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Rothschild, Village of

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Author:
Mary Moltzan

Location:
T. 28 N. - R. 7 E., Sec. 23, 24, 25, 26, 34, 35 and 36; T. 28 N. - R. 8 E., small parts of Sec. 19 and 20, and 30 and 31; and T. 27 N. - R. 7 E., small parts of Sec. 1 and 2, Townships of Weston and Mosinee

Founded:
1909

Formallized:
July 31,1917, incorporated

Background:

Population: 1920-413, 2000-4970.

The history of Rothschild and Marathon Paper Mill are directly linked. In 1909, a dam was built to produce electricity. To use the diverted water and electricity, a paper mill was built and the town sprang up next to it. The reservoir behind the dam created Lake Wausau. Cyrus C. Yawkey was president of the paper company, and D. C. Everest was the first general manager of the mill.  Because he looked older, Everest's age wasn't questioned.  It didn't come out until years later that he was 25 when he was hired as manager with responsibility for construction and eventual operation of the plant.

In the fall of 1911, several dams on the upper Wisconsin River burst under prolonged and unusually heavy rainfall. As the floodwaters threatened to destroy the new mill, it  was reluctantly decided to sacrifice the new dam to save the mill, and the west wing of the dam was dynamited.  This opened a channel which was to relieve flooding to the mill itself.    In spite of all the effort, much damage was done to the mill as well as to the dam.  Due to the efforts of Mr. Everest,  money was obtained, and with temporary dams and makeshift repairs, the mill was again producing paper.  In 1912, there was another flood, but not as severe as the one of 1911.

The company built a grocery store with the restriction that there be no other grocery store for 10 years. It was truly a company town. Most homes were company houses which rented as low as $8.00/month. During the 1930s, tenants had the opportunity to purchase these homes and many did.

A showplace for many years was the Rothschild Pavilion, then known as Pine Park.  It was built in 1908 of slabs  with rough bark. The sides were covered with burlap to keep the rain out.  This building burned down in 1911.  The electric company then built a beautiful stone pavilion with rustic furnishings.  A full time caretaker was hired on salary plus a house, rent free. There were sports activities for visitors in winter and summer. The most popular attraction was the roller coaster, known as the Whizzer.

First Public Official:
W. F. Hewitt, Sr.

Biography:

W. F. Hewitt was one of the original owners of  the land.

Post Office Established:
January 7, 1911

First Postmaster:
Frank V. Harwood

About The Post Office:

P. O. is still in service located on Brown St. in Rothschild.

Railroad:

The Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroads ran north and south through the village.

Churches:

Rothschild didn't have a church until the late 1940s.  Until then, villagers were served by visiting missionaries and surrounding clergymen and also went to churches in Weston and Wausau.

1. The first church built in Rothschild was St. Therese Catholic Church, dedicated on October 8, 1950.

2. St. Mark's Catholic Church.

Schools:

1. Joint School District #4, a one room school with all eight grades, was located in Section 26, south of what is now the Rothschild pavilion. It was moved to what is now South Line Rd. A new two-story brick building opened on September 8, 1913.

Business:

Company store

Hotel run by the mill

Barber's Hall was  a barber shop operated by Walter Kersemeier from 1914 to 1965.

Boarding house operated by  Mike Varo

Drug store

Rothschild Pavillion - When the Wausau Street Railway Company constructed the first building in 1908, it was built to encourage people to ride the trolley to Rothschild and spend the day.   This building burned down in April of 1911and was replaced with the present building that same year.  Pine Park, as it was originally called, had the beautiful natural setting of the pine trees and the river, a picnic area, a baseball field, a zoo, plus swimming and boating in the summer.  In the winter there was hockey and a ski jump. One of the biggest attractions was the roller coaster, nicknamed "the whizzer." 

Industry:

See Background

Stories:

A paragraph quoting the Rothschild Bicentennial Committee:

There are several stories of how Rothschild got its name.  The most commonly heard story is, there was a transient traveler reportedly living in a cave on the north end of the Clark farm overlooking  Cedar Creek.  He was a reticent man whose hermit existence was a puzzle to all.  The hermit left as silently as he came.  Nobody knew where he went. Rumor had it he was of the great French house of Rothschild and was so called. The name was good and the mystery intriguing, so the name was applied to the little settlement of Rothschild.