New Cassel, Wisconsin facts for kids

New Cassel or New Cassell, once known as Crouchville, was a small village located along the Milwaukee River in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. It was in the northwest part of the Town of Auburn. Later, New Cassel became part of Campbellsport, Wisconsin when Campbellsport officially became a village in 1902. Today, the area that was New Cassel is the eastern part of Campbellsport.

New Cassel was the very first settlement in the Auburn area. It was started by a schoolteacher from New York State named Ludin Crouch. In February 1846, Crouch and a Native American friend named Weh-aug-wok-na traveled up the Milwaukee River. They were looking for a good spot to build a dam to use the river's water power. They found the perfect place at this spot.

In the spring of 1846, Crouch returned with his brother-in-law, John Howell. They claimed land on both sides of the river so they could build a sawmill. The dam was built, and the new settlement was officially named Crouchville on July 4, 1846. By that fall, Crouch's sawmill was up and running. It was the first sawmill in the region and provided wood to places as far away as Taycheedah.

How New Cassel Got Its Name

By 1856, the sawmill site had been sold several times and was no longer in use. A man named Emil Brayman bought the land and began building a flour mill there. He managed to get the village's name changed from Crouchville to New Cassel. He chose this name after his homeland, Hesse-Cassel, in Germany. However, he never finished building the flour mill. Around that time, the local post office, which was called the Auburn post office, moved to the New Cassel mill site and took on the new village name.

What Life Was Like in New Cassel

By 1868, New Cassel was a busy little village. It had a hotel and a flour mill. There were three churches: one for Baptists, one for Catholics, and another for "Protestants" (likely Lutherans). The village also had three general stores, where people could buy almost anything they needed.

Other businesses included a tin shop, two smithies (where metal was worked), and two tailors who made clothes. There were also two carpenters, a brick mason, and a cabinet maker. For shoes, there were two shoemakers, and a harnessmaker made gear for horses. The village even had two breweries, a meat market, and two saloons. A notary public helped with legal documents, and a cooper made barrels. There was also a doctor to care for the villagers.

The School Sisters of St. Francis

On April 28, 1874, an important event happened in New Cassel. Emma Franziska Höll (who became known as Sister Mary Alexia) arrived with two other nuns from Schwarzach, Germany. They came to New Cassel to start a new religious congregation. They built a boarding school in the village. In the years that followed, these nuns, known as the School Sisters of St. Francis, built other facilities in Wisconsin. This included a mission for Chippewa Indians in Reserve, Wisconsin and what would later become their main center (motherhouse) in Milwaukee.

The End of New Cassel

Even as late as 1919-1920, the Wisconsin State Gazetteer still listed New Cassel as a separate settlement. However, the New Cassel post office closed down sometime between 1923 and 1925. Eventually, the village was fully absorbed into Campbellsport, becoming the eastern part of that larger village.

Important People from New Cassel

• James Bannon: He was a politician who served in the Wisconsin state legislature.
• Louis Eidemiller: He was also a Wisconsin state legislator and worked as a physician (doctor).
• The School Sisters of St. Francis: This is an order of teaching nuns that was founded and had its main base in New Cassel.