Solomon Juneau, a French Canadian, was born at L'Asumption, a small village near Montreal Canada on August 9, 1793. A French trader, Juneau was named an authorized agent when the American Fur Company established a Trading Post in Milwaukee in 1818. He soon saw a future in Milwaukee and purchased the land between the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan, platted it, and named it Juneau Town. He became the first postmaster and the first presidet of the Village of Milwaukee and in 1846 was elected the first mayor of the City of Milwaukee.
During his many trips between Milwaukee and Green Bay as a buyer for the American Fur Company, he was attracted to an Indian camping ground located on the east branch of the Rock River which was to become our village. Juneau established a Trading Post here in 1833 naming it Theresa in honor of his mother. In 1820 he married the granddaughter of Menomonee Indian Chief Ah-ke-ne-po-way and the couple had seventeen children, three dying in early youth.
In 1847 he built this home, and it was used as a summer home until 1852 when he moved his family here from Milwaukee. Juneau had platted the village south of the Rock River in 1848, and was engaged in many business pursuits here. He had purchased the water rights and built a dam earlier to provide water power for his saw and grist mills. He also operated a general merchandise store and kept trading furs with the Indians.
Juneau's retirement to Theresa was short-lived however, as his wife died in 1855 and he died a year later while making an Indian payment for the U.S. Government at the reservation at Keshena.
Some 700 Indians including Chiefs Oshkosh, Corrow, Larriet, and Keshena marched with his funeral bier to the burial grounds at the Keshena reservation. Later the body was returned to Milwaukee and buried at Calvary Cemetary.
The last home of Solomon Juneau was saved as a historical shrine by Joseph Gottwald, a forward looking Theresa resident, who purchased it in 1932 when it was to be torn down, and later sold it to the village who moved it to the present site. The house stands some 200 feet from its original location and has the original clapboard siding. The windows have not been altered and the hand-carved spindles in the railing in the upstairs hall are as they were when the house was built in 1847.
There are a few of the original furnishings of the Solomon Juneau family left. The black stove in the parlor was used to heat the house. The large double doors of his Trading Post which was located at what is now 105 South Milwaukee Street, stand in the upstairs display room, along with an ingenious mouse trap bearing the inscription "S.J. 1814."
The portraits of the rugged Juneau and his wife in the parlor are gifts of Mrs. C.W. Lamoreaux and B.J. Husting, grand-children of Solomon Juneau.
The rest of the display items have been contributions of many people of the area who have been interested in this museum to Juneau.
The home has been restored by the Theresa Historical Society, which was organized in 1956.
A bronze marker dedicating the Solomon Juneau Home was erected by the Dodge County Federation of Women's Clubs on May 21, 1938.
It was unveiled by Miss Nancy Wachman of Milwaukee, a great-great-granddaughter of Juneau. Mr. Berthold Juneau Husting of Mayville, a grandson and U.S. District Attorney gave the address. The Theresa Village Band under the direction of A.L. Pitzschler rendered several selections and the school children, directed by their teacher Miss Camilla Weber, sang "America The Beautiful."
The Juneau Home was also named the Dodge County Bicentennial Home during the celebration in 1976.
The home is open to the public on Memorial Day and every last Sunday of the month from Memorial Day through September.
This early history is taken from the minute book of the Township of Theresa of 1948, which is on display in the Juneau Home, and is on loan to the Theresa Historical Society. The Village of Theresa south of the Rock River already had been platted by Solomon Juneau at this time.
The first election in the Township of Theresa, County of Dodge, Territory of Wisconsin, was held on the 4th day of April, 1848, at the home of Narcisus Juneau (son of Solomon) at which time 43 votes were cast. The first town cleark elected was Narcisus Juneau, the three supervisors were Paul Juneau (son of Solomon), Christopher Bannister, and Benjamin Edgerley.
The first state election was held on April 3rd, 1848 and Nelson Dewey received 58 votes for governor. At the first county election held Nov. 7, 1849, 92 votes were cast.
At the first annual town meeting on April 3rd, 1849, the board of supervisors recommended to raise by taxation $250 for contingent purposes and $900 to defray expenses for the year 1848. It was also decided to raise for school purposes one-quarter of one percent of the valuation of the township.
At the March 25, 1851 meeting, $150 was raised for a bridge across the Rock River to be built on the Fond du Lac Road in the Village of Theresa. This bridge was replaced by a stone bridge in 1874 by Frederick Fisher for $3,350. In 1971 the present bridge was built at a cost of $114,000.
On December 20, 1863 a special meeting was called to raise money to be paid as bounty to men being drafted to serve in the Civil War. The clerk's record on Nov. 5, 1864 gave the names of 69 volunteers and draftees from the township who were to receive the $200 bounty.
The money was borrowed from citizens at 7% interest until it could be raised by taxation. The sum raised in 1864 was $12,800 with another $8,000 raised in 1865.
On October 28, 1895 the Theresa Fire Company #1 was organized and at the annual meeting on
November 22, 1895 F.W. Bandlow was elected as president and Fred Jung as fire chief. Nick Husting's barn
was rented to house the used equipment consisting of a hook and ladder wagon, a hand pumper, and hose
and cart. The churches were instructed to ring the bells in case of fire until their own bell could be
purchased. The first fire call was on Feb. 11, 1896 at the Herman Budahn farm (now Andy Schnitzler).
On May 4, 1901 a fire which started at the Bandlow Brewery almost wiped out the town until it was
brought under control with help from Mayville and Lomira. Completely destroyed were 8 buildings including
the two story brick Catholic school and the fire house next to it.
In 1898 the village was incorporated to the displeasure of the township and the hard feelings
lingered for some time.
In 1900 a new village hall was built with room for the fire company to store their equipment. The building has a bell tower which was used to dry fire hoses and jail facilities to lock up the unruly in the village. The present firehouse was added on to the village hall in 1963.
Among the early prominant citizens were the following:
Christopher Bannister was elected a town supervisor at the first election in 1848. He held many civic offices and was appointed the first postmaster in Theresa on July 6, 1846.
Francis Dodge Juneau (son of Solomon), settled in Theresa in 1849 and was employed by the U.S. Government as an Indian interpreter. He also served as town treasurer, besides being a tin smith by trade.
Dr. Valentine Miller settled in Theresa in 1849. He was town clerk for 25 years and was the oldest practicing physician in Dodge County in 1880.
Jacob Bodden came to Town Theresa in 1851 and was active in civic affairs. He was a member of the state legislature from 1861-1874 and also served as treasurer, sheriff, and was chairman of the county board of supervisors of Dodge County in 1874-75.
Benidict Weber came to Theresa in 1853 and purchased the brewery from Ulrich Oberly, who had founded in in 1849. It stayed in the Weber family until it ended operations in 1961.
Peter Langenfeld served as justice of peace, postmaster, and was a member of the state legislature in 1878. His son Dr. Peter F. was a physician in Theresa from 1903 until 1960, and his grandson Dr. Gregory has practiced in Theresa from 1942 until November 1992.
