The history of Dodge county, Wisconsin, containing its early settlement, growth an extensive and minute sketch of its cities war record, biographical sketches, Part 71

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 776

USA > Wisconsin > Dodge County > The history of Dodge county, Wisconsin, containing its early settlement, growth an extensive and minute sketch of its cities war record, biographical sketches > Part 71

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The annual address was read by S. C. MeDowell ; an essay by Mrs. M. E. Warren, and a poem by C. F. George.

THE LAKE.

Fox Lake, upon whose outlet the village is located, is justly its pride. It is three and one-half miles in length by about two and one-half in width, divided centrally by two wooded islands, one (Pulling's or Brower's) being one mile long and one-fourth wide, the other (Saw- yer's) about half a mile in extent. Brower's Island has a dwelling upon it, and is partially cultivated. It is connected with the main land on the south by a bridge, and its special

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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY.

adaptation to picnic purposes is known and appreciated throughout all this section of country. A grand hotel or summer resort will one day add to the attractions of this truly beautiful island. The average depth of water south of the islands does not exceed five feet. North of Brower's, the bottom gradually inclines Chinaward, and in the central part the sounding line finds no resting-place. The north shore has grassy, wooded banks, the southern and eastern, boggy. The water north of the islands is pure and transparent, furnishing an extra quality of ice. The lake abounds with some twelve varieties of fish, and is unrivaled as a fishing resort. In the winter of 1874-75, 20,981 pounds of fish, chiefly pickerel, perch and pike, caught from the lake, were shipped by Mr. John Medley to the Milwaukee market. This amount was less by at least one third than the total catch. Last winter, the fishing was not as good, and a fish law is again needed. Four miles north of this lake is Lake Emily, a beautiful sheet of water, about a mile in extent.

GROWTH,

Although the growth of the village has not been rapid, it has, in the main, been permanent and substantial. Its census of 1875 showed a population of 1,012, and the town 853, making a total of 1,865. Its standing among first-class " beautiful villages " ranks No. 1. It has numerous private residences which wealth and good taste have combined to make all that could reasonably be desired. The nationality of population, both town and village. is about 70 per cent American and the remainder principally Irish, German and Welsh. In its immediate vicinity are numerous farms equal in point of excellence to any in the State. The largest, and among the best farms, is that of D. C. Williams, embracing 680 acres, upon which is an exten- sive barn, built at an expense of $8,500.

There are many other farms worthy of special mention, among which are those of George Jess, W. Il. Lindlay, N. W. Tarrant, Brower Bros., Messrs. Kennedy, Lemon, Lyle, Cameron, N. E. Allen and George Warren. Some of these latter are not within the town limits, but so near that the citizens of Fox Lake feel justified (with the permission of Trenton) in claiming them -especially George Warren's $20,000 residence. The average value of these farms is $50 per acre.

CHAPTER VIII.

HORICON.

AN ANCIENT INDIAN VILLAGE-FIRST SETTLEMENT BY THE WHITES-GRAPHIC PEN PICTURES BY A LADY RESIDENT-PERMANENT GROWTHI-MANUFACTORIES-THE RAILROADS-THE CHURCHES-SECRET AND OTHER SOCIETIES-THE POST OFFICE-HOTELS-CONFLAGRATIONS- DISASTERS ON HORICON LAKE-GOVERNMENT.

RECOLLECTIONS OF SATTERLEE CLARK.

" White Breast (Maunk-shak-kah, the Indians called it)," says the IIon. Satterlee Clark, "was for many, many years-I don't know how long-a noted Winnebago village. On the night of September 2, 1830, I slept in an Indian lodge on the east bank of Rock River, where Horicon now stands. There were two rows of lodges extending several rods north from a point near where the Milwaukee & St. Paul bridge spans the river. The population of White Breast, I should judge, was close upon two thousand-bucks, squaws and papooses. I was on my way, in company with White Ox, to an Indian settlement at the head of Lake Koshkonong. I was but fourteen years of age, and lived with my father at Fort Winnebago. The Indians treated me well, and I have no cause to complain of ill usage at their hands at any time during the sev- enteen years thereafter that I traded with them. They always possessed and exhibited the warmest friendship for me, and now, when the few scattered remnants of the once pow- erful tribes that inhabited Southeastern Wisconsin come to Horicon, they never go away without paying me a visit. As an illustration of their fidelity toward me, I will relate an inei- dent that occurred a few years since. While going to Milwaukee, half a dozen Indians got on the rear platform of the car in which I was sitting with two or three ladies I met on the train. Just as we were pulling out from the station, I heard an unearthly yell, and, looking up, saw those Indians coming down the aisle on a run, throwing up their hands and uttering all manner of joyous exclamations in their own tongue. In a moment, they were upon me, pulling iny clothing, shaking my hands and arms, and jabbering away with all their might. Every one in the car was frightened nearly to death. The ladies with whom I had been con- versing almost fainted. It was not until they saw me shaking hands with my old friends that they recovered from their fright. There were some pale faces, sure enough, in that car. In the midst of the excitement, the conductor came along and ordered the Indians to " get out," but I told him it was only a little peace powwow, and that, when they got through talking, I would send them away, which I did after shaking each of them by the hand again and wishing them good luck.

" How did the Wisconsin Indians pass their time ? O, very easily indeed, and pleasantly withal. Hunting and fishing and trading were the chief pursuits of the males. The squaws devoted their attention, during the spring and summer months, to raising corn, and the autumn and winter to dressing deer hides, making moccasins and building fires in their wigwams. Dur- ing warm weather, they lived in lodges built of white cedar bark. Within these lodges were constructed, of poles and grass mats, very comfortable berths, where the weary huntsman stretched himself in sleep at night. In the winter, wigwams were substituted for these airy lodges. The wigwams were made of heavy mats prepared from the grass which grew upon the marshes and the borders of the lake. A strip of matting, two or three feet wide, would be stretched around the bottom of a series of poles placed in the ground certain distances apart, coming together at the top eight or.ten feet from their base. An embankment of snow, or earth, if the former did not exist in sufficient abundance, was then thrown up about the outside

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of the matting ; another and another strip of the same grass material being placed above the first until the circular wall became of sufficient height to protect the inmates from the chilling blasts of wind which howled through the forest, the top of the wigwam being left open to allow the smoke to escape from the fires, around which the Indians gathered at night to relate their deeds of war or tell their tales of love. When the drowsy god of sleep asserted himself, they would wrap themselves in their blankets, turn their feet to the fire and obey his commands. Their bed was the cold, solid earth : their sheets, simple grass mats. The couch was not downy, but it was comfortable.

" Yes, they buried their dead above ground. Along the banks of the river could be seen the last resting-places of many 'good Indians.' When one of their number died, a rude plat- form was constructed of poles and brush, six or seven feet from the ground. The corpse, being placed in an old canoe covered with bark and hermetically sealed with tamarack gum, was then deposited upon this platform, and the last sad rites were over."

Isaac H. Chandler, who, with his parents, settled on a portion of what is now the Birge farm, in the fall of 1844, tells of having seen and examined the funeral piles of three Indians -a man and two papooses-which stood on the west bank of Rock River, near the present railroad crossing. The "big Injun's " remains had been deposited in a trough, hollowed out for the purpose, and covered over with a flat piece of timber, fashioned to fit closely over the top. Within this strange tomb, besides the bones of the unhallowed warrior, were a rusty flint-lock rifle and a Spanish dollar. The bleached bones of many an aborigine were strewn about upon the ground, indicating it as a favorite spot with the Indians for the interment of their dead. There was also to be seen the grave of a French trapper, who, so the Indians said, had "died while trading with them," but they were profoundly ignorant of the nature of his disease. They had, at least, shown enough respect for the customs of his people to place his remains beneath the ground, using his walnut canoe for a coffin. It is presumed that both the trapper and the canoe came up Rock River from the Mississippi, as the black walnut is not indigenous to Wisconsin.

FIRST SETTLEMENT.

As already indicated, this place was formerly the site of an extensive Indian. village-the only one, Mr. Clark says, within what is now Dodge County. The date of its settlement by members of the red race whose scions inhabited it when our pale-faced ancestors came upon the scene is, of course, a matter of conjecture. The evidences of this Indian occupation are still to be seen in the form of numerous earth mounds, of various patterns, and thousands of well-defined corn-hills, whose obliteration time and the energy of man have not yet accomplished. Though Mr. Clark (perhaps from motives of modesty) does not claim to be the discoverer of this portion of Rock River, the circumstances of his voyage down that stream, in 1830, are not unlike those encountered by Father Marquette on the great Mississippi two decades ago ; and he certainly deserves a place in the category of " antediluvians."

The first entry of land now included in the village limits of Horicon was made by Gov. Hubbard, of New Hampshire, after the sale of Government lands in 1838 .. His claim included a tract of nearly five hundred acres, embracing all that portion of the present village limits lying south of Main street and east of the river, in Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8, Township 11 north, Range 16 east. Gov. Hubbard afterward sold a part of his claim to John B. Preston and others for "town and water site purposes," and the place became known as Hub- bard's Rapids. The first actual and permanent settler at the Rapids was Joel Doolittle, and Mrs. Doolittle, who is still alive, has the honor of having been the first white woman upon the ground. In December, 1845, Mr. Doolittle made a claim and built a log shanty on the west side of the river, just south of the present site of H. B. Marsh's brick mill. He ha'l pre- viously signed a contract to build a dam across Rock River for the proprietors of the water site, Messrs. Larrabee & Preston and Martin Rich ; the latter, who lived near Juneau, also having become interested. The contract price was $700, but, after spending considerable time and labor upon the project, Mr. Doolittle found that his estimate was too low, and, by general consent, withdrew

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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY.

from the task. The dam was afterward completed by Mr. Rich, in the winter of 1846. The summer and fall of 1846 brought several new faces upon the scene, and the new settlement soon became one of activity and enterprise. George II. Beers, IJ. B. Marsh and S. N. Rice came in this year and located permanently. In October, Mr. Beers and Garry Taylor commenced the erection of a saw-mill, and in June, 1847, the first lumber was manufact- ured. It was used in building the residence now occupied by Sylvester and William Rice, on Vine street. The iron-work of the saw-mill was furnished by Mr. Marsh, who built and carried on the first blacksmith-shop and ironed the first wagon built in the place, the wood-work of the vehicle being made by Mr. Rice.

The first store was built and stocked with goods by William Larrabee. The building was made of logs and covered with hand-made shingles. It was 30x40 feet in size, and stood on the corner of Main and Vine streets. Mr. Larrabee purchased his goods in Chicago, shipping them by boat to Milwaukee, and hauling them from that point over bad roads.

In the fall of 1848, a grist-mill was erected at the north end of the dam, by William Sulli- van and a gentleman living in Milwaukee. It stood on the site now occupied by Van Brunt & Davis Co.'s seeder factory, and was destroyed by fire in the spring of 1857. Prior to the build- ing of this mill, the citizens living in that vicinity got their breadstuffs in Beaver Dam, or " Grubville," as Mr. Hamilton Stevens would say, were he alive.

The hardships endured by the early settlers, in many instances, resulted in sickness, and occasionally death became the host of some unfortunate household. Pr. S. P. Thornhill was the pioneer physician. He came in the fall of 1847, and his services were of great value to every one, his very presence seeming to have a wholesome influence.

In the summer of 1848, a hotel (the Horicon House) was built by William Cady and George Gifford. It is still one of the old landmarks, being occupied at the present time as an office by Van Brunt & Barber.

In the mean time, the lake was becoming larger and larger, increasing the strength and value of the water-power day by day. Fully two years elapsed after the building of the dam before the water reached the top of it. The building of mills and factories progressed rapidly, each year seeing the completion of new mechanical enterprises. Among the earlier institu- tions was a wagon-shop and fanning-mill factory, put up by S. N. Rice ; a blacksmith-shop, by H. B. Marsh ; a turning-lathe and hand-rake factory, also by Mr. Rice ; a sash-factory, by George W. Beers ; a chair-factory, by Jones & Chipman. Most of these concerns were swept away by fire in 1859.

Prior to 1850, several futile attempts were made by the villagers to establish a school for the benefit of their children, but, in the rush of business consequent upon founding and build- ing up a new place, nothing definite was determined upon until June of that year, when an informal meeting of the citizens was held for discussion of the subject. A tax of $400 upon the assessable property in the district was voted, and, before the close of the year, the people were enjoying the advantages of a good school. The advance of education has since kept pace with all other enterprises to be found in prosperous and happy communities.

The Rev. Mr. Peck was the avant courier of Christianity. He preached the Gospel in Horicon as early as 1847. Services were held in Mr. Larrabee's store. Mr. Peck was of the Presbyterian persuasion, but denominational lines had not then been drawn in this section, and he had for his listeners almost the entire population.

At a later period in the history of the village. in addition to those already mentioned, we find the following institutions : HI. Winter, foundry ; D. Winter, harness-shop; M. Winter, wagon-shop; Mrs. Merrick, milliner store ; J. Wood, tailor establishment ; J. Parker. shoe-shop ; W. E. Croft, printing office ; G. S. & R. Barnes, hardware store ; II. B. Marsh, livery stable, and many other enterprises which have either ceased to exist or been forgotten in the whirl of pro- gression.

Iloricon (signifying clear or pure water), derives its name from Lake George, in New York, or rather from the name by which that lake was known before it was re-christened by the

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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY.

English, over one hundred years ago. William Larrabee, generally recognized as the founder of Horicon, was one among a number of individuals living in the vicinity of Lake George, who, in 1822, made an unsuccessful effort to have the name changed to Lake Horicon, its original title, so called by a tribe of Indians (the Horicons), living upon its shores. The water of this lake has always been famous for its purity. Many gallons of it have been carried to Rome to be consecrated by the Pope, for nse in Catholic churches of parts of the United States and throughout the Canadas. When Mr. Larrabee came to Dodge County and cast his fortunes in a dam at the foot of a beautiful lake, whose banks were fringed with stately oaks and basswoods, through whose branches curled the smoke from the wigwam fires of a peaceful tribe of Indians, he was reminded of the familiar scenes on Lake George, among the Horicon Indians as he saw them when a boy. Being the proprietor of the dam, no one had a better right to name the place than he, and, at his solicitation, Horicon was substituted for Hubbard's Rapids.

PEN PICTURES.

Mrs. George H. Beers, a resident of Horicon, has drawn some graphic sketches of the place as she saw it in its infancy. The lady possesses a rare and peculiar talent, and has drawn what seem to be very accurate pictures of the scenes of thirty-five years ago. In permitting us to quote from these sketches for the purposes of this history, the authoress has consented that eliminations of such matter as belonged particularly to the occasion for which she wrote may be made at our discretion. In her initial paper written, perhaps, about 1865, Mrs. Beers says : *

* * I will give you a sketch of loricon as it was nineteen or twenty years ago. This place was wild, yet beautiful. It was formerly an Indian planting-ground, and many of their corn hills are still visible, as they planted in the same hills each year without plowing as our farmers do. And where our beautiful lake now is was a marsh called . Winnebago, after the warlike tribe that formerly occupied this place. Rock River flowed quietly along, and on its eastern bank near the [old] depot lay scattered along a number of mounds ; whether thrown up by the God of Nature or the Indians, I know not, but we called them Indian mounds. They were similar to each other, usually with a large tree in the center of each. On the bank near the river, was an Indian trail worn deep into the earth ; for it had been trodden by Black Hawk and his tribe, as well as other tribes for many long years. * *

% There was a fine spring on the bank of the river under a large tree ; it was a splendid place, and for a long time we got all the water from there that we used for drinking or cooking purposes, crossing the river in a small boat to obtain it. 1 well remember the first night I ever stayed in this place. It was dreary enough. The Indian ponies were grazing around the house all night, and their bells kept up a constant tinkling. The fear of the Indians troubled me somewhat, as my thoughts would go back to the narratives I had read of Indian cruelties to frontier settlers ; but here they seemed harmless. They called themselves Pottawatomies or Menomonees, and seemed asbanied to be called Winnebagoes, as the latter were considered by the whites to be much more cruel than the former. We conld usually distinguish the Winnebagoes by their red blankets, while the other tribes wore white or blue. Ofttimes, while about my work, I would look up to see black faces peeping in at my window, as that was their habit always before entering a house. Such sighis startled me at first, but I became accustomed to it and learned to trade with them, and bny venison. fish, ducks, berries, etc. They usually wished to " swap" for flour or salt. They always seemed much pleased with the salutation bazhu from us, which means, " How do you do ?" and would respond with the same word immediately. I had nothing stolen by them except a pie, which I left ont to cool ; but they were almost always begging, saying they had no shoneau (money). In the winter the squaws and papooses would come to warm themselves by our fires. I very much disliked to let them in, as the house would smell of smoke for hours afterward ; but they would say, " Heap coll," and look so wretched that I could not say puckachee (go away). During certain seasons of the year [in the winter], there would be a large number of wig- wams where the [old] depot now is. We visited them, and found some of the squaws dressing fish, roasting veu- ison or tanning deer-skins. Everything seemed quite comfortable, excepting the smoke from the fires built in the center of each wigwam, which scented the surroundings with an unpleasant smell. They often buried their dead above ground, usually in an old canoe, supported by four posts and covered over with bark, but as the white people came and settled here the Indians were induced to discontinue the habit and also to remove the old sarcophagi. Occasionally the Indians would have a pow-wow, which I always dreaded very much, as at such times they bought whisky, or goodnatush as they called it, from enterprising dealers in Grubville, now Beaver Dam. They would keep up their fires and make night hideous with their yelling, singing and dancing, but such things did not occur very often.

Mrs. Beers' second and third papers treat at length of the realities of frontier life, and the reader will recognize many familiar incidents that, but for the intelligence, ability and foresight of this lady, would now be buried in oblivion. She says : * * *

** I will tell you about the first winter we spent in Horicon. Our house was built of boards brought from Watertown. It was very comfortable, although not plastered the first year, and for a long time we used benches instead of chairs, for we could not get the latter article this side of Milwaukee. Chairs had been manufactured in Watertown and Beaver Dam, but the manufacturers had laid aside their business to "shake," as

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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY.

the ague and fever claimed much attention at that time, although it did not trouble us. Our post office was at Oak Grove. We usually sent for mail once a week, the postage on each letter being twenty-five cents. * * If * we needed a physician, we were obliged to send to Beaver Dam, and get a " quack " at that. Butter was exceed- ingly scarce, as farmers had but just begun to raise stock. We once sent to Watertown and purchased a few pounds, which lasted a long time, although we had a number of boarders ; for most any of us would rather see it sit-

ting on the table than to partake of it, and all admitted it to be very profitable butter. * -* Our Chi- cago boarders taught me much about cooking in a new country. I learned to make a very good mince-pie of dried apples, partially stewed, or pumpkin stewed in vinegar ; but we were blessed with good appetites. During the first winter, as the white man came to settle, with progression as his motto, many improvements were made. The grass was burned off the marsh, ready for a lake, and a dam was built across Rock River. This troubled the Indians very much, as they came down the stream, puldling their light canoes. When they reached the obstruction, they were obliged to get out and carry their frail barks around it. At that time, teams had to ford the river, as there was

* no bridge, only a foot-path across the dam. *

* The next work was to build a large double saw- mill, and, when completed, " buzz" went the saw, from Monday morning till Saturday night ; sharply rang the axes in the woodland, and hundreds of stately forest trees fell, only to rise again, not as the green and lofty bowers of singing birds, hut as the cottage homes of true and loving hearts.

Many persons still among us will remember seeing an old Jog-house [William Larrabee's] on Main street. which onee served as a dwelling-house, store and church, all at the same time. The Indians called it "heap wigwam." After it was completed, the occupants gave a party, and nearly all the inhabitants in the place were invited. We had an oyster supper, which was a great treat at that time, when all our extras came from Milwaukee, a journey of four or five days. * *

* The second winter, the grist-mill was put up and finished, ready for the summer harvest. It was hailed with welcome by every one. A boarding-house was the next greatest need, for the few who had settled here were heavily taxed with hoarders. Our house, though small, had accommodated from fifteen to twenty for a long time. This want was supplied in the building of the Horicon Ilouse, including a ball-room, as daneing was the chief amusement in those days. Previous to this, a party was given not a thousand miles from here, in a house built of logs, with hewn timbers, or puncheons, for a floor, which had shrunk considerably, leaving large cracks between. A Swede, who boarded with us, attended the party, and not knowing how to express his thoughts in better language, told me he had been " dancing over canals" all the evening. This Swede afterwards started for California, but was shot by an Indian with a poisoned arrow, when within three days of his destination. Thus ended his golden prospects. *

* * Our lake was three years in filling, and for a long time afterward, large patches of the sod at the bottom would loosen, rise to the surface and come floating down. After a while it would seem to decay and then disappear. The fish that this lake and river contained would astonish a stranger. No one who had not witnessed the spectacle would believe the truth, but called it a Horicon fish story. We have seen farmers load their wagons with fish in a short time by dipping with a basket. They fed their swine with them, and, in later years, used them for fertilizing their lands. We packed some of the larger ones in ice and sent them East to our friends.

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The history of Dodge county, Wisconsin, containing its early settlement, growth an extensive and minute sketch of its cities war record, biographical sketches, Part 71

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 776

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 776