USA > Wisconsin > Buffalo County > History of Buffalo County Wisconsin 10847607 > Part 23
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Another meeting was held
. March 30th, 1870,
313
ORGANIZATION.
in which the Town of Milton was organized, pursuant to a provi- sion of the charter of the Village of Fountain City, to consist of the West Half of Section 3, and the North Half of Sections 4 and 5, of Township 19, Range 11, the South Half of Sections 16, 17 and 18, and all the sections from 19 to 33 of Township 20, Range 11; also all of the sections from 20 to 36 of Township 20, Range 12.
There seems to have been something in the rumor of a deci- sion of the Supreme Court, adverse to the existence of the County Commissioner or District Supervisor System, for in the special meeting
May 23d, 1870,
the board met according to the old custom, each town represented by its chairman, Peter Polin representing the Village of Alma. Mr. Geo. Cowie of Glencoe was elected chairman. In this session Section 23 of Township 22 Range 13 was annexed to the town of Belvidere as in some former session Sections 24 and 25 of the same Township and Range had been annexed to the same town, which however, must be a blunder in the number of the township, mean- ing 21 instead of 22, the respective sections of 21 lying contiguous to Belvidere below the corporate limits' of the village, now city of Alma.
The special meeting of
June 20th, 1870,
was mainly devoted to the equalization of assessments.
The annual meeting
November 15th, 1870,
adjourned to the following day, in token of respect to Mr. Peter Polin, a member of the county board, who had suddenly died on the 6th day of November. R. R. Kempter had been chosen in his place, Resolutions of condolence were passed.
The Town of Dover was established consisting of the entire Township 23 of Range 10, the town to organize at the ensuing townmeeting, to be held at the house of W. H. H. Amidon in Bennett Valley.
The salaries of the county officers were fixed as follows: County Clerk $1000, Treasurer $800, County Superientendent $4.00 per diem, limited to 200 days, but only $500 appropriated to the purpose.
At a special meeting
314
ORGANIZATION.
May 30th, 1871,
an appropriation was made to the Village of Alma, of $2,000, con- ditioned on $3,500 being expended by said village and the town of Nelson, to aid in the construction of a road and several bridges, across Beef River and the adjoining swamps toward the peninsula between the swamp and Beef Slough. Mr. Harvey Brown, chairman of the town of Naples, and the chair- man of the town of Nelson, together with some person appointed from the village of Alma to be a committee for the supervision of the expenditure.
Annual meeting
November 14th, 1871.
Chapter 67, General Laws of 1871, required a dog-license to be levied. The county board determined on $1.00 each for male, $2.00 for female dogs. Mr. Lees was opposed to it, and Mr. Schaettle wanted $2 and $3 respectively.
Bond of Clerk fixed at $5,000, that of Treasurer at $32,000.
The town of Lincoln was laid out in parts still belonging to Waumandee in Little Waumandee Valley, parts belonging to Bel- videre and others to Montana. In this delineation the convenience of settlers as to roads and schools was the great motive considera- tion.
At the annual Meeting in
November -1872,
an appropriation was made to the Buffalo County Agricultural Society of $300 to enable it to make preparations for an exhibi- tion the year following.
The South Half of Section 14, Township 20, Range 12, was detached from the town of Belvidere and annexed to that of Milton.
The County Treasurer was appointed agent for the purchase and distribution of stationery for the county officers entitled to such by law.
At the annual meeting in
November 1873,
Section 9, Township 19, Range 10, was detached from the town of Buffalo and annexed to that of Cross.
The bond of the County Treasurer was fixed at $40,000.
The lot adjoining the court house lot on the northside was purchased for the county from Mr. Moser for $150.00.
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316
ORGANIZATION.
there had been superabundant cause for about 12 years, but which had been allowed to go on without serious opposition until the mischief was done. Or was, perhaps, the decision itself the mis- chief ? I could not yet make up my mind upon the matter.
Another tax had been, decided to be unconstitutional, by the same authority, that upon dogs. If anybody wants to learn the reason " why," let him ask a lawyer, if he is not one himself. But whether he will be much wiser by the answer, I could not say, probably, if he is not, it is his own fault.
The annual meeting in
November 1878,
brought nothing before the board that might not be strictly con- sidered as " routine business."
The annual meeting in
November 1879,
witnessed some of those changes of town boundaries, to which I have alluded at the introduction to the proceedings of the county board, as being the result of a denser settlement of the country, by which the inconvenience of belonging to a certain town, and not to the one next adjacent, is clearly demonstrated. The SW } of SW ≥ of Section 7 Township 19 Range 10, and the South Half of SE } and SE } of SW } of Section 12 Township 19 Range 11 were detached from the town of Cross, and annexed to that of Buffalo. The NE { of Section 16 and the South. Half of SE + of Section 9 Township 20 Range 11 was detached from the town of Waumandee and annexed to that of Cross. Also the West Half of SE { of Section 4 Township 19 Range 11 from the town of Cross to that of Milton.
The proceedings of the annual meeting in November 1880,
show nothing but routine work.
At the annual meeting in
November 1881,
the name of the town of Naples was changed to Mondovi, prepara- tory to a division of the same, so that its western half, Township 24, Range 11, should be organized into a new town with the same name, while the eastern half, Township 24 Range 10 should at the ensuing town meeting become organized as a new or separate town by the old name of Naples. Mr. S. D. Hubbard was the chair-
317
ORGANIZATION.
man of the yet united town in this meeting and carried these changes.
At the annual meeting in
November 1882,
the East Half of Section 34 and West Hall of Section 35 were re- united with the town of Maxville, much to the gratification of the old settlers of that town.
A petition was brought for a road to be laid out from Misha Mokwa to North Pepin, and commissioners appointed for the pur- pose.
The land of Henry Lorenz situated in the town of Alma was transferred to the town of Lincoln, and the land of A. J. Beisel situated in the town of Waumandee was also transferred to Lincoln.
Annual meeting in
November 1883,
some land lying in the town of Lincoln was exchanged for some other land of the same extent, belonging to the town of Montana, the chairman of each of the two towns requesting the alteration. At the same meeting the so-called mile-strip which is described in some other place in these proceedings, was re-annexed to the town of Maxville from which it had been detached some fifteen or more years ago.
In the annual meeting in
November 1884,
nothing but the routine work has been done.
At the annual meeting in
November 1885,
there was considerable excitement on account of a road proposed to be laid out from the middle part of the Little, Waumandee Valley towards the Beef River Valley. As far as the Town of Alma was concerned, the road was already laid out to the boundary line of the town of Lincoln, but the latter town by its chairman, and by a petition of numerous of its citizens protested against extending it to the main road in the valley, while other citizens of the town had made an application for its extension. The county board con- sidered the road useful and necessary and requested the town board of Lincoln to lay it out, and determined to lay it out by a committee, if the supervisors would refuse or neglect to act in the
.-
318
ORGANIZATION.
matter. After some delay the order of the county board was exe- cuted. .
At the annual meeting in
November 1886,
there was no other work but the usual routine.
General Review.
In the above I have given an abstract of such work of the ad- ministration and legislature of the county that was not of common occurrence in every meeting. Much of that even may only be in- teresting to a few readers, or only a few items may be worth look- ing at by one person, and some others by other persons.
It will be observed that from the beginning there were many special meetings, and towards the end there were none. The rea- son seems to be that it required much deliberation at first to set things right, to organize new towns and to change their limits ac- cording to circumstances, which were developed by experience. The time had to come when important changes would no longer be necessary, and when out of the unavoidable conflict of interests some harmony would result, which though not entirely perfect, would be satisfactory to most of the citizens, and would, at least be given a fair trial.
In every well regulated community there must be persons empowered and commissioned to execute the laws. Such persons we call officers, and we have state officers, county officers and town officers, etc.
The following is a table of the incumbents of the different county offices, with the time when each person was elected for the first time, or as the case may be, for the only time:
SHERIFFS.
NAMES. YEAR OF ELECTION
John Buehler 1853.
Jesse Truman 1855.
J. R. Hurlburt 1857.
John Buehler
1859.
Andrew Hemrich 1861.
W. H. Gates 1863.
John Beely 1865.
Wm. R. Turnbull 1867.
Nic. Philippi 1869.
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320
ORG
G. M. Reinhardt.
1875.
Samuel Davis 1877.
Erik Alme .. 1879.
Halvor A. Lee 1884. .-
REGISTER OF DEEDS.
NAMES.
YEAR OF ELECTION.
James M. Pierce 1853.
W. H. Gates 1857.
Frederick Binder 1859.
Otis F. Warren 1861.
Jacob Wirth. 1865.
Otis F. Warren 1867.
J. P. Schnng
1869.
Nic. Philippi
1871.
Henry Bechmann 1873.
J. M. Leonhardy 1879.
Lutze Tscharner
1881.
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
NAMES.
YEAR OF ELECTION.
J. Adam Raetz, 1853.
Wesley Pierce, 1855.
L. Seals, -
1857.
Edward Lees, -
1859.
John W. McKay, . 1867.
Augustus Finkelnburg,
I869.
Edw. Lees,
1871.
A. Finkelnburg,
1875.
J. W. McKay,. 1877.
Theodore Buehler,.
1881.
Schuyler G. Gilman, 1884.
CLERKS OF CIRCUIT COURT.
NAMES.
YEAR OF ELECTION.
J. B. Aldermatt,,
1853.
Thos. G. Hake,. 1855.
Ferdinand Fetter,
1857.
Ferdinand Hellmann,
1861.
Richard R. Kempter,
1863.
Fred Hohmann,
1865.
Math. Fetzer, ..
1873.
J. W. DeGroff, 1875. Nic. Philippi, 1877.
J. W. DeGroff, 1879.
Fred Hohmann,.
1886.
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS.
NAMES:
YEAR OF ELECTION:
Augustus Finkelnburg.
1861.
C. F. Kingsland. 1863.
Robert Lees (to fill vacancy) 1864.
James Imrie.
1865.
Robert Lees
1869.
Lawrence Kessinger
1871.
John C. Rathbun 1877.
L. Kessinger
1871.
Geo. Schmidt
1876.
COUNTY SURVEYORS.
NAMES:
YEAR OF ELECTION:
Henry Goerke
1855.
Robert Strohmann 1857.
Hiram B. Merchant, 1859.
Robert Strohmann
1861.
Emil Haeusser,
1863.
1865.
L. Kessinger,.
1869.
A. W. Miller,
John Buesch,
1871.
Wm. Finkelnburg,
1879.
John F. Schlossstein,
1884.
CORONERS.
NAMES.
YEAR OF ELECTION.
Geo. Zimmermann 1853.
Edmund Bishop 1855.
Dr. Wm. Spuehr
1857.
Jacob Iberg
1863.
Dr. A. Bodenstab
1866.
Barney McDonough
1871.
Dr. J. Ehing
1877.
Dr. Newton McVey
1879.
Jas. L. Hallock
1881.
Barney McDonough
1884,
322
ORGANIZATION.
1.
Jas. L. Hallock -1886.
COUNTY JUDGES.
NAME. YEAR OF ELECTION.
Marvin Pierce 1853.
Ferdinand Fetter 1861.
Augustus Finkelnburg 1865.
Ferdinand Fetter 1869.
Conrad Moser, jr
1877.
Robert Lees 1881.
Judge Fetter died Oct 16, 1876, and C. Moses, jr., was ap- pointed by the governor to fill the vacancy.
The following persons represent at present the county of Buf- falo in an official capacity for the time annexed to each name:
Robert Lees, County Judge, to January 1890.
John Leonhardy, Sheriff, to January 1889.
Edw. H. Waelty, County Clerk, to January 1889.
Halvor A. Lee, Treasurer, to January 1889.
Lutze Tscharner, Register of Deeds, to January 1889.
Schuler G. Gilman, District Attorney, to January 1889.
Fred. Hohman, Clerk of Circuit Court, to January 1889.
Geo. Schmidt, Superintendent of Schools, to January 1889.
J. F. Schlossstein, Surveyor, to January 1889.
Jas. L. Hallock, Coroner, to January 1889.
Jas. V. Jones, Member of Assembly, to January 1889.
J. W. De Groff, Senator for Buffalo and Trempealeau County, to January 1891.
A closer examination of the above tables will disclose the fact, that a considerable number of our county officers have been re- elected for the next term, or several consecutive terms, or, as in the case of sheriff, where a consecutive term is prohibited by law, after an interval of one or two terms. This shows that the men thus honored must have given satisfaction in the discharge of their official duty. It also shows, that the people appreciate a faithful servant and mean to express their sptisfaction. The county bas been especially fortunate in never, during the 33 years of its ad- ministrative existence, having been compelled to go into litigation with any of its officers for any reason whatever. There are some doubts in my mind whether the number of votes in the earlier. elections might not be more properly discussed under the head of
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324
TRANSPORTATION.
TRANSPORTATION.
We find in the chapter on Indians that the canoe was the first vehicle for the transportation of persons and of burdens. Its building, the materials necessary or customary for the purpose and its general utility are sufficiently described in the same place. Its capacity for commercial transportation was indeed very limited, yet not so much so as to prevent its general use. From the narra- tives of early explorers it clearly appears that a canoe of ordinary size was capable of carrying from two to five men with their arms and implements, and sometimes a considerable stock of provisions or merchandise also. La Salle carried a blacksmith's forge and the necessary iron along with him in canoes perhaps divided up, but still consisting of heavy material. It being clearly impossible to man very many canoes, as one man could not be expected to manage a very large weight with safety and dispatch, and an ex- pedition of that kind requiring tools for building fortifications and houses, besides a heavy stock of goods for trading and presents, and a plentiful supply of arms and ammunition, we can form an estimate of the weight each of these canoes must have been cap. able of floating. There were, however, some limits to that capac. ity not dependent on size even in those primitive times, when the demands of commerce were as a grain of sand beside a mountain, compared with those of modern times. The first advance from the canoe, for the same purposes, and still with a view to propell- ing by the use of paddles, was the batteau or Mackinaw boat of the French traders and voyageurs. Its peculiar construction af. forded some advantages over the canoe, especially greater capacity, deeper draught, steadier course, and perhaps greater strength, which were set off by a want of portability and the necessity of having boards for the construction of it. The canoe and the batteaux re. mained the craft for the coasting trade and private communica- tion, as well as in fishing, until in quite recent times, and those
325
TRANSPORTATION.
living on Beef Slough will not fail to remember the fleet of bat- teaux brought down by the crews of the first log-drive in 1868. The skiff has superseded this ancient craft entirely at least on the Mississippi. On the Lakes, where there was more room for ma- noeuvering, sailing craft, with or without decks, with temporary or fixed masts and rigging soon became a necessity, but nevertheless increased very slowly, fast enough, perhaps, for the demands of commerce and the traffic of the past, but infinitely out off all pro- portion with present necessities or accommodations. On the rivers the capacious keel boat, or as we now would style it, the barge, in- tended to be propelled by poles stuck in the bottom of the river, the men leaning with the shoulder against the upper end, shoving the boat along by seemingly walking on the deck or on a plank, was used for the transportation of heavier goods, or larger quanti- ties. These barges were, at least partially, provided with an upper deck, partly to walk upon, partly for the protection of the men and the cargo against rain or other inclemencies of the weather. Most of them were also provided with temporary masts and sim- ple tackle and rigging for using the same when the wind and the water-space, or rather the width and comparative straightness of the channel, presented a favorable opportunity. This poling or pushing of boats or barges against the current was not only a toil- some and tedious, but also a very unsatisfactory way of transpor- tation. High water, required for boats of deep draught, could not be made available, as it was impossible to provide poles long enough to reach to the bottom, and still not too heavy for managing by the men. At the times of low water, sandbars and rapids were almost unconquerable obstructions. Days, and sometimes weeks were consumed in lightening these barges and conveying part of the goods above the rapids by land on very rough roads, or by the use of scows on the water. This difficulty was overcome by the building of flatboats, where it was not intended to proceed against the stream for long distances.
The application of steam power to the navigation of vessels which now is such a matter of everyday occurrence, that nobody takes much notice of it, had to contend, not only with the usual prejudices against new ideas in general, but also, quite naturally, with the obstacles created by the want of experience in the enter- prise, and which could only be overcome by venturesome experi-
326
TRANSPORTATION.
ments, requiring untold time and money. We know that the problem was solved, and if we should be surprised at anything we should be surprised by the rapidity by which the invention or its application spread to all the navigable waters from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains. The first successful trip of the Clermont, having proved the feasibility and the advantages of the invention in 1807, we nevertheless find but little mention of its application before or during the war of 1812, yet there must have been some progress. One of the great obstacles to navigation in general, and steam navigation in particular, on the western rivers, was that shifting of sand bars from one location to another, which made the progress of a boat or vessel extremely hazardous, the more so the greater the force propelling the craft was. The model of a ship, or even a canal-boot, or anything drawing as much water as was considered indispensable for the rivers, and bays in the East, was clearly out of place on the western waters, and more especially upon the Upper Mississippi, which could not be reached without passing over the rapids of the Des Moines, and the still more in- tricate and shallow ones at Rock Island. The question was clearly, whether the boats used for the navigation of the Lower Mississippi could be used for that of the upper part of the same river, for never did it enter into the brain of any captain or pilot running upon the Mississippi at that time, that there would ever be, and not so very far off, either, a period, when it would not only be necessary and possible, but also very profitable, to con- struct boats for the express purpose of Upper River Navigation, and run regular lines of them, not merely to Keokuk near the Lower Rapids, but up to the Falls of St. Anthony. At all events it was the great surprise among river men, and not less among other sojourners upon the river, that in May 1823, the steamer Virginia; drawing six feet of water, ascended to Mendota, opposite Fort Snelling, below the junction of the Minnesota and the Missis- sippi, just as the fort is above it. She was freighted with provi- sions, ammunition and other stores, and perhaps, also, with a re- lief for the garrison of Fort Snelling. She was the first steamer of any kind, which ascended so far, but from that time steamboats in government employ came up every year, making however, seldom more than one trip, always of course, at high water. At first, I suppose, the crew went into the woods, where they were accessi.
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328
TRANSPORTATION.
have preaching on the boat on Sunday forenoon. The Nominee, however, suffered the fate of its more unchristian brother's and was snagged and sunk in the fall of 1854, forty miles below. La Crosse.
The " Ben Campbell " was built in the winter of 1851-52, and put in the trade in the spring, but drew too much water, and was sold in the fall 1852. During this season an opposition boat, called the " West Newton," was put into the trade from Galena to St. Paul, as an about equal match for the Nominee. The latter in May 1852, made the round trip, from Galena to St. Paul and back in two days, seven hours and forty-nine minutes, a distance both ways of eight hundred miles. In the fall of the same year the Harrises, to whom the West Newton belonged, were admitted into the Galena company and their boat afterwards run in the line. In the spring of 1854, the " War Eagle," " Galena " and " Royal Arch " were added to the line, and in 1855, the "Golden Era," " Alhambra," " Lady Franklin," and "City Bell " were added ...
In June 1856, the opening of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad gave a great impetus to the business, and. the .company added to their line of boats the " Northern Bell," " Ocean Wave," ".Granite State," " Greek Slave," and " Black Hawk."
Some boats besides the Nominee were sunk during this time; namely, " West Newton " in the fall of 1853, near the place still called by the same name, but formerly "Yellow Banks," where. since then a few houses were built and inhabited, and in 1862 abandoned; " Dr. Franklin," seven miles above Dubuque by col- : liding with the "Galena " in June 1854 .. . In 1856 the "Galena "; was burned. .
Trade fell off considerably in 1858, and subsequently, but in 1861 the packet company increased its number of incorporators to . about one hundred, and its capital to $400,000,-and run the fol- lowing boats in the upper trade: " War Eagle," "Alhambra," " City Bell," " Fanny Harris," "Northern Light," "Key City," "Northern Bell," " Golden Era," " Ocean Wave," "Flora," "Grey Eagle," " Milwaukee," and " Itasca.". Some of these boats were. of the first class, and might well have been called "floating pa- laces."
The " Milwaukee " cost. the company $39,000, "Grey Eagle " $43,000, and the " Key City " and "Northern Light " each about the same.
329
TRANSPORTATION.
The "Key City" was built at Cincinnati in 1857, was 250 feet long, 35 feet wide, 360 tons burthen, and 51 state rooms. The "War Eagle" and "Galena" were of a smaller class of boats, the former being but 296 tons burthen, with 46 state rooms. She was built in Cincinnati in the winter of 1853-54, and was 219 feet long and 19 feet wide.
The Galena Packet Company finally reorganized in February' 1864, under the laws of the State of Iowa, with a cash capital of $400,000, under the name of the "Northwestern Packet Company," with general powers to run steamers, and do passenger and freight business between Dubuque and St. Paul. The company was bound by contract with the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Rail- road Company to carry freight and passengers for that company between the latter place and St. Paul.
In the fall of 1865 the Northwestern Company were running the following steamers in the trade: "Milwaukee," "Itasca," " Northern Light," "Key City," "War Eagle," all first class pas- senger steamers. They also run three light-draught boats for low water, and three additional steamers for freight and towing barges.
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