Editing Appleton, Wisconsin (section)

===European settlement===
[[File:Wisconsin. Appleton Paper Mills-LCCN2008678245.jpg|thumb|left|Paper mills in Appleton, 1898]]

Appleton was settled in 1847. It was founded as three unincorporated villages along the Fox River. From south to north along the river, these were [[Grand Chute (ghost town), Wisconsin|Grand Chute]], Appleton, and [[Lawesburg, Wisconsin|Lawesburg]]. In 1853, the three were merged into the single incorporated Village of Appleton. John F. Johnston was the first resident and village president. [[Lawrence University]], also founded in 1847, was backed financially by [[Amos Adams Lawrence|Amos A. Lawrence]] and originally known as the Lawrence Institute. [[Samuel Appleton (merchant)|Samuel Appleton]], Lawrence's father-in-law from [[New England]] who never visited Wisconsin, donated $10,000 to the newly founded college library, and the town took his name in appreciation.<ref>Wineries of Wisconsin and Minnesota By Patricia Monaghan page 126</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.appleton.org/about|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324142830/http://www.appleton.org/about|title=Appleton.org &#124; City of Appleton, Wisconsin|archivedate=March 24, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=23738|title=Profile for Appleton, Wisconsin|publisher=[[ePodunk]]|access-date=June 20, 2010}}</ref>

The paper industry, beginning with the building of the first paper mill in the city in 1853, has been at the forefront of the development of Appleton. In order to provide electricity to the paper industry, the nation's first hydro-electric central station, the [[Vulcan Street Plant]] on the [[Fox River (Green Bay tributary)|Fox River]], began operation on September 30, 1882. The power plant also powered the [[Hearthstone Historic House Museum|Hearthstone House]], the first residence in the world powered by a centrally located [[hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]] [[Power station|station]] using the [[Thomas Edison|Edison]] system.<ref name="BeloitDaily">[http://www.beloitdailynews.com/articles/2005/12/15/news/news21.txt "Victorian Christmas"], ''[[Beloit Daily News]]'', December 15, 2005</ref>

Shortly thereafter, in August 1886, Appleton was the site for another national first, the operation of a commercially successful electric [[streetcar]] company. Electric lights replaced gas lamps on College Avenue in 1912. Appleton also had the first [[telephone]] in Wisconsin, and the first incandescent light in any city outside of the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Appleton [brief history&#93; |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=15063&term_type_id=2&term_type_text=places&letter=a |access-date=January 18, 2014 |publisher=Wisconsinhistory.org |archive-date=January 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115094710/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=15063&term_type_id=2&term_type_text=places&letter=a |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The community was incorporated as a city on March 2, 1857,<ref name="Wislaw">{{cite book |author = Wisconsin | title = Private and Local Laws Passed by the Legislature of Wisconsin in the Year 1857 | publisher = Calkins and Proudfit, Printers | year = 1857 | location = Madison, Wisconsin | pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_U-IqAAAAIAAJ/page/n240 243]–283 | url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_U-IqAAAAIAAJ}}</ref> with Amos Story as its first mayor. Early in the 20th century, it adopted the [[city commission government|commission]] form of government. In 1890, 11,869 people lived in Appleton; in 1900, there were 15,085; in 1910, 16,773; in 1920, 19,571; and in 1940, 28,436.

Significant annexations to the city, taken from the [[Grand Chute, Wisconsin|Town of Grand Chute]], were performed in the next two decades. The first, the "Glendale" district, was completed on November 8, 1941, growing Appleton north past Glendale Avenue.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rumsey |first=John |date=December 21, 1950 |title=Annexation of New Wards Will Bring Problems, Benefits to City |pages=8 |work=The Post-Crescent |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98993884/annexation-of-new-wards-will-bring/ |access-date=April 3, 2022}}</ref> Another became official on December 22, 1950, after multi-year disputes, when the unincorporated villages of [[Bell Heights, Appleton, Wisconsin|Bell Heights]] and Whispering Pines were annexed into the city from Grand Chute.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Rumsey |first=John |date=December 21, 1950 |title=City to Grow Quickly in Annexation Tonight |pages=1 |work=The Post-Crescent |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98993139/city-to-grow-quickly-in-annexation/ |access-date=April 3, 2022}}</ref> Bell Heights added new area to the northwest edge of Appleton, and Whispering Pines, to the northeast, would include land where [[ThedaCare Regional Medical Center–Appleton|Appleton Memorial Hospital]] would later be built. Bell Heights and Whispering Pines increased the population of the city by ten percent, and its area by twenty percent, overnight.<ref name=":0" />

Appleton's tallest building, the [[222 Building (Appleton)|222 Building]] was built in 1952.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112227906/aid-association-for-lutherans-new-buildi/ |title=24,400 Tons of Building Rest on 271 Steel Piles |newspaper=The Post-Crescent |location=Appleton, WI |date=July 15, 1952 |access-date=October 29, 2022}}</ref> The [[Valley Fair Shopping Center]], built in 1954, laid claim to being the first enclosed shopping mall in the United States, although this claim is disputed by other malls. In 2007 most of the structure was demolished, leaving only its east wing and a movie theater. A [[Pick 'n Save]] Food Center now stands in its place.

From approximately 1930–1970, Appleton was a [[sundown town]]: [[black people]] were not allowed to stay overnight,<ref name="Loewen">{{cite book |last1=Loewen |first1=James |title=Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism |date=2006 |publisher=Touchstone |isbn=0743294483 |location=New York}}</ref> and none lived within its city limits by 1930.<ref name="Peeples" /> In 1936, the [[Institute of Paper Chemistry]] tried to hire the famous African-American chemist [[Percy Julian]], but could not figure out how to do this without running afoul of what was stated as "an arcane law on the City of Appleton's books".<ref name="FAnderson">{{cite book |author=Anderson, Frank |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V6cjCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT61 |title=Wicked Fox Cities: The Dark Side of the Valley |date=May 13, 2010 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=9781614230595}}</ref> A fight over Julian's employment ensued, and he was hired by [[Glidden (paints)|Glidden]] in Chicago instead.<ref name="Bowden">{{cite book |author=Bowden, Mary Ellen |url=https://archive.org/details/chemicalachiever0000bowd |title=Chemical Achievers: The Human Face of the Chemical Sciences |publisher=Chemical Heritage Foundation |year=1997 |isbn=0941901122 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/chemicalachiever0000bowd/page/109 109]–110 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="FAnderson" /> Appleton's sundown status was largely [[de facto]] and not [[de jure]]; it stood by unwritten consensus and enforcement, such as by police strongly encouraging black people to leave town after dark.<ref name="Peeples">{{cite web | url=http://www.celebratediversityfoxcities.com/issues | title=Appleton was indeed a 'Sundown Town' | publisher=Celebrate Diversity Fox Cities | access-date=December 23, 2017 | author=Peeples, Scott}}</ref> A partial exception was made for opera singer [[Marian Anderson]] when she sang at Lawrence University in 1941; she was allowed to stay overnight in the Conway Hotel, but even then was not allowed to eat dinner in public.<ref name="CAnderson">{{cite news | url=http://www.postcrescent.com/story/life/2014/10/19/lawrence-revisit-concert-marian-anderson/17445927/ | title=Lawrence to revisit 1941 concert of Marian Anderson | work=Post-Crescent | date=October 18, 2014 | access-date=December 23, 2017 | author=Anderson, Cheryl | location=Appleton, Wisconsin}}</ref>

Following the [[Flint water crisis]], a report of Wisconsin [[Rust Belt]] cities showed high levels of lead contamination in the water of Appleton, with children under the age of 1 testing positive for lead. With a state average of 1.9 per 100 for this age group, Appleton tested at 4.5 per 100 for the same age group.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pontiactribune.com/2017/01/lead-contamination-in-the-rust-belt-wisconsin/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102063926/http://pontiactribune.com/2017/01/lead-contamination-in-the-rust-belt-wisconsin/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 2, 2017 |title=LEAD CONTAMINATION IN THE "RUST BELT": WISCONSIN |quote=Appleton, WI is a city with a population of about 75,000 people. Testing was done on a local level by the Appleton City Health Department. The most disturbing numbers from Appleton is that of children under 1 testing positive for lead. With a state average of 1.9 per 100 for this age group, Appleton tested at 4.5 per 100 for the same demographic. |work=Pontiac Tribune |date=January 1, 2017 |access-date=February 17, 2022}}</ref>