USA > Wisconsin > Grant County > History of Grant County Wisconsin, including its civil, political, geological, mineralogical archaeological and military history > Part 58
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1872-Supervisors, Robert Glenn, Riley Jacobs, Marshall Scott; clerk, David Brodt; treasurer, O. F. Hill; assessor, E. R. Houghton; justices, P. C. Palmer, Louis Glass; constables, J. A. Bossi, Hiram Houghton, Milton Jacobs.
1873-Supervisors, Robert Glenn, Riley Jacobs, P. C. Palmer ; clerk, treasurer, assessor, and constables same as in 1872 ; justices, Riley Ja- cobs, John A. Harford.
1874-Supervisors, Robert Glenn, P. C. Palmer, Riley Jacobs; clerk, David Brodt; treasurer, O. F. Hill; assessor, E. R. Houghton; justices, P. C. Palmer, Louis Glass; constables, J. A. Bossi, Hiram Houghton, Milton Jacobs.
1875-Supervisors, Riley Jacobs, Arcus Calkins, Louis Glass; clerk, David Brodt; treasurer, Royal Cranston; assessor, Jacob Shrake; justices, Riley Jacobs, J. A. Harford; constables, T. Brodt, Milton Jacobs, M. Maguigan.
1876-Supervisors, P. C. Palmer, Louis Glass, J. A. Harford; clerk,
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O. F. Hill; treasurer, Royal Cranston; assessor, Jacob Shrake; jus- tices, P. C. Palmer, Louis Glass; constables, H. Baumer, E. R. Hough- ton, J. A. Bossi.
1877-Supervisors, Robert Gleun, John Boorman, J. A. Harford; clerk, David Brodt; treasurer, Royal Cranston; assessor, Jacob Shrake; justices, J. A. Harford, Jacob Shrake; constables, J. A. Brad- ley, E. R. Houghton, Henry Baumer.
1878-Supervisors, Robert Glenn, Philip C. Palmer, Louis Glass; clerk, David Brodt; treasurer, Royal Cranston; assessor, John Boor- man; justices, P. C. Palmer, Louis Glass; constables, C. Eggleston, Victor M. Calkins, F. M. Thurston.
1879-Supervisors, Robert Glenn, Jacob M. Beer, Louis Glass; clerk, Lorenzo Wellard; treasurer, Henry Jackson; assessor, David Brodt; justices, J. A. Harford, Jacob Shrake; constables, J A. Bossi, Abner Shrake, C. H. Eggleston.
1880-Supervisors, J. A. Harford, Edwin Glenn, J. M. Beer; clerk, Lorenzo Wellard; treasurer, Henry C. Jackson; assessor, Charles Brodt; justices, Leroy Jacobs, J. A. Bradley ; constables, Barney Brodt, Abner Shrake, V. M. Calkins.
1881-Supervisors, Edwin Glenn, Henry Strong, Louis Glass; clerk, L. Wellard; treasurer, Arcus Calkins; assessor, David Brodt; justices, J. A. Harford, William Kerr; constables, Abner Shrake, J. B. Palmer.
1882-Supervisors, Robert Glenn, Henry Strong, John Brierly ; clerk, Lorenzo Wellard; treasurer, H. C. Jackson; assessor, David Brodt; justices, Louis Glass, J. A. Bradley ; constables, Mitchell Pace, H. Horstman, James Gulick.
1883-Supervisors, J. A. Harford, Louis Glass, Jacob Shrake; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1882 ; justices, A. B. Call, Ja- cob Shrake, P. C. Palmer; constables, J. P. Gulick, Henry Horstman, Taylor Malin.
1884-Supervisors, Robert Glenn, P. C. Palmer, Louis Glass; clerk, Lorenzo Wellard; treasurer, Arcus Calkins; assessor, David Brodt; justices, P. C. Palmer, Louis Glass, V. M. Calkins; constables, Taylor Harford, J. P. Gulick, Henry Horstman.
1885-Supervisors, Arcus Calkins, John Boorman, Charles Glass ; clerk, Lorenzo Wellard; treasurer, Henry S. Strong; assessor, Taylor Brodt; justices, Jacob Shrake, David Morrell; constables, Mitchell Pace, Henry Horstman, Grant Pace.
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WYALUSING.
1886-Supervisors, Arcus Calkins, Henry S. Strong, Charles Glass ; clerk, Lorenzo Wellard; treasurer, Jacob Beer; assessor, James Boor- man; justices, Louis Glass, J. A. Bossi, E. R. Houghton; constables, Henry Horstman, Wm. Hale, Taylor Harford.
1887-Supervisors, Robert Glenn, Wm. E. Borah, John Boorman; clerk, Lorenzo Wellard; treasurer, Jacob Beer; assessor, David Brodt; justices, Jacob Shrake, J. A. Harford; constables, Abner Shrake, Wm. Hale, Henry Horstman.
1888-Supervisors, Jacob Shrake, Jacob Beer, Charles Glass; clerk, Lorenzo Wellard; treasurer, E. R. Houghton; assessor, David Brodt; justices, J. A. Bradley, Leroy Jacobs ; constables, John G. Keeler, Free- man Jacobs, E. J. Palmer.
1889-Supervisors and clerk same as in 1888; treasurer, Wm. E. Borah; assessor, James Boorman; justices, Jacob Shrake, J. A. Har- ford; constables, John Keeler, Edward Gulick, Abner Shrake.
1890-Supervisors, Jacob Shrake, Wm. Iorns, Jacob Yost; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as'in 1889; justices, Louis Glass, Victor M. Calkins; constables, Louis A. Beer, J G. Keeler, Ashton Morrell.
1891-Supervisors, Jacob Shrake, Wm. Iorns, Edwin Glenn ; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1889; justices, Jacob Shrake, J. A. Harford; constables, Emmett Palmer, Taylor Harford, Ed Gulick.
1892-Supervisors, Jacob Shrake, Charles Glass, Thomas Gulick ; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1889; justices, I. B. Palmer, Leroy Jacobs; constables, Ashton Morrell, John Rockwell, Emmett Palmer.
1893-Supervisors, Jacob Shrake, George Yost, Wm. Iorns; clerk, Lorenzo Wellard; treasurer, Henry Glass; assessor, James Boorman; justices, Jacob Shrake, Fred Handy ; constables, E. J. Palmer, J. M. Day, Edward Harvill.
1894-Supervisors, clerk, treasurer, assessor same as in 1893; jus- tices, J. P. Day, Abner Shrake; constables, Ashton Morrell, John G. Keeler, C. H. Eggleston.
1895-Supervisors, Jacob Shrake, Louis Newman, Wm. Iorns; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1893; justices, Jacob Shrake, Fred Handy ; constables. Taylor Malin. C. H. Eggleston, B. F. Keeler.
1896-Supervisors, Jacob Shrake, Louis Newman, Edward Gulick ; clerk, Wm. Gulick; treasurer, Henry Glass; assessor, Charles Glass;
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justices, Abner Shrake, John Day ; constables, Fred Miller, C. H. Eg- gleston, Ashton Morrell.
1897-Supervisors, B. F. Keeler, Jacob Yost, Robert Glenn; clerk; Lorenzo Wellard; treasurer, Henry Glass; assessor, Charles Glass; justices, Wm. A. Gulick, John P. Jenkins; constable, Fred Miller.
1898-Supervisors, clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1897; justices, Abner Shrake, John P. Day; constables, Henry Gulick, John Keeler, M. R. Pace.
1899-Supervisors, Edwin Glenn, Wm. Iorns, George Hausler; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1897; justices, Jacob Shrake, William Weed; constables, Ed Gillett, Walter Glass.
1900-Supervisors, Edwin Glenn, Edward Gulick, Charles Glass; clerk, Lorenzo Wellard; treasurer, Thomas B. Iorns; assessor, James Boorman; justices, John P. Day, Abner Shrake; constable, Jesse V. Winter.
SOCIETIES.
There are in the township the following societies :
Bradtville Lodge, No. 59, I. O. O. F .- Was instituted February 18, 1893. The first officers were: T. B. Anderson, N. G .; William Iorns, V. G .; James Boorman, Sec .; Emmett Palmer, Treas .; Thomas Iorns, Chap .; Henry Sutton, Warden.
The present officers are': William Millan, N. G .; Daniel Harris, V. G .; Samuel Brodt, Sec .; Mont J. Quick, Treas .; Thomas Iorns, Chap .; L. Beer, Warden.
W. K. Forshay Post, No. 23, G. A. R .- This post was organized in March, 1889. The first officers were; Moses Dunn, P. C .; Milton Jacobs, S. V. C .; J. A. Bradley, J. V. C .; Jacob Shrake, Adjt .; Edwin Glenn, Q. M .; T. F. Hart, Surg .; H. C. Jackson, Chap .; Wm. Patter- son, O. D .; J. A. Bossi, O. G.
The present officers are; H. Fassbender, P. C .; T. B. Anderson, S. V. C .; H. C. Jackson, J. V. C .; Edwin Glenn, Adjt .; George Hodge, Q. M .; J. M. Beer, Surg .; J. Harvill, Chap .; T. F. Hart, O. D .; J. A. Bossi, O. G.
BAGLEY.
This village, on Section 17, near the southwestern corner of the town, sprang up on the building of the C., B. & N. Railroad in 1885. The first house was a store and dwelling by Bagley Brothers; the sec- ond a hotel by William Thiessa, and the third a dwelling by John
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Keeler. The place now has two general merchandise stores, two hard- ware and machinery stores, a furniture store and meat market, a lum- ber yard, and the usual number of mechanics for a village of its size. It has a population of 173. A post-office was established here in 1887 with Louis Glass postmaster. Jacob Shrake is the present post- master. The place has one church, the German Lutheran, a frame 32×52, built in 1886 on the farm of Louis Glass and moved into the village in October, 1898. The first trustees were Louis Glass, George Heisler, Jr., and Leonard Leuber, and the present trustees are the same, except that Julius Plondke has taken the place of Mr. Leuber.
Bradtville, on Section 35, has long had a store and a post-office, but has never attained the dignity of a village.
Hazelton, formerly Ora Oak, a post-office at a private dwelling on Section 28, has been discontinued.
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CHAPTER XI.
BLOOMINGTON.
Early Settlers-Tafton Becomes a Village-Casualties-The Great Fire-Town Organization and Officers-Newspapers- Schools-Churches-Secret Societies-Blake's Prairie Agricultural Society.
EARLY SETTLERS.
Up to the fall of 1859 this town was a part of Patch Grove town- ship. The history of the surrounding region begins many years be- fore that of the village. The story of the old trading post of Captain Marin has been told on page 6. The first settler within the bound- aries of the township in our age was Page Blake, who located on a farm on Section 17 about four miles northwest of the present village in 1831. "Pap" Blunt settled a little north of the present town line about the same time. Zachary Lyon settled on his farm a mile and a half northwest of the present village in 1833. William Peck settled on Section 20, about three miles northwest of the present village, about 1836. Samuel Scott opened a farm on the same section in 1844. James T. Murphy settled on Section 17 in 1845. What is known as the Bunker Hill or Red School-house settlement was begun in 1845, and it was probably at that date that Dr. Hiram Sargent settled there. His brother Cyrus Sargent, a bachelor, lived with him, probably in 1845, as he was appointed a justice of the peace in 1846. In 1846 George Engle came to the settlement. The Lord brothers, Henry, Horace, and Homer, came in 1847 to this settlement, as did George W. Lee, and the next year his father-in-law, W. W. Cilley, although they settled some distance southeast of the others. In 1849 Robert Lumpkin settled at Bunker Hill. With him came his father, [Robert Lumpkin, Sr., who afterward was noted as Grant County's centenarian, in our centennial year. Jacob Martin settled a little north of the Red School-house the same year. These Bunker Hill settlers were about the first to settle out on the prairie, all the others who took up prairie land keeping to the edge of the timber for building sites.
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In the western part of the town, near the Mississippi, James C. Orr settled in 1836. He afterward became a large landowner in the neighborhood and a prominent business man, living in the township until his death, April 18, 1881. In 1836 Mr. Orr, in company with Messrs. Tucker, Dilley, and Cobb, laid out a town called New Cincin- cinnati, on the Mississippi, a little above the mouth of Sandy. There is no record of any sale of lots and no building was done.
Aaron Trine settled in the western part of the town in 1849. The same year Luke Hadley settled on his farm about a mile south of the present village.
From 1851 to 1854 a small settlement of Scotch and Scotch-Cana- dians was made in Sections 3 and 4 near the edge of the towns of Bee- town and Glen Haven. There were Adam Batie (who had a large family of sons and daughters, most of them grown), William John- stone, and William and Peter Thornton.
The first settler on the site of the village was Enos P. Finn, who built a cabin on the site of the lower mill-pond in 1841 and entered the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of that section. A little farther to the east Amos A. Franklin built a cabin in 1842. That year Mr. Finn raised some corn on the bottom, probably the first ag- riculture in the vicinity. Mr. Philemlee built a cabin on the site of Brooklyn in 1842. After a residence of two or three years here all three of these settlers left, Finn and Franklin going to Patch Grove, and the site of the village to-be was left in loneliness. The site (except Mr, Finn's entry) was entered by Richard G. Shipley in 1850. In 1845 William Buchanan had opened a farm on the hill near the upper mill-pond, and Silas A. McApes another just west of Buchanan in 1849.
TAFTON BECOMES A VILLAGE.
In 1852 Mr. Shipley sold his land to D. W. Taft and P. C. Schuyler and went to California. Mr. Taft soon bought out his partner and began the building of a grist-mill. A rough board house was put up a little north of the present hotel and used as a boarding house. A man named McIntosh was the proprietor. Mrs. Henry Palmer, after- ward of Wyalusing, cooked and washed for all the men working on the mill. The village was laid out in 1855, C. W .. Hayden being the surveyor. Mr. Taft had a dwelling built near the mill, the one now occupied by the Telephone exchange. Jesse Brooks, who has been for thirty-seven years a resident of the village, did the plastering on this
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building and others in the new town. In 1852 Ira Stockwell came in and established a blacksmith shop and built a dwelling, afterward occupied by Mr. Benham and Orrin Wilson, and now belonging to James Sprague. The mill was finished in 1853, William C. Warwick being the first miller. Mr. Warwick had come into the township in 1845, and had been a farmer. The next year a new set of buhrs was put into the mill, enabling it to do first-class work, and it proved a potent factor in building up the new village. In 1854 a store was opened by Benham & Glines on the corner where the hotel now stands. In 1855 a post-office was established at the village with Mr. Benham as postmaster. It was supplied by a tri-weekly mail line from Lan- caster to West Union, Iowa. A post-office was also established at Bunker Hill the same year and supplied by the same line. The people in and near the venerable towns of Beetown and Patch Grove looked with little favor on the rising young village, and for many years they contemptuously called it "Plugtown." When a petition for a post- office was being circulated, the sarcastic Frank Barr, then postmaster at Beetown, said there never would be as much mail at Plugtown as one could carry in his hat.
About 1858 a rival to Tafton was started on the hill where the Congregational cemetery now is. A Congregational church was built there and a village called Waveland was projected by Samuel Tracy and Rev. Ira Tracy. But a church proved to be not so good a found- ation for a village as a mill; Tafton grew, Waveland did not, and the church "went west to grow up with the country."
In 1856 Dr. R. C. Brooks settled in the village and practiced there till his death in 1864. Leonard S. Osborn came in 1856 and bought out Mr. Glines, the mercantile firm then becoming Benham & Osborn. That year Tafton had the best celebration of the Fourth in the coun- ty, although some of the old Democrats complained that it was a Fremont ratification meeting. In the spring of 1858 Orrin Wilson ar- rived from Ohio and opened a stock of goods in a part of his residence, the house built by Ira Stockwell. About this time James C. Traner established a blacksmith shop in the village. The other residents at this time who have not been previously mentioned were Dr. Allen (a dentist ), Prof. M. T. Allen, Prof. David Parsons, William Holford, Elijah Mount (a carpenter), George W. Bowers, Elder E. M. Lewis (the Baptist minister, whose dwelling was where James Ballantine's house now stands), Aaron S. Osborn, Mr. Stone. L. S. Northrop, John
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Collier (a blacksmith), and a few others. William Cole had moved his store building up from Beetown, but did not put in a stock of goods; he used the upper story as a residence. All of those mentioned had built residences. J. W. Brackett came from Ohio about 1855 and settled on a farm a mile east of town.
In 1859 W. H. Brown came from Patch Grove and opened a store on the southeast corner of the public square. His brother, D. F. Brown, soon joined him. The building was afterward moved down to Canal Street, where it was occupied as a store by the Browns and others until it was swept away in the fire of 1897. In 1859 Fred A. Savage and Harry Savage came from Prairie du Chien and opened a store in the large frame building close to the mill.
The war, with all its excitement and its draining away of Tafton's young men, did not stop the steady growth of the village. In 1862 Otis Weld put in a harness-shop, and about 1864 George H. Smith put in another. In 1863 Linn Hoskins opened a furniture and under- taking business which grew to large dimensions. He carried it on un- til his death in 1888, eince which time it has been carried on by his son, R. N. Hoskins.
In 1864 the old store building on the corner of Canal and Mill Streets was refitted and enlarged for a hotel building. It was succes. sively occupied by. Simon Woodhouse, Samuel Woodhouse, George Harger, Mark Hadley, and J. M. Donnelly. A new store building, at present occupied by A. J. Frazier, was built on the upper side of Canal Street and occupied by Wilson & Osborne-Orrin Wilson and L. S. Osborne, his son-in-law. This firm afterward became Wilson & Wheeler, Wheeler, Wilsons & Co., and as the senior members died, Os- borne & Cobb, in 1880. Meanwhile D. F. and W. H. Brown had dis- solved partnership, the latter opening another store, and the former taking into partnership George H. Greer, who withdrew in 1866 and established another store in company with his son, Frank L. Greer. The senior withdrew from the business in 1880. D. F. Brown built his large stone store on Canal Street in 1864. In 1868 James M. Grant built a store building on the lower side of Canal Street and opened a store, afterward taking into partnership his son Frank, con- ducting the business till his death in December, 1875. In 1877 the Grangers established a cooperative store in the Grant- building. Geo. Sprague was the first manager and he was succeeded in 1881 by Chas. R. Thomas. In 1870 L. D. Holford and W. H. Holford established the
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first drug store in the place, afterward putting in a stock of groceries. In 1880 L. D. Holford and James Sprague built the fine stone block on the corner of Canal and Congress Streets which was occupied by Hol- ford's drugstore and Greer's store.
But while the village was thus flourishing, trouble befell its found- er, D. W. Taft. Getting into financial difficulties, the mill property fell into the hands of the mortgagee, Cyrus Sargent, who soon after transferred it to Woodhouse & Thomas. A good many of the villagers had become unfriendly to Mr. Taft and through their influence the name of the village, township, and post-office was changed to Bloom- ington in 1867. The change in the name of the town and the village was made by the legislature. Before this the village had been divided into factions on the academy matter, and now one faction espoused the cause of Taft and Tafton and the others that of Bloomington. The County Board was petitioned to change the name back to Tafton, and at its annual session in November, 1867, the Board ordered a special election to determine the matter; but if the town neglected to hold such election, then the name should be changed to Tafton. Such election was held and the name Bloomington received 143 votes and the name Tafton 96 votes.
There were matters which operated against the prosperity of the city. Unfortunate differences caused the decline of the academy in 1863, which had been an important factor in the prosperity of the place. In 1867 James C. Traner, who, in addition to his wagon and blacksmith business, had built up a large business in the manufacture of plows, removed to Prairie du Chien, and for the first time in the history of the place, there were vacant dwellings in the village. But others took his place to some extent. Max Kolb and William Batie built up a large business in the manufacture of wagons, and Mess- more & Merrill opened a foundry in 1868.
The mill, which had been the backbone of the place, also declined. The flow of the creek decreased as years passed, and first the old pond and then the new one filled up with mud, so that no head of water could be retained. It stood idle a good deal of the time. It was re- fitted in 1891 by Mr. Stockert, but did not do a great deal of work. It is now run as a feed mill by O. J. Day.
In 1871 a bank was established by William Humphrey and W. B. Clark. In 1875 it was moved into a new and commodious brick building on the upper side of Canal Street, where it still remains. Af-
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ter running the bank about twelve years Humphrey & Clark sold it to Peter Woodhouse and P. Bartley, who still conduct it. M. F. Woodhouse is cashier.
A creamery was established on the eastern edge of the village in 1883 by Mr. Schulte, and was very successful for some years, but was discontinued, and another one established half a mile southwest of the village in 1894. It is now operated by a stock company of which Hiram Cliff is president and M F. Woodhouse secretary.
CASUALTIES.
Bloomington has not suffered as many of these as most towns. The first one was an explosion in the store of Benham & Osborne, in February, 1857. Mr. J. F. Benham was about to measure out some machine oil and took a can which he supposed to contain oil and placed it on the stove to warm it. It proved to contain powder, which exploded. The front of the store was blown out and the build- ing otherwise damaged. Mr. Benham was knocked senseless, and was badly burned and the sight of one eye destroyed. The next accident was less serious. A donation party was held in the building just across the street from the hotel January 31, 1857. The floor on which the party was assembled gave way, precipitating them all into the basement, where the supper table was set. The supper was worse damaged than any of the party. One lady put her foot into a large piece of butter whose elaborate molding had called forth a good deal of admiration before the accident, and another landed (if landed is the appropriate word) in a wash-boiler full of oyster soup.
A similar accident occurred February 2, 1878. A large crowd had assembled in the office of Jesse Boooks to witness a trial. The room was built high over the race. The floor gave way and the crowd went down into the race. There was wild scrambling for a time: Adelbert Bates had an ankle broken; Edward Garside was severely in- jured, and John Hicklin somewhat less so. Esq. Brooks received a severe cut in the head.
On the morning of December 15, 1883, the village was shocked to learn that John Stanley had committed suicide by shooting himself. Mr. Stanley was a bachelor of about forty-five, a good business man and with a comfortable property. No cause for the act was known.
On the 28th of October, 1883, Cyrus Sargent. the wealthiest man in West Grant, was killed by falling from a load of straw and break- ing his neck. Mr. Sargent came to Grant County in 1842 and taught
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school in Beetown. He early in life became a money-lender and con- tinued to be such until his death. He remained unmarried and was frugal and economical. He became a large landholder in the county, principally through his loans of money. He became owner of three or four mills through foreclosure of mortgages. His acquaintances had an exaggerated idea of his wealth, which was supposed to be at least half a million, but which proved to be about $85,000. It was inher- ited by his brother and his niece. He had a good education and was exceptionally endowed intellectually. He was not an office-holder nor an office-seeker. He did not care for any of the smaller offices. He would have been willing to be a Congressman and would have been a good one; but as things were the idea of "tapping a bar'l" to pay the expenses of the boys in "whooping it up" for him-a .very neces- sary thing for a congressional candidate to do-was horrifying to him.
On the night of January 19, 1893, Mr. Augove of the firm of Hickok & Augove, saloon-keepers, was fatally burned. He noticed that considerable oil bad leaked from a kerosene barrel, in the saloon, and thought to get rid of it by burning it. It made a larger fire than be bad supposed, did he attempted to put it out by striking it with his eoat scattering the flames in every direction. The heat exploded two lamps over his head, scattering the burning oil over him. The fre was extinguished but not until Mr. Angove was fatally burned.
THE GREAT FIRE.
For nearly forty-five years Bloomington existed as a village with- out a house being burned. a remarkable record. The Finn building caught fire three times, but each time the fire was discovered in time to be extinguished without serious damage. But at last, on the night of March 22, 1897, what everybody had been expecting for thirty years happened, and two-thirds of the business part of the vil- lage was swept away in a night. The burned part consisted of a row of wooden buildings extending for about two hundred yards along the south side of Canal Street, adjoining or very close to each other. As the village was entirely without fire apparatus, it was evident that when one of these buildings burned all must go.
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