A brief
History
Township of Genesee, WI
Genesee Township is located near the center of Waukesha County
(between Waukesha
& Ottawa)
in the beautiful “Kettle Moraine” area of southeast Wisconsin. The area was founded by German, Welsh, Irish, and English immigrants
in the early 1840’s. The Wisconsin state
Legislature approved the present
town boundaries of Genesee on March 21, 1843.
The entire area was formed 10,000 years ago by the glaciers. Now its terrain
is very hilly and its soil is shallow. Beds
of gravel & limestone underlie the land surface.
One fact that made Genesee unique is the number of independent settlements
in the township. There were 5 separate trading centers (Genesee Village, Saylesville,
Genesee Depot, North Prairie, and Wales)
created by roads, railroads, and
waterpower.
Genesee Village (North Genesee)
Genesee Village is located
one-quarter mile south of Hwy 59 on Hwy 83.
Settlement in the Genesee
Village area (North Genesee) was in 1837 with Stillman Smith deciding
to live in the district in the spring of that year. In the summer he and his brother Horace built
a house. In 1838, following the construction
of a territorial road, Benjamin A. Jenkins built the first inn which was called “Jenkins’ Log Cabin” at old Hwy 59 (Old Village
Road) and Hwy 83. The place was called Jenkinsville and the establishment served travelers going between Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Janesville.
Caravans carrying lead from southwest Wisconsin to Milwaukee also patronized
the inn. Jenkins also built a
three-story mill in 1840 and a few years later erected
a wagon factory. He even gave land away
to induce settlers to come to North Genesee. By the 1850’s there was a foundry, meat
packing plant, two blacksmith shops, shoe shop, gristmill, store, millinery
shop, church, school, and woolen mill.
Saylesville
(South Genesee)
Indian trails were described as being 20 inches wide and 3-4 inches deep. Along one of these trails that ran from Milwaukee to Mukwonago, 8
miles southwest of Waukesha,
Alexander Rankin and his wife built a log cabin to become the first settlers of
Saylesville (1837). This log cabin site
is located just a few rods east of
the present Rankin-Booth House, (S57 W29687 Saylesville Road), which is listed on the National Register of Historical Places.
The Rankin-Booth House, (a.k.a. the “Booth House” as it was owned by J.C. Booth and his descendents from 1930 to
the present time) was erected
between 1850 and 1852 with rock mined
from Johnston’s
Quarry. Charles Smith, a stone mason,
who did the stonework of the first mill dam, put up the walls. After Mr. Rankin died,
Smith married his widow. Their son Leslie S. Smith was born there and
kept the farm in the family for 65 years.
Although Alexander Rankin
was the first settler, Saylesville was named
after Stephen Sayles and his four sons, Whitman, Mortimer, Dan and George, who
arrived in 1839. After building cabins of their own the
Sayles brothers continued to build
the settlement. Whitman Sayles helped to dam the creek to form Saylesville Pond, and
built a mill by 1841 (first a flour mill and then a grist mill). Whitman and Mortimer Sayles built the first
creamery and store in 1842, and George ran the first general store. Stephen Sayles
gave land for the cemetery and by 1847 a school was built across from the
cemetery. By 1849 a blacksmith shop was
set up by William Brown and the community hall was added
in 1878. By 1900, Saylesville included the cemetery, a blacksmith shop, a mill,
Pitcher’s Store with dance and poolroom in rear, a cobbler shop, the community
hall, and the creamery.
Rankin-Booth House
Johnston Quarry
One mile north of Saylesville on Hwy 59 is the site
of the Johnston Quarry, established
in 1842. The quarry was bought from
Silas Remington by William Johnston and Thomas Cook and provided stone for many buildings including the state
capitol at Madison, the Waukesha
Methodist Church
and some of Carroll
College’s early buildings
(Waukesha), and
the Milwaukee Sentinel building. Hand
carved rock from Johnston’s Quarry also marked the graves of early pioneers. Today the quarry is
no longer in operation but the property is listed
on the National Register of Historical Places.
Genesee Depot
Genesee
Depot was settled predominantly by the English, Irish & Welsh and
became a thriving settlement when the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad laid
tracks through the area in 1851. Settler
John Magee (whom the local elementary school is named
after) was instrumental in bringing the rail service to Genesee Depot after it
was originally planned for the
community of Genesee
Village, but the asking
price for land there was considered
too high. Townspeople needed
shipping facilities and once the rail service began, Genesee Depot became a
“boom-town” of commercial activity, an agricultural service center, and caused Genesee
Village to decline.
In 1861 Patrick Lynch, a 35-year-old Irish immigrant,
built the Union House Hotel, which maintained
a prominent position within Genesee Depot.
The establishment, operating today as a wine shoppe and restaurant for
fine dining, was open to village residents and visitors from Chicago and Milwaukee who wanted
to spend time relaxing and enjoying the healthful spring waters in the
area. The hotel was built in the 19th
century’s fashionable Greek Revival architectural style and was the largest
public building in the Depot. The second
floor served as a ballroom and also
functioned as a social gathering
place.
By 1862, Benjamin Jenkins built a general store and
warehouse and the post office also then moved. The growing area became known as Genesee
Depot, and with many nearby dairy farms (see Bethesda Area) it became one of the largest milk shipping points in
the nation, transporting 2-3 carloads of milk daily to Chicago, Milwaukee, and other points until 1908. By the 1890’s there was a grain elevator,
slaughter house, two stores, blacksmith shop, shoe shop, woolen factory, post
office, lumber yard, and train depot with ticket, baggage, and waiting rooms,
storage buildings, and a platform where many went off to high school and
Carroll College in Waukesha.
Many of the buildings standing today
in Genesee Depot date back to the 1800’s and help the area retain the charm of
that earlier period, including the original section of St. Paul’s Catholic
Church (Hwy 83 & D), built in the early 1870’s; the James Proctor House
(Hwy 83 by bridge spanning Genesee Creek) also dating back to the 1860’s,
behind which stood the Genesee Woolen Mill; and the new railroad depot built in
1897 after the first one burned
down. This station building was relocated slightly south of where it originally stood on
Hwy 83 and serves diners today as the Genesee Depot Café. The Cafés interior walls are decorated with historical photographs and memorabilia
showing earlier times and people.
Genesee’s original Town
Hall, located on Hwy 83, was built
in 1912 and is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
Genesee Depot is also the home of Ten
Chimney’s, former residence of America’s most noted first couple of Broadway Theater, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.
Wales-Genesee Lions
Club Building (original Town Hall)
The original Town Hall was
built in 1912 and was located at S42
W31400 Hwy 83 in Genesee Depot. The building is now the home of the
Wales-Genesee Lions & Lioness Club’s.
It is listed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
Ten Chimneys (home of Alfred Lunt & Lynn Fontanne)
Ten Chimneys was the home of
theater greats Alfred Lunt and Lynn
Fontanne. Located
on Depot Rd.
in Genesee Depot, Ten Chimneys is on the National Register of Historic places.
The Ten Chimneys Foundation was
formed to preserve & restore the
estate of Alfred Lunt & Lynn
Fontanne. The National Advisory Board includes such luminaries as Hume Cronyn,
Anna Crouse, Uta Hagen, Julie Harris, Hal Holbrook, Celeste Holm and Robert
Whitehead, and the list of board members is continuing to grow. For more information or to become involved in the wide variety of volunteer activities, call
Nellie Martens at (262) 968-4161.
Lunt/Fontanne
links:
http://www.kennedy-center.org/honors/years/fontanne.html
http://newyork.citysearch.com/E/V/NYCNY/0009/08/27/
http://www.dodger.com/titanic/titanic-press-pr-lunt-fontanne-stamp.htm
http://www.filateli.net/more.htm
North Prairie
North Prairie is located about 3 miles west of Genesee
and Genesee Depot near Hwy 59 and Hwy E.
Three men from Mukwonago, who were on a prospecting tour, named the town in 1826.
The first settlers were Mr. Denny and Chas. Raynaus, blacksmiths from
Eagle, who arrived in 1837. The first claim was by Stillman Smith, the
first settler of Genesee
Village. Raynaus started
the first school in 1840 in his house.
There was a store and post office by 1850 and the Milwaukee &
Mississippi Railroad in 1851. North
Prairie became one of the region’s important commercial and residential
centers. In 1866 a rumor about oil started the North Prairie Petroleum Company with $50,000
“to dig a hole & extract oil or minerals.”
It was a failure. In 1877 St. John’s Lutheran Church
was built and still stands today. Around
1920 when some communities were beginning to decline, North Prairie experienced a growth due to the Morey Milk Condensery, which
opened in 1917. The plant was sold in 1924, employed more than 200 people and supported more than 85% of the families. The plant is no
longer in existence. North Prairie
incorporated in 1919 as a separate
government entity.
Wales
Welsh immigrants traveled to the area in the early 1840’s. By 1842 there were 99 residents and by 1871 Wales had seven
church societies. Mr. Elias, an early
settler, deeded
land for a village with the provision that if ever a tavern were opened, the land would revert back to his family. At what is now the intersection of Hwy 18 and
83, a post office was built and the area was called
“Enos.” The railroad came through in
1881-82 and the post office was moved
to what officially became known as Wales. The first great singer, John P. Jones, came
about 1845 and many singing schools were opened. In 1875 a great Gymanfa Gana (songfest) started. Many of
the singers achieved national
recognition. Wales was incorporated as a separate government entity in 1922.
Bethesda Area
The Bethesda Presbyterian
Church, located in northeast Genesee (Hwy
DE and Bethesda Church Road), was organized in 1845 and the present church built in
1877. The area pioneered in sanitary milk.
Mr. and Mrs. John Williams (Park Farms) were the first and in 1903
completed plans for the organization
of the Guernsey Breed Association
along with Rich. W. Rowlands (Keystone Farm).
The emphasis was on clean, sanitary conditions for milk production. After passing strict health and TB tests,
they shipped milk to Milwaukee and Chicago. Park and Keystone Farms could not supply the
demand so arranged with D.L.
Williams (Wern Farm) and Howard Greene (Brook Hill Farm), to produce certified milk and so this area became well known for its
dairy farms. By 1917 the largest certified milk farm in the United States
was Robert G. Morey’s Pleasant Valley Farm in Genesee.
So Genesee not only had the first, but the
largest.
Saylesville Historic District
Saylesville Road from Genesee Creek to Point Drive, in the
Town of Genesee,
has been entered in the National
Register by the Secretary of the Interior, and listed
in the State Register of Historic Places, by the State Historic Preservation
Officer.
Accordingly, this property
is entitled to the benefits and
protections of the national historic preservation act of 1966, as amended and under chapter 44, Wisconsin statutes. It will
receive limited protection from
encroachment by federal or state
assisted or licensed projects or state facilities development
projects, and may be eligible to apply for matching grants for research,
restoration, acquisition, or stabilization. Certain tax incentives are
available to depreciable properties listed
in the State Register for National Register.
In the State Register and
National Register, programs are administered
by the Division of Historic Preservation of the Wisconsin Historical Society,
Alicia Goehring, State Historic Preservation Officer. Questions about the State
Register and the National Register programs in Wisconsin should be addressed to:
Division of
Historic Preservation
Wisconsin Historical Society
816 State Street
Madison, WI 53706
Telephone:
608/264-6500
The above information has
been received and filed at the Genesee
Town Hall on April 23, 2003.
Special thanks to the Genesee Heritage Society for compiling the information
contained in this history page.
Genesee
Heritage Society
P.O. Box 52
Genesee Depot, WI 53127
Drake Reid, (262)
549-3239
Rosemary Booth, (262)
968-3486
The Genesee Heritage Society serves the areas of:
Genesee, North Prairie, Saylesville, and Wales.
Affiliate - State Historical Society of Wisconsin - Wisconsin
Council for Local History
Members
of Genesee Heritage Society:
Drake Reid, President
Sharon Moran, Vice President
Evelyn Reid, Treasurer
Rosemary Booth, Secretary
Sharon Leair
Kelly Moran
Merle Teske
Bob Uchner
New members are always welcome to join the Genesee Heritage
Society. Meetings are held the third Wednesday
of each month (subject to change) @
the Genesee Town Hall. For further information
contact Rosemary Booth at (262) 968-3486.
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