MENOMINEE VILLAGE HOME

The first settlers to what is now the city of Oconto found a long established Menominee Indian Village with an extensive network of trade for the many goods and services that they skillfully provided to other tribes. The Menominee people were highly respected among their peers as eminently accomplished in business and travel.. 

MAIN STREET OCONTO -
looking West
1907

Fancy architecture, like the dome of this building and the adornments of the building fronts attested to the Victorian ideal of a successful community. City of Oconto was considered quite attractive among towns her size. and immigrant county families proudly sent postcards "home" to show off their County  Seat.

RAILROAD STATION OCONTO
C:1900

Note the stagecoach awaiting the train's arrival. Passengers who were not met by someone with transportation could purchase rides to nearby towns. Dray services were available for hauling orders of goods to shops and homes. These could be as small as a set of earrings, or as large as a two story, 4 bedroom Sears Home Building Kit, complete with foundation blocks, instructions and all building materials, inside and out.

MAIN STREET - OCONTO
1915

Colorful, busy and bustling, the city of Oconto had all that a successful county seat could offer. Shops, business of all kinds, services and especially to those from "the sticks" , a tremendous eyeful of fun and excitement. The economy was now diversified to include not only lumbering, but all forms of agriculture and manufacturing.

1907 OCONTO COUNTY
COURT HOUSE FIRE

The fire started in the clock tower and rapidly spread along the roof destroying all but the ground floor and outer walls. Since the fire was of a long duration, there was plenty of time for residents to gather and photographers to take pictures used on postcards. Note the ladders and fire hose.

The Armory, build with great pride shortly after the Civil War ended (1865) was used to train and as a meeting and social hall for members of the Oconto Army Reserve. It was destroyed by city fire that also leveled other commercial and private buildings.

HOLT LUMBER COMPANY SAWDUST BURNERS (LEFT)

 The river was dredged and Great Lakes Windjammers and steamboats could travel directly to the Port of Oconto, two miles "upstream". Sawdust was used to "pave" muddy city streets to prevent wagon wheels from digging deep into ruts. Once the dry summer came, much of the sawdust blew up against the foundations of building causing tremendous fire hazards. Eventually lumber mill waste was  burned continually day and night on the island in the river. Residents sat on their front porches at night watching the glowing ski around the burners.

GREAT LAKES SAILING VESSELS

Copious amounts of waste sawdust from the early mills were dumped into the river to wash into the lake. Soon the river was so thickly clogged that navigation up river was impossible by lake boats. By 1846 when Mrs. Lindsey arrived to settle, all people, freight, and animals had to be off loaded into Bateau canoes for the journey up stream to the city of Oconto. She recalled that the wet sawdust masses were so thick in spots that a person could walk on them. Like this "Windjammer", the sailing ships, which carried the milled lumber to Milwaukee and Chicago, had to anchor 2 miles downstream at the mouth of the Oconto River and wait for barges to bring the cargo to them, a time consuming and costly waste.