Oshkosh High School - Index Yearbook (Oshkosh, WI)

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P we-eff 'Q4-- ? P -em , .9 F2 - 1 if 'n .' 1 I 7 The above is a picture of the first Oshkosh High School, erected in 1866, and reservation, Chief Oshkosh returned to the beloved scenes of his boyhood on the shore of Lake Winnebago, In 1836 the first white men settled on the shores of Lake Winnebago at the mouth of the Fox River. Webster Stanley, a trader from Green Bay, found the site favorably situated and established himself here. The next year a few more settlers found their way to these shores, among whom were Chester, Henry, and Amos Gallup and George Wright. Coming across the ice of Lake Winnebago, Mr. YVright and his son, who had settled in Brothertown, de- cided to make this their permanent home, and purchased a homestead of one hundred twenty acres, on which they erected a cabin of hewn logs. These early pioneers endured many hardships. They were compelled to go sixty miles by foot on a narrow trail to Green Bay for supplies and food. A short time later C. J. Coon settled further up the river at the point l destroyed by fire in 19.01. where the rival settlement of Alg-oma had sprung up. .55 5,517 tiff bflmifg In 1840, the settlement had grown to such a size that 1 igigggundell bb' fhiS WOOGBH it was desirable to secure a name for it. No oflicialnname , ' had been decided upon, although it had been variously ig called, according to the personal preferences of people. One of the oddest and most A popular was HAthens. When it was decided t-o vote upon a suitable title, traders as i far up as Winnecone were invited to attend the election. Some in fun, others in earnest, 7' were present. The official name chosen by the people was Oshkosh, in honor of the Vx, ' brave chief of the Menominees who had forfeited the land that the white people might ' expand. SN W. W. Wright ceded a strip of his land, running from the present West Irving ,f Street to the Fox River, to Joseph Jackson. The two platted a portion of their land f ' and offered Webster Stanley a lot, on condition that he would build and maintain thereon a public house as he was doing, at the mouth of the river, and move his ferry up the river to Ferry Street, the present Main Street. Nlr. Stanley accepted the proposi f tion and soon built a public house, which provided accommodations for the few travelers and local boarders. 9 By the unanimous vote of the people at a meeting held in Stanley's tavern, the first Fourth of July celebration was held in 1848. Committees were appointed to care for the amusements and preparations. As there was no actual road down to the river, but just a trail, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Wright, on the day before the celebration, took out their scythes and mowed a road down to the log dock where the present Main Street i . bridge stands. Early on the morning of the Fourth, some powder was burnt in old 'i muskets and shotguns to supply the necessary noise. The martial music consisted of a Z1 snare drum and fife. Mr. Jackson was chosen marshal and Mr. Washburn, a lawyer 7 from the East, orator of the day. The people marched to the site of the present High 55' School where seats and a platform had been erected. After the Declaration of Inde- 'gil pendence had been read and the oration delivered, the crowd marched to the public 453' tavern where a fine dinner was served. After the dinner, the people were invited by the fi crew of the Manchester, the first steamboat on the Fox, for a boat ride. It is interesting to note that in 1850 the first telegraph connection between Mil- waukee and Green Bay was run through Oshkosh. This was an advantage for it put the settlement on the map. One of the London papers of that time contained an 5? article about the beauties of Lake Winnebago and the Fox River. In .1853 Oshkosh was incorporated as a village. The charter granting, the in- ? corporation was accepted by the people, and the offices were filled immediately. The wt c x .-.-- , '7 f' X Q age fifteen

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FSE? S3307 Wg? N -'5 c 1 7 f ,X ' 4 r g A . X,,, V -at . ASQ. SQ v . l L 4 v il' 5- - s Y ' ,- ' 2 N A' F s QI V: 'E 4 fi ji S N N S I S ' Oshkosh has undergone many changes since this sketch was made. Main Street, , N which is shown here, has been greatly altered. ,The horse and buggy has given way to the yi automobile, the street has been paved, and most of these buildings replaced, not to men- , : X tion the construction that has extended this thoroughfare north to the Fair Grounds and - Q K south, ferr across the bridge. f Q :HP Courtesy of Oshkosh Public Museum. A ,: ff 7 s ls - s tl , A l'l1story of Oshkosh N N v 'f l Oshkosh may justly be called the Sawdust City, for it was built upon a founda- Z tion of sawdust and, through the lumber business it has grown to its present size and has N, Q gained recognition throughout the world. Its history entails many thrilling incidents ' ' O which befell the men who first made Oshkosh their home and gave to it a historical X background unsurpassed by any other locality. The details connected with the founding 2. A of the city and its rapid growth can not be dwelt upon hereg space demands but a brief ' A sketch of its development, I I l E The Menominee Indians were the first inhabitants of this region about lakes Wine- ' Z bago and Butte des Mortes and the Fox River. The tribe dearly loved the wooded I Q shores of the lakes and found the location a fine one for hunting and fishing. In 1836, IN however, Oshkosh, the chief of the tribe, and all the influential men were called X Q together at the treaty grounds of the Cedars by Governor Dodge, then governor of Wis- y 4 i consin. As a result of this meeting, the tribe ceded a huge tract of land to the govern- il Ll: ment, including a large part of the present Winnebago county. Thus the seven hundred Indians who comprised this settlement removed to the i . south shore of Lake Poygan where they lived happily until l848. Then by the treaty ' Q 'Z-, I of Poygan, the Menominees were forced to cede all their Wisconsin grounds and moved IES- into Minnesota. Since the new lands did not supply their needs, the tribe was permitted by the Wisconsin legislature to return to Wisconsin and was granted reserve lands on the Wolf River, nine miles north of Shawano. The Menominee reservation is located t. u ' there today. M This action on the part of the government seemed harsh to Chief Oshkosh. '15 ' Therefore, in 1853, he sent a plea to the government declaring that his people were fi destitute of food and in need. By the Northwest Ordinance the tribe was recompensed IX f X for the land which had been ceded. Many times, after his Indians were placed on the - -: 'Y f X N-EW K - --FZ' .-4-., 'f ' :..:.'7 T Xl Page fourteen

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Ax- 1 3: M: .E . 2' . 'L' :mu -9 PQZX I -e -A fi' -95' 'af' fz 4.1.42-NX mayor of the new village was given judicial power in addition to the ones he holds now. A marshal was elected instead of the chief of police and a warden instead of the fire chief. Oshkosh at this time extended as far north as Irving Street, west to Osceola, and south across the river to Sixteenth Street. Main Street, as stated above, was then called Ferry Street, and other streets then in existence were NVashington, Broad, Waugoo, and Merritt. Algoma Street was a public highway called the Winneconne Road. Due to interest in plank roads from Oshkosh to various parts of the country, over 515,000 was subscribed by the citizens for a plank road from here to Pond du Lac. Tolls were charged on all the roads and ferries, but, in 1853, the patronage of the ferry was lowered considerably because of the erection of a free bridge at Ferry Street. At this time there were about two thousand inhabitants in the village. The lumbering industry which was to be built up, was yet in its infancy. The town of Algoma boasted its own ferry and a saw and grist mill, operated by Jewell and Co. Philetus Sawyer was then fostering the lumber business in a small way. In the late fifties, the town became a great logging center. From Gill's Landing and Fremont, as much as 80,000,000 feet of lumber were sent down in the annual drives. Then the lumber jacks considered pine the only wood of any value, and when the lumber reached the mills, all other woods were thrown aside. Thus, due to the large amount of wood thrown away as refuse, the river banks grew up, and today much of the city is built on this foundation. Today, the lumber in northern Wisconsin is nearly exhausted, and the wood passing through the mills at the present time is from the Northwest and, in fact, from all over the world. The first great fire in Oshkosh took place in 1859 and every building on both sides of Ferry Street from Ceape, north to Washington, was destroyed. The fire was a great detriment to development, since many citizens lost practically everything as their property was not insured. Another fire occurred in 1866, sweeping from High to Algoma Streets, and east as far as Jefferson. Then the fire and ladder company was formed and since that time no entire blocks have been destroyed. As early as 1851, Oshkosh boasted a school house, although it was a very poor one in which conditions were cramped. As a result, many preferred the private schools which were then quite numerous. In 1866, construction on the Oshkosh High School was begun. The building was erected on the piece of land which had been purchased ten years before by the city, and used as a park. In 1901 the school was destroyed by fire, and a new one was immediately begun. At the present, Oshkosh has one of the finest school systems in the state. The Public Library was in operation as early as 1857, when two hundred and fifty-five volumes were kept at one of the stores. Now the city possesses a line large library, given as a gift, with thousands of books and an extensive circulation. During the Civil War Oshkosh did its bit by turning the fair grounds into a 1 mf :XJ 1' 33 7-I 17 'Z . ggi' A- so .. A 1 . x vw 1 . Z 1 ! ' 9 1 Qi 2 W I. ll 4 -v, u 'U ill 1 1 1 n 4 . . I military training camp. A large number of men enlisted. While the soldiers were away, a horrible massacre occurred in the North by the Indians of Minnesota, which left the state very much disrupted. The business and manufacturing houses and the public buildings and homes in- ,. creased so rapidly that it would require much space to trace their development. It can, ' A however, be somewhat realized by comparing the descriptions of the past and present Y- Oshkosh. Oshkosh today, leads the world in the manufacture of sash, doors, grass rugs, and carpets. The match industry also takes a strong, lead. The present population of the X city is 36,500 It contains twenty-live various kinds of schools and ninety-five manu- it facturing establishments. When one considers what this city has accomplished in the 'nil past seventy-three years, one cannot help but feel that the Sawdust City has a very K f 'Q great future. X ' .. c f or I w er- fsff ff' 1-fr if :0EP,. r XX, gy gjyL.' f 1' :l lf' IL fa-eifiram . .fsxiilzzim ., f . . .N Page sixteen