our history

In 1849 the first settlers to arrive in the area were said to be three brothers and two sisters named Havey from County Kildare, Ireland. The township is said to have been named Kildare in their honor in 1850.

The Chicago Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad came through the area in 1857 establishing the location of the village still called Kildare. The people of Lyndon Station and surrounding areas waited all day for a sight of the first train. Finally in the late afternoon, it moved slowly over the track and the people were all there waving as it passed. In sharp contrast, after many years of service, the last passenger train stopped at Lyndon Station on August 6, 1969 with only one local businessman and eight passengers, who had been in Mauston for Crazy Days, witnessing the final stop at Lyndon Station Depot. Passenger rail service became a thing of the past.

In 1860 a movement was started to change the name of the village from Kildare to avoid confusion since it was part of the township of with same name.  In addition, more settlers had arrived from a different Irish County, Limmerick. The village name was changed to Lyndon Station. It is said that a man named Lyndon had much to do with completing the railroad, but records do not show a direct connection with the name Lyndon Station.

The first newspaper published in the village was the "Lyndon Independent" but only two issues were printed in 1888. From 1930-1932, another weekly newspaper, "The Lyndon Station Times", was published with a subscription rate of $1.50 per year. After 1932, Lyndon Station had a correspondent who sent news items to the Mauston weekly papers.

Residential telephone service was unknown in the early days, but Puffer's Store provided a multitude of services and goods. It also had a Kilbourne (now know as Wisconsin Dells) telephone line and a Mauston line. As time went on, residents who wanted service had to cut and install enough poles to reach their home and then string the telephone line. Eventually the line ended in Lyndon where it connected with the Kilbourne line. To use the phone, a caller cranked a series of short or long rings which were heard by all connected to the line. The household with the correct ring sequence picked up the call, though anyone who cared to "rubber", or listen in, could do so.

Lighting of the village's streets became increasingly important and by late 1904, the chore of lamplighting became a job in itself with a salary of $8 per month.

The first cars appeared on the roads of Lyndon around the turn of the century. In April of 1913, the first locally owned automobile was purchased by a resident of Seven Mile Creek.

In 1863, members of St. Bridget's Parish, which was located in what is now St. Mary's Cemetery, decided to build a church in the new village of Lyndon Station. A frame structure, 60 feet by 30 feet, was built to contain St. Mary's Catholic Church and was used until 1899. Property next to the church was purchased in 1877 to become the St. Mary's Parochial School building.

The cornerstone of the current St. Mary's Church was laid September 28, 1899 and on May 6, 1900 the new church was dedicated and served about 900 souls.  The original church was purchased by the Forester's Hall Company and used as a meeting hall for many years. It was torn down and that property is now the location of Scully's Oil.  In 1951 a new convent home for the Nuns was built on church property between the church and school. Since the close of the school, it is a residential rental property.

St. Luke's Lutheran Church had is beginnings about 1890 to minister to a small group of Lutherans who settled in the village and nearby areas. Services were held in the homes of various church members. On May 30, 1897, a permanent church building was dedicated and is still in use today. The Fellowship Hall was added in 1971 to provide room for Sunday School, Ladies Aid meetings, confirmation classes and other church groups.

To be continued......................................................