Hewitt, WI

Hewitt is a Wood County village just east of Marshfield, built around the Wisconsin Central Railroad line that reached the area in 1872. The station took the name of Henry Hewitt, a lumber businessman, and the village's early economy followed the tracks: a blacksmith shop, general store, sawmill, school, and charcoal kilns all appeared in the 1870s and 1880s. The post office first used the name Kreuser before switching to Hewitt to match the station. Today Hewitt is a small village with Main Street, local government, and a direct connection to Marshfield, but its basic story is still a railroad-and-woods story. The tracks opened the place; timber and the businesses serving it gave the settlement a reason to stay.