History of Black Creek
History Black Creek had two major floods on the morning of July 19, 2010, 4 inches of rain, and the night of August 20, 2010, 6 inches of rain. These are the first major floods to happen in nearly 30 years. Black Creek was founded in 1862. Black Creek was originally named Middleburg but became known as Black Creek because of a darkly colored creek at the edge of the village. From 1862-1871 the village was known as Middleburg. It was incorporated in 1904. A centennial celebration was held in 1962. In 1868 the first organized team was created for Black Creek. Also it is believed that the first game of baseball was played in this area. In 1900 Black Creek established its first dairy factory and in 1905 Black Creek built a new bridge that replaced the original wooden one on the Black Creek. Black Creek built its first school in 1874, but was condemned in 1900. Then in 1900 Black Creek built a two story school that was used from 1900-1937. The school did not have enough room so they had to rent out the village hall from 1937-1957. In 1957 Black Creek built one last school that originally had 9 grades, 1st-9th, eventually the board wanted to add a 10th grade to the school. They couldn't do that because the state wanted to push districts, so soon enough the village became part of the Seymour District and still is today. The first church to come to Black Creek was St. John's United Lutheran and Reformed Church. In 1879 it became known as United Evangelical Protestants of St. John's Church. In 1877 they built their fist church building on the East side of Clark St. In 1911 a new church building was built across the street and was finished in 1913.
In 1922 they become known as St. John's Evangelical Church. Also in 1970 St. John's of Cicero merged with Black Creek. An addition to the church was built in 1978. The Catholics formed a church called St. Mary's. They had to rent out a hall in 1873. In 1874 they started building a church and finished in 1878. St. Mary's was located on the corner of Elm St (now known as WIS 54) and Beech St. St. Mary's needed a bigger church. So St. Mary's built their new church on N. Beech St by what is now the school in 1901. In that same year Immanuel Lutheran bought the old church owned by St. Mary's. The church was just made of wood so it soon burned down in a fire in 1914. So Immanuel had to build a church made of brick on the same location. They then built a parochial school behind the church in 1904, but it was moved away in 1947. Soon the church became too small for Immanuel so they built an entirely new church in 1969 on the corners of Birch St and Maple St. In 1878 a Methodist Church was built on the corners of Clark St and State St. A new church was built on the same location in 1901. A Bible Church was formed in 2000. They spent 2 years in Fallen Timbers Nature Center. In 2002 they bought the old pallet factory on W. Forest St and renovated the building. The church still occupies the building today. The church is known as Community Bible Church. The 1st post office was located on the corner of Oak St & Main St. The post office was moved to a location next to what is now the Newton Blackmour Trail. Then in 1978 the post office moved to the corners of Forest St & Main St. In 1902 a large fire destroyed much of Main St, so that caused fire department to get organized in 1904. In 1901 a village library was formed. In 1905 the Village Hall was built next to the Hotel Arlington on the Corner of Oak St & Maple St. A new Village Hall, Fire Department, Library was built across the street from the original building in 1926. Soon the library needed more room so it built a building at 507 S. Maple St in 1990. The fire department also needed more room so it built a new building on CNTY HWY B in 1996. In 1911 electricity came to the village. In 1910 telephone lines where strung to the village. 1904 was the year when the first wooden sidewalk was built. In 1905 the board approved that all property on public streets needed a sidewalk.
Also 1905 was the year the village built the first concrete sidewalk. An ordinance was passed in 1912 that all sidewalks from then on would be made of concrete. In 1917 WIS 47's original route through the village to the North curved Northwest at Willow St before turning North to cross the creek on the plank bridge. The road was rebuilt & relocated in 1950 and '51; a new bridge was built replacing the plank one that lasted for 40 years. They also rebuilt & relocated South 47 to Appleton to its present day location. In 1965 Main St was rebuilt and angled parking was banned. In 1992 Main St had renovation done on a portion between WIS 54 and Burdick St, power lines were moved to the back lots & new streetlamps were installed. In 1852 WIS 54 was from Steven's Point to Green Bay. The route going East ran from Main St to Beech St where a barricade indicated private property. The road turned North 1 block to Mary St and East to cross the railroad tracks 5 times before Seymour. The route going West went down WIS 47 to Binghamton to Shiocton of what is now CNTY HWY A. Difficult soil conditions West of the village prevented a more direct route for years. 1925 was the year that 54 was rebuilt through Black Creek. Northeast of the village was a sharp curve that was given a larger radius & the road was moved South to the present location. A tunnel was built under the Soo Line Tracks eliminating the old cross over. West of the village 54 was made to follow the GB&W track as closely as possible. It took 2 years to finish this project.
In 1875 Black Creek published its first newspaper; it was called the Black Creek Journal. It was discontinued in 1880. The Black Creek Times Press was first issued in 1904 and was discontinued in 1928. Black Creek-area historical tornado activity is slightly above Wisconsin state average. It is 58% greater than the overall U.S. average. On 4/27/1984, a category 4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 7.6 miles away from the Black Creek village center killed one person and injured 19 people and caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages. On 9/26/1951, a category 4 tornado 16.3 miles away from the village center killed 6 people and injured 3 people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages. In 1987 the Soo Line Railroad sold a vast amount of railroad, including the tracks through the village to the Wisconsin Central Ltd. now part of the Canadian National Railway. The Green Bay & Western Railroad was sold to the Wisconsin Central Ltd. in 1993. In 2001 the Wisconsin Central Ltd. was sold to the Canadian National Railway. Maple St used to be Main St, but later, WIS 47 was named Main St. Burdick St was named after Abraham Lincoln Burdick and Thomas Jefferson Burdick. Black Creek rebuilt and relocated the water tower from N. Beech St to Tower Dr in 1995. In 2006 the village adopted the nickname of Crossroads to the Northwoods. In 2008 the Green Bay & Western Railroad was torn up and turned into the Newton Blackmour State Trail. Black Creek repaved Main (WIS 47), Maple, and E. Forest St in the summers of 2010-2011. In the fall of 2010, the town of Black Creek replaced residents fire number plates.