History of northern Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development, and resources; an extensive sketch of its counties, cities, towns and villages, their improvements, industries, manufactories; biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers; views of county seats, etc., Part 230

Author: Western historical co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1052

USA > Wisconsin > History of northern Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development, and resources; an extensive sketch of its counties, cities, towns and villages, their improvements, industries, manufactories; biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers; views of county seats, etc. > Part 230

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

965

HISTORY OF ST. CROIX COUNTY.

J. FRANK FULLER, Star Prairie. was born in Waldo Co., Me., in 1833; worked on a farin for 23 years; moved to Still- water, Minn., in 1857; in the spring of 1859, moved to Star Prairie and worked at coopering and carpentering, until five years ago, when he opened a drug store which he built himself. In 1879, started his son in a general merchandising business at Cum- berland, on the North Wisconsin R. R .. where he is now doing a business of over 820,000 annually, in connection with it has a large brick yard at Barronett, eight miles further up the road, where a first-class article is made. Has three lots in Star Prairie, three in Cumberland and several in Barronett. Was elected Town Clerk of Star Prairie for two years, School Clerk three years, nine years Justice of the Peace. Voted for Horace Greeley and is proud of it. Has one child by his first wife, Ai Deforest, and by his second ( Sydia E. Nicholson, of Providence, R. I.,) Willie E. and Elmer Bret Hart.

THOMAS BICKFORD JEWELL, Star Prairie, was born in Warner, N. II., Jan. 30, 1809; learned the carpenter and machinist trade at Fisherville, N. H., came to Hudson. June, 1854, worked at St. Croix Falls as master mechanie in a saw mill for one year ; moved to Star Prairie, Oct. 1855, and entered 320 aeres, including the spot he now lives on ; made his house of tama- raek poles, hauling the boards and shingles from St. Croix Falls, a distance of 32 miles. At that time there was not a single house in what is now the Star Prairie ; he had the wolf, the deer and the Indians for company ; he lived in his old house for about nine years, when he built his present large and substantial mansion ; with his brother, built the first grist and saw mill in the Star Prairie. Married in 1835, to Miss Mary G. Peasley, of Ware, N. H. They have two children, Alonzo P. and Trueworthey. Was appointed Postmaster, holding the office ten years; Chair- man of the Board of Supervisors, for three years ; Captain of the 6th Co., 40th Reg., of Militia, in the State of New Hampshire, 4th Brigade, 3d Division.

TRUEWORTHY JEWELL, Star Prairie, was born in Bradford, N. H., March 9, 1807 ; moved to Lowell, Mass., when twenty years of age, and engaged in the grain trade ; thence to Hopkinton, N. H., in charge of a saw mill, then to Lynn, Mass., in the fishing business three years ; then to Lowell for a short time, and Sharon, N. H., in charge of a steam saw mill for three years ; then hack to Lowell, and engaged in railroading, having charge of the bonded goods for Canada, and conducting trains for four years ; eame to Wisconsin, in 1852, visiting St. Croix Falls and other locations in the St. Croix Valley; returning by way of Burlington, Iowa, met his brother coming up the river, who persuaded him to return and re-look the country ever. He re- mained all winter lumbering, and returned to Lowell in the spring, and went to railroading again. In June, 1854, he moved his fam- ily to Hudson, and came to Star Prairie and located 400 aeres. including the present village of Star Prairie, and built a saw and feed mill, which he operated until 1863. Since that time has devoted most of his time to his landed interests. He brought into this place the first American white woman, on an ox-cart ; went on foot fifty-two miles to get a plow, and when it came it cost $90; built his rude house, and with his wife entertained, with true New England hospitality, all who called, having, at that early day, little society but the Indians, wolves and deer. Was Chair- man of the first town board, also Town Treasurer, and has filled many offiees of honor and trust with fidelity. Married Dee. 14. 1833, to Miss E. A. Barnard, of Lowell, Mass. They have four children, Ann E., Emeline A., Martha J., Charles ().

ABNER P. MUZZY, Star Prairie, was born in Henniker, N. II., Aug. 19, 1824. came to Star Prairie, St. Croix Co .. in 1854, one of the first settlers in that then wild region. Ile has a good home; has a fine trout pond which he has made himself, bringing them thirty-six miles on foot, in a pail, in a single day; now the speckled beauties swim in elear. pure waters in thousands. Also has a mineral spring of great celebrity, which is valuable for its medicinal qualities, and is known as the " New Saratoga Springs," and is visited by thousands yearly.

WILLIAM OSGOOD, Star Prairie, was born in Essex Co., N. Y., Feb. 8, 1791 ; came to New Richmond in 1857, and lo- cated on the spot where Joseph Kibbie now lives. There were only five buildings in New Richmond at that time. Moved to Star Prairie about three years ago; is a man of originality of thought, invented " Osgood's Repeating Rifle," a fine arm, also "Osgood's Wind Mill" for pumping water. Is now in his niuetieth year.hale and vigorous, walks without a cane, and reads without glasses.

MARK WALTON, Star Prairie, was born in England ; eame to Beloit, when Wisconsin was a Territory, in 1846; re- mained a few months ; enlisted in Chicago for the Mexican war, in Co. G, 16th Regular Vols .; was in the battles of Metamoras, Camargo, Monterey and Buena Vista ; was wounded in the head and leg; honorably discharged in 1848, and in the spring of 1849 started overland for California; was four months on the way. Engaged in mining two years; went to Oregon City, and worked in a flouring mill four months; returned to mining again, made some money, and started for the States, and landed in Milwaukee ; went thenee to Osceola and worked at milling nntil 1861, when he enlisted again in the 10th Wis. Battery, Capt. Y. V. Beebe, of Gen. Kilpatrick's command, where he remained until the elose of the war ; was at the Grand Review ; was the man who sent home the last cartridge, which was the signal for the hosts to start on their review, and also the last gun of the war. Returned to Os- ceola and remained a few weeks, thence to Star Prairie, and en- gaged in milling, where he now remains. Was presented with a massive gold-headed cane, by vote of the people of Star Prairie, at a festival, in 1877, as the most popular man in the place. Married, Dec. 25. 1857, to Miss Pheba A. White, of Massachu- setts. They have four children-Lewis M., Charles P., Etta and Clare.

ERIN.

Michael Lynch of Jonesville, a surveyor, informed some of his friends of the fine farming lands to be found here. Accordingly, John Casey, James, Michael and Thomas Mc- Namara came up and entered land in 1854. Patrick Ring came soon after. It now has one hundred residents.

The Rev. Father McGee had service here in 1856.

A church was afterward built. The Rev. Dr. Quigley was the pastor some time. Rev. M. Conolly is the present priest.

The Willow River runs through the town of Erin Prairie where the village is located, and twenty years ago, S. A. Jewett built a saw and flour mill and had a post office called Jewett's Mills, now Erin.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

THOMAS WALSH, Erin Prairie, was born in Westport; Ireland, Dec. 11, 1837. Ile moved with his parents to Allegany Co., N. Y., in 1840, and to Rock Co., Wis., in 1855; thence to Texas, remaining two years, and, in 1857. removed to Hudson, St. Croix Co., where he followed lumbering and steamboating. At the breaking out of the war he was in New Orleans and im- mediately returned North to his home in Hudson, and went at once into the Government employ steamboating, carrying supplies from point to point on the river. 1Ie passed through many nar- row escapes from the sinking and exploding of boats on the Mis- sissippi River. At the close of the war he moved to Erin Prairie, and, in 1867, bought the farm where he now lives. He was elected Chairman of the Town Board four years consecutively, also a member of the County Board in the fall of 1875 ; elceted Iligh Sheriff of St. Croix Co., receiving every vote in his own town; in 1878, elected Chairman of the Board of Supervisors; re-elected again in 1879-80 ; had the office tendered him in 1881, which he deelined on account of his own private business. He

966

HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN

was married Dec. 2, 1862, to Miss Bridget Connolly of Allegany Co., N. Y. They have ten children - William, Patrick II., Mary, Edward J .. Thomas. Richard, Michael J., Winnie, Frank and Owen.

NEW CENTERVILLE.

This place has about 200 inhabitants and is located on Rush River.

It has a store, blacksmith shop and harness maker. A flour mill is now building by Ford & Gossman.

It has a Scandinavian Methodist Church organized twenty years ago. Rev. N. Christopherson was the first Pastor. Since the church was built, several years ago, Rev. P. B. Smith has been the Pastor.

CADY.

D. C. Davis has a saw-mill, shingle, pieket and lath- mill, with planing machinery. It is three miles south of Ilersey and has a population of sixty.

ROBERTS.

A little station on the railroad a few miles west of Ham- mond. It has an eleva.or, a blacksmith shop, several stores and other village appurtenances.

About one hundred people live there.

ERIN CORNERS.

This is a little place with sixty souls. It has a store, a blacksmith shop and a large Catholic Church, presided over by Rev. M. Conolley.

WOODVILLE.

Hlas a saw-mill as a nucleus for future growth.

WARREN.

Is distinguished by having a town library of three hun- dred volumes.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

RICHARD JOYCE, Warren, was born in Ireland in 1837; came to America in 1854, and located in Erin Prairie in 1857. when there was but three white settlers in the town. He was Chairman of the first Board of Supervisors for five years; was County Commissioner for two years; was the first Superintendent of Schools and the first teacher, and the first Justiec of the Peace, holding the office for seven years; Superintendent of Schools five years ; Town Treasurer two years ; first Postmaster. for four years ; has held every office of honor and trust with abil- ity and fidelity in Erin Prairie. and for the past few years has lived in the town of Warren. He was married Dec. 25, 1861, to Bridget O'Connell. They have nine children-Letitia M., Ellen, Ilarry F .. Margaret, Nora, Bridget, Redmond Joseph, Alice.

CHARLES STUART, farmer, came from Canada to Wiscon- sin in 1854, and for the first two years worked for Carson, at Eau Galle ; and in 1856 moved on to a farm in Pepin Co, ou See. 12, Town 25. Range 14. This was heavily timbered with hard wood mostly, which he cleared and cultivated many years, then went to C'ady Township, St. Croix C'o., near Hersey. where he now lives on a farm. He was married, May 12, 1854, to Miss Catharine Thompson, of Little Falls, N. Y. They have eight children liv- ing -- Mary Ann, Samuel, Wm. I., Charles J., Oliver Milton, Maggie Jane, Clara Belle, Lovina Winifred and Walter Arthur. Ile has been a member of the School Board many terms and Con- stable of Waterville Township. His grandfather, Charles Stuart, was born in Glasgow. Scotland, but afterward moved into Ireland, where his father, John Stuart, was born. In 1839 his father moved to Canada, where he died.

967

HISTORY OF SHEBOYGAN COUNTY.

SHEBOYGAN COUNTY.

PHYSICAL FEATURES.

Sheboygan County is delightfully situated on the west- ern shore of Lake Michigan, whose waters form the eastern boundary of the State of Wisconsin. This county lies about midway between the southern and northern limits of the State, on the eastern border, and is the fifth in the lake shore tier of counties, reckoning from the southern line of the State. Two principal points of land beautifully indent the lake here, forming the bay at the mouth of the Sheboy- gan River, which has been improved by the construction of an excellent harbor. The county embraces towns 13 to 16 north, inclusive, and Ranges 20 to 23 east, inclusive It is composed of fifteen towns, nine of which are the usual size of six miles square, and six are fractional. Two of the latter are larger than standard measurement, and four are smaller. About 515 square miles, or nearly 330,000 acres are embraced by the boundaries of the county, comparatively little of it being unproductive land. A large marsh in the northwestern section is be- ing reduced to use by drainage. The Kettle range of hills, which traverse the eastern border of the State, cross the western portion of the county obliquely, abruptly break- ing the generally undulating surface. Glacial action trended evidently toward these hills on either side, the lines deflect- ing in a sontherly direction. Several small lakes dot the landscape in different sections of the county, the principal of which are Sheboygan, Elkhart, Cedar and Random Lakes. Some of these are attracting attention as places of summer resort. The county is abundantly supplied with streams of water, the most important of which are the Sheboygan, Mullet, Onion and Pigeon Rivers, with many tributary ereeks. The courses of the streams are generally very cir- cuitous, flowing in all directions of the compass. Good water-power is supplied by many of the streams, which is utilized for manufacturing purposes. Timber was origin- ally very abundant, both of pine and hard woods. The pine has been sawed into lumber, and most of the hard wood timber suited to manufacturing uses has been appropriated. The soil, with the exception of the gravel hills before men- tioned, is rich and fertile, and adapted to a varied agricult- ural industry. The cultivation of the cereals yields liberal returns, while experience shows that no section of the State serves better for the production of dairy products. Sheep- raising has also proved remunerative in the past. A pecu- liar quality of soil and condition along the shore of Lake Michigan is its capacity of producing a very superior article of green peas, which are eagerly sought by the markets of East and West, and of which thousands of barrels are an- nually shipped. Their production in standard quality seems to be limited to a comparatively narrow belt near the shore of the lake. Handsome cream-colored brick, of fine quality, are made from red clay in certain localities. Lime- stone is quarried and burned in the valley of Pigeon River, at a point about three miles northwest of the city of She- boygan. It is of a blue tint, very hard, free from fossils,

and makes a very pure article of lime. The geological formation is accurately shown by the boring of the artesian well in the park in Sheboygan, which was sunk to a depth of 1,475 feet. The surface drift reaches 92 feet in depth, and is underlaid by 719 feet of Niagara limestone, 240 feet of Cincinnati shale, 213 feet of Trenton and Galena lime- stone, and 212 feet of St. Peter sandstone. Water of a strongly saline character, tinctured with various mineral substances, was here found in abundance, with a pressure sufficient to carry it more than a hundred feet above the top of the ground. Other investigation shows that beneath the St. Peter sandstone lie strata of Lower Magnesian lime- stone and Potsdam sandstone, resting upon the original Archæan formation. Lake Michigan lies 578 feet above the ocean. The surface of the ground at Lighthouse Point is forty-six feet above the lake, aud at the post office in She- boygan, fifty-three feet above. Higher altitudes are reached, receding from the lake, the highest point being in the town of Sherman, where a height of 473 feet is attained

PREHISTORIC REMAINS.

Within the limits of the county are found scattered traces of the work of that ancient and little known people which have been designated the " Mound Builders." The evidences of their work in this locality, though fewer in number than in other portions of the State, have been the subject of some study. About two miles west of the city of Sheboygan, is found a group of eight mounds, one of which is in the form of a deer in a reclining posture, and is twenty feet in length, with an average height of from four to six feet. The remaining seven mounds are arranged as sides of a rectangular inclosure, are from eight to ten feet in height, and have the appearance of an abandoned fortifi- cation. That these mounds are of considerable age, is shown by the fact of several large trees, apparently several centuries old, growing upon them. A few years ago one of the mounds was examined into, and a number of fragments of bone taken from it. Although these mounds so closely resemble works in other localities which have been shown to establish the fact of an ancient, prehistoric race, as to lead to a reasonable inference that they belong to the same class of evidences; yet further examination is needed to posi- tively establish their character.

THE NAME.

It is to the Indian occupants of the county that Sheboy- gan owes its name. The derivation and meaning of the word has never been satisfactorily settled. The most favor- ably received tradition is that the Indians applied the name, Sheub-wau-wau-gun, to the river, meaning where the water disappears under the ground, because of the idea conceived by them that the stream now known as Sheboygan River contained no more water below the confluence of the Mullet and Onion Rivers than above it. Others incline to the opinion that the name indicates a water connection between

968

HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

lakes, as the Sheboygan River has its source near Lake Winnebago and flows into Lake Michigan. Still others un- derstand the term to have signified rumbling water, the In- dians conceiving that they could hear a roar or rumbling of waters upon placing the ear to the ground. The modifica- tion of Sheub-wan-wau-gun (other spelling being Sheub- wau-wa gum and She-wau-wan-gun) with Ship-wa-gun, and finally contracted into the present Sheboygan, presents an easy transition.

THE INDIANS.

Sheboygan County formed part of the territory to which the Chippewa Indians laid elaim, but it was never one of their favorite camping grounds. At certain seasons of the year. a number of lodges would set up their wigwams on the bluff's by the lake, or on the high banks along the rivers, and engage in catching and smoking the white fish which were found in great numbers. When the dam was being built for the first saw-mill, three or four hundred Indians came and protested against it, because they feared that it would keep the fish from going up the river, and it was only after a prolonged argument that they consented to its com- pletion. The relations between the early settlers of the county and the Indians were always of a friendly nature. For years previous to the first permanent settlement, Green Bay fur traders occasionally came here to engage in the Indian trade, and it is in that capacity that William Farns- worth, afterward the leading pioneer settler, came here as early as 1818. In 1835, the Indians had already ceded the land to the Government, but there were still about one thousand of them living in the county. There were about one hundred wigwams on the bank of the Sheboygan River near its mouth, a large town east of Cascade, in the present town of Lyndon. another two miles south of it. and one or two farther west. A number of different tribes were repre- sented. but the Chippewas were most numerous. For a dozen years after the first permanent settlement. it was not an unusual thing for twenty or thirty lodges of Indians, with their ponies, squaws and papooses, to bring in their peltry and exchange it for blankets, tobacco and whisky, the prime necessities of Indian life. After a few days spent in conviviality, they would disappear as suddenly as they came, and not be seen again for months.

SETTLEMENT.

The first known visit of white men to the present county of Sheboygan was in the year 1818. It was in this year that Gov. Cass, of Michigan, who was exploring this part of the then Michigan Territory, landed here with his fleet of canoes. In the same year. William Farnsworth, a pioneer of the first settlement, resided here a few months as trapper and Indian trader. During the same year (1818), a Frenchman. Andrew Vieux by name, built a hut on the east side of the Sheboygan River near its mouth, and had born to him there the first white child born in this county. Nothing is known of his subsequent history.

The first permanent settlement was made in the fall of 1434. when William Paine and a man named t'rocker came up from Chicago, built a saw-inill near the junction of the Mullet and Sheboygan Rivers, midway between the pres- ent village of Sheboygan and Sheboygan Falls, and began to cut off' the forests which covered nearly the whole county. Paine and Crocker becoming sick of the undertaking. sold ont in September. 1835, to William Farnsworth. the forcen

Bay fur trader. who had visited the place as early as 1814, and spent a few months here in 1818. When the land had been surveved, it was offered for sale at Green Bay, in No- vember. 1835, and Farnsworth became owner of a half-in- terest in the village plat of Sheboygan. A sixteenth of that interest he subsequently sold during the "land craze " of 1836-37. for the nominal sum of $30.000, and another six- teenth brought him 825,000.

While in Chicago for the purpose of engaging help to carry on his lumbering interests, Mr. Farnsworth met Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Follet, of Cleveland, and engaged their services, Mr. Follet to work in the mill and Mrs. Follet to cook for the men engaged there. They came from Cleve- land in the fall of 1835, and occupied a log house at the mill. Mrs. Ehza Follet was the first white woman to become a permanent resident of the county, and did not see another white woman until the following year. At that time the only white settlers in the county were those at the mill. Mr. Follet entered land near by and remained upon it. The first frame house in the county was erected near Farnsworth's mill, and was kept as a boarding-house for mill hands. It also served as a tavern for the accommoda- tion of travelers to and from the Green Bay region.

Early in the summer of 1836. Mr. Charles D. Cole and family settled on the present site of the city of Sheboygan. About the same time, Mr. A. G. Dye was engaged in Chi- eago by William Farnsworth to come to Sheboygan and build a warehouse. He brought his family and several car- penters to assist in the work. They came on the Michigan, first going to Green Bay, and were nearly a month making the voyage. In the fall of the same year, William Ashby came from Green Bay on foot to engage in lumbering at the mill. In December of that year also came the Gibbs brothers-John D .. James II. and Benjamin L., and set- tled in the present town of Lima. They were eight days in cutting their way through the woods from Milwaukee, a distance of fifty miles.

In the winter of 1836-37. the first school in the county was assembled in Sheboygan, and taught by F. M. Rublee. Provisions were very scarec during this winter, and had to be brought from Milwaukee and Green Bay. A load of condemned provisions from the latter place, arriving during the winter, was considered a Godsend by the settlers.

The year 1837. witnessed a gratifying influx of people. A map of the county made at this time represents the river as navigable to its source, vessels sailing its entire length, and a city laid out with streets and avenues where Sheboy- gan now stands. Corner lots were valued at from 88,000 to 815,000, and actually sold for those prices in New York City. At the close of 1837, the embryo eity contained seventeen or twenty buildings, including a school-house, two large warehouses, two stores and a blacksmith shop. The population was steadily increasing. The bubble burst at this time. however, and the publication of Jackson's famous "specie circular " eaused a financial crash, which nearly proved a death blow to the young city. All busi- ness stopped. Those who could remove to other places did so, and those who could not. moved on to land previously purchased. At one time the city of Sheboygan contained only one man-C'apt. Thorp. Many of the buildings were torn down and taken to Milwaukee.

The only people in the county. in the early part of 1840, were James Farnsworth and family, within the limits of the present eity of Sheboygan, which contained eight or ten

969

HISTORY OF SHEBOYGAN COUNTY.

unoccupied houses, built during the land speculations of 1836-37. John Johnson and family lived near the present cemetery. Two miles up the river, at the saw-mill built by William Farnsworth, there lived Alvin Rublee, Adonikan Farrow and William Ashby. At Sheboygan Falls a saw- mill and three houses had been built. The inhabitants were Mr. Palmer, Col. Silas B. Steadman, C. D. Cole, a shoemaker named McNish and David Giddings, who was a member of the Territorial Legislature. William Trow- bridge and his son Benjamin lived two miles west of the Falls. Southwest of the Falls, in what is now the town of Lima, lived A. G. Dye, Benjamin Firman, J. D. Gibbs, B. L. Gibbs, James Gibbs and Dr. Hoffman. At this time the nearest neighbors on the north were at Manitowoc Rapids. On the south, with a single exception in Wash- ington County, there were no inhabitants until within six miles of Milwaukee. On the west and northwest there were no signs of civilization nearer than Lake Winnebago and Green Bay. Supplies were mostly obtained from Mil- waukee, and brought in an Indian canoe. A little wheat was raised in 1840, but there was no mill for grinding it. The only blacksmith in the county was Deacon Trowbridge at Sheboygan Falls. IIe was also the only preacher, and a blast from his long tin horn called the people together for religious worship. At this time there was neither school nor store in the county. There were no wagons nor car- riages. There was one horse and about a dozen eows.

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Author: Western historical co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 1052

Author: Western historical co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1052