History of Watertown Online

This file part of www.watertownhistory.org website

The First Digital Online

History of Watertown, Wisconsin

Ken Riedl, Editor

Index to Online History

THIS FILE IS UNDER PERPETUAL CONSTRUCTION

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

EARLY DAYS

GERMAN-IRISH HERITAGE / SENTIMENT

BUSINESSES & BUILDINGS

CHURCHES

CITY GOVERNMENT & SERVICES

HOMES

FIRST KINDERGARTEN

SCHOOLS

UNIVERSITIES

ROCK RIVER

BRIDGES

STREETS & ROADS

RAILROADS & DEPOTS

INTERURBAN

PARKS

SOCIETIES, CLUBS, FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS

BREWERIES

CELEBRATIONS

STORMS, DROUGHTS & FLOODS

SPORTS/ATHLETICS

BETHESDA LUTHERAN HOME

BIOGRAPHIES

CIVIL WAR

EARLY DAYS

FOUNDING OF WATERTOWN

Timothy Johnson arrival, Dec 10, 1836

Through the eyes of Timothy Johnson's daughter

August Derleth article

Luther Cole arrival, Dec 27, 1836

James Rogan, first deed to a land grant, recollections of, 1836

First hotel, a two room shanty, Rogan brothers, 1836

First death in Watertown, 1837

Watertown settlement, depiction of, 1842

BOHEMIAN SETTLEMENT

Chapter on

IMPRESSIONS OF WATERTOWN

1842 S. M. Eaton memories

1843 Dr. Edward Johnson

1845 John Gamble letter

1848 Watertown in 1848

1853 Impressions

Hogs running at large, 1853

Dogs take over town, 1858-60

1859 Trip over railroad to Watertown

IMPRESSIONS OF LAND AND WILDLIFE

Richness of the farm land

GERMAN-IRISH HERITAGE / SENTIMENT

Antagonism between German boys on one side, Irish boys on the other; 1909 letter

Mass Meeting of German-Americans, WWI sentiment, 1915

German tradition continues; church services in German, 2010 WDT

We may learn something from our German citizens, 1860

BUSINESSES & BUILDINGS

Barker Lumber & Fuel Co

Beal & Torrey Shoe factory built, 1904

Blanchard Mill (same as Yellow Mill)

Block Brothers

Bocher's Food Market

Boelter’s Meat Market

Clasen Quality Coating

Classic Theater

Coast to Coast Stores

Cole Hall

Commercial Hotel

Como Photo

Concordia Opera House

Cooley Daguerreian Gallery

Cordes Brick Co

Crandall Grocery

Curtiss’ Fine Art Gallery

Farmer’s Hotel opened, 1847

Fendt Brothers Meat Market

Fischer's

Fischer & Rohr

Foster and Bauman Veterinary Clinic

Fountain & Co. opens first drug store in village, 1847

Goeldner Musical Instu & Notions

Goose noodling

Gorder Co

Grube General Store

Guyer Music

Habhegger Slaughter House & Cold Storage

Hafemeister’s

Hartig Brewery

Hartwig veterinary hospital est, 1895

Hutson Braun Lumber Co

Iffland Grocery

Jacobi & Miller

Jaeger Milling Co

Jaeger Wood Working Plant

Kadish, L J

Keck Furniture established 1853

Kramer Bros Cigar Manufactory

Krebs Store

Kresge’s

Krier's

Kusel’s established 1849

Liedtke & Schack

Lindon House

Lucas Confectionery And Fruit

March Cabinet Shop

Main Café

Marquardt Manor opened 1969

Merchants Bank

Meyers Studio

Mid-States Shoe Co

Miller Cigar Manufactory

Misegades Wagon Shop

Monarch Co

Moore Ice Cream, Thomas

Nibble Nook Restaurant

Otto’s Inn founded 1876

Piccadilly Smoke Shop

Piper Harness Shop

Plank Road Brewery established, 1852

Planter's Hotel

Plattdeutscher Verein

Ray's Red Goose Shoes

Red Apple Antiques

Riemer’s Saw & Lawn Mower

Salick's Jewelry Store

Schimmel & Son cigar store

Schlueter Brothers

Schmutzler & Oestreich

Shandrew, F E, Threshing Machine Manufactory

Thacker’s Concert Band

Trachte & Trayser established 1888

Tremont House

Tribeca GalleryCafe and Books

Tri-County Tobacco

Turner Hall

United Cooperative

Van Alstine's Exchange Hotel

Watertown Advancement Assn

Watertown Bowl

Watertown Chamber of Commerce

Watertown Daily Times

Watertown Democrat

Watertown Driving Club

Watertown Dye Works

Watertown Gas & Electric

Watertown Gazette

Watertown House

Watertown Machine Co

Watertown Squab Co and Watertown Pigeon Club origins, 1897

Watertown Square

Watertown Steam Laundry

Watertown Table Slide Company organized , 1889

Weber, J & Son Lumber Co

Weltbuerger Printing established, 1852

Wien Brush Co

Wiggenhorn Cigar established, 1858

Wiggenhorn Jewelry

Wilkes Radio and TV

Watertown Republican

Wisconsin House

Wisconsin National Bank, organized, 1856

Wurtz

WTTN

Yawkey-Crowley Lumber

Zwiegs Grill

CHURCHES

First city church census, 1941

St. Bernard’s mission established, first Catholic Mass in Watertown, 1841

Church, 1846

First Baptist

First Congregation Church established, 1845

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church organized, 1847

St. Luke’s Lutheran Church incorporated, 1849; St. Luke’s demolished (N Fourth St site), 1960

St. John’s Lutheran Church-WELS founded, 1852

Ebenezer Moravian Church established, 1853

St. Henry’s Catholic Church established, 1853

Moravian Church established, 1854

St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church established 1854

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, cornerstone laid, 1859

Welsh Methodist Church, constructed 1858

Advent Christian Church, same as German Adventist, 1872

Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, founded 1875

Assembly of God Church, established 1934

Trinity Lutheran Church founded, 1916

Calvary Baptist Church founded, 1960

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, founded 1971

German Wesley Methodist

Faith Lutheran Church, organized in 1986

CITY GOVERNMENT & SERVICES

An Electoral Study of Watertown

Research paper

CITY HALL

North First St

Jones St

FIRE DEPARTMENT

Phoenix Fire Co, organized 1876

Watertown Fire Dept, formed 1857

HOSPITAL

Emergency Hospital established, 1887

First Hospital established, 1903

St. Mary’s

POLICE DEPARTMENT

Watertown Police Dept

CITY JAIL [Lock-up]

Establishment of

COUNTY SEAT

Watertown proposed

HOMES

First frame house in Watertown, 1841

Newcomb property home

Octagon House, construction started 1851, completed 1854

Octagon House, lesser known second one

Rogan, remodeled into Boyle Funeral Home, 1937

Three mile house, north of city

Watts

Weber, Jacob & Frank

Woodard

FIRST KINDERGARTEN

America’s First Kindergarten established, 1856

150th Anniversary of America’s First Kindergarten, 2006

SCHOOLS

Douglas School

Lincoln School

Trinity-St. Luke’s Lutheran School

Watertown High School started, 1866

UNIVERSITIES

Northwestern College established, 1865

Luther Preparatory School opens, 1995

Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart Military Academy opens, 1955

Maranatha Baptist Bible College opens, 1968

ROCK RIVER

DAMS

Globe Mill Dam

Boomer Dam built, 1849

Rough & Ready

FLOODS

1881, image1, image2, image3

2008, The flood of June

BRIDGES

Chapter on

Boughton St Bridge

Cady St Bridge constructed, 1874

Fourth St Bridge

Main St Bridge

Memorial Bridge dedicated, 1923

Milwaukee St Bridge (iron) opened, 1889

Milwaukee St Bridge (concrete arch) opened, 1930

Oconomowoc Ave Bridge

C M & St Paul Railway Bridge

STREETS & ROADS

Clyman St

Main St

Lewis fountain, Main St

Muddy Main St

Washington Ave

Watertown Plank Road, constructed 1846

Completion of gave farmers a choice of markets, only remedy a railroad between city and the lake towns

Western Ave

INTERURBAN

Trolley

RAILROADS & DEPOTS

Chicago & Northwestern Railway

1860 accident, C&NW, cow derails train

1909 accident, C&NW, 12 killed

Watertown and Madison Road

Railroad (Milwaukee-Watertown) reaches city, 1855 (est. 1853)

Railroad (C. M. & St. Paul Railway) reaches city, 1855 (begun 1851)

Railroad Bridges over the Rock: C M & St Paul Railway Bridge

Railroad Spur, North Water St.

Theodore Roosevelt stops in Watertown (1900)

President Taft passes through Watertown, special train (1909)

Junction

Chicago & Northwestern with Milwaukee Road removed (1977)

PARKS

Brandt Park

Memorial Park

Riverside Park

SOCIETIES, CLUBS, FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS

Apollo Club

Band, first in city, 1847

Concordia Society formed, 1862

Elks Lodge #666

Plattdeutscher Verein

BREWERIES

YET TO BE COMPILIED FOR THIS ONLINE HISTORY

CELEBRATIONS / OBSERVANCES

U.S. CENTENNIAL / BICENTENNIAL

American Revolution (July 4, 1776) Centennial celebration, 1876

American Revolution (July 4, 1776) Bicentennial celebration, 1976

WATERTOWN CENTENNIAL

100 year anniversary, founding, 1936

100 year anniversary, first city charter, 1954

Centennial tea

Centurama

FAIRS: CITY, INTER-COUNTY, COUNTY, STATE

Jefferson County Fair, 1858

Central Wisconsin Fair Held at Watertown, 1888

Jefferson County Fair, 1909, 57th annual

Watertown Intra-County Fair, overview

1909

1910

Watertown Fair Day [monthly]

DECORATION DAY / MEMORIAL DAY

1910

FOURTH OF JULY

Fourth of July, “first in village,” 1840

Fourth of July, “first in village,” 1847

Fourth of July, 1858

Fourth of July, 1860

Fourth of July, 1896

Chapter on

LABOR DAY

1909

1910

HARVEST JUBILEE & CARNIVAL

1899

HOMECOMING DAY

1902, first one

CIRCUS

1910, Campbell Brothers Shows

1915, Barnum and Bailey Circus comes to town

Chapter on circuses

SAENGERFEST CELEBRATION

Saengerfest celebration, 1867, 1875, 1885

THANKSGIVING

1859

TIVOLI ISLAND

Site of many celebrations

RIVERFEST

#1 summer event at this time

WATERTOWN DAY

At 1907 World's County Fair at Beaver Dam

STORMS, DROUGHTS & FLOODS

DROUGHTS

1909, Mills on Rock River affected

FLOODS

1881, image1, image2, image3

1904, Flood and ice jam in April swept away building on middle of Main St. bridge

1982, Heaviest rainfall in Watertown’s history

2008, The flood of June

SNOW STORMS

1842, Winter of

1881, Fierce snow storm paralyzes city

1898, Major snow storm hits city

1910, “Severest winter ever experienced here”

TORNADOS

1873, Tornado

1914, Tornado “Cyclone”

TEMPS

1904, Coldest in history

SPORTS/ATHLETICS

Baseball

Bowling

BETHESDA LUTHERAN HOME

BIOGRAPHIES

Brayton family, early area (Aztalan) settlers, arrive in area, 1837

Chadwick, John arrival, 1837

Cody, Dr. James [1], [2] arrival, 1846

Cody, William [Bill]

Cole, Luther

Corby, William, Rev

Cordes, Louis moves to town. 1860

Eberle, Gustav arrives, Eberle Drug, 1853

Gilman, John, General

Gritzner, Amand

Grube, Herman

Habhegger, Dr. Charles

Hoermann, Rudolph Bernard

Through the eyes of Timothy Johnson's daughter

August Derleth article

Keel, Robert “Jumbo”

Lasker, Mary nee Woodard

Lewis, Fannie

Lewis, John "The Commodore"

Luther, Emil

Mannegold, Alexander

McDermott, Ellen, "Crazy Nellie"

Mendenhall, Ellis

Merkle, Fred makes a name for himself, 1908

Nowack, Louis (Louie), Dr

Schlueter, Markus, Dr

Schmutzler, Ferdinand

Solliday, Albert A, Col

Traeumer, George P, Major

Turkey Gehrke’s

Viebahn, Charles, Prof

THIS FILE IS UNDER PERPETUAL CONSTRUCTION

Index: Watertown on the Internet