The history of Dodge county, Wisconsin, containing its early settlement, growth an extensive and minute sketch of its cities war record, biographical sketches, Part 79

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 79

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Committee in favor of Waupun. But, on account of a private dispatch, this letter was not sent, and, when the citizens found out that fact, a howl of indignation went up against the Postmaster, who was denounced as a traitor. Immediately, steps were taken to oust him from his office, and the excitement grew more intense than ever. Matters finally began to look serious, as property was advancing, leases were being made and various improvements planned, and the scoret was let out that a young Scotch clerk, who is now an old Scotch hardware merchant, had poured half a barrel of rock-salt into the famous well. Next day, not a man could be found who would acknowledge that he had been sold, but a peep into several woodsheds would have disclosed dozens of tin pans spoiled in boiling down water from the salt well.

Richard Graham, the clothier, was very bashful in his earlier days. He, therefore, was made the butt of numerous practical jokes. On one occasion he invited a friend to a New Year's dinner. The wags of the village issued between one hundred and two hundred invitations to the best people in the vicinity to appear at his house to dine on New Year's Day, sign- ing Mr. Graham's name. Enough of thein came to fill the house, much to the chagrin and consternation of all, as there was not food enough in the house to feed one-quarter of those pres- ent. However, necks had not begun to grow stiff in those days, and the joke was taken good- naturedly.

John Carhart came to Waupun unmarried, and soon after began to pay marked attention to one of the village belles. Occasionally, he prolonged his visits well into the night. Two fun-loving Scotchmen, who afterward became prominent business men, stretched a rope across the street on which John would return, and attached to it a man of straw. This straw man was placed in the path, and the boys posted themselves on house-tops on either side of the street, each grasping one end of the rope. Just as Mr. Carhart reached the spot, the rope was jerked and the straw man shot into the air past his head. The sight of a man springing from the ground into the air like a rocket was so unusual that the frightened lover took to his heels and was never seen to pass that spot alone after dark.

Other tricks without number were perpetrated by a certain mischievous clique, whose mem- bers are now the principal citizens of Wanpun, such as temporarily stealing horses, cows, fowls, carriages and anything come-at-able ; sending ont bogus wedding cards, frightening excitable individuals by arresting and trying them on bogus processes for various crimes ; sending the doc- tors post haste where they were not wanted ; causing prominent men to be sued for bogus bills of indebtedness : using young ladies' names to invite Tom, Dick and Harry to call : charging losses by theft upon innocent but nervous parties, and keeping the vicinity in an uproar generally. and everybody on nettles lest they should be ma le the butts of practical jokes. There was only now and then one who would not take these pranks in good part, and all such were reserved for further tantalization.

CHAPTER X.

WATERTOWN.

FIRST SETTLEMENT-TIMOTHY JOHNSON'S NARRATIVE-THE FIRST LOCATION IN DODGE COUNTY- LUTHER A. COLE'S REMINISCENCE-GROWTH OF WATERTOWN-PIONEERS-SCHOOLS-RELIG- IONS-MANUFACTORIES-HOTELS -- BANKS-FIRE DEPARTMENT - POST OFFICE -SOCIETIES - GOVERNMENT-NEWSPAPERS.

FIRST SETTLEMENT.

As about one-third of the city of Watertown lies in the county of Dodge, this work would be incomplete without a sketch of its history. Timothy Johnson is acknowledged to have been the first settler on that part of Rock River now embraced within the city limits of Water- town. The place was known for some years as Johnson's Rapids. Mr. Johnson, not long before his death, wrote a narrative of his experience here, from which the subjoined facts are taken. He was a native of Middletown, Conn., born June 28, 1792. After traveling over and living in many parts of the South and East, he found himself, in the fall of 1835, in the village of Racine, at that time composed of but a few shanties. In January, 1836, undeterred by the severity of winter storms, he continued his march westward, striking the Rock River Valley in the vicinity of Wisconsin City, a "paper village" with one inhabitant, the site of which is now embraced within the limits of Janesville. Going to Rockford, Ill., for a supply of provisions, he returned to Wisconsin City, and, in February, renewed his journey, following the course of the river northward. Stopping about two miles below the present site of Jefferson, Johnson erected a small log shanty. He occupied his time by clearing a small spot of ground, and in making short excursions about the country. During one of these exploring expeditions, he discovered what was soon afterward known as Johnson's Rapids (now Watertown). The banks of the river at this point were fringed with a beautiful growth of red cedars, the background being thickly wooded, on the west side with stately oaks, and on the east with a forest of maples, elms and ash. The eastern half of the stream was covered with a sheet of glistening ice, and, felling a tree across the unfrozen current, the solitary adventurer crossed over the rippling waters and returned to his shanty. While on this expedition, Johnson was robbed of the provisions he carried with him, by a band of red-skins, and was without food forty-eight hours.

Johnson visited " the Rapids" again within a few weeks, and staked out a "claim" of about one thousand acres, whereon the principal portion of Watertown now stands. In June, 1836, he made a trip to Milwaukee, where he purchased a fresh supply of provisions, a yoke of oxen and a wagon. He returned to his shanty on Rock River by way of Fort Atkinson, bringing with him Philander Baldwin, Reeve Griswold and Charles Seaton. During the summer, they cut a road from Johnson's shanty up the east side of the river to "the Rapids," and soon after- ward built a log cabin on the west side of the river, below the railroad junction, on the side now occupied by Mr. Carlin's residence. In the fall, Johnson sent word to his family in Ohio, to meet him in Milwaukee, which they did, and on the 10th of December, 1836, the little pioneer party reached the Rapids.

FIRST SETTLEMENT IN DODGE COUNTY.

The first settlement, however, in that portion of the city of Watertown lying in Dodge county, was made by Luther A. and John W. Cole and Amasa Hyland. Mr. L. A. Cole thus relates his experience: "Previous to 1836, very little or nothing was reliably known of the spot where the city of Watertown now stands. It is reported that a Frenchman had established a trading-post on the west side of the river, in what is now the Third Ward, on a rise of ground

531

HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY.

where Timothy Johnson built the first dwelling-house ever erected by an American within the present limits of the city. Near the Frenchman's deserted and decaying cabin, was an Indian burying ground containing several graves. At the head of one of them stood a rude wooden cross, which tradition says was the last resting-place of the solitary trader, who had been mur- dered by the Indians in a fierce impulse of passion to avenge some real or fancied injury, or to get an opportunity to plunder his stock. * I left my home in Vermont at the age of twenty-two, and landed at Detroit in 1834.

From there I went to Grand Haven, whenec, in company with Philander Baldwin and Elisha M. Osborn, I went to Chicago. From that village we started on foot for Milwaukee, following the Indian trail most of the way, and arriving there May 10, 1836. I worked at the carpenter and joiner business until December, with the exception of about two months, which I devoted exclusively to the ague. Taking my blanket and provisions upon my shoulder, I started for Johnson's Rapids, passing over the road which had been cut out by Mr. Johnson a few weeks previous. Amasa Hyland accompanied me. A few months before, I had, through the agency of a friend, made two claims at the Rapids, one covering the farm now owned by John W. Cole, and the other the farm now owned by heirs of Benjamin J. Morey. In January following, I purchased, at Milwaukee, three bar- rels of flour and three of pork. I paid $20 dollars a barrel for the flour and $40 a barrel for the pork. Building a cabin in Dodge County in company with Mr. Hyland and my brother, John W., we commenced keeping what we called 'bachelors' distress.' The peculiar luxury of this method of living can only be appreciated by those who have enjoyed it. We made it a point not to wash our dishes until we could count the mice tracks upon them.

" The season of 1837, I worked on the saw-mill and dam of Charles F. H. Goodhue & Son. From that time until the fall of 1839, I was occupied mainly at lumbering and farming. In November of that year, Mr. Hyland, J. A. Chadwick, David Griffith, William P. Owen, William Stanton, Jr., Brice Hall, John Dimmick and myself went to Arkasas for the purpose of spending the winter in chopping steamboat wood. We floated down Rock River in a skiff, and were eight days reaching the Mississippi. We remained in Arkansas until the following spring, each of us having a clever-sized ' pile,' when we returned to Watertown.

" In 1841, my brother, John W., and myself erected the building on the corner of Main and Second streets, and opened the first store in Watertown. The next year, Mr. Bailey and myself purchased of Selvay Kidder (he having previously purchased of the Goodhues) 750 acres of land on the east side of the river, included in the present site of the city, with the mill and water- power. We were to pay 1,000,000 feet of lumber, to be delivered at Beloit within seven years. We associated with ns, the next year, Linus R. Cady and my brother, Ebenezer W., and, in three years and a half from the date of the purchase, we made the last payment. In the spring of 1838. provisions and money were scarce. We had but little pork in the settlement, and subsisted mainly upon fresh fish, with which Rock River abounded. Our flour having failed us, at one time we were nearly a week without bread.

" The Winnebago Indians committed many petty thefts for some time after Watertown was first settled. One of them having stolen a watch from Mr. Griswold, a pair of mittens of Peter V. Brown and a quantity of tobacco from me, we thought it best to make an example of him. Forming a ring and stripping him of his blanket, Griswold and I took turns in applying the lash to his back. But we tempered justice with mercy ; no blood was drawn. The expedient worked like a charm. After that, Indian thefts were hardly known in the settlement."

GROWTH OF WATERTOWN.

Early in the winter of 1837 (about February) Charles F. H. Goodhue and George J. Good- hue came up the Rock River from Beloit. and purchased the claims of Timothy Johnson and others, on the other side of the stream. In March, 1837, James Rogan and two or three other families arrived. In May, the Goodhues imported millwrights, mechanics, etc .; built a double saw-mill and put a dam across Rock River-the first ever built on that stream. either in Wiscon- sin or Illinois. The mill was ready for sawing and began to turn out lumber in December

532

HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY.

following. At that time, the inhabitants numbered about seventy persons. The roads were very bad and frequently impassable. In the month of July, 1837, a company of fifteen men went out east toward Milwaukee, and spent two weeks in the woods in constructing bridges and cause- ways, so that teams could pass with wagons. In 1841, James Rogan erected another saw-mill on the west side of the river. In the fall of 1842, the property on the east side of the river was purchased by Cole, Bailey & Co., who, during the following year, erected what was long known as the old yellow grist-mill. A part of the city was then laid out in blocks and lots, Milo Jones, of Fort Atkinson, being the surveyor. After that the village took a fresh start, and the surrounding country began to settle up with farmers.

In the spring of 1853, the date of Watertown's incorporation as a city, the place contained 4,000 inhabitants. There were six dry-goods, eleven groceries, two drugs and three hardware stores ; fifteen taverns (and saloons), two bakeries, three meat markets, two livery stables, one tobacconist's factory, seven blacksmith, six wagon, two joiner, two jewelry, four tin, six cabinet, one chair, one machine and five shoe shops ; one fork and hoe, one plow, one door and sash and one salcratus factory ; three flouring and four saw mills ; one fanning-mill and two harness- maker's shops, two bookstores, two barber-shops, one gunsmith, one tannery, one furnace, one pottery, one oil-mill, one carding machine, one rake and cradle factory, one woolen and yarn factory, two printing offices, six schoolhouses, two select schools and one bank. The census of 1855 shows the population of Watertown to have been 8,512, an increase of 7,000 in ten years. In point of population it was the second city in the State.

In 1856, the city of Watertown, among the institutions, contained twelve schools, nine churches, twenty-eight dry-goods, twenty-four grocery, nine hardware, four drug, six clothing, six boot and shoe and three fancy stores; ten hotels and two banks, five livery stables, five meat markets, four millinery establishments, four bookstores, four printing offices, one foundry, nine saw-mills, three flouring-mills, one woolen factory, ten carriage-shops, twenty-nine blacksmith- shops, nine cooper-shops, three bakers, seven lumber-yards, seven brickyards and fifteen ware- houses. The growth of the city since that time has been of the most permanent character. Schools and churches have increased in number and importance. Manufacturing establishments have been enlarged to meet the demands of the populous territory which invariably and neces- sarily surrounds a prosperous city. Three railway lines form a junction within the limits of Watertown, affording a convenient outlet for the abundance of breadstuffs and other necessaries of life, the fruits of fertile fields and industrious hands.

PIONEERS.

The following list of those who had settled in Watertown up to December, 1837, is appended : Timothy Johnson (dead) and family , William H. Acker, dead ; Ezra Abell, where- abouts unknown ; Peter V. Brown, Watertown ; Joel Boughton, dead; Edmund S. Bailey, Minnesota; Philander Baldwin, dcad; Lawrence Beaulieu, dead ; Vietor Beaulicu, Concord, Jeffer- Jefferson County ; Lonis Beaudrie, unknown ; Thomas Bass, dead ; Luther A. Cole and John W. Cole, Watertown ; John A. Chadwick, Watertown; Cyrus Cummings, Vermont; Ambrose Com- stock, dead ; Dr. Colbough, Canada ; William M. Dennis, Watertown ; Peter De Coursey, Minne- sota ; Ezra Dolliver, dcad ; Patrick Durfey, dead ; George J. Goodhue, Iowa ; John B. Geaundern, dead ; William T. Goodhue, dead ; Charles F. H. Goodhue, dead ; John C. Gilman, dead ; Reeve Griswold, Watertown ; Manonah Griffin, dead; Stephen Gray, Manitowoc ; Darius Healey, dead ; Amasa Hyland, dead; Isaac Hammerson, Eau Claire ; Dudley Little, Chicago ; Richard Miller, dead ; William Maitland, dead ; Benjamin F. Morey, dead; Silas W. New- comb, Ohio ; Stephen Peck, dead; Louis Paupaux, unknown ; James Rogan, Watertown ; Peter Rogan, California ; Patrick Rogan, Watertown; Volney Raymond, South ; John Rich- ards, dcad; Charles Seaton, dead ; William Stanton, dead ; Mr. Sumpter, South ; Benjamin Severns, dead ; Samuel B. Vinton, Waterloo, Iowa; Nelson Waterman, Camp Douglas, Wis .; Clark Waterman, dead ; Jacob Wedeman, dead, and Vivalda Wood, Ohio.

533

HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY.

SCHOOLS.

The first entry in the school records of Watertown reads as follows :

At the annual meeting of the legal voters of School District No. 1, held at. A. Hoffman's shop. in Watertown. on the first Monday of October, A. D. 1844, Timothy Johnson was appointed Moderator. The Distriet Clerk being absent, Jacob J. Enos was appointed Clerk pro tem. The following named persons were then chosen officers for the ensuing year : John C. Gilman, Michael Murphy and Haven M. Morrison. Trustees ; John Gibb, Collector ; Jacob J. Enos, "'lerk. Ou motion of P. Rogan, it was resolved that the year be divided into two terms, called the winter and summer terms, and that two-thirds of the public moneys be applied to the winter term and one-third to the sum- mer term. On motion, the meeting adjourned sine die. JACOB J. ENos, Clerk.

At a similar meeting held April 28, 1845, it was resolved that " the Trustees hire a male teacher for five months, and, if they deem it expedient, that they employ an assistant female teacher." And thus the foundation of the magnificent school system, now the boast of the eiti- zens of Watertown, was laid.

One frame and three large briek buildings are now in use for the accommodation of those attending school under the union system. Union School No. 1 contains all the grades, from the first high school to the lowest primary grade. No. 2 commences with the first grammar grade, and No. 3 (in Dodge County) with the first intermediate grade. The First Ward School contains two primary grades. The edifice of Union School No. 1 is in the Second Ward, and was erected in 1863: No. 2 is in the Fourth Ward, and was built in 1867 ; No. 3, Sixth Ward, was completed in 1871, and that in the First, known as the First Ward School, in 1878. The cash value of the school property of Watertown is placed at $31,000. The number of children in the city August 31, 1878, over four and under twenty years of age, was 3,672; number in attendance at the public schools, same date, 1,247; percentage of attendance on the enrollment, 83; number of teachers employed at that date, 20; average salaries paid male teachers $866.663 per annum ; female teachers, $350 per annum.

The present Board of Education consists of one Commissioner from each ward, as follows : First Ward, Eugene Wiggenhorn; Second Ward, E. C. Gaebler; Third Ward, A. Solliday; Fourth Ward, E. Sweeney; Fifth Ward, H. Wilber; Sixth Ward, C. Reubhausen; Seventh Ward, J. M. McGolriek. E. Sweeney is President of the Board, and Charles F. Ninman, City Superintendent of Schools and Clerk of the Board. At the last meeting of the Board, the following teachers were appointed: Union School, No. 1-Principal, Prof. W. E. Stroetzel ; High School Department, Miss Pauline Voss and John Moran; Grammar, Miss Margaret Corbett and Miss Rose Bernhard; Intermediate, Miss Electra Wilder, Miss Mary Lembeke, Miss Maggie McMahon, Miss Ella Cohoe and Miss Ida Kopp. Umon School, No. 2-Prin- cipal and Teacher of Grammar, J. M. Turner; Miss Minnie Voss, Assistant; Intermediate, Miss Cora Bradbury, Miss Emma McMahon, Miss Emma Schochert, Miss Lizzie Davis and Miss Sarah McMahon. Union School, No 3-Principal and Teacher of Intermediate Depart- ment, W. D. Parker; Primary, Miss Attila Stallmann and Miss Celia Bouton. First Ward Primary School-Principal, Miss Anna Norris; Assistant, Miss Lizzie Price.

One of the principal educational institutions of Watertown is the Northwestern University. organized in 1864, by the Lutheran Synod of Wisconsin. A large brick structure was erected on the east side of the river, within the limits of the city of Watertown, at a cost of $24,000, and was opened for the admission of students on the 1st of September, 1865, with Dr. Moldehnke as Principal, and Prof. Adam Martin as Assistant. There are seven professors now employed, namely: Prof. Ernst, Teacher of Moral and Mental Philosophy ; Prof. William A. Notz, Greek ; Prof. Andrew W. Easterday, Mathematics; Prof. Andrew Peller, Assistant in various departments, and, at present, occupying the Latin Chair; Prof. Oscar W. Easterday, Assistant in Natural Sciences; Prof. Thomas Snyder, Teacher of English. The school term begins the first Wednesday in September, and ends the last Tuesday in June.

Another is the College of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, opened for the reception of students in September, 1872, under the administration of the Rev. W. Corby, C. S. C. The Rev. Father Colovin is the present President of the institution.

534

HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY.

The Lutheran, Moravian and Catholic congregations in Watertown each support a well- disciplined parochial school.

RELIGIOUS.

There are fifteen church societies in Watertown. The first religious organization is believed to have been accomplished by the Catholics in 1841. The large and prosperous parish which now worships in the stately edifice known as St. Bernard's Church is the result; value, $100,000.

The Methodists were the next to organize a society, 1844. The church property of this society is valued at $7,000, free of incumbrance ; S. P. Murch, Pastor.

Then we have the First Congregational Church, organized July 13, 1845, by the ~Rev. Stephen Peet ; Rev. W. A. Hendrickson, Pastor ; church property valued at $2,000.

St. Paul's (Episcopal) Church, organized in 1847, by the Rev. Melancthon Hoyt; cost of church property, $6,000; without a Rector at present.

St. Henry's (Catholic) Church, organized in 1847, by the Rev. Father Gardner; present Pastor, Rev. George Strickner; value of church property, between $9,000 and $10,000.

German Protestant (Evangelical) Church, organized in 1848, by a Milwaukee minister, in the old Buena Vista House; Rev. Edward Knaak; church valued at $4,000.

German M. E. Church, organized in 1849, by the Rev. A. Kellner ; F. Gottschalk is the present Pastor ; property valued at $5,500.

Moravian Church, organized in May, 1853, by the Rev. John George Kaltenbrunn ; present Pastor, Rev. Jacob Hoyler ; property worth $3,000.

German (Evangelical) Lutheran Church, by the Rev. Christian Sans, in 1854; the Rev. John H. Brockmann is now officiating ; valuation of property, $9,000.

German Baptist Church, organized in 1854, by the Rev. Mr. Grimm ; present Pastor, Rev. John Miller.

German Adventists, organized in 1874, by the Rev. Th. Schmidt; Peter Schneider is the present Pastor ; church property valued at $1,400.

German Lutheran (St. John's) Church, organized in 1855, by the Rev. Louis Geyer ; present Pastor, Rev. C. Strassen ; value of property, $15,000.

Calvinistic Methodists, organized in 1855, by the Rev. William Roberts ; William M. Jones is the present Pastor.

Evangelical Reform Church, organized July 14, 1861, by the Rev. P. Joeves ; present incumbent, Rev. H. H. Meyer ; value of property, $1,370.

Immanuel Lutheran Church, organized by the Rev. R. Vogel, in 1876; Rev. H. Hoenig is now in charge ; the property is worth $2,000.

The Watertown Bible Society was organized in Watertown in January, 1848, by Heber Smith, Rev. Melancthon Hoyt, George W. Breckenridge, William Dutcher and others, as an auxiliary of the Jefferson County Bible Society. The present officers of the Society are C. B. Skinner, President; Charles Roth, Vice President ; Conrad Dippel, Secretary and Treasurer.

MANUFACTORIES, ETC.

Since the building of the first saw-mill by the Goodhues in 1837, there has been a per- petual hum of wheels and shafts in the city of Watertown. Among the institutions that have from time to time helped to swell the prosperity of the place, may be mentioned :

The Empire Brick and Flouring Mills (originally known as the Old Yellow Mill), built by Luther A. Cole and Edmund S. Bailey in 1842, and the Emerald Mill, built by Fay & Cramer in 1848. Both of these institutions are now owned by F. Miller & Co.

The Rough and Ready Mill, built by L. A. Cole and John Richards in 1842; now owned by Konig & Benkendorf.

The Eclipse Mill, erected by L. E. Boomer in 1847, and now owned by B. & D. B. Nute. The Watertown Woolen Mill, built by Simeon Ford in 1844, now the property of D. P. Pierce.

535

IIISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY.

Bennett's Thrashing Machine Factory, established in 1855, by F. E. Shandrew ; now owned by J. B. Bennett.

The Steam Bakery and Confectionery, founded in 1865, by M. G. & G. S. Woodard; now Woodard & Stone.

The Pipe-Organ Manufactory, established in 1873, by E. C. Gaebler, the present proprietor. The Soap Factory, by Meyer & Pfundheller in 1855, now carried on by Philip Schmidt.

Fuermann's Empire Brewery, which has been in existence since 1848, and the City Brewery, built in 1854, by Joseph Bursinger.

The Rock River Distillery, established in 1845, by Tigler & Greve, and now owned by J. J. Toussaint.

Eaton's Soda Factory, by Eaton & Green, in 1868; now the property of S. M. Eaton.

Wagon faetorics have been exceedingly numerous. Green & Reed are believed to have made the first wagons in the place, about 1841. Those who have engaged in the business since then are Richard Jones. F. Misegadles, Charles Krueger, John Koeler, Gotfried Krump, August Krump, G. Sprenger, S. T. & J. H. Bolles, Weisert & Bolles, Bolles & Prochazka, James Killian, J. D. Casey and Edward Davis.

In the cooperage line, Nathan Beckwith was the pioneer. Since his time, George E. Nixon, O. B. Sanford, Chris. May and Fred Miller (F. Miller &. Co.), D. Kehr, Charles Ahrenberg, Andrea Ammen, Andrew & John Ziekert, Bertram & Wegner, B. & H. Nute, S. Bumgartner, L. Giese, L. Prochazka and W. Whidoft have manufactured barrels of all descriptions.

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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 79

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