 |
Organization |
|
The county of Waushara comprises eighteen townships. It is in the form of a parallelogram, and is thrity-six miles long and eighteen miles wide. It was organized by an act of the Legislature approved February 15, 1851. It was organized into one town, bearing the same name as the county, and the county seat was temporarily located at Sacramento. It was attached to Marquette for judicial purposes. The first town meeting was held at the house of Cyrus Langworthy. The first election occurred in 1851, and Thomas H. Walker was made County Judge; Joseph Garland, Clerk of the Board; Allyn Bourdman,, Clerk of the Court; George Babcock, District Attorney; Vernon Evans, Sheriff; James Saunders, Treasurer; J.S. Bugle, Register of Deeds; Charles N. Strumway, Surveyor and A.B. Foster, Coroner. The vote was canvassed by E.W. Daniels, D.H. Robinson, Justices, and I.R. Rogers, Clerk pro tem. The Board of Supervisors - C.N. Shumway, Mathew Devoe, and I.R. Rogers - had their first meeting at the house of C. Langworthy, on the 11th of November.
In 1852, the county was organized for judicial purposes, and in September, 1854, the county seat was removed to Wautoma. There were 740 votes cast on the question of removal, 397 of which were in the affirmative. When the county business was first removed to Wautoma, the court sessions were held over Marble & Curtis' store, without cost to the county. The rooms for the Treasurer and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors was furnished by C.M. Shumway; that for the Register and Clerk of the Court, by Alvah Nash; that for the Sheriff's office by W.C. Webb, while the schoolhouse was used for the Grand Jury room. Within one month after the election, all the offices were at the new county seat. The first building owned by the county for a court house was bought in 1857, of G.W. Smith,, for $1,237, the deed being given April 30. There has been but one change in the boundary of the county, and by that two sections - one containing the old county seat, Sacramento - were made a part of Green Lake County.