USA > Wisconsin > Racine County > Racine > Racine, belle city of the lakes, and Racine County, Wisconsin : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. I > Part 10
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Section 5 of an act approved by Governor James D. Doty on February 7, 1842, provided: "That all that part of the Towns of Racine and Mount Pleasant comprised in Town 4, in Range 22 East, shall be and is hereby set off into a separate town by the name of Caledonia." The act also ordered that the first election should be held at the house of Levi Blake.
Two lines of railroad pass through Caledonia - the Chicago & Northwestern, in the eastern part, and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, about five miles farther west. These lines connect Chicago and Milwaukee and afford excellent transportation facili- ties to the people of the town. The Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railway also passes through Caledonia and its frequent trains give the people ample opportunity for visiting Racine, Milwaukee or Chicago. The population of Caledonia in 1910 was 3,073, and the property was valued for taxation in 1915 at $5,409,081, exclusive of that lving within the limits of the incorporated Vil-
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lage of Corliss, which is on the line between Caledonia and Mount Pleasant.
DOVER TOWNSHIP
Dover Township, one of the southern tier, is coextensive with Congressional Township No. 3. Range 20 East. It is bounded on the north by the Town of Norway, east by Yorkville, south by Kenosha Comity, and west by the Towns of Burlington and Rochester. Its area is thirty-six square miles. Eagle Lake is situated a little south of the center. Its outlet and the Muskego Creek, which crosses the northwest corner, are the only water- courses in the township.
The first settler in Dover was Captain John T. Trowbridge. who brought his family, consisting of a wife and two sons, to Racine County in 1836. Prior to that time he had been a sea captain for some twenty-five years, had been engaged in whaling. and had been a prisoner at Calcutta and Dartmoor. His two-story log house, which he erected in the Town of Dover, became a land- mark and sheltered many a traveler over night. He laid out a town and named it Brighton, after the place from which he came, and was the first postmaster when an office was established there. Ile also served as justice of the peace and was a member of the lower branch of the Territorial Legislature in 1843.
In August, 1836, Sammel Ormiston and J. Sellers located claims near that of Captain Trowbridge. Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. Ormiston, born November 12, 1838, was the first white child born in this township. Mr. Sellers settled on the tract of land afterward known as the Bryce farm. Judge Dyer tells the fol- lowing story of an experience that happened to Mr. Sellers soon after taking up his residence in Racine County: "He started one morning to go to Pike Grove and on his journey called at the house of George Nichols, in Yorkville. le tarried but a few moments and, bidding his friends 'good morning', set out on his travels. He jonrneved to the end of the day and at evening found himself at the house of Mr. Nichols; nor could be be made to believe that he had not arrived at Pike Grove until he was intro- duced to the hospitalities of Mr. Nichols' cabin and was told that on a prairie without roads, guiding posts or human habitations, a bewildered traveler sometimes made a circuitons journey, arriv- ing at the precise place from which he started."
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During the next two years a munber of settlers located in what is now the Town of Dover. Among them were: John Duffus, Archibald Brown. Peter Manny, Robert Beatty, Thomas Green, George and Robert MeKey, James Ballock (or Ballach), Aaron Putnam, Joseph Scott, James Graham and William Cruik- shank. Samuel Stenhouse came a little later, some time in 1840.
John Duffus. Archibald Brown and Peter Manny selected claims that adjoined each other. Mr. Duffus built a cabin, or shanty, 10 by 12 feet in dimensions, on his claim, in which all three lived. When his son and daughter arrived in March, 1839, they also found quarters in the shanty, giving it five regular inmates, with an occasional guest or two now and then. But there was "always room for one more" in the home of the pioneer, no matter how humble it might be. The shanty had no floor and the roof was a makeshift affair that afforded but little protection. Elsie Duffus did the cooking for the "men folks." One day. while she was baking bread, having just placed the dough in a skillet, which she set upon the coals in the fireplace, a sudden gust of wind carried away the roof. A heavy fall of rain followed and the family went without bread that day. Elsie Duffus after- ward became the wife of Nicholas D. Fratt, who was for many years prominently connected with the banking interests of Racine. Her sister, Maragret Duffus, married Peter Many, their wedding being the first ever solemnized in the township.
The writer has been unable to ascertain just when the Town of Dover was established as a separate jurisdiction, but it was some time subsequent to February 2, 1846, for on that date Gov- ernor Dodge approved an act defining the boundaries of the Town of Yorkville, which included the eastern half of the present Town of Dover.
Dover Township is one of the most beautiful and fertile farm- ing sections of Racine County. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul (formerly the Western Union) Railroad crosses the southern portion and there are two stations within the town limits - Kansasville and Dover. The population in 1910 was 820, and the assessed value of the property in 1915 was $2,377,787. or nearly three thousand dollars for each man, woman and child living in the township.
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MOUNT PLEASANT
When the first civil townships in Racine County were created by the act of January 2, 1838, all that part of the county in frac- tional Range 23 and two miles of Range 22, extending across the entire county from north to south, were included in a township known as Racine. By the same act the boundaries of the Town of Mount Pleasant were defined as follows:
"Commencing at the southwest corner of the Town of Racine; thence due west to the southwest corner of Township 3 North, of Range 21 East; thence north to the north line of Township 4; thence east to the northwest corner of the Town of Racine, and thence south to the place of beginning."
The act also provided that the first election should be held at the house of George F. Robinson, in the Village of Mount Pleas- ant. The boundaries as above described were re-enaeted on March 3, 1839. They included all the present Towns of Raymond and Yorkville, and a strip four miles wide across the western part of the Town of Caledonia. By the act of February 7, 1842, that part of the Town of Racine lying in Township 3 North, Ranges 22 and 23 East, was added to Mount Pleasant and the northern part of the Town of Racine was added to Caledonia, which was then erected with its boundaries as they are at present. At the same time the Town of Yorkville was ent off from Mount Pleasant.
If the present boundaries be taken into consideration, the first settlers in Mount Pleasant were Captain Gilbert Knapp, the Luce brothers and the man, Welch, who came to the mouth of the Root River in November, 1834. Harrison K. Fay and a man named Carpenter settled at the Rapids soon afterward, where they were joined in January, 1835, by William See and Edmund Weed. Mr. See located at the Rapids, but Mr. Weed selected a tract of land that afterward became known as the Fratt farm. Carpenter soon afterward went to Captan Knapp's claim and settled on the north side of the Root River, within the present corporate limits of the City of Racine, where he died a few months later. Judge Dyer says: "After his death, his widow removed further north and continued to occupy what was long known among the old settlers as 'the Widow Carpenter's claim'."
James Walker came to Racine on a vessel with Captain Knapp in April, 1835, and made a claim in Mount Pleasant, where he built a cabin, purchased the land at the sale in the spring of
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1839 and lived upon his farm for many years. He made the coffin for Mr. Carpenter, who was the first white man to die within the limits of Mount Pleasant or Racine, and who was buried "on the bank of Duck Creek, in the depths of the forest." Mr. Walker established a turning lathe at the Rapids, where William See erected a saw-mill and also laid the original foundation for the dam at that place. Mr. Walker was likewise a member of the first jury ever convened in Raeine County.
Early in 1836 Andrew Place and his son Thomas, with Alva and Zadock Newman, left Chicago with ox teams for Racine County, where Andrew Place and the Newmans had selected claims about a month before. At Grosse Point they fell in with Daniel B. Rork and the whole company traveled together to Skunk Grove, where Thomas Place found employment with Jacques Jambeau as a clerk at the trading post. The following winter the elder Place and the Newmans went to St. Joseph, Michigan, for a supply of flour. Their oxen were slow travelers and they were gone for two months. In 1836 they went to a mill on the Fox River, a distance of sixty miles. Mr. Place used to describe the burial of an Indian chief which he witnessed. First, a pen was con- structed large enough for the body and chinked up with moistened clay and other material. Then the dead chief was placed therein, in a sitting posture, surrounded by some of the weapons and orna- ments of his race. The pen was left open and for some time after- ward the followers of the chief would visit the place, where they moaned and wept, pouring whiskey upon the head of the deceased as an offering to the Great Spirit. There were a large number of Potawatomi Indians then living in the neighborhood and they frequently visited the trading post. Twice a year they had their great corn dance, when fervent prayers were made to the Great Manitou for a good crop of corn. Near the present Mound Ceme- tery was an old Indian burying ground.
In November, 1835. Alanson Filer, Samuel N. Basey, Silas Lloyd, Orville W. Barnes and one or two others settled in Mount Pleasant. About the same time James Kinzie came to the Rapids and became a partner of Mr. See in the saw-mill. Knapp, Hub- bard and Barker, who made the first claim at the county in 1834, also erected a saw-mill at the Rapids and brought a stock of goods to that place. The mill and store were both in "full blast" before the elose of the year 1835.
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Wallace Mygatt settled at the place afterward known as "Mygatt's Corners" in the early part of 1836. He built a small frame house on an elevation, and on a clear day his residence could be seen for several miles, which led the other settlers to call it the light house. Philip R. and Henry Mygatt also came to the "Corners" not long after Wallace. In June, 1836, Nathan Joy came from Buffalo, New York, to Chicago in the first three- master that made a voyage around the lakes. From Chicago he came to Racine on a little schooner called the Llewellyn, and bought a claim in what is now Mount Pleasant. Another settler of 1836 was Lewis G. Dole, who built a log house and conducted a tavern on the farm afterward owned by Orville W. Barnes.
Among the settlers of 1837 were William Bull, Daniel Slan- son, Jonathan M. Snow and E. D. Filer. Mr. Snow had visited the country the preceding year and selected a claim near Dole's tavern, upon which he had built a frame house, or shanty. Mr. Bull remained but a short time in Mount Pleasant, when he removed to the Town of Caledonia. In the spring of 1839 he bought the claim of Mr. Snow, above mentioned, and became a resident of Mount Pleasant. Daniel Slauson purchased a claim from a sister-in-law of Samuel Mars and planted some fruit trees -- probably the first orchard in the township, if not in Racine County. Mr. Filer also bought a claim on which was a poorly constructed log house. As he could not find a cook-stove in Racine, he did his cooking over a fire kindled against the side of a log near his cabin. He afterward assisted in building the first court-house at Racine and in the construction of the harbor. One Sunday morning, in the dead of winter, Mr. Filer took his rifle and started out to overtake a wolf that had been causing him some annoyance, but had not gone far when he met an elder of the church, who remonstrated with him for going hunting on Sunday. After Mr. Filer had explained the situation, the elder agreed that he might go on in pursuit of the wolf, on condition that he proved himself a good marksman and gave the elder a good dinner. He used to tell the story and laugh over how he bribed a good church member to permit him to "desecrate the Sabbath."
The Town of Mount Pleasant occupies the southeast corner of the county. On the north it is bounded by the Town of Cale- donia; on the east by Lake Michigan; on the south by Kenosha County and on the west by the Town of Yorkville. Its area is
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approximately fifty square miles. The Root River flows in a southeasterly direction across the northeast corner, and the head- waters of Pike River are in the southern part. The City of Racine is located in this township and about six miles west of Racine is the incorporated Village of Corliss, at the crossing of two divisions of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. The population in 1910 was 4,219 (exclusive of Racine and Corliss) and the taxable property was valned in 1915 at $7,479,335, with the same exceptions.
NORWAY TOWNSHIP
The Town of Norway is one of the northern tier. It is bounded on the north by Milwaukee County; on the east by the Town of Raymond; on the south by Dover, and on the west by Waterford. Its area is thirty-six square miles, embracing Con- gressional Township 4 North, of Range 20 East. In the north- western part are three lakes, the largest of which is Wind Lake. Muskego Creek, the outlet of Wind Lake, is the only watercourse of consequence in the township. It flows southwardly from the lake through Sections 16, 17, 20, 29 and 32, and crosses the south- ern boundary about a mile from the southwest corner.
In September, 1838, Thomas Drought came from Lower Can- ada with a wagon and team of oxen seeking a new home in Wisconsin. After looking about for a few days he selected 160 arres in Section 12, and was the first white man to settle in what is now Norway Township. His sister came with him and other members of the family followed. They located near and thus what afterward became known as the "Drought Settlement" sprang up in the northeast corner of Norway. James Ash located in the township in the fall of 1838 and Alfred Thompson and George Drought came in the spring of 1839.
Quite an addition was made to the population in the summer of 1839. A vessel arrived at Milwaukee with about forty Norwe- gians on board, who had heard in their native land of the won- derful opportunities offered in America and had come to seek their fortunes in the New World. Before leaving Norway they had selected Illinois as their destination, but were detained at Milwaukee for a short time and there they were met by George Walker, who endeavored to persuade them to locate in Wisconsin. Mr. Walker was evidently something of a politician. Blessed
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with good health and a ruddy appearance, he pointed out to the immigrants a man from Illinois who had been a victim of fever and ague to such an extent that his countenance was sallow and his figure somewhat emaciated, and argued that the climate was the cause of the difference. The Illinois man urged the Nor- wegians to adhere to their original intention, but Mr. Walker won the day.
Unfortunately, their interpreter was accidentally drowned in the river at Milwaukee a few days after they landed, but they secured guides and sent out a party to look for a suitable location for the colony. This exploring party selected a site near Mus- kego Lake. Says Judge Dyer: "It was a dry season and the marshes resembled prairies in their appearance, surrounded by forests. Cabins soon sprang up on the hill sides around the marshes, but the bright hopes of the settlers were quenched when the spring floods came and converted the promising prairie into lakes and morasses. This caused a removal of the colony further south and west. Mr. Halver Thompson settled on the banks of Wind Lake; John Nelson, another of the party, settled on an adjoining claim, which he improved considerably, and from which he subsequently removed to Koskenong Prairie."
Soren Backe and Johannes Johansen, two intelligent Nor- wegians who came to this country in the fall of 1839 and spent the winter in Illinois, visited the Wind Lake settlement in the spring of 1840, with a view to bringing a number of their coun- trymen. The cluster of beautiful lakes were swarming with fish, the surrounding forests, in which there was an abundance of game, the fertile soil, and the presence of a Norwegian settlement already commenced, all met their approval. They built a cabin on the shore of one of the lakes and sent word to their friends in Norway to come on. Early in the fall a large company of immi- grants arrived under the leadership of Evan Hansen - or Evan Hansen Heg, the name Heg having been derived from the place where the family lived in Norway, or the farm which they pos- sessed, which was known as "Headquarters."
It seems that Soren Backe was possessed of a considerable sum of money, which he invested in a large tract of land. When the colonists arrived, he sold this land in small parcels to them on favorable terms. Among these colonists were : Ole Ander- sen, Hans and Peter Jacobsen, John Larsen, Niels H. Narum,
1
Photo furnished by Billings
The Old Side-Wheeler "Sheboygan" and Goodrich's Steamboat Dock, burned in the early '80s.
RIVER VIEW ABOVE THE DAM
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HISTORY OF RACINE COUNTY
Sivert Ingerbretsen, Knud Arslarksen, Johannes Evensen, Gur- der Gurtesen and Ole Hogensen, all sturdy men who were not afraid to encounter the hardships of frontier life and well calcu- lated to build up a new country. Johannes Johansen, Soren Backe and Evan Hansen Heg were regarded as the founders of the first permanent Scandinavian colony in Wisconsin, the first named receiving the appellation of "King."
In a short time the colony increased in numbers and became the center of Scandinavian immigration to the state. A trading post was established on Mr. Heg's farm, where the colonists purchased their supplies and received their mail. One of the early dwellings occupied by some of the families was made by excavating a tunnel into a large Indian mound and roofing it over. Here several of the pioneers lived with their families until other and better quarters could be provided. One of the early settlers in Norway was James D. Reymert, who published a news- paper in the Norwegian language called the Nord Lyset (North- ern Light), which is said to have been the first Scandinavian newspaper in Wisconsin, if not in the United States. Mr. Reymert served as a member of the Assembly in the legislative sessions of 1849 and 1857, and in the session of 1854-55 was in the State Senate.
Nearly all the colonists were Lutherans and in 1845 a log church was erected near the center of the settlement. In the churchyard many of the original founders of the colony lie buried. Here also rest the remains of Hans C. Heg, son of Evan Hansen Heg, who was colonel of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War. He was severely wounded while leading his regi- ment into the Battle of Chickamauga on September 19, 1863, and died the next day. His brother, Ole Heg, was quartermaster of the same regiment.
On February 11, 1847, Governor Dodge approved an act of the Legislature, Section 16 of which provided: "That Township Number 4 North, of Range Number 20 East, in the County of Racine, is hereby set off into a separate town by the name of Norway, and that the first town meeting in such town shall be holden at such place in said Town of Norway as the town clerk of the Town of Raymond shall by three written notices direct; and it shall be the duty of said town clerk to cause said notices to be posted up in three of the most publie places in said Town-
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ship of Norway, at least three weeks before the first Tuesday of April next."
The town derives its name from the nationality of the early settlers. It is an agricultural community, having no railroad nor any villages within its limits. In 1910 the population was 888, and in 1915 the property was assessed for taxation at $1,987,372.
RAYMOND TOWNSHIP
Northeast of the center of the county lies the Town of Ray- mond. It is bounded on the north by Milwaukee County; on the east by the Town of Caledonia; on the south by Yorkville, and on the west by Norway. It is coextensive with Congressional Township 4, Range 21, and its area is therefore thirty-six square miles. The Root River just touches the northeast corner, and the South Fork of the same stream flows in a northerly direction through the central part, so that the township is well watered. The surface is gently undulating, the soil is fertile, and some of the finest fanns in the county are in Raymond.
The first settlers in this township were probably Nathaniel Roger and his son Joel, who located there in the spring of summer of 1835. About the middle of September of the same year they were joined by Elisha Raymond and his son Alvin, who came from Chicago on the Agnes Barton, the crew of which con- sisted of one Frenchman and two Indians. Elisha Raymond bought a claim already made (160 acres) for twenty-five dollars, upon which he built a rude cabin, where he spent the winter of 1835-36. His son Alvin went to work for William See, in the saw-mill at the Rapids, and remained in his employ for about a year, beginning in October, 1835.
On June 20, 1836, Seneca Raymond, another son of Elisha, arrived at Racine, having come around the lakes from Oswego, New York, bringing with him his own and his father's family. Immediately after the arrival of his wife and children, Elisha Raymond built a large two-story log house, to take the place of the cabin in which he had passed the preceding winter. The house had a stone chimney and was one of the best in the county at the time it was finished and occupied. Seneca Raymond brought with him twenty bushels of potatoes, which he planted on the fourth day of July and in the fall of 1836 dug 150 bushels.
Other settlers in this township in 1836 were: JJoseph Drake,
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John Brewer, Orson Bump, John and Reuben Rogers, Timothy Sands and Nelson Bentley. The last named left Manlius, New York, with a two-horse team and wagon on the same day that Seneca Raymond and his folks embarked on the vessel at Oswego, and by a curious coincidence they both arrived at Racine on the same day, each making the journey in exactly six weeks.
In 1837 Caleb J. True, William O. Mills, John Jones, Zach- ariah Sands, Frederick and William Schwartz and the Scofields - Charles, George, Dr. John E. and Reynolds - all settled in what is now Raymond Township. Dr. John E. Scofield was the first physician to practice his profession in that part of Racine County.
Among the settlers of 1838 were: Leonard Upham, Walter Shumway and Loring Weber. Mr. Weber arrived at the house of Elisha Raymond on the 12th of May and lived with him for about six weeks, or until he could make a claim and erect a dwelling of his own. He built the first frame house in the town- ship, obtaining his lumber from Mr. See's saw-mill at the Rapids, and lived in it until about 1869 or 1870, when he left the county. He also assisted in building the Congregational Church, which was the first meeting house in the township. Soon after he was comfortably settled, he and Elisha Raymond went to Illinois and returned with thirty head of cattle and fifteen hogs, some of which they sold to other settlers in the neighborhood.
When the first white men came to this part of Racine County Indians were plentiful and sometimes they gave the settlers trouble, not by open hostility, but by their begging and petty thievery. The Raymond settlement was not far from Jambeau's trading post, to which the Indians made frequent visits. If they were successful in obtaining a supply of "fire-water," they were in the habit of committing little depredations on their return to their camp, so that the settlers had to be on their guard to see that nothing was carried away from their premises by the drunken savages. On one occasion Alvin Raymond happened to fall asleep in the field where he had been cutting grass, with his rifle by his side. He was suddenly awakened and discovered thirteen ponies, with two or three Indians astride each pony. Grasping his rifle. he sprang to his feet, but the Indians showed no disposition to resent his hostile demonstration. They merely inquired if he had a squaw and a wigwam and went directly to his house. But all they did was to ask for something to eat, a request that Mrs.
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