Counties of Wisconsin; 26; Winnebago County

A major city in today's county of Wisconsin is Oshkosh. Today's program centers on Winnebago County. Six area residents and five University of Wisconsin Extension staff members met in October of 1975 to discuss extension activities and their county. First this history and general description. Winnebago County was created in 1840 by the Territorial Legislature of Wisconsin from parts of funda lock and brown counties. The county was named for a major Indian tribe living in the region and is an Algonquin term meaning people dwelling by the fetid or ill smelling water possibly a sulphur spring. You need

hundred forty nine all the Menominee Indian lands purchased in 1848 and not attached to any other county were annexed to Winnebago. This included the greater part of what Pak o Shawn O and Lang late count is and a small portion of Portage County. It wasn't until 1856 that the boundaries of the county were finally defined as a presence. The early settlers of the county were mostly from New York and New England who came with their ox teams and covered wagons. The early 1840s saw the coming of people from Europe. The Swiss settled in Black Wolf in 1904. Among the other Europeans were the Welsh who came in 1907 and settled into communities in Winnebago County. The Germans came in the late 40s and early 50s in brown and Winnebago counties. There were over a thousand Canadians at that time. The history of transportation in Winnebago County is partly the story of the intertwining of land lake and river routes. The first road was laid out in the

county in 1843 connecting Osh Kosh and Nina. This and later roads were dirt roads entirely impassable during a great part of the year. The first plank road was built in 155 reaching as far as Kaukauna. From there it was necessary to go by boat or dirt road to Greensburg a distance of 15 miles. Water always played an important part in the county's transportation. In the winter of 1844 Captain Peter Hotaling with the help of some brother town Indians built a steam boat at Manchester in Calumet County. This was the first steamer on Lake Winnebago and was named the Manchester. Its name was later changed to Fountain City. It was still in service in 1861. In the spring of 1850 the steamer paid Tona a famous riverboat was completed that Nina. Three years later it was purchased by b f Moore a Fond du Lac and ran from that city to Nashua making connections with the plank roads.

But John Mitchell was built at Menasha in 1851. It connected this town with Oshkosh. During that season a number of other boats were built notably the Jenny Lind which however was found to be too large for service on nearby waters and was taken over into the Mississippi. The next half century saw a great fleet of side wheelers and stern wheelers loaded with freight and passengers operating on Lake Winnebago at its tributary waters. The first conversation is between Archie Daggett and agricultural agent. Well here we are you. Went to your County Wisconsin. Generally Recognized to be in east central Wisconsin. When a Baker County is a relatively smaller county you have economies of the state. We have more water adjoining and within our county than any other county very popular in its agriculture and agribusiness which is our norm. Number one

economic support and the paper industry is very important as well as is tourism. We would you know that because of the agriculture and agribusiness and the paper industry that our economics is very well stabilized. Here on this beautiful October after knowing we're out of the side of you complex which is a relatively new location for our agricultural offices in the county park office this is a building that was formerly the nurses home for the son to a sanitarium the sanitarium has now been demolished and the nurse's home has been. Revamped into an excellent office space for these agencies including extension. We've just completed a meeting of the agriculture extension Education Committee. We meet monthly and sometimes more often and special events come before the committee. And with me in our meeting room is Archie negative Amaro who

is chairman of the of this committee and I'm sure that our nice North would enjoy knowing something more about county government and that are some ways in which it is different from some of the other county governments in this vicinity. Thank you Mr out for happy privilege to be here representing our committee today. Perhaps would like to mention a few things. How about our committee we are composed of five members of the Winnebago County Board and one of the agriculture extension Education Committee. We are also automatically thought on water conservation district directors and as such we farm policy we work very closely with the extension staff and our duties and most buildout by statute are therefore quite varied. We have five members of the extension staff. Who are of very excellent

caliber and we feel that they serve our county exceedingly well. We also of share with three other counties an extension education agent who serves to formulate programs bringing various subjects up to date as you know from our name we are involved in extension education and this agent to arrange is meeting a set of engineers doctors so forth in bringing new programs and new thinking. By the way to two of our members of the committee are also trustees of the Fox Valley Center at The Nation. Very interesting as that tuition own jointly by Winnebago and out again the counties as trustees We meet once a month with the Dean administrative staff. And as work as trustee is the building rather than of forming and formulating any

educational programs. We have we feel that when a bank who is one of the very fine counties the state naturally we rank 6 and seventh in population and in well we have a county executive form of government. The county executive the US the county board of course is the. Branch of government which makes the laws the county executive and forces them and we have a court system of course that in force it rules and see is that there is inherent to the laws that we have. Our committee also all has worked with many projects. I happen to be a member of the beautification Council which is concerned with the beautification of our county and seeing that the roads and highways are kept in a neat manner.