(continued)
Once
upon a time, shortly before the Fourth of July,
old Judge Henry Schuyler was holding court,
listening to the evidence prosily presented
by D. A. Reed
and G.
W. Allen.
Patrick Ryan and Frank Long passed by and prompted
by a desire to inject a little
life into the proceedings they threw a large
lighted firecracker in through the window. The
firecracker fell at the feet of Mr. Reed and
exploded at once.
Instantly
there was a mighty hubbub, with Mr. Reed jumping
about in an excited manner yelling, "I am
shot! I am
shot!" Squire Schuyler, who was no friend
of Reed's, pounded the desk, and shouted, "Shut
up, you d-d fool! It serves
you right. You should have been shot long ago!"
The
new courthouse was built in 1878. Sturgeon Bay
was incorporated as a village in the spring
of 1874. The first Ipresident
of the village was John McKinney. As a guide
to the position of the men who in those years
were most prominent in material things the following
list of heaviest taxpayers, January 1, 1878,
is interesting:
| A.
W. Lawrence & Co. |
$676.38 |
| Scofield & Co |
$658.18 |
| Charnley
Bros. & Co |
$315.00 |
| A.
W.
Lawrence |
$204.51 |
| C . Leonhardt |
$158.33 |
| W.
G. McMaster |
$143.72 |
| O. E. Dreutzer |
$84.18 |
| Feldman & Cochems |
$82.20 |
| Doctor
McEacham |
$73.84 |
| L. M. Washburn |
$71.26 |
| Henry
Hahn |
$69.81 |
| Jacob
Noll |
$62.10 |
| A. Thompson |
$62.00 |
| C.
A. Masse |
$59.10 |
| John
Masse |
$57.00 |
| A. G. Warren |
$57.00 |
| Frank
Long |
$54.01 |
| John
Leathem |
$53.90 |
| Joseph
Lavassor |
$50.29 |
The
village was incorporated as a city in 1883 with
three wards. The
following is a list of mayors and clerks of
the City of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., since April 9, 1883,
when the Village of Sturgeon Bay became a city:
| Chas. Scofield |
Jacob
Dehos |
1887-1888 |
| George
Nelson |
Jacob
Dehos |
1888-1889 |
| George
Nelson |
H
. P . Hendricks |
1889-1890 |
| James
Keogh, Jr. |
Christ
Daniels |
1890-1891 |
| James
Keogh, Jr. |
H . P . Hendricks |
1891-1892 |
| |
L . L . Bacchus |
1891-1892 |
| James
Keogh, Jr. |
F. J. Hamilton |
1892-1893 |
| Louis
Reichel |
A. N . Dier,
resigned |
1893-1894 |
| |
F . J . Hamilton |
1893-1894 |
| E
. S . Minor |
F . J . Hamilton |
1894-1895 |
| George
Nelson |
Louis
Reichel |
1895-1896 |
| George
Nelson |
Louis
Reichel |
1896-1897 |
| Chas. Greisen |
Jacob
Dehos |
1897-1898 |
| George
Nelson |
M .
V . Cochems |
1898-1899 |
| H. C . Scofield |
Jacob
Dehos |
1899-1900 |
| H . C . Scofield |
Jacob
Dehos |
1900-1901 |
| Joseph
Harris |
N . C . Garland |
1901-1902 |
Two Year Term
| Joseph
Harris |
N. C
. Garland |
1902-1904 |
| Wm. R . Hay |
Henry
Leonhardt |
1904-1906 |
| Joseph
Wolter |
Henry
Leonhardt |
1906-1914 |
| N.C . Garland |
J. C. Langemak |
1914-to
date |
The
fourth ward of Sturgeon Bay, commonly called
Sawyer, was added
in 1891. Sawyer
was founded by Hon. Joseph Harris who platted
the village in 1874 and
called it Bay
View. The same year he started to build a summer
hotel in the new Village. The plans called for a main
building measuring 40 by 40 with
a wing of 20 by 30 feet. It was
to be surrounded by a park
of twelve acres.
Distractions
of various kinds, however, did not permit Mr.
Harris to carry out his plans. By help of a
persistent advertising campaign this favorable
location soon developed into a large
village. A ferry
had already been established in 1860 by E. S. Fuller.
When Mr. Fuller's charter expired in 1863 Mr. E.
T. Schjoth
obtained a charter for a ferry which he operated
for ten years. In 1873 Robert Noble established
a steam ferry which did good
service for many years.
In 1883 he
was succeeded by Dr.
A. McEacham
who operated the ferry until the toll bridge was built.
Leathern & Smith
in 1886 obtained
a charter to operate a toll bridge for twenty-five years and
the bridge was completed in 1887. Beginning
in 1869, numerous
attempts were made to build a railroad to Sturgeon
Bay.
However,
the vessel interests were determined to keep
Sturgeon Bayand
Door County an island dependent on their uncertain
mercy. However, in 1891 their
opposition was finally conquered and three
years later the railroad was in operation. Sturgeon
Bay's isolation and pioneer days were at
last passed.
