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 11

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 11

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and the timber heavy. The formations are Potsdam and Lower Magnesian in nearly equal parts.

NORTH HALF OF TOWNSHIP 11, range 4 west, (parts of Franklin and Kickapoo) .- This town- ship is composed chiefly of high, rolling, ridge land, with a clay soil. In the central part of the town the soil is rather sandy, owing to a long belt of St. Peters, which crosses the town- ship from section 4, to section 34. The timber consists of groves of large white oak. The formations are : Potsdam, one-sixth, Lower Magnesian, two-thirds, and St. Peters sand-tone, one-sixth.

TOWNSHIP 12, range 4 west, ( parts of Frank- lin and Viroqua ) .- The divide between the Kickapoo and the Mississippi passes through the township from section 30 to section 5. The land is high and rolling, and covered with groves of small timber, chiefly black and white oak. It is well watered by numerous small streams and is fine farming land. The soil is a sand clay. There are numerous mounds of St. Peters on the ridges. Small sink holes are also quite frequent. Formations : St. Peters and Lower Magnesian in nearly equal parts.

TOWNSHIP 13, range 4 west, ( Viroqua ) .- The divide continues from section 32 to section 5. The greater part of the township is high, rolling prairie, well watered by numerous small streams and springs. The soil is clay. The timber is rather thin and small, consisting chiefly of black oak. The country resembles that of the lead region. The formations are the same as in township 12, same range.

TOWNSHIP 14, range 4 west, ( Christiana ) .- The topographical features of this township greatly resemble those of township 13, same range. The divide continues from section 35 to section 1, and is very high, wide and level. The soil is a deep elay, owing to the absence of any sandstone formation. The timber is a small second growth of black oak, and is chiefly confined to the ravines. It is very ditli- cult to obtain water on the ridge, as it lies from

fifty to 150 feet deep. The formation is chiefly Lower Magnesian.

NORTH HALF OF TOWNSHIP 11, range 5 west, ( parts of Franklin and Sterling) .- This is chiefly a prairie country, the divide is high, extending from section 35, in Crawford county, to section 1, in the town of Franklin. There are no large streams in the township, but numer- ons small streams running east and west from the divide. Small springs are quite numerous. The formations are St. Peters and Lower Mag- nesian, in about equal parts.

TOWNSHIP 12, range 5 west, ( parts of Jeffer- son, Sterling and Franklin ) .- The township is very hilly and broken, watered by the branches of the Bad Ax river. The valleys average about a quarter of a mile in width. The ridges are wide ; soil is clay ; timber, small oak. The formations are Potsdam, Lower Magnesian and St. Peters.

TOWNSHIP 13, range 5 west, ( Jefferson ) .- The township is well watered by two branches of the Bad Ax river, flowing in the central and northern parts. The southern and eastern parts are a fine prairie country; the northern, central, and western parts, are heavily timbered, with maple, elm, oak, etc. This timber is confined to the higher parts of the ridges, that about the streams being comparatively small and sparse. The formations are the same as in township 12, same range.

TOWNSHIP 14, range 5 west, ( Coon ) .- The country in this township is chiefly rolling ridge land, but broken by numerous streams and small ravines. It is well watered by the several branches of Coon creek. The valleys of the two principal branches are from one- half to one mile wide, with a rich loamy soil and sandy subsoil. Towards the head of the streams and on the ridges, the soil is clay and the timber large white oak. The formations are Potsdam, Lower Magnesian and St. Peters ; the second being the principal one.

NORTH HALF OF TOWNSHIP 11, range 6 west (parts of Sterling and Wheatland) .- This town

HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.

consists chiefly of high, rolling, ridge land, having an elevation from 400 to 550 feet above the Mississippi. The principal ridge is very wide and runs east and west through the north- ern part of the township, with numerous small ridges running north and south. The soil is clay, in some parts rather sandy ; the timber small but abundant. Water is very scarce on the ridges. The formations are Potsdam, Lower Magnesian and St. Peters ; the two latter pre- dominating.

TOWNSHIP 12, range 6 west (parts of Sterling, Wheatland, Genoa and Harmony) .- The prin- cipal stream is the Bad Ax river, which, with its numerous small tributaries and springs, sup- plies the township abundantly with water. The valley averages about half a mile in width, with a rich loamy soil and sandy sub-soil. The timber in the valleys is small and scattering black oak. The ridges are wide and rolling; soil, clay ; and timber, large white oak. The formations are the same as in township 11, same range.

TOWNSHIP 13, range 6 west (Harmony)- There are two high, rolling ridges in this town, each about a mile in width, running in an east and west course; one in the northern and the other in the southern part of the township. The soil on each is clay. The timber on the south- ern ridge is small and scattering black oak ; on the northern ridge, it consists of groves of large white oak. The northeast quarter of the township is especially heavily timbered. Water is very scarce in the vicinity of the ridges. There is but one stream, the uorth fork of the Bad Ax, which runs westerly through the een- ter of the township. Its valley is about half a mile wide ; soil rather sandy. The formation is Lower Magnesian, with the exception of a narrow strip of Potsdam in the valley of the Bad Ax.

TOWNSHIP 14, range 6 west (Hamburg)-The general topographical features of this township are about the same as in township 13, same range, consisting of high, broken ridges, and

one principal stream. The soil on the ridges is clay ; the timber is white oak and black oak. The valley of Coon creek varies from a half muile to a mile in width. The soil is a rich loam, with sandy sub-soil. There are numer- ous small hills and benches of alluvium in the valley, the materials of which appear to have been derived from the hills above during the progress of denudation, and have since been partially cut away by the changes in the stream, so that exposures are frequently seen as much as fifty feet thick, of irregularly stratified clay and sand. About one-third of the township is covered with Potsdam and the remainder with Lower Magnesian.

NORTH FRACTIONAL HALF OF TOWNSHIP 11, range 7 west (part of Wheatland)-This town- ship, like all of townships of the same number, lies in both Crawford and Vernon counties, and is made fractional by the Mississippi. Only its north half lies in Vernon. As a township, it is hilly, and the best land lies on a high and narrow ridge in the eastern part of the town- ship, which is parallel to the river, and about 500 feet above it. The river runs close to the bluffs, which are- high and precipitous. The soil is clay and the timber white oak. The formations are Potsdam, Lower Magnesian and St. Peters, the second being the prevailing one.

FRACTIONAL TOWNSHIP 12, range 7 west (part of Genoa). - This, like township 11, same range, is a fractional one. It is well watered by the Mississippi and Bad Ax rivers and their small tributaries. About the larger streams there is a great deal of low, flat, swampy land. The soil is clay throughout the town, and the timber chiefly small oak. The valley of the Bad Ax frequently contains very large and thick beds of alluvium. The ridges lie about 500 feet above the river, and form a rolling prairie country, with small groves of oak. All the formations from the Trenton to the Pots- dam inclusive are present. The Trenton con- sists of a small outlier in the southeast part of the township. The general sections of this

HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.

township, from the ridge to the Mississippi river, is as follows:

NAME. FEET.

St. Peters sandstone. 80

Lower Magnesian limestone .230

Potsdam sandstone ... 150

Total from ridge to valley .460

There are about twenty-two square miles in this township.

FRACTIONAL TOWNSHIP 13, range 7 west, (part of Genoa and Bergen) .- There are about twenty-four square miles contained in this township, of which the greater part is hilly and broken. The ridge dividing Coon creek and the Bad Ax river passes northeasterly through the township. It is much cut up with ravines and has but little timber. The soil is clay. The formation is chiefly lower magne- sian.

FRACTIONAL TOWNSHIP 14, range 7 west, (Bergen) .- The western half of this township lies in the immediate valley of the Mississippi, and is an alluvial bottom, consisting of swamps, hay-meadows and timbered islands. The east- ern half comprises the valleys of Coon creek and Chipmunk "coolie," each about a mile wide, and the intervening ridge. The soil is clay on the ridges; and more sandy in the valleys. The timber is small and confined to the ridges. The formations are Potsdam and Lower Magnesian, in about equal quantities.

GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.

Potsdam Sandstone .- On the southwest quar- ter of section 18, township 11, range 3 west, in the town of Kickapoo, this county, is one of the finest exposures of Potsdam sandstone in all this section of country. The remarkable alterations of thin beds of sandstone and Mag- nesian limestone, near the top of the Potsdam, have not their counterpart in all this part of the State.

The productions of the Potsdam, which are of importance in an economical point of view, are iron, building stone and mineral waters. Iron is found in Vernon county, where it usu-

ally oceurs as a hematite. It is found on the northeast quarter of section 10, in township 11, range 3 west, in the town of Kickapoo; on the northwest quarter of section &, in township 14, range 3 west, in the town of Clinton; also on the northeast quarter of section 20, and the south- east quarter of section 17, in the same town; and some very good specimens of hematite have been found on the southwest quarter of section 3, in that town. The same may be said of the corners of sections 15, 16, 21 and 22. This min- eral has also been found on the northwest quar- ter of section 21, in township 13, range 3 west, in the town of Webster.

Lower Mugnesian Limestone .- On the south- east quarter of section 14, in township l', range 3 west, in the town of Kickapoo, the junction of the St. Peters and Lower Magnesian is clearly marked by a bed of soft, yellow- ish white clay, about four feet thick. This clay resembles the pipe clay of the Trenton limestone, found in the lead region, south of the Wisconsin, At De Soto, on the Mis- sissippi river, the Lower Magnesian limestone affords a fine, close-grained and durable build- ing stone. It is of a very light color, and often nearly white. In the village of Springville, in the town of Jefferson, and along the banks of the stream a short distance below the village, the Lower Magnesian presents good ontcrops. It occurs in beds from one to four feet thick, of a light yellow color, free from flints, and makes a very handsome building stone. Along Coon river, in the town of Hamburg, there are numer- ous good exposures of the lower beds of the form- ation. There are many other exposures in the county, but the foregoing are among the best. In general, they may be found on all streams.

No very extensive or valuable deposits of metallic ore are found in the Lower Magnesian formation, in the southwestern part of Wiscon- sin. A few localities of copper and lead exist, which shows that the formation is not entirely destitute of metallic contents. Economically considered, this formation is most useful in af-

HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.

fording good building stone and lime, both of which articles are abundant in all parts of the country where the Lower Magnesian limestone becomes the surface rock.

The only localities where copper has been found in Vernon county, are in the towns of Webster and Clinton, one in each, where only a single specimen has been discovered; but building stone and lime are obtained in many localities.

St. Peters Sandstone .- In this county the St. Peters sandstone becomes the surface rock in many localities. At the village of Coon Prairie, section 5, in township 13, range 4 west, in the town of Viroqua, on the ridge dividing the Kickapoo from the Mississippi, this formation forms the surface rock. A spur of it also extends in a north- westerly direction as far as section 22, township 14, range 5 west (the town of Coon), forming a belt averaging a mile and a half in width. Proceeding south from Coon Prairie village to Viroqua, the sandstone covers nearly all of the western half of township 13, range 4 west (town of Viroqua), and presents a number of fine exposures:

1. A mound in the southwest quarter of sec- tion 5, and one in the northwest quarter of sec- tion 8, all near the south line of section 5.

2. Three mounds in the northwest quarter of section 2', all near the north line of the section and about fifty feet high.

3. A ridge consisting of ledges of sandstone fifty feet high, extending from near the center of section 17, nearly to the northwest corner of section 18, presenting good exposures through almost the entire distance.

At Viroqua, a branch of the main ridge extends to the west, a distance of twelve miles, between the north and south forks of the Bad Ax river. The sandstone on this ridge averages a mile and a quarter in width, with several small lateral branches. Continuing along the principal divide from Viroqua to the south line of township 12, range 4 west (town of Franklin),

the St. Peters covers nearly all the western half of that township.

In township 11, range 4 west (town of Frank- lin), a spur of the principal divide, covered with sandstone from half a mile to two miles in width, occupies the central part of the town- ship, extending from section 4, in Vernon county, to section 34, in Crawford county.

In township 11, range 5 west, in Vernon and Crawford counties, the sandstone on the principle divide covers the greater part of the township, with a fine exposure in two mounds near the center of section 5, (town of Sterling), Vernon county. From the northeast corner of this township (town of Sterling), a high and very irregular ridge, with numerous lateral branches, extends west nearly to the Mississippi river, dividing Rush creek in Crawford county, from the south fork of the Bad Ax, in Vernon county. This ridge is covered with sandstone, the width of the belt varying from one to three miles. There are two good exposures formed by mounds; one a short distance south of the center of section 16, township 11, range 6 west (southwest section of Sterling), and the other in the southeast quarter of the same section.

In addition to the foregoing, there are a num- ber of stated areas in Vernon county of which the following may be mentioned :

1. In township12, range 5 west, (townships of Jefferson, Sterling and Franklin), on sections 15, 16, 21 and 22 there is an area equal to a section and a half.

2. In township 14, range 4 west, (Christiana), on sections 20, 21, 28 and 29 is a sandstone area equal to a little more than half a square mile; also, west of the quarter post of sections 34 and 3, on the south line of the township is an isolated mound of sandstone forming a good exposure.

3. On section 3, township 13, range 7 west, (town of Bergen), an area of sandstone extends into section 34, comprising about half a section.

4. In township 11, range 4 west, (towns of Kickapoo and Franklin), is a large area of

HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.

sandstone lying on the ridge west of the Kick- apoo river. It is situated on sections 1, 2, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 in Vernon county, and on sections 24, 25, 28, 33, 35 and 36 in Crawford county, comprising an area of about five sections.

5. In township 12, range 3 west, (town of Liberty), on the ridge between the Kickapoo river and its western branch, is a narrow ridge of sandstone, about four miles long and a half a mile wide, running through sections 2, 3, 10, 11, 13 and 14, and ending on sections 34 and 35 in township 13, range 3 west, (town of Web- ster).

6. In township 14, range 3 west, (town of Clinton), on the ridge just mentioned, is an area of sandstone lying on sections 15, 16, 21, 22, 27 and 28, and covering a surface equal to one section.

1. In township 11, range 5 west, (town of Franklin), on sections 14 and 15; and sections 21, 22, 23, 26, 27 and 35 in Crawford county; and on the divide between the Mississippi and Kickapoo rivers.

2. On the same divide and on seetions 15, 16 and 21, of township 12, range 4 west, (town of Franklin), is an area equal to about three-quar- ters of a seetion. This is the most northerly point to which the Trenton formation has been traced in this part of the State.

3. In township 11, range 6 west, (town of Sterling), on section 1 is an arca equal to half a section. There is also on section 10. an area equal to a quarter section. These last two areas are situated on the high ridge which sep-

Trenton Limestone .- This formation forms the surface rock in the following places in | arates the Bad Ax river from Rush creek in Crawford county.

Vernon county :

CHAPTER III.

ANCIENT INHABITANTS.

The first people of Vernon county, who were they ? This question, of course, can never be answered. We know that, scattered over it, in various directions, there once lived a race concerning which all that has come down to us is exceedingly shadowy. These people are usually denominated

THE MOUND BUILDERS.

Vestiges of the labor of the so-called Mound Builders still exist in various parts of the county of Vernon, in the form of earth * orks, consist- ing of mounds, some rudely representing ani- mals ; others seemingly like low battlements ; while a third variety are simply elevations, usually conical in shape. Although more plen-

tiful in the vicinity of the Mississippi and the Kickapoo rivers, yet they are all above the high water mark. They are numerous in the towns of Liberty, Sterling and Wheatland, and are in existence in Viroqua, and in other towns. What all these earthworks were for-what uses they subserved-is absolutely unknown. It is probable that the ingennity and research of man may never reach beyond conjecture in determin- ing the object of these mounds. And of the hands that shaped them, we know nothing.

The most noted of these earthworks in the county are those to be seen on the farm of IT. L. Turner, on section 24, township 12, range 3 west, in the town of Liberty. In some respects

HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.

they are the most remarkable of any in the State as yet discovered. We give a sketch of them, the first one that has been given to the public. It is from the pen of Mr. Turner him- self :

"There are thirty-two mounds on the place. Scattered around in groups of one or more on about 100 acres of land, of a dry, sandy soil, being above high water mark, the mounds are always on good dry land. They are of an even texture of earth throughout, showing that they are built of soil from the surface where they are constructed. They are of various forms and sizes. Some are round, some are long, straight mounds of earth ; some are in the form of animals and some are in the form of birds ; all are very distinct, and show clearly what they are. But they vary from the animals and birds of the present time.

"The first group consists of three mounds. Two of these are nearly in the form of deer lying on their sides, facing each other, their heads abont two rods apart. They are about six rods long in their bodies ; their tails six or eight rods long. The knee joints of both forward and hind legs are bent back, and the tails are very long for deer. The other mound is in the form of a bear lying on his side, and is about five rods long.

About fifty rods northwest from this is group No 2. consisting of two mounds in the form of a bear lying on his side, the knee joint of the fore and hind legs bending back. They are some six rods long ; their legs are toward each other. They are about six rods apart, one about its length ahead of the other.

About forty rods to the north of this group is group No. 3 consisting of thirteen round mounds, in two rows; one of the rows is straight-the largest mounds are in the mid- dle. The other row is in a curve, in which there are seven mounds. From this group of mounds in a southwest direction, about forty rods, is group No. 4 consisting of two mounds ; one a straight mound of earth about

four rods long ; the other one is a round monnd directly in line with the other.

About fifty rods to the southeast of this fourth group is a large mound in the form of a bird, his wings and tail extended as though sailing in the air. From tip to tip of wings is about thirty rods. This mound is called the Eagle, on account of its large size, being the largest on the place. About thirty rods to the northwest of the Eagle is another mound in the form of a bird, about eight rods in length, of a more compact form then the Eagle. Its wings and tail are extended like a bird sailing in the air. Hawk is the name of this mound. About fifty rods to the south of the Hawk is a small round mound. From this round mound in a south- west direction is group No. 5, consisting of two mounds, one is in the form of a beaver crouched on the ground, his legs under him; the other mound is the same animal lying on his side, and forward of the other. Those mounds are about six rods in length. To the north of group No. 5 about twenty-five rods dis- tant, is group No. 6 consisting of two mounds in the form of birds. They are alike, both flying the same way. They are side by side, the tips of the wings just touching each other. They are flying south. These are called the Wild Geese. To the northwest of the Wild Geese, about thirty rods distant, is a straight mound about six rods in length. To the north of the Wild Geese,about thirty rods distant, is a group of four mounds, two of them are in the form of a beaver crouched upon the ground with his feet under him. The two other mounds are straight in line with each other, with about two rods between them; the length of these mounds are from six to eight rods each.

Ou the same section in the Kickapoo valley, on the farm now owned by David Sommers, are numerons earthworks of like character as those on the farm of Mr. Turner. The average height of these mounds was, when the country was first settled, from two to three feet.

THE INDIANS.

The earliest record we have of the occupation of Vernon county and contiguous territory, by

HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.

the Indians, is that given on the map of Samuel Champlain, dated in 1632. It is there seen that reports had reached the ears of the French upon the waters of the St. Lawrence, of a great river to the westward of Lake lluron and to the southward of Lake Superior, but which it was said flowed north into the lake last mentioned. This was a vague account of the Mississippi. Upon that river are located savages, which, probably, were those afterward known as

THE SIOUX.

Band's of this Nation occupied the whole country immediately north of the Wisconsin and adjacent to the Mississippi. It is not known that they had any village within what is now Vernon county; but this region was, probably, their hunting grounds, if they did not actually occupy it with their wigwams.

It was known to the French, also, before any white man had ever set foot upon any part of Wix- consin or the northwest, that these Sionx were in the habit of going in their canoes to trade with the Winnebagoes, who were located at that time (before 1634) around Lake Winne- bago. Farther than this, no knowledge had been gained of these savages. Not many years afterward they must have withdrawn farther up the Mississippi, leaving the country upon and down this river for some distance from tl.e mouth of the Wisconsin, without inhabitants. At this time, the nearest savages, eastward, were the Kickapoos, Miamis and Mascoutins, who were loca ed on Fox river above Lake Winnebago. Such was the case in 1634, when John Nicollet, the first man to explore the present State of Wisconsin, reached that river.

THE SACS AND FOXES.

What is now Vernon county and its surround- ing country remained a derelict region until finally the Saes and Foxes from the east came to Fox river and then moved westward to the

Wisconsin. Of all the tribes who have inhabited this State, they are the most noted. The Saes were sometimes called Sanks or Saukies and the Foxes were frequently known as the Outagamies. They are of the Algonquin family, and are first mentioned in 1665, by Father Allouez, but as separate tribes. Afterward, however, because of the identity of their language, and their associations, they were and still are considered one Nation. In Decem- ber, 1669, Allouez found upon the shores of Green bay a village of Sacs, occupied also by members of other tribes; and early in 1670 he visited a village of the same Indians located up- on the Fox river of Green bay, at a distance of four leagues from its mouth. Here a de- vice of these Indians for catching fish arrested the attention of the missionary. "From one side of the river to the other," he writes, "they inade a barricade, planting great stakes, two fathoms from the water, in such a manner that there is, as it were, a bridge above for the fishes, who by the aid of a little bow-net, easily take sturgeons and all other kinds of fish which this pier stops, although the water does not cease to flow between the stakes." When the Jesuit father first obtained, five years previous, a knowledge of this tribe, they were represented as savage above all others, great in numbers, and without any permanent dwelling place. The Foxes were of two stoeks-one calling themselves Outagamies or Foxes, whence our English name; the other, Musquakink, or men of red elay, the name now used by the tribe. They lived in early times with their kindred the Saes east of Detroit, and as some say near the St. Lawrence. They were driven west, and settled at Saginaw, a name derived from the Sacs. Thence they were forced by the Iroquois to Green bay; but were compelled to leave that place and settle on Fox river.

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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 11

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

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