Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1909-09-14
FIRST OFFICERS.
The Beginning Of What Is Now The
Government Of This City
And County.

drawn 1Orth from the shell Wnefe IL
lies, few people of the present day
have seen it, and consequently few
are in existence. In this book are
1 inscribed the proceedings of the first
meeting held on Marathon county
soil, Qt was then Portage county, for
the purpose of organizing local
government. That meeting was held
sixty years ago the coming month, and
of all the men mentioned in the
records, Levi Fleming, who resides on
Mobile Ave-, this city, is perhaps the
only man living. Some have descend
ants living here at present, but the
curtain has been drawn over most of
them, as if they had never existed.
In the summer of 1649, the village
tof Big Bull Falls, as our present city
was then known, had increased to
such an extent that it was deemed
advisable to have form of village
government and elect officers. I'm
like the mining towns of the West
there was not a lawless element here
at that time, and little need for a
marshal, lawyer or justice of the peace.
No man died with his boots OH, and
quarrels were settled as ''affairs of
honor" with the bare knuckles as the
only weapons. With the advent of
civilization came jails. But as
stated, the people wanted men at
home to transact their official business
for them, instead of being obliged to
go to Plover, then the county
seat Accordingly meeting was set
for Oct. 10, 1849, for the purpose of
organizing and electing officers.
The Records of Big Bull Falls
Township, Portage County," show
that the meeting was held on the
above date at the house of John Stack
house. At that meeting the follow
ing were chosen as the first officers of
| the village
Town Clerk-D. r. Clements.
| Town Treasurer 6
| Supervisors-Jno. Stackhouse, chair
man; e. A. Pearson and Hiram Mar
tin.
| Constables-A. Newton and VIM.
Crippen.
| Assessor Henry Engler.
Justices of the Peace-Chas. Shutter,
Andrew Warren, Jr., d. r. Clements
and Morris Walrod.
| Overseer of Highways Levi Flem-
ing.
The records of this meeting are
very meager, and are very much on
the order of the station agent Finne-
gan's report of the railroad wreck to
the superintendent, Flannigan-"Off
again, on again, away again" Moth
ing further is mentioned except that
it was decided to meet again at the
home of John Stackhouse, on Nov. 10.
| From the records of the meeting of
| Nov. 10 we find that men in those
days were not office seekers, but the
|
haps due to the fact that all of our
people then were hard workers and
had little time to give to official du-
ties and their remuneration for such
was small. d. r. Clements, who was
then holding two offices, found his
duties so strenuous that he was forced
/ fn ha nf frQa nd
Robert Grover was appointed to fill
the vacancy. Another custom fol-
lowed then, which is unknown to
present day office holders and politi-
clans, was that where one refused to
| qualify for an office the supervisors
imposed a fine. Messrs. Crippen,
Warren and Walrod were assessed SO
each for refusing to fill the offices to
which they were duly elected. At
the meeting of that date the clerk
was ordered to procure writing desk
and three ballot boxes at county ex-
pense."
| Again on Nov. 20 another meeting
was held at which it was ordered
that road be laid out, commencing
al the forks of the road one-half mile
east of the village and running south
to and crossing the "Au Clair river
at or near Martins mill, thence to or
near Blodgett's house at the Roths-
childs rapids, thence to and crossing
Cedar creek to town line, the clerk to
make list of all persons subject to
highway tax and present the same to
the oyerseer of highways.
This road is what in later years
became known as Grand Ave. and the
''south line" or Stevens Point road.
The proceedings bear out in part our
story in last weeks issue relative To
the naming of Rothschilds, and show
that the rapids were then known by
that name-long years before anyone
ever heard of any so-called ''hermits
and ether myths which have been at
tached to that section. 1t appears
thai up to that date, Messrs. Crippen,
Warren and Walrod had failed TO pay
the fines imposed on them and the
clerk was ordered TO collect the same
by due process of law. 1t was also
ordered that public highway be LAID
iout, beginning at A. Warren's mill Oh
Pine river to and crossing Trappt
i river and thence into the village Of
I D.,l I,ol u, = - -
the main travelled road ON the easl
side between this city and Merrill. II
, was ordered that special meeting bt
held Dec. IL st the home of Johr
} lStackhouse, for the purpose of voting
i tax to build suspension bridg'
across the Eau Claire river at Mar
} / tins mill. The bond of John Stock
! house and Henry Engler as suretie'
: | 49,, sv1e.y~-s I.s.z IN