USA > Wisconsin > Lafayette County > History of Lafayette county, Wisconsin > Part 88
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THE SHULLSBURG BANK.
In July, 1867, John K. Williams & Co. commenced the business of banking in the build- ing on Water street now occupied by the post office. At that time, it was thought that the railroad from Monroe, Wis., to Dubuque, Iowa, would soon be completed, the towns along its entire line having voted large sums of money to aid the enterprise. The railway company failing to build as expected, and the business of the bank not proving as profitable as was desired by the
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parties, the institution closed, Mr. Allen, Cashier, removing to Blairstown, Iowa, and engag- ing in business as a banker at that point.
In May, 1871, at the request of the citizens of Shullsburg, G. W. Douglas, who was then carrying on a drug store in Stephens' brick block, opened an exchange and collection office. The business increased in a gratifying degree, and the institution again assumed the name of " The Shullsburg Bank," with C. T. Douglas as Cashier. In 1876, the bank was removed to its present location, in the Stanley Block, on Water street, and, notwithstanding the fact that Shullsburg is not a market-town, in the strictest sense, the bank does a business annually esti- mated at $800,000. George W. Douglas is President, and C. T. Douglas, Cashier.
THE SCHOOLS.
The cause of education has always been uppermost in the minds of residents of Shullsburg and vicinity, who seem to have been determined, from an early day, that their children should be permitted to enjoy privileges and advantages denied unto themselves. The first school taught hereabouts-indeed, in the county-was organized through the instrumentality and influence of Henry Gratiot, as early as 1828. In June of that year, Beulah Lamb opened a school in a log house, on the prairie near Gratiot's Grove, which was attended by all the children for miles around, and highly appreciated by the people. Thenceforward, private schools were taught at intervals in various portions of the county, principally at Gratiot's Grove and Shulls- burg, by George Cubbage, Rev. J. Wood, Miss Stobey, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Littlefair, Mr. Cook, A. A. Overton and others, until the county was divided into districts, three of which, 2, 4 and 6, were located in Shullsburg, where they were maintained until April 1, 1867.
On the 28th of the previous November, it was ordered by Richard McKey, Alfred Quinch and John Higgins, composing the Board of Supervisors, that Districts 2 and 4 be made part of District 6, same to take effect as indicated, April 1, 1867. The district thus consolidated has an area of nine and one-quarter square miles, and comprises the southwest quarter of Section 1, with all of Sections 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, of Range 2 east, Township 1 north, together with Section 34, Township 2 north of the same range, being four miles from north to south on the west side, and three miles from east to west on the south side. The east and north bound- aries are somewhat irregular.
On the 7th of May, 1867, the legal voters of the newly organized district met in the court- room of the old court house, for the purpose of making arrangements for the establishment of a graded school. Samuel Rickert occupied the chair, with Joseph Pulis officiating as Secretary, and resolutions were adopted authorizing the School Board to purchase a suitable site for the schoolhouse, and to raise a sum of money not to exceed $10,000, to aid in the erection of a school edifice, etc. This latter was voted upon May 10, 1867, and adopted by the people, the vote standing 133 to 3.
The court house was then purchased by the School Board, necessary additions made, the same properly furnished for school purposes, and opened on the 12th of October, 1868, with the following corps of teachers ; F. S. Stein, Principal ; William Ahern, Henrietta H. Trumbley', Caroline Mckinley and Isabella Harrison, Assistants. Within the school year, Miss Trumbley resigned, and her place was filled by Laura F. Dison; and, because of the large attendance, it was found necessary to increase the force of teachers by the employment of Mary McHugh, Frances McHugh and Emma Virden. The Board of Directors that year was composed of Sam- uel Rickert, Edward Meloy and George O. Brown, by which a course of study and set of rules and regulations were adopted, which are still in force.
The public schools of Shullsburg now consist of four departments, primary, intermediate, grammar and high, and the course of instruction requires thirteen years. All departments below the high grade, which, in September, 1876, was voted a free high school, embrace three grades, the course of instruction in each grade requiring one year. The high grade consists of four grades, the course comprehending arithmetic, grammar, history, geography, geology, gov-
ARGYLE.
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HISTORY OF LA FAYETTE COUNTY.
ernmental science, botany, rhetoric, elocution and Latin, and three classes have been graduated therefrom, one each in the years 1878, 1879, 1880.
The entire cost of the present school property in the district is estimated at $17,000, and the present valuation at $22,000. In 1869, the taxes voted for school purposes were $5,640.09 ; in 1870, $5,925 ; in 1871, $5,750 ; in 1873, $5,960 ; in 1874, $4,682.40, including the amounts annually raised to pay the district debt. At present about $3,000 are annually required for school purposes, which is derived from a district tax, county tax, State school fund, State high school fund, and tuition from non-resident pupils. For the year ending August 31, 1880, the district tax was $2,200; county tax, $213.55 ; State apportionment, $233.20; State high school fund and other sources, $378.38, or a total of $3,060.23.
The school population of the district is 538 ; the average daily attendance is 200, requiring the employment of five teachers. Previous to 1872, the attendance was much larger, but, owing to the diminution in the city's population, the roster of pupils has necessarily decreased since then.
POST OFFICE.
The first post office established in the town of Shullsburg, as at present bounded, was at Gratiot's Grove, about 1834, with Fortunatus Berry, Postmaster. This was continued until 1845, or thereabouts, when it was removed to Shullsburg and Marshall Cottle placed in charge, with his office in the building M. Tiernay now occupies. Since that day, postal facilities have increased until daily communication is enjoyed with all parts of the world. The office is located on Water, between Iowa and Gratiot streets, and the following officials have received executive con- fidence : Martial Cottle, Edward Vaughn, J. M. Brewster, N. H. Leland, J. B. Roy, Wm. Bald- win, A. R. Stanley, John Warner, George Bennett, H. H. Ensign, Robert Trestrail and Mrs. Elizabeth Trestrail, present incumbent.
CHURCHES.
Shullsburg Methodist Episcopal Church .- The first overtures tending to the establishment of a church society in Shullsburg Village, are said to have been made along about 1845. During that year, a class was formed, consisting of Henry Jenkins and wife, William Vivers and wife and two others. Meetings were held in the log schoolhouse then standing on the present site of the post office, under the Pastorship of the Rev. Isaac Searles, and the society was included in the Council Hill Circuit which then embraced Hazel Green, Benton, New Diggings, Council Hill, etc. Here and elsewhere the congregation worshiped for a number of years, or until about 1852, when a modest frame church was erected on the present corner of Church and Gratiot streets. In that year, the Shullsburg Circuit was created, including six appointments, two of which were located in Shullsburg, and an aggregate membership of one hundred and thirty com- municants. In early days, services were necessarily irregular, meetings being held at various places in the future village accessible to members, where services were conducted by circuit riders and class- leaders. But, by the time the church was built, more regularity in this respect was the rule, and the number of worshipers increased. The meetings were largely attended, and the cause began to flourish in a gratifying degree. For nearly twenty years, the little frame church was the scene of revivals and other means of grace in which a success proportioned to the object was fully realized, and all things combined to build up and sustain the efforts made in that behalf. The church edifice was enlarged repeatedly as it became necessary, until it was decided to erect a new house of worship to accommodate the congregation. The old church was removed, and is now occupied by the Primitive Methodists, and the present stone church commenced on its site in 1866. It was completed in 1867 at a cost of $12,000, dedicated the same year, and has since been occupied. The building is 40x70 feet, handsomely finished and furnished, and will seat an audience of 400. The congregation numbers 200. Services are conducted twice each Sabbath. The property, which includes a parsonage, is valued at $14,000. The following ministers have occupied the pulpit : The Revs. A. H. Walter, Henry Wood, James T. Pryor, Nelson Butler, George Dodge, James Sims, Enoch Tasker, Peter S. Mather, M.
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Drusdale, Joseph Lawson, Christopher Cook, James Sims, John Tresider, Richard Peugilly and T. M. Fullerton, the present incumbent.
The Primitive Methodist Episcopal Church .- This sect differs from the Wesleyan Method- ists in perpetuating the primitive methods of worship, which the latter, in later days, have abandoned. It was organized in England many years ago, and first appeared in the West in 1842. During that year, John Leekley, Margaret Leekley, Robert, Richard, Jane and Mary Ann Hodgson, F. Dobson, James Thompson and Mary Leekley settled in Illinois and the Ter- ritory of Wisconsin. After making the subject a matter of prayer, these pioneers agreed to make an effort to establish the cause of Christianity under the name of Primitive Methodism, a cause having for its object the benefit of fallen man. On the 25th of February, 1843, a quar- terly conference was held at Grant Hill, near Galena, and again, on the 24th of the following August, at Shullsburg. September 7, 1844, an annual conference was called at Platteville, when a discipline was adopted and the society established.
In 1845, a class was organized at Shullsburg composed of Cuthbert and Jane Nattrass, William and Isabella Heatherington, John and Mary Moore, Catharine Bright, John and Mary Walton, Nancy Bowman, Martha Allison, John M. and Mary Park, J. and Eliza Collins, Elizabeth Curry and Margaret Collison. The Rev. Richard Hodgson officiated as Pastor, and services were held in the log schoolhouse until the society erected a church 'on Main street, now occupied by Thompson's furniture store, which was completed and dedicated in the month of August, 1846, the Revs. J. Leekley and J. Rain officiating. This was occupied until 1873, with varying success, when the congregation procured an exchange of its property for the frame church edifice of the First Methodist Society which had been moved to a convenient site on Church street, in which, at present, services are held afternoon and evening on the Sabbath, and upon other occasions. The congregation now numbers forty members. The church prop- erty is valued at $2,600, and the following Pastors have been assigned to this charge: The Revs. James Alderson, William Tompkins, T. A. Jarvis, J. Sharpe, Charles Dawson, Henry Buss, C. Hendra, J. Hewitt, H. Lees, T. Butterwick, A. Warwick, T. Cliff, Hugh Cork, J. Hewitt, J. W. Fox and Charles Dawson, now serving.
The First Congregational Church .- Was organized on the 26th of March, 1848, at a meet- ing of the sect convened in the auditorium of the Primitive Methodist Church. The Rev. G. L. Magoon presided, and the following persons signed the Articles of Faith as members : George D. Hicks and wife, Adam Brown and wife, Richard Morell and wife, Susan Gratiot, Martha M. Guthrie, Julia E. Cottle, Henrietta Long, Edward Vaughn and wife, Ursula B. Culver, Jane Parker, Margaret Jane Johnson, Elizabeth F. Lenon, Lilly Esmond, Enoch Covert and William P. Ballard. The Rev. Mr. Magoon remained in charge of the society until May 7, 1848, when he resigned, and, after some delay, the Rev. H. Freeman was called as his suc- cessor. There is no record of acceptance by the latter, and the congregation, it is believed, were from that date without a Pastor until April 1, 1851, when the Rev. John Reynard was ordained.
During the previous year, arrangements were consummated for building a church, which was commenced without delay, though the corner-stone was not laid until July 26, 1851. Work was prosecuted on the edifice with due diligence, and its dedication celebrated February 3, 1853, with exercises appropriate to the occasion, the Rev. Mr. Westerman preaching the dedi- catory sermon. The building is of stone, costing $1,200, and will seat an audience of 250.
In the earlier years of the society, the membership increased rapidly until it numbered a large following ; but deaths and removals have diminished these to a material extent, and since April 1, 1879, the church has been without a regular Pastor, services being conducted at inter- vals by transients. The following ministers have officiated, and the church property is valued at $3,000, free from debt : The Revs. G. L. Magoon, John Reynard, G. M. Jenks, A. M. Dixon, R. J. Williams, G. W. Nelson and G. S. Biscoe.
St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church .- The foundation for this present prosperous church organization was laid, it is said, in 1812, by some pious priests from the vicinity of St.
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HISTORY OF LA FAYETTE COUNTY.
Louis, but the records referring to that event are in the latter city, and no mention thereof is made in those now owned by the society ; and it was not until August 27, 1835, when Father Sam- uel Mazzuchelli first makes mention of the organization. On that day, he celebrated the baptism of Henrica Murphy, and, for some time thereafter, administered the office of priest for this par- ish, which was then more extended and less populated than to-day. The pioneer members, among others, included the families of Dennis O'Neal, Antoine Boine, John Griffin, John Ryan, Francis Varion, Henry Gratiot, Joseph Abare. Frank McLeer, Michael Slavin, Thomas McNulty, John Higgins and Morris Wead. Worship was had in the cabins of members until 1841, when a frame edifice was completed on the present church site, and was occupied for upward of ten years. At the expiration of that period, the increasing membership necessitated the procuration of more commodious quarters, and the present stone church was commenced, though its completion was not accomplished until about 1855. It occupies a handsome site on Judgment street, in the midst of lawn and foliage, presenting an appearance both grand and attractive to residents, as also to the casual visitor. The corner-stone was laid on June 19, 1853, by the Bishop of Dubuque. The church is of stone, 55x110, perfectly lighted, hand- somely finished, possessing superior acoustic qualities, and cost a total of $15,000. The old frame church was disposed of, and now affords accommodations for warehouse purposes on Truth street. The society own and occupy four acres of ground, donated by John Ryan and John Roberts, comprehended in the square bounded by Peace, Charity, Truth and Judgment streets, which includes the church, cemetery and school. The latter is under the care of four Sisters of the Order of St. Dominic, and enjoys an average daily attendance of 140 pupils of both sexes.
The congregation numbers 1,100 communicants, and the following Pastors have executed the trust committed unto them in the care of the parish : The Revs. Samuel Mazzuchelli, Rem- egius Petiot, G. H. Ostlangenberg, R. V. Fariniacei, J. V. Bullock, Michael McFaul, J. V. Doly, A. R. Gangloff, R. P. Walker, Father Jarboe, M. Hobbs, John Conroy, Richard Nagle, James Colton, Jonathan Kinsella and James Kinsella.
The society is said to be the oldest in the State except that at Green Bay, and owns prop- erty valued at $25,000.
SECRET SOCIETIES.
Amicitia Lodge, No. 25, A. F. §. A. M .- Was organized under a dispensation granted January 4, 1849, with the following officers : J. H. Knowlton, W. M .; W. H. Howard, S. W., and James Stewart. Meetings were held under the authority therein granted, until December 15 of the same year, when the lodge was duly chartered, and the first board of officers installed. These were composed of J. H. Knowlton, W. M .; Jeffrey T. Halsey, S. W .; R. Campbell, J. W .; A. A. Overton, Secretary ; Robert M. Long, Treasurer ; Jesse B. Watts, S. D .; Barnett Cain, J. D .; David Schendler and John Newton, Stewards ; W. P. Boyce, Tiler. At first meet- ings were held in a room to the rear of William Riskin's establishment on Water street, whence a removal was made to Stephens' brick block, and again to Blakey's Block, when the Masons and Odd Fellows occupied a hall jointly, remaining there until January, 1874, at which date Masonic Hall, in Honeycomb's building, corner of Water and Judgment streets, was taken pos- session of and has since been occupied. The Amicitia is the oldest lodge in La Fayette County, and now enjoys a membership of eighty craftsmen, and owns property representing a valuation of $1,000.
The present officers are N. H. Brown, W. M .; B. Spenseley, S. W .; John Nichols, J. W .; William Dawson, S. D .; William T. Webb, J. D .; R. Brown, Treasurer ; F. A. Thompson, Secretary, and C. Honeycomb, Tiler.
Justitia Lodge, No. 12, I. O. O. F .- Was instituted by John G. Potts, of Galena, Jan- uary 1, 1847, under a dispensation granted by the Grand Lodge of the United States, and char- tered March 1, 1848, with the following members: Jeffrey T. Halsey, William G. Hovey, Robert Robinson, William H. Howard, A. P. Ladd and Augustus Rien.
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HISTORY OF LA FAYETTE COUNTY.
Meetings were convened regularly, and the number of members increased with each year. The lodge-room, which was originally of limited dimensions and primitive appointments, gave way to handsome quarters, in time, which have served to accommodate fraternal meetings, so- ciables and entertainments peculiar to the order and the amenities of life. At present the lodge numbers 107 members, and meetings are held at stated periods in Blakey's Hall. The officers now in service are Richard Bunt, Jr., N. G .; R. M. Trestrail, V. G .; Joseph C. Oates and Thomas H. Oates, Secretaries : Richard Ivey, Treasurer.
The value of lodge property is quoted at $3,000.
TOWN OF WHITE OAK SPRINGS.
This is one of the smallest towns in the county, and takes its name from the beautiful and unfailing springs, which, shaded by the foliage of a miniature forest of white oaks, afforded abun- dant water privileges to the residents of the old and new villages. The town consists of the south half of Township 1 north, of Range 2 east of the Fourth Principal Meridian, except Sections 25 and 36, included in the town of Monticello. It possesses a gently rolling surface, rich though sparsely watered soil, and made up of a succession of fine farms, interspersed with beautiful groves.
Small ranges and lodes of mineral have been worked in nearly every section of the town, but no very large bodies, except the " Blackleg Range " and " Medary Diggings," have ever been oper- ated. The former are located in the southeast corner of Section 32 and the west half of Section 33. Cyrus Lichtenberger, a resident at present of Apple River, in Jo Daviess County, Ill., claims to have discovered them on the 2d of July, 1835, though his claim in that behalf is dis- puted by general report, which attributes their finding to two young men named James Gillis and Stephen Lloyd, by whom they were sold to S. M. Journey, Henry Smith and S. H. Scales, it is said, for a consideration of $2,700. Formerly, they were immensely productive, but at present are not worked. According to authorities on the subject, these mines contain five main north-and-south crevices, with several smaller ones, the principal of which were worked for a distance of two thousand yards, and turned out millions of mineral, enriching their owners and those immediately interested with them to an extent almost without precedent or comparison in the lead mines of the Northwest. The village of Gratiot's Grove, was founded by pioneers in 1824, but its site, the special camp of Indians for many years previous, was mostly within the present town of White Oak Springs.
The early settlers of that portion of the town of Shullsburg bordering upon Gratiot's Grove are so nearly identified with those who first ventured into White Oak Springs that it is difficult to draw the line of demarkation. In 1826, Choteau & Pratt, of St. Louis, followed Col. Henry Gratiot into the vicinity and began smelting. Col. Gratiot, in the summer of that year, purchased the privilege of mining in the vicinity, paying therefor, it is said, the sum of $500. At that time, he struck the old Gratiot Range, near where the Bull Pump subsequently stood, which was worked without molestation from the Indians. This privilege was afterward purchased by John Mc- Nulty, from Gratiot, and long operated by him. The policy inaugurated by Gratiot was adopted by miners from Illinois and Missouri, who worked in the mines about Gratiot's Grove under permission of the Indians during the summer, returning to their homes in the winter, thus acquiring the name of " suckers."
The beginning made at Gratiot's Grove and thereabouts attracted a generous immigration to what was afterward set apart as La Fayette County and the towns comprising its make-up. These included the settlers who built up White Oak Springs and rendered the same famous, as also the pioneers who strayed into other pastures, since dignified with historic appellations, not- ably Monticello, Seymour, Kendall, etc. The first settlers who joined issue with savage domi- nation in White Oak Springs, according to authentic (or presumably so) sources of information accessible to the seeker after facts in that connection were, as stated, intimately identified with the disputes indulged for the possession of Gratiot's Grove. In 1827, however, Rowley McMillan is reported to have become a part and parcel of the territory afterward set out as
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HISTORY OF LA FAYETTE COUNTY.
White Oak Springs proper, settling about two and one half miles east of the village, on the farm now owned by the heirs of Joseph Edge. It should not be understood that Mr. McMillan was the solitary vidette in the army of progress who first made a " claim " and established posses- sion thereof in White Oak Springs, for he was not ; but one of a large number who came into Southwestern Wisconsin that year, attracted by the mineral developments made therein, and in the search for wealth, gravitated to the point under consideration.
The opportunity is here embraced to state briefly that the pursuit of knowledge regarding the early settlement of White Oak Springs was not attended with that abundance of success which was desirable or anticipated. Many of the old settlers have gone hence forever, many have removed to other parts, and the few who still remain in the homes of hap- pier days are patiently waiting for the summons to that mysterious realm where all shall enter their chambers in the silent halls of death. The result is that the evidence adduced in support of suppositions regarding the initiatory steps taken to make White Oak Springs blossom like the rose was neither cumulative nor convincing. In fact, it was conflicting and limited, and (in lan- guage with the import of which all early settlers in the lead mines are familiar), the writer hav- ing thus dropped a shoe on the first quarter, metaphorically speaking, cannot be expected to distance his competitor "expectations" on the "home stretch." During this period and prior to 1820, Noah Daves came in and settled on ground now owned by George Collins. Hugh R. Colter also settled in White Oak Springs, and, after a residence of years in the vicinity, during which he acted in the capacity of a soldier, a farmer, Boniface and what not fortune appropriated to his refusal, removed to Lancaster, where he recently died. The Hulings family were among the number, and "opened up " what is now known as the Scales farm. Ephraim F. Ogden, better known as a "black cockade Federalist," began farming and mining in White Oak Springs in 1828. Mathew Colvin, now a resident of Apple River, came in 1827. Col. James Collins settled in the village the same year ; John W. Blackstone, a mile and a half east of the village ; Jerry Adams, in the lower town ; also A. V. Hastings, Conrad Lichtenberger; George Lo who originally set up his home on the Pecatonica; R. H. Magoon, who built a furnace on a site east of the White Oak Springs Creamery ; Robert Drummond, also a smelter, with his base of opera- tions on the road to New Diggings; John Atchinson, a furnaceman in the old village; Anson G. Phelps, similarly employed in the same place ; Fortunatus Berry, David Southwick, S. M. Journey, Franklin Washburne, H. H. Gear, George and Marvin Watson, John Shultz, Samuel H. Scales, George F. Smith, John Williams, and some few others who made their advent into the wilderness at a time when it required the elements of character rarely seen to-day to combat with the Indians, in addition to want and difficulties unknown to modern adventure.
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