History

The first settler on the site was William St. Thomas who, in April of 1871 built a claim shanty here and began to build some land for cultivation. For some time, he also kept a tavern. In May the same year, John and Robert Conner arrived and began improvements of a permanent and progressive character, John the following month erecting a house of square logs. Robert soon after put up a log building which served for a store and residence combined. The two brothers worked independently for awhile, but later formed a partnership which lasted four or five years, at which time Robert bought John out. Together, they purchased a considerable amount of property in this section and laid out a plan for a village. They also opened a general store.

In 1872, a shingle mill was erected at what is now the east end of the village by F.W. Kingsbury & Brother, and this mill was in active operation until its destruction by fire in December 1880. A sawmill was erected in the summer of 1874, at the west end of the village, by Hoskins & Row from Mineral Point, who ran it until the winter of 1876, when it was bought by Robert Conner who ran it until the early eighties after which O.W. Sanders bought it and continued its operation until the timber in the vicinity was all cut..

In 1878, R. Conner built a planing-mill to run in conjunction with the sawmill, but it burned down about two years later. The line of the Wisconsin Central Railroad, built through this region in September 1871, made it a good point for the lumbering business. The road erected a station and established a telegraph and express office