Longwood Township, Clark County, Wisconsin

Longwood and Mead were by order of the county board, formed on the same day. Nov. 16^th 1895, and each of them were duly organized at the spring town meeting in 1896. Longwood, the 28th town to be formed is located in township 28 range 2 west and was previously encompassed within the boundaries Hixon Township.

The town of Longwood takes it name from the little burgh or hamlet long existing within its borders, called Longwood. The hamlet itself, presumably took its name from the long stretch of woods that grew in its immediate and adjacent vicinity. The first meeting of the town of Longwood was held in the (then) new town hall.

On the old maps, Longwood occupies a position nearly equal in importance to the the county seat of Neillsville, while the now prosperous villages of Owen, Thorp and Withee are not to be found. It was post office and important trading station. John McCarthy was the first postmaster.

A hotel was started by Harry Mead. He was appointed to that position in 1874 by U.S. Grant. The first Post Office for the township was just south of Longwood and the Postmaster there was Mr. Sheldon. Later the Post Office was moved to a store operated by Ben Andrews. Mail was hauled in by stage between Withee and Greenwood. A hotel was started by Harry Mead. It was large brick building located across from the town hall. By 1918, development of the community had already waned, but it was still a busy little center with a store, a blacksmith shop, a cheese factory, town hall, church and schoolhouse.

The early settlers came from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany and the eastern parts of the United States. Among them were Lewis Miller, Ole Mathison, Tom Bredeson, William and Byron Mead, John and Ed Sanders, Louis Jorgenson, and Hans Jorstad. They brought little with them except for their faith and courage. Once settled, they formed tight bonds of friendships and laid down the foundations of a community life which included, dances, baseball games, horse races, card games, picnics and good old fashioned fun. Together, they worked side by side and endured many hardships. They witnessed the impact of railroads, electricity, telephones, as well as, tractors and automobiles as time pushed them toward modern times.

Harvesting Corn

Signature of U. S. Grant

Sources: 1909 History of Clark Co., WI by Robert J. McBride; 1918 History of Clark County, WI; Compiled by Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge, Chicago, Lula Mae Stewart's "Follow the River".