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 9

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 9

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).

First after the Revolutionary War came the Indian War, wherein General Wayne distinguished himself. Then followed the treaty of August 3, 1795. One of the terms of this treaty was the relinquishment of title by the Government to all Indian lands northward of the Ohio River, eastward of the Mississippi, west- ward and southward of the great lakes and the waters united by them, excepting certain reservations. The title to the whole of what is now Wisconsin, subject to certain restrictions, became absolute in the Indian tribes inhabiting it. The Indians acknowledged them- selves under the dominion of the United States, and pledged themselves to sell their lands only to the United States. Settlement on their lands was prohib- ited white men.

The several treaties with the Indians, by which the domain of Wisconsin was transferred to the Goverment are cited here : The treaty made at St. Louis, Novem-

ber 3, 1804, between the Saes and Foxes and the United States, -William Henry Harrison, Commissioner -ceded a large traet both east and west of the Missis- sippi, and included the Lead Region of Wisconsin. The validity of this treaty was questioned by certain Sae bands, and became the cause of the Black Hawk War, in 1832. The treaty at Portage des Sioux, now St. Charles, Missouri, between certain Sacs and the Government, September 13, 1815; that of September 14, 1815, by certain Foxes ; and that of May 13, 1816, at St. Louis, were pledges of peace, not affecting land titles, excepting those involved in the treaty of 1804. The Winnebagoes of the Wisconsin River signed a treaty at St. Louis, June 3, 1816, confirming all previous Indian cessions, and affirming their own independence. This act was followed by the Menomonees, March 30, 1817. August 19, 1825, the several tribes in Wiseon- sin defined the boundaries of their respective lands, by council at Prairie du Chien. The Chippewas held a meeting on the St. Louis River, Minnesota, August 5, 1826, and specified their boundaries and also ratified previous treaties. The Chippewas, Menom- onees and Winnebagoes again defined their bounda- ries by council at Butte des Morts, August 1, 1827. The treaties of August 25, 1828, at Green Bay, and July 29, 1829, at Prairie du Chien, determined disputed points in the lead-mine cession.

An important treaty was made at Green Bay, Feb- ruary 8, 1831, between the Menomonees and the United States. The vast territory, the eastern divi- sion of which was bounded by the Milwaukee River, the shore of Lake Michigan, Green Bay, Fox River and Lake Winnebago ; the western division by the Wisconsin and Chippeway rivers on the west, on the north by the Fox River, on the east by Green Bay, and on the north by the highlands which flow the streams into Lake Superior, all came within the range of this treaty. The eastern division, estimated at two and a half mill- ions of acres, was ceded to the United States. The tribe was to occupy a large traet lying north of Fox River, and east of Wolf River. Their territory further west was reserved for their hunting grounds, until such time as the Government should desire to purchase it. Another portion, amounting to four millions of acres, lying between Green Bay on the east and Wolf River on the west, was also ceded to the United States, besides a strip of country three miles wide, from near the portage of the Wisconsin and Fox rivers north, on each side of the Wisconsin River, and forty-eight miles long - still leaving the tribe in possession of a country about one hundred and twenty miles long and eighty broad. The treaty provided for two New York tribes, granting them two townships on the east side of Lake Winnebago. The treaty of September 15, 1832, at Fort Armstrong, ceded all the Winnebago territory lying south and east of the Wisconsin, and Fox River of Green Bay. The Indians were excluded from that tract after June 1, 1833. The treaty of October 27, 1832, at Green Bay, ceded to the New York Indians certain lands on Fox River. The treaty at Chicago, September 20, 1833, by the Chippewas, Ottawas and Pottawatomies, completed the United States' title to the lands in southern Wisconsin.

HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

On the 3d of September, 1836, the Menomonees ceded lands lying west of Green Bay, and a strip on the Upper Wisconsin ; the quantity being estimated at four millions of acres in the Green Bay tract, and nearly one hundred and eighty-five thousand acres on the Wiscon- sin. July 29, 1837, at Fort Snelling, the Chippewas ceded all their lands lying south of the divide between the waters of Lake Superior and those of the Missis- sippi. The Sioux nation of the Mississippi, relinquished their claim to all their lands east of the Mississippi and the islands in that river, while on a visit to Wash- ington, September 29, 1837. The Winnebagoes gave up their rights, November 1, 1837, at Washington, and agreed to leave the lands east of the Mississippi within eight months, retiring to their reservation west of the great river. The Oneidas, or New York Indians, at Green Bay, ceded their lands granted them in 1831 and 1832, excepting sixty-two thousand acres, Feb- ruary 3, 1838, at Washington. The Stockbridge and Munsee tribes of New York Indians, ceded the east half of the tract of forty thousand and eighty acres which had been laid off for their use on the east side of Lake Winnebago. September 3, 1839, The Chippewas, by treaty at La Pointe, October 4, 1842, ceded all their lands in northern and northwestern Wisconsin. The Menomonees ceded all lands in the State, wherever situated, October 18, 1848. A supplementary treaty was made, November 24, 1848, with the Stockbridges,-the tribe to sell the town of land of the east side of Lake Winnebago. Another supple- mentary treaty, May 12, 1854, the tribe receiving a tract lying on Wolf River, being townships 28, 29 and 30, of ranges 13, 14, 15 and 16. The Chippewas of Lake Superior ceded their joint interest with the Chip- pewas of the Mississippi in lands lying in Wisconsin and Minnesota, September 30, 1854. On the 5th of February, 1856, certain small grants were made by the Stockbridge and Munsee tribes, at Stockbridge, for which they received a tract near the sonthern boundary of the Menomonee River, the Menomonees ceding two townships for them. Thus ended the Indian title to all lands in Wisconsin, excepting some minor local grants, and the title to the vast domain became vested in the General Government.

The original settlements of Green Bay and Prairie du Chien were made on lands part of which were granted by the paternal Governments to the first settlers. The question of title based on these claims came before Congress, in 1520, by the revival of a similar case raised to cover claims at Detroit, in 1805, and resulted in the establishment of some seventy-five titles at Prairie du Chien and Green Bay.

The ordinance of 1787 provided that Congress might establish one or two States of that territory lying north of a line drawn east and west through the southerly bend of Lake Michigan. In spite of this plain fact, Illinois was defined in its present northern line, and the Lake Superior region was added to Michigan, as the " Upper Peninsula." Efforts were made by Wis- consin, at an early date, to recover what was justly her right, but those efforts proved unavailing.

The first survey of lands northwest of the Ohio River was made pursuant to act of Congress approved May 20, 1785. The survey of lands in Wisconsin fol- lowed immediately after the cession of territory by the Indians. The first Government land offices were located at Green Bay and Mineral Point, and the first sales took place in 1835. There are at present six land offices in the State. They are located at Menasha, Falls of St. Croix, Wansau, La Crosse, Bayfield and Eau Claire.

FURS.

Incidental to the history of the entire Northwest is the record of the traders in furs, although the region covered by this volume does not contain the site made noted by the location of the chief trading post. Many sub-posts were established throughout this State and the adjoining States, especially where streams and lakes made the points easy of access to the dealers. There is required here, however, only a general sketch of this earliest of commercial undertakings. The Northwest was visited and explored by French voyageurs and mis- sionaries from Canada during the seventeenth century. The object of the former was gain ; the purpose of the Jesuit Fathers was the conversion of the savages. As early as 1624 the traders were operating about Lake Huron and Mackinaw. Previous to 1679 a consider- able traffic in furs had sprung up with Indian tribes in the region of " Ouisconsin." That year more than two hundred canoes, laden with furs, passed Mackinaw bound for Montreal. The commerce of the lakes was then carried on solely in birch bark canoes. The lightness and strength of the little craft enabled the French explorers to make portages or navigate large bodies of waters with comparative safety. When the military possession of the Northwestern domain passed from France to Great Britain, in 1760, the relationship of the fur trade to the Government changed. France, as is mentioned elsewhere in these pages, used the license of traders as a bond of fealty to the king. The policy of England was to grant exclusive charters to particular companies. The Hudson's Bay Company had grown rich and powerful between 1670 and 1760. Its success excited the envy of other capitalists, and rival organizations were formed. The original company purchased their furs at certain trading stations. The newer firms sent out their voyageurs into every nook of the land to buy up the furs, or indeed to catch the fur-bearing animals themselves. This competition diminished the profits of the business. In 1815, Con- gress prohibited foreigners dealing in furs in the United States or Territories. This action founded John Jacob Astor's colossal fortune. Mr. Astor organized the " American Fur Company," he being the sole owner, in 1809. In connection with the Northwest Company he bought out the Mackinaw Company, and formed the Southwest Company. The War of 1812 interrupted the existence of that organization, but it was revived in 1816, as an American institution. Considerable trade is still carried on in Northern Wisconsin, but mainly by individuals.

HISTORY OF ADAMS COUNTY.

ADAMS COUNTY.

NATURAL FEATURES.

The region organized under the name of Adams County lies in nearly the center of the State, is bounded north by Wood and Portage counties, east by Wau- shara and Marquette, south by Columbia, and west by Juneau, from which it is separated by the Wisconsin River.

The general surface of the county may be designated rolling. As the Wisconsin River is approached, how- ever, the country becomes broken, offering to the artist fine opportunities for the display of taste and skill in rugged studies. The famous " Dells" are partly within the limits of this county, in the southwestern portion. and several of the grandest glimpses of scenery are here obtained. Among these are "Cold Water Canon" and " Witches' Gulch," which extend back into the county a mile or more from the river. There are also "The Devil's Jug," "Ruffle Rocks," "Steam-boat Rock" "Rood's Glen" and other exceedingly curious and picturesque localities, celebrated not only in the immediate region, but known to tourists from all parts of the Union. In the northern towns the view along the river is less grand, though the bluffs are always bold, and the scene ever varied. This is due to the action of the water on the soft sandstone, which forms the banks, and which, by constant erosion, has been fashioned into an endless variety of forms. The bluffs vary in height, from a gentle ascent from the water's edge to ragged precipitous walls that rise abruptly 200 feet or more. The county has but few streams, the principal being the Big and Little Roche- a-Cri, White and Grignon's creeks. All these afford water-power, and abound in the common kinds of fish. The soil of the county is below the average for culti- vation, being quite sandy ; however in the southern part, there is considerable good land ; and this region is the home of many thrifty and well-to-do farmers. About 50,000 acres in the county are under cultivation -the crops being corn, wheat, rye and hops, in the order of enumeration. The county suffered greatly by depression in hops in 1868, and has never fully rallied from the financial losses. Considerable attention is being paid to fruit raising, but it has been attended with only medium success. The greater part of the county is covered with an inferior class of timber, such as the oak, ash and basswood, there being only a little pine toward the northern end. About twenty per cent. is marsh, some of which is adapted to cranberry culture, while other parts make valuable meadows. Sandstone is quarried at different places in the county, but is used only for local purposes. The population in 1880 was 6,741, of which more than 5,000 were Americans ; the rest being Swedes, Germans, Danes, and immigrants from other European countries.

The county is traversed by no railroad as yet, al- though future internal improvements may bring that

section of the State into closer communication with other counties. At present Kilbourn City is the chief depot of supplies, and is the outer terminus of a daily stage line.

SETTLEMENT:

The necessity which induced white settlement in Adams County was the supplying of food to lumbermen going to the pineries of the upper Wisconsin. A post was established in the county as early as 1838, in what is now New Haven Town, less than two miles from Big Springs Post-office. The pioneer who thereby won for himself a place in history was Jared Walsworth, a man of no slight experience in frontier ways, and who had served as engineer on a Mississippi steamer. The sup- ply post kept by Walsworth was not only the first mer- cantile venture, but it was also the home of the first white woman to settle here ; as Mrs. Walsworth and her family came at the same time as the trader. He died some years since.

The Walsworth "tavern," as it was called, witnessed the birth of the first white child born in the territory named. The name of this noteworthy child is J. S. W. Pardee, son of George Pardee ; and the year of the event was 1843.

George Stowell, in the employ of Walsworth origin- ally, claims the honor of having first settled upon land in the county in 1844. His frame " shanty" was put up in the town of New Haven, and there he began the cultivation of a small tract of land. In 1845 Amos Landt, Judge Smith, Robert Ramsey and his three sons, " Uncle" Ward and a man named Winchell be- came "squatters" in the same town, near what is now Big Springs Post-office. They tilled the soil and erected log cabins.

The Territorial road from Milwaukee to Stevens Point passed through Adams County, and upon this highway, in 1845, William Sylvester opened a supply post combined with a " tavern," at what is now Grand Marsh Post-office. Soon afterwards one Strong began a similar enterprise on the Big Roche-a-Cri, not far from Cotton's, about eight miles north of Friendship.

Among the settlers in what is now Dell Prairie in 1849-50, were Thomas Rich, William Davis, Holland Carter, George Knox, Cotterel and Mathews. Wells Tyler and William Armstrong located on the banks of the Wisconsin in 1851. From the year 1850 to 1853 immigration poured into Adams County.

In 1850 the first school-house in the county was built. The site of this building was what is now known as Dell Prairie Post-office. It was built by Thomas Rich, who hired Lewis Carter as teacher at $12 and board per month, and invited the neighbors to send in their children.

Rev. Anderson preached the first sermon in the county, in 1852, at the house of Mr. Rich, who paid him one dollar a visit. He afterward grumbled at

HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

the salary, and thought they ought to furnish him a conveyance. Mr. Rich thereupon bought him a horse for 865, and told him to wear his legs out in the good cause. A church was erected in 1>54, at the Dell Prairie Post-office, and Rev. C. L. Fisher, a Baptist minister, was employed to regularly supply the pulpit.

The first white settler who died was one Horton, who was killed in the Summer of 1850, while digging a well.

The two towns, Dell Prairie and New Haven, are the best settled, and the richest in the county.

There are still tracts of land in the northern part of the county owned by the State and General Govern- ment, for sale at a low figure. In these northern towns there are found deposits of bog iron ore, and also some beds of kaolin.

The first newspaper in the county was the Adams County Independent, issued in May, 1858, by Julius C. Chandler, in the interest of removing the county seat to Friendship. The paper was discontinued in 1862. In 1860 the Adams County Press was started by the "Press Publishing Co.," under the direction of S. W. Pierce.

ORGANIZATION.

The act creating the county of Adams was approved March 11, 1848. The new county was created from territory hitherto belonging to Portage, and embraced a region defined by a line commencing at the " north- west corner of Sauk County, and running due north to the middle of the Lemonwier River ; thence down the main channel of that river to its mouth ; thence down the Wisconsin River to the point where it crosses the north line of Township 13 ; and thence due west to the point of beginning."" The new county was at- tached to Sauk for legal purposes. This boundary was of short duration, however, for by an act of the Legis- lature, approved March 8, 1879, the county was greatly enlarged in area. By this act, it included all north of the middle of Township 15 north, in Ranges 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 east, to the north line of Township 20 north. At this time the county contained about 1,435 square miles, or about 919,006 acres. By an act of March 14, 1853, it was again enlarged, and made to include Townships 14 to 20 north, inclusive, lying in Ranges 2 to 7 east, inclusive. By another act of the same date, it was organized for county and judicial purposes from and after the first Tuesday in April. By this act, also, it was organized into the five towns of Jackson, polls to be open at the house of Thomas Ritchie; Grand Marsh, voting to occur at the house of Mr. Peck ; Quincy, first election to be held at the house of HI. W. Kingsbury ; Necedah, first election at the house of Thomas Weston & Co .; Lemonwier, voting to occur at the house of Mr. Findlay. Town elections were ordered by the act, and such political machinery as was indispensable to the complete formation of a county was provided for and set in motion. An elec- tion was ordered in these several towns for such officers

as they were allowed by virtue of the organization. The county seat was fixed, for a term of five years, on the southwest quarter of Section 7, Township 16 north, of Range 5 east-the village of Quincy. The county was, by the same act, made part of the third judicial district. The election, which occurred on the first Tuesday of April, resulted in the selection of E. S. Miner, County Judge; W. J. Savers, Sheriff; S. G. Holbrook, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and also County Treasurer; W. H. Spain, Clerk of the Board of Super- visors ; William H. Palmer, Register of Deeds ; D. A. Bigelow, District Attorney ; Caleb McArthur, County Surveyor; and W. I. Webster, Coroner. The Board of Canvassers, which was composed of the Chairman of the County Board, assisted by two Justices of the Peace. decided that H. G. Holbrook could not legally hold two offices, and accordingly declared the office of treasurer vacant, and appointed to that position Daniel Young. At a special meeting of the board in August, 1853, Stillman Niles gave bond to furnish a court-room and three office rooms for the county. The Legislature passed an act, approved March 8, 1855, authorizing the people to submit the question of still another division of the county to a popular vote. The measure created an intense feeling, and the question was fought with considerable bitterness. Those in favor of division pre- vailed in the contest, and the Wisconsin River became the western boundary of Adams, and the new county of Juneau was formed. The latter county remained attached to Adams for judicial purposes. By this di- vision the county seat was left on the western boun- dary of the county, and was distasteful to a large num- ber of the citizens. As an outgrowth of this feeling, the Legislature, by an act approved March 24, 1858, allowed the people to vote on the removal of the capital from Quincy to the village of Friendship. The vote resulted in a majority of 155 for removal, and in January fol- lowing, the books and records were taken to Friend- ship, where they have since remained. Adams County was named in honor of President John Adams, second President of the United States. The present subdi- vision comprises the organized towns of Adams, Big Flats, Dell Prairie, Easton, Jackson, Leola, Lincoln, Monroe, New Chester, New Haven, Preston, Quincy, Richfield, Rome, Springville, Strong's Prairie.

FRIENDSHIP.

The county seat is Friendship, situated on Section 5, in the town of Adams. This point was first settled in 1856, by people from Friendship, Allegany Co., N. Y. The vil- lage has a population of about 400, who are engaged in the various industries tributary to an agricultural region. The public buildings are the court-house, a frame building, thirty-two by forty-six feet, two stories high, having a stone fire-proof vault ; a fine two-story school-house, thirty by forty-six feet ; and a good church building, erected by the Congregational society, and jointly occupied by that and the Methodist society. Friendship is the largest village in the county. A daily stage runs between this place and Kilbourn City, on the St. Paul Railway, in Columbia County.

HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY.

ASHLAND COUNTY.

Ashland County, like Douglas and Bayfield, has been a part of Michilimackinac, Chippewa, Crawford, St. Croix and La Pointe counties, being set off from the latter March 27, 1860.

Its coast line on Lake Michigan extends from Range 5 west, to Range 1 east, including the Apostle Islands, the boundary extending from thence south on the township line between Ranges 1 and 2 east, to the township line between Townships 40 and 41 north, thence west to the range line between Ranges 9 and 10 west; thence north to the range line between Townships 42 and 3; thence east to the range line between Ranges 4 and 5 west; thence north to the head of Ashland Bay in Township 47 west, including forty-eight townships.

The surface of the county is generally level, though it is broken by the iron and copper ranges, which at- tain an elevation of nearly 1,000 feet above the level of the lake. The timber consists of pine and many other varieties of trees. The soil is varied, marl and sandy loam in the interior, and red clay on the lake shore.

The Montreal, White and Bad, are the principal rivers. There are also many spring brooks and several lovely inland lakes.

The Penoka iron range runs south westerly through the county a distance of over twenty miles-the cop- per range is north of it-in which geologists are of the opinion that iron and copper exist in large quanti- ties. The name Penoka was originally Pewabic, Chip- pewa for iron, but through the poor penmanship of a professor, writing of the range, it was deciphered Pen- oka.

The Apostle Islands forming a part of Ashland County, have a heavy growth of pine, hemlock and hardwood timber. The group includes Madeline Island, on which is situated La Pointe, the oldest known European settlement in the State of Wisconsin. The early history of Ashland County is the same as that of the Lake Superior region. It was visited in the early days by Jesuits, traders, trappers and hunters.

THE JESUIT FATHERS.

"On the eighth day of August, of the year 1665, I embarked at Three Rivers [Canada], with six French- men, in company with more than 400 savages of divers nations, who were returning to their homes, after having finished their traffic, for which they had come here." Such is the announcement of Claude Allouez, Jesuit missionary, of his starting for the wilds of the distant West, which resulted in his estab- lishing the first Catholic mission within what is now the State of Wisconsin -" the Mission of the Holy Ghost."

It is unnecessary to follow Allouez in his journey from the St. Lawrence up the Ottawa River. He took

the usual course of that river to Lake Nipissing ; thence down French River to Lake Huron ; on Lake Huron to the strait or outlet of Lake Superior. But, from the time he reached Lake Huron until his arrival within the present limits of Wisconsin, we will let him describe his journey ; we will say, however, that his voyage up the Ottawa was made with great toil and suffering, aggravated by the brutality of his conduct- ors :

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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