History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, Part 14

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn; Pierce, Eben Douglas
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago Winona : H.C. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1318

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The valley had been a favorite hunting ground of the Indians long before the coming of white hunters, and tradition concerns itself with some of the principal landmarks, such as Barn Bluff ; but the occasional hunters and trappers who penetrated into the interior, enjoying their wild life of adventure, had no purpose to settle the country, and little dreamed the low marshy grounds along the Trempealeau River would ever afford a site for a village such as Arcadia is at the present day. .

When the first settlers arrived at Arcadia they found a defense of breastworks, proving that some time soldiers had visited the place. The apparent age of the excavations at that time indicated they had been built

HISTORY OF TREMPEALEAU COUNTY

several years before. Julius Hensel, a veteran of the War of Secession and an early settler in Arcadia, reports that the Indians claimed that a company of soldiers came up the valley shortly after the Black Hawk War, and near the present village of Arcadia met a band of Indians. No hostilities occurred, but the soldiers deemed it prudent to be prepared in case any evidence of enmity on the part of the tribesmen should be shown, and therefore erected breastworks. Where the soldiers were going or what their mission may have been has never been ascertained, and any effort to gain more information concerning their movements has thus far been futile.

The first permanent settlement of Arcadia came about in the autumn of 1855, when four men came up from southern Wisconsin by way of La Crosse, with a drove of cattle. They crossed the Black River at McGilvray's Ferry and made their way across country to Fountain City. The few people they met had much to say of the Trempealeau Valley, a region as yet little frequented except by hunters and trappers.

These men were Collins Bishop, George Dewey, George Shelley and James Broughton. Having reached Fountain City and disposed of their stock, they started out one bright autumn morning to see for themselves whether the Trempealeau Valley was a suitable location for their future homes, for they were actuated by no other motive than home-building.

They had lived for several years previous to this time in Dodge County, where the stone was so numerous in the fields that the only sales of land were made when the snow was deep. They spent so much time in looking over the country as they came along that they only got as far as George Cowie's that day, where they stayed all night, and the next morning resumed their journey to the river. Arriving there, they drew cuts to see who should cross and find a suitable fording place. This was soon found, and they crossed the river near the site of the present bridge. For several years all the travel to Fountain City was through this ford.

After passing through the river they followed an Indian trail east to the table land over nearly the same ground now occupied by Main street. Upon reaching the hill they looked around for some mark to indicate a section corner, and about a half mile due east from there saw two burr oak trees standing close together.

These trees were at that time about six inches in diameter at their base, and proved to be witness trees, or, as the pioneers sometimes called them, "bearing trees," so the settlers had no difficulty in establishing section lines with these for a starting point. They located four homesteads, now owned by W. E. Bishop, George Schmidt, J. I. Dewey and M. N. Lehnerts, respectively.

The settlers returned to Mr. Cowie's for the night, and the next day came back and completed their preparations for entering the land, and picked out building spots. They were well satisfied with the appearance of the soil, and while the distant hillsides were covered with brush through which a team could make its way anywhere, they did not doubt that when prairie fires were no longer allowed to run, there would be a sufficient growth of timber for all their needs. The manner of choosing those homesteads was so unique that a brief mention may be of interest.

HISTORY OF TREMPEALEAU COUNTY

They agreed to draw cuts for choice of quarter-sections, and the man who had first choice paid $100 into a common fund, the second paid $90, the third $75, and the fourth $60, and then the whole amount was divided equally between them.

They returned to Fountain City, and late the same autumn Collins Bishop hired James Broughton and a Mr. Davis to build a house on his land. They erected this near the bearing trees, using logs mostly, and boards for the roof. This was the first house built in Arcadia, and some of the boards are still doing service in a barn on the place, built a few years later.

One of the trees was used for firewood the following winter when the snow fell to the depth of four feet on the level, but the other still stands, having now a circumference of twelve feet at its base, and is a fitting emblem of the lives and character of the pioneers who first reposed beneath its branches.

The next spring Collins Bishop took possession of his new home and broke several acres of land, which he planted to corn and potatoes.

In 1856 the settlers petitioned the county board that Preston township be divided and a new town formed. Then it became necessary to decide upon a name. Hitherto the neighborhood had been known either as Bishop's Settlement, in honor of its founder, or as Barntown, on account of the number of barns erected by the early settlers. The petition regarding the formation of a new town was granted, and so, one winter day, the pioneer neighbors met at Bishop's cabin to name the town. The families repre- sented were those of James Broughton, George Shelly, David Bishop, Collins Bishop, Mrs. Annie B. Bishop, Jessie Penny and Noah D. Comstock. To the women was accorded the privilege of selecting the name. Mrs. David Bishop, afterward Mrs. Charles Mercer, offered the name of Arcadia, which had been suggested by Noah D. Comstock.

Mr. Comstock was a man of varied experience and possessed a broad and practical mind. He had crossed the continent in quest of gold in the excitement of the days of "Forty-Nine," but he saw in the quiet valleys of Arcadia a richer promise of gold than in the mountain regions of Cali- fornia. As he gazed on the numerous ranges of hills and the nestling valleys, he was thrilled with the grandeur of the scene. Its pastoral beauty appealed to him, and he saw the agricultural possibilities of the rough land and thought of the rugged mountain region in faraway Greece, the old home of the Arcadian peasants, who led a life of simple contentment amidst their wild surroundings. From Mr. Bishop's window the pioneers looked out on the New Arcadia, and on their way homeward admired with a new pleasure the scenes of their daily life. Rising above the low range of hills that skirt the western horizon was "Barn Bluff," its clear-cut sides white with snow and with the little round peak contrasting sharply with the smooth contour of the distant hills. Toward the southeast rose "Noah's Bluff," and in every direction were ranges of hills encircling the lower basin, where stood the new-born town. And in among those hills were valleys, indented nooks and cooleys, with here and there a flat table land. Winding along among the low bushy bottom lands was the Trempealeau

IIISTORY OF TREMPEALEAU COUNTY

River, draining the broad fertile valley that as yet was scarcely disturbed by the hand of man.

Until this time it had been known as Bishop's Settlement. In 1857 Daniel C. Dewey and Dr. I. A. Briggs moved to Arcadia. The good doctor not only attended to his medical practice, but found time to cultivate more or less land, and one summer, a few years later, it was noised around that he had a fine watermelon patch. They were not all old settlers in Arcadia by this time, and some of the young settlers started out one pleasant after- noon to investigate the truth of the report, supposing the doctor to be far away. They had no difficulty in finding the melons, but, unless all signs failed, there were no ripe ones. Just at the moment when they were busiest thumping on the melons and hunting for one that might do, they were startled by a slight sound from the fence alongside the patch. They looked up to see the doctor's blue eyes beaming on them in kindly humor as he said, "Well, well, boys, better wait till they are a little riper."

In the spring of 1857 George Shelley began keeping store at his home on the present site of the George Schmidt residence. The first town meeting was held this spring, and Collins Bishop was elected chairman. The school system of Arcadia dates back to 1857 when District No. 1 of the town of Arcadia was established and Sarah MacMaster installed as teacher. The schoolhouse, which afterwards occupied three or four different sites and was used in turn as courthouse, printing office, feed mill and dwelling house, was originally located just across the street from John Danuser's residence in East Arcadia. It was built by James Warren, with lumber rafted down the river to Fountain City and hauled from there with ox teams. But such lumber can scarcely be found today.

Two-by-fours were two inches by four inches, and generally a little more, and the builders had the privilege of throwing out any board found having a knot in it. The next year Albro C. Matterson started a blacksmith shop, and near it stood a frame for shoeing oxen.

In 1860 Dr. Briggs and David Massuere undertook to build a flouring mill, but on account of the Civil War breaking out, were unable to complete it until five years later. In the meantime it was used as a residence until 1865, when the machinery was installed, and the settlers were no longer obliged to make the long trips to Trempealeau or Pickwick for flour. The same year Gay T. Storm erected a store with lumber hauled from Trem- pealeau, and two or three years later built a brick store building, which still stands. That fall D. C. Dewey, with Dr. Isaac Briggs, opened a store at Dewey's Corners, now called Old Arcadia.

Up to the outbreak of the war the arrivals, while not by any means unusually large, were fairly numerous and were composed of a superior class. With the advent of that calamity immigration entirely ceased. From 1860 to 1867 times were dull and little improvement of any kind was under- taken. During the war the Federal Congress passed a Homestead Bill that attracted a large foreign element which was distributed over the country tributory to the village, and furnished the means of developing the agri- cultural resources of the vicinity to a wonderful extent. From 1867 times began to improve, and considerable progress was made in all lines, increasing

HISTORY OF TREMPEALEAU COUNTY

with each year and culminating in 1873 with the completion of the Green Bay & Minnesota Railroad. The lower town was built up at once, and many buildings from the upper town or "Old Arcadia" were removed to the new location.

In looking over the Arcadia of today, we see the dreams of the pioneers more than realized. Since the day they waded the river and looked for the first time on the Trempealeau Valley, Arcadia has changed from a favorite hunting ground of the Indian to a productive agricultural land ; from the home of wild fowl to a populous community, where instead of hills and valleys in a wild state of nature, we have all the evidences of an advanced civilization which is doing its part to "make two blades of grass grow where one grew before."

Bishop's Settlement became the center for travelers looking for land, and in time the valleys leading into Trempealeau Valley received their first settlers.

Burnside was first settled in 1856. Located as it was at the mouth of Elk Creek (Pleasant) Valley, it was a natural center, and its bottom lands near the junction of Elk Creek and Trempealeau River presented an attractive site. The first settlers were members of the Markham family. The story is told in full elsewhere.

Hale. The first settler in Pleasant valley above Burnside was George Hale, the pioneer of the township that now bears his name. He came in 1858 and settled nine miles up Elk Creek. Other early families in Hale were: Allen, Barry, Bruce, Christianson, Donley, Ellis, Heath, Mallery, Maloney, Lockman, Michaels, McFarlin, Olson, Scott, Spaulding, Lally, Smith, Stewart, Tull, Teller, Tallman, Van Tassel and Weeks.

Chimney Rock Township, owing to the nature of its surface was not settled until after the other townships in the county. The first permanent settler was Daniel Borst, who brought his family here in 1865. About the same time Hans Herbjornson settled in Bennett Valley. He was followed by Austin Gunderson, Halvor Austinson, Aslak Torgerson and Gudmund Knudson, all of whom settled in the same valley. A few years later there came an influx of Scandinavian settlers, until the township is now almost entirely peopled by that nationality.

Lincoln Township was settled in 1856 by men who came down the Trempealeau Valley from older parts of the state, men for the most part of English or New England birth. The first were Deacon Alvah Wood, Moses Ingalls and his two sons, Moses D. and Francis W., and Hiram and Albert Stratton.

The Galesville Transcript of September 28, 1860, describes a visit to these pioneers. The first house encountered in the valley after coming up over the ridge from French Creek was that of Henry Lake, the pioneer of Lake Cooley. Lake had arrived from Walworth County New York, in 1855 with 100 head of cattle. In 1860 he already had a large farm, with 130 acres of small grain, 80 acres of clover and 14 acres of peas. He had adopted the plan of sowing timothy with his small grain and thus had pasturage for his stock just at the time the prairie grass failed in the fall. In section 7, Preston, was S. S. Rice, who likewise had a fine farm.

HISTORY OF TREMPEALEAU COUNTY

Then came the farms of James Hopkins and Wessel Lowe, in sections 6 and 7, Preston. William Van Sickle was near-by in section 31, Preston. D. W. Wade was in section 36, Lincoln Township. Next down the Trem- pealeau Valley, in section 25, Lincoln, was Deacon Alvah Wood, upon whose farm was one of the first pieces of land cultivated in this region. A few farms had been opened between the Deacon Wood farm and the home of A. L. Sherwood, in section 21. Mr. Sherwood, whose home was on the bank of the Trempealeau, had beautified his place with a fine lawn shaded with many native trees. Not far away was Hiram Stratton, in section 15, and E. F. Wade, in section 28. Near-by, too, was the home of Frank W. and Moses D. Ingalls and their venerable father, Rev. Moses Ingalls. On the farm was a good field of sorghum, a good acreage of potatoes, a field of large onions, and many roses and other flowers. The people of the valley were doing their trading at Sparta, owing to the fact that there was no good wagon road to Galesville, Trempealeau, La Crosse or Fountain City. A little later, when the roads were improved, Trempealeau became the shipping and trading point for these pioneers.

Whitehall was started in 1860 or 1861 in the locality now known as Old Whitehall, about a mile from the present village, by Ole Knudtson. His biography in the custody of the Trempealeau County Historical Society states that he was born in Norway in 1819, came to Chicago in 1844, located at Woodstock, McHenry County, Illinois, four months later, and in 1859 settled at Mineral Springs in Jackson County. He came to Whitehall June 25, 1860, and opened a hotel and blacksmith shop.

The proprietors of the town site were Benjamin Wing and Georges. The plat was recorded May 23, 1862.

Soon after the village was started some 200 Indians camped along the flats in the vicinity, and Georges did a flourishing business selling them whiskey. To prevent this, Mr. Knudtson bought him out, on condition that he leave the region.

Of the origin of Whitehall, the Galesville Transcript of September 13, 1861, says :

"The people of Trempealeau Valley in the vicinity of Pigeon Valley have long felt the need of a market for their wheat and a business center in their midst. To this end they are now engaged in erecting a new village and making the waters of the Trempealeau River serviceable in carrying off their produce to the Mississippi. Last week a meeting was called by the citizens to enquire into the practicability of making use of the river for flatboats, and the opinion was confidently expressed by those acquainted with the stream that by laying out $1,000 in removing obstructions, boats carrying from 15 to 30 tons could be made to run the river. A committee of three was appointed to examine the river and report. If their report is favorable, it is proposed to organize a company, obtain a charter, and raise funds for clearing the channel.

"The site of the new town (which has received the name of Whitehall) is on the bank of Pigeon Creek, one half mile from its confluence with the Trempealeau. As respects its situation for building a town, it cannot be

HISTORY OF TREMPEALEAU COUNTY

surpassed. It contains within its limits an excellent waterpower. Arrange- ments are to be made for the erection of a grist mill early next season.

"Mr. Knudtson has nearly completed his new dwelling-the first in the place. He is a blacksmith by trade, and is now situated to look after the wants of the people in this line. Messrs. Wing and Georges, proprietors of the town site, are building a store. It will be completed and filled with goods before winter. They have the assurance that several families will come to settle in the place next spring. They are selling lots on very reason- able terms to those who intend to build on them."

Pigeon Township lies largely in Pigeon Valley, branching from the Trempealeau Valley near Whitehall. It was first settled about 1860 or 1861 by Edwin Cummings, who located in section 19. Joshua D. South- worth was the second. In 1863 came Phineas Wright, who opened the mill at Coral City. At this point a flourishing village sprang up.

The vanguard of the sturdy Scandinavian element which now peoples the valley arrived in 1864 in the persons of Ole Anderson Aga and Hans Ole Nielson, who came with ox teams from Dane County.

Preston Township was settled in 1855. There were two distinct groups. one group consisting of men of some means from the Eastern States, and the other group consisting of a Scandinavian colony from older Wisconsin counties. Among the Americans were Ebenezer Thurston, Robert Thomp- son, E. M. Reynolds, John B. Dunning, Simon S. Rice, John Hopkins and others. Richard Porter, by some believed to have been the first settler in the township, died a few weeks after his arrival, before his cabin was erected, as a result, it is said, of an encounter with a band of wolves. In the Scandinavian colony were Gullick Olson, Sivert Johnson, Lars Olson, Bjorgo Olson, Sigbjurne Ellickson, Peder Pederson, Gullick A. Storlee, Bengt Danielson, Nels Halverson, Jacob Tenneson and others. Family traditions and family Bibles differ considerably as to the date of the arrival of these pioneers. Some place Gullick Olson's arrival the year previous, and give him the credit of being the first settler. Others declare that Sivert Johnson and not Gullick Olson was the one who arrived in 1854.

Albion, lying in the Beef River Valley, was settled in 1856, in which year William Moon, Burden Cross, David Chase and A. U. Gibson arrived with their families. Moon, Cross and Chase settled in the eastern part of the township, south of the Beef River, in the vicinity of what afterward was known as Hamlin. Gibson settled some three miles back from the river in the western part of the township adjoining what afterward became the village of Norden. Preparations were at once made for the coming winter. On July 3 Moon broke the virgin soil, put in potatoes the following day, and in the fall gathered a fair quantity, the first crop in the township.

The experience of the Gibsons is a typical one. The family arrived October 7, 1856, from Argyle, Lafayette County, where Mr. Gibson had settled in 1839, and where he had gained a thorough knowledge of coping with the difficulties of pioneer life. Upon coming to Albion with their yoke of oxen, their goods and their stock, the family set to work erecting a home. It was made of tamarack logs, chinked on the inside with moss from near-by swamps and sodded over from the ground up. There was no floor and no

HISTORY OF TREMPEALEAU COUNTY

windows, and only one room. A little wild grass was cut for hay, but after being dried proved inadequate for feeding purposes. While planning their life here the Gibsons had shipped a great quantity of flour, pork, beans and other provisions from Galena to Fountain City. But before these provi- sions could be moved to the cabin home the winter came on, a winter more severe than has since been experienced. Snow started to fall on November 7, 1856, and continued for three days and three nights. When the calm came at last the snow lay seven feet deep on the level and was heaped in great drifts against the hillsides and in the valleys.

The Gibsons, thus shut off from the rest of the world, were miles from their neighbors. To the north, five miles in Eau Claire County, was the Gunn family. To the west, in Buffalo County, Mondovi was seven miles away, and the family of George Rosman was the only one to be found on the trail. Sam Cook, of Dover, ten miles away, was the nearest neighbor to the south. Five miles to the east were the three families at Hamlin.

The Gibson family nearly starved, and all of their stock except the oxen died. The family was kept alive by purchasing a few bushels of seed wheat from the Moon family at Hamlin, carting it five miles over the crust on a hand-sled, and grinding it in a coffee-mill to make coarse flour for bread. A little hay was secured from the same source and transported in the same way. In March, 1857, a child was born to the Moon family. In order to be in attendance, Mrs. Gibson had her two sons take her over the snow five miles on the hand sled, which on the return trip was utilized for carrying a load of hay for the oxen.

An interesting story is told of De Lorma Gibson, a fourteen-year-old boy, and William Morton, a member of the Gibson household. In March, 1857, the man and the boy were hunting, when they came across some bear tracks. Following the dog along the trail, they encountered an unusually large black bear. The man lost his courage, but the plucky boy took the gun, and with one shot broke the bear's neck and cut his throat. With the assistance of Mr. and Mrs. John Gibson, who were summoned, the bear was taken home, where he furnished food for many days to come.

When spring came, Moon, discouraged at the privations of the winter, determined to leave the county. He accordingly traded his 400-acre claim at Hamlin for an 80-acre tract in Dane County, on which a mortgage of $500 had been placed. Russell Bowers, with whom he traded, arrived in Albion toward the end of June, 1857. His sons are still in the township. At the Bowers home the Hamlin postoffice was established.

Cross, after remaining a few years, became discouraged, and returned to Dane County, from whence he came. Chase enlisted in the Civil War and was killed. Gibson spent the remainder of his life in this vicinity. He lives in history as the one who gave the township its name, Albion, the ancient title of Britain, a word for which he had a great fondness.

M. B. Gibson, a son of A. U., is now the sole authority on early Albion history. He arrived June 9, 1857, bringing the remainder of the family belongings, together with some cattle and a pig. The trip of 200 miles was made with a team of horses, the first horses owned in the township. A stray pig, also the first of his kind in the township, followed the team .

HISTORY OF TREMPEALEAU COUNTY

all the way, arrived in good condition, and furnished the family with pork the following winter. A flag which Mr. Gibson brought with him was hoisted near Norden July 4, 1857, probably the first time that the stars and stripes had been flung to the breeze in Beef River Valley.

Soon after the arrival of M. B. Gibson a trip was made to Fountain City for the provisions which had reached there the previous autumn. This food did not last to harvest, so later another trip to Fountain City was made. There corn was obtained. But no milling facilities, so a long trip had to be made to Eau Claire, to have the corn ground into meal. On this meal, with such wild game as deer, elk, bear and rabbit, the family subsisted. Tea, coffee and sugar were almost unknown luxuries. A beverage which was used as a substitute for coffee was made from parched corn and toasted bread crusts. After a few years sugar and syrup were obtained by tapping the trees on the Chippewa River, a considerable distance away.

In 1857 the crops were good, though only a small acreage was planted, and the agricultural equipment was meager. Owing to the lateness of the arrival of the Bowers, the Gibson family rented the 20 acres which Moore had broken, and in the fall the first corn grown in the township was har- vested from this tract. The first wheat was raised this year by Barden Cross. The method of threshing was most primitive. A wide circle of ground was cleared, several shocks of wheat laid thereon, and the oxen driven back and forth over it until the grain was all threshed out. The first threshing machine in the neighborhood was a two-horse tread-power owned by George Cole, near Augusta.

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History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, Part 14

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn; Pierce, Eben Douglas Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Chicago Winona : H.C. Cooper Number of Pages: 1318

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn; Pierce, Eben Douglas
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago Winona : H.C. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1318