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 7
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36
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establishment. But the old building finally went down as the " Madison Hotel," and by that name it will ever be known in the history of Madison. At 12 o'clock, March, 17, 1863, the Madison Hotel was the oldest building standing in the city of Madison. Peace to its ashes."
Reference has been made to the party that accompanied Mr. BIRD to commence work on the capitol. The following are the names of those known to have been of the party: JOSIAH PIERCE and family of five persons, engaged to keep a boarding house for the workmen, DARWIN CLARK,* employed May 30, 1837, to April 20, 1838, DAVID HYER, THOMAS JACKSON, DAVID WILLIAMS, E. HEWITT, GILES BRIGGS, HENRY GAGE, J. W. CORNING, WILLIAM and JOHN SYMONDS, D. MUMFORD, JAMES TINLINE, GILBERT and DELOS BUNDY, RICH'D ROCK- WOOD, ISAAC H. PALMER, CHAS. H. BIRD, PROSPER B. BIRD, E. H. NELSON, GEO. W. EASTMAN, H. W. THORNTON, HORACE and WM. LAWRENCE, WM. TERRIL, JEFF. HOLMES, C. P. PEASELY, JEFF. KINNEY, and - LELAND. Other workmen subsequently came and a large part of the original number removed to the country or returned east. Among those who came in the second arrival were, HENRY ROWE, M. EGGLESTON, R. F. RIS- ING, - HATHAWAY, R. PENOYER, J. S. MERRILL, EDMUND C. MAXWELL, OWEN MURRAY, CALEB MERRILL, CYRUS CLARK,
* Darwin Clark was' born at Otego, Otsego county, New York, May 12, 1812, and learned the business of cabinet maker. He left his home in April, 1837, with four friends to find a residence in the west, viz: Delos Bundy, Gilbert Bundy, Richard Rockwood and Hiram Sleeper. At Buffalo took the steamer DeWitt Clinton for Detroit, where the party met, having been divided on their way, and proceeded on foot to St. Josephs, Michi- gan, their baggage having been sent on by steamer. They crossed Lake Michigan to Chicago and traveled on foot to Milwaukee, where they arrived May 26, 1837. While at Milwaukee he, Rockwood and the two Bundys were engaged by Mr. Bird to go to Madison and work on the capitol building.
Mr. Clark has resided here since that time. He has held many town, village and city offices, carrying on a large business in cabinet ware. He was married at Webster, Monroe county, New York, to Sarah L. Good- enow, who died at Madison, March 5, 1854. He is now living with his second wife.
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WM. A. WHEELER, GEO. VROMAN, September, 1837, to March, 1838, ZENAS H. BIRD, -- WHITESIDES, JAIRUS and HORACE POT- TER, WM. SEAVIER and brother, JESSE BOLDEN, and WM. WOOLCOCK.
On the same day that BIRD's party reached Madison, SIMEON MILLS, * a well known citizen arrived. From him we have re-
* Gen. Simeon Mills was born in the town of Norfolk, Litchfield county, Connecticut, February 14, 1810. He removed with his parents to Austen- burg, Ashtabula county, O., when about two years of age, and was brought up on a farm. At the age of 20 he engaged in mercantile pursuits, which he followed several years. In 1837 he removed to Madison where he has re- sided up to the present time, and has been largely indentified in its success. On the 12th of August, 1837, Mr. Mills was appointed Justice of the Peace in and for the county of Dane, and for some time held the only office of the kind in said county. His first official act was performing the marriage cer- emony between Oliver Armel and Joseph Pelkie, two Frenchmen, and two accomplished ladies of the Winnebago nation.
In the spring of 1839, the county of Dane was organized for judicial purposes, and Mr. Mills was appointed Clerk of the Supreme Court of the Territory, and also Clerk of the U. S. District Court of the county of Dane, which last office he held for about nine years.
Mr. Mills was the last Treasurer of the Territory in 1848, and on the or- ganization of the State Government, was elected the first Senator of Dane county, and received a re-nomination at the expiration of his term, but de- clined the honor, and has not been an active politician since that time.
Retiring from politics thus early, and devoting himself to business, he has long since taken rank among the wealthy men of Dane county.
Mr. Mills was appointed one of the Trustees of the Wisconsin State Hospital for the Insane by Governor Randall, in April, 1860, and has held the office up to the present time; it being an honorary position, with- out salary, may account for its being so long filled by others than active politicians.
At the breaking out of the Rebellion in 1861, Mr. Mills was Paymaster General of the state, and disbursed nearly the entire war fund of Wiscon- sin, and, so far as we know, to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.
He has at different times engaged in various kinds of business; but his main energies, for the last thirty years, have been directed to the erection of buildings for rent and other purposes; and he has, probably, erected more buildings than any other four men together that ever lived in Madison.
Commencing in Madison, when it consisted of but one log house, he has lived to see it a beautiful city of more than ten thousand inhabitants.
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ceived an account of his travels in 1836 and 1837. At his first visit to Wisconsin he came by the way of Chicago, from which place in June 1836, in company with JOHN M. WILSON, Esq., he proceeded on horseback by way of Galena, Dubuque and Belmont to Mineral Point. At the latter place he remained until the last of December, when in company with Mr. VAN HORN, returned by the way of Milwaukee. He left Mineral Point when the thermometer was 32 degrees below zero, and stopped at CAMP and COLLINS' Diggings in Green County, crossed Sugar river and journeyed toward Janesville, and stopped there with Mr. HOLMES. The place was then known as Rock river rapids. Thence he crossed the prairie, and camped about 18 miles east of where Janesville now is. Next day he journeyed to Troy, Walworth county, and lodged with a Mr. MEACHAM, thence pursued his way to Mukwanago and stopped a part of the night at a log house, when he and his friend went three miles further, and sent assistance to the place, where he first stayed as the the lady of the house was taken sick, and proceeded to Milwau- kee and took the stage road to Chicago, being eleven days on the route. He then returned to Ohio.
Mr. MILLS stayed at his home until May, 1837, when he con- cluded to make a residence at Madison, as the capitol had been lo- cated there by the legislature the year previous and the prospects were favorable. He came to Chicago, and with the company of a young man by the name of BENHAM, proceeded on foot to- ward the new seat of Government. Mr. BENHAM separated from MILLS at Janesville, as he had concluded to settle in Wal- worth county, and the latter completed the route by himself. In doing so he crossed the Catfish river three times, and at the close of the day, June 10, arrived on the opposite side of Lake Monona near Winnequah. Here he met two Indian boys who were preparing to spend the night fishing. Mr. MILLS desired these lads to carry him over the lake, but they were not willing to do so. Soon after Mr. MILLS fell in with a man by the name of ABRAHAM WOOD, who persuaded the lads to bring him to Madison, Mr. MILLS paying them fifty cents each for so doing, which settled the question, and they landed him near the East
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Madison Depot. The day after his arrival, he engaged a man by the name of ISAAC TOWERS to put up for him a building of logs, 16 by 18, of hewed logs, on lot 8, block 108, for a store, and went to Mineral Point on his way to Galena, to pur- chase goods. At the former place, he met JOHN CATLIN, Esq., who had been appointed Post Master at Madison. An arrange- ment was made for a co-partnership, and both went to Galena and laid in supplies for the new store. Mr. CATLIN appointed Mr. MILLS Deputy Post Master, and the office was kept in the same building. This was the first mercantile establishment in the Territory south of Fort Winnebago, between Milwaukee and Dodgeville.
As a considerable number of workmen, including one family, arrived at Madison at that time, to commence the erection of the Territorial Capitol, the business of this pioneer mercantile establishment, although not very extensive, was by no means so limited as might well be imagined from the fact that, up to that time, the whole white population of Dane county consisted of EBENZER BRIGHAM, at Blue Mounds, and the family of EBEN PECK, with a few transient guests at Madison.
The only mails at that time were received occasionally, from Mineral Point and Fort Winnebago; but in the autumn of that year, a contract for carrying a weekly mail from Milwaukee to Madison, was awarded to Mr. MILLS, who commenced the service without delay.
The building erected by Mr. MILLS, was subsequently en- larged and occupied by the publishers of the " Wisconsin Ar- gus," as a printing office, and subsequently as a dwelling house. About a month after the building was put up, Mr. CATLIN ar- rived and made his residence here.
Nearly all the buildings put up in the summer and winter of 1837-8 have been removed, as well as those erected the few years succeeding. Some notice of these structures will be given.
The first framed building put up was a small office for the acting commissioner; the first framed dwelling was built by A. A. BIRD, on lot 5, block 87, on Lake Monona. It was known as
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HISTORY OF MADISON AND THE
the " Schemerhorn House." The boards used were sawed by hand. This building stood for many years and had numerous tenants. It was finally demolished, and an elegant two story brick dwelling occupies its site, and is the residence of J. M. BOWMAN, Esq.
A steam saw mill to saw lumber for the capitol, was built on the shore of Lake Mendota on block 262. Its site is occupied at present by buildings used for the storage of ice.
On the 6th of September, 1837, JOHN STONER and his family arrived, making the third family, E. PECK and JOSIAH PIERCE being his seniors. I. H. PALMER built a house on King street, below the Madison Hotel, the same season, and moved with his family. Mr. STONER built his log house the same season near Lake Mendota, on block 262. A few years after he put up a frame house a few blocks northeast, where he made his resi- dence until his death, in 1872. A small Norwegian Lutheran church now stands on the lot where he built his pioneer log cabin.
JOHN CATLIN built a log house early in 1837, on lots 3 and 4, block 90, northwest corner of Mifflin street and Wisconsin av- enue .* A two story frame building was afterwards built on the front of the old building and to face the capitol park. He had also a small stable built of round stones, laid up with mortar. The old part is gone, and the modern portion was sold to Judge E. WAKELEY, who removed it in portions to Omaha, Nebraska.
In the month of August, of this year, a society was organ- ized called the "Madison Lyceum," for the object of mutual im- provement. A debating society was connected with it. The early records of this society are still preserved by DARWIN CLARK, Esq.
Among the number of those who came here this season as residents or transiently, were J. GILLETT KNAPP, GEO. P. DELA- PLAINE.+ W. N. SEYMOUR, arrived January 29, 1838; NICHO-
* Mr. Catlin, in his "Early Reminiscences" (see page 35), has a more particular account of this building.
+ Gen. Geo. P. Delaplaine was born at Philadelphia, Pa. He removed west in 1838, and settled at Madison. He was for six months chief clerk in
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LAS SMITH, ROBERT L. REAM, JOHN EASTON, RICHARD T. DAVIS, JAMES MORRISON, ABEL RASDALL, Dr. ALMON LULL, JOHN T. WILSON, GEORGE PAYNE, DAVID BRIGHAM, THOS. W. SUTHER- LAND and LAFAYETTE KELLOGG, July, 1838, temporarily, and permanently, May, 1839, WM. T. STERLING, E. M. WILLIAM- SON, GEO. HYER, JOSIAH A. NOONAN, ISAAC ATWOOD.
Four families, with their inmates and guests, constituted the entire population of Madison, and with two or three families at Blue Mounds, the whole population of Dane county during the winter of 1837-38.
Some of the buildings erected this year, or enlarged, were as as follows:
The Madison Hotel, of which a portion was erected the pre- vious year, was completed, and the first session of the Supreme Court of the Territory was held in July in the sitting room. Judge CHAS. DUNN, of La Fayette county, was then Chief Jus- tice, with Judges FRAZIER and IRWIN as associates.
SIMEON MILLS erected on lot 6, block 89 Clymer street, a framed building, which has thus far escaped the march of improvement. It was an elegant structure in its day. It was occupied first by Mr. MILLS, afterwards by Gov. DOTY, B. SHACKLEFORD, Gov. TALLMADGE, Gen. DAVID ATWOOD, CHAS. WEED and many oth- ers. The building is almost hid by trees, and the high walls of the blocks of stores in the rear on Main street. It is one of the oldest of the landmarks of the city.
JAS. MORRISON put up a small building in the grounds of the present capitol square, midway between the capitol building and the east corner of the grounds. It was a one story log building, and was removed at an early day.
The American Hotel, also built by MORRISON, on the north- west corner of Pinckney street and Wisconsin avenue, was a noted place in early times. The building was subsequently
the mercantile house of James Morrison. He has held a number of offices; was Surveyor, Assistant Clerk of Assembly, 1843, and was Private Secre- tary to Governor's Dodge, Tallmadge and Dewey. During the war of the rebellion he was appointed by Gov. Randall, Inspector General of Militia. Gen. Delaplaine has been a resident of Madison the last thirty-six years.
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enlarged. A frame building, known as the Commission- er's Store, which was put up on the south side of King street, by Mr. Morrison, adjoining the Madison Hotel on the west, about 22 by 30 feet in size, was removed to, and formed the east wing of the American. The house was kept by FAKE & COTTON, Mr. MORRISON, HARVEY SADD and a large number of successors. As before stated, the first session of the Legisla- ture was held in this building in the month of February. The American was destroyed by fire, September 5, 1868.
A one story framed building was put up on the southeast corner of Main and Pinckney streets, set back from Main street, and was built for Col. A. P. FIELD, who was Secretary of the Territory at this time, succeeding Col. W. B. SLAUGHTER. It was subsequently altered to a hotel known as the City Hotel, which was kept by A. A. BIRD, and also as a store by S. F. HONN, JEHU H. LEWIS and others. It was taken down some twenty years since, and the property purchased by Col. J. C. FAIRCHILD, who erected the block of stone buildings known as the Fairchild Block.
One of these early places deserves a longer notice, viz: - the old " Worser." This two story frame building, says Judge KNAPP, was placed at the northwest corner of Main and Pinck- ney streets, on the ground now known as the United States Block; and was built by ABNER NICHOLS, of Mineral Point, and JACOB GEORGE, in 1838. Having partly completed the building, the owners applied for a tavern license, in order to sell liquors according to law, as all good liquor sellers desire to do. For some forgotten cause, perhaps the want of "two spare beds," they were refused. Licenses for groceries were then some four times the amount of those for taverns; and they desired, like all economical men, to save the difference. On being denied the license, they declared that if they could not keep a tavern, they would keep something "worser." And so without a license, " Uncle GEORGE " opened a " worser " indeed, where men at the first session of the Legislature could buy strong drink, and in a dark cellar they could fight a certain wild animal, whose den was there. When the United States Hotel was to
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be built, the " Worser " was moved down Main street, ten feet from the new brick wall. There it was burned to the ground, greatly endangering the new building, which was often on fire in the roof, doors and windows.
Another of the buildings put up in 1838, was a two story framed building on Pinckney street, adjacent to the American Hotel, as enlarged, and east of the Methodist church. It was built by JOHN MESSERSMITH, Jr. It was opened as a gambling house, and known as "The Tiger," and was kept open to the public without fear of the law. For a few years it was a success, but was afterwards used as a dwelling, and an addition placed before it, and in its rear. The property was purchased by Dr. C. B. CHAPMAN, who sold it to J. D. NOBLE, and by the lat- ter to FRITZ MAEDER, who erected a fine three story brick building in its place. A small frame building was also put up this year by WM. T. STERLING, Territorial Librarian, on the south side on the flat, but was removed opposite and west of the residence of LA FAYETTE KELLOGG, on State street. It was after- wards enlarged and sold to Mr. KELLOGG, and by him to CHAUN- CEY ABBOTT, both of whom made it their residence. It was after- ward displaced by the erection of LEONARD NOLDEN's Hotel on its site.
One other building erected this year was the Territorial Li- brary building - a one story wooden frame, fifteen feet square, on King street, on the lot known as DEAN's Block, near Main street.
ISAAC H. PALMER (now of Lodi, Wis.), in the summer of 1838, erected a cottage building on Johnson street, adjoining the present German Catholic Church, which is now owned and occupied by that church as a school, under the charge of the Sisters. It was originally a small one-story-and-a-half house, with two side wings, made of rived oak hewed and planed by hand, with green blinds, and was regarded at the time as the handsomest cottage in the village. It was occupied for a while by Mr. PALMER, and subsequently by Rev. W. PHILO, Dr. SPENCER and JOHN EASTMAN, and was sold by the latter to the church. This building, one of the oldest in the place, has suffered some changes, but its timbers are sound and strong.
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During the year, DAVID HYER built a framed house on Fair- child street, near the office of Register of Deeds. It was one and a half stories high, and was kept as a boarding house; it has long since been removed. * The site is now occupied by a two story brick building, and was for a while the residence of Hon. LYMAN C. DRAPER, and more recently kept as a hotel by W. N. HAWES and WM. RASDALL as the Rasdall House. L. F. KELLOGG, Esq., states that Mr. PECK, after leaving the first log house, put up another on Wisconsin Avenue, near the resi- dence of Prof. S. H. CARPENTER, that he subsequently sold it to JAS. MORRISON, and that it shortly after took fire and was burnt. It was 18 by 22 feet. ABEL RASDALL owned a small framed house, put up in 1837 or 1838, on the corner of King and Webster streets. It was a small affair - one room, and was used as a saloon.
Mrs. ROSELINE PECK has, under date of January 24, 1874, kindly given a few more reminiscences of her early Madison life. She says: "I visited Madison, last summer, with my daughter and a lady friend, among the excursionists, and visited the ' old stamping grounds,' but so changed that I could hardly recognize them. The old log house, which we used as a hotel for about two years, was then leased or rented to R. L. REAM, and was by him kept as a house of entertainment until we left the place, and has since been removed. Mr. REAM was the father of Miss VINNIE REAM, who was born in the cabin after we left it. I think my daughter and Miss VINNIE were the only children born in it after we came away.
"You wish to know how we enjoyed ourselves at those times; well, in various ways. We had a regular dancing school twice a week the first winter, in the old cabin. There was quite a number of young ladies and middle-aged people. Mr. STONER brought four daughters, Esquire BIRD had a young lady sister. There were two BRAYTON girls; one lived with CHARLES BIRD and mother, the other at Esquire BIRD'S. CHAS. BIRD married one of them; the other taught, I think, our first school after-
* Mr. E. Burdick says he thinks the Hyer House was on the adjoining lot now occupied by Hon. S. D. Hastings.
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wards. A. A. BIRD and lady used to call, at our dances, and trip the light fantastic toe, and, frequently, visitors from Mil- waukee, Fort Winnebago, Galena and Mineral Point were pres- ent. Among them were Uncle AB. NICHOLS, his wife and daughter. The latter two went ahead of us in dancing, and staid with us a week. We had two girls as helps of our own, and plenty of the other sex. So we could hardly call it succo- tash, there was too much corn for the beans.
" We had various other amusements: euchre parties, Christ- mas and New Year's suppers, and verbal and practical jokes in- terspersed. We had also turtle soup suppers, the turtles caught by cutting holes through the ice on what was called 'Mud Lake,' brought to us by ABEL RASDALL. Mr. PECK sent some of them to a Mineral Point hotel-keeper, who informed us he netted $50 on the sale of the soup. The turtles were frozen solid, and rattled together like stones. They were put in the cellar to thaw before we could dress them, and, going down a few days after, I found they had thawed out and were crawling around on the bottom of the cellar. Mr. RASDALL had a squaw without a nose - her first Indian husband had cut it off for her infidelity. She used to draw her blanket over it when she walked out. She removed west with the rest of her band with the United States troops, before we left Madison.
"I have not mentioned our boating amusements. Before any one else was in Madison but ourselves, we found a big canoe, about forty feet long, supposed to have been abandoned by the Indians the year or two previous, in the Sauk war; and while the wind was blowing almost a hurricane from Strawberry Point (then called) across Third Lake, Mr. PECK, his brother LUTHER, myself and a boy manned and womaned the canoe, with various implements, tools, sheets, etc., and struck out for the place before mentioned, rigged our sails and returned to Madison; but it made our hair whistle; the waves were running high, but we headed her straight, she being such a length she struck two waves at once, which steadied her sufficiently to carry us safely back. We had quite a number of rides in the old canoe, but after 'Uncle Sam's boys' came in, it was appropri-
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ated by others, and soon disappeared. I was determined to have another vessel of some kind to sail or paddle; so, when the'Indians were about to be removed, I purchased of the old Chief WAU-CON-DA, his canoe for six dollars, painted with In- dian hieroglyphics, in which I took a number of pleasant rides, until the same parties who took the first boat carried off the other through the Catfish to the further end of Fourth Lake, where they were quarrying stone from the bluff on its bank for the old capitol, and, in rolling them down and loading the scow, they smashed my little boat all to pieces. I was informed of the accident, but never of the person who did it. So you see I paddled my own canoe alone, then, as I have since, in more ways than one.
" You wish me to give you some account of the men who built our cabin. In addition to JOE PELKIE and ABRAHAM WOOD, whose names I have given in a previous paper, there was a Mr. LAVEC, a Frenchman. He had also a squaw wife. It was her brother that was stabbed and killed by another In- dian, just below our house, on the bank of Third Lake, which caused such an excitement among 'Uncle Sam's boys,' as they called themselves, I suppose on account of being employed to work on the capitol at the expense of the government. They collected around our house under great excitement. Some were for taking the murderer prisoner, and sending Governor DODGE word; finally they appealed to an old miner that had been through the Sauk war a couple of years before, who was sitting upon a wood-pile, for advice. 'Well,' said he, 'you are a pretty set of Yankees! What do you suppose DODGE would say to you? I will tell you; he would say you were a set of fools. If that dead Indian was a white man, I would be the first to take him prisoner; but because one - Indian kills another - Indian, not a bit of it! I don't move a foot. Let them,' said he, 'work at it - it is the only way to civilize them and clean them out.' The boys finally dispersed to their dif- ferent avocations. Old Mrs. PIERCE and family were very much frightened, and said we would all be massacred before morning. We finally got them quieted, and the sister of the
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murdered Indian got me to go with her to see the body, and there we found the murderer, sitting upon the body of his vic- tim smoking a long pipe, as deliberately as if he had just taken a hearty supper, and was about to retire for a peaceful nap, and to dream of happy hunting grounds.
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