and the first clerk W. F. Nielsen.

In 1908, the year after the water system was put in, the volunteer fire department was organized, of which Carl Berger is now chief. The department has one hose cart, with 700 feet of hose, and one hook and ladder truck. The great loss by fire in the history of the village was in 1897 when the Tufts store was burned.

The educational facilities of Withee have been well taken care of and have advanced with the general progress of the community. The first school was held in a small building of one room, erected in 1883, the teacher being Lucinda Amo, The present building, of red brick, was built in 1890 and contained four rooms. Subsequent additions have increased the number of rooms to ten, in which all the grades are taught, including a high school course and agriculture. The building is steam heated and a library has been provided for the use of the pupils.