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Guide to the La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the City Clerk, Licenses Issued by the La Crosse City Clerk, 1856-1955
La Crosse Series 050
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Abstract
- Lists of licenses issued by the City Clerk’s Office as designated by the La Crosse Common Council, 1856-1955. Some of the early volumes came from the City Treasurer’s Office and are journals that sometimes include orders paid and tax certificates as well as licenses. There is a gap from 1878-1881 inclusive in the license record. Types of licenses include retail and wholesale liquor, taxis, gun powder, "runners" (i.e. proprietors of hotels), beverage, shows (including circuses and menageries), billiard/pool/bowling alley, etc. Generally the volumes cover a number of years, and arrangement is by type of license. The information taken includes licensee’s name and fee paid.
- Collection Title
- La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the City Clerk, Licenses Issued by the La Crosse City Clerk
- Date of Materials
- 1856-1955
- Creator
- La Crosse (Wis.). Office of the City Clerk.
- Call Number
- La Crosse Series 050
- Amount
- 8.0 cubic feet
- Physical Description
- 2 archives boxes, 9 volumes
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- La Crosse Public Library Archives
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the City Clerk, Licenses Issued by the La Crosse City Clerk, La Crosse Series 050, La Crosse Public Library Archives, La Crosse, WI
Scope and Contents
Licenses were required by the La Crosse Common Council from the very beginning of city government. These volumes (1856-1955) list the various types of licenses required by the City which changed over time. There is a gap in the license record from 1878-1881 inclusive. Examples of licenses issued by the City Clerk are retail and wholesale liquor, gun powder, taxis, "runners" (hotel proprietors), beverage, shows (circuses, menageries, etc.), pool/billiard/bowling alley, cigarette, electricians, plumbers, scavengers, auctioneers, transient merchants, and the like.
The earliest volumes were kept by the Treasurer’s Office, as some are labelled "Treasurer’s Journal" and include orders paid by the City and some other accounts, including tax certificates. Tax sales list only names and amount and certificate number. There are no links between the certificate numbers and an address or legal description. A span of years is generally covered in each volume, although the earlier volumes have several sub-groups of licenses within a volume. Generally, within the volume the licenses are arranged by type of license, therein chronologically recorded. Information recorded includes licensee name and fee collected.
The City Clerk’s Office at City Hall retains licenses since 1955
Administrative Information
Publication Information
La Crosse Public Library Archives 1997-1999
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) Licenses 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, May 1997; revised Feb. 1999
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
- La Crosse (Wis.). Office of the Treasurer.
Subject(s)
- Licenses--Wisconsin--La Crosse
- Municipal government--Wisconsin--La Crosse
- Public records--Wisconsin--La Crosse
OCLC Number
42449950
Collection Inventory
|
Journals |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Treasurer's journal, 1856-1877 |
1 | 1 | ||
|
Treasurer's journal, 1864-1877 Scope and ContentsLicenses, 1870-1877; La Crosse County in account with the City Poor Commissioner, 1864-1871 |
1 | 2 | ||
|
City Clerk's journal, 1882-1885 Scope and ContentsDog licenses, 1885-1890; Poor Commissioner's order, 1882-1885; tax sales, 1882-1885 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Treasurer's journal, 1889-1895 Scope and ContentsDelinquent personal property tax; dog tax, 1891-1895; tax sales, 1889-1895 |
2 | 1 | ||
|
Licenses |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
City Clerk's office, 1886-1895 |
2 | 2-3 | ||
| Volume | ||||
|
City Clerk's office, 1890-1909 |
1-2 | |||
|
Treasurer's office, 1910-1923 |
3 | |||
|
Taxi licenses and driver permits, 1923-1941 |
4 | |||
|
Treasurer's office, 1923-1925 |
5 | |||
|
City Clerk's office, 1930-1955 |
6-9 | |||