Anti-Treating Movement: Temperance in 1874 Ahnapee

Knights of the Iron Band was one of Ahnapee’s early societies. Unlike the earliest of Wolf River organizations – the Philothean Society, for instance – it wasn’t a literary group. It wasn't a veterans' club or a sewing circle either. Knights of the Iron Band addressed anti-treating. And what is anti-treating? Just that. But it was that to which one could not treat another -  beer or spirits. Anti-treating was an early local effort to control John Barleycorn. One could drink as one wished, however he could not buy someone else a drink.

Alex Doak, John Doak, Orange Conger, Michael McDonald and George Wing were the charter members of Ahnapee’s  Lone Lodge #1 of the Knights of the Iron Band when it organized on January 3, 1874. With the exception of Wing, the men were sailors with three being captains. Wing was the 17 year old editor of the fledgling Ahnapee Record. Membership, which met in the Temple of Honor building, grew quickly according to History of Northern Wisconsin. Where some community members saw the group as “diabolical and horrible,” others thought it as merely strange because of its secret nature.  

Non-members had the opportunity to see for themselves when they were invited to a Lone Lodge meeting in April 1881. Most surprising was the catafalque draped in black, holding the clay representation of a man. Candles stood at each corner. Men taking office that day promised temperance because excess was degrading, opening the door to misery and suffering. A member's obligation was to neither accept from, nor treat another in places where malt or spirit beverages were sold. Members wore their black robes, but had to forego the most secret parts of that meeting as the public was present. Earlier in the year, on a mild January evening, the community witnessed Lodge members dressed in their regalia parading in Ahnapee.

Lone Lodge #1 had a membership of 50 when the building was destroyed by fire. Nothing was saved. Without a hall, their accouterments and regalia, membership became lax and by early 1900s, the group faded from existence. During the meetings men were encouraged to “rat” on each other and those violating their pledge were drummed from the society. It was said there were often expulsions of young men  who were sometimes careless or ridiculed into treating by others. In later years it was said the group’s membership included most of the business and professional men in town and throughout the entire area.

Knights of the Iron Band was a temperance group, but it did not believe in prohibition. Its membership included saloon owners and those whose habits were well known. Though it supported Temperance, the group was not supporting total abstinence. Members were required to be moderate in their drinking while avoiding excess. They were not allowed to treat or accept a drink from another and that is what caused all the controversy, and sometimes even humor.  The History of Northern Wisconsin opined that Ahnapee had a claim to fame as its society was organized years before (the book was compiled in 1881) and Ahnapee “may therefore be the dominant pioneer city in the anti-treating campaign.”  When such laws were introduced throughout the country in later years, it was a recognized fact that the movement had its roots in Ahnapee/Algoma. One hundred forty years later, more than a few would think, “Say what! This happened here?”

An Anti-Treating Bill found its way to Wisconsin’s Legislature in 1877 and by March 1881, Gov. Smith signed the bill which had passed both houses. Fines of 5 and 10 dollars were assessed for offenses. Some felt the law was ludicrous, but others felt it was positive as a man could drink as he chose while not adding to his neighbor’s problems. Treating was said to be part of the generosity of an American, but treating was also said to be a nuisance. Anti-treating was a law that was open to disregard. And, it was. A month later Judge Mallory in Milwaukee had a test case. His ruling was such that the law was disposed.

The February 6, 1915 issue of the Record pointed out that those who originated the group were “more or less addicted to the flowing bowl,” which was one of most effective temperance effort ever because it converted men to a more temperate use. From Wisconsin, the idea spread. Tacoma had an anti-treating ordinance in 1912. Some saw it a violation of rights but it was ruled legal. Nevada passed such a law in 1885 but repealed it two years later. At the time anti-treating was coming to the fore in England, there was concern about stay-at-home-patriots showering soldiers with too much kindness. Much was also written about anti-treating movements in Ireland just after 1900

Ahnapee's history doesn't record the number of violations and the fines. It doesn't record who was standing by in the saloons ready to nab the abuser. Beer was part of socialization among the hard-working German, Bohemian and Belgian immigrants, and reading through the charter and original members, one wonders how it ever came about. That saloon owners were among the members says they weren't worried about their bottom line. If a man couldn't buy a round, he'd more money to spend on himself.

Following is the original original membership as listed as found in an April 1904 Algoma Record:

Michael McDonald, Alex Doak, George Wing, Andrew Bennett, I.W. Elliott, Henry Schmiling, Simon Warner, Albert Sachtleben, A.C. Eveland, John Culligan, M.T. Parker, Albert Sibilsky, George Bacon, William Dingman, Charles Bozneck, Henry Hackett, John McDonald, John Warner, Fred Damman, Charles Bacon, W.H. Seymour, H.G. Borgman, W.F. Palmer, George McDonald, James Ross, John R. Doak, Charles W. Borgman, Orange Conger, Michael Mullen, John Goettinger, Jr., J. Thain, E.T. Tillepaugh, Levi Parsons, George Warner, Charles Ross, W.N. Perry, Peter Schiesser, Thomas Osborne, W.H. McDonald, Thomas Vose, J. Meverden, Edward Barrand, Henry Hallam, Fred Berndt, William Hilton, J.R. McDonald and John Kumbalek.

Sources: An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River?, c. 2001; Algoma newspapers; History of Northern Wisconsin, c. 1881;  Wikipedia definitions.

Stopped at the Polls: Kewaaunee County Voting & 1st Papers

Having spent years compiling an index of significant data regarding well over 1,300 men Naturalized in Kewaunee County, trends in required information began to pop out. An index is exactly that; it contains the names, dates and location of the actual documents. Building a database from the documents themselves reveals other bits of information, some of it quite surprising.

1870 Naturalization, Kewaunee Co.

Looking at the county Naturalization index from the beginning to 1920, a greater number of Bohemians and Germans were Naturalized than any other ethnic group. That's not unusual because the county was heavily made up of those two factions. Belgians represent one of the big three ethnicities, but a lesser percentage of Belgian immigrants applied for citizenship. Documents indicate which of those Naturalized in Kewaunee County filed their Declaration of Intent in another county or state, and a look at the Kewaunee County Declarations suggests that many failed to apply for Naturalization, or perhaps moved on and applied elsewhere.

Actual documents indicate that quite often a Bohemian man's surname was spelled three different ways on a single sheet of paper. It appears as if the first name was as spelled on the Declaration of Intent. The second name seems to be what the public official in charge felt he heard. The man's own signature was another spelling. From the beginning, Naturalization applications generally included the country of birth, and port and year of entry to the United States, as did the Declarations of Intent. Most documents renounced allegiance to a foreign power.

1852 Declaration, Manitowoc Co.

Gradually the pre-printed documents became more complex, requiring the place of birth and actual date rather than just year. As the documents changed in Kewaunee County, so did such papers in other places. Not all were alike. Occupations were included as time went on. and after Rural Free Delivery came to Kewaunee County on November 30, 1904, the information included place of residence such as Rt. 2, Luxemburg or Rt. 6, Kewaunee. Distinguishing characteristics - such as a wart on the nose – was noted. The wife’s name, the ship, ports of departure and arrival, and finally children and their birthdays are found in some documents. At one point, the occupation of witnesses was listed. Dates of the Declarations were always there, however following the Civil War, Declaration and Naturalization of those who served sometimes occurred at the same time. Before the 1876 plat map, witnesses often provided a clue to a man’s area of residence.* Sometimes called first papers, a Declaration of Intent to become a citizen was all some filed. Because the foreign born could vote and own land, many felt those first papers were all that was necessary.
 

In early 1914, there were some eye openers among many who felt they were citizens. In compiling the expanded records, a significant number of Naturalization records were found to have attached affidavits from men telling how someone in authority –  the sheriff – was at the polls preventing their vote, saying they were not citizens. If the affected were only Germans, one might think  the war eventually known as World War l that started in Europe  the following summer was beginning to rumble in Kewaunee County, however the affected were Bohemian and Belgian too. 

In each case, men including those such as Germans Fred Gaulke, William Hannemann and August Moede felt they were citizens because their fathers told them they were. Since they were under the age of majority at the time of immigration, they were thought to be Naturalized when their fathers were. Without question men including Charles Zuege, Wenzel Bauer, Peter Seidl and Joseph Bader said they had voted in all elections. Alexander Wautlet, Joseph Gilson and Louis Villers were among those who had held elected office, serving on school boards, as road commissioner and more. Joseph Wisnewsky was another stopped from voting. He said he was Naturalized in Spring Valley, Illinois. Joseph Pankratz thought he had been Naturalized 30 years earlier and had exercised the vote all that time. Others had filed their first papers understanding that gave them the right to vote. Which first papers did. Why was this happening?

When West Kewaunee men Frank Mach, Herman Feger and Vincent Paul were granted citizenship in 1908, all three had been county residents for a quarter of a century. They all attested to reading the Constitution and their approval of it, and had no "anarchistic or bigamous connections." One could say these men "lucked out." These men had their second papers, their Naturalization documents, and could vote.

At issue was a 1908 Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that said in order to vote after 1912, foreign born residents had to be full citizens. The November 2, 1908 Wisconsin State Journal thought it was clarifying the ruling in saying the changes to the Constitution meant "Persons of foreign birth who, prior to the first day of December A.D. 1908, shall have declared their intentions to become citizens conformable to the laws of the United States on the subject of naturalization; provided that the rights hereby granted to such persons shall cease on the first day of December, A.D. 1912"  The Journal could have made it plain and simple if it had written that full citizenship meant that one needed to be Naturalized, or having what was called second papers. It was a ruling affecting thousands of Wisconsin residents, and within the next few years parts of Wisconsin saw a rush to file the papers guaranteeing full citizenship. The rush did not appear to affect Kewaunee County.

Until 1912, men were legally permitted to vote if they had filed their first papers, or Declaration of Intent. Beginning in 1912, men were required to have their second papers or lose their right to vote. If older men such as Wisnewsky lost their documents, it was not an easy task to get a copy from another state. Pankratz thought he was a citizen for 30 years, however there were others who had voted for 50 years before they were denied the vote. Door County Clerk of Court Allen Higgins spelled out the ruling before the 1912 elections when he said those of foreign birth lacking second papers were barred from any election whether it was for school board, town laws, bonding issues or anything else.

Kewaunee County Clerk of Court Carl Andre reminded county residents in February 1913 that Naturalization had to be applied for at least 90 days prior to the upcoming court session, which would be in May. He pointed out that anybody applying needed to bring their first papers and that their petition needed affidavits with signatures of two credible witnesses who were already citizens. A month later the paper carried an article saying full citizenship was necessary for those planning to vote in the spring elections and that anyone having only first papers prior to January 1, 1907 would be turned away at the polls.

Late in 1914 when Door County Judge Grasse offered his opinion, he said the Court could reverse itself or let the original amendment stand. Grasse's advice seemed to be to get the second papers to be on the safe side. Confusion continued because in early January 1915, the Supreme Court said the 1908 amendment was improperly passed and that thousands who had been dropped from the poll list could now vote. That included about 75 Algoma men.

The Naturalization applications following the Court’s initial decision tells us a great deal about Kewaunee County. Affidavits were several paragraphs, some of which were essentially the same. Others contained additional  information, but each man felt he was a citizen with the accorded rights and privileges. Some had fought in the Civil War.

Looking at Kewaunee County Naturalization, it would seem the county reflected the state. The Record mentioned the number of Algoma men stopped at the polls, but how many men across the county were affected is unclear. At least 27 signed an affidavit applying for and achieving full citizenship. The 1908 Amendment was publicized so men should have been aware of it even though language barriers still existed. One would think a rush within the county would have occurred after that date, but a review of Naturalization dates indicates that for some reason it didn’t happen. Few Naturalization occurred between 1908 and 1914, however 8 or 10 men were awarded citizenship in 1914 without the affidavits, which suggests they were not stopped at the polls..

Looking at Wisconsin’s immigrant population, the 1908 Amendment and its 1915 reversal, and the events in Europe, one wonders about political expediency. There is more to the story.


*1876 is Kewaunee County's first existing plat map. There is another indicating it is Franklin 1858, however the map was platted by a 4-H club during the 1960s using land records.

Sources: Algoma and Door County newspapers;Wisconsin State Journal; Kewaunee County Declaration and Naturalization indexes and Naturalization documents to 1920 found in the ARC at UW-Green Bay. Documents are from the blogger's family history.

Joshua Hathaway, Jr.: Kewaunee County's First Mover & Shaker

Joshua Hathaway, Jr. was the earliest of Kewaunee County’s movers and shakers. The thing about Hathaway though is that Kewaunee wasn’t a county when he was making his mark. Wisconsin wasn’t even a state and it had yet to become the Wisconsin Territory. The prominent Hathaway was making a huge impact when what would become Wisconsin was still part of the Michigan Territory, an impact affecting what would become Kewaunee County.

Hathaway was born in 1810 to an affluent, educated family in Rome, New York. As both a lawyer and a civil engineer before entering government service, he was sent to Chicago in 1833. The following year his job took him from Chicago to Milwaukee where he met pioneer Solomon Juneau and set up his tent at what became Broadway and Mason Streets, later his home site and eventually part of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus. Following his marriage to his second cousin Ann Jeanette Hathaway in Buffalo in 1842, the couple lived most of their married life in Milwaukee where he died in 1863.

Joshua Hathaway, Jr. got rich in real estate. His advice was sought regarding lands and taxes.  Additionally he was a botanist and geologist who enjoyed map making, and when Wisconsin was organized as a territory he was the first to be appointed in the Office of District Surveyor. Two years later he was appointed to the Office of Public Administrator of Milwaukee County. It was during the two-year period from 1834 to 1836 that ensured Hathaway’s place in Kewaunee County history. 

Much can be learned about the and his times in old histories, but it is his lively correspondence during the Territorial days of both Michigan and Wisconsin that provides far more than a glimpse into the era. A great deal of his correspondence remained well preserved in water-tight leather pouches in the dry attic of his Milwaukee home. A great deal of that historical collection made its way to Wisconsin Historical Society, but other correspondence went into the hands of private collectors such as the person with whom this blogger collaborated. This part of the collection was scanned before being sold in recent years, and again to private collectors. Specifically this portion of the correspondence reflects lands particularly along Lake Michigan in what is now northern Manitowoc County and southern Kewaunee County, including the city by the same name. The correspondence notes obstacles made worse by the day’s primitive communications. 

Hathaway was surveying on the western shore of Lake Michigan in the (then) Michigan Territory while finding time to correspond with his family in New York. His nephew was planning to visit his Uncle Joshua in October 1835, however when he wrote he was still “awaiting conveyance” as he could not get a steamboat captain to stop in Milwaukee for “any consideration.” But, young Hathaway said, the brig White Pigeon was expected hourly and that possibly he could get to Grand River.* He continued the letter telling his uncle that the rifle he (Joshua) took from Ebertz’ store was not paid for. “Mr. E. asked about it” saying Joshua was going to return later to pay the $30 but never did. The rifle was in the closet and Uncle Joshua was asked to advise. Concerns about a map of Milwaukee were also part of the dispatch.

Deputized in 1836 by the Brown County District Surveyor to lay out Kewaunee, Hathaway went forward designing seventy-five foot wide avenues and lots of 50 x 150’. Six blocks along the lake were kept for parks, commons or any other improvements future public spirited citizens might want. As agent and owner Hathaway placed an ad in the Milwaukee Advertiser saying that in due time Kewaunee would send a “full quota of minerals south.” By then there was talk of gold in Kewaunee and during the rush that followed, James Duane Doty, later Territorial Governor, paid $15,000 for land bought from Hathaway, property worth about $3,000 in 1881 when the Leindeckers owned it. Ironically, some of the land bought by Justice Solomon P. Chase* at the same time is the land on which the county court house was built.

Following the gold rush and Hathaway’s surveying in 1837, the Chicago firm of Montgomery and Patterson began their saw milling efforts. When company failed because of an inability to keep the mill stocked, the property reverted to Hathaway, sitting vacant until John Volk came north in 1843.

Timber was the subject of most of the correspondence, but what drew attention to Kewaunee and prompted the huge investments in land was gold. When someone found something along the Kewaunee River that was said to be gold, the story spread like wildfire. Fur trade magnate John Jacob Astor bought land as did James Duane Doty. They were joined by Doty’s cousin Morgan L. Martin who served as President of Wisconsin Territorial Council and was prominent in the drafting of Wisconsin’s constitution. There were Hathaway’s relative New York Judge and Attorney General Samuel Beardsley, Chief Justice Solomon P. Chase and a number of others whose names are prominent in Wisconsin and U.S. history. Several of the names appear in Kewaunee’s original plat and streets. It wasn’t long before State Geologist Chamberlain said the geologic formations of Kewaunee County preclude gold or any other precious metal. By the time the “gold” was known to be iron pyrite, investor Abell wrote Hathaway on how the land he purchased in Kewaunee caused him much trouble and loss of reputation. Abell was not alone.

An October 1836 letter from John W. Cotton forwarded a deed for Samuel Beardsley,* and says he (Cotton) has notes due in Milwaukee. Asking Hathaway to collect what was due, Cotton additionally wrote that he had some lots that he wanted Hathaway to sell.  Cotton’s return address was Green Bay, W.T., Wisconsin Territory. Peter Johnson wrote on June 12, 1838 that Twin Rivers* fishermen were cutting good timber for cord wood. If that wasn’t stopped, the destroyed timber land would be worth little. Johnson suggested that Hathaway write to factors in Kewaunee while questioning legal and moral claims to the timberland in question. Just who were the factors? Hathaway sold water rights to W. Montgomery of Chicago, and in 1837 hired Peter Johnson to build a sawmill.

Charles C.P. Arndt* wrote from Green Bay for his father, Charles P. Arndt, in 1838. In the letter difficult to understand, Arndt uses “Mr.” followed by initials or straight lines to indicate what Hathaway should realize. Sealing wax did not always mean mail was private and the men were speculating. Once again, land ownership and money.

1836 Survey of the Kewaunee River

In September 1838 Hathaway received a letter regarding harbor plans for Kewaunee from George Hosmer who owned about 700 acres of prime lands near the mouth of the river to anywhere from 2 to 5 miles inland. Hosmer was wondering about what was being done to improve navigation and about settlement, about the mill, value of the lumber and whatever else might be of importance. The big issue was the timber that had to be floated downstream on the Kewaunee River. A constantly shifting shoreline prevented logs from getting into the lake. Hosmer also asked for advice about pine land near Chicago as he felt the 1838 pine from Kewaunee was inadequate to supply the increasing demands of the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Hosmer was acting for Henry Hosmer and said he would reciprocate with Hathaway as was possible. Kewaunee’s lack of a good harbor (at the time) was still an issue 10 years later when mill man's John Volk concluded that he would not build a pier there.

Peter Johnson wrote to Hathaway again in 1838 about “Mr. V” and did Hathaway think “V” owned land and a sawmill about 4 miles up the Menominee River. Johnson said he was too poor to journey to Milwaukee for information and was going to commence keeping a public house unless Mr. Jones built a suitable house for him. That portion of the letter was not clear, however “V” was John Volk who operated a Kewaunee sawmill on and off. Years later Volk indicated to others that he owned hundreds of acres along the Kewaunee River until 1854 when he met his match in James Slausson who felt something was not right. It wasn’t and Slausson bought the land Volk claimed was his. Forced out. Volk removed to Oconto Falls where he had done business some years earlier, to which Johnson referred in the letter.

December 1838 brought a letter from David Blish about the schooner Juliet stuck in the ice in Little Sturgeon while bound for Chicago. Blish wrote about Judge John Lawe, another early Brown County resident, who was concerned about of tract of land in Green Bay. Blish wondered if the sale would pay the taxes. Included with the letter was a receipt for $15. Money was mentioned in most letters and was in part at the root of most problems.

Morgan L. Martin was awaiting a steamboat when he penned a few lines to Hathaway on August 18, 1834. In the letter, he told Hathaway that they should be thinking of laying off a new county. Wisconsin was part of the Michigan Territory which was on the verge of statehood and Martin knew there was money to be made. Martin’s address on that letter to Hathaway was simply “In the Woods.” It is the first known letter to go through Kewaunee County, but was outside of government mail service, which had not yet been established. Hathaway received the letter, but how? This blogger questioned postal historian Bill Robinson who said that it was known in which area Hathaway was surveying. Martin’s letter was no doubt left at a place serving the public and when one was going in the direction, he took the letter as far as he was going and left it at another public place. One who stopped there while traveling took the letter in that direction and within a few days, Hathaway got his communication. The address was surely among the most unusual to go through Wisconsin, but the letter did arrive. And the county to be laid off? In 1838 Wisconsin Territory laid off Manitowoc County from Brown. Peter Johnson, who served as an oversight judge of the in Manitowoc's organization vote in March 1839, was elected as Collector.

Today - a period of slow home sales in Kewaunee County - the anticipated growth and money to be made in speculation in the mid-1830s seems incomprehensible. The county today numbers roughly 20,500 residents while in 1835 there was not one non-Native American inhabitant. Until 1851, the present Kewaunee County was a part of Brown County which was the taxing agent. By today's standards, the taxes on the heavily timbered land also seems incomprehensible, especially the land having a "water view." Tax records from 1838, for example, show Hathaway paying 21 cents on 56 1/2 acres valued at $70.63, 28 cents on 73.85 acres valued at $92.31 and 80 acres valued at $100 for 30 cents. Morgan L, Martin paid 29 cents for 79.10 acres valued at $98.88 and C.P. Arndt was charged 28 cents for 74.20 acres valued at $92.75. Time marches on!

Following is brief information about related people and events which have faded away.

*The map dates to 1850 when Calumet County came into existence and before Door County was laid off of Brown in 1851 and Kewaunee laid off of Door in 1852.

*The mouth of the Grand River is at today's Grand Haven, Michigan.

*Solomon P. Chase was elected to the Senate from Ohio in 1848. He became Ohio's first Republican governor in 1855 and served as Secretary of the Treasury under Abraham Lincoln during the early days of the Civil War. Lincoln appointed Chase as Chief Justice of the U.S. late in 1864. It was Chase who presided at the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson. Chase ran for the presidential nomination against Lincoln, but it was Lincoln who secured the nomination.

*Charles C.P. Arndt was a Green Bay attorney who was shot and killed on February 11, 1842 in the Wisconsin Territorial Council’s meeting room following a heated argument with James Vineyard. Vineyard was tried but was acquitted on self-defense grounds. When Arndt fell from the shot, he fell at the feet of his father who was a part of the same council.

*Judge Samuel Beardsley was also Attorney General of New York and the brother-in-law of Joshua Hathaway, Jr. It was through the influence of Beardsley that Hathaway won the appointment as a federal surveyor in the Northwest Territory.

Sources: Bill Robinson,postal historian interview 2009; Deborah Beaumont Martin,  History of Brown Co., 1913; Here Comes the Mail, Post Offices of Kewaunee County, c. 2010; History of Northern Wisconsin, c. 1881; Wisconsin, Its Story & Biography, Usher c. 1914.

Krok: Much More Than "A Crock!"

This cover was postmarked at the 3rd Krok post office in November 1898 just after Anton Swagel became postmaster.

Perusing an hors d’oeuvres table a few years ago, the conversation of two older men caught my attention. One was telling the other how he and his wife had sold the family farm, homesteaded by his great-grandpa well before 1900. As it turned out, the fellow was the much younger son of older parents. His father was also the younger son and, at the time, it was customary for the youngest son to inherit the farm, providing for his parents in their advancing years.

The gentleman continued saying he and his wife went through everything, cleaning out and clearing out what was stuffed in the attic during the last 100 years. They came across the most surprising things in the attic that because. after all, who has time to clean an attic full of junk when there is a farm to run?

Included  in the "junk" were old letters. As the conversation developed, chatter around the table faded as others began listening to an increasingly entertaining story. When he mentioned Krok, my ears really perked up. He was talking about Kewaunee County. The fellow’s grandparents were courting when the letters were written. She lived with her parents on the farm in Krok while her sweetheart had gone to find work in the big city – Milwaukee. His letters were addressed to her at “Krok, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin.” Letters were addressed to him at Harnishfeger Foundry, rather than his rooming house. He wasn’t in management; he was a laborer who received mail at the plant.

Kewaunee County postal history tells us there are three places named Krok and had I stopped to think, I could have answered the question that I put to him. I asked about the dates of the postmarks, prompting him to ask why I wanted to know. My response was that because there were three post offices named Krok, the post mark indicated the specific office. He didn’t miss a beat when he asked if I was telling him Kewaunee County was nothing but a crock! He had somewhat of an audience by then and it erupted with peals of laughter. He had been waiting to use the one-liner and my question was ripe. Krok and crock are not synonymous!

Krok defines an area in Kewaunee County today, but beyond a few miles few know it. It has lasted longer than Zavis, Rushford and Royal Creek, but just as in those places corn has replaced the halls, cheese factories, the saloons, mills or whatever might have been there. If corn could tell the stories in their roots, there would be some good ones. The gentleman at that hors d’ouerves table represents generations of Krok Bohemians who enjoyed socializing, telling stories while finding pleasure in a good drink and good food. He was not drinking a Bohemian pilsner or enjoying kolaches or knee-caps that night, but it was good just the same. And, incidentally, it was the last of the three Kroks that carried the post between his grandparents.

Krok #1

When Kewaunee was incorporated as a village in April 1873, the West Kewaunee of today was named Krok, a name given by Judge Woyta Stransky after his native home in Bohemia. Records indicate that the name Krok was abandoned in April 1881 when West Kewaunee came into being.

Stransky had served as sheriff and was postmaster when the first Krok post office opened on December 21, 1874. Stransky applied for the office which was located on the northeast side of the Kewaunee River in Section 14 of Town 23N, Ranger 24E. Located at Stransky’s mill, that first Krok post office closed four years later in November 1878.

Krok #2, 2007

After a six year hiatus, Krok post office reopened in May 1884, but this time it was in the northeast corner of Section 24, Town 23N, Range 23E. The Town of Montpelier. Joseph Shimonek (or Shimanek) took charge of the new office which was just about 2 miles east of Ellisville on what is now County Highway F. Why Shimonek’s office was only in business for two weeks before being closed is quite unusual and remains a mystery. Four years later, in April 1888, Krok post office was again back in business, back in West Kewaunee but this time in Section 3. Joseph J. Walecka was the postmaster at the place sometimes called Walecka’s Corner. Prokop J. Walecka followed him. Anton Swagel was Krok’s last postmaster, operating from his store, saloon and hotel.

Swagel's, Krok #3, just after 1900

Swagel's Krok 3 post office was discontinued on November 30, 1904 with the coming of Rural Free Delivery in Kewaunee County. Early post offices moved around frequently, as was the case with Krok. Some offices were surprisingly close to another office. Zavis opened in 1877. It was a mile and a half east of Krok 3, but Zavis closed in 1879, five years before Krok 2 came into being. There were needs to be served.

Postmaster Swagel profited far more than his predecessors in terms of postal remuneration. His 1901 compensation of $92.85 more than doubled his pay for any other year. However, the post office brought business to his store and saloon and that’s where his money was made.

Many of the pre-RFD postmasters were against such a service. RFD was an economic issue as home delivery brought more than personal letters. It brought current newspapers and magazines. One could get and digest the news at home without stopping at the saloon. If mail wasn’t picked up, fewer drinks were sold. Catalogues such as Sear-Roebuck and Montgomery Ward brought wants beyond the stock in rural stores, wants which could be delivered. It wasn’t only RFD that spurned the demise of postal communities though. Autos were making inroads and Algoma and Kewaunee, which already had telephone service, were seeing electricity. Time was marching on.

Had Krok survived the Advent of RFD, more than likely its postmark would be as popular as Christmas, Michigan, Zip Code 49862, Winter, Wisconsin 54896 and Hell, Michigan 48169. The U.S. has other spots such as Loveland, Colorado 80538 remembered only at holidays. For an elderly man, he has a real knee-slapper in his stories of growing up in a place that was nothing but a “Krok.”

Sources: Photos are from the blogger's collection; stories from an unidentified gentleman; postal information from Here Comes the Mail, Post Offices of Kewaunee County, c. 2010.

Hall's Mills: Kewaunee County's 1st Grist and Saw Mills

Abraham Hall was a Lake Michigan mariner until he lost his schooner Rochester off Two Rivers Point in 1848. Hall was shipping on the west shore of the lake but, without a vessel, entered the employ of John Volk’s Kewaunee lumbering business. He didn’t remain long and in May 1852 opened the first mercantile on the Door Peninsula.*  Known as Wolf River when Hall settled there, the place is called Algoma today.

The lumber Hall’s account book shows sold in 1851 appears to be in error based on land records, but from May 1852 on, there was a steady stream of notations of items sold, price and the names of purchasers who came from as far as Bailey’s Harbor and Sandy Bay, the town now known as Carlton.

Having opened his store, Hall began building his saw and grist mills on the South Branch of the (now) Ahnapee River just beyond the present Algoma Hardwoods. When Hall’s brother Simon and family arrived from New York in 1855, they moved into a log house near the frame store building, the log blacksmith shop and the mills and Simon began working with his brother.

Hall’s gristmill was the only such place east of Green Bay and north of Manitowoc. It drew customers from Door County and the southernmost parts of Kewaunee County who brought their grain by boat. It was a boon to the Belgians who had recently arrived in the two counties. As they walked through the thick forests, they carried grain sacks hanging down their backs attached to their heads with a corner of the sack wound in a cap-like fashion. Keeping their hands free, they could push away the almost impenetrable branches while carrying a stick to assist in walking or perhaps to frighten an animal.

Water powered the mill that was felt to be quite an impressive place. Impressive as it was for the time, Hall’s was a small mill compared to those being built 20 years later. Hall's high dam held the water in a mill pond thus furnishing the power. When the Record described the mill’s workings during the 1870s, it explained with the following: “To release water from the pond and permit it to flow thru the race and exert its forces against the paddles of the old water wheel that moved the machinery and made the stones go round, a small gate was raised by the aid of a long sweep lever.” 

Grinding was not always fine, said the paper, because the mill stones were old fashioned, however Hall’s stones were French burr stones that were thought to be far superior to any other, It was said the French stones speedily pulverized the grain to a uniform thickness. More than likely Hall’s stones came from John Noye’s warehouse in Buffalo, a place destroyed in a May 1879 fire.

The Hall mill had its own fires. When the grist and sawmills were destroyed by fire in late 1866 or early 1867, they were rebuilt only to burn again in the 1870s. The brothers were still operating in the spring of 1881 when “Anonymous” wrote a letter to the Record's editor. Anonymous called for a new first class mill that would meet the needs of residents while not being built “after the fashion of bygone days.” While the author felt a new mill would increase business, the author seemed to be saluting the accomplishments of the Halls, saying he didn’t want outsiders to come to compete with those who “assisted in developing the county.”Simon Hall and his sons went into milling at Maplewood, 10 or 12 miles north in Door County, after the brothers retired from the Ahnapee business in 1888,

As the timber along the river and in the surrounding area disappeared, the need for a small mill disappeared as well. As new and more modern gristmills were being built, Hall’s faded away. The machinery was removed and it wasn’t long before the old mill began its decay. Michael Haney and his brother John owned the property in 1893 when a storm leveled the old frame structure, the oldest mill in the county. The grist mill, which was connected to the sawmill, saw little damage then. Eventually some of the buildings were razed and in time the dam washed away.

The postcard dates to the early 1900s after the dam mill had deterioriated and the dam had washed away. The photo was taken facing northeast toward Plumbers Woodwork, the large brownish building. The Veneer and Seating Co., today the Hardwoods, is visible to the right of the Plumbers, behind the trees.

During the cleanup after the Haneys bought the property, one of the old mill stones was among the articles they found. The Haney brothers felt they were preserving history by saving one old, well preserved and almost perfect stone when they put it in the wall of the new one-story brick structure they built in 1906 on the southeast corner of 2^nd and Steele.  The Haney building was sold and resold over the years, finally being torn down and replaced with the Savings and Loan building that is now the Bank of Luxemburg. The old millstone was lost during demolition and surely buried in some landfill. It was found during the clean-up 100 years ago and might well be found again. Will anybody know what it is or that it came from the first gristmill on the Peninsula?

*Door County was created in 1851. Kewaunee was set off from Door in 1852. Jacques Vieau had a “jack knife” trading post along Jambo Creek years before. He was also known to be in Kewaunee at times. A “jack knife” trading post was one that opened and closed quickly.

Sources: Ahnapee Record; The Commercial Development in Algoma, Wisconsin c. 2006; Here Comes the Mail, Post Offices of Kewaunee County, c. 2010; Old Peninsula Days, Hjalmar Holand, c. 1925; Yours Truly, From Kewaunee County, c. 2013.