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 96
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The Catholics in the neighborhood organized a parish and built a church in 1862. James Douglas, Frank Kernan, Henry Martin and their families and Frank Byrne were among the first members of the parish. The church edifice cost about $300. Peter Montague was the first Pastor. He came from Linden Station twice each month, on an average. After he came H. Steeley, who presided over a charge in the town of Westford, Richland County, from which place the pulpit has since been supplied. The Revs. Bow, Bernard and Metzler have officiated for stated terms in the order in which their names appear. There are about sixty families be- longing to the parish.
In December, 1864. Reedsburg Lodge, No. 79, A., F. & A. M., resolved to remove to Ironton. Meetings were held in Ironton, the old officers of the lodge officiating, until June 9, 1865, when the name was changed to Ironton Lodge, No. 79. Charles Keith, E. M. Tout, B. G. Paddock and B. F. Blackman were among the original members. The present officers are James Harrison, W. M .; S. Andrews, S. W .; Charles Sands, J. W .; A. Blakeslee, Secretary ; E. J. Lewis, Treasurer. The lodge numbers about thirty-five members.
Ironton Lodge, No. 130. I. O. O. F., was organized in October, 1867, the charter being granted early in 1868. The first members were W. W. Kester, J. Karstetter, H. A. Sturges,
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M. Pearson, M. Kester, Archibald Mallon, John Atkinson and J. G. Blakeslee. There are now twenty-five members. W. W. Kester was the first Noble Grand; Fred Rabuck is the present.
Besides the institutions already mentioned, there are in Ironton two general stores, one hardware store, one boot and shoe store, one drug store, one milliner's store, one hotel and three wagon and blacksmith shops. The village is delightfully situated on the Little Baraboo, over- looking beautiful valleys and overlooked by picturesque hills.
TOWN OF EXCELSIOR AND VILLAGE OF ABLEMANS.
Originally, the town of Excelsior was included in the town of Baraboo. In December, 1857, the town of Excelsior was formed, as it exists at present, from parts of the towns of Free- dom and Dellona The settlement of the territory now included in the town commenced as early as 1846 or 1847, with the coming of the following individuals: E. H. Hubbard, William, James and Archie Christie, Edward Kingsley,* Jacob Vanloon,* Winslow Braley, Joseph Vanloon, A. W. Starks,* Hattle Braley, Alexander Finley,* Daniel* and George Paddock, John Foster, Charles Riflerod,* L. M. Burt, George and Alexander Douglass, Nathaniel Chapman, * Isaac Morley, William Hudson, Isaac and Thomas Metcalf, Joseph Pimley (now of Baraboo), William Arden,* Philip Cheek, Sr., Joseph Rothwell, Ike Britton, John Johnson,* William Martin, Ruben Kipp,* Horatio Jones, John Sanborn,* Col. S. V. R. Ableman,* Levi Colton, * Maj. Charles H. Williams (now of Baraboo), Messrs. Wetherby, Davis, Sheppard and others. Don Carlos Barry,* who is accredited with having been the first settler in the town of Reedsburg, is said to have had a claim on Section 7, in the town of Excelsior, and was engaged in copper mining when the land in this locality was being first surveyed. The section upon which Mr. Barry was located was returned by the Government officers as mineral land. George Handy* was also an early settler in the town of Excelsior. He built a large frame house just east of where Ableman's Station is now, and called it the Massachusetts House. Mr. Handy was a Massachusetts man. Jonathan Knowles, now a resident of Ableman's, deserves especial men- tion as a pioneer of Excelsior. He came to the town in 1847, and, in 1848, while living on a farm on Section 21, had the misfortune to lose his wife. Hers was the death of the first white woman in this region. A man who was engaged with the surveyors the year previous (1846), and whose name is not remembered, is said to have died on this section, near a spring, which was afterward known as Dead Man's Spring, so named by James Babb.
Ablemans .- In 1851, Col. S. V. R. Ableman, having made an examination of the country, arrived at the conclusion that, when the iron horse penetrated Sauk County, the most natural outlet to the Northwest would be through the Upper Narrows of the Baraboo Valley, and that this point would be a favorable location for a village and a permanent home. Acting in accordance with this belief, he settled on the east side of the Baraboo River, and commenced the work of building a frame house, hauling the timber therefor from Baraboo. He first put up a log shanty on an elevation near the site of the railroad tool-house, and here his family resided for seven weeks, this rude edifice also furnishing shelter for half a dozen carpenters and others employed by the Colonel upon his frame building, which, when finished, was the third house on the road from Baraboo to Reedsburg. Gen. A. W. Starks soon afterward built a house a mile west, and, in 1853, Maj. Charles H. Willians made a location and put up a house a few rods east of the Colonel's. E. C. Watson (who afterward became the son-in-law of Col. Ableman), Peter Mattheys, John Moistard, William Wademan and Stephen Pearl were the early settlers in Ablemans. Mr. Mattheys' was the first house built on the west side of the river on land within the present limits covered by the village plat. William Wademan and Hannah Moistard were the first persons united in marriage in the village. In 1857, Col. Abelman built a saw-mill on Narrows Creek, a few rods above the junction of that stream with the Baraboo. In 1861, he
* Dead.
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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.
enlarged the building and added machinery for a grist-mill, hauling the apparatus over bad roads from Kilbourn, which place the La Crosse road had just reached. The Colonel carried on these mills until 1875, when the management of them passed to Alexander McDonald. From Mc- Donald, the property passed to E. W. Gilmore and N. W. Dean, who continued to run the mills until the beginning of the present year.
A district school was organized in Ableman about 1856-57. Maria Welton was the first teacher, and the cabin built by Col. Ableman to accommodate his workmen during. the construc- tion of his framc dwelling, was converted to the purpose of a schoolhouse, being therefore not only the first house in the place, but also the first temple of learning in these parts. It was here that Philip Cheek, Jr., the present efficient District Attorney of Sauk County, was wont to exhort his fellow-students in the Sabbath school class that assembled here on Sundays, and point out the moral way to them ; and it was here, also, that in later years, he expounded theological doctrines to older people, and, they say, did it in a manner creditable to the cloth. In 1871, a new schoolhouse was erected at a cost of $650. There are about 100 children in the district. The old schoolhouse was in use for many years, and for a long time was church and hall as well.
There are two church organizations in the village; the German Baptists and the German Lutherans. The former was organized some twenty years ago, it is believed, at the house of old man Stackmann, who was a leading member. Among the first members of this church besides Mr. Stackmann, may be mentioned Charles, Henry and William Manthey, August Marquart, Fred Luepke, Jacob Schmeltzer, M. Rindfleisch, Christ. Graetzka, Jacob Felske, Adam Oegel, and others. The society was formed in connection with a similar organization in North Free- dom, from which place it is now regularly supplied. In 1874, a church edifice was built at a cost of $700.
In 1872, the German Lutherans organized a society with the Rev. C. Kessler as Pastor. Mr. Kessler belonged in the town of Westfield and made stated visits to Ablemans. H. Heit- mann, Adam Schuster, E. Bender, J. Pfoff and William Bartenbach were among the first mem- bers. The Rev. Mr. Brueckner is the present Pastor. The membership is given at twenty-five families. Meetings are held in the public schoolhouse.
The English Methodists have a church building about two miles west of the village.
In the way of hotels, Ablemans is particularly well-supplied. The history of these institu- tions begins in 1864, when M. B. Waltz built the first house entitled to recognition as a hotel. Then came the Charter House, built by Col. Ableman in 1868. It was christened in 1870, at. a memorable feast held within its walls, the occasion being the celebration of the success of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad line, which was then 'approaching the place. Col. Ableman, it is known, took an active part, with others, in securing the charter for the Baraboo Valley Air Line road, and, as is also known, the present line of road had its inception in this charter. The Charter House was therefore appropriately named. It is the principal hotel in the place, having twenty-three guests' rooms, and one of the most amiable landladies in the land. Mr. and Mrs. Watson are perfectly at home in Ablemans, and succeed admirably in making others so at the Charter House.
The Schulte House also stands above the average village hotel. It was built ten years ago by Edward Duschades, who soon sold it to Henry Wested, and Mr. Wested in turn sold to the present proprietor, F. C. Schulte. The house contains fifteen sleeping-rooms.
In 1874, William Hinrichs built a small hotel and saloon opposite the Schulte House, and does something in the way of entertaining the public.
The post office was established in Ablemans in the fall or winter of 1871, soon after the railroad reached the place. Prior to that time, Col. Ableman was provisional Postmaster; that is to say, the mail was brought from Baraboo, perhaps twice a week, and deposited in a large box at the Colonel's home. The citizens came and helped themselves. Samuel Carpenter, now Postmaster at North Freedom, was the first Postmaster here. He kept the office in his tin- shop. William Sallade succeeded Postmaster Carpenter, and removed the office to his store.
4
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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.
Louis Goedecke is the present incumbent. The office is located in the store of Fey & Co., A. Fey being Deputy Postmaster.
One of the leading institutions in Ablemans is the steam stave-factory of Abram Walton, established in the fall of 1874. The product of this factory is what is known as " tight work," that is, material for pork barrels. The principal shipments are made to Winterbottom & Son, Joliet, Ill.
Another industry, although not peculiar to the village of Ablemans, but which furnishes employment to a large number of men, and ultimately increases the prosperity of both, is the quarrying of sandstone from the imposing heights north of the place, for use in railway con- struction.
Two miles west of the village, on Narrows Creek, is located a first-class flouring-mill, owned by N. Carpenter, and built in 1879. It is located on the site known as the " Rocky Rice " place. It was here that Joseph Rice built a saw-mill in 1853, in a narrow, rocky gorge, through which Narrows Creek flows. The plenitude of rocks in the vicinity was perhaps the means of suggesting an alliterative title for Mr. Rice. The old saw-mill was destroyed by fire in 1860.
Ableman & Watson built and conducted the first store in the village. John G. Stein was the next merchant who established a store here. The firm of Fey & Goedecker was the next mercantile establishment to solicit a "share of public patronage." Then came the firm of Sal- lade, Son & Pearl (Dr. Sallade, now of Reedsburg, his son William and William Pearl). E. S. Pierce is the latest acquisition in this respect. The business portion of the village now consists of two stores, three hotels, one stave-mill, one grist-mill and one saw-mill (not in operation), two blacksmith-shops, two wagon-shops, two religious societies, one public school, one post office, one meat market, one shoe-shop and one grain and produce dealer. The village was platted by Col. Ableman in 1853, and re-platted in 1879 by E. W. Gilmore, the latter being the only plat recorded.
The place is beautifully situated at the base of the famous Baraboo quartzite range, in full view of the romantic and wonderful spot known as the Upper Narrows. The surroundings are cheerful and grandly picturesque.
VILLAGE AND TOWN OF DELTON-NEWPORT.
The village of Delton is admirably situated within convenient access of some of the mos remarkable and awe-inspiring natural wonders to be found in the State. Congress Hall and Mirror Lake are already renowned far beyond the borders of Wisconsin. Both of these places are fully described in a preceding chapter. The settlement of the village of Delton commenced over thirty years ago, with the coming of Levi Huntington, Edward Norris,* Jacob Adams, Jared Fox,* Alexander Vosler and the Toppings (Elijah H., Eber and the Rev. Henry*). Mr. Huntington built the first frame liouse in the place. Prior to this, Mr. Vosler put up a board shanty to shelter a few men engaged upon the first mill building. The list of first settlers here may be continued as follows : Rufus Orne, Jerome Marble, * James Rickon, Diah Remington, A. H. Thomson, C. H. Foote, Jacob Rice,* Harvey Bowman, Charles Young,* James Vail, Thompson Wallace, George Morehouse,* E. B. Bullis,* Darwin Woodward,* S. S. Barlow, D. B. H. Wilder, John Leach,* Roderick Coe,* Charles Duval, Norman Nickerson, the Pearsons, Carlos Gould, Jonathan Bowman, Dr. G. W. Jenkins, Horace Duryea, C. M. Ashley, Herrick Bailey, Elder Dickens and many others whose names are not remembered.
The people of the village and town of Delton are particularly proud of their longevity, and the community boasts of a greater number of persons who have passed fourscore years than can be found in any other section of the country of equal size and population. As Squire Keyes tersely expresses it, "the people never die ; they dry up and blow away." ,The nocturnal " blizzard " has no terrors for the Squire, however, and he is in good condition to withstand, for somne time to come, the violence of the gale.
*Dead.
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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.
In considering the institutions of Delton, it is proper that we should begin with the lower mill power. A dam and saw-mill were constructed here, in 1850, by Fox & Topping. A grist-mill was erected the following winter, and put in operation in March, 1851. Messrs. Fox & Topping carried on both these institutions until about 1861-62, when thev sold to John L. Ward. Two years later, Mr. Ward died, and the administrators of the estate sold to Jacob H. Adams, one of the substantial pioneers of Delton. Mr. Adams ran the mills probably two years, and sold to John E. Winkenwerder. Under an execution of the Sheriff, it soon after- ward passed to the hands of T. M. Warren, and, in 1877, Mr. Adams purchased the property and is its present owner.
The " Upper Mill," located on one of the best water-powers in the State, was built in 1860 by Labar & Boorman. Under their management it was run until 1872, when F. Dorn became the purchaser, Boorman having previously sold to Mr. Labar. Dorn ran it a year, when he traded it to J. H. Adams, the present proprietor. It is one of the finest grist-mills in the county.
In 1858, J. H. Adams and Charles Clement built a machine-shop and foundry on Spring Brook, and carried it on about five years, when Adams sold to S. Clement, a brother of Charles. They soon afterward took in E. G. Chase, who, at the end of a year, bought out the Clements. In 1871, Mr. Chase sold to J. H. Adams, who, in turn, traded it to William P. Harvey. In the meantime, the foundry portion had been suspended. The next proprietors were Peter Flickner and S. K. Ayers. It is now owned by Frank Hulbert. Mr. Hulbert now manu- factures fanning-inills and does planing.
In 1862, J. H. Adams built a second foundry, this time on the Lower Dam. He has since added a machine-shop, and both concerns are in successful operation.
Last, but not least, of the industrial institutions of Delton, is the steam sorghum mill of J. T. Huntington. It is the largest concern of the kind in the county, and, probably, in the State, having a capacity of 250 gallons per day. A large area of the surrounding country has, of late years, been devoted to the raising of sugar cane, and the capacity of Mr. Huntington's mill is severely tried. At the present writing (October, 1880), the mill is being run day and night. The necessity for this is manifest in the constant arrival of material to be worked up. Mr. Huntington intends attaching sugar-refining machinery to the institution, and a portion of next year's crop will be made into sugar.
A post office was established at Delton in 1850, with Jared Fox as Postmaster. It was' called Lorretto, in honor of the wife of Edward Norris, whose given naine was Lorretto. Mr. Norris was a prominent and highly respected citizen. It was he who first platted the village. Postmaster Fox kept the office in his bedroom in Norris's house, and, when Topping & Fox established a store in the village, it was removed to their place of business. The successors of Mr. Fox have been Elijah Topping, J. N. Vandervear, Charles Topping and Levi Huntington, the latter being the present incumbent. Mr. Huntington was appointed to the position in May, 1855, and has held the office almost continuously. He was out about twenty months, having been deposed by that " political calamity " who occupied the Presidential chair prior to the inauguration of the martyred Lincoln. S. F. Newman was the choice of Buchanan. Mr. Huntington was re-appointed in 1861.
The first school in the village was established in 1850, in a building put up by subscrip- tion. It stood on the north side of Adams street, and is now a part of the residence of L. D. Clements. Philander Fenton was the first teacher in this temple of learning. The old house answered the purpose for which it was built for five or six years, when the district erected a brick schoolhouse, the one now in use. To this a wing was added in 1867. Two departments are now maintained in this school, there being, at present, ninety-one pupils on the roll. The town of Delton is now divided into ten districts, each having a good schoolhouse. There are 323 pupils in the town. One of the scholastic institutions of the past in Delton was the Acad- emy, built in 1853. It suspended in 1865, and the building is now used as a Methodist Church.
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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.
The first hotel in Delton was a board shanty built in 1849, by Alexander Vosler. In the fall of 1850, Mr. Vosler built the Delton House, and soon afterward traded it to Justice Frear for a farm. Frear sold it to Fox & Duval, and, after passing through several hands, it was pur- chased, in 1872, by E. D. Montanye. Mr. Montanye died about four years ago, and the house is now managed by his widow.
The Baptists organized the first church in Delton, about 1850, with the Rev. Henry Top- ping as Pastor. This denomination was very powerful until about 1865, when the organization went down. The society built the Delton Academy and carried on a good school for a number of years, with Prof. James Haskell as Principal. The Rev. Mr. Conrad succeeded Mr. Topping as Pastor of the church, and was himself succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Green, the last Pastor in charge.
The Methodists organized at an early day, and held meetings in the primitive schoohouse. In 1865, they purchased the Delton Academy building, and occupy it at the present time, liav- ing made improvements in the structure. The Rev. A. F. Thompson is the Pastor.
The Adventists organized a society about a year ago, with the Rev. L. H. Cook as Pastor. They hold their meetings in the Masons' Hall.
The Wesleyan Methodists had an organization here at an early day. They were wont to assemble in the schoolhouse and listen to Elder Magee, whose stentorian voice penetrated the walls of every house in the village and came back in echo from the walls of Mirror Lake like blasts from the horn of Gabriel. Physically, the Elder was immense.
In 1857, a Masonic Lodge was instituted in the village of Newport. It was then known as Dells Lodge, No. 78. Upon the decline and fall of Newport, the lodge was removed to Del- ton, where the order have a hall and building. There are twenty-three members. J. T. Hunt- ington is the present Master ; C. H. Foote, S. W. ; G. E. Adams, J. W. ; J. R. Lawsha, Treas- urer and J. C. Vosler, Secretary.
The Good Templars have a lodge of seventy-four members (Eureka Lodge, No. 425), with P. Fickner as W. C. T .; Mary Fickner, V. C. T., and J. C. Vosler, L. D. There is also a Temple of Honor in Delton.
Although the citizens of Delton have but little use for a cemetery, they are, nevertheless, . supplied, in case of accident. The first death in the vicinity is said to have been that of a man named Bushkirk, who was killed in an altercation with a man named Osborne. The locality is an extremely healthy one, and death is a rare visitor.
The tourist who fails to "take in " all the natural wonders of the place, will have lost an opportunity to witness some remarkable sights. Congress Hall is near at hand, and Dr. Jones will pilot you through if he has to swim. And if he should be fortunate enough to escape being drowned, he will get up steam on the "Fleetwood " in the afternoon, and you may behold the beauties of Mirror Lake and visit Fern Glen, a natural amphitheater and a charming re- sort.
A correspondent for a Milwaukee paper, who visited Delton in 1866, thus spoke of the place :
" This is a small but pleasant village some three miles south of Kilbourn. It has a voting population of about 300. Of these, there were only four votes cast for the Democratic ticket at the last election. When the St. Paul road was being constructed through this region, it was expected it would pass through this place, but failed to do so, and Kilbourn got the prize instead ; consequently, the village has increased but little of late years. If the inhabitants were disappointed in the railroad matter, they are in part compensated in being free from the mixed and floating population a railroad always brings with it. Two small streams run through the town, which afford water-power facilities. These are improved by a machine shop and foundry owned by Messrs. Clement & Chase, who manufacture heavy and light castings, cooking, parlor, office and hop stoves, fanning mills, plows, sleigh-shoes, castings for woolen mills, etc., and do a great deal of job work in their line. They have a fall of water of twenty feet, and use an overshot wheel of nine horse-power. They also manufacture Ayers & Wilder's fanning-mill
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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.
and the Ladde water-wheel, a small but very effective cast-iron wheel, designed to work under water.
" The other is the Dell Creek, on which is the flouring-mill of Horace La Bar, who operates three runs of stones, and manufactures 200 barrels of flour per week, which he ships to Chicago. On the same stream is the flouring and grist mill of J. H. Adams & Co., who have three runs of stones, and put up flour at the rate of 100 barrels per week for the Milwaukee market. Mr. Adams also has a foundry, which he opened last spring. It is devoted, principally, to the man- ufacture of hop stoves. With him is associated J. D. Grout. Mr. Adams and Mr. A. G. Low, have just erected a two-story building for a woolen-factory, which they intend to have in opera- tion for the next year's clip of wool.
" There are here, also, a drug store and post office, kept by Levi Huntington, who has held the office for ten years, with an interim of ten months during Buchanan's administration. J. Shaw has the largest store in the place, purchasing a portion of his goods in Milwaukee. The only other store is kept by J. M. Clement, who purchases wholly in Milwaukee. Mr. Clement was, for four years of the war, in the 12th Regiment, and is now a cripple from wounds received at Atlanta. A. H. Thompson carries on the manufacture of farm wagons. He is an old settler and a reliable citizen. W. P. Thatcher is the village blacksmith. The public house is kept by T. Frear as the Union Hotel. E. B. Bullis is the Justice of the Peace. Judge S. S. Barlow resides here, and is the member of Assembly from this district. There is one meeting-house, which is occupied by the Methodists, with Rev. Mr. McGinley as Pastor. The Unitarians have a society, under the charge of Rev. H. Norton. The Advent believers also hold a Sabbath meet- ing. The village is situated in the midst of a hop-growing locality. Many farmers whose places were under railroad mortgage, have been enabled to get out of their embarrassment through the profits on their hops."
Newport .- The glory of Newport will ever live in the memory of those who participated in the unequal struggle which resulted in its rise and fall. The hopes of the people who made invest- ments here twenty-five years ago were blasted in an over-abundance of confidence in the integ- rity of Byron Kilbourn. Dr. Jones, now of Delton, was one of the sufferers. He states that at one time there were 1,200 people living in Newport and the little settlement over the river, all anxiously and confidently awaiting the advent of the iron horse, having received positive assur- ances from the railroad managers that the La Crosse & Milwaukee road would cross the river at that point. Hotels, stores, schools, churches and dwellings were reared and occupied, village lots sold for from $200 to $300 each, and everybody was happy. The citizens got a charter for a dam, and were about to harness the old " Wisconse " to turbine wheels, but they were induced to make over the charter to the Wisconsin Hydraulic Company, composed chiefly of railroad directors, who immediately obtained an amendment permitting them to remove the site to Kil- bourn. This was the beginning of the end. Newport went into a decline, from which it never recovered.
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