The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 64

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

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428

HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

2d of March, 1861, the company was re-organized and named the Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railroad Company, with Samuel P. Benson, of Winthrop. Me., as President; John O. Thayer, of Sheboygan, as Secretary and Treasurer, and Edward Appleton as Superintendent. But even this was not satisfactory, and the western terminus of the road remained at Glenbeulah until 1868, after the complete withdrawal of the Eastern parties. The city of Fond du Lac, where the enterprise originated in 1846, had become anxious for the completion of the road to that point at least. A proposition to furnish the necessary aid was submitted to a popular vote, and defeated by a small majority. A. G. Ruggles, of Fond du Lac, took hold of the matter, and. in April, 1867. procured the passage of a bill authorizing the county of Fond du Lac to aid the Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Company, by the payment of $30,000 in county orders when the line should be built to the west line of the town of Marshfield; $30,000 more when it reached the west line of the town of Taychecdah ; $30,000 when it was in running order to the city of Fond du Lac; $30,000 more when it was finished half the distance to the city of Ripon, and $30,000 more-a total of $150,000-when the road was built and ironed ready for cars to Ripon. At the vote taken November 5, 1867, there was a majority of 673 in favor of the proposition, but the towns of Eldorado, Alto, Waupun, Springvale, Calumet, Lamartine, Forest, Metomen, Byron, Auburn, Taycheedah, Ashford and Osceola gave majorities against the proposed aid. On the strength of this promised aid a contract was let April 14, 1868, with Wild, Peck & Bruett. for the construction of the road to the city of Fond du Lac. Work was immediately begun, and pushed with great energy, as it was thought the county orders could be used as cash at once, the county's credit being good and the orders being drawn to bear 7 per cent interest until cashed. But when work had so far progressedl as to entitle the Company to the first installment of $30,000, Warren Whiting served an injunction through the Circuit Court, on the County Treas- urer, to restrain him from payment of the amount promised and then due. The decision of the Court upon hearing was adverse to the Company, being virtually, "that a tax for a private purpose is unconstitutional ; " and that the public use of a railroad is not such as to make the levy of a tax in aid of its construction valid. But the matter did not rest there, as the- county had issued bonds which were in the hands of innocent purchasers. An action in the United States Court was commenced by a holder of these bonds against the county of Fond du Lac.

The case subsequently reached the United States Supreme Court. The most important point decided was that a railroad is a public highway, so that a State may levy a tax for its construc- tion, although built and owned by a private corporation, thus overruling the decision of the State Supreme Court. In the Whiting case, a levy was made under the Olcott judgment, and the County Treasurer's safe and the poor-farm were each sold for $1, after which the Court House was put up. The sale was only a formal affair, but a patriotic son of Erin who was present did not propose to see this famous relic thus sacrificed, and bid it up to $11, at which it was struck off to him. This property was afterward redeemed by the county and the bonds properly met. Trains were regularly running between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan soon after January 1, 1869. The completion of the road to the city of Fond du Lac secured to the Com- pany $90,000 of aid, but the further extension of the line as the Company's charter permitted. was then dropped, although negotiations were continued with the Wisconsin Central Railroad Company. Finally, in September, 1871, T. F. Strong, Sr., of Fond du Lac, then President of that road, opened negotiations with Wells, French & Co., of Chicago, for the completion of the road to Princeton, on the Fox River, in Green Lake County. This portion of the line was more rapidly constructed than any other, and Princeton was reached May 20. 1872. The dis- tance from Princeton to Sheboygan is seventy-eight and one-half miles, and from the time the first charter was granted in the winter of 1846-47, to the completion of the road to the former place, was nearly twenty-six years. In 1879, the road was sold to the Chicago & North-Western Railway Company, by whom it is now owned and managed. The Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railroad, as it is yet known, passes through the towns of Marshfield, Taychcedah, Fond du Lac, Lamartine, Eldorado, Rosendale and Ripon, a distance, with all the deviations to avoid marshes and hills, of nearly thirty-nine miles. The general offices, since the road was completed

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

to Fond du Lac, have been located in that city, and the officers since the organization of the Company in 1861, with the dates of their election, have been as follows :

Presidents-Samuel P. Benson, of Winthrop, Me., March 2, 1861; E. L. Phillips, of Fond du Lac, January 26, 1862; Harrison O. Barrett, of Glenbeulah, Wis., January 26, 1863; S. M. Bruett, of Cincinnati, Ohio, April 20, 1866 ; A. G. Ruggles, of Fond du Lac, April 13, 1868; S. M. Bruett, of Cincinnati, Ohio, March 16, 1870; T. F. Strong, Sr., of Fond du Lac, January 3, 1871 ; A. G. Ruggles, of Fond du Lac, January 17, 1873; John A. Bentley, of Sheboygan, April 25, 1873 ; James F. Joy, of Detroit, Mich., July 15, 1873; John A. Bentley, of Sheboygan, December 11, 1873; Daniel L. Wells, of Milwaukee, Wis., January 19, 1876; 1. G. Ruggles, of Fond du Lac, January, 1877, and up to the sale to the Chicago & North- Western Railroad, in 1879.

Vice Presidents-E. L. Phillips, of Fond du Lac; J. L. Moore, of Sheboygan; A. G. Ruggles, of Fond du Lac; Edwin Slade, of Glenbeulah, and Jolin A. Bentley, of Sheboygan. Secretaries-John O. Thayer, of Sheboygan; H. G. H. Reed, of Glenbeulah ; Edwin Slade, of Glenbeulah.

Treasurers-John O. Thayer, of Sheboygan ; T. R. Townsend, of Sheboygan, and A. G. Ruggles, of Fond du Lac.

Superintendents-Edward Appleton, of Sheboygan; S. M. Barrett, of Cincinnati, Ohio; Harrison O. Barrett, of Glenbeulah; Timothy F. Strong, Jr., of Fond du Lac; Charles C. Smith ; Brandon Mozley, of Detroit; John A. Bentley, of Sheboygan; Edwin C. French, of Fond du Lac; George P. Lee, of Fond du Lac, and L. R. Emmerson, of Fond du Lac.

Attorneys-John A. Bentley, of Sheboygan; George P. Knowles and Elihu Colman, of Fond du Lac.

The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway .- The prosperous and well-managed railroad which accommodates the western portion of Fond du Lac County was not known as the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway until 1875, nor did it belong to that corporation. It was chartered in 1852 as the Milwaukee & Horicon Railroad, to extend from Horicon, Dodge County, on the Milwaukee & La Crosse road, through Fond du Lac County to Berlin, in Green Lake County, a distance of forty-two miles. The charter was obtained and the work begun by John B. Smith, Jasper Vliet, Daniel A. Richards and others, of Milwaukee, who furnished the capital, so far as their private fortunes went, and secured means from other sources to complete the road. The most prolific of these sources was the farm-mortgage system, the first one of which for this road was given by David P. Mapes on his homestead in Ripon. These mortgages were sold, most of them at a discount, and money enough was finally secured to complete the line of railway. When it reached Ripon and cars were running to that city, an elaborate rail- way celebration was indulged in by a large concourse of people. The road was finished to Waupun February 15; Brandon, October 15; Ripon, in November, 1856. It was completed to Berlin early in 1857.

The line of this road extends across the towns of Waupun, Metomen and Ripon. It opened the trade of these towns to the markets of Milwaukee, as the Milwaukee & La Crosse road had already been built and connections were made at Horicon. But the road could not be made to pay. John B. Smith, its first President, and his associates had put all their property into the enterprise, and as there were large debts unpaid from the construction and equipment, and others for ordinary running expenses accumulating, suits were begun against the Company by its creditors, and a flood of litigation was added to its already overwhelming burdens. One of these snits, begun in 1858 and 1859, resulted in the " Horicon Railroad war."

The railroad finally passed into the hands of L. Ward, as Receiver. who held it with its appurtenances until 1863, when it was sold to Russell Sage, Washington Hunt and others, of New York. Soon after, in the same year, these parties sold the road to the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company, which had just been organized. This was the first of that Company in Fond du Lac County.

· 430

HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

The Milwaukee & Horicon road made its original projectors and builders poor. When it passed, in 1860, into Lyndsey Ward's hands as Receiver, it was in debt $10,000 for running expenses, besides all other debts for construction and equipment.

The present corporation was organized under the name of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- way Company May 5, 1863, as the successor by purchase of the La Crosse & Milwaukee, the Milwaukee & Western, the Milwaukee & Horicon, and the Ripon & Wolf River Railways, a total of 233 miles of railroad. The first officers were D. M. Hughes, President: G. W. Rogers, Vice President ; E. H. Goodrich, General Manager ; S. S. Merrill, Superintendent ; Russell Sage. Jr., Secretary ; Alanson Cary, Treasurer. The Company owned 43 locomotives, 29 passenger coaches, 11 baggage and express cars, 662 box cars, and 132 flat cars, all worth $1,200,800. D. M. Hughes was President from July, 1863, to July, 1864; Russell Sage from July, 1864, to July, 1865, and Alexander Mitchell continuously since that time. S. S. Merrill has been Gen- eral Manager since 1865. The other officers are John W. Cary, Solicitor, A. V. H. Carpenter, General Passenger Agent.

The name was changed by an act of the Legislature, in February, 1875, to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, on account of the construction of the line between the cities of Chicago and Milwaukee.

The Ripon & Winnebago Railroad Company was organized in 1856, principally at Oshkosh and Ripon, for the construction of a line of railroad between these two cities. About two-thirds of the necessary grading was done when the financial depression made it impossible for the Com- pany to finish the work. In 1870, the right of way, grade and other real property of this road was purchased by a company, and the name of the road and corporation changed to the Oshkosh & Mississippi, but only the grading was finished when it was leased to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, which corporation laid the iron, put the road into run- ning order, and still retains control of it. To complete the Oshkosh & Mississippi line, the city of Ripon voted and paid $15,000, and the town of Ripon $5,000, each receiving therefor stock of the road at par, and in amounts equal to the aid voted.

The " Air Line " road to Milwaukee from Fond du Lac, now owned and controlled by the Chicago & North-Western Railway Company, was originated by C. J. L. Meyer, of Fond du Lac, who thought that Fond du Lac City and County should have a nearer and more direct connection with Milwaukee over a competing line of road. He secured a charter for the line in 1871, under the name of the Milwaukee & North-Western Railway, the first officers of the Com- pany being : President, Charles J. L. Meyer, of Fond du Lae ; Vice President, Harrison Lud- ington, of Milwaukee ; Secretary, John S. MeDonald, of Fond du Lac ; Treasurer, William H. liner, of Fond du Lac. In 1872, the name was changed to the North-Western Union Rail- way Company. Mr. Meyer secured the right of way ; had $75,000 of aid voted by the city of Fond du Lac : $55.000 by Washington County ; $15,000 by the village of Kewaskum, Washington County ; $25,000 by West Bend, and $15,000 by Barton, in the same county, and $15,000 by the town of Ashford, in Fond du Lac County. He began the construction of the line at Milwaukee, in 1872, and for a time pushed the matter with great energy ; but the Com- pany had not the means to finish sixty-three miles of first-class railroad, and was therefore com- pelled to sell to the Chicago & North-Western Company, already a heavy holder of Northwestern Union Bonds, which was done the same year. The road was finished in 1873, and passes through the towns of Fond du Lac, Eden, Ashford and Auburn. Although the exclusive property of the Chicago & North-Western Railway Company, the Air Line, or North-Western Union road maintains a separate organization, holding annual elections. Its officers, however, are all officers of the Chicago & North-Western Company. The formality of a separate organization for ten years was required by the Air Line charter.

The Fond du Lac, Amboy &. Peoria Railway .- This, a narrow-gauge railway, extends from Fond du Lac, through the towns of Fond du Lac and Byron, in Fond du Lac County, to Iron Ridge, in Dodge County, a distance of twenty-eight miles. Alonzo Kinyon, a prominent citizen of Lee County, Ill., who originated the Chicago & Rock

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

River Railroad, and was its President, conceived the plan of connecting the iron, cop- per, lumber and manufacturing regions of Wisconsin with the corn and coal regions of Illinois, by a more direct route than any then in existence. He was one of the earliest advo- cates of the convenience and economy of the narrow-gauge system of railways, and decided to connect, if possible, the two sections of country mentioned, by the narrow-gauge railway. Accordingly, on the 30th of May, 1874, at Amboy, Ill., the Articles of Association of the Fond du Lac, Amboy & Peoria Railway Company were signed by Alonzo Kinyon, of Amboy, and Egbert Shaw, of Lee Center, Ill., W. P. Wolf, of Tipton, Iowa, and T. H. Mink and B. A. Mink, of Clarence, Iowa. Soon after, these Articles of Association were recorded in the office of the Secretary of State of Illinois, and in Lee, Bureau, Pcoria, Marshall and Ogle Counties of that State.

In December of the same year, the same parties organized under the laws of Wisconsin, for the purpose of building and operating a narrow-gauge railway from Fond du Lac to the line between Illinois and Wisconsin, and connecting with the lines projected in the former State. The Wisconsin Division was to extend through the counties of Fond du Lac, Dodge, Jefferson, Waukesha, Milwaukee and Walworth or Rock ; and on December 26, 1874, Gov. William R. Taylor issued the necessary patent. Alonzo Kinyon was chosen President of the Illinois, and W. P. Wolf, President of the Wisconsin Division.

The construction of the road was to begin at Fond du Lac, but at the same time, right of way and the lease of several thousand acres of coal-fields were obtained in Marshall, Bureau, and Peoria Counties, Ill. After the preliminary survey had been made, it was found the laws of Wisconsin did not provide for the consolidation of corporations or associations existing in different States. Mr. Kinyon thereupon proceeded to Madison, with a bill obviating this, which the Legislature promptly passed. The towns along the proposed line took active steps to give aid, but the city of Fond du Lac was unable to furnish further railway aid on account of the law limiting municipal indebtedness. The. Legislature, therefore, passed a bill allowing municipalities to extend aid to railroads by guaranteeing the interest on the bonds of the road to be aided.

The consolidation of the two companies was effected March 22, 1875, by the choice of Alonzo Kinyon, President ; the Board of Directors being W. P. Wolf, Egbert Shaw, T. II. Mink, B. A. Mink, Joseph T. Kinyon and Clark Sprague. The various towns in Dodge Connty voted aid in town bonds, and gave, also, the grade of the old Mayville & Iron Ridge Railroad, while the city of Fond du Lac guaranteed the payment of interest for ten years on $200,000 of the first-mortgage bonds of the Company, $30,000 of which were to be appropri- ated for the erection of railroad-shops in that city. In June, 1875, Mr. Kinyon was authorized to locate the line of the road, and John S. McDonald, of Fond du Lac, I. M. Bean, of Mil- waukee, and Samuel A. White, of Whitewater, were chosen trustees of the mortgage, the amount of bonds being limited to $10,000 per mile. Soon after, the Company contracted with D. E. Davenport & Co. for the construction of the road from Fond du Lac to Milwaukee, by way of Iron Ridge. The Company afterward canceled their contract. Mr. Kinyon then resigned the presidency to take the contract of finishing the road, thinking this would best pro- tect the interests of the Company. It was understood, however. that, when finished, he should be re-elected President of the road. The contract provided that the Company should pay for the construction and equipment of the road, $10,000 per mile, in bonds : $3,000 per mile in stock and whatever aid could be secured. At this time, S. W. Lamoreux, of Dodge County, and George P. Knowles, of Fond du Lac, were added to the Board of Directors. W. P. Wolf was elected President, and George P. Knowles, Assistant Secretary, with the custody of the books and rec- ords at the city of Fond du Lac. A great amount of trouble and litigation now followed. Finally, after all matters had been settled, the Railway Company took possession of the road on the 1st day of May, 1878. Its entire cost was $200,000.

The Company, thinking the contract under which aid had been secured from the city of Fond du Lac had not been completely fulfilled, proposed to the City Council to cancel it and

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

destroy the $200,000 of guaranteed bonds. This proposition was promptly accepted, as these bonds had been made an issue in the municipal election of 1878, resulting in the election of Orrin Hatch-who favored " burning the narrow-gauge bonds"-as Mayor. The bonds were therefore burned in the furnace of Robert A. Baker's bank early in 1879, with much ado, in presence of the city officers, and quantities of the ashes were preserved in glass vessels.

Thus the road was secured to the city without the expenditure of a dollar of aid or the burden of a single bond. The Company also relinquished $30,000 in subscriptions for bonds ruade by citizens of Fond du Lac, which, with the surrender of all claim to the city bonds. gained the confidence and good will of the community.

At the annual meeting of the stockholders, in May, 1879, Alonzo Kinyon, of Fond du Lac, and W. P. Wolf. of Tipton, Iowa. who had devoted their time, energy and means to the con- struction of the road, were made, respectively, President and Vice President of the Company. Mr. Kinyon was also elected Superintendent, and Mr. Wolf, Secretary. George P. Knowles, of Fond du Lac, was chosen Solicitor, the balance of the Board of Directors consisting of E. N. Foster, Alexander McDonald and M. D. Moore, of Fond du Lac; J. A. Barney of Dodge County, and S. V. Landt, of Tipton, Iowa.

The Fond du Lac, Amboy & Peoria Railway, notwithstanding its trials and tribulations, is on a paying basis, paying its interest in advance. It is the only competing line running into the city of Fond du Lac, and affords a valuable outlet, by the way of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, for the many manufactories of the city.

FOND DU LAC COUNTY A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO.

"In general appearance," says a writer in 1854, "this county presents one vast undulated field of marsh, prairie, openings, and timber lands, covered with an infinite variety of grass, herbs, shrubs and plants. It is ornamented with the most luxurious and beautiful flowers, and watered with innumerable flowing streams, seeking the level of Michigan and Winnebago Lakes, or uniting to make the Rock River a common channel through which to pour their waters into the Mississippi."

The enthusiastic writer continues : "Perhaps the eye of man has never rested on a spot of earth which, for beauty, fertility, health and convenience, is better calculated to meet his wants and supply his necessities, since shut out from the primeval garden. Moderate climate, exhil- arating atmosphere, and water of unequaled purity, have given to this county the rapid growth and unrivaled prosperity, which has, without revulsion or even check, marked its progress from its first settlement. Each successive year contributes to develop the advantages enjoyed in this county, and at no time have the inducements to the agriculturist. the mechanic and the capitalist, been greater to establish themselves in this county than the present year. This county does not present as great a variety of soil as many other sections of country ; about all por- tions even to the black mold prairie, partaking largely of argillaceous properties ; yet all the varieties of the grains, grasses, roots and fruits common to Northern latitudes are produced in abundance when judiciously cultivated."

" No doubt," continues the writer, " there are districts of country which can produce greater crops of some of the grains and with less labor ; but here pure air and wholesome water, so necessary to health of body and mind, give vigor, elasticity, and hardihood to the en- tire constitution, and a zest to industry ; so that without overtasking the natural powers with excessive toil, the amount of exercise necessary to the development and health of the physical and moral powers wisely and justly directed are sufficient to abundantly supply all the necessities of life, many of its luxuries, and make constant improvements in its conveniences."

In speaking of Winnebago Lake, he says : "This beautiful sheet of water, thirty-five miles in length from north to south, eight to fifteen in width from east to west, reclines its head in the bosom of this county-the city of Fond du Lac lying at its crown, as the name signifies

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

- Head or extremity of the Lake.'* Upon the west side, near its center, this lake receives the water of Fox and Wolf Rivers, at the city of Oshkosh. Wolf River, descending from the great " pinery," furnishes the common highway for the transportation of boards, logs and tim- ber, immense rafts of which are annually floated down to the [Winnebago] Lake, towed by steamboats to Fond du Lac and manufactured by steam mills into such form as the wants of the city [of Fond du Lac] and country require. An extensive surrounding district is thus supplied with pine lumber at a small advance above its value in its native forest. There is also an im- mense amount of logs and sawed lumber carried by railroad from this place [Fond du Lac City ] to Rock River, thence floated to Jauesville to supply a large district destitute of pine.

" In return for this lumber, Fond du Lac contributes largely to furnishing the provisions and clothing for the vast army of laborers who are constantly employed in the various branches of labor, which brings the treasures of the far distant forest to the city market or farmer's door. It also furnishes axes, saws, chains, and all kinds of implements necessary to the various branches of the work, constituting a commercial interest of great importance. To the cheap and safe communications between the fertile fields of Fond du Lac County and the almost inex- haustible pineries, this county is largely indebted for the rapid and continued increase of its population and wealth which has marked its progress, year by year, from its first settlement up to the present time. And yet its present improvements and wealth are but the developments of an insignificant portion of its capacity. Its surface of more than seven hundred square miles is only dotted with comparatively small improvements, while vast unfurrowed fields of prairies, openings, and woodlands, like a wide-spread garden clad in nature's beauty, are inviting the tiller's hand. Improvements here can receive no check from exhaustion until the agricultural, mechan- ical and commercial operations are quadrupled, and quadrupled again, which, according to the ratio of the past and the prospects of the present, cannot be many years. In contemplating the growth of this county in population, wealth and improvements, public and private, the mind is unavoidably driven to the conclusion, that Fond du Lac possesses natural advantages and facilities for the promotion of the prosperity and happiness of man seldom found in other parts of the world."

" The Indian's trails," continues the writer, "are obliterated-have long since ceased to guide the traveler. The whole county, like a vast checkerboard is now cut into squares and triangles by smooth, graded roads over which heavy-burdened wagons roll with steady pace, and vehicles of pleasure glide with rapid motion.

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The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 64

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