Originally known as Leighton this area of Stiles was settled by John Leigh , a native of Ireland[2][3] along the Little River in the late 1860s.[4] The family operated a small sawmill (and later a grist mill)[5] here into the 1880s. In 1887 this sawmill in Leighton was destroyed in a fire.[6]Native Americans were a common sight in Stiles and Leighton as one of their burial grounds was located in Leighton.[7]
The John Leigh settlement in Leighton, Wisconsin was located approximately 1.4 mile east of the Stiles Junction station on County Highway 22 near the Little River.[8] A post office was established in 1882, and it remained in operation for 4 years before being discontinued in 1886.[9][10]
The first white female born in Oconto County, Effie A. Leigh, was born in the community of Leighton on July 25, 1851.[5] The Stiles Junction school, originally called the Leigh Town School, was located in Leighton.[11]
In August 1886, a forest fire that had been raging in the county burnt down a local farmer's barn. The entire settlement of Leighton was in great danger of being destroyed. Luckily, everyone had escaped. In total, 2 barns, five tons of hay, and 2 hogs were destroyed/killed in the fire.[12]
After the second railroad came into this area of Stiles, the community surrounding the railroad station[note 1] soon began using "Stiles Junction" as the more commonly used name. Leighton was formally renamed Stiles Junction ca. 1882.[18][4][19]
Geography
Stiles Junction is located at a diamond crossing between an east–west line of the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) crossing of the north–south Milwaukee Road. Nearby is the crossroads of U.S. Highway 141 and Wisconsin State Highway 22.[20] Stiles Junction, Wi is located at 44°52′59.9″N 88°02′48.1″W
By 1887 there were several hotels, saloons[21] and other shops established in proximity to Stiles Junction.[22] A piece in the October 19, 1991 Green Bay Press-Gazette list the Stiles Junction population as 40.[23]
Railroad
The pre-existing Milwaukee Road's line (December 30, 1882)[24][25] connected Milwaukee and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.[26] The shared station that was built in 1881[27] and has recently collapsed and been removed.[28]
The C&NW in 1899 built a 2.4 mile branch line[29] to a sawmill and planing mill in Stiles[30][31] and later removed it in 1932.[32] The C&NW rail line eastward from the junction to Oconto, Wisconsin is now abandoned.[33][34]
Stiles Junction Union Depot
The Stiles Union depot, combining a freight warehouse, a ticket office and passenger waiting room, was built in the north west angle of the crossing, facing the both the Milwaukee & Northern and C&NW tracks. Stiles Junction depot is a 'sister' to the Milwaukee Road's Forest Junction, WI depot as they share the same architectural plan. This depot succumbed to a structural collapse in the late 2010s, date unrecorded.
Historic services
By the late 1960s, with few riders remaining and the US Postal rail contracts ended, the Milwaukee Road (and most other big RRs) discontinued many of their long-distance trains. After these passenger services ended, the Stiles Junction station continued to be used as a train order office for both of the railroads. Stiles Junction depot is a 'sister' to the Milwaukee Road's Forest Junction, WI depot as they share the same architectural plan.
The middle portion of the line from Gillett, Wi to Oconto, Wi was the only intact section of the C&NW line remaining by the 1990s. The Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad bought the 4.7 mile[39] branch line from the C&NW on April 20, 1995. This 5-mile line westward from Stiles Junction to Oconto Falls, serves a Lumber yard, a distribution warehouse, a paper company, and a co-op grain storage facility.[40] A passenger station was located east of Cherry Avenue, on the north side of the tracks.[41] The 'connection' to the branch is via an inverted Y track.[42]
The C&NW line from Gillett to just outside Oconto Falls was allowed to be abandoned by the ICC in 1979[43] with the last train run on June 29, 1979. The C&NW line eastward from Stiles Junction to Oconto, was abandoned on December 3, 1996.[44][45][46]
↑ Putz, Gerard (July 26, 1976). "C&NW -- CMSTP&P Union Station". www.rrpicturearchives.net. Stiles Junction, Wi: rrpicturearchives.net. Retrieved August 13, 2025. Looking west down the C&NW toward Oconto Falls, WI. The crossing line was CMSTP&P, now E&LS
↑ Bill (February 18, 2022). "Photo Page - STILES JUNCTION". www.usgenwebsites.org. Oconto County WIGenWeb Project. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
↑ Staff Writer (1887). "News FLASH from the Past". www.usgenwebsites.org. Oconto Reporter. Retrieved July 23, 2025. Robert McIvers has a fine big hotel at Stiles Junction, and near the depot is a hotel and saloon kept by James Hurley. Next door is the saloon of Pat Hurley, and next to that, the saloon and meat shop of Joseph McClusky. Further on is the shop of Henry VanVagel, the village shoemaker.
↑ Van Boxel, Karil (October 19, 1991). "It's Still The Little Town That Could". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Green Bay, Wi: Gannett.
↑ William Benjamin Henry (1921). "History of Oconto county". Wisconsin Historical Society. University of Wisconsin. p.47. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
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