USA > Wisconsin > An illustrated history of the state of Wisconsin : being a complete civil, political, and military history of the state, from its first exploration down to 1875 > Part 54
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
and forty thousand cubic feet per min- | our good water-powers on the Milwau- ute, is equal to 132,196 horse-power. Appleton is unexcelled by any other city in respect to her manufacturing facili- ties. The water-power has been greatly improved in the line of furniture, staves, sash, doors, and blinds, spokes and hubs, founderies and machine-shops, paper, woollen, flour, and varnish mills, and the Appleton Iron Works. The Apple- ton Blast-Furnace cost a hundred thou- sand dollars. There are twenty-four separate manufacturing establishments on the Fox River at this place; and the products of Appleton industries are re- ported at $2,325,000. The Lawrence University was founded in 1848, and named after Amos A. Lawrence of Bos- ton, who was a liberal benefactor to it. In 1853-54 a large stone building was erected, sixty by a hundred and forty feet, four stories high, and located in an eligible situation. It is well-sustained, and is under the auspices and care of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. George M. Steele, D.D., is the president.
The city has two first-class hotels, a national bank-building, four newspaper offices, some fine blocks of stores, and a large number for mechanical trades.
No city in the State has better prom- ises of being a large and very important place of business. Its water-power and advantages of manufacturing afford the greatest inducement to capitalists to make permanent investments.
Population, 1875, 6,730.
OZAUKEE COUNTY.1 - The county of Ozaukee contains seven townships, with some over fifteen thousand inhabitants, of which number nearly three-fourths are of foreign birth, and most of them Germans. The general topography of the county is of an even surface, though in portions somewhat rolling, and a small part swampy.
The soil consists of red clay, which proves to be the best for the purpose of raising wheat; but also is the gray clay, and the black sandy soil too, as found in some portions of the county, of a good and fertile quality. The county contains about a hundred and eighty thousand acres of land, of which more than half is under cultivation; and more than seven-eighths of it is owned by actual settlers. The stone-quarries con- sist of white-sandstone, and also lime- stone; and several of them are in suc- cessful operation. The Milwaukee and Northern Railroad runs from south to north through the county, furnishing excellent facilities for successfully operating, not only some of such stone- quarries, but also mills and manufacto- ries which are established on many of
1 We are indebted to Gustav Goetze of Port Washington for this sketch of Ozaukee Coun- ty .- C. R. T.
kee River, flowing from north to south through the whole county, and on Cedar Creek, emptying into said river; and there is no doubt that still more water- powers will hereafter be improved. The Lake Shore Railroad passes also from north to south through the county, and will, when completed, add a good deal more to those facilities. The principal timber is white and red oak, maple, tamarack, and cedar. Agriculture is the main source of industry; but there is also a great deal of commerce, trade, and manufacturing done.
Port Washington, the county-seat, has a beautiful location on Lake Michigan, about half-way between Milwaukee and Sheboygan; and, besides the court- house and county-offices, has a flouring- mill, two founderies, several mechanics' shops, two brick-yards, two lumber- yards, and one first-rate stone-quarry; also a malt-house and two breweries. It is a lively place; and a great deal of trade and commerce is carried on there, the more so, as, besides a good pier, the Washington harbor has now been so far completed as to allow any ordinary size of vessels to run in.
PEPIN COUNTY.1- Pepin lies in the north-western part of the State; its western border being on the Mississippi River, at Lake Pepin. The surface is somewhat rolling. The soil is mostly of a sandy loam, though, in some sections, Inixed with clay. County contains in the vicinity of twenty-five thousand acres of land, about one-third under cultivation: of the balance, nearly all is capable of cultivation. Actual settlers are in possession of nearly twelve thou- sand acres, worth from three to five dol lars an acre. Good water-privileges are to be found in every town in the county. The forests are heavily timbered with all kinds of hard wood. The Chippewa, Eau Claire, and Menomonee Rivers trav- erse the county, and are, to some extent, navigable. The larger kinds of fish are found in the Chippewa; and abundance of trout in the smaller streains. Agri- culture is the principal source of indus- try.
In 1870 the county contained six post- offices, twenty-six school-houses, four church-buildings, four fouring-mills, six saw-mills; a woollen-factory, two foundery and machine shops, and two other manufacturing - establishments. Population of county, 4,659. There are two thriving villages, - Durand, with a population of over nine hundred, and Pepin, with about seven hundred inhab- itants.
Its agricultural productions are of the usual variety, and excellent in quality.
1 This sketch was contributed by L. D. Baker and S. P. Crosby. - C. R. T.
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
According to the census of 1870, the | in a few years, outnumber all other na- amount of wheat raised was 97,905 bush- tionalities. els; rye, 4,774 bushels; corn, 109,485 bushels; oats, 80,118 bushels; barley, 7,409 bushels; wool, 7,950 pounds; pota- toes, 26,917 bushels; butter, 127,535 pounds. The total value of its agricul- tural productions is estimated at $273,- 854.
PIERCE COUNTY. 1- Pierce is the most western county in the State, lying prin- cipally in the southern portion of the St. Croix Valley. It is bounded on the north by St. Croix County, east by Dunn, south by Dunn, Lake Pepin, and the Mississippi River, and west by the Mississippi and Lake St. Croix. The general surface of the county is undu- lating, though somewhat bluffy along some of the streams. On prairies, the soil is of a sandy loam: on timbered lands, it is generally of a clay-loam. County contains three hundred and six- ty-seven thousand acres of land. The estimated number of acres of land in county owned by actual settlers is about two hundred thousand acres.
The county is well watered, and di- vided by seven rapid flowing rivers, running the whole length of the county. All of the rivers have good mill-sites at short intervals their whole length. There also are numerous creeks and small streamns, which discharge into the rivers, some of which have sufficient fall for mill-sites. The varieties of tim- ber are oak, ash, maple, basswood, and elm.
"No railroads are constructed within our county. On our western and south- ern boundary are the St. Croix Lake, and Mississippi River, and Lake Pepin, which give us a water-front of fifty- seven miles, thus giving ns fair facilities for shipping all our surplus products. Lead has been found in limited quanti- ties."
Ellsworth is the county-seat, and is surrounded by a rich agricultural dis- trict. A new brick court-house has been erected at an expense of twenty thousand dollars. The fourth State Nor- mal School has been located at River Falls, which is a very thriving village. There are about ninety school-houses and fifteen churches in the county.
Through the efforts of the school su- perintendent for the last four years con- siderable interest has been created in educational matters, and the attendance at school is pretty fair for a new coun- try. Some of the school-houses are nice frame buildings, whilst others are of log. As to nationality, the majority are Americans; but the Norwegians are nu- merous, and fast settling in, and will,
1 We are indebted to H. B. Warner and O. W. Brown of Ellsworth, and Z. W. Lamfert of Spring Lake, for this sketch. - C. R. T.
POLK COUNTY. - The county of Polk was one of the earliest-settled portions of the State. At first the inhabitants were either lumbermen, or hunters and trappers. The latter class has nearly disappeared. While the former lost their all in lumbering, turning their attention to farming, many of them are now in a prosperous condition. At the present time, the business of the citizens of the county is nearly equally divided be- tween agricultural, and logging in the pineries. The farmers cannot raise enough to supply the home-demand: consequently the loggers are compelled to bring large quantities of grain and stock from "below."
The county has an abundance of water-powers, from a size that can be measured by a churning, to the celebrat- ed Falls of the St. Croix, which could be described only as a "Niagara of a power." In a distance of five miles, extending up the river from the village of St. Croix Falls, the waters of that stream make a total descent of eighty- five feet. It has banks for damn-build- ing; and the river is not subject to freshets.
The winter grains do uncommonly well; and timothy and clover yield largely. The early fall of snow protects the roots of the grain and grass from freezing out. Cattle get fat running in the woods during grass months.
Good heavy team-horses readily sell to the pinery men at large prices. Large working-oxen are worth a hundred and fifty to two hundred aud twenty-five dollars per yoke. Cows sell at twenty- five to seventy dollars.
The county is settling rapidly by Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, and Ger- mans, and emigrants from other States; each nationality settling by itself. Churches and schoolhouses claim the early attention of the people. They have contentment in their midst, which is a sure forerunner to wealth. Plenty of unoccupied land. Government lands for purchase or homesteading. State lands at a dollar and twenty-five cents per acre.
PORTAGE COUNTY. - This is the most central county of the State, and, although its resources are far from being fully de- veloped, it already holds the first rank on the Upper Wisconsin in regard to position, soil, climate, and commercial advantages. It is thirty miles in length north and south, and about thirty in width. The southern and eastern por- tions of the county contain a majority of the inhabitants; the north-western part being composed mostly of heavy timbered lands. The number of town- ships in the county is twenty-two.
The agricultural resources, while they
686
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
cannot, for obvious reasons, compare favorably with those of the older and more thickly settled portions of the State, are, nevertheless, far in advance of the estimate formerly placed upon them. There is very little waste land in the county; the few swamps and marsh- es which it contains being susceptible of drainage, whereby they may be made equal or superior to the best farming- land in this vicinity. The soil, in some portions of the county, is a light sandy loam; yet it is quite productive in favor- able seasons, and, under judicions man- agement, will doubtless be susceptible of great improvement. In the eastern portion of the county, the soil is proba- bly as good for farming-purposes as in the northern portion of the State.
The number of acres at present under cultivation in the county is about 75,- 079. Amount of wheat raised during the year ending June 1, 1870, 210,139 bushels; rye, 59,309 bushels; corn, 64,- 022 bushels; oats, 152,143 bushels; bar- ley, 6,137 bushels ; potatoes, 113,976 bushels. Amount of wool produced during the same year, 25,987 pounds; butter, 199,517 pounds ; cheese, 7,936 pounds; hay, 9,752 tons; hops, 70,071 pounds.
The total estimated value of all farm productions for the same year is $643,- 757; the value of manufactures (chiefly lumber) produced, $522,742.
The manufactures of the county are thus far confined to the single article of hunber, of which a great amount is an- nually produced. The number of saw- mills in the county is about twenty-five, many of which are steam-inills of large capacity, employing a great number of workinen.
The internal improvements of the county are creditable in their character. A fine bridge has been built across the Wisconsin at Stevens Point, at a cost of over twenty - two thousand dollars. There are many church-buildings in the county, and capacious and convenient school-edifices in nearly all the towns. The court-house at Stevens Point is a fine stone building, costing thirty thou- sand dollars: its elegant architecture and proportions would not do discredit to any of our large cities. The railroad- facilities are excellent. The county is exceedingly prosperous.
RACINE COUNTY.1- Racine County is bounded on the east by lake Michigan, on the south by Kenosha County, on the west by Walworth, and on the north by Milwaukee County. The cli- mate may be considered as good as in any county in this country in the same latitude, and, in some respects superior. The waters of Lake Michigan exert a
1 We are indebted to Hon. W. O. Allen Racine for this sketch. - C. R. T.
salubrions and healthy influence on the atmosphere in dissipating all poisonous vapors that might be in the air, indu- cing fevers and other sickness. In the summer season, there is always a sea- breeze from the lake during the night, and a land-breeze during the day, there- by changing the atmosphere almost continually.
The topography of the county is that of an undulating character, rising to two hundred and sixty feet, or more, above the waters of Lake Michigan. The county has only one considerable river, the Fox, which runs through the whole breadth of the county, from north to south, affording excellent water-power in the flourishing villages of Waterford, Rochester, and Burling- ton. Root River, which empties into the harbor at Racine, affords consider- able water-power. The soil of Racine County is generally of an argillaceons loam, rich and deep. The county is abundantly supplied with stock water. The subsoil of the county is marl-clay, generally free from gravel or sand. All kinds of timber grow in abundance in the county, common to the State, ex- cept the coniferous class. The soil of the county is well adapted to the rais- ing of wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, potatoes, turnips, and carrots; but, in our judgment, there is no county in the State better adapted to the raising of grass, and stock-breeding. From the peculiar character of the soil, and the moist atmosphere prevailing during the spring, summer, and autumn months, induced by the constant vapors frown Lake Michigan, an abundant, sweet, and nutritious grass is produced. Ex- perienced stock-growers have discovered this fact, and availed themselves of its advantage, and started herds of supe- rior blood. Among the most prominent of stock-breeders are George Murray, Esq .. Richard Richards, and Henry S. Durand.
The stone and lime business is largely on the increase at the city of Racine A little outside of the city limits are inexhaustible stone quarries, out of which is burned the very best quality of litne. The limestone belongs to the Niagara group, and is of excellent quality for cellar-walls, and for the basements of all kinds of buildings. The stone and lime find a ready market; and the demand is largely on the increase.
Racine. The city of Racine is situated on Lake Michigan; has a large and com- modions harbor, and one of the finest elevators in the State. The city stands about forty feet above the lake, and contains a population of twelve thou- sand, and is justly called the "Belle City;" has fine railroad, steamboat, and sail-vessel connections with all parts of the country ; stands out in the lake
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
about four miles, on a promontory; | paratively enterprising and intelligent. winds from the north east and west blow over it, making the city one of the most delightful places to live in in the West; and no finer summer resort can be found. The soil abont and near the city is well adapted, as well as the climate, to the growing of apples, pears, plums, cher- ries, grapes, and all small fruits.
It has fine public schoollionses, erect- ed at a cost of over seventy-five thou- sand dollars; a college with over two hundred pupils and eight professors, and buildings and grounds valned at two hundred and eighty-seven thousand dollars; twenty-two churches, some of which cost large sums of money; and an orphan-asylum, built by the munifi- cence of Isaac Taylor, deceased, at an expense of seventy-five thousand dollars. The city prides herself on her large and valuable mannfactures, among the most prominent of which we mention that of J. I. Case & Co. Popu- lation in 1875, 13,274.
RICHLAND COUNTY. - In this county the first settlements were made more than twenty years ago, when hunting was the occupation, not simply the pas- tine ; the forests of that day abound- ing in bear, deer, and smaller gaine. Permanent improvements for agricul- tural and domestic purposes were begun a few years later. One-sixth to one- fifth of the territory is now under cul- tivation; one-half to two-thirds of the remainder may be easily tilled; while very little would be lost to the economi- cal and intelligent farmer.
The soil near the Wisconsin River, which marks the southern boundary, and from which the county is commonly approached, may seem light: but it Is not unproductive, as that which has been cultivated hay repeatedly demon- strated. The soil of the northern two- thirds of the county is, in the main, a heavy black loam, adapted to almost every thing known to agricultural econo- my. The northern half is heavily tim- bered; and there is no deartlı of fencing and firewood anywhere. Oaks, elms, walnuts, basswood, &c., are the pre- vailing timbers.
No section of the State is better adapt- ed to stock - raising, the hills and val- leys and crystal brooks affording con- venient range, protection, and water.
Richland Centre, the county-seat; Lone Rock, the railroad outlet on the Mil- waukee and Prairie du Chien division of the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad; Cazenovia, a few miles from the Chica- go and North-western Road; Viola, on the Kickapoo River, and Excelsior, on Knapp's Creek, - are the most thriving and important villages. They possess excellent water-powers, only partially improved.
Public schools are liberally encouraged, though other enterprises suffer some- what from inistaken notions of econo- my. Agriculture and manufacturing engage the general attention. The im- provement of Pine River, of which it is susceptible, will render it an invaluable carrier of the traffic of the county, and a desirable feeder to the Wisconsin, the improvement of which is being prose- cuted with vigor. And a railroad to complete the most direct route from Chicago to the North-west inst Inevi- tably seek its way up the Pine River Valley.
ROCK COUNTY.1- This is one of the oldest connties in the State, the first settlement being made in 1835; and in 1839 the county was organized, the seat of justice being established at Janes- ville. It now contains a population of about forty thousand. It comprises one of the best agricultural districts in the North-west. Its soil, climate, and com- mercial situation are equal to any other in the West, and there is scarcely an acre of land within its liinits which can- not be used for agricultural purposes. In the brief space of thirty-five years, the entire county has been opened up to cultivation; and over its entire surface may be found homes of comfort and beauty. The farms in this county range in value from ten to one hundred dollars per acre, and are sought for, not so much by emigrants seeking cheap lands, as by those desiring beautiful homes, where they may at once enjoy all the comforts and conveniences to be found in the older and more wealthy portions of the country.
Rock County is better adapted to growing grain than the growing of grass; and every year marks a decided progress in the mode of tillage and the consequent increased quantity of pro- ductions. The wicked and ruinous practice of many fariners, of burning the straw and manures, Instead of re- turning them to the soil in compensa- tion for its rich harvests, has been aban- doned. Wheat is the great staple of production; it being estimated, that, in a single crop, the production of the county was not less than three millions of bush- els. Corn, barley, oats, and all the coarser grains, grow in rich abundance, amply rewarding the husbandman for his toil. Notwithstanding Rock County is better adapted to grain-growing than stock-raising, the farmers are giving considerable attention to the breeding of stock; and, acting npon the correct idea, that it costs buit little to raise a biooded animal, are constantly Introdu-
1 We are indebted to Hon. Alexander Graham of Janesville, and H. F. Hobart of
The population of the county is com- Beloit, for this sketch, - C. R. T.
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
cing the best varieties; and at the coun- | Freewill Baptists, - and you place with- ty fairs may be seen as noble horses, in the reach of every child in the county the means of a liberal education. cattle, sheep, and swine, as alınost any other section of the country can exhibit.
The surface of Rock County is undu- lating, and is drained by the Rock and Sugar Rivers, with their tributaries, nearly all of which are of sufficient size to furnish water-power for manufactur- ing-purposes, and are more or less im- proved. Rock, one of the most beautiful rivers, as well as one of the very best mill-streams in the West, is already used largely for manufacturing-purposes, and every year is attracting more and more the attention of men of enterprise and capital: when fully improved, its power for the propulsion of machinery will be almost exhaustless. The facilities for manufacturing in Rock County by wa- ter-power are but partially improved; and yet she ranks among the first in the West; her annualimanufactured product being worth not less than three millions of dollars, consisting principally of flour, agricultural implements, paper, woollen fabrics, cabinet-ware, lager beer, &c.
During the last decade, the general business of the county has greatly in- creased, and everywhere may be seen tokens of prosperity and growth, based upon the production of diversified labor in agriculture and manufactures. During the saine period, the public buildings erected in the infancy of the county have given way to permanent and beautiful structures; and the county now boasts of a splendid court-house, costing over one hundred thousand dol- lars, and churches of all denominations, equal in size, style, and convenience to those of almost any county in the East- ern or Middle States; and the citizens of Janesville and Beloit each support a new and creditable opera-house.
Rock County is pierced east and west, north and south, by the Milwaukee and St. Paul, and the North-western Rail- ways.
The educational interests of the county have not been neglected. Under the system of free graded schools, upon the New England plan, valuable results Janesville. - The county-seat of Rock County, is pleasantly situated on both sides of Rock River, and was se- lected as county-seat in 1837. It is four- teen miles north of the State-line, and on the Chicago and North-western, and Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroads. It is a flourishing place of business, and has an excellent water-power. The first manufactory for cotton cloth in the State was made by the Janesville Cotton Manufacturing Company in May, 1875. The Wisconsin Institute for the Educa- tion of the Blind is located here. The fine building which has been used by the in- stitution was unfortunately destroyed by have been attained; and it is gratifying to observe a steadily increasing interest in the schools, and a proper appreciation of them by the people generally. The cities of Janesville aud Beloit have each expended large sums in the erection of school-buildings; and the sum invested for school-purposes cannot be less than two hundred thousand dollars. Super- add to this Beloit College, under the patronage of the Congregationalists, one of the best managed and most flourish- ing institutions of learning in the West; Milton College, under the management of Seven-Day Baptists; and the Evans- ville Seminary, under the control of the fire a few years since; and a new building
The Young Men's Literary Association of the city of Janesville have collected within the last four years a very cred- itable library of about four thousand volumes of well-selected works, which form a nucleus for ultimately placing within the reach of the reading public a valuable means of culture.
Rock County contains two of the finest cities in the State of Wisconsin, -Janes- ville and Beloit; the former containing a population of about fifteen thousand; the latter, eight thousand; besides nu- merous villages.
Beloit is one of the most stirring manufacturing cities in the State. The celebrated " building paper" which bas come into such universal use of late years, was invented, and is manufac- tured, to a very large extent, here.
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