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History: Texas Twp., Marathon Co., Wis. (1913)

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----Source: History of Marathon County Wisconsin and Representative Citizens, by Louis Marchetti, 1913, pg. 536 -  539.

----Township of Texas, Marathon Co., Wisconsin 1913 History

THE TOWN OF TEXAS. (1912.)

The town of Texas was established November 12, 1856, at the time when the county was first divided into the towns of Wausau, Mosinee, Eau Claire (this name was later changed to Weston"). Marathon, and Jenny and Texas. This last named town was given the territory in townships 30 and 31 and 32, of'range 8, and east I/2 of township 31, range 7, and all that part of township 30, range 7, east of the Wisconsin river.

It will be remembered that saw mills w-ere built on Pine river in the decade from 1840 to 1850; that the mill in Merrill was built by A. Warren in 1849, and there must have been some means of communication between the logging and saw mill points, and while there was no road or highway until towards the end of the fifties, there was no doubt a trail connecting these settlements with each other besides the river. Along this trail which became afterwards with some slight changes the Wausau and Merrill Road, there began a farm settlement a little earlier in point of time than settlement of "Mechanics Ridge."

The first farm sei:tler, although he was a logger in the main, was Martin Hobart, who settled on land and cleared the Hobart farm. Martin Hobart, who made the original entry from the United States Government, soon sold part of it to Philip Marshall, whose land was located at the crest of the hill bearing his name, and others followed in succession along the same trail somewhat later on. With the exception of the Hobart farm, which was a well cultivated farm of nearly eighty acres clearing in 1870, and the Marshall farm, somewhat smaller in extent of clearing, there was no farm deserving such naine on this road until after 1870. There were what might be called at best some improvements, clearings from five to fifteen acres, hardly more until that time. The Hobart farm passed through several hands and is now the property of Dan Healy and Towle, and the Marshall farm is owned now by M. Groff, although a rumor is current that it has been sold lately. The Trappe river saw mill was built in the early fifties as a water-power mill and later changed to a steam mill, and there was a small settlement of native Americans around the mill, who owned the land and made the improverfients when not otherwise engaged in logging or lumbering. Another pioneer of Marathon county. Levy Hinton, brother of Thomas Hinton, also settled in the town of Texas, and his son, Walter Hinton, is the only descendant of the pioneer race, who still owns and occupies the old farm, one of the best in the town.

These farms were all on the Merrill or Jenny road, as it was then called, scattered from Wausau to Trappe river. When the road was cut out, it followed the section line north and south running in a straight line over Marshall hill at its steepest point, which folly can only be explained on the theory that the supervisors, in laying out, believed the roads must be on the "line." This hill is one of the steepest in the whole county and remained the terror of teamsters for nearly a score of years. All the supplies for Merrill, Pine River, and in all the camps as far north as Grandmother Falls, and even further, had to go up that long, steep hill, and no heavily loaded team was ever able to get on the top unaided. It passes understanding why the Wausau lumbermen did not get another better route, which could have been easily done by united work. There was no improvement on this part of the highway until the year 1876, when B. G. Plumer. A. Stewart, of Wausau. and J. T. Gallon, from Texas, were members of the county board and obtained from the county the sum of $500 to be spent in betterment of that part of the road, and were appointed as commissioners to supervise the work. These commissioners instead of spending the money on the old road, laid out a new road around the hill, winding around the edge of the same, as it is to this day, and very little money has been spent on the part of the road since because the road there is hard and stony, and will not easily wash out.

The first settlers in this town, as in most others, were native born Americans, and the first Gemian settlers to come into these quarters were David Hollinger and his two sons, and Philip Gensman, who came in the last part of the fifties. At this time came also Henry Paff, Adolph La Piere, and Mark Latour. These settlements were scattered from five miles above Wausau, from Marshall farm, which was the first one from Wausau going north, as far as Pine River, but in the second half of the decade from i860 to 1870, and later, came a strong influx of German emigrants in that town. Among them were Charles Weinkauf, Charles Weiland, August Buss, Fred Pagel, Carl Bliese, Martin Bohm, and others. The native American born population, with a few exceptions—as, for instance, Walter Hinton—have emigrated, but the German born population has remained and is the backbone of the town.

The renowned granite quarries of Marathon county were first opened in that town by Grothe & Peters, already referred to. The worses of the Marathon County Granite Company have been removed to Wausau. At Heights, a short distance above the railroad station, the brothers Anderson and a Mr. Johnson opened a shop as co-partners to carry on the business after Grothe & Peters had closed up their business, and from this small beginning in 1885. their business has grown to big dimensions. They employ now upwards of seventy-five men, and their products have become one of the most important articles of export from Marathon county and will remain so for all time to come. They own their quarrv', which furnishes as fine a granite as can be found anywhere, which for taking a fine polish is unsurpassed, and their monuments are in demand in every state of the Union. The firm is now incorporated with the following persons as officers : President, Charles E. Johnson; vice president, Gustav E. Anderson; secretary, Orlaf Anderson ; treasurer and general manager, William N. Anderson.* One large creamery has been in operation in this town for fifteen years, which is worked on the co-operative plan, and does a profitable business for both owners and patrons.

The town has seven modern schoolhouses in as many districts. The German St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran congregation was organized as early as 1870 and services held regularly in a schoolhouse until 1882, * This corporation has made arrangements to remove their works to Wausau to get the advantage of railroad transportation on both railroads at Wausau without extra transfer. when the present church was built. In the first few years the resident minister from the St. Paul's congregation at Wausau conducted the services, but since the completion of the church the Rev. Martin Buerger, resident minister in the neighboring town of Wausau, holds religious service for the congregation.

Another German Evangelical Lutheran congregation is organized in the northern part of the town, holding meetings and service in a schoolhouse, with a minister from the city of Merrill in charge thereof, and the building of a church is already contemplated and will be carried out in the near future. A Methodist congregation was organized about fifteen years ago, which erected a church building a few years afterwards. This congregation has a resident minister in the person of Rev. Paul E. Teige.