Pliny Norcross

Pliny Norcross (November 16, 1838 – July 11, 1915) was an American lawyer, businessman, and Republican politician from Janesville, Wisconsin. He was the 20th mayor of Janesville, and an important character in the development of the city—responsible for the first electric power-generating plants in the city. He represented Rock County in the Wisconsin State Assembly for four terms spread across the 1860s, 1880s, and 1900s, and served four years as district attorney. Earlier in life, he served as an officer in the Union Army through most of the American Civil War and was described as the first University of Wisconsin student to volunteer for the war.

Early life and war service Pliny Norcross was born in Templeton, Massachusetts. He moved west with his parents in 1852, settling on a farm in the town of La Grange, Walworth County, Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, he attended the Milton Academy for two years, then went to the University of Wisconsin.

He left school due to the outbreak of the American Civil War and joined up with the "Governor's Guard"—a Madison-based militia company headed by captain Lucius Fairchild. He was described as the first University of Wisconsin student to volunteer for the war.

Norcross chose to re-enlist for a three-year term, and was commissioned captain of Company K in the 13th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. He served the full three years as captain of his company and did not re-enlist again as a veteran in 1864. With the 13th Wisconsin Infantry, he participated in many of the important battles of the western theater of the war, including the Iuka–Corinth campaign and the critical Vicksburg campaign.

Legal and political career After returning from the war, Norcross settled in Janesville, Wisconsin, and became a junior law partner to Judge John R. Bennett. He subsequently partnered with A. A. Jackson, and then Benjamin F. Dunwiddie.

Running on the Republican ticket, he was elected district attorney of Rock County in 1870 and 1872, and was then elected city attorney of Janesville in 1875 and 1876, and mayor in 1877 and 1878.

Around this same time, he purchased land and erected two large buildings, known as the Norcross Block and the Phoebus Block. He also purchased a mill located in the city and moved it to a different location on the river, where he leased it out. In place of that mill, he built the first electric lighting plant in Janesville, utilizing water power. He went on to convert another three such mills to providing electrical power, which were utilized to power street lamps in Janesville and Edgerton. Ultimately, Norcross sold all of his power-generating plants to the Janesville Electric Company in 1899. He was re-elected with only 3rd party opposition in 1906. During the 1907 session of the Legislature, Norcross was appointed to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents by Governor James O. Davidson. He served three years on the board of regents before resigning in 1910, when he largely retired from public life. Norcross' two eldest sons became lawyers, his daughter married a lawyer, and his youngest son became a medical doctor.

Electoral history Wisconsin Assembly (1884)

Wisconsin Assembly (1904, 1906)