The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1903-06-17
FULTON COUNTY NEWS.
EDWARD WEST.
sketch of the Life of a Pennsyl.
vanian Who Went West i'm
Early Life.
tContinued From First Page)

the village OF Milwaukee, paying
$50 for the claim and in the fall of
1888 went to live on it to make his
pre- cmption good.
For several years thereafter Mr.
West lived on his claim and was occu-
pied part of his time in surveying in
the western part of Milwaukee county,
now Waukesha county. In 1912 he
took up farm In that county at q
place called Summit, and followed
farming and surveying there until
1915. In that year he located on 400
acre tract of land which he purchased
from the government. In 1852 he leas-
ed his farm and large stock of cattle
and sheep for a term of years and re-
moved to Appleton, which was at that
time small village, whose first per-
manent settlers had located only three
years previously.
At Appleton he purchased a tract of
100 acres on the north boundary of
the village and farmed there for two
years, later selling II portion of the
land for the first fair grounds in the
county of Outagamie, for which pur-
pose they were used for many years.
Better than any one else resident at
Appleton at that early day, Mr.. West
saw the water power possibilities of
the Fox River at this point, and in
January, 1856, he purchased 533 acres
of land on the south side of Fox riv-
er, alongside the Grand Chute Rapids
and including "the fiat" and Grand
Chute island. Here he determined to
make his life work one of building up
water power center, and how we'll he
succeeded the subsequent history of
the city of Appleton has shown.
He at once began improving the flow
of water at the upper end of the island
in a small way by constructing a wa
ter power dam which has since been
replaced by the needle-dam of the mid
die level and selling a few small water
power lots. In 1857 the first maufac-
turing plants at Appleton were estab-
lished on Grand Chute Island, ma
chine shop and a small wooden mill
which has since become the large
plant OF the Appleton Woolen Mills,
manufacturing paper-machine felts,
cashmere cloth, flannel and woolen
yarns.
In 1858 he dug a small water power
canal about 300 feet long, which fur
nished power for the woolen mill and
hub and spoke factory.
In 1870 he began the great work of
digging the West water power canal
through the entire length of Grand
Chute Island. This was the begin
ming of the systematic development of
the Appleton water power, which has
resulted in making Appleton one of
the greatest water power centers of
the West and established here the hub
of manufacturing region known as
the Fox River valley region which is
hhoNu tiiC
Work on the canal was begun April
l, 1870, with 130 men and 30 teams,
and under his personal supervision
and plans, was completed late in De-
cember of the same year. Upon its
completion mass meeting of citizens
was held and Mr.. West was presented
with solid silver tea service hearing
the inscription presented to Ed
ward West by the citizens of Appleton
as token of their appreciation of his
enterprise in building the Grand Chute
Island canal =" The presentation
speech was made by the late A. L
Smith then mayor of the city, and
letters of congratulation were received
from Gov. Lucius Fairchild, Col.C.D.
Robinson, and the Hon. Hiram Bar
ney.
The completion of the water power
canal made Mr.. West dominant fac
tor in the water power interests of APP
pleton, and the remaining years of his
life were devoted to managing the
large interests thus created for his
disposal, and in improving his prop
erty and making other real estate in
vestments. Most of the land included
in his original purchase of 'the fiat"
and Grand Chute Island have been
disposed of to various manufacturing
interests which now occupy the avail
able sites, but the fee of the water
power interests created by his canal
and other improvements remain in his
estate under leases and rentals.
Edward West was married at Ap-
pleton in September, 1865, to Mary A.
Fenno, daughter of Mr., and Mrs. l..
U. Fenno, who were among the pio'
neers of Appleton. To this union were
born two daughters, one of whom died
in infancy, and the other, Nellie M.
being the wife of DR.. Frank G. Stud
ley of Milwaukee. He is also surviv
ed by two children of former mar
riage, William S. West of Chicago
and Mrs Williams OF Milwaukee.
During the years of his residence a.
and near Milwaukee Mr.. West had
many experiences of picturesque ma
ture with the Indians and incident tt
the rough pioneer conditions. In 1886