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Marinette County Wisconsin WIGenWeb |
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Marinette County Centennial 1879 - 1979 -- This booklet was printed in 1979 to commemorate the county's centennial. It is chock full of people, places and things of interest.
Contents of the booklet include:
| Historical Spotlights timeline of important events in the county's history |
Agriculture | The First Courthouse The First Jailhouse |
Medical and Hospital Care | The Townships and Communities 4 parts |
Industrial Beginnings: Logging and Lumbering |
First Meeting of Marinette County Board of Supervisors |
Industrial Development | Population Figures | Beginning of Transportation | Fishing | Education: Part I, Part II |
The First Courthouse |
The original Courthouse, completed in 1881 - In February 1851, Oconto County separated from Brown County, and held the distinction of
being the largest county in Wisconsin until it was divided to half its riginal size by act of the Wisconsin Legislature, March 3, 1879, when
Marinette County was formed.
The first Marinette County Board of Supervisors met on March 11, 1879 in the office of J A Van Cleve, a lumberman and surveyor, who was to be Marinette County's first County Clerk. This meeting was attended by Andrew C Merryman, representing the Township of Marinette as Chairman, and Mr William J Shepherd, representing the Township of Peshtigo. Because of the diverse locations of the various county officers (see First Board of Supervisors Meeting), the Board voted, on July 15, 1879, that "the proposition of the Honorable I Stephenson to donate to the County of Marinette the tract of land west of the N. Ludington Company Store for a Court House site be accepted, and that the thanks of this Board be tended to him for his liberality, and record of the same be entered in the Journal of Proceedings. | 
The old Jail - Sheriff's Home |
The County Clerk was authorized to engage George Clark, an engineer from London, England, who had come to America in 1871 as a civil engineer with the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1874, he settled in what was to become Marinette County. Clark's illustrious career included building programs in Calcutta, Hong Kong, and Brazil. He was instructed "to make plans and specifications of a Jail and Court House not to exceed in value $15,000 when complete.& On Monday, July 28, 1879, Mr. Clark submitted his first plans for the jail and courthouse; on Thursday, August 7, 1879, he submitted revised plans, and these were accepted by the Board of Supervisors. The bid of Charles Patudefor building the basement of these two structures was approved on Saturday, August 16, 1879, and on Wednesday, September 24, the proposal of Calix Merchant to furnish materials and erect the super structure at a cost of $9,400 was accepted. |
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MarinetteCoWI Coordinator: MAKtranscriber AdamsCoWI State Coordinator: Tina Vickery AdamsCoWI Assistant State Coordinator: Marcia Ann Kuehl
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