On October 1, 1893, P. Joch and five sisters who had set out from Marshfield arrived in Tomahawk, Lincoln County, to open a new mission. The town had been founded recently, in 1891. The site, which was only surveyed in 1887, had belonged to the Ojibwe—one of the largest indigenous populations north of the Rio Grande—who had made this area their preferred hunting ground. In 1837, through the well-known 'Pike Purchase,' they had ceded it to the United States.
Now, upon the sisters' arrival, the young Tomahawk lacked everything. Suffice it to say that the first wooden house had been built only in October 1887, and the first prescription, written by the doctor of the newly established village, dates back to December 19, 1886. We can therefore only imagine the pioneering spirit of these missionary sisters who, on October 19, 1893, after renting a house, moved in with their first two patients, becoming a point of reference for the local population, which consisted largely of lumberjacks.
In the Chronicles, we read that Sacred Heart Hospital, built right in the woods of Northern Wisconsin, was inaugurated on July 20, 1894. On that occasion, several women from Tomahawk offered help for the celebration, and all the citizens contributed to the costs of the project, marking a collective financial success. No small feat for such a young community! And a truly great achievement for five sisters who were rich in high ideals but dirt poor.