Wisconsin: Its Counties, Townships & Villages

276 Pages·2015·16.734 MB·English

by  Christine Klauer, Vickie Schnitzler, Wisconsin State Genealogical Society

SECOND EDITION

To purchase copies of this book contact:
Maia's Genealogy & History Books - www. MaiasBooks. com
or
Wisconsin State Genealogy Society - www.wses.ori’
DEDICATED
to our paternal great-great-grandparents,
Carl Friedrich and Charlotte Brummond Zastrow and
Philip Jacob and Elisabeth Specht Mack
who settled in Wisconsin in the mid 1800s.
They thought Wisconsin was a pretty nice place to raise a family.
They were right!
First Printing
Compiled by
Wendy (Zastrow) Uncapher
and
Linda (Zastrow) Herrick
Published by Origins
A division of Copycrafters Inc.
4327 Milton Avenue, Janesville, Wisconsin 53546
Copyright 1994
OCLC: ocm31175795
Second Printing
Compiled by Wisconsin State Genealogy Society
Christine Klauer & Vickie Schnitzler
P.O. Box 5106
Madison, WI 53705-0106
Published by AugcnSchaer Publishing
5480 North Meadows Blvd
Columbus, Ohio 43229
All rights reserved.
This book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by
any means, including electronic and Internet reproduction, without per¬
mission of the publisher and / or the authors.
Copyright 2015
ISBN: 978-1-935172-03-1
Made in the United States of America
Martha Mercer
Maia's Books / Origins Genealogy & History Books / AugcnSchaer LLC
5480 North Meadows Blvd
Columbus, Ohio 43229
Table of Contents
Title Page Florence 54 Pierce 144
Dedication ii Fond du Lac 56 Polk 147
Tabic of Contents iii Forest 60 Portage 151
Purpose iv Grant 63 Price 155
Order of Formation V Green 67 Racine 157
Evolution of Counties vii Green Lake 70 Richland 160
State of Wisconsin Map Iowa 72 Rock 163
Showing County
Iron 76 Rusk 166
Locations ix
Jackson 78 St. Croix 169
Terms in Land Records X
Jefferson 81 Sauk 172
Wisconsin Index Map xii
J uneau 84 Sawyer 176
County Pages
Kenosha 87 Shawano 179
Adams 1
Kewaunee 90 Sheboygan 182
Ashland 4
La Crosse 93 Taylor 185
Barron 7
Lafayette 96 Trempealeau 187
Bayfield 10
Langlade 99 Vernon 189
Brown 13
Lincoln 103 Vilas 192
Buffalo 16
Manitowoc 106 Walworth 195
Burnett 18
Marathon 110 Washburn 198
Calumet 21
Marinette 115 Washington 200
Chippewa 23
Marquette 119 Waukesha 203
Clark 26
Menominee 122 Waupaca 206
Columbia 29
Milwaukee 123 Waushara 209
Crawford 32
Monroe 126 Winnebago 212
Dane 35
Oconto 129 W'ood 216
Dodge 40
Oneida 133 Index 219
Door 43
Outagamie 136 Wisconsin Area Research
Douglas 46
Centers 248
Ozaukee 140
Dunn 49
Bibliography 249
Pepin 142
Eau Claire 52
The purpose of this book is to show township relationships an list as many towns (incorporated or
unincorporated), railroad depots and post office names as could be identified. It is amazing how
many towns changed their names and how many more do not exist anymore. These names were
gathered from a variety of sources including gazetteers, history books, plat maps and atlases. To
make things more confusing, county borders kept changing to form new counties. Some of the
sources used were printed before the borders were changed which would list a city in the wrong
county.
The spelling of town names seemed to change depending on the document and the new' postmaster.
The railroad and federal post office did try to eliminate the repeated or similar names. The railroad,
post office and village name were not always the same. Eventually these names combined under
one name and where possible there was an attempt to list name changes. Post offices were located
in hotels, general stores, or even the postmaster’s living room. A post office location may have been
merely a few houses or a drop point for the railroad. They are listed because it was the only address
a rural area would have.
We would appreciate receiving any information to improve on what we have started. We are sorry
for any errors or omissions and assume no responsibility for total accuracy. We were aware of
wrong information and spellings in the sources wc used and have tried to indicate them or have
found a solution to the problem. The dates used for the earliest births, marriages and deaths were
taken from a list published by the State of Wisconsin Department of Health and Human Services.
(In the 2015 edition wc also added in information in [ ] from the actual county courthouses if it was
different.)
Linton/Linnlon indicates different spellings of same name
Oakland (Center) name has been shortened to the first word only
(was Muskratville) was known previously by this name
(now Norwood in Langlade Co.) after the county lines changed a city would
sometimes be renamed
it indicated city falls in more than one township
★ indicates county seat location on map
What was once a thriving community
may now he hut a memory
landmarked by a lone house or foundation.
iv
Order of Formation of Wisconsin Counties
County When Formed Land Taken From County Seat
Brown October 26, 1818 Michigan Territory Green Bay
Crawford October 26, 1818 Michigan Territory Prairie du Chien
Iowa October 9, 1829 Crawford Dodgeville
Milwaukee September 6, 1834 Brown Milwaukee
Calumet December 7. 1836 Brown Chilton
Dane December 7, 1836 Crawford. Iowa. Milwaukee Madison
Dodge December 7, 1836 Brown Juneau
Fond du Lac December 7, 1836 Brown Fond du Lac
Jefferson December 7, 1836 Milwaukee Jefferson
Manitowoc December 7, 1836 Brown Manitowoc
Marquette December 7, 1836 Brown Montello
Portage December 7, 1836 Brown, Crawford Stevens Point
Racine December 7, 1836 Milwaukee Racine
Rock December 7, 1836 Milwaukee Janesville
Sheboygan December 7, 1836 Brown Sheboygan
Walworth December 7, 1836 Milwaukee Elkhom
Washington December 7, 1836 Brown, Milwaukee West Bend
Grant December 7, 1836 Iowa Lancaster
Green December 7, 1836 Iowa Monroe
Winnebago January 6, 1840 Brown, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Oshkosh
Marquette
Sauk January' 11,1840 Crawford, Dane, Portage Baraboo
St. Croix August 1, 1840 Crawford Fludson
Richland February 18, 1842 Crawford, Sauk Richland Center
Chippewa February 3, 1845 Crawford Chippewa Falls
Bayfield (LaPointe) February 19, 1845 St. Croix Washburn
Lafayette January 31,1846 Iowa Darlington
Waukesha January 31,1846 Milwaukee Waukesha
Columbia February 3, 1846 Portage Portage
Adams March 1 1, 1848 Portage Friendship
Kenosha January 30, 1850 Racine Kenosha
Marathon February 9, 1850 Portage Wausau
Oconto February 6, 1851 Brown Oconto
Door February 11, 1851 Brown Sturgeon Bay
Waushara February 15, 1851 Marquette Wautoma
Outagamie February 17, 1851 Brown. Winnebago Appleton
Waupaca February 17, 1851 Brown, Winnebago Waupaca
LaCrosse March 1, 1851 Crawford LaCrosse
Vernon (Bad Axe) March 1, 1851 Crawford Viroqua
Kewaunee April 16. 1852 Door Kewaunee
Jackson February 11,1853 LaCrosse Black River Falls
Shawano February 16, 1853 Oconto, Waupaca. Winnebago Shawano
Ozaukee March 7, 1853 Washington Port Washington
Pierce March 14, 1853 St. Croix Ellsworth
Polk March 14, 1853 St. Croix Balsam Lake
V
Clark July 6, 1853 Jackson Neillsville
Buffalo July 8, 1853 Jackson Alma
Trempealeau January 27, 1854 Buffalo, Chippewa. Jackson, Whitehall
LaCrosse
Dunn February 3, 1854 Chippewa Menomonie
Douglas February 9, 1854 Bayfield (LaPointe) Superior
Monroe March 24, 1854 LaCrosse Sparta
Burnett March 1, 1856 Douglas, Polk Siren (w'as Grants-
burg)
Wood March 7, 1856 Portage Wisconsin Rapids
Eau Claire October 6, 1856 Chippewa Eau Claire
Juneau October 13, 1856 Adams Mauston
Pepin February 25, 1858 Dunn Durand
Green Lake March 5, 1858 Marquette Green Lake
Barron (Dallas) March 19, 1859 Chippewa, Polk Barron
Ashland March 27, I860 Bayfield (LaPointe) Ahsland
Lincoln March 4, 1874 Marathon Merrill
Taylor March 9, 1875 Chippewa, Clark, Lincoln, Marathon Medford
Price February 26, 1879 Chippewa, Lincoln Phillips
Langland (New) February 27, 1879 Oconto Anligo
Marinette February 27, 1879 Oconto Marinette
Florence March 18, 1882 Marinette, Oconto Florence
Sawyer March 10, 1883 Ashland Hayward
Washburn March 27, 1883 Burnett Shell Lake
Forest April 11,1885 Langland ("New), Oconto Crandon
Oneida April II, 1885 Lincoln Rhinelander
Iron March 3, 1893 Ashland Hurley
Vilas April 12, 1893 Oneida Eagle River
Rusk May 15, 1901 Chippewa Ladysmith
Menominee May 1, 1961 Oconto, Shawano Keshena
vi
Evolution of Counties
The Wisconsin Territory-July 3, 1836 1818-Crawford and Brown Counties
Included Minnesota, parts of Iowa, and Dakotas
1829-Crawford, Brown and Iowa Counties 1836-Crawford, Brown, Iowa and Milwaukee
Counties
1840 - 22 counties 1850 - 31 Counties
Brown, Calumet, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Fond du Lac, New counties since 1840: Adams, Chippew'a,
Grant, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Manitowoc, Marquette,
Columbia, Kenosha, Lafayette, LaPointe (Bayfield),
Milwaukee, Portage, Racine, Rock, St. Croix, Sauk
Marathon, Richland and Waukesha
Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington, Winnebago
.
D
1860 - 58 counties 1961 -72 counties
New'counties since 1850: Ashland, Bad Axe (Vernon), New counties since 1860: Florence, Forest, Iron,
Burnett, Buffalo, Clark, Dallas (Barron), Door, Douglas, Lincoln, Marinette, Menominee, New (Langland),
Dunn, Eau Claire, Green Lake, Jackson, Juneau, Oneida, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor, Vilas, Washburn
Kewaunee, LaCrosse, Monroe, Oconto, Outagamie,
Ozaukee, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Shawano, Trempealeau,
Waupaca, Waushara and Wood
viii