The Town of Red Springs got its name because of the color of the water. The water has a reddish cast because of the large amounts of iron in it.

Red Springs became known as a town on August 15, 1911, after being part of the Town of Herman for several years. It became separated from the Town of Herman upon application to the state.

The first election officers were Bert Huntington and Sam Miller. The first officers to be elected for the new township were: Charles Koonz, chairman; Sterling Peters, supervisor; John D. Larson, town clerk; William Aderman, treasurer, Jameson Quinney, Justice of the Peace; Macmillan Tousey, Justice of the Peace; Samuel Bowman, constable; William Dick, assessor; Jameson Quinney, road superintendent for District Number One; Joseph Howe, Road Superintendent for District Number Two.

The Presbyterian Church was the first church to be organized in the township, and the Rev. Slingland was the first pastor. Then came the Catholic Church, organized by Fr. Blaze with Fr. Engelhardt, a missionary from Keshena, the first priest.

Morgan Siding, in the Town of Red Springs, was a big lumbering town. The town was named after Tom Morgan. (No relation to O. E. Morgan who owned the lumber mill).

O. E. Morgan started the first sawmill in 1906, the same year the first railroad came through the area. This was called the Wisconsin-Northern Railway Company.

For 97 years, the area that now comprises the Townships of Red Springs and Bartelme has been "home" for the Stockbridge Indians.

It is here today that some 500 Stockbridge-Munsee people reside on a federal reservation.

The Stockbridge people, and the few Munsees (there are two Munsee families on the reservation) went west together as the white man moved into the Indians' native eastern United States. It was a migration not by desire, but of necessity.

It meant a long series of difficult adjustments that were not to take a happy turn until the years of 1935-36, when the U. S. Government purchased the Shawano County lands with the specific intention of creating a reservation.

The Stockbridges, so named by the white man after a town in England, were really a branch of the Mohicans. They dwelt along the banks of the Hudson River in New York State and were sometimes referred to as "River Indians."

The area is known as a resort country for it has many fine lakes and streams. Trout can be caught in Miller Creek, Gardner Creek, and the Red River. The lakes filled with plenty of game fish are: Island Lake, Big Lake, Koonz Lake, Beauleau Lake, Mission Lake, Malone Lake, Lost Lake, and Mud Lake, to mention a few.

In the first state election held April 26, 1912, there were only 12 votes cast. There are over 400 eligible voters at the present time in the Town of Red Springs.

Early settlers still living are Sam Miller, Chas. Beilke, and Chas. Koonz, the first chairman of the township.

Information contributed by:
Sylvester Paiser, Clerk, Town of Red Springs;
Frank Meyer, Shawano, Wis.