USA > Wisconsin > Wisconsin: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form: > Part 18
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Kelley Brook, a country postoffice of Oconto county, 20 miles northwest of Oconto, the county seat.
Kellnersville, a post village in Manitowoc county, 14 miles north- west of Manitowoc, the county seat. It has a population of 425.
Kemper Hall .- A ladies' boarding school, under the auspices of the Episcopal church, at Kenosha, was named in honor of Bishop
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Jackson Kemper (q. v.). It is conducted by the Sisters of St. Mary and offers a high school preparatory course rather than a full col- lege course.
Kemper, Jackson, the first Protestant Episcopal bishop of Wis- consin, was born in Pleasant Valley, N. Y., December 12, 1789, and was graduated from Columbia college in 1809. IIe was elected the first Episcopal missionary bishop of the Northwest in 1835. In 1859 he was chosen bishop of Wisconsin. He died in Delafield, May 24, 1870.
Kempster, a post town of 123 people on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Langlade county, 10 miles from Antigo, the county seat.
Kendall, a post village on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Monroe county, 28 miles southeast of Sparta, the county seat. The population of 400 supports a weekly newspaper, the Keystone, and a bank.
Kenosha .- This city, the county seat of the county of the same name, is located on the shore of Lake Michigan and on the C. & N. W. Ry. The city charter was granted in 1850 after it had had a village charter for 9 years, being then known as Southport. There are two banks, a daily newspaper, the Evening News, and three weeklies, the Volksfreund, the Union and the Telegraph-Courier. Kenosha has one of the finest harbors on the lake and boasts a pop- ulation of 16,235.
Kenosha County is in the extreme southeast corner of the state. The name comes from the Indian signifying "place of the pike or pickerel." Its organization occurred in 1850 and it has an area of 280 square miles. The census of 1905 gave it a population of 27,376. The soil is a sandy loam. The city of Kenosha is the county seat.
Kent, a country postoffice of Langlade county and a station on the C. & N. W. Ry., 16 miles from Antigo, the county seat.
Keowns, a discontinued postoffice in Jackson county.
Kerwin, James C., associate justice of the supreme court, was born in 1850 in Menasha, was graduated from the law department of the University of Wisconsin in 1875 and began the practice of law in Neenah that year. He was elected to the supreme bench
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in April, 1904, being one of the two additional justices provided for by the legislature of 1903.
Keshena, an Indian village with a population of 200 on the Wolf river in Shawano county, 8 miles north of Shawano, the county seat. The village is on the Menomonee Indian reservation.
Kewaskum is an incorporated village with a population of 693 on the Milwaukee river and the C. & N. W. Ry. in Washington county, 8 miles northwest of West Bend, the county seat. The village supports two banks and a weekly newspaper, the States- man.
Kewaunee .- This city is the county seat of Kewaunce county. It is on the shore of Lake Michigan and on the K., G. B. & W. Ry. Its harbor is one of the best on the lake. The population of 1,719 supports a bank and three newspapers, the Kewaunee Listy, the Enterprise and the Banner.
Kewaunee County is in the eastern part of the state, the name' coming from the Indian, signifying "prairie hen." It was organ- ized in 1852. The soil is a loamy clay. The population of Ke- wannee county in 1905 was 17,003 and it has an area of 336 square miles. The city of Kewaunee is the county scat.
Kewaunee Gold Excitement .- In 1836 a great deal of excitement was caused in the territory by the alleged discovery of gold in pay- ing quantities near where the Kewaunee river empties into Lake Michigan. Prominent men like John Jacob Astor and Salmon P. Chase bought real estate in the vicinity of the "find." A few traces of gold were all that were ever found and the boom collapsed early.
Kewaunee River rises and is wholly within Kewannee county. It flows southeast and empties into Lake Michigan at Kewaunee.
Keyes, Elisha W., was born Jan. 23, 1828, in New York, coming to Wisconsin in 1837. He was admitted to the Dane county bar in 1851; was district attorney of Dane county in 1859 and 1860. In 1861 was appointed postmaster at Madison by President Lin- coln and served continuously for 21 years. In 1882 he was a mem- ber of the assembly. In 1898 he was again made postmaster at Madison by President McKinley and is still serving in that capa- city. For several years he was chairman of the republican state
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central committee and was twice a leading candidate for the U. S. senate.
Keyeser, a postoffice of 20 people in Columbia county, 24 miles southeast of Portage, the county seat.
Keyesville, a discontinued postoffice in Richland county.
Keystone, a country postoffice in Chippewa county, 20 miles north of Chippewa Falls, the county seat.
Kickapoo River rises in Vernon county, flows south through Crawford county and joins the Wisconsin river just east of Wau- zeka.
Kickbush, a post station of 50 people on the C., M. & St. P. Ry. in Lincoln county, 8 miles north of Merril, the county seat.
Kiel, an incorporated village with a population of 1,130 on the C., M. & St. P. Ry. in Manitowoc county, 28 miles southwest of Manitowoc, the county seat. Kiel was settled in 1854 and incor- porated as a village in 1892. The Sheboygan river runs through the village, which supports a bank and a weekly German news- paper, the Kiel National Zeitung.
Kieler, a discontinued postoffice in Grant county.
Kilbourn, Byron, was a prominent figure in the early political and railway history of the state. He was born in Granby, Conn., Sept. 8, 1801. He came to Green Bay in 1834 and later settled in Milwaukee. He was a member of the second constitutional con- vention and was president of the Milwaukee and Mississippi Rail- way company, the first company to build a railroad in the state. Ile died in Jacksonville, Fla., Dec. 17, 1870.
Kilbourn City, an incorporated post village of 1,091 population on the C., M. & St. P. Ry. in Columbia county, 17 miles northwest of Portage, the county seat. The village is located at the Dells of the Wisconsin river, a favorite resort for tourists. There is one bank, and three newspapers, Illustrated Events, Mirror Gazette, and the Dells Reporter.
Kilbournville, a discontinued postoffice in Racine county.
Kildare .- See Lyndon Station.
Kimball, a post settlement in Iron county on the C. & N. W. Ry.,
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32 miles southeast of Ashland, and 7 miles west of Ilurley, the county seat.
Kimberly, a post village of 300 inhabitants on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Outagamie county, 31/2 miles from Appleton, the county scat.
King Bridge, a discontinued postoffice in Manitowoc county.
King, Charles, was born in New York, October 12. 1814. He graduated from West Point in 1866, served in the regular army and was retired as a captain in 1879, on account of wounds received in Indian warfare in the west. In 1898 he re-entered service in the Spanish-American war, was made brigadier general and served un- der General Lawton in the Philippines for two years. General King earned fame as an author early in his career. He began his work as a writer in 1879. Among his works are "Campaigning with Crook," "Famous and Decisive Battles," "Between the Lines," "The Colonel's Daughter," Marion's Harth," "Captain Blake," "The General's Double." General King's home is in Milwaukee.
Kingston, a post town of 250 people on the Grand river in Green Lake county, 18 miles southwest of Dartford, the county seat. It has a weekly newspaper, the Kingston Spy.
Kinwood, a discontinued postoffice in Fond du Lac county.
Kirby, a discontinued postoffice in Monroe county.
Kirchhayn, a post town of 110 people in Washington county, 11 miles southeast of West Bend, the county scat.
Klevenville, a post town of 100 people on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Dane county, 18 miles southwest of Madison, the county seat.
Klondike, a discontinued postoffice in Milwaukee county.
Knapp, a post village of 500 population on the C., St. P., M. & O. Ry. in Dunn county, 18 miles west of Menomonie, the county seat. It has a weekly newspaper, the Knapp News, and a bank.
Kneeland, a discontinued postoffice in Racine county.
Knights of Pythias, Order of .- The order of Knights of Pythias was established in Wisconsin by the institution of Milwaukee lodge No. 1, on Sept. 9, 1870, by Henry Clay Berry, then grand chancellor of Illinois, and afterward supreme chancellor. A dis- pensation for instituting this lodge had been issued by Supreme
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Chancellor Samuel Read on August 20, 1870, and the lodge was instituted at 119 Wisconsin street, Milwaukee, the following re- ceiving the several ranks of the order: F. Snyder, C. P. Phillips, II. A. Rogers, E. S. Finch, George Des Forges, G. R. Green, F. Rasche, A. T. Riddell, Geo. R. Milmine, J. F. Ilunt, L. W. Coe, L. C. Curtis, C. Il. Sweetland, C. A. Curtis, S. F. Kahle and C. II. Bingham, the nine last named being elected and installed as the first officers. On the following evening a special convention was held and the following named members were initiated in the sev- eral ranks: F. W. Cutler, W. H. Green, Robert Traverse, C. B. Harmon, E. C. Baker, Jr., J. K. Russell and E. Fairbairne. These, together with Geo. Burroughs, who received the several ranks on Sept. 23, 1870, constituted the charter membership of the lodge, and of the number A. T. Riddell, Geo. R. Milmine, L. W. Coe, C. H. Sweetland, C. A. Curtis and F. W. Cutler subsequently attained the rank of past grand chancellor, thus becoming members of the supreme lodge. Friendship lodge No. 2 was instituted in Mil- waukee on Jan. 25, 1871; Schiller lodge No. 3 on Jan. 28, 1821; Sharon lodge No. 4 at Sharon on February 8, 1871; Myrtle lodge No. 5 at Oconomowoc on March 8, 1871 and Wisconsin lodge at Milwaukee on April 6, 1871. The grand lodge of Wisconsin was instituted and organized at Milwaukee on April 6, 1871, all lodges being represented except Sharon lodge No. 4. Henry L. Palmer was elected grand chancellor and Geo. R. Milmine, recording and corresponding scribe. The order in the state, with rare excep- tions, has continued each year to increase in numerical and ma- terial growth, the aggregate net losses in the 35 years,-being only 159. On Jan. 1, 1906, there were 106 lodges in 87 cities and vil- lages, the membership being 9,005. Two of its members have en- joyed the high honor of being elected to serve as supreme chancel- lor,-Geo. B. Shaw of Eau Claire from July 18, 1890, to Septem- ber 3, 1892, and Ogden H. Fethers of Janesville from September 6, 1900, to August 20, 1902.
Knowles, a post village of 100 people on the C., M. & St. P. Ry. in Dodge county, 19 miles northeast of Juneau, the county seat.
Knowlton, a post town of 250 people and a station on the C., M.
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& St. F. Ry. in Marathon county, 19 miles southeast of Wausau, the county seat.
Knox Miils. a postoffice of Price county, connected with the M., St. P. & S. Ste. M. Ry. by a private line, 21 miles southeast of Phillips, the county seat
Kodan, a country postoffice in Kewaunee county, 15 miles from Kewaunes, the county seat.
Koepenick, a post town on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Langlade county, 14 miles north of Antigo, the county seat. Its population is 250.
Kohler, a country postoffice of Ozaukee county, 12 miles north- west of Port Washington, the county seat.
Kohlsville, a discontinued postoffice in Washington county.
Kolberg, a post village of 300 population on the Wolf river, in Door county, 14 miles south of Sturgeon Bay, the county scat.
Konsted, a country postoffice of Marinette county. Marinette, the county seat, is 28 miles southeast.
Konz, a country postoffice in Taylor county, 12 miles northwest of Medford, the judicial seat of the county.
Korna, a discontinued postoffice in Pierce county.
Koro, a discontinued postoffice in Winnebago county.
Koshkorong, a postoffice of 20 people on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Rock county, 13 miles north of Janesville, the county seat.
Koshkonong, Ft .- See Ft. Atkinson.
Koshkonong, Lake .- A lake made by the widening of the Rock river in the southern portion of Jefferson county. li was famous in the early history of the state as a favorne gathering place for Indians. Owing to its fine feeding grounds, it has always been a resort for water fowl. It was on the shores of this lake in 1832 that Black Ilawk and his band camped for a time when being pur- sued by the United States troops. Koshkonong on the C. & N. W. Ry. is the nearest railroad and post village. The city of Fort Atkinson (formerly Fort Koshkonong) is but a few miles away.
Krakow, a discontinued postoffice in Shawano county.
Kreinersville, a postoffice of 50 people ou the N. P. Ry. in Burnett county, 15 miles from Grantsburg, the county scat.
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Krok, a country postoffice of Kewaunce county. Kewaunec, the county seat, is 7 miles to the east.
Kruger, a post town of 100 people in Burnett county, 21 miles from Grantsburg. the county seat.
Kunesh, a country postoffice in Brown county. Green Bay, the judicial seat of the county, is 13 miles southeast.
Labor Day .- The legislature of 1893 made the first Monday of September of each year a legal holiday, in the interest of labor, generally, and to be known as "Labor Day."
Labor and Industrial Statistics, Commissioner of .- This office was created by the legislature in 1883. It makes special inquiries at the request of the legislature, state officers, or others or volun- tarily by the commissioner, into matters pertaining to the mdus- trial welfare of the state and concerning the conditions of labor and the laboring people. The state tactory inspecuon service is administered through this department. The factory inspection force consists of one factory inspector, eleven assistant factory in- spectors, one of whom is a woman, and a bakery inspector. This force has for its work the enforcemem of the state factory and labor laws, including those against child labor, involving the in- spection of the factories, bakeries, sweat shops, tenement houses, school-houses, churches, hospitals, hotels and other public build- ings in the state. The number of tactories annually reached for inspection has heretofore ranged from 3,000 to 5,000, including all the larger establishments of the state. During 1905 the bak- ery inspector inspected 610 bakeries and confectionery establish- ments. It maintains at Milwaukee, Superior, La Crosse and Osh- kosh free employment offices. Each office is locally administered by a superintendent. These four offices find employment for about 12.000 applicants yearly. By act of the legislature of 1901 the work of compiling the state blue book (q. v.) was transferred from the office of the secretary of state to this bureau.
Labor Unions, Discrimination Against .- The legislature of 1899 enacted a incasure prohibiting employers of labor irom discrimi-
CYCLOPEDIA OF WISCONSIN. , 225
nating against members of labor unions, and provides a severe pen- alty for violation.
Lac Court Oreilles Indian Reservation is situated in Sawyer county. The west branch of the Chippewa river cuts through the northeast corner. Lac Court Oreilles and Grindstone lake are almost entirely within it.
Lac du Flambeau, a post village on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Vilas county, with a population of 1,800, 48 miles northwest of Eagle River, the county scat.
Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation is situated chiefly in Vilas county, only the northwest corner of it being in Iron county. The Ashland division of the C. & N. W. Ry. runs almost directly through the middle of it from north to south. Lac du Flambeau is within its borders.
Lac la Belle is a lake situated in Wankesha county. Oconomo- woc, a widely known summer resort, is on its banks.
La Crosse .- This city, the county seat of the county of the same name is situated at the confluence of the La Crosse and the Black rivers with the Mississippi. The city was not incorporated until 1856 though it had been laid out in 1842. The C., B. & Q., the G. B. & W., the C. & N. W. and the C., M. & St. P. Rys. connect La Crosse with the other parts of the state. A new electric line, the La Crosse and Southeastern, is soon to connect La Crosse with the counties south of it on the Mississippi. It has five sub- stantial banks, and issues four daily newspapers, the Chronicle, the Leader-Press, the Tribune and the Abend-Stern, (German), all of which also publish semi-weekly editions. The Vlastenac, the Volksfreund, the Argus and the Nordstern are the weekly pub- lications. The last census gives La Crosse a population of 29,078.
La Crosse County is in the western part of the state on the Mis- sissippi river. Its name comes from the French; it being the name of a game played by the Indians. The organization of the county occurred in 1851 ; it has an area of 450 square miles and the popu- lation in 1905 numbered 42,850. The soil is alternately (from east to west), black loam, sandy soil and red clay. The city of La Crosse is the county seat.
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La Crosse River rises in Monroe county and flows south and southwest into La Crosse county and joins the Mississippi river at La Crosse.
Lac Vieux Desert, a lake in Forest county of this state, and Gogebic county, Michigan. State Line is the nearest rail approach.
Ladoga, a discontinued postoffice in Fond du Lac county.
Lady Elgin, Loss of .- The steamship, Lady Elgin, having on board 600 excursionists from Milwaukee to Chicago, burned off Racine on Sept. 8, 1860, and 225 people lost their lives. Each year on the anniversary of the disaster a special memorial service is held in St. John's Cathedral, Milwaukee.
Ladysmith .- This city is the county seat of Rusk county. It has a population of 1,220 and is on the Flambeau river and the M., St. P. & S. Ste. M. Ry. It has two banks and two weekly newspapers, the County Journal and the Weekly Budget.
Lafarge, an incorporated village of Vernon county, with a popu- lation of 827. It is 18 miles east of Viroqua, the county seat, and contains a weekly newspaper, the Enterprise.
La Fayette County is in the southern part of the state, receiving its name from the French hero of the American revolution, Mar- quis de La Fayette. Organization was completed in 1846; its area is 630 square miles and its population 20,277. The soil is a mix- ture of black loam and clay. Darlington is the county seat.
La Follette, Robert Marion .- This distinguished figure in. the public life of the state was horn in Dane county, Wisconsin, in 1855; was educated at the state university, taking his law degree after his academic degree. Has made his home in Madison; has been successively district attorney, congressman, governor and U. S. senator. After being three times elected governor he re- signed that office Jan. 1, 1906. to take the office of U. S. senator, to which he was elected by the legislature of 1905.
Lagoon .- See Powers Lake.
La Grange, a discontinued postoffice in Walworth county.
Lake Beulah, a post office of ?0 people on the W. C. Ry. in Wal- worth county, 17 miles northeast of Elkhorn, the county seat.
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CYCLOPEDIA OF WISCONSIN.
Lake Church, a postoffice of 60 people in Ozaukee county, 9 miles north of Port Washington, the county seat.
Lake Five, a discontinued postoffice in Washington county.
Lake Geneva .- This incorporated city is on the C. & N. W. Ry. and on the lake of the same name in Walworth county, 10 miles southeast of Elkhorn, the county seat. It has a population of 3,449 and is a famous summer resort. There are two banks and two weekly newspapers, the Herald and the News, both republican. It is estimated that upward of $20,000,000 have been expended in buildings and grounds on the shores of the lake by the wealthy residents there.
Lake Kawaquesagon,-sometimes called Minocqua lake,-is in Vilas county. It is touched by the C., M. & St. P. Ry. at Minoc- qua.
Lake Maria .- See Maria, Lake.
Lake Mills, an incorporated city in Jefferson county on the C. & N. W. Ry. and Rock lake, 9 miles northwest of Jefferson, the county scat. It has a population of 1,602. It was incorporated as a city in 1905. It has two banks and a weekly paper (Rep.), the Lake Mills Leader.
Lake Nebagamon, a post village with a population of 2.000 on the 11. N. & S. and the D. S. S. & A. Rys., in Douglas county, 29 miles southeast of Superior, the county seat. Supports a bank and a weekly newspaper, the Enterprise.
Lakes, a postoffice of 80 people in Price county, 21 miles north- west of Phillips, the county seat.
Lakeside, a suburb of Racine, Racine county.
Lakeside, a country postoffice of Adams county, 20 miles south- east of Friendship, the county seat.
Lakewood, a postoffice on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Oconto county, 56 miles (by rail) northwest of Oconto, the county scat.
Lakota, a summer resort and country postoffice on Twin lake in Vilas county, 14 miles northwest of Eagle River, the county seat.
Lamar, a country postoffice in Polk county, & miles from Balsam Lake, the county seat.
Lamartine, a discontinued postoffice in Fond du Lac county.
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CYCLOPEDIA OF WISCONSIN.
Lamberton, a post village with a population of 300 on the Root river and the C. & N. W. Ry. in Racine county, 8 miles north of Racine, the county seat.
Lamont, a post office of 40 people in La Fayette county, 10 miles east of Darlington, the county seat.
Lampson, a postoffice of 30 people on the C., St. P., M. & O. Ry. in Washburn county, 19 miles north of Shell Lake, the county seat.
Lancaster, a city of 2,555 inhabitants, the county seat of Grant county, and a station on the C. & N. W. Ry. The city is attrac- tively situated. There are two substantial banks and two weekly newspapers, the Teller and the Grant County Herald.
Land Grants, Railroad .- Virtually all of the railroad construc- tion in Wisconsin up to 1880 was aided by grants of land. In 1856, under an act approved June 3, two grants were made to Wis- consin. These were known as the northwest and northeast grants, and were given by the legislature to different companies after a struggle which showed the worst possibilities of land grant legis- lation. A bill was passed disposing of the two grants, the one to the La Crosse & Milwaukee, and the other to the Wisconsin & Lake Superior company. This was vetoed by Governor Bashford on account of numerous objections which he expressed regarding the bill. These objections were only partially met by two new bills, disposing of the two grants on nearly the same terms, but these received his approval.
The grant to the La Crosse company repeated the provisions of the act of congress and also provided for the construction of the roads from Madison and Columbus by Dec. 31, 1858. The con- pany was to pay 4 per cent on its gross earnings in lieu of all taxes. Lands remaining unsold after five years were to be publicly of- fered for sale in limited quantities, preference being given to ac- tual settlers. The grant to the Wisconsin and Superior company was very similiar, except that three per cent of the gross earnings was to be paid in lien of taxes.
The La Crosse & Milwaukee, or the companies with which it had consolidated, had already built a road from Milwaukee to Portage, but which passed through Horicon instead of Columbus.
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This road was continued from Portage on the line of the land grant as far as Tomah, but there it turned west to La Crosse, which was reached in 1858. The line from Columbus to Portage was built in 1864, and the line from Madison to Portage in 1870. Thus only the portion of the road from Portage to Tomah, 60 miles, was constructed according to the provisions of the original act.
On account of the failure to build the road from Madison and Columbus, Governors Randall and Salomon refused to certify the lands to the company. But in 1868 the legislature provided that the lands patented to the state on account of the line between Port- age and Tomah should be granted to the Wisconsin Farm Mort- gage Land company. This consisted of commissioners named in the act, who were to manage the lands in the interest of the far- mers along the line who had subscribed for stock in the La Crosse & Milwaukee company and mortgaged their lands as security. Annual reports were to be made to the secretary of state. The commissioners reported in 1874 that they had received 68,820 acres, of which 44,350 acres had been sold for $45,628. Claims aggregat- ing $951,356 had been filed with them. Subsequent reports of the commissioners were not published, and a search in the state archives has failed to reveal them.
In 1861 the grant from Madison and Columbus to Portage was taken from the La Crosse & Milwaukee company and given to the Sugar River Valley railroad company. The road was to be constructed by Dec. 31, 1863. In 1866 the time for building the road was extended to Dec. 31, 1869, and the company re- lieved from the obligation of building from Columbus to Portage. In 1870 the Madison and Portage company, which had purchased the property of the Sugar River Valley company, was given the same rights as to the grant.
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