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Guide to the La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the City Clerk, Amendments to the City of La Crosse Charter, 1865-1911
La Crosse Series 030
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Abstract
- Drafts and approved amendments to the City Charter of the City of La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1865-1911. The materials are arranged in chronological order, and although not complete, include an amendment to allow the city to pay Civil War Union volunteers from the city coffers and to exact a tax (approved by the legislature Jan. 25, 1865); a number of amendments of 1869 relating to education and the superintendent’s authority and a railroad enabling act; the authorization to add a Police Chief and police department to the municipal governmental organization (Feb. 24, 1870); and finally the addition of the Village of North La Crosse into the city limits of La Crosse (March 25, 1871).
- Collection Title
- La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the City Clerk, Amendments to the City of La Crosse Charter
- Date of Materials
- 1865-1911
- Creator
- La Crosse (Wis.). Office of the City Clerk.
- Call Number
- La Crosse Series 030
- Amount
- 0.2 cubic feet
- Physical Description
- 1 archives box
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- La Crosse Public Library Archives
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the City Clerk, Amendments to the City of La Crosse Charter, La Crosse Series 030, La Crosse Public Library Archives, La Crosse, WI
Historical Note
The state census of 1855 reported that La Crosse had a population of 1,637 people. A few attempts had been made to incorporate as a village by a group of prominent La Crosse leaders called the Committee of Seven. However, it wasn’t until March 7, 1856, when “Dr. Dugal C. Cameron, a member of the state assembly, who was also a member of the Committee of Seven, introduced into the assembly a bill embodying a city charter for La Crosse.”(1) After the proposed charter was drawn up by Samuel D. Hastings, C.A. Stevens and Ebenezer C. Childs, both members of the Committee of Seven, reviewed the document and made slight changes. The bill for incorporation was introduced by Assemblyman Cameron and passed. The governor signed it on March 14, 1856.
Amendments to the charter generally reflect changes in the physical boundaries of the city limits; roles and titles of city officers or terms of office; make-up or structure of the Council, and the like.
------ (1) Albert H. Sanford and Harry J. Hirshheimer, A History of La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1841-1900 (La Crosse, WI : La Crosse Co. Historical Society), 1951, p.86.
Scope and Contents
Common Council resolutions and reports began to be organized by a numbering system in Dec. 1932. Before that time the resolutions were kept folded up in chronological order, roughly by subject or Council committee (such as Parks, Judiciary, Fire, Police, etc.). This set of pre-1932 resolutions represents those labeled as Charter Amendments, and date from 1865-1911. These materials do contain some resolutions, but by and large are drafts and approved amendments to the city Charter by the state legislature. The original order of these reports was maintained, and the series contains 20 documents. The documents have been surface dry cleaned and some have been encased in mylar sleeves for protection.
While the series of amendments is not complete, it does offer some interesting changes, such as an amendment to allow the city to pay Civil War Union volunteers from the city coffers and to exact a tax (approved by the legislature Jan. 25, 1865); a number of amendments of 1869 relating to education and the superintendent’s authority and a railroad enabling act; the authorization to add a Police Chief and police department to the municipal governmental organization (Feb. 24, 1870); and finally the addition of the Village of North La Crosse into the city limits of La Crosse (March 25, 1871).
Administrative Information
Publication Information
La Crosse Public Library Archives 1998 October
800 Main St.La Crosse, Wisconsin, 54601
(608) 789-7136
archives@lacrosselibrary.org
Access to Materials
Materials in this collection are available for patron use.
Acquisitions Information
(Accession no. 1996.004) Resolutions were located in the City Clerk’s basement area of City Hall; came to the Archives as part of the Mayor’s Special Committee on Historic Records, Dec. 1996
Processing Information
Processed by Anita Taylor Doering, October 1998
Controlled Access Headings
Subject(s)
- Municipal charters--Wisconsin--La Crosse
- Municipal government--Wisconsin--La Crosse
- Public records--Wisconsin--La Crosse
OCLC Number
45254042
Collection Inventory
| Box | ||||
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1865-1911 |
1 | |||