Sam Fifield

Samuel S. Fifield (June 24, 1839 – February 17, 1915)[1] was a Wisconsin politician and influential businessperson. The Town of Fifield in Price County, Wisconsin is named after him.

Sam Fifield
14th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
In office
January 2, 1882 – January 3, 1887
GovernorJeremiah Rusk
Preceded byJames M. Bingham
Succeeded byGeorge W. Ryland
26th Speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly
In office
January 12, 1876 – January 1, 1877
Preceded byFrederick W. Horn
Succeeded byJohn B. Cassoday
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 24th district
In office
January 1, 1880 – January 1, 1882
Preceded byDana Reed Bailey
Succeeded byJames Hill
In office
January 1, 1877 – January 1, 1878
Preceded byHenry D. Barron
Succeeded byDana Reed Bailey
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Ashland-Barron-Bayfield-Burnett-Douglas-Polk district
In office
January 1, 1874 – January 1, 1877
Preceded byHenry D. Barron
Succeeded byWoodbury S. Grover
Personal details
BornJune 24, 1839
Corinna, Maine
DiedFebruary 17, 1915 (aged 75)
Ashland, Wisconsin
Resting placeMount Hope Cemetery
Ashland, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Stella Grimes
  • (died 1913)
Children
  • Lillian (Payne)
  • (b. 1868; died 1956)
ResidenceAshland, Wisconsin

Biography

He was born in Corinna, Maine, in 1839 and received an education as a printer. He moved to Wisconsin in 1854, where he worked as a clerk on a steamboat on the St. Croix River. He founded the Polk County Press in 1861.[2]

After the American Civil War, he entered politics and served as a Sergeant-at-Arms for the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1871 and 1872. He later served as a Republican member of the Assembly from 1874 through 1876, serving as speaker the last year.[2] He was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1876, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Henry D. Barron. He served in the state senate until 1881, at which time he was elected as Wisconsin's 14th Lieutenant Governor.[2]

He lived in Ashland from 1872, and helped found the Ashland Press newspaper. He was the chairman of the first board of supervisors in June 1872.[2]

After retiring from politics in 1887, he served as postmaster in Ashland,[3] and opened a summer resort on Sand Island in Lake Superior.[4] Named Camp Stella, after Fifield's wife, the camp was one of the first successful resorts in northern Wisconsin.[3] The site is now within the boundaries of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore; many of the buildings are still standing, and one, the Sevona Memorial Cottage, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4]

Fifield died in 1915 at his home in Ashland.[2] In Ashland, there is a street of historic homes named Fifield Row in his honor.

Sam Fifield is buried next to his wife, Stella, at Mount Hope Cemetery in Ashland.

References
    • Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, ed. (2005). "Wisconsin Constitutional Officers, 1848-2005" (PDF). State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2005–2006. Madison: Wisconsin Legislature Joint Committee on Legislative Organization. p. 725. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
    • "Sam S. Fifield". Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
  2. James E. Heg, ed. (1885). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (23 ed.). Madison: Democrat Printing Co. p. 416.
  3. Peterson, Sheree L. "Camp Stella: Meeting Place of Kindred Souls," report for the Eastern National Park and Monument Association, 1997
  4. Busch, Jane C. People and Places: a Human History of the Apostle Islands, prepared for National Park Service, 2008.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.