Everyone from Waupun knows the settlement’s founder Seymour Wilcox. And everyone knows Waupun’s greatest philanthropist Clarence Addision Shaler. But they are not the only notable historical heroes of Waupun, for there is one individual in particular who Waupun owes an immense debt for becoming so successful even to this day. That person is a man named Edwin Hillyer, one of the most prominent figures in early Waupun.
Edwin Hillyer was born to a pioneer family on September 30th, 1825 in Atwater, Ohio. He first arrived in Waupun with his brother Joseph Talcott Hillyer in 1847 where they worked in the local lumber business. In 1849, Edwin came down with gold fever and joined a company of eight other men who traveled to California to prospect for gold. Hillyer kept an extensive journal of his travels which detailed his journey from Wisconsin to California, a fascinating adventure that perfectly captured the times and tribulations of the “49ers”.
Along with the other Waupun men, Hillyer returned to Wisconsin in 1852. He established a general store with his brother before selling his shares a few years later to engage in the insurance business with other prominent industrialists. Throughout the 1850s Hillyer had a reputation for being among the most reliable and active members of the community, and participated in all matters of local business including industry, public office, and city planning.
In 1853 he ran for the 6th Dodge County Assembly District which represented Waupun at the time, and served as the regional representative for a year in Madison. Hillyer was recruited to lead the construction of the Milwaukee & Horicon Railroad between Waupun and Horicon and was instrumental in its completion. He also served as Deputy Warden of the Waupun Correctional Institution for a time, and directed the original landscaping of the prison grounds. Hillyer was also one of the founding members of the Forest Mound Cemetery Association.
When the American Civil War broke out, Hillyer was instrumental in raising a company of Waupun men to serve for the Union, where he served as the captain of Company K of the 10th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment.
The Waupun Public Library is the direct descendant of Hillyer’s Library Association, which he established in 1858. Library use was subscription-based, and when it was established the collection consisted of nine feet of shelves in his insurance office in downtown Waupun. It remained in his care until he turned the collection over to the City, establishing the “Free Public Library of Waupun” in 1895. He had served as the librarian for 37 years, without pay. Many of the books from the Hillyer collection are still owned by the Public Library and Historical Society, though they are not in common circulation these days.
And above all, Edwin was a family man and a loving husband. In 1898 a grand “Golden Wedding” was hosted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his marriage to his wife Angeline Coe Hillyer. In his retirement he and his wife traveled the nation, where Edwin passed away at the age of 83, on December 8th, 1908. He was buried in the center of Forest Mound Cemetery.
Hillyer valued historical documentation and was meticulous in his records-keeping. Much of the historical documentation from early Waupun was penned by Hillyer. Without his efforts, we may be without any proper understanding of the times. And this is where he most shines through to this day and for the future of Waupun.
The echoes of Edwin Hillyer’s work can still be heard today, and this alone places him as one of the most influential members of Waupun’s history.
