Stiles Junction, Wisconsin

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Stiles Junction, Wisconsin
Unincorporated community
A Chicago and North Western freight train passes Stiles junction heading to Oconto Falls. September, 1964.
A Chicago and North Western freight train passes Stiles junction heading to Oconto Falls. September, 1964.
Stiles Junction, Wisconsin is located in Wisconsin
Stiles Junction, Wisconsin
Stiles Junction, Wisconsin
Stiles Junction, Wisconsin is located in the United States
Stiles Junction, Wisconsin
Stiles Junction, Wisconsin
Coordinates: 44°52′59.9″N 88°02′48.1″W / 44.883306°N 88.046694°W / 44.883306; -88.046694
Country United States
State Wisconsin
CountyOconto
Founded1882
Named afterThe Stiles family of local settlers, natives of Stilesville, Indiana.
Elevation
200 m (656 ft)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code920
GNIS feature ID1577839[1]
Websitehttps://townofstiles.org/

Stiles Junction is an unincorporated community located in the town of Stiles, Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States.[1]

Early history - Leighton

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Originally known as Leighton this area of Stiles was settled by John Leigh , a native of Ireland[2][3] along the Little River in the late 1860s.[4] The family operated a small sawmill (and later a grist mill)[5] here into the 1880s. In 1887 this sawmill in Leighton was destroyed in a fire.[6] Native Americans were a common sight in Stiles and Leighton as one of their burial grounds was located in Leighton.[7]

The John Leigh settlement in Leighton, Wisconsin was located approximately 1.4 mile east of the Stiles Junction station on County Highway 22 near the Little River.[8] A post office was established in 1882, and it remained in operation for 4 years before being discontinued in 1886.[9][10]

The first white female born in Oconto County, Effie A. Leigh, was born in the community of Leighton on July 25, 1851.[5] The Stiles Junction school, originally called the Leigh Town School, was located in Leighton.[11]

In August 1886, a forest fire that had been raging in the county burnt down a local farmer's barn. The entire settlement of Leighton was in great danger of being destroyed. Luckily, everyone had escaped. In total, 2 barns, five tons of hay, and 2 hogs were destroyed/killed in the fire.[12] The easternmost portion of the community (along the Little River) most likely became a ghost town in the early 1910s.[citation needed]

Stiles Junction

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The Stiles Junction name came to be[13] with a diamond crossing[14] between an east–west line of the C&NW's predecessor Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railway line (1883)[15] (that was built to Clintonville from Oconto) and the north–south Milwaukee Road.

After the second railroad came into this area of Stiles, the community surrounding the railroad station[note 1] soon began using "Stiles Junction" as the more commonly used name. Leighton was formally renamed Stiles Junction ca. 1882.[17][4][18]

Geography

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Stiles Junction is located at a diamond crossing between an east–west line of the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) crossing of the north–south Milwaukee Road. Nearby is the crossroads of U.S. Highway 141 and Wisconsin State Highway 22.[19] Stiles Junction, Wi is located at 44°52′59.9″N 88°02′48.1″W

By 1887 there were several hotels, saloons[20] and other shops established in proximity to Stiles Junction.[21] A piece in the October 19, 1991 Green Bay Press-Gazette list the Stiles Junction population as 40.[22]

Railroad

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The pre-existing Milwaukee Road's line (December 30, 1882)[23][24] connected Milwaukee and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.[25] The shared station that was built in 1881[26] and has recently collapsed and been removed.[27]

The C&NW in 1899 built a 2.4 mile branch line[28] to a sawmill and planing mill in Stiles[29][30] and later removed it in 1932.[31] The C&NW rail line eastward from the junction to Oconto, Wisconsin is now abandoned.[32][33]

Historic services

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By the late 1960s, with few riders remaining and the US Postal rail contracts ended, the Milwaukee Road (and most other big RRs) discontinued many of their long-distance trains. After these passenger services ended, the Stiles Junction station continued to be used as a train order office for both of the railroads.

Oconto Falls branch

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The middle portion of the line from Gillett, Wi to Oconto, Wi was the only intact section of the C&NW line remaining by the 1990s. The Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad bought the 4.7 mile[38] branch line from the C&NW on April 20, 1995. This 5-mile line westward from Stiles Junction to Oconto Falls, serves a Lumber yard, a distribution warehouse, a paper company, and a co-op grain storage facility.[39] A passenger station was located east of Cherry Avenue, on the north side of the tracks.[40] The 'connection' to the branch is via an inverted Y track.[41]

The C&NW line from Gillett to just outside Oconto Falls was allowed to be abandoned by the ICC in 1979[42] with the last train run on June 29, 1979. The C&NW line eastward from Stiles Junction to Oconto, was abandoned on December 3, 1996.[43][44][45]

See also

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References

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Explanatory notes

  1. ^ In North America, the terms "depot" and "station" have historically been interchangeable for such structures.[16]

Citations

  1. ^ a b "Stiles Junction, Wisconsin". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ History of Northern Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Company. 1881. p. 666. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  3. ^ Bashford, R. M., ed. (1875). The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (14 ed.). Madison, Wi: State of Wisconsin. p. 330. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "logging photos from Oconto County, WI". www.usgenwebsites.org. Oconto County Times-Herald. March 8, 2000. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "History of Northern Wisconsin - 1881". www.usgenwebsites.org. p. 655. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  6. ^ "Leighton". US Gen Websites. Oconto County Reporter. 1887. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  7. ^ "Flash From The Past - 1971". US Gen Websites. Oconto County Reporter. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  8. ^ "Couillardville settlers lived in fear of the Peshtigo Fire". www.usgenwebsites.org. Oconto County Reporter. October 8, 1871. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  9. ^ "Post Offices in Oconto County, Wisconsin". Postal History. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  10. ^ "Wisconsin: Monroe - Outagamie". National Archives Catalog. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  11. ^ Mr. Hendernon (1953). "Historic Oconto County Schools". US Gen Websites. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  12. ^ "Leighton". US Gen Websites. Oconto County Reporter. August 14, 1886. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  13. ^ Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 127.
  14. ^ Putz, Gerard (July 26, 1976). "C&NW -- CMSTP&P Union Station". www.rrpicturearchives.net. Stiles Junction, Wi: rrpicturearchives.net. Retrieved August 13, 2025. Looking west down the C&NW toward Oconto Falls, WI. The crossing line was CMSTP&P, now E&LS
  15. ^ staff writer (January 6, 1883). "Railroad Opening". Oconto County Reporter. p. 5.
  16. ^ Wiatrowski 2007, p. 152.
  17. ^ "Main Line-Fort Howard-Menominee River – Milwaukee & Northern Railway Historical Society". Neenah, Wis. 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  18. ^ "Reminders-Fort Howard-Menominee River – Milwaukee & Northern Railway Historical Society". Milwaukee & Northern Railway Historical Society. 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  19. ^ Nick Weber. "Oconto County, Stiles Junction (US 141/WIS 22)". Department of Transportation. State of Wisconsin. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
  20. ^ Bill (February 18, 2022). "Photo Page - STILES JUNCTION". www.usgenwebsites.org. Oconto County WIGenWeb Project. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  21. ^ Staff Writer (1887). "News FLASH from the Past". www.usgenwebsites.org. Oconto Reporter. Retrieved July 23, 2025. Robert McIvers has a fine big hotel at Stiles Junction, and near the depot is a hotel and saloon kept by James Hurley. Next door is the saloon of Pat Hurley, and next to that, the saloon and meat shop of Joseph McClusky. Further on is the shop of Henry VanVagel, the village shoemaker.
  22. ^ Van Boxel, Karil (October 19, 1991). "It's Still The Little Town That Could". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Green Bay, Wi: Gannett.
  23. ^ William Benjamin Henry (1921). "History of Oconto county". Wisconsin Historical Society. University of Wisconsin. p. 47. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
  24. ^ "Main Line-Fort Howard-Menominee River – Milwaukee & Northern Railway Historical Society". Milwaukee & Northern Railway Historical Society. 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  25. ^ Official Guide of the Railways. New York City: National Railway Publishing Company. June 1941.
  26. ^ "W OF STATE HIGHWAY 141 AND MILITARY RD | Property Record". Wisconsin Historical Society. January 1, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  27. ^ "Oconto River State Trail". Wisconsin Bike Trails. wisconsinbiketrails.com. June 6, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2025. The old depot is gone.
  28. ^ "Railway Age 1931-04-18: Vol 90 Iss 16". Railway Age. 90. Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation: 788. April 18, 1931. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  29. ^ Ziereis, Cathe (March 8, 2000). "A History Of Logging In Oconto County". www.usgenwebsites.org. Oconto County Times-Herald. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  30. ^ James P Kaysen (1974). "Lena, Wis. 7.5 Topo Map". The Wisconsin Historical Society. US Geological Survey. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  31. ^ Fisher, Charles, ed. (August 1937). The Railroads of Wisconsin 1827-1937. The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc. p. 13.
  32. ^ Glischinski 2007, p. 43
  33. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation (January 2020). Wisconsin Railroads & Harbors 2020 (PDF) (Map).
  34. ^ Scribbins 1970, p. 200
  35. ^ "Milwaukee Road Drops Channing Chippewa Train". The Escanaba Daily Press. Escanaba, MI. Associated Press. January 23, 1960. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ^ "Milwaukee Road Moves Up Date To Curtail Service". The Escanaba Daily Press. Escanaba, MI. February 2, 1960. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ Burns, Adam (December 16, 2021). "The Copper Country Limited". American-Rails.com. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  38. ^ Bill Vandervoort (February 1, 2019). "RAILROAD OPERATING INFORMATION". www.chicagorailfan.com. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  39. ^ Ns3322 (June 17, 2025). "Escanaba & Lake Superior". Wiki. Railroadfan.com. Retrieved August 13, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  40. ^ Vandervoort, Bill (January 9, 2019). "Oconto Falls Subdivision". LOST STATIONS MIDWEST. Chicago Railfan. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  41. ^ Wehrle, Andre (April 20, 2008). "Looking north on the E&LS". www.rrpicturearchives.net. Railroad Picture Archives. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  42. ^ Joe Follmar; Connie Francart; Al Vanderpoel (1991). "The Laona Line". www.laonahistory.com. Northwestern Line Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  43. ^ Williams, Vernon A. (December 11, 1996). "Union Pacific Railroad Company—Abandonment Exemption—in Oconto County, WI". Federal Register. Vol. 61, no. 239. U.S. Government Publishing Office. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
  44. ^ Glischinski (2007), p. 43.
  45. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation (January 2020). Wisconsin Railroads & Harbors 2020 (PDF) (Map).

Bibliography

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