FREMONT TOWNSHIP, CLARK COUNTY, WISCONSIN HISTORY
"Clark County Illustrated" by Saterlee, Tifft & Marsh; 1890
Transcribed by Ann Brown

Fremont Township, Wisconsin, which consists of one township, lies in the eastern part of Clark County and about ten miles from the county seat. It was first organized as a separate town in the year 1873. It is one of the undeveloped towns of the county, taken as a whole, although the eastern and northern parts of the town have been settled for several years, and there are quite a number of farms in these parts of the town which rank among the best in the county. The town was formerly, and still is in parts, rich in hardwood predominates. The town was settled by people from different parts of the east, and also by people from the southern part of this state. Many of the farmers who now reside in this town are wealthy, and have splendid farms and fine residences, and are doing a profitable business, who came to this county a few years ago in almost destitute circumstances; some of them having barely enough money to get here. They purchased a forty or an eighty acre tract of land, cut the timber, for which they found a ready market, either after it was sawed into lumber or while it was in the log, and in this way paid for their land. As soon as the timber was cut they found a rich, productive soil where all kinds of grains, grasses and vegetables can be produced in abundance, and where all branches of agriculture can be carried on successfully. The surface of the town is, on the whole, what might be called slightly rolling.

There are numerous streams flowing through the town; the most important of which is the west branch of Yellow River. The main branch of the same river flows through the extreme northeastern corner of the town. The source of the O'Neill creek is also in this town.

The Webster Manufacturing Company has a factory in the town for manufacturing the oak and other hardwood timbers into lumber, staves, spokes, etc. There is also a Broom Handle factory in the central part of the town, run by C. M. Breed, which utilizes large quantities of basswood timber. There are other mills in the town, which manufacture lumber exclusively.

The natural resources of the town will soon be made more valuable by two or three lines of railroad, which will pass through this section of the country. The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha extension, on which the iron is now being laid, and which will soon be in operation, extends through the southern part of the town. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road, which extends through the heart of the county and is now being graded, passes through the western part of the town, and the Wisconsin Central, when completed, will pass through the northeastern part. Within one year the town will, without doubt, have these three lines of road passing through it, making the timber and other products much more valuable by opening it up to several markets, and cutting off the expenses of hauling by team across the country to a railroad. Although the growth of the town has heretofore been slow, we predict that it will double in population and wealth within the coming five years. It already has excellent highways extending through all parts of the town that are settled, and many roads are being opened up in the uninhabited portions of the town. The schools have received much attention, and several fine school buildings have been erected and furnished, throughout the town.

There are no villages in the town, and its growth has been steady, and good for a farming community, as the following figures will show: In 1875 the population of the town was 127; in 1880 it numbered 203; in 1885 it had reached 243 and it is estimated at 400 at the present time.

The chairman of this town and member of the county board, who is also chairman of the county board, is Ira Fike; the town clerk is E. A. Webster, the treasurer is August Prust, and the assessor is O. F. Rollins.