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The community of Meeker, also know as Meeker Hill, was located midway on the south border of Section 19 and the north border of Section 30. The community owed its initial existence to Appleton and Fond du Lac Trails the former which ran through it. Specifically the movement of people and goods moving in both a northern direction from Milwaukee and in a southern direction to Milwaukee. It was a service community. The patent purchasers of land in the immediate vicinity were William Greene, Field Ashworth, John Brown, and ?. In 1859 land owners were J. Schliche?, A. Griemann, C. Meicr? and ???.
The Compromise: From the book Richfield Remembers The Past, in the early 1860s, Mathias Becker established the first business opening his tavern, store, post office and stage stop, later referred to as "The Compromise." The building was of cream city brick construction and two stories. In the 1870s he added a wagon wheel factory and repair service. The additions were of wood construction. In the year 1873 we find the community of Meeker with land owned by G Kohl, G. Beyer, A. Scharl, and S. Dollzer. Identified were a post office and blacksmith shop. In 1880 the Meeker Post Office was located in Section 19 in the store of Mathias Becker who was also the Postmaster.
Chronicles of the Beyer family have George and Apolonia Margaretha (Flash) Beyer emigrating from Retzstadt, Bavaria in 1847. In 1863 Johann, the father of George purchased 40 acres of land from Frederick and Sophy Muhm. Johann died in 1864 and the land went into the hands of his son George. In 1867 George and Margaretha purchased another 38 acres of land from George and Elizabeth Schuetz. The family opened a tavern in which travelers going to and from Milwaukee could find lodging and board. The family reports in 1878 they sold this land to Anna Bezold and moved to Sevastopol located a few miles north of Sturgeon Bay.
In 1922-23, Highway 41 in Meeker Hill was straightened and the road positioned just west of Meeker Hill proper. The highway no longer went directly through the community. In 1927 a steel truss 115 foot long bridge was moved from Barton and installed over the new roadway. On the bridge ran Mequon Road and beneath Highway 41. In 1967 the bridge was removed as it needed substantial repairs which could not be justified considering the reduced traffic using the bridge. Shirley Hess of the Hartford History Room and William Herman found this information on page 176 in the Richfield 100 Anniversary Book. The picture on the left is a scratchboard drawing by Mel Kishner, included in an article by Charles Stewart, published in the Milwaukee Journal 19 August 1967 and shared with us by John Scott of Brookfield. The full article can be found here. The bridge was referred to by the Wisconsin Highway Department as the Meeker Hill Underpass bridge. In the 1950s, a new roadway was constructed just north of the community. It was named highway 41 with the old 41 renamed highway 175. Traffic along highway 175 became local with most traffic now using the new highway. |
