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A little history…..

It is on the Portage County Historical Society Website one can read about the survey of Portage County that was made in 1851 and 1852. Two teams of men made the survey, one team coming from the East and one from the West. They did not meet where they should have. It was neither possible to start the survey again or to change the number of sections in a congressional township. This resulted in the larger Sections near the center of the County and Stockton’s West boundary.

Stockton began a little more than one hundred and forty seven years ago. In the book “Our County Our Story”, Malcolm Rosholt includes a brief section addressing The Township of Stockton. He writes, “Stockton, earlier a part of the town of Plover, was organized in 1855 as one Township of 36 sections (T.23, R.9) and was ordered to hold its first meeting on Monday, May 28 at the house of John Shannon.” This task fell on the shoulders of town resident Oliver H. Lamoreux, elected Clerk of that very first meeting.

The minutes of that meeting state, “The whole number of votes polled was fifty-six for the office of chairman of the board of supervisors of which O. H. Lamoreux received fifty-six votes.” (Source-Town History Files-UWSP)

Oliver H. Lamoreux was born at Clockville, town of Lenox, Madison Co., New York on April 22, 1824. His parents were William Oliver and Harriet (Barnard) Lamoreaux. He was the second born of ten children.

On February 28, 1848 he married Elizabeth C. Hall in Clockville, New York. Through the years they had five children. (Source-Internet)

In 1849 he came to Wisconsin, and shortly after returned to the east. October 22, 1851, he again came west, and settled in this county. He was admitted to the bar in the state of New York in 1851 and to practice in the supreme court of Wisconsin in 1858.

He was chairman of Stockton when that town was organized, also justice of the peace. He resided in the town of Stockton until January 1859 when he moved to Plover where he was in practice. He was appointed to the office of district attorney of Portage County and was afterwards three times elected to the office and was special agent for the Winnebagos, Pottawotomies and stray Indians for four years. He also served as deputy U.S. Marshall in 1861. In 1871 he was elected to the Assembly. He divided his time between the practice of his profession and farming, being successful in both. He died in May of 1891 and is buried in the Plover Cemetery. (Source-Stevens Point Journal May 23, 1891)

Rosholt, Portage County’s local Historian, also writes, “Effective April 1, 1870 the south one half of Town 24, Range 9, was detached from Sharon and attached to Stockton. Five years later Amherst annexed six sections from the east boundary of Stockton.” Struggles continued until 1898 to restore Stockton to its original boundaries. All efforts failed.