USA > Wisconsin > Buffalo County > History of Buffalo County Wisconsin 10847607 > Part 28
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63
8,096.00
128,50
Naples
11
2,840.00
258.18
Nelson
20
312.00
15.60
Waumandee
35
7,760.00
232.12
Total
815 $ 68,322.50
$ 116.75
Belvidere
It is impossible to reconcile the statements upon any princi_ ple whatever, nor is it possible to explain how such differences as the above could be reported. As I can not here quote the instruc. tions under which these statistics, or any of the preceding ones, were supposed to be collected, I do not want to throw the blame: , on any one in particular, but know from experience that the in-
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396
AGRICULTURE.
would feel it as a disgrace, should anybody write about its agri- culture and forget to mention its fair, that annual show of pump- kins, squashes, cabbages and other greens, besides stock of blood and grade, not to say much of horses and races, the latter always being made sufficient noise about, so as not to be overlooked. The Agricultural Society of Buffalo County was organized during the summer of 1872 with Robert Henry as President, John Hunner, jr., as Secretary, and J. W. DeGroff as Treasurer. It held its first annual fair on the 9th, 10th and 11th of October of that year, on the fair grounds at the town of Lincoln, on Sec. 12 T. 21 R. 12, southwest of the bridge crossing Little Waumandee Creek in front of the Lincoln House. The first three fairs were moderate successes, but the next showed very strong decline. The site of the fair grounds had been selected for its central location, and its ac- cessibility from all points of the compass. But there were, never- theless some considerable objections to them. They were situated rather low, and on rich loamy land, on which the slightest rain was sure to make walking diragreeable and racing impossible. But the loudest complaint was on account of a want of accommoda- tion for the visitors. There was at that time only one tavern within six or eight miles of the grounds, and although this was closely adjacent, it could accommodate but very few persons at best. It is true the farmers in the neighborhood extended their hospitality on the occasions very generously but there was still much dissatisfaction. After the fifth fair it was concluded to remove the exhibition, buildings and appurtenances, to Alma, where accommodations for visitors were certainly sufficient, but those for the fair were not very easily found. After some disputes the buildings were located on John Hemrich's meadow close to the northern line of Section 13 of T. 21, R. 13. The buildings were on the slope between the Alma and Fountain City road and the level part, on which the race-track was laid out. The site chosen was about one mile below the center of the village. It was rather damp at any time, but once it was submerged and the horse racing was converted into a logrolling match. The hall usually presented a very fine exhibition, but the stalls for cattle, horses and other animals were often empty, or filled with very indifferent animals. Unpropitious circumstances diminished the attendance very much, the institution did not pay, subsidies from private persons were
397
AGRICULTURE.
collected almost every year, and the people, of whom some had cherished the most sanguine expectations, became disgusted, and when in 1884 the people of Mondovi proposed to transfer the ex- hibition to their village, there was no regret at Alma for losing it.
The next exhibition, being the first one in Mondovi, was actually a greater success than any of the preceding ones, perhaps in everything, but more especially in cattle and horses. There may be some inclination to inquire into the reasons why the county-fair did not succeed any better in the lower part of the county. An almost sufficient answer may be found in looking at the shape of our county, and by remembering that the narrow part of it is also the hilly part, while the wider northern part, although not entirely level, is rather rolling than hilly, transporta- tion being more easy and not so circuitous. The northern part is also contiguous to parts of Trempealeau, Eau Claire and Pepin Counties of similar formation, and from which Mondovi can draw stock of all kinds. Mondovi, however, does not occupy a central position with regard to this county, and in fairness is not the place to hold any assembly consisting of the people of the whole county. We concede the fact that the most ambitious, or most of the am- bitious people do live in its vicinity, and that this gives it a per- fect right and title to the county-fair. If we wish that our imme- diate neighbors should be more ambitious, and not quite so jeal- ous of the merits of their neighbors, we hope it is no sin, but fear that our honest wish will not be verified.
Public assemblages in this country will not be allowed to pass without considerable noise. Some of this noise is made by a band, and sometimes is music, but always called such by the crowd, not for courtesy so much, but because of the similarity with the sounds proper to the crowd .- The other specific noise is made by pub- lic speakers. What applies to assemblages in general, must, of course, apply to county-fairs. At our fairs we had different speak- ers almost every year, of whom I remember Elder Morse, Hon.
Ed. Lees, Hon. Conrad Moser jr., Auren Rockwell, Esq., Hon S. D. Hubbard, Hon. E. W. Keyes, Hon. Wm. T. Price, Hon. A. Finkelnburg, all of this state and Major Doughty of Lake City, Minnesota. During the time the fair remained in the lo werpart of the county, where the people of German nationality form the majority of the inhabitants, addresses were on most fairs delivered
398
AGRICULTURE.
in German, for which the author of this history was usually en- gaged.
It would hardly be of sufficient interest to the readers to in- sert premium lists, or award of prizes especially as we could not give all of them. So we may content ourselves with the notice that the fair for 1887 will be held at Mondovi on the 26, 27, and 28th day of September, and that the officers of the Buffalo County Agricultural Society for the present year are: J. w. . Whelan, Mondovi, President; Alexander Lees, Gilmanton, Secretary, and Ryland Southworth, Mondovi, Treasurer.
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400
MANUFACTURES.
there would be a greater number of men, who would either by hand alone or by the assistance of machines, work together for the construction of wagons, plows, and other agricultural implements requiring the same materials and much the same mechanical oper- ations. That such combinations of men and machines and of ma- terials and means of applications to specifical purposes is also called a factory, although the peculiar character of the work is not at all mechanical, and why such a combination of processes should be called manufacturing, is probably understood by all.
Something ought to be said as an introduction to the statist- ical tables on the "Manufacturing Interests of Buffalo County " from the census of 1885 .- Manufacturing of any kind can not be carried on without room and housing, hence there is real estate con- nected with it. There must be raw material, or stock, and there must be tools and machines, or fixtures. All this can not be spe- cified, but possesses a money value, and this money value is, at least to a certain extent, if correctly stated, an indicator of the ex- tent of the business carried on. Then there are assistants needed and must be paid, which is another indication of the extent of the business. In introducing these tables I would be glad, if I could recant the remarks made with regard to the reliability, or rather unreliability, of such tables in the chapter on agriculture. I can not conscientiously do it, but I will defer special criticisms until after the production of the tables themselves.
1
TABULAR STATEMENT OF CAPITAL INVESTED AND VALUE OF PRODUCTS DERIVED FROM MANUFACTURING INTERESTS, BUFFALO COUNTY:
TOWNS, VILLAGES
Real Estate and
Machinery.
Stock and
Fixtures.
Men Employed.
Amount Paid
for Wages.
Lumber, Shingles and
Wagons,
Carriages and
Sleighs
Manufactured
Iron Products and
Articles Manufactured
Leather and Articles
Manufactured
WINES.
BEER.
of Wood.
AND CITIES.
Value.
Value.
No.
Amt.
No M.
Value.
| No.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Gal. value
Bbls.
Value.
value
Alma, city ...
$31,000
$ 6,000 67
$ 9,100
3,740
$259,800
2,940 $18,000
$500
Buffalo, city
18,250
8,420
7
500
180
2,200
$. 200
$ 600
Fount. City
26,200
4,000 22
6,390
195
1,810
40)
$1,435
. 2,000
2,300 250 $190
300
2,500
Gilmanton
1,250
180
1
60
16
685
Modena ..
1,625
580
650
350
Total
$78,325 $19,180 97 $16,050
4,115 $263,810 56
$2,170
$2,850 $3,250 |250|$190|3,240 $20,500 $500
:
According to this table there were 3,740 mille or thousands of feet of lumber, of lath and shingles manufactured at Alma, the value of which is given at $259,800 = $69.46 per thousand. Could not there be just one cipher too many in the statement of this value ?
00:
Articles Manufactured
of it.
'Lath
Manufactured.
-
of Iron.
BUFFALO COUNTY. (Continued.)
TOWNS, VILLAGES, AND CITIES.
Real Estate and
Machinery.
Stock and
Fixtures.
Men employed.
Wages paid during
the Year.
Cigars and Cigarettes.
Milling. Includes all flour Manufactured from Cereals.
Value.
Value.
No.
Amount.
No.
Value.
Barrels.
Value.
Alma, city.
$ 10
$ *50
*
*
38,000
$ 915
Fountain City
2,000
600
2
$
675
*
$ 23,500
Gilmanton.
10,000
300
2
1,200
3,500
17,000
Modena.
5,000
100
1
240
300
1,200
Waumandee
12,000
4,000
2
1,000
5,000
20,000
Total
$ 29,010
$ 5,050
-
$ 3,115|38,000
$ 915
8,800
$ 61,700
-
A more ridiculous compilation than this piece of census is not imaginable. Indeed it is below all criticism both as to logical arrangement and to facts, and it is for this reason that I almost hesitate to make any comments whatever. Hence I shall be very brief. As to the completeness of the first of the above tables, I can not understand why Mondovi has been left out of it, since it is my impression more wagons, buggies, sleighs and such things are manufactured there than at Gilmanton. The same applies to articles of Iron and Leather in comparison between Modena and Mondovi. Similar remarks apply
402
MANUFACTURES.
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404
MANUFACTURES.
I. FLOURING MILLS.
TOWN OR LOCALITY.
OWNERS.
REMARKS.
Alma, town ... Fountain City Gilmanton
Tritsch & Bro. ... Mill Co.
Built by Gobar Bros. 1858.
Built 1886.
J. W. Howard.
Built by Joel Mann 1858-59.
Glencoe.
Wm. Sauer
Built in 1871.
Lincoln
Built by Kochendorfer & Wachholz Built by Mehrmann & Fetter 1858.
Frank Mattausch Milton A. Mademann. Misha Mokwa Farr & Aitkens ... Modena
Built by Mr. Gurley from 1858-65.
Geo. Frary
Built by himself probably 1866.
Mondovi J. T. Brownlee ...
Built 1857 by A. & L. Gordon.
Mondovi N. K. Fisher
Built in 1877.
Waumandee .. John Ochsner,
Built by himself 1866.
To complete the above table I add the following historical notes:
The mill [in the town of Alma was long in possession of August Grams, now of La Crosse county .- The mill at Gilmanton usually called Mann's mill, was operated by Joel Mann for some , time, afterwards by others, and among them Harvey B. Farring- ton and Otis F. Warren, who were succeeded by Mr. Howard.
In the mill of Glencoe Henry Kessler, John Maurer, Peter Grass, and I believe a man by the name of Keller were in the course of time interested.
Fred. Kochendorfer was the moving spirit in the erection of the Lincoln Mills and kept them in operation for some years.
The mill in Milton was started by Henry Goehrke and Fred. Binder as a saw mill as early as 1855, but after Ferdinand Fetter and Ferdinand Mehrmann had bought into the partnership it was converted into a flouring mill, and did for many years consider- able business, though interrupted every summer by the back water from. the Mississippi.
The mill at Misha Mokwa proved the financial ruin of its pro. jector, went through several hands, was rented to different parties, so for instance to Peter Kleiner, was owned by J, Thoeny, now again at Wabasha, for several years, and sold by him to the present owners.
The Mondovi mill was the first erected in the northern part of the county and at that time a great accommodation for the neigh-
405
MANUFACTURES.
borhood. From the builders named in the table it passed to Mr Walter Brown, the father of Hon. Orlando and of Harvey Brown, deceased, who sold it to Samuel Newton, of whom Mr. J. T. Brownlee bought it.
In regard to Mr. Fisher's mill, which is a sawmill and grist- mill, I can not remember exactly when it was commenced, al- though it must have been built during 1877, at which time I was frequently at Mondovi; but as it is marked in the "Atlas" pub- lished 1878 I can not be very far wrong. There is, also, in Mon- dovi another mill, usually operated by wind-power, but in case of need by steampower, belonging to a Mr. Fisher, whether the same or not, I can not say.
The mill of Mr. Ochsner in Waumandee is situated in the most fertile valley of this county, and has the advantage of plenty of water at all times.
Most of these mills do custom work, and none has attained commercial importance except in local trade. The one in Foun- tain City is most favorably situated for transportation of material and products. This is the only mill in this county run entirely by steam power; all the others use water power by turbine wheels.
A mill is considered a profitable investment, yet we have learned from the history of some of the mills in this county that the building thereof was the ruin of the owners. It would be wrong to suppose that this was in every case attributable to im- prudent management, and perhaps impossible and useless to in- vestigate the causes.
The first mill in this county was the steam mill of Buehler and Clarke in Fountain City. It was erected 1856, and for some time worked by the owners, afterwards sold, and rented to differ- ent parties, until it became the property of Sigmund Kammerer, in whose possession it was when it burned down in 1885. It was not rebuilt.
About the year 1858 J. P. Stein made an attempt to build a mill on the creek which bears his name. The enterprise had to be given up, partly on account of the obstinacy of the mill-wright, Ulrich Mueller, who had an unconquerable prejudice against tur bine wheels.
The county may be said to be sufficiently furnished withgrist mills for domestic purposes, but it might be an advantage to farm-
406
MANUFACTURES.
ers and others if a greater proportion of our surplus wheat were ground within the county.
II. SAW MILLS.
LOCALITIES.
Power.
OWNERS.
REMARKS.
Alma (city)
Steam
F. Laue
Ert. in Alma 1866. See below.
Buffalo (city). Fountain City (vil.)
66
Mrs. Bueker.
Henry Teckenburg
Maxville
Water
Mondovi
John Bowmann N. K. Fisher
Built by Bishop & Carpenter 1855. On Spring Creek. Lower part of the village.
Saw-mills depend in our parts on logs from the pineries; hard wood is only a small fraction of the material manipulated. Hence it is only along the Mississippi and its navigable sloughs that we may expect to meet saw-mills.
The first saw-mill in the county probably was that of Goehrke and Binder on Waumandee Creek, the same place where the Eagle Mills now stand. It was dependent almost entirely on hard wood. But at nearly the same time the lower saw-mill at Fountain City was built by Bishop and Carpenter. It passed into the hands of Levi Slingluf, now in Eau Claire, and afterwards became the pro- perty of Henry Teckenburg, Esq. In 1857 Hon. A. Finkelnburg built the upper sawmill at Fountain City at the place where the sash and door factory of Roettiger & Co. now stands. It was soon abandoned for its purpose.
In 1858 the Colonization Society of Cincinnati, which had laid out Buffalo City, built at that place a sawmill, to which a gristmill was also attached. The arrangement being faulty, the supply of logs precarious, and the expectations of the residents and the members of the Colonization Society somewhat disap. pointed, this mill was abandoned after the mill of Bueker & Co. was started in the same place 1859. The latter mill was mainly managed by F. Lane together with Adolf Bueker, who were the resident members of the company. In 1865 F. Lane and C. Schaettle, sen., purchased the old Buffalo City mill, and worked it for some time, when, having purchased land of R. Beiner, just below the village of Alma, they removed the engine and boiler to that place and began the first mill of F. Lane, at first in company
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408
MANUFACTURES.
IV. BEER .- TABLE OF BREWERIES
LOCATION.
OWNERS.
REMARKS.
Alma
John Hemrich
Union Brewery.
Built by himself in 1855.
do. Fountain City do.
Wm. Brueggeboos.
Begun by J. A. Hunner in the old Wisconsin House 1864.
John Koschitz. Brewing Company.
Eagle Brewery. Built 1857. Built in 1885.
Although these are all the breweries at present in working condition, it must not be supposed that others have not existed since very early dates in our history. The first attempt at Foun- tain City in the brewing business was made by a man named Alois -- in 1855, the plant being on the site of the plow factory and machine shop of Mr. John Clarke. In 1857 Mr. J. G. Ziegenfuss started the City Brewery, and about the same time the Eagle Brewery was put in operation by Fred Richter and Valen- tine Eder. In the Eagle Brewery the following succeeded each other: Richter & Eder, Xaver Ehrhardt, Ewe & Krueger, Mrs. Pistorius, John Koschitz.
The City Brewery remained in the same hands until discon- tinued. The first brewery did not continue for more than two or three years.
At Alma, the Union Brewery, being built at about the same time as the first brewery at Fountain City, remains still in pos- session of its founder, who has now every arrangement for success in his business. The other brewery is only in the second hand. A feeble attempt was made some fifteen years ago by Charles Zen- gel to establish another brewery above the lime.kiln and on the same land, but was soon abandoned. At the time when great ex- pectations were the rule at Buffalo City, Mr. Schaettle built and furnished a brewery at the Spring Lake. At that time a deep, cool cellar was an indispensable attachment to every successful brew- ery. Such a cellar could not be furnished at the spot, and after sinking considerable money Mr. Schaettle gave up the enterprise.
At Fountain City there was somewhere about 1870 a new and very large brewery erected and furnished, in which Henry Fiedler, Otto Bodmer and Mike Lenhardt were concerned. It burned
409
MANUFACTURES.
down and was not rebuilt. In its neighborhood, and on ground formerly belonging to it, stands now the brewery of the Fountain City Brewing Co. 'This is well arranged and well managed.
Seeing that these breweries were all undertaken in the lower part of the county, some of them even at a time when the popula- tion was yet very thin, it can readily be imagined that there must have been, and there still is, a considerable demand for their pro- duct. As a matter of fact we have to record that these breweries could not always supply the demand, and that beer was largely imported from Milwaukee and La Crosse. The arrangements for an improved product, and a sufficiency of it at all times being now on hand, we can but regard it with satisfaction, since, the de- mand for beer existing, it is certainly preferable to supply it by home industry, for which we have the principal material on hand. It must not be supposed that the demand for beer is entirely con- fined to the southern part of the county. A "good wee drop" is also appreciated by a good many in the northern part, in spite of prejudice and opposition.
V. CIGARS.
This is one of the articles which might be manufactured here, as well as in other places, though we do really not produce the material for it. What little tobacco may be grown here, has to be sold, for there is not enough of it to start a factory on. Whole- sale production has driven manufacturers of this article in smaller places out of the business.
There is at present no cigar-factory in the county.
VI. IRON PRODUCTS AND ARTICLES MANUFACTURED OF IRON.
The only extensive factory, using and producing the articles at the head of this, is in Fountain City, the plow factory and machine shop of Mr. John Clarke. Of course, it does not com- pare with such factories in the large cities, but for our neighbor- hood is considerable enough, and affords many advantages, to farmers especially. Mr. Simon Mueller of Buffalo City has a similar arrangement on a small scale. There may be such an in- stitution in Modena, but if there is, I think it finds its mate in Gilmanton, and more than that at Mondovi. I only mention this because there is no result reported for Gilmanton and Mondovi not mentioned at all in the table. Every blacksmith shop might
410
MANUFACTURES.
come within the scope of this table, and every town could be named in it. Perhaps the instructions justified the report, but a mistake must be somewhere.
VII. LEATHER AND ARTICLES MANUFACTURED OF IT.
Leather is not manufactured here. Shoes and boots, and har- nesses are certainly made in the county, though, perhaps, many of them, or most, are imported. It is rather curious that nothing of the kind is reported from Alma, since we have two saddlers, and harnessmakers, Mondovi one, Gilmanton and Modena perhaps one each, perhaps not.
VIII. WAGONS, CARRIAGES AND SLEIGHS.
Why there should no such things be manufactured in Alma, I do not know, but could not assert any activity in the matter. I have already made remarks on that point and dislike to be forever criticising the census report. Wagons and sleighs have been made at numerous places in the county, but not in sufficient number to call it manufacturing.
Having sent off the manuscript of the chapter on Agriculture to the printer, I came near forgetting to mention
IX. CREAMERIES AND CHEESE FACTORIES.
Their products, butter and cheese, have to some extent been discussed under the head of Agriculture. This discussion, based upon the lucid statements of the census tables, did not men- tion any facts concerning creameries, although at least one of them, at the city of Alma, was in operation, and possibly the one in Fountain City also, at the time of taking the census. We have two creameries. The one at Alma, built early in spring 1884, commenced operations in May of the same year; the other at Fountain City commenced operations about one year later. We have no statistics on hand in regard to these institutions, and could not enter in a detailed description of processes, etc., under any circumstances, but think that they are doing good service to the farmers in many ways, besides buying their cream. They ought to be a success, but I understand that up to present times this is not assured. Cheese factories are more numerous than creameries, but not, perhaps, as numerous as they were some years ago. An inspection of the table given under Agriculture shows that only the factory at Mondovi reported any results in 1885. These factories do not require so much cash capital as
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412
POPULATION.
POPULATION.
Speaking of the population of Buffalo County, we have no ac- cessible means of ascertaining its number, or, indeed, anything else about it, until the time when the county had been organized, and in working order for more than a year. Even if we should inves- tigate the census reports of Crawford county for 1840, or earlier, and those of La Crosse county for 1850, we would hardly be any the wiser for it. It is very probable that the lower part of our county, that part below the Buffalo River, that is to say south and east of it, was nominally considered as a town or part of a town, and that an organization existed somewhere to govern that town, probably down at Monteville, now Trempealeau village, and that an effort was made at the usual times, to take an account of popu- lation, if any body knew anything about people living above Trem- pealeau River; but if such a population existed, it must have been enumerated along with those who lived outside of our limits. The upper part of the county on the right bank of the Buffalo River, belonged to Chippewa county until 1854, and we might as well hunt a needle in a hay stack as ascertain from report of census- takers whether there was any population in those parts or not. Circumstances point.to the probability that there was none, or at least but a transient one. There might have been people at work near the mouth of the Chippewa River every winter to chop wood and bank it for the use of the occasional boats then beginning to run up to Mendota and afterwards to St. Paul, but they would most probably withdraw to the other side at Read's Landing or some other place in the spring. From its mouth to the head of Beef Slough, a distance of about 12 miles there was no place on the Chippewa which would tempt any one to settle upon it. About a mile above that place our northern boundary line passes of to the east.
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