USA > Wisconsin > Lafayette County > History of Lafayette county, Wisconsin > Part 1
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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HISTORY
OF
LA FAYETTE COUNTY,
WISCONSIN,
CONTAINING
AN ACCOUNT OF ITS SETTLEMENT, GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES; AN EXTENSIVE AND MINUTE SKETCH OF ITS CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES-THEIR IMPROVEMENTS, INDUSTRIES, MANUFACTORIES, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS AND SOCIETIES; ITS WAR RECORD, BIOGRAPH- ICAL SKETCHES, PORTRAITS OF PROMINENT MEN AND EARLY SETTLERS; THE WHOLE PRECEDED BY A HISTORY OF WISCONSIN, STATISTICS OF THE STATE, AND AN ABSTRACT OF ITS LAWS AND CON- STITUTION AND OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
ILLUSTRATED.
CHICAGO :
WESTERN HISTORICAL COMPANY. MDCCCLXXXI.
PREFACE.
T HIS WORK was commenced with a specific object in view, which was to place upon record, in a reliable manner and in permanent form, whatever incidents of importance have trans- pired within the region of which La Fayette County is now a part. As a necessary preliminary to this work, a brief history of the entire district now known as Wisconsin is given, together with such valuable facts concerning the antiquities of the Northwest as science has revealed. Following along this plan of labor, the history of the Lead Region, with an ample geological and mineralogical sketch thereof, is detailed from trustworthy sources. The more local records embrace the narrative of settlement in the early times that tried the courage and endurance of the heroic pioneers ; a recital of the bravery of La Fayette's citizen-soldiers in the Indian wars ; a description of the characteristic deeds of the representative men of the county, and a complete delineation of the events of the past half-century. In the history of the county will be found incidents, reminiscences and anecdotes, which serve to spice the more statistical portions of the work. In the preparation of this volume, many men of experience have patiently examined record books, intelligently conversed with pioneers, and carefully compiled the fruits of their industrious researches. The chief value of the history lies in the fact that not only was the original matter gathered first-handed from the participants in many of the scenes, but in the fact, of still greater importance, that the proof-sheets have been submitted for correction to many of the oldest settlers. Herein is furnished a truthful reflex of the times and deeds of by-gone days, and it is hoped that the present generation will feel that pride in the work which future gener- ations are surely destined to do. The publishers are aware that all persons cannot be pleased, but impartial and conscientious efforts must eventually be accepted at their true worth. Upon that faith is this volume submitted to the public with confidence.
Thanks are herein expressed to the scores of Pioneers, the County Officials, the Clergy and the Press for the uniform courtesy extended the compilers.
FEBRUARY, 1881.
THE PUBLISHERS.
CHICAGO :
CULVER, PAGE, HOYNE & CO., PRINTERS,
118 AND 120 MONROE STREET.
1200050
CONTENTS.
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
PAGE.
Antiquities .. 19
Indian Tribes 21
Pre-Territorial Annals 29
Wisconsin Territory 41
Wisconsin as a State.
52
First Administration
Second Administration
Third Administration
59
Fifth Administration ..
Sixth Administration
66
Seventh Administration
67
War of Secession Commenced ..
Eighth Administration.
76
Ninth Administration .. 85 162
Statistics of Volunteers.
Tenth Administration 92
Eleventh Administration 93
Twelfth Administration. 94
Thirteenth Administration 97
Fourteenth Administration 99
Fifteenth Administration.
104
109
·pography and Geology
110
The Archaan Age ... 112
Chicago & Northwestern ... 176 Paleozoic Time-Silurian Age 115
West Wisconsin. 180
Ratio of Sickness, Ft. Howard and Win-
nebago ..
239
Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western .. 180 Education of the Blind. 241
Green Bay & Minnesota. 181 Institute of Deaf and Dumb. 241
Wisconsin Valley 181 Industrial School for Boys. .242
Sheboygan & Fond du Lac. .181 State Prison 242
Mineral Point.
182
State Hospital for the Insane. 242
Northern Hospital for the Insane. .243 City of Milwaukee. 243
Prairie du Chien & McGregor 183 Health Resorts. 244
Chippewa Falls & Western 183 Change of Diseases 246
Pulmonary Diseases 248
Conclusion.
184
Statistics
249
Population, 1875, of Townships, Alpha- betically Arranged by Counties. .249
Commerce and Manufactures.
198
Population by Counties.
.258
Furs
199
Nativity by Counties.
259
Lead and Zinc-Iron
200
Valuation of Property.
.. 260
Lumber.
201
Acreage of Principal Crops.
261,262
Graded Schools
146
Grain
202
ABSTRACT OF WISCONSIN STATE LAWS.
PAGE.
Actions. 283
Elections and General Elections. 263
Estrays 279
Limitation of Actions. 285
Marks and Brands. 281
Married Women. .283
Assignment of Mortgage ...
274
Forms of Conveyances
273
Stay Law.
284
Assessment and Collection of Taxes 267
268
Garnishment.
Support of Poor 282
Highways and Bridges.
Hours of Labor
.273
.270 Suggestions to Persons Purchasing Books by Subscription. 285 Title of Real Property by Descent 275
Intoxicating Liquors .. 271 Weights and Measures 278
Collection of Taxes. 270 Commercial Terms 285 Judgments .. .284 Wills .. 276
Common Schools.
266
Jurisdiction of Courts
277
Wolf Scalps
278
MISCELLANEOUS.
PAGE.
Wisconsin State Constitution .. .. 287
U. S. Constitution
.. 297
dent
.306-307
Population of the State .. ......... .......... ..... 308
PAGE.
Vote of Wisconsin for Governor and Presi-
PAGE.
Landlord and Tenant 281
Arrest. 283 Attachment 284 Exemptions. .. 284
Adoption of Children 276 Fences 280
Forms of Mortgages.
.274
Surveyors and Surveys. 282
Assessment of Taxes.
Bills of Exchange or Promissory Notes. 272 Borrowed Money .. 267
Capital Punishment 278 Interest 277
Damages for Trespass 279 Jurors .278
PAGE.
PAGE.
Educational :
Township System .. 146
Free High Schools. 147 Pork and Beef .. 203
School Offices ..
147
Hops.
204
Tobacco-Cranberries.
205
Liquors
205
Miscellaneous.
206
College Sketches.
Female Colleges. .150
Academies and Seminaries .151
The Public Domain 210
Commercial Schools. 151 Health 230
Geographical Position. 230
Mineral Resources
162
Physical Features.
230
Geology
Lead and Zinc ..
231
90 Iron. 165 Drainage 232
Copper. .168 Climatology 232
Gold and Silver.
168
Rain Character
233
Brick Clays.
168
Isotherms
234
Cement Rock
.170
Limestone-Glass Sand 171
Peat-Building Stones. 172
Railroads 173
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. 173
Climatological Changes from Settling in the State 235 Influence of Nationalities. 237 Occupations-Food-Education, etc ... .. 238
Wisconsin Central. 178 History of Disease .. 238
Western Union 179
Climatology ..
128
Fauna ... 134
Fish and Fish Culture .. 134
Large Animals-Time of their Disap- pearanco ..
138
Peculiarities of the Bird Fauna .... .139 North Wisconsin .183
Educational 140
Original School Code ...
140
Agitation for Free Schools
141
Narrow Gauge.
.183
School System under State Govern- ment .. 141 Lumber. 185
School Fund Income .. 142 Banking .. 191
State University 143 Agricultural College .. 144 Normal Schools 144 Teachers' Institutes 146
121
Devonian Age ...
119
Glacial Period. 120
Trees, Shrubs and Vines
Commerce and Manufactures :
Dairy Products .. 203
State Teachers' Certificates 147
Teachers' Associations ... 148
52 57 Libraries .148
State Superintendents.
.148
Water Powers.
206
Fourth Administration
62
149
Manufactures
208
64
Conclusion.
208
69 Agriculture. 151
Winds, 235 Sixteenth Administration
Barometrical
234
Madison & Portage. .182
PAGE.
PAGE.
.284
iv
CONTENTS.
HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
PAGE.
Among the Rocks.
309
Centerville District
375
Jesse Shull's Tradership. 399
The Mineral District in Detail 331
Highland District. 375
Dr. Samuel C. Muir.
$99
Death of Moses Strong .. 331
Linden District 378
A. P. Van Matre. 400
The Driftless Area. 336
Dodgeville District 383
The First White Woman. 401
Topography and Surface Geology. 340
347
Mineral Point District.
385
The Change in Management 402
Mineralogy 348
Calamine District.
391
Moses Meeker's Colony
404
History and Character of the Mines 352
Wiota District ..
39I
Beetown District
352
Copper
392
The First Death.
405
Potosi District 354
Settlement.
392
The First Births. 405
Fairplay District .. 357
The First Explorer. 392
392
The First Post Office. 40€
Platteville District 364
The Margry Letters 393
Charles Bracken's Sketch. 420
New Diggings District. 366
A Missing Island. 394
Names of those who mined prior to 1830. 423
Political History. 123
R. H. Magoon's Memoirs.
427
Benton District .. 373
Davenport at Fever River. 396
Mifflin District. 374 The Buck Lead. 399
HISTORY OF LA FAYETTE COUNTY.
PAGE.
PAGE.
PAGE.
The Beginning of Settlement.
435
City of Darlington
522
Town of White Oak Springs.
582
The Early Miners.
437
Early Settlement ...
522
Village of White Oak Springs
585
The First Farm
439
Religious.
532
Town of Monticello 588
The Winnebago War
439
Schools. 534
Town of Gratiot. 590
The First Winter
441
Literary Club ...
537
Village of Gratiot 594
A Glimpse of Pioneer Chivalry
442
Societies, Lodges, etc.
538
Village of Riverside .. 598
The Hardships of Pioneer Life ..
444
540
Town of Wayne ... 598
602
Early History of the Mines.
450
544
Village of Elk Grove
605
First Marriage, Birth and Death 457
Post Office.
545
A Gentleman from Missouri.
457
Cemeteries. 545
Town of Wiota.
607
Claim Troubles, and the Black Hawk War. 458 Organization.
480
Town of Darlington. 547
548
First Petit Jury.
482
551
Re-organization of Towns.
552
The Court House.
483
Town of Benton ..
Calamine ..
629
The First Regular Court.
485 Village of Benton
557
Valuation
Meeker's Grove. 486
Village of Fayetteville
636
Population
486
Town of Blanchard.
638
Presidential Vote.
486
Village of New Diggings. 567 Blanchardville
640
The County Roster.
489
Etna Mill and Postoffice 569 Town of Argyle. 644
The Press. 494
Village of Shullsburg.
570
The Agricultural Society 503
Bank 575
Among the Short Horns on Ames' Branch, 507
Schools. 576
Biography of Col. Scales.
654
War History ..
508
Postoffice .. 579
Volunteer Roster 519 Secret Societies. 581
PORTRAITS.
PAGE.
PAGE.
A. J. Anderson.
541
M. V. Burris 613 S. H. Scales .. 397
James Bintliff.
505
H. A. Beckwith. 729 P. B. Simpson 649
John W. Blackstone, deceased. 361 Stephen Blackstone. 379
Francis Craig 631
W. B. Thurston 577
Aug. Blackstone .. 595
Samuel Cule ... 765
J. S. Waddington, 523
Joseph Blackstone .. 451
J. H. Earnest. 325
Edward Weatherby 343
T. E. Blackstone
469
Henry S. Magoon 415
John W. Blackstone 487 Mat Murphy 559
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
PAGE.
PAGE.
Argyle ...
779
Fayette.
792 Seymour .. 798
Belmont ..
753 Gratiot
758
Willow Springs.
789
Blanchard.
786
Kendall. 799
Wiota .. 795
Benton
745
Monticello 784
White Oak Springs 749
Darlington. 713
New Diggings. 742
Wayne .. 772
Elk Grove. 752 Shullsburg .. 735
Biography of Jno. W. Blackstone .. 653
625
553
Village of Belmont.
621
First Grand Jury
482
Early Settlement and General History ...
Avon Village (extinct).
Town of Kendall ..
623
483 Poor House.
Town of Willow Springs.
630
Town of Fayette
562
Town of New Diggings
563
Village of Wiota,
611
Town of Belmont
612
Business Directory
The Pioneer Women.
448
Banks. 544
Town of Elk Grove
Mills
Town of Seymour
606
Hazel Green District 359
The Missouri Diggings.
Government Control of the Mines. 408
Buncombe Diggings .. 364
Dubuque's Settlement 394
Diggings on the Leakley Estate. 368 Dubuque's Operations on the East Side. 395
Shullsburg District. 369 Early Navigation and Commerce. 396
Van Meter's Survey. 384
The First American History 401
The First Marriage ..
405
Social Development .. 405
The Lead Region Described
PAGE.
PAGE.
PAGE.
PAGE.
R. H. Champion. 309 Henry Stephens 747
Village of Argyle .. 645
Produce and Live Stock Trade. 446
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
BY C. W. BUTTERFIELD.
I .- WISCONSIN ANTIQUITIES.
The first explorers of the valleys of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi and its tributaries, seem not to have noticed, to any considerable extent, the existence within these vast areas of monuments of an extinct race. Gradually, however, as the tide of emigration broke through the barriers of the Alleghanies and spread in a widely extended flow over what are now the States of the Northwest, these prehistoric vestiges attracted more and more the attention of the curious and the learned, until, at the present time, almost every person is presumed to have some general knowledge, not only of their existence, but of some of their striking peculiarities. Unfortunately, these signs of a long since departed people are fast disappearing by the never ceasing operations of the elements, and the constant encroachments of civilization. The earliest notices of the animal and vegetable kingdom of this region are to be found in its rocks; but Wisconsin's earli- est records of men can only be traced in here and there a crumbling earth-work, in the fragment of a skeleton, or in a few stone and copper implements-dim and shadowy relics of their handicraft.
The ancient dwellers in these valleys, whose history is lost in the lapse of ages, are desig- nated, usually, as the Mound-Builders ; not that building mounds was probably their distinctive employment, but that such artificial elevations of the earth are, to a great extent, the only evi- dences remaining of their actual occupation of the country. As to the origin of these people, all knowledge must, possibly, continue to rest upon conjecture alone. Nor were the habitations of this race confined to the territory of which Wisconsin now forms a part. At one time, they must have been located in many ulterior regions. The earth-works, tumuli, or "mounds," as they are generally designated, are usually symmetrically raised and often inclosed in mathematical figures, such as the square, the octagon, and the circle, with long lines of circumvallation. Besides these earth-works, there are pits dug in the solid rock; rubbish heaps formed in the prosecution of mining operations ; and a variety of implements and utensils, wrought in copper or stone, or moulded in clay. Whence came the inhabitants who left these evidences to succeed- ing generations ? In other words, who were the Mound-Builders ? Did they migrate from the Old World, or is their origin to be sought for elsewhere? And as to their manners and customs and civilization-what of these things? Was the race finally swept from the New World to give place to Red men, or was it the one from which the latter descended ? These momentous ques- tions are left for the ethnologist, the archaeologist, and the antiquarian of the future to answer- if they can.
20
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
Inclosures and mounds of the prehistoric people, it is generally believed, constituted but parts of one system; the former being, in the main, intended for purposes of defense or religion; the latter, for sacrifice, for temple sites, for burial places, or for observatories. In selecting sites for many of these earth-works, the Mound-Builders appear to have been influenced by motives which prompt civilized men to choose localities for their great marts; hence, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee and other cities of the West are founded on ruins of pre-existing structures. River terraces and river bottoms seem to have been the favorite places for these earth-works. In such localities, the natural advantages of the country could be made available with much less trouble than in portions of the country lying at a distance from water-courses. In Wisconsin, therefore, as in other parts, the same general idea of selecting points contiguous to the principal natural thoroughfares is found to have prevailed with the Mound-Builders; for their works are seen in the basin of the Fox river of the Illinois, in that of Rock river and its branches, in the valley of Fox river of Green bay, in that of the Wisconsin, as well as near the waters of the Mississippi.
While a few circumvallations and immense mounds, such as are common to certain other portions of the United States, are discoverable in Wisconsin, yet by far the largest number of earthworks have one peculiarity not observable, except in a few instances, outside the State. This characteristic is a very striking one The fact is revealed that they are imitative in form- resembling beasts, reptiles, birds, fish, man. All these, for convenience, are usually classed under the general name of "animal mounds," although some are in the similitude of trees, some of war clubs, others of tobacco pipes. Generally, these figures are in groups, though sometimes they are seen alone. For what purpose these earth-works were heaped up-they rise above the surface two, four, and sometimes six feet-or what particular uses they were intended to subserve, is unknown. It is, however, safe to affirm that they had some significance. A number resemble the bear; a few, the buffalo; others, the raccoon. Lizards, turtles, and even tadpoles, are out- lined in the forms of some. The war eagle, and the war club has each its representative. All this, of course, could not have been a mere happening-the work of chance. The sizes of these mounds are as various as their forms. One near Cassville, in Grant county, very complete in its representation of an animal, supposed to be of the elephant species, was found, upon measure- ment, to have a total length of one hundred and thirty-five feet. Another in Sauk county, quite perfect in its resemblance to the form of a man, was of equal length-a veritable colossus ; prone, it is true, and soon to disappear, if it has not already been destroyed, by ravages of a superior civilization.
In portions of Wisconsin, as well as in a few places outside the State, are found earth-works of another kind, but quite as remarkable as the "animal mounds," which, from their supposed use, have been styled "garden beds." They are ridges, or beds, about six inches in height and four feet in width, ranged, with much apparent method, in parallel rows, sometimes rectangular in shape, sometimes of various but regular and symmetrical curves, and occupying fields of from ten to a hundred acres.
The Mound-Builders have left many relics, besides their earthworks, to attest their presence in Wisconsin in ages past. Scattered widely are found stone and copper axes, spear-heads, and arrow-heads, also various other implements-evidently their handiwork. As these articles are frequently discovered many feet beneath the surface, it argues a high antiquity for the artificers. Whether they had the skill to mould their copper implements is doubtful. Such as plainly show the work of hammering, indicate an art beyond that possessed by the Red men who peopled America upon its first discovery by Europeans. In a few instances, fragments of human skulls have been found so well preserved as to enable a comparison to be drawn between the crania of
21
THE INDIAN TRIBES OF WISCONSIN.
this ancient race and those of modern ones; the results, however, of these comparisons throw little, if any, light upon "the dark backward and abysm " of mound-building times.
The evidences of an extinct people of superior intelligence is very strikingly exhibited in the ancient copper mines of the Lake Superior region. Here are to be found excavations in the solid rock; heaps of rubble and dirt; copper utensils fashioned into knives, chisels, and spear and arrow-heads; stone hammers; wooden bowls and shovels; props and levers for raising and supporting the mass copper; and ladders for ascending and descending the pits. These mines were probably worked by people not only inhabiting what is now the State of Wisconsin, but territory farther to the southward. The copper was here obtained, it is believed, which has been found in many places, even as far away as the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico, wrought into various implements and utensils. But there are no traces in Wisconsin of a " copper age " succeeding a " stone age," discernible in any prehistoric relics. They all refer alike to one age-the indefinite past ; to one people-the Mound-Builders.
II .- THE INDIAN TRIBES OF WISCONSIN.
When, as early, it is believed, as 1634, civilized man first set foot upon the territory now included within the boundaries of Wisconsin, he discovered, to his surprise, that upon this wide area met and mingled clans of two distinct and wide-spread families-the Algonquins and Sioux. The tribes of the former, moving westward, checked the advance of the latter in their excursions eastward. As yet there had been no representatives of the Huron-Iroquois seen west of Lake Michigan-the members of this great family, at that date dwelling in safety in the extensive regions northward and southward of the Erie and Ontario lakes. Already had the . French secured a foot-hold in the extensive valley of the St. Lawrence; and, naturally enough, the chain of the Great Lakes led their explorers to the mouth of Green bay, and up that water- course and its principal tributary, Fox river, to the Wisconsin, an affluent of the Mississippi. On the right, in ascending this bay, was seen, for the first time, a nation of Indians, lighter in complexion than neighboring tribes, and remarkably well formed, now well known as the MENOMONEES.
This nation is of Algonquin stock, but their dialect differed so much from the surrounding tribes of the same family, it having strange guttural sounds and accents, as well as peculiar inflec- tions of verbs and other parts of speech, that, for a long time, they were supposed to have a distinct language. Their traditions point to an emigration from the East at some remote period. When first visited by the French missionaries, these Indians subsisted largely upon wild rice, from which they took their name. The harvest time of this grain was in the month of September. It grew spontaneously in little streams with slimy bottoms, and in marshy places. The harvesters went in their canoes across these watery fields, shaking the ears right and left as they advanced, the grain falling easily, if ripe, into the bark receptacle beneath. To clear it from chaff and strip it of a pellicle inclosing it, they put it to dry on a wooden lattice above a small fire, which was kept up for several days. When the rice was well dried, it was placed in a skin of the form of a bag, which was then forced into a hole, made on purpose, in the ground. They then tread it out so long and so well, that the grain being freed from the chaff, was easily winnowed. After this, it was pounded to meal, or left unpounded, and boiled in water seasoned with grease. It thus became a very palatable diet. It must not be inferred that this was the only food of the Menomonees; they were adepts in fishing, and hunted with skill the game which abounded in the forests.
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