The history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, containing an account of settlement, growth, development and resources biographical sketches the whole preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 54

Author: Western historical company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 840

USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > The history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, containing an account of settlement, growth, development and resources biographical sketches the whole preceded by a history of Wisconsin > Part 54

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In 1874, the officers were : President, H. H. Potter; Vice Presidents, J. B. Crawford, D. E. Welch, W. C. Cady, P. J. Parshall, A. Hoage, W. Thiele, J. B. Clark, B. U. Strong, N. H. Briggs, G. I. Bancroft, T. Gillespie, T. J. Morgans, E. Kimball, H. Ochsner, William Dennett, Isaac Gibbs, John Young and A. Cottington ; Treasurer, T. T. English ; Secretary, John M. True.

In 1875, John True was chosen President ; a Vice President was chosen from each town ; Henry Cowles was Treasurer, and Philip Cheek, Jr., Secretary.

In 1876, H. H. Potter was elected President, H. Cowles Treasurer, and John M. True Sec- retary. The receipts this year were $1,032.08, the fair being held on the 19th, 20th and 21st of September. -

Charles H. Williams was chosen President in 1877, J. M. Highland, Treasurer, and G. A. Pabodie, Secretary. The fair was held on the 26th, 27th and 28th of September. Receipts, $790.25.

In 1878, John M. True was President, John M. Highland, Treasurer, and George A. Pabodie, Secretary. The Vice President representation by towns was changed this year, two Vice Presidents being chosen-J. W. Wood and H. B. Knapp. The officers for 1879 were the same, with the exception of O. H. Cook being chosen as Vice President in place of J. W. Wood.

The present officers are John M. True, President ; O. H. Cook and J. W. Wood, Vice Presidents ; J. B. Duncan, Treasurer ; F. N. Peck, Secretary. The receipts of the last exhi- bition were $536.84.

For the past six or seven years, the winter meetings of this society have been full of interest. The attendance is very large from all parts of the county, while not a few practical men from other parts of the State take interest enough in them to be present. The meetings are chiefly devoted to the reading of papers on various topics pertaining to agriculture, horticulture, etc., and the discussion of those papers.

BLOOD CATTLE.

The rearing of blood cattle has become one of the leading industries among Sauk County farmers, whose tastes have a tendency in that direction, and this feature of the farmyard, to all appearances, results in financial returns quite as satisfactory as many of the leading branches of agriculture. The ample area of lands in the county which produce sweet and nutritious grasses also makes the dairying interest a profitable one, and dairymen have not been slow in seeing the

364

HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

necessity for improving the breed of their milch cows. Hence the demand for short-horns, Jer- seys, Ayrshires, etc., and the consequent new departure of a few farmers who have turned their attention entirely to rearing them. Probably the first to take the lead in this industry in Sauk County was C. H. Williams, whose farm, near the village of Baraboo, is well adapted to stock- raising. He brought the first short-horns into the county about twenty-seven years ago, and has now something like thirty head. The Major is the most extensive breeder of fine cattle in the county. R. A. Morley and John M. True come next in point of numbers, though there are others, among whom may be mentioned W. T. Kelsey, of Prairie du Sac, G. W. and A. S. Waterbury, R. E. Stone and James Grisim, who have probably been longer in the business. Of Ayrshires. Mrs. C. C. Remington has eight or ten head, while A. G. Tuttle is the owner of half a dozen fine Jerseys.

STOCK BREEDERS' ASSOCIATION.

On the 13th of June, 1874, Charles H. Williams, H. H. Potter, John M. True, John B. Crawford, R. J. Wood, J. W. Wood, J. H. Vrooman, William Fessler, Melatiah Willis, P. W. Carpenter, H. J. Farnum, Charles Teel, G. C. Astle, A. J. Sears, R. Johnson, Charles Payne, S. McGilvra, S. W. Emery, Ryland Stone, R. E. Stone, J. R. Hall, N. W. Morley, James Hill, William Christie, H. H. Howlett, R. A. Morley, Levi Cahoon, Amos Johnson and O. H. Cook, met in the Court House, Baraboo, and organized " The Stock Breeders' Association of Sauk County," a joint-stock company with a capital stock of $4,200, having for its purpose " the procuring and keeping of imported and thoroughbred horses and mares for - breeding pur- poses.'

On the 10th of February, 1875, H. H. Potter, M. Willis, Amos Johnson, John B. Craw- ford and Charles Teel were chosen Directors of the Association, and on the 13th of the same month, H. H. Potter was elected President, J. B. Wood, Treasurer, and John M. True, Secretary.

The officers for 1876 were H. H. Potter, President; J. J. Gattiker, Treasurer, and John M. True, Secretary. Directors-Ross Johnson, H. J. Farnum, A. Johnson, H. H. Potter and J. B. Crawford.

The Directors for 1877 consisted of R. Johnson, P. W. Carpenter, H. H. Potter, Robert Wood and Amos Johnson. The others officers were the same as in 1876.

On the 12th of January, 1878, R. H. Strong was chosen President, E. Walbridge, Treas- urer, and J. M. True, Secretary. Directors, P. W. Carpenter, R. Johnson, R. H. Strong. F. Baringer and O. H. Cook.

In 1879, R. J. Wood was made President, Messrs. Walbridge and True being re-elected Treasurer and Secretary, respectively. Messrs. Johnson and Strong were succeeded in the directory by H. J. Farnum and R. J. Wood.

The present officers are : President, John B. Crawford ; Treasurer, E. Walbridge ; Secre- tary, John M. True. Directors, George C. Astle, R. Johnson, J. B. Crawford, O. H. Cook and Fred Baringer.

DAIRYING.

Sauk County has become somewhat distinguished for her dairy products, one of her citizens having secured the highest prize awarded at the National Dairymen's Fair held in New York in 1879. The principal dairymen in the county are A. & D. Beckwith and Aaron Southard, of the town of Bear Creek, who manufacture cheese on quite an extensive scale. J. A. Morley and Archibald Barker, of the town of Baraboo, are the next most extensive dairymen, butter being their chief product; John Tordoff, Lavalle, cheese; Amos Johnson, O. K. Cook, H. Bradbury and John Monroe, Greenfield, butter and cheese; Peter S. Young and Henry Hills. Sumter, cheese. In 1879, J. A. Morley prepared an exhibit of butter and sent it to the National Dairymen's Fair, where it took the first premium ($50) in the Wisconsin Class. This entitled it to compete for the sweepstakes, for which no butter could be entered that was not the best of some State class. The sweepstakes prize ($100) it also took, it being pronounced the

365

HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

best butter in the Fair. Then, again, it took the conditional prize of $100 offered by the Higgins Salt Company, which that company agreed to pay to the winner of the sweepstakes, should it happen that the winning butter was salted with the Higgins salt, as was the case with the Morley butter.

STATISTICAL.

The following tabulated statement of the agricultural productions in Sauk County for 1878 is taken from the records of the County Board, and will furnish a fair idea of the productive wealth of the county :

NUMBER OF BUSHELS.

Acres harv'd for seed.

NUMBER OF POUNDS.

TOWNS.

Wheat.

Corn.

Oats.

Barley.

Rye.

Potatoes.

Root Crops.

| Cranberries.

Apples.

Clover Seed.

Timothy

Clover.

Timothy.

Hops.

Tobacco.

Tons Grasses

Butter.

Cheese.

Baraboo.

18866

42835

30443'

2615

2602

5660

3365 ...

323

4428

1890

51915

6000

Bear Creek

10493

16815

23840

372

1939

4313

355 ...

555 3

228| 185

2014

1311/2

3145

363

6590

2200

Delton

8609

39195

22570

40'

6378

5182

2829,40

473 27512

1512

230

534

9596

960

28815

Excelsior

17433

41855

38242

796

7358

10323

380

780, 357

249

9381

1383

34150

21940

110

Franklin'

22634

16950

34771

547

1092

3538

180

154

1286

16795

13500

Freedom.

22389

32778

22916

784

2040

8477

1755

1573

2939

251

2000

28390

Green field

14026

36020

27845

1978

3096

7132

625

104

500

1306

31800

20000

Honey Creek

39571

41935

44695

2002

2344

8252

620

311

192

165

780

1243

11098

400

Ironton

17002

28352

369€5

2188

1339

7210

340

585

2130

2003

22920

10150

Lavalle

12089

37380

27524

1693

1778

7217

820

115

1115

5570

332

13430

2190

Reedsburg.

31235

46755

48353

2967

4496

11759

2785

111

107

8372

1283

35375

25385

...

Sumter.

19093

56556

61070

5205

2415

5095

100

758

186

210

1234

755

3000

28971

18545

Trov

34694

33275

39121

1494

8956

4600

4680

2883

2800

45400

Westfield

37724

38900

37775

742

812

8140

2396

255

2110

1200

Win field

8492

13340

25070

540

840

2800

140

6635

617

13100

Woodland ..

18135

20131

27189

1426

€61

5196

130

102

241/2

2914

588

1319

18837

200

Totals.

409161 772859 731528: 30665; 75883 128508

18375 49. 9517 3994161 313

22591%

102

73557

961 23184 501892 162913

...

13646'

28112

21347

5690

4693

205

292 1388

252

3725

5302

1175

18930

7960

Merrimack

13168

35780

28876

1321

196]

2006

664

17600

...

Prairie du Sac.

18779

47900

29407

1984

7639

2561

815

474

258

209

2215

19378

4200

Washington

14040|

58400

29790

720

640

1934

270

100

Spring Green.

7279

43000

40659

392

8333

868

9873

77458

Dellona

9764

16595

33060

812

3474

7840

...

In 1879, there were grown in the county the following acres of crops: Wheat, 38,230; corn, 29,0233 ; oats, 24,518 ; barley, 1,5533; rye, 4,738} ; potatoes, 2,7662; root crops, 128} ; cranberries, 5 ; orchard, 1,653 (with 47,030 bearing trees) ; hops, 917}; tobacco, § ; grasses, 25,452} ; there were 9,952 milch cows, valued at $135,310.

Here is an item, supplied by the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in 1868, which will grow valuable as it grows older: Number of acres of improved land in the county, 85,000 ; average price per acre, $15; acres of unimproved land, 447,000; price per acre, $4; post offices in county, 20; schoolhouses, 157; church buildings, 25; flouring-mills, 12, with 35 runs of stone ; saw-mills, 21, with 35 sets of saws; woolen-factories, 2; foundries and machine shops, 4; smelting furnaces, 1; other manufacturing establishments, 24. Population of county (estimated), 25,000. Population of villages (estimated) : Baraboo, 3,000; Reedsburg, 1,500; Sauk City, 1,600; Delton, 500; Ironton, 400; La Valle, 100; Lyons, 200; Manchester, 50; Merrimack, 100; Spring Green, 600; Prairie du Sac, 800; Loganville, 500.

HOPS, AND THE PANIC OF 1868.

Sauk is the banner hop-raising county of Wisconsin, and, in fact, of the Northwest. Har- vey Canfield. Benjamin Colton and Mr. Cottington are believed to have been the pioneers in the business in the county. Producers then thought themselves fortunate if they obtained 7 cents per pound for their crop, after hauling it to Beaver Dam, which, in early times, was the nearest market. About 1863, owing to an increased demand for hops, the price advanced to such an unusual figure that farmers everywhere were induced to devote a portion of their lands to the cultivation of the article. For the next four years, notwithstanding the increased acreage

Seed.

200

... 1/

197

661/2

Fairfield.

1233

366

HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

and supply, there was no falling-off in prices ; on the contrary, hops advanced steadily, and in 1865, reached the extraordinary figures of 50, 55 and even 60 cents per pound, with fair pros- pects of going still higher. By this time, the cultivation of other farm products was almost entirely abandoned. Preparations had been made throughout the county to plant almost every available acre of tillable land into hops. Producers purchased from outside sources the necessary small grains required for feed and flour, and turned their undivided attention to hop-raising. The excitement ran high. Speculators, with pocketfuls of money, were plenty, and anxious to buy. Hundreds of farmers, with but very few acres of land, who had hitherto been considered poor, and in fact were poor, suddenly became reputably rich. A man needed no higher indorse- ment than to have it said of him, " He has a hop-yard." His credit was good at any of the mercantile establishments in the villages where he did his trading. "I'll pay when I sell my hops," was a sufficient guaranty for almost unlimited credit. It was a day of liberal dealings, not of sharp bargains, as now. The man with a hop-yard never stopped to say " It's too high ; I'll give you so much," and he seldom inquired the price of an article he sought to purchase. It went on the books, and much depended upon the conscientiousness and fair-dealing qualities of the merchant. Farmers' daughters wore silks and attended universities ; sons went to col- lege, clothed in broadcloth, and the airs of opulence. There were evidences of wealth on every hand, and not without cause. A great many men became comparatively wealthy. The farmers in a radius of ten miles who had made $10,000 in three years, could not be enumerated

upon the fingers twice touched. Enormous hop-houses of fantastic shapes were built; fine blood horses were purchased ; family carriages, phaetons and fancy harness found ready sale- " If you'll wait till my hops get ripe ;" though toward the latter part of the period of excitement the cash was paid in most cases, and a great many old accounts were squared. But the end came, finally, and at a very inopportune time, when the acreage had been largely increased. Prices fell, and with a crash, too. Most of the crop of 1867 was held for higher figures ; 30 and 35 cents was not enough. "They'll be worth more next year," said the hop-grower ; but his prophecy was shorn of its wisdom the following season, when the bottom of the market dropped completely out, and hops became a drug, commercially, worth from 3 to 5 cents, with but few buyers. The old crops on hand were, in many instances, more than a dead loss; the pickers had been paid half the value of a pound of hops per box at the date of picking, which, a year later, amounted to more than the market price, and about the only profit left the producer, was contained in the conversion of his hop-poles into stovewood. One good result, however, of this hop excitement, was the substantial farm improvements made during its existence. The large and costly hop-houses now make good barns. Hop-raising, however, was not entirely abandoned after the panic ; some farmers still continue to grow them quite extensively, and to some degree of profit.

NATURE'S PROVISIONS.

Thirty years ago, when farms were small, owing to the great length of time required to clear away the heavy growths of timber, many of the settlers in the western portion of the county found themselves in straitened circumstances and were compelled to fight starvation at great disadvantage. But nature seems to have provided a way for those who persevered in their efforts to gain a livelihood. John Jessop, of the town of Ironton, had but recently taken a claim of forty acres. He strove for a time to feed and clothe his family from the product of a few acres, but the period was drawing near when he would be called upon by the Government to pay for his land, and money he must have. At that date wild honey was very plentiful. The woods echoed with the buzz of the busy bee. Relinquishing his farm labors, Mr. Jessop turned his entire attention to the gathering of honey. When he had accumulated a wagon load of the " native sweet," he set out with his ox team for Baraboo, Portage and intervening commercial points, where he peddled it out to the citizens by the pound, for cash, provisions or anything else useful he could get. In this way, after making several trips, he paid for his land and sup- plied his family with the necessaries of life.

367

HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

Another of the natural products of the western portion of the county, which indirectly fur- nished food and raiment for a large number of settlers in early days, was ginseng root, so highly prized for medicinal purposes by the Chinese. In some localities, the root was very plentiful, and for a time the people generally devoted their attention to digging and shipping it to market, where they received as high as $1 per pound for any quantity it might be their good fortune to gather. A widow lady, in the town of Washington, earned enough money in this way to pay off a con- siderable mortgage on her farm, which the previous hard times had compelled her to negotiate. Ginseng, so common with us, is a rare herb among the heathens of Asia. With them it is the panacea for all ills, and after it has undergone a process known to the Cantonese as leong-tsue, it enhances greatly in value. Large quantities of the article are transhipped to Australia, the Hawaiian Islands and that other Chinese province, California, where it finds ready sale among the nations of the Orient at the exorbitant figures of $25 and $30 an ounce. It is said to derive its great value in their estimation from having cured a former emperor of the colic.

The cutting of hop-poles furnished profitable employment to many during the great hop excitement from 1865 to 1872. One of the principal industries in the towns of Ironton and Lavalle at the present time is the cutting and hauling of stave timber to the mills of Messrs. Paddock & Keith. The burning of charcoal and smelting of iron ore also furnish employment to a large number of the residents of the same towns. In the southernpart of the county, where there is less soil than sand, the raising of melons has become a profitable industrial pursuit. Berries and grapes (wild and tame) and the stronger varieties of tree fruits flourish in every part of the county. Only about one-third of its broad and fertile acres are now under cultiva- tion. With its great diversity of soil and peculiar adaptability to almost every variety of useful products, who can estimate the future importance of Sauk County ?

368

HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

CHAPTER IV. 1

SAUK COUNTY'S WAR RECORD.

THE FIRST NOTE OF ALARM-RALLYING OF PATRIOTS-WHERE THEY FOUGHT AND DIED-SAUK COUNTY'S CONTRIBUTIONS-THE DRAFT-THE ROLL OF HONOR-WHAT IT COST.

Treason, always despicable, even unto the eyes of traitors, never became more intensely odious than in 1861, when the climax of a conspiracy, long brewing, was reached, and the best government under the sun found itself face to face with an unholy and unrighteous civil war. The object of the South in attempting a separation of the Union was the erection of a great slave empire, encircling the Mexican Gulf; the duty of the North was clearly to prevent the success of a scheme so monstrous and inhuman. The first movements of the confederates were made under very favorable circumstances. They were in possession of many of the chief national offices, and they very largely controlled the army and the navy. Their military plan embraced three principal objects-the seizure of the forts and coast defenses, the capture of the national capital and the possession of the Mississippi River. The South was, nevertheless, thrown upon the defensive from the beginning of the struggle, and very soon effectually beleaguered. It was the unfaltering aim of the North to bring the war to a close, with as little bloodshed as possible, by the capture of Richmond, the rebel capital ; but the first forward movement terminated almost disastrously at Bull Run on the 21st of July, 1861. This battle, however, was without military significance, since it did not secure the seizure of Washington by the rebels. It taught the North the real nature of the terrific struggle in which they were engaged. On the day after the battle, Congress voted $500,000,000 and called for 500,000 volunteers. From that moment, the rebell- ion was doomed. This act of President Lincoln and his patriotic Congress increased the nation's confidence in them to deal the righteous blow, and, at the same time, struck terror to the hearts of the secessionists.

The responses to the call were immediate and of the most encouraging character. Already a previous call for three months volunteers had been filled. No State in the Union was more prompt in sending forward volunteers than was Wisconsin, and no part of Wisconsin responded with greater vigor than did Sauk County. Twenty-six of her sous volunteered under the first call for 75,000 men, and joined the Madison Guards. The following from the Baraboo Republic of April 25, 1861, fairly illustrates the depth of interest in the preservation of the Union at that time :

" The events of the last few days in this village will never fade from the memories of those who witnessed or bore a part in them. Our commonly sedate population have been elevated to a most unbounded pitch of enthusiasm for their country, on the one hand, and of intense indig- nation toward those, on the other, who have proved traitors to it. On Friday, Mr. Nash, of the Madison Guards, arrived here after having enlisted fourteen names in Sauk City and Prairie du Sac-C. E. G. Horn, Julius Schroeter, David Veidt, Robert. Mettler, August Wandrey, Arthur Cruse, Samuel F. Clark, Anton Fischer, Ed Studelman, Ed Carl, William Bartholdt, Peter I Jacob, John Jenewein and Richard Smith-twelve Germans and two Americans. Peter Jacob has served in the Crimean war. Forthwith recruits began to fall in, and the martial sound of drum and fife, unheard in our streets this many a day, inspired all hearts with patriotic enthusi- asm. Among the Baraboo volunteers to the Madison Guards were two sons of a lady who depended upon them and one other for her support. She gave the other permission to go also when he should have replenished her wood pile ! On Saturday, they were initiated into military drill by A. G. Malloy,* also a volunteer, who had served in the Mexican war and was an Orderly on Gen. Worth's staff. In the evening, a meeting was held to organize a home company to

* Now U. S. Revenue Collector at Jefferson, Texas.

369

HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

offer themselves to the Governor in the service of the Union. F. K. Jennings was called to the chair, and D. D. Doane appointed Secretary. Speeches full of feeling were made by D. K. Noyes and others, and a temporary organization effected by choosing A. G. Malloy Captain and D. K. Noyes First Lieutenant. On the Sabbath morning, the strange sound of the drum, beat by the expert hand of Rev. W. H. Thomson, to the tune of ' Yankee Doodle,' announced that the volunteers were about to leave. A very large concourse of citizens met in front of the court house to do honor to the noble hearts that so promptly responded to their country's call. Rev. C. E. Weirich, by invitation, acted as Chaplain, and delivered an address eminently appropriate to the occasion. A national hymn was then sung, and, after the benediction, the friends of those about to encounter the dangers and hardships of war were invited to bid them adieu. During the exercises many eyes were moist, but at this juncture every face was wet with tears. Men whom we had never suspected could be touched with tenderness, stood with flowing eyes, as sis- ters, mothers and wives came up to give the parting kiss. After taking their seats in the wagon, E. N. Marsh, in behalf of the volunteers, made a brief but touching address to those assembled. At half-past 9, with flying colors and to the sound of the drum and fife, under a banner inscribed on one side ' The Union Forever,' and on the other 'Baraboo Volunteers to the Mad- ison Guards,' they drove out of town, followed by a procession of wagons and numerous friends on foot. Following is a list of the Baraboo volunteers : Lafayette Lock, Augustus D. Kimball, Charles W. Porter, Albert B. Porter, John J. Foster, F. D. Stone, Edward N. Marsh, Oscar Allen, Harvey Ames, R. S. Hill, A. Sutcliffe and David Dewell. These twelve volunteers were enrolled among the Madison Guards, and left Madison yesterday (April 24) for Milwaukee. They have unanimously resolved not to taste a drop of liquor until they get back to Baraboo."

The particulars of the organization of the " home company " referred to in the foregoing, are given herewith, as they appeared in the local newspaper: "At the Methodist Church that morning, after the departure of the Guards, Mr. Weirich spoke upon the duty of maintaining the Government, and the impression made will never be effaced from the minds of those who heard him. On Monday, the recruiting continued, and at night, with no call but that of the drum, there was a spontaneous gathering of the ladies, as well as of the more war-like sex. The court house was fairly jammed, and the feeling was such that one might put out his hand and almost feel the electricity in the air. J. B. Avery was called to the chair, and E. Wyman chosen Secretary. Several items of news, just received, were read by T. Thomas, and the same gentleman proposed a fund for the support of the families left, offering to give $25 per month. The announcement was greeted with tremendous cheering. O. W. Fox responded with $5 per month, and Job Barstow, the same. The following committee of ladies was appointed to solicit subscriptions for the purpose : Mrs. R. Jones, Mrs. J. F. Flanders, Mrs. C. A. Sumner, Mrs. J. B. Avery and Mrs. B. F. Mills. N. W. Wheeler, C. C. Remington, Mr. Crawford, Sr., Timothy Kirk, W. H. Thompson, Mr. Blackett and others made eloquent and patriotic speeches. Maj. Rowley and other drummers from Narrows Prairie, had just come in time, and the thunder heard in that court room, to the tune of 'Yankee Doodle' was never heard there before. A. G. Malloy was then chosen Captain without opposition, and A. N. Kellogg came forward to say that the Republic office claimed the privilege of furnishing one volunteer-Joseph I. Weirich-and of equipping him with a Sharp's rifle. The meeting then adjourned.

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The history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, containing an account of settlement, growth, development and resources biographical sketches the whole preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 54

Author: Western historical company, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 840

Author: Western historical company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 840