Appleton Wisconsin History & Facts

Appleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles (160 km) north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. As of the 2020 Census it had a population of 75,644, making it the sixth largest city in Wisconsin. Appleton is a part of the Fox Cities metropolitan area, the third largest in the state behind Milwaukee and Madison.

Appleton serves as the heart of the Fox River Valley, which is home to Lawrence University, the Fox Cities Exhibition Center, Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, Fox River Mall, Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium, Appleton International Airport, and the Valley's two major hospitals: St. Elizabeth Hospital and ThedaCare Regional Medical Center–Appleton. It also hosts regional events such as Octoberfest and the Mile of Music.

The territory where Appleton is today was traditionally occupied by the Ho-Chunk and the Menominee. The Menominee Nation ceded the territory to the United States in the Treaty of the Cedars in 1836, with Chief Oshkosh representing the Menominee. The treaty came at the end of several years of negotiations between the Menominee, the Ho-Chunk and the federal government about how to accommodate the Oneida, Stockbridge-Munsee, and Brothertown peoples who were removed from New York to Wisconsin. The Ho-Chunk never ratified the final treaty as only the Menominee ceded land. In the Menominee language, Appleton is known as Ahkōnemeh, or "watches for them place".

The first European settlers in Appleton were fur traders seeking to do business with Fox River Valley Native Americans. Hippolyte Grignon built the White Heron in 1835 to house his family and serve as an inn and trading post.

Appleton was settled in 1847. It was founded as three unincorporated villages along the Fox River. From south to north along the river, these were Grand Chute, Appleton, and Lawesburg. In 1853, the three were merged into the single incorporated Village of Appleton. John F. Johnston was the first resident and village president. Lawrence University, also founded in 1847, was backed financially by Amos A. Lawrence and originally known as the Lawrence Institute. Samuel Appleton, Lawrence's father-in-law from New England who never visited Wisconsin, donated $10,000 to the newly founded college library, and the town took his name in appreciation.

The paper industry, beginning with the building of the first paper mill in the city in 1853, has been at the forefront of the development of Appleton. In order to provide electricity to the paper industry, the nation's first hydro-electric central station, the Vulcan Street Plant on the Fox River, began operation on September 30, 1882. The power plant also powered the Hearthstone House, the first residence in the world powered by a centrally located hydroelectric station using the Edison system.

Shortly thereafter, in August 1886, Appleton was the site for another national first, the operation of a commercially successful electric streetcar company. Electric lights replaced gas lamps on College Avenue in 1912. Appleton also had the first telephone in Wisconsin, and the first incandescent light in any city outside of the East Coast.

Famous Peoples From Appleton Wisconsin

Lynn Kellogg

Lynn Kellogg (April 2, 1943 – November 12, 2020) was an American actress and singer.

Kellogg was perhaps best known for her role as Sheila in the original Broadway production of Hair in 1968. She also appeared in the 1969 film Charro! with Elvis Presley.

In Feb/1972 Kellogg traveled to Vietnam with Sammy Davis Jr and other performers where they performed a USO Show on several US bases in South Vietnam for the US military troops.

She subsequently worked in children's television and was a performer of contemporary Christian music. She developed the educational series Animals, Animals, Animals, which aired from 1976 to 1981, and won both Emmy and Peabody Awards.

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