Our Wisconsin Towns

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Our state's name first appears in 1673 in Fr. Jacques Marquette's journal of his voyage as "Mescousing" and "Miskous." His companion on that voyage, Louis Joliet, transcribed it separately as "Misconsing" in 1674. The explorer La Salle mis-read their long-hand cursive initial "M" as "Ou" in 1674, and his form of the name "Ouisconsin," was widely printed during the 1680s. It was the standard spelling for about 150 years, and only became "Wisconsin" in the early 19th century after the U.S. took control of the region (though territorial governor James Doty strongly preferred the spelling "Wiskonsan)."

Modern linguistic scholarship by Michael McCafferty has convincingly argued that the word's intended meaning, in 17th-c. Miami, was "river that meanders through something red." McCafferty concludes this was a reference to the red sandstone bluffs of the Wisconsin Dells.

A'Goma, "Snow-shoe" (Potawatomi). Changed in September 1897 from Ahnapee, which meant "when or at what time."

Appleton owes its name to Samuel Appleton, one of the founders of Lawrence University (1847), located in the town.

There were originally three villages where the city now stands; Lawesburgh on the east, Grand Chute on the west, and Appleton in the middle.

Named after the stream, which was named on account of the prevalence of bears in that vicinity in the early days.

The first settlement in what is now Bear Creek Township was made by Welcome Hyde in 1854

Source: Wisconsin County Histories, Waupaca County. Edited by John M. Ware, 1917

In 1887, A.W. Whitcomb erected a sawmill on this site and water from the river supplied the power. In 1890, the land was platted and the settlement became the Village of Big Falls. In 1923, Big Falls was incorporated. Today, it is one of the smallest incorporated villages in the U.S.A. The early forests were logged and lumber and shingles were milled here. The granite quarry was located below the dam. Stores, churches, hotels, railroads, saloons, a blacksmith shop, creamery, roller skating rink, ice cream parlor, coffin maker, banks, feedmill, post office and a school serviced the early village of nearly 500 residents. After the forests were cleared of timber, Scandanavian and German farmers tilled the fertile soil. Today, the greater Big Falls area has seen a return of timber production and milling of lumber as well as a continuation of the tradition of family farms.

Originally called Middleburg by a settler. It later became known as Black Creek, for a dark creek at the edge of town.

Named for Father Floribrant Bonduel, a Jesuit Priest who started a chapel here for the Menominee Indians.

Although it was the last community in Calumet County to be settled, the origin of how Brillion got its name seems to have been forgotten. There are, however, several theories as to how the name came about. First known as part of the town of Woodville and later nicknamed Spring Creek, Brillion's last known name was Brandon. The name McMullenville was also used for a short time. Some believe the name Brillion came about in 1855, when the post office arrived in the settlement. It is said the first postmaster, T.N. West, gave the settlement the name Pilleola-a name he made up from a combination of the letters in the names of his two daughters. The story goes he sent the name into the post office department, where it was rejected and changed to Brillion. A 1930 issue of The Brillion News stated the name of the settlement was changed to Brillion in 1857 at the annual town meeting. That could coincide with the post office theory if the town was merely making official the name given the settlement by the post office. A claim was made in the Nov. 16, 1945 issue of The Brillion News that, according to a book entitled A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago and Northwestern and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railroads, Brillion got its name from a town named Brillion in Prussia. The name was brought over by German immigrants who settled in this area. Others say Brillion was named after a Mr. Brill, a prominent citizen in this area in the early days.

Source: "Brillion, Wisconsin. The First 100 Years". Laura Behnke, Research and History Editior. Zander Press, Inc. 1985

"With its 400 kilometres of coasts bathed by Lake Michigan and Green Bay, the Door Peninsula is the first tourist destination of Wisconsin. More exactly, it is the half north of the Peninsula, still very woody, that attracts the townsman and woman. In the South, where agriculture got the upper hand, cars pass but do not stop. It is there, in the middle of the cornfields, that lives in the United States the most important communities of Belgian origin, scattered in a dozen villages in the suggestive names: Namur, Brussels, but also Dyckesville, recollection of an emigrant native from Antwerp, Belgium. In the middle of the XIX century, some thousand Belgians emigrated in the USA to avoid the misery that raged in campaigns, especially in Brabant and around Namur..."

In 1844 John Langdon and four sons started a sawmill on Duck Creek using a hand-operated pit saw. One man stood in a pit and the other on a frame holding the tree trunk lengthwise over it. Soon they built a dam over the creek for power, and the place was called Langdon's Saw Mill. When a flour mill was added the Langdons called the place Florence. The Langdons has no money left to buy machinery for their flour mill so they borrowed from James Bell. When they failed to meet payments Bell took possession and changed the name to Bellville. Bell sold the property in 1851 to two men of Welsh descent and left the town. By this time the Welsh people were coming to settle and they gave the town the old Roman name for Wales. The Welsh call their country Cymru

Dedicated to the memory of my Grandmother, Adelia Westphal. June 2, 1917-December 5, 2012

In 1883 the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railway (later Northwestern) extended its line from Clintonville to Oconto. When the railroad was finished in 1884 the new settlement at the head of Shawano Lake was named after a railroad man, Cecil Leavitt.

A spelling mistake on the ballots that were used to determine a name for the town is where the name Chilton came from., the name on the ballot was supposed to read "Chillington" instead. John Marygold, a native of England, wished the town to be called Chillington, after Chillington Hall, his English home. Patrick Donaher, the county clerk, received only a verbal message, and in recording the name somehow omitted the second syllable, making it Chilton

At the junction of Bear Creek and Embarrass River, the city was founded in 1855 by Norman Clinton when his ox became sick, halting his journey to the north woods. In 1857 a sawmill was built and the settlement was named Pigeon, for wild pigeons are said to have been so abundant that they could be knocked down in flight with a long pole. When Clinton was made postmaster the following year the registrar, having forgotten the name "Pigeon," mailed the commission simply to "Clinton of Clintonville," and the name was retained.

Charles White, who returned from the gold fields of California in 1852, named this township after Coloma in California where gold was discovered. Coloma Corners grew up near the west side of the township. When the railroad came through it missed Coloma Corners by two miles, so a little village called Coloma Station began, which later became known as Coloma.

The Town of Dale, officially created on November 18, 1853, is located in the southwestern portion of Outagamie County. The Town has a current population of 2,483 and encompasses a land area of five by six miles (30.4 square miles) or approximately 19,456 acres. Once known as Poker Flats, Dale is named for the geographical lay of the land.

Settled in 1848 by immigrants from Denmark who named the capital of their new "kingdom" Copenhagen, and spoke of the leading family, Niels Hans Gotfredsen and his wife, as "the king and queen of Denmark"

The first structure located where Old St. Joseph Church now stands was a small chapel erected in 1676 by Father Albanal, a building which stood for almost 200 years. Almost a century later, two Jesuit missionaries were murdered by Indians near the site of the present church. This forms the basis for the contention thata the City of De Pere received its name from the phrase "Deux Peres," meaning, "two fathers."

Dyckesville

In the year 1861, about the time of the Civil War, Louis Van Dijcke bought a large tract of land in northwestern Kewaunee County. He donated three acres for a Roman Catholic Church. The church was built and oddly enough it was named St. Louis Church. The subsequent village was named Dyckesville, after the donor of the land (Van Dijcke).

http://www.voiceinoff.com/Dyckes/home.html

Mythical name attributed to an egg tossing battle between two schooner crews after a race to see who could land in the harbor first. Winners tossed eggs at the losers. So far, at least 5 unrelated people have told us it was their ancestors who were captains of those two ships. Another legend says it was named by an early pioneer who may have found a nest of bird eggs in the 1830s. Village of Egg Harbor was settled by Jacob and Levi Thorp. Carlsville is part of this township, so-named because of the four men, all named Carl, who were its first settlers.

Egg Harbor was named by Mr. Increase Claflin. He named it Egg Harbor because in the process of retrieving a horse shoe out of the harbor, he found a nest full of duck's eggs. Once called Hat Island, and also once called Horseshoe Bay

A French word was first attached to the river. It means to impede, to obstruct, or to entangle. Many of the early lumberjacks were French Canadians. When they tried to send logs down the river they found it almost impossible because of the many snags and other debris. They called it Riviere Embarrase.

Named by an escaped slave named Andrew Jackson. The township, which considered Jackson a neighborhood friend, wanted to name the town "Jackson." Jackson refused and said the name should be "Freedom," for that's where he found his freedom after escaping from a slave master in the south, around the year 1850.

Old Timers say the village was named after Colonel John Fremont who explored California and fought in the Mexican War.

Named for Rodney and Mary Roblee Gillett, who settled here in 1858. Originally called Gillett Center

The French gave Grand Chute its name by referring to the large rapids in the lower Fox River as la grande chute when directing other travelers to the area. Grand Chute was established on April 3, 1849 in Brown County (Outagamie County did not become a County until 1851). When Grand Chute became a town it was located on the Fox River.

Menominee Indians called it "putci-wikit" or "pji-kit" meaning "a bay in spite of itself." The French named it "La Baie Verte," meaning "Green Bay," for the greenish color of the water.

The Milwaukee Railroad built a track through the community about 1870, and the name was chosen either for the contractor who did the grading, or for the president of the railroad.

Created 12 March 1850 in Brown County. Set off to Outagamie County 17 February 1851. The Town of Greenville is a rapidly growing community located west of the City of Appleton with a population of 8,750 and growing.

Hobart

The Village of Hobart, named for Episcopal Bishop John Henry Hobart (1775-1830), who helped relocate many of the Oneida Indians from New York State, became a town of Brown County in 1908. Hobart became a Village in 2002. The Village celebrated it�s centennial in 2008.

www.hobart-wi.org

Named after Alonzo Horton (1813-1909). Horton was born in Connecticut. In 1848 he purchased land in this heavily forested area and built a dam across Black Otter Creek to power a sawmill. Water collecting behind Horton's dam formed Black Otter Lake. Hortonville, named after its founder, quickly developed. Wooden aqueducts were extended from the lake to power the saw, flour and gristmills. Hotels, general stores, and taverns created the present Main Street. This small community was incorporated as the Village of Hortonville in 1894. In the early 1850s, Horton headed west. He became a prospector and tradesman in the San Francisco, California area. In 1867 he took a steamer down the coast and bought land, using his promotional skills to found New San Diego, where he continued to be a colorful character into old age.

"Over the years it has had many names: Kakalin, Cacolin, Cau Caulin, Kackaloo, Grand Kaukaulin, Grande Coquiller Rapides. The name derives from the Menominee Indian word "Ogag-kane," meaning "the stopping place of the pike," or "O-Gau-Gau-Ning," "the stopping place of the Pickerel."

The Village of Kellnersville was incorporated as a village on July 1, 1971. John Deets was the first president and Russell M. Steeber the first supervisor.

Named for Michael Kellner, the first person of Bohemian descent to come to Manitowoc County, in 1846, who built a tannery in the town.

Either the corrupt of Kakiweonan (Chippewa), "I cross a point of land by boat" (Such a point of land is the peninsula between Green Bay and Lake Michigan which is almost cut through by Sturgeon Bay), or rechristened in 1834 by John Hathaway from the Chippewa word for "prarie hen."

Source: Card file at the WHS Library reference desk. Wis. Hist. Coll. Vol. 1 Milwaukee Journal, Feb. 21, 1932

Known as The Cedars because the Treaty of Cedars was signed here. Renamed for Kimberly, Clark and Company, which built a pulp and paper mill here in 1889.

The town was known as Maple Valley, but because there was another settlement by that name,

George R. Hall, the postmaster, was asked to give two suggestions from which the government

should choose a new name. The government rejected both names, and his sweetheart asked why

he looked so gloomy. He explained the reason, and then the idea came to him, "I'll send in your name,"

French Explorers called the falls in the Fox River La Petite Chute. The name is believed to have been translated by Father Vanden Broek, who built the first church here in 1836.

In Memory of Door County's First Pioneer, Increase Claflin, who settled here in 1835.

Incorporated in 1846 as the capital of the Wisconsin Territory and named for President James Madison. The capital of Wisconsin lies in the center of the dairylands of Southern Wisconsin, filling a narrow isthmus between Lakes Monona and Mendota. Winnebago Indians had a village here called Dejop, or "four lakes." "Beautiful but uninhabitable," pioneers considered Taychopera, the Four Lakes region where Madison stands today, and the left the land to the Winnebago Indians.

First called Brickley, then Elberton, after Postmaster Elbert Scott. Renamed Manawa after the hero of an Indian Legend.

From either minewa = "again," manea = "it is scarce"; or Manepwa = "he has no tobacco or scarce of tobacco." (v) pr. min-nuh-wa = "again." This is nearest in sound-the other improbable. (w) Manawa is an algic word of uncertain meaning; it may be a corrupt form of "manepa" (he has no tobacco) or "maniwang" (any kind of fruit). Chippewa-pronounced man-maip-wau from either minawa adverb meaning "again," manea (it is scarce) or manepwa (he has no tobacco).

Source: Card file at the WHS Library reference desk. Wisconsin History Collection. Volume 12 p.392

The name is derived from the Indian words meaning "river of bad spirits" or "devils den."

Mishicot

Daniel Smith, who erected a sawmill here in 1844, named the village after his friend, Chief Mishicott, as a sign of his respect for the leader of the area Potawatomi community. His name means "hairy legs". In 1853 settlers called the town "Saxonburgh," but the name was changed back to Mishicot in 1855. A hill and a county road on the east end of the village still carry the name.

The Encyclopedia of Wisconsin. Somerset, 1990 and www.mishicot.org

In the fall of 1849 a meeting of half a dozen settlers was held at the house of J.N. Dart, to give the town a name. Five of six propositions were made but Jos. R. Dart who had read of Montello in a novel carried the day.

First called Winnebago Rapids, the city was later renamed from the Winnebago Indian word for "running water."

Established in 1852 and named for New London, Connecticut, the birthplace of the father of Reeder Smith, one of the city developers as well as the builder of the plank road between Appleton and Stevens Point.

Oconto takes its name from its chief river. The significance of this word is variously given as "red ground" or "the place of the pickerel" or the Menominee word for "black bass."

First called Smalley�s Landing, later Beckwith Town, for settler Nelson Beckwith. Platted in 1849 as Omro, in honor of Charles Omro, an Indian trader.

Previously known as Athens, in 1840 it was named for Chief Oskosh of the Menominee Indians. Over a period of time the first "H" was added and the emphasis placed on the last syllable. The city lies on a marshy plain where the Upper Fox River flows into Lake Winnebago.

Originally known as Plover Portage (to 1844), then Algernon (1857) and Stanton (to 1864) then Plover.

Wis. Hist. Coll. v1, p. 120, The Portage County Historical Society. www.pchswi.org

Portage is a French word meaning "carrying place," referring to boats having been carried from the Fox to the Wisconsin River

First called Frenchtown, for the large French population. Later named for John Edwards, Sr., who built a sawmill here in 1840

The town is situated south of Little Wolf and west of Mukwa; was first settled in 1848 by Messers. Hicks and Gill. It was organized in 1854, George E. More being Chairman of the Board. In 1857 the first schoolhouse was build in North Royalton. The first sermon was preached by Rev. Mr. Stevens in 1854, and the Congregationalists erected the first church in 1856. Ellis N. Royalton, for whom the town and village was named, built the first store in 1853, and T. and H. Gill the first saw mill in 1850. The village itself has two hundred inhabitants and is growing.

Named after Shawano Lake, which was called "Sha-wah-no-hah-pay-sa." The Menominee words for "lake to the south."

Established as Lima in 1858. Later called Nicolai's Corners for settler Steven Nicolai, and then called Sherwood for a Civil War veteran of that name.

First called Jordan's Landing or Jordanville, for Dominicus Jordan. Later named Shiocton for Chief Shioc of the Menominees. His name meant "by the force of wind."

Organized by JohnOrganized by John Franks and originally known as Franksville. John Stangel settled in Tisch Mills in 1853 and with his sons, migrated from Tisch Mills and bought the store and tavern once owned by Mathias Roidt. When the post office was established on March 3, 1890, the Stangel brothers renamed the village, and called it Stangelville

Called Graham in 1855, then Ottumba, and then Graham again. In 1860 it was named Sturgeon Bay because the bay

As the available land to the south became more difficult to obtain, new arrivals began to gravitate northward. In this valley through which flows the East Twin River, many found what they were looking for. This area had been known to the Indians of the area for a long time before the coming of the new inhabitants. The village of Black Earth; their summer hunting ground, was located along this same river a short distance to the northeast. The settlement of this area was typical of the settlements of other areas of the county at that time. A mill, usually a sawmill, was erected with the community developing around the mill. In this case two mills were built on the banks of the river; a sawmill and a gristmill. The community still carries the surname of the first owners of these mills, Charles and William Tisch.

This was a heavily wooded area in the early days of settlement, so as in most areas of the county, incomes were supplemented not by farming, but by selling or trading forest products such as bark or shingles. As the land was cleared of trees, agriculture replaced lumbering as the economic mainstay of the community. While many of the former business enterprises are gone, such as the brewery, blacksmith shop, cheese factory, and brickyard, some of them still survive although not necessarily in the original buildings. The latter include the mill, the store, and the Forst Inn. The church too, although not the original building, has been in the community since the early days of the settlement.

This community, although its development is similar to many other communities in Kewaunee County, is somewhat unique in that it, like Rosiere and Dyckesville, span the line between the two counties.

Named for its location between the East and West Twin Rivers. At the confluence of the Mishicot and Neshoto Rivers, which unite here to flow into Lake Michigan in a single channel, Two Rivers was once the busiest port in the region, but lost its position in the late 1870's to Manitowoc.

Valmy

Named for Valmy, France, the scene of a major, decisive battle on September 20, 1792 as part of the Revolutionary Wars following the overthrow of the French Monarchy. Also known as the Cannonade of Valmy.

Source: http://battlefieldseurope.co.uk/valmy.aspx

Derived from an Indian word which could mean: "where one waits for deer," "looking on," "white sand bottom," or "tommorow."

Originally an Indian village by this name was located here. The name means "here we rest."

Named by settlers from Rose, New York. "Wild" was added, possibly because there were wild roses growing here.

The name is an Indian word meaning �place of skulls,� which came from a battle here in which the Sauks and Foxes fought against the French, Menominees and Chippewas.

Originally known as Kilbourne, after Byron Kilbourne; in 1931 the name was changed to Wisconsin Dells, to attract tourists, for the city was a starting point for water trips up and down the Wisconsin River, here walled with carved and freakish rock.

Indians called this "rabbit's place." It was later named for the rapids on the Wisconsin River.