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Flash From The Past - 1971
Oconto County Reporter
Nov. 11, 1971
Contributed by
Dave Cisler
Richard
Yeaton
If Abrams, like Gillett and Suring, had been named for it's first settler, our town would be called "Yeaton". The first settler to come to this region - then a five-mile strip of the finest pine in the world - was Richard B. Yeaton, who arrived in 1857. He held title too much of the land on which the village now stands and operated the first blacksmith shop in the area.
From Yeaton's smithy came many of the tools that later settlers used to clear and develop their lands. He also made knives and traded with the Indians. The well-known Indian "Patchnose" or "No nose" (so-called because his proboscis was bitten off in a fight with a squaw), often slept on the floor in the Yeaton cabin.
Abrams
Saloon and Real Estate Company
of
Joseph Liegeois
In time Yeaton was joined
by other settlers arriving
from New England - Yankees with names like Barker, Dutton, Powell,
Minick,
Birmingham, Bent, Trask, Knowles, Sargent, Parkinson, Rowell, Busch,
Lowell,
Tuttle, DeLano, Rifenberg, Brooks, Wilson, Bellingham, Rice, Orr,
Whitcomb,
Ames, Bovee, McKinley, Bell, Whitney, Lince, Leonard, Winans, Peters,
Fitzpatrick,
Bauder, Farley and Dunton.
Several mills flourished along the river, among them the F. B. Gardner, and Busch and Hubbell. In 1887, F. Whitney, Bovee and Robinson owned mills in the vicinity.
The first post office was in the home of a man named W. Hale, later the Winans home. Mail was carried by horse back and by stagecoach between Stiles and Green Bay. A school was located on this road, as was a Methodist church. The road itself was an Indian trail and movement of Indians along it was a common sight.
Picturesque Scene of Olden Days
at Abrams Highway Bridge
Displaced from the homes they had known in the thickly populated east, the settlers of Abrams were closely drawn to each other. Their social life consisted of visiting neighbors, and having home parties where singing was often the main entertainment.
When the war between the states broke out, almost the entire male population enlisted some of them returning to Massachusetts to enter service. After the fighting was over, they formed one of the largest and most active GAR posts in the country.
With the coming of the railroad in 1881, several boarding houses sprang up along the railroad right-of-way. Among them was Farley boarding house, which still stands and is used as a home. A fine big hotel was also built by John Chatell. Old records tell us that in 1887 there were 25 to 30 dwellings, two hotels, three stores, a drug store, depot and three sawmills.
Abrams
Blacksmith Shop
As New Englanders, the
settlers would have liked to
name their village "Lowell" or "Portsmouth" after their former homes in
Massachusetts. However, a man named Winford Abrams owned land through
which
the railroad ran and the company named the station "Abrams" after him.
Dr. Violet was the first doctor in Abrams. Later came Dr. R. C. Faulds who served there for 50 years and brought about 3,000 babies into the world.
The bank was established in 1911 by dell Barker, Dr. Faulds and James Chantell. Dr. Faulds was also instrumental in establishing the first telephone service, starting a line from Abrams to Sampson.
The first church in the area, of Methodist denomination, was followed by a Lutheran church. Christian Science services were being held in the village in 1900, and later, as more settlers came, a Catholic church was built.
Early Store Building
Still Part of Abrams' Main Street
Now the Machurick Bar
At the time of the 1923 fire, George Lince lived in the house where Alvin Rowells now have a home; Richard Yeaton lived in the house now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Jenrusiak; Dr. Hansen lived in the home occupied by Mrs. Amy Leonard, and Dr. Campbell lived above the Raudhuim store.
Parade In Abrams - 1910
When the
automobile arrived in the early 1900's, the
first two residents of Abrams to own the new carriages were Gene
Fitzpatrick
and Mr. Border
Abrams Main Street Today (1971)
The town of Abrams
set in a thriving business center
today. Among the business places are the hardware store of Mr. and Mrs.
Lamont Griebeler, a feed mill owned by Earl Van, the grocery stores of
Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Bostedt and Mr. and Mrs. George Puckett, a meat
market
which survived the fire is owned by Mrs. Henry Laudenclaus, a post
office,
the Abrams branch of the Gillett state bank, and several taverns, the
two
on Main street operated by LeRoy Erdman and the other James Machuricks.
There is also a popular and well-kept nine-hole golf course in Abrams
called
Pine Acres, and owned by Robert Beckers.
Each summer the town falls out for a gala celebration called "Abrams Day". A highlight of this year's event was the erection of a flag pole in the town square, adjacent to a plaque which carries the names of the young men from Abrams who served their country in uniform.
The spirit of comradeship, which marked the early pioneers, has become a tradition among their descendents and is apart in the growth and hospitality of the community.
(We would like to
thank the fine people who gave us
the information and pictures about Abrams, including Mr. and Mrs. Ed
Janssen,
William Sargent, Raymond Angrabright, Mrs. Henry Laudenclaus, and Mr.
and
Mrs. Alvin Rowell.)
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