The History of Gillett Early Settlers
Before the time of the Revolution, the land where Gillett was destined to be built had been claimed by a Spanish Queen, and by French and English Kings. After the Revolution, and before a strong central government had been established, this area was claimed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Virginia. By 1785, the states gave up their claims and the United States designated the area north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi as the Great Northwest Territory. States were to be formed from this territory and admitted to the Union on equal standing with the original states as certain requirements were fulfilled. Until that time, this area was governed by a legislature that met in Cincinnati. Wisconsin was the last of the five states formed from this territory to be admitted to the Union. When Wisconsin became a state in 1848, there were still only Indians in the Gillett area. Six years later, when Henry Tourtilotte came here with his Indian wife, this area was part of the large township of Stiles. In 1854, the first white settler came to the area now known as Gillett; Henry Tourtilotte, bringing his Indian wife and four children with him, built a split-level log house on the slope across from Norwest Bank, now the site of a brick home on the corner of First and Main Streets. Court House records show that the land still belonged to the United States Government at that time and there is no official record of any Tourtilotte ownership. A year later, Henry Clark and his Indian wife and their three children moved into the local area. Both Tourtilotte and Clark hunted, trapped and traded with the Pottowatomi Indians. The Pottowatomi settlement was northwest of the present town of Gillett, and even today arrowheads are turned up by farmers plowing in the vicinity. Middle-aged residents may remember the old Pottowatomi cemetery with its covered graves. Rodney Gillett, for whom the community was named, was born in Albany, New York in 1833. His parents moved to Pennsylvania, then to Illinois, and later to Minnesota. Rodney did not go to Minnesota with them, but chose to go to northern Wisconsin where he worked in Shawano and Oconto. He liked the area halfway between Shawano and Oconto; and after his marriage in 1858 to Mary Roblee of Clayton, Wisconsin, he came here with his wife to make a new home. He owned a yoke of oxen, a cow, and a few pieces of furniture. He evidently liked Mr. Tourtilotte's homestead and bought it in 1859. Mrs. Gillett was the first white woman to settle in Gillett Center, as it was then called. Mr. Gillett hired Clark and Tourtilotte and some Indians to help him cut logs and haul them to the river. The old tram road, a corduroy road, crossed the Bill Lambrecht farm to Flat Rock. In the spring when the river was high, the logs were floated to Oconto to a sawmill where there was a ready market for timber. There was no road to Oconto at this time and so all supplies had to be carried over the Indian trails. But as soon as he was able, Rodney Gillett purchased a team of horses, the first to be driven to this area. Mrs. Ed Kosbob remembers stories told about her grandfather walking to Oconto for flour. Her grandmother would take an empty sack and meet him somewhere along the trail on his return trip where they divided the load and trudged home together. Courthouse records show the downtown area of Gillett belonging to Mr. Chauncey Baker in 1856; and later in the same year to a Mr. R.A. Jones; then back to Baker. In 1857, it was sold to Mr. Edward Ramsey. In February of 1858, Rodney Gillett and Otis Flanders leased the land for a term of three years. They were to pay for the land lease by clearing 40 acres, enclosing it with a rail fence 7 rails high, and leaving 4 1/2 tons of English hay on the premises at the expiration of their lease. In October, Mr. Gillett purchased an interest in this property and other properties from Mr. Ramsey for $600. In 1860, Edward Ramsey sold his undivided half interest in the land to Mr. and Mrs. Gillett who held the land all during the period of the Civil War. At this time a large cedar yard owned by Louis Runkel, stacked high with cedar posts, extended from the tamarack swamp area (North of Richmond Street) to Lake Street and all the way from the backs of Main Street buildings to the lakes. First Street was passable from the cedar yard and on it was a fine brick home, now the corner of First and Main. It was occupied by the family of Rodney Gillett's son-in-law, Robert Miniely, who was the depot agent. Across the road from the Miniely home was a large fenced in deer reserve belonging to Rodney Gillett. Here he kept deer captured in the summer for winter meat for his family and for sale to others. The fenced in area extended from the Dr. Driscoll residence east to include the Mike Melchior residence and then south to Savage Lake (then called Gillett Lake) and beyond it up the hill to Fourth Street. Mr. Gillett's property extended north from the deer reserve and home and included the entire present city north of the tracks and west of McKenzie Avenue. The George Newton family moved into the area in the summer of 1859. Newton's Lake was named for them. At this time there was a small creek east of town and Mrs. Newton hung her wash in the bushes near the creek. The river drivers named it Calico Creek. Mrs. Newton, known as Grandma Newton, was community nurse, doctor, and newspaper as she went from house to house, wherever she was needed, distributing her herbs and homemade remedies, carrying news and knitting as she walked. There was no doctor nearer than Oconto. Old timers say that she was reported to have once walked from here to the state of Washington. The William John family moved from Oconto to the area near Whitings Cheese Factory, on the corner of Spring Hill Road and County G, in the year of 1857. His home was a stopping place for many a weary traveler. He was a genial host. His wife prepared tasty meals that were served punctually. In 1875, they opened a type of hotel. Mrs. John was left alone with her children when her husband went to fight for the Union in the Civil War. She was forced to provide for them in the wilderness and became an expert riflewoman, bagging wild game for food. Later, after Mr. John's return from war, they moved onto land that became part of the City of Gillett. Joseph Helmke and Charles McKenzier settled in Gillett before they left for service in 1862. Mr. Helmke buried his tool chest before leaving and found it in good condition when he returned. Matt Finnigan came in 1864, Harruet Gale came in 1869. The Dan McDonnell family moved here from Canada in 1874. The Howell family moved in west of Gillett, but lived within the present city limits in late 1870's. And so the area became settled. The growth and prosperity of any community depends greatly upon the surrounding countryside and on character, industry and ingenuity of its inhabitants. In this, Gillett was fortunate. Many Scandinavians came to work on the Pulcifer dam and stayed to make homesteads, many settling in the area south of Gillett; Gilbertson, Peterson, Engebretson, etc. About 1876, an Irish settlement and Scotch-Irish and German settlements were started in the northeast; Gradys, McDonnells, Murphys and Johnsons; Begolkes, Neumanns, Winklers, Zahns and Schmidts. In 1883, William and Earnestine Kasten arrived from Germany with their five children- Henry, Herman, August, Bertha and Augusta. He became a successful farmer, built the home on Kasten Lake occupied at this time by Leon Riemer. He also became the owner of much property on the southern side of the city. The years following the Civil War were hard years in this area evidenced by the fact that Mr. Gillett was forced to mortgage his property and even then was unable to pay his taxes. Two years later Rodney Gillett purchased his land for $10.00 This was for 20 acres comprising today of the entire downtown area of Gillett. In 1884, Mr. Gillett and Uri Balcom hired Mr. A Egleston to survey and map the land south of the railroad tracks and to designate the boundaries of the Village of Gillett. This map is on file at the Court House in Oconto in Vol.41 of Deeds, page 467.Mr. Gillett began immediately to sell lots along the present Main Street in Gillett. back to top -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Government and Business
In 1854, this vicinity was part of the Town of Stiles. The community took the name of Gillett for their city when the State of Wisconsin chartered it on May 10, 1944. Around 1868, the boundaries of the town were expanded to include the areas known as Oconto Falls, Gillett, Underhill, Maple Valley and How. The Town of Gillett was named honoring Rodney Gillett. The first election was held April 7, 1868, in the schoolhouse. Rodney Gillett was elected chairman; Charles Bagley and Charles McKenzie, supervisors; James McPhereson, clerk; William John, treasurer; John Volk, D.S. Perrigo and McPhereson, constables; Charles Bagley, assessor; and Levi Linsey, Inspector of Weights and Scales. The Village of Gillett was incorporated in 1900 with a population of about 400. Although the downtown area of Gillett was platted in 1884, it continued to be just a settlement, a part of the Town of Gillett, until the turn of the century when it was incorporated into a Village. The first village officers were; L.J. Newald, president; J. Sorenson, clerk; Hans Lykke, treasurer; the first trustees were I. H. Issaakson, Oscar Carlson, J.M. Melchoir, R. A. Miniely, G.H. Sohr, and August Foelker. Records were loosely kept. Mr. Mimiely was an officer in the community for many years, but he never was a citizen of the U.S. He had moved here from Canada. The Village Hall was built in 1905. The population at that time was over 500. The population by 1920, had reached over 1000 inhabitants. Between 1884, when Gillett was platted, and 1900, when it was incorporated, there was a rapid growth with many new businesses and industries being started. This was partly because a railroad line now connected Gillett and Oconto. Stores, saloons, a cheese factory, a butcher shop, a brickyard and a barber shop were started. The Gillett Times, a weekly newspaper, was started by L.P.Perry, owner and editor. L.B. Stuelke opened a drug store, the first in the community, and one year later L.J. Newald started the first bank in the building directly west of Mr. Stuelke’s drugstore. This is the small building that is still standing next to the Laundromat. Part of the building, now used as a Laundromat, was built by Jerome Clark in about 1890, and was used as a general store until 1900, when L.B. Stuelke established the first drug store here. Part of the building occupied by Pulcifer Hardware was built by George Sohr in 1893, and was the first hardware store in the community. The business area extended for two blocks, with the corner of Main and Lake Streets as the center. The railroad had built from Oconto to Underhill, and the depot was a fine building on the North end of Main Street. South from the depot Nick Henter had a tavern on the site of the present bar. There was only one other building on the north side of Main Street, east of the corner, and that building is still there, though it underwent considerable remodeling over the course of the years. It was a general store owned by Mr. Dyer, and later Shier’s Paint Store. Gillett was well supplied with taverns. The southwest corner of Main and Lake belonged to a Mr. Buche, from Cecil, who quenched the thirst of the customers while they waited to have their horses shod or their wagon repaired. There was a restaurant east of Mr. Buche’s tavern, in a building that was later moved to Lake Street. Shortly after 1900, William Ehlers, and his aunt, Mrs. DeCaster, opened this restaurant. There was a busy establishment east of the restaurant occupying several buildings. Matt Long was a wagon maker and Matt Wagner was the blacksmith, who together owned a storage barn for completed wagons, buggies, and harnesses. There was a small general store where the Community Bank now stands which was owned by Charlie Munson. He sold it to John Wranosky, who in turn sold it to Frank Fowler. Mr. Fowler established a furniture and undertaking business there and hired Joe Kuehl to run the business. Joe later married Frank Foelker’s daughter Hilda. On the northwest corner of Lake Street and Main, there was an imposing two story frame structure, Gillett’s first hotel, owned and operated by William John and his wife, Olive. Back once more to the corner of Lake and Main Street, this time to the southwest corner, now the Dollar Value Store, where there was a two story frame structure housing Louis Runkle’s General Merchandise on the first floor and providing a hall for dances and parties on the second floor. Mr. Runkle sold his business to Mr. Schmidt and George Grotelueschen. Mr. Grotelueschen sold his share of the business to L.J. Newald, who later became Gillett’s first banker. This transaction made Mr Schmidt quite unhappy so he refused to allow Mr. Newald to enter the building. Mr. Newald went across the street to the tavern, purchased a double headed beer keg and threw it through the locked door. Soon the reluctant partners sold out to Mr. Groteluechen, and his father-in-law. Mr. Savage. They enjoyed many prosperous years, and later tore down the old store and built the brick building now owned by Kurt Darrow. The McKenzie residence west of the big store was situated where Midtown restaurant is now. John Watt’s store was at the end of the block in the area of the current Sunrise Cafe. Mr. Watt did a big business with the Pottowatomi Indians who rode in on horseback or walked in from their settlement where the Herman Giese Farm is. Many of the women had their papooses strapped on to their backs. Often they camped over on the corner of Main and McKenzie where the Municipal Building now stands. In the early years of the 20th century, a plant named Gillett Woodenware was built where Gillett Family Foods and Warvel Products now stands. Mr. John Smith,father of W.W. Smith, built the plant and moved his machinery in from Seymour, entirely by team and wagon. It is reported that John Rex, who helped move the machinery, would ride to Seymour load the machinery, and then walk back home. The Woodenware Company manufactured early pails and for a short time made cheese boxes. The original mill burned in about 1913, but was rebuilt and named the Great Northern Pail Company, and was owned by Mr. J. P. Smith of Green Bay, who was no relation to Mr. Smith. Walter W. Smith was manager of the factory. The old pail factory was forced to close down early in the great depression and was later sold to the Baldwin Family of Appleton who operated it as a veneer factory. Baldwin sold it to its present owners. The Factory closed in the mid 1980’s and was torn down. During the razing, the building started on fire and burned. It is now the site of Gillett Family Foods and Warvel Products. The earliest canning factory was built by a man named Waters. Financial difficulties brought H. H. Koske, who then was the banker in Gillett, into it. He financed nearly all of the operation, bringing in Hans Sorenson, George Hoxie, Joe Horick, Fred Larson, and others. Later Hans Sorenson became President and John Horick became Factory Superintendent. The factory became one of many owned by Friday Canning Corporation who sold out to Chiquita Corporation in the early 1990’s. In the early 1880’s, Herman and Fred Bruemmer built a flour and grist mill on the shore of Savage (Gillett) Lake. This was operated as a flour mill, except for a brief period it was closed, until the mid 1920’s The building was bought by J. M. Ankerson, who used it for storage and as a flour mill. He sold it to the Norcor Company of Green Bay, who established a veneer plant there that was managed by Walter W. Smith for several years. (1940’s) Later the Gillett Industrial Development Corporation bought the building and rented it to Pete Warvel. The building was destroyed by fire in 1967. The Warvel plant was rebuilt in the Gillett Industrial Park and is now (1998) is one of the largest employers in Oconto County. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday Night at the Stores
In the early days stores were quite different from the ones of today. There was less variety and groceries came in bulk and had to be weighed and packaged by the grocer at the time of sale. The earlier merchants were open from 6:00 AM until 10:00 PM six days a week and on Sundays till noon. The automobile changed the buying habits of the public and also made merchants desire more freedom. But Saturday night in town was by no means over when the groceries were stowed away. When the weather was bad people moved to the front of the store and continued their visiting. Babies sleeping or cooing or screaming were laid on the platform back of the window display, with mothers nearby and alert to their needs, but visiting with each neighbor as she came past. But the nicest evenings were those warm and pleasant enough to allow the groups to gather on the street corners. Each corner was crowded. These nice summer evenings, revival singers brought their instruments and sang repentance into the hearts of their listeners. The music was sweet and harmonious. The kids, if they were extra good and extra quiet, could have an ice cream cone before going home. Then too, there was the anticipation of the enjoyment of the treat they had seen the grocer slip into the egg crate before they took it from the store. The community leaders took advantage of these Saturday night gatherings to meet and greet the farm people as they stood on the corners. Sometimes, in appreciation of their loyal and continuous patronage, a free movie was presented, with benches, camera and screen set up on a vacant lot. Often on Saturday nights there were dances in the pavilion with everyone joining in the circular two-steps, square dances, even eight and ten year olds. It was not uncommon to see a man of 75 or 80 dancing a lively number with the neighbor’s little girl. There was no nine o’clock curfew then. Stores stayed open as long as there was a customer to be served often past midnight. If the store keeper was not entirely exhausted, he hurried to join the fun before the crowd went home. One by one the cars pulled away until the streets were quiet and deserted. The next morning they came again, with families clean and fresh and rested looking to go to church. After the services they hurried home or to a neighbors, to share once more the news collected the night before. And Sunday night, with everyone happy and exhausted, they settled down early, for Monday started the workweek again. But they only had six days to wait until it was Saturday night. back to top -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Railroads
In 1884, the first railroad from Gillett to Clintonville and Oconto was completed. This ended stagecoach travel from Oconto to Shawano, for trains were faster and cleaner then the horse-drawn carriages. However, it was several years before railroads completely replaced the northbound stagecoaches. When a railroad was built between Oconto and Underhill, a depot was built on the north end of Main Street. By 1904, the railroad expanded from the northern lumber camps to Pulaski and Green Bay, and Gillett became an important junction. At one time there were five log runs through Gillett everyday, in addition to several freight and passenger trains. There was a population boom following the completion of the railroads. Businesses grew and new industries were introduced. Among the early railroad men were Gust Cook, Tom Skelly, Otto Frankov, Bob Schmidt, Jack Saubert, Leo Sobush, Charlie Thompson, Jim Forel and Peter Schroeder. The railroad and it’s men left an indelible mark on Gillett’s history. Railroad men married settler's daughters and started new businesses. Young people immigrated to the rapidly developing community bringing with them new ideas. All of these families were to become a heritage of the railroad years. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These have been selected excerpts from the book "History of Gillett 1856- 1976" Published in 1976, through the cooperation of the Gillett Public Library Board. back to top -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ATV Capital of the WorldIn Late 2006 and Early 2007 Gillett was seeking an identity. The City had not grown in population since the early 1950's. Gillett had no Lake or River or any other prominent natural feature to hang it's hat on. The Nicolet Trail had brought the local All Terrain Vehicle trail into town and right into the center of the City at Zippel Park. A group of businessmen headed by Brandon Miller and Gary Pemrich pushed to have the trail recognized as a valuable part of the local economy. After several meetings with City officials application was made and the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Gillett title to "ATV Capital of the World." The group has grown and in August 2007 was established as the Gillett Tourism and Marketing Commision of the City of Gillett. The group is working on several other projects in an attempt to make Gillett a destination for Tourism in Wisconsin.
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