Marshall

In June of 1837, 45 men forged their way from Milwaukee to Madison to begin construction of the new state capitol.  Three of these men, Andrew & Zenas Bird and Aaron Petrie, made a mental note of an idyllic location to begin their lives.  Many months of labor ended in October of 1838 when an autumn prairie fire destroyed a public building and the beginning of a sawmill.  For more than a decade, the present day village was known as Bird’s Ruins.

Between June 1839 and 1847 many newcomers settled in this area called Medina.  A two-room frame house served purpose for a general store and religious services.  The first physician in the area completed the sawmill.  During this time, a small red brick school, a milldam, a Baptist Church, Methodist Church and the first postal service were developed.

The Township of Medina was formally organized in 1848.  During the nineteenth century, the Village and Township continued to grow.  In 1849, Bird’s Ruins became Hanchetville in recognition of Asahel Hanchett’s ability for luring several needed businesses to the Village.  Hanchett added a gristmill, relocated the sawmill and constructed a new dam.

As more and more settlers came to the area and began harvesting the fertile soils, construction of a plank road was commenced.  This road was seen as a thoroughfare, connecting isolated districts with Watertown and Madison until 1856 when railway officials interrupted with their own ideals of promoting trade.  Though the heated debate of the railway was defeated locally by a 2-vote margin, the railway had gathered their pledges and began construction, locating a depot in Hanchettville.  In great anticipation of the vast things to come, the village residents changed Hanchettville to Howard City after one of the leading railway promoters.  Prosperity failed to bless Howard City and Asahel Hanchett sold his substantial land holdings to a pair of Madison Real Estate brokers, William F. Porter and Samuel Marshall.

Though little is known about Samuel Marshall, the William Porter family lived in Marshall until 1865 when Porter and his wife returned to his native Massachusetts.  Their son, William H. Porter, remained a prominent and influential citizen in the community with family still living here.

By 1899 the village post office had been in existence for nearly 52 years.  Rural residences, divided into four (4) districts, began receiving mail delivery at their front door.  Marshall was the second village in the state to inaugurate rural postal service. 

The early 1900’s brought about several changes to the community.  On January 24, 1905, 119 votes were cast – 66 in favor, 53 against – to incorporate the village.  A February election named the first village officers as: President, W. H. Tasker, Trustees, C.L. Palmer, G.L. Kaiser, Dr. Gibbs, J.H. Porter, A.J. Blaschka and J. F. Deppe; Clerk, Charles H. Lake; Treasurer, L.F. Kelley; Supervisor, Frank Pyburn; Assessor, William McNeill; Constable, Theodore Schueler; Justice of the Peace, John Fallows and, Police Justice, F.C. King.

In 1907, seven gas lamps were erected to light the way and remained until 1916 when Marshall Electric Light & Power Company commenced operation.  Commercial Energy was provided until the 1930’s when rural electrification enlightened Marshall and the farming community surrounding it.

A graduate of the Marshall Schools and a descendent of Marshall pioneer E. B. Bigelow, James Wheelwright, under the pen name of Robert Banning, wrote the novel “All is not Butter”, (Little, Brown & Company, Boston, 1954).  The author based his novel on the violent, countywide milk strike that centered Marshall in 1933.

Marshall was caught in the nationwide Basketball hysteria in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s.  Two “City” teams sponsored by Lazers Motor Company kept locals on the edge of their seats.  One team, the “Hot Shots”, after three overtime periods on January 16, 1939, were tied at 43 with a team sponsored by the Madison Spanish Tavern.  A free-throw “shoot off” involving each player, was to settle the game.  After five rounds – 50 free throws – the Madison team faltered and the “Hot Shots” were victorious.

Dane County added Riley-Deppe Park to the outskirts of the Village in 1963 in honor of former County Supervisors George Riley and Ernest Deppe.  The population of the village had remained fairly constant until the Motls developed Riverview Heights in 1959.    Additional housing needs increased immediately.  Apartment houses were built and five more plats were developed.  A 200-unit mobile home park and the Evergreen Mall shopping center were completed in 1970.  Marshall experienced growth in building and population not seen in years.  Advantages of suburban living had finally caught on to developers.  By 1976, Marshall had grown to almost 1,800 compared to 600 residents in the 1960 census.

As residents and historians looked at Marshall in its Bicentennial year, 1976, they found familiar names and businesses.  The Shirley Bergholz family and Bob Mercer each ran a supermarket; Charles Hart was in the furniture and undertaking business; Dick Noel ran a barber shop; Ernest Deppe was still selling automobiles after 63 years; and the 149 year old feed mill established by Asahel Hanchett is still in operation today by owner Ernie Blaschka.

Bill Blaschka repaired and customized autos; Barry Motl and Harry Streich had electric shops; Lyle Hansen had antique furniture; while Harvey Heiman, Dirk Ireland, Denny Capacio and Victor Riddle each owned a filling station.  Edna and Owen Boss sold beer and packaged goods in their liquor store; Georgia Severson, Susie Wendt and Vickie Vick ran beauty shops; William Pache was the local master plumber.

Tom, Dick and Dave Motl, William Skala, Henry Wild, Jr., and “Squiq” Converse were engaged in construction; Stan Haakenson erected livestock buildings;  John Stuntebeck did brick and tile work; Tom Breunig and Jim McFarland both specialized in television sales and service; David Zimbric owned a pharmacy; Bob Woelffer and Bob Fruend operated the meat market; while John Nelson and Lee Pledger ran a lumber company.

Herb Hellenbrand repaired small engines; Joe Hellenbrand had a hardware store and bought and sold used auto parts; Charles Counsell ran a diner, Betty Slama ran a café and Bob Mercer was part owner of a bar and supper club.  Bob Lazers operated a bus line; Fred Gmeinder was in the welding business (a continuation of his fathers blacksmith shop); Myron Mather had a Laundromat on Hubbell St while John Barry ran one in the Evergreen Mall.  Frank Netzer had a car wash; Owen Sanderson had a trucking operation and Arnie Weber hauled milk.  Norman Peck and son were in plumbing, heating and excavation.  Don Schleicher also did excavation.  Ted and Charles Johnson had a shoe repair shop; Jack Erb sold insurance and published the Marshall Shopper and Vernon Yelk sold insurance and dealt in real estate along with Phillip Freidel.

Mearl, Ken and Melvin Martin and Carl Wendt had a feed and seed company and fuel oil business in Deansville; Max Janisch ran a tavern there while Harold Bloomfield ran one in York Center.  Lloyd Moon had a dairy equipment service; Dane County Farmer’s Co-op was running smooth; a large number of people were employed by William Myer who managed a plant manufacturing aluminum products as did James Hoskins in his steel fabricating operation.  Midway Equipment Company sold farm implements four miles south of town on Hwy. 73; Frank Gietzel raised Arabian horses, while Jim Herman and Ted and Doug Waddell each had large farming operations.  Lee Merrick had a rendering plant just outside the village limits.

The 1970’s led the community to many activities.  The Marshall Booster Club, recognizing outstanding school athletic and academic participants was formed.  A local chapter of the Jaycees was chartered.  The Future Farmer’s of America (one of the first chapters in the nation) was still very strong.  The American Legion and Auxiliary provided vital civic functions and held annual community events; a local snowmobile club was organized; a Girl and Brownie Scout troop was formed in 1974 and, the Boy Scout troop revived after a lapse of several years.

A new post office, library, bank and municipal building; homes sprouting up fast enough to claim the title of the “fastest growing community in Dane County”, Marshall was changing.  Marshall had a fully-equipped two-man police force with Chief Jim Hannon and Officer Mike Karls while Dan James was the Municipal Justice.  Alvin Lazers and Jim Beasley maintained the village streets and water and sewage treatment plants.

A Bicentennial Committee, with Mrs. Janice Freidel and Mrs. Charlotte Counsell as co-chairmen, and Ernst Deppe honorary chairman, coordinated and scheduled a number of community activities for 1976.  Stan Trachte, Don Woerpel and many others worked on “A Nostalgic look at Marshall” history booklet.  As the committee finished it’s work two major events struck Marshall.

The most destructive storm in recorded Wisconsin history crippled the area.  The storm heralded by freezing rain that lasted from Monday, March 1, 1976, through Thursday, March 4, 1976, covered everything in a crust of ice.  Heavy tree branches, already faltering under the weight of the ice, met their coup de grace Friday morning when strong winds attacked.  Branches dropped on power lines causing almost total blackouts for 48 to 72 hours.  Food spoiled, plumbing failed, furnaces sat useless but even worse, the farmers suffered with dry stock tanks and milking and other chores done by hand.

With such hard times and worries from the storm, Marshall residents were uplifted with pride in the High School Girl’s Basketball team.  The Girl’s Basketball team ended a perfect season by capturing the state championship with a 40 to 36 win over Bloomington in the U.W. Field House Saturday afternoon in the first girl’s meet ever held.  The state crown was added to the only other crown won by Marshall – the high school girl’s gymnastic team of 1973.

After several years of rapid growth, the 1980’s brought a calm to the Marshall Area.  The Village board made plans for the use and maintenance of the Charles Langer Family Park.  Charles Langer originally purchased the parklands in the 1930’s as part of a farm.  Charles’ son, Roger, took over from his father and farmed most of the land until his death in 1979.  The Village board accepted the approximately 114 acres he bequeathed on September 25, 1979.  The Village erected a new 300,000-gallon Water Tower in 1986 to serve the community.