Dunn County Wisconsin History

  Thomas Parker returned to Menomonie following his 3 years of service in the Civil War as a Lieutenant with the 20 th USCT. His last assignments were spent working alongside US Army Engineering Battalions rebuilding coastal forts and waterworks access sites. During that time, he learned, honed, and refined his skills as an engineer, surveyor, and waterworks control specialist. Upon returning to Menomonie in 1865, he went back to work for Knapp, Stout and Co. Company. He was later elected as County Surveyor in 1869 and again in 1878. His work for K. S & Co. placed him in direct contact and responsibility for their many dams and waterways. His experience and travel during the war provided him with the unique knowledge and tools needed to correct many of the dam problems that K.S.& Co were experiencing. Creating sufficient water flow from a holding pond and stopping that flow quickly required skilled workmen operating under dangerous conditions. Rasmus Larson, a worker at ...

     Menomonie and Dunn County have had a good share of unsung heroes and notables. One of the most egregious examples of omission exposes the compounded errors that are the result of failed research and accountability by historians. One simple statement left unchallenged or unchecked can result in factual errors that last for hundreds of years. We have all experienced those errors in our lives, errors that have changed the world around us and created controversy around the globe. I am going to introduce you to a newly discovered error that could change hundreds or even thousands of textbooks, news articles, historical research, and naming conventions across the globe. That extraordinary impact has its foundation and core responsibility resting right here in our fair town of Menomonie, Wisconsin. I am one of those who have failed in the research, relying on the written tales handed down without question. Guilty as charged, I offer a correction with apologies to those wh...

James Dow Sperry, our man of many mysteries has come to the light of understanding as to who he was and how his mystery will be forever. Born to a strict puritan family and a father who struggled to maintain a proper household for his family, James left home at the age of sixteen for the Adirondack Mountains to work as a lumberman. He joined an Indian tribe while there and remained until 1853. James’ younger brother Daniel, also disenchanted with is home life, left home at the age of twenty three or twenty four and followed James to the Adirondacks to pursue the life of a lumberman. Not long after his arrival and working career began, Daniel was killed by a falling tree. His body was shipped home to be buried in the family plot. I would like to believe that upon Daniel’s death, James accompanied his body home and although the relationship between he and his father was strained, I see no lack of love for his mother or siblings. It would therefore seem due and reasonable for his return t...