History of Lafayette county, Wisconsin, Part 1

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899. cn; Western Historical Co
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical
Number of Pages: 754


USA > Wisconsin > Lafayette County > History of Lafayette county, Wisconsin > Part 1


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.


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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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