About 1840 — The first saw-mill was built on the banks of the Oconto.

The evidence

• “The, Oconto is one of the most important streams in the district. The first saw-mill was built on its banks about the year 1840, though the first lumbering operations of any account were begun in 1845 by David Jones. The business was conducted quite moderately until 1856, in which year several mills were built, and from that date Oconto has been known- as quite an extensive lumber manufacturing point.”

  1879-history-of-rock-county/04-wisconsin-railroads-commerce-health-statistics.md, PDF p. 182

  Butterfield, C. W., et al. The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879. Cornell University Library via the Internet Archive, archive.org/details/cu31924028871585.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources