WORDEN TOWNSHIP CENTENNIAL HISTORY

Clark Co., Wisconsin

Contributed by Jean Ketterhagen,

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon & Indexed by Ken Wood.

[INDEX] [1905 MAP] [1915 MAP]

Worden Horse Racing

1893-1993

The Town of Worden is located in the northwest part of Clark County, Wisconsin. It is bounded on the north by the Town of Thorp, on the east by the Town of Reseburg, on the south by the Town of Butler and on the west by the Town of Edson, Chippewa County. It is a Congressional Township measuring 6 miles from east to west and 6 miles from north to south.

A look at the geology of the area reveals the rich heritage left by the glaciers as they moved across the region. They gave us the white pine and hardwood forests, which provided a means to sustain life in the early years. The Colby silt loam soils deposited here have provided the basis for a rich agricultural dairy country. A more than ample water supply is to be found on top of the Pre-Cambrian granite rock or between the glacial layers at different levels. Boulders and rocks left behind and on top of the ground provided materials to build basements in the area. One of the greatest heritages left by the glaciers is the sand and gravel deposit. Thousands of cubic yards have been mined and used for roads or mixed with cement for building projects.

The glacial period brought about variable topographic features, which are noticeable in the township. One can observe where three different ice sheets reached their maximum extents. The first formation was a thin drift, which passed through and left on its edges a sandy area, which is poor farmland.

The second ice sheet or drift was one half to one mile in width as it passed through Worden. The difference between the first and second drifts can easily be seen as one travel east to west on Worden’s south border. Some farms are located on the second drift.

One half to one mile north of the second terminal moraine is the third drift, which proceeds east to west through the township. The area is a broad belt of gently rolling land, which makes for an ideal agricultural dairy situation.

Excitement ran high when it was announced that silver had been discovered in the township on October 16, 1897. The claim was located at the site where present-day Clark County Hwy "N" crosses the North Fork of the Eau Claire River. A company was formed, stock sold and operations began only to discover that this was a small deposit left by the third glacier.

In the early 1890’s, a Town of Worden resident, Fred Baumgarten and another fellow found a diamond on a sand bar supposedly on the Wolf River. However, early settlers accounts reveal the two men spent much time thereafter searching the sand bars of the North Fork of the Eau Claire River. The diamond was eventually shipped to New York City and although the selling price was never revealed it was rumored to be a considerable sum of money.

THE EARLY DAYS

Col. John G. Clark made the subdivisions of the Township of Worden in 1853. The township was surveyed in 1853 by Charles G. and H. K. Rodolf. Much of the land was claimed before Worden was established as a township. Much of the land was claimed before Worden was established as a township. The first land was claimed by Samuel F. Weston on September 23, 1854 in sections 23, 30, 31 and 35, and by Cyrus Lord in section 34. In 1855, Reuben H. Gray selected land in section 17. In the 1870’s the Eau Claire Lumber Company secured extensive holdings in the town. The West Wisconsin Railway Co. secured land in sections 7, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33 and 35 although no railroad was built.

On April 4, 1876 the Township of Thorp was organized. The present Town Worden was part of this township. On May 13, 1893 Worden Township was created by an Ordinance of the Clark County Board. Worden was named after the Civil War Veteran, Seth Worden, who had resided in the Town of Thorp. The first town meeting was held on the first Tuesday in April, 1894 at Gorman School which later became Busy Bee School.

The only road through the Town in the early years was the present County Trunk N. At first it was a military road and later was a stage and supply line.

Sometime before 1883, the Long Bridge Post Office was established on the Wolf River, bordering the Towns of Worden and Edson by a man named Harbough. In 1883 the Post Office was purchased by Worden residents Ole Krogan and Ole Samuelson. It was the main post office of the area until one was established in the City of Stanley.

Logging in Worden Township (1954 ca.)

Early industry in Worden was logging. Until the eighteen-nineties logging was the principle industry and farming was secondary.

Worden was covered with a dense vigorous growth of white and red oak, linden, maple, rock elm, birch, ash and some butternut. Pine was the desired wood so areas covered by hardwoods were not extensively logged for commercial purposes until the 1890’s and later. One logging mill in the Township belonged to A. Baldeschwiler and was built in the 1890’s in section 22. Another mill was the Goshaw Logging Mill and Post Office in section 21.

For many years flour, wheat and other grains for food and for feed for horses and cattle were brought in by teams to supply the wants of the residents as well as to supply the loggers.

Farming done in the early days was almost entirely for home consumption. It was not until the early part of the century that agriculture became important. By 1895, at the diminishing of the logging industry, factory manufacture of cheese and butter was already assuming considerable importance. The Wisconsin State Census of 1905 shows Worden Township to have 1 cheese factory, 32 patrons, 250 cows and total receipts by the victory to be $4,344.00. The first cheese factory in the area was the Clover Leaf Factory established about 1905 by Frank Pritzel in Section 9.

Clover Leaf in Section 9 Math Meyer, owner

Hillside in Section 21 Theodore Schultze, owner

West Worden in Section 8 West Worden Dairy Co, owner

Breezy Hill in Section 14 O.W. Friemund, owner

South Worden in Section 33

Because larger factories were established in the cities of Thorp and Stanley the rural factories declined in importance and soon left only Clover Leaf and Hillside, the two remaining today.

Businesses of Worden Township

Before consolidation and bussing came about, the country school attended by the neighborhood children was often the center of learning and social gatherings.

There were seven schools in Worden. They were:

River View in Section 19

Jackson in Section 36

Breezy Hill in Section 24--History

Pioneer in Section 1

Garfield in Section 5--History

South Worden in Section 29

Busy Bee in Section 16--History

In August 1904 a petition was presented for the purpose of setting aside land for what was to be known as the Riverview School District No. 4. This was one of the first schools to close and become consolidated with other school districts. Some of the students went to Fagan School, some went to Garfield School and several went to South Worden School.

On March 20, 1882 a full eleven years before the Town of Worden came to be, land was purchased for the construction of a school. The cost of the land was $20.00. Because at that time Worden was actually part of Thorp Township the school was built as School District No. 4, Town of Thorp. The school became known as District No. 2 when the Town of Worden was formed.

The residents got together in 1882 for the purpose of naming the school. The suggested names were placed in a shoebox with the winning name being drawn. Henry Kolpien suggested the winning name of Pioneer School.

The Garfield School, District No. 7 was established by the Town Board in 1890. The first meeting of the District was held on July 7, 1890 at the Charles Sye house on what is now known as the Paul Haase Farm. A board was formed and authorized to borrow five hundred dollars from the State Trust Fund to build and equip a schoolhouse. One acre of land was purchased from Charles Sye for $25.00. Ole Krogan’s bid of four hundred and thirty dollars was accepted and he was ordered to build the school. He received an additional fifteen dollars to clear the land. The new school was named Garfield School in memory of the martyred President, James Garfield. In 1890, seven children, four resident and three non-resident, attended the school. In 1904, the number of students had grown to sixty-seven and at one time over one hundred children between the ages of four and twenty were listed.

In 1878, Busy Bee School, District No. 6 was established. A sixteen by twenty-four foot log building was used for the first school. On December 10, 1884 one acre of land was purchased for the sum of eight dollars and a new school was built. In 1880, a new blackboard was purchased at a cost of five dollars and in 1884 two dollars was paid for whitewashing the school building. The Town of Worden presently uses the building as a Town Hall.

In 1884 C. D. Richards and his wife agreed to sell seven-tenths of an acre of land to the Joint School District of the Townships of Worden and Reseburg for the building of a school. The price was $25.00. A school was built and in 1884, the Breezy Hill School opened. Enrollment fluctuated with the weather. When the weather was good some of the students walked the 5 miles to the Thorp Catholic School and when the weather was bad they attended the Breezy Hill School. In 1954, the State directed Breezy Hill School to update their facility and install indoor plumbing and a lunchroom. With these improvements estimated at $10,000 and the state heading for consolidation it was decided not to make the changes and to disband the school district.

The South Worden School was built just after the turn of the century. The original school was a log cabin but the school population quickly outgrew the cabin so it was razed and a wood frame building was constructed. In 1937, the number of students at South Worden was 48. The school had to stay under an average daily enrollment of 40 to remain a one- room school. A mumps epidemic saved the one room school as there were 37 cases of the mumps and each student was out for about a week thus keeping the daily enrollment below 40.

Schools of Worden Township

Church of the Bretheran

In the late 1800’s many of the families moving into the South Worden area were members of the Church of the Brethren, known as Dunkards, and the Progressive Brethren. With John Patten as their minister, they worshipped in the log schoolhouse.

In 1903, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Felix donated a plot of land to be used for the plotting of a cemetery and the building of a church. Men from the area started cutting logs and hauling them to Goshaw Saw Mill to be sawed into lumber for a church. A church was built with donated labor.

In 1904 the church became the Worden Church of the Brethren where the Brethren and the Progressive Brethren joined in worship. The church became the center of the community where neighbors gathered for weddings, funerals and revivals.

On the evening of June 4, 1958 the church was completely destroyed by a tornado that devastated the area. On October 1, 1959, the Worden church members joined with the Stanley congregation and the churches became the Stanley Church of the Brethren.

In a special service on September 28, 1975 a memorial marker was dedicated on the site of the Worden Church. The cemetery is still in use.

Brethren Cemetery

Churches of Worden Township

In the early 1900’s the telephone brought a welcome change into the rural homes in many areas. For the first time rural housewives could make verbal contact with their neighbors, get emergency help quickly, and lose a sense of isolation.

One of the rural telephone lines in use in the Stanley area for many years was known as the West Worden Mutual Telephone Company. This company was organized in 1907 by a group of enterprising farmers who lived in the area southeast of Stanley. These men became the original stockholders and formed what was later known as Circuit No. 1. Circuit No. 2 and No. 3 were added later.

The first meeting was at the home of Ole Samuelson on June 29, 1907. The officers elected were: David Kienholtz, president; Ole Samuelson, secretary; Ole Krogan, treasurer. G. W. Schmidt, Warren Shorey, and Ole Samuelson were appointed to draft the constitution and by-laws. The secretary was instructed to obtain line permits.

It was agreed that any stockholder could use the telephone poles to fasten fence wires on it if it did not interfere with the phone service.

The West Worden Telephone Company was assimilated into the Bell System in 1968. At that time there were fifty-two shareholders. The use of the dial system began in 1953. Each person bought his own phone for thirty-seven dollars and two cents and paid two dollars and twenty-five cents per month for service.

(From Stanley Our Town)

Through the Rural Electric Association (REA) and the hard work of some progressive minded people electricity was brought to Worden Township in 1938. Township residents who wished to have electric lines brought to their homes and farms purchased shares in the Clark Electric Cooperative. Many of these agreements were signed on the hood s of cars as neighbors convinced neighbors to sign up and bring modern conveniences into their homes. Wallace Landry, who had been a teacher at Busy Bee School became County Agent and worked very hard to help bring electricity into the area.

In Section 18 lies eighty acres of untouched woodland that is preserved in its natural state because of the Karl Schmidt family. The Schmidt Memorial Woods gives us a idea of what Worden must have been. Walking in the woods on a spring day is like stepping into another world.

In 1907, George and Margaret Schmidt came to Worden to purchase a farm. George was a professor of German at Lake Forest College. Under the guidance of their parents the Schmidt children took and active interest in nature.

In the early 1900’s land in the area had been cut over by the lumber companies but since white pine and oak were scarce on the Schmidt land it was not changed very much. As time passed the area became a valuable haven for wild animals and lush native vegetation. The area was named "Fernwold".

A midnight fire on August 7, 1935 destroyed the three-story home and killed Margaret Schmidt, her son Franklin and Florian Brzuzan, a farm helper. Five people escaped the fire. After the fire George Schmidt kept the property intact only cutting wood for heating and cattle had not been pastured on the front forty. A building was constructed and the family continued to live there.

In 1970 the family donated the land to The Nature Conservancy to maintain the woods in its original state. The Conservancy has turned the land over to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Foundation, Inc. so that students may use it for scientific research.

Anyone stopping at the woods today can see the overgrown remains of the buildings. Near the remains of the farmhouse is a memorial plate attached to a huge granite boulder.

People seldom stop unless they know the story of the family and their efforts to promote conservation. In the spring the woods is a walk back in time with its carpet of white trilliums and spring flowers and a peace that isn’t often found in today’s world.

Worden Township Cemetery

Old Norwegian Cemetery

Names of 1894 land owners who have descendants farming in the Town of Worden today*

Peter Thompson, NW-NW Sec. 5

Barney Micke, E ½ of NW Sec. 9

John Verkiulen, W ½ NW Sec. 9

Casper Haas, NE-NE Sec. 11

August Henke, SW-NW Sec. 11

John Boie, SE ¼ Sec. 16

Descendants of 1894 Landowners who are living on the same farms *

Dean Boie, SE ¼ Sec. 16

Larry Thompson, NW-NW Sec. 5