Poznan

Poznan (also known as Posen), is truly the city that never was built.  In the late 1880s, logging operations were drawing to a close in the township of Withee. The vast stands of hemlock, pine, and other hardwoods had been harvested, leaving a land of stumps and brush. The Polish land agents Piotrowicz and Slupecki  from Milwaukee began selling 40-acre plots of "farmland" to Polish and Lithuanian immigrants. In order to entice the immigrants to come to the town of Withee, they also planned the town of Poznan, to be located near the site of the Sterling Company lumber mill, about 4 miles east of the fledgling village of Thorp. 

The village of Poznan was surveyed and laid out in 1895, but never materialized. The reason for this is not known.  Since catholicism was important to the immigrant Poles, having a catholic church was also important. About 1891, St. Hedwig's church was built. Originally intended for the site of Poznan, a site two miles west was eventually chosen as being more centrally located. The original St. Hedwig's wooden structure was replaced with the brick church that exists on that site to this day.

Not much is known about Poznan, but two documents exist that prove it existed, at least on paper (or, more accurately, oilcloth). The documents currently reside at the Clark County Register of Deeds in Neillsville, and are posted here.

Historical Documents

Original Plot of the Village of Poznan

Surveyor's Certificate (legal stuff, 1895-style)

Anyone having any more information about Poznan (or the town of Withee), please contact the webmaster for these pages, Leon Konieczny.

 

 

 

Submit a Response

 

**This Clark Co., WI Internet Library, ALHN & AHGP website is dedicated to the free sharing of information by researchers, local historians, genealogists and educators.  Because of our non-profit status, submissions are not to be used for profiteering of any kind.   Our representatives cannot accept gratuities beyond the basic expenses (i.e. postage, copying, courthouse or rental fees) for obtaining requested information.  We reserve the right to ban the involvement of anyone who intentionally disregards these policies.   Please show your appreciation for this database by Becoming a Clark County History Buff or making a contribution to our Support Fund and Perpetual Preservation Account to help keep this Clark Co., WI database freely available on the World Wide Web and free from commercial enterprise.

 

*** This copyrighted Clark Co., Wis. genealogy and history material is used by permission of the submitters.  Contact us if anyone is using this data inappropriately.  It may not be copied and posted to any commercial/.com genealogy sites such as Genealogy Trails, Family Tree Maker or the merged companies Ancestry.Com/RootsWeb/MyFamily or sold for profit.

 


Report Broken Links

ALHN & AHGP HOME PAGE

 

This page is a part of the Clark County, WI Internet Library Project

Every submission is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.

~~The Clark Co., Wisconsin History Buffs maintain these pages in support of Free On-line History & Genealogy~~