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City of Appleton Firsts
Check out some of the unique City of Appleton firsts in the list below.
Airmail
The first airmail service from Whiting Airport (between Appleton and Menasha) left on December 15, 1928. According to the book Appleton Postal History, it was carried by a Ford Tri-Motor plane and the return air mail left Los Angeles on December 19. The first Air Mail flight out of Appleton International Airport was July 2, 1959.
Airplane
In 1911, Appleton resident Fred Felix Wettengel had guaranteed an aviator named Calbraith Perry Rogers $2,000 to do exhibition flying over Appleton. On September 3, 1911, over 3,000 people appeared to watch Rogers’ aeronautic feats in a Wright bi-plane, and many were taken up as passengers.
Automobile Ordinance
The first laws governing the use of automobiles in Appleton were passed by the city council in 1924.
Balloon
In 1881, James Carter ascended in the balloon City of Paris, taking it from Telulah Park to an area near downtown Appleton.
Baseball Team
In 1867, Appleton’s first baseball team was organized. Their first team name was “Excelsior,” later changed to “The Badgers.”
Brick Building
The first brick building in downtown Appleton was constructed in 1857 by J. W. Woodward, at the northeast corner of College Avenue and Oneida Street.
Bridge
The first bridge over the Fox River in Appleton was constructed in July 1851 by the Appleton Bridge Company.
Busline
The Fox River Bus Line first began service in Appleton on May 24, 1924.
Business
The first business in Appleton was the Lawrence Hotel, owned and operated by John F. Johnston.
Catholic Church
In 1859, Irish immigrants organized St. Mary Catholic Church in Appleton. The second Catholic Church, St. Joseph’s, was founded in 1868 by German immigrants.
Catholic Mass
Paul Grignon’s home White Heron was the site of the first Catholic Mass celebrated in Appleton. Father Bonduel of Poygan officiated in 1848.
Chamber of Commerce
On September 9, 1874, the Appleton Chamber of Commerce began operation under President A. L. Smith.
Christmas Lights
The first Christmas lights appeared on College Avenue in 1908.
Church
Appleton’s first church was the First Congregational Church, founded in 1850.
City Directory
The first Appleton City Directory was published in 1874.
City Plan
Appleton’s first city plan was prepared by Leonard S. Smith in 1922. It called for the construction of a Cherry Street (Memorial Drive) Bridge, the consolidation of railroad depots, and additional park lands.
Class at Lawrence University
On November 12, 1849, Lawrence University began a course of pre-college level instruction with a class of 35 students.
Court
In July 1852, the first Outagamie County Court convened with Judge P. H. Smith presiding. The first Circuit Court sat in October 1852 with Judge T. V. Howe presiding. The first Municipal Court started in 1907 with Thomas Ryan as the Judge.
Courthouse
The first Outagamie County Courthouse was constructed in 1855, on the same Walnut Street site as the present courthouse.
Dam
The first dam on the Appleton portion of the Fox River was constructed by Tracy Gingham in 1849.
Electric Central Station
On the evening of Saturday, September 30, 1882, two mills of the Appleton Paper and Pulp Company, and Hearthstone (home of H. J. Rogers), became the first buildings in the world lighted by electricity generated from the Edison hydroelectric central station.
Electric Street Lights
College Avenue was first lit by electric streetlights in 1912. The lights were financed by the merchants on College Avenue, who also paid the $5 monthly salary for a tender to turn the lights on and off each night.
Electric Street Railway
The first electric street cars began operating in Appleton on August 16, 1886. Appleton was the first community in the nation to have electric street cars. The cars ran until 1930.
Family
On August 29, 1848, John F. Johnston, his wife Janette, and their two children, William and Marion, moved into a small half-finished cabin on the land being cleared near Lawrence University, on what is now the north side of Johnston Street. The Johnstons became the first family to live in what would become Appleton.
Fire Hydrants
Appleton’s first fire hydrants were installed in March 1890.
Funeral
The Reverend Asa B. Randall presided at the first funeral in what would become the city of Appleton on October 15, 1849. The funeral was for the child of H. N. Day.
Gas Street Lighting
Gas lamps were first used to light the streets of Appleton in the fall of 1877.
German Language Newspaper
The first issue of the Appleton Volksfreund, a German language newspaper, was published in March 1871, and soon became the largest German language paper in the state. The Volksfreund ceased publication in 1932.
German School
A German language private school began operating in 1859.
Golf Course
Reid Municipal Golf Course, Appleton’s only public golf course, opened in 1941.
Grist Mill
The first grist mill opened in Appleton in 1853.
Graduating Class of Lawrence
The first degrees were conferred by Lawrence University in 1857. The first graduating class consisted of four men and three women.
High School
Appleton’s first high school was established for students in the second ward in 1876. The first class of 10 students graduated in 1878.
Hmong Police Officer
Chue Thao started with Appleton Police Department in 1996, retiring in March 2025 as a Sergeant.
Hmong School Board Member
Pheng Thao was Appleton’s first school board member, elected in 2022.
Hospital
Appleton’s first hospital was the Prescott Hospital, established at the northwest corner of Drew and Fisk (now Franklin) Streets sometime in the 1880s.
House
Appleton’s first frame house was constructed in 1848 near Lawrence University.
Large Screen Theater
The Big Picture Theater of Adventure & Discovery, the area’s first large-screen film theater, opened in downtown Appleton in March 2005. Due to low attendance, the theater closed in the fall of 2006.
Library
In 1887, Elizabeth Jones established a reading room over Pardee’s Grocery Store on College Avenue, creating Appleton’s first community library and the roots of what became Appleton Public Library.
Lutheran Church
The first Lutheran church, St. Paul’s, started in 1867.
The first mail was delivered to Appleton in 1849
Mayor
The first mayor of the City of Appleton was Amos Story, who served one, one-year term, from 1857 to 1858.
Middle School
Appleton’s first middle school was St. Joseph’s Catholic School, which opened in the fall of 1987.
Murder
In February 1858, during a drunken barroom brawl, John Hogan of Greenville smashed a “heavy sledge stake” against the head of James Duggan of Appleton.
Museum
The Outagamie Museum (now History Museum at the Castle) was established in the former Masonic Temple building on College Avenue in 1984. The Castle, operated by Outagamie County Historical Society, was founded in 1872 as a Pioneer Association.
Newspaper
The Appleton Crescent was first published in February 1853, with 88 subscribers.
Opera
The first grand opera performed in Appleton was “Marthe” by the Redpath Opera Company at Bertschy’s Hall in July 1875.
Paper Mill
In 1854, C. P. Richmond started Appleton’s first papermill. Limited to wrapping paper at first, the mill was able to produce newsprint in 1857. It was the first paper mill on the Fox River.
Park
In 1881, the City of Appleton purchased a large block of land north of the Lawrence campus for $13,000. That land became Appleton’s first park, City Park.
Parochial School
Father Louis Dael of St. Mary’s Catholic Church organized Appleton’s first parochial school in 1862.
Pool
Appleton’s first community swimming pool opened on West Water Street in 1916. Erb Park Pool opened in 1941 and Mead Park Pool in 1961. (Source: Post-Crescent, August 31, 1920; June 19, 1929)
Post Office
The Appleton Post Office opened in March 1849, under Postmaster John F. Johnston.
President of Lawrence University
The first president of the Lawrence Institute was William H. Sampson, who took office in 1849. The first professional educator to guide Lawrence was Dr. Edward Cooke, who began college-level instruction when he became president in 1853.
Radio Station
Appleton’s first radio station was WHBY, which went on the air with 50 watts in 1924. The station was licensed in 1925.
Railroad
The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad became Appleton’s first railroad when it was extended from Neenah and Menasha into Appleton on February 27, 1861.
Sawmill
The first sawmill in Appleton was constructed by Tracy Gingham in 1849.
School
The Township of Grand Chute organized School District Number One in 1851 and hired Daniel Huntley as the first teacher at a monthly salary of $28. The school opened that autumn in a building on the northwest corner of Oneida Street and College Avenue, with a class of 60 students.
Shopping Mall
In August 1954, the Valley Fair shopping mall opened. It was the first totally enclosed shopping mall in the world.
Soldiers
Lewis Schintz and Henry Cole became Appleton’s first soldiers when they volunteered for military duty eight days after the fall of Fort Sumter on April 20, 1861.
Steamship
In 1856, the steamship Aquilla was the first to make the trip from the Mississippi River to Green Bay by way of the Wisconsin River and the Fox. On that voyage, it became the first steamship to pass through Appleton.
Store
The dry goods store of William S. Warner was Appleton’s first retail business.
Sunday Newspaper
On September 24, 1961, The Appleton Post-Crescent began publishing a Sunday edition, the first Sunday newspaper in Appleton.
Sunday School
In September 1849, Methodist volunteer Henry L. Blood started Appleton’s first Sunday school at the Lawrence University Chapel.
Tannery
Appleton’s first tannery opened in 1860.
Telegraph
Appleton was linked by telegraph to Green Bay and the outside world in August 1862.
Telephone
In 1877, Alfred Galpin, an Appleton banker, constructed a telephone line between his home and office. This was only one year after Alexander Graham Bell invented the device, and, according to some reports, it was the first telephone in Wisconsin. Druggist L. N. Benoit then installed telephones in his store with connections to doctors’ offices. By 1878, Benoit had a switchboard linked to 25 phones around the city. It was the first switchboard in Wisconsin. In 1881, Benoit was bought by a precursor to the Wisconsin Telephone Company.
Television Station
Appleton’s first television station, WXGZ, channel 32, began broadcasting on March 9, 1984.
Test Tube Tree
In April of 1969, Dr. Lawson Winton cloned the world’s first test-tube tree, a triploid quaking aspen, at the Institute of Paper Chemistry.
Theater
Appleton’s first theater with a stage was known as Bertschy’s Hall, located on the second floor of the Bertschy Building on the northwest corner of College Avenue and Appleton Street. Herman Erb bought the building and remodeled it into a real opera house at a cost of $10,000. The grand opening was held in December 1882.
Veterinary Stable
Appleton’s first veterinary stable opened in 1869.
Village President
John F. Johnston was the first president of the village of Appleton.
Vocational School
In 1912, Appleton’s vocational school opened. It was the first school in the nation built exclusively for vocational purposes.
Woman Alderman
Dorothy Stillings became the first woman alderman when she was elected to represent Appleton’s eleventh ward in a 1952 special election.
Woman Mayor
In 1980, Dorothy Johnson became the first woman elected as Appleton’s mayor.
Woolen Mill
The first woolen mill in Appleton opened in 1861.
YMCA
Appleton’s YMCA was founded in 1888 by Frank Harwood and other community leaders.