Outagamie County, WI - "Funds Raised for S. Pearl St. Bridge - New London 1856" ************************************************************* USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net ************************************************************* Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives Subject: newspaper article "Funds Raised for S. Pearl St. Bridge - New London 1856" Submitted by: county coordinator EMAIL: jmmarasch@aol.com Date Submitted: 15 March 2000 Source: New London Press newspaper article from Bicentennial issue, undated. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Funds Raised for S. Pearl St. Bridge - New London 1856 On March 1 [1856], the New London Bridge Co. was incorporated. According to the by-laws, the corporation was authorized to raise $2,000 in capital stock by selling shares at $10 each to provide funds for building a bridge across the Wolf River at South Pearl St. Information at hand seems to indicate that Isaac Hanson built the footbridge and that Michael Hickey the drawbridge, which replaced the footbridge. During the school year of 1855, there were only thirteen students attending a temporary school in New London. The parents and taxpayers of New London had felt that there was a need for having their own school districts. Taxpayers residing north of the Wolf River met on a lumber pile, George W. Law presiding, to organize Joint School District number 3. They voted to build a school on the northwest corner of the McKinley and Shiocton Streets. School was held here before the building was completed. Usually after the school was dismissed for the day, the men would report for work and then again early in the morning until nine o'clock when the students returned. Students on the south side of Wolf River attended the school located at Little Prairie, on East Millard Street, a short distance from South Pearl St. Then there was only a winding logging trail for the students to follow. This school was identified as District number 5. S.S. Hamilton was the first lawyer to practise in New London, but Ebeneazer Perry was the first New London resident admitted to the bar, practising law on the south side. On March 29, Ira Millerd, Jr., Henry Ketchum, and Welcome Hyde were authorized to establish a state road between New London and Wausau, running through Waupaca, Portage, and Marathon Counties. New London had three doctors. Dr. Joseph Perry had been here since the year of 1854. Dr. John Everette Breed came up from Oshkosh during the month of August. About December, Dr. Christian Linde came from Mukwa village, where he had practised medicine, hunted and trapped with Walter James, son of the famous novelist and ambassador. Dr. Linde came to Wisconsin in 1842, when he was the only doctor in northern Wisconsin. Ira Millerd sold one-half ownership of forty acres on the south side to George W. Law and Dr. Joseph Perry. This forty acres were registered as the Millerd and Law Plat. On Oct. 3, the first issue of the New -London Times was the first newspaper ever printed in New London. The Times was owned principally by Ira Millerd, Sr., E.P. Perry, and Charles Lindsley, who solicited Andrew J. Lawson, Waukegan, IL, to print the paper, and bought the material to get the paper started. George Holdridge was compositor and Leslie Perry was printer's devil. Steamer Pearl left New London every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning at 4 o'clock, reaching Gill's Landing at 7, and left Fond du Lac every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning. During October the water level of the Wolf River was so low that it caused the steamer to run against a snag between Gill's Landing and Mukwa village. The "Great Western & Northwestern Route of Wisconsin" was sponsored by Milwaukee & Horicon Railroad which went as far as Ripon, where stages of the Wisconsin Stage company went to Berlin, Wautoma, Weyauwega and all other principal places north and northeast. Solomon Juneau, first mayor of Milwaukee, died at Keshena on Nov. 14. Some days later a procession of canoes, bearing his remains, stopped at New London. His body was overnight in the house of Henry Trader, who was once a close friend of the late Mr. Juneau. The Indians who were in the cortege of the previous day, bade farewell when the remains were put aboard a river steamer. Navigation on the Wolf River came to a close on Monday, Nov. 17, when Steamer Eureka made the last voyage from New London to Fond du Lac, via Oshkosh. "The Ladies Sewing Circle" and "Mite Society" were the only two women's organizations in New London at that time. Rev. L.D. Tracy was assigned by the 1856 conference to fulfill the spiritual needs of the New London Methodists. The Congregationalists and Methodists held their services at Globe Hall, each sharing one-half of the expenses. Rev. John Reinhardt was the first Methodist minister to preach here, later Revs. Himebaugh and Yocum. No less than 17 bears were killed within eight miles of the village, within a two week period during the month of November. In December, a new stage had been established. The route commenced at Menasha, running through Appleton and Hortonville, to New London triweekly. This route was connected at Young's Corner (Medina) with a stage to Weyauwega, Waupaca, and Stevens Point.