The passage below about the formation of Brown County in 1840 further elaborates on the La Fontaine railroad story as explained in this blog back in April:
Brown County 1840
The " town system" is adopted, and the county
is divided into four towns — Green Bay, Depere, Kakalin and Howard.
The town of Kakalin is on the Neenah (Fox) River, in the south
part of the county. The Grand Kakalin rapids, from which this town derives its
name, is near the middle of the town. It is the principal and most noted rapids
of the Neenah. In a space of eight thousand six hundred feet, according to the
survey of Capt. Cram, there is a descent, over horizontal strata of limestone
rock, of forty-four feet.
The river is here divided, by about thirty small islands,
into numerous small channels. On approaching, and upon leaving these rapids, it
has a direction nearly northeast, but upon the rapids it is deflected to a due
east course. The Konkapot creek enters the river from the south, at these rapids; and a town, called La Fontaine, has been laid out near their foot. Stone, of
excellent quality for building, may be quarried here in abundance. A company has been incorporated
to construct a railroad from this point to Lake Winnebago. Bridgeport, or
Waupakun, is situated at the mouth of Plum Creek, in this town, about two miles
below Rapide de Croche. From this place a survey has been made for a canal to
Cliffton (High Cliff), on Lake Winnebago. The length of the route is fourteen miles and five
hundred and eighty feet: a feeder from the north branch of the Manitowoc
river, nearly two miles in length, would be necessary.
The summit is eighty-five feet and fifty-one hundredths above
Lake Winnebago, and the Manitowoc, at the head of the proposed feeder, is sixty-eight
feet above that lake. By the construction of this canal the rapids of the
Neenah would be avoided. The population of the town of Kakalin, in 1842, was
251.
from: Wisconsin: Its Geography, and Topography, History, Geology, and Mineralogy, Increase Allen Lapham; Milwaukee: I.A. Hopkins, pub (1846)
map courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society, viewed online at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org on 9 Jul 15
from: Wisconsin: Its Geography, and Topography, History, Geology, and Mineralogy, Increase Allen Lapham; Milwaukee: I.A. Hopkins, pub (1846)
map courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society, viewed online at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org on 9 Jul 15
A great read!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping up the interest in Menasha's history. Agree with DRC and we do need another book like the last one published by ARCADIA. Hope the author and Historical Society will embark on that venture.
TK