Where can I find information about setbacks for buildings and fences?

Go to our web site and select Documents, then select the category City, then Zoning Setbacks.  There are two illustrations to download.

Where can I find out information regarding tenant’s rights and responsibilities?

You can find information on Tenant’s Rights and Responsibilities on the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs website.

Where can I learn about the taxes that I currently pay for the City of Spooner?

You can come to the Open Book and Board of Review in the City to question your assessment. These are usually scheduled the end of May or beginning of June. Please call City Hall at 715-635-8769 to find out when the exact date will be. Tax rates for the City of Spooner are usually not available until after November when the figures from the state and county are received.

Who should I contact regarding upcoming activities in the City of Spooner?

You can contact the Spooner Area Chamber of Commerce for upcoming activities in the City. The Chamber can be reached at 122 North River Street, Spooner. The phone number is 715-635-2168 or at www.spoonerchamber.org

How can I contact the Spooner Fire District?

For emergencies, please dial 911. If this is a non-emergency, you can leave messages for Fire Chief, Darren Vik at 715-635-9115 or reach him via e-mail at spoonerfiredist@gmail.com

 

Where can I pay my Municipal Court fines?

You can pay your fines at the Police Department or at City Hall during the normal business hours, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You can also mail your payment to Spooner Municipal Court, PO Box 548, Spooner. If you need to speak with someone regarding your fine, payment plans or court dates please contact Dawn Richter at the Spooner Police Department at 715-635-3527.

How do I get licensed to tend bar in the City of Spooner?

You will need to fill out an Application for License to Serve at City Hall. You will also need to take a Responsible Beverage Server’s Course. If you have not had this course you may apply for two 60-day provisional licenses for $15.00 each. Once you have taken the Responsible Beverage Servers Course the cost of the license is $25 for one year or $40 for two years. It takes three business days for approval of a provisional license and one and two-year licenses must go before council for approval.

Where is City Hall located?

We are located at the intersection of Elm and North Summit Streets. We are one block west of Bank of the West and the Treat Depot. Our office hours are Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and there is someone in the office over the lunch hour. Summer hours are Monday to Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Summer hours will be in place when Spooner School District is on summer break.

What do I need a building permit for and how much will it cost?

You need a building permit any time you start a project in the City of Spooner that will change the appearance of your building. This applies to re-shingling, re-siding and replacing windows. To obtain a building permit you will need to come into City Hall and fill out a simple form. The cost of the permit depends upon the cost of the project that you are doing. Minimum charges are $25.00 for any residential project less than $1,000. You may contact Jason Birtzer, City Building Inspector at (715) 635-8769 or via e-mail at zoningadmin@cityofspooner.org.

How can I dispose of yard waste and clippings?

For the City of Spooner residents, there are a couple of methods available to you to dispose of lawn waste. If you have access to a truck or trailer, the City maintains a brush dump on County Highway A outside of Spooner. There are keys available at City Hall for you to pick up so you can take your clippings, branches, etc. out to the dump for disposal. This convenience is for the residents of the City of Spooner only.  Another option would be to have the City crew pick up your brush for you. The City crew will come around on the last Friday of each month to pick up brush. Please call City Hall at 715-635-8769 to be put on the list for this service. There is a charge for this and you will be invoiced shortly after the pick-up for this service.

Where can I make my tax payments?

Your full or first half tax payments can be made at City Hall between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Fridays in the months of December and January. You can pay your tax bill in person or mail it to City Hall, PO Box 548, Spooner, 54801. Second half payments will need to be made to the Washburn County Treasurer in Shell Lake by July 31st. You can also mail your payments to the Washburn County Treasurer at PO Box 340, Shell Lake, 54871.

How do I license my dog and how much does it cost?

You need to license your dog every year with the municipality that you live in. In the City of Spooner it costs $5.00 for a spayed or neutered dog and $10.00 for an un-spayed or un-neutered dog. You will have to bring proof of a current rabies vaccination with you when you license your dog. You’ll find the Dog License Application in the Document section.

How did Spooner get its name?

John Coit Spooner (born January 6, 1843 – died June 11, 1919)
Following service with the Union forces in the Civil War, Captain John Spooner completed his military career by serving in the Dakota Territory until he was mustered out as a brevet major in June 1866. That fall he first got involved in politics and was one of the organizers of the Republican Union Club. Following his appointment as private and military secretary to Gov. Lucius Fairchild, the governor commissioned him a colonel. In the years that followed Spooner was admitted to the bar in Dane County and to the state supreme court and was appointed assistant attorney general. Moving to Hudson, WI, in 1870, he was soon combining the careers of Legislator, politician and attorney. Serving as its attorney, Spooner made possible the mergers that formed the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railroad. It was through his efforts on the railroad company’s behalf that the company was able to secure the land grants needed to continue building the railroad through northwestern Wisconsin. Tracks were completed in 1879 to what would become the Spooner area. The railhead that year became a little town called Chandler. In 1882-1883 the railroad and Chandler’s population were moved south a couple of miles to become the settlement of Spooner. The new town was named to honor the man who had helped the railroad’s advancement to the area. Not long after he resigned as railroad attorney, John C. Spooner defeated Governor Lucius Fairchild in their race for one of Wisconsin’s seats in the U.S. Senate. Spooner served in Washington from 1885-1891. After a family vacation trip to Europe, he campaigned for President Harrison in the election of 1892 and failed in his own bid for the governorship of Wisconsin in 1893. Spooner then went back to his private law practice. He was returned to the U.S. Senate in the election of 1896 where he played a key role in many legislative matters and acted as a close advisor to the President until his retirement from the Congress in 1907. At that time John and Annie Spooner moved to New York City where he opened an office, which generally dealt with corporation law. John Coit Spooner passed away in New York City on June 11, 1919, and is buried in Forest Hills Cemetery in Madison, WI.

THE SPOONERS

John Coit Spooner’s father was Philip Loring Spooner. In England, Ann Peck was a ward of William Brewster, who was one of the Pilgrim Fathers. In 1608 Ann went to Amsterdam, Holland, with the Separatists (Pilgrims) when they left England in search of religious freedom. She also went along when the group later moved to Leyden, Holland. There she met and married (in December 1616) John Spooner, of Colchester, Essexshire, England, who was a widower of nine months. When most of the Separatists left for America in 1620, the Spooners stayed behind. By 1637 John Spooner had died, and Ann Peck Spooner and her two sons, William and Thomas, came to America. Ann and Thomas settled in Salem, MA. William, about age 17, indentured himself to a Pilgrim resident. In 1654 he was freed from his indenture and became a respected landowner in Plymouth. In 1660 he moved to Achusnet (now New Bedford, MA). He married twice; his second wife was Hannah Pratt, daughter of Joshua and Bathsheba Pratt. Hannah and William’s son, Samuel, inherited the family property on the death of his father in 1684.Samuel Spooner married Experience Wing. They had 11 children. The oldest son of Samuel and Experience was William, (1689-1750) who married Mercy Delano. They had 7 children. One of William Spooner’s children was Nathaniel (1716-1799) who married Hannah Blackwell. The youngest of their 4 children was Philip (1756-1820). Philip Spooner and Lydia Baker were the father of Charles Franklin Spooner, who was John Coit Spooner’s grandfather. Charles F. was the father of Philip Loring and Benjamin J. Spooner. Philip Loring Spooner (1811-1887) was born at New Bedford, MA. In 1829 Philip settled with his family in Lawrenceburg, IN. Ten years later he went back East to marry Lydia Lord Coit (1814-1881) on Sept. 11. John Coit Spooner was born to them in Lawrenceburg, IN on January 6, 1843. His sister, Mary, had been born in 1842. His brothers were Philip Jr. (b. 1847) and Roger (b. 1849). The family moved to Madison, WI in 1859. In Madison, the Spooners lived at the corner of Carroll and Wilson streets near Lake Monona. In 1860 John enrolled at the University of Wisconsin. John Coit Spooner married Annie Main of Madison on September 10, 1868. Their children were Charles Philip (b. 1869), Willet Main (b. circa 1871), Philip Loring III (b. circa 1873), and John Jr. who died of diphtheria as a small child. The Spooners lived in Hudson, WI from 1870-1884 where John was a lawyer.

THE COITS

John Coit Spooner’s mother was Lydia Lord Coit. In the 1630s, the first Coit to America, John, came over from Glamorganshire, Wales, and settled in Salem, MA. Deacon Joseph Coit, his son, was a well-off shipbuilder in New London, CT. Rev. Joseph Coit (1673-1750), son of Deacon Joseph, was a graduate of Harvard and received his master’s degree from Yale. He was married to Experience Wheeler.Samuel Coit (1708-1792) was the eldest son of Rev. Joseph and Experience. John Coit, who married Mehetabel Tyler, was the son of Samuel Coit. Roger Coit of Plainfield, CT, (1786-1856) was the youngest of the nine children of John and Mehetabel, and Roger was the father of Lydia Lord Coit and the grandfather of John Coit Spooner. Much of this information is based on the book “John Coit Spooner – Defender of Presidents” by Dorothy Ganfield Fowler, 1962. A copy of this book can be found at the Spooner Memorial Library.