USA > Wisconsin > Wisconsin: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form: > Part 22
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Menomonie .- This incorporated city, the county seat of Dunn county, has a population of 5,473. The C., St. P., M. & O. and the C., M. & St. P. Rys., both have stations here, and the Red Cedar river furnishes water power. The educational facilities are the best in the state, the Stout schools being located here. There are two weekly newspapers the Dunn County News (Rep.) and the Times (Dem.), and three banks.
Mequon, a postoffice of 100 people on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Ozaukee county, 12 miles south of Port Washington, the county scat.
Mercer, a post town and summer resort on the C. & N. W. Ry. and Echo lake in Iron county, 23 miles south of Hurley, the contty seat.
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Meridian, a country postoffice of 33 people and a station on the C., M. & St. P. Ry. in Dunn county, 16 miles southeast of Me- nomonie the county seat.
Merrill .- This city of 9,197 people is located on the C., M. & St. P. Ry. and the Wisconsin river, and is the county seat of Lin- coln county. There are three banks and four weekly newspapers, the Merrill News (Dem.), the Star (Ind.), the Merrill Advocate (Rep.), and the Wisconsin Thalbote (Dem.).
Merillan, an incorporated village of 649 population at the junc- tion of the C., St. P., M. & O. Ry. and the G. B. & W. R. R. in Jackson county, 12 miles north of Black River Falls, the county seat. It contains a bank and a weekly newspaper, the Wis- consin Leader.
Merrittville .- See Endeavor.
Merton, a post village of 200 population on the Bark river and the C., M. & St. P. Ry. in Waukesha county, 12 miles northwest of Waukesha, the county seat.
Methodist Episcopal Church .- The M. E. church has in its two conferences in Wisconsin a total of 45,740 members, including pro- bationers: 23,801 in the Wisconsin conference ; 21,939 in the West Wisconsin conference. The total value of church property is $1,836,180, of which $1,210,100 is in the Wisconsin conference and $626,080 in the West Wisconsin conference. Lawrence University at Appleton (q. v.) is under Methodist auspices.
Metomen, a discontinued postoffice in Fond du Lac county.
Metz, a country postoffice in Winnebago county, 35 miles north- west of Oshkosh, the county seat.
Michigan, Territory of .- Illinois was admitted to the union on April 18. 1818, with its boundaries as they now stand, and all west of Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river was added to the terri- tory of Michigan, and thus what is now Wisconsin became a part of Michigan. Michigan territory was further enlarged by adding to it all of the country west of the Mississippi river and north of Missouri as far as the Missouri river, thus including a good part of what is now the state of North Dakota.
Middle Inlet, a post village on the C., M & St P. Ry. in Mari-
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nette county, 25 miles northwest of Marinette, the county seat. It has a population of 300.
Middle Ridge, a settlement in La Crosse county, 20 miles east of La Crosse, the county seat.
Middleton, an incorporated village of 544 population on the C., M. & St. P. Ry. in Dane county, 7 miles west of Madison, the county seat.
Midland .- See Browning.
Midway, a post village of 100 people on the C. & N. W. Ry. in La Crosse county, 812 miles north of La Crosse, the county seat.
Mifflin, a post village of 300 people in Iowa county, 18 miles southwest of Dodgeville, the county seat.
Mikana, a post station of 25 people on the MI., St. P. & S. Ste. M. Ry. in Barron county. Barron the county seat, is 25 miles distant,
Milan, a post village of 100 people on the A. & N. E. Ry. in Marathon county, 30 miles west of Wausau, the county seat.
Milford, a discontinued postoffice in Jefferson county.
Military Staff, The Governor's .- The governor's military staff consists of the adjutant general, the quartermaster general, the sur- geon general, each with the rank of brigadier general, five aides with the rank of colonel, and such other officers as the governor may from time to time require. He may appoint on his staff any United States army officer in the University of Wisconsin or on duty here, without change of rank. No one is to be appointed on the staff who has had no military experience.
Milk Test, Babcock .- A method for discovering accurately and quickly the amount of butter fat in milk was discovered by Dr. Stephen Moulton Babcock of the agricultural college of the Uni- versity of Wisconsin. It is now used in all the butter and cheese factories in the country, and in most cases the price paid each milk producer is fixed by the quality of his milk, thus determined. The invention is considered to have been worth millions of dollars to the state and to the dairy business generally. It was never pat- ented, the inventor giving it to the state of Wisconsin.
Milladore, a post town of 275 inhabitants on the W. C. Ry. in
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Wood county, 19 miles north of Grand Rapids, the county seat.
Millard, a postoffice of 60 people in Walworth county, 7 miles northwest of Elkhorn, the county seat.
Mill Creek, a tributary of the Wisconsin river which rises in Wood county and flows southeast into Portage county to join the river west of Stevens Point.
Miller, Andrew G., was born in Carlisle, Pa., September 18, 1801. He was appointed associate judge of the supreme court of the territory of Wisconsin in 1838; after Wisconsin became a state in 1848 he was appointed United States district judge for Wisconsin, serving until January, 1874. He died September 30, 1874.
Miller, Lucas M., was born in Laviadia, Greece, in 1824, and came to Wisconsin in 1846. He was a member of the legislature in 1853 and was elected as a democrat to the house of representa- tives of the 52d congress.
Millhome, a discontinued postoffice in Manitowoc county.
Mill Pond Lake is in Dodge county. Woodland, on the C., M. & St. P. Ry., is the nearest rail approach.
Mills, a post town of 100 people on the C., St. P., M. & O. Ry. in Washburn county, 14 miles north of Shell Lake, the county seat.
Milltown, a post town of 125 people on the M., St. P. & S. Ste. M. Ry. in Polk county, 7 miles northwest of Balsam Lake, the county seat.
Millville, a postoffice of 100 people on the Wisconsin river, 19 miles north of Lancaster, the county seat of Grant county, within which it is located.
Milton, an incorporated village of 810 people on the C., M. & St. P. Ry. in Rock county, 8 miles north of Janesville, the county seat. Its population sustains a bank and a weekly newspaper, the Jour- nal. This village is the site of Milton college, a co-educational institution.
Milton Junction, a post village at the junction of the C., M. & St. P. Ry. with the C. & N. W. Ry. in Rock county, 8 miles north of Janesville, the county seat. Its population of 800 sup- ports a weekly newspaper, the Telephone, and a bank.
Milwaukee .- This city is the metropolis of the state and the
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county seat of the county of the same name. Transportation facili- ties are of the best, the W. C., the C. & N. W. and the C., M. & St. P. Rys., all having the best of facilities and the Goodrich line of steamers, not to mention other steamboat companies, plying be- tween Milwaukee, Chicago and Lake Michigan ports. The Pere Marquette and the Grand Trunk carferry lines also operate six big carferries with a capacity of 30 cars, the year around. Since 1850, when the first estimate of the population of the city was made at 20,000, Milwaukee has increased nearly 300,000, the present popu- lation being 312,948. It is one of the greatest manufacturing cities on the continent. Situated as it is on the shore of Lake Michigan with an excellent harbor, and convenient to the sources of supply it can readily hold its position in the manufcturing world. The value of the products of the many Milwaukee industries in 1903 was $251,310,947. It is the second city in the production of beer. The wholesale business of the city the same year amounted to $356,693,767. There are 10 banks and 4 trust companies with an ag- gregate capital of $6.575,000. Altogether there are 83 newspapers and periodicals published. The principal papers are the Sentinel and Free Press, (English morning) ; the Herold (German morning) ; the Wisconsin Daily News and Journal (English evening) ; the Ger- mania (German evening). the Germania (German Lutheran), and the Catholic Citizen (English) weeklies.
Milwaukee County is in the southern part of the state, on Lake Michigan. The name is derived from an Indian name "Mahn-a- waukee" meaning "great camp to talk to friends," "where nobody fights" or "neutral ground." It was organized in 1834; has an area of 232 square miles and the 1905 census gave it a population of 363,721. The soil is rather sandy. The city of Milwaukee is the county seat.
Mindoro, a post town with a population of 150 in La Crosse county 21 miles northeast of La Crosse, the county seat.
Miner, a country postoffice of Juneau county, 28 miles north of Mauston, the county seat.
Mineral Point, an incorporated city on the C., M. & St. P. Ry. in Iowa county, and also on the M., P. & N. Ry., 8 miles south of
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Dodgeville, the county seat. It population of 3,252 supports two weekly newspapers, the Mineral Point Tribune nd the Iowa County Democrat, and two banks.
Minnesota Junction, a post village with a population of 200 at the junction of the C. & N. W. and the C., M. & St. P. Rys. in Dodge county, 3 miles north of Juneau, the county seat.
Minocqua, a post village of Vilas county and a station on the C., M. & St. P. Ry., 27 miles east of Eagle River, the county seat. Tomahawk lake, on which it is situated, makes it famous as a summer resort. The population of 600 supports a bank and a weekly newspaper, the Times.
Minong, a postoffice of 100 people on the C., St. P., M. & O. Ry. and Shell creek in Washburn county, 27 miles north of Shell Lake, the county seat.
Minor, Edward S., was born in Jefferson county, N. Y., in 1840. Ile came to Wisconsin in 1815, settling in Milwaukee county ; in 1857 removed to Door county ; served four years in the War of Secession ; was elected to the assembly in 1828, 1880 and 1881 and to the senate in 1883 and 1885. He was first elected to represent the ninth congressional district in the house of representatives in 1894 and has been re-elected six times since. Ilis home is in Sturgeon Bay.
Miracle Hill .- A cone shaped hill in Washington county ou which is erected a Catholic church has been given this name, as a visit to the hill at a certain time of the year is supposed to effect cures of all sorts of diseases. Tradition has it that the hill was first discovered by Father Marquette in 16:3 on his return with Joliet from the discovery of the upper Mississippi; that a German priest who had been recreant to his vows seeking to do penance in the new world, found a reference to this hill in a strangely dis- covered portion of Marquette's diary ; that on his way to find the hill, he was taken ill in Chicago, and when he recovered he was a paralytic. He persisted in Ins efforts to Gud the hill and when he found it and crawled to the sumunt on his hands and knees he was cured of his paralysis. The hill and its little church have very picturesque surroundings. Every year a goodly number of pil-
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grims, some only curious, others with faith that they will be licaled of their diseases, visit the hill.
Minandeau, Jean Baptiste, a noted coureur du bois, who in 1795 came to the site of Milwaukee to trade with the Indians. He possessed skill as a blacksmith and this skill made him useful to and popular with the Indians with whom he lived almost con- tinually until his death in 1820 or 1821.
Misha Mokwa, a postoffice of 45 people on Little Bear creek in D:Walo county, 16 iniles northwest of Alma, the county seat.
Mishicott, a post village of 400 people on East Twin river in Manitowoc county, 12 miles northeast of Manitowoc, the county seat.
Mission, a postoffice on the Oneida Indian reservation in Outa- gamie county.
Mission, De Pere .- The chief Jesuit mission established near the site of the present city of De Pere,-"the mission of the Fathers." (See Jesuit Missions in Wisconsin, Early ; also, Xavier, St. Francis.)
Mississippi River, Discovery of .- The honor of being the first white men to see the upper Mississippi river (De Soto having earlier discovered it in the south) seems fairly to belong to Mar- quette and Joliet, the Jesuit missionaries, who in 1623, in company with a band of Indians journeyed from Chequamegon bay in search of it. Radisson in his journal tells of voyaging in "a great river which flowed south and on which the Indians said white men lived farther south." This description by Radisson is considered too vague to bring him credit for discovery.
Mitchell, a discontinued postoffice in Fond du Lac county.
Mitchell, Alexander, a noted banker and railroad president of Wisconsin, was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, October 17, 1817. lle settled in Milwaukee in 1839 and there in partnership with George Smith established the Wisconsin Marine and Fire Insur- ance company, which did a banking business. under its charter, as well as an insurance business. Ile served two terms in congress between 1870 and 1875 from the Milwaukee district; and as presi- dent of the C., M. & St. P. Ry. did much toward developing the railroads of the state. He died in Milwaukee April 19, 1887.
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Mitchell, John Lendrum, was the son of Alexander Mitchell (q. v.). He was born in Milwaukee October 19, 1842; served three years during the War of Secession, was state senator for one term, member of congress one term, and in 1893 was elected United States senator by the democratic legislature to succeed Philetus Sawyer. He served a full term as senator, retiring in 1899. He died in Mil- waukee in 1903.
Mitchell's Bank .- In 1839 the territorial legislature granted a charter to the Wisconsin Marine and Fire Insurance company to do a general insuring and loaning business, the incorporators being Daniel Wells, Jr., George Smith and Alexander Mitchell. Mitchell was made secretary. The company did a general banking business and became the most important financial institution in the early history of the state. The bank closed temporarily during the panic of 1893, but resumed business soon thereafter. It is now the Marine National bank of Milwaukee. (See Alexander Mitchell.)
Modena, a postoffice of 90 people in Buffalo county, 1472 miles east of Alma, the county seat.
Moeville, a discontinued postoffice ia Pierce county.
Monches, a post village of 200 people on the Oconomowoc river in Waukesha county, 18 miles northwest of Waukesha, the county seat.
Mondovi, an incorporated city of Buffalo county, on the C., St. P., M. & O. Ry. and the Buffalo river, 30 miles northeast of Alma, the county seat. It dates its settlement from 1855 and has now a population of 1,450 which supports two banks and two weekly newspapers, the News and the Herald.
Monico, a post village of 300 on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Oneida county, 14 miles southeast of Rhinelander, the county seat.
Monona, Lake, also called Third lake, in Dane county, is the sec- ond largest of the string of "Four Lakes." Madison, the county seat, is between it and Lake Mendota. The name, which is the Indian for "beautiful," was given it in 1849 by Frank Hudson, a surveyor. The name was legalized by the legislature of 1855.
Monroe .- This is an incorporated city of Green county, of which it is the county seat. It is a station on the I. C. and the C., M.
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St. P. Rys. It was corporated as a village in 1859, and as a city in 1882 and has a population of 4,269. There are two daily and four weekly newspapers published, the Journal, and the Times (daily), the Journal-Gazette (weekly), the Green County Herold (weekly), the Sentinel (weekly), the Times (weekly). There are also three substantial banks.
Monroe Center, a post town of 150 people in Adams county, 16 miles northwest of Friendship, the county seat.
Monroe County, in the western part of the state, was named in honor of President James Monroe. It was organized in 1856. The soil is sandy with swamp lands in the eastern part. The county has an area of 900 square miles and the 1905 census gave it a population of 29,263. Sparta is the county seat.
Montana .- A country postoffice of Buffalo county, 18 miles east of Alma, the county seat.
Montello .- This incorporated village on the W. C. Ry. is the county seat of Marquette county. It was originally settled in 1849 ; was incorporated as a village in 1865, and to-day has a popu- lation of 1,090. The Montello river furnishing water power for the granite polishing works, gives the place its distinction. Buf- falo lake, on the banks of which the village is situated, is a favorite summer resort. There is one weekly newspaper, the Montello Ex- press, and two banks.
Monterey, a discontinued postoffice in Waukesha county.
Montfort, an incorporated village with a population of 599 on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Grant county, 22 miles northwest of Lan- caster, the county seat. Contains a bank and a weekly newspaper, the Mail.
Monticello, an incorporated village with a population of 609 on C., M. & St. P. and the I. C. Rys, and the Little Sugar river in Green county 10 miles north of Monroe, the county seat. This is the center of the Swiss cheese industry of the state. There are two weekly newspapers, the Messenger and the News, and a bank.
Montreal, a post village of 500 miners on the W. C. and the C. & N. W. Rys. in Iron county, 512 miles southwest of Hurley, the county seat.
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Montreal River rises in Iron county and forms the state line be- tween Michigan and Wisconsin from Van Buskirk to the point where it empties into Lake Superior, 14 miles north of Ilurley. Its flow is northwest.
Montrose, a discontinued postoffice in Dane county.
Moon, a country postoffice of Marathon county, 19 miles south- west of Wausau, the county seat.
Moore, Nathaniel, a cruiser and explorer to whom is given the credit for the discovery of ore on the Gogebic range. Moore made his first trip to the range in 1872. Several years later while pass -. ing through that section he camped on a bed of hematite ore which a falling tree had uncovered. Moore became a millionaire but lost most of his fortune when the Gogebic boom collapsed.
Moquah, a postoffice of 30 people on the N. P. Ry. in Bayfield county, 18 miles southwest of Washburn, the county seat.
Morgan, a post village of 160 people on the Pensankce river in Oconto county, 22 miles southwest of Oconto, the county seat.
Morley, a country postoffice in Langlade county, 131/2 miles northwest of Antigo, the county seat.
Mormonism in Wisconsin,-Prior to the exodus of the Mormons from Nauvoo, Ill., for the west, two Mormon settlements were made in Wisconsin, one in Walworth county within sight of Lake Geneva, the other in a fertile valley in the range of bluffs cast of La Crosse. The Mormons who came to Wisconsin for the most part advocated the appointment of James ("King") Strang as a successor to Joseph Smith.
Moro, a country postoffice in Burnett county, 35 miles north- east of Grantsburg, the county seat.
Morris, a post town of 100 people on the Embarass river in Sha- wano county, 25 miles northwest of Shawano, the county seat.
Morrison, a post village of 150 people, 17 miles south of Green Bay, the county seat of Brown county, within which it is located.
Morrisonville, a post village in Dane county, and a station on the C., M. & St. P. Ry., 16 miles north of Madison, the county seat. Its population supports a bank and a weekly newspaper, the Tri- bune.
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CYCLOPEDIA OF WISCONSIN.
Morse, a post town of 100 people in Ashland county and a sta- tion on the W. C. Ry., 34 miles south of Ashland, the county seat.
Morse, Rev. Jedediah, a noted geographer and missionary, who in 1820 was sent to the Wisconsin territory by the Federal govern- ment to select a site for the New York Indians that were being crowded out of the Empire state. He secured the treaty whereby the New York Indians were granted a strip of land 4 miles wide at the Little Chute on the Lower Fox river. The son of Morse was the inventor of the electric telegraph.
, Mortgages, Taxation of .- Under the Wisconsin system of taxa- tion mortgages on real property have always been taxable, but prior to 1903 as personal property, the situs being the owner's home. Chapter 328, laws of 1903, made mortgages for purposes of taxation, an interest in the land, subject to taxation where the land lies. While it left it within the power of the mortgagor and the mortgagee to agree as to whom should pay the taxes on the mortgage, it required the assessment of the mortgage, and the mortgagor's equity in the property, separately. Mortgages held by insurance and trust companies which are otherwise taxed are exempt.
Mosel, a discontinued postoffice in Sheboygan county.
Mosinee, an incorporated village on the Wisconsin river and the C., M. & St. P. Ry. in Marathon county, 13 miles south of Wau- sau, the county seat. The population of 530 supports a bank and a weekly newspaper, the Times.
Mosling, a postoffice of 80 people in Oconto county, on the C. & N. W. Ry., 26 miles west of Oconto, the county seat.
Moundbuilders, The .- Portions of Wisconsin abound in what are called Indian mounds,-tumuli and effigy mounds. In Trem- pealean county, it is claimed, more than 2,000 mounds have been found. In the four lakes region surrounding Madison and in the Waukesha lake region and along Rock river they are to be found in large numbers. The most noted mounds in the state are those at Aztalan (q. v.) in Jefferson county where investigators believed for years they could trace the outlines of a fortified city. For the most part these mounds ocenpy sightly places commanding beauti-
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ful landscapes and waterscapes. Many theories concerning their origin are current, the most common being that the mounds were built by a race which antedated the Indians. The latest, and most generally accepted theory, is that they were built by the Indians, some for burial mounds, others for temple sites or places of sacri- fice, the effigy mounds being rude attempts to carve on the land- scape surrounding their encampments their respective coats of arms. The distinguished traveler, Jonathan Carver, (q. v.) was the first to call attention to the mounds by describing those near Lake Pepin.
Moundville, a discontinued postoffice in Marquette county.
Mountain, a post town of 150 people on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Oconto county, 50 miles west of Oconto, the county seat.
Mount Calvary, a post village with a population of 500 on the Sheboygan river, Fond du Lac county, 13 miles northeast of Fond du Lac, the county seat.
Mount Hope, a post town of 200 inhabitants in Grant county, 13 miles northwest of Lancaster, the county seat.
Mount Horeb, an incorporated village in Dane county and a sta- tion on the C. & N. W. Ry., 23 miles southwest of Madison, the county seat. The population of 1,003 supports two banks and two weekly newspapers, the Mail and the Times.
Mount Ida, a post town of 100 people in Grant county, 11 miles northwest of Lancaster, the county seat.
Mount Morris, a post settlement of Waushara county, 7 miles northeast of Wantoma, the county seat. It has a population of 100.
Mount Sterling, a post town of 200 people in Crawford county, 28 miles northeast of Prairie du Chien, the county seat.
Mount Tabor, a postoffice of 25 people in Vernon county. Viro- qua, the county seat, is 36 miles southwest.
Mount Vernon, a discontinued postoffice in Dane county.
Mud Lake is in Washburn county. Shell Lake, the county seat, is on its shore.
Mukwonago, a post village of Waukesha county on the Fox
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river, and a station on the W. C. Ry., 12 miles southwest of Wan- kesha, the county seat.
Municipalities, League of Wisconsin .- This organization was effected in 1897 by the mayors of the cities of the state, for the purpose of stimulating interest in city government through co- operation and discussion. It holds annual meetings at which pa- pers upon municipal problems are read and discussed.
Murry, a post town of 250 people on the Chippewa river in Rusk county, 18 miles northwest of Ladysmith, the county seat.
Muscoda, an incorporated village of Grant county on the Wis- consin river and a station on the C., M. & St. P. Ry., 41 miles cast of Lancaster, the county seat. There is a population of 735 which supports a bank and a weekly newspaper, the Valley Voice.
Muskego, a post town of 100 people in Waukesha county, 10 miles southeast of Waukesha, the county seat.
Muskego Creek is the outlet of Wind lake, Racine county, flow- ing south to join the Fox river at Rochester.
Muskego Lake is situated in Waukesha county. Mukwanago is the nearest railroad station.
Mylrea, a country postoffice and a station on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Marathon county, Wausau, the county scat, being 7 miles dis- tant.
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