Page View
Stratford centennial
(1891-1991)
Stratford beginning, pp. 21-36
Page 21
Stratford Beginning The Railroad In 1890, the land that became the Connor Mill site was a homestead owned by a Mr. Hafner. The immediate area was sparsely settled, not being reachable by river or rail. Although there was little pine here, the countryside had some of the best hardwood. On June 19, 1890, The Milwaukee Lake Shore and West- ern Railway Company presented a proposal to the Marathon County Board of Supervisors to build a railroad through Marathon County from Wausau to Marshfield. The proposal, in the flowery legal language of the time, is recorded in Marathon County records and describes the intention to extend the line as follows: a line of railroad westwardly or southwestwardly through the County of Marathon which shall constitute a line of railroad to furnish transportation fa- cilities by rail from the City of Wausau to the western or southern boundary of said County of Marathon and thence southwesterly reaching a crossing of the so called Wisconsin Central lines at or near Marshfield in Wood County. The proposal was accepted; the Railroad and the Supervi- W.D. Connor Courtesy of the Connor Family. sors determined the route and the needed land was acquired. R. Connor Company The announcement of the proposed route attracted the attention of Robert Connor, a successful lumberman in Au- bumdale, Wisconsin. Mr. Connor was depleting his supply of lumber in the immediate area of Auburndale and had been comtemplating expansion of his operations. The R. Connor Co. was a thriving lumber company in Aubumdale, located in Wood County, Wisconsin. Three brothers, Robert, John and James Connor, natives of Scotland, came to Auburndale from Stratford, Ontario to take advantage of the nation's demand for lumber. John and James left after the lumber in the Auburndale area was depleted. Robert remained and called on his son, William Duncan Connor to help him run the company. William Duncan Connor, better known as W. D., took on more responsibility in 1888 when his father, Robert, entered the Wisconsin State Legislature. In 1890 he became president of the company. There were successful lumbering communities in the southwestern comer of Marathon County but no large opera- tions. The area seemed to be an ideal location for Mr. Connor to expand his growing lumber business. The Connor Mill Courtesy of Terry Frank
This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, US Code).| For information on re-use see: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/Copyright