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 74

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 74

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BAILEY'S HARBOR.

July 9, 1861. the County Board set off a portion of Gibraltar, and framed the "set ( ff" portion into a township, under the name of "Bailey's Harbor,"-the name Bailey being given in honor of an old settler by the name of Bai- ley. Bailey's Harbor Township was enlarged, in 1870. by the addition of another slice of territory off of the town of Gibraltar. The first town meeting to elect town officers

267

HISTORY OF DOOR COUNTY.

for Bailey's Harbor, was held in the school-house in Dist. No. 2, town of Gibraltar. In past years, Bailey's Harbor has been particularly prominent for its facilities for ship- ping by water ; the grand old forest crop was abundant, and from the timber yield the majority of the inhabitants har- vested their living. In later days, however, much attention has been given to farming, and now large, well-cultivated and productive fields are the general make-up, and main support of the township.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

FRED ARLT, proprietor of grist and saw mill, Bailey's Harbor, was born, March 23, 1827, in Prussia. In 1853, came to Lockport, N. Y .; the following year, removed to Sturgeon Bay, worked in the saw mill, was afterwards one of the owners of the grist mill, which he run about five years, when it was destroyed by fire. He then assisted in rebuilding the mill, and sold out his interest in 1877, and removed to Bailey's Harbor, and has since been engaged in running these mills. When in the town of Nasewaupee, was a member of the Board of Su- .pervisors, and held about all the town offices. He assisted in organizing the village of Sturgeon Bay, and held most of the town offices there.

ROGER EATOUGH, proprietor Globe Hotel, blacksmith and wagon shop, and dealer in agricultural implements, Bailey's Harbor, is a native of Providence, R. I., born Dec. 27, 1847. Came to Manitowoc, Wis., with his parents when three years old ; assisted his father in farm- ing until of the age of sixteen years, when he commenced to learn the trade of blacksmith. In 1867, he removed to Nebraska, and remained until the Fall of 1868 ; thence to Green Bay, Wis., and remained until the Fall of 1869, when he removed to Bailey's Harbor, In 1875. he opened the Globe Hotel. Married, in August, 1874, to Miss Ella Kil- gore, of Port Washington. Has three daughters.

THOMAS FARRELL, dealer in general merchandise, Bailey's IFarbor, is a native of Ireland. Came to Chicago with his parents in 1857. There he was apprenticed to the moulder's trade ; worked at it three or four years. In 1872, he removed to North Bay, Wis., and en- gaged largely in lumber, wood, posts, etc., also in live stock. In the Spring of 1881, came to Bailey's Harbor and bought the stock and one- half interest in the store of F. Wohltmann. He still continues his busi- ness in North Bay.

HANS L. HANSON, lighthouse keeper, Bailey's Harbor, is a na- tive of Chicago, born Oct. 21. 1855. At the age of fourteen years, he commenced to learn the trade of wood-carver, worked at it several years. In 1876, he was appointed First Assistant Lighthouse Keeper in Chicago ; held that position till June 1, 1881, when he was promoted to his present position. Married, in 1881, to Miss Hattie Thoreson. She is also a native of Chicago.

ADAM HENDRICK, proprietor Bailey's Harbor House, is a na- tive of Germany, born February, 1828. Came to America in 1850, and located in Manitowoc County, and followed fishing and sailing. In 1856, he removed to Bailey's Harbor, and engaged in farming and fish- ing. In 1871, built a hotel, " Bailey's Harbor House." Mr. Hendrick is a genial landlord. Married, in 1858, to Miss Ernestine Schermer, of Germany. Has two sons and eight daughters.

THOMAS W. MCCULLOUGH, proprietor National Hotel, Bailey's Harbor. Born Feb. 14. 1844. in Ireland. The following year his parents emigrated to America and settled in Steuben County, N. Y., where they followed farming till 1856, when they went to Chicago. July. 1857, they removed to Bailey's Harbor. In 1859, they returned to Steuben County, where they remained three years; then returned to Bailey's ITarbor and followed farming. His father died Aug. 22, 1866. In 1870, he built this hotel. He also owns eighty acres land, which is under cultivation. He has been Town Clerk six years ; was Chairman of the Town Board in 1870; has been two years Justice of the Peace. Married, Jan. 25, 1868, to Mary J. LeRov, of Oswego, N. Y. Have one son, Francis M., born November. 1875.

JOHN B. ROTTMANN, wood, ties and posts, Bailey's Harbor. Born Dec. 6, 1850, in Washington County, Wis. At about the age of ten years he came to Oshkosh ; was apprenticed to the carpenter trade ; worked at it about eight years ; he then came to Sturgeon Bay. July 7, 1875, he removed to Bailey's Harbor, and has since been engaged in this business. He also has charge of the Kilgore Pier. Married, in 1878, to Miss M. A. Kilgore. She was born in Port Washington. Ilave two ch ldren, one son and one daughter. Ile is a member of the Town Board, and School Clerk ; he is also a member of the Sons of llerman, having joined in Fond du Lac, in 1869.

WILLIAM TOSELAND, farmer, Sec. 18. P. O. Bailey's Harbor. Born Feb. 14 1825. in England. In 1858, came to Racine County, Wis .; worked at farming till 1860, when he went to California. The following year he returned to Racine County, where he remained till 1863, when he came to his present farm, consisting of 240 acres. Mar- ried, in 1851, to Eliza Panter, of England. They have eight children, two sons and six daughters.

JOHN WAGNER, Imot and shoe manufacturer, and dealer ant hat ness, Bailey's Harbor A native of Germany, born in December, 1844. Came to America in 1868, and remained one year in New York, working at his trade ; then removed to Washington County, Wis., and opened a boot and shoe shop. In 1875. he went to Sturgeon Bay, and removed to Bailey's Harbor in 1876. Married in 1869 Has two sons and two daughters.

JACKSONPORT.

The town was organized under a special law, adopted by the State Legislature in 1869, approved March 8. The name is given in honor of a gentleman who owns large amounts of property in the vicinity. The village is an ad- vantageous point for shipping, being located on the eastern shore of the peninsula, on Section 14.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

R. S. ERSKINE, proprietor Erskine House, Jacksonport. Born Jan. 15, 1844. in Rockland, Me. He enlisted in the U. S. Navy. from Boston, in 1861 ; discharged in 1864, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In 1866, came to Chicago, and sailed five seasons. In IS71, came to Jack- sonport, sailed from here till 1876; since then he has been engaged in the hotel, which he built and owns. Married, in 1868, to Ellen McGean, of Kingston, Canada. They have three children, one son and two daughters.

P. G. HIBBARD, firm of P. G. Hibbard & Co., pier owners and dealers in general merchandise, Jacksonport, is a native of Genesee County, N. Y., born Nov. 6. 1826. His parents removed to Michigan when he was a year old. In 1853, he engaged in fishing at Big Bay De Noque, which he followed for three years ; thence to North Bay. Door Co., and followed the same business there for five years ; then removed to (what is now) Jacksonport, Door Co., and was the first white settler of that place, and has been engaged in fishing more or less ever since. In 1868 he built a pier at Jacksonport, and engaged in the mer- cantile business on a small scale. In 1877, Mr. P. G. Wright was admitted a partner. Their merchandise sales now amount to about $30,000 a year. They are also engaged in buying and shipping cedar, wood, etc. Mr. Hibbard owns an improved farm of about 100 acres. Held the office of Town Treasurer for four years; also other town offices.

EMANUEL HOGAN, proprietor Wisconsin House, Jacksonport. A native of Kingston, Canada, born March 22, 1837. Removed to Oswego, N. Y., in 1851, and followed sailing on the lakes for sixteen seasons ; thence to Two Rivers, Wis., and worked in the woods. In the Spring of 1867, removed to Manitowoc and remained until 1869, when he came to Jacksonport and engaged in farming about four years, then built a hotel, which business he has since been engaged in. Married, in 1868, to Miss Lena Bishop, of Manitowoc, Wis. Has seven children, five sons and two daughters.

P. W. KIRTLAND, fish dealer, Jacksonport, is a native of Middle- sex, Conn .. born July 12, 1831. In 1854. he removed to Ohio, and en- gaged in fishing until 1857; thence to Mackinaw. In 1861, he took charge of the Manitou Light-1Touse, which position he held until 1867, then removed to Egg Harbor, Door Co., and attended to his brother's business, buying and shipping wood, cedar, etc., until I870, then fol- lowed fishing in the vicinity of Death's Door for two years, then re- moved to Jacksonport, where he has since resided. He was married, in 1863, to Miss Jones, of Connecticut. They have one daughter.

JOHN C. MESSENGER, blacksmith and wagonmaker, Jackson - port, born Oct. 19, 1834, in Hartford Co., Conn. In 1861, he enlisted in Co, F, 11th U. S. Regular Army, from Boston ; served two years, and was honorably discharged. In 1866, he came to Fish Creek, and soon after removed to Jacksonport, and established his present business. lle married Miss Es'her A. Munger, of Outagamie Co., Wis. They have one son and three daughters, lle has three sons by a former marriage.

JOSEPH SMITH, cedar wood and bark, Jacksonport, is a native of Canada, born in 1837; came to Cheboygan, Mich., in 1866, and engaged in the lumber business till 1869, when he returned to Canada. The fol- lowing year he came to Door County. During 1877, he was a resident of Chicago, and was a member of the firm of Taylor. Batch & Co. The net value of his shipments from Jacksonport is $130 000 a year. He also owns a farm of ninety acres cleared, and about 2,000 acres of other lands in the county.

COMMUNICATION.

All of these settlements, and others which are nameless. are connected with each other and with Sturgeon Bay by State roads and other thoroughfares. From the latter place. mail and express matter daily reaches the railroad lines centering in Green Bay. With southern lake pores, the Goodrich line of steamers keep up constant communica- tion. Connection by railroad has been broached, but no active, earnest move yet made.

268

HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

DOUGLAS COUNTY.

Many items in the following sketch were obtained from " An Old Settler's notes, on Douglas County," published in the Ashland Press :

The territory within the limits of Douglas County has been a part of Michilimackinac and Chippewa counties in Michigan, of Crawford, St. Croix and La Pointe in Wisconsin. It was set off from La Pointe County, by act of legislature, approved February 9, 1854, and organized for judicial purposes in the Fall of that year. The county seat was located on Section 30, Township 49 north, Range 13, west of the fourth meri- dian, at or near the mouth of St. Louis River.

A writer says : "The early history of this region, commercial, political and religious, reaches back of Ply- mouth Rock and Pocahontas, when the Fourteenth Louis gave the laws, and Bourret and Fenelon ap- pointed the missionaries ; and traders got a fifty livre beaver skin for a ha' penny needle."

It is the northwestern county of the State. Lake Superior and St. Louis River form its northern boun- dary, giving it a water frontage of about sixty-five miles, inclusive of inlets. A productive belt of land, extending from the shore, some eight or ten miles broad, is of clay subsoil, impregnated with iron oxide. It is well timbered with pine, birch, ash, poplar, tamarac, spruce and cedar. South of this belt, the land is ele- vated, rising in some places 375 feet above the level of the lake. The rolling woodland succeeding this range has an exceedingly rich and productive soil. The county is intersected in all parts by rivers and streams, the Brule Midway, St. Louis, Black, Poplar, Aminicon and Nemadji are the princpal rivers. Bordering on these streams are natural meadows and groves. Along the divide between the lake and St. Croix River are numerous little lakes, well stocked with fish, and visited by deer and all varieties of wild game. On the north of the divide is found the copper-bearing trap. In 1846-8, the American Fur Company ( which maintained a post on the Bay of Superior until 1850), sent a party of miners to explore these exposures. They accom- plished but little, and recent attempts have not been more successful.

Just before the completion of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal in 1853-4, numerous plans were projected for the acquisition of lands at the head of Lake Superior. About this time George R. Stuntz surveyed the most of Douglas County. " As the lands were, as soon as sur- veyed, subject to pre-emption, his tracks were seldom covered before the claim was marked at every corner and quarter post in sight of a landing in bay or river, or of a copper-bearing trap rock. Speculators followed the pre-emptors and whitewashed the strong swearing by a tempting advance over the government price."

The lands were first put in market at the Hudson land office in the Fall of 1853, and G. R. Stuntz, B. Brunson, E. F. Ely and associates, made a " town site "

settlement at the upper end of the bay, naming it "Endion "-the Chippewa for home. The site em- braced the ancient French landing stockade and post. Rev. E. F. Ely erected the first house. The name Endion was soon dropped, and the locality is now a part of Superior.

About this time, Benjamin Cadotte, Francis Roy, Daniel A. J. Baker, Daniel A. Robertson, R. R. Nelson, C. G. Petteys, E. T. Shelley, O. K. Hall, August Zachan, Joseph du Bay, Abraham Emmitt and Joseph A. Bullen took up, by pre-emption, the tracts on the bay shore at the mouth of the St. Louis and Nemadji rivers. These, with purchases made by W. W. Cor- coran, Edmund Rice, George L. Becker, James Stinson, George E. and William Nettleton, W. H. Newton, B. Thompson, H. S. Walbridge, R. J. Walker, George W. Cass and Antoine Choinier, amounting in all to quite 6,000 acres, were consolidated ; titles perfected and con- veyed in trust to R. R. Nelson and W. H. Newton.

The lands were laid out in lots and blocks. During the years from 1854 to 1857, during which period some two thousand lots were sold, surveys were made, streets open, and hotel and wharf built with the pro- ceeds of the sales, and the remaining money set off to parties in interest. Lands were laid out for public squares and buildings, and grounds (still held in trust) for any railroad corporation which may be disposed to occupy them. Railroad charters and corner lots were co-efficients used to induce the settlement of Superior. The St. Croix & Lake Superior Company's, and the Minnesota & Northwest Railroad Company's charters were employed as inducements to investment for the first two years. In 1854, Col. Robert Patton surveyed the route from Hudson to Superior, for the St. Croix & Lake Superior Co., and the report on this survey vin- dicated the application to Congress for the St. Croix Land Grant.

The "Algonquin " and " Ward," at this time, con- stituted the merchant navy, bringing emigrants, lumber and provisions from the Sault to Superior.

Buildings went up as by magic. Settlers had their choice of lots, on conditions to build ; speculators pur- chased shares, subdividing them, a thirty-second repre- senting six acres, at $166 an acre-the plat aggregating a million dollars ; and about half the town changed owners at those prices before the close of the second year.

Ten different railroad charters performed their mis- sions in inciting settlers to come to Superior, and in due time all collapsed, corrupted legislation being the alleged chief cause of the failure. " Had Wisconsin's statesmen utilized the land grant trust of 1855, and fostered to completion the Hudson, Bayfield & Supe- rior Railroad, the northwest quarter of this State would to-day be a settled region," remarked an early settler in that section.

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HISTORY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY.

Superior never recovered from the effects of the overthrow of her railroad projects. During the panic of 1857-8, the city was depopulated to scarcely more than 500 inhabitants. The last knell to her original hopes was rung when Minnesota, by State aid, land grants and the co-operation of Jay Cooke, succeeded in get- ting the St. Paul & Lake Superior Road built to Du- luth. The waters of the St. Louis River were turned away from Superior, by a canal forming an artificial basin for the railroad in Minnesota.

While the first building of Superior was advancing, the county was being settled and farms opened. Among those who have persisted in the pursuit, and succeeded, are James Wright, H. W. Shaw, Patrick Fay, Bela Brooks, William Crawford, James S. Ritchie. Alex- ander Paul was succeeded by Messrs. P. E. Bradshaw & Co., who have kept up a general Indian trade, as well as a general assortment for all classes of buyers.

The Rev. Joseph G. Wilson was the first Congte- gational, and Rev. J. M. Barnett the first Presbyterian, clergyman, and the sister of the latter the first school- teacher in the county.

The first county officers were: County Judge, James A. Markland ; Register of Deeds, Frederick J. Whittaker ; Sheriff, William Nettleton ; Clerk of Cir. cuit Court, Washington Ashton ; District Attorney, W. W. McCracken.

The population of the county at the last census was 655.

SUPERIOR.

The site of Superior City comprises an area of about 300 acres, and was first claimed by parties in 1844, under the Pre-emption Law of 1841, and by Messrs. Bronson, Slaughter & Co., under the Town Site Law of 1844. It was subsequently claimed by parties under the State law in relation to "town sites on the public lands." In August, 1858, an application was made by one Madison Sweetzer to enter the land with Sioux scrip. On the 17th of Novem- ber, 1858, the occupants, and settlers residing on the land, organized themselves into a body corporate, by choosing three Trustees, etc., in accordance with an act of the Wis- consin Legislature of May 17, 1858. In December, 1859, the land officers at Superior decided favorable to the claim of Madison Sweetzer, which decision was overruled by the General Land Office. During the Summer of 1859, the local officers were instructed to recognize only the claims of the occupants as represented by the " Trustees of Supe- rior City." The department also ordered the admission of proof in support of their claim. This testimony was pre- sented to the Register and Receiver at Superior in July, 1860, and forwarded to Washington.

At the head of Lake Superior, situated on the Bay of Superior and Nemadji River, on an elevation of thirty-four feet, is the city of Superior, possessing a good site, an ex- cellent harbor and great natural advantages for a commer- cial city. Its harbor is formed by a strip of land about six miles in length, stretching out from the Minnesota shore, and is called the Bay of Superior. Running in an opposite direction, a similar point from the Wisconsin shore forms the Bay of Allouez. The bays are separated by the eastern bank of the Nemadji River, which, with the St. Louis and Allouez rivers, enters the lake between the two points.

A company for the purpose of organizing the town of Superior was formed in the Spring of 1854, under the title of " Proprietors of Superior." Messrs. W. W. Corcoran, Washington, D. C .; Robert J. Walker, New York; George

W. Cass, Pittsburgh, Pa .; Horace S. Walbridge, Toledo, Ohio; Daniel A. J. Baker, D. A. Robertson, George E. Nettleton and R. R. Nelson, of Superior, and Benjamin Thomson, Edmund Rice, James Stinson and William H. Newton, of Minnesota.

William H. Newton was appointed engineer and agent, and, assisted by Thomas Clark, second, the town was sur- veyed and a plat made and recorded by the 6th of Novem- ber, 1854. Mr. George R. Stuntz, United States Surveyor, arrived at the head of Lake Superior, for the purpose of surveying the lands in that vicinity, on the 20th of May, 1853. Pine, spruce, fir and birch trees covered the present site of the city of Superior. In an Indian canoe, Mr. Stuntz, with two companions, made a voyage around what is now called the Bay of Superior. Landing on what is known as Conner's Point, they found Mr. B. H. Conner, who had preceded them, engaged in erecting a house.

Mr. Stuntz surveyed the rich mineral lands upon the American and Black river ranges, as well as the present site of Superior.

Several settlers came in small boats from Ontonagon, Mich., in the following June, and located upon the mineral ranges. Later in the Summer, Messrs. Bullen, Morgan and others arrived from St. Paul. Robertson, Nelson and Ba- ker located the same year upon the banks of the Nemadji River. The first improvements upon the town site were made by these parties.

Benjamin Cadotte and Francis Roy, of La Pointe, arrived in September and erected houses, but soon after disposed of their interest to W. H. Newton, George E. Nettleton, Benjamin Thompson and others. The families of J. B. St. John, M. Cadotte, J. B. La Favre, and W. M. Herbert resided in Superior during the Winter of 1853-4.

A number of single persons, among whom were William Nettleton, W. G. Cowell, Charles Kimball, John Parry, John Lavake, Robert Reed, Benjamin and George Daniel- son, A. A. Parker, Calvin Hood, E. Chase, F. J. Whittaker, Dennis Dean, A. Zachan and others, occupied several log cabins.

A volunteer company, consisting of D. A. J. Baker, John Lavake, Mr. Emmett, James Harron, William E. Net- tleton, Joseph Hamel, J. H. C. McKinsey, John T. Morgan, H. Fargo, George and Benjamin Danielson, assisted by sev- eral voyageurs in the capacity of cooks and packers, was or- ganized, in Jannary, 1854, to cut out a road to the St. Croix, connecting with the lumbermen's road to the south. They completed their work within twenty days.

The Ashland Press, of Jan. 31, 1874, in "Notes on Douglas County," says :

"Messrs. Nettleton and Culver opened the first store, and O. K. Hall, the first hotel, in the unfinished house now known as the Avery House. The entire second story was done off in one bed-room, guests, boarders, ladies and gen- tlemen, had no cause for complaint, for each could have his share of the best room in the house."

S. Williams Nelson, in a letter to H. O. Fifield, published in the Bayfield Press, of March 30, 1872, gives an account of a trip to Douglas County in the early days, which may not be uninteresting. He says : "In 1854, a party of ten left St. Paul for the head of Lake Superior. The mode of conveyance was a lumber wagon from St. Paul to Taylor's Falls, thence by batteaux to Chase's Camp, eighty miles up the St. Croix. On board the batteau, which we " poled " against the strong current, were one barrel of flour, one lar- rel of pork, one barrel of potatoes, three Colt's revolvers with a round of cartridges, several huge law books, and several hampers of civilized luxuries, for we were going to organize Douglas County, Wis. It took us three days to pole to Chase's Camp, though we employed, at big wages,

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HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

professional ' polists.' Unlike modern hostelries, Chase's Camp was of primitive order of architecture, for, be it known, Mr. Chase, besides being an extensive 'logger,' en- tertained both man and Indian in those days. The camp was a comfortable log-cabin, well chinked. The beds were constructed after the pattern of stables; the bedding was straw, and the covering the weary traveler provided himself, which usually consisted of his four or five point blanket. The table at this time did not introduce or groan under the weight of the ' luxuries of the season,' nor did the bar pre- sent the 'choicest liquors and segars.' We endeavored here to secure assistance to transport our heavy freight, by easy stages, to the lake. Several 'Injuns' were loafing around the camp, but we tried every persuasion to convert them into pack-horses, and finally gave it up. They had been employed for a few days and had been paid, and were slightly under the influence of 'skudewabe.' The result was that we summarily ordered the chef de cuisine to bake a quantity of bread, furnish the party with smoked beef, tea, etc., and all the first-class pedestrians were to carry proven- der pro rata. Spending a night at the ' Fifth Avenue' in the wilderness, we struck the blazed trail at 7 A. M., in sin- gle file. ' Uncle Tommy,' so called on account of his be- ing the eldest in the party, and a large man physically, car- ried all the cooking apparatus, which, with his pack, must have been ' considerable of a load;" and a Mr. Sawyer, if I remember correctly, carried in advance the pioneer ax. The 'rear guard,' of which I was a prominent member, slowly dragged their weary length along. It was a hard trip. Three days accomplished it, but the writer well re- members his discomforts during this memorable transit. Arriving at the Nemadji, or Left Hand River, a canoe, op- erating as a ferry, conveyed us across, where we soon found board and shelter. Previous to this period, R. R. Nelson built a commodious and picturesque residence ; dimensions, Sx10; height, about stovepipe hat rule. This beautifully con- structed log tenement was to accommodate ten living, breathing. pulsating, accountable souls, whose average weight scaled about iSo avoirdupois; but the house actu- ally did it. The mode of procedure was unique. The en- try, preparing to lie and preparing to snore, was performed gracefully. When the time for retiring came, each man dropped into file and then marched into this immense house, and at a certain signal all dropped down on their backs at once, arms straight down. We were packed like sardines, minus the oil.

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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