FIRST SETTL    ITS IN AND NEAR MARATHON

These settlers were Robert Schilling,John Linder#Thoms Peternick, Joseph Hassle,
Michael Baur,Franis Tigges, and Anton Koester. Some were single, some had families.
They remained together for a while, putting up two temporary log huts in tboproposed
village, umtil to each was pointed out. his particular land by, a surveyor. They then
began to work on their own lands, putting up huts and helping each other.
During the am= season came George Vetter, George Lang, Joseph Seliger, and John
Vogedes all club members. Vogedes died in the same year and his death made a    deep
and lasting impression on the remaining ones. A few other not belonging to the club
arrived, among them Mathias Halkowits, who went as far as the present town of Wien,
and Bernard Hilber who settled near Marathon City.
Others came and after finding themselves in an immense forest, without signs of
civilization, such am: roads, schools, churohes, and the absence of a~lconveniences
which seemed an absolute necessity for cultured people,returned if they had themem
leaving in disgust.   Bat those who had not the means, and most of them were in this
condition,had no choice; they stayed and took up the fight forexistence as best they
could.
Most arrived the following year,among them Anthony Schilling, who had been a fire-
man on the Masissippi steamboats.   Others who came during this year and remained
were Joseph Schuster, a bachelor, who taught school for many years in this community,
John Sturm, another teacher,Peter Heil, John Lemmer all from Pittsburgh, and Charles
Marquardt, Fred Haman, and William Garbrecht coming directly from Germany.
Soon afterwards cam Jacob Duerstein, who 8ett~.ed in the town of Wien, so named
because of the first settler in that township, Math Halkowitz,had come from the city
of Vienna (Wien). Halkowits had been a ladies tailor in Vienna, and to exchange the
needle for the axe and plow was not an easy matter fohim. When asked why he settled
so far from the other settlers he said he had boughbhis land in Pittsburgh fromand
speculators, and was shown a plat representing the city of Marathon, showing the
steamboat landing, church, school house, market square,and was told that the country
was well settled with more settlers streaming into  the area.   Believing  in  these
statements,he did not want to be too close to the city, because he wished to keep
cattle and expected to have more pasture room some distance from Marathon Cityso he
took  up the land eight miles further west. WhenIe arrived at Mosinee the group of
settlers going to Marathon City had not yet arrived. He found neither a road nor a
Path to go there so he returned to BerlinWisconsin and waited for some of the other
settlers with whom he came to Mosinee again. These were not the very first settlers
who went to Marathon City by Canoe, but the second arrivals. They then made a. sort
of road to Marathon City and had a surveyor show him the land eight miles further
west.
The first troop of settlers arriving in the summrof 1857 built two houses on the
east side of Main Street just south of the river which they used until their houses
on their lands were located and advanced far enough to be habitable. All houses were
of course, log houses, as no lumber could be procured nearer than Mosinee, and there
was no road to Mousinee,nor anywhere else for that mtter,except a trail throuh dark
thick forest. The village was laid out,but there was hardly any settlement for, years.
Anton Koester and John Linder being the on  sons mnliving in the platted part.  This
was the modest beginning of farming in MarathanCounty from which sprang up the weal-
thy farming commities of today, which compare well with much older settlements in
eastern and middle states.

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