The six mile (10 km) square that would become Hammel was first surveyed in the summer of 1847 by a crew working for the U.S. government.

Then in late 1857 another crew marked all the section corners in the township, walking through the woods and over frozen swamps, measuring with chain and compass.

[4][5] When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description: This Township contains several Tamarac and Cedar Swamp some of considerable extent and mostly unfit for cultivation.

[6]An 1880 map of central Wisconsin shows two roads from Medford reaching the east edge of what would become Hammel.

Some sort of roads followed the course of parts of modern County E along the east edge of the town.

A predecessor of modern Perkinstown Avenue spanned the whole township, with short side-roads branching off to north and south.

Another road followed the course of modern Highway 64 and Sawyer Avenue across most of the town, with many settlers and two rural schools.

Sawyer's log-driving dam on the Black River was marked at the west edge of the town.

The map shows a hotel and "hall" about where the High View Inn now is, and a school out west of Mud Lake.