News: Granton - History Essay (Dec 1913)

Contact: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Davis, Marsh, Williams, Hill, Wage, Richardson, Barker, Trimberger, Witte, Wegner, Hart, Wright

----Source: Granton News (Granton, Clark County, Wis.) 12/12/1913

History of Granton by Amy Marsh

In the year of 1858 several men with their families from New York State came to this part of the country to settle.  They settled on a hill about a half mile southeast of the present Granton.  They called the place Maple Works because of the maple sugar and sugar made there.

The first settlers were Levi Marsh and George Williams, Nelson Marsh, David Hill, and John D. Wage came soon after.  Nelson Marsh had a boarding house and the post office.  The mail was carried by stage from Neillsville, and it was distributed at the Maple Works Post Office.

The first store at Maple Works was kept by Fred Walter.  It was a general merchandise store.  A few years later two more stores were opened.  There were, when the town was the largest, nine houses.

The pleasures in which these people engaged were barn raisings, husking bees, singing schools, and maple sugar parties.

A schoolhouse was built about a half mile east of town.  The first teacher was Phoebe Richardson and she had fifteen pupils.

In the year 1889 and 1890 the railroad was put through this part of the country.  Maple Works was burned in 1890 and the town was moved nearer the railroad.  It was then called Granton.

The early settlers in Granton were Mr. Barker, Vet Marsh and John Trimberger.  Mr. Barker had a store where Mr. Witte’s store now is.  There were only five or six families here at first.  Several buildings were moved here from Maple Works, among them were several houses, stores and the post office, which had been the church at Maple Works.  There also was a harness shop moved from there.

There were a number of mills in Granton, sawmill, a stave mill, grist mill owned by Joseph Marsh, but run by Lewis Marsh, and a mille owned by the Menasha Woodenware Co.  There was also a creamery.

There used to be an opera house where Wegner’s Hotel now stands.  This building burned and then the hotel was built be Vet Marsh.  There was a hotel in the building where Hart’s now live, which was kept by John Wright’s.

When Granton was founded the schoolhouse was about one mile northeast of town.  This schoolhouse was then torn down two or three years ago.  The new one was built in 1906.  After the school was moved to the new building the lower part of the old schoolhouse was used for a dance hall, and the upper was fixed up so that a family lived in it.  The Union Church was built in 1903.

The population of Granton was 260 in 1910.  This town is not incorporated.

The places of business in Granton are a cheese factory, a creamery, six stores, two of them are hardware stores, three department stores, and a drugs store, a shoe shop, 2 blacksmith shops, a livery stable, two hotels, four saloons, a bank and a newspaper.  The new opera house was built in 1903.