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History of Terrell's
Island
John Terrell first claimed the Terrell’s Island property back in the
1800’s. Back then the property was actually an island, it wasn’t
until the 1960’s that it was connected to the surrounding lands by a
road. The property has been split up and brought back together
several times over the years. It is unclear when the 5 lots known as
the “Robbins’s Property”, for years separated by wetlands, were sold
by John Terrell.
In the early 1940’s the Island property was owned by Floyd Shubert.
There are many stories about the Island during the 40’s and 50’s.
One tragic event was when a freak storm blew in and a group of Lake
Buttes Morts hunters were caught off guard. They were dressed in
light-weight clothes and the temperature dropped so rapidly that a
number of them died of exposure. The rest were able to find shelter
in the cabin on Terrell’s Island.
The island had a mink ranch in those days operated by Johnny Jenze
for Floyd Shubert. Mink were raised for the Terrell’s Island Hunting
Club. After World War II the mink trade slowed and the land was sold
to Wally Siebert who bought it for his son to hunt on. But shortly
after that his son went into the service and he sold the land to
Lowell Robbins, Sr. in 1955.
In
the late 50’s and 60’s , with help from the State of Wisconsin,
Winnebago County and the Hunting Club the Robbins family coordinated
the building of a break-wall where the Fox River enters Lake Buttes
Morts. Truckloads of rock were hauled over the ice to build the
break-wall. The project cost was $10,000.
Lowell Sr. sought to improve the land and stop the heavy erosion.
After each heavy storm large chucks of bog would just float away.
Sometimes they would create dams near the area where the Hwy 41
Butte des Morts bridge is now located. He laid car bodies along the
edges of the marshes to halt the erosion. They are still there to
this day, overgrown with vegetation.
In 1968 the Terrell’s Island property was sold to Harry Molinski.
The land had its own power plant, donated to the Hunting Club during
its era, which Molinski tore down, along with the trapper shack when
power lines and a road were extended from the mainland. A drainage
channel was dredged along the main road so it wouldn’t flood and
Terrell’s Island became a peninsula. The actual island area got an
overhaul at this time as well when the surrounding area was dredged,
raising the elevation in the clubhouse area about three feet, which
in turn reduced high water damage.
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