USA > Wisconsin > Sheboygan County > History of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, past and present > Part 29
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Those who came in 1848 were Gottlieb Hillger, a German, and John W. Lee, of North Carolina, who came in the spring of that year. He pur- chased forty acres of timber land and built a log house. Fred and Elizabeth Winter, with their family, removed to Sherman town from Milwaukee in 1849, purchasing here forty acres of land. Gottlieb Torke came to the town in 1855 from Germany.
RANDOM LAKE VILLAGE
Random Lake village is located on sections 34 and 35 and takes its name from the lake upon the borders of which it is located. The first settlement here was made in 1848 by J. P. Carroll. It was quite an im- portant trading point for the surrounding country and when the railroad was built in 1870 its population increased in numbers and the place took on more dignity from the fact that a public school was built, hotels were erected, a lumber yard was opened, also a wagon and blacksmith shops. Near the shore of the lake are immense ice houses from which the product is shipped to Milwaukee and other points. Near the tracks of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad stands a large elevator. In 1907 the village was incorporated and now has a population of four hundred and eight.
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State Bank of Random Lake
Graded School St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church
Some Residences of Random Lake
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ST. MARY'S CHURCH, RANDOM LAKE
St. Mary's congregation was organized about 1854, at which time quite a number of Catholic families had settled in and around that place. The site selected by these people at that time for a church, and which was lo- cated about a mile and a half from the village, was donated to the congrega- tion by David Leahy and wife, who were among the earliest settlers. The first church was a small frame structure. After the parish had been organ- ized and the church erected, Random Lake received occasional visits from the pastor residing at Cascade. These visits, however, were necessarily few and far between as, owing to the almost impassable condition of the roads during a considerable portion of the year and the many arduous duties devolving upon the pastor, it was impossible for him to devote any considerable time to the welfare and advancement of any particular flock. After the parish had been attended for some time in this manner, it was made a mission to St. Nicholas, at Dacada. St. Mary's grew and prospered as the years passed until in 1873 the number had increased to such an ex- tent that it became necessary to erect a larger church. This was a solid stone structure 34 by 60 feet, which was dedicated in November of that year. Soon thereafter Rev. Charles Fessler became the first resident pas- tor, with St. Patrick's congregation at Adell as its mission. About this time a parsonage was also built. Prior to the coming of Rev. Fessler the church had been attended by a number of priests located at Holy Cross, Cascade and Dacada. The first of whom there is any record was Rev. La Foeber, who was followed successively by Revs. Gernbauer, De Becke, Stoeki, Bradley, Tierney, Bradley, Fusseder, McGowan, Petit, Seif, Mc- Mahon, Schwaiger and Hamm.
Father Fessler's successors have been Revs. Haberstock, Welbes, Loch- emes, Muenzer, Froehlich and A. V. Mueller. March 24, 1895, the church was burned to the ground. By this time Random Lake village had grown to considerable extent and it was believed by the parishioners that the inter- ests of the congregation would be best promoted by erecting the new church in the village. Accordingly a site was secured in the village from the Butler estate, Mrs. Butler donating her interests in the same. This is Roman Gothic in style and is 38 by 88 feet in size. There is also a parochial school in connection with the church.
SILVER CREEK
The village of Silver Creek is located about three miles west of Random Lake. There is located here a sawmill, a flour mill, cheese factory, stores, a blacksmith shop, also the Charles Hamm brewery and distillery and a soda water manufactory.
ADELL
Adell is a railroad station on the line of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, and is located on section 2. It was originally known as Sher-
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man Station. The plat of the village was made by Chester Gerschmehl in 1873. Here are established grain elevators, two hotels, stores and other business enterprises.
RHINE
Rhine is in the north tier of towns and is bounded on the west by the towns of Russell and Greenbush, on the south by Plymouth, on the east by Herman and on the north by Manitowoc county. It is located in the heart of the Potash Kettle hills. Its height would indicate it is the water- shed of the county. It is about 360 feet above sea level. The soil on the east side is black loam, about two miles wide, and then come the hills, where is to be found gravel and sand and much erratic rock. The town has an exceptional quantity of floating rock. The forests were mainly hard wood and in the southern limit there was a great deal of pine. The river has a fall of about ninety feet and three splendid water powers. The Sheboygan river crosses the town in the northwest and northeast parts. In the north- west section along the river there is considerable swamp land, including the greater part of sections 6 and 7. Among the hills above referred to are a number of beautiful lakes-Elkhart, Cedar, Little Elkhart and others. Elk- hart Lake is the largest and is situated in the southwest part of the town in sections 29 and 30.
This section of the county was alive with game early in its history. The lakes and river teemed with a fine variety of fish. Indians were mainly of the Chippewa and Menominee tribes but there were scattering bands of Pottawattomies and Sauks. Chief Solomon, who was well known through- out this region, was a Pottawattomie. George W. Wolff, well known throughout the county, a resident of Elkhart, knew Solomon quite inti- mately. "King" Solomon was born near Chicago and died about 1889 at Keshena, the Indian reservation. When last seen here he was over eighty years of age. His son John, still living on the reservation, visited some of his old friends of Sheboygan county in 1909. John spoke to Mr. Wolff upon approaching him and called him by name. Mr. Wolff tells the story that one day "King" Solomon came to his father's farm while the latter was building a rail fence. He was induced to assist in the work but it was very much against the Indian's will and habits to perform any bodily labor. The Indians were pretty well scattered over the town of Rhine. They had their clearings, one of which covered at least forty acres, upon which they planted corn and beans, chiefly the latter. They had in the neighborhood a village at one time of sixty-eight wigwams. The Indian paths were from twenty inches to two feet wide and were worn three or four inches in depth. Many Indian mounds have been discovered here and some of them still remain unopened. These mounds range in height from six to nine feet. George Wolff stated to the writer that he has seen in the vicinity of these mounds a wagon load of flint instruments of all shapes.
The first settlers in the town of Rhine were the three Krauss brothers, Rudolph, Herman and another whose name cannot be remembered. They Incated on sections 25 and 26. About the same time, 1847, Augustus and
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SCENE IN PARNELL
ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH AND CEMETERY, PARNELL
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Catherine Bettelhauser located on section 35, where he intended to erect a flax mill. He was a native of Germany. About this time came Bettel- hauser's father, Julius Bettelhauser, who settled on section 22. Charles A. Born, Sr., a native of Barmen, Rhine Prussia, arrived in the town in 1848 and engaged in merchandising and farming until 1854, when he re- moved to Sheboygan. In the same year John G. Brickbauer, also a native of Germany, arrived here, and purchased sixty acres of land on section 27. He was prominently identified with the construction of all roads in the town. In 1847 John Mathes and Peter Bub settled on sections 25 and 36, also Julius Wolff, father of George Wolff, on section 22. The latter came here from Germany and became one of the wealthiest men of the com- munity, helping to organize the town of Rhine, of which he was the first clerk. He held various offices of trust. He was a member of the board of supervisors, one of the county commissioners during the building of the courthouse, sheriff of the county in 1856 and 1857 and a member of the general assembly in 1866, 1868 and 1870. He also held the responsible position of county treasurer. John Mathes also came from Germany. He took a prominent part in the improvement of the community and organiza- tion of the town and county. He was a life long democrat and in 1884 represented his district in the state legislature.
Rhine town was originally settled by what were known as Rhinelanders, immigrants from the Rhine section of Germany, and by the year 1852 the town was quite well settled, except in the hill region.
The town was organized in 1852. It was originally part of Plymouth. About 1856 there were almost as many inhabitants as there are now. There was a steam grist mill on section 27, built in 1855, by the Sperling brothers. Along about this period, Luther Witt located in the town and built a saw- mill on section 18, and shortly thereafter a man by the name of Thiele built an oil mill, run by water power. His product was obtained from grape seeds, beech nuts, etc. The chief products of the farm were wheat and beans. As a matter of fact, this locality was noted in early days for its production of wheat. There were few dairy cattle previous to 1860 and no villages. There was a blacksmith shop on section 14, conducted by one Moerschen. Hay was secured from the marshes. The highways were cut along the Indian trails. Sheboygan Falls and Sheboygan were the nearest markets.
The first religious services were held in the homes of the settlers and Rev. Schmidt preached here in the early '50s. Later on, Rev. Renatus Erbe ministered to the spiritual wants of the settlement. Several church build- ings were erected within this period-an Evangelical on the southwest quarter of section 14, and another one on the southeast quarter of section 15. A Catholic church was built on the southwest quarter of section 15 in 1856, and about the same time a German Reformed church was built on section 36, and another of the same denomination on section 16.
The first schoolhouse was built early in the town's history on the north- east quarter of section 26 and taught by one Grant. The building was a log structure, had a fire place, and doors swung on wooden hinges.
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In 1850 a man by the name of Riess put up a "pit" sawmill on section 22.
Rhine is a very patriotic town and when the Civil war broke out in 1861, one hundred and fifteen men went from here to the front, twenty- three of whom never returned. The first to lose his life in fighting for his country was Henry Carver, who fell at Falling Water, Virginia, and the last to lose his life in that great struggle was Gottlieb Strutz, at Averysboro, North Carolina. In 1867 a monument was erected to the soldier dead on the southwest quarter of section 14. It was dedicated on the 4th day of July, 1868.
There are eight cheese factories in the town of Rhine. The first one was installed by Peter Meyer on section 35, in 1879, and in the same year another one was put up on section 36 and one on section 14.
ELKHART LAKE
Elkhart Lake, so named by the Indians who were found living at the outlet at the time the United States surveys were made in the year 1835, is situated in the heart of the Kettle country, surrounded by wooded hills 100 feet in width. The lake is about four miles in circumference and has a depth of 117 feet, according to geological surveys made by the state. The waters of this beautiful lake are mainly of spring derivation, but little surface water being able to enter it. Thus the lake affords splendid bathing, fishing and boating. It has an outlet at its western extremity-a small creek which, after winding its way for several miles through meadows and the thick cedar and tamarack swamps, empties into the Sheboygan river.
THE VILLAGE
The village of Elkhart Lake was incorporated in the year 1905, and its first president was T. C. Sharpe. According to the census of 1912, there is a population of 500 inhabitants. The beautiful little summer resort has most of the conveniences of a city, being supplied with water works, electric lights and good streets and sidewalks. A branch of the interurban railway enters the town from Plymouth. The educational facilities are of the best and consist of a high and graded schools. There is a public library contain- ing about 2,000 volumes, and the churches are three in number. Its busi- ness establishments consist of the Elkhart State Bank, controlled by George W. Wolff, three smitheys, a bakery, two meat markets, two lumberyards, two elevators and one sawmill, besides having five large hotels which ac- commodate about four thousand tourists during the summer season, which lasts from the first of June, to September first. Elkhart is connected with the outer world by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, which was built in the year 1872.
MOSEL
The town of Mosel contains only eighteen full and six fractional sections and is the smallest in the county. It has no villages.
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ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH
ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH, DACADA
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HISTORY OF SHEBOYGAN COUNTY
In 1853 the town was separated from Sheboygan and completed its or- ganization by the election of William Wipperman as chairman, and Robert Athorp, town clerk. Mosel is situated in the extreme northeast corner of the county and is bounded on the east by Lake Michigan, north by Mani- towoc county, west by the town of Herman and south by the town of She- boygan. It is watered by small streams flowing in an easterly direction, emptying into the lake. It may be stated typographically the surface of the town is gently rolling. The soil is very fertile and consists of a rich clay loam and in the days when the county became noted for the production of its excellent peas, that product of the soil was raised here in large quantities. The Lake Shore & Western railroad, now the Chicago & Northwestern, en- ters the town on section 33 and passing through the town in a straight line, leaves it at section 4. On the line of this railroad are two stations-Mosel, on section 33, and Seven Mile Creek, on section 16.
At the time that settlements were made in Mosel there were no roads to Sheboygan except by way of the Green Bay road to Sheboygan Falls and thence by a road to Sheboygan. The first settlers came in the summer of 1847. They were Michael Feld, who located on section 5; Peter Brust, on section 5; Jacob Demand and Daniel Welsch on section 5; Joseph and Fritz Weiskopf on section 7; and C. Treutmann on section 29. In the fall of the same year A. C. Festerling and Charles Lauterbach settled on section 28 and Michael Truttschel on section 20. In 1849 John and Martha Kaeppler came to this country from Germany and purchased land in the town of Mosel, lo- cating here with their seven children, Louis Koellmer came here in 1850.
Other early settlers were Peter Wagner, Philip Feld, Henry Welsch, Christoph Welsch, Theodore Wunsch, P. Conrad, Fred Festerling, Henry Schuette, Henry Kaeppler, August Truttschel, Henry Conrad, Gottlieb Eis- cher, Ernst Truttschel, Daniel Leahy, F. Truttschel and C. Truttschel.
The first couple married in the town was George Thomas and Margaret Fuchs. The first death was that of Jacob Demand in 1848. The first birth was that of a daughter of Peter Brust. The first school taught was in the fall of 1849 by Miss Tryphine Taylor.
The sole industry of Mosel town is agriculture and the population is practically German. In 1910 the population was 884. Mosel has within its borders good schools and churches. The farms are highly cultivated, well fenced and stocked and the farms and out-buildings will compare favorably with any in the county.
SCOTT
The history of Scott town is contemporaneous with that of Sherman, for at the time that Sherman was made a separate entity it was part and parcel of Scott. It was organized in 1849 and at the first town meeting held in April, 1850, R. C. Brazleton was elected chairman. The town is in the south- west corner of the county and is bounded on the west by Fond du Lac county, on the north and east by the towns of Mitchell and Sherman, and on the south by Washington county. This is a fine farming community, is well watered by Stanley and Batavia creeks and other streams, together with the
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Milwaukee river, which traverses sections 25 and 36. It also cuts into the east portion of section 1. In section 6 is Crooked Lake.
The surface of the country is gently rolling but not rough and the soil is excellent. Many of the finest farms in the county are to be found here and its people are made up of a frugal, industrious and prosperous character.
The first settler in the town was John Cleaves, a native of the state of New York, who came in the spring of 1847 and located on section 26. About this time Jacob and Maria Elizabeth Reis, German immigrants, who had been in the United States about one year, settled in the town. Their son Jacob was born here April 7, 1849. Ezra Floyd, a Mr. Dunham and R. C. Brazleton followed soon after.
Good schools and well attended churches abound. There are no rail- roads entering this region and but two villages have gained a foothold, neither of which has been incorporated. Batavia, the most important one, has a population of about 200. It is located in the center of section 13, and has a grist mill, two hotels, a couple of general stores, a cheese factory, blacksmith and other shops, two churches and an excellent school.
Beechwood is a hamlet on the dividing line betwen sections 16 and 17, its main street being the Mayville road. Close by is Beechwood Lake. Here are established a cheese factory, hotel, general stores and blacksmith shop. The population of Scott in 1910 was 1,331.
RUSSELL
The town of Russell comprises the north two-thirds of town 16 north, range 20 east. The south one-third was attached to Greenbush to accommo- date those living on the south side of Sheboygan marsh. This town is bounded on the north by Calumet county, on the east by Rhine, south by Greenbush towns, and on the west by Fond du Lac county. The soil is clay and clay loam, well adapted to the growth of corn, wheat, oats, barley and grass. There are only twenty-four sections in this town and one-third of these are in the marsh section. The Sheboygan river crosses the lower part of the town and there are other streams in the locality.
Russell was organized in 1852 and was named after John Russell, a set- tler living on section 4. The first election was held at the house of George Keenan in the spring of 1854, the total number of votes cast being fourteen. Michael Byrne was elected chairman and J. L. Sexton clerk.
The first settler here was Lewis Odell, who came in 1848 and located on section 13.
Patrick and Mary Keenan, natives of Ireland, emigrated to America in 1846 and settled in New York. Coming west in 1848 they located in the town of Russell. At the time of their advent here the place was almost a perfect wilderness, there being but two or three families in the whole town. Mr. Keenan built a log house and began the task of clearing the heavy timber and cultivating the ground. He became one of the prosperous and influential men of this community. Valentine Voelker and Anton Boll set- tled on section 5 in 1849, and James Shufflebotham located on section 2
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CEDAR GROVE
CEDAR GROVE REFORMED CHURCH
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In 1850 John Henschel located on section 14; Michael Byrne on section 10; and C. Abbey on section 2.
Those who settled in the town in 1851 were Bernard McCabe on section 2; P. Flynn on section 3; J. L. Sexton, section 12; P. Smith, section 13.
The first religious services were held in the village of St. Anna in the spring of 1851, in a small log building. They were conducted by Rev. Father Ell. The school was taught by John L. Sexton in a log house on sec- tion 12. On this same section was located the first postoffice and Mr. Sex- ton presided over it. The first marriage was that of Henry Henschel and Mrs. Amelia Wolf in the spring of 1855. Esquire Dean performed the ceremony. The first birth was that of Anton Boll in the spring of 1851. A Mr. Trimbauer was killed by a falling tree in the fall of 1853, and his was the first death in Russell.
St. Anna is located in the northeast corner of section 5 and is partly in Calumet county. The population of the town of Russell as given by the last census is four hundred and forty-four and is the smallest in the county.
MURDER OF A RECLUSE
J. L. Sexton, the kindly old gentleman who resided alone in a log cabin in the town of Russell, near the Sheboygan marsh, and who for many years was known and respected as "The Old Hermit," was born in Ver- mont, January 11, 1825, where he was well educated, according to the stand- ard of those times. He removed to Sheboygan county in 1845 and had re- sided here until his untimely end. The first part of his life here was devoted to teaching; later he was town clerk, and postmaster. He had a family of two sons, Frank, of Woolsey, and Barton, of Heron, South Dakota, and one daughter, Mrs. J. Diehl, of Sheboygan. Mrs. Sexton died many years ago, and the sons and daughter growing to manhood and womanhood, went out into the world, leaving the old gentleman alone with his books and papers, in his humble cottage in the midst of a little grove of forest and fruit trees, most of them planted by himself. In front of the home he had collected many rocks and fossils of curious formation, and Indian relics, some piled on top of each other like totems or totem poles before an Alaskan Indian's residence, having a dark back-ground of foliage from which rare and beau- tiful flowers looked out upon, and formed an appropriate setting for the lowly thatched cottage that is presented in the picture.
Mr. Sexton was something of a philosopher, a pleasing conversation- alist, a great reader and student of scientific questions, and very frequently a contributor of interesting articles to the publications of the county. The room in which he passed most of his time, and in which he was murdered, was in the smaller part of the building, shown in the accompanying view, and was a sort of a curiosity shop; it was literally filled, except for the little passage ways, with books, papers, curios, pamphlets, writings, records, fur- niture, flower pots, ancient fire arms, etc. Here he passed his time reading, writing, working in his garden, and entertaining many callers, counting all as friends ; and indeed it is difficult to believe there were any who were not his friends. Feeling secure in the fact that he had no enemies, and that his
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means though ample for his simple wants were not large enough to tempt to crime, he was unprepared for the foul assassin's deed that ended his life in tragedy in the eighty-sixth year of his age.
MITCHELL
Mitchell is in the second tier of towns from the south and is bordered on the west by Fond du Lac county, on the north by Greenbush, east by Lyndon and south by Scott towns. The topography of the town shows a range of hills, technically known as the "Potash Kettles," which is about a mile wide and runs diagonally through the town from northeast to south- west, dividing it into two portions of nearly equal extent, the southeast triangle being a little the larger, and is generally level with the exception of a valley about a quarter mile wide, which runs parallel with the range of Potash Kettles, and about one mile distant from them. In the eastern part of this valley are a number of springs forming the eastern branch of the Milwaukee river. East of this valley the soil is dry and fertile. The ground was at one time well timbered along the streams, elm, black ash and tamarack on the highlands, white oak, maple, beech, iron wood, hickory, wild cherry, butternut, basswood and poplar. In the early days in some localities large quantities of oak, hickory hoop-poles were prepared for market. The range of hills was covered with red oak timber of little value and the land will not bring very much in the market. The northeast triangle of the town is better fitted for agricultural purposes. It was originally covered with a heavy growth of hard maple, white and swamp oak of great size, but now few if any of them remain, being unable to withstand the havoc of the woodman's ax. The soil of the town is variable, though mainly a calcareous and clay marl, of quite light color when first plowed but grows darker on exposure to the atmosphere and is much more produc- tive than its color would indicate. However, there are good farms in the community and the people are prosperous.
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