" A History Of Manitowoc County"
By Ralph G. Plumb.
COMPLETE AND ILLUSTRATED
BRANDT PRINTING & BINDING CO.
1904
Copyright, 1904 by
Brandt printing & Binding Co.,
Manitowoc, Wis
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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
PREFACE
A brief explanation as to the purpose of this book may not be out of place. Some
years ago when the author first resided in Madison, his attention was attracted
to the vast accumulated material on the subject of local Wisconsin history,
gathered together in the State Historical Library at that city, and particularly
to the hundreds of bound files of newspapers. At first he was led to a cursory
browsing in the early volumes of certain Manitowoc county weeklies and the
discovery of much interesting and generally forgotten information let to a more
detailed and systematic reading of the files. The interest in the pioneer
existence of the lake shore region thus aroused became more and more intense as
this study progressed and the final result was the determination to gather from
all possible sources as much material relating to the history of Manitowoc County
as could be found and the condensation and combination of it into a fairly readable
account. Old records, interviews and miscellaneous works have been valuable
adjuncts to the newspaper files in furnishing the basis of the work and although
the problem of selection presented was often a most difficult one, an attempt, at
least, has been made to follow approved historical methods in the recording and
interpretation of facts.
This, then, is the aim of this history. No claims are made for its literary merits.
On the other hand the author has more largely devoted his efforts towards securing
correctness in point of fact than elegance of style. Different phases in the
county's history are treated topically also, instead of an attempt being made to
write one connected story of the entire existence of the county, as it was thought
true prospective would thus be better afforded. It may be objected that too many
dates have been inserted. From the literary standpoint this is doubtless true, but
it must be remembered that above all the idea in writing this work was the recording
in some permanent form of many facts which in future years may be useful as well as
interesting, in regard to the beginning and progress of the county. The older
generation is rapidly passing off the stage of action and the original evidence of
historical value, such as landmarks, is being obliterated year by year. To preserve
at least a partial account of the changes made by the course of time was the task
the author set before him. Without further apology he submits the result to the
reader.
Ralph Gordon Plumb.
To the pioneers who made Manitowoc County what it is to day this work is dedicated
by the Author.
P 1 - CHAPTER I. - DESCRIPTIVE.
The territory embraced within the present limits of the county of Manitowoc is
situated as follows: from the shores of Lake Michigan on the east to Calumet
County on the west and from Sheboygan County on the south to Brown and Kewaunee
Counties on the north, all of the boundaries being regular with the exception of
the lake line and also the northwestern corner where Brown County makes an
indentation. The county lies in 44 degrees, 36 minutes, north latitude and its
area is 612 square miles. It is divided into eighteen townships, the northern row
being composed of Cooperstown, Gibson, Mishicott and Two Creeks, that next south
of the Maple Grove, Franklin, Kossuth and Two Rivers, then tier composed of
Rockland, Cato, Manitowoc Rapids and Manitowoc, south of them another, composed of
Eaton, Liberty and Newton and the tier furthest south being made up of Schleswig,
Meeme and Centerville. The largest of these is Kossuth which comprises forty
sections of land, while the smallest are Two Creeks and Manitowoc, which contain
about fifteen sections apiece. Cooperstown, Maple Grove, Franklin, Cato, Rockland,
Rapids, Liberty, Eaton, Meeme and Schleswig correspond in size to the legal
township, viz., thirty-six sections.
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The county is all within the territory covered by the Lake Michigan glacier in
prehistoric times, this fact having had its effect upon the conformation of the
land. The latter is gradually sloping from the western boundaries to the lake,
the Kettle Moraine which begins in Door County, traversing the western portion
in a southwesterly direction, thus forming a watershed between the streams running
into the Fox and its tributaries and those flowing into Lake Michigan. This range
of hills extend in a loop through the south central part of the state, the western
arm extending upwards as far as Langlade county. The underlying strata of the
county are a rock of a variety which is denoted by geologists as Niagara limestone.
Layers of this are exposed along the course of the West Twin River in the townships
of Gibson and Cooperstown and several caves are there found. These attracted but
little attention until the eighties, when, however, they became widely known as
curious formations. The prevailing soil is clay strongly impregnated in place with
limestone and with gravel in the northwestern part of the county. Sand is abundant
along the river valleys and on the lake shore, the latter being particularly adapted
for building purposes. The limestone is of a fine whitish variety and several
quarries, notably at Grimms Station, have been opened in order to utilize the
product. In some places it is of such a fine-grained quality that in an early day it
was mistaken for marble. Thus a discovery of supposed marble upon the Nachtwey farm
in the town of Gibson was once much heralded and several years before the Baker
marbles were widely know, being named after the discoverer, a resident in the town
of Rapids. The stone was remarkably compact and uniform in crystallization. In the
early thirties gold deposits were rumored to have been found in what is now Kewaunee
County, creating much excitement, it being supposed that this precious metal would
be found in that section of the state in considerable amount. Such hopes, however,
proved without foundation in fact. As early as 1850 one Joel Smith, brother of P. P.
Smith, while at work in the present township of Gibson, discovered specimens of what
was believed to be copper
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quartz, but owing to his subsequent blindness the vein was not located. At intervals
of a few years similar discoveries were made, leading finally to the sinking of a
shaft on the farm of Adolph Hudson, which, after fruitless endeavors of several
months in duration, was abandoned. Finds were later made on the Robinson farm in the
same vicinity, while similar discoveries have been made at times in the town of
Manitowoc Rapids. The clay in certain parts of the county, notably near the city of
Manitowoc, is of a peculiar variety, which can be manufactured into cream colored
brick and this industry has been an important one. On several occasions small veins
of natural gas have been struck, notably in Newton in 1865 and later in Manitowoc
Rapids, not of sufficient magnitude, however, to be a commercial value. Peculiar
black sand in the town of Two Creeks was early made use of in the manufacture of
matches and large quantities have continued to be exported. With these exceptions
the county has been without developed mineral resources.
The surface of the county is gently undulating, being the highest in the northwest
and southwest portions. The highest point in the county is in Township 21, Range 21
in the town of Schleswig, which is 359 feet above the level of the lake. The average
levels of various of the towns are as follows: - Cooperstown 210 feet, Gibson 95,
Mishicott 60, Maple Grove 200, Kossuth 100, Two Rivers 29, Cato 250, Manitowoc
Rapids 120, Manitowoc 50, Franklin 300, Meeme 200, Schleswig 290 and Centerville 60.
A portion of Eaton and Cato and a large part of Rockland are swampy, but as a whole
there is very little waste land. The county is well drained, thus adding greatly to
its fertility. The principal stream is the Manitowoc, after which the county was
named, which is forty-five miles in length and drains about four hundred square
miles. It rises in Calumet County and after a winding course through Rockland,
Eaton, Liberty, Cato, Rapids and Manitowoc, it finally empties into Lake Michigan,
its descent being 262 feet in the last fifteen miles of its course. Numerous small
tributaries swell its flow, notably the north branch which flows into it in the
western part of the town of Rapids, after draining
P 4
a goodly portion of the northern part of county, the North Mud Creek, which joins it
in the town of Rockland and which flows through Reedsville, and the South Mud Creek.
Good water power was afforded at an early day at eight places along the course,
notably at Murphy's mills and at Manitowoc Rapids. The stream was then much higher
than at present and was navigable for canoes nearly to Lake Winnebago, as Lapham
says in his description of Wisconsin, written in 1844. At about this time a canal
was proposed to connect it with Lake Winnebago, which would require, it was
estimated, thirty-seven locks but the project never received much attention. High
water and floods were often causes of great damage, those of 1881, 1885 and 1888
being particularly destructive to property, including many dams and bridges. At the
mouth of the river, where it entered the lake, sand bars formed before improvements
began and the lands in the vicinity were very low and marshy, necessitating much
filling in improving the village of Manitowoc.
The next largest streams of the county are the Twin Rivers, the Neshoto or West
Twin and the Mishicott or East Twin, which unite a few rods from the point, where
they enter the lake. The East Twin is the shorter and rises in the town of
Montpelier in Kewaunee County, flowing southward after being joined by Mauvais
Creek, while the West Twin rises in Brown County and flows through Cooperstown,
Gibson and Kossuth southeastward into the lake. Good water power was once utilized
on both, notably at Mishicott and Neshoto. The Sheboygan River flows southeastward
through the town of Schleswig and receives several tributaries from that portion of
the county, among them Meeme Creek. Water power was also early utilized on this
stream. Besides these principal rivers there are several creeks, emptying into the
lake at points along the shore, among them the Little Manitowoc, whose mouth is in
the northwestern part of the city of Manitowoc and whose course is largely marked by
marshes and bayous, Silver and Calvin Creeks, three and four miles south of the city
respectively, Point Creek, seven miles south and Centerville Creek, running through
the village of that
P 5
name. The southern and western parts of the county are dotted with small lakes.
Among the largest are Cedar Lake in the town of Schleswig, English Lake in Newton,
named after a surveyor who is said to have fallen in that bay of water, Pigeon Lake
in Liberty, Silver Lake in Rapids, Long Lake in Rockland and Prairie Lake in Meeme.
These, as well as the rivers and creeks, are fed by numerous springs of pure water.
In fact the water supply of the county is unvarying in quantity and high in quality.
At Manitowoc the nearness of the lake made it unnecessary to dig artesian wells but
the domestic wells used before a water works system was installed were very
satisfactory and the veins seemed inexhaustible. At Two Rivers, however, it was
necessary in one instance to drill 1700 feet before a flow was obtained and in
several portions of the county wells for farm purposes have been drilled to a
considerable depth.
When the first settlers came to the county they found it an almost impenetrable
wilderness. Pine was the prevailing timber, great forests of it growing along the
banks of the Manitowoc and in the northern part of the county. Hemlock was also
growing in great quantities, particularly in the northeastern part around Two
Rivers, while the tamarack filled the swamps in the western portion. The hard
varieties, such as the beech, elm and maple were also of abundant growth and the
wild crabapple, willow and sumach fringed the banks of the streams. The hand of the
lumberman in twenty years devastated this virgin forest but even up to the present
day the county has been fairly well wooded, particularly in the northern and western
portions. In the past the thick growth of trees offered in many respects an
excellent opportunity for the spread of fire and the fear of this danger was not the
least of the anxieties of the pioneer. The most destructive of the great forest
fires, which Wisconsin has experienced, that in 1871, touched the northern portions
of the county and resulted in great loss of property.
In other years also, among them 1864 and 1895, considerable damage was the result of
these conflagrations. The native vegetation of the county originally was that
usually found in the northern states. Wild
P 6
grape vines clung to the trees, berries were hidden under the pine needles, wild
rice grew in the marshes and the open places were carpeted with all the various
kinds of grasses. The hand of man here too soon made itself felt and as the years
rolled by waving fields of grain and rich meadows spread in extent until Manitowoc's
present reputation as an agricultural county was established. Hard wheat was the
first chief product of the cultivated soil but the softer varieties and oats, barley
and rye soon supplanted it, while hay was always an important crop. Vegetables find
the proper qualities in the soil to bring forth abundant crops and the result has
been that pease, beans, cabbages and potatoes have been raised in great quantities.
Manitowoc County pease, in particular, have, as canned products, gained a wide
reputation. Fruits too, principally apples, cherries and plums, are raised to a
considerable extent.
In the early days wild animals roamed at will through "the forests Primeval." Bears
subsisted on nuts and berries and were seen in the county as late as the sixties
quite frequently. In 1859 a lynx was shot within a half mile of Manitowoc and deer
were numerous even at a later period. The wild ducks and geese visited the wild rice
fields in the autumn and the rabbit, gopher and squirrel made their permanent
habitation in the trunks of old trees and beneath their roots. Snakes were never
very plentiful and those of a harmless variety. In the streams fish were abundant,
including bass, pickerel and "bullheads", while in the lake whitefish, trout and
herring were caught in quantities, Two Rivers being the center of that industry. In
the rivers of the northern part of the county, particularly in Kossuth and Gibson,
clams are abundant and several valuable pearls have been found. Crawfish are also
numerous at the mouths and along the courses of the streams.
In climate Manitowoc County has much, for which to be thankful. The mitigating
influences of the lake have prevented extremes of heat and cold and, although the
springs are frequently somewhat raw and inclement, the autumns are
P 7
til late October. The county has never been visited by a severe cyclone or destructive
winds and has in a remarkable degree escaped floods and droughts. On the whole Nature
did much in providing so favored a region for a community to work out the results, of
which the account is given in the succeeding pages.