Colgate, Wisconsin
Unincorporated community
CountryUnited States
StateWisconsin
CountyWashington, Waukesha
Population est300
Pop est as ofFebruary 2018
Time zoneCentral (CST) (UTC-6)
Time zone (DST)CDT (UTC-5)
Elevation981 ft
Coordinates43°11′35″N 88°12′24″W
ZIP code53017
Area code262
GNIS feature ID1563263[1]

Colgate is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Wisconsin, United States, straddling the county line with Waukesha County.[1] Colgate is located partially in the village of Richfield, and the village of Lisbon.[2] Its ZIP Code is 53017.[3] The population is around 300,[4] up from about 50 in 1983.[5]

Geography

The Fox River, an Illinois River tributary, rises in a small, unnamed swamp, 1 mi (1.6 km) southeast of the community of Colgate.[6] The Bark River also originates to the north and runs in a southwesterly direction.

The Canadian National Railway line runs North-South, and there was originally a depot there.[7]

County Road Q, also known as County Line Road, is the main road in Colgate, and runs east-west along the border between Washington and Waukesha counties. It was formerly called Main Street.[8][7]

History

Colgate was known as Colgate Station at first.[8] It was named after James Colgate, a construction engineer for the rail line that still runs through the community.[8]

The post office was established January 11, 1887,[8] with its first postmaster being Andrew Ennis, Sr.[9][10] It operated out of the railroad depot on the Lisbon side of Colgate.[11] Ennis was appointed on July 21, 1887.[12] August B. Henshell was appointed postmaster in 1889.[13] On August 30, 1898 Henshell was replaced by Max Manthey.[14] Manthey owned the general store and was a supervisor on the Lisbon Town Board.[8] On October 1, 1898 the post office relocated to the general store,[11][15] which was also on the south side (Lisbon side) of the road.[7] A cross-street on this side was named Wagner Street in his honor, which is now called Short Road.[7] This also had a cross street called Melville Street, which no longer exists.[7]

The night of October 16, 1901, two Chicago-bound freight trains collided on the Wisconsin Central Railway tracks between Colgate and Rugby Junction. Two cars derailed, but no injuries were reported.[16]

On December 8, 1902 a fire broke out in the general store.[17] Manthey, his spouse, seven children, and a servant were asleep at the time.[17] Only Ms. Manthey and two of their children survived.[17][8] The Manthey general store had also been destroyed by fire in the previous year.[7]

The post office/general store was rebuilt December 15, 1903,[8][18] this time on the northern (Washington County) side of the road.[7] Theodore Roosevelt appointed Frank E. Stirn as postmaster.[19]

On April 28, 1934, a 1929 coupe allegedly carrying members of the Dillinger Gang was seen in a Colgate garage, less than a week after the gang was spotted in Manitowish Waters.[20]

Frank Stirn resigned as postmaster in 1946 and his spouse Elfrieda was appointed to the role by postmaster Robert E. Hannegan.[19] She had the position until 1966.[8][19]

The 20th Alice in Dairyland, crowned in 1967, was Kristin Williams of Colgate.[21] The occasion resulted in the biggest parade the community has ever had, consisting of 89 vehicles proceeding what was then still called Main Street (now County Line Road/County Road Q).[8][7]

Around 5:00AM on December 30, 1967, a house fire broke out in Colgate.[22][23] Forty firefighters from surrounding communities responded, and Robert Pickhard from the Richfield Volunteer Fire Company lost his life battling the blaze.[22][23][24] He is the only firefighter in the company's history to die in the line of duty.[22]

The United States Senate confirmed Lynn E. Burton as postmaster on January 17, 1969.[25][26]

In 1983 turkeys were rare enough in the area that when a friendly hen adopted downtown Colgate as her home, it made news.[8][27] Postmaster Burton witnessed the bird's death from a hit and run collision in November of that year.[5]

In November 1987, the former Stirn General Store and Post Office caught fire after standing for 84 years. Firefighters from Lisbon and Richfield put out the blaze, but the building was destroyed. The post office had already been moved to its current building to the east of where the fire was.[8]

In 2018, echoing events of 35 years earlier, there were several cougar sightings in the area.[4][28] Three sightings were in Colgate,[29][28] and it is likely that all the sightings were of a single individual from South Dakota.[4]

Management of the Colgate Post Office

Though many businesses have operated through the years there, the one constant is the post office. Though a number of businesses still operate in the Colgate ZIP Code of 53017, the post office is the only non-residential establishment still open in downtown Colgate.[8]

NameTitleDate appointed
Andrew Ennis, Sr.PostmasterJanuary 11, 1887[9][12]
August B. HenshellPostmasterJune 13, 1889[13][12][18]
Max MantheyPostmasterAugust 30, 1898[14][18]
Albert E. WaudreyPostmasterFebruary 2, 1903[18]
Frank E. StirnPostmaster, 4th class[30]August 12, 1903[19][18]
Elfrieda A. StirnPostmaster, 3rd classFebruary 1, 1946[19][30]
Elenore ChristisonClerk-in-ChargeDec. 31, 1966[11]
Lynn E. BurtonActing postmasterMarch 10, 1967[30]
Lynn E. BurtonPostmasterJanuary 17, 1969[25][26]
Susan E. ThielOfficer-in-chargeDecember 21, 1989[25]
Lisa A. PleasantPostmasterOctober 20, 1990[25]
Renee J. ArciszewskiOfficer-in-chargeMarch 20, 1992[25]
Mary Jean E. SmollerOfficer-in-chargeOctober 1, 1992[25]
Shirley A. ReithPostmasterMay 1, 1993[25]
John P. EldridgePostmasterSeptember 3, 1994[25]
James BucherOfficer-in-chargeJanuary 7, 2011[25]
Sheila SingletonOfficer-in-chargeAugust 10, 2011[25]
Jacob FrankOfficer-in-chargeDecember 3, 2012[25]
Mark KlugeOfficer-in-chargeMay 9, 2013[25]

On May 18, 2013, the Colgate post office was converted to a Remotely Managed Post Office.[25] It no longer has its own postmaster and operates under the direction of the postmaster of the Hubertus Post Office.[25]

Notes

  1. ^
  2. ^ "Colgate, Waukesha Co". Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
  3. ^ United States Postal Service (2012). "USPS – Look Up a ZIP Code". Archived February 14, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  4. ^ Anderson, Madeline (February 14, 2018). "'It'd be neat to see:' Cougar caught on camera in Colgate has some on the lookout". FOX 6 Now Milwaukee. Archived 14 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Colgate's turkey tangles with van". The Capital Times. November 11, 1983. Archived January 12, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  6. ^
  7. ^ Keller, Fred (Summer 1999). "Colgate, Wisconsin: Fire". Landmark. 42 (2): 26–29. Waukesha, WI: Waukesha County Historical Society. ISSN 0458-6972. OCLC 4969800
  8. ^ Keller, Fred (Winter 2004). "Colgate: A Road Bump with History". Landmark. 47 (4): 22–23. Waukesha, WI: Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum. ISSN 0458-6972. OCLC 4969800
  9. ^ "www.newspapers.com/clip/69199150/andrew-ennis-sr-new-postmaster-of/". The Wisconsin State Register. Portage, Wisconsin: Rockwood & Goodell. January 15, 1887. p. 2. Archived February 13, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2021. Six new post offices have been established in Wisconsin and postmasters appointed as follows: Colgate Waukesha county Andrew Ennis, Sr....
  10. ^ Van Ryzin, Jerry (October 15, 1952). "Waukesha, Mukwanago Post Offices Started in 1837". Waukesha Daily Freeman. p. 16. Archived January 12, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2021. Colgate (Washington county, formerly Waukesha) – Established Jan. 11. 1887. First postmaster, Andrew Ennis, Sr.
  11. ^ Reilly, Mike (16 September 2007). "Post Office / Postmaster / Mail Delivery History – Sussex, Lisbon,Colgate, Lake Five, Lannon". Sussex-Lisbon Area Historical Museum. Archived 27 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  12. ^ Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832–1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. pp. 922–923 via ancestrylibrary.com
  13. ^ "Wisconsin Postmasters". The Weekly Wisconsin. June 8, 1889. p. 5. Archived January 12, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2021. August B. Henshell will be appointed postmaster at Colgate, Waukesha County
  14. ^ "Wisconsin Postmasters". The Weekly Wisconsin. September 3, 1898. p. 4. Archived January 12, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2021. Washington, D. C.. Aug. 30.—[Special.]—Fourth-class Wisconsin postmasters appointed today: Colgate, Waukesha county. Max Manthey, vice A. B. Henshell removed;
  15. ^ The Waukesha Freeman. 6 October 1898. p. 6. Our post office was removed Oct 1st to itsnew quarters. Max Manthey will act as postmaster vica A. B. Henschel
  16. ^ "Central is Tied up". The Herald. October 24, 1901. p. 3. Archived January 12, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  17. ^ "Tragic Deaths in Badger Fire". The Journal Times. December 8, 1902. p. 1. Archived February 14, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  18. ^ Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832–1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. pp. 476–477 via ancestrylibrary.com
  19. ^ "Postmaster Resigns, Wife Takes Over Job". Wisconsin State Journal. February 10, 1946. p. 4. Archived January 12, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  20. ^ "[Wisconsin license number 10649...]". Marshfield News-Herald. Vol. 14, no. 46. April 28, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  21. ^ "Alice in Dairyland Alumni". Alice in Dairyland. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Archived February 7, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  22. ^ "Richfield Volunteer Fire Company History". Richfield Volunteer Fire Company. Archived 14 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Fire Fatal to Volunteer at Richfield". The Daily Telegram. 2 January 1968. p. 9. Archived January 12, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Fireman Killed In Richfield Fire". The La Crosse Tribune. 31 December 1967. p. 2. Archived January 12, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  25. ^ "Postmasters by City COLGATE POST OFFICE WASHINGTON COUNTY, WISCONSIN". United States Post Office. Retrieved February 7, 2021.[dead link]
  26. ^ "Confirm State Postmasters". Wausau Daily Herald. January 18, 1969. p. 12. Archived January 12, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  27. ^ "Turkey Antics". Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter. November 4, 1983. p. 1. Archived February 14, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  28. ^ "Cougar caught on camera again in Washington County". WTMJ-TV Milwaukee. Milwaukee: Scripps Local Media. March 26, 2018. Archived 14 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  29. ^ Wiedenhoeft, Jane E.; Gross, Matt; Walter, Scott (2019). "Rare Carnivore Observations 2018". Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Archived 23 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  30. ^ Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832–1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. via ancestrylibrary.com