History OF TOMAH
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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