Editing Hiles, Wood County, Wisconsin (section)

==History==
The six-mile square that would become the Town of Hiles was first [[Surveying|surveyed]] in the summer of 1851 by a crew working for the US government. Around New Year's Day of 1852, another crew marked all of its the [[Section (United States land surveying)|section corners]] of the [[survey township|six-mile square]], traversing 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|accessdate=March 26, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Field Notes for T22N R2E|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/SurveyNotes/SurveyNotes-idx?type=PLSS&twp=T022NR002E|work=Original Field Notes and Plat Maps, 1833–1866|publisher=Board of Commissioners of Public Lands|accessdate=May 28, 2013}}</ref> The deputy surveyor filed this general description:
<blockquote>''The surface of this Township is level, about one half is composed of [[Larix laricina|Tamarack]] Swamp, the remaining Portion low wetland, but a small Portion could be made fit for cultivation (?) by drainage. The whole surface is covered with a very thick coat of Timber Small(?) [[Eastern white pine|Pine]], Tamarack, [[Maple]] and [[Betula alleghaniensis|Birch]], undergrowth of [[Alder]] [[Corylus americana|witch Hazel]], and [[Carpinus caroliniana|water Bech]] very thick, soil [[Hardpan|Hard Pan]] from the Middle of the Township North and East local attraction was found to very considerable extent, so much so that several lines were run with back sights(?) and measurement alone, Fox River (called by residents East Branch of [[Black River (Wisconsin)|Black River]].) runs near the Center of the Township – from the N.E. to N.W. corner, average width 100 [[Link (unit)|links]] Rapid(?) current, average depth about two feet.''<ref>{{cite web|last=Sterling|first=Levi|title=Interior Field Notes (Dec. 1851-Jan. 1852)|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/SurveyNotes/SurveyNotes-idx?type=turn&entity=SurveyNotesINT016E000057&issueid=SurveyNotes.INT016E02&isize=M&twp=T022NR002E|publisher=Board of Commissioners of Public Lands|accessdate=2013-05-28}}</ref></blockquote>

The current town of Hiles was organized in 1901.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.mcmillanlibrary.org/files/docs/placenames.pdf | title=Wood County Place Names | publisher=The University of Wisconsin Press | author=Rudolph, Robert S. | year=1970 | pages=38}}</ref><ref name=Jones>{{cite book| last=Jones| first=George O.| title=History of Wood County Wisconsin| year=1923| publisher=H. C. Cooper Jr. & Co.| location=Minneapolis – Winona| pages=263| url=http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/wch/id/38429|author2=Norman S. McVean|display-authors=etal}}</ref> It was named for businessman and land speculator [[George Hiles]], who owned half of the land in the town before the turn of the century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Philleo|first=I. E.|title=Plat Book of Wood County, Wisconsin|year=1896|publisher=I. E. Philleo, C. E.|location=Grand Rapids, Wisconsin|page=6|url=http://content.mpl.org/u?/mcml,425}}</ref>