Editing Eaton, Clark County, Wisconsin (section)

==History==
The six mile square that would become Eaton was first [[Surveying|surveyed]] in June 1847 by a crew working for the U.S. government. Then in October and November of the same year another crew marked all the [[Section (United States land surveying)|section corners]] in the [[survey township|township]], walking through the woods and swamps, measuring with [[Gunter's chain|chain]] and [[Solar compass|compass]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Land Survey Information|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/SurveyNotes/SurveyInfo.html|publisher=Board of Commissioners of Public Lands|access-date=2024-11-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Field Notes for T26N R2W|url=https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/SurveyNotes/SurveyNotes-idx?type=PLSS&twp=T026NR002W|work=Original Field Notes and Plat Maps, 1833-1866|publisher=Board of Commissioners of Public Lands|access-date=2024-11-09}}</ref> The survey produced a map which shows a "Waggon Road" winding east of the Black River and sites of four cabins along the river, including "Vanduser's cabin," along with Vanduser's millsite near the future site of Greenwood.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Freeman |first1=James E. |title=Township No 26 N., Range No 2 West, 4th Mer. |date=1847 |publisher=Board of Commissioners of Public Lands |url=https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A2YQ36B34GZO6E8E/full/AGNVKXVFNVIK4Y8Z |access-date=2024-11-11}}</ref> When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description:
<blockquote>T26N R2W is 2nd rate gently rolling land Some good Pine in the NE part of the Township between [[Black River (Wisconsin)|Black]] and Rock rivers. A Saw Mill is about being built on black river in the NE 1/4 Sec 3 [near Greenwood]  There(?) are the finest kind of [[Sugar Maple|Sugar]] [[Tilia americana|Lind]] [[Elm]] & Some [[Fraxinus|ash]] timber The Mill Sites on Black and Rock rivers are without Number Black river is a Swift (?) rough and rocky Stream all through this and the two adjoining TownShips. This township is well calclulate(?) for agricultural purposes well water timber and good quality of sile(?) and will Some day contain a large population(?).<ref>{{cite web|last=Freeman|first=James E.|title=Interior Field Notes (Oct. 1847-Nov. 1847)|url=https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/SurveyNotes/SurveyNotes-idx?type=article&byte=12511072&isize=L&twp=T026NR002W|publisher=Board of Commissioners of Public Lands|access-date=2024-11-09}}</ref> </blockquote>

An 1873 map of Clark County showed a "highway" reaching up from [[Neillsville, Wisconsin|Neillsville]] through Eaton and Greenwood, and into what would become [[Longwood, Wisconsin|Longwood]]. Though the road followed the course of modern [[Wisconsin Highway 73|Highway 73]], this was a dirt wagon road. Greenwood was already marked on this map, and three miles south of Greenwood, a Lumberman post office. A wagon road ran east from 73 along what is now Twenty Six Road. West of the Black River, some sort of road followed the course of modern County O for five miles, then jogged off a mile to the west.<ref>{{cite book|last=Glass|first=Louis J.|title=Map of Clark County, Wisconsin|date=1873|publisher=MacBride & Allen|location=Neillsville, Clark County|url=https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/maps/id/1634/rec/1|access-date=2024-10-26}}</ref><ref name=DeLorme>{{cite book|title=Wisconsin Atlas and Gazetteer|date=1999|publisher=DeLorme|location=Yarmouth, Maine|page=62}}</ref>

By 1880 Eaton consisted of the modern townships of [[Hendren, Wisconsin|Hendren]] and Eaton. The plat map from that year shows no settler homesteads west of the Black River; instead much of the land there was in large blocks owned by lumbermen and speculators, with [[Cadwallader C. Washburn|C.C. Washburn]] and D.J. Spaulding Estate holding the largest share. East of the river, roads had been added since 1873, and many settlers along those roads, particularly in the northeast corner near Greenwood. A school stood where Twenty Six Road now crosses 73, and a "hotel" 3/4 mile to the north. A flood dam had been built on Cawley Creek in the southeast corner of the town. That road from the 1873 map along County O is largely missing from this map.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bussell|first1=Charles E.|last2=Lee|first2=Allie|title=Map of the County of Clark, Wisconsin|date=1880|publisher=Charles E. Bussell|location=Neillsville, Wis.|url=https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/maps/id/1636/rec/3|access-date=2024-11-10}}</ref><ref name=DeLorme/>

By 1890 the Neillsville-to-[[Withee, Wisconsin|Withee]] [[Stagecoach|stage]] passed through Eaton each day, following a dirt road that would become modern highway 73.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Satterlee, Tifft and Marsh|title=Clark County, the Garden of Wisconsin...|date=1890|publisher=Satterlee, Tifft and Marsh|location=Neillsville|page=27|url=https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wch/id/19908/rec/2|access-date=2024-11-11}}</ref>

By 1893 more roads had been added east of the Black, with about 50 settler homes lining those roads. The plat map from that year shows a mill west of Greenwood where the Rock River meets the Black, another mill south of Greenwood where the Rock now crosses 73, and another near where Mann Road now crosses 73. A spur of the [[Wisconsin Central Railroad (1871–1899)|Wisconsin Central Railroad]] snaked in from [[Marshfield, Wisconsin|Marshfield]] through [[Loyal, Wisconsin|Loyal]] to the south side of Greenwood. A rural schoolhouse had been added a half mile west of where Hinker Road now meets Owen Avenue. Much of the west side of the river was still held in large blocks, with the largest portions held by J.J. Hogan, Geo. Hiles & Midland Lumber Manufacturing Company, and Greenwood Manufacturing & Merchandise Company. The plat map shows some sort of road following much of the course of modern Reesewood Avenue, then cutting over to where County O now runs, with a few settlers near a rural school where O crosses West Eaton Road.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stockwell|first=C.S.|title=Eaton E1/2|date=1893|publisher=E.P. Noll & Co|location=Philadelphia, PA|url=https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/maps/id/23790/rec/14|access-date=2024-11-10}}</ref><ref name=DeLorme/>

By 1906 more roads had been added, and many more settlers. East of the river, a church had appeared where Willard Road now crosses Fairground Avenue, with a rural school a half mile to the east. A wagon-road predecessor of County OO reached from the future highway 73 across the river to join up with a north-south road that would become County O. A quarter mile east of that intersection stood a new rural school. A few other road segments connected to those, with a couple dozen settlers' homes west of the Black. A new railroad arced across the top of Eaton, the [[Fairchild and Northeastern Railroad|Fairchild and Northeastern]], swooping south of Greenwood on its way to Owen. Some large blocks of unsettled land remained - mostly west of the Black - and some smaller blocks were still held by the land companies that sold cutover lands left by logging companies to settlers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ogle|first=George A.|title=Standard Atlas of Clark County, Wisconsin, Including a Plat Book of the Villages, Cities, and Townships of the County|date=1906|publisher=George A. Ogle & Co.|location=Chicago, Ill.|url=https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/maps/id/21973/rec/6|access-date=2024-11-11}}</ref><ref name=DeLorme/>

By 1920 Eaton had its current six by six mile footprint, with Hendren split off as a separate township. The plat map shows the modern road grid 90% complete and most of the town settled - even west of the river. Cheese factories appear on this map: one three miles south of Greenwood on Fairground Avenue, one where OO crosses 73, and one on the south edge of the town where Bobwhite Road now crosses O. The transition from logging to agriculture was well underway.<ref>{{cite book|last=Paetzold|first=C.H.|title=Map of Clark County, State of Wisconsin - Eaton|date=1920|publisher=C.H. Paetzold|location=Wausau, WI|page=17|url=https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/maps/id/17552/rec/9|access-date=2024-11-11}}</ref><ref name=DeLorme/>