Community
Histories
An
Early History of
Shell Lake
Compiled
in 1930
The cutting of the virgin forests
of upper Wisconsin began onthe banks of its streams where the logs were
rolled into the water and floated to the mills to be sawed into lumber,
and its traditions are grounded in the experiences of the lumberjacks
who
carried their "turkeys" into the camp in the fall and cut the trees
during
the winter with axe and saw, skidded the logs to the rollways and
hauled
them on heavy sleds to the landings on the rivers, and then with the
melting
of the snow and ice, rode these logs down river to the mills.
The
tales of their hardships, exploits and sprees cover a period that is
fast
passing into the forgotten.
The success of the annual spring
drive depended on having plenty of water at the right time, which
developed
dams on the streams to hold the water, to be released as needed, and
there
is an oft told tale of an attempt to cut the ridge between Shell Lake
and
Crescent Springs, headwaters of Sawyer Brook, to use the water for such
purposes. Had that been done there would have been no history
of
Shell Lake; but the ridge was preserved to bear the railroad, the lake
remained to float the millions of logs that were sawed here, the
village
was located on its banks and the big mill built on its shores.
The streams in Shell Lake territory
were not well adapted to driving logs, so its forest was nearly intact
when the railroad came. The railroad grant, as evidenced by a
patent
by Omaha Railway Company, August 19, 1880, carried the odd numbered
sections
in this territory.
The Shell Lake Lumber Company
was incorporated by Weyerhauser and Denkman of Rock Island, Illinois,
C.
Lamb and Sons of Clinton, Iowa and David Joyce of Lyons, Iowa, under
the
laws of Iowa on December 18, 1880. It bought the railroad
land
around
Shell Lake and its deed was dated June 9, 1881. That company
also
from time to time purchased most of the even numbered sections or the
timber
from them, so the early history of Shell Lake was in line with its
operations.
It is true there were hunters,
trappers and traders in the country before this time, but the passing
of
a half century leaves only traditions and it seems impossible to record
anything concrete from them.
The treaty of the Chippewas
in 1837 ceded the whole northern quarter of Wisconsin to the United
States
and in return they were given reservations on which they were promised
sanctity from intrusion ofothers. The Chippewa people in
Shell
Lake
territory did not accept the reservation and have always been voters.
It is said a number of Indian
battles were fought on the shores of Shell Lake and also that a big one
was fought on the Tuscarora grounds, just northwest of the village,
where
a great many arrows are found.
Much is heard of Shinneway,
a proud old Chippewa, whose large family was reared on the banks of
Shell
Lake. Several of his descendents still live here and take
pride
in
their strain of native American blood.
All the old timers seem to
agree that before the railroad came there was a log house wher the
courthouse
now stands and a small trading post nearby on the shore of the lake.
The big saw mill was built
in 1881 and that year saw many houses in the village, with a school,
religious
services, post office, a few stores and several saloons. It
was a
part of the title in every lot sold by the Lumber Company that no
liquor
was to be sold on the premises, but the saloons came just the same, and
until local option put them out in 1915 the number of churches and
saloons
was about the same.
It took nineteen years to cut
the timber and saw it into lumber and during that time the lumber
company
employed in loggin camps, saw mill, lumber yard and other activities an
average of about four hundred men and this gave the village population
of fifteen hundred people.
The logging ws done by camps,
each employing around fifty men with horses and oxen. These
men
cut
logs in winter and built roads and railroads in summer. The
camps
were moved from time to time to keep in the cutting area, and some of
them
were on trucks and moved with the railroad tracks. Each camp
had
a foreman, cook, cookee, stable boss and handy man. Each kept
a
"wanagan"
or store chest from which the men could buy the tobacco and clothing
needed,
which was charged and deducted from the pay checks. Themen in
the
camp were swampers, sawyers, teamsters and loaders, and many of these
men
stayed in the same camp a number of years.
The bringing of the logs to
the mill was by railroad, which system contained an average of
twenty-five
miles of tracks, which was moved fromplace to place to reach the
timber.
The main lines remained in one location for a term of years and the
branches
were for the time of cutting that place only. The old grade
to
the
southeast with its many deep cuts and big fill sis familiar to everyone
and is a constant inquiry by strangers. Many of these
railroad
grades
have become public hiehways and good ones. The rolling stock
was
two Baldwin steam engines and about eighty cars. The car
shops
employed
a foreman and several men. The Crescent Springs Railway was a
real
institution for twenty years and hauled many millions of logs and
dropped
them into the lake from the trestle where it crossed Corbett's Bay and
along the west shore of the lake where the park i snow and all the way
to the mill. These logs were held in near the shore by
"booms"
which
were long logs, floating, fastened by chains to rock piers on the
bottom
of the lake. Some of these old piers are still to be
seen.
A heavy wind would at times breat the chains on the booms and scatter
logs
over the lake. A steamboat and crew were kept busy gathering them and
putting
them back. This boat had the power of a tug and a pump that
threw
a heavy stream of water if needed. It was also used to drive
piling
where wanted, simply by using a hose and pipe to drive the sand bottom
from under the pile and letting it down as far as desired in a very few
minutes.
The Shell Lake White Pine had
a reputation in the lumber trade. The great size, unusual
height
and straight bodies gave long timbers impossible to find at other
mills,
and a high percentage of clear lumber, which even in those days brought
a good price. Many of the houses in Shell Lake are built of
lumber
that today would sell at a hundred dollars a thousand or
more.
The
old timers well remember the practice of selling "scoots", what would
not
be good boards, at one dollar for all you could haul, as well as the
millions
of cords of good wood that went into the big burner.
The mill whistle could be heard
for miles and it blew for work to start at six a.m. and a day was a
full
eleven hours. From the time the bull chain pulled the log out
of
the lake to the deck, it went swiftly to the band saw, to the gangs and
to the sorting chains, all on live chains and rollers, and every man
was
kept on the jump, thence by the yard railway to the piles with no rest
for man or foreman.
The timber from about sixty-five
thousand acres of land, about a billion feet of lumber, was hualed by
the
Crescent Spring Railway, floated by the lake, went through the mill,
and
was handled four or five times by the men who lived in Shell
Lake.
They worked long hours with a good sweat every day in summer and brisk
weather in winter. They were happy with their work, their
schools,
churches and saloons. They were good lumbermen.
The Lumber Company had a large
general merchandise store at which the employees traded on credit
tickets,
and from which its camps and other activities were supplied.
The
stores and office were on the lake shore near the old pump house
location.
The saw mill was where the boat factory now operates.
On December 3, 1889 a fire
swept Main Street, destroying more than twenty business
places.
The
following year the water system was laid, serving not only the entire
village
but the mill and lumber yard. That system of mains is still
in
use
and has never failed to function. As long as the mill was
running
water was free, but when that tax money was lost the water rental was
levied
and has continued since.
On September 1, 1894, a forest
fire swept into town and burned sixty dwellings on Bible Hill but they
were soon re-built.
From the beginning the mill
and yard man began buying small tracts of land near the
village
and
making homes, with a cow and chickens. About 1895 a real
effort
was
made to sell the cut over lands and more than two hundred sales of land
for farms were made during the next five years, so 1895 is the real
beginning
of farming as a business in Shell Lake country. The mill
completed
its work in 1899 and in three years the lumber business was mostly
memories.
Shell Lake became a farming town and has remained so.
Shell Lake territory was once
a part of Barron County, then a part of Burnett County, and Washburn
County
was organized by act of the legislature in 1883. The first
county
officers appointed by the governor were:
OFFICE
|
OFFICER
|
County
Clerk
|
F. B.
Nelson
|
County
Treasurer
|
L. E.
Thomas
|
Register
of Deeds
|
A. L.
Bugbee
|
District
Attorney
|
Adolph
Godet
|
County
Judge
|
L. H. Mead
|
Clerk of
Court
|
John Gibson
|
Sheriff
|
James Wynne
|
In 1884 the following
were
elected:
OFFICE
|
OFFICER
|
County
Clerk
|
F. B.
Nelson
|
County
Treasurer
|
L. E.
Thomas
|
Register
of Deeds
|
George L.
Cott
|
District
Attorney
|
L. H. Mead
|
County
Judge
|
A. L.
Bugbee
|
Clerk of
Court
|
L. H. Wang
|
Sheriff
|
Peter
Hyland
|
Early Leaders in
the Community
Early managers of
Shell Lake
Lumber Company included:
O. S. Holt, W. R. Bourne,
A. H. Earle
Early merchants
included:
Dobie & Stratton, F.
B.
Otis, S. M. Bixby & Co., L. H. Wang
Early doctors:
Perley, Barker, Hudson and
Wolcott
Early lawyers:
A. L. Bugbee, Adolph Godet,
L. H. Mead
L. H. Mead served as
District
Attorney with occasional intervals of rest for more than twenty years.
A. L. Bugbee served
continuously
as County Judge for more than twenty years.
George Cott had served as
a County Officer for more than twenty-three years and was also County
Treasurer.
Chas. A. Shaver was Register
of Deeds for more than sixteen years.
Frank A. Keeler, Register
of Deeds, had served continously for more than twenty years.
P. E. Leonard served as County
Clerk for twenty-six years.
John A. Bergin served as
Village
Marshall twenty-eight years.
W. R. Bourne was manager of
the mill for a year about 1882, then came back in 1895 and served until
the end.
Early settlers who came before or by
1880
include:
BLACKBURN,
John |
LAMPMAN,
Free |
BROWN,
William |
LAURSEN,
Josephine Thomas |
DOBIE,
David |
TAYLOR,
John |
DOBIE,
Malcolm |
TAYLOR,
Mary |
LAMPMAN,
Adella |
THOMAS,
L. E. |
LAMPMAN,
Albert C. |
THOMAS,
Mary E. |
Other early settlers who came before
1885
include:
ABERG,John |
GODDING,
A. J. |
PERRY,
John |
ALLEN,
Carrie Trumble |
GODDING,
M. D. |
PETERSON,
Helen |
BAIN,
James |
GODET,
Adolph |
PETERSON,
P. I. |
BARKER,
G. A. |
GORDON,
M. |
PITTS,
Cecelia Thompson |
BEEDE,
Sarah |
GREGORY,
C. E. |
PURDEY,
Oliver |
BEEDE,
William |
HANSEN,
Carrie |
RAUCHSTADT,
William |
BENNER,
H. B. |
HANSEN,
W. B. |
RICE,
Joe |
BENNER,
H. P. |
HANSON,
B. C. |
SALANDER,
John |
BERGIN,
Elizabeth |
HARTMAN,
John |
SALESS,
Louis |
BERGIN,
Hattie |
HEALD,
George |
SALESS,
Mary |
BERGIN,
John A. |
HEISTERKAMP,
William |
SALLANDER,
Emma |
BOHN,
Alice |
HELMS,
Joseph |
SCHLAPPER,
Emmanuel |
BOHN,
Ettie |
HOLT,
O. S. |
SCHON,
Charles |
BOHN,
George P. |
IRLE,
William |
SCHON,
Frank |
BOHN,
Lawrence |
JACOBSON,
Peter |
SCHON,
Mon |
BOURNE,
W. R. |
JOHNSON,
J.W. |
SCHON,
William |
BRUCKMAN,
Matt |
JOHNSON,
John P. |
SHAVER,
Charles A. |
BUGBEE,
A. L. |
JOHNSON,
JohnT. |
SHELLITO,
Belle |
BULL,
N. B. |
KINNE,
John |
SHESGREEN,
Mary N. |
BULLEN,
Samuel |
KNAPP,
Elizabeth |
SHIELDS,
J. H. |
CANTLEY,
W. H. |
KNAPP,
W.J. |
SLATER,
Frank W. |
CHARBONEAU,
Dista |
LAMPMAN,
Albert C. |
SMITH,
Jeff |
COOLEY,
Claude |
LAMPMAN,
Lula Curtis |
STONE,
George |
COTE,
Ed. |
LANIGAN,
David |
STONE,
O. E. |
COTT,
George B. |
LAURSEN,
Josphine Thomas |
STRATTON,
M. S. |
COVEY,
L. S. |
LAVELL,
A. A. |
STRONG,
H. F. |
CRANDALL,
A. B. |
LAVELL,
Nora |
TARBELL,
C. B. |
CRANDALL,
Lorenzo |
LEACH,
C. B. |
TAYLOR,
John |
CROCKER,
David |
LEONARD,
Lucy A. |
TAYLOR,
Mary |
CROCKER,
G. E. |
LEONARD,
P. E. |
THIBEDEAU,
Jule |
CROCKER,
Mary |
LIND,
Andrew |
THIBEDEAU,
Mose |
CROCKER,
Min |
LIND,
John |
THOMAS,
Mary E. |
CROCKER,
W. C. |
MATHEWS,
James |
THOMPSON,
John W. |
CURTIS,
W. B. |
McELVANEY,
Ed. |
TILDEN,
William |
CUSTARD,
R. C. |
MEAD,
L. H. |
TRUMBLE,
Han |
DAHL,
John |
MILLS,
Chauncey |
TRUMBLE,
Thomas |
DAHL,
N. A. |
MILLS,
Peter |
VASSAW,
John |
DAHL,
Rudolph |
MITCHELL,
C. A. |
VASSAW,
Nathalie |
DAHLSTROM,
Andrew |
MOODY,
L. W. |
WALKER,
L. H. |
DAHLSTROM,
Erick |
MULLEN,
Bernard |
WALKER,
T. R. |
DEVEREUX,
J. R. S. |
MULLEN,
Ella J. Buchanan |
WANG,
Ella Mills |
DEVOE,
A. S. |
NELSON,
F. B. |
WANG,
O. |
DONALLY,
Mike |
NELSON,
Hilma Dahl |
WESTERMEYER,
George |
EARLY,
A. H. |
NEWELL,
Francis |
WILKINS,
F. L. |
EK,
Andrew |
O'KANE,
Nettie Beede |
WOLCOTT,
L. A. |
ERICKSON,
Christine |
O'LEARY,
Joe |
WYNNE,
James |
ERICKSON,
O. T. |
OLSON,
Tina Johnson |
|
GIBSON,
Alex |
OLSSON,
H. C. |
|
Please
note: While this is a fairly comprehensive list of
the
early settlers of Shell Lake, some may have inadvertently been
omitted.
Indulgence for errors is hoped for. Also, by 1930 some of
these
settlers
had died, or moved away, along with all family members.
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