Sheboygan County history

WILSON TOWN The first settler in this town was David Wilson, who came from Ohio in March, 1840, and located on section 11.

Wentworth Barber, a Vermonter, immigrated to the west in 1841 and first located at Sheboygan, where he was employed by William Farnsworth, the old Indian trader.

He built a log cabin and in 1842 was joined by his family.

The first store was built in 1843.

The first permanent settler in the town of Greenbush was Sylvanus Wade, who came from Massachusetts with his wife and nine children, in 1844, first locating in the locality where the village of Greenbush now stands.

The family at first lived in a log cabin upon a tract of land which he had bought, consisting of four hundred acres. (See pioneer article.) Timothy Littlefield came here in 1845 with his parents, Zebediah and Deborah Littlefield, from Maine.

Benjamin and Sallie Tibbitts were natives of Maine and immigrated to Sheboygan County with their family of nine children in 1846, purchasing eighty acres of partly improved land, upon which was a small log and frame house.

Here a store was built in 1847 by H. J. Traas.

Philip H. Wolff arrived in this country from Germany with his young bride, Philipine, in March, 1848, and settled on eighty acres of timber land in section 26.

Clark R. Mead came with his parents, Major and Betsey (Robinson) Mead, from New York in 1849 and purchased eighty acres of land from the old Indian chief, paying $300 for it.

The child was a daughter of John D. Gibbs. It was separated from the latter in 1850 and on April 2nd of that year a town meeting was held in Gibbsville and the following officers elected: S. Roberts was elected chairman; J. D. Parrish clerk; and Thomas Currier, superintendent of schools.

The first birth was that of Anton Boll in the spring of 1851.

A few years later a mill was built on the river and in 1852 a post office was established.

Franklin is on the Sheboygan river and has a saw mill and grist mill, both built as early as 1853.

St Mary's Church, Random Lake St Mary's congregation was organized about 1854, at which time quite a number of Catholic families had settled in and around that place.

There was a steam grist mill on section 27, built in 1855, by the Sperling brothers.

From Sheboygan he walked to the town of Holland and here worked at his trade as a carpenter until 1856, when he purchased ten acres of land.

The village was thus started in 1857.

St Mary's Church, Cascade St Mary's congregation at Cascade, town of Lyndon, was established in 1859, after which time it was attended successively by the Revs.

Here a post office was opened, February 7, 1860, having been removed from Elkhart.

Rhine is a very patriotic town and when the Civil war broke out in 1861 one hundred and fifteen men went from here to the front, twenty three of whom never returned.

The partnership lasted until 1866, when Mr.

After the building of the railroad now known as the Northwestern, in 1872, the growth of Cedar Grove increased and business kept a proportionate pace therewith.

St Mary's grew and prospered as the years passed until in 1873 the number had increased to such an extent that it became necessary to erect a larger church.

Dillingham continued to operate his factory at Glenbeulah until 1884, when he removed it to Sheboygan, where it is one of the best enterprises of that city.

Many firsts happened in 1885. the first horse drawn street cars rolled down the roads, the police force was established and the beginnings of the water works took place with a total of 6 hydrants in the city.

The city got its first part-time city engineer, C.U. Boley in 1888.

He conducted it until 1891, when he sold it to E. Weaver, who had been in possession of it scarcely a year when it burned down.

The village was incorporated in 1899 and Gerrett Zammers was elected the first president; Doctor James Van de Veen, clerk; and Adrian Fonteine, supervisor.

Cedar Grove now has a foundry and bank, the latter having been established in 1901.

The first paved street took place in 1905 from Penn.

The village has a population of 380, and was separated from the town of Holland and incorporated as a village in 1909.

The City of Sheboygan Falls was officially recognized in 1913, prompting the creation of the first Sheboygan Falls Police Department, with a Chief of Police at its head.

Two parks were acquired in 1917, Vollrath Park was deeded to the city and the city purchased “Cole Woods” and renamed it Evergreen Park.

Funds for Memorial Hospital were bequeathed to the city in 1928.

A rudimentary police communication system had been established as early as 1937.

Billmann also noted that the lengthy Kohler strike, which started in 1954 and was still ongoing as he spoke, had also been a difficult time for the force, as it tried to remain impartial in a very divided community.

By 1957, the force boasted four officers, including Chief Billmann.

In 1978, the police investigated a homicide by strangulation at a residence on Forest Boulevard.