History of Milladore

In 1872 George Hooper homesteaded a piece of land by the railroad tracks and the following year Martin Bretel put a blacksmith shop on a donated acre of land. Thus the Village of Milladore started to take shape. Many Bohemian families began to settle in or near the tiny town. The original name was Mill Creek because of the mail delivery to the depot which was addressed as Mill Creek. Orlow Everts, the first postmaster, was asked when the citizens made applications for a post office to select a new name. So the sections foreman made up the name of Milladore, which was accepted by the postal authoritites and residents.

The first schoolhouse was built of logs in 1907. Later a wood frame building was erected and enlarged into a two-story brick building that burned in 1926. It was replaced by another two-story brick structure that stands today but sadly has been empty in 1963, when the district became consolidated with the Stevens Point School District.

July 29, 1933 the first meeting of the Village of Milladore was called to order with the following officers present: John Haumschild, President; James Cisler, Clerk (who then resigned at the meeting); Frank Konash and Wenzel Scheuer, Trustees; and Frank A. Malik, Treasurer. A special meeting was held on July 31st and J.W. Cherney was appointed and accepted the Village Clerk position.

Another Main Stret business that has seen the test of time and reamins is the Hughes Ford Dealership. This business began in 1935 by Ray Hughes and is still thriving and run by family members 70 years later.

A major fire in 1941 saw the loss of many businesses on Main Street. Lost to fire were the Brey Hotel, Worzella's Store & Joe Blenker's Tavern and Restaurant, and Cleaver's Brothers' Garage. The shops remaining on Main Street were soon back in business with Joseph Mancl purchasing a general store from W. A. Pankratz 1946. This business has been run by Jow, his wife Loretta and now his and son and daughter as Mancl's Store. The store did move in 1980 into a new building that is built across the street from the original store, which was later torn down.

A 17-acre donation of wooded land on the east side of the Village limits made by Martin and Helen Stashek was to become a park. The area was well received and soon various clubs began to raise money for park eqiupment and sporting areas. A Centennial Picnic was held at the new Milladore Park on Saturday, August 8th and Sunday August 9th, 1970. This event raised money that was used to make improvements in the park. The Milladore Lions Club and American Legion #468 were instrumental in developing a softball field that today is lighted and had an electronic scoreboard. Today this beautiful park has a shaded playgound, tennis courts, ample picnic areas. It is often said that the Village Park is the coolest place to be on a hot mid-summer day.

Progress too has altered the Milladore Main Street picture and two businesses on the south of Highway 10 were razed in 1991 to allow for highway expansion. One, Badger State Feed was owned and operated by Maurice Jadack for 30 years prior to the demolition. Ed Holtz, Maurice Jadack's father-in-law started the feed mill business 1938 and it too was run by family including Ed's wife Tillie. A second business also lost to highway expansion was Eastside Auto which was owned by Dave Seidl. The Village has been without a gas station since that time.

The last improvement in dollar amount in the Village of Milladore has been its water system. This 1.8 million dollar project services the entire village with two wells that pump to a storage tower which is located in the Village Park. Although the water project was teh result of Benzene contamination in private wells in the village, it has brought award-winning status in the state of Wisconsin. The citizens of Milladore have the honor of having the third best quality water in the state.