The Milwaukee–Watertown Plank Road , known more commonly in the modern era as the Watertown Plank Road , was a plank road important to the early development of southeastern Wisconsin , especially to its terminal cities Milwaukee and Watertown , in the period shortly after statehood. Construction began in 1848 and it was completed in 1853. According to former Watertown Daily Times editor Tom Schultz, portions of the plank road extended past Watertown to the Town of Portland:
16-481: My Hubbleton friend said he could remember probably back in the 1950s when highway 19 was being reconstruced in the Hubbleton area, that under the pavement, construction crews found remnants of the old Plank Road. Many of the planks were still there. That certainly confirmed that the road west west of Watertown quite a ways. An early manuscript by James A. Sheridan said the “foundation for a prosperous village (Portland)
32-745: A member of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin , but later became a member of the Republican Party of Wisconsin . Crocker was born in Dublin , Ireland in 1815, and emigrated to the United States with his family. He was raised in Utica, New York . After high school, he moved to Chicago, Illinois , where he studied law privately. Crocker is closely associated with Byron Kilbourn and his projects to develop Milwaukee and Wisconsin over
48-475: A prosperous village (Portland) was laid around 1850 which was on the line of the Milwaukee and Watertown Plank Road.” In early frontier Wisconsin there were no roads or railroads. There were trails, which were expanded into wagon roads. In good conditions they bumped over barely-covered stumps; when it was wet they were churned into strings of mud-holes. In the 1840s the ideas of railroads and plank roads swept
64-606: The Kilbourntown area himself. He stayed on as editor for a few months before entering into a private law practice in the area. He would continue to practice law privately until 1844. Crocker was actively involved in the political and legal fields in Wisconsin. Crocker served as private secretary to Henry Dodge , the first governor of the Wisconsin Territory , in 1836. In 1838 he was Judge Advocate General of
80-620: The Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad in 1857, and vice-president of the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Railroad in 1858. In 1856, a private ship named the Hans Crocker was commissioned in Milwaukee. It eventually would be stranded near Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1876. Crocker married Augusta Potter on March 21, 1844. He died at age 73 and is buried in Milwaukee's Forest Home Cemetery . Milwaukee-Watertown Plank Road The Milwaukee–Watertown Plank Road , known more commonly in
96-466: The Town of Portland: My Hubbleton friend said he could remember probably back in the 1950s when highway 19 was being reconstruced in the Hubbleton area, that under the pavement, construction crews found remnants of the old Plank Road. Many of the planks were still there. That certainly confirmed that the road west west of Watertown quite a ways. An early manuscript by James A. Sheridan said the “foundation for
112-533: The Wisconsin Territorial Guard. From 1842 to 1844, he served two terms in the upper house of the territorial assembly. In 1853, he served one term as mayor of Milwaukee . He was a Wisconsin delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention which selected Abraham Lincoln as its candidate for the presidency . Crocker also was involved in the development of public improvements in the area, especially those devised by Kilbourn. Crocker
128-473: The line to the other is lined with fragments of wagons, barrels of flour, boxes of goods, etc. The price of freight has more than doubled. The original incorporators of the company which built the road were Elisha Eldred, Hans Crocker , Joshua Hathaway and Eliphalet Cramer, with Eldred as the first President. The terms of the company's charter allowed them to charge a toll, and they made as much as $ 1300 per week on an initial construction investment of $ 119,000. It
144-479: The modern era as the Watertown Plank Road , was a plank road important to the early development of southeastern Wisconsin , especially to its terminal cities Milwaukee and Watertown , in the period shortly after statehood. Construction began in 1848 and it was completed in 1853. According to former Watertown Daily Times editor Tom Schultz, portions of the plank road extended past Watertown to
160-429: The plank road from this place to Milwaukee. The going has never been worse. The road from one end of the line to the other is lined with fragments of wagons, barrels of flour, boxes of goods, etc. The price of freight has more than doubled. The original incorporators of the company which built the road were Elisha Eldred, Hans Crocker , Joshua Hathaway and Eliphalet Cramer, with Eldred as the first President. The terms of
176-473: The state and the state granted charters for companies to raise money to build the roads and then collect tolls on them. In 1848, with growing pressure to improve the road from Milwaukee to Watertown, the Watertown Chronicle expressed dissatisfaction with the state of the old non-plank stage road: The stage road for some weeks past should form a powerful appeal to farmers and traders in favor of
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#1732781158001192-490: The state granted charters for companies to raise money to build the roads and then collect tolls on them. In 1848, with growing pressure to improve the road from Milwaukee to Watertown, the Watertown Chronicle expressed dissatisfaction with the state of the old non-plank stage road: The stage road for some weeks past should form a powerful appeal to farmers and traders in favor of the plank road from this place to Milwaukee. The going has never been worse. The road from one end of
208-608: The years. Crocker first moved to Milwaukee in 1836 and became the first editor of the Milwaukee's first newspaper, the Milwaukee Advertiser . The Advertiser served as Kilbourn's trumpet to promote settlement in Kilbourntown , the area on the west side of the Milwaukee River where he owned large tracts of land, over settlement in the neighboring Juneautown . In fact, Crocker bought tracts of land in
224-765: Was canal commissioner in 1839, president of the Milwaukee Board of Trade in 1850, director of the Milwaukee and Watertown Plank Road and president of the Lake Hydraulic Company in 1852, director of Kilbourn's Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad and president of the Milwaukee Gas and Light Company in 1853, commissioner reporting on the Fox River Valley Railroad in 1856, receiver for the Portage and La Crosse Division of
240-483: Was heavily used until the completion of the Watertown Railroad in 1855. Truman H. Judd , later a Milwaukee industrialist and state legislator, was the principal contractor, and served as the road's superintendent for four years after he completed construction. Hans Crocker Hans Crocker (June 11, 1815 – March 16, 1889) was an American lawyer and Wisconsin politician. He began his career as
256-399: Was laid around 1850 which was on the line of the Milwaukee and Watertown Plank Road.” In early frontier Wisconsin there were no roads or railroads. There were trails, which were expanded into wagon roads. In good conditions they bumped over barely-covered stumps; when it was wet they were churned into strings of mud-holes. In the 1840s the ideas of railroads and plank roads swept the state and
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