Curtiss

History

Curtiss was established as a rural railroad station in 1882 and is named after the chief engineer who built the railroad. The village of Curtiss was platted November 17, 1882, having been surveyed by Edwin Parks. The surrounding area was occupied primarily by Norwegian and German emigrants. The primary industries were dairy farming and lumber. By the 1890s, several cheese factories were established in the surrounding townships of Mayville, Hoard and Colby. Additionally, A. D. Bass operated a large sawmill in the southern part of the village. An application for incorporation of the village was made to the State of Wisconsin on October 14, 1914: however, actual incorporation was not granted until March 30, 1917 (Curtiss Centennial Booklet). A two-room school served elementary grades until 1966 when the school was consolidated with the nearby Abbotsford Public Schools. Perhaps the most famous person to come out of the Village of Curtiss was Army Colonel Franklin Matthias, who oversaw the construction and early operation of the Hanford Site during World War II. The young Colonel Matthias was so proud of his work that he accompanied the first plutonium produced at Hanford to Los Alamos. On June 8, 1905, a hail storm damaged nearly every building in the village. On October 15, 1974, Curtiss was the site of a protest by the National Farmers Organization (NFO). NFO farmers slaughtered and buried in a trench 638 calves, mostly less than two weeks old. The protest was in response to the low price of veal. At the time, veal calves were selling for $0.17 per pound, resulting in a net loss to the farmer due to high feed costs. Public backlash against the NFO and the protest was great, with President Ford weighing in to call it "shocking and senseless." In 1976, the US EPA…

Geography

Curtiss is located at (44.953574, -90.433228). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  605
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  558
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  500
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  483
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  369
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  334
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  327
• Killdeer

  Charadrius vociferus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  245

Largest nearby schools

• Abbotsford Middle/Senior High
  High · Abbotsford · 404 students · 19.2:1 ratio
• Abbotsford Elementary
  Elementary · Abbotsford · 388 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• Colby Elementary
  Elementary · Colby · 353 students · 12.6:1 ratio
• Colby High
  High · Colby · 304 students · 16:1 ratio
• Colby Middle
  Middle · Colby · 217 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• Owen-Withee Elementary
  Elementary · Owen · 213 students · 9.7:1 ratio
• Owen-Withee High
  High · Owen · 123 students · 9.5:1 ratio
• Owen-Withee Junior High
  Middle · Owen · 106 students · 11.8:1 ratio