ONEIDA COUNTY

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WISCONSIN MUNICIPALITIES: Cities Towns, and Villages, often referred to as 'municipalities' in Wisconsin law, are the governmental units that relate most directly to citizens' everyday lives.

TOWNS, like counties, were created by the state to provide basic municipal services. Rooted in New England and New York tradition, town government came to Wisconsin with the settlers, but Wisconsin towns were not like their Eastern counterparts that reflected the existing patterns of local settlement. In Wisconsin, towns are geographical subdivisions of counties. Towns originally served (and for the most part they continue to serve) rural areas. Towns govern those areas of Wisconsin not included in the corporate boundaries of cities and villages.

[Oneida County is divided into 20 'TOWNS'. see Map of Towns ]

The difference between "township" and "town" often confuses the public. In Wisconsin, "township' refers to the surveyor's township which was laid out to identify land parcels within a county. Theoretically. a township is a square tract of land, measuring six miles on a side for a total of 36 square miles in the unit. Each township is divided into 36 sections. "Town", as the word is used in Wisconsin, denotes a specific unit of government. It's boundaries may coincide with the surveyor's township or it may look quite different. A Town may include one, parts of or several townships.[ See Oneida County Plat Map ]

CITIES and VILLAGES, often referred to as "incorportated areas", govern territory where population is more concentrated. In general, minimum population for incorporation as a village is 150 residents for an isolated village and 2,500 for a metropolitan village located in a more densely settled area. For cities, the minimums are 1,000 and 5,000 respectively. As cities and villages are incorporated, they are carved out of the town territory and become independent units no longer subject to the town's control. The remainder of the town may take on a 'Swiss cheese" configuration as its area is reduced.

[Information above taken from "State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1997-1998" Compiled by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. chpt. "The Changing World of Wisconsin Local Government'" sec. 3. Municipalities: The Most local of Governments. pags115-122. Wisconsin Blue Books are Publ. Biennially In Odd-Numbered Years.]


SMALL SETTLEMENTS and   ~ ~GHOST TOWNS ~ ~

There were many small settlements that sprung up around logging camps of the early 1900's and were not much more than a grocery store, post office, railroad stations or rail junction. Some of these develped into larger communities, others have disappeared along with the lumber camps and the railroads.

* Information on community post offices was taken from "Hale, James B. Wisconsin Post Office Handbook. Bulletin No. 20. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Postal History Society, 1988." Post offices with a beginning date followed by a " +" were still in existance at the time the book was written. Some post offices may have ceased operation after 1988.

**Information on railroad stations, junctions and railroad lines taken from a map of Railroads in the Northwoods. The dates are for the railroad lines only, the stations may or may not have been operating during that entire time frame. This list is by no means anywhere near completion, more informatin will be added.

Municipality or
Community
Town Hall/Clerk/address
or location of community
*Post Office and
**Train Stations & Jcts.
ONEIDA COUNTY Government .
Cassian, Town of 9110 Church Rd, Harshaw WI 54529
715 282-5221
Post Office 1902-1913
Clearwater Lake Town of Three Lakes Post Office 1908-1974
Crescent, Town of phone: 715 282-6383
Enterprise, Town of Town Clerk
phone: 715 487-5516
Post Office est. Keelers 1904-cgd Enterprise 1905-1931
Gagen Town of Piehl Post Office 1887-1890, 1891-1899, 1902-1942
~ ~ Garth ~ ~ Town of Hazelhurst post Office 1890-1893
~ ~Goodell~ ~ unknown Post Office 1902-1903
Harshaw Town of Cassian Post Office 1891+
Hazelhurst, Town of PO Box 67,
Hazelhurst WI 54531
715 356-5800
Tues/Thurs Noon-6pm
Post Office 1889+
~ ~ Hazelhurst Junction ~ ~ (McNaughton) Town of Newbold Post Office 1899-1901
Hebard (Wadena) Town of Pelican Post Office est Waudena 1889-cgd Hebard 1896-1901
Hiles Junction Town of Piehl
Hobson (Starks) Town of Stella Post Office 1913- cgd Starks 1913-1942
~ ~Hoffmanstone~ ~ ? Post Office 1908-??
~ ~ Jennings ~ ~ Town of Schoepke Post Office 1899-1920
Keelers(Enterprise) Town of Enterprise Post Office 1904-cgd Enterprise 1905-1931
Lake Tomahawk, Town of Town Hall
phone: 715 277-9380
Post Office est Rainbow 1899-cgd Tomahawk Lake 1892-1903, 1904-cgd Lake Tomahawk 1928+
~ ~ Lennox ~ ~ Town of Schoepke
Little Rice, Town of . .
Lynne, Town of . .
Malvern Town of Pelican Post Office 1902-1904, 1905-1906
Manson Town of Woodboro Post Office 1923-1924
McCord Town of Little Rice Post Office 1892-1896, 1900-1925
McNaughton Town of Newbold Post Office 1890-1899, 1907+
Minocqua, Town of Town Office
415 Menomonie St.
Minocqua WI 54548
715 356-5296
Post Office est Tomahawk Lake 1888-cgd Minocqua 1888+
Monico, Town of Town Clerk
715 487-5323
Post Office 1884-cgd Uniontown 1884-cgd Monico 1886+
~ ~ Moskonegan ~ ~ Town of Woodruff Post Office 1889-1890
~ ~ Naunataga ~ ~ ? Post Office 1895 only
Newbold, Town of Town Clerk
715 362-1092
.
Nokomis, Town of Town Hall
2599 Nokomis Lake Rd, Tomahawk WI 54487
715 453-4801
.
Pelican, Town of Town Hall
4093 Hwy 8E
715 362-7866
.
Pelican Lake Town of Schoepke Post Office 1882+
Pennington Post Office 1887-1898
Piehl, Town of .
Pine Lake. Town of .
Pratt Junction Town of Enterprise Post Office 1887-1903
Rainbow (Tomahawk Lake) Town of Lake Tomahawk Post Office 1889-cgd Tomahawk Lake 1892-1903, 1904-cgd Lake Tomahawk 1928+
~ ~ Rantz ~ ~ Town of Minocqua
Rhinelander, City of (was Pelican Rapids) Rhinelander City Hall Post Office 1882+
Robbins Town of Sugar Camp Post Office 1898-1934
Roosevelt Town of Pine Lake Post Office 1913-1934
~ ~ Sanders ~ ~ . Post Office 1891 only
Schoepke, Town of .
Starks Town of Stella Post Office est Hobson 1913-cgd Starks 1913-1942
Stella, Town of . Post Office 1889-1898
Sugar Camp, Town of .
Three Lakes, Town of Town Clerk
715 546-3316
Post Office 1885-
Tomahawk Lake (Rainbow) Town of Lake Tomahawk Post Office 1888-cgd Minocqua 1888+
est.Rainbow 1889-cgd, Tomahawk Lake 1892-1903, 1904-cgd Lake Tomahawk 1928+
Tripoli Town of Lynne Post Office 1903
~ ~ Uniontown ~ ~
Waudena (was Hebard) Town of Pelican Post Office 1889-cgd Hebard 1896-1901
~ ~ Wicklow ~ ~ Town of Cassian Post Office 1905-1909
Woodboro, Town of . Post Office 1891-1906, 1920-1931
Woodruff, Town of Town Office
715 356-9421
Post Office 1889+

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last edited 07 May 2018