USA > Wisconsin > Lafayette County > History of Lafayette county, Wisconsin > Part 86
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By 1832, the price of mineral had appreciated and was the means of adding more to the population than during the three years immediately preceding.
During the Black Hawk war, the settlers who had, up to that time, set their stakes in New Dig- gings, as a rule united with the company commanded by Capt. Benjamin Clark, who garrisoned the fort at White Oak Springs. Though the Indians of Black Hawk rarely visited New Diggings and no depredations had ever been committed there by them, the timid felt more secure behind the protection of Fort Clark, and the men very largely responded to the call for volunteers. Not- withstanding these embargoes to progress, the mines were worked quite generally, particularly in the Bolles and Ferguson leads and the Oliver mines, on New Diggings ridge. Farming was in most cases suspended ; indeed, farming in those days, as already hinted, was confined to a limited space, on which vegetables and food for immediate consumption alone were cultivated. No grain of any account was planted, and fruits, as also the luxuries indispensable to home com- forts to-day, were blessings, the birth of which was reserved for the future.
After the close of the war, mining and farming were revived, and even merchandising and smelting were receiving their first impetus. The farming lands were brought into market ; these of course included the lands only which had not been pre-empted. The sales took place at Mineral Point under the direction of John P. Sheldon, the Register, and lands brought $1.25 an acre. Some trouble succeeded these sales by reason of the purchase of lands which had been pre-empted, as also from the pre-emption of lands which were known to contain mineral. Some entries were revoked in the county, though none in New Diggings, and, while much land talk was indulged in, that was the extent of the difficulty growing out of the " exposures for sale."
Morally speaking, the condition of the town was by no means inferior to that of its neigh- bors. Gambling, drinking and horse-racing were a trinity. Many, without regard to age or purse, bowed down and worshiped with regularity and fidelity. Schools and churches, previous to 1840, were almost unknown, so far as this district was concerned. The mineral that was raised was disposed of with the least delay, and the money not appropriated to absolute ex- penses went to swell the contributions donated to the causes of "sport " and excitement. One or two heavy deposits had been found, but as a rule the returns which gratified the miner were of
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a nominal rather than an extraordinary value. Dering & Champion, it is thought, conducted a furnace in the present village. Lorimier's furnace, an old-fashioned contrivance, had been abandoned, Magoon's furnaces, Gear's furnace, Drummond's furnace, with one or two more, and all except Dering & Champion's, without the town, were places of resort for miners and smelters.
About 1840, a school was established on the Oliver farm, with Miss Ada Gray, sister of H. H. Gray, who now resides in Darlington as teacher. The Fields children, Williams children and Oliver progeny, together with some pupils from White Oak Springs, constituted the scholars who attended. She taught about six months, when a vacation of an indefinite period was taken.
About this time, Henry Potwin, with some others, erected a Presbyterian Church near the present schoolhouse. It has since been moved across the street, where it is occupied as a temper- ance hall. The Rev. Mr. Lewis officiated as Pastor, and the congregation was made up of believers in that school of theology, together with such others of miners and strangers who in- dulged religious inclinations one day in the week.
The " boom " began to incline toward New Diggings about 1840, and continued without interruption until the discovery of gold on the Pacific slope caused an exodus of miners, adventur- ers, etc., to the land in which bonanzas, gold and almost endless summers still remain attractions as irresistible as they are said to be substantial. With the commencement of the deeds in- dexed by 1840 it seemed as if the bud of promise which had refused to bloom into realizations for expectant admirers, threw off all restraint and blossomed most encouragingly. The mines began to yield more abundantly, farms were opened up and improvements carried to completion, indicat- ing the existence of a spirit of enterprise that only awaited opportunity. The village had been laid out previous to 1840, under the direction of Washington Hinman, and was the center of a large business, numbering many merchants in its list of residents, while hotels, gambling-houses, and saloons were numerous, and the stir peculiar to an exciting phase of life was everywhere apparent. Here, about 1843, Samuel Crawford, afterwerd one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, and Montgomery M. Cothren, afterward for many years, Circuit Judge of the circuit embracing La Fayette County, began the practice of law ; but both soon removed thence to Mineral Point.
Among those who came into the town of New Diggings about this time was John Redfern, Martin, Michael, Henry and Isaiah Calvert, Amos and Simon Harker, Joseph Sedgwick, David Fawcett, Christopher Wiseman, Joseph Richardson, William Edge, Thomas Robinson, Joseph Ayers, John Rudd and many more too numerous to be remembered with individual exact- ness. Drs. John Gray and J. B. Crossman attended the sick ; Squire Manlove, D. P. Knowlton, David and Henry Potwin, William Ray, -- Adams, John O'Connor, D. E. Moulton, Edward Meloy and some others represented the commercial interests at issue. Wm. Baldwin and Louis Vogeler kept hotels, and the number of " groceries " was proportioned to the wants of the inhab- itants. The Wiley, Champion, Black Hawk, Dowd and McGinnis, James Nagle, Leckleys, " Boarding House " and other diggings of prominence and "great expectations" were being worked, and the busy hum of industry was heard at every point. Early in this decade, an engine was put up on the ridge about 300 feet south of the Champion Diggings, for the purpose of drain- ing the Simpson, Hetherton, Scott & Co. and Calvert mines, and was regarded as a decided innovation upon the practice previously obtaining in that particular. It was operated a twelve- month or more, and, having accomplished its object, was taken down and sold. About this time, Masonic influence exerted a sway in the vicinity, and a lodge, as remarkable for the number as the wealth of its members, was chartered and incorporated. The craft flourished during the flush times in the diggings, meeting with wonderful success, and becoming powerful. A hall was erected in the village while the order was at the zenith of its prosperity, fashioned architecturally after the Athenian Parthenon, and furnished, it is said, in a most luxurious manner. Meetings were held here weekly by the order, until a combination of causes, principal among which was the California fever, tended to diminish the membership, wealth and influence of the fraternity, until finally, the charter was surrendered, and the lodge became as a tale that is told. The hall
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that once served as a meeting-place of this ancient organization, where mystic rites and degrees were conferred, and other mysterious departures from man's daily line of life indulged, survives its chief patrons, and is now used as an office by the Town Clerk.
Up to 1849, the condition of affairs in New Diggings was considered, to express it compre- hensively, " all that the most sanguine could desire." Business had rushed during the interval subsequent to 1840. Morally, the town and village, to which in the meantime additions had been made, were not inferior to other mining towns in the county. Some trouble had occasionally cropped out regarding the title to mineral lands, but nothing serious resulted, and, in 1847, the same were sold at public vendue, after which Abraham Looney, Jefferson Crawford, Holland H. Day, Thomas S. Shaw and Thomas K. Gibson, met as a Board of Arbitrators and reconciled con- flicting claims, Oliver C. Stockhart bidding in lands for claimants. Thus was prospective trouble bridged over, and apprehensions were found to be without foundation. Yet gambling and drink- ing were carried on furiously, it might be said, and considerable trouble resulted therefrom. It was during 1849 that Hiram May was shot by James Simpson as the former emerged from John Morgan's saloon early in the morning. Some feeling had existed between these men for a con- siderable period, during the existence of which deceased had made certain threats as to what he would do if a contingence arose, which, coming to the ears of Simpson, resulted as stated. The murderer was arraigned before a Justice at Benton, whither he had gone and delivered himself up, but discharged, a plea of self-defense having been successfully urged. Before 1849 had been re- corded in the perfect tense, chronologically speaking, the voyage in search of the golden fleece in California was begun by nearly all who had resisted the temptation to join the army and seek glory and active experience on the fields of Mexico. The war had been the means of attracting some volunteers from New Diggings, and when Sutter's discoveries were made known, most of those who remained dropped the pursuit of lead and went forth to verify the existence of an El Dorado alleged to exist in the extreme West. Of those who went thither some secured the object of their visit, others failed and lived to return to Wisconsin with their experience as capital, while the majority never returned, but remained to plague the inventors of what to them proved a myth, or died before they had been able to test its worth. From this day, however, it is said, New Diggings was by no means the objective point for emigrants or capital to tend to- ward. The residents who denied themselves the pursuit of wealth under difficulties measurably aggravated in comparison with those at home, remained and in time succeeded in its acquisition without encountering the difficulties or experiencing the vicissitudes that attended their wander- ing neighbors. Farming lands came in greater demand, and lands were more generally utilized to farming purposes. Mining was in a measure suspended, and the evils heretofore mentioned as the outgrowth of the metropolitan character of the inhabitants, were greatly dissipated if not entirely abolished. Churches grew into general favor, and a system of education which has since become universal all over the county was established. These were some of the compensations which supplied the absence of a rushing business, the "croupier's" call, and the hurly-burly of life where the lines thereof are cast amid experiences both promiscuous and exciting. Some min- ing was done between 1850 and 1860, and business was not by any means lessened to the per- manent detriment of the future. The tight times of 1857 produced some effect this time, but that effect was not of that consuming character noticeable at other points, and, by 1860, the mer - chants, miners, farmers and public had fully convalesced from the attack. In 1861, the war added an impetus to the business, and created a visible commotion among the inhabitants. The succeeding calls of the execution of the nation and State, were responded to, it is said, by those who were then on the ground until. the town was absolutely drained of able-bodied men. Those who volunteered were large in number, and those who refused to enlist for a time, finally did so to avoid the draft or were caught in that national maelstrom and carried to Virginia, or the South- west. Some fell in the slaughter at the Wilderness, some at Lookout Mountain, some fell by the wayside on the march to the sea-all left desolate homes and sad memories that time has never comforted or effaced. It was early in 1861 that Robert H. Champion struck his big lead. The mineral taken from the mine amounted to 7,000,000 pounds, which commanded from $60 to
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HISTORY OF LA FAYETTE COUNTY.
$80 per thousand, enriching the owners and creating a renewed interest in the Diggings. Lead mining was prosecuted diligently from that time until the close of the war caused a fall in the price of mineral, and operations were gradually suspended. To-day it is carried on in various points throughout the township with various results, measured by the machinery employed, rather than the diligence of the laborers. In 1870, the Craig Mining Company, having diggings near the residence of Frank Craig and at other points contiguous thereto, commenced the building of a level for the purpose of draining the mines worked by the company. This was started at a point a short distance below the residence of William March, and worked full three-quarters of a mile northerly by east to Craig's old pump-shaft, to which it was completed during the summer of 1880, at a cost of $98,000. It answers the purposes for which it was designed, and will enable the company to procure deposits of mineral known to exist in large quantities, but inaccessible by reason of the water.
Notwithstanding the adverse circumstances brought to bear upon the town as quoted, and the decrease in population and business of her once thriving village, all will admit that during the recent years of her municipal life, the town and village have prospered, and will continue to prosper abundantly. The mines are productive, the soil fertile, the people industrious, and schools and churches abound, qualities without which success is impossible, and prosperity assured by their possession.
VILLAGE OF NEW DIGGINGS.
The village of New Diggings was laid out on land owned by Washington M. Hinman, the County Surveyor platting the same. At that time there were a number of miner's cabins on the village site, scattered about in delightful profusion without reference to metes or bounds or archi- tectural elegance. R. H. Champion resided at his present location ; Peter Carr lived opposite him ; the place now occupied by John Kerwin was owned by Mr. Bushee, which, with some others less prominent, were the chief residents in the vicinity. Henry Potwin, who came from Illinois about that time with some remnants of calicoes, notions and other minor articles, sold out his stock in trade at an enormous profit, and, procuring fresh supplies, opened the first store in the village. This was followed by others, and at one time, it is said, so large was the business transacted in New Diggings, that it required eight commercial establishments to supply the public demand. These have been quoted above, and, as will be seen, were composed of men who have in many instances survived the dull times which have prevailed, and are generally known and honored throughout the county and section.
In 1845, the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 23, Township 1, Range 1 east, was surveyed by Leander Judson, by which ninety lots were added to the original town, and, in July, 1847, and May, 1848, further additions were made to the same, out of lands appropriated for that purpose by R. H. Champion and William S. Dering, Charles Bracken being the surveyor. Additions were also made by M. M. Cothren and W. R. Smith, and, if this was all that is re- quired to build a town or increase trade, the village of New Diggings would long since have been resolved into a city, with that the term implies.
From 1840 to 1850, the village grew with the town, and made rapid progress in growth and improvements. In early days, the miners " burrowed " for protection from the blasts of winter, or lived in huts of primitive comforts or conveniences. When the village became an established fact, frame houses were substituted for the caves and huts, and woman's taste was evidenced in the neatness of surroundings that had theretofore been " shiftless."
When business began to dwindle. as consumers were attracted elsewhere, the village degen- erated and became of less importance than previously. Many of the houses were moved out into the country to answer as residences for farmers, who had begun to cultivate the soil on a more generous scale than had been theretofore noticeable. Many were also removed to places in the neighborhood of more prominence and promise-notably, to Shullsburg and Darlington.
Like all young villages, its ways were not ways of pleasantness. The evils incident to exis- tence in a new place were equally as pronounced in New Diggings as in Benton, White Oak
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Springs and elsewhere, where the residents, as a rule, are measured rather by their excesses than the absence of them. Gambling and drinking were usual, and the saloons, where these accom- plishments were held in high regard were numerous as the lice in Egypt, and equally as voracious. This condition of affairs lasted until well into the fifties, and were not entirely eradicated for many years. The same may be said of evils which are the natural outgrowth of those cited. The war produced an effect upon the village-which, however, was but transitory-as did the panics of 1857, Black Friday and 1873, which were not permanent, though, and did not mater- ially interfere with the prosperity of the place.
At present, the village of New Diggings contains a population estimated at 300, with three stores, one hotel, two church edifices and three religious associations, a good school, and an intel- ligent, industrious class of people. Should the railroad from Monroe to Dubuque be completed, it will run within a short distance of the village, which village, it is thought, will be greatly benefited thereby. The lead mines about New Diggings are great sources of wealth, and, so long as they continue to remain such, the prosperity of the locality will scarcely be materially disturbed.
THE SCHOOLS.
The early schools taught in the town and village were mostly private, at which schools were received for a consideration which, in those days, was necessarily valuable. These schools were taught by Miss Gray, M. M. Cothren, Mr. Rose and some few others, who secured accom- modations in private houses or houses abandoned for residence purposes, and gave instruction in the elementary branches to pupils, numbering from five to twenty, residing within a radius of several miles.
About 1850, it is thought, a district school was opened in the building erected ten years previous for a church, and so heartily was the demand for money for its support responded to that the same was continued, until to-day it is one of the largest and most thoroughly conducted of any in the county.
The church was used until 1875, when it was abandoned for a new edifice, and now does duty as a temperance hall. The school building substituted therefor is of frame, 30x60, two stories high, and cost $2,300. It is divided into two departments, primary and grammar, requiring the services of two teachers, at a cost of $800 per annum, and furnishes the means of education to an average daily attendance of one hundred and fifty pupils. The school property is valued at $3,000, and the present board consists of Christopher Vickers, Francis Jackson and George Watson.
CHURCHES.
Primitive Methodist Church, Rockford Circuit, was organized February 25, 1843-the first Primitive Methodist organization in the West-with the following members : John Leekley, Margaret Leekley, Robert Hodgson, Jane Hodgson, Frederick Dobson, James Thompson, Mary Leekley, Jane Goodbarn and Sarah Roesbeck. About 1846, a stone church was built in New Diggings, and John Leekley was the first local preacher.
This house of worship answered the purposes of the congregation for some years, but in time began to exhibit the appearance of age, as also the wear and tear incident thereto, and was succeeded by a handsome frame edifice, which occupies a prominent height in the village and can be seen for miles around. At present, the circuit embraces four churches, twelve ministers, a total of one hundred and seventy members, and church property valued at $6,500.
The following ministers have served since the church was established at New Diggings : The Revs. F. Dobson, R. Hodgson, J. Alderson, G. White, R. Atkinson, R. Hassel, J. New- som, J. Sharpe, B. T. Hilton, W. Lee, T. Jarvis, T. Doughty, T. Unsworth, G. Parker, W. Tompkins, C. Dawson, C. Hendree, H. Lees, J. V. Trenery, J. Shortridge, T. A. Cliff, J. Arnold, and J. Hewitt, the present incumbent.
St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church, at New Diggings, was originally built in 1844, by Rev. Samuel Mazzuchelli, who at that time resided at Sinsinawa Mound, Grant County. At
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that time the congregation consisted of one hundred and twenty families, nearly all of whom were miners. Father Mazzuchelli continued to exercise spiritual supervision over St. Augus- tine's until the time of his death, which occurred in 1864. Some years anterior to his demise, he built, or caused to be built, St. Patrick's Church, at Benton, where he likewise erected a par- sonage, which he occupied as a residence until removed from this world. Since the completion of St. Patrick's Church, the faithful of New Diggings have always been attended by the Priest at Benton. Since the cessation of active mining, the congregation has been reduced, until now it only numbers twenty families, all of whom are Irish or of Irish descent.
EUREKA LODGE, NO. 503, I. O. G. T.
Thirteen years ago the sin of intemperance was much more general in New Diggings than it is to-day, and required greater efforts to restrain its extension. Appreciating this fact, Squire C. C. Kidder exerted his influence to combat the evil, and, as a means to that end, urged the organization of a society for that purpose. He succeeded in his object, and Eureka Lodge is the result. This was organized, in 1867, with thirty-two members and the following officers : C. C. Kidder, W. C. T .; Mrs. Esther Vickers, W. V. T. ; W. H. Vickers, Lodge Deputy, and H. R. Campbell, Secretary.
At first, meetings were convened in the old Masonic Hall, and so continued until the Pres- byterian Church was vacated by the school authorities, when that was removed to its present site, and has since been occupied by the lodge under consideration.
The present officers are : John Handley, W. C. T. ; Mrs. Sarah Ferris, W. V. T. ; R. H. Weyman and C. B. Champion, Secretaries, and Robert Wharton, Treasurer. The membership numbers seventy-nine. Meetings are held weekly, on Wednesday evenings, and the lodge prop- erty is valued at $650.
POST OFFICE.
In the days before postal facilities were afforded the residents of New Diggings, these, in these respect, unfortunate members of society were obliged to visit White Oak Springs for letters or papers addressed them by thoughtful friends and acquaintances. This finally became a tax upon the settlers too grievous to be borne, and through their efforts an office was established in the village. Henry Potwin was Postmaster, having his office in a hut, on the site of which S. & C. Vickers' store is now located, and receiving the mails as often as once a week. He was succeeded by W. L. Robinson, who moved the office into his cabin, which then stood between the present site of Vickers' store and the hotel of Mrs. Santry, and he was followed by Thomas B. Campbell. Mr. C. retained the office until 1863, having the office above Wright's Bowling-alley, when he assigned the custody of the mails to Samuel Vickers, who removed the office to his store, where it has since remained, himself and his partner, Isaac Robinson, dividing the occupation of the official honor between them to the present day.
ETNA MILLS AND POST OFFICE
are located two and a half miles north of New Diggings, where they were erected by Selden Quimby and Caleb and Henry Potwin. The mills are of stone, 54x32, four stories high, and supplied with four run of stones. Quimby and the Potwins operated them until 1851, when the latter sold out their interest to Quimby, by whom the business was carried on until 1854. In that year, John Moody purchased the property, and held it until the date of his death, in 1872. The following year, R. H. Emerson obtained control, and still manages the business.
The capacity of the mills is three hundred bushels a day ; the business transacted yearly is stated at $20,000, and the value of the property, which includes a store and dwelling-house, also one hundred acres of land, is represented at $25,000.
The post office was established in 1857, to supply mail to the miners, and John Hoffman was appointed Postmaster. He remained in charge until 1860, when R. H. Emerson was appointed his successor, and is still in the service.
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HISTORY OF LA FAYETTE COUNTY.
Atna Hall, which stands opposite the post office, was put up several years ago by R. H. Emerson to accommodate the wants of a literary society. It is 30x60, one story high, with a seating capacity of three hundred, and cost $1,200.
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