Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin - Chapter 3, 1880 (part 13 of 15)

This act of incorporation, duly sworn to, was recorded, on the same day and year, in' Vol. I of " Cemeteries and Power of Attorneys," page 61. On August 17, 1853, a meeting of the officers was held, and N. P. Tallmadge chosen President ; A. D. Bonesteel, Secretary, and Robert A. Baker, Treasurer. It was then decided to purchase, for $400, thirty-nine and sixtenths acres of land of N. P. Tallmadge for cemetery purposes (a portion of which had already been laid out and used as a cemetery by Mr. Tallmadge), and to grant to him, free of charge, forever, such a plat or tract as he might choose as a burial place for his family. At a subsequent meeting, held in December of the same year, IT. P. Tallmadge offered to convey to the association, free of charge, a tract of eight and one-half acres which he had already inclosed and laid out as a cemetery, which offer was accepted. That tract is now known as the " old grounds," and is composed of the first knoll of land at the entrance to the cemetery, in Sections 18 and 19, town of Empire, situated two and one-half miles southeast of the city. The tract of thirty-nine and six-tenths acres was, therefore, not purchased.

N. Boardman was authorized to survey and lay out lots, walks and avenues in the cemetery, the expense of which should be paid out of the sale of lots, and proceeded immediately to do so.

In October, 1863, the Trustees authorized the purchase, at $20 per acre, of N. P. Tallmadge, a tract of twenty-four acres of land, lying east of the " old grounds," which was done, and the land was immediately laid out and offered for sale. Rienzi now contains thirty-two and

acres, composed of beautiful hills and valleys, covered with oaks, and carpeted in summer with a profusion of wild flowers. It is one of the most charming spots in nature, lying nearly a half-mile from the street, and reached by a smooth carriage-way, shaded on either side "by thrifty trees, and refreshed by a clear spring brook. In the valley between the old and new grounds is a miniature artificial lake, fed by a never-failing spring, as though from the very resting-place and ashes of the dead gushed forth the water of life. An extract from the report of the Trustees in 1877 is here made :

" It is the natural feeling of the human heart that it would lie dolvn by the side of its kindred after it has ceased to beat ; that one inclosure should garner its ashes. Our dust is sacred. In this cemetery we expect to bury our friends, and we expect they will bury us there. In those sacred shades now rest the remains of its founder. N. P. Tallmadge died in the month of November, 1864, and was interred upon the spot selected and beautified during his life. There he sleeps by the side of his wife and sons who had gone before ; distinguished in life as astatesman. Senator, Governor and literary man, he is at last gathered to his fathers.

" Since our organization, in addition to our clearing the grounds (which was a dense wood) and fencing it, including the lane leading to it, we have purchased and paid for twenty-four acres, built an observatory and a handsome stone vault, a house for the sexton, and expended nearly $200 for a fountain near the sexton's house, besides keeping the grounds in good order."

At a meeting of the Trustees of Rienzi Cemetery, held August 12, 1875, the prices of lots were fixed as follows : In the old grounds, $30 each ; in the new grounds, $50 (to be paid in cash to the Treasurer, before an order will be given to open the ground for interment) ; single graves for adults, $5 ; single graves for children under twelve years of age, $3. Sexton's fees, digging graves, $3. Eor use of vault for one month, or less, $5 ; over one month, $1 per week additional.

Floods And Feeshets

No one who drives over the smooth, solid pavements and splendidly macadamized roads in and about Fond du Lac, can form any adequate conception of the condition of the streets, roadways, streams, prairies and dooryards in early times, nor can any pen record a description that will do justice to the subject. The site on which the city stands was level, and but a few feet in its highest place above the lake or rivers. The soil was deep, rich and mellow, finely adapted in every way to the production of mud. This mud, which was black in some places, and a dirty yellow in others, was endowed with such consistency and stickiness as could be boasted of by no other article in the same line. In wet times, the whole prairie in and surrounding Fond du Lac would be covered by water, on, which myriads of ducks appeared in season. The roads were almost wholly impassable, teams being frequently from three to five days on the road to Sheboygan, and the stage three or four days on the road from Milwaukee. On these occasions, the rich verdure and beautiful wild flowers of the prairies did not always suppress profanity, and the most dejected, forlorn and bedraggled horses and men ever beheld, were those arriving in the village with the stage.

The main street in the spring and fall had the appearance of a long vat of blacking, and the other streets were successions of bottomless sloughs and prodigious ruts. Nor could any of them be avoided, for one portion of the fenceless prairie was as soft and sticky as any other. The stickiness of this mud can be likened to nothing but the irresistible grip of the octopus. Whenever a wheel or a foot sunk into an unusually deep hole, it seemed to be grasped at once by some immeasurable power below, which would not diminish or let go.

" We would earnestly call the attention of the proper authorities to the condition of the public roads and bridges in this vicinity, and especially between Fond du Lac and Taycheedah, "where, within a few days, several accidents have happened. It is mortifying in the extreme to

In 1850, when James Ewen was keeping the Lewis House on the corner where the Patty House now stands, the mud was as universal and deep as it had ever been. In fact, everything was blockaded by muddy roads, and business was almost at a standstill. He waded out into the street before the inmates of the hotel were up in the morning, and placed a pair of boots and a hat in the mud, in such shape as to resemble a man just disappearing in thp earthy mucilage. Knowing the possibilities of the surrounding country in wet times, many of the burghers at first thought a man had been indeed drowned on land, and the frightened children refused to pass on their way to school until " the man " was helped out of the mud.

On another occasion, a prominent lumberman rented for his family the house situated on Macy street, in the rear of Amory Hall, in which the family of the late Robert Flint resides, to the end that during his absence in the woods there should be no trouble in reaching the main street for provisions and groceries. He was absent a little over three weeks, and on his return, was informed the children hadn't been out of the house, which was surrounded by water, during that time. When anything was wanted from the stores or neighbors, Milt. Ewen, now a resident of Fond du Lac, then a boy ten years of age, rolled his pantaloons up as near to his waist as possible,, and went barefoot on the errands.

As late as [September, 1855, a man rowed a canoe from Oshkosh to the Rock River Valley, the water being deep enough on the marsh in Oakfield Township for his passage to the Rock River.

In 1855, the mill-dam back of the Court House, and the bridge on Western avenue, werecarried away by a flood, and more than a dozen times have thousands of feet of lumber, and hundreds of cords of wood been afloat in Lower Town. In 1869, occurred a remarkable freshet, in which nearly every portion of the city was flooded ; cellars without number were full, and water stood in the rooms on the ground floor of scores of residences. A swift stream of muddy water, as broad as the street, rushed down Fourth and Main streets, leaving a large shed or outbuilding - which had been brought from another quarter of the city - on Main street, near the American House ; carrying lumber, wood, boxes, barrels and furniture out into the lake, and destroying the newspaper files and a stock of paper for the Commonwealth newspaper. These floods were owing mostly to the fact that the de Neveu Creek, which is a narrow, tortuous stream, flowing through the east portion of the city, is several feet higher than Main street, or any street between it and Fond du Lac River. Whenever, therefore, its banks were overflowed, the city was flooded. In 1870, the " Dutch Gap," a deep, wide canal extending across the south border of the city to the river, was dug at public expense, and, in 1879, de Neveu Creek bed was deepened, widened and straightened, so that the disastrous floods of the past will never occur

When any one has a desire to verify the stories told of the early mud embargoes, they haveonly to repair to some spot on Main street where gas or water pipes are being laid, where first stone, then plank, then gravel, then plank, and, finally, sticks and brush will be found extending several feet below the surface, and showing the different efibrts made to rise above the canals of black mucilage, which were the most serious drawbacks to the early growth and development; of Fond du Lac.

Incidents And First Things

On Thursday evening, January 14, 1847, Eli Hooker, now of Waupun, then of the Fond' du Lac Journal, delivered a temperance lecture at the schoolhouse.

/ In the winter of 1847-48, the people of the village convened twice for donation purposes. The first time Rev. H. R. Colman, now a resident of this city, received about $150, and the second time Rev. L. C. Spofibrd received $123.21 - amounts fully equal to those resulting from donations of the present time.

In May, 1848, the first circus and menagerie - Raymond & Co.'s - visited Fond du Lac; Village. Everybody went, and it was the talk of the villagers during several weeks afterward.

The ground where S. B. & J. Amory first built their gunshop, and where Amory Hall now stands, cost $10 per foot. The site is now worth $14,000.

Main street, beginning at Forest street, bears to the east several degrees, which makes- "jogs " in the streets, extending either way, perpendicularly from it. The main street of the Fond du Lac Company's plat was thus diverted by Dr. 'Mason C. Darling, who turned it eastward from the East Branch River in order to preserve the " water-lots." He had an idea the stream would be made navigable at some future day, and lots next to it (for wharves and warehouses) would be valuable. His idea was never realized, and Macy street afterward cut through the land intended for "water-lots."

In 1845, the citizens of the village of Fond du Lac congregated to discuss the action of the County Commissioners, who had purchased, for the Sheriff, a pair of brass and steel shackles, at a cost of $2.50. The heavy taxpayers characterized the transaction as an "outrageousextravagance," while those slip-shod-and-go-easy citizens who occasionally fell into the custody of the SherifiF vehemently protested that it was the height of indignity to put shackles on a man in a free country.

The famous Taycheedah Democratic Convention was held the day on which Edward Beeson published his paper, the Fond du Lac Journal. He was anxious to lay the proceedings before his patrons, but could not do so and " catch the mail." He therefore wrote out an elaborate account of the proceedings of the convention and inserted it, the papers being all delivered before the convention had fairly met. In order to have everything jibe, he started for Taycheedah with the bogus proceedings in his pocket and actually had the same persons appointed for chairman, secretary and committee as were named in his article, and so manipulated the convention as to make the nominations tally exactly with those announced several hours before in the Journal. For nearly thirty years it was not settled whether Mr. Beeson was a wizard or had a vision.

On Monday, August 23, 1847, Dr. Cator's house was entered by robbers and $142 in cash taken. This was a heavy robbery for those days, and was a serious loss to Dr. Cator.

Upon one occasion, in the early fifties, J. C. ("Curt") Lewis and Nathaniel Waterbury desired to enter some pine lands above Shawano, 100 miles from Fond du Lac. Mr. Waterbury started on horseback, taking a good animal from the livery stable, and Mr. Lewis started on foot. The friends of each laid wagers on which would reach the destination first. Those who bet on Mr. Lewis won, for he reached the place, located his lands and met Mr. Waterbury on a jaded horse several miles south of Shawano. On these wonderful journeys, Mr. Lewis rested himself by running when he got tired of walking, and by walking when he was tired of running.

The first celery ever' brought to Fond du Lac to be sold was grown by James Smith, an English gardener - who is now a resident of Empire - and driven about the streets and to the different groceries. For some time no ojie was found who knew what it was, and, after smelling of the neatly tied bunches, the people would turn up their noses, wag their heads and pass by on the other side. Finally, Dr. T. S. Wright, seeing Mr. Smith's wagon, seized a bunch of the celery and began to devour it, much to the astonishment of those who had been entirely satisfied with the smell of " the truck." Finally, James Ewen, who kept the Lewis House, purchased the entire lot, and thereafter Mr. Smith found a market for his "decayed pie-plant," as some of the citizens called the celery.

J. W. Partridge was badly injured in' the famous Belleville railway disaster of November 1, 1859. He boarded at the Lewis House, which stood on the corner of Main and Sheboygan streets, where the Patty House now stands, and had a room in the third story. The polls for that ward were held in the same building, on the ground fioor, and directly under Mr. Partridge's bedroom window. He had a strong desire to vote, but could not leave his bed. He asked the inspectors to allow a friend to deposit a ballot for him, but they refused, as they did of course; to carry the ballot-box to his room. But T. F. Strong, Jr., mastered the situation..

He moved Mr. Partridge's bed to the window, got a string of sufficient length to reach the ground. Mr. Partridge attached a ballot to the string and leaned out of the window, so that the chairman of the ward could know and identify him, and the ballot was lowered and received.

The first Fourth of July celebration ever held in Fond du Lac was in 1848, when speeches were made by S. Judd, of Fox Lake, and B. W. Beall, G. D. Ruggles, Alexander W. Stow and Fi. W. Drury. The Sunday-school scholars had a picnic, and the day was generally observed.

In October, 1847, Finley & Morrow established a stage line between Fond du Lac and and, in the following November, a weekly stage and mail line was established between Fond du Lac and Watertown.

On the 22d of October, 1847, considerable excitement was caused by the lecture of a fugitive slave, named Lewis Washington, on the condition of negroes in the South. He was the first negro to appear in public in Fond du Lac.

In 1844, George McWilliams sold 300 bushels of potatoes, which he had raised the year before on the west side of the river and kept through the winter in "heaps," covered with prairie grass and earth, for three shillings per bushel. Settlers came from twenty miles in either direction to secure them. He also fattened a ton of pork, which was the first exported from the settlement or fattened, except for family use.

After cars began to run to Fond du Lac in 1859, on what is now the Chicago & North- Western Railway, the "devil" on one of the city papers, who had been left in charge of the office during the editor's absence, lost his position and pay by writing and publishing with all due gravity the following descriptive paragraph : " The cars are quite long, and capable of holding sixty passengers with doors at each end!"

On the 27th of January, 1849, a public meeting was held at the court house to organize for protection against horse-thieves and burglars, their depredations having become unbearable.

A fellow came from Racine to Fond du Lac in the latter part of 1848 to take one of the Fountain City belles to wife, and, the next week, the following paragraph in the paper set the society gossipers into a flurry :

"A Fine Wedding Gift. - Giving the bride the prairie itch while vowing at the altar to love, cherish and protect. The idea is not original with us. We deal only in facts."

In the days before artesian wells were known in Fond du Lac, and even as late as 1846^7, the settlers were compelled to go for fresh water to a spring situated three-quarters of a mile west of Main street, where B. F. Moore's stone quarry now is.

There were few gardens belonging to the first settlers of Fond du Lac which were inclosed by fences, and the potatoes and " sass " raised therein by the thrifty, but needy, inhabitants were very frequently stolen by the Indians, who were numerous. They were bold about their depredations of this sort, solemnly entering the gardens in broad daylight, and often, despite all protests and threats, appropriating whatever they desired.

Edward Beeson, now editor of the Wisconsin Farmer, gave to Fond du Lac the name of "Fountain City," by referring to it in his paper as "the city of fountains," finally reducing the expression to "Fountain City."

In September, 1849, two persons, a woman and her child, died in Fond du Lac with the cholera. For a few days there was great consternation lest the disease should spread, but it did not. ,

The Common Council ordered at its second meeting, in September, 1862, that a committee, composed of its members, go to Chicago as a guard of honor for the body of Edward S. Bragg,

-who had heen reported killed in battle. The committee went, as directed, but found instead of <jren. Bragg'a body, that of E. A. Brown. Mr. Brown was buried in the grave dug for the body of Mr. Bragg.

In May, 1867, Charles Susan sold in Fond du Lac 150 bushels of wheat for $500 to John Marshall. On the same day, 0. B. Bartlet paid $105 to John H. Martin for a fat cow. Those were war prices.

Early Times In Fond Du Lac By John A. Eastman

" When I was Postmaster of Fond du Lac (1845 to 1849), remuneration came from a percentage on receipts. In 1845, I kept the office in a small United States blue desk. Mail came twice a week from Green Bay, Milwaukee and Fort Winnebago. The mail carrier, whose name was Conklin, rode on horseback. All the letters were kept in one small pigeon-hole, and when any one asked for mail I took all there were in the office in one hand and looked them over with the other.

" Before I left the office I had to have a full set of alphabetical cases and a clerk. Three times a week there would be ten to twenty bushels of mail matter to look over and distribute to different routes - mostly single transient newspapers - and, as the heavy mails came in during the night, it was not a luxury to distribute them, especially when the mercury was 20° below zero.

" The first term of Territorial District Court was held in June, 1844, with A.. G. Miller, Judge ; ' Tom ' Sutherland, United States District Attorney ; Isaac Brown, Clerk ; John J. Driggs, Sheriff; Theodore Conkey and Alonzo Raymond, Deputies. Court was held in a small frame schoolhouse standing on the east side of Main, between Second and Third streets. The present Court House was built some years after, and was very well in its day, but it now seems to be a standing disgrace to a large, wealthy and populous county. The grounds for the Court House and public square were donated by M. C. Darling, and I doubt if the condition of the ^ift is well performed by maintaining such a burlesque.

" Of course, the first lawyers to attend courts were from other older counties. It was the practice then for lawyers to ' travel the circuit; ' so there came to Fond du Lac, Marshall M. Strong, E. G. Ryan, A. W. Stow, 'Squire Palmer, W. P. Lynde, J. E. Arnold, M. L. Martin, H. S. Baird and S. R. Cotton.

" The first resident lawyer was Stephen S. N. Fuller, from Great Bend, Penn. He settled in Fond du Lac in 1843, and lived and had his office in a small frame house opposite the Court House east, where Bannister & Eldredge's office afterwai-d was. He built the house with his own hands. He moved to Hudson, and is now dead.

" The third lawyer was W. H. Harmon, who only remained about one year and emigrated to Iowa. The fourth was James Monroe Gillet, who came from Ellicottville, N. Y., in 1846. He drove a flabby, yellow, long-legged mare the entire distance from Ellicottville to Fond du Lac, and traded her to M. C. Darling for the lot where Cornwell's hardware store is on Main street, next to D. R. Curran's drug store. Myron C. Eaton, who was drowned at St. Anthony's Falls, Minn., Aamzi L. Williams and E. W. Drury followed later in 1846.

" The first school taught in the county was taught by Miss Harriet Harding, from Hingham, Mass., in 1840-41, in the log house built by Edward Pier, which stood opposite the fair grounds, then occupied by Russell McCarty.

" A school was taught at Taycheedah by Edgar Conklin in 1842, to which scholars from Fond du Lac went. In 1843 and 1844, Theodore Conkey taught school in the then new schoolhouse in Fond du Lac. In the winter of 1844 and 1845, I taught a ' select school ' in "the same building ; had about twenty scholars, though they were not all from the village of Fond du Lac.

" Daniel W. Bromley was the first merchant in Fond du Lac. His store was opened in- 1842. Dr. Darling gave him one and one-half acres of land as an inducement to open a storethere.

" Moses S. Gibson brought a stock of goods by the way of Sheboygan in 1844. He was from Genesee County, N. Y. 0. S. Wright came with him as clerk.

" Clock & Weikert came to Fond du Lac with a stock of goods in October, 1844. They went to Indian ' payment ' at Shawano, and after ' payment ' returned to Fond du Lac andL opened a store in the Fond du Lac Company's house, which was then occupied by George Me Williams, who kept 'bachelor's hall.' The next spring, 1845, they came ' up town ' and occupied Bromley's store, as he had gone to Milwaukee.

" Walter Smith and George W. Gillet opened a stove and hardware store in 1845. T. L. Gillet opened a general store in 1846. George N. Lyman, of Sheboygan, opened a branchstore (W. A. Dewey, manager) in 1846, and David R. Curran opened the first drug store in the fall of the same year.

" In 1844, Rev. William H. Sampson was residing at Fond du Lac, and was Presiding Elder of that (Methodist) district. Mr. Joseph Lewjs was circuit minister. After that came Morgan L. Noble.^ He and T. P. Bingham, a Methodist minister, built a house on ' West Prairie.' They occupied the house together, but disagreed, and, to divide interests, sawed the building in two parts, and thus divorced themselves."

" Will some of our Fox River boatmen inform us if the persons who attempted to make » settlement at Fond du Lac have all moved away and abandoned the project ? A. Hyatt Smith told us there was sucAt. a place as Fond du Lac, and that he proposed running a branch of his railroad to it, but we suppose the erection of the dam at Menasha has drowned it out. At all events, we have sent copies of our paper regularly to the Union and Merald. directed to ' Fond du Lac,' and have received no answering tidings ; from which fact it is to be inferred there isnobody there, and, consequently, no such place as Fond du Lac ! "

City Of Eipon

FiEST Owners or Ripont - Early Settlement - Ripon's Early Progress - Citt Incorporated - City OFnoBRS, 1858 to 1880- Post Office - Public Schools - Ripon "Water-Power - Fire Department - GrAs-WoRKS - Hotels of Ripon - Public Halls - Churches of Ripon - Banks - Secret Societies - Benevolent, Literary and Other Societies - Manufacturing Interests - Ripon Cemeteries - Conflagrations - Ripon's Fighting Career- "The Booth War" - First Things - Growth of the City - Ripon of To-Day.

The land on which is located the principal portion of the city of Ripon (not including Ceresco) was bid off at the public-land sales in Green Bay, by John S. Hornery November 5, 1838. The "Patent," which was issued to Mary Eleanor Watson, of Washington, assignee of John S. Horner, is dated October 2, 1840. The next transfer was by Mr. Horner, as attorney in fact for Mary Eleanor Watson, to David P. Mapes. This deed was as follows :

Warbanty Deed. - This indenture, made this 28th day of April, in the year of our Lord 1849, between John S. Horner, as attorney in fact of Mary Eleanor Watson, of the city of Washington, pursuant to a power of attorney hereto annexed, of the first part, and David P. Mapes, of Fond du Lao County, Wis., of the second part, witnesseth ; That the said party of the first part, for and in consideration of the sum of $.300, to him in hand paid, receipt whereof is hereby confessed and acknowledged, does grant, bargain, sell, remise, release and convey unto the party of the second part, and to his heirs and assigns forever, all the following lots in the town of Ripon, in the county of Fond du Lac, Wis., according to the plat of said town to be of record, to wit: Nos. 2 and 4, of Block 1 ; Lots No. 2, 3 and 5, of Block 2 ; all of Block 3 ; Lot No. 5, of Block 4 ; Lots No. 2 and 3, of Block 5; Lots No. 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8, of Block 6; Lots No. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 11, of Block 8; Lots No. 2, 4 and 5, of Block 9; Lot No. 2, of Block 10; also Outlets No. 1, 3 and 4; and he, the said Horner, as aforesaid, his heirs, executors and administrators, do covenant with the said David P. Mapes as follows : First, that she, the said Mary Eleanor Watson, is lawfully seized of the said premises ; second, that she, the said Watson, has good right to convey the same, so that the same is free from encumbrances; that the said Watson and the said Horner will forever warrant and defend the title of the same ( against all lawful claims.

State of Wisconsin, Fond du Lac County, ss. - On April 28, 1849, came before me John S. Horner and acknowledged the foregoing instrument to be his free act and deed. A. P. Mapbs, Notary Public.

Early Settlement Of Ripon

Under the deed just recited, Mr. Mapes and his two sons struck the first blows for the beginning of Ripon early in the spring of 1849. The transfer of land was burdened with certain conditions, one of which was that Mr. Mapes should build and have in running order a public house and a grist-mill within one year, and that the hotel should be kept open by him personally during the following year.

The buildings called for by Mr. Mapes' contract with Mr. Horner, required an outlay of about $10,000, but was accomplished according to agreement, the mill being located a few rods from the present Ripon Mills, and the hotel, called the Ripon House, where Wood's Hotel now stands.

In order to induce settlers to locate at Ripon, Mr. Mapes gave away lots, upon condition that the recipients should make certain improvements or erect thereon specified buildings before a given time. The first was given to E. L. Northrup, on the east side of Public Square. The terms imposed were that he should keep thereon a stock of goods open for sale one year. This was the first store in Ripon. The second was to Mr. Pedrick, on condition that he would erect and paint a two-story building. The third was to Alexander Beardsley, who stipulated that hewould erect a blacksmith-shop, which he did, and which is the stone>shop how standing just east of Wood's Hotel on Jackson street.

The first building erected in Ripon was a board shanty, by Samuel Pedrick, near where the Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railway depot now stands. It was 12x24 feet, in one room, and finished April 9, 1849. The lumber was sawed at Strong's Mill, Ceresco. Its occupants, the Pedrick family, consisted of Samuel, his wife and five children - Marcellus, Charles R., Cyrus, Zebulon and Mary J. They occupied this house until Mr. Pedrick built another, on the corner of Scott street and Public Square, in 1850, when their first hoUse became a schoolhouse. Samuel Pedrick died that year (September, 1850), that being the second death in Ripon.

Ezra Lathrop Northrup, who opened the first store in Ripon, arrived in November, 1849, and had a stock of goods ready for customers in about six weeks. He is still a resident of the city.

In May, 1850, Samuel Sumner and Dana F. Shepard began the mercantile business in Ripon as one firm. Mr. Shepard sold out a year later and built Shepard's Hotel. Mr. Sumner has retired from business, still making Ripon his home. Mr. Shepard is in the West.

John P. Taggart arrived in Ripon in September, 1850, and opened a stock of hardware and general merchandise. In 1852, William M. Taggart arrived and became a partner in the business, under the firm name of Taggart Brothers. John P. has retired from business, still living in Ripon. William M. is in Missouri.

Jehdeiah Bowen came to Ripon in June, 1850, and erected a store for merchandise, on the northwest corner of Public Square, which he occupied in December of that year. Since that time he has erected more buildings than any other man in Ripon, having averaged one a year for the thirty years he has resided in this city. Mr. Bowen has not yet retired from business.

David Greenway came to Ripon in August, 1850, with his wife and three children. He soon engaged in the grocery and drug business, which he followed nearly twenty years. He still resides in Ripon.

After 1850, Ripon, having a mill, hotel, post oflSce, blacksmith-shop and several stores,, attracted many settlers, and grew rapidly and constantly.

The Ripon country is one of beauty. The Creator fashioned it in His smiling moments. As it came from His hands, before man had furrowed it with the plow and scratched it with the harrow and divided iu ofi" with fences and dotted it with barns and houses, it was one of nature's most perfect landscapes. There is just as much scenery in it as is consistent with the highest degree of agricultural wealth ; if there were more, some of the land must be waste, if there were less, tameness would begin lo mar the perfectness of the scene. There is prairie and timber, water and stone, hill and vale, bluff and ravine ; and none of them in excess. It i& beautiful.

But what makes the city of Ripon? There is nothing, or at least not much, in the spot, or in the surrounding country to determine the fact that here shall grow up one of the finest, handsomest and most vigorous cities in the Northwest; but here the place is. And what brought it here ? Well, it is what might be called an accident, or a series of accidents. It was that of those early settlers who first looked upon this beautiful spot, and said to themselves, " This is good ; I will plant myself and my family here, and help to make a town and grow up with the country," a large number were men of strongly marked characteristics. They were clear-headed, liberal, brave and persistent men ; and this was the secret of the early success of Ripon. Such men were not going to stick themselves down here, or any where, and grow up like so many transplanted Eastern basswoods ;. it was not in their nature to do anything of the kind. They said, " We are going to make the utmost of the capabilities of this spot," and they did. First, they said : " In process of time, all over this beautiful country will be scattered educational institutions of a high order ; the needs of an intelligent people will demand it. What is to hinder us from building a college on this hill, which overlooks one of the most lovely landscapes in the world ? Nothing is to hinder; let us do it." And it was done. At that time there were fourteen houses and shanties in this little hamlet of Ripon, all told ; and the commencement of anything so pretentious as a college, in so small a community, without a penny of foreign aid, would have seemed preposterous to the average mind, but it was done nevertheless, and there stands the college to-day, the chief supporting pillar of Ripon. Considering all the circumstances ; the times, the poverty of the county, the sparseness of the population, the infinitesimal size of the village - the erection of the first college building - stone, fifty feet square, three stories high, with observatory, and so on - was a great achievement. It is safe to say that four persons, or four families, subscribed four-fifths of all the money it cost, and it is also safe to say that three of the four contributed one-tenth of all they were worth in the world to this single enterprise. True, they reckoned that this money (or some of it) would come back to them in after times ; and it did. There the college stands, three noble buildings in a campus, which, when time has produced its results upon the shrubbery and trees, will scarcely be surpassed by any college campus in the country. This is the result of the eiforts of those far-sighted, persistent, selfsacrificing men.

After the college cam^ the railroad. Now Ripon was not on any great line. It was a little community away ofl"by itself. The Chicago and North-Western Railway was projected - and begun - to strike a line of cities, north and south, through the center of the State ; the Milwaukee & La Crosse was projected to run east and west through the State, but neither was to come here, nor was any line projected to come here or in this direction. What then ? The men of Ripon did not propose to be cut ofi" from the rest of the world merely because they did not happen to be located on one of the world's highways. They forthwith determined to have a railroad, and they got it. They held little informal gatherings among themselves to talk over the matter ; they sent committees to Berlin and Waupun to arouse an interest in those places in the matter - a thing quite easy to do, for the railroad fever Was beginning to take on the epidemic form throughout the county - Brandon was not then in existence. When the home energies were sufficiently concentrated, they sent a committee to consult the railroad magnates in Milwaukee, as the thing which seemed most feasible to do next. These magnates scarcely knew of such a place as Ripon, and knew nothing of the splendid capabilities of the county. But after the due amount of solicitation, a committee of them came up here to look the ground over. It was good; on that there was no discount. But railroads cost money, in fact, a great deal of money, and would Ripon, Berlin, Waupun and the farming population between, do the handsome thing by a company that would undertake to build a railroad to them ? Ripon thought it would do about $130,000 worth, Berlin thought it would do about as much more, and Waupun half as much ; which the same Ripon and Berlin did, but Waupun did not. The promises, however, were cheering and the road was undertaken. This was in the autumn of 1853 ; and, in the autumn of 1856, Ripon had direct communication, by rail, with Milwaukee, a year or more before Fond du Lac had reached the same achievement. $130,000, at that time, for the little community in and about Ripon, was an immense subscription ; $80,000 of it was in cash and mortgage subscriptions, and $50,000 in an issue of town bonds. All the individual subscriptions, of course, were paid years and years ago, and this present year the last of the bonds has been redeemed and canceled, which brought Ripon out of debt.

City Incorporated

By an act approved April 2, 1853, the villages of Ceresco and Ripon were consolidated and named Morena. The inhabitants, however, paid little attention to this change, retaining,.

as they have since done, the original name ; and when incorporated it was as the city of Ripon. The first charter was for' a city government, and was secured by E. L. Runals, a member of the Assembly, in 1858. The measure met with strong opposition from some of the Fond du Lac County members of the Legislature, who were backed by quite a number of the citizens of Ripon, who did not want the city incorporated on account of adding the expense of building sidewalks and making other imprt)vements. The members of the Legislature opposed the charter because it provided for three wards, each with a Supervisor, which would give Ripon, they thought, too large a representation in the County Board. Although, the charter had been adopted in a large mass meeting at Ripon, section by section, and was entirely satisfactory, it had to be amended so that it should provide for but two wards before its passage could be secured.

The city contains, ponds and waterways included, 2,560 acres, described as follows: The west half of the southwest quarter of Section 15 ; the south half of Section 16 ; the south half of Section 17; the whole of Sections 20 and 21 ; the west quarter of Section 22; the west half of the northwest quarter of Section 27 and the north half of Section 28.

Ripon is governed by the Mayor and two Aldermen from each ward, called the Common Council, who are aided by a City Clerk, Treasurer, Marshal, and one Constable and one Justice of the Peace in each ward. These are all, elected annually except the Justices of the Peace and the Clerk, whose terms extend over two years. The latter was elected annually until 1863, when the charter was amended as just mentioned.

The City Clerk receives $1 per day, and fees ; the Marshal, $1 per day, and fees for serving papers ; the Treasurer, a percentage on the taxes collected ; Assessor, a per diem during actual service, and the Street Commissioner $1.50 per day for actual service. The Mayor and Aldermen receive no pay for their official labors.

By a special act of the Legislature, in 1863, the City Clerk was made ex ofiRcio Clerk of the Municipal Court. His compensation consists of the usual court fees, and $3 per day while the court is in session.

During the ten years ending with 1879, there have been levied and collected in the city of Ripon, $257,122.54 of taxes. The lightest tax was $20,306.88, in 1870, and the next lightest $23,284.38, in 1879. Why the village was named Ripon has already been explained. Naturally the city, which was but the development of the village, received the same name. It is popularly known as the "Prairie City."

Superintendent of Schools. - G. B. Cooley, 1858 ; George Perkins, 1859 ; L. H. D. Crane, 1860 ; G. J. Allen, 1861. After 1861, the system was changed and the city was placed under the jurisdiction of the County Superintendent.

The name of the first place for the reception and delivery of mail in Ripon was Ceresco. The office was located in Ceresco - for there was not even one house on " the hill" wherfr Ripon now is - and Lester Rounds was Postmaster, receiving his commission in 1844. The mail was carried during the winter of 1844-45, from Ceresco to Fond du Lac by John Limbert once a week. He went on foot, and had one of Nathan Hunter's pillow-cases for a mail pouch. Sometimes he was well laden. The second Postmaster was William Starr (now deceased), and. the office still remained in Ceresco. In 1849, D. P. Mapes made an exertion to remove the post office from Ceresco to " the hill," which had been named Ripon. The Whigs were then in power, and, as the members of the Wisconsin Phalanx were mostly Democrats, the task was accomplished, and E. L. Northrup was given the appointment. Mr. Northrup did not secure possession of the office until March 30, 1850, although appointed the latter part of 1849. In 1853, Mr. Starr made an effort to secure the appointment of Postmaster again, and to move the office back to Ceresco. His competitor was David P. Mapes, who, of course, desired to retain the office at Ripon. The contest was a spirited one, both candidates making the journey to^ Washington to plead their cause. Mr. Mapes was successful, however, and that ended all efforts to get the post office at Ceresco. When the members of the Wisconsin Phalanx first lost the post office, they for.med themselves into a funeral procession and turned their loss, which, was really a serious one, into a joke. In January, 1854, in order to induce A. M. Skeels (now deceased) to settle his business at Ripon, Mr. Mapes resigned the office of Postmaster to him. The name of the office was changed from Ceresco to Ripon in 1855. Mr. Skeels was succeeded in May, 1861, by Jehdeiah Bowen, who erected a stone building on the east side of Public Square especially for the post office. During the month of February, 1864, Mr. Bowen received the mail but once on tirne, owing to the snow blockade. He therefore employed a man and team to fetch the mail from the cars wherever they might be blockaded. This he deemed necessary, as the war of the rebellion was at its height and people were anxious to receive intelligence from their soldier friends. Many times during that winter the post office was kept open all night, the lobby being crowded until 3 o'clock in the morning by men and women who had friends in the army. Mr. Bowen resigned and was succeeded in September, 1866, by David McKercher, who had just become a resident of Ripon at the time of his appointment. Mr. McKercher was succeeded in 1870 by Hiram S. Town, the present incumbent. In the spring of 1879, the post office building burned, together with a quantity of mail matter and valuable records. A room on the ground floor of Greenway's Block was then arranged for the post office, which is the most commodious and convenient Ripon ever had. The post office at Ripon is seCond-class, with a salary of $2,000 per year to the Postmaster, and an allowance of $450 for clerk hire. When the office was first removed from Ceresco, the revenues were $1.60 for the first quarter. Now the receipts are $1,000 per quarter, aside from the money-order fees, which, amount to $150 per year.

Public Schools

The first school taught in Ripon was in the fall of 1844. Lester Rounds was teacher, and the schoolroom was in the Wisconsin Phalanx building in Ceresco. The next year, the Pha^ lanx people erected a stone schoolhouse on Lot 1, Block 5, corner of' Church and Liberty! streets, in which Mr. Rounds was also a teacher. This was not at first a public school, for it was maintained by the citizens of Ceresco for the benefit of their own children, there being no others in the vicinity. As the surrounding country became settled soon after, they took advantage of the law which allowed ten families to erect themselves into a school district, and it became a public school.

It is agreed between School District No. 5, in the town of Ceresco, and Edward Daniels, a qualified teacher of Green Lake, that the said Edward Daniels is to teach the common school of said district for the term of five months, for the sum of $26 per month ; and for such services, properly rendered, the said district is to pay to the said Edward Daniels the amount that may be due according to this contract by the 1st day of May, 1850.

Mr. Daniels taught this " term of five months " in the stone schoolhouse erected by the Wisconsin Phalanx, which was afterward, February 27, 185*2, deeded by them to School District No. 5, for the sum of $225.

The deed is a quaint document. The Phalanx seal, a piece of yellow linen cloth about one-half an inch wide and three times as long as wide, appears next to the names of the grantors, which are signed in a small hand. The grantors are Warren Chase, R. D. Mason, Russell Smith, Jacob Woodruff, Jacob Beckwith, James Clarkson, J. M. Boutelle, Carlton Lane and John Irving. The old school building here deeded has disappeared.

In March, 1857, Hiram S. Town and his wife, for the sum of $200, deeded Lot 5 in Block 1, Ceresco, to District No. 5 for a schoolhouse site, and that same spring, Gilbert Lane and Seth G. Strong gave bond to build for $2,000, and furnish all material, the octagon-shaped building of mortar and gravel, now called the Ceresco Schoolhouse. When first finished, it contained but two rooms, one above and one below. These have since been partitioned so as to furnish rooms above and below for study and for recitations. Up to 1879, the building had been sadly neglected, having gone without repairs, paint, sidewalk and proper outbuildings. It was surrounded by gullies or mud, and was a dreary place. During the year mentioned, several hundred dollars were expended in repairs. The scholars have laid out tasty flower-beds and gardens ; purchased through their own efforts an encyclopedia, and now contemplate erecting a fountain, for which abundant water is near. ^

The school is prosperous. A high-school department was established in this district in 1877, as the following minutes, taken from the school record-book, show :

Adgurn meetin Cald To order By the Director L E Nole H D Alen was elected Chairman The Comity Report the Clerks Books is Correkt With one or to Mistake.

Motion to adopt the free high school law amenament to adopt the high school law if it dont in Criese our cispences Motion Loste Vote on motion to adopt free high schoole was adopted

The district employs four teachers, who have charge of four departments - Primary, Intermediate, Grammar and High School - all in one building. The total number of children of school age in District No. 5 is 324.

District No. 2. - Notice for a meeting to be held at Mapes' Hotel (the Ripen House), October 21, 1850, for the formation of Disttict No. 2, was posted about the 1st of October, of that year, by Levi Parker, Superintendent of Schools of the town of Ceresco. The meeting was held at the house of H. D. Scott, in Ceresco, instead of at the hotel. D. F. Shepard was chosen Krector ; E. L. Northrup, Treasurer, and C. R. Pedrick, Clerk. Those present voted to erect a eohool, and raise for that purpose a tax of $300. Arrangements were made for the use of the honsBi then occupied by D. F. SheparJ for a schoolhouse until one could be erected. This building was the one erected in 1849, near where the Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railway depot stands, by Samuel Pedrick. The following contract shows who was the first teacher in the district :

It is agreed between School District No. 2, in the town of Ceresco and Emily E. Turner, a qualified teacher of said town, that the said Emily E. Turner is to teach the common school in said District for the term of three months, for the sum of $1.75 pfer week; and for such services, properly rendered, the said District is to pay the said Emily E. Turner the amount that may be due according to this contract, on or before the 1st day of April, 1851.

In April, 1851, the first school tax, amounting to $69.05, was collected in District No. 2, to pay teacher's wages and other expenses, which had been advanced by E. L. Northrup. Finally, in October, 1852, it was voted to add another $100 to the sum ($300) already voted to be raised to build a schoolhouse, and to erect a building 22x86 feet. The Building Committee were : H. Sabin, Mr. Bearss, A. E. Bovay and A. P. Mapes, who furnished the plans and specifications. The building, now occupied as a dwelling, was erected on what is now called the " Park," opposite the present brick schoolhouse on Fond du Lac street.

The main portion of the brick schoolhouse was erected in 1860, by G. W. Sawyer, for $2,900, who furnished all materials. The site, which is Lot 40 on Fond du Lac street, was purchased of E. P. Brockway for $600. In 1871, Samuel Allen built an addition to the brick schoolhouse, 25x35 feet, for $2,615, and furnished everything. The building is now in good condition.

The district being large and the number of scholars constantly increasing, two wooden schoolhduses were erected in 1860 for the accommodation of small scholars. The one on the corner of Shepard and Doty streets cost $485, and the site $150. The one on Ho'ward street cost $500, and the site $150. The number of scholars still continuing to increase, the Mapes dwelling, next to the brick schoolhouse, was purchased in 1877 and made into a schoolhouse, at a cost of $1,038.89 for the site and building.

The total number of scholars in 1879 in District No. 2 was 724. The district employs ten teachers, who have charge of four Primary Schools, two Intermediate, one Grrammar and one High School.

The privilege of using for manufacturing purposes the heavy fall of water in Silver Creek, where it flows through the city of Ripon, was purchased by David P. Mapes, of Mary Eleanor Watson, through her attorney, John'S. Horner, in 1849. It was first improved by Mr. Mapes, in 1849 and 1850. The first dam was built by him where Eureka street now is, the road-bed being originally the dam. The next dam was built by Mr. Mapes at Scott street, in 1853, for the Gothic Mill. The Eureka street dam was tapped when. Mr. Dellinger built the new Ripon Mills power, in 1866. The very first utilization of the water in Silver Creek was in 1844, at Ceresco, by the Phalanx. The fall is about 100 feet from Scott street to Ceresco Mills, and before the large marshes east and south of Ripon were drained and cultivated by the farmers,

was abundant for all purposes. Before such drainage, these marshes acted as reservoirs from which the water came down slowly. Now the water runs off much more rapidly, thus making the supply somewhat inadequate after the marshes are once drained.

As a compensation for the privilege of laying the trunk which conveys water to G. W. Bellinger's mill, he was obliged to stipulate that the city might always take water from his bulkhead for fire purposes and for sprinkling streets. It has a "head" (fall) of fifty feet, thus furnishing a tremendous power.

Fire Department

The city of Ripon was without a fire engine or fire department until 1875, when a chemical engine was purchased for $2,500, and a volunteer company organized with Hazen R. Hill as Chief Fire Marshal. He was succeeded in a few months by H. J. Goodall, who has since held that position. The company numbers fifty members, who are divided into "Engine Company, No. 1," and "Prairie City Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1." The members receive no pay from the city, but after serving seven years they are exempt from poll tax, jury duty and military service, except in case of an invasion of the State. They have good uniforms and a sum of money in the treasury which was obtained from firemen's balls and the 2 per cent tax on premiums from the insurance agents of the city.

For gallant service at the great fire in Oshkosh, in 1876, the company received two silver trumpets. The city erected, on the north side of .Jackson street, a two-story wooden building in which the engine and hook and ladder truck are kept, and in which fire meetings are held. The city has a standing reward to the teamster who has the first load of water to the fire, and also pays a private individual for hauling the engine to and from fires.

The oflBcers are: H. J. Goodall, Chief; W. B. Allen, First Assistant; A. Lanning, Jr., Second Assistant ; B. F. Keenan, Secretary; W. H. Vermilye, Treasurer.

Gas Works

In 1872, C. L. Lightburn began the erection of the Ripon Gas Works, on Pond street, on the south shore of the upper mill-pond. Although comparatively small, the works cost upward of $25,000, being thoroughly built and well equipped. The city advanced $1,000 in cash to Mr. Lightburn, to aid in their construction, which was returned to the municipality in gas at $30 per lamp-post per annum. In 1876, A. L. Dobbs came into possession of the works, which had been idle for some months. Mr. Dobbs entered upon the manufacture of gas, which, however, he discontinued after eighteen months, the business being unprofitable. The works now lie idle. They are now owned, except a claim of the county for two or three years' taxes, by a Milwaukee firm.

Hotels Of Ripon

Ceresco had no hotel at first, but travelers and strangers were lodged and fed at the large boarding-house belonging to the Phalanx people, or by D. P. Mapes, who lived on a farm east of the present city, or by the Dakins, who lived a few miles west. The Central House, which now stands opposite Bateman's flouring mill, was erected in one or two years after the Wisconsin Phalanx began business, but Ceresco has had no hotels for many years.

Ripon House. - In 1850, David P. Mapes erected on the site of Wood's Hotel, at the north end of Public Square, a two-story, square, wooden building, which he called the Ripon House. A grand opening was had when the house was completed, at which were present people from Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Berlin, Milwaukee, Green Lake and other places. It was a memorable affair. This hotel was afterward called the American House, and, in 1859, Larrabee & Fargo ran it as a temperance house. From 1861 to 1866, it was owned and managed by Town & Fargo, who, at the end of that time, sold it to Wood & Fisk. When Wood's Hotel was built, the American House was moved down into the valley back of its original site, where it now stands unoccupied. It was the first business building erected in Ripon - that is, in the portion of

Wood's Hotel. - This is a brick building, the largest and finest in the western portion of Fond du Lac County. It was erected in 1872 by Alanson Wood, the present proprietor. At the opening ball, which occurred on the very spot where D. P. Mapes had the first hotel opening in Ripon, in 1850, over $1,200 was realized from the sale of tickets. The building is of brick and stone, and five stories high. It is commodiously arranged, with parlors, reading-room, ofiice and dining-room level with Public Square. It is well furnished, well kept, and has seventy-five rooms. The building faces Public Square on the south, with streets on its east and west fronts. It is one of the most noticeable buildings in Ripon.

Mapes House. - The Mapes House, a large, four-story stone structure, located on the west side of Broadway, at the corner of Blossom street, was erected in 1853, and opened by T. J. Mapes. It was the largest hotel in the western portion of the county until the erection of Wood's Hotel, in 1872, and secured a large share of patronage. It has been kept at various periods by T. J. Mapes, Wheeler & Peck, J. J. Smith, Gilbert Lane and John Weisgerber, the present proprietor, who is doing a profitable business.

Shepard's Hotel. - In 1851, a building was erected on the corner of Public Square and West Fond du Lac streets, for a hotel. It was called Shepard's Hotel, and managed by Dana F. Shepard. The first "Independence ball" held in Ripon was in this unfinished building, July 4, 1851. During the dance it was several times set on fire by fireworks. In 1853, the name of the hotel was changed to the National, and so continued until the building was destroyed by fire about the year 1856.

Lum's Hotel. - This was built by L. Portugal in 1870, for a public house, and called the Commercial Hotel. He was its proprietor and manager until 1877, when he moved to Milwaukee. In 1879, H. Lum remodeled the inner portion of the building and opened it for the accommodation of the traveling public. It is comparatively a small hotel, but is kept in a neat and homelike manner, and draws its full share of patronage.

Princeton House. - This is a German hotel, situated on Jackson street west of Public Square, and caters mostly for the custom of farmers. It is owned and managed by H. Kohl, who enjoys a large share of the hotel business of Ripon.

City Hall. - The first public hall in Ripon was built by David P. Mapes, over two stone stores on the west side of Broadway or Main street, in 1851. It was first called Henton Hall, and afterward City Hall. It is now used as a storeroom in connection with Gehbe's furniture store. At the opening ball, by which it was dedicated, enough tickets were sold to net $250 in cash.

Greenway Hall. - This hall was built by David Greenway in his V-shaped, three-story brick building in 1861. tJntil the opening of Opera Hall, it was the best place for public meetings in Ripon. It mow is mostly used for balls, socials and masquerades, for which its large size sind absence of galleries make it desirable.

Opera Hall. - This is the principal hall of Ripon. It was buiU by Marcellus Pedrick in 1869, of stone and brick, on the corner of Blossom street and Broadway. It has a gallery on three sides, a neatly arranged stage and two good entrances - one on Broadway by a stairway, and one on Blossom slyeet, direct from the sidewalk. It has admirable acoustic properties, and will seat 600 persons comfortably. It is now owned by M. Pedrick, its original builder and proprietor. It is an exceedingly safe and substantial place for public gatherings.

Chukches Of Ripon

Congregational Church. - There was held, at the Ripon Hotel, November 21, 1850, a meeting for the purpose of organizing a church. Rev. D. Clary, of the American Home Missionary Society, was Moderator, and Rev. J. H. Kasson, Clerk. The organization was effected by admitting the following persons, who had been members of churches before coming to Ripon, on presentation of the proper papers : Winthrop C. Lord, Elizabeth Lord, Mary Parker, Wilson Holt, Abigail Holt, Francis A. Strong, Merriam B. L. Strong, Andrew Sherwood, Clarissa Sherwood, William Dunham, and GriflSth Beynon. Rev. F. G. Sherrill was there invited to become acting Pasfor, which he did. In the fall of 1853, a small wooden church edifice, which had been erected just north of the old college building, was dedicated as a place of worship. In 1857, the increased number of members made it necessary to enlarge the building, which was -done in June of that year. In 1867, the present splendid stone structure was begun on College Hill, which was finished and dedicated in February, 1868. The old church building, which stands only a few rods north of the new one, was then sold to the Temperance Germans, who now use it for a church. The present structure is the largest, finest and costliest in Ripon. It was built entirely of Ripon stone, except the trimmings, and cost $22,000.

The following persons were elected Deacons : Andrew Sherwood and Wilson Holt, in 1850; Griffith Beynon, in 1851 ; William Dunham, in 1852 ; Sylvester Richmond, in 1855 ; Darius Phelps, in 1856 ; Ceylon North, in 1861 ; G. R. Shaw, in 1865; A. C. Chittenden and A. M. Phelps, in 1870 ; William M. Bristol, in 1873; Ira C. Lyon and Charles F. Hammond, in 1874 ; A. P. Harwood and C. A. Kenaston, in 1875. The following have been elected Deaoonesses : Mrs. E. N. Harris, in 1870 ; Mrs. C. B. Woodward and Mrs. Mariam B. L. Strong, in 1873.

The bell which now hangs in the old college building, and which was the first one in Ripon, was procured through the energy of Rev. H. M. Chapin, who solicited subscriptions both in Ripon and among his friends abroad. It was first hung in a wooden frame near the old wooden church. This frame was paid for with funds raised by the Ladies' Aid Society. When the little church had been enlarged and this bell hung, the members of the church felt proud of their achievement. People not acquainted with those times can hardly appreciate the magnitude of this work.

St. Peter's Episcopal Church. - In September, 1859, having been previously heralded by kind letters of introduction. Bishop Jackson Kemper sent Rev. Fayette Durlin to Ripon, expressing the wish that he might become the "settled minister" of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the place. Mr. Durlin was heartily received, and a determination to erect a house of worship and establish a regular parish at once obtained. The first inscription on the church records is as follows :

On opening the records of this parish, hereinafter to be inscribed, some few preliminary words may be of interest to those who shall peruse them hereafter. I believe that I am the iirst renident Episcopal Clergyman ever engaged in the work of organizing and building up a parish in this place. Several different clergymen - among them the Rev. .1. P, T. Ingraham, the Rev. L. D. Brainard, the Rev. Thomas Greene and the Rev. Peter B. Morrison - have held services here at rare intervals ; but no organization of a parish was ever effected, nor anything undertaken at the request of the Bishop, and, through the invitation of some interested in the services of this church, particularly that of Dr. B. B. Spalding, I arrived here to take up my abode and begin my labors, on Monday, February 13, 1860. The following Sunday, February 19, I held my first service here, in the Baptist meeting-house, having but the morning service, there being no place for us in the afternoon. During the week, a hall was procured and rented for our exclusive use, over H. F. Olmsted's store, and being neatly and properly fitted up for the purpose, we now have regular services there every Sunday morning and afternoon, and expect to until we are able to build a church. Thus much I thought it well to put down here, as what might be of interest, as matter of reference, in future years. It is a humble beginning; but, relying on God's blessing and the all-sufficient presence, guidance and help of the Great Head of the Church, we cannot doubt that somewhat will grow out of it to the glory and honor of the ever-adorable Trinity and to the everlasting good of souls.

It was resolved, April 10, 1869, to erect a church, and B. B. Spalding, A. B. Bovay, William M. Taggart, George W. Mitchell and E. P. Brockway were appointed to secure plans and specifications. Afterward, Mr. Bovay resigned and Mr. Durlin took his place.

The contract for erecting the church edifice was let to A. Lanning for $2,800, the site being at the head of Blossom street, and secured from John S. Horner. The building committee consisted of H. S. Eggleston, G. W. Mitchell, William Starr and Rev. F. Durlin. The subscriptions taken for the erection of the church amounted to nearly $.3,350. Taggart Bros, and E. P. Brockway each gave $200 ; A. E. Bovay, B. B. Spalding, D. F. Shepard, G. W. Mitchell, W. H. Dakin and H. S. Eggleston each gave $150 ; M. W. Seeley, William Starr, T. B. Bobbins and A. M. Skeels gave each $100 ; H. Willard and B. Pinkney gave each $75 ; L. H. D. Crane, H. S. Towen, J. Bowen, D. Green way, C. Pinkney, Prairie City Bank, E. Root,. H. Pierce, George Marshall, A. D. Foote, Mrs. E. F. Peck and A. B. Beardsleyv, gave each $50. The balance was made up by numerous smaller subscriptions.

The building was completed, consecrated and occupied for worship early in 1861. The consecration was by Bishop Kemper, January 23, 1861. The parish schoolhouse was erected in 1864, at a cost of $1,897.12, including the site, which was purchased of George W. Lyman for $300.

The rectory or parsonage, erected west of the schoolhouse in 1866, on a lot purchased of G. N. Lyman, cost about $2,300, and was constructed by Samuel Allen. All three of the buildings are of the Gothic style of architecture and of wood.

By an act of the Legislature, approved February 20, 1866, the name of Grace Church was changed to St. Peter's, the style of the corporation being " The Rector, Church- Wardens and Vestrymen of St. Peter's Church, in the city of Ripon, Wis."

The different Rectors have been: Fayette Durlin, from February 13, 1860, to June 11, 1865 ; George Armstrong Whitney, August 1, 1865, to May 20, 1866 ; E. F. Baker, June 1, 1866, to September 1, 1868; Jubal Hodges, May 30, 1869, to July 5, 1869; M. V. Averill, May 15, 1870, to December 31, 1872 ; Fayette Durlin, November 30, 1873, to date. The brief term of Jubal Hodges' rectorship was owing to a renewed attack of an old brain difficulty, which finally resulted in death.

The Clerks have been Henry S. Eggleston, George W. Root and George L. Field, the present official, who has held the position since April, 1863.

Those who have held the office of Warden are as follows : A. E. Bovay, E. Root, Edward P. Brockway, H. S. Eggleston, Howard Pierce, Bertine Pinkney, William Starr, J. M. De Frees, John Corbett, W. L. Gillett and Robert Allen. Mr; Brockway was Senior Warden from 1861 to 1867, with the exception of one year, when he was absent.

At the beginning of 1873, the parish being somewhat in debt, George L. Field presented a resolution, which was adopted by the Vestry, providing that, from that day forth, no expense whatever should be incurred unless sufficient cash or pledges were available to pay it. This novel resolution in church government made it impossible to secure a Rector, and, from that time, lay services only were held until the debt was wiped out, which was done at theclose of that year. The parish is now out of debt. The present number of communicants is 96. The baptisms have been, altogether, 275 ; the confirmations, 170 ; the marriages, 50 ; the burials, 52.

The first Wardens were A. E. Bovay and E. Root. The first Vestrymen were B. B. Spalding, M. W. Seely, H. S. Eggleston, William M. Taggart, George W. Mitchell, E. P. Brockway and William Starr.

The* present Wardens are W. L. Gillett and Robert Allen. The present Vestrymen are- George L. Field, Charles Cowan, J. M. De Frees, D. W. Akin, J. P. Taggart, W. W. Davy and 0. U. Akin.

Methodist Episcopal Ohurch. - As nearly as can be ascertained, the Methodist Church was first organized in 1852, the class consisting of only three members, of whom George Limbert was appointed leader. He also held the office of local preacher, having first united with the Wesleyan Church in England. He remained a worthy and useful member till his death, which occurred December 29, 1879.

The first church was a small structure, located in that part of the city then called Ceresco. In this building the church worshiped till the summer of 1860, when the present edifice, on Jackson street, was built. This building is 40x82 feet. It is a fine wooden structure, very well, finished, with an audience-room the full size of the building ; a commodious lecture-room and. two classrooms in the basement. A good and convenient parsonage was purchased in 1863, located on Liberty street, in Ceresco. Mr. Corliss contributed $800 toward the purchase of the building, the final securing of which was due largely to the efibrts of Rev. J. T. Woodhead, who was then Pastor.

The church has experienced severe trials, but its present state is one of very general harmony of feeling and of unity of action, with a good degree of spiritual interest.

Baptist Church. - In 1852, Elder D. Sabin, still a resident of Ripon, and in his eightyfifth year, began Baptist preaching in the schoolhouse on Fond du Lac street, alternating with the preacher of some other denomination, who also held services at the same place. In April, 1853, a meeting was held at this schoolhouse for the formation of a church. Elder Sabin was Moderator, and Henry Lansing, Clerk. The organization was perfected, the following persons becoming members : D. Sabin, Carrie Sabin, Rev. Roswell Osborn, W. W. Robinson, Mrs. S. Robinson, Mrs. George N. Lyman, Mrs. H. H. Mead, John Russell, Elizabeth Russell, Mrs. Mary M. Russell, Henry Lansing, David I. Parka, Philander Parks and Avery Brown. In May, 1853, a Baptist council was held at the Congregational Church in Ripon, and re-organized the new organization. Elder Sabin acted as Pastor until 1854, and was succeeded by Rev. M. Hutchinson, who died soon after. In 1855, the church received a charter from the State, and Avery Brown, J. A. Barnes, H. H. Mead and W. W. Robinson were chosen Trustees.

In 1856, the erection of a church on Fond du Lac street, the present structure, was begun. It was finished, dedicated and occupied in December, 1857. In 1867, blinds were added, the building was painted and other repairs made, s" that it is now an exceedingly tasty and comfortable place of worship. During this same year, 1867, twenty-five new members were received into the church, which is the greatest number received at any one time. The church is entirely put of debt, and has been for some years. The Pastors (those before this having been merely "supplies" or acting Pastors) have been: H. I. Parker, 1856 to 1860, who preached in the City Hall until the church was completed ; C. T. Tucker, who was the first to devote his whole time and attention to the church ; E. L. Walker, 1860 to 1863 ; A. Latham, September, 1863, to March, 1864 ; P. Work, July, 1864 to August, 1869 ; J. C. Burkholder, a portion of 1869 and 1870 ; L. L. Gage, 1870 to 1872 ; R. W. Arnold, 1873 to 1877 ; D. Crosby, June, 1877, to date, being the present Pastor.

First Presbyterian Ohurch. - This church was formerly called " Grace " Methodist Episcopal Church, and was an "independent" organization formed by Alfred E. Bishop, Elizabeth

Bishop, Albert P. Corliss, Hattie Corliss, Mathew Miller, Rosa Miller, Edward Smith, Judith Smith, Cornilius Brundige, Katharine Brundige, Alphonso S. Crooker, Miss Eraeline M. Crooker. It was incorporated under the laws of the State May 8, 1877, by E. J. Smith, E. Babcock, A. P. Corliss, D. Furniss, R. T. Graves, Alfred E. Bishop, D. G. Woodward, Edward Smith, John Martin and B. Kingsbury.

Rev. J. M. Craig was the Pastor of Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, as he now is of the new Presbyterian organization, which was effected January 19, 1880, on petition of the congregation. After entering the Presbyterian denomination, an organization was completed by the election and ordination of R. T. Graves, A. S. Crooker, John Martin and Dan Eurniss, as Elders, and Edward Smith and D. G. Woodward as Deacons. Services have always been held in the Unitarian Church,* which is rented for that purpose.

The members of this church were those who left the old Methodist Church on account of some difficulty or dissatisfaction. It is in a prosperous condition.

ImanueVs Kirche. - This is a branch of the German Evangelical Church of North America. It was organized May 8, 1870, at the house of W. Luck, with the following members : Rev. A. Huelster, August Buchholz, W. Luck, A. Scheewe, W. Aker, A. Zank, G. Burger, G. Raddrenzel, M. Drahim and F. Hoft. A. Scheewe, W. Aker and W. Liick were elected Trustees. At this first meeting, arrangements were made to erect a place of Worship, and Rev. A. Huelster, August Buchholz and A. Zank were elected Building Committee. A lot was secured in Ceresco plat, on Jackson street, on which, in September, 1870, a building, 30x44 feet, was erected at a cost of |2,273. The dedication was by Bishop J. J. Escher, in October, 1870, at which time the entire indebtedness of the church was liquidated. In 1875, the congregation had grown so rapidly that more land, costing $175, was purchased, on which additional accommodations for teams were built, and on which an enlargement of the church building will also be erected soon. The congregation numbers 200 members, and money enough is on hand to make all contemplated improvements. The different Pastors have been : Revs. A. Huelster, six months ; C. F. Finger, two years; John Koch, two years; Fr. Stroebel, three years ; 0. Kuederling, the present Pastor, two years.

Evangelical German Lutheran Ohurch. - In 1866,, Rev. G. Thiele, who built the stone church on Scott street, and had been its Pastor about two years, took a few of its members, among them F. Leistikow, C Bremer and C. Daluege, and started a Temperance Lutheran Church. Services were first held in the college building until a small dwelling near the end of the Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railroad bridge was purchased, which is now the parsonage and schoolhouse. In this services were held-, the Pastor resided, and school was held until the Congregationalists erected their new church, when the Lutherans purchased of them the old wooden building on College. Hill.

The church now is composed of seventy families. The school,. in which only children who are thirteen years old are taught, contains thirty-six scholars. The Pastors have been, G. Thiele, E. Meyerhoff, G. Hoelzel, A. Liefelt and Joseph Westenberger, the present Pastor, who came in 1878. The Tr;ustees are W. Wallschlaeger, Gustave Ruestau and W. Ponto. The- Elders are C. Daluege, E. Neuenfeld and William Schmidt. The church has no debt and is in prosperous circumstances.

Evangelical Lutheran Qhurch. - During the month of February, 1864, a German Protestant minister, named G. Thiele, arrived in Ripon and attempted to organize a church. He succeeded in securing pledges from thirty men to sustain him as their Pastor and erect a church. Accordingly, in 1865, a church edifice, 36x52 feet, was begun on Scott street. It was constriicted entirely of stone from the Ripon quarries ; had a basement for school purposes and ornamented with a graceful spire. In 1866, Mr. Thiele was dismissed, and the name of the church changed to the Evangelical Lutheran, with by-laws and ritual in conformity with this

* This church was erected mostly by Elder Sanborn at the beginning of West Fond du Lac street, as a Universalist house of worahip The number embracing this form of religious worship being small, the church was changed to the Unitarian denomination. But this main-, taiued a formal organization for only p. short period, and the house had been without worshipers^for several years, until it was rented by ths aboTe-mentioned,

Teligious subdivison. The new minister was Rev. W. Schmidt, who resigned on account of ill iealth at the end of the year. In 1868, Rev. David Tunkele was chosen Pastor, who remained with the congregation five years. He was succeeded by Rev. Conrad, who filled the pulpit About eighteen months, and was succeeded by Rev. 0. Dalies, the present Pastor. Under the ministration of Mr. Dalies many improvements have been made on the church property. A handsome and commodious parsonage was erected in 1879, and the surrounding grounds fenced and beautified. The school, taught in the basement of the church, has 125 students, who have books, maps, charts and a fine organ. The inside of the church edifice is neatly finished and furnished, having an organ which cost $700. At present the church has 185 members, and is in a prosperous condition.

aS^. Patrick's Catholic Church. - This church was organized by Rev. E. Gray in January, 1859. Those present at the first mass were N. Roche, Thomas Leo, Michael Lyman, M. Spellman, James Flattery and M. Bannon. The church, a well-built wooden structure, is located on the south side of Oshkosh street. Formerly a portion of the church yard was used as a cemetery, but is no longer. The parochial residence is a fine brick structure, two stories' in height, located near the church on Oshkosh street. For some years the church was heavily in debt, but, through the efforts of Father Graves, the present Pastor, and his congregation, this has been nearly wiped out, and the finances are now in a sound condition. The church is constantly increasing in membership, its members constituting a strong and active temperance society.

The very first exchange, or banking business, done in Ripon was in 1863, by B. P. Brock- -way, who opened an office for that purpose, and which was really the beginning of the present First National Bank. In 1855, Catlin & Brockway - Richard Catlin and E. P. Brockway - opened a banking and exchange ofEce. This continued until the organization of the Bank of Ripon.

First National Bank. - This bank was organized with a capital of $50,000, March 19, 1864. The stockholders and directors were E. P. Brockway, H. H. Mead, George L. Field, William M. Taggart and Bertine Pinkney, the three first named being the principal holders of stock. The first election of officers was held April 1, 1864, and resulted in the choice of E. P. Brockway, President ; H. H. Mead, Vice President, and George L. Field, Cashier. These men still retain the same offices. In 1869, S. T. McKnight and S. Richmond succeeded William M. Taggart and Bertine Pinkney as Directors, who still continue in office. This bank, from its commencement, has been a prosperous and successful institution ; the growth of its business has been such that it now ranks among the safest and best in Wisconsin. It has always maintained in circulation the full amount of bills allowed by law. The bank building, a solid structure of Ripon stone, was erected in 1855, especially for banking purposes, on the west side of Public Square.

Prairie City Bank. - -This was a bank of issue, organized in 1861 or 1862 by Julius Burdick, as President, and C. H. Smith as Cashier. Its circulation - amount of bills issued under the State law - was $20,000. The charter was sold at the end of the first year to Oshkosh parties, the bank thereupon going out of business at Ripon.

Oneida Bank. - L. H. Kellogg opened, for a few months, in Ripon, a branch of the Oneida Bank at Berlin. The concern proved disastrous to its patrons, and soon closed its doors.

Bowen ^ Wheeler's Bank. - This is a private banking institution, the business of which is carried on by Jehdeiah Bowen and Charles F. Wheeler. They formed a copartnership in

May, 1864, for the purpose of carrying on the business of banking, except to issue bills, and' first opened in Mr. Bowen's stone building, in which was located the post oflBce, on the east sideof Public Square at that date. The affairs of the bank are managed by Mr. Wheeler, Mr^ Bowen having other business to occupy his attention.

Eipon Lodge, No. 95, F. ^ A. M. - In September, 1857, a dispensation was granted bj the Grand Lodge to the following persons: Robert 0. Selfridge, David N. Hosmer, A. B, Pratt, Philo England. David P. Mapes, Charles Hopkins, Thomas Ford, G. P. Bragdon, J. E. Brown and J. K. Hunt. The Lodge was duly chartered and numbered June 9, 1858. Thefirst oflScers were : R. 0. Selfridge, W. M. ; A. B. Pratt, S. W. ; D. M. Hosmer, J. W. ^ J. M. S. Maxon, . S. D. ; Thomas Ford, J. D. ; J. E. Brown, Secretary ; B. Dailey, Tiler. The Past Masters are R. 0. Selfridge, A. B. Pratt, W. M. Taggart, H. S. Town, Jay Mayham, A. B. Russell, H. L. Barnes, L. E. Reed, E. Babcock, G. F. Horner, W. T. Whiting; and J. C. Miller. The present officers are L. E. Reed, W. M. ; A. Zinth, S. W. ; A. S. Crooker, J. W. ; J. Hitchcock, Treasurer ; G. F. Horner, Secretary.

The Lodge is prospering, owning all its furniture and having a sum of money out at interest. The present membership is eighty-five, though 200 persons have belonged to the Order since 1868.

Bipon Encampment, No. 37, I. 0. 0. F. - A dispensation was granted to this lodge February 10, 1870, and a charter January 18, 1871, with the following charter members : H. R-

By an order from the Grand Encampment, the ofiBcers of this and other encampments hold office for one year. Meetings are held twice each month' in Odd Fellows' Hall.

At the second election, held June 27, 1878, I. M. Bakin, who has since held this office, was elected Reporter in place of C. G. Thompson. The same Treasurer and Financial Reporter were chosen, and have held the office ever since. The Bictators have been I. M. Linderman two terms and S. R. Patten. The Lodge now has nineteen members. Meetings are held on the first and third Fridays of each month, in the Sons of Herman Hall,' over Graf & ' Jussen's store.

Living Water Lodge, No. 328, I. 0. Cr. T. - This Lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars was instituted by Rev. James Lavelle, November 5, 1866, with the following charter members : Fred. S. Veeder, Will F. Bundy, Geo. C. Buffie, J. C. Oaks, C. F. Hammond, 0. Vanorman, H. L. Strong, T. P. Smith, George W. Peck, N. S. Bristol, Clarence Skinner, L. M. Allen, Z. A. Pedrick, C. V. N. Brundige, Mrs. C. F. Hammond, Hattie Hammond, Mrs. H. L. Strong, Mrs. 0. Vanorman, Mrs. E. N. Harris, Mrs. C. Allen, Mrs. J. C. Oaks, Miss C. M. Oaks, Miss Minnie Cook, Miss M. Anniss.

The first officers were as follows : W. C. T., Fred S. Veeder ; W. V. T., Mrs. E. N. Harris ; W. R. S., Z. A. Pedrick; W. F. S., J. C. Oaks; W. Treasurer, Hattie Hammond; W. M., George C. Buffie; W. I. G., Mrs. C. M. Oaks; W. 0. G., N.S. Bristol. George Washington Peck, now proprietor of Peck's Sun newspaper, at Milwaukee, was chosen Lodge Beputy. The Trustees were Z. A. Pedrick, J. C. Oaks and H. L. Strong.

Living Water Lodge has continued to meet regularly every week since its first organization,, and has initiated 1,000 members. The highest number of members in good standing at one time was 150. The present active membership is 50. The lodge-room in old Masonic Block, on the west side of Public Square, was nicely furnished at a cost of $300. Of the original charter members only one remains, L. M. Allen, who is hardly ever absent from the regular meetings.

Ripon G-range, Wo. 57. - Ripon Grange, No. 57, was organized February 4, 1873, by C. W. Foster, Local Deputy of National Grange. The charter members were Jabin Lawson, Mrs. Jabin Lawson, L. K. Hyde, A. Chjsholm, Miss Lizzie Chisholm, Robert Kuderling, Mrs. Robert Kuderling, A. G. Kellogg, Mrs. A. G. Kellogg, W.O. Hargrave, H. W. Kellogg, H. S. Hunt, FredNohl, Jr., FredNohl, Br., L. Nohl, James Henderson, Sr., Miss Aggie Henderson, E. C. Stewart, Mrs. B. C. Stewart, C. W. Kurz, M. W. Meyer, A. W. Sage, Mrs. A. W. Sage, F. Everez, E. Babcock, A. R. Hargrave, Mrs. A. R. Hargrave and R. Sheldon.

The organization was efi"ected, and, for some time thereafter, meetings were held in the hall over 0. J. Clark & Co.'s hardware store. Subsequently the lodge moved into Good Templars' Hall, and finally into the Grange Hall in Salisbury Block, which they now occupy. Business meetings are held in the afternoon of the first Saturday in each month. Special meetings were held weekly for two years after its organization. The Grange has always had a large membership of enterprising and intelligent farmers. It has lost some members by withdrawal demits and suspension, but the loss has been well made up by the addition of new members. E. Babcock, J. B. Ager, 0. H. Chamberlain, J. M. Little, Henry Willard and A. R. Hargrave, the present Master, have held the ofiice of Master in succession. W. 0. Hargrave, J. M. Bonnell, Mrs. H. E. Chamberlain, J. B. Ager and J. M. Bonnell have been the Secretaries. It is now in good working condition, out of debt, and looks forward to a long time of usefulness and prosperity. Its membership is made up of successful farmers, representing a large portion of the wealth of the farming community in the vicinity of the city. The annual meeting is held on the first Saturday in December of every year.

Ripon Temple of Honor and Temperance, No. 13. - This lodge, which is a secret fraternal as well as temperance organization, was instituted March 19, 1875, by Jerome A. Watrous, with forty-five charter members and the following oflScers : W. C. T., H. L. Barnes ; W. V. T., J. D. Owen ; W. R., W. R. Lyle; W. F. R., Robert Stuart; W. T., N. H. Wyckoff; W. W., P. Hales ; P. W. C. T., Byron Kingsbury ; Chaplain, J. M. Craig. The .Temple increased rapidly in numbers until it contained 250 members, and then decreased no less rapidly, until only enough, members in good standing were left to hold the charter and keep up the form of organization. The lodge is financially prosperous, owning its furniture and paraphernalia, and having a sum of money out at interest.

Ripon Lodge, No. 37, Sons of Herman. - The formation of this Lodge was secured by Hyp. Dauben, May 18, 1878, with the following charter members : Hyp. Dauben, Gust. Muller, George H. Jussen, J. J. L"ck,'Hugo Shultz, Emil Schafi', A. Singer, F. W. Butzke, John Haas, Frank Jupp, August Zinth, William Quast, F. Schoei^er, S. Schmudlach and H. Mathwig. The first officers were : President, Hyp. Dauben ; Vice President, J. J. Luck ; Reporter, Wm. Butzke ; Financial Reporter, Robert Giese ; Treasurer, Hugo Schultz ; Guide, G. Muller ; Inside Guard, George H. Jussen ; Outside Guard, S. Schmudlach. This Lodge now has twenty members and a surplus capital of over $400. The Order is one for purely benevolent purposes. It has forty lodges in the State, and a membership of 2,319. During the last year, it has paid out in benefits to sick brothers, $5,262.72, and to the families of nineteen brothers who died, $19,000. Its real estate was valued, January 1, 1880, at $56,178.98. Ripon Lodge holds its meetings regularly in Sons of Herman Hall, over Graf & Jussen's store on Main street.

Young Ladies' Guild. - The first meeting to organize this benevolent society was held at the house of W. "L. Gillett, in the fall of 1876. This portion of the constitution adopted at that time, shows the objects of the society :

" We, the undersigned, do hereby organize ourselves into a society, to be called the Young Ladies' Guild. Our object - to visit and sew for the poor, and give them such other assistance as we may see fit. We agree to meet weekly ; to pay an initiation fee of 25 cents, and a fine of 5 cents for absence from any meeting."

The first officers were : President, Miss Nellie Skeels ; Vice President, Miss Alice Taggart ; Secretary and Treasurer, Miss Carrie Wolcott; Directors, Misses Anna Gillett and Lizzie McCracken. The first funds were $30, as the proceeds of selling the furniture of the old " Library Association," and $10 donated by the members of the society. The " Guild " has done much to relieve the sufierings of the poor, giving entertainments and resorting to various commendable means to secure funds to make their labors more comprehensive. It started out with a membership of forty, which has increased since the date of organization.

American Red Ribbon Oluh. - In the spring of 1879, W. L. McCollister began a series of revivals in Ripon, which resulted in securing the signatures of several hundred persons to a pledge of total abstinence, among them many of the prominent citizens of the city. Having secured the names of 1,400 persons, a permanent organization of the signers was effected the 1st of May, by electing Hiram S. Town, President ; A. L. Dobbs, Recording Secretary ; Edwin Wilson, Financial Secretary ; C. F. Wheeler, Treasurer. At the annual election of officers, in January, 1880, C. H. Upham was chosen President; Mrs. S. F. Crosby, Recording Secretary; Edwin Wilson, Treasurer; G. R. Shaw and 0. J. Wolcott, Managers. The Club supports areading-room opposite Opera Hall, at which papers and periodicals are free, and where members congregate to indulge in social games and amusements. The Club has 200 active members.

St. Patrick's Total Abstinence Society. - A total abstinence society was organized in St. Patrick's Church, of Ripon, October 17, 1875. A constitution and by-laws were adopted, and the work of securing converts at once begun. The Society has been very successful, constantly increasing its numbers and influence. It now consists of 250 members, including women and children. Its meetings are held regularly on the fourth Sunday of every month, in the basement of St. Patrick's Church. The officers of the Society are as follows : President, Rev. E. A. Graves ; Vice President, E. Raymond ; Secretary, B. F. Keenan ; Treasurer, William Bresnahan ; Marshal, James Brenan.

Ripon Improvement Association. - The idea of forming an association of this kind originated through an article in the August number of Scribner's Monthly for 1878, written by Dr. B. W. Dwight, of Clinton, N. Y. George L. Field, of the First National iBank, wrote to Dr. Dwight in relation to the article, who sent the constitution of the " Rural Art Association," of Clinton, which had been in existence many years. With this information for a foundation, Mr. Field began the labor of forming a similar association in Ripon. An informal meeting of invited persons was held January 26, 1880, at the residence of J. Bowen, but no organization was perfected, though George L. Field, Prof C. A. Kenaston, E. L. Runals, A. Everhard and J.. Bowen were appointed to draft a constitution. They reported at the residence of A. Everhard, February 2, 1880, at which meeting the constitution was adopted. Article II gives the objectsas follows : " The objects of this Association shall be in general the improvement and advancement .of public and private grounds, the cultivation of rural art and taste among its members, and the development of such enterprises as may furnish a field for co-operation in rendering the place more desirable as a place of residence."

At a meeting held at the residence of George L. Field February 16, 1880, the following officers were chosen for one year: President, J. Bowen ; Vice President, A. Everhard ; Secretary, 0. U. Akin ; Treasurer, L. E. Nohl ; Executive Committee, C. A. Kenaston, C. B. Seward and G. L. Field. In no city has an association of this kind a more promising field for its labors. The natural beauties of Ripon are acknowledged ; its inhabitants are wealthy, and for the most part cultured, and the soil is rich, deep and productive. One of the objects of this Association is to lay out a fine drive-way to Green Lake from Ripon.