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 14
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POLICE DEPARTMENT
When Racine was incorporated under the act of August 8, 1848, the only police officer provided for was the city marshal. As the city grew, the marshal was authorized to appoint deputies from time to time. For ten years the marshal, his deputies and the county sheriff discharged all the duties of a police force, but on October 18, 1858, the City Council voted to establish a police system. Ten days later Andrew Dusolt was appointed chief of police; William Finch was appointed patrolman on November 5, 1858, and F. E. Clark was made the third member of the force on January 3, 1859.
About a week after the great Chicago fire in October, 1871, owing to the excitement and the great demand for precautionary measures, a number of extra patrolmen were appointed and were under the control of Lewis Dickinson, the city marshal. This arrangement was only temporary, however, and after the excite- ment quieted down the extra men were dismissed. During the next nine years an additional patrolman was appointed now and then, until in 1880 the force consisted of the marshal, chief and nine patrolmen, or eleven men in all.
According to the last published report of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, the Racine police force now consists of thirty-five men, to wit: One chief, one captain, three sergeants, two detectives, one lineman and twenty-seven patrolmen. The
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cost of the force for the year 1914 - the year included in the report - was $33,218.74.
Few cities the size of Racine are better provided with fire and police protection. And it is greatly to the credit of the city that some years ago a pension fund was started for the firemen and policemen, so that when a man grows old in the service he can be retired with the assurance that he will not be in absolute want in his old age. At the close of the year 1914 the firemen's pension fund amounted to $20.134.85, of which $19,000 was in- vested in interest bearing securities, and the police pension fund had reached $16,279.84, with $15,000 invested in bonds.
PUBLIC PARKS
Prior to 1905 the City of Racine had no public parks. In his annual message of that year to the City Council, Peter B. Nelson, then mayor of the city, called attention to the need of public parks. In order to get the matter in tangible shape, on January 25, 1905, Mayor Nelson appointed the following citizens members of a park commission: C. R. Carpenter, Michael Higgins, A. C. Hanson, F. L. Norton and Andrew Simonson. At the April elec- tion following, the question of issuing bonds to the amount of $50,000 for the purchase of lands and the establishment of public parks. The proposition was defeated by a vote of 2,237 to 1,473. Racine was therefore in the peculiar situation of having a park commission with nothing to do. The outlook was certainly not encouraging, but Mayor Nelson and the park commission refused to give up the fight for publie parks. As a beginning, the board petitioned the City Council to set aside for park purposes a strip of land off the east and south sides of Mound Cemetery, extending from West Sixth Street to Twelfth Street and from the top of the bluff to the Root River. The petition was granted and the tract of land was named Riverside Park.
In June, 1905, the board asked the council to appropriate $1,000, on condition that the board raise a like sum by subserip- tion, which the council agreed to do, and the canvass for funds began. Before the close of the year $4,000 had been subscribed. one of the first and largest being that of the Woman's Club of $1,000. With this $5,000 as a working find the board seemed an option of Horlick Park, north of Sixth Street, which was finally purchased by William Horlick and donated to the city,
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hence the name. Jens Jensen, a landscape gardener of Chicago, was engaged to outline a general plan for a park system.
The next step was to seenre an option on ten acres of ground lying between Horlick Park on the west and the Root River for $5,000. The day before the option expired the subject was brought to the attention of William Mitchell Lewis, who pur- chased the traet and presented it to the city for a playground. Later Mr. Lewis gave $5,000 toward the improvement of the park, which is now known as Lewis Field.
As early as October 24, 1905, the park board entered into a lease and option of purchase with Charles Erskine for the forty- seven acres comprising Washington Park. The lease was to run for three years from September 15, 1905, and just before its expiration the board exercised its option and purchased the ground for $20,487.50, giving to the city a park of unusual beauty. In his report immediately following the purchase, A. A. Fisk, superintendent of parks, said: "Washington Park will ever be the popular pienie park because of the natural woodland. The woods should ever be retained in its wild condition. Its natural beauty far surpasses anything that could otherwise be created."
The North Shore or Bathing Beach Park was purchased from James Cape & Sons in July, 1908, for $10,000, and money for the erection of a suitable bath house was raised by subscription within a week. A life line was strung on posts, which were driven into the bottom of the lake, and a life boat was anchored at a con- venient point for use in emergencies. The operating expenses have been met by the small rentals received for bathing snits. towels and dressing booths, and the bathing beach is one of Ra- eine's popular resorts during the warm weather.
Lake Shore Park, fronting the lake between Thirteenth and Sixteenth Streets, was donated to the city by Andrew Simonson. C. R. Carpenter, W. M. Lewis and George D. Fellows, giving to the city more than two blocks on the bluff overlooking the lake at that point. This is not a large park, but it has proved to be a popular resting place for the people in that section of the city.
On July 6, 1905, Judge J. E. Dodge donated to the city 170 feet on Wisconsin Street, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth Streets. This was named Dodge Park. Other small parks are: East Park, West Park, Momment and St. Clair Squares, Colbert and Simonson Parks, Lutz Square, and the ends of Seventh.
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Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Seventeenth Streets, from Lake Avenue to the lake. These will never become as popular as the larger parks, with their golf links, tennis courts, etc., but when the plans of the park commission are carried out each one of them will become a beauty spot for the people of Racine to gaze upon with pleasure.
The general system of parks, as outlined by Mr. Jensen and approved by the park board, contemplates the connecting of the larger parks by driveways, such as Riverside Drive and Carlisle Boulevard, and when completed the city will have a park system of which every citizen - even those who voted against the bond issue in 1905 - may well be proud.
WATERWORKS
On March 12, 1882, J. S. Foster, of Chicago, addressed the Raeine City Council on the subject of waterworks. At that time the city had no authority to put in waterworks along the lines suggested by Mr. Foster's address, and on the 14th a committee of the council, to whom the matter had been referred, recom- mended legislation that would enable the city to enter into a contract with any company to build a system that would supply the city with water. During the legislative session, in the winter of 1882-83, a special law was enacted giving the city the desired authority, and on May 7, 1883, the council passed an ordinance granting to the Holly Manufacturing Company, of Lockport, New York, a franchise for twenty-five years to build, equip and operate a waterworks plant for the purpose of supplying the City of Racine with water, and including the exclusive privilege of laying mains upon the streets of the city.
The Holly Company failed to exercise the privileges granted by the franchise ordinance, and on March 18, 1886, a franchise was granted to the Racine Water Company. This ordinance was approved by Mayor Joseph Miller the next day and was accepted by A. H. Howland, president of the company. The new company went to work immediately upon a plant. A pumping station was built on the lake shore just north of the Root River, a stand pipe of steel with a capacity of 330,480 gallons was erected on Tenth Street, and a twenty-four inch cast iron pipe was run out 7,240 feet into the lake, where the end was turned up and is encased in a crib. The stand pipe was afterward encased with brick,
VIEW OF RACINE LOOKING EAST FROM CORNER OF MARQUETTE AND LIBERTY STREETS IN THE '50S
FROM THE SAME VIEWPOINT TODAY
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with a roof of concrete and a castellated top. The daily pumping capacity of the plant is 8,500,000 gallons. The first section of main was laid on July 1, 1886, water was first turned into the mains on January 11, 1887, the water tower was filled on the 27th of the same month, and on February 1, 1887, the first private consumers were supplied.
The franchise granted by the ordinance of March 18, 1886, was for twenty-five years. Upon its expiration in 1911 some of the citizens expressed themselves in favor of having the city pur- chase the plant and give Racine a municipal waterworks, but nothing definite along that line has been done up to this time. It is probable, however, that within a few years the works will be owned by the city.
GAS AND ELECTRIC LIGHT
On February 24, 1855, Governor William A. Barstow ap- proved an act of the Wisconsin Legislature incorporating the "Racine Gas Light and Coke Company." A meeting of the stock- holders was held on April 16, 1855, when A. P. Dutton was elected president; J. B. Rowley, secretary, and G. C. Northrop, treasurer. At a second meeting, held on May 9, 1855, the president and sec- retary were authorized to make a contract with the firm of Parkins, Harper & Company, of Chicago, for the erection of a gas works for $40,000. In 1866 the Legislature annulled the char- ter of the company and passed an act incorporating the "Racine Gas Light Company," which purchased the works and began business with a capital stock of $41,000. The capital stock was increased to $100,000 about 1877 and continued to furnish the people of Racine with gas until the company was merged into the Wisconsin Gas and Electric Company, a few years ago.
On June 20, 1887. the City Council passed an ordinance granting to John Rodgers, "his heirs, associates or assigns," the right to use the streets and alleys of the city for the erection of poles and the running of wires to supply the people with electric light. This was the first move toward an electric light plant in Racine. Mr. Rodgers evidently failed to establish his plant in accordance with the terms of the ordinance, for on March 11, 1892, the Belle City Street Railway Company was granted a franchise to furnish electricity for lighting purposes. The light plant established under this franchise was afterward turned over
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to the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company when it acquired the Belle City Street Railway system.
MISCELLANEOUS
In addition to the municipal utilities and advantages enu- merated in this chapter, the City of Racine has a substantial city hall, erected in 1883 on the southeast corner of Main and Third Streets, in which are the city offices, conneil chamber, etc. At the close of the year 1914 the sewer system included over eighty miles of sewer, put in at a cost of $649,642.62. There are thirty-five miles of brick and asphalt paved streets, which cost $1.311,271.15, and many miles of excellent cement sidewalks. The city has a fine public library, with abont ten thousand volumes of well selected books, a number of fine school buildings and church edifices, and many pretty residences. Its manufacturing, mercantile and banking interests compare favorably with those of other cities of its size. With a population of over forty thou- sand and property assessed at $55,770,026; with a wide-awake, progressive people; with its excellent transportation facilities, both by lake and railroad, Racine has well earned the appellation it has so long borne of "The Belle City of the Lakes."
CHAPTER VILI CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES
TOWNS LAID OFF BY SPECULATORS IN EARLY DAYS-WHY SOME SUC- CEEDED AND OTHERS FAILED -LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES IN RACINE COUNTY - THE CITY OF BURLINGTON -ITS HISTORY - HISTORICAL SKETCH OF EACH VILLAGE - POSTOFFICE OF 1916.
In the settlement of the states of the Middle West there developed a sort of mania on the part of speculators for laying off towns, the principal object having been the sale of lots to new comers, or to people in the older states. Through some for- timate circumstance, such as the location of a county seat, the building of a railroad, or the development of a water power, some of these towns grew to be business centers of considerable im- portance. Others, less favored, became small railroad stations. neighborhood trading posts or postoffices for a certain locality.
Racine County was not as badly afflicted with this craze as some localities, though a number of towns were laid out within its limits. A few of these have survived, others have disappeared from the map, and it is quite probable that none of them has meas- ured up to the expectations of the founders. From a careful ex- amination of old records, płat-books and atlases, the following list of towns - past and present - of Racine County has been compiled. The list ineludes every village, rural postoffice, or settlement that has been distinguished by a name, to wit: Beau- mont, Burlington, Caldwell Prairie, Caledonia, Corliss, Dover, Foxville. Franksville, Gatliff, Honey Creek, Horlicksville, Husher, Ives Grove, Ives Station, Kansasville, Kilbournville, Kneeland, Lamberton, Linwood, North Cape, North Racine, Ray- mond Center, Rochester, Rosewood, Sylvania, Tabor, Thompson- ville, Union Church, Union Grove, Waterford, Willow Creek and Yorkville.
Not many of the places in the above list have a recorded history. Fewer than a dozen of them were officially laid out and the plats filed in the office of the register of deeds. The others, like Topsy in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "just growed." Only one has attained to the rank of a city, and but four others are incor- porated villages according to the laws of the state. Some have
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entirely perished, and in a few instances the exact location of the town as originally contemplated is uncertain. It is, therefore, impossible to give a full and authentic history of each one, but such facts concerning them as the writer could gather from avail- able sources are given below.
BEAUMONT
Seventeen miles west of Racine, in Dover Township, was once a rural postoffice called Beaumont. Its exact location was in the south side of Sections 2 and 3, Township 3, Range 20. The postoffice was discontinued upon the introduction of the rural free delivery system, and the people living in the northern part of Dover Township receive mail through the office at Kansas- ville. There is little left of Beaumont except the name.
BURLINGTON
With the exception of Racine, the history of which is given in the preceding chapter, Burlington is the only city in the county. It is pleasantly situated at the junction of the Fox and White Rivers, in the western part of Burlington Township, about twenty- five miles from Racine. According to Judge Charles E. Dyer, the first white men to settle in that part of the county were Moses Smith and William Whiting, who came to the Fox River Valley in December, 1835, and the former is credited with having built the first house within the present city limits. He located his claim on the west side of the Fox River, where in May, 1836, he built a log house, having passed the winter in a hastily con- structed shanty on the east side, in company with Mr. Whiting, B. C. Perce and Leumel Smith. In connection with Sammel C. Vaughan, he built a saw-mill, with a run of buhrs for grinding corn. It was not much of a mill, as compared with the flour mills of the present day, but it could "crack corn" and soon became known for miles around.
Late in the year 1838 Pliny M. Perkins, a miller by trade, came to Burlington and bought the mill and water power from Smith & Vaughan. He had a little capital and built a frame mill with "three run of stone," two of which were grinding wheat and one for corn. Eight years later he built the "big mill," as it was called - 40 by 60 feet and four stories in height. It was destroyed by fire in 1864, but he immediately rebuilt. Again he was burned out in 1874, though he had retired three years before,
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leaving the mill in charge of his two sons, Edward and James. Then a large stone mill was erected that at the time it was com- pleted was considered the best in Southeastern Wisconsin and which was for many years one of Burlington's leading enterprises. Mr. Perkins was the first miller in Wisconsin to ship flour to New York, via the lakes, and Milwaukee depended largely upon Burlington in those days for its bread supply. Subsequently the Burlington Mills shipped flour in large quantities to European countries.
At the land sale in Milwaukee, in the spring of 1839, the original site of Burlington - the northeast quarter of Section 32, Township 3, Range 19, was purchased by Silas Peck, who em- ployed A. W. Doolittle, then county surveyor, to plat the town. The survey was made by Mr. Doolittle on May 21, 1839, and at the same time Mr. Perkins employed him to lay out "Pliny M. Perkins' First Addition." Both plats were filed with the register of deeds three days later. Perkins' second addition to Burlington was filed on April 9, 1850.
Quite a little settlement had grown up, however, before the town was regularly laid out. In January, 1836, Enoch D. Wood- bridge built a log house on the east side of the Fox River. It was afterward occupied by Ruel Nims, who came about a year later, enlarged the house and opened the first tavern in what is now the City of Burlington. James Nelson, the first blacksmith, opened his shop in May, 1836, and the following month B. C. Perce erected a building for a store on the bank of the river overlooking Smith & Vaughan's mill pond. Silas Peck, who aft- erward became the proprietor of the town, also came in 1836 and built his house next to Perce's store. Early in the year 1837 a postoffice was established under the name of "Foxville," and Moses Smith was appointed the first postmaster. It was on the mail route from Racine to Mineral Point and received mail weekly. Before the establishment of the postoffice the settlement was known as the "Lower Forks," the "Upper Forks" being where the Muskego Creek enters the Fox River, at the present Village of Rochester.
After the removal of the Indians to the west side of the Mississippi River in 1837, the settlement of Racine County went forward with greater strides, and the little colony at the "Lower Forks" received its share of immigrants. Lewis Royce, a lawyer
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from Vermont, came to Burlington and built his house a short distance west of where the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- road Station was afterward established. Not finding many cli- ents, he built a lime kiln and burnt about three hundred bushels the first year he was engaged in the business. Origen Perkins also located there in 1837. He built his house near the place where the brick yard was later opened and was the first justice of the peace. Among those who settled in the village in 1838 were Liberty Fisk and Henry Edmonds, the latter opening a blacksmith shop not far from the mill. Miss Sarah Bacon taught the first school in the summer of 1838, in a house that faced the public square, but was afterward removed to Chestnut Street. She was engaged by Lewis Royce, who was later a member of the first Board of School Commissioners.
Dr. Edward G. Dyer, the first physician, came in 1839, about the time the town was platted by Mr. Doolittle, and took up his residence in the log house built by Origen Perkins, who had removed to his farm. Other settlers of 1839 were Richard Brown, L. O. Eastman and Ephraim Perkins, the father of Pliny M. and Origen Perkins. On July 4, 1839, a "Grand Celebration" was held in the grove on the east side of the Fox River, probably the first in that part of Wisconsin. Stephen Bushnell furnished the dinner and Rev. Jason Lothrop delivered the principal address. Thus these pioneers, far from the "busy haunts of men," did not forget that they were American citizens, and demonstrated their loyalty to the principles of the Declaration of Independence.
Although B. C. Perce erected a building for a store in 1836, he did not engage in business as a merchant. The honor of being the first merchant in Burlington belongs to Pliny M. Perkins, who put in a small stock of goods in the log house built by Moses Smith. He began business in 1839, but the following year he and Hugh MeLaughlin erected a large frame building, the west hall of which was used by Mr. Perkins as a store and in the east half Mr. MeLaughlin opened the "Burlington Hotel," which he kept for several years. The building was dedicated on New Year's evening, in 1840, by a grand ball.
Game was plentiful around the village and a large part of Mr. Perkins' trade was in powder, lead and shot, taking in ex- change muskrat and other skins. In the winter of 1839-40 David Bushnell counted 105 deer in a single herd, as they forded the
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LOOKING NORTH FROM MARKET SQUARE IN 1860
Building in left foreground was Titus Hall, on site of present Manufacturers' Bank
BIJOUX
SIGNS
THE SAME VIEW IN 1916
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river near his claim. Long-billed snipe, prairie chickens and other small game fowl were abundant and afforded a fair mark for the hunter.
In 1843 Pliny M. Perkins erected the first woolen mill in Racine County on the bank of Fox River, directly opposite his grist mill. It was 35 by 60 feet and two stories high above the basement. Thirty years later he enlarged the building to 50 by 100 feet and added two stories to its height. With its enlarged capacity Mr. Perkins used from 75,000 to 100,000 pounds of wool annually.
In 1855 the Racine & Mississippi Railroad (now the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul) was completed to Burlington and the town experienced its first boom. Some twenty years later the Chicago & Fond du Lac Division of the Wisconsin Central was built and not long after it was completed the preliminary steps were taken to incorporate Burlington as a village according to the laws of Wisconsin. The incorporation was not completed. however, until 1886. On July 28, 1886, a census was taken and showed a population of 1,744 within the territory it was proposed to include in the village limits. A petition was then filed with the circuit court on the 27th of September. The court granted the petition and ordered an election on the question to be held on the 3d of November. The proposition was carried by a substantial majority and on November 30, 1886, the first village officers were elected, to wit: E. Merton, president: F. Reuschlein, clerk: Hubert Wagner, J. B. Buell, Frank Schemer, B. Brehm, C. W. Wood and R. T. Davis, trustees.
Early in the year 1900 Burlington was incorporated as a city. The first city election was held on April 3, 1900, and resulted as follows: G. C. Rasch, mayor; George W. Waller, city clerk; L. J. Brehm, city treasurer: Louis A. Reuschlein, assessor; Wil- liam A. Colby. R. M. Aldrich, S. M. Reinard and F. G. Richard- son, supervisors - one from each of the four wards. There were also elected two aldermen from each ward, viz .: First Ward, C. B. Wagner and Edward F. Rakow; Second Ward, William Meadows and Charles A. Jones: Third Ward, John Reynolds and Charles Schemmer.
Following is a list of the mayors of Burlington, with the year when each was elected: G. C. Rasch, 1900; Edward F. Rakow, 1901: Charles B. Wagner, 1903: J. G. Mutter, 1904; Edward F.
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Rakow, 1907; H. E. Zimmerman, 1908; Edward F. Rakow, 1912; H. A. Runkel, 1915.
Waterworks - On October 12, 1889, the Village Board passed an ordinance submitting to the voters the proposition to issue bonds to an amount not exceeding $20,000 for the purpose of establishing a system of waterworks. A majority expressed themselves in favor of the bonds, but, as is usual in such cases, some delay was experienced in the building of the plant. The supply of water comes from artesian wells and is noted for its purity. Very few cities of similar size are better supplied with water of as fine a quality. The plant is owned by the city.
An electric light plant was built by a private company about twenty years ago. When the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company built the interurban line to Burlington it acquired the local light plant and is still operating it, after making a num- ber of needed improvements.
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