Champion, Great Bend, and Deferiet were all founded in the 1800s. Farming has always been the lifeblood of Champion; Noadiah Hubbard--original settler, land agent, merchant, and builder--did much to encourage its settlement and growth. Great Bend's location on the Black River drew various mills looking to utilize inexpensive waterpower. Such corporations included the Sherman Paper Company and the Great Bend Paper Company, which was incorporated in September 1868 to manufacture straw wrapping papers and strawboard. F.W. Woolworth, of five-and-dime fame, endowed a church here in honor of his...