:i Mistory of.^ Stanitowoc Cou m A HISTORY OF- fflANiTowoc County -BY- RALPH G. PLUMB. COMPLETE AND ILLUSTRATED. BRANDT PRINTING & BINDING GO. 1904. T) ' r .|V\' LIBRARY of CONGRESS Two CoDles Received JUL 11 1904 •A CooyrlehtEntry W{^ I- K\DUr OLASS ^XXo. No. COPY B C<<pyrii;ht, 1904 by Brandt Pkinting & Binding Co., Manitowoc, Wis BENJAMIN JONES 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 arid generally forgotten in- formation led to a more detailed and systematic reading of the files. The in- terest 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 eiforts towards securing correctness in point of fact than elegance of style. Differ- ent phases- in the county's history are treated topically also, instead of an at- tempt 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 writting this work was the recording in some permanent form df many facts which in future years may be useful as well as interesting, in re- gard 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. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTERS PAGE I. Descriptive 1 II. The Indians 8 III. Early Settlement 16 IV. Growth and Foreigfn Iramig^ration 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 Appendixes 293 Ii.dex DEDICATION To the pioneers whoraade Manitowoo County whatit is today this work is dedicated by the Author. dliAPTER I. DESCRIPTIVK. The territory embraced withinBthe present limits of the county of Manitowoc is situated as follows: — from the shores of Lake Michig-an on the east to Calumet County on the west and from Sheboyg"an County on the south to Brown and Ke- waunee Counties on the north, all of the boundaries being- regfular with the exception of the lake line and also the northwestern corner where Brown County makes an indenta- tion. 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 them. Maple Grove, Franklin, Kossuth and Two Rivers, then a tier composed of Rockland, Cato, Manitowoc Rapids and Manitowoc, south of them another, composed of Katon, Liberty and Newton and the tier furthest south being made up of Schleswig, Meeme and Centreville. 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 town- ship, viz., thirty-six sections. 2 The county is. all "witliin the territory covered by the Lake Michig-an g-lacier in prehistoric times, this fact having- had its effect upon the conformation of the land. The latter is g^radually sloping- from the western boundaries to the lake, the Kettle Moraine which beg-ins in Door County, traversing- the western ^portion in a southwesterly direction, thus form- ing- a watershed between the streams running- into the Fox and its tributaries and those flowing- into Lake Michigan. This rang-e of hills extend in a loop throug-h the south cen- tral part of the state, the western arm extending- upwards as far as Lang-lade county. The underlying strata of the county are of rock of a variety which is denoted by geologists as Niag-ara 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, how- ever, they became widely known as curious formations. The prevailing soil is clay strongly impregnated in places 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 sev- eral 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 Nacht- wey farm in the town of Gibson was once much heralded and several years before the Baker marbles were widely known, 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 ru- mored to have been found in what is now Kewaunee County, creating much excitement, it being supposed that this prec- ious metal would be found in that section of the state in con- siderable amount. Such hopes, however, proved without foun- dation in fact. As early as 1850 one Joel Smith, brother of P. P. Smith, while at work in the present township of Gib- son, discovered specimens of what was believed to be copper 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 induration, was abandoned. Finds were later made on the Robinson farm in the same vicinity, while sim- ilar discoveries have been made at times in the town of Mani- towoc Rapids. The clay in certain parts of the county, not- ably 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 g-as have been struck, notabTy in New- ton in 1865 and later in Manitowoc Rapids, not of sufficient mag-nitude, however, to be of commercial value. A peculiar black sand in the town of Two Creeks was early made use of in the manufacture of matches and larg-e quantities have con- tinued to be exported. With these exceptions the CQUtty has been without developed mineral resources. The surface of the county is g-ently undulating:, being- the hig-hest in the northwest and southwest portions. The high- est point in the county is in Township 21, Rang-e 21 in the town of Schleswig-, which is 359 feet above the level of the lake. The averag-e levels of various of the towns are as fol- lows:—Cooperstown 210 feet, Gibson 9b, Mishicott 60, Maple Grove 200, Kossuth 100, Two Rivers 29, Cato 250, Manitowoc Rapids 120, Manitowoc 50, Franklin 300, Meeme 200, Schles- wig- 290 and Centerville 60. A portion of Eaton and Cato and a larg-e part of Rockland are swampy, but as a whole there is very little waste land. The county is well drained, thus add- ing- greatly to its fertility. The principal stream is the Mani- towoc, 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 Michig-an, its descent being- 262 feet in the last fifteen miles of its course. Numerous small tribu- taries swell its flow, notably the north branch which flows into it in the western part of the town of Rapids, after drain- ing a g-oodly portion of the northern part of county, the North Mud Creek, which joins it in the town of Rockland and which flows througfh Reedsville, and the South Mud Creek.