The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 110

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1082

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732

HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

Thirty years ago, or more, heavy merchandise was very costly in Waupun, owing to heavy freight rates. Salt, in particular, was regarded by the farmers as a most burdensome necessity on this account. When, therefore, on one bright winter's morning it was announced that a salt well of great strength had been struck on Dr. Butterfield's lot, a perfect furor of excitement ensued. The glorious news spread far and wide, and the usually quiet little village was soon crowded with an excited populace, who had come in from miles around. Salt water from the rich bonanza well was handed freely around ; was sipped by every one and pronounced by many who professed themselves judges, to be equal to water from the famous Syracuse wells. It was found in every store ; was carried home in bottles; boiled down by many to test its strength ; and analyzed by a village expert, and found to contain soda, magnesia and other ingredients, and a very large percentage of pure salt. Property rose at a bound two or three hundred per cent, and, as the location of the State Prison was still an unsettled matter, a meeting of the citizens was called and a committee appointed to draw up and forward to Madison a full statement of the rich discovery, which was thought would be a powerful lever to use with the prison locating 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 secret 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 them came to fill the house, mnuch 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 Waupun, such as temporarily stealing horses, cows, fowls, carriages and anything come-at-able ; sending out 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, Diek 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 made 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 XI.

TOWNS AND VILLAGES.

Fond du Lac County, when town organization was first consummated, was all one town, that of Fond du Lac, as the following imperfect act, passed January 2, 1838, will show :

SECTION 34. That the country included within the limits of Fond du Lac County be and the same is hereby set off into a separate town, by the name of Fond du Lac; and the polls of election shall be open at the house of -Pyer [Edward Pier ].

Then, March 8, 1839, another act was passed, making three towns of the county, as follows :

SECTION 41. Frictional townships sixteen and seventeen, in range eighteen, and townships sixteen and seven- teen, in range nineteen, shall be a separate town by the name of Calumet; and the elections in said town shall be holden at George White's store.

SEC. 42. All that district of country within the limits of Fond du Lac County, not included within the towns of Calumet and Butte des Morts,* shall be a separate town by the name of Fond du Lac; and the elections in said town shall be holden at the dwelling of M. C. Darling.

Then, again, by an act approved February 18, 1842, thecounty was divided as explained by this act :

SECTION 1. That townships fourteen, fifteen and sixteen, of range sixteen ; townships fourteen and fifteen, and fractional townsbip sixteen, of range seventeen, and townships thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and the south half of town- ship sixteen, of range eighteen, and townships thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and the south half of township sixteen, of range nineteen, be and the same are hereby organized into a separate town, by the name of Fond du Lae; and the first election in said town shall be held at the house of M. C. Darling.

SEC. 2. That fractional township seventeen and the north half of township sixteen, of range eighteen, and fractional township seventeen and the north half of town[ship] sixteen, of range nineteen, be and the same are hereby organized into a separate town by the name of Calumet ; and the first election in said town shall be held at the house of George White.

SEC. 3. That townships fourteen, fifteen and sixteen, of range fourteen, and townships fourteen, fifteen and sixteen, of range fifteen, be and the same are hereby organized into a separate town by the name of Waupun ; and the first election in said town shall be held at the house of Seymour Wilcox.

ASHFORD.

This town was first a constituent part of the town of Auburn in its organization, but was set off from it and separately organized in 1849, the first election being held in April of that year, at the house of William Boener, at which Robert F. Adams was elected Chairman, and George Thorn, Town Clerk.

The territory included in Ashford is Township 13 north, in Range 18 east, of the Govern- ment survey, containing, theoretically, thirty-six sections, or 23,040 acres of land. In reality, it has 23,096,97, acres, being 56,2,7, acres more than thirty-six full sections. Its boundary lines were surveyed by Mullett & Brink, in the first quarter of 1834 and during the second quarter of 1835; while its sections and quarter-sections were run out in the third quarter of the last- mentioned year, by Hiram Burnham.

The first settlement in Ashford was made in the summer of 1846, by Henry Barnett, Josiah L. Perry, Charles Crownhart, and several others, who settled in the easterly part of the town, near the West Branch of the Milwaukee River, not far from where Cronchville was after- ward located. On their arrival, they found not a human habitation within many miles. except the little beginning commenced by Mr. Crouch. They soon threw up log shanties, and com- menced clearing land for crops for the ensuing year. They had many hardships to meet and

* Townships eighteen and nineteen, in ranges fifteen and sixteen, and fractional townships eighteen and nineteen, in range seventeen, In Butte des Morts. First election st the house of Webster Stanley.

734

HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

overcome. The town had neither prairies nor openings ready for the plow, but was everywhere covered with timber. Hard-maple trees were found in abundance, affording rare opportunities for the manufacture of maple sugar. Basswood, ash, elm, oak, hickory, butternut with other kinds of hardwood constituted the forest growth.

The surface of Ashford is undulating, or, perhaps, it may with propriety be called hilly. The soil is uniformly strong and fertile, and much of it of a warm nature. The hills are under- laid with limestone, and the soil is clay and loam, with sand, producing good wheat, oats, peas, and other grains, and excellent pasturage. The valleys are alluvial and very fertile; grain of all kinds has a luxurious growth. These lowlands, when stocked-down, make excellent meadows. The town is well watered-the West Branch of the Milwaukee River running through it from northwest to southeast, receiving several tributaries upon both its sides. Springs and small brooks also abound.

Among the annoyances which the early settlers had to contend with, was the ferocity of bears : these were numerous, and they became bold and frequently dangerous.

The first death which occurred in Ashford was that of Mrs. Electa Pryor. Her daughter, Mrs. Watson, died so soon after, that they were both buried in the same grave. The first birth was that of C. D. Helmer. in the family of J. E. Helmer. The first marriage was Eleazer Cisco, to Miss Fanny Pryor.

The first school was taught by Miss Calista Colvin, in the house of J. L. Perry, in the summer of 1847. The first religious meeting was held at the house of Henry Barnett ; the ser- mon was preached by Mr. Sears, in 1846.

Ashford is bounded on the north by the town of Eden, on the east by Auburn, on the south by Wayne, in Washington County, and on the west by Lomira, in Dodge County.

The Northwestern Union. or Air Line Railroad erosses the northeastern part of this town, entering it at the southeast corner of Section 13, and, after a northwesterly course of over three miles. leaves it on the north line of Seetion 2, crossing into the town of Eden, on its way to the city of Fond du Lac, ten miles distant.

Ashford was originally organized as the town of Chili; but for some reason this name was not satisfactory, and by act of the Legislature, approved January 26, 1854, it was changed to Ashford, which, it is said, was suggested on account of the great quantity of ash timber growing in the town. This name was given by Dr. S. G. Pickett.

On the 14th of February, 1874, the Ashford Fire Insurance Company was organized with thirty-two members. The towns of Ashford, Auburn and Eden, in Fond du Lac County, and Lomira, Dodge County, compose this company. The meetings are held annually on the first Monday in January, at the Carter Schoolhouse, in Ashford. The capital stock subscribed at the organization was $37,600; the amount insured (1880) is $985,338 ; total losses paid, $4,500; percentage of loss, .0112; number of members, fifty-seven. The Presidents have been : A. Dieringer, H. J. Carter and Thomas Coleman. who has held the office since 1876. J. A. Hendricks, of Ashford, has been Secretary since the organization of the company.

The Chairmen and Town Clerks of Chili and Ashford have been as follows: 1850- Daniel B. Wilcox and Seth G. Piekett : 1851-D. B. Wilcox and Ely B. Hull : 1852 and 1853 -Henry B. Crownhart and Ed. Boener ; 1854-Peter Johnson and Jacob Ilaessly : 1855- Peter Johnson and E. B. Hull ; 1856 and 1857-Jacob Haessly and John Mauel ; 1858-P. Johnson and J. Mauel ; 1859-Andrew Hendricks and J. Haessly ; 1860-Andrew Dieringer and John Manel: 1861 and 1862-Joseph Wagner and John Mauel; 1863-J. Wagner and John Berg ; 1864-A. Dieringer and J. Berg ; 1865, 1866 and 1867-A. Dieringer and Peter Manel : 1868-P. Johnson and P. Mauel; 1869-P. Johnson and J. Berg: 1870-George Anderson and P. Manel. Since 1870, except for 1877, when George C. Denniston filled the office, Peter Manel has been Town Clerk. The Chairmen since then have been : 1871-Jacob Haessly ; 1872 and 1873-Peter Johnson ; 1874-Michael Serwe; 1875, J. A. Hendricks, since which time Michael Thelen has held the office of Chairman.

The first land was entered in the fall of 1846, by Henry Barnett, in the southeast quarter of Section 11.

735

HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

The first settler in the northwestern portion of the town was E. Welton. He was also one of the first Postmasters in Ashford.

The first frame house was built by R. F. Adams.

ASHFORD .- This village (Elhore Post Office) was formerly called Leglerville, after its founder, Ulrich Legler, who platted it and built a saw mill in 1857. He also built a grist-mill here in 1861, on the West Branch of the Milwaukee River. In 1867, the Evangelical Reformed Church ereeted a building here for worship, having one. also, at New Cassel. The first Post- master was C. F. Brokmeyer; the present Postmaster is William Reinhartt. The village contains a store, saloon, wagon-shop, meat market, shoe store, tailor-shop and blacksmith-shop.

CAMPBELLSPORT .- This village and post office had a very recent and novel birth. The Air Line Railway folks desired to establish a station on HI. B. Martin's farm of 120 acres, Section 13. He would sell no fractional part, but offered the whole of his farm for $10,000. Stuart Campbell purchased the farm, gave the railroad company three acres, the company afterward buying three more, and platted a village. Jacob Haessly named the place Campbellsport, in August, 1873, on the day the deed for Martin's farm was signed, in honor of its publie-spirited founder. It is now a thrifty village. The first lot was sold to J. M. Saeman, and the second to James MeCulloch, who built thereon the first store. Mr. Saeman built the third store and second warehouse. All of the original plat, except sixty-three acres, has been sold in village lots.

The first organization of Methodists was in December, 1862, and meetings were held in the Carter Schoolhouse. The organizers were, some of them, J. N. McSchooler and wife, L. Norton and wife, William L. Andrews and wife, George Mosher and wife and Leonard Goodax. Regular services were not held until the present edifice was erected in 1875, at a cost of $3,200. The members number over forty. The building committee was composed of J. N. MeSehooler, W. Saeman and William S. Hendricks. The first organization was by Rev. MeFarland, and the first Trustees, in 1862, were: J. N. McSchooler, President; W. L. Andrews, William Dusenbury, Stuart Campbell, W. S. Hendricks and M. Saeman. Mr. MeSchooler is still President, the other Trustees being John Huges, F. A. Rosco, J. H. Denniston, W. L. Andrews. S. Campbell and W. S. Ilendricks. A Union Sabbath School. begun in 1862, at the Carter Schoolhouse, is still in existence.

Wicker Lodge. No. 138, I. O. O. F., was organized Jannary 8, 1868. by G. M. Cheeney. of Janesville. The charter members were S. L. Marston, I. S. Sheldon, E. P. Odekirk. D. Wilcox, R. Romaine, G. Romaine. T. F. Gage. M. H. Flint and Mr. Hancock. The Lodge, which now numbers fifty working members and owns $1,200 in property, including the hall and lot, was named after Grand Warden Wieker. The first officers were : S. L. Marston, N. G .; M. HI. Flint, V. G .; E. P. Odekirk, R. S .; Mr. Hancock, P. S .: G. Romaine, Treasurer. Present officers : G. C. Denniston, N. G .; T. F. Wicker, V. G .; E. P. Coburn, R. S .; C. F. Ladwig, P. S .: E. F. Martin, Treasurer.

New Cassel Lodge, I. O. G. T., was first organized as the old Ashford and Auburn Lodge, by S. G. Pickett and wife, J. E. Helmer. E. P. Odekirk, William and S. Tuttle. II. Burnett. Martin Dyer and others, who belonged to the Kewaskum Lodge, organized in 1859. S. G. Piekett was the first W. G. T .; Mrs. E. P. Odekirk, W. V. T., and George Pickett, W. S. The twenty eight members soon grew to two hundred, and met weekly in what is now Odd Fellows' Hall. The war took so many members away that the charter was finally sur- rendered. In 1872, however, J. S. Thompson began open temperance meetings, which, Decem- ber 11, 1874, resulted in the organization, by Deputy G. W. C. T. Ross, of the present strong Lodge, with thirty-one charter members. J. S. Thompson was the first W. C. T. Meetings were held in Odd Fellows' and Yancy's Ilalls until 1877, when a hall, costing $1,000, was erected by the Lodge, under supervision of J. S. Thompson, II. Darrow and A. Il. Miller. The first $50 was raised by the ladies, who held sociables and made faney work for that pur- pose. The hall is 28x55x14 feet, and will seat two hundred. It is an ornament to the village. The Lodge now numbers one hundred. mostly young people.

736

HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

New Cassel and Campbellsport Turnverein was organized November 18, 1878, by Dr. L. Eidemiller, Adam Holzhauer and others. The first officers were: D. Gudex. President : A. Holzhauer, Treasurer ; P. Tillack, Secretary ; L. Eidemiller, Turnwart. The society now has forty members. Meetings are held on Friday evenings, in Good Templars' Hall. Present officers : L. Eidemiller, President ; John Schrooten, Vice President ; M. Herbert, Secretary ; J. Dagenhardt, Treasurer ; J. Terlinden, First Turnwart, and A. Fuchs, Second Turnwart.

The New Cassel and Campbellsport Literary Society, with a membership of twenty, is in a flourishing condition. Its entertainments consist of lectures, debates, readings and affairs in that line. It was first organized in 1879.

Campbellsport has a large local trade. In the place are one drug store, four general stores, one elevator, two warehouses. two lumber-yards, two wagon and blacksmith shops, pump- factory, boot and shoe store, harness-shop, barber-shop, furniture store, two tailor-shops, meat- market, picture-gallery, cheese-factory, cigar-factory, two saloons and three hotels-Railroad House, New Cassel Ifouse and Central Hotel. S. L. Marston is the only physician and S. C. Matteson the only lawyer in the place. Platt Durand is Postmaster.

AUBURN.

In the southeast corner of Fond du Lac County lies the town of Auburn. It is bounded on the north by the town of Osceola, east by Scott, in Sheboygan County ; south by Kewaskum, in Washington County, and west by Ashford, in the county of Fond du Lac. It contains thirty-six sections of land, but these are not all full sections. The actual number of acres in the town is 22,901.99, being 138.01 acres less than the full 36 sections-23.040 acres. The territory of Auburn includes that platted by the United States as Township 13 north, in Range 19 east. The township lines were run during the first quarter of the year 1834. by Mullett & Brink. It was subdivided into sections and quarter-sections during the second quarter of 1835, by Deputy Surveyor Hiram Burnham. By him the lake on Sections 10 and 15 was called "Crooked Lake ; " the one on Sections 11, 12, 13 and 14 was named . Off-Set Lake." But these names were not retained.

The face of Auburn is smooth in appearance, though not level in surface ; it is gently undulat- ing, with ascents and declivities of various heights and depths. The streams of water-of which the principal are the three branches of Milwaukee River-flow with a strong current. Lying as it does within the broad belt of heavy-timbered land skirting the northerly part of the western shore of Lake Michigan, the territory now included in the town of Auburn presented to the eye, in its natural state, neither prairie, openings, nor hay marsh-nothing but continuous woods. The forest trees proclaimed the excellence and fertility of the soil which sustained their growth; the principal of which were sugar-maple, basswood, elm, black ash, white ash, red oak, white oak, hickory and butternut. The large groves of sugar-maple offered excellent opportunities for manufacturing maple sugar.

The soil of this town is a deep, black, sandy loam, with a mixture of marl, and a subsoil of reddish clay. In early spring, when the county was first settled, the ground in the woods became covered with grass and herbage, giving good support to cattle before vegetation was developed in cultivated fields. Many of the farms of Auburn have living springs upon them, which send their running waters to swell the outlet of Long Lake and the three branches of the Milwaukee River. The soil is rich in those properties which make it warm, productive and durable. The different varieties of grain are cultivated with success, while the growth of grass is generally excellent. The Northwestern Union Railroad crosses the southwestern corner of Auburn in its northwesterly course toward Fond du Lac, entering it near the center of the south line of Section 32, and leaving it at the northwest corner of Section 19, crossing into the town of Ashford.

The first settlement in this town was made in 1846 by Ludin Crouch and John Howell, on the spot afterward occupied by Crouchville, now New Cassel. Here Mr. Crouch built a log shanty and then commenced building a saw-mill. The same year, there was a small settlement

737

HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

made in the neighborhood by J. O. Baldwin, J. L. Perry, C. Crownhart, Rev. H. A. Sears and others, but some of them settled across the line in what is now Ashford. In February, 1847, Roswell Hill purchased a lot on the west side of the Milwaukce River, near what was subse- quently Crouchville, built a house, and, in July following, removed his family into it. Alamon Wheeler. Seward Wilcox and Harvey Woodworth soon located in the same neighborhood. Several other settlements were made in different parts, and, that year, the town of Auburn was organized, its territory including, also, the present town of Ashford .* At the first election, held at Mr. Crouch's mill, there were twenty votes polled. Ludin Crouch was elected Chairman, and Iliram Hatch, Town Clerk.

The first marriage was C. Hemenway to IIarriet Hall in December, 1847.

The first school taught in Auburn was in the summer of 1848. in the house of Mr. Crouch, by Miss Maria Bristol. Mrs. Crouch taught the school the next year.

The first death was that of Mrs. J. O. Baldwin in 1846 or 1847. Rev. Harvey A. Sears preached the funeral sermon.

The first stock of goods-general merchandise-was opened in the fall of 1849, probably, at Crouchville.

Auburn was named by R. F. Adams and brother, after Auburn, N. Y., their native place.

Michael Me Culloch was the first Irish settler; Philip Oclig and Gerhardt Volkerts, the first German settlers in. Auburn.

The most notable event in the history of this town was the tornado of July 4, 1873, which killed one person and laid waste forests, erops, buildings, fences and other property in large amounts.

The first election after Auburn and Ashford were separated, was in April, 1849, at which twenty-seven votes were cast. T. S. Wilcox was elected Chairman ; M. Buckland, Clerk; A. W. Wheeler, Assessor; C. D. Gage, Collector, and M. Miller, Superintendent of Schools.

NEW PROSPECT .- This is called "Jersey " because its first settlers came from New Jersey. The first Postmaster was B. Romaine, who held the office twenty years, being appointed proba- bly in 1859. He was with Gen. Scott in the Mexican war. In 1877, a two-story bnilding for a schoolhouse and church was built on Mr. Van Blarcom's farm. The church is non-sectarian.

EBLESVILLE .- This village was founded by Andrew Eble, who came from Milwaukee, in 1855, purchased the water-power and built a saw-mill. He was accidentally shot on Christmas. 1859. The New Fane Post Office, established on the line between Sections 29 and 30 in 1851, by T. S. Wilcox, was moved to Eblesville in 1875. The village consists of a saw and feed mill, two stores, Lutheran Church, built in 1871, and the usual number of shops.

NEW CASSEL .-- This is an old village; has the honor of being the first settlement in the towns of Auburn and Ashford. Ludin Crouch, a school teacher from "' York State," came to the spot from Waukesha, in February. 1846, camping over night with an Indian named Weh-aug- wok-na. He was in search of a water-power. and had followed up the Milwaukce River. Here he found the desired power and returned to Waukesha. As soon as spring camc, Mr. Crouch and his brother-in-law, John Howell, returned to the spot and erected a log wigwam, with shaker roof and puncheon floor-the first white man's domicile in the present towns of Ashford and Auburn. Mr. C. entered 160 acres of land on the west side of the stream (Middle Branch of Milwaukce River), and Mr. Il., eighty acres on the opposite side. These two were joined in June, by II. Barnett and J. L. Perry, with their wives. The dam was then begun. C. Crownhart and wife came next, and during the year, J. O. Baldwin and wife, E. B. IIall and wife, Joseph Johnson and wife, C. and R. Hemenway, L. Pryor, William Brown, C. North, H. Hatch, J. E. Helmer and wife, William Pool and wife, Adin Nelson and wife, T. S. Wilcox and others. The village plat was surveyed by John Bannister, and after a celebration gotten up by the three ladies then in the settlement, July 4, 1846, the place was formally named Crouchville. In 1856, Emil Brayman changed the name to New Cassel, in honor of IIesse- Cassel, his birthplace. Some of these carly settlers claimed by Crouchville actually located

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The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 110

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 1082

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1082