History
ROBERT GILLETT
1809-1861
In the spring of 1856, two men climbed
to a knoll in the Lemonweir Valley and
looked out over the land. 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.
These men were Robert E. Gillett and
his son, Robert A. Gillett, and they were
planning the city they wanted to lay
out on this site. As they planned, they
considered a name for the town they
visualized. There was no local history on
which to draw, for the valley had known
no Indian village, nor battlefield. The
only link between this area and the past
was a great Indian Chief, named Tomah.
The men had heard that Chief Tomah
was strong in character and had high
ideals. The story of his life appealed to
them; so, 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. Gillett 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 and the village knew
it would be the junction point of two of the
greatest railroads in the state.
With deep emotion the villagers greeted the
first trains that steamed into town. Those
trains meant access to new markets, goods
from the east, and contact with friends and
families they had left behind. Gone were
the days of wondering what was happening
outside their quaint town of Tomah.
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