Ashland Water Co. v. Ashland Cnty.

• Decision Date: 23 February 1894
• Citation: Ashland Water Co. v. Ashland Cnty., 87 Wis. 209, 58 N.W. 235 (Wis. 1894)
• Parties: ASHLAND WATER CO. v. ASHLAND COUNTY.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

87 Wis. 209

58 N.W. 235

ASHLAND WATER CO.

v.ASHLAND COUNTY.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

Feb. 23, 1894.

Appeal from circuit court, Ashland county; J. K. Parish, Judge.

Action by the Ashland Water Company against Ashland county.From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals.Affirmed.

The other facts fully appear in the following statement by NEWMAN, J.:

The action is for one year's supply of water, furnished by the plaintiff to the defendant for the use of its courthouse and county offices therein.On the 18th day of April, 1884, the town board of supervisors of the town of Ashland enacted an ordinance whereby it granted to the plaintiff a license or franchise to supply the then unincorporated village of Ashland with water.In this ordinance it was provided that “the city shall also have water, free of charge, for the fire department buildings and town and county halls and offices occupied for town and county purposes.”Afterwards, on the 22d day of September, 1884, the same town board enacted an ordinance, by the first section of which it is provided that the aforesaid ordinance, passed August 18, 1884, “be and the same hereby is so amended as to read as follows.”Then follows an ordinance of considerable length, covering the general ground of the ordinance of August 18, 1884, but omitting altogether the above provision for supplying water, free of charge, to the county halls and offices.After the city of Ashland was incorporated, the common council of the city enacted an ordinance in which it recited the above-mentioned ordinances, and others which had been enacted by the town board of the town of Ashland on the subject of waterworks, with the purpose, apparently, of ratifying or confirming them as binding upon the city.The ordinance concludes as follows: “And it being the intention hereby to grant, in the name and behalf of the city of Ashland, to the Ashland Water Company, * * * the same franchises, license, rights, immunities and privileges contained in the said ordinance of August 18th, 1884, as amended and extended by the said ordinance of September 22nd, 1884, * * * to the same effect as if all the said ordinances had been duly passed and adopted, from time to time, by the mayor and common council of the city of Ashland, * * * the city of Ashland, for the purpose of providing for a supply of water to the city of Ashland, * * * hereby ratifies and confirms to the said Ashland Water Company, * * * for the term of fifty years, all the franchises, license, rights, immunities and privileges...