Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin - Chapter 5: Progress, 1912

Chapter 5: Progress

The careful reader will have noticed that in a former chapter reference was made to the donation of a tract of land, by Dr. Mason C. Darling to the county of Fond du Lac, for court house purposes. The gift was accepted and on the 4th day of March, 1844, Dr. Darling and his wife, Naomi Darling, executed and delivered a warranty deed to the board of supervisors of the county of Fond du Lac, Territory of Wisconsin, of the land on which the court house now stands, the consideration being one dollar in hand paid; Dr. Darling also entered into a contract "to build and locate a county court house" on the land, which is described in the deed in the following words: "North half of the Northeast quarter of Section 15, Town 15 North, of Range 17 east, of the Fourth Meridian east, in Green Bay Land District, and containing 90,000 square feet." At the time of making this contract Dr. Darling entered into the follow¬ ing bond:

"know all men by these presents. That I, Mason C. Darling, of Fond du Lac, county of Fond du Lac, Territory of Wisconsin, am hereby held and firmly bound unto the Board of Supervisors of the county of Fond du Lac, in the sum of $500, good and lawful money of the United States, to be paid to the said Board of Supervisors or their successors, to which payment well and truly to be made, I do bind myself, my heirs, executors and administrators firmly by these presents, sealed with my seal, and dated this 4th day of March A. D. 1844. The condition of this obligation is such that if the above bounden Mason C. Darling, shall provide, or cause to be provided, a suitable room for the use of the county of Fond du Lac, free of expense, then this obligation shall be null and void, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal the day and year first above written.

These instruments were acknowledged before Alonzo Raymond, justice of the peace, and filed for record with Oscar Pier, register of deeds, on the 14th day of October, 1846. Plans submitted for a court house by the firm of Brown & Arnold, composed of Isaac Brown and Leonard Arnold, were left with Ed- ward Pier, who was instructed to have them inspected by mechanics. A firm of architects was paid $10 for the plans and specifications which made provi¬ sions for a jail to he part of the building. On October 14, 1846, the board ap¬ propriated $1,400 for the building, and in the following September made a fur¬ ther appropriation of $100 for "stoves and fixtures for the court house."

Phis building was not a very imposing affair, nor was it kept in the best of order. The first floor above the basement was built of stone and was used as a jail. The second floor was given over principally to elections and jury rooms, and the third floor for elections by the first ward of the city and the holding of county and circuit courts. The building was made the subject of a great deal of ridicule, as the following article will show:

"The same year that Wisconsin was admitted into the Union as a State, Fond du Lac County built a Court House. At that time, it was regarded as a model architectural pile, and it was built to stay. It was founded upon a rock ; for men were pure in those days ; and the winds and rains of forty years have beat upon that house, and still it stands, a noble wreck in ruinous perfection. The elements have failed to sap it, and no amount of prayer or profanity has been sufficient to consign it to 'where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.' Incendiaries, who are thoroughly depraved and have not one re¬ deeming quality, have persistently and maliciously withheld the torch. Like the Pennsylvania Democrat, who has wended his way to the polls every elec¬ tion since 1840, and consistently put in a vote for General Jackson, the Fond du Lac Court House maintains its position and repels all innovations. The story that the wood of which a part of it is composed was once of a celebrated vessel, and that a boy who was on board the vessel cut his name in one of the planks with a jack knife, is doubtless untrue. It is believed that a young lawyer, in Judge McLean's court, cut the name himself, while waiting for the opposing counsel to make his plea, and that the word is 'Joseph' instead of 'Japhet.' And still the building is pretty old."

It was made to answer the purpose for which it was intended until 1883 when fate stepped in and it was burned to the ground, after many years' agitation for a new one. After the fire and until 1884, when the present building was erected the county offices were located in rooms of the postoffice block, on the corner of Macy and Division streets, when the present building was erected at a cost of $70,000, including furnishings. This structure is an imposing affair, and while it is not architecturally modern, still it was honestly and splendidly built and will for some time meet the needs of the county.

The first court house soon became too small and insufficient for the county archives. To meet this disadvantage a one-story brick building, reinforced with stone and iron, was erected and finished in 1854 at a cost of $1,200. The floor and walls were of stone and the roof was covered with ashes to the depth of two feet, making it as its builder, John Nicholas, thought, fireproof. The building was erected for the county register's office, for the reason there were no fireproof rooms in the court house. But before the new court house was built, the register's office had become so full of records and valuable documents as to make it entirely inadequate. In the old court house building when first erected, the county offices were in the first story and also the jail, but this part of the building got so badly out of repair and useless that a new place for the confinement of prisoners and a residence for the sheriff and jailer became im¬ perative, therefore, in 1869, the board of supervisors made an appropriation for the erection of a county jail building and the contract was let to Theodore Eul. The plans required that the structure should be of stone and iron and the building was ready for occupancy in the latter part of the year mentioned. It was erected on the west side of Linden street, not far from Western avenue, and cost $42,000. The main walls were of Fond du Lac gray limestone, with dressings for the doors and windows of Joliet stone. Recently the front of the building has been remodeled and presents a homelike and fine appearance.

The first land purchased by the county for the purpose of furnishing a home for its indigent and helpless people was in December, 1856, when seventy acres were procured on sections 21 and 28 in the town of Fond du Lac, to which other tracts have since been added, until the county now owns a beautiful and productive farm, upon which have been built substantial buildings. These have been as the occasion demanded, remodeled and added to. At first the farm was supported by general taxation, but this plan was changed to the more equitable one of charging the towns and collecting of them the cost engendered by the care and support of their people sent to the farm. In 1878, a building was erected for the insane of the county and in 1885 the County Insane Asylum was erected on a tract of land near the county farm, containing thirteen and one half acres, at a cost of $40,000, where not only the county's charges are taken care of, but where other counties of the state send their unfortunates at their own cost. This institution is self-supporting. It is more than that, it is a source of revenue to the county, as the following report for 1911 of the super¬ intendent, who also is in charge of the poor farm, will show :

Asylum For The Chronic Insane

The general health of the patients has been very good. They have been free from contagious and infectious diseases. The patients have been well cared for and kindly treated. The sanitary conditions of the building have been well at¬ tended to.

The superintendent and matron have attended strictly to duty and have given the patients very good care and attention as have their assistants. The wards and rooms have been kept in perfect condition.

Gentlemen : - I herewith submit to you my annual report as superintendent of the Fond du Lac County Asylum for the Chronic Insane for the year ending June 3°, 1911 : year as sane by virtue of Sec. 587L R* S., as amended by Chap. 327, Laws of 1899, such patients having been continuously absent from the asylum under their respective paroles for

Total number who have been given a leave of absence since the asylum began and have not returned (including those who have since been fully discharged and those who have since died) .

Total number of weeks' board furnished inmates, 7,756 Average cost of support per week for each inmate, $1.94, including interest; $1.84*4, without.

Concluding this report both Mrs. Kenyon and myself, superintendent and matron respectively, express our appreciation of the consideration and courtesies each of the members of the board of trustees has extended us in the discharge of our duties. We have both endeavored to give the best of our attention to the demands of the affairs of the asylum and farm, and the patients and inmates thereof, and if vve have merited your approval we shall be certain that our work has not been without good results for all, taxpayer, board of trustees, and the people under our superintendency. We acknowledge with respect, the efficient services of Dr. II. E. Twohig, physician in charge, who has given much care and attention to the calls of the asylum and farm. Thanks are again due to those who furnished us with reading matter for the patients, as well as the officers of the Agricultural Society for the free admission to the fair of all the county charges.

We can truthfully say that the past year has been the most prosperous in the history of the county institution, and more financial gain has resulted than can be shown in all previous records.

Thanking you gentlemen for your kind attention, we submit the statistical por¬ tion of this report, giving in detail the figures proving the success of your direc¬ tion of the asylum and farm during the past year, and which are more than pleas¬ ing to Respectfully yours,

The mill was the forerunner of manufacturing in Fond du Lac. The first one to be erected was the Clark mill, which was purchased by Dr. Darling before its completion. It stood on the west branch of the Fond du Lac river in the town of Fond du Lac. This mill was operated in 1845 and turned out the first lumber cut in the county. It was driven by water power. Soon thereafter a mill was erected by Wheeler & Short near the Western avenue bridge, on the east branch of the river, on land now occupied by the Crofoot lumberyard. The machinery was driven by water power but considerable lumber was cut during the season. Attached to it was a flouring mill. This was known as the Bissell mill and disap¬ peared in 1855.

In 1849 a lumberyard was established in Fond du Lac by Brandon Olcott, and soon thereafter E. Sawyer and I. K. and W. C. Hamilton also had lumberyards. These meant increased sawmills and also the gradual disappearance of log cabins and shanties and their places taken by frame buildings. By 1878 there were twelve lumber and shingle mills in Fond du Lac. In recent years lumbering has ceased to be a business in this county and most if not all of the mills have disappeared. A. T. Glaze, in an interesting history of the county, published in 1905, has this to say of the mills and lumber interests of Fond du Lac county :

"Persons without experience have little idea of the expense and difficulties of getting logs down the small streams on which they were banked from the woods, running them on the river to the boom, getting them through the sorting race and rafting them ready for the mills. During this work some of the logs became water-logged and sunk. A few of these were recovered by the use of tugs with barges and grapples, but it is thought that many thousands of feet now repose on the bottom of Lake Poygan and the river. Pine and cedar are the only logs that can be successfully rafted. Even hemlock has to be mixed with pine, and to get hard wood logs, such as oak, maple, ash and elm, it is needful to place three or four good sized pine logs by the side of each hard wood log, and even then they will be very nearly under water. Such rafts were sometimes brought to Fond du Lac and it was found that T. S. Henry was the only man in the mills here who could file a circular saw to successfully cut these hard wood logs. The circular saw was then universally used in the mills here. The band saw was then practically unknown. The person who undertook to burn the slab wood from these hard wood logs was entitled to sympathy. The water took all the life out of the wood, and ashes the shape of the stick, with little heat, was left in the stove.

"The local decline in the number and work of the sawmills is not wholly due to the building of the railroads, however, and the contention of practical men that the roads were built because of a demand, is no doubt true. The decrease in the water flow in the streams made the running of logs difficult and expensive and there seemed to be a necessity for cutting the lumber further north and employ¬ ing railroad transportation. Hence the building of roads and moving of mills.

"It will be remembered that there was a time that the flow of water in Wolf river was ample at all seasons of the year for the running of such large steamers as the 'Tigress,' 'Milwaukee,' 'Tom Wall' and 'W. A. Knapp' between Oshkosh and New London as a daily line, and the 'Diamond' and 'Badger State' to Berlin. This was long since abandoned as impossible and as small a boat as the 'John Lynch' can now reach only as far north as Fremont. Formerly the largest logs floated over the Mukwa bar, but at some seasons it is now hardly practical to float a canoe over it. This being the situation, logs were liable to be 'hung up' for a whole year, and the risk was too great. The small tributary streams of the Wolf, that formerly floated out logs in the spring, are now almost destitute of water.

"It will also be remembered by old settlers that there was a time that the east and west branches of the Fond du Lac river at some seasons of the year had so much water as to be burdensome and basements and streets in low places were flooded. This occurred almost every year, and at no time were these streams deficient in water as they are most of the time now. In early times the Soper and Bissell mills on the east branch, and the Seymour and Clark mills on the west branch, were able to run with water for power. All of this long since disappeared, and oftentimes now there is hardly water sufficient to water a flock of geese. The mills are dead and gone into ruin long ago.

"It is in place here to say that while Ripon had five water mills and one woolen mill in i860, all run by the water of Silver creek, all but one have disappeared as water mills. No lumber was ever cut at that place, though Julius Eggleston at one time proposed to start a mill and bring logs from Winneconne by rail, but it was abandoned as impractical. Mills still run on the small streams in the county but they are weak. It has been said that the Phalanx had a small water mill there at one time but if so it was very short-lived.

"The following sawmills have had an existence in Fond du Lac and they appeared in about the order here given. As previously stated, there were some small water mills before the Davis mill was built but these were steam mills capable of doing heavier work : The Colonel Davis mill, located on the bank of the river midway between Arndt and Scott streets, built in 1847 but not started until the spring of 1848. This was the first steam mill in Fond du Lac. Littlefield mill, located on the east side of the river near Johnson street, started in 1849, and burned after a year or two. The Butler mill on the west bank of the river near where the Wisconsin Central bridge is now, built in 1850, burned after two or three years' service. The Henry & McKibbin mill was in the warehouse at the foot of Arndt street, erected by E. H. Galloway in 1848, for the use of steamboats, but was never so used. T. S. Henry and John McKibbin started it in 1850 and it was the first mill in Fond du Lac to use a circular saw. It was sold to Alexander McDonald, who ran it several years. The second Littlefield mill, on the east bank of the river south of Scott street, was built in 1851, after the first Littlefield mill was destroyed. The Scribner mill, west side of the river near Johnson street, was built in 1852. The Sawyer mill, west side of the river near Scott street, was built by James Sawyer in 1853. The Leavitt mill (Hunter & Jewell, Deacon Fuller, J. Q. Griffith), on the west side of the river at Forest street bridge, where the Fond du Lac Implement Company's plant now is, was built in 1855 by Mr. Leavitt. The Asa Pierce & Leonard Bissell mill (Merryman & Hunter, D. W. Smith, E. N. Foster and Charles Chandler), is on the east bank of the river at the forks. It was built in 1854 and was the largest and strongest mill in Fond du Lac up to this time. The Galloway & Hunter mill, on the east bank of the river below Arndt street, was built in 1854 by E. H. Galloway and George Hunter. The I. K. & W. C. Hamilton mill (A. K. Hamilton) was a very active mill at Luco. It was started in 1856 and burned in 1884, was rebuilt the following year and sold to A. K. Hamilton. After two or three seasons it was again burned in an incendiary fire and the location was abandoned. The Crain mill, built in 1865, and in 1866 bought by M. D. Moore, has for many years been known as the Moore & Gallo¬ way mill. It has burned three times and been rebuilt. The A. K. Hamilton mill, northwest of West Division street bridge, was built in 1879 by J. Q. Griffith & Sons and bought by Mr. Hamilton in 1884, after the burning of the Luco mill. He sold it in 1891 to Mr. Curtis, who took it north, Mr. Hamilton retaining the land. The Railroad mill is below Scott street and the landing. It was built in 1857, mainly to cut hard wood for the car shops and was run but two years. The C. J. L. Meyer mill, on the marsh near the blast furnace, was built in 1868. The Moore & Galloway mill on the east bank of the river near Scott street, was built in 1866 and is the only sawmill now in Fond du Lac. The second Littlefield mill was overhauled by G. W. Sexsmith and run two seasons. He also remodeled and ran the Railroad mill. The Asa Pierce mill at the forks of the river and the Lea¬ vitt mill at Forest street bridge, were given overhaulings two or three times by dif¬ ferent parties and did fair work for a time. It is a fact, perhaps not peculiar, that all of the Fond du Lac mills were destroyed sooner or later by fire. It seems to have been their fate to burn. The mills of a later period that were rebuilt, were burned. The Meyer mill, the Moore & Galloway mill and the Steenberg factory, are of this class. The Meyer factory was on fire two or three times but escaped destruction. We can truthfully say that the Fond du Lac mills went up in smoke. A large proportion of the sawmills here named also cut shingles and lath but the following were distinct shingle mills : Littlefield mill, on the east bank of the river near Scott street ; Beaudreau mill, east side of the river near Arndt street ; Gallo¬ way & Hunter mill, east side of the river below Arndt street; J. W. Lusk mill, east side of the river near the forks.

"C. R. Harrison, T. S. Henry, Alexander White and a few others were recog¬ nized experts in mill management almost from the beginning in Fond du Lac and were identified with it almost to the end. When anything goes wrong or changes are to be made, the services of such men are a necessity, and it was fortunate for the Fond du Lac mills that they had such men to draw upon

"While the Henry & McKibbin, C. J. L. Meyer and A. K. Hamilton mills may be referred to as among the best Fond du Lac has ever had, it is doubtless true that the one until lately remaining to us was at least the equal of any of them. The last Moore & Galloway mill was built by M. D. Moore, C. A. Galloway and G. N. Mihills, under the corporate name of the Moore & Galloway Lumber Com¬ pany, and besides the sawmill they have a large factory where about everything is made that is needed for building purposes, whether for the modest dwelling or the most elaborate trimmings and finishing for the business structure. They also maintain three large lumberyards in this city and furnish the lumber for yards in other places.

"Besides the men above named in connection with these mills, were some finan¬ cially interested more or less in some of them at different times, among them A. G. Ruggles, John Bannister, S. E. Lefferts, Colonel N. Boardman, Orson Breed, B. Nightingale, J. C. Lewis, George W. Weikert and others.

"Shingle mills were invented and patented by William P. Valentine, Dr. William H. Walker, Kasson Freeman and L, Beaudreau. The Valentine machine had a wide sale and all were manufactured here by Peacock & White.

"In 1850 A. G. Ruggles became interested in the Colonel Davis mill and late in that year put in machinery for dressing lumber, but there being so much diffi¬ culty at that time in getting the knives of planing machines ground properly, the work was for a time abandoned and the mill closed. Later on C. R. Harrison arranged a machine to grind the knives and these and other machines were started to prepare lumber for all sorts of building purposes. These were the first plan¬ ing machines here and were run for several years. John Bonnell started a planing mill on West Johnson street in 1854.

"The first mills all had sash or mulay saws and the first circular saw in Fond du Lac was put into the Henry & McKibbin mill by T. S. Henry. The filing of circu¬ lars had to be learned by experience, and though the first ones were a quarter of an inch thick, there was much trouble with them. The idea of running a saw as thin as those of late years would have been thought foolish. The old saws with the set in them, took out about three-eighths of an inch of the log at each cut.

"In 1863 U. D. Mihills started a sawmill and a large factory in which all sorts of lumber were prepared for building purposes, including sash, doors and blinds. This plant burned and was not rebuilt. In 1874 the Mihills Manufacturing Com¬ pany was formed with G. N. Mihills at the head, but its plant also burned after a time and the company was merged in the Moore & Galloway Lumber Company.

"The most successful of all our lumber firms, though passing through three fires, was the Moore & Galloway Lumber Company, started in 1866 by M. D. Moore. C. A. Galloway was the bookkeeper, but in 1868 he became a partner under the firm name of Moore, Galloway & Baker. In 1884 the firm was in- corporated under the name of Moore & Galloway Lumber Company, M. D. Moore, C. A. Galloway and G. N. Mihills being the owners. They make every sort of material for building purposes. Besides the extensive yard at the mill, the company has two large yards up town. Mr. Moore died in 1902 and his sons took his place in business.

Flouring Mills

"When the pioneers arrived in Fond du Lac county, among the first things inquired was, 'Where can I get grinding done to feed myself and family, and where can I get lumber to cover ourselves from the storm?' The most important thing was food, for we must remember that the situation then was very different from that of the present time. Then the farmer's own wheat and corn as a grist had to be taken to the mill and be ground by the miller ; now the grain is sold readily and there is no waiting upon the motion of the miller or for the dam to fill with water to give power to his mill. Flour, meal and feed for stock may now be had from dealers in extreme frontier towns. Our pioneers had to go to the mill; but where was the mill? Up to 1846 it was no uncommon thing to start out with oxen and wagon for Watertown and Sheboygan Falls with grists. The late Lyman F. Stow, J. C. Wedge, Seth Sylvester, Sr., E. A. Carey and others have been over these roads for this purpose. Cheap power, except water, was many years in the future and steam engines and boilers are heavy and difficult of transportation into a new country.

"The first mill within reasonable distance of Fond du Lac, however, was one driven by steam at Ball's Corners, Calumet, built in 1843, primarily for the Brothertown people by George W. Featherstonhaugh. It was located on a small brook but the water was insufficient to drive it, so a small steam engine was obtained. The mill was of limited capacity but was in use a number of years and when it burned, mills were more numerous and it was not rebuilt.

"The experience of E. A. Carey at this mill may be related here. One morn¬ ing in 1846, Ed. (as we all called him then), loaded his grist into his wagon and, bright and early, started for the mill. Getting there at noon the mill was silent and cold and no wood to get up steam. He helped to chop the wood and hauled it to the mill and got up steam, but his grist was completed so late he concluded to stay all night. In the morning his oxen were gone and he scoured the country looking for them, but not until in the afternoon did he find them leisurely pastur¬ ing on the prairie at Taycheedah. Driving them back to the wagon and the yoke, he loaded his grist and started for home at ten o'clock at night. But soon another bitter experience came to him. At the foot of McClure's hill, this side of what is now Winnebago Park, the tire of one of the wagon wheels came off. He got it on in the darkness and managed to keep it on with a big stone in each hand until he arrived home at three o'clock in the morning, without having had any¬ thing to eat since the morning before. Ed. says he was tired and hungry, for he had his boy appetite along with him. One can well imagine he would be very hungry and very tired, but to use a modern expression, 'he got there just the same.'

"Next came the Seymour mill on the west branch of the Fond du Lac river, near where Seymour street now crosses that stream. It was also limited in its capacity for work and during most of its existence was little more than a corn cracker and feed mill. It came into existence in 1848.

"Captain Soper originated his scheme for a mill on the east branch of the Fond du Lac river, just south of this city, in 1849. Of course, the water supply for power was small. It did very good work but was able to run only in the spring and fall when there was plenty of water. It has been out of existence many years.

"The year 1850 brought a number of mills to this vicinity. The Ike Orvis mill at Avoca, near Oakfield, and the Conklin mill at Oakfield are still in use, but being located on a very small stream are of limited capacity. The Allen mill, located on a small spring brook a short distance south of Winnebago Park, had the tremendous head of about sixty feet, but the water supply was so small that it never did much work. The Geisse mill at Taycheedah was a steam mill, and the best and most reliable of its time. It was burned in 1854 and was not rebuilt. In 1857 T. S. Henry built a mill near the corner of Arndt and Brooke streets. It was run by steam but was burned after a few years. In 1850 John Beeson, a brother of Edward Beeson, started a sawmill and turning factory at Waucousta, and in 1856 added a flouring mill to his plant there. Later a mill was built at Dundee. Later on steam mills appeared at various places but those had no part or lot in the pioneer days' experiences.

"The stone mill of Allen & Aldrich and Allen & Treleven had its origin at a much later period and for a long time was principally employed in grinding corn for Boyle Brothers' yeast factory. The Helmer mills came still later.

"Silver creek at Ripon in the early days was a fine stream for mills, and, at one time, there were no less than five flouring mills and one woolen factory on it within a distance of two and a half miles. Most of these long since disappeared and those left have steam for power much of the year. The water in the stream is now but about one-fourth of its former volume.

"Waupun had had a water mill from about 1850 and like so many others was a very good one at first, but the water decreased in quantity to the extent that it became necessary to add steam.

"In 1848 'it was proposed to erect a first-class three-story flouring mill in this city,' and Messrs. Wheeler, Snow, Driggs and one or two others were interested in it. The timber for it was hewed and the frame erected at the corner of Macy and Court streets north of the court house. That frame stood there many years and until weather beaten, when the structure was deemed unsafe and the city authorities ordered it removed. Just why the work was not proceeded with could not be ascertained, but it was believed to be due to a lack of the necessary capital.

"Such were the mills of the early times and such the experience of the pion¬ eers. After 1852 there was little trouble in getting grinding done and along toward i860 an entirely new era set in, when the Minneapolis and other big mill¬ ers began the work of distributing their product and it has pretty much wiped out the small mills ; they being used now, if used at all, as mere corn crackers and feed mills. The railroads have reached out to even the small villages and the product of the large mills is thus distributed so readily that practically we have no frontier to need mills. The days of privation such as our pioneers ex¬ perienced have passed away forever.

"Let the people of today try to realize the situation here in the winter of 1847-8, when wheat, corn, buckwheat and rye were pounded in a big mortar made of wood instead of being ground in a mill. People now find fault with roller mill made flour if not in the perfection of milling and obtained at an hour's notice. 1 7 i f ty years ago our predecessors were glad to get anything for bread - grain pounded in a mortar and unbolted was gladly accepted. Ask B. J. Gilbert, Jay Roblee, James and Seth Sylvester and others of that period, who experienced it. It is said of good natured Jo. Hall that during that winter, when everything was frozen and the mills could not run because of scarcity of water, he went to She¬ boygan Falls with a grist and the miller told him he could not get it in less than four weeks unless it rained or thawed. Jo. told him he did not dare to go home, for his wife would kill him if he returned without the grist, and when supper time came Jo. offered to pay the miller a quarter to go to his house and see them eat bread, which would be a real curiosity to him. Jo.'s humor induced the miller to tell him if he would keep out of sight until after dark and leave for home at two o'clock in the morning, he would run his grist through for him. Jo.'s fund of humor was used to some purpose that time.

"Edward Beeson was at Geisse's mill at Taycheedah, the day his son, J. J. Beeson, founder of the Reporter, was supposed to be stolen by the Indians, but was found asleep in a hen's nest behind a board leaning against a tree.

"The old mills have now nearly all passed from existence and reading about them here is all the knowledge some people will have that they were ever here. People now living, or in the future to come, will not have experiences such as our ancestors had in this important matter. The conditions are different ; the way of doing things is different. Let us therefore read and reflect on what those pio¬ neers did for us ; how they endured privations and suffered for us and left this grand and beautiful country in shape for us to enjoy. Let us cherish their mem¬ ory and give them at least an occasional thought."

Dairying And Cheese Making

The industry of making cheese and butter in Fond du Lac county early became one of the large proportions and a source of generous income to the many who engaged therein. Fond du Lac county took precedence of all others in the state in the manufacture of cheese, shipping out of the state the first consignment of the product. To it also belongs the distinction of setting up the first cheese factory and the organization of the first dairymen's association.

The making of cheese for the markets was first attempted by Chester Hazen, of the town of Springvale, in the spring of 1844. The experiment was a success and by the year 1850, he had a herd of twenty cows, and from the milk they produced cheese was made after an improved plan, in vats. Mr. Hazen con¬ tinued the business for many years with great success and profit.

Warren Florida, in 1852, began making cheese in the town of Waupun, and the same season George D. Curtis, of Rosendale, was engaged in the business. About a year later, Henry Bush, of Byron, had a dairy on his farm and was mak- ing a fine brand of the product. These were the beginnings of what is now one of the chief sources of revenue of a small army of men in this county, almost every part of which has its cheese factory.

The first cheese factory built in the state of Wisconsin was put up and oper¬ ated by Chester Hazen in 1864, in Springvale town. He had a herd of one hun¬ dred milch cows at the time, and both the large number of cows and the factory attracted no little curiosity from neighbors and visitors to the place. In the course of a year the number of cows had increased to two hundred; in 1868 there were four hundred and in 1870 Mr. Hazen had a great herd of one thousand milch-producing cows. This meant a large output of the factory and, noting its growth and continued success, many similar factories sprung up in various parts of the county.

The firm of Vincent & Waterman had the second cheese factory in Fond du Lac county. It was built in the north part of the town of Springvale in 1866. Before the season was closed the firm of Strong & Hammond had a factory ready for operation in Oakfield. A factory was built in Ripon by J. J. Smith in 1867 and, by the year 1870, there were factories turning out the best of cheese at Ladoga, Brandon, Rosendale, Waupun, Ripon, Oakfield, Alto, Metomen, and three at Fond du Lac.

At the Ladoga factory, in 1870, the output from the milk of 625 cows was 1,923,264 pounds, and this was shipped as a car lot, the first consignment of the kind sent out of the state of Wisconsin. From then on to the present time the practice of boxing and shipping at the factories has become a general one.

There were thirty factories in Fond du Lac county in 1879, which turned out 2,244,000 pounds of cheese. For this splendid result 4,500 cows furnished the milk. In the former year, Chester Flazen had been awarded the first prize for Wisconsin factory cheese, at the International Dairy Fair, held at the American Institute in New York city.

The first dairymen's association organized in the state of Wisconsin was formed in Fond du Lac county in the year 1870. Chester Hazen, pioneer in the business, was selected as president, and H. C. Strong, secretary. The second meeting of the association was held in 1871 and the members re-elected Hazen president. His official associates were: F. S. Jenkins and W. J. Jennings, vice presidents; H. D. Hitt, treasurer; H. C. Strong, secretary. Directors: William Knight, of Alto; Charles Norris, Brandon; James Cornell, Byron; D. D. Treleven, Fond du Lac; A. C. Whiting, Springvale; Abel Bristol, Oakfield; H. C. Waterman, Rosendale; William Starr, Ripon; John Howard, Waupun; Edward Reynolds, Metomen. In 1872, the dairymen of the state had fully awakened to the vast importance of their avocation and organized the State Dairymen's Asso¬ ciation. Chester Hazen was deservedly selected as its president.

Fond du Lac county is still to be reckoned with when the local, state and national dairymen's associations assemble for their annual conventions. The factories and products of the Fond du Lac dairies take prominence in the annual reports and the prices paid for Fond du Lac cheese in the great central markets of the country are of the highest.

J ii the year 1846, the real property of Fond du Lac county, as returned by the assessors, was valued at $246,571. No returns were made of personal property. Sixty-five years thereafter, or in 191 1, the following apportionment of taxes for the county, gives the reader, at a glance, a word picture of Fond du Lac's wonderful growth in wealth :

Population

In the year 1836 the county of Fond du Lac had but two residents, Colwert Pier and his wife. In 1840 the county had a population of 139; in 1842 the num¬ ber had increased to 295 ; in 1846 there were 3,544 people living in the county, and in the year 1847 there were 7,459. The census for the year 1850 made a splendid showing. The population was then 14,510, a gain of almost 100 per cent. In the next decade the growth in population was much more rapid and more than doubled the population, the number being 34,154. In 1870 the population was 46,273. For the last three decades, 1890, 1900 and 1910, the federal census gives the following figures :