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portion of www.watertownhistory.org
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Theodore
Prentiss
1818 - 1906
First
Mayor of Watertown
Watertown was incorporated as a village
in 1849, but the first city charter was passed by the legislature in 1853 and
Watertown elected its first mayor.
Watertown's first mayor was a native
of Montpelier, Vermont. He was Theodore Prentiss and held office as the
city's first mayor from 1853 to 1855. He was also elected in 1871 and served
until 1872.
Mr.
Prentiss was born in Montpelier on 
ther New England cities for their practice of law, while he decided to
come to Wisconsin in 1845.
The
Prentiss family, through genealogical sources, has been found to date back to
English and Puritan stock as early as the year 1318.
Stopped in
Milwaukee
When
Theodore Prentiss came to Wisconsin in 1845 he stopped in Milwaukee where he
lived for a short time with a cousin, William Prentiss, who was at the time associated
with Solomon Juneau.
Milwaukee
records mention William Prentiss as early as 1836, the same year that
Watertown's first white settler - Timothy Johnson - arrived here. William
Prentiss was Milwaukee's mayor in 1858.
In
February, 1845, Theodore Prentiss decided to come to Watertown. He had been
here for several short visits and felt the community offered great
possibilities. He decided to become an attorney here and practiced law.
He had purchased considerable land in Watertown and in time became associated
with railroad, banking and other interests. These interests became so extensive
that he was forced to give up his law practice in order to devote his full time
to his own business interests and investments.
Married in Vermont
In
1855 he had gone back to Vermont for a visit. While there he was married on
Dec. 5, that year, to Martha Perry, daughter of Dr. Nathaniel Perry who
became a Civil War surgeon and who was at the time living in Burlington,
Vt. Mr. Prentiss and his bride came to Watertown in 1856 and took up residence
at the Van
Alstine Hotel in Main Street until their home on [802] Clyman Street
was completed.
Three
sons were born to them, Theodore Collins Prentiss, James Fred Prentiss
and George Nathaniel Prentiss. Their old home, which was then
listed as being on Clyman and Pritchard Streets, is now 99 years old and is
still occupied by members of the Prentiss family, which consists of the widow
of James Fred Prentiss and two grandchildren, James Prentiss and his wife, the
former Olive Kreuziger, and Miss Helen Prentiss.
Served State
Convention
Mr.
Prentiss had become an active leader in the Watertown community almost from the
day be arrived. He had been a member of the first Constitutional Convention
held in Wisconsin in 1846 and also served the second such convention held the
following year. He also served several terms as alderman and was a member of
the State Assembly in 1860 and 1861.
One
of the city's early day editors, D. W. Ballou of the Watertown Democrat, a weekly paper here, wrote of Mr. Prentiss as
being "most modest in demeanor, an able lawyer, clear minded and
universally respected."
While
in the Assembly he introduced a memorial for an equitable tariff for freight
and passengers on the La Crosse and Chicago railroad. He also sponsored a
petition governing the duties of assessors and a bill to repeal personal
liberty laws.
Watertown's
railroad history,
which later became a war in the state, began during the administration of Mr.
Prentiss. At that time $80,000 was voted for railroad bonds to cover the cost
of constructing the Milwaukee - Watertown Railroad. The bonds were to be
secured by a bond from the railroad company and a mortgage on their
property. The bond was executed but the mortgage was never issued. Soon
thereafter the people thought that if one railroad was good, three or four,
which would center in Watertown would be better. Succeeding administrations
then voted to help finance the Watertown and Madison line and the Chicago, St.
Paul and Fond du Lac branch. However, in 1869, Theodore Prentiss was the
trusted adviser of Daniel Hall, another highly respected gentleman of
English-Puritan lineage who fought the case through the courts.
In
the charter election of 1871 Theodore Prentiss was again chosen mayor. However,
on
The
law office of Theodore Prentiss was above the Bank
of Watertown. His son, James Fred Prentiss, was associated with him after
attending Beloit College and graduating from the Wisconsin University Law
School. The Beloit College Year Book reveals that William H. Woodard also attended Beloit
College and after graduating in law from the University Law School began his
practice in the office of Theodore Prentiss.
Theodore
Prentiss died
·
In 1855 Prentiss built his Greek
Revival style home at
Elaborate Fireplaces
The home contains seven fireplaces,
though many are closed and only one is used regularly. Fireplaces in the mid
1800's were built without dampers, allowing both cold drafts and squirrels to,
enter at will.
Fireplaces began as simple fixtures
for cooking, for heating, and later in the century became more, elaborate with
emphasis on special decorations for the hearth. All the rooms are large, with
high ceilings, and for all these years the home has been maintained in good
condition.
