Places

1895 Rand McNally Atlas

Populated Places

Go directly to List of Cities, Town, Villages

WISCONSIN MUNICIPALITIES: Cities Towns, and Villages, often referred to as 'municipalities' in Wisconsin law, are the governmental units that relate most directly to citizens' everyday lives. TOWNS, like counties, were created by the state to provide basic municipal services. Rooted in New England and New York tradition, town government came to Wisconsin with the settlers, but Wisconsin towns were not like their Eastern counterparts that reflected the existing patterns of local settlement. In Wisconsin, towns are geographical subdivisions of counties. Towns originally served (and for the most part they continue to serve) rural areas. Towns govern those areas of Wisconsin not included in the corporate boundaries of cities and villages. [Lincoln County is divided into 16 'TOWNS'. see Map of Towns ] The difference between "township" and "town" often confuses the public. In Wisconsin, "township' refers to the surveyor's township which was laid out to identify land parcels within a county. Theoretically. a township is a square tract of land, measuring six miles on a side for a total of 36 square miles in the unit. Each township is divided into 36 sections. "Town", as the word is used in Wisconsin, denotes a specific unit of government. It's boundaries may coincide with the surveyor's township or it may look quite different. A Town may include one, parts of or several townships. CITIES and VILLAGES, often referred to as "incorportated areas", govern territory where population is more concentrated. In general, minimum population for incorporation as a village is 150 residents for an isolated village and 2,500 for a metropolitan village located in a more densely settled area. For cities, the minimums are 1,000 and 5,000 respectively. As cities and villages are incorporated, they are carved out of the town territory and become independent units no longer subject to the town's control. The remainder of the town may take on a 'Swiss cheese" configuration as its area is reduced. SOURCE:[Information above taken from "State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1997-1998" Compiled by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. chpt. "The Changing World of Wisconsin Local Government'" sec. 3. Municipalities: The Most local of Governments. pags115-122. Wisconsin Blue Books are Publ. Biennially In Odd-Numbered Years.] ~~SMALL SETTLEMENTS and GHOST TOWNS There were many small settlements that sprung up around logging camps of the early 1900's and were not much more than a grocery store, post office, railroad stations or rail junction. Some of these develped into larger communities, others have disappeared along with the lumber camps and the railroads. SOURCE: Information on community post offices was taken from "Hale, James B. Wisconsin Post Office Handbook. Bulletin No. 20. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Postal History Society, 1988." Post offices with a beginning date followed by a " +" were still in existance at the time the book was written. Some post offices may have ceased operation after 1988.

Legend: est=established, cgd=changed, mvd=moved

Municipality or Community	Town Hall/Clerk/address or location of community	*Post Office and **Train Stations & Jcts.
COUNTY LINCOLN	Government	.
~~Antigo Jct	Town of King
~~Averill Junction	unknown
~~Baymill or Bays Mill	Town of Bradley	Post Office: 1900-1904
BIRCH, Town of	4762 County Road H Irma, WI 54442	see Irma
~~Bismarck	unknown	Post Office: 1883-1889
~~Bloomville	Town of Russell & Town of Schley	Post Office: 1884-1933
~Boucharels Station	Town of Bradley
BRADLEY, Town of	1518 West Mohawk Drive Tomahawk, WI 54487 Phone: 715-453-3326	Post Office : est Somo 1892-1893, 1895- cgd Bradley, 1906-cgd Heaford Jct, 1935-1984
~~Bundy		Post Office: est Jeffris 1891-cgd Bundy 1903-cgd Jeffris, 1915-1930
~~Champagne	Town of Rock Falls	Post Office:1878-1887
~~ Chat	Town of Birch	Post Office 1884-1911
~~Clifford	Town of	Post Office: 1893-mvd Price County 1904-1927
~~Colburn	Town of Tomahawk
~~Combs	Town of Merrill
CORNING, Town of	Corning Town Hall, N1569 State Road 64 Merrill, WI 54452	Post Office: 1879-1902
~~ Cotter	Town of ?	Post Office:1903-1910
~~Days Siding	Town of Tomahawk
~~Doering	Town of Schley	Post Office: 1903-1939
~~Donovan	Town of Pine River
~~Dudley	Town of Russell	Post Office: 1880-1881
~~Dunfield	Town of Birch	Post Office:1904-1909
~~ Earling	?	Post Office : est Trout 1900-cgd Earling 1901-cgd Heineman 1902-1910
~~ Finn	Town of Pine River	Post Office: 1899-1903
~~Finns	Town of	Post Office : 1880 0nly
~~Foss	Town of Rock Falls	Post Office: 1899-1909
~~ Garland	Town of Bradley
Gleason	Town of Russell	Post Office: 1902-2016+ zip 54435
~~Gilbert	Town of Bradley
~~Gouda	.	Post Office: 1900-cgd Harrison 1907-1931
~~ Grandmother Falls	Town of Rock Falls	Post Office: 1882-1886
~~Grundy Jct	Town of Birch
HARDING, Town of	Harding Town Hall N3246 County Road E Merrill, WI 54452
~~Harrison (was Gouda & Mitchell)	Town of Harrison	Post Office: 1888-1894;
HARRISON, Town of	Harrison Town Hall, N10095 County Road B,	Post Office: est Gouda 1900--cgd Harrison. See Gleason
~~Heafford	unknown	Post Office: 1898-1905
~~Heafford Junction	Town of Bradley	Post Office: est Somo 1892-1893, 1895-cgd Bradley 1906-cgd Heaford Jct 1935-1984
~~Heineman	Town of Schley	Post Office : est Trout 1900-cgd Earling 1901-cgd Heineman 1902-1910
~~Heller	Town of Schley	Post Office: 1890-1921+
Irma (was Courtland and Marietta	Town of Birch, (polling place W4762 County Road H Irma, WI 54442)	Post Office: est Marietta 1888-cgd Irma 1888-2016+
~~ Jeffris	Town of Harrison	Post Office: 1881-cgd Bundy 1903-cgd Jeffris 1915-1930
~~Jersey City	Town of Bradley
~~Jenny		Post Office: 1859-cgd Merrill 1881+See Merrill
~~Kickbush	Town of	Post Office: 1891-cgd Schulz 1909-1911
KING, Town of	King Town Hall W4450 County Trunk A, Tomahawk, WI 54487
~~ Marietta	Town of Birch	see Irma
MERRILL, City of (was Jenny Bull Falls, Jenny Falls, Jenny	Merrill City Hall 1004 E. First Street Merrill, WI 54452	Post Office: est Jenny 1859-cgd Merrill 1881+
MERRILL, Town of	Merrill Town Hall/Community Center, W4594 Progress Avenue Merrill, WI 54452 Phone: 715-536-4383
~~Morley	unknown	Post Office: 1880-1883
~~Natzke Camp	Town of Corning
~~New Wood	Town of Corning
~~ O'Day	unknown	Post Office: 1910-1912
~~ Otis	Town of Merrill
~~Paulson Junction	unknown
PINE RIVER, Town of	Pine River Town Hall, N1647 Deer Run Avenue Merrill, WI 54452
~~Pine River Station	Town of Pine River
ROCK FALLS, Town of	Rock Falls Town Hall, W5895 Rock Falls Drive
RUSSELL, Town of	Fire Station, N5369 State Hwy 17 Gleason, WI 54435	see Gleason
SCHLEY, Town of	Schley Town Hall, W1696 County Road C Merrill, WI 54452
~~Schulz Spur (was Kickbush)	Town of Merrill
SCOTT, Town of	Scott Town Hall N563 Lake Road, Merrill, WI 54452
~~Schulz		est Kickbush 1891-cgd Schulz 1909-1911
SKANAWAN, Town of		see Irma
SOMO, Town of	Tripoli Community Center N12070 Fire Barn Road Tripoli, WI 54564
~~Spirit Falls	Town of Tomahawk	Post Office: 1900-1952
TOMAHAWK, Town of	Tomahawk Town Hall, W8904 State Hwy 86 Tomahawk, WI 54487
TOMAHAWK, City of		Post Office: 1887+
~~Trout		Post Office: 1900-cgd Earling 1901-cgd Heineman 1902-1911
~~ Welling	Town of Merrill
~~West Kraft	Town of Bradley
~~West Merrill	unknown
WILSON, Town of	Wilson Town Hall, N10802 County Road CC Tomahawk, WI 54487

Churches of Lincoln County WI

St Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church

The Diocese of Superior, Lincoln County.

LINCOLN County is encompassed by the Diocese of Superior.

St. John the Baptist Parish (Lincoln County, WI) Corner of Hwy 17 and J -

Bloomville, WI 54435 Phone: (715) 453-2561

St. Augustine of Harrison Mission (Lincoln County, WI) Hwy. Band D -

Harrison, WI 54435 Phone: (715) 453-2561

St. Francis Xavier Parish (Lincoln County, WI) 1709 E 9th Street -

Merrill, WI 54452 Phone: (715) 536-2803

St. Mary Parish (Lincoln County, WI) 7th Street and Washington Avenue -

Tomahawk, WI 54487 Phone: (715) 453-2878

Lincoln County Place Names

Bill Cross Rapids

Named for William (Bill Cross) Harrison, who lived opposite the Bill Cross Rapids on the Wisconsin River. He was one-fourth Sioux Indian and an ordained priest who had been sent to the area as a missionary. He later renounced the priesthood and married an Indian woman.

Bloomville

Named for the Bloom family, who were early settlers in the area. This tiny village was established in 1891.

Gleason

Salem Gleason and his wife, Sarah Jane, journeyed to the northern Wisconsin wilderness in the fall of 1880 in a covered wagon. At Jenny (Merrill) they heard trappers, hunters and other travelers tell of the fabulous beauty of the country farther north. At a bend in the road where the Prairie River meandered through tall pines, maples, oak and birch, the fall colors were unbelievably beautiful, the Gleason's decided to settle there. Their log house became a stopping place for all travelers including Indians. A settlement grew and Mr. Bradley, from Tomahawk, built a branch railroad line to it, and then a bank. Many people thought the town should be named Bradley. A town meeting was called and it was named Gleason.

Harrison

The town was originally called Mitchell after an old settler. The name was changed to honor President Benjamin Harrison.

Heafford Junction

The Soo Line was built through the area in 1885. Later the tracks were laid for the Marinette, Tomahawk and Western Railroad, from near Heafford Junction to Tomahawk. It was to join the Grand Trunk Railway, but the man financing it died and the project was never completed. The Chicago-Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad was built in 1890. The first railroad agent was a Mr. Heafford and the settlement was named Heafford Junction.

Irma

The town was officially laid out as Courtland by the Milwaukee Land Company in 1887. Later the name was changed to Irma after the depot agent's daughter.

Joe Snow Road

Joe Snow built Joe Snow Road and homesteaded on Joe Snow Hill. He was a member of the crew that built a dam and sawmill for Andrew Warren, who was the first permanent settler of Jenny.(Merrill)

Jeffris

David K. Jeffris built a sawmill here in 1891 and named the settlement for his brother, James K. Jeffris of Janesville. Its post office was called Bundy after Mr. Bundy of Grand Rapids, Michigan, who had large timber interests here. The post office is closed.

Lake Mohawkskin

A contest determined the name of this lake in 1926 when Mr. Herbert Atcherson chose the name Mohawskin---MO from Somo--- HAWK--- from Tomahawk---SIN from Wisconsin--- the names of the three rivers that met at that point. Originally called Lake Tomahawk, the name was changed to avoid confusion with the Lake Tomahawk in Oneida County.

Merrill

This lumbering settlement on the Wisconsin River was first called Jenny Bull Falls. Rivermen said the fast rapids sounded like a bull raging in the distance. Jenny was the name they gave to an Indian girl, the daughter of the Potawatomi Chief. The rivermen courted her, and when she died in pregnancy, her father wanted her honored. The name was shortened to Jenny Falls and then to Jenny. In 1881 and act of the state Legislature changed the name to Merrill in honor of S.S.Merrill, General Manager of the Wisconsin Central Railroad.

Skanawan

An Indian name meaning, "creek that runs through bluffs."

Tomahawk

The City was started by William Henry Bradley at the junction of the Tomahawk and the Wisconsin Rivers. It was named after the Tomahawk River which begins in the chain of lakes headed by Tomahawk Lake. Indians say this very old waterway was named as a result of a battle between the Sioux and the Chippewa Indians when a tomahawk or Indian hatchet was buried on the shore to commemorate peace between the tribes.


Resource:

The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names

Contributed by Dawn---Endos@aol.com

Post Office History

The abbreviation (ch) stands for courthouse. The 1939 reference is a United States Official Postal Guide - Part 1 - July 1939 - 5th Series - Vol 2, No. 1. I (Tim) picked it up at the World's Longest Yard Sale a few years ago for 25 cents.

The 1886 reference is missing its cover and first 13 pages so it's a bit of a mystery. It appears to have been published by an independent
organization as it has advertisements in the back of the book.

In 1886 there were 1,478 post offices in Wisconsin.

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Lincoln County Post offices in 1886

Bismarck

Bloomville

Champagne

Chat

Corning

Donovan

Dudley

Eagle River

Grandmother Falls

Merrill (ch)

Rhinelander


Merrill and Rhinelander were identified as Money Order offices. Merrill was further identified as an International Money Order office.


Lincoln County Post Offices in 1939

Doering - P7

Gleason - R476 P31

Heafford Junction - P37

Irma - R254 P23

Merrill (ch) - R1343

Spirit Falls - P10

Tomahawk - R370 S305

R - boxes on rural routes emanating therefrom

P - post-office boxes at offices not having city letter-carrier service

S - boxes on star routes emanating therefrom

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