USA > Wisconsin > Waukesha County > The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources; an extensive and minute sketch of its cities, towns and villages etc > Part 96
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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
off eight or ten inches from the trunk to answer for "rounds " on which to climb. These prim- itive but useful ladders were used for climbing bee trees, which were very numerous in an early day. The wild honey thus obtained the Indians mixed with their wild rice and corn, making a very palatable dish. The whites also used the wild honey, which was not only plentiful, but delicious.
Marvin H. Bovee, of Mukwonago, published a work-" Capital Punishment ; Reasons for its Abolition "-which was instrumental to a considerable degree in securing the abolition of capital punishment in Wisconsin.
On the 16th of August, 1860, the United States Marshal arrested Edward W. Daniels, of Waukesha, and cast him into prison at Milwaukee, for aiding Sherman M. Booth to escape prison, into which he had been put for rescuing Joshua Glover, an escaped slave, in March, 1854.
Under the heading of a " Gold-mine in a Sand-pit," the Scientific American of 1860 contained the following : "On the 21st of last February, Messrs. Robinson & Eggleston, of Waukesha, Wis., obtained (through the Scientific American Patent Agency) a patent for an improved process of tanning hides, whereby tanning operations may be conducted altogether independently of oak and hemlock barks of our forests, in any locality where there is plenty of water, and a superior quality of leather (both upper and sole) is produced. In a letter dated August 11, expressing the patentees' gratitude for our services in preparing their specifications and prosecuting their case to a successful issue, they incidentally mention that they have just forwarded to Washington, for record in the archives of the Patent Office, a deed of transfer of an undivided interest in their patent, in consideration of the snug little sum of $150,000 ! This is a practical illustration of the aphorism of the ÆEsopian fable-' there is nothing like leather.' "
The Indians called Joseph Bond "Netch," or "Open Hand," because he gave them tobacco, and also " Wau-bus-kee," which means white.
There were several fatal cases of cholera in Waukesha County in 1849, the first of which resulted in the death of Alfred Brown. There were also several cases during the following year.
In 1838, a Pottawatomie Indian stole a ham from the back room of John Woodworth's house. Mrs. Woodworth saw the theft, and seizing an ax made chase, and soon compelled the brave savage to drop his ill-gotten meat. He was afraid of a woman.
Andrew E. Elmore was called the "sage of Mukwonago" by the whites, and " Nau-kee- shuk " by the Indians, which means "Four Eyes." This was because Mr. Elmore wore spec- tacles.
In the early '40's "Prof." Old was the genius of poetry in this portion of the country . He frequently gave whole lectures in rhyme. The opening verse of one delivered at Prairie- ville, April 21, 1847, will suffice for this work, or any other. It is as follows, literatim :
"'You nasty flea, I can't tell why You made these lumps upon my thigh ; If I could catch you here, my lad, I should feel so very, very glad. The other night it did the same Unto my wife and made her lame ; To cure us hoth I now must try Or we will surely mortify : I've caught it now here in the bed, And now the nasty thing is dead. "
FIRST THINGS.
The first white man that was positively known to have remained over night in what is now Waukesha County was Samuel A. Storrow, in 1817.
The first actual settlers were the Cutler Brothers, A. R. and Morris D., who came from La Porte, Ind., early in the spring of 1834, and made claims where Waukesha Village now is.
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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY
The first building erected by a white man was a claim shanty of logs, put up by the Cut- ler Brothers in May, 1834, where Blair's machine shop stands on the bank of the Fox River, in the village of Waukesha. Before this shanty had been completed, another was begun by the Cutlers where Morris D. Cutler now lives, in the same village.
The first hotel was a small log building erected by B. S. McMillan, in the summer of . 1835, not far from the present location of the county jail. It was called "McMillan's Inn," but was not intended at first to be used as a hotel. It was built for a residence.
The first hotel, planned and projected as such, was the Prairieville House, built by Henry Bowron and first kept by James Buckner. It was opened in 1837, and for years had a large amount of custom. One wing of the building stands on the old site, in Waukesha ; another is a part of the American House, and the balance is divided between several parties.
The first store was erected by Solomon Juneau, not far from the present location of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, in Waukesha. Juneau hired a clerk to run it, who dealt mostly in Indian goods and " wolf tobacco." This tobacco was also for the Indians, and was so named because it was said to be strong enough to kill a wolf. The store was opened in the winter of 1836-37. Mr. Juneau sold goods here before that, however.
The second store in Waukesha Village, and the first one intended to be entirely for the accommodation of the settlers, was erected by Charles R. Dakin and opened on Main street. Mr. Dakin carried a large stock for those days.
Robert Curran had a hotel opened in Brookfield, in 1836, which for many years was well patronized. It was the first in that town.
The first white woman in Waukesha County was Mrs. Stewart, sister of Almon Osborn, now a resident of Fond du Lac County. She came the 1st of May, 1835.
In 1837, Sewall Andrews opened a stock of goods at Mukwonago, which was undoubtedly the first, exclusive of Indian goods, in the county. Mr. Andrews is still living.
The second woman in the county was Mrs. McMillan, who arrived at Prairieville May 7, 1835. Mrs. Isaac Smart arrived May 16, and was the third woman in the county.
The first white child born in the county was James, son of Isaac Smart. John A., son of Joseph Smart, was born in Mukwonago, December, 1836. This was probably the second birth in the county and the first in Mukwonago; and Merian and Meriam Hill, twin daughters of Lyman Hill, were born in Mukwonago, January 20, 1837. These were the first twins in the county. The first white child born in Pewaukee was Uriel P. Olin, son of Nelson Olin. He was shot dead in the battle of Antietam.
The first blacksmith probably was Charles Raynous, who brought his tools to Mukwonago in 1836. Settlers "backed" their plow-points, land-sides and other iron utensils, from fifteen to forty miles to his shop for repairs. Mr. R. very soon after moved to North Prairie. About the same time Mr. R. settled at Mukwonago, Hugh McIntyre settled near where Wedge's mill was built, in Muskego.
B. A. Jenkins first found the water power at Genesee, which determined him to settle in the town of Genesee.
The first real bridge was erected in the fall of 1837, by the citizens generally, across the Fox River at Prairieville. It was of logs, and, though rough in appearance, was an exceedingly substantial affair.
The first school house was built of logs, every able-bodied man lending a hand, in the fall of 1837, " under the hill " on the west side of the Fox River, in Prairieville. The first school was begun in it by John Moon Wells, in November, 1837.
The first stone building in the county and probably in the State, was the Prairieville Academy, built by Lyman Goodnow and Wm. T. Bidwell, at Prairieville, in the spring of 1840.
The first breeder and dealer in Shanghai poultry, was Joseph Carpenter. He led a big rooster at the first county fair, in 1842.
The first colored people to settle in the county were Father Richard Moon and his family, in 1838. Mrs. Moon, now over ninety, is living at Waukesha.
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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
A poor, friendless, homeless German was the first to take his own life in the county. He drowned himself in 1838, at Genesee. The second person who committed suicide was E. G. Webb, a miller, in Prairieville.
The first flouring-mill was built by Mr. Bigelow at Eagle. It began grinding, run by water, early in 1838. The stones were hardly as large as the bottom of a water pail, and could not turn out a grist much more quickly than a coffee-mill. A good flouring-mill exists now on the same site. Mr. Bigelow made the first stones for this mill with his own hands, and with but few tools.
The first frame building was built in nine days, by Lyman Goodnow, the Clintons and another, in Prairieville.
The first death, probably, was that of Edgar T. Owen, son of Ethan Owen, killed in Pe- waukee, accidentally, while at work in the woods, in the winter of 1836. Charles Cox died in Mukwonago July 23, 1838.
The first reaper or mowing machine was invented and built by Andrew McCormick, at Prairieville. It was the first in Wisconsin, and consisted of a huge, square, ungainly frame of wood, with a cutter-bar something after the modern patterns. It was first tried on Nathaniel Wal- ton's land, and did a tolerable job of cutting, pulling up and beating down.
The first French-horn player in the county was Gordon C. Cone, afterward a promi- nent county official.
John Manderville, residing near Prairieville, was appointed the first Justice of the Peace, and Nathaniel Walton the first Constable, in what is now Waukesha County.
The first boarding-honse was opened in 1838, by Deacon Allen Clinton, in Cutler's claim shanty, near the river, in Waukesha. He boarded the hands who were at work on the race and foundation for the first flouring-mill in Prairieville.
The first agricultural fair held in Wisconsin was in Prairieville, October 28, 1842. The grounds did not even have a fence around them, and there was no horse-racing.
The first stone dwelling was erected on the street leading past the Court House in Wau- kesha, by Lyman Goodnow, in 1841, for W. P. Sloan, attorney at law. It was a two-story struc- ture, and is still in use as .a dwelling. Mr. Goodnow was paid 76 cents per perch for the materials, and lost money. He desired to advertise his stone-quarry.
The first Jurors summoned after Waukesha became a separate county, were Charles But- lerjunt, Robert Curran, Whitney Hudson, O. M. Hubbard, Geo. W. Porter, B. W. Knight, Joseph Marsh, C. H. Purple, William Brimmer, A. R. Hinckley, Elisha Pearl and E. B. Birchard.
February 13, 1847, Andrew G. Miller opened the first session of court for the county, in the old Prairieville Academy.
The first piano was brought to the county by George Diessner, from Germany. In the fall of 1849, Dr. Gilbert Wright brought the second one to the county.
The first fiddler in the county was Daniel Thompson, and he had all the fiddling he cared to do.
The first saw-mill was built by Mr. Wedge, in Muskego, early in 1836; the second was built by Israel W. Porter, a short distance above Prairieville; the third was built by Lord, Gale & Barber, at Prairieville, and the fourth was built by Clinton & Hine, a short distance below Prairieville. The second and third began sawing early in 1838; the fourth, a little later.
In 1836, A. C. Nickell brought the first stallion to the county. The horse, a handsome animal, was a great curiosity among the Indians.
The first Postmaster was David Jackson. The date of his commission is not on record. He carried the mail to Milwaukee once a week, if there was any, in his overalls pocket. The office was opened early in 1837, as Prairie Village.
The first stone-quarry was opened by Lyman Goodnow, in Prairieville, in 1840, on M. D. Cutler's land.
Dr. Gilbert Wright was the first regular physician to take up his residence in the county.
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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
In the fall of 1839, water was brought in tamarack pump-logs, bored by hand, from the spring now owned by Samuel A. Randles to the old Prairieville House. The next, or possibly the same year, David Jackson's house was supplied from the Silurian spring.
The first church edifice in the county was erected by the Congregationalists in 1839. It was raised on Friday and Saturday, and the frame was covered with the boughs of trees for services the next Sunday. During fifteen years thereafter, services were held in it every Sun- day, except one, after the inside had been painted.
The first railroad in the State reached Prairieville in January, 1851.
The first temperance society probably in the State was organized by E. W. and Lyman Goodnow and William T. Bidwell, at Prairieville, in 1839.
The first academy building erected in the State, was the old stone academy at Prairieville, erected in June, 1840, by Lyman Goodnow and William T. Bidwell. It has turned out many distinguished men.
The first lawyer in Waukesha County was Vernon Tichenor, who still practices his profes- sion at Waukesha.
In a paper prepared for the Old Settlers' Club, Alex. F. Pratt wrote : " These first settlers, who came with their families in '35, were under everlasting obligations to Mr. Juneau, for provisions furnished them the first year, for there were none for sale except what he had, and he furnished supplies to several who had no means at the time to pay with."
To settle which was the first marriage in the county is a difficult matter. Alfred Orendorf was married to Livonia Rathbun, in October, 1837; Prucius Putnam and C. W. Haseltine were married at Col. Haseltine's, Vernon, January 1, 1838, to Miss Haseltine and Miss Thomas, respectively, and Hamilton Nelson was married to Mrs. Caroline Eggleston, at Robert Love's, August 12 ,1838.
In 1835, Isaac B. Judson built the first fireplace and chimney in the county for the Fullers, who settled in Pewaukee.
Elon Fuller was the first guest at Curran's Hotel, in Brookfield.
The first railway cars built in Wisconsin were constructed in the stone shops of the old Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad, at Waukesha.
John S. Rockwell first improved the water-power at what is now Oconomowoc.
The first thrashing machine erected in the county ( probably in the State) was made by Hamilton Nelson, in Pewaukee, in 1839.
Nathaniel Walton brought the first thrashing machine to the county in 1837; but it was old and of little account, except for his own use. The next was brought soon after, by John Nelson. It was an eight-horse machine and was the pioneer in the business of thrashing for everybody.
The first lawsuit in the county was before John Manderville, at Nathaniel Walton's log house, near the present site of the State Industrial School.
W. W. Collins opened the first store at Oconomowoc.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS HENCE.
To go back, not one hundred, but even fifty years into the past history of Waukesha County, has been attended with difficulties which those for whose benefit this work was projected will never understand. To go one hundred years into the future, however, is to go on a pleasant journey where all is smooth sailing; is a task as bare of difficulties as dreaming, or " building castles in the air."
As to population, the county will not be required to keep up such a large ratio of gain as has characterized its growth during the last forty years, to contain, in 1980, 100,000 souls. This will be a trifle over 6,000 to each town, which is not a large population, being already exceeded in China, Japan, the Netherlands and other countries. High- ways will then be macadamized, or constructed of paving blocks; trees will line all the streets ; fruit will be within reach of passers by ; horse cars-not drawn by horses, how- ever, but propelled by some of the many stupendous natural forces which will then be
J. 6. Dourowaw OTTAWA .
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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
utilized -will cross the various towns; the scores of beautiful lakes will be lined with magnificent villas and summer hotels, and their bosoms dotted with floating gardens and steam craft not now thought of ; other railroads will traverse the county, equipped with better roadbeds, cars of splendor now unheard of, and drawn by locomotives which can rush across the endless garden- for a garden this county will be one hundred years hence-at a speed of at least one hundred miles an hour ; the forests surrounding some of Waukesha's scores of lakes, will be private parks with regular keepers, and filled with deer and other animals-more like the zoological gardens of the present time ; Government Hill will be the base of an observatory from whose summit six or seven connties, the City of Milwaukee, containing half a million souls, and Lake Michigan, can be distinctly seen; the old court house at Waukesha will have been razed and a structure reared in its place, surpassing in beauty of architecture, size and surroundings even the wildest imagination of the toilers of 1880 ; vehicles will be in use by which individuals can pro- pel themselves at a speed equaling that of railway trains at the present day ; daily papers, more complete in news, make-up and culture, than any in Wisconsin to-day, will be published in the county ; dozens of hotels surpassing in size and elegance of appointment anything now in exist- ence will then be built for the accommodation of those who gather from all parts of the world, to drink of Waukesha mineral waters ; factories will have sprung up in every town for the manufacture of articles not now to be had, or even invented ; colleges, seminaries and costly schoolhouses will be so near together, in 1980, that the children of each family can easily attend school each day from their homes ; dwelling houses, offices and cities will be connected by a net- work of wires or tubes, affording such a cheap and simple means of communication that all can use them; dwelling houses will be made on new and improved plans, of new materials, and will be warmed in a manner and at a cost not now known ; there will be some different and more- strict qualifications for voting ; women will be allowed to vote upon many, if not all, questions ; and finally, not a single person who reads this book in 1880 will be here in 1980 to know how truly this prophecy will be verified. However, it is by no means an unreasonable one, for, had any one predicted, fifty years ago, the existence in the future of what we now have about us, he would have been written down a lunatic ; but nevertheless, his predictions, true though they would have proven, would have appeared far more miraculous for the time than those made in this brief article do for the great year of 1880.
VILLAGE OF WAUKESHA.
LOCATION.
The site for the present village of Waukesha was not chosen by chance. There were no white people in what is now Waukesha County at that time, and those who located the place had no opposition or rivals. They came to the wilderness-as beautiful then as it has ever been since-and, after looking over the surrounding country thoroughly, and weighing all the various natural advantages, chose the present site of the village as the best the vicinity afforded. The choice was mostly due to the father of Morris D. and Alonzo R. Cutler, who had come with his sons to add his judgment and experience to theirs in choosing the most desirable location. They desired to found a village, or city, and determined that the spot where Waukesha now stands, . with the rapids in the Fox River, which was then a much larger stream than now, the rich soil, fine springs, surrounding timber and proximity to Lake Michigan, would ultimately be the site of a goodly city. They have all-though the father is now nearly one hundred years of age- lived to see their judgment proven correct.
The soil was rich and dry, but covered with hazel brush and a tangle of other small shrubs, with here and there an oak, and above, below and back of the present village was a large aggregation of Pottawatomie wigwams, which was called by the early settlers, Prairie Village. Nearly every village and city in the West is built upon the ruins of an Indian village, the aborigines being apparently more expert than their white brethren in the choice of the most eligible sites for a large collection of dwellings.
S
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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
The first claim made in what is now the village was the "mill quarter," consisting of 160 acres of land, blazed out by the Cutlers, in 1834, which embraced all the lots on which are the busi- ness portion, the court house, and a considerable portion of the residence lots of the village, as it now is. This "mill quarter" was claimed by Alonzo R. Cutler, who very soon after ex- changed it with his brother Morris D., for property in Illinois. In 1837, Lord, Gale, Bar- ber, through William A. Barstow, purchased it for $6,013. They gave a heavy mortgage on the property, which finally, except the water power, reverted to Mr. Cutler, who had it platted into village lots, by George S. West.
In 1836, David Jackson employed Martin Field, now a resident of Mukwonago, to plat forty acres into village lots; but the plat was never recorded.
It will thus be seen that M. D. Cutler was the original permanent proprietor of Waukesha.
The first settlers here were also the first in the county-Morris D. and Alonzo R. Cutler and Henry Luther. The first house here was A. R. Cutler's claim-shanty, erected in May, 1834, near where Blair's machine shop now is. It was finished a few days before the one built by M. D. Cutler, where his limits, present residence is, in the park. The next buildings were erected outside of the present village limits, as every new-comer desired to secure a tract of the splendidl and with which the vicinity abounded. The only village there was for two or three years, consequently, was the Indian village, which was.densely populated during the summer seasons, but generally pretty well deserted every winter. Even in 1837, after the "Prairieville House " had been opened by James Buckner, the place did not look much like a village to newcomers, or give promise of ever becoming one. The underbrush had only been cleared away in patches, for gardens and a little grain ; there was a log hotel ; Juneau's log store (Indian trading post, more properly), a post office, without much mail, in David Jackson's log house, and that was all. Down at Bethesda spring, and out on the prairie where the Smarts now reside, were log houses, and also similar residences down the river and on the west bank. It was not a village, nor did it begin to assume such proportions as would entitle the place to that name until about 1340. The building of the grist-mill, by W. A. Barstow and others-the Saratoga Mills, now owned by B. Boorman, are the ones refered to-was a great event for Prairieville. It contained the only "smutter" in this portion of the Territory, and was the largest mill then within its limits. People came from far and near to this mill, being unable to get white flour made at any other point, and this not only brought a large amount of trade to the merchants, but attracted settlers to the locality. From the date of the flouring-mill, which began grinding in 1839, Prairieville began to be of some importance and to increase in population.
DIFFERENT NAMES.
The village of Waukesha, as well as the town, has existed under three different legal names. The first, Prairie Village, was taken from the Pottawatomie village which the whites found here, and which was so named because it was a large collection of wigwams on a prairie. This name was bestowed by the Legislature, March 8, 1839 ; but, being considered too long, and not entirely proper for the town nor for a city if the place should become one, it was changed by act of the Legislature approved December 21, 1839. Under this name the village throve, growing rapidly in population and wealth until 1846, when, the name of the new county, of which Prairieville was the county seat, being called Waukesha, the name of the village (and of . the town also) was legally changed to Waukesha, which, no doubt, will remain unchanged as long as there is anything here worthy of any name whatever.
But Waukesha has been known by other names. When W. A. Barstow proposed to erect a flouring-mill at Prairie Village, some of the inhabitants were so much pleased that they pro- posed to call the place Barstow, and for some time after that the people in the surrounding towns called it " Barstow's Mills."
Before this the place was called Lisbon for a short time.
A few proposed to name the place Jacksonville, after the first Postmaster, and the first Scotchman here desired to name it Glengarry. These attempts, it is well known, amounted to
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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
nothing ; but Waukesha for many years was known to outsiders as "the hub," because it con- tained so many political leaders, and was the place for holding almost all conventions and pub- lic meetings. It was also known as " that stinking Abolition hole," because of the great num- ber of Anti-slaveryites who had settled here.
All of these titles were doubtless considered well earned, as its present one certainly is- "Saratoga of the West." This popular term arose from the great number of mineral springs found here, and from the fame the place has gained as a summer resort.
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