History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 122

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: [Chicago : Western Historical Co.?]
Number of Pages: 1050

USA > Wisconsin > Grant County > History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin > Part 122

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The church was without the guidance of a Pastor for over four years from this date. This lapse was broken when Rev. Waldron was sent to act as Pastor for two years. Rev. Mr. Tree- water was the next Pastor, and remained two years up to 1881, when Rev. Mr. Smith was again sent to assume charge of the church, and is the present Pastor, holding meetings every alternate week in the old schoolhouse, purchased by the society, for a comparatively small sum of money, from the town at the time of the erection of a larger school building in 1860.

Lutheran Church .- The first meetings of this society were held by the Rev. Winter. The first place of worship was situated about five miles south of the village, the land on which the church and school stood, at this time, being the gift of Rev. Winter. Under his fostering care the congregation grew quite prosperous, and it was with feelings of unfeigned regret that they witnessed his departure to another field of labor. In 1869, the idea was conceived of moving the church to Muscoda. The plan met with favor, and land was purchased for a small sum and the present church building, 30x50 feet, was erected in 1870, at a cost of $1,500.

Rev. Zwolanck was the first Pastor in the new location, serving for one year, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Remi, whose pastorate extended over a period of three years, during which time the church enjoyed a season of great prosperity. After the departure of Rev. Remi, the society was without a Pastor until 1877. This year, the Rev. Andewood was secured, and who has remained the spiritual guide of the little flock up to the present time.

SOCIETIES.

Orion Lodge, No. 70, A., F. g. A. M., of Richmond, now Orion, Richland Co., received its dispensation to work from Grand Master Henry M. Billings, at Highland. Iowa Co., June 26, 1855. The dispensation was granted to D. L. Downs, as W. M .; J. T. Barnes, S. W., and Levi Houts, J. W. The lodge was regularly instituted June 12, 1856, and Messrs. Downs, Barnes and Houts were the first officers.

The lodge remained at ()rion and prospered, but was transferred to Muscoda March 20, 1875, when the name of the lodge was changed to. Muscoda Lodge, No. 70. This was approved by J. P. C. Cottrill, Grand Master of Wisconsin, April 6. 1875. The lodge hold their regu- lar meetings the first and third Saturdays of each month. The present membership is twenty- eight. The officers are P. A. Daggett, W. M .; A. C. V. Elston, S. W .; S. Wentworth, J. W .; S. C. McDonald, Sec'y ; John Young, Treas .; John Swingle, S. D .; M. Briggs, J. D.

Muscoda Lodge, No. 58, A., F. § A. M., received its dispensation from the Grand Lodge of the State of Wisconsin March, 1854, and on June 12, 1855, a charter was granted author- izing J. B. Moore, as W. M .; A. A. Overton, S. W .; William G. Spencer, J. W. This lodge had a membership of nineteen, and continued to hold meetings until the 7th day of January, 1868, when the lodge notified the Grand Master of the State that the members had voted to surrender the charter, which was done June 18, 1868. The officers who were in office at the time of disbandment were S. C. McDonald, W. M .; A. R. Tyler, S. W .; O. P. Underwood, J. W .; Ralph Carver, Sec'y ; John Smalley, Treas.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

I. O. O. F .- On the 12th day of June, 1855, Deputy G. M. Stewart instituted Eureka Lodge, No. 73, by the authority of a charter granted by L. H. Kellogg, Grand Master of the State of Wisconsin, to C. G. Rodolf, N. G .; R. V. Alexander, V. G .; T. J. Graham, P. Sec'y ; O. P. Underwood, Sec'y ; A. Palmer, Treas. The charter members were A. Palmer, C. G. Rodolf, William N. Mongrief, O. P. Underwood, Richard V. Alexander and Thomas J. Gra- ham. The present membership is thirty-three, and the members are divided as follows : Initia- tory members, five ; members of the Degree of Friendship, five; members of the Degree of Truth, two; members of the Degree of Brotherly Love, twenty-one. Eleven of the members have attained the sublime position of Past Grand.

The lodge hold their meetings in Col. Moore's stone block, on Saturday evenings. The present set of officers are C. G. Rodolf, N. G .; Joseph Graham, V. G .; John Steward, Treas .; William Wilson, Sec'y ; J. C. West, Warden ; O. C. Deney, Conductor. The present Trust- ees are O. C. Deney, P. A. Daggett and William Wilsey.

THE PRESS.

Muscoda News .- The initial number of the News was put forth December 4, 1874, the proprietors and publishers being H. W. Glasier and Charles H. Darlington. This partnership continued but a brief space of time, and January 1, 1875, Mr. Darlington purchased his part- ner's interest and remained sole proprietor. The News was at this time, and has since remained a five-column quarto, neatly printed, and containing the latest local intelligence. During the campaign of 1876, a Republican campaign sheet sailing under the title of the Skirmisher, compelled the suspension of the regular publication May 1, 1877. From this date up to the 1st of September following, the News remained inert and lifeless, but at this date publication was resumed, and since continued without a break.

April 1, 1861, the paper passed into the hands of S. C. McDonald, under whose manage- ment it has been considerably improved, both in appearance and in the matter contained in its pages. It already has a circulation of over five hundred, and bids fair to far exceed this ere many months have passed. In politics the News is consistently and uncompromisingly Repub- lican.

Western Advance .- During the Presidential campaign of 1880, a small sheet with the above name was published in the interest of the Democratic party by Mr. Satterlee. The necessity which gave birth the venture having passed, it was discontinued under the pressure of financial embarrassments.

ELEVATORS.

Graham & Bremmer .- The main elevator used by this firm was erected in 1868, it being the first institution of the kind to be built in the village. The building is 22x60 feet in size and two stories high, a six-horse power engine furnishing the power for elevating purposes. In addition to this elevator, the same firm lease a second warehouse, 30x50 feet in size and two stories in height, the structure being known as the " Klengelschmidt warehouse."

Mc Kittrick & Sons .- This elevator was erected in 1872, and is 24x24 feet in ground dimensions, and thirty feet high; in addition, it has two wings, one 24x24 and the second 24x30. The capacity of the building is about 16,000 bushels of grain.

Steam Planing-mill .- This mill, owned and operated by Messrs. Grote & Umbarger, is a two-story frame structure, 22x60 feet in dimensions. All kinds of turning, matching and scroll-sawing are done here, in addition to which the firm manufactures the " Creamery Churn." The motive power is furnished by a ten-horse power engine, and the property has an estimated valuation of $3,000.

HOTELS.

The first hotel in Muscoda was a small one-story-and-a-half log building, built by L. J. D. Parrish in 1840. Mr. Parrish run this hotel until 1851, when he disposed of it to Jesse Locke, and it was then used by him as a dwelling house. James Moore built the second hotel in 1848.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

This was subsequently leased to one Potter, who ran it until 1860, when Hiram Wilsey pur- chased it and kept it for a short time only, disposing of it to Frank Neff. After operating it for some time, Mr. Neff moved it to its present location, and sold it to John P. Krause. Michael Meyer subsequently purchased and enlarged it, and is still its owner and proprietor.

The next hotel was erected in 1851 by William Salman, who disposed of it the next year to Allanson Dickinson. S. B. Ellston purchased it in 1855, and, in 1869, moved it to where it now stands and sold it to J. D. Pfieisterer, who has enlarged and operated it up to the present time.

In the fall of 1856, John Smalley erected a two-story frame building, which he run as a hotel until 1874, when it was moved to give room for his present elegant and commodious brick structure, which in size is 100x100, and three stories high. On the first floor is a bank, the office, sample room, dining room, kitchen, etc., while in the second and third stories is an elegant hall, 30x60, together with three parlors and forty sleeping rooms. This building is substantially constructed, representing a total cost of $20,000, and would be an ornament to any city.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

CHAPTER XIV.

TOWN OF BLOOMINGTON.

EARLY SETTLEMENT-TOWN OFFICERS-VILLAGE OFFICERS-SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES-THE PRESS -- BLOOMINGTON BANK-I. O. O. F .- I. O. G. T .- BLAKE'S PRAIRIE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

This township is bounded on the north by Wyalusing and Patch Grove, on the east by Little Grant and Beetown, on the south by Beetown and Glen Haven, and on the west extends to the Mississippi River, being in form one of the most irregular townships in the county. It contains within its limits 24,787 acres of land, something over one-half of which are under cultivation. The population of the township consists of many different nationalities, including Ameri- cans, English, Germans, Norwegians, French, Swedes and Irish.

The lands of the township are mostly high uplands, interspersed irregularly by " hollows," in one of which the village of Bloomington is located. In the north portion of the township the prairie predominates, and, as a consequence, these portions are highly arable, producing an ample variety of crops, including wheat, oats, corn, rye, barley, flax, hops and potatoes.

The first person to settle in this section, and from whom the broad plateau took its name, was Page Blake, who came about 1831, or possibly a year earlier, and built his cabin on what is now Section 17, Township 5, Range 5. From him the country about took the name of " Blake's Prairie," which appellation it has in a measure retained until the present day.

The first settler on the site of the present village was Mr. Enos P. Finn, who built a cabin on the land afterward covered by the waters of the mill-pond, in 1841. About the same time, a settler named Philemlee located over the brow of the hill in the east part of the present village. A little further to the east, Amos Franklin located and built a cabin the next year. The first grain raised in this immediate section was undoubtedly the crop of Indian corn raised by Mr. Finn the year after his arrival. Four or five acres were planted " upon the sod," and a boun- tiful yield was the result. Mr. Finn was a carpenter by trade, and being obliged to be away much of the time, thus leaving Mrs. Finn without companion or company in his absence, they removed after a short residence here to the vicinity of Patch Grove. Both Philemlee and Franklin also left " the hollow," and from this time until the advent of D. W. Taft. in 1850, it remained silent and deserted. The land occupied by the present village was entered by Richard J. Shipley in 1850, consisting of the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 26, Town 5, Range 5 west. Mr. Finn had previously entered, in 1841, the northwest quarter of

the northeast quarter. Shipley soon after sold his entry to Messrs. Taft and Schuyler. The last-named party sold his interest to his partner, D. W. Taft, who immediately commenced the erection of a flouring-mill. The first building to be erected was a board shanty which stood north of the present hotel, and was used as a boarding-house for the mechanics at work upon the mill. The presiding genius over this commissary department was a man named Mackintosh. In 1852, the house standing west of the mill, and now occupied by Mrs. Strong, was erected and used as a boarding and dwelling house by Mr. Taft, Mackintosh still remaining in charge of the boarding department. The contemplated improvements, of which the mill was evidently only the advance guard, quickly attracted settlers to the new place, and, in 1852, Ira Stockwell, the first village blacksmith, built a house on the corner of what is now . Canal and Congress streets. Stockwell's shop was built soon after, and stood in the rear of his dwelling, on Congress street. Mr. Jesse Brooks, present Town Clerk, assisted at the baptism of the new town by doing the mason work or plastering of the " mill house." The mill was finished and ready for operation by the summer of 1853, William C. Warwick being the first miller. During the following year,

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

the mill received a new set of buhrs, when it was spoken of as "one of the best equiped mer- chant and custom mills in the West." In 1854, also, the first store was opened by Benham & Glines in a one-story-and-a-half frame structure that was erected on the corner now occupied by the Bloomington House. The building remained standing until it was retired to make room for the hotel. The village was platted and surveyed in the year following, C. W. Hayden being the surveyor.

The presence of the mill, furnishing as it did a ready market for the grain raised in the country adjoining, pushed the new village along with rapid strides when compared with the tor- toise growth which usually was the characteristic of towns dependent solely upon the products of the soil for support. In 1859, William H. Brown moved his store from Patch Grove to its newly- fledged rival. The store was first located on Congress street, north of Canal street, about two blocks ; Mr. Brown's brother was associated with him in business soon afterward, and, in course of time, the building was removed to its present location on Canal street. Previous to Mr. Brown's arrival, F. A. Savage had started a store in the building just north of the mill, placing it in charge of his brother, Mr. Harry Savage. The settlers up to 1856, as related in a sketch of the town published some years ago, were D. W. Taft, P. C. Schuyler, J. L. Benham, Albert Glines, E. Mount, E. P. Finn, Mr. Mackintosh, Ira Stockwell, J. W. Brackett, John Collier, J. C. Trainer, Dr. Brooks, Dr. Allen, Prof. Allen, Smith Brown, L. Osborne, Orrin Wilson and a few others.

In this same year, Prof. M. T. Allen, by birth a South Carolinian, commenced the agitation of a project that in after-times did more than anything else to build up and further the growth of the new town. This scheme shortly afterward blossomed out into the " Tafton Collegiate Sem- inary," but was first opened in January, 1857, by Prof. Allen, as the "Blake's Prairie Insti- tute." About this time, Mr. Cole moved his store from Beetown to the village, and located on Congress street, above Canal, but did not open any stock, using the upper portion of the build- ing for a dwelling. Many residences had also been built-Elijah Mount's, still standing, one by E. W. Bowers, still standing on Canal street ; C. Trainer had also opened a second blacksmith- shop and built himself a dwelling ; Elder Lewis also had a residence further up on the hill north of the present business portion. A Mr. Northup also had a boarding-house on the present site of Mr. L. S. Osborne's residence. Elder Lewis' modest dwelling was located on the site now occupied by the handsome residence of Mr. James Ballentine. Up to this time, the new town had remained in Patch Grove Township. In 1859, by the action of the County Board, it was- detached from that township, and the present township formed under the name of Lander. This name which was bestowed on the town by Henry Patch, was changed almost immediately to Tafton. by which name it was known until 1867, when the name of the township was again changed to Bloomington by an act of the Legislature, which has remained its distinctive title up to the pres- ent time.

The first election and town meeting was ordered to be held at the "red schoolhouse ; " and here, in the spring of 1860, the following officers were elected : Supervisors, B. F. Hilton, Chairman, William Whellan and Horace J. Lord; Town Clerk, Dr. R. Brooks ; Treasurer, Isaac L. Benham ; Assessor, A. C. Stiles ; Town Superintendent of Schools, Cyrus Sargeant ; Justices, Samuel Tracy, Robert A. Lumpkin, William Halford ; Constables, Sargent Brasee, Jeff. Handy, Albert Francis.

The growth of the village continued to be steady, even if at times somewhat slow. The mill property had passed into the hands of Cyrus Sargeant, and through him under the manage- ment of Woodhouse & Thomas. Under the charge of these gentlemen, it became a valuable adjunct to the growth of the village by making a ready market for the large amount of grain then being grown in the township. Trade naturally flowed into this direction, and new business houses sprang up one after another, nearly all of which remain till the present time.

Of accidents or visits from the scourges that had made such havoc in other sections, Bloom- ington, or Tafton, as it was then known, was comparatively free. Of the former class, there had been two examples in the early days of the town. The first, which startled the steady-

DeArmstrong M. L.

BOSCOBEL.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

going citizens, came near having a disastrous ending. The firm of Benham & Glines had been succeeded by Benham & Osborne, the senior partner of which one winter's day was called upon for some machine oil. This, unfortunately, was contained in a can similar in size and shape to to the can which held powder, the store being, as was customary in those days, one of those all-embracing affairs where anything, from a needle to a horse and dray, was to be had. Mr. Benham seized, as he supposed, the oil can, but finding the oil would not run, sat it upon the stove in the store to warm. Taking it up in a few moments, he turned the can up to see if the oil would run, when there poured forth a stream of powder, followed by a blinding flash and a loud report, which brought those in the vicinity quickly to the scene. A strange sight met their eyes; the front of the store was shattered and torn as if it had been the target for a heavy bombardment ; the force of the concussion had lifted the plates which supported the rafters, and displaced them several inches, besides raising the studding from the floor, while the innocent cause of the disaster lay blinded and senseless on the floor. He was carried to his home, where it was found that the sight of one eye would be permanently destroyed, but from other effects of the explosion he soon recovered.

The second affair of the kind followed only a short time later, at a donation party given to Elder Lewis, in the "mill-house." While all were assembled on the upper floor, engaged in conversation and the harmless sports characteristic of these gatherings in early days, the floor suddenly gave way in the center, forming a gigantic mill-hopper, down which the assembled throng were thrown helter-skelter to the floor below. The tables that had been in preparation for the coming meal saved the victims of the accident from anything worse than a few contusions and a bad scare. The oyster soup was also placed hors du combat by the introduction of a foreign substance, but aside from a few trifles of this nature, the damages were merely nominal, and the incident was afterward productive of more mirth than grief.

During the years of the war, the town seemed to show no signs of standing still, but, on the contrary, appeared to put on new life. In the years succeeding the war, when the prices of farm products began to decline, bringing as it did disastrous consequences to those who had not been wise enough to foresee the inevitable result, and so trim their sails as not to feel the full effects of the blow, Bloomington, for the first time since its first settlement, showed signs of going backward. With the re-adjustment of values, prosperity again shone bright and fair upon the village, which once more resumed its growth, which has been steady and without incident up to the present time.

As regards this steady progress, with hardly a perceptible drawback, the history of Bloom- ington is somewhat peculiar. Probably no town in the southwestern portion of the State can show so spontaneous a growth. This is due in a great measure to the fertile country that sur- rounds it on every side, possessed of a soil which will rank in productiveness with that of any portion of the State. Bloomington is in the center of a gold mine, but the precious metal lies on the top of the ground, and not underneath. Bloomington at present contains four general merchandise stores, one co-operative store, formerly a grange store, one drug-store, two hardware stores, two butcher-shops, three shoemakers, two saddler-shops, three blacksmith-shops, one wagon-shop, one confectionery store, six milliners' shops, four saloons, one bank, one paper, the Bloomington Record, and one machine-shop.

Up to the year 1880, Bloomington had remained unincorporated. In the fall of that year, a meeting was held in the Record office, for the purpose of considering the question of incor- porating the village. Mr. Samuel Woodhouse was chosen Chairman, and Mr. Jesse Brooks Secretary. After some desultory talk, a committee of five was appointed to take the initiatory . steps toward incorporation. A petition was prepared and forwarded to Judge Cothern, Judge of the District, and a charter was granted by him. The first election was held under this charter November 22, 1880. Below is given a list of town and village officers, from the organi- zation of the town to the present time :

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

TOWN OFFICERS.

1860-Supervisors, B. F. Hilton, Chairman, William Whellan, Horace Lord ; Clerk, Roswell Brooks ; Treasurer, J. L. Benham ; Assessor, A. C. Stiles; Superintendent of Schools, Cyrus Sargeant ; Justices of the Peace, Samuel Tracy, P. A. Simpkin, William Hol- ford, Isaac Lander ; Constables, S. Breeze, Jeff. Handy, A Frances, J. W. Brackett.

1861-Supervisors, J. L. Murphy, Chairman, H. Lord, William Whellan ; Clerk, R. Brooks ; Treasurer, J. W. Brackett ; Assessor, George Hazard ; Superintendent of Schools, C. C. Tobie ; Justices of the Peace, William Holford, S. A. Taylor, I. C. Lander, to fill a vacancy ; Constables, S. Breeze, James Wellware, George Wellware.

1862-Supervisors, J. T. Murphy, Chairman, G. W. Harger, G. W. Fennel ; Clerk, S. A. Campbell ; Treasurer, A. Francis; Assessor, Henry Lord ; Justices of the Peace, William Whellans, A. C. Stiles, G. H. Chambers, to fill vacancy ; Constables, A. Breeze, J. Burton, G. Batie.

1863-Supervisors, William Whellans, Chairman, G. W. Fennel, I. C. Turner ; Clerk, S. A. Campbell ; Treasurer, A. Francis ; Assessor, Samuel Tracy ; Justices of the Peace, G. H. Chambers, George Engle ; Constables, T. Osborne, G. Balie, J. Handy.

1864-Supervisors, J. T. Murphy, Chairman, Henry Ford, M. Woods ; Clerk, G. H. Chambers ; Treasurer, George Engle; Assessor, A. C. Stiles ; Justices of the Peace, George Engle, G. H. Chambers ; Constables, T. Osborne, William Johnston, J. Handy.

1865-Supervisors-J. L. Murphy, Chairman, H. Ford, M. Woods; Clerk. G. H. Chambers ; Treasurer, George Engle ; Assessor, A. C. Stiles ; Justices of the Peace, George Engle, G. H. Chambers ; Constables, T. Osborne, William Johnston, J. Handy.

1866-Supervisors, G. Harger, Chairman, A. Francis, W. B. Slocum ; Clerk, L. Brown ; Treasurer, J. Woodhouse ; Assessor, A. C. Stiles ; Justices of the Peace, G. W. Chambers, L. R. Bingham (A. C. Stiles, to fill vacancy) ; Constables, T. Osborne, A. Green, J. Burton.

1867-Supervisors. J. T. Murphy, Chairman, H. Lord, A. Francis ; Clerk, Levi Brown ; Treasurer, James Woodhouse ; Assessor, A. C. Stiles ; Justices of the Peace, George Chambers, D. E. Wilson, George Fennel ; Constables, T. Osborne, J. Handy, George Lee.

1868-Supervisors, Henry Lord, Chairman, George Fennel, A. Francis; Clerk, Jesse Brooks ; Treasurer, James Woodhouse; Assessor, George Harger ; Justices of the Peace, Horace Lord. J. C. Orr ; Constables, T. Osborne, J. Burton, E. Briggs.

1869-Supervisors, Henry Lord, Chairman, A. Francis, George Fennel ; Clerk. A. S. Osborne ; Treasurer, D. F. Brown ; Assessor, J. W. Brackett ; Justices of the Peace, Jesse Brooks, James Kenyon ; Constables, J. Batie, D. R. Allen, J. Stone.

1870-Supervisors, G. H. Chambers, Chairman, W. H. Harvey ; Clerk, A. C. Morse ; Treasurer, George Nevins ; Assessor, George Hazard ; Justices of the Peace, G. H. Chambers, J. T. Murphy ; Constables, B. Ellidge, James Burton.

1871-Supervisors, Henry Lord, Chairman, Charles Thomas, James Kenyon ; Clerk, A. C. Morse ; Treasurer, D. D. Brown ; Assessor, George A. Hazard; Justices of the Peace, Jesse Brooks, James Kenyon (George Fennel, to fill vacancy); Constables, B. Ellidge, G. Lumpkins, E. Merrill, A. M. Cilley.

1872-Supervisors, Henry Lord, Chairman, George H. Greer, George Fennel ; Clerk, A. C. Morse ; Treasurer, D. F. Brown ; Assessor, George Hazard ; Justices of the Peace, J. W. Brackett, Homer Beardsley (J. T. Murphy, to fill vacancy) ; Constables, L. Sawyer, William Bennetts, William Peck.

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History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 122

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: [Chicago : Western Historical Co.?] Number of Pages: 1050

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: [Chicago : Western Historical Co.?]
Number of Pages: 1050