Lincoln County
WIGenWeb
This page has stories and pictures from Tomahawk. The first part is from
e-mails sent to me by Dawn, ENDOS@aol.com
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TOMAHAWK - A description:
In the northern part of Lincoln
County, at the confluence of four rivers, the Wisconsin, the Tomahawk, the
Somo and the Spirit, may be found the thrifty little city of Tomahawk. Few
towns of equal size have better railroad facilities. Its main artery is the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, then follows the Marinette, Tomahawk &
Western, which connects with the Soo line, the Chicago & Northwestern and the
Wisconsin Central. By reason of its magnificent and almost unlimited water
power, several large manufacturing institutions have been erected, including
two excellent paper mills.
Among other advantages enjoyed are electric
lights, water works and sewer system, owned by the municipality, wide
streets, good schools and churches, two banks, two good newspapers, several
good hotels-one of which, the Mitchell, cost $50,000; fine driveways,
excellent roads and a splendid surrounding country. On the north and west the
Wisconsin River winds gracefully around the city. On the south and east the
immediate country is somewhat broken. Prospect Hill, covered with pines and
extending cape-like into Tomahawk Lake, is an extremely picturesque point in
the surroundings. The lake and river is dotted with wooded islands, lending a
charm to the landscape. The social life of the town is excellent, and of the
best and most wholesome American type
The commercial and manufacturing
interests of the city have been built up chiefly on the lumber trade. But of
late years the saw mills have been supplemented to some extent by the wood
working establishments that employ a large force of men, and is one of the
factors in the development of this section of the country. As the lands in
all directions are being converted into farms, the new settler finds a ready
income from the small timber remaining on the land that he can convert easily
and quickly into ready cash. This is true to a great extent of all the
unoccupied timber lands of the Valley. Much of this new land which formerly
contained an excellent forest of basswood, hemlock and birch, can be bought
at from five to ten dollars per acre, and there is no better soil in the
state. And to these things we might add the fact, that within the near limits
of the city is a very large horsepower of undeveloped water power, that
within a radius of a few miles are some eight rivers and twenty lakes that
will all do much in the years to come to add wealth to the city. There are
also untouched hardwood forests of millions of feet almost within sight of
the city.
Tomahawk, with its excellent transportation facilities and
its adjacent wealth of inexhaustible material, appeals to the homeseeker.
Probably the most alluring promises comes from the unsubdued acres of rich
dairy country that abound in every direction. The character of the men whom
these lands have already attracted give assurance to the stranger that this
will be the center of not only a manufacturing interest, but will develop
into an excellent dairy and stock country in the near future.
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TOMAHAWK IRON WORKS. - 1907
This substantial industry was
established in 1890 by the late W. H. Bradley and in June, l906, was
purchased by William Drever and J. H. Knaggs, since which time it has been
greatly enlarged and much modern machinery installed.
This Company
manufactures new machinery of different kinds, but specialize in various
lines, such as locomotive, car and mill repairs, steam fitting, structural
steel, foundry and boiler shop work. A number of sawmill refuse burners and
many towering smoke stacks, in this northern section, were erected by this
Company, who employ about 30 mechanics the year round.
William Drever,
President and Treasurer of the Company, came to Tomahawk eighteen years ago
and has been in the machine shop business for more than 30 years. He is a
master mechanic from choice, necessity and force of habit. His services have
won an excellent reputation for the Company in the saw and paper mill
industry in this section and his list of acquaintances covers a wide
territory.
J. H.. Knaggs, Vice President, came to Tomahawk eight years
ago. He is a practical boiler maker of 30 years experience and on account of
his ability has established an enviable reputation among the many competitors
of the Company. He is thoroughly familiar with every department of the boiler
business and has probably superintended the erection of more smoke stacks,
refuse burners and steel structural work, than any other man plying his trade
in this northern section.
This Company have worked up an excellent
trade which extends to the northern border of the state as well as for 60 or
70 miles west along the Soo Line and some distance south among their
competitors. They not only make a specialty of repairing and overhauling
locomotives but buy and sell the same.
Tomahawk is indeed fortunate in
having an institution of so permanent and substantial standing. This plant is
not located here for a day or a year for these men believe in Tomahawk and
its future; they are here to stay and to add to their already increasing
business as necessity demands.
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TOMAHAWK BOX COMPANY. - 1907
The Tomahawk Box Company commenced
business in July, 1906, with W. G. Foss President and General Manager, and G.
A. Foss Secretary and Treasurer. This Company employs forty-five men the year
round, and cut up six million feet of lumber, consisting of hardwood, pine
and hemlock per year. Their machinery is strictly up-to-date and first class
in every respect. There is nothing done by hand that can possibly be done by
machinery; especially is this true of the nailing of the boxes, as they use
one of the largest size nailing machines with twenty-four hammers, driving
more than one hundred nails a minute. They use a printing machine twenty-six
inches wide, printing two colors on one hundred pieces a minute.
Mr.
W. G. Foss has been an active lumberman for more than thirty years, and for
fifteen years a citizen of Tomahawk. The product of this manufacturing plant
is shipped east as far as New Jersey, and as far south as Missouri. It is one
of the best and most useful manufacturing plants of Tomahawk, and is doing
much to give employment to many citizens. Its proprietors are
progressive, energetic men who believe in Tomahawk and its future.
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LUMBERMAN, MERCHANT AND FARMER. - JOHN OELHAFEN
John Oelhafen, a
prominent and influential citizen of Tomahawk, Lincoln County, is a native of
Bavaria, Germany, born January 22, 1836, a son of Andrew Oelhafen.
John Oelhafen, the subject proper of this sketch came to America with his
parents when eight years of age, and his childhood days were spent on the
farm, his primary education being received in the village schools. He
remained on the farm, assisting his father until he reached his majority.
Although at the age of seventeen he commenced working in the pineries, giving
is earnings to his father to help in the support of the family. In September,
1861, he was united in marriage with Anna S. Miller, who came to America
alone at the age of seventeen. To this union were born six children, viz.:
Anna E., Andrew, J. W., Mary E., Wm. and Anna L. After their marriage, Mr.
Oelhafen and his wife removed to a farm in Washington County, where they
remained for about two years. Mr. Oelhafen then sold his interest in the farm
and removed to Milwaukee, where he opened a general store, remaining there
some ten years. In 1872 he removed to Wausau, at which place he opened a
general store, and also engaged in the lumbering business, both in Wausau and
Milbank, S. Dakota, where he held large interests in farm lands and city
property. In July, 1887, he erected the first building in Tomahawk, Lincoln
County, before the days of railroads in that section of the country. At
Tomahawk he again opened a department store and also continued in the lumber
business, which he still carries on, being assisted by his three sons.
Andrew, having charge of the lumber business; J. W. in charge of the
mercantile business, and Wm. having charge of the cedar yards. Mr. Oelhafen
has invested heavily but profitably in pine and farm lands all through the
northern part of the state. He owns a very handsome residence in Tomahawk,
and has always been an enterprising and influential citizen. Of the many
lumber companies that have done their full part in cutting away the great
forests of the North, John Oelhafen has done his. Mr. Oelhafen has been in
the lumber business for the past thirty years, and is now employing over two
hundred men, with standing timber in the forest sufficient to run for more
than ten years longer. His timber consists of hardwood, pine and hemlock.
Oelhafen mill is now cutting fifteen million per year. Logs are brought in by
rail and water. The mill is kept busy day and night in winter and day times
during the summer. Mr. Oelhafen is not only a merchant and lumberman of many
years experience, but is also the owner of the largest farm in Lincoln
County, consisting of 800 acres, all fenced and 260 acres under the plow, and
thoroughly stumped and stocked with blooded cattle. He is also a prominent
stockholder and director of the Bradley Bank in the city of Tomahawk, and is
one of the early pioneers who helped to break the wilderness in the Wisconsin
Valley. He is doing his part to make Tomahawk the hustling, progressive
little city that she is.
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A MAN WHO DOES THINGS. - R. C. THEILMAN
R. C. Thielman is one
of the most loyal and patriotic citizens of Tomahawk. In these qualities he
is second to none. On no occasion is this spirit allowed to slumber, for at
the least opportunity it makes itself manifest. Mr. Thielman came to Tomahawk
in 1897 and has been in the meat business for twenty years. In 1890 he
engaged in the lumbering business, and is the owner of a large tract of
standing timber. He is logging for the Bradley Company, and will cut eight
million feet for this company the coming year. He is now running three
logging camps, employing over two hundred men, and is badly in need of and
anxious to employ another hundred. The timber is principally hemlock and
hardwood, and is brought in principally by the railroad. There is still
within fifteen or twenty miles of Tomahawk a solid township of timber. It is
estimated that for twenty years the logging and lumbering industry will be
prominent in and around Tomahawk. The cut-over land is selling at from five
to ten dollars an acre, and no better soil for dairy purposes can be found in
the state. Mr. Thielman owns several hundred acres inside the city limits and
has platted two additions to the city. He has been mayor of Tomahawk for five
terms, and the city has prospered under his leadership.
In each of
his official positions he has given earnest and intelligent service, and upon
his official record there is not a blot. He is of that class of citizens who
build up cities and then make them known on the map, and his fellow citizens
realize his value as a permanent, prominent, progressive citizen. If the
reader wants a few days of recreation that recreates he can find some of the
best fishing in the state in close connection with Mr. Thielman's camp, and a
few meals at one of his several logging camps will make one wish he was a
lumber jack.
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TOMAHAWK PULP AND PAPER COMPANY.
This manufacturing plant
began making paper in 1889. Their first mill had a capacity of ten tons per
day; their second mill was built in 1905 on the opposite bank of the
Wisconsin River from the first plant. This mill has a capacity of twenty-five
tons per day. The two mills use 2,000 horsepower and employ one hundred
twenty-five men the year round.
A. M. Pride, proprietor and general
manager of these two mills, came from Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, where he was
engaged in the manufacture of pulp. He is not only a successful business man
and manufacturer, but he is a successful citizen in everything that good
citizenship implies
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BRADLEY BANK, TOMAHAWK.
Tomahawk is particularly fortunate in
the matter of its banking facilities; and to these institutions must be given
a large measure of credit for the prestige. They add a substantial dignity to
the business community, independent of their value as commercial agents. This
substantiality is one which is unconsciously infused into every form of local
business life.
To the Tomahawk people John W. Froehlich seems as much
an essential part of their city as the trees and streets, as nearly his whole
life has been spent there, and since attaining his years of manhood he has
been conspicuously and constantly identified with the Bradley Company's
interest. He was manager of the Mitchell Hotel for eleven years, and for six
years has been cashier of the Bradley Bank. This bank has been a success from
the start. It has done much to assist in the development of the resources of
Tomahawk and Lincoln county. It has a paid capital of $50,000 and a surplus
of $6,400. The officers of this bank are Edward Bradley, President; R. B.
Tweedy, Vice-President, and John Froehlich, Cashier. These men are all well
and favorably known in financial circles, and their names stand for business
principles and honest and correct dealing. The bank is strong because the men
back of it are strong. It has prospered because its management has been
careful and prudent. Its success is well merited and richly deserved.
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TOMAHAWK LUMBER COMPANY.
The Tomahawk Lumber Company was
established in 1904. It saws twenty-five million feet of pine, hemlock and
hardwood each year, which is brought to the mill by rail and water. They
employ 145 men, and run day and night the year round. They operate a planing
mill in connection with the saw mill, and nearly their entire product is sold
and shipped as dressed lumber. This company sells their product only by
wholesale. Their market covers a wide range, mostly in the Mississippi
Valley, yet many carloads of their product finds market in San Francisco,
also New York. Their saw mill is modern in every respect. This mill was built
in 1904 and has been in constant service since that time. The officers of the
company are R. B. Tweedy, President; Spencer Illsley, Vice-President, with C.
C. Uber, Secretary, Treasurer and Manager. This manufacturing plant is one of
Tomahawk's most substantial institutions. It is an organization that employs
a large amount of labor at good wages, and the members of the company are
among the most progressive and substantial business men of Lincoln County.
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A PROMINENT NORTH WOODS CHARACTER. INDIAN PETE - 1907 Tomahawk
One of the best known and most dignified old Indians on the Wisconsin
River was Indian Pete, who died about two years ago, aged ninety-four. He has
traveled every Indian trail along the Wisconsin River, and for the past fifty
years has been a familiar character in the towns and lumber camps all through
the upper valley. He seemed to command the universal respect of the Whites,
and for many years was a privileged character on the trains and at the
Mitchell hotel at Tomahawk.
Pete was always proud of being a Chippewa,
and seemed confident that his tribe were the only real good Indians in the
pine woods.
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A SUCCESSFUL MERCHANT. - D. C. JONES 1907 Tomahawk
D. C. Jones is
one of the business men of Tomahawk whose qualifications have fitted him for
the business world. Quick to learn, patient in his efforts to master business
problems, success came easily to him, and while yet a boy he had won a
standing because of merit and faithfulness. Mr. Jones came to Tomahawk in
1889, and went into partnership with E. W. Whitson in a general store. In
1899 he bought out his partner, and is now carrying a first-class stock of
groceries, gents' furnishing goods and also handles flour, feed, hay and farm
machinery. He has four warehouses, and he is first, last and all the time a
hustler. He is public-spirited and takes a deep interest in everything that
tends to advance the best interests of his city. He has been alderman for two
years, and vice-president of the village for two years. He is popular and
efficient, and a fair type of the self-made Northern man. He has been a man
of action, and in his constant contact with men he has by his manner and
character created such a favorable impression that few men in Tomahawk are
more highly respected than he.
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Tomahawk, Wisconsin Mitchell Hotel Fire March 6, 1929
The
fire, known as the Mitchell Hotel fire, broke out shortly after noon on March
6, 1929, in a cloakroom of the hotel. It ravished 18 buildings in 4 hours. It
destroyed a three-story frame building so quickly that only a phonograph was
saved. While leveling the hotel, the flames, buffeted by a strong wind,
leaped across the street to the East, igniting the Standard Mercantile
Building, the town's largest store. Within two hours, the flames engulfed the
whole business block East of the hotel on Wisconsin Avenue, spread west of
the hotel and crossed Wisconsin Avenue to attack a bakery and four other
shops. Proprietors and tenants scurried to safety as flames crackled nearby,
spreading so quickly that little could be saved. Most of the population
turned out. Schools were dismissed and high school students aided firemen in
their efforts. The flames and smoke attracted farmers into town for miles
around. A strong wind and snow added to the fire's strength and firemen,
"Found their weapons inadequate to check it." Tomahawk firefighters had no
engine to increase water pressure for their 12 lines of hose. Help was
requested from surrounding communities, but when Merrill firemen arrived,
their apparatus was rendered useless by a broken shaft. The Phillips fire
department arrived to late. As a last resort, dynamite was used to blow a gap
in the path of the fire. But that was unsuccessful. The explosion had the
opposite effect, contributing to the spread of the fire. The intense heat
from the blaze cracked pavement down to the sewers. This aided firefighters
by allowing water to run off instead of collecting in pools. William Addis,
the hotel clerk, who discovered the fire ignored his personal safety as he
hurried through the corridors of the hotel warning roomers to flee. When he
reached the second floor, he found his escape route blocked and jumped thru
the window suffering serious injury. Firemen rescued C. H. Grundy,
superintendent of the Marinette, Tomahawk and Western Railroad, who was
confined to his hotel room by illness. Women telephone operators stuck to
their posts despite the approaching flames and smoke. The telephone building
was saved. Fire watchers-mostly young boys-devoured most of the stock of
doughnuts, rolls, cakes, and cookies in the bakery across form the hotel
after the owners fled. The fire spent itself shortly after 5 PM leaving 10
families homeless who resided above the stores in the flats. Losses estimated
were $300,000.00. Except for the Mitchell hotel, all the buildings were
two-story wooden structures. Merchandise and household effects taken from the
burned buildings were piled in the streets adjoining the fire area. There was
no special police guard and vandals made off with some items. By March 8, the
snowstorm had turned the ruins into a jewel box of grotesquely shaped
crystal. Electricity was restored that morning and Orville Grant, owner of
the Mitchell Hotel announced plans to rebuild a modern,
fireproof-50 room
hotel-the present Tomahawk House-on the site. The August Zastrow Saloon and
the Oelhafen Store was destroyed in this fire. This is my family line.
Taken from the Wausau Daily Herald March 1979
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TOMAHAWK WOODENWARE COMPANY.
This plant is another one of
Tomahawk's substantial and prosperous industries. It was organized in
January, 1905, with the following officers: President, W. T. Bradley;
Secretary, O. M. Smith, with A. E. Sutliff Vice President. The plant has a
capacity of about 2,000 pails per day and employs from 30 to 40 men. The
material used is basswood, pine, birch and other local
woods, mostly in
the form of bolts from 4 to 8 feet long. The product has a steady sale and is
in good demand by candy makers, who ship most of their output in wooden pails
such as are manufactured by this company. Much of this material is brought to
the factory during the winter months by farmers living near the city and is
of that class considered as worthless until very recently. This material now
adds another item to the original timber wealth of the northland, and as a
source of revenue is taken into consideration by prospective settlers and
land buyers, it making possible the clearing of land at a profit instead of
loss. The soil is splendidly adapted for stock raising and dairying, while
hay, oats, and all the staple vegetables are grown in abundance. Thousands of
cords of bolts are purchased each year from lands which have been stripped of
the sawmill timber, thus paying out money which makes directly for the actual
development of the farms so rapidly becoming a factor in the growing wealth
of this section of the state.
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From the Tomahawk Leader July 2, 1986
History Sacred Heart
Hospital Tomahawk
Just two years after the incorporation of the
City of Tomahawk, in 1891, a start was made toward establishing a sister's
hospital here. It was because of the urgent pleading of the Reverend Charles
Hoogstoel, pastor of St. Mary's Church, that the Sisters of the Sorrowful
Mother agreed to start a hospital here in the 1890s. Fr. Hoogstoel had become
aquatinted with them at their Kneipp Institution, St. Joseph's Hospital,
Marshfield, Wisconsin, and also with the Reverend Joseph Joch, chaplain and
advisor of the sisters. As soon as permission had been obtained from Bishop
Messmer of Green Bay, in which the diocese of Tomahawk was at the time, and
from Mother Frances Streitel, foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful
Mother, Fr. Joch
assisted the sisters in getting established in Tomahawk.
When a hospital was established in those years, it did not mean that patients
and nurses were housed immediately in a brand new well equipped building.
Whatever temporary shelter was available sufficed for the beginning. Such was
the case when the sisters arrived in Tomahawk Oct. 19, 1893. They were
Sisters M. Anna Niegel, the Superior, M. Alexia Baurer, cook, M. Gabriel
Ortleib, portress, and M. Clementia Raes, and later M. Dionysia Griebel,
nurses. Their first hospital was a small two story building located,
according to some early settlers, at Fourth Street and Wisconsin Avenue. The
place proved to be to poorly suited for the purpose, however, and after a few
months of cold and privation the sisters accepted the opportunity to rent
Mrs. E. J. Theiler's residence at 127 Spirit Avenue and Sixth Street. On a
cold winter day, the sisters two patients were transferred by means of
bobsled to this second hospital. The early records of the hospital show that
nine patients were admitted between Dec. 2, 1893 and Jan. 12, 1894. During
the winter of 1893-1894, Fr. Joch drew up the plans for a new hospital. After
a conference with William Bradley, a prominent Tomahawk businessman who owned
much of the land in and around town, it was agreed that the site for the
hospital should occupy a plot of ground directly north of the newly erected
church and parsonage. The site was donated by Bradley. Work was begun as soon
as weather permitted. It is said that the early settlers came with their
teams to excavate the ground, each one digging for a day or two as a
donation. The building, a two story frame construction, was erected by Anton
Weingart and an assistant under the supervision of Fr. Joch. Later the
building was brick veneered. On the day of the dedication, July 20, 1894, a
high mass was offered in the parish church. The first seven years were
difficult for Sacred Heart Hospital. The income was insufficient and
consequentially the sisters had to use every means to enable them to keep the
institution open. They begged for worn out sheets and pillow slips so they
could pull the threads apart and use the lint instead of purchasing cotton
batting, which was somewhat expensive and difficult to obtain. From the woods
directly in back of the hospital, the sisters gathered fire wood and so
reduced their fuel expense. For a short time they were even forced to beg
alms and travel from one logging camp to another to sell hospital tickets to
lumbermen. After 1900, several good ticket agents employed by the sisters
helped bring in more patients and more income. The ticket agents were
assigned a certain territory where they went from camp to camp selling
tickets at $5.00 and later $7.50. The ticket entitled the holder to admission
and to medical and surgical treatment in the hospital at any time during one
year from the date of the ticket, for such a length of time within the year
as the attending physician judged necessary for the patient suffering from
injury or sickness. According to E. M. MacDonald, who succeeded his father as
a ticket agent for the hospital, the Tomahawk territory included 72 camps
besides sawmills. As an agent he received 15% of the sales from the hospital
directly. After selling the tickets he submitted the result of his work to
the foreman of the camp and the foreman then sent an order for the amount to
the company. In the spring when the company paid the lumberjacks it deducted
the hospital's share from the amount due the respective camp. The deduction
was then sent directly to the hospital. Tickets were bought chiefly by
lumberjacks who had no home or family in the vicinity. In time of illness
their home was the hospital. In the memoirs of Sister M. Dionysia, now
deceased, it is related that one such lumberjack bought a ticket every year.
Whether he was sick or not, he always came to the hospital and said, "I must
visit my home at least once a year." The early sisters testified that the
lumberjacks, men of many nations, Russians, Poles, Swedes, Germans, Irish,
French, were good men, respectful and obliging to the sisters. At the
hospital, the men would help along with the work when they were able, sawing
and splitting wood, painting around the house and helping in the barn and
garden. During the first 14 years of its history, Sacred Heart Hospital
prospered and accomplished much good. In 1908 an addition increased the
length of the building by 60 feet and raised the capacity to 32 beds.
Dedication took place Nov. 18, 1908 with the Reverend John B. Scheyer, the
parish priest, officiating. For this addition, the Bradley Company offered a
donation of $6000.00. The same amount was borrowed from the company without
interest and when repaid, it was returned to the sisters as a donation toward
future maternity care and an isolation unit. It was decided to build the
isolation unit, but the work was not done till 1910. The two story building
was dedicated Jan. 30, 1911. It served its purpose for many years but later
was used as a nurses' and maids' quarters. Improvements and further additions
were mad to Sacred heart Hospital in the following years. 1928 added a third
story. Less than a decade later a three-story addition extending west on
Washington Avenue was begun in April 1937 providing 18 additional beds.
Nov. 25, 1943 Golden Jubilee.
New Hospital ground breaking, Dec.
5, 1960.
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Source Tomahawk Leader
July 3, 1908
MANY CHANGES IN
SALOONS
Applications Show New Ownership's and New Licenses to Comply
With Recent Legislation
Applications for saloon licenses show that
there will be many changes in the saloon business in Tomahawk for the year
soon to begin. Thirty-five have been made, two less than last year. These two
places will probably continue as there is yet time to obtain licenses.
Edgar Walquest has applied for the license for the Etberg place, Gustave
Engleman will again take his old place, run last year by Fred Erdman, James
Pickett will be succeeded at his old stand by William Jeannot and Mr. Pickett
will take the Mike Booner stand next door, Aurthur Johnson will run the
saloon at the Riverside Hotel and A.L. Roberge has purchased the Frank
Duranso place on Tomahawk Avenue. The Roberge place on the Wisconsin River
has not been licensed yet.
Owing to the former licenses not being
citizens of the United States, as required by law, licenses have been applied
for by Mark Flanigan for the Pat Flanigan place at Jersey City, H.G. Fuller
for the August Zastrow Saloon, Charlotte LeBlanc for the Peter LeBlanc place,
Thomas Young for the Charles Peterson place, Mary Chevier for the Henry
Chevier place, and I.E. Boudreau for the J.J. Boudreau place.
The new
law preventing the granting of a license to a corporation, H.J. Hein has
applied for the Mitchell Hotel license for the Tomahawk Hotel Company. The
complete list of applicants are:
Charles Johnson
James Flaherty
H.W.McCarthy
Louis Major
E. Myre
Mark Flanigan
Ole Larson
T.
Twomey
M.G. Hyman
Louis Morency
William Jeannot
H.G. Fuller
H.J.Hein
Thomas Young
Arthur Johnson
Mary Doll
Felix Lambert
A.L. Roberge
nels Swanson
Edgar Walquest
Theo. Hartwig
James
Joyce
Gustave Engleman
Peter Pederson
David McCutcheon
Thomas
Riley
John Twomey
James Pickett
Leo Lambert
Sam Winker
Charlotte LeBlanc
James Poutre
H.J. Taylor
Mary Chevier
I.F.
Boudreau
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TOMAHAWK LEADER NEWSPAPER
July 3, 1908
PUTS OUT A NEW CIGAR
James H. Hall Begins the Manufacture of "La Buns" Another new cigar to
add to Tomahawk's fame is being put out on the market. It is "LaBuns,"
manufactured by James H. Hall. The new cigar is a trifle larger than the well
known , "J. H. B. " It is of rich, dark color, with a broad leaf wrapper and
an excellent filler and binder.
Tomahawk produces more good cigars of
different makes than any town in this part of the state.
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1908 -
Whitson to Run for Senate
Well known Tomahawk Man
becomes a Legislative Candidate in the Thirtieth District. E. W. Whitson of
Tomahawk has announced himself a candidate for state senator from the
thirtieth district, comprising the counties of Lincoln, Oneida, Langlade,
Forest, Florence and Iron. Mr. Whitson has served two terms as assemblyman
from Lincoln County, during the memorable sessions of 1901 and 1903 and also
has been mayor of Tomahawk. He has always been ardent supporter of
progressive Republican policies and of legislation which has followed them.
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July 5th 1918, TOMAHAWK LEADER
Tomahawk, Wisconsin World War 1
SIX TOMAHAWK MEN GO JULY 9
Fifth Contingent to Lee for
Columbus Barracks Next Tuesday
Lincoln Counties fifth contingent of
selected men will leave for Columbus barracks, Ohio, Tuesday, July 9. The men
from Tomahawk and vicinity who will leave with this call are:
John
Hinschell, Jr. Tomahawk
Henry Magnuson, Irma
Frank Brayda, Tomahawk
Alfred Hanson, Irma
Adrin Amelse, Harrison
Grant Vallier, Tomahawk
Mitchell Liberty, Tomahawk
Peter Nelson, Irma
George Bessy, Irma
Frank Reynolds, Tomahawk
Tony Lapinski, Tomahawk
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Shooting Gallery Tomahawk
TOMAHAWK LEADER JULY 1, 1910
H.
W. McCarthy has started a shooting gallery on Wisconsin Avenue on the vacant
lot next to Meunier's. He is offering a $10.00 prize for the best score made
up to July fifth. Some high scores have already been made.
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Tomahawk Leader July 3, 1908
INVENTS STUMP PULLER
F. A.
Barbeau works out idea for machine which promises to be the best of them all!
F. A. Barbeau of Tomahawk is the inventor of a stump puller which
promises to be the best machine designed for the clearing of land. Andrew
Oelhafen is furnishing financial backing required for the manufacture
required of the stump puller. One machine already has been built and is in
use on the Oelhafen farm. Other machines are now under construction at the
Oelhafen Saw Mill.
" If we can sell enough machines we will build a
factory to employ 100 or more men, " said Mr. Oelhafen in speaking of the new
invention."It looks like a good thing, the best of its kind. The trials given
the first machine built certainly show up well."The stump puller, it is
claimed, will pull the biggest white pine stumps with only two men to operate
it.It works rapidly and requires only 2 men to work the levers and one horse
to move the machine from stump to stump. No long test has been given the
puller and it is not yet known how much land can be gone over with it in a
day. The price of the machine will only be $75.00 and if it is successful as
it promises to be it will prove a great thing for the owners of cutover land.
One of the completed pullers will be exhibited at the Fourth of July
Parade tomorrow. Mr. Barleau, the inventor, is a laboring man who came here
from Rhinelander several years ago. His home is on Wisconsin Avenue and Fifth
Street.
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William Bradley -
The father of Tomahawk-Wm Bradley-entertained on
a lavish scale. He owned a unique boat rain that steamed the Somo River. It
consisted of the steamer, "Nynack," which was used as a tug boat to haul six
barges, all coupled together like a railroad train. The cabins on the barges
were built like railroad cars. There were three sleeping cars, a kitchen, a
dining car and an observation car. After Bradley's death, the boats were
broken up, but two of them were purchased and placed on an island near the
Marinette Bridge over the Somo River and converted into summer cottages. They
were still occupied in the 1930s.
Source: 1886-1986 Centennial Edition
Tomahawk Leader
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QUIETLY MARRIED
Two of Tomahawk's Popular Young People United in
Marriage Thomas E. Nash and Miss Anna Zastrow were quietly united in marriage
at the Congregational Church last Saturday. Rev. Grant V. Clark officiating.
The bridal couple was attended by Mr. and Mrs. Leo Martz. After the ceremony
the young couple drove out to Half Moon Lake, there to spend their Honeymoon
at the John Oelhafen cottage, believing that they would not have to undergo
the trials that popular young people are treated with when they are quietly
married, but early in the evening, when the news of the marriage was given
out their friends swore a vengeance and not until Monday morning was there a
quiet moment on Half Moon Lake. Wagonloads of friends made informal calls,
taking with them the necessary equipment to make various noises, and in each
instance the discords were very harmonious, so much so that the occupants of
the cottage responded to receive congratulations regardless of the time of
day or night. The bride is a young lady of many estimable qualities and is
the daughter of Alderman August Zastrow. She resided in Tomahawk the greater
part of her life being educated at Tomahawk High School and has many friends.
The groom resided in Tomahawk about seven years and is an industrious young
man of good habits who has friends wherever he goes. he is in the employ of
Tomahawk Iron Works.
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THE TOMAHAWK LEADER JULY 22, 1905
MOTHER DESERTS BABY BOY
Left at the Home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Durnell
CHILD IS THREE
MONTHS OLD
Mother About Seventeen Years of Age and is Not Known Here.
A young woman, well dressed and nice looking, called at the home of Mr.
and Mrs. Charles Durnell in this city Tuesday, July 11th, carrying with her a
baby boy, and asked Mr. and Mrs. Durnell if they wished to adopt the child.
She gave her name as Mrs. Robarge and stated that she had lived at Star Lake
for some time, but found it difficult to properly care for infant as her
husband had left her and she was compelled to work. Her husband deserted her
while they were living in Grand Rapids a few months ago. Mr. and Mrs. Durnell
told her that they did not care to keep the child, but invited the young
woman to stay with them a few days and during this time she could probably
find someone to keep the child. The young woman remained with Mr. and Mrs.
Durnell until the following day when she asked Mrs. Durnell to attend to the
child while she went to the St. Paul Depot to get clothing out of the grip
for the little one. Mrs. Durnell consented to do this and the young woman
started for the depot and did not return. She left the house at 10:30 am and
it is believed that she took the 11:10 north bound passenger train. Mrs.
Robarge, as she gave her name, is about seventeen years of age and the baby
boy is 3 months of age. The child, when it arrived at the Durnell home, did
not look very well, probably on account of neglect and poor care, but is now
in perfect health, and is said to be a smart young fellow. Mr. and Mrs.
Durnell have since decided to keep the child.
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RESORTS AND THEIR OWNERS 1950 TOMAHAWK WISCONSIN
COTTAGES: Al's
Point Resort owned A.L. Hoffman on Lake Alice Camp Rice Point owned by Ring
on Lake Nokomis Crescent park owned by Mr. and Mrs. Claude Huributt,
Rhinelander, WI. On Crescent Lake. Deep Woods Lodge owned by Harland and
Franke on the North end of the Willow Flowage. Dereg's Resort owned by Earl
and Bee Dereg on Muskellunge Lake. Duck Point resort owned by Paul J. Hipler
on Tomahawk River. Echo Valley Resort owned by Orville and Esther Agnew on
Lake Alice. Fish-A-While Camp owned by Wm. and Freda Jahsmann on Lake Alice.
Gerdes' Pine Crest Resort owned by Gerdes on Lake Nokomis. Hack's Birch Bay
resort owned by Mr. and Mrs. Harold Hackbarth on Manson Lake. Hazy Bay Resort
owned by Bob Theilman on Lake Nokomis. Honey Moon Resort owned by Anthony
Rybarczyk on ? Lake. Heafford Junction. Hoosier Hideout owned by ? On Lake
Nokomis. Horsehead Resort owned by Chester Kroll on East Horsehead Lake.
Hillside resort owned by Marguerite and Gib Bachhuber on Lake Mohawksin.
Karam's Resort owned by George Karam on Lake Nokomis. Kingfish Resort owned
by ? On Lake Alice. Lamer's Housekeeping Cottages owned by Mrs. Joseph Lamar
on Half Moon Lake. Lamar's Pine Cone Cottages owned by Veva and Herman Lamar
bordering 4 lakes. Muskellunge Lake resort owned by Nutrick and Behren on
Muskellunge Lake.
Nokomis Cabins owned by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Bradfish on
Lake Nokomis. Paulson's Cottages owned by Paulson on Manson Lake. Peninsula
Village owned by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph McGuire, Rhinelander, WI. On Squash Lake.
Pine O' Nokomis owned by Mr. and Mrs. Derleth on Lake Nokomis. Rambling Lane
owned by John and Mabel Bullard on Manson Lake. Rapel's Cottages owned by
Fred Rapel on Lake Nokomis. Red's Place owned by C.P. Schmitz on Lake Alice.
Schmidt's Clear Lake Cottages owned by J. C. Schmidt on Clear Lake. Shorewood
Resort owned by James Vlastnik on Lake Alice. Silver Birch owned by ? On Half
Moon Lake. Sky Pine Lodge owned by H. A. Bussewitz on Lake Alice. Spillman's
Thurston Forest resort owned by E. Spillman on Lake Nokomis. Uspel's Resort
owned by Vincent Upsel on Lake Nokomis. Walker's Nev-er-est Lodge owned by
Edward Walker on Manson Lake. Weggie's Point resort owned by Fanny and Heini
Wegmann on Lake Alice.
White Pines Haven owned by ? On Lake Nokomis.
Johnson's Shady rest owned by Wm. Johnson on Manson Lake. Phil's Resort owned
by ? On Lake Nokomis. Wurster's Edgewood resort owned by R.R. Wurster on Lake
Alice
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1926 -1927? Tourist Brochure
WELCOME TO TOMAHAWK WISCONSIN
With the coming hot summer months countless thousands will be turning
their attention to "The North" where silvery lakes, sparkling streams,
towering pines and a hundred other attractions call to those who seek the
"great outdoors" for recreation and enjoyment. No commonwealth offers as much
to the vacationist as Northern Wisconsin with its system of state maintained
highways. Prominent among this vast system of Highways is "Highway 10" which
transverses the state from the Illinois boundary to Lake Superior on the
North, piercing the very heart of the great playground and vacation land. At
the gateway to this Mecca of tourists stands Tomahawk. It is the first
locality where the tourist meets the splendors of the North and where all the
accommodations are offered which makes one's vacation a pleasure long to be
remembered. At the forefront of all the attractions offered by this community
is Bradley Park, the finest natural park in the entire northwest. Here stands
a monumental specimen of God's greatest handiwork, unmarred by human
artificiality. Almost within a stone's throw of the business section of the
city are these 78 acres of virgin pine, encircled by the beautiful Lake
Mo-Hawk-Sin, which is formed by the Somo, Tomahawk, and Wisconsin Rivers.
Here the city provides two wonderful campsites where the tourist and the
camper may converse with a bit of old Wisconsin, the wonderland of Nature. In
addition to these 2 campsites, Tomahawk offers a third campsite
adjacent
to Highway 10 on the banks of Lake Mo-Hawk-Sin. Each campsite is maintained
by the city and is under the joint supervision of the Park Board and the
Tomahawk Civic and Commercial Club. The campsites are equipped with shelters,
cook stoves, fire fuel, tables, wells poring forth the purest water, bathing
beaches and bath houses.
For the past two years Tomahawk has conducted
weekly entertainment features for the enjoyment of the tourists at Bradley
park. These consist of concerts by the Tomahawk American legion band, vocal
solos, quartets, as well as vaudeville features. Originating with impromptu
serenades by a group of legionnaires, these concerts have become immensely
popular with our summer
visitors and now include the finest talent
available. Many of the tourists also have exceptional ability along these
lines and share their talent among the whispering pines, softened by nature's
draperies.
The Tomahawk Civic and Commercial Club will maintain a
complete information bureau this summer. This Bureau will be centrally
located with courteous attendants in charge, competent to furnish accurate
information on the highways, resorts and fishing and to give other valuable
information for the benefit of the tourist.
FISHING
Within
the radius of ten miles from the City of Tomahawk there are 27 beautiful
lakes, four rivers and countless trout streams.
GOLF
One
golf course with a club house in connection has now been completed: another
will be ready for play by the opening of the 1926 tourist season and the
third will be opened in 1927.
WATER CARNIVAL
For the
entertainment of our summer guests it is our plan to hold a Water carnival
some time in June. This will be a big attraction with experts competing in
every event. Some of the features will be motor boat, rowing and canoe races,
swimming races, high and fancy diving, canoe tilting, log rolling contests,
and a casting tournament. Prizes and cups will be awarded.
Open
Competition.
WINTER SPORTS
Winter sports have become a
prominent feature of the life in the North Woods. Skating, Skiing,
snowshoeing, tobogganing, ski jumping, hockey matches, horse racing on skis
and many other attractions are drawing thousands of spectators to these
winter carnivals. We invite you to attend our next Annual Carnival Jan. 15,
1927. One week spent in Northern Wisconsin skiing through its wooded slopes,
or skimming birdlike over its frozen mirrors, is more enervating than an
entire month spent in the listless, pepless air of the far famed south.
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In 1938, the Tomahawk High School Basketball team played in the Class B
tournament, Marcy 9, 10, 11, 12. The played in Nekoosa, Wisconsin. The roster
consisted of Townsend, Nelson, R. Koth, Nick, Fehrman, Burton, Chvala,
Hetzel, St. Peter, and student manager Theiler. This information was sent by
Dawn, ENDOS@aol.com.
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Bouchard's Tavern The sole mark of civilization previous to 1886 was a tavern
or a station kept by Germaine Bouchard, which was located on the north side
of the Wisconsin River and the west side of the Tomahawk River, where the
Tomahawk and Somo flowed into the Wisconsin. Bouchard had kept this station
since 1858, also operating a ferry here, and the locality was variously known
as the Forks or Bouchard�s. He continued to conduct the tavern until 1888,
when the land was inundated by back water from the dam which was being
constructed two miles below: the site of the tavern is now a small island
just north of the west end of Rodgers Island, where the Rodgers Mill was
located, the island being part of the city�s park system. The completion of
the treaty with the Chippewa Indians, by which they agreed to live on their
reservations at Odanah and Lac du Flambeau, gave impetus to the logging
operations in the Tomahawk area and in 1886 the Tomahawk Land and Boom
Company began construction of two camps two miles south of the city as a
preliminary to building a dam there to form a lake wherein the logs could be
stored before being manufactured into lumber and where they could be sorted.
At the heyday of the lumber industry here the annual cut at Tomahawk ran from
60,000,000 to 75,000,00 feet of lumber with about 25,000,000 shingles.
Reference: Excerpted from: HISTORY OF LINCOLN, ONEIDA AND VILAS COUNTIES
WISCONSIN 1924 Tomahawk Pioneer Society Dawn Nash Durbin Email: Endos@aol.com
www.tomahawkpioneers.50megs.com http://www.naish.50megs.com/index.html
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UPSTREAM By Carl Thielman (Excerpted from Merrill Photo News) Date
unknown One does not wish to undermine the heroic feats performed by the
early men who came to the Lincoln County area in the late 1880s and the early
1900s. They came, often as children, twelve to sixteen, into a forest uncut
and a wilderness untamed. Their jobs and workload were man-size and they were
notorious for being grossly underpaid for their efforts. In the chronicles
and biographies of our early settlers, the wife was usually mentioned after
the tales of how well the husband had done financially, how big his barn was
and how many cattle or business interests he owned. After listing these
important facts, the name of his wife, their marriage date and how many
offspring was included. Many women had come right alongside the men, often
arriving as brides on honeymoons, riding over rough �tote� roads in ox
drawn spring less wagons that had to be unloaded and reloaded at mud holes.
Their first living quarters were usually tents or sheds and they helped their
husbands build the first log homes and clear acreage for gardens and crops.
The women tended the livestock, hauled water, reared children, maintained the
household and cared for the sick and the dying. The first white woman to
arrive in the Tomahawk area was Mary Tobin who came in 1887 with her husband
John Tobin. They lived in a log shanty at a point on the Wisconsin River west
of Tomahawk, just opposite Rodgers Island. After his death in 1894, Mary
Tobin took over her husband�s business interests and ran the farm, boarding
house and icehouse. She eventually remarried to Joseph B. Ball who helped her
in her ventures. It is recorded that one Tomahawk woman lived and bore her
first child in a log shanty that leaked so badly that icicles would form on
the stovepipe in the winter. Infant mortality was high. The earliest settlers
did without doctors and midwives. If a child survived birthing there were
still epidemics of small pox, measles and pneumonia. These ailments took
their share of adults. There were no miracle drugs, pharmacies and
vaccinations. Widows and widowers left behind did not wait long to remarry.
The harsh realities of life drove them for comfort and necessities. Children
had to be tended, meals prepared, clothes washed and sewn and life resumed. A
few women mentioned in print stand out because of their uniqueness. Catherine
Theiler was the mother of 10 sons and 1 daughter. Besides raising this large
family she tended the sick in Tomahawk and the outlying lumber camps. Lillian
Zastow had a shrewd business head. In 1921 she purchased the Princess Theatre
that she operated. She also purchased 200 acres of land that she had cleared,
planted and sold for a profit. One unfortunate soul, Mrs. Abigail Conant died
in Tomahawk 11/8/1919 as a result of being struck by an auto mobile while
crossing Fourth Street on foot. These are small claims to fame. THE TOMAHAWK
NEWSPAPER Feb. 23, 1907 Houses Scarce in Tomahawk Houses again will be scarce
in Tomahawk this spring. The demand for houses has already commenced and
indications are that there is not a vacant house in Tomahawk. This week, two
gentlemen who reside out of the city, wanted information in regard to a
viable vacant home and came to visit this office. They informed us that they
had found it impossible to secure quarters into which to move their families.
Tomahawk Pioneer Society www.tomahawkpioneers.50megs.com In the HISTORY OF
LINCOLN, ONEIDA AND VILAS COUNTIES, published in 1924, over 800 biographies
of men were listed with only four or five women meriting a paragraph of their
own. The biographies are an honor to 800 daring men but a dishonor to the
fine woman who helped shape the early years of this region. Tomahawk Pioneer
Society Dawn Nash Durbin Email: Endos(at)aol.com
www.tomahawkpioneers.50megs.com
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