Dane County, Wisconsin - Chapter 14: Madison As. an Incorporated Village, 1880

Chapter 14: Madison As. an Incorporated Village

Ho«' IT WAS Incorporated - Village Officers from 1846 to 1855 - Madison in 1846 - Who Kept Boarders in 1846 - Madison Academy- Madison Hydraulic Power - The Beginning OF Madison's Real Prosperity - Recollections of the Incorporated Village - Madison in 1851 - The Village a Quarter of a Century Ago - A Building Mania - Additions and Re-Plats - Population at Different Periods - L. J. Parwell.

On the 5th of December, 1845, a public meeting was held in Madison to take into consideration the propriety of having the village incorporated, of which meeting C. D. Finch was Chairman, and Simeon Mills Secretary. It was resolved that Mr. Mills, together with S. P. Blanchard, John Catlin and James Morrison, be appointed a committee to draft an act of incorporation to be presented to the next Territorial Legislature for its consideration. Accordingly, an act was passed, which was approved February 3, 1846, constituting Madison an incorporated village. The first two sections of the act were as follows :

" Section 1. - That all that district of country included in the town plat of Madison, in the County of Bane and Territory of Wisconsin, shall hereafter be known and distinguished by the name of the village of Madison, and the inhabitants residing or who may hereafter reside within the limits. of said town plat are hereby constituted a body corporate by the name of 'the President and Trustees of the village of Madison,' and by that name they and their successors forever shall and may have perpetual succession, and shall be persons in law capable of suing and being sued, pleading and being impleaded, answering and being answered unto, defending and being defended, in all courts and places and in all suits whatever.

" Sec. 2. - It shall be lawful for all free white male inhabitants of said village, over the age of twenty-one years, to meet at the Supreme Court room on the first Monday of March next, at 10 o'clock A. M. of said day, and choose viva voce two Judges of Election and one Clerk, and elect, by ballot, one President (who shall be ex oflScio Trustee), six Trustees, one Treasurer, one Assessor, one Clerk and one Marshal."

The following are the names of the officers elected at the first election in 1846 and at each annual election thereafter until the " Incorporated Village of Madison" became the " City of Madison : "

1848 - A. L. Collins, President ; J. C. Fairchild, J. P. Mann, Chauncey Abbott, William luncheon, Henry C. Parker and Daniel Mallo, Trustees ; J. R. Brigham, Clerk ; I. W. Bird, Treasurer; A. Main, Assessor. ^ ' ' ,

1850 - W. N. Seymour, President; D. Holt, S. Mills, D. H. Wright and A. A?. Bird, S. F. Hurm and Jehu H. Lewis, Trustees ; G. M. Oakley, Treasurer; W. C. Wells, Marshal' E. M. Williamson, Assessor. Mr. Stoner appears as a Trustee May 6, 1850.

1851 - Simeon Mills, President ; L. J. Parwell, A. A. Bird, William Welch, H. A. Tenney, David H. Wright and David Holt, Trustees ; E. Burdick, Clerk ; Darwin Clark, Treasurer ; James Richardson, Assessor ; A. Bishop, Marshal.

1852 - Chauncey Abbott, President ; H. A. Tenney,. F. G. Tibbets, E. L. Varney, P. H, Van Bergen, M. Friend and Edward Fisher, Trustees ; Robert L. Ream, Clerk ; J. J. Starks, Treasurer ; J. D. Welch, Marshal ; A. Bishop, Assessor.

1853 - H. A. Tenney, President ; F. G, Tibbets, L. Cannon, Casper Zwickey, A. Wilcox, D. Atwood and B. F. O'Brien, Trustees ; W. Welch, Clerk ; J. J. Starks, Treasurer; L. W! Hoyt, Assessor; A. Manning, Marshal.

1854 - Simeon Mills, President ; P. H. Van Bergen, George C. Albee, G. M. Oakley (C, Weed to fill vacancy of Oakley), M. Friend, James Livesey and A. Bishop, Trustees ; D. N, Johnson, Clerk; M. Cleary, Treasurer; D. C. Bush, Assessor; I. B. Brown, Marshal.

The population of Madison in 1846 was over 600. Two- thirds of the village plat was covered with forest trees and hazel brush. Not over half a dozen houses had been erected westward or northward of the capitol square ; and the forest northeastward remained unbroken below the street on which the old jail was located. East and West King street (now State street), a part of Morris (now Main street), and those immediately around the square,. comprised about all the streets opened for travel. Such was the appearance of the village in 1846, and for two years thereafter its growth was not rapid.

Notwithstanding the village was small, there was considerable business transacted. A writer of that day says : " Madison, the capital of Wisconsin, is exhibiting signs of business and prosperity really surprising. During a stay of two days at the Madison Hotel, last week, we found an average of one hundred persons at the table at every meal. It is the most lovely location imaginable, and nothing can prevent its becoming, at an early day, a city in population and business, as well as in name. Some idea may be formed of the progressive strides of the village and adjacent country from the fact that in 1842 the whole county contained but about seven hundred inhabitants, which it is expected the census of the present month will make ten thousand.

"We take leave to add, that besides having three well-conducted newspapers, the place has many valuable stores. The -library of the Territory is there, and is excellent ; and the Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Catholics all have regular worship there. Reposing, as it does, between two as lovely lakes as are to be seen anywhere, Madison is one of the most enchanting spots in the Republic. As the poet has it :

The low and level stretch of land lying between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, on the east side of the village, so frequently at an early day covered with water in the early springtime, had, in 1846, received little improvement. Concerning this portion of the plat, and some other parts at that date, Julius T. Clark writes : ,

" The first real and at all successful attempt to redeem this flat from the water was made by Gov. Farwell, in connection with the German Baron Mohr, by means of ditching and planting trees, about 1849-50. The low land on the south side of the town, extending from tne

Third Lake (Monona), by the Fourth Ward School building around to the north of the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien depot grounds, was also for a long time covered more or less with water, and, in some portions, was impassable at all times.

' "I do not know the exact number of the population of Madison when I came, but it was quite small, as the census for that year (1840) showed the population of the whole of Dane County including Madison, to be only 314. The growth of thetown from the time I became a citizen was not very rapid for several years. Even in 1846, when I commenced my improvements on Blocks 94 and 95, on the banks of the Fourth Lake, it was the first instance in which any improvement had been made in that part of the town, and almost the first on the northwest side of the Capitol Park. Even after I had completed and was occupying my house, my friends would jokingly ask me how I liked my country life, and whether I had any diflSculty in finding my way back efnd forth. The brush which I grubbed out in clearing a place for my house was made into a fence, which answered a very good purpose for some time in that capacity."

Who Kept Boaedbrs In .1846

The first Constitutional Convention assembled in Madison October 5, 1846. Of the memhers and oflScers present, seven boarded at Mrs. Shackelford's ; five at Mr. Van Bergen's ; thirty at the Madison Hotel ; eleven at D. Holt's; twenty at the American ; one at the. Lake House; two at Mr. Parker's ; four at Rev. Mr. Miner's; one at Mr. Wilson's; six at Mrs. Stark's; ten at the National Hotel; four at Mr. Fairchild's; two at Mr. Skinner's; five at Mrs. Brigham's ; six at Squire Seymour's ; three at home ; three at J. G. Knapp's ; and one at the Rev. S. McHugh's. '

An act of the Territorial Legislature was passed and approved January 26, 1844, incorporating the Madison Academy: J...D. Weston, David Irwin, Simeon Mills, A. A. Bird, John -Catlin, A. L. Collins, W. W. Wyman, J. Y. Smith and J. G. Knapp, incorporators ; and, on February 22, 1845, an act was approved allowing the county of Dane the sum of $2,616, being the amount expended by the county in the completion of the capitql, payable out of any money in the Territorial treasury, provided that amount should be paid to the Board of County Commissioners of the county, to be by them appropriated exclusively for the purpose of building an academy in the village of Madison, the Territory, by payment of that sum, to be fully discharged from all liability for the money thus expended. Out of this amount, the sum of $400 was appropriated to A. A. Bird, the contractor. By the conditions of the act, a vote of the citizens of Madison was required to be taken on the matter. The village having voted in favor of receiving the before-mentioned sum, a.n amendatory act was passed February 3, 1846, authorizing the Madison Academy to receive from the county the amount referred to.

The incorporators organized in 1846, procured a subscrijition to the capital stock, and the stockholders organized in December of that vear by the election of John Catlin, President ; Simeon Mills, Daniel B. Sneden and Henry C. Parker, Trustees, and William N. Seymour, superintendent.

well, as Principal, which was maintained for several years, the ^-^^^ "°'^®' *^® property was sold to the School Board of the city of Madison, and

Madison Hydraulic Power. '

The Trustees of the village, on the 23d of March, 1846, published proposals to leaae the hydraulic power -within the corporation limits, as follows :

Whereas, It has been ascertained by measurement that there is within the corporation limits of Madison a fall or difference of elevation between the Third and Fourth Lakes, sufficient, if improved, to create a water-power of con. siderable magnitude; and, whereas, the Legislature of this Territory did,.by an act approved February 3, 1846, grant to the corporation of Madison the right to lease, improve or otherwise dispose of said water-power ; therefore.

Public notice is hereby given that the undersigned Board of Trustees of said corporation will receive proposals until the 1st day of June next for leasing the right to the water above mentioned for a term of years, on the condition that the lessee or lessees excavate and complete a canal, of forty feet in width at the bottom and fifty at thetop, from the Fourth to the Third Lake, along or near East Canal street, dam the present outlet of the Fourth Lake, build two good plank bridges across said canal, the one near the Third and the other near the Fourth Lake,' with a substantial railing to each, erect a good flouring-mill with at least four run of stone, and such otlier machinery as the lessee or lessees may see proper, all to be performed within a reasonable time, and bonds to be given to the Trustees of the corporation of Madison for the faithful prosecution and completion of said work. The Trustees wpuld state for the information of those who may desire to undertake the work, that they have caused a level to be taken, and that the engineer reports a difference of 3 71-100 feet between the water of the above-named lakes, with the opinion that, by the proper damming, this fall may be increased to five and a half or six feet. The distance between the lakes on the proposed route is about forty-eight chains, and the nature of the ground favorable for excavation. This cannot but create a great power, especially when it is considered that its head is a lake of some twenty miles in circumference. The undersigned have the utmost confidence in the practicability and advantages of the work, and feel that they can lease upon terms which will make it a most desirable object to any capitalist who may have the means, necessary tfr undertake its construction.

In reply to this, a proposition was made by Simeon Mills to lease the water-power for sixty years, which proposition was accepted. Subsequently, Mr. Mills had a careful survey mad& of the level of the lakes, and, not being satisfied with the result, abandoned the undertaking.

The Beginning Of Madison'S Real Prosperity

Until the year 1848, the growth of the village was slow, and many causes operated to retard its progress. Immediately after the location of the capital, all the lands in the vicinity were entered by speculators and non-residents, and lots and lands were held at a prospective value - much higher than they have reached at any time since. Many years and many vicissitudes were to be passed, however, before settlers gained much foothold. It was a hamlet in the midst of a mighty waste of natural fertility, and for a long period all supplies had to be wagoned for a distance of a hundred miles on either hand. It was not, indeed, until about this date, that the advancing settlers from East and "West met midway, and commenced the wonderful change which transferred the country into the garden and granary it has since become. The location being at a central point between the Mississippi and Lake Michigan, the advancing army of immigrants, on either hand, found a wide, fertile and beautiful extent of country, at that time nearer market, and therefore holding out superior attractions to the agriculturist. They did not, consequently, care to indulge the speculator's appetite for fancy prices. In the meantime, the fertile valley of the Rock River had been filled with settlers, and immigration began to turn into Dane County, which possesses a soil as bountiful and a surface as attractive as any county in the State, but which, before it was tapped by railroads, was too far from market to render the cultivation of the soil remunerative. .

The beginning of the real prosperity and growth of Madison commenced with the admission of the State into the Union in 1848. The Constitutional Convention then permanently located the capital here. Until this time, there had been fears of its removal, and cap had hesitated to invest their money in the vicinity.

I removed to Madison the day before Christmas, 1845, and opened the "National Hotel," on the site of the present Vilas House, and conducted the same on strictly temperance principles for several years.

Having opened housejust before the meeting of the Territorial Legislature, B. V. Whiton, who was then a member of the Council, came to me a stranger and selected a room for the session. I trust it will not be thought improper for me here to state that, on his coming to my house Mr. Whiton, who was a sound lawyer and otherwise a most excellent man, took his initial step in temperance reform and from which he never afterward departed, thus proving, contrary to general belief, that a sensible being can reform from any evil. He was subsequently Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, in which eminent position he lived till his death, deeply lamented and mourned by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. It was notorious, in those earlv times, that very many of the leading men then in the Territory were hail fellows well met, and given not a little to inebriety, to which habit, in general, they^adhered with hopeless tenacity ; and, to our sincere regret, candor compels us to say that some of our best men, by this indulgence, were driven down to a premature grave, and but few of this class now remain as the wasted mementoes of the reckless past.

Madison was now an incorporated village, and, the facilities for traveling and transportation having increased, the more careful and intelligent of her people saw the necessity of improvement, put forth all of their energy and enterprise to accomplish the same, although seriously opposed by the older settlers, whose minds had not yet become susceptible of progressive impressions by reason of their unhallowed indulgences. The capitol presented the sorrowful appearance of a State house under leaky circumstances, the court room of which was generally flooded after a rain. The Methodists occupied this room on Sundays, but the attendance was small, and the benefits smaller, if anything. Religion had not yet got a fair, square foothold among the sinners, some of whom were supposed to be invulnerable to good morals, and odious in character.

Besides the "National," there were two or three other notable hotels; the " Madison," kept for a time by a Mr. Clark, and others. Another was the American Hotel, run by the mimitable Jemmy Morrison, of whom many amusing anecdotes have been told. The City Hotel was kept by A. A. Bird. He was the man who, it was supposed, first saw the sun rise at Sun Prairie, throwing its luminous rays over the enchanting scenery of the embryo Madison, destined so soon to assume a position worthy of its location. He lived to see the day of its prosperity, and himself a poor man.

trade so as to be reasonable and acceptable to all concerned. As a whole, the people were alt that could be reasonably expected from their manner of life, the want of moral and religious instruction, and the depression of the times. It was the invariable custom of those who came in here at an early day to receive new comers with open hearts and outstretched arms. They were not only made welcome in an ordinary sense, but were embraced and loved as brethren, although entire strangers to each other, and who, on being thus kindly received and recognized soon felt themselves at home, and by perseverance and industry obtained a foundation for future prosperity.

Occasionally, in the course of time, men of wealth and means, with steady habits and progressive ideas, would come and settle down in our midst, and thus by littles the character of the people for moral and intellectual stability grew and was established in the then beautiful village, so early to become the loveliest city of the Northwest.

At the sessions of the Legislature there was little of lobbying done, because laws were easily obtained for legitimate purposes. No people more highly enjoyed life than did our solons and their constituents ; and, but for the native weakness of some of them, but little of an offensive character could have been justly charged against them. There were many noble geniuses among the early settlers at Madison and in its vicinity, in respect to whom, comparatively witii our best citizens from other parts of the Territory, our people bore an enviable position, morally, civilly and intellectually.

As a matter of fact, it may be stated, that from the least to the greatest intelligence among its citizens, all looked with emphatic assurance upon the certain prospect of Madison becoming the Queen City of Wisconsin ; and whose growing beauty, charming scenery and delightful surroundings were destined to outvie any possible competition. Some have lived to see the day when these fond anticipations have been fully realized, and which enables us now joyfully to refer to our beautiful Madison as our lovely " city, set upon a hill, whose light cannot be hid." We have often expressed the sentiment, and we have pleasure in repeating it right here, that whoever has heard of Madison, its unsurpassed beauty, grandeur and enchanting imagery, and has ability and means to go there, should never die until he has secured the sight, and enjoyed; the delights of its transporting, rapturous scenes.

There was a, number of religious societies just fairly beginning to assume a position as such, and amongst whom "the the ladies were not wanting in their exertions to give pecuniary aid and prosperity to their several denominations, by the institution of sewing circles and fairs for the promotion of church objects, at whose meetings the male population wore not backward in their attendance, and, for those times, were quite liberal in their weekly donations. As in all undertakings and projects of a benevolent and progressive character, women were the moving and untiring co-workers for accomplishing the objects of their noblest desires, so the ladies of Madison, in the infancy of their churches, labored and toiled with unremitting energy and perseverance, until their accumulations gave not only a foundation,' but also, in some instances, a beautiful superstructure for their several congregations to worship in. We should give all honor and praise to these large-hearted and noble women, for their kind-hearted and generous devotion ; and but for whose love to God and good will to man, these consecrated structures would not now probably be pointing their spires and drawing the hearts of mankind up toward the "house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." It should be a matter of sincere joy with those now living, that God has been graciously pleased to thus " give unto these noble daughters of the church abundantly of the fruit of their hands."

In 1845, ,Madison began to improve rapidly, and particularly so under the large management and ceaseless labors and improvement of Ex-Gov. Leonard J. Farwell. The times then seemed to be favorable for large and continuous improvements ; but, as in 1836, in other sections of our country, when fortunes were made in a day, and lost as soon, by the immediate and unexpected revolution of the times, so Madison, in its highest, hopeful assurance of continued prosperity, became checked in growth by the sudden change of the times, and the sad reverse of fortune of her noblest and best friend. This check to its advancement continued to bear with severity upon the city of our delights for a number of years ; but, as all things terrestrial have their day of trial, if not of affliction, and finally rise superior to all vicissitudes and emergencies, 80 Madison has* emerged from the hazard of her once unfortunate condition, and risen majestically above all her fears and the frowns of her enemies, so that she has become, simply by right of her exalted position, monarch of all she stirveys.

It is not easy to calculate the advantage which would be conferred upon individuals and communities by the introduction into schools and families of a system by which the more important events of each day shall be noted. The small amount of time which would be demanded for a strict adherence to such a custom, seems to indicate that it only requires that some simple form should be introduced in order to secure a more general compliance with the custom. If such statements in a diary should only embrace reports of weather and employment of the day, it would enable the person to recur to many other contemporary incidents. I am reminded of what I have stated, as I have set for myself the task of producing an account of my first years in Madison. It has been by the expenditure of much labor and care in the searching for memoranda, that the dates, which will hereafter appear, have been arrived at and made reliable, while more use of exact dates would be much more satisfactory.

It was on the 18th of May, 1846, that I left Bristol, Trumbull Co., Ohio, for Madison. There was no railroad in that part of the State ; the nearest was the Lake Erie & Mad River Road, from Sandusky, extending southward. I journeyed to Cleveland by private conveyance, and thence to Milwaukee by the steamboat " Wisconsin." Boats were then well patronized by travelers and emigrants, along the chain of lakes from Buffalo to Chicago. A portion of the Michigan Central Road had been finished, and a small portion of the passengers left" us at Detroit, in order to come onward by that route, which gave but little advantage in time.

We arrived at Milwaukee on the morning of Saturday, May 23, and, as the stage left there for Madison but three times a week, or on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we remained until Monday morning, the 25th. We arrived at Janesville at 11 P. M., and at Madison on the evening of May 26. Our first view of the donie of the old capitol was from the elevation north from Doming Fitch's farm, northwest quarter of Section 25. The'town site was then mostly covered by a forest of small oaks. The forest along the way through Greenbush was so dense that we did not obtain another view of the capitol until near the south corner of the Capitol Square. The only building between that corner and the outlet of Dead Lake [Lake Wingra3 was the log house of Thomas Dunn, which was a short distance below the court house. The Oity Hotel was then' the stage house, and stood upon the corner where the Fairchild Block now stands. It was a story-and-a-half house, and was kept by A. A. Bird. It was there I took my first repast in Madison. An incident occurred during my first hours in the place that I have well remembered. On crossing the street, after our evening repast, to the east gate of the Capitol bquare, accompanied by a fellow-passenger, we met a person with a surveyor's chain, whowalked to the capitol with us, and was ready to reply tc our various questions, occasionally attractmg our attention to some new beauty of the place. As we passed to the west door, and ook a view of the town in that direction, I embraced the opportunity to inquire for the resiaence of Rev. S. E. Miner, to whom I had letters, when I found I was talking with him. He ad just been using the surveyor's chain for the purpose of preparing for the foundation of the , ongregational Church. That building was finished and occupied on the approach of the coming winter. Mr. Miner lived in a frame house that stood on the lot now occupied by Wayne aiiTT' °" *® ''°''°^^ °^ Carroll and Gorham streets. It was then owned by R. T. Davis, ana afterward by the successor of Mr. Miner, Rev. Charles Lord. The only house in that desirable residence property, although it was then reached by passing through a thick growth of oaks, and no streets were defined after leaving the capitol grounds. The streets, as well as the lots were covered by a forest of small oaks. John Mallo had a brick-yard on the third block west of the corner of the capitol square. The lot where " Brown's Block," formerly " Bruea's," now stands, was mostly covered by small trees, as well as the avenue adjoining, and James Morrison and others had it in use for their pig-sties. The jail, which was a rude log structure, stood near the small brick schoolhouse. It had two rooms, one of which was reached by passing through the first, and the inner room had some of the ancient appliances for securing criminals.

The school in the " Little Brick," I believe, was then under the supervision of Royal Buck who was succeeded by David H. Wright ; this house and the old capitol were the only places where religious services were held until the Congregational Church edifice was completed.

There were four hotels when I came, and the fifth was re-opened a few months after. These were the American, kept by James Morrison ; the Madison House, by Welch & Bushnell ; the City Hotel, by A. A. Bird, and the National, by R. W. Lansing. The Lake House was re-opened the same autumn by J. P. Mann.

The number of inhabitants was then said to be 400, which I believe was a liberal estimate. Surrounding the square were the following'buildings, as nearly as I can remember : Between the north and east corners was the building which was earljr known as "The Tiger," the American Hotel, W. W. Wyman's brick house (unfinished), and the United States Block (unfinished). Between the east and south corner were the City Hotel, Shields & Sneeden's store, A. L. Collins' and T. W. Sutherland's law offices, the buildin^ flow occupied by W. V^erhusen, the National Hotel, S. Mills' old residence, and two smaller buildings used as saloons. The. only house on the side between the south and west corners was the house of Henry Gullion, now a part of F. A. Ogden's building. Between the west and north corner was the residence of John Catlin, which stood where the United States Building now stands. The only stores were those of Shields & Sneeden, Finch & Blanchard, and B. B. Dean & Co., but J. C. Fairchild added one a short time after. The only house on Main street, southwest from Mr. Mills', was that of Thomas Dunn, which was in the second block below the court house. L. F. Kellogg occupied a house nearly opposite his present residence. Peter Kavanaugh had a place near the corner of State street and University avenue, and there was a house about two blocks westward of that, on University avenue, which was then temporarily occupied by B. Britton. The only house beyond, and near the city limits, was that of A. E. Brooks. Nearly all the buildings were around and near the Capitol Square. King street, from the east corner of the park to the Lake House, was the only street that was at all defined by improvements, and these in a rude way. John Stoner lived near the shore of Lake Mendota, the only residence but that of Alexander 'VV^ilcox in that direction.

An incident which occurred in March, 1849, will indicate the condition of improvements west of the capitol : As Dr. N. M. Dodson, a medical student, now of Berlin, Wis., was jn his way from Galena to Madison, he called at the house of Peter Kavanaugh to inquire the distance to Madison. It was at twilight, or he would have been guided by the dome of the capit J.

I remained here without my family, who joined me in September, and I was an inmate of the family of David Holt during that time. Mr. Holt was then Postmaster, and had his office on Webster street, near the old Argus ofiice building. We were first established in housekeeping in a rude old structure that was situated where J. M. Bowman now resides, and then known as the Schemerhorn house, where we remained until the following April. I then purchased the building known as the "Tiger," on Pinckney street, where we remained until 1850. That building was said to have been a. place where much money was won and lost at faro and other games, during the sessions of the Legislature ; an incident not remarkably creditable to our early legislators, although, perhaps, as much so as the incidents X)f some of the years since that time. It may be supposed that, as the times and methods of living were then crude, the Legislature and legislators would partake of the same characteristics. I have the impression, however, that those

The two persons I first met in alighting from the stage at the time I arrived, were A. A. Bird and James Halpin. James had charge of the dining-room, and made himself generally useful. He soon after engaged at the American Hotel, then kept by James Morrison. He made a contract with Mrs. Morrison to serve for one year, but was to forfeit his wages in case he should return to his old habits. He was successful in complying with his contract, but shortly after the time specified had expired, under the influence of an event in his family, and of a generous tendencv to enjoy the bestowment of hospitality, he joined in convivial circles whic^ he was supporting, and they culminated in the rapid waste of all they had accumulated, including the tidy furniture in their room. After removing from the American to a place on the shore of Lake Monona, near the Lake House, where they lived in wretchedness for a time, finding himself without the means of supplying his appetite for stimulants, he ended his carousal by taking a quantity of opium that would likely have proved fatal but for the use of the stomach pump. How well he recovered from this habit, and maintained the character of a respectable citizen, and filled the place of trust as Superintendent of Public Property, was observed with peculiar gratification by his friends. But he was not always fully himself, on account of a free use of opium and morphine,' and this often caused his friends to suspect that he had partly returned to his old habit. I believe he maintained his integrity as to the use of common stimulants, but his second habit became so strong that he declared his inability to relinquish their use, and he was sometimes nearly as much beclouded in his intelligence as formerly. His life was a peculiarly eventful one. He was a native of Ireland, and from an early age had traversed the ocean as a sailor. He landed from a ship in Quebec during the prevalence of the cholera in 1832, and sufiered an attack of the malady, from which he rapidly recovered. He then came to the States, enlisted as a soldier, and was with Gen. Z. Taylor, mostly in the capacity of a servant, during part of the Black Hawk war. He was once entrusted with despatches between Green Bay and Prairie du Chien, when he traversed the distance alone, often crossing the streams by swimming his horse. In April, 1838, he was a soldier at Newport, Ky., and with a small detachment that was ordered to an Upper Mississippi station had taken passage on the steamer Moselle, when she blew up at Cincinnati landing. His company were all killed or drowned. He was thrown from the upper deck into the stream, swam ashore, and proceeded to bis place of destination and reported in due form. Although a rough kind of an Irishman, he was remarkable for the fidelity with which he fulfilled any trust committed to him.

I cannot recall any who now occupy the same places they did at that time, except Mrs. Brigham, William N. Seymour and the Pyncheons. David Holt owned and occupied the house opposite David Atwood's. The house that was recently removed from the corner in order to give place to David Atwood's new residence was occupied by Peter H. Van Bergen, and soon after by Jesse A. Clark. J. G. Knapp was then Superintendent of Territorial Property, and lived opposite the Capital House (recently known as the Rasdall House), on King street. John Y. Soaith, Superintendent before Mr. Knapp, before I came, was then of the Argus firm, with Benjamin Holt and S. Mills. He was then occupying a house from which that of S. D. Hastings was remodeled, but moved to his own house that autumn, where his first wife died the following March Mrs. Smith, as well as her husband, was an early resident of Green Bay, where she came from New York when quite young as a missionary of the Episcopal Church. She possessed rare literary qualities, which were little known on account of her peculiar diffienco. A fragment of her diary during a thunder-storm, while passing up Lake Huron on her '"'yj'^!'^'' "8w home, will indicate her chaste imagination, and such as has often conferred a worlU-wide fame. It was this : " Who but Jehovah could cause the heavens to groan in thunders, and to weep in showers."

were Louis Montandon and Philip Covalle. Abel Rasdall lived in the log house which had been occupied by the Peck family on Webster street. William M. Rasdall was Deputy Sheriff, and had charge of the jail at the time before mentioned. Ira W. Bird was Sheriff, and A. A. Bird hotel-keeper. Rev. Charles Lord succeeded Mr. Miner as supply of the Congregational Church in the autumn of 1846. He came from Massachusetts, but had been a missionary at Independence, Mo. He remained until 1854, and bore his part with fidelity in giving caste to our early society, in which Mrs. Lord was a true helpmate. His health, or especially his sight, failed for a time to such extent as to render him incapable of performing the necessary work of preparation, when he returned to his native hills in Massachusetts, where he remained, having so far recovered as to be able for lighter service After a brief illness, he died at the house of his daughter, in Brooklyn, N. Y. His predecessor, Rev. Mr. Miner, left the ministry a few years after he left Madison, and has recently been engaged in successful business in Kansas.

Justice was for several years mostly dispensed by Esquire Seymour, who was one of the most active and useful among our early citizens, and was a generous leader in every new enterprise of whatever kind. As there was no church edifice for several months, the use of the Council Chamber in the old capitol was shared by the Congregational and Episcopal Churches. Rev. Stephen McHugh was the minister of the Episcopal Church. The Methodists occupied the schoolhouse for their services. There was no church bell until June, 1848, when one was placed in the Congregational Church, and this served for common use of the several congregations for about four years. I well remember the first time I heard its tones, as I was returning from my first excursion to Chicago. The bell was not yet placed in the tower, but was placed near the corner of Webster and Main streets, where Squire Seymour would have it rung, and, when a respectable crowd gathered around it, would embrace the opportunity to secure contributions to be used in payment for the bell.

The number of improved farms throughout the county was then but very few, and consequently in most cases they were far between. My first excursion outside the village in connection with the practice of my profession was to Sugar River, about sixteen miles. It was not far from the present residence of Varnum ' Parkhurst. The patient was a Mrs. Lomary, and the messenger Samuel Parkhurst. I have the impression that we did not pass more than four houses on the way. My next visit was to John Ensign, who kept a wayside inn, called the Prairie House, eight miles northeast from town on the old Fort Winnebago road. The houses passed on the way beyond the Lake House were two in town, one of which stood near the East Madison depots, and the other on the lake shore a short distance beyond the Sprecher Brewery, occupied by Mrs. Houghton. Those beyond the Catfish (now known as the Yahara) were those of Grover, Gould, Thomas Daily and the old Seventy-six House, then occupied by Alex Botkin. About the same time, 1846, I was requested to go to a place near where the MacFarland Station now is, to visit one of the family of John Reed. He came over from Second Lake (Waubesa) in a boat, but proposed that I find my way to his cabin by passing around the lake, a portion of the way to be guided by an Indian trail which I had not seen. I was not enough confident that I could find the way, so he then proposed to take me across the lake in a boat, to which plan I assented on his representation that his place was but half a mile from where we would land, but it proved to be as much as two miles and a half As we passed along the Oatfish, between Lakes Monona and Waubesa, we observed an encampment of. Winnebago Indians on the east shore, which probably numbered as many as a hundred. This man Reed soon after abandoned his family, and his wife became the wife of Matthew Dunn.

Henry Dodge being then Governor, George P. Delaplaine was his private Secretary, which position he also occupied during the administration of Gov. Dewey. John Catlrn was "^'^^^' tary of the Territory, and Jonathan Larkin was Treasurer. It was during that year that John Catlin and E. M. Williamson commenced' the arrangement of the Dane County abstract oflice, which was supposed to be the second one in the Territory. One had already been commencea in Milwaukee. Simeon Mills had an interest in the Ar()|MS office, although he was not an active worker on tha paper, John Y. Smith having the editorial supervision. Daniel M. Holt was a printer in the same office. The Madison Express was then published by W. W. Wyman, and the Democrat by Beriah Brown. The Argus and Democrat were soon after consolidated, and anew Whig paper started by Atwood & Buck called the Wisconsin Express. Elisha Burdick was Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, and was succeeded by. Royal Buck. E. M. Williamson was Surveyor, and laid out some <)f the early roads in the county. Darwin Clark had already established his cabinet-shop on the corner of his present place, which business he has maintained with more than usual stability, sustaining the character of a worthy and reliablec itizen. George A. Gary and Charles Billings were the village blacksmiths, and Casper Rouse worked for them and afterward established the business for himself. Peter H. Van Bergen (who built the Congregational Church), H. C. Parker, A. L. Harris, John Easton and Mr. Gilchrist were the village carpenters and joiners. Barlow Shackleford occupied the house which stands next the Opera House, on Clymer street, where he died in November, 1846. Orlin Rood lived on the farm west of the village, that is now owned by D. Campbell. James Dow lived in a place dug out of a side-hill and covered by a roof, not far from the Cary fsym, and perhaps it was on that place. James was one of nature's noblemen but for the habit of using strong drir.k - a habit which he greatly regretted and made many efforts to desist from. He had been a sailor, and was a native of Scotland. Thomas Walker came here from New York by suggestion of E. B. Dean, and established himself as a tailor. That place had mostly been occupied by Nicholas Smith, who soon after became a merchant. Luther Wilson and Decatur Vandercook established a livery-stable during that .summer. Alonzo Wilcox was the shoemaker. J. R. Brigham returned that season, having just graduated at Amherst College, and entered the law office of A. L. Collins soon after his return. The only physicians in the village or county were H. A. Tiffany and Dr. Spencer.

After the establishment of the Democrat as competitor of the Argus (which was an organ of the same political party, or rather the organ of a party within the party), the contest was sharp for the legislative printing.' Beriah Brown had his friends, as well as the Argus, but he issBid to have put forth more effort to secure success. A characteristic little speech in a caucus held before the printer was elected will indicate the character of some legislators. A new member was requested to inform the caucus upon whom he wished to have the place conferred. He arose with more than common deliberation, which was said to have been somewhat prolonged on account of his ample form having become wedged into an arm chair, and expressed the opinion that Mr. Brown ought tcT have the place, adding, " We have eat his oysters and drinked his licker, and it will not be right to go back on him."*

" Madison, county seat of Dane, and capital of the State, perhaps combines and overlooks more charming and diversified scenery, to please the eye of fancy, and promote health and pleasure, than any other town In the West ; and, in these respects, it surpasses any other btate capital in the Union. Its bright lakes, fresh groves and rippling rivulets ; its sloping mils, shady vales, and flowery meadow lawns, are commingled in greater profusion, and disposed in more picturesque order, tl^an we have ever elsewhere beheld.

IS that paragon of landscape scenery, as the brilliant diamond, chased around with I borders, which .sparkles on the swelling vestment of some queenly woman ; so this P uresque village, with its varied scenery, sits the coronal gem on the broad and rolling bosom of this rich and blooming State. J'' fa fa elcv A '^ '' '^^^ "oteworthy for its business advantages and healthful position. Situated on _^tea ground, amid delightful groves and productive lands, it must be h abundance and convenience of fine streams and water-powers, must facilitate a sound and rapid advancement here in agricultural pursuits and mechanic arts. There are several liberal charters for railroads connecting Madison with Milwaukee, Chicago and the Mississippi River some of which are already being pushed ahead with energy."*

" Madison has the most magnificent site of any inland town I ever saw, on a graceful swell of land, say two miles north and south by a mile and a half east and west, rising gently from the west bank of one of a chain of four lakes, and having another of them north north-west of it, These lakes must each be eight or ten miles in circumference, half surrounded by dry, clean oak forests, or rather 'timbered openings,' which need but little labor to convert them into the finest parks in which fair homes ever nestled. A spacious water-cure establishment has just been erected in one of these forests across the lake southeastwardly from Madison, and shows finely both from the city and the railroad as you approach it. The capitol is toward the south end of the built-up city, in a fine natural park of twenty [fourteen] acres, and is not worse planned than most of our public buildings. The university crowns a beautiful eminence a mile west of the capitol, with a main street connecting them a la Pennsylvania avenue.

" There are more comfortable private mansions now in progress in Madison than in any other place I have visited, and the owners are mostly recent immigrants of means and cultivation, from New England, from Cincinnati, and even from Europe. Madison is growing very fast. * * * * She has a glorious career before her. "f

" For natural beauty of situation, Madison surpasses any Western town I have seen. It ia built on a narrow isthmus between the Third and Fourth Lakes. On the summit of this mound stands the State House, in the center of a handsome square of fourteen acres, from which broad,, smooth streets diverge with a gradual descent on all sides. To, the west and about a mile distant, stands the university, on the summit of a hill "or mound of about equal height. The Madisonians count seven hills, but I could not make them all out distinctly, nor do I think it necessary to the beauty of the place that it should have a forced resemblance to Rome, In one respect it is equal - in a soft, beautiful cream-colored stone, which furnishes the noblest building material. Many of the business blocks and private houses display some architectural taste."|

" The next evening we arrived at this place. I feel convinced that this place was once called Eden ; but in the language of mortals 'it is now called' Madison. I have been looking about to find Eve's bower, but there are so many places that seem to answer the description that I am unable to decide between the rival claimants.

" Madison is situated on rising ground between two little lakes, as lovely as a fairy dream. Indeed, I consider Fairyland a very prosaic sort of place in comparison with this. On one side is Lake Mendota, nine miles long and six wide ; on the other is Monona, about three miles by five. The space between the lakes, on which the town is built, is from three-fourths of a mile to a mile in width. Around the town, stretching away in every direction, is a beautiful undulating country, consisting of prairies and " oak openings." These " oak openings " are said to bear a great resemblance to the English park scenery. The town is situated on undulating ground. The university buildings are on the highest ground, and when completed will present a most imposing appearance. The capitol is admirably situated on a lovely square of fourteen acres, covered with forest trees. From the top of the " Capitol House" - which, by the bye, is a capital house in more senses than one - the visitor has a splendid view.

" The enterprise and energy of the Madisonians are absolutely astonishing. The hills and valleys look at them with suspicion. If a hill sees a Madisonian take a 'railroad look ' at it, it begins to sink at once. In the language of the coon to Capt. Scott, it says : ' I might as well come down.' When a mere visitor has been in Madison for a few days, if he looks rather intensely at a valley, it begins to ' swell up.' Madison contains about 9,000 souls, and I believe this includes the whole population, for, judging from appearances, I should say that every individual has a soul. Well, among these 9,000 there was a gas company formed last January. On the evening of our arrival the town was lighted with gas. They have determined to have water-works, and, if you should come this way in a few weeks, do not be surprised if you should see Neptune and all his Tritons spouting here.

"Madison is destined to be a resort for those who wish to retire from the turmoil of business. Around these beautiful lakes there will be seen many a lovely home reflected in the clear waters. Those to whom the bustle of Newport and Saratoga gives no recreation, will be delighted to come to such a place as this."*

A Building Mania

A Madison paper of April 11, 1855, referring to the improvements going on, said : " Never before was the building mania in Madison more apparent than now. Go where you will, visit whichever part of town you may, and you see on all sides, in every nook and corner, apparently upon every lot, the most active, busy-bustle preparations for building. You pass an untouched, vacant lot in the morning, and at night you will find it strewed over with building materials, a foundation laid, frame raised for a good-sized house, nearly clapboarded and partly painted. This is what we saw last week. There are now no less than 150, and perhaps 200, buildings commenced and in the various stages of completion in this town to-day, and yet building has barely commenced. It seems that everybody is coming to Madison, and everybody who does must build. One stimulus to building this season is the fact that materials are much cheaper, as we are informed, than usual."

Another paper said : " Business in real estate in our city is becoming lively. We havfe before us the operations of a single individual during the week last past. From this, it appears that this person was one party to sales amounting in the aggregate to $33,000. These are simply the operations of one man in one week, and the property that changed hands is all within the city limits. Others, no doubt, have done as much, and perhaps more, of which we have no account. There has been no time when the business prospects of our place were brighter than at present. Strangers are flocking into the city in large numbers, all delighted with the place, and taking up their residence among us. In addition to an active business in sales of lots and lands, the building of stores, shops and dwellings, is unusually active this spring. New buildings are being erected in every direction, and some of them of a superior order. It is truly

Additions And Re-Plats

University Addition, August 28, 1850 ; Block 9, in same addition, July 25, 1851 ; Farwell's Replat, July 25, 1853 ; Greenbush Addition, September 16, 1854 ; Farwell's Re-plat and Addition, March 28, 1855 ; Hovt's Subdivision of Outlot No. 3, in the University Addition, April 28, 1855 ; Hopkins' Subdivision of Outlot No. 2, in same addition. May 14, 1855.

u- °'''S''^*1 pl^ts of Madison only extended half a mile from the capitol on the west. Ihe history of the University Addition is this : The Congress of the United States had lonated to the State of Wisconsin a certain quantity of land for the establishment and endowment of a University to be located at or near the capital. The duty of selecting a site and commencing operations devolved upon the Board of Regents elected by the Legislature in 1848. fjoinmg the town plat on the west was a quarter-section of land which included in its boundsryjae elevation upon which the University buildings now stand. This quarter-section, it was found, could be purchased at a moderate expense. The Regents purchased it, reserved forty acres for University purposes, and platted the remainder as an addition to the city, to be sold for the benefit of the University fund. From sales of these lots there was realized nearly or quite an amount sufficient to erect and complete the first of the buildings now on the grounds in addition to the original cost of the land.

Farwell's Re-plat of 1853 was at the east side of the village, lying along the west side of the Yahara, and extending north and south between the two lakes. The Greenbush Addition was at the west end of Lake Monona. Farwell's Re-plat and Addition, of 1855, was on the east side of the Yahara.

By an act of the Legislature, approved February 10, 1851, " So much of Sections 12, 13 14, 23 and 24 of Town[ship] 7 north, of Range 9 east, and Section 7, of Town[ship] 7 north, of Range 10 east, as is included in the original town plat of Madison, together with blocks numbered from 1 to 17 inclusive in the ' University Addition,' shall hereafter be included in " the corporate limits of the village of Madison. By acts of 1855 and 1856, parts of Parwell's Addition to the village were vacated.

Population At Different Periods

In 1847, L. J. Farwell, of Milwaukee, attracted by the beauty of the location of Madison, and foreseeing, as he thought, its advantages as a place of business, made an extensive purchase of real estate, comprising a portion of the village plat and of lands lying adjacent, which included the then unimproved water-power between Lakes Monona and Mendota. To his active enter prise, his liberal policy and public spirit Madison is 'largely indebted for her present prosperity. During the following winter, he commenced the improvement of the Madison water-power. The fall between the lakes, as taken by a number of engineers, varied from three feet ten inches to four feet eleven inches. This variation was unquestionably owing to a variation in the lakes at the several times the levels were taken. Lake Monona being much the smaller, would be more aifected by a rainstorm than the other. Among his first works were the improvement of the water-power and the erection 'of mills. His eiforts at once infused new life into the settlement. Real estate, hitherto almost without value, began to be sought for, and to improve in price. Streets were cleared of their forests, roads were laid out to the surrounding prairies, bridges were built, the low lands drained, roadways carried through them and lined with shade-trees; and buildings and improvements of all kinds began to rise among the trees and dot the distant prairies. He matured a comprehensive system of advertising the advantages of the country abroad, and scores of thousands of pamphlets, filled with valuable information, were spread all over the Eastern States and Europe.

Perhaps no one person ever did more to promote the interests of Madison than Farwell. He not only built mills, but started the first woolen-factory and the first machine-shop and foundry. He set the example of first grading and filling streets, and building side and cross walks ; and in the projected railroad enterprises, designed to benefit Madison, he embarked heartily and liberally. In 1857, owing to the great financial difficulties of that year, he became involved, like many others, and his fortunes were seriously affected. The citizens of Madison will always bear cheerful witness to the greatness of his efforts, which had for their object the promotion of her best interests.