|
|
 |
| Appleton
History Important Events in Appleton History |
Appleton Timeline
1634
Jean Nicolet and his party of explorers become the first Europeans to pass through what is now Appleton.
1790
Dominque Ducharme becomes the first person of European descent to live in the Appleton area when he built a home and trading post where the city of Kaukauna is today.
1822
Eleazar Williams led a group of New York Indians to their new reservation west of Green Bay.
1827
At a site on Little Lake Butte des Morts, Michigan Territorial Governor Lewis Cass negotiated a treaty with the Indian leaders that gave the United States government control over almost all of the Fox River Valley.
1834
The United States government made the first survey of the Fox River Valley, beginning with the area south of the river.
1835
Hippolyte "Paul" Grignon built his home and trading post, White Heron, near what is now Appleton's Lutz Park. Grignon, along with his wife Lisette and their children Elinor and Simon, became the first settlers to live in what would one day be the city of Appleton.
Walter L. Newberry and Joshua Hathaway, Jr., land speculators from Chicago and Milwaukee, became the first to buy land that would one day be a part of Appleton.
1836
On September 3, Wisconsin Territorial Governor Henry Dodge, representing the U.S. government, purchased about four million acres of Northeastern Wisconsin from the native Indians. On February 15, 1837, the treaty became official and the Indians began moving from their homeland to a new location beyond the Wolf River.
1843
The U.S. government began surveying the land north of the Fox River.
1844
Eleazar Williams made a loan agreement with Amos A. Lawrence, using his wife's land on the Fox River for collateral. Williams later defaulted on the loan, and Mr. Lawrence took possession of the property.
1845
Paul Grignon bought the land on which he had lived for the past ten years, becoming the first to purchase land north of the Fox River that would one day be a part of Appleton.
The Reverend Reeder Smith met with Amos A. Lawrence to discuss establishing a college on the Eleazar Williams property in Wisconsin.
1846
Bela Murch became the first farmer to settle in what is now Appleton on November 6.
1847
Reeder Smith purchased land on behalf of Amos A. Lawrence as a site for the Lawrence Institute.
The Wisconsin Territorial Legislature granted a charter to the Lawrence Institute on January 17.
1848
Wisconsin Methodist Church leaders raised the $10,000 necessary to match Amos A. Lawrence's gift of $10,000 to endow the Lawrence Institute.
Wisconsin entered the union as the 30th state on May 29.
On August 4, the Reverend Reeder Smith, the Reverend William H. Sampson, Joel S. Wright, a surveyor, and Henry Blood, a Methodist volunteer, moved onto the Lawrence Institute land and began laying out the plots for the school and for a village.
On October 7, land was cleared for the first Lawrence Institute building.
The name "Appleton" was first used for the tiny village that was growing around the Lawrence Institute. The village was named to honor Sarah Appleton, the wife of Amos Lawrence, and Samuel Appleton, her father's cousin, who donated money to the Lawrence Institute.
1849
The first meeting of the Township of Grand Chute was held in the village of Appleton on April 3.
On July 3, construction began on the first Lawrence Institute building.
The three villages of Appleton, Lawesburg, and Martin (later called Grand Chute) were established.
The name of the Lawrence Institute was changed to Lawrence University and on November 12, the first classes began with 35 students.
1850
Between September 2 and 10, the first United States census was taken in the area, showing a population of 619 people in the Grand Chute Township.
The first school opened in Appleton.
1851
On February 17, Outagamie County was created by the State Legislature, with Grand Chute as the county seat.
In April, the first county elections were held.
The first meeting of the Outagamie County Board was held in Appleton on April 18.
1852
The Appleton Water Power Company was incorporated to construct dams and reservoirs on the Fox River.
1853
The cornerstone for Lawrence University's Main Hall was laid.
The village of Appleton was incorporated, encompassing the former villages of Lawesburg, Appleton, and Grand Chute.
On April 14, the first meeting of the Appleton Village Board was held. John F. Johnston was elected village president.
Samuel Appleton died at his home in Boston on July 12.
1854
The village of Appleton was divided into two fire districts, east and west of Appleton Street, and a fire warden was appointed for each district.
The system of Fox River Locks and canals began operating. A boat from the Mississippi River met a boat from the Great Lakes for the first time at Appleton.
Appleton's liquor ordinance was repealed, legalizing the sale and possession of alcohol.
1857
Appleton was incorporated as a city on May 2.
Amos A. Lawrence visited Appleton for the first time and inspected the school named for him in May.
1861
The Chicago-Northwestern Railroad was extended to Appleton from Neenah and Menasha. Trains started serving Appleton for the first time on February 27.
1863
The Lawrence Engine Company was formed with Appleton's first fire engine.
1865
The Appleton City Gas Light Company was incorporated.
1866
The Appleton City Railway Company was incorporated to provide streetcar service to the city of Appleton. Horses provided power for the streetcars.
A successful movement began to urge the public to plant shade trees in the city.
1869
The United States Supreme Court ruled for Lawrence University and against the claims of Edward Meade, resolving a long dispute over ownership of Appleton's downtown property.
1870
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an early leader of the women's rights movement, visited Appleton.
1872
Riverside Cemetery was established, with the remains of pioneers moved from Appleton's first cemetery at the present site of The Post-Crescent newspaper offices.
The United States government bought the Fox Locks for $145,000.
1874
Victoria Woodhall, a prominent figure in the women's rights movement, delivered a lecture in Appleton entitled, "Tried as by Fire, or the True and False Society."
1878
Famous speaker Henry Ward Beecher spoke in Appleton on "Wastes and Burdens of Society."
1880
The Appleton Telephone Company was organized with 23 patrons.
1881
All of Appleton was united into one school district.
1882
On Saturday night, September 30, the Vulcan Paper Company and the Hearthstone, the business and the home of H.J. Rogers, became the first buildings in the world lighted by the Edison system generating electricity by water power.
The Appleton Gas Light Company received permission to string wires for electric lights in the city.
1883
Fox River Paper Corporation was established.
1885
The Appleton Edison Light Company was organized.
1886
On August 16, the Appleton Electric Street Railway Company began operation with a track running for four miles, from the intersection of State and Prospect Streets in the west, to the Pacific Street entrance to Riverside Cemetery in the east.
Amos A. Lawrence died of heart disease in Boston on August 22.
The Thompson and Houston Electric Light Company of Boston received the franchise to provide electric lights for the city.
A Board of Public Works was established and plans were made for a sewer system in the city of Appleton.
1892
Reeder Smith died at his home in Appleton on January 24.
1893
John F. Johnston, considered Appleton's first resident, died at his Appleton home.
1898
Appleton was connected by streetcar to Neenah and Menasha.
1899
St. Elizabeth Hospital was established.
1900
On March 28, Appleton's new City Hall and Library building was dedicated. It was the first building constructed specifically for those purposes.
1904
Ryan High School was destroyed by fire. The following year, Union High School was completed to replace it. Union High School is now Appleton Central High School.
1908
Lawrence University changes its name to Lawrence College.
1911
The Soldiers' Square monument was dedicated.
On October 26, President William Howard Taft spoke at Lawrence University.
For the next seven years, Appleton was governed by a commission form of government.
1912
An ice jam on the Fox River caused flooding at the electric power plant on January 10. The city was without electricity as 100 men worked to unblock the ice jam in a temperature of 22 degrees below zero.
1920
Appleton's two newspapers, The Appleton Post and the Appleton Crescent, merged their operations and became the Appleton Post-Crescent.
1924
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Drive Bridge was completed.
1925
Edna Ferber, the author who spent her teen years in Appleton, won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel So Big.
Street addresses in the city of Appleton were changed to provide greater organization and consistency.
1926
Erich Weiss, better known as the magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, died on Halloween night in Detroit, Michigan. Houdini spent his childhood in Appleton where his father, Mayer Samuel Weiss, served as a rabbi.
1929
The Institute of Paper Chemistry was organized in Appleton.
A record low temperature of thirty-two degrees below zero was recorded in Appleton.
1930
The last electric streetcar ran on April 6.
1932
The Irving Zuelke Office Building opened in downtown Appleton. This 168-foot building was the tallest in Appleton until 1952, when AAL built their 183-foot downtown office building.
1936
On July 13, a temperature of 107 was reached, the highest temperature ever recorded in Appleton.
1938
Appleton West High School was built on Badger Avenue.
1949
Appleton's Memorial Hospital was chartered by the state.
1953
Fox Valley Lutheran High School opened.
1955
On April 27, the Lawe Street Bridge opened over the Fox River.
1957
United States Senator Joseph McCarthy, a resident of Appleton who gained world-wide fame for his work against communism and who was condemned by the Senate for his methods, died in Washington D.C., and was buried in Appleton's St. Mary's Cemetery.
1958
The Appleton Foxes baseball team was established in affiliation with the Washington Senators. Since 1987 the Foxes have been affiliated with the Kansas City Royals.
1959
Xavier Catholic High School opened.
On December 19, the College Avenue Bridge opened over the Fox River. It replaced the John Street Bridge.
1960
The John Street Bridge was torn down on February 2.
1964
Appleton native Rocky Bleier graduated from Appleton's Xavier High School and entered Notre Dame University on a football scholarship. Bleier, despite severe injuries suffered while serving in the Vietnam War, went on to a championship career in professional football.
Lawrence College merged with Downer College and became Lawrence University.
1967
Carrie E. Morgan, for 30 years the superintendent of Appleton public schools, died in her home on October 14. She was 100 years old.
On July 1, the Fox Valley Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education District was created.
College Avenue, Appleton's main street, was reconstructed. The rebuilt street opened October 1.
Appleton East High School opened.
1971
Passenger railroad service from Appleton ended on May 7.
1972
The Fox Valley Technical Institute opened in the town of Grand Chute. In 1987 the name was changed to the Fox Valley Technical College.
1979
The new Lawe Street Bridge was dedicated on October 24.
1980
The new Oneida Skyline Bridge opened over the Fox River on October 31.
1981
On June 1, the Appleton Public Library opened its new Oneida Street building on the site of the old City Hall.
1984
The Fox River Mall opened in the Town of Grand Chute on July 18.
The Outagamie Museum was established in the former Masonic Temple building on College Avenue.
1985
Houdini Plaza, located near the site of Harry Houdini's boyhood home, was dedicated on May 25. The plaza's sculpture, Metamorphosis, by Richard C. Wolter, was also unveiled that day.
Appleton's Memorial Hospital was renamed Appleton Medical Center or AMC.
1986
The Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region Inc. started with a $5,000 gift from retired AAL President Walter L. Rugland. The Foundation manages endowments and distributes funds to area charities and organizations. (P.C. 5-22-2001, A-1)
Appleton was profiled in the August 11 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine.
In August two new elementary schools, Horizon School and Houdini School, were opened.
1987
Willem Dafoe (a.k.a. William Dafoe), who was born and raised in Appleton, was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his work in the 1986 film Platoon.
The Avenue, Appleton's downtown mall, opened on March 12.
On June 12, Fox River Oracle, a sculpture by Dimitri Hadzi, was dedicated at a site just off the Oneida Street Bridge.
Appleton Christian School was opened on August 17.
1988
For the first time in its 116 year history, all 17 locks in the Fox River Locks System were closed. From this year on, only three of the locks would be re-opened, those in De Pere, Menasha, and Kaukauna.
1989
Appleton Aurora, a 60-foot-by-10-foot solar sculpture by Dale Eldred, was installed atop the Appleton Center in Houdini Plaza.
The John Birch Society moved its headquarters to Appleton.
On August 1, Appleton's first woman firefighter began work.
The Appleton Library Foundation was established to create an endowment fund for the Appleton Public Library. As part of the fund-raising efforts, the entertainer Bob Hope spent 4 days in Appleton and Neenah, from August 23 to the 27.
On April 1, the Houdini Historical Center opened in the Outagamie Museum.
The Institute of Paper Chemistry relocated to Georgia and became the Institute of Paper Science and Technology.
1990
Valley Transit's transfer center opened in downtown Appleton on March 1.
1991
In August, two new elementary schools opened in Appleton, Edna Ferber and Janet Berry Schools.
1992
The Viking Theater in Appleton closed on March 22.
On April 15, Appleton began enforcing a nightly curfew for those under the age of 18.
The Fox Cities Children's Museum opened in the Avenue Mall on November 2.
1993
On September 24, the Tri County Expressway or 441 Bypass, opened to the public.
1994
On May 16, the Fox Valley Veterans Clinic opened.
On September 16, a grand opening was held for Appleton City Hall at its new location in the City Center Building, 100 N. Appleton St.
1995
On April 20, Fox Cities Stadium, the new home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers minor league baseball team, had its grand opening.
Appleton Public Library became the first library in the state of Wisconsin to have its own Home Page on the World Wide Web.
Appleton's North High School opened on August 27.
1996
Tim Hanna was named Mayor of Appleton after a recount of votes from the March 16 election and a series of court decisions.
On August 2, the Ring Dance sculpture by Dallas Anderson was unveiled at Appleton's City Park.
Lawrence University celebrated its 150th anniversary.
The former City Hall at 200 N. Appleton St. was razed on October 16.
1997
The Appleton Public Library celebrated 100 years of service.
On December 13, Appleton's new Emergency Shelter on Division St. was opened.
1998
Vice President Al Gore visited Appleton Central High School on September 22.
2000
On August 25, Fox Valley Lutheran High School relocated to its new campus on North Meade Street.
2001
On June 27, the Aid Association for Lutherans, a fraternal benefits society and one of the Appleton’s largest employers, announced its merger with Lutheran Brotherhood. The combined company, later renamed Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, established its headquarters in Minneapolis while retaining operations in Appleton.
2002
College Avenue was re-constructed with areas of colored pavement, new trees and streetlights, and sidewalk “bump-outs” at the corners. The street re-opened for traffic on August 1.
In August, the downtown Avenue Mall was renamed City Center Plaza.
2002
The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center opened in downtown Appleton on November 24.
2004
President George W. Bush visited Appleton twice. On March 30, he spoke to representatives of local business at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. On July 14, he passed through the city on a re-election campaign bus tour.
In September, work began to clean sediments contaminated with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) from the Fox River.
On September 16, the federal government turned over ownership of the Fox River locks to the state of Wisconsin. A fundraising plan to restore and operate the locks was launched.
2005
On February 26, the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame and its interactive museum, the Paper Discovery Center, opened in the former Atlas Mill at 425 W. Water St., along the banks of the Fox River. The Hall of Fame was founded in 1993, with its first induction ceremony in 1995. The 1878 Atlas Mill was donated to the Hall of Fame by the Kimberly Clark Corporation in 1999. (P.C. 2-27-2005, C-1)
The Big Picture Theater of Adventure & Discovery, the area’s first large-screen film theater, opened in downtown Appleton in March. Due to low attendance, the theater closed in the fall of 2006. (Post-Crescent, 10-7-2006, A-1)
On July 1, a workplace smoking ban took effect in the city of Appleton. The ban, approved by voters in an April referendum, made Appleton the second city in Wisconsin (after Madison) to prohibit smoking in taverns. (P.C. 7-1-2005, A-1)
On September 14, Lawrence University’s radio station, WLFM-FM 91.1, broadcast for the last time as the station converted to an Internet webcasting format. The station had begun in 1956 as the Fox Valley’s first FM station. (P.C. 9-15-2005, C-1)
2006
In April, work began on the two million dollar restoration of the four Appleton locks on the Fox River. This was the first of three phases planned to restore the 14 locks that had been closed since the mid-1980s. The estimated cost of the complete restoration was $150 million. (P.C. 9-16-2006, B-1)
Back to the Appleton History Index
home | libraries & catalogs | internet | community | magazines & newspapers | kid's home page | search
Appleton Public Library / 225 N. Oneida
St. / Appleton, Wisconsin 54911-4780 (920) 832-6170
contact
us: who to call or write / feedback
/ ask a librarian
Latest revision 05/07/2007