HISTORY OF WOOD COUNTY



   To supplement the above it may be said that W. A. Sexton and his brother
bought out Miner, who had previously (about 1881) bought Renne's drug store
and had moved it into the building just south of the present Blodgett Hotel.
When the Hinman block was built, in the fall of 1882, Miner moved into that,
paying $16 1-3 per month rent to Hinman & Vannedon. Dr. F. L. Hinman
then
went into partnership with him. Sexton was first located where the Winterburn
drug store is now.
   W. G. Hinman and W. H. Upham conducted a furniture store located on the
site of the present Adler block. What is now the First National Bank was
then
known as the Marshfield Bank, or sometimes colloquially as "Arnold's"
Bank,
and was conducted by L. A. and C. B. Arnold, their father, G. M. Arnold,
also
having an interest in the concern. The Marshfield Times was then conducted
by C. A. Coon, who in the same year (1883) bought out the Gazette. Within
the
three previous years, from 1880 to 1883, two German papers had been started,
it
is said-the Herald and the Wochenblatt-but had failed, and it was not until
the following year, 1884, that H. J. Pankow established a successful German
paper, the Demokrat, which is the present Wochenblatt.
   The advertisements in the Times in 1883 show that there were quite a number
of other business and professional men, besides several women, established
in
Marshfield at this time, and as these advertisers were probably the most
energetic
and successful representatives of their class, their names and respective
lines of
business, in spite of some repetitions, are here given. They were as follows:
   W. A. Sexton, druggist; Ludolph Wallesen, bricklayer; T. F. Vannedon,
con-
tractor; John Luis, proprietor of Eagle Hotel; Marshfield Bank, conducted
by
Arnold Bros.; Mrs. M. J. Platt, pianos; P. H. Held & Co., hardware; A.
Hoerl,
meat market; Syme Bros. & Maurer, stave and heading factory; W. H. Budge,
drugs and chemicals; Miner & Hinman, druggists; C. M. Upham & Bros.,
lumber;
B. Elvis, jeweler; W. G. Hinman & Co., furniture; J. R. Reilly, insurance;
Merkel
Bros., meat market; Miss E. M. Rowan, milliner; S. G. McMillin, law office;
C. Bulmall, boarding-house; Peter Bogrand, photographer; C. B. Warfield &
Bros., grocers; J. H. Morel, liquor dealer; Weber & McGraw, house movers;
G. W.
Keyes, restaurant; J. R. Lawsha, proprietor of the New Cash Store; Carpenter
& Felter, carpenters and builders; Dr. Lathrop, physician and surgeon.
   Marshfield in 1882 paid one-fifth of the state and county taxes raised
in Wood
County. It cast one-sixth of the total votes. A tax of $3523 was paid for
school
houses and the support of schools. The furniture factory turned out fifty
bed-
steads a day. During one week of that year there were six buildings erected.
The Upham Company turned out 15,000 shingles per day and the stave factory
made 25,000 staves each day. The following item from the Times in 1882 shows
the pride the town took in its booming conditions: " The Spencer House
at Spencer
stands vacant. Nothing like it can be found here."
   After the city was incorporated the first public action taken was to secure
fire protection. The carts, hose and pump were procured. The waterworks
system was very limited at that time. It was also at a disadvantage, for
there was
no way of telling the ward when an alarm was given. But, notwithstanding,
this new fire department was the talk of the town for a time. An advertisement
for the Fourth of July,- 1883, is somewhat amusing to us now: "To outsiders



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