USA > Wisconsin > Columbia County > The history of Columbia county, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement > Part 56
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Among other things calculated to annoy and distress the pioneer was the prevalence of wild beasts of prey, the most numerous and troublesome of which was the wolf. While it was true, in a figurative sense, that it required the utmost care and exertion to "keep the wolf from the door," it was almost as true in a literal sense. There were two species of these animals-the large, black, timber wolf, and the smaller gray wolf that usually inhabited the prairie. At first, it was next to impossible for a settler to keep small stock of any kind that would serve as a prey to these ravenous beasts. Sheep were not deemed safe property until years after, when their enemies were supposed to be nearly exterminated. Large numbers of wolves were destroyed during the early years of settlement. When they were hungry, which was not uncommon, par- ticularly during the winter, they were too indiscreet for their own safety, and would often approach within easy shot of the settlers' dwellings. At certain seasons their wild, plaintive yelp or bark could be heard in all directions at all hours of the night, creating intense excitement among the dogs, whose howling would add to the dismal melody. It has been found by experi- ment that but one of the canine species-the hound-has both the fleetness and courage to cope with his savage cousin, the wolf. Attempts were often made to capture him with the common cur, but this animal, as a rule, proved himself wholly unreliable for such a service. So long as the wolf would run the cur would follow ; but the wolf, being apparently acquainted with the character of his pursuer, would either turn and place himself in a combative attitude, or else act upon the principle that " discretion is the better part of valor," and throw himself upon his back in token of surrender. This strategic performance would make instant peace between these two scions of the same house ; and not infrequently dogs and wolves have been seen play- ing together like puppies. But the hound was never known to recognize a flag of truce ; his baying seeming to signify " no quarter ;" or, at least, so the terrificd wolf understood it.
Smaller animals, such as panthers, lynxes, wildcats, catamounts and polecats, were also sufficiently numerous to be troublesome. And an exceeding source of annoyance were the swarms of mosquitoes which aggravated the trials of the settler in the most exasperating degree. Persons have been driven from the labors of the field by their unmerciful assaults.
The trials of the pioneer were innumerable, and the cases of actual suffering might fill a volume of no ordinary size. Timid women became brave through combats with real dangers, and patient mothers grew sick at heart with the sight of beloved children failing in health from
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HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY.
lack of commonest necessaries of life. The struggle was not for ease or luxury, but was a con- stant one for the sustaining means of life itself.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY.
On the 3d day of February, 1846, an act of the Territorial Legislature of Wisconsin was approved by the Governor, to divide the county of Portage and organize the county of Columbia. By that act, all that portion of country then embraced within a boundary beginning on the north line of Township 13, at Fox River, thence running southerly along that river to the south line of lands then owned by the Menomonee Indians ; thence westerly on that line to the Wisconsin River; thence up the middle channel of that stream to the east line of Range No. 7 cast ; thence south by the east line of Range 7 east, to where it intersects the river just mentioned ; thence down the middle channel of that stream to the county of Dane on the south ; thence east, bounded by Dane County on the south, to Dodge County on the east; thence north, bounded by the county of Dodge on the east, to the county of (what was then) Marquette on the north ; thence west, bounded by Marquette County on the north, to the place of beginning on the northwest, was set off into a separate county and called Columbia. The county, liow- ever, was near being called York, instead of Columbia. James T. Lewis presented a petition to the Legislature for " Columbia ; " but Wayne B. Dyer, at Otsego, and some of the settlers at Portage forwarded another petition for "York," and the bill, so worded, was about to pass, when the first petitioner succeeded in inducing the members to vote for an amendment, striking out the latter and inserting the former.
It will be seen that the county thus " set off" was not identical, as to territory, with the present county. The northwest part was then owned by the Menomonee Indians, and remained a part of Portage County. The south line of their lands commenced at a point on the west side of Fox River (now within the city of Portage) just below the township line between Town- ships 12 and 13, of Range 9 east, as afterward surveyed by the General Government, running thence in a straight course to what is now the northeast corner of Block No. 185, of the city of Portage; thence to the Wisconsin River, on what is now Block 140 on Webb & Bronson's plat.
By the organic act, it was provided that the county should be organized on the 1st day of May, 1846, for all the purposes both of county and judicial government, and that it should enjoy all the rights, privileges, immunities and powers of the other counties of the Territory. It was further provided that an election should be held in the several towns, or precincts, of the county, such as were then, or as might thereafter be, established by law, on the 1st day of April of that year, for the election of all such town or county officers as the county, hy virtue of its organization and the provisions of the organic act, should be entitled to, who were, severally, to hold their offices until the next general election and until their successors were duly elected and qualified, provided that nothing in the act should be so construed as to render the Sheriff of the county to be elected ineligible to a re-election at the ensuing annual election.
It was provided by the act just mentioned, that the first election to be held in the county should be conducted in all respects in the manner then provided by law for holding general elections, and the votes cast were to be returned and canvassed as therein provided ; and the Judges of the election were authorized to issue certificates of election to any person duly elected to office, in the same manner as the Clerks of the Board of County Commissioners were then authorized to do in other counties.
But the act contained, also, this section : " Pursuant to the election herein provided for, it shall be the duty of some Justice of the Peace of said county, or Justices within the limits of the respective precincts of the same, if there be one or more in each precinct, to post up, or cause to be posted, notices of said election, the officers then and there to be elected, with all the purposes of the same, at two or more of the most public places in each precinct, at least ten days before the said day of election." But this provision of the act seems to have been entirely overlooked, and, as a consequence, it began to be generally understood that the election was illegal. Some of the officers, however, were sworn in.
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HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY.
Among these were two of the County Commissioners-Solomon Leach and J. Q. Adams ; also, James C. Carr, Clerk of the Board. The two Commissioners organized on the 16th day of July, 1846, at the house of Elbert Dickason, in Wyocena ; present, James C. Carr, as Clerk ; also "Maj." Dickason, as lobby. Mr. Leach was called to the chair. The only business trans- acted was the formation of election precincts, " without any particular authority," as the Chair- man afterward declared, for the ensuing fall election. It was
Resolved, That so much of Columbia County, commencing at the northeast corner of said county, embracing Townships 12 and 13 of Range 12, and all that part of Townships 12 and 13 of Range 11, lying east of the section line between 5 and 6, be set off in a precinct to be known by the name of the Le Roy Precinct ; and that Nathan Griffin, James Buoy and Irwin McCall be Judges of Election in said precinct, said election to be held at the house of Oliver Langdon.
Resolved, That the portion of said county embraced in Townships 10 and 11, in Range 12, comprise a precinct to be known by the name of Columbus Precinct : elections to be held at the house of A. P. Birdsey, and that Asa Proctor, J. T. Lewis and Jeremiah Drake be Judges of said election.
Resolved, That Townships 10 and 11, of Range 11, comprise a precinct to be known by the name of Dyers- burgh Precinct ; and that the elections be held at the house of Landy Sowards, and that Landy Sowards, Jonathan E. Haight and Henry Pellet be the Judges of Election in said precinct.
Resolved, That Town[ship] 10, Range 10, south half of Town [sbip] 11, Range 10, and east half of Town [ship] 10, Range 9, comprise a precinct to be known by the name of Lowville ; elections to be held at the house of Jacob Low, and that William Young, Henry Herring and Stephen Brayton be Judges of Election in said precinct.
Resolved, That west half of Town[ship] 10, Range 9, Town[ship] 10, Range 8, Fractional Town[ship] 10, Range 7, comprise a precinct to be known by the name of Pleasant Valley Precinct ; and Marston Bartholomew, Aaron Chalfant and J. Mayuard be Judges of said elections, elections to be held at the house of Marston Bartholomew.
R-solved, That Towuship 1], Kanges 8 and 9, and the south half of Town[ship] 12, Range 9, and all that part of Town[ship] 12, Range 8, lying south of the Baraboo River, comprise a precinct to be known by the name of Dekorra Precinct ; elections to be held at the House of La Fayette Hill, and that Joshua W. Rhodes, John Springer and Thomas Swearingen be Judges of Election in said precinct.
Resolved, That all that part of Town[ship] 12, north of the Baraboo River, and Town[ship] 13, and Fractional Town[ship] 14, Range 8; Town[ship] 13, north half of 12, Range 9, comprise a precinct to be known by the name of Winnebago Portage Precinct ; elections to be held at the house of Gideon Low, and that Richard F. Veeder, Daniel D. Robertson and Henry Merrell be Judges of Election in said precinct.
Resolved, That Townships 13 and 12 and the north half of Town II, Range 10, and one tier of sections on the west side of Town[ships] 12 and 13. Range 11, comprise a precinct to be known by the name of Wyocena Precinct ; elections to be held at the house of Elbert Dickason, and that Charles Spear, Darius Bisbee and Harvey Bush be Judges of Election in said precinct.
On the 7th (first Monday) of September, 1846, the annual election was held. Two tickets -Whig and Democratic-were in the field. Persons were voted for to hold legislative, county and precinct offices. The Democratic nominees for legislative and county offices were : For the . Council, Mason C. Darling, of Fond du Lac County ; House of Representatives, Hugh McFarlane, of Columbia County, and Elisha Morrow, of Brown County ; Delegates to the Constitutional Convention, Harvey Bush and James T. Lewis : Sheriff, Thomas C. Smith ; County Commis- sioners, J. C. Axtell, William McDonald and John Newell, Clerk of Board of Commis- sioners, Alvin B. Alden; Register of Deeds, Elbert Dickason; County Treasurer, Solomon Leach ; Collector of Taxes, John Swarthout; Judge of Probate, Josiah Arnold; County Sur- veyor, Elbert Dickason ; Coroner, William Bradley ; Assessors, Powell Austen, E. S. Smith and Hugh Muir; School Commissioners, Jolin Converse, Isaiah Robinson and John Springer.
The Whig nominecs were: For the Council, Israel Green ; House of Representatives, Henry Merrill and Henry O. Sholes; for Delegates to the Constitutional Convention, Jere- miah Drake and Lafayette Hill; Sheriff, William C. Morgan ; County Commissioners, Richard F. Veeder, Nathan Griffin and John Q. Adams ; Assessors, Hiram B. Swift, Chauncey Spear and George M. Bartholomew ; Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners, Nelson Swarthout; Treasurer, James C. Karr; Surveyor, Alfred Topliff; Register of Deeds, Sylvester L. Corbin ; Coroner, Daniel E. Bassett ; Collector, Wayne B. Dyer; Judge of Probate, Silas Walsworth ; School Commissioners, Henry Merrell, John Langdon and Jeremiah C. Drake.
A portion of each of the tickets was elected as follows : Council. Mason C. Darling; House of Representatives, Hugh McFarlane and Elisha Morrow ; Constitutional Convention, Jeremiah
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Drake and LaFayette Hill; Probate Judge, Silas Walsworth ;* Sheriff, T. Clark Smith ; Clerk Board County Commissioners, Nelson Swarthout ; Treasurer, James C. Carr; Collector, John Swarthout ; Register of Deeds, Elbert Dickason ; Surveyor, Alfred Topliff; Coroner, Daniel E. Bassett ; Assessors, Hiram B. Swift, Chauncey Spear, George M. Bartholomew ; School Commissioners, Jeremiah C. Drake, John Langdon and Isaiah Robinson ; County Commis- sioners, R. F. Veeder, Nathan Griffin, John D. McCall; Assessors, Hiram B. Swift, George M. Bartholomew, Chauncey Spear.
This election was believed to be void because it was held under the action of the Board of Commissioners elected at the previous spring election, dividing the county into voting precints, which action was without authority of law, even had the board been legally electedl; so an act of the Legislature, approved February 11, 1847, amending the " Act to divide the county of Portage, and organize the county of Columbia," was passed, which provided " That the election held in the county of Columbia, in the month of April, 1846, be, and the same is hereby, legalized, and the acts of all officers elected are hereby declared to be as valid to all intents and purposes as if said election had been legal from the beginning, and said county had been prop- erly organized, and said officers properly qualified.
" That the election held in said county, on the first Monday in September last, be, and the same is hereby, declared to be as valid to all intents and purposes as if said election had been legal from the beginning, and said county fully organized, and the persons elected to fill county and precinct offices, at the election held as aforesaid, are hereby authorized to qualify within thirty days from the passage of this act, and act accordingly."
In March, 1848, the people of Wisconsin adopted, by vote, a State Constitution that had been framed by a convention which assembled December 15, 1847, and adjourned February 1, 1848.
In the first session of the Legislature of the newly admitted State, which convened at Madison June 5, 1848, Henry Merrell, of Fort Winnebago, represented Columbia, Portage, Marquette and Sauk Counties in the Senate, and Joseph Kerr, of Randolph, represented Colum- bia County in the Assembly.
At this session, an act was passed for submitting to a vote of the people the question whether the territory lying west of the Wisconsin River should be detached from Columbia County and be annexed to Sauk. The latter county was desirous of acquiring this territory, and we believe the inhabitants of the territory proposed to be detached also favored it. At that time, there were no bridges or ferries across the Wisconsin River ; the county seat was at Colum- bus, making it very inaccessible for them, and Baraboo was a more convenient point at which to transact county business.
At the election, it was opposed by the people of Fort Winnebago, as they were anxious to preserve territory that would naturally be their ally, and was supported at Columbus, with the view of making their own position as a contestant for the county seat more secure. The act provided that :
" On the Tuesday after the first Monday in November next, the legal voters of the county of Columbia are hereby authorized to vote in favor or against having all that part of said county lying west of the Wisconsin River stricken therefrom and attached to Sauk County."
The vote, as officially declared, stood as follows : "For division, 103; against divis- ion, 246."
The title of the Menomonee Indians having been extinguished, an act extending the north- ern boundaries of the county from Fox River to the Wisconsin River was passed in 1849, which brought into the jurisdiction of the county what is now known as the towns of Newport and . Lewiston, also a port of the present town of Fort Winnebago, and a part of what is now the city of Portage. The act provided :
" That all that portion of the country contained in townships numbered twelve (12) and thirteen (13) north, in ranges numbered six (6), seven (7), eight (8) and nine (9), lying and * Refused to qualify ; James T. Lewis was appointed in his place. + Did not serve ; his place was filled by Wayne B. Dyer.
J. J. Suppe PORTAGE CITY.
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HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY.
being north and east of the Wisconsin River, is hereby annexed to and made a part of the county of Columbia."
The territory thus added to Columbia County gave to it the form and area which it still retains.
ESTABLISHING THE COUNTY SEAT.
An election was held in Columbia County, on the first Tuesday of April, 1846, in accor- dance with the provisions of the act organizing the county, to vote for the location of the county seat. The following places were voted for, each receiving the number of votes stated : Column- bus, 97 ; Winnebago Portage, 49; Duck Creck, 47; Dekorra, 33; Dyers, 10; Van Duer, 3 votes. No place received the majority of the votes ; the act was found defective in not providing for such a contingency, and the county seat remained unlocated.
At the next session of the Legislature, the act was amended by declaring the county seat temporarily located at Wyocena, and providing for a vote on the question at each annual election, until some place should receive a majority. It provided : " That the county seat of the county of Columbia be, and the same is hereby, located at Wyocena, on the northeast quarter of section number twenty-one (21) in township number twelve (12) north of range number ten (10) east, until the next annual general election, at which time the location of the same shall be submitted to a vote of all white male inhabitants above twenty-one years of age, who shall have actually resided in said county thirty days previons to said election, and the place receiving a majority of all the votes cast, shall be taken and considered as the permanent location of the county scat for said county : Provided, that the same shall be temporarily established at Wyocena, until the same shall be located permanently by a majority of the voters of said county, which, unless determined at the next annual general election, shall be voted upon annually thereafter, until the same is settled and decided in favor of some one point, by a majority of the voters of said county : And provided further, that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to authorize the raising of any tax for the erection of any public buildings, for three years after the next general annual election, until which time buildings suitable for county purposes shall be furnished free of cost or charge to the said county by the place, or proprietors of the same, at which the said county seat is, or shall be located, by virtue of this section, until the expiration of the time hercin specified ; Provided further, that if the proprietor of said town of Wyocena shall fail to furnish buildings as aforesaid, during its location at said town, then the commission- ers of said county shall furnish the same at such place as they deem most suitable and con- venient for the use of said county : The votes cast at said election for the location of the said county seat shall be received and kept in a separate box, and returned and canvassed as other votes are at said elections."
The Territorial Legislature in 1848, passed an act, approved March 6, of that year, temporarily locating the county seat at Columbus for the period of five years. The act declared : " That for the term of five years from, and after the passage of this act, the seat of justice of Columbia County shall be established at the village of Columbus, on section thirteen (13), township ten (10), range twelve (12), east; and all district courts to be held in and for said county, during said time, shall be held at the public schoolhouse in said village, until some other and more suitable place shall be provided for that purpose. The several county offices required by law, to be kept at the county seat, shall be removed to and kept at the said county seat as soon as suitable and convenient rooms or buildings shall be provided therefor, without expense or charge to the county ; and that all acts and parts of acts heretofore passed, and contravening this act are hereby repealed."
But Columbus was not permitted to enjoy the honor for the full five years, for an act for the loca- tion of the county seat was passed in 1850, declaring " That at the annual town meeting, to be held in Columbia County on the first Tuesday of April, 1850, the people of said county shall be, and hereby are, authorized to vote for the permanent location of the county seat of said county at Wyocena, in said county ; if said Wyocena shall receive a majority of all the votes cast on that
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subject at such town meetings, then said Wyocena shall be and remain the county seat of said county.
" If said Wyocena shall not receive a majority of the votes at such town meetings, then it shall be lawful for the people of said Columbia County to vote at the annual election to be holden in November next, for the location of the county seat of said county at Fort Winnebago, in said county, and if said Fort Winnebago shall receive a majority of all the votes cast on that subject at such election, then said Fort Winnebago shall be and remain the county seat of said Columbia County.
"The votes shall be cast by ballot. At the town meeting above mentioned, the ballots shall have written or printed on them the words 'For Wyocena.' or 'Against Wyocena : ' at the election in November next, the ballots shall have written or printed on them, 'For Fort Winne- bago,' or 'Against Fort Winnebago.'
" The proprietors of the village where the said county seat may be located, shall make to the county a warrantee deed of land, sufficient to build all county buildings on and suitable for the same, to be selected by the Board of Supervisors of said county.
The vote being taken April 2, 1850, under the act just mentioned, the result was, for Wyocena. 580; against Wyocena, 511. The returns from several precincts were either not received within the time required by law, or were rejected for informalities.
The total votes polled in the various precincts was as follows : [Returns canvassed.] Colum- bus, for Wyocena, 12, against Wyocena, 142; Fort Winnebago (Portage), 16 for, 246 against ; Fountain Prairie, 86 for, 3 against ; Lowville, 54 for, 1 against; Marcellon, 4 for, 85 against ; Otsego, 75 for, 10 against ; Portage Prairie (Randolph, etc.), 81 for, - against ; Scott, 51 for, 20 against ; Springvale, 68 for, - against ; Wyocena, 133 for, - against. Total for Wyocena, 580; total against Wyocena, 507. Four scattering votes against Wyocena were returned.
The votes of the following precincts were not canvassed : Lodi, for Wyocena, 1, against Wyocena, 36 ; West Point, 7 for, 19 against ; Hampden, 9 for, 68 against ; Kossuth (Leeds and Arlington), 30 for, 33 against ; Dekorra, 7 for, 92 against ; Port Hope (Fort Winnebago), - for, 73 against.
The total vote actually cast was 1,372, divided as follows: For Wyocena, 587, against Wyocena, 785-a majority of 198 against.
Proceedings were immediately commenced in court to obtain a decree in favor of Fort Win- nebago as the county seat, in accordance with the actual vote, but, before it could be brought to a hearing, another act of the Legislature was obtained, re-submitting the vote to the people at the election in April, 1851.
The act provided " That at the annual town meeting, to be beld in the several towns of Columbia County on the first Tuesday of April, eighteen hundred and fifty-one, the electors of said county shall be, and are hereby, authorized to vote for the permanent location of the county seat of said county at Fort Winnebago, in said county ; if said Fort Winnebago shall receive a majority of all the votes cast on that subject, at such town meetings, then Fort Winnebago shall be and remain the county seat of said county.
" The votes shall be by ballot, and shall have written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, on each of them the words, 'Fort Winnebago-yes,' or ' Fort Winnebago -no.
" If said Fort Winnebago shall not receive a majority of all the votes cast on this sub- ject at such town meetings, then the county seat shall be permanently established at Wyocena.
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