The city of Oshkosh is located where Fox River enters Lake Winnebago in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. With a population of 63,000¹ it is named after Menominee chief Oskosh², born in 1795. He became leader of the Menominee people at the age of 32 and passed away in 1858.

History

French fur traders settled in the Menominee area as early as 1818, including the first European inhabitant of the region - Robert Grignon, who established a trading post on Lake Butte des Morts. Grignon moved his trading post on to the land which would eventually become part of Oshkosh in 1821.

In 1839 the area residents in the towns of Brooklyn, located on the south side of the Fox River, and Athens on the north, decided to select a name for their newly merging city from the following; Athens, Stanford, Oseola and Oskosh. Oskosh was the favourite, the spelling later changed to Oshkosh³. In 1840 Oshkosh received a Post Office, John P. Gallup was the postmaster and by 1842 the Winnebago county was chartered. In 1847, Morris Firman began operating the first sawmill in Oshkosh. Within several years, sawmills lined the Fox River and by 1848 Oshkosh, with a population exceeding 2000, was named the county seat and Wisconsin became a state. Then in 1850, Philetus Sawayer built a lumber yard on the west side of the Fox River, and by 1855 Paine Lumber Company was fully established.

1859 saw the railroad come through the city, and by 1870 Oshkosh was the third largest city in the state with a population of over 12,000. Also in 1870 a huge fire burned most of downtown Oshkosh, arson was suspected in one of the many lumber yards. This fire and the great Chicago fire of 1871 created a boom in Oshkosh's lumber trade, as much of the lumber used to rebuild Chicago was produced by Oshkosh sawmills. By 1873, 24 sawmills, 15 shingle mills and 7 sash and door companies were in operation and Oshkosh became known as 'Sawdust City'.

Also in 1873, the 'Northern Wisconsin Hospital for the Insane' was founded on the shores of Lake Winnebago near Oshkosh. Now called the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, it is a 250+ bed residential hospital for the whole spectrum of illnesses of the mind with patients being both forensic and civil cases.

By Gosh!

In 1895, a small clothing business established itself in Oshkosh. OshKosh B'Gosh Overalls soon grew from a small-town manufacturer of adult workwear into a global marketer of children's clothing and accessories. Best known for their rugged, men's hickory-striped bib overalls, the company began making the pint size version in the early 1900s, so that children could dress like their fathers. It wasn't until Miles Kimball, a local mail order firm, featured a pair of children's bib overalls in its national catalogue that sales of the item took off. Prompted by the strong response, OshKosh B'Gosh expanded distribution into specialty and department stores, and gradually broadened their children's wear line. Hardy, colourfully designed and relatively inexpensive with the well-known brandname embossed upon the brass buttons - the clothes are a hit with both children and parents.

Fully established as a centre for trade and tourism, Oshkosh also claims Oshkosh Truck, one of the world's leading manufacturers of emergency, utility and military vehicles, and two well known chocolate companies; Hughes Homemade Chocolate and Oaks Chocolates.

Local Attractions

One of the more interesting historical sights in Oshkosh is the Oshkosh Public Museum. Housed in the former home of Philetus Sawyer, there are displays of many types in the museum. Of most fun to watch is the Apostles Clock, built by Matthias Kitz in the late 1800s. The clock has a large metal disk that plays music as the 12 Apostles file out of the doors on one side, turn and nod to the figure of Christ and file into the doors on the other side, with Judas turning away. The museum also has a miniature of the Paine Lumber company buildings, many natural artifacts and an archives of city history, photos and art work.

Across Congress Street diagonally is the Paine Art Center and Gardens. This is more of a tribute to the Paine family and is run on a private trust. It is quite impressive to visit. Also worth a look is Menominee Park on the shore of Lake Winnebago. The park has a small zoo, a miniature train to ride on, a carousel and 'Little Oshkosh' - a community built Children's Playground. There are also several shelters you can reserve for family or business picnics. During the
'Sawdust Days' Carnival, Menominee Park holds the 4th July Fireworks Display, and these are best seen on Miller Bay's Island as all the colours reflect in the bay around the island.

Experimental Aircraft Convention

Oshkosh is also the home of EAA AirVenture - 'The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration', held by the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. Conducted every summer (late July), AirVenture is the world's largest airshow, with hotels in the area full to bursting and private homes making themselves available for the overflow.

For one week Oshkosh develops a southern suburb by Wittman Regional Airport, and the air traffic rivals O'Hare International in Chicago. The best part of the show they have is usually the Stealth Aircraft flying over, or the Warbirds in formation. Quite a sight even if you don't like military shows of force or Air Shows.

Education

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the third-largest university in the state has its campus at Oshkosh. The school started as a State Normal School dedicated to preparing teachers. The first Kindergarten was started on campus and for many years (until around 1980) there was a campus school for teachers to do their student teaching at. Today it is one of the larger campuses in the system with a strong men's basketball team, the Titans.

Eating in Oshkosh

With a University comes a more diverse population than might have been, so there are a wide variety of restaurants in the Fox Valley. Oshkosh has several Oriental restaurants with the typical buffet offered and two or three Mexican restaraunts. Lara's Tortilla Flats has been on Main Street for at least 30 years and offers a wide variety of Mexican foods, there are also some newer places, Mazatlan on the frontage road by Highway-41 and Mario's on 24th and Oregon St, near Oshkosh Truck Inc. This is only a small list of the variety of cuisines available of course!

Sport & Leisure

Fishing is a popular sport in the area due to Oshkosh's proximity to Fox River and Lake Winnebago. A wide variety of fish are easily caught including Perch (recently overfished and not as available), Walleye, White Bass and Trout. These are all common in several small lakes in the area, but Lake Winnebago is known for its Sturgeon spearing season in February each year.

Hunting is also available, with rabbits, ducks, canada geese and white tail deer the most common targets. However, the most popular recreational pursuits in Oshkosh are by far the many water sports and activities on offer, from swimming through to windsurfing. With the Fox River running through the city and Lake Winnebago on its eastern shoreline, there are also many marinas and yachting clubs.

Cultural Needs

Oshkosh offers concerts and musical entertainment at The Grand Opera House. which is located downtown and has regular events like 'Riders Radio Theater', 'The Chenelle Sisters' and many more.

Oshkosh also holds the annual music festival Waterfest, offering a variety of music from rock, to jazz, to blues, to folk, to cuban - you think of it, it'll be there.

Oshkosh has a city sister,
Oshkosh, Nebraska which was established by a group of settlers who travelled from Oshkosh, Wisconsin to make a homestead.

Getting there

Oshkosh is on the western side of Lake Winnebago and is served by the Wittman Regional Airport, or can be found by road off Highway-41.

Further Information

For more about the city and its surrounding areas visit Oshkosh on the Water online or the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau.