THE STORY OF ASHIPPUN

“The naming of Ashippun” written by Chas Mortimer in 1898 –preserved by Norman Schlieve.

Samuel Marshall had a strong desire, in the early days of settlement, to have the present district known as Ashippun – (a name more especially given at that time to the creek that flows through the district) – named “Ashburn”, as being a most fitting and appropriate one, partly in consideration of the growth of ash trees, both the white and black varieties in the locality, as well as the dense thickets of prickly ash, so called, that flourished here in the township; and again for the terminal syllable “burn”, he inherited a strong sympathetic preference, through and through Scotchman as he was imbued with loving reverence for everything appertaining to his native land, never forgetting the alluring streams that the poet Burns sang so sweetly of; and were it not for a reasonable and legitimate preference to retain something, of the time of the Indians as memorials of their earlier nomadic life, I cannot help thinking that the name suggested by Mr. Marshall was an exceeding by appropriate one; tense, poetical and most true to the topography of the locality, finally called Ashippun.

In the book called “The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names” by Gard and Sorden it stated that the Scotch (Mr. Marshall) wanted to call it Ashburn and the English wanted to call it Ashippun after the Indians.  Ashippun is an Indian word and may mean “decayed lung” or may have reference to the raccoon, since the Menominee word for raccoon is aspipun.  The Chippewa word for raccoon is aissibun.  The prairie Potawatomi word for raccoon is Ashippun.  Ashippun is also, apparently, an Algonquin Indian name from Virginia.

Mr. Marshall was born in Scotland in 1810 and came to Wis. in 1844.  He bought 80 acres in the Town of Ashippun now owned by Howard & Margaret Larson.  Mr. Samuel Marshall and Alex Leslie formed a partnership and built a sawmill which they ran until 1865; they also built a grist mill at Alderly which was later run by Marshalls son John.  Sam Marshall was Chairman for twelve years, and also a member of the first board that sat in Ashippun.  Mr. Marshall and Mr. Leslie, are about the first settlers of the township, although others from England, Scotland and the Isle of Man were here during 1844 as were many Norwegian families.