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 79
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On the night of November 26, 1872, a fire broke out in a building owned by T. B. Quig- ley and occupied by Charles Sears & Co. as a meat market. The flames could not be checked, and when they had spent their fury seven buildings were in ashes. The losses were : Building corner Oak and Fourth streets, owned by Levi Crouch and occupied by Frank McGinnis, loss $1,000 ; building owned by J. Udell and occupied by R. Kingsland, loss $3,000; Quigley's building, where the fire originated, loss $1,200, insured for $1,000; August Sperling's billiard hall and dwelling, loss $3,000; L. Wild's furniture store and factory, loss from $5,000 to $6,000 ; H. Moeler's wagon-shop, loss $700 ; G. G. Gollmar's blacksmith-shop, loss $1,000. The foregoing figures are estimates, and are probably somewhat exaggerated.
On the morning of the 6th of November, 1878, a fire broke out in a building on the east side of the square owned by Charles Summer. Phannsteihl's bakery was the second building to take fire ; then followed Gattiker's building. The Western Hotel was soon wrapped in flames. While these structures were burning, the citizens tore down the stores of R. and C. Burrington, grocers, and C. E. Ryan, jeweler. This checked the flames in that direction. Nearly all the personal property, goods, etc., in these buildings, were saved. The Western Hotel was the prin- cipal building destroyed. The entire loss was something like $15,000.
On the night of April 13, 1880, a fire occurred at the corner of Oak and Third streets, and swept away nearly one-fourth of the block. The losers were Dr. B. F. Mills, druggist, insured on building and stock for $8,000; Dr. Kezenta, dentist, insured for $250 ; John Saare, barber, . loss trifling ; Louis Platt, harness-maker, loss $150; Fred Lang, express agent and confec- tioner, loss $100 .; Joseph Udell, household effects ; Mrs. Slade & Co., dressmakers ; J. G. Train, frame building insured for $1,000, contents, not insured, $500; D. T. Desmond, loss $200; J. G. Train, brick building, insured; J. H. Brewer, billiard hall, insured ; Claud Heron, barber, loss trifling. There were other slight losses, covered by insurance.
BANKS.
The Sauk County Bank was the first institution of the kind established in Baraboo. . The date of its organization was July 1, 1857, a year ever memorable as one of general distrust and financial embarrassment. Its officers were Simeon Mills, President, and T. Thomas, Cashier. The circulating medium in Baraboo at that time was the issue of a Niantic (N. J.) bank, the sol- vency of which was somewhat doubtful, and the managers of the Sauk County Bank, being in a position to float a home issue of unquestioned stability, fortunately succeeded in making Niantic scrip exceedingly scarce by the time the New Jersey concern failed, which it did (like many other banks throughout the Union at that date) "without previous notice."
The capital of the Sauk County Bank was $50,000. In 1861, Mr. Thomas purchased the interest of Mr. Mills, and conducted it on his own account until 1873, when it was merged into
528
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.
the present First National Bank of Baraboo. It is a remarkable fact that the Sauk County Bank weathered the storm in the series of panics which occurred before and during the war. While other State banks were failing on every hand, it maintained its credit.
The First National Bank was organized January 31, 1873, with a capital stock of $50,000, and the following officers : D. S. Vittum, President; George Mertens, Vice President; W. B. Rich, Cashier. The Directory was composed of the officers named and T. T. English and Henry Rich. The present Directors are R. H. Strong (who is also Vice President and acting Pres- ident since the death of Col. Vittum), T. T. English, W. H. Vittum, Mrs. A. P. Vittum, and J. Van Orden, Cashier.
A PRESIDENT IN BARABOO.
For the benefit of future generations and those now living who may forget the important fact, it is herewith recorded that the village of Baraboo was once honored by the presence of a President of the United States-R. B. Hayes. The distinguished individual was accompanied by his family, Attorney General Devens, Secretary of the Navy Thompson, and Commissioner of Agriculture Le Duc, the party being en route to Minnesota and Dakota. They arrived at 6 o'clock in the evening, and took supper at Capt. Cowles' eating-house. A large number of the ladies and gentlemen of the place were present, with Spirit Lake Band, and assisted in the reception. The eating-house tables were beautifully decorated, and fairly groaned under the weight of good things. On returning to the train, the President appeared on the platform and shook hands with as many as could reach him, but did not make a speech. He also gave his auto- graph to quite a number. The kind face of Mrs. Hayes won for that lady the respectful affection of all who looked upon it.
EDUCATIONAL.
The cause of education found an abiding-place in the Baraboo Valley as early as 1844, and, as is generally the case on the borders of civilization, the first temple of learning was con- structed of logs. The building stood in the northwestern portion of the village. Notwith- standing the abundance of timber in the immediate vicinity, it is said the structure was put up on the most economic plan. An old settler, whose stature is not remarkably great, remembers being compelled to stoop uncommonly low when entering the door, " and you could throw a cat through the cracks without touching a hair."
The names of the pupils who first sought the benefits of primary instruction in this rude contrivance called a schoolhouse, would appear to great advantage in these pages, had their teacher carved them upon something imperishable; but the little roll of honor has been destroyed, and no record can be found of who they were or what their progress was. It is only from hearsay and other equally vague and fragmentary evidence that the compiler is enabled to give the merest outline of the history of this school. It seems that E. M. Hart was employed as teacher, and was therefore the first to organize a school in the Baraboo Valley. This was before the district system had been established in these parts, and Mr. Hart's school was there- fore a private one. It was late in the spring of 1844 that the first measures were taken looking to the establishment of a school. A meeting of citizens was held, and a committee of three- Wallace Rowan, W. H. Canfield and Lewis Bronson-appointed to select a site for a school- house that would be most convenient to the community at large. After some delay and con- siderable discussion on the part of the committee, it was finally decided to build on the north- west corner of the southeast quarter of Section 35, and the log structure referred to was the result. R. P. Clement, D. K. Noyes and William H. Joy were also among the early teachers who worried with the "young idea " in the primitive log schoolhouse. After the building of the new schoolhouse-the one which in 1869 was removed to the northwest corner of Ash and Fourth streets, and is now occupied as a dwelling-the school records seem to have been more carefully kept, and show the names of teachers as follows :
1851-M. Mason, M. A. Noyes, E. Howard, F. Canfield, H. J. Van Valkenburg.
1852-D. G. Moore, Mrs. George R. Clark, Miss E. S. Camp, T. M. Morley.
529
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.
1853-George R. Clark, Adelaide Clark, Sophia Munroe, Louisa Wheeler, E. Crandall, Louisa Packer, Frances Ames.
1854-Nancy Wyman, Mrs. Wheeler, E. Crandall.
1855-Mr. Smith, Miss M. M. Nethaway, Miss E. Chapman, Mrs. Little, Miss Hill.
1856-J. Lovell, H. J. Lovell, Eliza Chapman.
1857-J. S. Hart, A. L. Burnham, Miss M. M. Nethaway and Miss E. L. Chapman.
1858-Prof. Burnham, William H. Joy, Misses Nethaway and Chapman, and Miss M. Sprague.
1859-Prof. Burnham, Miss Nethaway, Miss M. J. Martin and Mrs. S. A. W. Pearson.
1860-Prof. Burnham, Mrs. Pearson and Misses Nethaway and Chapman.
1861-Mrs. O. W. Fox, Mrs. Helen Hoadley, Misses Nethaway, E. Atkinson, Mattie Sanford and E. A. Thomson.
1862-D. N. Hitchcock, Mrs. Hoadley, Misses Atkinson, Nethaway, Sarah Flanders and Sarah Stewart.
1863-64-The names of teachers do not appear, though the record for the latter year says that seven different teachers were employed, " all of whom had taught previously."
1865-John "Barker, Misses Chapman, M. J. Vail, M. F. Flanders and M. J. Perigo.
1866 .- Ten different teachers employed, the names of those teaching the first term only being given : Misses E. M. Park, G. H. Denison, L. A. Flanders and Ella E. White.
1867-Martha A. Shepard, Louisa Meyers, Lucy A. Flanders, Ella E. White, Mary F. Flanders, Belle Hurlbut and Lilian D. Park.
1868-The Misses Flanders, Ella E. and Maria H. White, James T. Lunn, Miss Hurlbut and Fannie C. and Alice J. Quiner.
1869-John M. True, Lucy Flanders, Miss Nethaway, Clara Yocum, Eva Slye, Mary Haines, Eleste Palmer, A. N. True and Gertrude Denison.
1870-Isaac A. Sabin, Mrs. Hoadley, Miss Nethaway, Miss Palmer, Roxie C. Tyler, Ida Meyers, Hattie H. Brown, Mrs. L. L. Cochran and Clara G. Newson.
1871-Prof. Sabin, Mrs. Cochran, Mrs. Hoadley, Jennie Sprague, Anna Taylor, Mrs. M. Dennett, Mary J. Cooper and Misses Nethaway, Tyler, Palmer, Newson, Meyers and Brown. .
1872-C. A. Hutchins, Mrs. Cochran, Mrs. Dennett, Miss Martha Lawson, Jennie Dodd Miss C. Sheldon, and Misses Newson, Tyler, Sprague, Taylor, Palmer and Cooper.
1873-Prof. Hutchens, Mrs. Dennett, Mrs. Cochran, and Misses Dodd, Newson, Palmer, Lawson and Cooper.
1874-Prof. William A. Willis, Miss Newson, Mrs. Dennett, Mrs. Clark, Miss M. Gatti- ker, Miss Dennison, Mrs. B. Blachley, Miss Belle Bacon; Miss Maggie Moore, Miss Sprague, Mrs. Briscoe and Joseph Luce (music).
1875-Prof. Willis, Nettie Salisbury, William Eaken, Mrs. A. Noyes, Miss Dennison, Miss Newson, Alice B. Crawford, Clara Martin, Miss Gattiker, Mrs. Clark, Miss Ella English, Miss Alice Sears.
1876-Prof. Willis, Miss Dennison, Miss Newson, Miss H. M. Remington, Miss Crawford, Miss Randall, Miss M. Grout, Miss Sears, Miss Cottington.
1877-78-Prof. Willis, Miss Crawford, Miss M. Gillispie, Miss Dennison, Miss Newson, Miss Remington, Mrs. G. Fallon, Miss H. Terrill, Miss S. Holden, Miss E. Warner, Miss Gattiker, Miss Bacon.
1878-79-Prof. Willis, Miss Remington, Miss Holden, Miss Bacon, Miss H. Huntington, Miss L. Little, Miss Terrill, Miss Gillespie, Miss Dennison Miss Newson, Miss Rheull.
1879-80-Prof. Willis, S. Williams, Misses Holden, Little, Huntington, Bacon, Terrill, Dennison, English, Mrs. Fallon, Miss A. Blachley, Miss A. Schultz and Miss Willett.
As has been shown, the first schoolhouse erected in Baraboo was a small and unpreten- tious log, with a low doorway and enormous cracks. This structure, in its time, served the purposes of court-room, town hall and general meeting-house, and, until about 1849, seems to have afforded ample room for that character of gatherings. By this time, however,
530
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.
the village commenced to assume proportions of a more metropolitan nature, and a larger school- house became necessary. After several protracted discussions of the question, the popular union school system was adopted, and in 1850, a two-story frame house, thirty-five feet square, was erected on part of Block 38, north side. The building contained three large apartments, and served the purposes of the district for nearly twenty years, when, from causes which neces- sitated the original enlargement of school facilities, the need of still more commodious quarters became apparent. The first movement with a view to this end was taken on the 13th of July, 1868, when, at a special school meeting, a committee of five was appointed to select and report on a school site. Two weeks later, the committee reported in favor of purchasing the Baptist Church building. This proposition was rejected, and the School Board authorized the purchase of the Fox and Walbridge properties, at $1,900 and $2,200, respectively. Before the end of the month, the Walbridge property had been secured and paid for, and on the 18th of August, the Fox property became that of the school district. At a subsequent joint meeting of the board and citizens, it was unanimously agreed to sell the recent purchases and buy additional lots on Block 38, and erect a school edifice thereon.
District Clerk A. L. Burnham, in his report for 1870, gives the following interesting particulars concerning the new building which now graces the north bank of the Baraboo and overlooks the animating scenes below : "The excavation for the foundation of our new school building was begun on the 9th of April, 1869. On the 24th of the same month, the corner- stone was laid, and, on the 30th, the first brick. It was completed on the 10th of October, 1870, at a cost of $33,000, formally accepted from the contractors and opened for school the same day. The seating capacity of the building is as follows: The 1st, 2d, 3d, 5th and 6th departments are furnished with sittings for seventy-two pupils ; the 4th, 7th and 8th depart- ments with 84, 60 and 48, respectively, and the south side or mixed department, has sittings for forty-eight pupils. This number can be increased without inconvenience in the 1st, 2d and 4th departments, by fifty more, while the assembly hall can be seated to accommodate 220, making a total of 870."
The history of school buildings on the south side is somewhat meager, though the rapid growth of the village in that direction brings it within the pale of importance. The first schoolhouse on that side of the river Col. Noyes remembers to have been a board shanty, which stood near where now stands the Pratt House. The Colonel taught a class there during two months of the winter of 1847-48. In 1868, the district built the present frame structure which stands just south of the railroad track. This building has about outlived its usefulness, and now, as the work of compiling the "History of Sauk County " is in progress, arrange- ments are being perfected for the erection of a two-story brick-veneered building on Lots 3, 4 and 5, Block 4, of Brown's Addition. It is to be 52x44 feet in size, with four rooms for inter- mediate and primary departments, and will cost about $4,000.
On the 17th of April, 1877, the School Board-James H. Halstead, H. Cowles and T. D. Lang-passed the following resolution :
WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Wisconsin, at its annual session of 1877, passed a law authorizing the Commissioners of School and University Lands to loan a portion of the trust funds of this State, not exceeding $8,000, to School District No. 7, of the town of Baraboo, county of Sauk, and authorizing the said school district to borrow a sum not exceeding the above amount of said Commissioners, and to issue to said Commissioners certificates of the indebtedness so contracted, said indebtedness to bear interest at the rate of 7 per cent per annum, said interest to be paid annually on the first day of March of each year, and said principal to be paid, $2,000 on the first day of March, 1886 ; $2,000 on the first day of March, 1887; $2,000 on the first day of March, 1888, and $2,000 on the first day of March, 1889-therefore, be it
Resolved, that we, the School Board of said School District, in special session duly assembled, according to law, do hereby accept the provisions of said Act, and the terms and limitations therein provided.
A Committee on High School was subsequently appointed, and on the 13th of August following it was decided to organize a Free High School, $1,000 being appropriated to defray the attendant expenses ; $1,000 has been appropriated each year for high school expenses. Quite a number of graduates have gone out from this institution, not a few of them having since passed through the branches of the State University or other academic curriculum, and settled
531
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.
down in business amid the scenes of days consumed in elementary studies and boyish and girlish games. The citizens of Baraboo certainly have reason to feel proud of their public schools.
The following tabulated statement, compiled from Baraboo's school records, which, in many instances, are incomplete and disconnected, will give an idea of the growth of the schools in the past thirty years :
Year.
Amount of Taxes Raised.
Aggregate Amount of Teachers' Salaries.
Whole No. Children in Children in District. Attend'nce.
Whole No.
Year.
Amount of Taxes Raised.
Aggregate Amount of Teachers' Salaries.
Whole No.
Whole No. Children in Children in District.
Attend'nce.
1850
$198
244
.....
1866.
1,000
1,080
562
357
1851
690
119
273
212
1867
1,100
1,113
634
405
1852
*1,106
396
306
245
1868.
*13,358
1,150
724
409
1853
418
......
330
277
1870.
*9,198
1,873
736
534
1855
668
384
440
255
1871
*6,955
3,750
666
536
1856.
217
440
433
230
1872
*6,551
4,177
730
650
1857
250
604
482
227
1873
*6,430
4,050
744
603
1858
500
468
462
276
1874.
4,772
4,200
857
713
1859
405
630
491
288
1875.
5,001
4,245
861
739
1860
515
715
524
305
1876.
4,832
4,378
809
726
1861
615
1,020
533
403
1877
4,566
4,396
855
740
1862
540
776
537
438
1878
5,126
4,575
794
757
1863+
1864.
764
911
613
380
1880
.....
.....
..
1865
900
965
540
443
Baraboo Female Seminary .- In 1856, measures were taken by a few leading citizens look- ing toward the establishment of a school of a high order for the education of girls. After two or three preliminary meetings, an organization was effected, and subsequently a charter obtained through legislative enactment, authorizing the founding of the Baraboo Female Seminary. Miss Mary A. Potter was installed as Principal. Taking charge of the school, she conducted it for one year, when she was succeeded by Miss Jane Gregory, who remained one term. Miss Mary Mortimer was then placed in charge by the trustees. In the meantime; the school had become denominational, being supported by the Presbyterian Church, in accordance with a resolution passed by the Presbytery. Miss Mortimer remained in charge about five years, and was suc- ceeded by the Rev. H. H. Kellogg and his daughter Julia. As the public schools grew into favor, and became more popular through the judicious management of the district officers and teachers, the star of private schools began to wane and the doors of the Female Seminary were finally closed. Mrs. Bevy Clark was the last Principal. The institution, however, had pros- pered in its time, enabling the managers, of whom P. A. Bassett was the principal, to erect suitable edifices in the early years of its history. These were afterward sold to the Episcopalians for a church and rectory.
The incorporators of the Female Seminary were Shubael G. Spees, William A. Niles, J. A. Hall, P. A. Bassett, D. K. Noyes, C. E. Rosenkrans, J. G. Kanouse, Alanson Hewson, R. H. Davis, Lewis N. Wood, Herbert Huntington, John B. Preston, John Taylor, J. B. Crawford, Cutling Marsh, Sidney H. Barteau, John W. Rowell, R. G. Camp and James Cornelley. The act of incorporation was approved March 6, 1857.
Baraboo Collegiate Institute .- Before the day of high schools in Wisconsin, colleges and seminaries were very numerous. Every village claiming any pretensions to enterprise and en- lightenment afforded a select school where the public-school student, after having reached a cer- tain position in the primary or intermediate grades, could acquire a higher education. A select school of this character was instituted in Baraboo as early as 1856-57, by the Rev. Warren Cochran. The class was formed and received instructions in the old Congregational Church, an ancient-looking brick structure that has almost outlived its usefulness. Out of this select school
*Increase owing to appropriation for building purposes. +No report.
1879.
5,049
4,620
914
692
312
259
1869
*6,820
1,932
675
566
1854
.
532
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.
grew what was known as the Baraboo Collegiate Institute, an institution whose day is also of the past. The institute was formally established in the fall of 1858, being located in " the old feed store," now occupied as a harness-shop by A. Ringting. It was regularly incorporated, though the act of incorporation is not dated until four years later (March 23, 1863). Section 1 of the act provides that " D. P. Crandall, Herbert Huntington, Terrell Thomas, C. A. Clark, C. C. Cowles, E. Martin, and their successors, are hereby created a body corporate under the name and style of the Baraboo Collegiate Institute, and shall be trustees of said corporation for the purpose of maintaining and conducting an institution of learning ; * to appoint the requisite professors and teachers, and to grant such literary honors and degrees as they may deem proper; provided that the advantages and honors of the institution shall be alike attaina- able by both sexes." It was further provided that the property of the institution and the lands, not exceeding twenty-five acres, should be exempt from taxation, and that no test of a sectarian character be required of any officer, professor, teacher or student connected therewith.
The Collegiate Institute opened under auspices of the most flattering nature, and at once took rank among the educational institutions of the country. Mr. Cochran assumed charge as Principal, while Miss Savage, now Mrs. A. B. Benham, of Kansas, filled the position of Pre- ceptress. Miss Savage had but recently taught a select school for girls, established and main- tained by the Presbyterian Church. She came to Baraboo from Vermont, through the medium of an educational society formed in that State, for the purpose of sending teachers into the wilds of the West, to instruct the children of frontiersmen. A. L. Burnham was also one of the original teachers in the institute, occupying the position of Professor of Mathematics. Prof. Burnham remained one term. The trustees, encouraged by the liberal patronage bestowed upon the institute, purchased ground and built upon it an edifice* better calculated to meet the re- quirements of students and teachers. About the time of its first occupation, Principal Cochran was succeeded by Prof. Pillsbury, who soon after fell heir to a fortune through the death of a brother, and returned to New York. Prof. Hobart, now in the school-book and school-furniture business in St. Louis, then became the Principal, and held the position until 1866, when Prof. J. S. Kimball, a graduate of Dartmouth College, took charge, and soon afterward purchased the institution of the Trustees and carried it on as a private enterprise. The school continued to flourish and was well patronized until the opening of the present free high school, when par- ents, for obvious reasons, naturally withdrew their children from the institute, and it gradually passed away, being now numbered in the vast category of things that were. In its time, how- ever, it served an excellent purpose, and many of the citizens of Sauk County have cause to remember it with pleasure.
Miss Crandall's Select School .-- In 1875, Miss Grace Crossman opened a select school for children in Mrs. Elliott's dwelling, and introduced some of the minor features of the kindergarten system so common and popular in Germany. The school was the natural outgrowth of the over- crowded condition of the primary departments of the public schools at the time, and soon became well patronized. At the end of a year, Miss K. M. Crandall joined Miss Crossman as an assistant. The latter subsequently retired, leaving Miss Crandall in charge. The school was soon afterward removed to the institute building, and now has an average attendance of twenty- five pupils. Aside from the kindergarten features, the course of study is not unlike that in vogue in the public schools. Children between the ages of four and eleven years are eligible to admission as pupils at the very moderate tuition of $4 per term of ten weeks.
In 1864, Miss M. M. Nethaway, whose name, it will be observed, frequently appears in the roll of teachers already given, opened a private school for primary pupils, and taught with marked success until the opening of the graded school.
In the fall of 1867, Miss Rose P. Thrall, an Ohio lady, came to Baraboo and opened a school in Taylor's Hall, then being occupied by the Episcopalians as a place of public worship. The Rev. Mr. Hudson, of the Episcopal Church, took an active interest in this school, teaching a class in Latin and music and conducting daily religious exercises. In March, 1869, Miss
*The one now occupied by Miss Crandall's private school.
533
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.
Thrall withdrew from the school, Mr. Hudson and his wife taking charge of it. The school was then removed to one of the buildings purchased by the church in 1868.
RELIGIOUS.
The first sermon preached in the Baraboo Valley of which there is any record, was by the Rev. T. M. Fullerton, a Methodist itinerant, on the 16th of October, 1841, in the log cabin of William Hill, which stood ten or fifteen rods east of what was then known as Draper's Mill, " located half a mile above the ford on the Baraboo River." The sermon was from 2 Corinthians, V, 20, and there were eleven persons present, none of whom professed Christianity except Mr. Draper, who was a Baptist. On the 6th of February, 1842, Mr. Fullerton formed a Methodist class, consisting of Solomon Shaffer (leader), Ollie Shaffer and Parmelia Gibson. On the 10th of April following, Mrs. Mary J. Hill joined the class, and was therefore the first con- vert to religion in the valley. A second class of this denomination appears to have been organized in 1843. It consisted of six members, four of whom were Lorrin Cowles, Ralph Cowles, and Solomon Shafer and wife. Rev. A. M. Badger, who had but recently been appointed to the Sauk Prairie Mission, officiated on this occasion, and for some time thereafter held stated meetings here. Services were first held in private houses, and afterward in the court house. In 1848, James A. Maxwell, Peter Losey and A. Crawford were elected a Board of Trustees, and a year later Baraboo was set off from the Sauk Mission and made a separate charge, under the name of the Adams Mission, the Rev. Asa Wood being appointed Pastor. Mr. Wood received for his first year's services $117.91, including $50 donated by the Missionary Society. The number of members at its organization into a mission was sixteen, as followr : Alexander Crawford and wife, James A. Maxwell and wife, C. A. Clark and wife, E. Langdon and wife, J. M Clark and wife, Mrs. Chauncey Brown, B. L. Purdy, Charles Stanley, Ralph Cowles, Mrs. James Crawford and Mrs. C. M. Adams. About this time, it was decided to build a church edifice, and the society at once took measures with that end in view. It was in midwinter, but cold weather had no terrors for this little band of Christian workers. Clearing away the snow from the ground, they erected a rough board building, 24x36 feet, sheathed both inside and outside with unplaned inch boards and filled in between with sawdust. A rough board pulpit and seats were also improvised, and in less than three weeks from the day they first cleared the snow away they were holding a protracted meeting in their primitive house of wor- ship. It was the first church building in Baraboo. It stood on the corner of the lot now occu- pied by the present Methodist Church edifice. In 1851, the name of the mission was changed to Baraboo, and steps were taken toward building a new church edifice, which was completed in 1853, being dedicated August 26, of that year, by the Rev. Bishop Levi Scott, of Wilmington, Del. In 1864, it was enlarged to its present dimensions, 36x74 feet.
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