History of Vernon County, Wisconsin, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 109

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Springfield, Union
Number of Pages: 814

USA > Wisconsin > Vernon County > History of Vernon County, Wisconsin, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 109

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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.

most merchantable ores. The probability is, however, that the rich ores of this region will be found in the lower country immediately north of the Penokee range, where the rocks are bnr- ied beneath heavy accumulations of drift mate- rial.

COPPER.

The only copper ore at present raised in Wis- consin is obtained near Mineral Point, in the lead region of the southwestern part of the State, where small quanties of chalcopyrite, the yellow sulphide of copper and iron, are obtained from pockets and limited crevices in the galena limestone. Copper pyrites is known to occur in this way throughout the lead region, but it does not appear that the quantity at any point is suf- ficient to warrant exploration.

Copper occurs also in the northernmost por- tions of Wisconsin, where it is found under al- together different circumstances. The great copper-bearing series of rocks of Keweenaw Point and Isle Royal stretch soutwestward in- to and entirely across the State of Wisconsin, in two parallel belts. One of these belts enters Wisconsin at the month of the Montreal river, and immediately leaving the shore of Lake Su- perior, crosses Ashland and Bayfield counties, and then widening greatly, occupies a large area in Douglas, St. Croix, Barron an Chip- pewa counties. The other belt forms the back- bone of the Bayfield peninsula, and crosses the northern part of Douglas county, forming a hold ridge to the Minnesota line. The rocks of this great series appear to be for the most part of igneous origin, but they are distinctly bed- ded, and even interstratified with sandstone, shales, and coarse boulder-conglomerate, the whole series have generally a tilted position. In veins crossing the rock beds, and scattered also promiscuously through the layers of both conglomerates and igneous rocks, pure metallic conper in fine flakes is often found. Mining on a small scale has been attempted at numbers of points where the rivers flowing northward into Lake Superior make gorges across the

rock series, but at none of them has sufficient work been done to prove or disprove the exis- tence of copper in paying quantity.

GOLD AND SILVER.

Small traces of gold have been detected by the writer in quartz from the crystalline rocks of Clark county, but there is no probability that any quantity of this metal will ever be found in the State. Traces of silver have also been found in certain layers of the copper series in Ashland county. Judging from the occurrence of silver in the same series not far to the east in Michigan, it seems not improbable that this metal may be found also in Wisconsin.

BRICK CLAYS.

These constitute a very important resource in Wisconsin. Extending inland for many miles from the shores of Lakes Michigan and Superior are stratified beds of clay of lacustrine origin, having been deposited by the lake+ when greatly expanded beyond their present sizes. All of these clays are characterized by the presence of a large amount of carbonate of lime. Along Lake Superior they have not yet been utilized, but all through the belt of conn- try bordering Lake Michigan they are dug and burned, fully 50,000,000 bricks being made an- nually inthis region. A large proportion of these bricks are white or cream-colored, and these are widely known under the name of "Milwaukee brick," though by no means altogether made at Milwaukee. Others are ordinary red brick. The difference between the light-colored and red bricks is ordinarily attributed to the greater amount of iron in the clay from which the latter are burned, but it has been shown by Mr. E. T. Sweet that the white bricks are burned from clay which often contains more iron than that from which the red bricks are made, but which also contains a very large amount of carbonate of lime.

At Milwaukee 24,000,000 cream-colored brick are made annually ; at Racine, 3,500,000 ; at Appleton and Menasha, 1,800,000 each ; at Nee- nah, 1,600,000; at Clifton, 1,700,000 ; at Water-

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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY

loo, 1,600,000 ; and in smaller quantities at Jefferson, Fort Atkinson, Edgerton, White- water, Geneva, Ozankee, Sheboygan Falls, Manitowoc, Kewaunee and other places. In most cases the cream-colored bricks are made from a bright red clay, although occasionally the clay is light colored. At Whitewater and other places tile and pottery are also made from this clay.

Although these lacustrine clays are much the most important in Wisconsin, excellent brick clays are also found in the interior of the State. In numbers of places along the Yahara valley, in Dane county, an excellent stratified clay oc- curs. At Madison this is burned to a red brick ; at Stoughton and Oregon to a fine cream-colored briek. At Platteville, Lancaster and other points in the southwestern part of the State, red bricks are made from clays found in the vicinity.

KAOLIN (PORCELAIN-CLAY-FIRE-CLAY.)

The word "kaolin" is applied by geologists to a clay-like material which is used in making chinaware in this country and in Europe. The word is of Chinese origin, and is applied by the Chinese to the substance from which the famous porcelain of China is made. Its application to the European porcelain-clay was made under the mistaken idea-one which has prevailed among scientists until very recently-that the Chinese material is the same as the European. This we now know to be an error, the Chinese and Japanese wares being both made altogether from a solid rock.

True kaolin, using the word in its European sense, is unlike other ordinary elays, in being the result of the disintegration of feldspathie crys- talline rocks "in place," that is, without being removed from the place of its first formation. The base of kaolin is a mineral known as kto- linite, a compound of silica, alumina and water, which results from a change or decay of the feldspar of feldspar-bearing rocks. Feldspar con- tains silica, alumina, and soda or potash, or both. By percolation through the rocks of sur-

face water carrying carbonic acid, the potash and soda are removed and kaolinite results. Mingled with the kaolinite are, however, always the other ingredients of the rock, quartz, mica, etc., and also always some undecomposed, or only partly decomposed feldspar. These foreign ingredients can all, however, be more or less perfectly removed by a system of leviga- tion, when a pure white elay results, composed almost wholly of the scales of the mineral kao- linite. Prepared in this way the kaolin has a high value as a refractory material, and for forming the base of fine porcelain wares.

The crystalline rocks, which, by decomposi- tion, would produce a kaolin, are widely spread over the northern part of Wisconsin ; but over the most of the region occupied by them there is no sign of the existence of kaolin, the softened rock having apparently been removed by glacial action. In a belt of country, how- ever, which extends from Grand Rapids on the Wisconsin, westward to Black river, in Jackson county, the drift is insignificant or entirely absent ; the glacial forces have not acted, and the crystalline rocks are, or once were, overlaid by sandstone, along whose line of junction with the underlying formation numerous water- courses have existed, the result being an un- usnal amount of disintegration. Here we find, in the beds of the Wisconsin, Yellow and Black rivers, large exposures of crystalline rocks, which, between the rivers, are overlaid by sandstone. The crystalline rocks are in distinet layers, til ed at high angles, and in numerous places decomposed into a soft white kaolin. Inasmuch as these layers strike across the country in long, straight lines, patches of kaolin are found ranging themselves into simi- lar lines. The kaolin patches are most abund- ant on the Wisconsin in the vicinity of the city of Grand Rapids, in Wood county. They vary greatly in size, one deposit even varying from a fraction of an inch to a number of feet in thickness. The kaolin varies, also, greatly in character, some being quite impure and easily

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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.

fusible from a large content of iron oxide or from partial decomposition only, while much of it is very pure and refractory. There is no doubt, however, that a large amount of · kaolin exists in this region, and that by selection and levigation an excellent material may be ob- tained, which, by mingling with powdered quartz, may be made to yield a fire-brick of unusual refractoriness, and which may even be employed in making fine porcelain ware.

CEMENT ROCK

Certain layers of the Lower Magnesian limestone, as at Ripon, and other points in the eastern part of the State, are known to pro- duce a lime which has in some degree the hydraulic property, and the same is true of certain layers of the blue limestone of the Trenton group, in the southwestern part of the State. the most valuable material of this kind, however, that is as yet known to exist in Wis- consin, is found near Milwaukee, and has become very recently somewhat widely known as the "Milwaukee" cement rock. This rock belongs to the Hamilton formation, and is found near the Washington street bridge, at Brown Deer, on the lake shore at Whitefish bay, and at other points in the immediate vicin- ity of Milwaukee. The quantity attainable is large, and a very elaborate series of tests by D. J. Whittemore, chief engineer of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, shows that the cement made from it exceeds all native and foreign cements in strength, except the famous English "Portland" cement.

LIMESTONE FOR MAKING QUICK-LIME.

Quick-lime is made from all of the great lime- stone formations of Wisconsin, but more is burnt from the Lower Magnesian and Niagara forma- tions, than from the others. The Lower Mag- nesian yields a very strong mortar, but the lime burned from it is not very white. It is burned largely in the region about Madison, one of the largest quarries being on the south line of sec- tion 33 of that town, where some 20,000 bushels are produced annually, in two kilns. The lime

from this place has a considerable local reputa- tion under the name of "Madison lime." The Trenton limestone is burned at a few points, but yields an inferior lime. The Galena is not very generally burned, but yields a better lime than the Trenton. In the region about Watertown and Whitewater, some 40,000 to 50,000 barrels are made annually from this formation.

The Niagara, however, is the great lime fur- nisher of the northwest. From its purity it is adapted to the making of a most admirable lime. It is burned on a large scale at numbers of points in the eastern part of the State.

LIMESTONE FOR FLUX IN IRON SMELTING.

The limestones of Wisconsin are rarely used as a flux, because of their prevalent magnesian character. The stone from Schoonmaker's quarry, near Milwaukee, is used at the Bay View iron works, and is one of the few cases. There are certain layers, however, in the Tren- ton limestone, widely spread over the southern part of the State, which are non-magnesian, and frequently sufficiently free from earthy impuri- ties to be used as a flux. These layers deserve the attention of the iron masters of the State.

GLASS SAND.

Much of the St. Peter's sandstone is a purely siliceous, loose, white sand, well adapted to the making of glass. It is now being put to this use at points in the eastern part of the State.

PEAT.

Peat exists in large quantities and of good quality underneath the numerous marshes of the eastern and central parts of the State. Whether it can be utilized in the future as a fuel, will depend altogether upon the cost of its preparation, which will have to be very low in order that it may compete with superior fuels. As a fertilizer, peat has always a great value, and requires no preliminary treatment.

BUILDING STONES.

All the rocky formations of Wisconsin are used in building, and even the briefest synopsis of the subject of the building stones of the State

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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.

would exceed the limits of this paper. A few of the more prominent kinds only are mentioned.

Granite occurs in protruding masses, and also grading into gneiss, in the northern portions of the State, at numerous points. In many places on the Wisconsin, Yellow and Black rivers, and especially at Big Bull Falls, Yellow river, red granites of extraordinary beauty and value occur. These are not yet utilized, but will in the future have a high value.

The handsomest and most valuable sandstone found in Wisconsin, is that which extends along the shore of Lake Superior, from the Michigan to the Minnesota line, and which forms the basement rock of the Apostle islands. On one of these islands a very large quarry is opened, from which are taken masses of almost any size, of a very close-grained, uniform, dark brown stone, which has been shipped largely to Chicago and Milwaukee. At the latter place, the well known court house is built of this stone. Au equally good stone ean be obtained from the neighboring islands, and from points on the mainland. A very good white to brown indu- rated sandstone is obtained from the middle por- tions of the Potsdam series, at Stevens Point, Portage county; near, Grand Rapids, Wood county; at Black River Falls, Jackson county; at Packwaukee, Marquette county; near Wau toma, Waushara county; and at several points in the Baraboo .valley, Sauk county. A good buff colored, calcareous sandstone is quarried and used largely in the vicinity of Madison, from the uppermost layers of the Potsdam series.

All of the limestone formations of the State are quarried for building stone. A layer known locally as the "Mendota" limestone, ineluded in the upper layers of the Potsdam series, yields a very evenly bedded, yellow, fine grained rock, which is largely quarried along the valley of the lower Wisconsin, and also in the country about Madison. In the town of Westport, Dane county, a handsome, fine grained, cream colored, limestone is obtained from the Lower Magnesian. The Trenton limestone yields an evenly bedded,

thin stone, which is frequently used for laying in wall. The Galena and Niagara are also util- ized, and the latter is capable, in much of the eastern part of the State, of furnishing a dura- ble, easily dressed, compact, white stone.

COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES.

The material philosophy of a people has to to do with the practical and usefull. It sees in iron, coal, cotton, wool, grain and the trees of the forest, the elements of personal comfort and sources of material greatness, and is applied to their development, production and fabrication for purposes of exchange, interchange and sale. The early immigrants to Wisconsin territory found a land teeming with unsurpassed natu- ral advantages; prairies, timber, water and minerals, inviting the farmer, miner and lum- berman, to come and build houses, furnaces, mills and factories. The first settlers were a food-producing people. The prairies and open- ings were ready for the plow. The ease with which farms were brought under cultivation, readily enabled the pioneer to supply the food necessary for himself and family, while a sur- plus was often produced in a few months. The hardships so often encountered in the settle- ment of a new country, where forests must be felled and stumps removed to prepare the soil for tillage, were searcely known, or greatly mit- igated.

During the decade from 1835 to 1845, so great were the demands for the products of the soil, created by the tide of emigration, that the settlers found 'a home market for all their sur- plus products, and so easily were erops grown, that within a very brief time after the first emi- gration, but little was required from abroad. The commerce of the country was carried on by the exchange of products. The settlers (they could scarcely be called farmers) would exchange their wheat, corn, oats and pork for the goods, wares and fabrics of the village mer- chant. It was an age of barter; but they looked at the capabilities of the land they had come to possess, and, with firm faith, saw

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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.

bright promises of better days in the building up of a great State.

It is not designed to trace with minuteness the history of Wisconsin through the growth of its commercial and manufacturing interests. To do it justice would require a volume. The aim of this article will be to present a concise view of its present status. Allusion will only be incidentally made to stages of growth and progress by which it has been reached.

Few States in the Union possess within their borders so many, and in such abundance, ele- ments that contribute to the material prosperity of a people. Its soil of unsurpassed fertility ; its inexhaustible mines of lead, copper, zinc and iron ; its almost boundless forests ; its water- powers, sufficient to drive the machinery of the world; its long lines of lake shore on two sides, and the "Father of Waters" on another- need but enterprise, energy and capital to util- ize them in building an empire of wealth, where the hum of varied industries shall be heard in the music of the sickle, the loom and the anvil.

The growth of manufacturing industries was slow during the first twenty-five years of our history. The early settlers were poor. Fre- quently the land they tilled was pledged to ob- tain means to pay for it. Capitalists obtained from twenty to thirty per cent. per annum for the use of their money. Indeed, it was the rule, under the free-trade ideas of the money- lenders, for them to play the Shylock. While investments in bonds and mortgages were so profitable, few were ready to improve the natu- ral advantages the country presented for build- ing factories and work-shops.

For many years quite all the implements used in farming were brought from outside the State. While this is the case at present to some ex- tent with the more cumbersome farm machinery, quite a proportion of that and most of the sim- pler and lighter implements are made at home,

while much farm machinery is now manufac- tured for export to other States.

FURS.

The northwest was visited and explored by French voyageurs and missionaries from Cana- da at an early day. The object of the former was trading and gain. The Jesuits, ever zeal- ous in the propagation of their religion, went forth into the unknown wilderness to convert the natives to their faith. As early as !624 they were operating about Lake Huron and Mackinaw. Father Menard, it is related, was with the Indians on Lake Superior as early as 1661. The early explorers were of two classes, and were stimulated by two widely different motives-the voyageurs, by the love of gain, and the missionaries, by their zeal in the propaga- tion of their faith. Previous to 1679 a consid- erable trade in furs had sprung up with Indian tribes in the vicinity of Mackinaw and the northern part of "Onisconsin." In that year more than 200 canoes, laden with furs, passed Mackinaw, bound for Montreal. The whole commerce of this vast region then traversed was carried on with birch-bark canoes. The French used them in traversing wilds-otherwise inac- cessible by reason of floods of water at one sea- son, and ice and snow at another-also lakes and morasses which interrupted land journeys, and rapids and cataracts that cut off cummunica- tion by water. This little vessel enabled them to overcome all difficulties. Being buoyant, it rode the waves, although heavily freighted, and, of light draft, it permitted the traversing of small streams. Its weight was so light that it could be easily carried from one stream to an- other, and around rapids and other obstructions. With this little vessel the fur trade of the northwest was carried on, as well as the interior of a vast continent explored. Under the stim- ulus of commercial enterprise, the French trad- ers penetrated the recesses of the immense forests whose streams were the home of the beaver, the otter and the mink, and in whose depths were found the martin, sable, ermine

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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY ..

and other fur-bearing animals. A vast trade in furs sprung up and was carried on by different agents, under authority of the French govern- ment.

When the military possession of the north- western domain passed from the government of France to that of Great Britain in 1760, the re- lationship of the fur trade to the government changed. The government of France had con- trolled the traffic and made it a means of strengthening its hold upon the country it pos- sessed. The policy of Great Britain was to charter companies and grant them exclusive privileges. The Hudson Bay Company had grown rich and powerful between 1670 and 1760 Its success had excited the cupidity of capital- ists, and rival organizations were formed. The business of the company had been done at their trading stations, the natives bringing in their furs for exchange and barter. Other companies sent their voyageurs into every nook and corner to traffic with the trappers, and even to catch the fur bearing animals themselves. In the pro- gress of time private parties engaged in trap- ping and dealing in furs, and under the compe- tition created, the business became less profita- ble. In 1815 Congress passed an act prohibit- ing foreigners from dealing in furs in the Uni- ted States or in any of its territories. This ac- tion was obtained through the influence of John Jacob Astor. Mr. Astor organized the Ameri- can Fur Company in 1809, and afterward, in connection with the Northwest Company, bought out the Mackinaw Company, and the two were merged in the Southwest Company. The asso- ciation was suspended by the War of 1812. The American re-entered the field in 1816. The fur trade is still an important branch of traffic in the northern part of the State, and, during eight months of the year, employs a large number of men.

LEAD AND ZINC.

In 1824 the lead ore in the south western part of Wisconsin began to attract attention. From 1826 to 1830 there was a great rush of miners to

this region, somewhat like the Pike's Peak ex- citement at a later date. The lead producing region of Wisconsin covers an area of about 2,200 square miles, and embraces parts of Grant, Iowa and La Fayette counties. Between 1829 and 1839 the production of lead increased from 5000 to 10,000 tons. After the latter year it rose rapidly and attained its maximum in 1845, when it reached nearly 25,000 tons. Since that time the production has decreased, although still carried on to a considerable extent.

The sulphate and carbonate of zine abound in great quantities with the lead of southwest Wisconsin. Owing to the difficulty of working this class of ores, it was formerly allowed to ac- cumulate about the mouths of the mines. Within a few years past metallurgie processes have been so greatly improved that the zine ores have been largely utilized. At La Salle, in the State of Illinois, there are three estab- lishments for smelting zine ores. There is also one at Peru, Ill. To smelt zinc ores econom- ically, they are taken where cheap fuel is avail- able. Hence, the location of these works in the vicinity of coal mines. The works men- tioned made, from ores taken mostly from Wisconsin, 7,510 tons of zinc. These metals are, therefore, important elements in the com- merce of Wisconsin.

IRON.

The iron ores of Wisconsin occur in immense beds in several localities, and are destined to prove of great value. From their prodnet in 1863, there were 3,735 tons of pig iron received at Milwaukee; in 1865, 4,785 tons; in 1868, 10,- 890 tons. Of the latter amount, 4,648 tons were from the iron mines at Mayville. There were shipped from Milwaukee, in 1868, 6,361 tons of pig iron. There were also received 2,500 tons of ore from the Dodge county ore beds. During 1869 the ore beds at Iron Ridge were developed to a considerable extent, and two large blast furnaces constructed in Milwau- kee, at which place there were 4,695 tons of ore received, and 2,059 tons were shipped to Chicago

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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.

and Wyandotte. In 1870, 112,060 tons of iron ore were received at Milwaukee, 95,000 tons of which were from Iron Ridge, and 17,060 tons from Escanaba and Marquette, in Michigan. The total product of the mines at Iron Ridge in 1871 was 82,284 tons. The Milwaukee Iron Company received by lake, in the same year. 28,094 tons of Marquette iron ore to mix with the former in making railroad iron. In 1872 there were received from Iron Ridge 85,245 tons of ore, and 5,620 tons of pig iron. Much of the metal made by the Wisconsin Iron Com- pany in 1872 was shipped to St. Louis, to mix with the iron made from Missouri ore.

The Milwaukee Iron Company, during the year 1872, entered into the manufacture of mer- chant iron-it having been demonstrated that the raw material could be reduced there cheaper than elsewhere. The Minerva Furnace Company built also during the same year one of the most compact and complete iron furnaces to be found any where in the country. During the year 1873, the iron with most other material interests became seriously prostrated, so that the total receipts of ore in Milwaukee in 1874 amounted to only 31,993 tons, against 69,418 in 1873, and 85,245 tons in 1872. There were made in Mil- waukee in 1874, 29,680 tons of railroad iron. In 1875, 58,868 tons of ore were received at Mil- waukee, showing a revival of trade in an in- crease of 19,786 tons over the previous year. The operation of the works at Bay View hav- ing suspended, the receipts of ore in 1876, at Milwaukee, were less than during any year since 1869, being only 31,119 tons, of which amount only 5,488 tons were from Iron Ridge, and the total shipments were only 498 tons.

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History of Vernon County, Wisconsin, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 109

Author: Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Springfield, Union Number of Pages: 814

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Springfield, Union
Number of Pages: 814