Tommy Who? Traditional Geocache

We were wondering about this road named “Tommy’s Turnpike.”   Who was Tommy, and why did he have a road named after him?

You live in a city long enough you get to know who to ask. So now we know, and you will too.

Tommy’s Turnpike was named after Thomas Leech.  He was  president of the Whiting-Plover Paper Mill, helped organize the Village of Whiting, and was the first president of the Village of Whiting.  He was also married to the granddaughter of George Albert Whiting, who along with Emmons Burr, established this paper mill in 1892.  The oldest mill building still standing was built in 1898, but it is not visible from the road.

 The Whiting-Plover Paper Company was well known as the first mill in the Wisconsin River Valley to produce rag stock paper. Cotton rags were shipped from Milwaukee, and a nearby spring was the source of extremely pure water which made the production of very fine letterhead paper possible.

To learn more, go to:  Whiting-Plover Paper Mill      Thomas Leech

BYOP.  Though the cache is a micro, it conains a nano log. Handle with care!