CHAPTERS
I. Descriptive
1
II. The Indians
8
III. Early Settlement
16
IV. Growth and Foreign Immigration
32
V. Means of Communication
42
VI. Marine
55
VII. Railroads
85
VIII. Military
112
IX. Politics
133
X. Village and City Government
167
XI. Churches
183
XII. Societies and Organizations
227
XIII. Education
243
XIV. The Press
255
XV. The Professions
278
XVI. Banks and Banking
281
XVII Business and Industry
288
Errata and additions
316
Appendixes
293(A), 294(B), 300(C), 313(D)
Index
P 32 - CHAPTER IV - GROWTH and FOREIGN IMMIGRATION
From 1847 the growth and settlement of the county, beyond the few lumbering
villages, commences and the change to the agricultural stage begins to be apparent.
This was due in large part to the German immigration, induced by the political
troubles then in progress in that country. As before mentioned Frederick Borcherdt
was the first German to settle in the county, coming in the year 1841. Among the
other early settlers of Teutonic birth were L. Katzmeyer, Ludwig Alsweide, Nicholaus
and Valentine Meyer and Henry Grube, all of whom established themselves in Kossuth
before the end of 1846 and George Dusold, a Bavarian, who moved to Manitowoc from
Milwaukee in 1846 and was employed at the Rapids for some months as a tanner under
G. Musson, at that time county clerk. A year later he moved to Manitowoc and was one
of the first German settlers on the south side of the river. It was in that year
that the rush of German immigration first began to make itself felt. In 1846 the
population of the county had been 629, while in 1847 it was increased to 1285. Among
the first Germans to arrive were a group of Holstein, whom F. Borcherdt had induced
to settle in Mishicott and Two Rivers. Next came fifteen families of Saxons, who
soon after settled in Mishicott and then a number of Rhenish Prussians, who sought
the southern part of the county, principally the township of Newton, some forty-
seven families settling there, including F. Truettner, who is said to be the first
settler in that town, Frederick Schmitz, C. Schmitz, H. Meyer and others. Some of
the Prussians were induced by C. Esslinger, a Bavarian, who had been in America
since 1837 and was the Buffalo agent of Jones &
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Allen, to take up their abode at the village of Manitowoc and they thus aided to
bring that center into prominence. Others went to Kossuth, while many of them moved
to Sheboygan county. A large number of these earlier immigrants were Lutherans. At
about the same time (1847) many arrived from Lippe-Detmold, being directed from
Milwaukee to Manitowoc and Sheboygan counties by Frederick Reiniking and settling in
the former district, principally in the towns of Newton and Centerville, the city of
Manitowoc and a few in Cooperstown and Kossuth. Many of them were extremely poor and
worked in the saw mills. A large part of them were members of the Reformed Church.
The first settler in the town of Centerville was W. N. Adams, who had arrived in
1847, but in a few months the land was largely taken up by immigrants from Saxony,
some of whom were Lutherans, while others were Roman Catholics. It will be noticed
that this early influx of settlement seemed to center in the eastern and southern
parts of the county. As time went on, however, the Germans gravitated westward,
notably the Pommeranians, who were quite a factor in the early settlement of
Cato, Franklin, Maple Grove and Rockland. Mecklenburgers and Hanoverians largely
centered in Manitowoc, although many from these regions were to be found scattered
in various townships also. Some West Prussians also found their way to Maple Grove,
Oldenburgers to Liberty and Two Rivers, Westphalians to Kossuth and Newton, while
Bavarians were scattered through the county. In 1854 the colony of Badenese,
mentioned elsewhere, settled in Eaton, founding St. Nazians under the leadership of
Father Oschwald. A pamphlet on Wisconsin's advantages and those of Manitowoc county
in particular, written by Gustav Richter, was printed in 1849 and gained a wide
circulation, doubtless being a considerable factor in determining the destination
of many immigrants. It will be seen from the above descriptions how heterogeneous
was the nature of the early German settlement, every portion of that land being
represented, a fact which doubtless had most beneficial influences on later
development. The emigration of the fifties and sixties was largely from the
P 34
northeastern part of that country. This element in the population has always been a
strong one in the county, nearly 25 per cent of the inhabitants being of German
nationality and an even greater proportion of such parentage.
Another considerable element in immigration early in evidence was that of the
Norwegians. The first Norwegian resident of the county was Soren Ballensted, who
came in 1843 and who was followed by his brother Allie a few years later. In 1848
O. Torrison settled at Manitowoc Rapids, acting as a clerk in the mercantile
business for some time. In that and the next year following the influx of Norwegians
was great, many settling in the town of Liberty and Eaton, being the first to come
to that region, while others remained in the village of Manitowoc. The first
settlement in Eaton was by a Norwegian, O. Swenson, in 1849 although C. Eaton built
a sawmill there soon after. Among the early settlers of Liberty were J. Stephenson,
O. K. Gigstad and K. O. Oppen. As a sturdy and law abiding people they had no equal
and much of the county's prosperity is due to their efforts. Another element in the
immigration of the later forties were the Irish. The present towns of Maple Grove,
Rockland, Cato, Meeme, Liberty and Franklin were largely settled by them during that
period. Among the early settlers of Maple Grove were T. Morrissey, T. Watt and Ava
Smith, the last named being an Englishman and enjoying the distinction of having
named the township. He built a small house also in 1848 in what is now the town of
Franklin and soon a large number of Irish settlers were grouped there, among them
were P. Mullins, J. Doolan, J. Kirby and also William Playfair, a Scotchman. In
Rockland D. B. Knapp was the first settler arriving in 1849, closely followed by J.
Woodcock, L. Cooney and a large number of English families. At about the same time
a large number of English pioneers, including William Eatough, James Robinson, C.
Hall and J. Squirrel settled in Kossuth and the northern part of the town of
Manitowoc. The northern part of Meeme was almost entirely an Irish community. The
town was first settled by H. Edson in May 1847, he having been formerly a resident
of Rapids, and among the early
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Irish settlers were D. Nagle, Peter and Henry Mulholland, J. Doolan and P. O'Shea.
Scotch and English were scattered through the county in smaller numbers, most of
them arriving between 1848 and 1853. French Canadians also came to the county and
settled in and about Two Rivers.
The census of 1850 showed the population to be 3,720 of which 1378 were of German,
246 of Norwegian, 175 of Irish, 129 of British and 165 of Canadian birth, while
there were in all 255 foreigners from other European states in the county. Of the
native born inhabitants 409 were of Wisconsin and 376 of New York birth while 742
came from other states. The tremendous gain of 200 per cent. in numbers since 1847
shows the extent of immigration and also explains much of the activity of the later
years. The division of the population among the then existing townships is also of
interest, being as follows: - Cooperstown 84, Centerville 210, Manitowoc 766, Rapids
966, Meeme 210, Newton 522, Two Rivers 924.
It was in 1850 that the first scourge of cholera broke out in the county. The
disease had been in evidence in Milwaukee the year before and it was in August of
the following year that it appeared in Two Rivers. On Sunday August 5th, the Indians
at that place had been having a celebration; the next day many fell sick and six
died.
Six more succumbed in another twenty-four hours and the bodies were hastily buried,
all in one pit. Within a week the little settlement received three distinct shocks
and out of three hundred people then living there fifty died while many more were
taken ill. H. H. Smith, the father of the village, was himself stricken with the
disease and a son died, as well as eight of his mill hands. The last shock occurred
on Monday August 13th, when a boat was expected, upon which most of the surviving
settlers prepared to embark. Its arrival was, however, delayed three days and as
soon as it reached the dock, a stampede occurred, Mr. Smith furnishing the funds
for the exodus of many of his employees, most of whom sought refuge at Sheboygan.
The disease also spread to Manitowoc, where twenty two settlers died and two Indians
living near the Rapids also succumbed and were left unburied until H. F. Hubbard and
Lyman Emerson
P 36
volunteered to inter the corpses. On September 4, 1850 H. H. Smith had a notice,
dated at Two Rivers, placed in the Sheboygan Mercury, which read as follows: "No
new cases of cholera have occurred at this place for the last ten days. It may
now be considered as healthy and all absent from the place may return with perfect
safety." It was, however, several years before the village regained its former
position. Four years later another siege of the plague was encountered and this time
proved particularly virulent on the north side of the river at Manitowoc. The
epidemic lasted four weeks and many died, including Judge Ezekiel Ricker and
District Attorney James L. Kyle. The cemetery was then on Park Street and many were
the new graves dug during those few terrible days. Doctor Preston was the only
physician in the village and his faithful and wearing service during the panic was
long remembered. Several also died of the disease in Kossuth and other portions of
the county at this time. A village board of health, consisting of D. A. Reed, F.
Langenfeld, G. Dusold, K. K. Jones, P. Glover and E. R. Smith, were appointed in
July, but were unable with the means at hand to do much in combat of the deadly
disease.
The growth of the county in population, so rapid from 1847 to 1850, continued
unabated in the succeeding years. By 1855 the county numbered 13,050 inhabitants,
a gain of 10,000 in five years. The influx of settlement was mainly made up of
Germans, although many of the immigrants were Irish, Norwegian, Scotch and English.
Then, too, another element was added by the entrance of the Bohemians on the field.
The first of this race to come to the county was Michael Kellner, who purchased a
home in the western part of the town of Kossuth in 1846. After working for some time
as a tanner in Green Bay, spending an occasional Sunday at home, he built a tannery
of his own at what later became Kellnersville, later adding a mill and store to his
property. In 1852 fifteen Bohemian families settled there and soon after a Catholic
church was started. A few years later another colony of Bohemians was established in
the southern part of Kossuth and after a time large numbers of that race found their
way to various
P 37
parts of the county, notably Gibson, Two Creeks, Cooperstown and Manitowoc Rapids.
A number of Welsh settlers also established themselves in the southern part of
Meeme shortly before 1855. During the early fifties the first inhabitants of the
present town of Schleswig made a settlement, among them being D. Able, after whom
the town was in its first years of existence named and others. The village of Kiel
dates from 1856, at which time the founders, H. F. Belitz and F. R. Gutheil
purchased a large part of the present site. Clarks Mills was also established in
the early fifties, the village growing up around the mill built there by Ira Clark.
To show the rapidity of growth of the county's population it may be remarked that
in 1854 three steamers alone brought two hundred immigrants from Buffalo.
Accompanying this growth in settlement there was also a remarkable increase in the
amount of Agricultural products raised in Manitowoc, the wheat crop alone rising
from 214 bushels in 1849 to 38415 bushels in 1855.
Village life was also progressing during this period. Manitowoc by 1855 had 2185
inhabitants, of which 1385 were of foreign birth. This was divided as follows: First
ward, 1507, Second ward, 678, showing that the north side had by that time lost its
earlier ascendancy. The depression in the lumber trade, which the market experienced
in 1851 and 1852 did not seem to affect local prosperity to any great extent and
trade in many commodities showed a rapid increase. Even as late as 1851, however,
the commerce of Manitowoc did not equal that of Two Rivers, the exports of the
latter place in that year being $112,762 while those from Manitowoc were $72,122,
the imports from Two Rivers being $106,721, while those into Manitowoc amounted to
$115.010. This fact was largely due to the increasing industrialism at Two Rivers.
Cyrus Whitcomb and Rufus Allen had organized the Wisconsin Leather Company in 1850
and an extensive tannery under the management of the former was soon in operation.
In lumber also Two River's exportation was almost double that of Manitowoc, while
that of shingles was about four times as large. Said J. Gregory in his book,
Industrial Resources of
P 38
Wisconsin, published in 1853; "The lumber trade of Two Rivers must be considerable,
when at a very early season 5,500 logs have been got out, ready to float down the
river. When sawed, these will make ten million feet of lumber. Shingles and cedar
posts to an enormous amount have been bought for the Chicago market, which depends
entirely on other states for its supply of lumber." The population of the town of
Two Rivers was 1852 in 1855, double that in 1850, although of course a part of this
increase was outside the village, which at this time had not been set off from the
town. On the other hand the village of Rapids had ceased to grow, the whole township
gaining but 78 inhabitants in the five years elapsing between censuses. Neshoto,
however, still retained its importance, the exports in 1854 from that village being
3,500,000 feet of lumber, 50,000 feet of lath, 400,000 feet of pickets, 850 cords
shingle bolts, 24,000 railroad ties and 700,000 shingles. Mishicott also thrived,
the mills of Messrs. Smith and Sprague doing a prosperous business. Branch was one
of the villages that grew rapidly at this period, too, the mills of Charles
McAllister and E. Lenaville being thriving institutions. The former was sold to the
firm of Lee & Cain in 1854. At about this time mills were built at several other
places in the county and in 1853 the largest of these plants, that of B. Jones &
Company, was constructed at Manitowoc, it employing fifty men.
The county cannot be said to have changed from lumbering to an agricultural
community until at least 1865. While of course before this time the farm land had
gradually acquired greater and greater extent, the lumbering industry still led in
point of financial returns and the county accordingly continued to be regarded as
a source of supply. Thus from 1855 to 1860 the number of mills increased largely
and many settlements grew up around them. This was true at Reedsville, where
Klingholz, Reed and Stupecky built a mill in 1856 and at Cato where Lyon and
Chamberlain started a similar enterprise. Other mills were started at Branch by
Pierce and Slye, at Meeme by Weeks & Co., while Pierpont, Hall & Company bought up
the Taylor and Pendleton interests at Two
P 39
Rivers, making them one of the largest lumber dealers in the county. The depression
in the lumber trade in 1858 somewhat affected the county, but nevertheless a large
increase in the amount of exports was noticeable all through the fifties, the county
being the ninth in the state as regards this industry. In 1857 the total exportation
of the product was 31,400,000 feet, valued at $314,000, while as late as 1865 the
exports of Two Rivers alone amounted to 12,255,737 feet. The timber supply was being
rapidly depleted, however, and thus it was not many years before mill after mill
ceased running and as time passed, only a few vestiges of the former industry
remained.
Manitowoc County's population in 1860 was 22,412, the gain since 1855 having been
somewhat smaller than in the preceding five years. Nearly one thousand of this
increase had been in Manitowoc village, which now had a population of 3065, divided
between three wards of 1051, 1109 and 905 inhabitants respectively. Two Rivers
gained somewhat more slowly, registering 1340 inhabitants in its two wards. Large
gains had been made in various of the rural townships also, notwithstanding many had
been decreased in size by the setting off of new ones. In ten years also the acreage
in improved lands had increased from 1122 to 26,177, while that of unimproved farm
land had also risen for 6927 to 40,936, the total valuation reaching $801,102 in
1860in comparison with $49,500 in 1850. Wheat was the leading product and according
to the census of 1860 the total yield was 135,147 bushels, betokening a remarkable
agricultural growth. Yet the fact that the county was largely in its original state
is proved by the abundance of wild game, bears and deer being shot within a few
miles of the lake shore hamlets. Due to the course of the war the increase of
population from 1860 to 1865 was small, being but 4330, the inhabitants of the
county in the latter year numbering 26,742, the village of Manitowoc including 3398
and that of Two Rivers 1300. But notwithstanding the war material progress here, as
elsewhere at the North continued unabated. It was at this period that the village of
Two Creeks was founded due to the establishment of a
P 40
tannery by G. Pfister & Co., at that place. The village of Kiel also prospered but
seemed to be much more tributary to Sheboygan than to Manitowoc markets, due to
better transportation facilities. Another Schleswig village, Rockville was also
established, a grist mill being located there. In fact the grist mill at this time
took the place of the lumber mill in many settlements, several being constructed in
Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Mishicott and Rapids. In 1866 the village of Centerville was
given birth, largely from the fact of the erection of a brewery by C. Scheibe, and
the erection of a pier two years later. Grimms station also dated from this period
as does Tisch Mills. A large number of Bohemians and Norwegians poured into the
county in the sixties and in the latter part of the decade the Poles commenced to
arrive also, settling most largely in the southwestern part of Manitowoc, the
village of Two Rivers and in the towns of Newton and Two Rivers. By 1870 the
county's population had reached 33,369, of which 5168 was credited to Manitowoc and
1365 to Two Rivers, the latter place having received hardly any increase in ten
years.
By 1875 the population of the county had increased to 38,456, a gain of over five
thousand in five years. A large part of this growth was in the urban communities,
the population of Manitowoc being 6724, and that of Two Rivers 1951 the increase
being largely due to increase in manufacturing and the new railroad facilities
offered by the Milwaukee, Lake shore and Western. The latter also increased the
importance of the little hamlets that happened to lie along its line, including
Centerville, Newton, Branch, Cato, Grimms, Reedsville, and Pine Grove. Kiel was also
given a healthy impetus by the Milwaukee and Northern, which was built at that time.
In 1875 fully one-half of the population were foreign born although this percentage
declined in later years. Strange to say the years 1875-1880 witnessed a decrease of
1050, the census of the latter year showing a population of 37,506. Most of this
falling off was due to the movement westward on the part of the American settlers
from various of the rural portions of the county. But the
P 41
urban centers suffered also, Manitowoc losing 357 inhabitants, although Two Rivers
gained a few, her population in 1880 amounting to 2052. Manitowoc suffered because
of the removal of the railroad shops. Nevertheless by 1885 she had recovered
herself, then having 6881 inhabitants. Two Rivers also gained, registering an
increase of 512, while the county's population had increased to 38,692, although the
migration westward continued. Many of the farms thus left idle were, however, bought
up by foreign immigrants and the sum total of agriculturists was not decreased.
Between 1885 and 1890 another decrease in the county's population was noticeable,
it falling of to 37,831, although the inhabitants of Manitowoc and Two Rivers had
increased to 7710 and 2870 respectively. This shows the decline of the agricultural
community in a marked way. Nevertheless the amount raised was constantly increasing,
while the horticultural and dairy interests became increasingly profitable. By 1895
the county was again seen to be gaining the population being 40,802, most of this
increase taking place in the two cities, Manitowoc having according to this census
9427 inhabitants and Two Rivers 3593. The gain continued in the succeeding five
years, the last census of the nineteenth century giving the county's population as
42,261, of which the city of Manitowoc included 11,786 and Two Rivers 3748, while
the villages of Kiel and Reedsville numbered 924 and 528 inhabitants respectively.
The city of Manitowoc has expanded above all as a commercial and not as a
manufacturing center. Two Rivers, on the other hand, has pursued the opposite line
of development, its manufactured products being great in quantity and of wide
exportation. A comparative table of the products of the county according to each
census will be found in appendix "A". Of the growth of the county's commercial and
manufacturing interests the story is told later.