Secession Days Story

History of the Sovereign State of Winneconne

The Original Leaders of the Sovereign State of Winneconne:

James Coughlin

President

James Coughlin

Vera Kitchen

Prime Minister

Vera Kitchen - also held Custodian of the Cabinet role

William Schlapman

Secretary of State

William Schlapman

George Kontos

Secretary of the Navy

George Kontos

Map Makers Napping When They Should Have Been Mapping

It was probably the most exciting, upbeat seven months in Winneconne history - and it all began in the office of the Winneconne News.

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  • Lost Traveler
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A printing salesman from Milwaukee came in about the middle of January. It was a cold, blustery day, and he was complaining about having a hard time finding Winneconne. He said we weren’t on the new highway map.

That gave C. O. Rogers, publisher of the Winneconne News, a good lead for his next weekly column, “Look Out Below.” He wrote, “Guess what? Would you believe that the village of Winneconne is no more? The state map makers must have been napping when they should have been mapping – they completely eliminated the village from the new Wisconsin road maps. They were gracious enough to leave the dot where Winneconne used to be, but the name was lost somewhere between Omro and Butte des Morts.”

That did it! When the Chamber of Commerce got hold of it, the fun began.

There we were – a fishing paradise, reduced to an unidentified dot on the map. Butte des Morts was there. Omro was there. But where was Winneconne?

The Chamber had worked hard to get recognition for the village. Every winter they went to the All Wisconsin show in Chicago and touted the virtues of Winneconne on the Wolf. And now no one would be able to find it.

This was a matter for the governor.

If you are interested in seeing what others thought of the story, here are some news articles from the period:

  1. Anderson Herald
  2. Janesville Daily
  3. Janesville Daily
  4. Waco News
  5. Beckley Post
  6. Daily Telegram