Wisconsin Gazetteer ~ G ~

Wisconsin Gazetteer, Containing the names, location, and advantages, of the Counties, Cities, Towns, Villages, Post Offices, and Settlements, together with a description of the Lakes, Water Courses, Prairies, and Public Localities, in the State of Wisconsin. Alphabetically arranged.

Notice. Names and descriptions prepared too late for their proper place, will be found in the Appendix.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y

Garlick, Island, in Lake Winnebago, near its west shore.

Gauche, River, enters Fond du Lac Bay, (Lake Superior,) near St. Louis River, in La Pointe County.

Genesee, Town, in county of Waukesha, being town 6 N., of range 18 E.; centrally located, 8 miles from Waukesha, the county seat. The population in 1850 was 1,290. It has 9 school districts.

Genesee, P. V., Waukesha County, in town of same name, being town 6 N., of range 18 E., 8 miles west southwest from Waukesha, and 66 miles east from Madison. It is one mile south of the depot on the M. & M. R. R. It has 160 inhabitants, 30 dwellings, 1 store, 1 hotel, 1 new congregational church, 1 flouring mill, 1 saw mill, 1 woolen factory. It is beautifully situated on White creek, which falls 76 feet in one mile, and is used for three separate powers of 20, 22 and 22 feet each.

Genesee, Farm, residence of the Hon. E. W. Edgerton, in town of Summit, Waukesha.

Genesee, Lake, forms the head waters of Battle, creek, and is located one mile south of the center of the town of Summit, Waukesha County.

Geneva, Town, in county of Walworth, being town 2 N., of range 17 E.; centrally located, 5 miles southeast from Elkhorn. The population in 1850 was 1533. It has 8 school districts.

Geneva, P. V., in town of same name, in Walworth County, being on section 36, at the northeast extremity of Lake Geneva.

Geneva Bay, P. O., in town of Geneva, Walworth County.

Geneva, Creek, has its source in Geneva Lake, Walworth County, and running northeasterly enters Peckatonnica at Burlington, Racine County.

Geneva, Lake, is in the southern part of Walworth County, 8 miles long, with a mean breadth of 1 mile. It is supplied mostly from springs, and discharges its waters into the Pishtaka River, through Geneva creek.

Genoa, P. V., in town of Geneva, Walworth County, being town 2 N., of range 17 E.

Genther's, Creek, a branch from the north of Chippewa River, Chippewa County.

Germantown, Town, in county of Washington, being town 9 N.; of range 20 E.; centrally located, 18 miles south west from Ozaukee, the county seat. The population in 1850 was 1,722. It has 10 school districts.

Gibbsville, P. O., in Sheboygan County, on section 26, town 14 N., of range 22 E.; 9 miles southwest from Sheboygan, and 100 miles northeast from Madison. It is on the road from Milwaukee, 50 miles; to Green Bay, 65 miles. It was first settled by three brothers, whose name it bears, in 1836.

Gibralter, Creek, a small stream entering Green Bay, in the northeast corner of Brown County.

Gibson, Creek, is a small tributary from the north of Baraboo River, which it enters three miles above Baraboo village.

Gilbert's Mills, on Bed Cedar River, in Chippewa County, town 28 N., of range 13 W,

Golden, Lake, is on the line between Jefferson and Waukesha Counties, 3 miles in circumference, and discharges its waters through Duck creek into Bark River.

Good Hope, P. V., in county of Milwaukee, on section 8, town 8 N., of range 22 E.

Grafton, P. V., in town of same name, county of Washington.

Grafton, Town, in county of Washington, being town 10 N., of range 22 E., and east tier of sections of town 10 N., range 21 E.; centrally located, 6 miles southwest from Ozaukee. The population in 1850 was 626. It has 6 school districts.

Grand Roche-a-Gris, Creek, empties into the Wisconsin in range 5 N., Crawford County.

Grand Chute, Town, in county of Outagamie, being town 21 N., of range 17 E.; centrally located, 3 miles northwest from Grand Chute, the county seat. It has 6 school districts.

Grand Chute, Rapids, of the Neenah River, 7 miles below Winnebago Rapids, with a fall of 30 in 8525 feet.

Grand Kakalin, Rapids, of Neenah River, with a fall of 44 feet in a distance less than 9,000 feet. These rapids are 9 miles below Grand Chute.

Grand Marsh, P. O., in Columbia County.

Grand Prairie, P. O., in town of Middleton, Marquette County, being on section 35, in town 15 N., of range 12 E.

Grand, Rapids, are shoals of the Menominee River, about 2 miles, in length, below White Rapids.

Grand, Rapids, town in county of Portage.

Grand Rapids, P. V., in county of Portage, being on section 17, town 22 N., of range 6 in town of same name. It is 16 miles, southwest from Plover, county seat, and 115 miles northwest from Madison. Population 400; 30 dwellings, 3 stores, 3; hotels, 4 saw mills, 1 Catholic Church. It possesses the best water power in the State, abounding with springs of pure soft water. Lumber and shingles have been the chief products. although some attention has been paid to farming. There is plenty of government land in the vicinity, and timber enough to last for years. Iron ore is found. Most of the buildings have been erected within two years.

Grand, River, rises in the western portion of Fond du Lac County, and running near the line between towns 14 and 15 N., enters the Neenah about a mile above the head of Apuckaway Lake.

Grand Springs, name given to large springs in Montrose, Dane County, emptying into Sugar River.

Grand Springs, P. V., in Dane County, on section 25, town 5 N. f of range 8 E.; 16 miles southwest from Madison. Its general location and advantages are good, being on the outlet of large springs emptying into Sugar River, and in a good farming region. It has 109 inhabitants, 25 dwellings, 1 store, 1 hotel, 1 mill, 1 manufactory, and 1 religious denomination.

Grant, County, is bounded on the northwest and north by the Wisconsin River, which separates it from Crawford and Rich-land, on the east by Iowa and Lafayette, on the south by the northern line of the State of Illinois, and on the southwest by the State of Iowa, from which it is separated by the Mississippi River. It was set off from Iowa, and fully organized by an act approved Dec. 7, 1836. The eastern boundary extends north, on the 4th principal meridian, about 50 miles. The southern boundary on Illinois River is only about 10 miles, and its river coast is about 100 miles in length. The seat of justice is at Lancaster, near the centre of the county. Its principal streams are Grant, Big and Little Platte, Greene and Blue Rivers. The surface of the country consists of a series of ridges, high rolling prairie and timbered lands. The ridges are filled with fissures, which are abundantly supplied with ores of zinc, lead, and occasionally copper. It is one of the best mineral counties in the State, and there is no other in which the soil is better adapted to the raising of wheat and corn. The county is well supplied with timber, and has many fine streams abounding in springs of pure water. It is said that there is neither lake, swamp, nor stagnant pool of water in the county. It is attached to the fifth judicial circuit, and to the second congressional district, and constitutes the 16th senate district, and sends five members to the assembly, as follows:
1. Towns of Hazel Green, Jamestown and Smeltzer.
2. Towns of Paris, Ptosi and Harrington.
3. Towns of Platteville, Lima, Clifton, Muscoda and Wingville.
4. Towns of Fennimore, Ellenboro', Liberty and Lancaster.
5. Towns of Waterloo, Beetown, Patchgrove and Cassville.
The population in 1838 was 2,763; 1840, 3,926; 1842, 5,937; 1846, 12,034; 1847, 14,016; 1850, 16,169; 2861 dwellings, 707 farms, 78 manufactories. County Officers for 1853 and 1854: Judge, Cyrus K. Lord; Clerk of Court, A. W. Kendall; District Attorney, J. Allen Barber; Register, George H. Cox; Clerk of Board of Supervisors, Wood A. Beach.

Grant, Diggings, a mining settlement, on section 15, town 4 N, of range 4 W., in county of Grant.

Grant, River, waters the central portion of Grant County, and enters the Mississippi in the southwest corner of the town of Potosi.

Granville, P. O., in town of same name, Milwaukee County.

Granville, Town, in county of Milwaukee, being town 8 N., of range 21 E.; centrally located, 12 miles northwest from Milwaukee. The population in 1850 was 1,739. It has 9 school districts.

Grass, Lake, in Columbia County, a small lake in town 12 N., of range 8 E.; between Baraboo and Wisconsin Rivers, 5 miles west from Portage.

Gratiot, Town, in county of Lafayette. Over 7,000 acres of land were sold in this town during the year 1852. No discoveries of mineral have been made in this town, except float. The inhabitants are mostly farmers.

Gratiot, P. V., in Lafayette county, in town of the same name, on section 9, town 1 N., of range 4 E.; 12 miles east from Shullsburg, 28 from Galena, 28 from Mineral Point, And 65 southwest from Madison. Population 50; 10 dwellings, 1 store, 1 hotel and 1 schoolhouse.

Great Butte des Morts, Lake is an expansion of the Neenah River, just below the mouth of the Wolf, and 5 miles west of Oshkosh. It is four miles long and two wide.

Green, Bay, is an arm of Lake Michigan, from its northwest extremity, extending southwest 120 miles, having a coast of 320 miles in length, and being from 6 to 30 miles wide. Its mean length is 100 miles, breadth 20 miles, and depth 50 feet, with an area of 2,000 square miles, at an elevation of 518 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Green Bay was so called from the fact that voyagers, upon leaving Mackinaw in the early spring before the trees put forth their buds, found the borders of this Bay covered with the finest verdure and vegetation. It was called the Bay of Puans, by the early French, and has also been called Menominee Bay.

Green Bay, P. V. The village of Green Bay is an incorporated borough, comprising the town plats of both Navarino and Astor, the former being designated in the act of incorporation as the north, and the latter as the south wards. The town stands in the junction of the Fox and East Rivers, on the east bank of the former, and about one mile above the mouth or entrance into Green Bay. The site of the town, although partly low and flat, is handsome and pleasant; the soil is alluvial, with large proportion of sand, which forms dry streets and walks, and proves most excellent for garden and cultivation. The present population of Green Bay proper is about 2,000, and is constantly increasing. The town is hid out with streets and alleys running at right angles. The corporation embraces a tract about one and a half miles in length on Fox River, and about one mile in width from east to west The buildings are of wood, mostly frame, and many of them very neat and commodious as dwellings, stores, ware-houses, offices, &c. The streets are generally of good width and the lots larger than usually laid out in villages. Directly opposite, on the west shore of Fox River, stands Old Fort Howard, and the new and flourishing town of that name, lately laid out, and now containing a large number of houses, stores and inhabitants. The scenery around Green Bay and on the Fox River, is beautiful; the climate unsurpassed by any in the West for salubrity and healthfulness. It is even, and not subject to sudden change, as in many parts of the United States; and all kinds, of fruits and vegetables capable of culture in the eastern, or northern or western States, are easily raised here, and most of them in great perfection and abundance. The bay and river abound with a vast variety of the finny tribe, of delicious and palatable flavor, and wild duck and other game are abundant. The winter season may be said to commence about the first of December, and continues with but slight change or variation, until about the middle or latter part of March. The Fox River is navigable, for six miles from its mouth, to Depere, for the largest class of steamers and vessels navigating the lakes. Its medium width between the two points mentioned is about 1,400 feet. The harbor at Green Bay is one of the most spacious and secure on the whole chain of lakes, and, as a natural one, it is next to Detroit. He geographical position of this place, situated as it is at the head of steamboat navigation on the lakes and upon the Fox River, connecting with the Wisconsin and Mississippi by canal, must necessarily be a commanding one and it only requires the completion of the public work for the improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin River, to insure its permanent prosperity and future importance as a commercial and manufacturing depot. The principal articles of export from Green Bay and the surrounding country at the present time are fish, lumber, shingles, and furs and peltries. An estimate of the amount of each of these articles is made below. The water power on the Fox River is equal to, if it does not surpass any other in the West. It is a natural one, of great magnitude; but when the improvement or public works, are completed, it will be unlimited in power and extent.

Green Bay, Pinery, under this name is given the amount of lumber manufactured at the several mills on Green Bay and its tributaries, which is shown by the following estimate: Depere, 2,500,000; Green Bay, 2,500,000; Duck Creek, 1,500, 000; Hill Creek, 500,000; Little Suamico, 500,000; Pensankee, 2,000,000; Oconto, 4,500,000; Oconto Falls, 6,000,000; Pishtego, 3,000,000; Menominee, 5,000,000; making a total of 28,000,000. This statement is exclusive of shingles, &c. There was computed to be in store, at Green Bay alone, on the 15th of March, 1853, 14,000,000 feet of lumber logs and timber.

Green Bush, P. V., in county of Sheboygan, being on section 11, in town of same name 15 N., of range 20 E.

Green Bush, Town, in county of Sheboygan, being towns 15 and 16, of range 20 E:; centrally located, northwest from Sheboygan. It has 8 school districts.

Green, County, is bounded on the north by Dane, on the east by Rock, on the south by the State line, and on the west by Iowa and Lafayette, and is 4 townships, or 24 miles square. It was set off from Iowa, Dec. 7, 1836, to which it remained attached until Jan. 15, 1838, when it was fully organized. The seat of justice is at Monroe, about 7 miles south from the center of the county. The soil in the northern part is generally a sandy loam, and in the south mostly prairie, with a subsoil of clay, and is very productive, being adapted to all the purposes of tillage and grazing. It is well watered by the Peckatonnica and Sugar Rivers and their branches, and is well apportioned between meadow, prairie and timbered lands. This county comprises the twenty-fourth senate district, and sends one member to the assembly. It is connected with the first judicial circuit and to the second congressional district. The mineral region extends east nearly through this county, and several valuable lodes are being worked. The population in 1840 was 933; 1842, 1,594; 1846, 4,758; 1847, 6,487; 1850, 8,583. Dwellings, 1,487; farms, 805; manufactories, 46. County Officers for 1853 and 1854: County Judge, John A. Brigham; Sheriff, John Moore; Clerk of Court, Noah Phelps; District Attorney, E. T. Gardiner; Register of Deeds, James L. Powell; Clerk of Board of Supervisors, Horace B. Poyer; County Treasurer, Francis Emmerson.

Greenfield, P. V., in town of same name, Milwaukee County, town 6 N., of range 21 E.

Greenfield, Town, in county of Milwaukee, being town 6 N., of range 21 E.; centrally located, 7 miles southwest from Milwaukee. The population in 1850 was 1,894. It has 15 school districts.

Greenfield, Town, in county of Dane, (name changed to Fitchburg,) being town 6 N ., of range 9 E.; centrally located, 10 miles southwest from Madison. The population in 1850 was 598. It has 8 school districts.

Green, Island, near the middle of Green Bay, opposite the mouth of Menominee River.

Green Lake, P. O., in town of same name, Marquette County, being on section 4, in town 15 N., of range 13 E., 18 miles east from Montello.

Green Lake, Town, in county of Marquette. It has 8 school districts.

Green, Lake, Marquette County, is east of Lake Apuckawa. It is eight miles long and two broad, and discharges its waters into the Fox River. It is very deep, and its waters remarkably pure and clear.

Green, River, rises in town 6, of range 3 W., and runs northeast, emptying into the Wisconsin.

Greenville, P. V., in town of same name, Outagamie County.

Greenville, Town, in county of Outagamie. It has 2 school districts.

Green Wood, P. O., in Marquette County.

Grignon's Mills, on the Wisconsin River, in the west part of town 22, of range 6 E., in Portage County.

Grove, P. O., in town of Lafayette, Walworth County.

Groveland, P. V., in Winnebago County, on section 1, town 19 N., of range 16 E. It is 10 miles northwest from Oshkosh, on the town line road, and 5 miles from Neenah, with roads leading from Hortonville, Ball Prairie, Winneconna, and Appleton. It has 5 dwellings, and 1 hotel.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y

Source: Wisconsin Gazetteer,  By John Warren Hunt. Madison: Beriah Brown, Printer, 1853

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