THE
history
ofTOMAH
A GLIMPSE OF THE PAST
In the spring of 1856, two men climbed
to a knoll in the Lemonweir Valley &
looked out over the area around them.
Scattered around them were a few log
cabins belonging to the first
pioneers into this wilderness
known as Wisconsin. All
around them lay the natural
meadows which, until two
years before, few white men
had seen.
them; their decision was made. They
would call the city they were planning
“Tomah.” In the year of 1856 enough
settlers had come to warrant creating the
“Township of Tomah.”
Two years later Mr. Gillette
saw his dream come true.
The village of Tomah was
incorporated, though its
charter was not granted
until several years later.
In that same year of 1858
the long-awaited railroad
finally reached the newly
incorporated village. The
“Great Land Grant Road” had
been determined & the village
knew it would be the junction
point of two of the greatest
railroads in the state.
These men were Robert E.
Gillette & his son, Robert A.
Gillette, & they were planning
the city they wanted to lay out
on this site. As they planned,
they considered a name for the
ROBERT GILLETT
town they visualized. There
was no local history on which to
1809-1861
draw, for the valley had known
no Indian village, nor battlefield. There
was just one link between this area & the With deep emotion the villagers greeted
past, this link was a great Indian Chief,
the first trains that steamed into town.
named Tomah.
Those trains meant access to markets,
goods from the east, & contact with friends
The men had heard that Chief Tomah
& families they had left behind. Gone
was strong in character & had high
were the days of wondering what was
ideals. The story of his life appealed to
happening outside their quaint town of
Tomah.
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