In 1921 Robert M. Dessureau writes:
Deerbrook, situated on the main line of the Chicago & North Western railway, was named by Edward Dawson, timber cruiser and prospector, who while camping near the Eau Claire river watched the deer “drink his fill” each morning just as the sun peeped over the hills proclaiming a new day. Thus he called it “Deerbrook,” by which it has since been known today.
Dessureau’s work History of Langlade County is considered an authoritative work today. What you read above has been referenced since then as the founding of Deerbrook in work of countless others.
In a 1951 piece handwritten by Martha Lucas, she extend with much more information on Deerbrook. Here I discover James T. Reeve and his wife plat the Village of Reeve in 1886. Charles M. Upham and wife plat the Village of Deerbrook in 1887. Concluding how these became known as “Deerbrook”.
Here I question, What was the official formation of Deerbrook? Two plats indicate formal and legal formation would follow. Then on and off research of 27 years, last night I found on additional piece of my theory in a book titles The History of Wood County.
Digging deeper on Edward Dawson, thanks to J. J. Wagner, I had patent layouts in this area for some time. I focused on Edward Dawson. Deleglise references him at least five times in his work and not once connects any of them to the naming of Deerbrook. Dessureau also never gave a reference to sources he used. It is authoritative enough I can conclude many of his sources and confirmed many of them in this area.
Early in my search I found this in the History of the Place Names of The North Western Line, page 63, written in 1908.
Deerbrook, Langlade County, Wisconsin, is a fanciful name that was made for the place, and is based on a legend that deer were occasionally seen here while they were drinking from a brook that runs by the place.
Back to patents.
Henry Hewitt Jr. on 25 June 1869 patents T32N – R11E (Town of Neva today), section 29 the NW1/4, SW1/4 of this town. This property would sit in relation to where the 1881 depot would sit. Currently I’m waiting for the patent file from NARA.
Edward Dawson and Warren W. Woodruff patent their first in the Town of Neva on 10 May 1872, not even in Section 29. Another of these two filed 5 April 1878 still not in Section 29 and a second, on the same date is in Section 30 but not near Deerbrook. And this is seven years after Hewitt.
Then last night, in the History of Wood County I find on page 264:
The Hewitt post office was established in 1883, Fred Korth being the first postmaster. The post office was at first called Kreuser, which the name was changed in a few years to correspond with that of the railway station, which was named after Henry Hewitt Sr., of Menasha, who in association with others, did considerable lumbering in this neighborhood and had a side-track built here. The logging camps established in the vicinity before the village was settled, remained with various changes of base until 1893 or later.
James T. Reeve purchased a sizable patent where he plats the Village of Reeve in 1886 on the north end of this patent, filed 24 April 1883.
Charles M. Upham purchased his patent, matching what is platted in 1887, on 24 April 1885. This property is East of where the depot stood. Still not purchased and sitting directly West of Hewitt’s 1869 patent. For 16 years not even Hewitt Jr. purchased it.
Briefly, Henry Hewitt Jr. moved on from Wisconsin to found both Tacoma and Everett Washington. He repeats success that left one historian writing about the merger of Hewitt’s Tacoma Company with another in St. Paul, Minnesota:
Henry Hewitt Jr., considered the richest man in Wisconsin.
Henry Hewitt Jr. while scouting found this patent in Deerbrook. This became his base camp. In 1873 he patents more than 47 properties running North and South in Section 9 of the Town of Neva. Even these purchases pre-date Edward Dawson, Charles Upham and James T. Reeve.
Why would a name of a came outlive two village? The majority of settlers here were from Bohemia. Here, now, today if you are searching your Bohemian ancestors where records are not found in the Czech Republic; Bohemia now gone. You start with place, then the family name. From there they go to house number and profession. Where someone related to the original family arriving still lives today in a majority of cases. This is how tightly tide Bohemia was to the place they lived. This is why Deerbrook survives today.
Wood County history to find this. As clearly Henry Hewitt Sr. taught his son who repeated all over the state what his father did in Hewitt, Wood County, Wisconsin.
Deerbrook, Welcome Home.