History of Grant County, Wisconsin, Part 108

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1044

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On the 1st of February, 1848, a charter was granted by the Grand Lodge of the State, to R. Chapman, N. H. Virgin, R. Milton, John N. Jones, A. M. Holliday and Noah Hutchins, with the following officers : N. H. Virgin, N. G .; A. M. Holliday, V. G .; J. N. Jones, R. S .; Robert Milton, P. S., and N. Hutchins, Treas. The society remained in the Masonic Hall until 1858, when it procured accommodations in the third story of James Kellogg's building, corner of Main and Pine streets, which were fitted up and furnished at a cost of $1,800, and have since been occupied.

The present membership is stated as numbering fifty-five of the craft ; the value of lodge property at $1,200; and the officers to be William Grindell, N. G .; J. L. Nye, V. G .; Philip Eden, R. S .; H. J. Traber, P. S .; and Charles G. Marshall, Treas. Meetings are held weekly, on Friday evenings.

Platteville Encampment, No. 47, I. O. O. F .- was instituted December 6, 1871, under a dispensation granted upon application of Patriarchs B. F. Chase, John Grindell, J. L. Nye, Alexander Butler, B. F. Dugdale, J. M. Guernsey, S. M. Tracy and E. M. Wilson. The first officers were : William Grindell, C. P .; C. H. Nye, H. P. ; F. R. Chase, S. W .; S. M. Tracy, Scribe; and Alexander Butler, Treasurer.

The present membership is twenty, and the encampment has a capital of say $200; with the following officers : H. H. Wright, C. P. ; William Grindell, H. P .; T. D. Bass, S. W .; Joseph Weston, Scribe; and C. G. Marshall, Treasurer.

Meetings are held semi-monthly, on the first and third Mondays.

Badger Lodge, No. 6, A. O. N. W .- was organized April 16, 1877, with the subjoined mem- bers and officers : W. H. Beebe, G. D. Streeter, E. R. Frederick, A. T. Davidson, H. J. Tra- ber, J. H. Parnell, T. J. Hooper. J. C. Hooper, H. H. Virgin, A. F. Buss, J. T. Munger, H. D. Thiele and G. C. Handy ; H. H. Virgin, P. M. W. ; G. T. Streeter, M. W .; H. J. Traber, Overseer; J. C. Hooper, Foreman ; H. D. Thiele, Financier ; W. H. Beeber, Recorder.

The lodge now has thirty-seven members, with the following officers, and meets every Thurs- day evening in lower Masonic Hall, corner of Pine and Court House streets : Edward Frederick, P. M. W. ; H. J. Traber, M. W .; J. T. Davidson, Overseer ; Stephen Alger, Foreman ; W. Cowduroy, Financier ; A. J. Buss, Recorder ; and John H. Parnell, Guide.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

OTHER SOCIETIES.

The Young Men's Library Association .- A society for social and intellectual improvement composed of the young men and older residents of the city of Platteville, was organized early in the year 1868, and has attained a liberal growth and prosperity. By an act of the Legislature approved February 22, of the same year, A. J. McCarn, John E. Gurley, Richard Carter, Charles H. Allen, A. W. Bell, W. H. Bebee, George B. Carter, J. H. Evans, M. P. Rinlaub, George W. Eastman, Frank A. Hawley, Fay R. Chase, and W. E. Carter, were declared to be- a body corporate under the title above designated, with the privileges and immunities appertain- ing thereto. Immediately upon the passage of the act of incorporation, the association duly or- ganized by the election of W. E. Carter as President, A. J. McCarn, Treasurer, and J. H. Jones, Secretary ; 110 shares of stock were disposed of and paid for, a library room was estab- lished at the residence of E. W. Thomas; Miss Thomas was appointed Librarian and the colla- tion of books and articles of interest to the literary inclined commenced. This labor has been prosecuted with such vigor and so advantageonsly that at present the association control a total of 1,300 volumes, the selections embracing the choicest productions of the best authors of fiction, history, philosophy, poetry and the arts, in addition to standard authorities and reference books on these subjects. In addition to these advantages the association has recently provided an annual course of lectures on various subjects, and by this and other means been enabled to contribute to the education and edification of an appreciative and intelligent constituency. The labors of the members have not been without results, as is evidenced by the support extended their efforts and the society promises to fully realize the most sanguine expectations of its founders.

Meetings are held annually on the fourth Monday in January, and the present officers are: J. V. Hollman, President ; E. J. Buck and D. McGregor, Vice Presidents; O. F. Griswold, Treasurer and W. B. Wyne, Secretary, with F. A. Chase, M. Sickle, H. J. Traber and W. S. Northrop, Board of Directors.

The Young Men's Catholic Association of Platteville-An association of recent date, composed of the younger members of St. Mary's Church, with the object of promoting literary tastes, Christian virtues and total abstinence from intoxicating drinks. It was organized April 3, 1881, with a membership of fifty, and the following officers, who are still serving, elected : J. C. Cleary, President; J. V. Gardner, Vice President ; John J. Barden, Secretary, and E. Schlater, Treasurer, with the Rev. W. G. Miller as Spiritual Director.

Meetings are held alternate Sabbath evenings in the rooms of the Reform Club, the exer- cises consisting of debates, essays and brochures of a literary character.

The Platteville Reform Club .- On the 29th of July, 1877, a movement in behalf of tem- perance reform was inaugurated at the Congregational Church in Platteville, under the manage- ment of Jacob H. Hoffstiller, of Sterling, Ill., and H. W. Rowell, of Rockford, in the same State, both zealous agitators in the cause and reformed inebriates. From this sprang the present club, which was organized August 7 following, at a meeting held for that purpose, at which a committee consisting of W. H. Deffenbacher, J. D. Alford, Silas W. Traber, William Jones and Silas W. Streeter was appointed, by whom a constitution and by-laws were prepared, and the same adopted at a subsequent meeting, when the following officers were elected : A. L. Brown, President ; Charles Potter, Vice President ; J. H. Robertson, Secretary ; B. A. Jacobs, Treas- urer, and J. W. Smelker, Chaplain ; George B. Carter, Bryon O'Neil and William Martin, Executive Committee; G. D. Streeter, E. J. Bentley and R. J. Huntington, Grievance Com- mittee.

At present, the membership of the club is stated at 200. Meetings are convened weekly, and the following are the officers : A. L. Brown, President ; L. J. Washburn, Vice President; J. A. Calason, Secretary ; J. P. Sampson, Treasurer, and S. Haw, Chaplain ; James Dyer, John Cavanaugh and William Cox, Executive Committee.

Platteville Loan and Building Association .- An association, for the purpose of affording members an opportunity for the safe investment of their savings, facilitate the acquisition of

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

homes, and for other purposes specified in the charter. It was incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin in May, 1876, by Alexander Butler, H. J. Traber, Hanmer Robbins, W. H. Beebe and A. W. Bell. The officers elected at the first meeting were Hanmer Robbins, President ; E. F. Newton, Vice President ; C. W. Hill, Secretary, and H. J. Traber, Treasurer. To become a member ownership of stock is necessary, paid for in monthly installments, and thus far 500 shares have been issued.

At present, the association possesses a membership of 200; controls $16,000 invested in first mortgages on real estate, and has $536 in cash.

Meetings are convened annually on the third Wednesday in May for the election of officers, and monthly on the third Wednesday for the transaction of routine business.

The present officers are Hanmer Robbins, President; E. F. Newton, Vice President; G. M. Guernsey, Secretary, and H. J. Traber, Treasurer.

Legal Benevolent Society .- An association of Germans organized in March, 1867, as the name would indicate, for benevolent purposes, by Conrad Sender, Hans Spalth, Henry C. Miller, Ernst Johnson, Christian Fosz, Christian Peterson and Henry Fosz. The initiation fee was placed at $8, and the annual dues at $6. Members receive $4 per week during sickness, and upon their death in addition to $40 for funeral expenses, the widow was paid $4 per month for herself, and $1 each for children under fourteen years of age for the same length of time. But these regulations have since been changed, the widow or family of deceased now receiving $500 in lieu of monthly allowances. At first the society held meetings in a hall in Rountree's building on Main street; but of late years their convocations have assembled in the Masonic Hall. The charter officers were Hans Spalth, Baron ; Ernst Johnson, Vice Baron ; Conrad Sander, Treasurer, and Henry C. Miller, Secretary. The present officers are Conrad Sander, Baron ; Christain Fosz, Vice President; Jacob Karman, Treasurer, and Henry Meilhopf, Secretary.

MANUFACTORIES.

Laflin & Rand Powder Company .- The manufacture of gunpowder was commenced in a primitive way during the reign of Edward III, of England, about 1345, but not thoroughly established until the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when the improved art was brought from Flanders by Evelyns. Some authors contend, however, that Bartholobus Schwartz discovered this explo- sive in the year 1320, and that it was used by the Venetians during a war with the Genoese in the years immediately succeeding. George Evelyn, grandfather of the celebrated Sir John, had mills at Long Dulton, near Kingston, in Surrey, and at Leigh Place, near Godstone, in the same county, and these seem to have been the first of any importance in the British kingdom.

The manufacture of gunpowder in the United States is nearly as old as the Constitution, and is chiefly confined to the Northern and Middle States. In the fall of 1848, F. A. Stowell and E. H. Stowell, accompanied by D. Marble, wandered West from the "stern and rock-bound coast" of Maine, in search of fortune and its inseparable companion happiness, believed to be hidden with the fountain of youth among the hills and vales, landscaped on the hither side of the Alleghenies. They visited Platteville, and after examining the advantages of a position with a view to that end, decided to locate a powder-mill. After some negotiation, the property for- merly known as " Griffith's saw-mill," on the Little Platte, about one and a half miles northwest of the present city, was purchased as a site, upon which buildings were erected, and the mill fairly put in operation during the summer of 1849. The improvements completed by these gen- tlemen were, from all accounts, of rather limited capacity, sufficient, however, to perform the work necessary, and nothing beyond the daily routine is supposed to have occurred until the summer of the year following. One day in July, J. R. Marble, who was employed in the packing-house, contracted an engagement with Dr. Hayes and the Misses Vineyard for an afternoon's ride, and proceeded to the mills for the purpose of concluding some work upon which he had been employed prior to his accepting the invitation. The day is represented to have been the exact counterpart of a day in April. The sun shone brilliantly at times ; at times obscured by clouds from which a passing shower would be distilled, lasting but an instant, when they would once

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

more open as the gates of paradise, amid which the god of day, smiling through tears, was revealed, and causing the foliage of trees that lined the village streets to sparkle in regal mag- nificence. Suddenly, and without any premonitory sign, a dull, smothered, as it were half- suppressed report, like the mutterings of distant thunder, was heard, and the residents, for miles around, instinctively knew that an accident had happened at the mills. A multitude of citizens hurried to the scene, and realized the truth of their apprehensions in the destruction of the pack- ing-house, the debris of which was scattered far and wide, as also were the remains of the unfort- unate victim, who was within the walls of the structure, when the accident occurred. A few frag- ments of his mutilated anatomy were gathered together and decently interred ; the premises were rebuilt, and business resumed by the surviving partners. They remained in charge until the fall of 1854 ; neither accident nor incident happening during that period to disturb the usual current of events ; when E. Bayley purchased a half-interest in the venture, the success of which had by this time become assured. He retained the control of his moiety until the following spring, when a sale was affected, and the firm was known as Stowell, Turck & Co., being composed of E. and F. Stowell, and Solomon and John Turck. Some years later, Dwight Laflin, S. H. Laflin, F. Laflin and Solomon A. Smith purchased control ; and, in January, 1867, the Laflin & Smith Powder Company succeeded to the ownership. This continued until 1869, when the Smith Powder Company and the Laflin Powder Company consolidated, and the establishment has since been conducted as the Laflin & Rand Powder Company, being composed of the Laflin brothers, A. T. Rand, Sol A. Smith, Jr., the Smith heirs, and S. and J. Turck, with A. T. Rand, as President ; Edward Greene, Secretary and Treasurer ; and E. F. Newton, Superintendent.

The company now own a tract of 175 acres, of low, seemingly unreclaimed land, rather thickly overgrown with trees and tangled vines, one of those neglected spots where everything has so long been permitted to have its own way that even a bold cultivation might well pause before it in despair. A rank vegetation overspreads the valley, for the place is a valley of awful possibilities, in savage exuberance, defiant almost of human efforts to accomplish its subjugation. Trees innumerable cluster along the banks of the Little Platte, which creeps its way sluggishly to the Father of Waters. Occasional oaks and sycamores display their superiority, while here and there green foliage of a cedar or pine crowds its way upward into the sunlight, rejoicing in its privilege and in its thrift. Bushes flourish in impenetrable masses underneath, while over- head vines are interlaced and clamber from tree to tree in vigorous luxuriance, reveling in the enjoyment of weaving their fantastic draperies undisturbed. Scattered about the valley with an air of carelessness, as it were, but really with an eye to security, are the buildings wherein the destructive combustible is "incorporated, pressed, corned, dried," and made ready for market. The buildings are low, unpretentious structures, built as cheaply as comports with durability and convenience, partially of brick and partially of frame, and bearing the impress of the busi- ness for which they have been erected in the sooty stains traced upon their sides. ' At a distance from these are the furnaces for the manufacture of coal; near by is the superintendent's office, past which a roadway meanders to the river, over the hills, out into the sunlight, to the city. Near the banks of the river stands the engine house, and equi-distant between the cylinder mills is a stone building where the steam is distributed to run the machinery, dry the powder, and for other purposes. Taken altogether, the place, if failing to present an altogether forsaken appearance, would hardly be selected as the scene of a picnic or hustings.

The gunpowder manufactured by this company contains 75 per cent of niter, 14 per cent of charcoal and 11 per cent of brimstone, and the preparation and mixing of these ingredients require a knowledge, judgment and caution almost equal to that employed in the presentation of an intricate chancery plea. The charcoal is distilled from willow and what is known as the " Quaking Aspen," which is readily obtained in the vicinity, stripped of its bark and corded up to undergo a process of seasoning. This requires several months, and the supply constantly on hand can be easily measured. When the seasoning is concluded, immense quantities of it are taken to the furnaces and stacked within the retorts, each 12x14, constructed of brick, with apertures in the side, through which the steam and smoke escape. The fires are then lighted,

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

and the mass is left to burn slowly until it is sufficiently baked, when the drafts are closed and sealed, and the "grist " remains until it is required at the mills.

The refinery is of frame, 20x30, containing the constituent parts of powder, i. e., charcoal, niter and brimstone, and is also used for weighing the same and tempering the saltpeter. This latter, as is well known, is peculiarly susceptible to moisture, and until this dampness is elimin- ated, the essential feature of gunpowder cannot be ground, or incorporated with the charcoal and sulphur. To overcome such an immeasurable impediment, an adjoining building is supplied with a furnace, upon which rests a huge iron pan 6x12, capable of accommodating one thousand pounds of niter. In this the latter is placed, where it is stirred and manipulated for a certain length of time, when every particle of saltpeter is cleansed and dried ready for weighing. These preliminaries having been disposed of, the component parts are carefully weighed in canvas bags, placed on a car, which moves noiselessly over a narrow-guage railroad track to the cylinder rooms, distant fully a quarter of a mile from the furnaces and refinery.

The cylinder mills are two in number, each one-story frames, 20x30, and are really the most dangerous points that can be encountered by a visitor to the works. Each of these mills contain ten cylinders 22x7, and containing sufficient power in the composition for the destruc- tion of a city. In these cylinders the incorporation or thorough pulverization and mixture of the ingredients is accomplished. The manner of doing this is as follows: Each of the cylin- ders is charged with four hundred pounds of the composition and set in motion, revolving at the rate of fourteen revolutions per minute, and running from forty to fifty hours. The com- position is crushed by means of two hundred and fifty pounds of copper bullets, which, falling from side to side with the composition at each revolution of the cylinder, resolves it into dust fine as flour. By the old process of " crushing," wheels were employed, and two hours only were occupied in its incorporation. But if left ten minutes longer than long enough, the rollers, instead of traveling over the mass as they should, were apt to push it along in front until at last the iron roller would strike the iron bed, when there is a noise and the mill "went up." The process in use by the Laflin & Rand Company avoids this imminent danger ; and, while, as the Superintendent observed, danger at the works was measured by the proximity of objects and the curious to the cylinder mills, the same is by no means as unavoidable as formerly. When the composition has been ground up and thoroughly incorporated as described, it is removed from the cylinders and placed in tubs preparatory to removal to the pressing rooms, distant about one thousand feet. Cars are the means of conveyance employed, not only here, but in com- munication with the graining, drying and packing departments. The powder, when taken from the cylinders, is exceedingly fine, of a uniform dark-gray color, and free from glittering particles of sulphur, or specks of any sort.

The pressing room is also of frame, of dimensions similar to the cylinder mills, furnished with an hydrostatic press of great strength and power. Here the crushed powder is pressed into cakes in the following manner : The operator takes a copper sheet about two feet square and a piece of canvas of the same size, a quantity of powder about an inch in depth, shaped and measured by a wooden frame, is laid upon the canvas, then another canvas and another copper, and so on, the process being repeated until a mountain of powder sandwiches at least three feet in height is produced, when the operator, finishing with a copper sheet, pushes the frame upon which this pile rests carefully until it stands directly beneath a screw of the hydrostatic press which is set in motion, and so continues until resistance of the mass beneath exceeds the power brought to bear upon it, when the press becomes motionless; in a few moments, however, the settling of the powder relieves the pressure, when the power again becomes preponderant, and the screw makes another turn or two with a slow, grinding, painful sound, suggestive of the instruments torture the Inquisition gave birth to. This alternation of rest and motion continues for about two hours, when, every particle of resistance having been crushed out, the power is relieved by reversing the motion of the press and sliding the frame back to its first position. The copper sheet is raised from the top, the canvas stripped away, and the first layer of powder taken out in a thin, solid cake, technically known as press-cake. The operation of pressing preserves the powder and prevents

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

its deterioration. The power of gunpowder, assert works on the subject, depends upon the rapid evolution of certain gases from it while in course of combustion, and the effort of these gases to escape from the gun-chamber where they are combined is what carries the ball to its mark ; the more rapid the combustion, the greater evolution of gas at a given instant, and mill- cake powder burns as much more rapidly than pressed powder as shavings do than a block of wood. From the press-room the cake is taken to the graining house.

The graining house is at the usual distance from the remaining buildings, and is supplied with ten cylinders with a capacity of twenty-five kegs of powder each. Upon the cake reach- ing this department, it is subjected to a grinding process, being run through cog-wheels sup- plied for that purpose, which, with the cylinders, are propelled by water-power. From between these cog-wheels, the powder falls upon a horizontal wire screen, to which a constant lateral motion is imparted, so that the finer particles are shaken through upon an apron which carries them in one direction, while the coarser ones remaining upon the screen are thrown off and sub- mitted to another crushing process. They are then placed in the cylinders, which are revolved in a moderately swift manner, resulting in a certain degree of polish to the powder, the abrasion of the sharp corners and edges of the grains fitting it for closer packing, and more direct contact when fired. It is then run through a separator to size and graduate the grain, placed in barrels and wheeled to the drying room on the extreme point of the semi-circle in the form of which the buildings are ranged.

The drying room is of brick, 20x40, where the powder receives its finishing touches, and from the excessive heat necessary to that end, the explosive does not seem half as dangerous a substance, after all, as most people think. Here it is arranged in wooden trays, with paste- board bottoms, ranged in layers eight or ten feet high, and for seventy hours undergoes a sea- soning process, through the agency of hot air generated by a furnace located some yards dis- tant. By this means the last particle of moisture is eliminated, the saltpeter and sulphur are reduced to fusion, and the grain is protected from attracting moisture, even in a very humid at- mosphere. In addition, the strength of the combustible is increased and its energy improved. When the drying is completed, 'the powder is run into kegs, labeled, conveyed to the magazine, a mile off, in covered wagons, where it is kept in stock, as a marketable commodity.

Accidents .- In so critical an enterprise, a description of which, imperfect though it may be, is submitted, the public will appreciate the fact that accidents are not altogether unavoida- ble. That they have not been more numerous and disastrous, is due almost entirely to the care taken and diligence exercised for their prevention. The workmen are men of experience and judgment, and not only their comfort but their safety demands the caution characteristic of their service. For example, every particle of powder must be removed from their person and cloth- ing before running the chance of ordinary life at home, and every one of them takes a thorough bath, and changes every article of clothing, before leaving the mills at night. Their working clothes never leave the mills at all, and their home-clothes never come any further than the wash-house. Their shoes are without iron pegs, the " tools " used are selected because of their safety, and all things combine to render the hazardous undertaking as devoid of danger as pos- sible. Yet in spite of these attempts at prevention, accidents have occurred.

The first has already been noticed, and the second occurred on the night of Monday, No- vember 7, 1870. This occurred in the cylinder mill. Materials for about 200 kegs of powder were in the cylinders, and with the exception of the water-wheel and a portion of the flume, not a vestige of the building or machinery was left. The charred fragments were thrown in every direction, and many of the copper balls in the cylinders were found a mile away. In one of - the workshops a clock was hanging against the side of the building, secured by an iron strip. The explosion caused it to tilt forward, and stop at the hour the explosion is supposed to have occurred-a quarter past 10. The damage sustained was estimated at $5,000. There was no loss of life.

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History of Grant County, Wisconsin, Part 108

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co. Number of Pages: 1044

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1044