| Strum, Wisconsin, USA - About 1911 |
| The History of Strum, and the Town of Unity can be found in a book by that title, written by Roy H. Matson, son of Helfred and Marie Matson, in 1979. Actually, Roy completed a great deal of the research before his death in 1979, and his son, Erik Matson, completed the project and published the book in 1989. The book was widely distributed in the Strum, Wisconsin area. Roy spent most of the time between his first stroke in 1970 and his death, researching and writing the story of his town. As Erik says in the introduction to the book, Roy was keenly aware that his generation is the last to have some acquaintance with the early settlers of this area. He realized that the history of the years before roughly 1920 had to be recorded now lest they be completely forgotten. This picture of Strum, Wisconsin, USA, provides a view of Strum looking south from the north end of the downtown district. Every building past the third building on the left, burned in the Christmas Day fire of 1914. The darker, one-story building next in line to the south had been replaced by a larger brick structure, the T. M. Olson Building. The brick in that building probably helped control and ultimately stop the progress of the fire north. On the right, the first large white building still stands. Along with the stairs to an upstairs living area, the building, in recent years, housed first Robbe's Store and now more recently a hardware store. Straight ahead through the main street and just below the horizon the road turns left. The road is County D. County H continues straight ahead and south for maybe a half mile and then turns west (right). Ultimately County H goes over the Gullicksrud Hill and into Chimney Rock Township. County D continues for a similar short distance to the left and east and then also heads south through Johnson Valley, others areas, with option to go to Pleasantville and then to Whitehall. It would be interesting to know who is posing in front of the City Hotel in this picture. Are they local residents or are they customers of the hotel? And who is standing dead center in main street? Both sides of this main street of this community burned, in part. The earlier great fire was on the left (east) side. In the 1950s two buildings located about half south of the large white building on the right, burned. Jacobson's Hardware and Hulberg's Grocery were linked at least on the main level and both burned to the ground. Strum and the Community of Strum has overcome all fires, all disasters! Like a lot of smaller communities that are hit by fire or tornado, this one too, comes back with vigor! |
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