USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > Madison > A history of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin : including the Four Lake country : to July, 1874, with an appendix of notes on Dane County and its towns > Part 30
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Mr. KLEUTER, near the East Madison depot, built a two story brick store for his own business at a cost of $3,500. Mr. P. CASS a similar building, 22 by 44 feet on King street.
There has been quite a number of elegant residences erected during the year, besides many cottages. The following is a memorandum of those built exceeding a cost of $2,500: Maj. JAS. R. MEARS, brick, on Carroll street, $5,000; Prof. J. W. STERLING, State street, brick, $5,300; L. W. HOYT, Esq., Wis- consin avenue, brick, $4,500; Maj. J. O. CULVER, Carroll street, on Lake Mendota, [frame, $4.000; Hon. B. E. HUTCHINSON, near Wisconsin avenue, brick, $4,000; E. S. McBRIDE, Carroll street, brick, $3,700; Hon. E. W. KEYES, Pinckney, brick house enlarged, $3,500. The cost of private residences may safely be estimatd at $50,000.
The whole amount expended in permanent improvements may be put down as follows: Business blocks and stores. $217,500; private residences, $50,000; manufacturing establish- ments, $60,000; gas works, in buildings and new pipes, $30,000; street improvements, $50,000. To this may be added the new Female College and University grounds, $50,000; the new St. Regina Academy, on Washington avenue (three story brick with basement and Mansard roof, the building 33 by 70 feet), $8,500; and the pastor's residence, corner of Main street, a brick building, $3,500. The Madison Democrat puts down the whole improvements at over $500,000.
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WISCONSIN STATE HOSPITAL FOR THE LYSANE,
NEAR MADISO
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On the 9th of October occurred the " Great Fire of Chicago," the account of which produced as great excitement here as at any other point. Meetings of the citizens were held, and pro- visions and clothing were brought forward, and sent on imme- diately to relieve the sufferers. Madison responded to the call for relief promptly, and money and merchandise to amount to $10,000 were sent; assistance was also sent to the sufferers at Peshtigo in the northern part of the state, where the loss of life and property by the raging fires called aloud for aid and sympathy.
The Madison Yacht Club is the largest organization of the kind in Wisconsin. It was organized in the fall of 1870, by the consolidation of the Mendota and the Lake City Yacht Clubs, and was granted a charter by the legislature of 1871. The fleet of the club numbers sixteen boats, including schooner, sloop and cat rigged yachts. Numerous regattas are held du- ring the sailing season, attracting large numbers of people from all parts of the State, and have heretofore always proved great successes. The club has handsomely furnished rooms in Fairchild's block, where the late papers are always to be found.
The Madison Boat Club has been in existence only one year, but has a vigorous start, and is recognized as. one of the sub- stantial attractions of the city. It has a fine equipment of cedar and paper shells, and a fine barge for excursions and pic- nics. The club has invested in boats, $825; boat houses, $300, and equipments, $175, and contemplates making extensive ad- ditions during the season of 1872. It numbers among its ac- tive members many of the prominent, professional and busi- ness men of the city, and with fine equipments and unrivalled boating facilities, bids fair to take a prominent place among the many amateur boat clubs of the west. The rowing course on Lake Monona is unsurpassed east or west.
At the annual meeting of the Club, held October 28, it was reported that the total receipts since the organization were $1,010.20, of which amount, $891.75 was received from mem- bers, and $118.45 from other sources - that there had been paid for boats, $800.28, and $236.46 for houses and pier.
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In the account above given, we have omitted to state that GEORGE FESS has enlarged his hotel accommodations by the construction of a two story brick building, 30 by 60 feet, at a cost of about $4,000. On this lot there has been for years a neat little building which has been occupied by Mr. FEss as a dwelling, in connection with his hotel accommodations. This little building possesses a historical interest which it will be interesting to notice. It was built in 1838, and was first used by the commissioners who came here to superintend the erec- tion of the old capitol as their office. It has been in constant use ever since. Its frame work never saw such an institution as a saw mill, or its lath a circular saw or any other kind. The large timbers for its frame were hewn with an axe, and its lath are of large proportions, having no regular size; yet everything stands as firm as a rock, and the building could be safely re- moved to Milwaukee or almost any other place without fear of even cracking the plastering.
On the 11th of January, 1872, Mr. JOHN STONER died at his residence, in this place, in his 80th year. The following notice of him has been prepared by WM. WELCH, Esq. He was born in Washington county, Md., on the 25th day of December, 1791. When a child, he was taken to Adams county, Penn .; from this place he went to New York city, and soon after to Buffalo, when that place was comparatively new. The family leaving Buf- falo, settled at Fairport, 5 miles east of Willoughby, on the lake shore. Here his father died, when, with his mother, he returned to Pennsylvania, and learned the cabinet making trade. Soon after, the war of 1812 broke out, when he enlisted as a private, and at the close of the term of his enlistment, was discharged.
Mr. S. now went to Ohio, was married, and settled in Euclid, eight miles east of Cleveland, where he resided 25 years. With a small piece of land upon which he grew his bread, and work- ing industriously at his trade, he managed to obtain quite a competency for those days, but his family increasing faster than his dollars and his acres, he was obliged to seek for a wider range for his field of labors, and conceived the idea of seeking a new home in the then " Far off West."
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Husbanding his means, a portion of which he invested in a span of horses and a wagon, he started with his wife and a family of seven children, for Madison, the capital of the then Territory of Wisconsin, and after a tedious journey of just four weeks, through a new and almost wilderness country, reached his destination on the 6th of September, 1837. His wagon was about the first that came from Janesville here. Janesville then contained but one solitary double log cabin, and was occupied by JANES himself. The course of this place was marked by blazed trees, a party of government surveyors having just before run a line between the two points.
Mr. STONER found but three or four log cabins in this gay capital. The old PECK house, a log building, with a small frame attached, stood near the site of the present residence of WM. PYNCHEON, Esq., and was the principal point of attraction. The wood frame afterwards constituted a portion of the kitchen of the old Madison Hotel.
Aside from women and children (few indeed), the population of the place consisted of but twenty-five or thirty persons, most of whom were employed as laborers on the capitol. Milwaukee and Galena were the points from which provisions must be ob- tained, and as the wife and babies had not learned to live with- out food, Mr. S. was obliged to procure it. He concluded to go to Galena, and on foot he started. At the head of Fourth Lake, where Pheasant Branch now is, he struck an Indian trail which led off into the lead mines, and from there he found a wagon track to Galena. Arrived there, he purchased a yoke of oxen and a wagon, and his provisions. Pork was $36 per barrel; flour, $30 to $35 per barrel; butter, $1 per pound; sugar 75 cents, and everything else in proportion. Returning to Mad- ison he was caught in a heavy fall of snow. When the storm abated the snow was so heavy that he was unable to travel, and he camped several days and nights, subsisting himself and team as best he could. On reaching home, he found a new born son, which was the first male child born here, and which he at once christened " MADISON " in honor of the place.
1n 1838, he entered 240 acres of land on what is now called
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"Stoner's Prairie," a few miles west of Madison - the prairie taking his name. Leaving his family in town, in order that his children might have the benefit of a school, he kept " bach" on this farm more or less for seventeen years, the first few years without fences, being annoyed only by deer and wild geese. Finally, he sold his farm for $15 per acre; within a year thereafter the same land was worth $50.
In the spring of 1863, his faithful wife, who had shared his pioneer life, died. His family having grown up, he felt alone in the world. Restless and uneasy, the pioneer spirit revived, and taking his old sorrel mare, which he had owned when a colt twenty-two years before, and his only grandson, a lad of fourteen summers, he set out for Colorado Territory, where his son MADISON had made a home four or five years before. The next year he returned to the States, going back the same sea- son - coming and returning with the old mare. In 1865, he came again to Madison, returning the same year, after visiting Ohio.
Mr. STONER had two daughters, who were married, but they died a few years after, of consumption, as well as two unmar- ried daughters. His son GEORGE W. STONER is still a resident of Madison.
Mr. STONER was a good man, honored and respected by everyone.
At the spring election, April 2, 1872, for the office of Mayor, JAS. L. HILL* received 976, and ALDEN S. SANBORN, 772 votes; Mr. HILL's majority, 204. For Treasurer, Maj. CHAS. G. MAYERS received 1,017 votes, and A. HERFUTH, 722; majority for Maj.
* James L. Hill, Esq., is a son of Priam B. and Amanda E. Hill, and was born at Brockport, N. Y., July 4, 1834. He removed with his parents to Fulton county, Ill., in 1836, and, in 1842, to Milwaukee, where he made his residence until 1854, the last two years of which he was engaged in the banking house of Marshall & Ilsley. In February, 1854, he removed to Madison, and was Teller of the State Bank, which place he retained until the organization of the Bank of Madison, in 1860, when he took the posi- tion of Cashier, and subsequently President of that institution, which he retained until the business of the bank was suspended in 1873. Mr. Hill was elected Mayor at the spring election of 1872.
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MAYERS, 295. For Police Justice, A. B. BRALEY received 1,224 votes; there was no opposing candidate. The Aldermen elected were: E. Cook and GEO. W. BUNKER, 1st ward; R. WOOTTON and C. P. CHAPMAN, 2d ward; F. M. DORN and JOHN LEWIS, 3d ward; and ADRIAN WEBSTER and ESTES WILSON, 4th ward.
The total expenditures of the city, for city purposes, for the year past were, $35,878.02, and the receipts, $36,304.55.
The number of scholars in the city schools, from September 11, 1871, to June 28, 1872, as reported by the City Superin- tendent of Schools, was 1,927; the number present at the date of the report, 1,043. The total receipts for the support of the city schools, for the year past, were $25,690.36; and the expendi- tures, $25,366.21.
On the 13th of June, the corner-stone of the new Congrega- tional Church building, on the corner of Washington avenue and Fairchild street, was laid with appropriate exercises, includ- ing addresses by Rev. Dr. SAMUEL FALLOWS, Rev. C. H. RICH- ARDS and Gen. DAVID ATWOOD. In the former part of this work we gave an account of the early history of this church, which was established in 1840. For a number of years past, the building occupied by the society had been inadequate to supply the growing wants of the congregation, and the erec- tion of a new building was called for as a matter of imperative necessity,
The following is a brief account of the building pro- posed to be erected: It is to be a little irregular in shape, but about 75 feet square, the audience room being 10 feet less in width than in depth, and will seat 650 on the main floor, and 350 in the galleries. There will be rooms for conference and social gatherings, Bible classes, etc., in the basement, with the present chapel made available for Sunday School purposes. It is to have a tower 16 feet square, with a spire 176 feet high. The total cost will be nearly $35,000, of which $23,000 has been subscribed at this date. A more detailed account of this building will be given hereafter.
The national anniversary, this year, was observed with more
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than usual interest. The Society of the Army of the Tennes- see held their annual re-union at this place at that time, which brought hither a large number of the most prominent officers in the army to participate in the meeting. The Journal says: "Seldom, if ever before, has Madison been so thronged by peo- ple from the surrounding country as on this occasion. Some 4,000 persons arrived by railroad, at the East Madison depot, between the hours of 9 and 10 A. M., and, during the day, about 7,000 arrived in all, and not less than 1,500 from the adjacent towns. Among those present, were Gen. PHILIP H. SHERIDAN, Gen. BELKNAP (Secretary of War), Gen. POPE, Gen. NOYES (Governor of Ohio), and a large number of military officers of high rank, as well as private soldiers, etc. The pro- cession was large and attractive, under the charge of Col. W. F. VILAS and nine assistants. At the stand, the following per- sons took part: Hon. GEO. B. SMITH, President; Rev. H. W. SPALDING, Chaplain; WM. WELCH, Reader; and S. A. HURL- BUT, of Belvidere, Ill., Orator. There was a yacht race at 3 P. M., and a rowing race at 4 o'clock, which were well attended, and were very satisfactory. . The exercises were concluded by a fine display of fireworks.
The corner-stone of the new Methodist Episcopal Church on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Dayton street, was laid on the 30th September, with appropriate ceremonies. An address was delivered by Rev. J. H. TWOMBLY, D. D., President of the Wisconsin University. The new church promises to be a very fine and most substantial structure, and a great ornament to the city. It is to be of stone throughout, 115 feet by 60 feet, and to cost not less than $50,000. One of the features of the re- port adopted at the last West Wisconsin Conference, in rela- tion to this church, was, that the whole sum was divided in three equal parts; one third to be raised by the church at Mad- ison ($16,666.663); one third by the West Wisconsin Confer- ence, and the other third by the Wisconsin Conference. Madison has already raised about the whole of the sum appor- tioned to her, or has in hand property to that amount. The
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work of building will be prosecuted with all despatch and as fast as funds are received for that purpose.
Rev. Dr. ALFRED BRUNSON, of Prairie du Chien, has furnished for present use, a history of this church, from the earliest time, and other statistics derived from the church records are here- with given. We are fortunate in being able to give so full an account of the organization.
" Agreeably to your request, I send you the best information I possess on the Methodist Church in Madison.
The building of the territorial capitol, commenced in 1837. This brought a large number of workmen to that place, with others who intended to reside there. In the course of that summer the Rev. SALMON STEBBINS, now of Bristol, Kenosha county, then Presiding Elder of Milwaukee District in the Il- linois Conference, in primitive Methodist style, following the new settlers as fast as they kindle their camp-fires, visited the place and preached to them; the first sermon of any kind preached on the present site of the capital of the state.
I am not aware that he found any of his own church among the workmen or settlers, but he met with a hearty welcome; and attached the place to the Aztalan Mission, to which SAM- UEL PILSBURY and JESSE HALSTEAD had been appointed, and they also, probably, visited and preached to the people more or less.
The next year, Madison and Fort Winnebago were made a Mission Circuit, with JOHN HODGE as Pastor. The country being new, the settlements sparse, circuits in those days em- braced a large tract of country.
Madison, being the capital of the territory, was kept at the head of the circuit, though there was not a member of the church in it; and thus it continued, once connected with Mus- coda, but mostly by itself, as the nucleus to the surrounding country.
My first visit to Madison was in the month of December, 1840, as a member of the Territorial Legislature. Down to that time there had been no class formed, and preaching was
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done in the Capitol, the Assembly Hall, which was the only place for public gatherings, and it was open for all denomina- tions. Finding a few Methodists in the Legislature, and among its officers, I gathered them together on Sundays for class meet- ings; the first class meetings held in the place. On Sunday morning and evening, preaching was kept up in the Assembly Hall. The Chaplain, JAS. MITCHELL, being a Methodist, he and I took it turn about, there being no other preacher there, except an occasional visitor, for the winter.
The first organization of a Methodist class, as well as I can ascertain, was in 1841, by Rev. T. M. FULLERTON, consisting of six members, which increased but slowly, with now and then a decrease, chiefly by removals, leaving the present number (1873) about one hundred and thirty.
The year 1851 was a year of peculiar affliction to the Metho- dists of Madison, by what has since been called "the Snow Storm." The pastor, Rev. J. SNow, by some means became partially demented, and so administered discipline as to exclude, or cause to withdraw, about half the members of the church, for which he was deposed by the conference from his minis- terial functions, and those who had been expelled, or had with- drawn to avoid expulsion, were restored to their original mem- bership, yet the effects of that terrible storm are still felt and seen, and probably will be more or less, till that generation passes away.
Madison was not separated from its county connections, and made a separate charge, until 1852, since which time it has remained as such.
The old church, " on the corner," now such an eye-sore to the membership and the people of Madison, was begun in 1849 or 1850. While yet connected with the circuit, "Father WM. Fox" of Oregon, then a part of the circuit, was the principal agent in its erection. But the society being small, and having but little of this world's goods, the building went on slowly. Business men and property holders did not seem to appreciate the value of a church in enhancing the business
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and the value of property, and, therefore, did not aid the feeble society as men of that class have in other places.
The old church, however, at the time it was built, was quite respectable, being nearly the first house of worship in the city, and quite as good as others of its time. But the growth of the city, and the erection of larger and more splendid buildings and churches, the old home of Methodism in Madison fell into the shade, and our wealthy members and friends, both residents and visitors, became ashamed of it, and business men coveted the site for a building house. The house also became too small for the congregation. Under these circumstances, the society, for years, have been devising ways and means for building a house of worship that would be more acceptable to the eyes of the public and accommodate the attendants. But not being able of themselves, and others outside of the church, not seeming to appreciate the value of such a building to the name and property of the city, nothing was done in this direction until our conference of 1871, when it was resolved to make it a State affair, and the other conferences agreeing to it, the Rev. D. W. COUCH was appointed an agent to solicit aid from the members and friends of the church, and put up a building that would be an ornament to the Capital of the State, and be a fit representative of the most numerous church in it. This is now under way, and it is hoped will be ready for occupancy within a year.
Our system ot itinerancy, requiring annual or bi-annual charges in the pastorate, necessarily gives variety to the pulpit - some of the best, and some not so good - but as " variety is the spice of life," on the whole, the best results have followed, though some localities may not see it in that light.
The history of Methodism in Madison has been one of humiliating tendencies. Methodism has not grown or pros- pered here, as it has in other places, but as the humble have the promise of the Savior's help, we hope that better days are dawning upon us.
In 1856 the West Wisconsin Conference was set off from
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the other part of the State, and the first session of it was held in Madison in that year, in the old church. In 1861, soon after the rebellion broke out, we held another session in the city. The old church being too small, we were honored with the use of the Capitol, and while the Stars and Stripes were waving over our heads, we adopted a set of resolutions, the first, I believe, from any ecclesiastical body, proffering aid and comfort to President LINCOLN in that mighty struggle for life and liberty, to which Mr. LINCOLN made a respectful and thankful reply, which was entered upon the journals of the conference.
In addition to this valuable paper, the following historical sketch has been prepared by Rev. GEO. FELLOWS. a former pas- tor of the church, on the same subject, and is copied from the church records:
The first conference that sent her members to labor in Mad- son, was the Illinois conference. The first appointment made in this State was by that conference, October 1, 1835, at Mil- waukee. In 1836, Root River Mission was formed, and SAMUEL PILSBURY appointed pastor. At the Illinois conference, 1837, SALMON STEBBINS was made presiding Elder of Milwaukee dis- trict, and Madison mission left to be supplied, which is the first mention made of Madison. Col. A. A. BIRD says, a Methodist clergyman, Rev. SALMON STEBBINS, preached the first sermon delivered in Madison, in the month of September, 1837, at which time there were but four families in the place; EBEN PECK and family, JOHN PIERCE and family, JOHN STONER and family and the widow BIRD's family. Mrs. MARION STARK- WEATHER, a daughter of Col. BIRD, says that in March, 1838, Rev. SAMUEL PILSBURY (who was preacher at the Aztalan Mis- sion), came and preached in Madison, and during the season came regularly once a month. Her father (Col. BIRD), received word from a friend in Buffalo, N. Y., that PILSBURY would be here and preach if a place could be provided, and thereupon a log barn was enclosed on the spot where Mr. A. KENTZLER's stables are now located, and it was made ready in March to shelter the people. Mr. PILSBURY came and preached his first
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sermon there. The following persons were present: A. A. BIRD and family of four children; Dr. ALMON LULL, CHARLES and WILLIAM BIRD, and the barn was surrounded by three or four hundred Indians, who were curious listeners. A few inci- dents of Mr. PILSBURY's labors have been preserved. While tarrying at Col. BIRD's for about a week the young girls, including MARION, having heard some of the settlers say that they had not had a prayer at their house for years, kept an ac- count of the number of morning and evening prayers made by Mr. P. while with them, with chalk on the door. Mrs. STARK- WEATHER also says, that Mr. P. was present and opened by prayer the first session of the Territorial council held in the then unfinished State House. It is also quite probable that Mr. STEBBINS was here occasionally through the year as pre- siding elder.
There were no members reported to conference at the session September 12, 1838, but Madison and Fort Winnebago were associated, and the Rev. JOHN HODGES was the missionary. At the end of the year five members were reported in his field. In the year 1839, Madison was left to be supplied. Rev. Mr. STEBBINS was employed at Racine and Southport, but preached at Madison occasionally during the year. Miss RUTH STARKS : came here October 11, 1839. At the meeting of the Rock River Conference, held at Pine Creek, Ogle county, Ill., there were three members reported at Madison, August 26, 1840, viz., RUTH STARKS, BENJAMIN HOLT and wife. Mr. HOLT was leader. It is probable that Rev. S. P. KEYES who was at Fort Winnebago, preached occasionally during the year, there being no missionary here. At the meeting of the conference at Platte- ville, August 21, 1841, there were eleven members reported at Madison. At the conference at Chicago, August 24, 1842, six members reported, and S. P. KEYES at Madison mission. The services were now held in the capitol. At the conference held at Dubuque, Iowa, August 23, 1843, seventy-eight members re- ported at Madison, and JESSE I .. BENNET, missionary. At one held July 24, 1844, fifty-eight members. SALMON STEBBINS, preacher. One at Peoria, August 20, 1845, forty-six members,
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