Grant County, Wisconsin - Chapter 10: Patch Grove and Wyalusing, 1900

Chapter 10: Patch Grove and Wyalusing

Settlement of Patch Grove - Disasters, Suicides, etc. - Schools - Churches - Town Organization and Officers - Wyal using. Early Settlement - Paper Towns - Town Organ¬ ization and Officers - Societies - Bagley.

Settlement Of Patch Grove

The first settler in the original town of Patch Grove was Page Blake, who settled in Section 17, Town 5, Range 5, just south of the present town line, in 1831. In 1832, after the Black Hawk War, Mo¬ ses Hicklin came out from Cassville and settled on the farm where he lived until his death, and John Thompson, a discharged soldier from the garrison at Prairie du Chien, settled in the same neighborhood. In 1835 Charles Blunt came and afterward settled on Section 20, near Blake. The same year Benjamin F. Forbes settled on the farm after¬ ward owned by James A. Davis. In 1836 Henry Patch came and built a log cabin by a spring just west of the present village. His brothecsin-law, Ira and Alfred Brunson, came with him, but did not then re¬ main. In 1837 a post-office named Patch Grove was established here with Henry Patch as postmaster. A clump of trees near Patch's cabin suggested a name for the office and the village and town to be. In 1837 Ezra Hall came in and took the place of B. F. Forbes, who re¬ turned to Cassville. The same year Thomas Lawless came in. Mrs. Lawless was the third woman in the settlement, being preceded by Mrs. Hicklin and Mrs. Thompson. Samuel McKee settled on Section 27, Town 1, Range 4, in 1837.

William and James Humphrey came in 1838. The latter settled on Section 31. The former, then a very young man, walked througfc from Quincy, Illinois. He afterward became a banker and able to ride in a private palace car if he had been inclined. He married Mary Brun¬ son, sister of Ira Brunson. He lived on the old farm most of the time until his death in 1886. John Scott came about the same tffrne as the Humphreys. Justus M. Dickinson came from Cassville to Patch Grove in 1840 and remained until his death in 1877. Thomas Nagle came

Up to 1843 there had been no sign of a village. Henry Patch's log house, besides being a dwelling and a post-office, was a tavern for the accommodation of the few travelers of that day. Hon. Henry Merrill, in his reminiscences, thus speaks of a night spent at "Uncle Henry's": "Traveling on an Indian trail, so dark I could not see it, I let my horse take his own course. Finally I brought up at a fence, and following it, I came to the house where I was to stay, at Patch's Grove. I got into good quarters, Mr. Patch being very sociable, as people were in those days, for they were glad to get the news, as prob¬ ably they had no mails oftener than once a month, and neighbors be¬ ing few and far between."

The village was begun in 1843. Enos P. Finn built a frame house which was afterward used for many years as a hotel by Garrett Forshay. He laid out the village site into lots. Francis Brady was the first purchaser of a lot and he put up a blacksmith shop on his lot and began work. The village site was the east half of the northeast quarter of Section 4, which Mr. Finn bought from J. C. Orr, part of the payment being mentioned in the deed as "one gray mare."

John Carson settled in the town in 1844. In 1845 George Ballantine came from British Hollow and settled on the prairie in the east¬ ern part of the town, and soon his brothers, James, David, Thomas, and Robert came and took up farms. All together they occupied a wide space of the prairie, and they were successful farmers, accumulatmgagoodly portion of this world's goods. James and David removed to Bloomington after the war, where they died recently.

Hugh Garside came in 1845 and settled south of the village, living there until his death in 1876. In the same year M. W. Vanausdal set¬ tled east of the village on the Military Road. In 1846 Luther Brown settled near the village and lived there until his death in 1882, becom¬ ing one of the patriarchs of the little place. Among the other settlers of the town at that time, not previously mentioned, were S. H. Good¬ man, Eden B. Green, Hiram Brunson, Joshua Bid well, James H. New¬ bury, George Pike, John Wilson and Henry Adams. Among the other farmers who came in 1850 or some time before that were Haines Fitch, Michael Casey, and John McAvoy. The settlers, not only the farm- ers, but those of the village, had to go to Beetown for 44 store goods." In order to get their corn ground they had to go much farther : the first settlers had to go to Galena or Platteville, but in 1837 Burt's mill, about twenty miles distant, was ready to grind their corn, and wheat also ; but, as has been said before, wheaten bread was a Sunday luxury. The first store was established in 1848 by I. G. Ury. It was located opposite the present store of Robert Collier. In 1850 an¬ other store was put in by Green Brothers & Fay, of Prairie du* Chien, with Smith Brown in charge ; the store was on the site of Collier's store.

The new village was for some years called Finntown, in honor of its promotor, but in later years it took the name of the post-office, perpetuating that of the pioneer, Henry Patch. But the post-office did not retain its name without vicissitudes. Some would-be esthetic suc¬ ceeded in having it called Erskine for a while, but practical sense finally got the better, and the old pioneer's name was restored to the office. After Mr. Patch's death Alex. Paul was made postmaster and retained the place many years. When Ury's store was opened the post-office was moved into it.

In 1855 Volney Osborn erected several houses on land owned by him on the east side of the main street, which was the Prairie du Chien and Galena road. In 1859 L. P. Stringham surveyed a plat of the land owned by Volney Osborn and Osborn filed the plat June 4 of that year. It was the first plat of the village filed, although not the first surveyed. It contained only one block.

In 1857 Coddington & Thomas put in another store and I. G. Ury sold his store to Alex. Paul, who afterward built a fine brick store building. The village seemed quite prosperous up to nearly war-time, but much of the town site fell into the hands of minor heirs, prevent¬ ing the getting of clear titles, which had an adverse effect on the growth of the place. Its younger rival down the creek, with a fine flouring-mill and some enterprising business men, was also drawing business and business men away from Patch Grove and soon after the war the place began to assume what Holmes has called "a general flavor of mild decay." The academy, however, did considerable to prevent the decadence of the place.

Patch Grovb

tin. For some time it did a good business, but the Blake's Prairie farmers almost entirely gave up the culture of wheat, and the business of the mill declined. It was rented to Fred Clauer, who ran it as a custom and feed mill.

Disasters, Suicides, Btc

Patch Grove has been spared from many serious scourges - flood, fire, and pestilence - of considerable proportions. In 1854, the last cholera year in Grant County, this scourge entered Patch Grove and on the first of August J. W. Clemmons and his wife and son-in-law, J. C. Gordon, died of it, but the disease did not assume an epidemic form in the village.

In June 1895, George Key, a resident of the town, committed sui¬ cide by cutting his throat. On March 25, 1895, his daughter Alice committed suicide by hanging herself with a rope. She was supposed to be to some extent insane.

In 1844 there was an exciting occurrence in the quiet neighbor¬ hood. John Thompson, mentioned on page 612, was in one sense one of the first citizens of Patch Grove, but he was a " hard " citizen for all that. He burned the old log jail at Lancaster in 1843, when escap¬ ing after a short stay in it. He was accused of burning the barn of Hiram Brunson, the grain stacks of Moses Hicklin, and some other property, and the neighbors concluded he had lived long enough, any¬ way, and appointed a bee to hang him. People came from far and near to see the lynching, but they were disappointed. William Hum¬ phrey persuaded the committee to spare their victim for the time, and Thompson soon saved them any further trouble by getting drowned in Bridgeport slough while intoxicated.

The first school in Patch Grove was taught by Miss Almira Brun¬ son in 1838, in a log house built by Henry Patch. It was a subscrip¬ tion school with about fifteen pupils. The first " free " school was taught by Mrs. Roxina Blunt in her house two miles southwest of the present village. The first building built for a school-house was a log house with a sod chimney, a short distance northeast of the present village. Among the teachers in this building were, in the order of their respective reigns, Minerva Warner, sister of Jared Warner, Miss Nancy Durley, of Platteville, and Miss Danley, of Prairie du Chien. In 1844 a school-house was erected on the southeast corner of Section

Patch Grove Academy . - This institution was founded in 1861, with the following trustees: Alex. Paul, William Humphrey, Jared Warner, Thomas Nagle, G. Forshay, Henry Patch, John Woffenden and S. S. Bradley. A fine two-story brick building was erected and the school started under fair auspices. The academy at Tafton had just begun its decline, and it was soon eclipsed by the luster of its younger rival in the older town. Prof. W. B. Clark, A. M., was em¬ ployed as principal, and Mrs. E. J. M. Newcomb as assistant, with Miss Nettie Newcomb as teacher of music. In the spring of 1867 Prof. Clark left the academy and engaged in business in Bloomington. The days of academies were numbered and the public high schools were taking their place; so the Patch Grove Academy was transformed into a high school. Another building was built near the principal one to contain the primary department. The schools at present are under the principalship of Evans Nye.

St. John's Catholic Church. - This is a small frame building a mile and a half east of the village. Before the building of the church at Bloomington it was the place of worship of all the Catholics of the northern part of Blake's Prairie, and was attended by the priest at Mt. Hope.

Town Organization And Officers

The town of Patch Grove was organized in 1849. It had an ex¬ tensive territory, as will be seen by consulting the map on page 139. The first town meeting was held in the old school-house. Besides the town officers noted on the roster the following road overseers were elected: George Pike, C. P. Smith, E. P. Finn, Thomas Nagle, William Whitesides and lliram DeLap. The extent of the town rendered three polling-places necessary, one in the village of Patch Grove, one in the

1852 - Supervisors, Jared Warner, George Ballantine, Moses Hicklin ; clerk, James Paul ; treasurer, James Humphrey ; assessor, J. C. Orr ; supt. of schools, C. C. Drake; justices, A. A. Franklin, D. Andrews; constables, Albert Francis, D. Henshaw.

lSSS-^-Sftpervisors, J. T. Murphy, Benj. Briggs, George Engle ; clerk, D. Andrews; treasurer, Henry Patch; assessor, A. C. Stiles; supt. of schools, A. A. Franklin ; justices, J. T. Murphy, Henry Patch, A. A. Franklin ; constables, Robert Lumpkin, William Young, L. Folsom.

1858 - Supervisors, J. C. Orr, George W. Lee, Henry Patch; clerk, Waldo Brown; treasurer, Janies Humphrey; assessor, J. T. Murphy; supt. of schools, L. S. Osborn ; justices, H. H. Reynolds, Samuel Tracy ; constables, Aaron Osborn, Wm. Martin, Albert Francis. James Hum¬ phrey resigned December 20 and William Holford was appointed to fill the unexpired term.

1863 - Supervisors, clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1862; justices, Henry Patch, Haines Fitch ; constables, A. H. Lyman, A. B. Lynn, Edward Garside.

1869 - Supervisors, Jared Warner, Wm. Humphrey, Jas. A. Davis; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1867 ; justices, H. W. Patch, Charles Brown; constables, Benj. Jones, D. Smith, S. V. Green.

1874 - Supervisors, George Ballantine, G. Forshay, S. A. Hatch; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1873 ; justices, 0. P. Wetmore, John Woffenden ; constables, Chauncey Green, Ed Dickinson, S.

1877 - Supervisors and treasurer, same as in 1876; clerk, John W. Bidwell; assessor, John Lawless; justices, James E. Taylor, W. M. Hicklin; constables, William Prior, Charles Parish.

1878 - Supervisors, clerk, and treasurer same as in 1877; assessor; J. A. Curtis ; justices, J. A. Davis, John Jones ; constables, Lyman Mun¬ son, Charles Parish, R. Newbury.

1886 - Supervisors, John Lewis, James Hicklin, P. Morkin ; clerk and treasurer, same as in 1885 ; assessor, Thomas Nagle ; justices, IJohn Jones, J. A. Curtis, AlfredRobert ; constables, W. E. Lewis, Thos. Lawless, Lyman Munson.

1890 - Supervisors, John Carey, Jr., W. E. Lewis, J. A. Davis; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1889 ; justices, J. A. Curtis, Edward Patch; constables, Theo. Hope, Calvin Ladd, Edwin Dickinson.

1891 - Supervisors, John Carey, Jr., J. A. Davis, P. Morkin ; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1889 ; justices, Lewis Beitler, John W. Bidwell; constables, Calvin Ladd, P. McKevltt, John Chettinger.

1892 - Supervisors, W. E. Lewis, W. O. Goodman, John Lewis; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1889; justices, J. A. Curtis, Hiram Wagner, J. A. Davis; constables, John Lambert, Calvin Ladd, Taylor Brodt.

1894 - Supervisors, clerk, and treasurer same as in 1893; assessor, W. Woffenden; justices, Edward Kerr, Jr., F. G. Wetmore, J. A. Davis, J. W. Bidwell; constables, Geo. Blakesley, Theo. Hope, A. Robertson.

Wyalusing, Early Settlement

About 1843 E. P. Finn, James M. Otis, and L. O. Shrader, bought eighty acres of land and laid out a town just above the present vil¬ lage. Mr. Finn had quite an experience in beginning towns. He was the first settler on the sites of the villages of' Bloomington and Patch Grove, and laid out the latter town, and was interested in the town of New Cincinnati on the Mississippi, a few' miles below Wyalusing. It was at first proposed to call it Wyoming, but Mr. Finn wanted something original, and the happy inspiration of Wyalusing as a name prevailed. There was a solitary abandoned cabin on the new town site, built by some unknown hands, when the town-makers came. The proprietors donated a lot to Isaiah Cranston, on condi¬ tion that he put up a building and occupy it as a hotel, which he did. He remained a prominent citizen of the place until his death, February 5, 1866. The village did not grow, and the site was sold to N. W. Kendall, from Lancaster, who built a saw-mill near the place. In company with Charles Blandford and Robert Glenn, he platted a vil¬ lage site a little below the old one, recording the plat, which was filed July 30, 1856. John Otis opened a store in the place and the town company built a stone warehouse. With its fine landing and the saw¬ mill, the village seemed to have good prospects ; but not long after the new plat was filed the railroad was completed to Prairie du Chien, a bridge was built in 1857 across the Wisconsin River with its southern terminus in Section 14 in the town of Wyalusing, and a shipping point established at Bridgeport on the railroad at the northern end of the bridge, much more accessible than Wyalusing village to most of the people who, -except for the railroad, would have made Wyalu¬ sing a shipping and trading point. Thus the bright prospects of the village faded. In 1863 the village had a season of activity. Batie &

In the town of Wyalusing, on Sandy Creek, a saw-mill was built in 1846, known as Bushneirs or Whipple's Mill. Marshall Key came from Lancaster at a later date and built Key's Mill on Section 13.

Paper Towns

At an early day two pretentious paper towns were laid out within what are the present limits of Wyalusing. One was at the mouth of the Wisconsin River and was called Mendota. It was laid out and owned by Henry Hubbard, of New Hampshire, and the plat filed June 9, 1837. The plan looked grand on paper with steamboats lying at the landing on both the Wisconsin and the Mississippi, but in fact steamers could not land at that point on either river and the place was unfit for a building site. The scheme was probably intended to catch Eastern "suckers." If any of them took the bait they did not think enough of their purchases to have the deeds recorded. Another such town was Brooklyn, laid off and owned by Winthrop W. Gilman and others March 14, 1837. It was located near the southern end of the slough bridge which forms the approach to the Bridgeport bridge. The place was made, a post-office in 1838, but there is no record show¬ ing that anj" lots were ever sold.

The town of Wyalusing was organized in 1854. Since that date its population has been : in 1855 ; 411, in 1860, 601 ; in 1865, 632 ; in 1870, 800; in 1875, 734; in 1880, 719; m 1885, 743; in 1890, 786 ; in 1895, 903. In territory it consists of Sections 1 to 13, inclusive, in Town 5, and Sections 13 to 36, inclusive, in Town 6, Range 6, and some fractions of sections in Range 7, along the Mississippi. It is largely made up of the bluffs which skirt the Mississippi and the sev¬ eral creeks which drain the town. Since its organization the town has had the following town officers ;

1857 - Supervisors, Robert Glenn, Riley Jacobs; P. C. Palmer ; clerk, assessor, and supt. of schools same as in 1855; treasurer, Joachim Gulick ; justices, Riley Jacobs, Isaiah Cranston; constables, B. Y. Grif¬ fin, A. Calkins.

1858 - Supervisors, Robert Glenn, J. M. Sifford, David Brodt ; clerk, treasurer, and supt. of schools same as in 1857; assessor, F. H. Jackson ; justices, Lyman Calkins, J. A. Harford; constables, J. Mclver, Arcus Calkins, A. P. Smith.

1873 - Supervisors, Robert Glenn, Riley Jacobs, P. C. Palmer ; clerk, treasurer, assessor, and constables same as in 1872 ; justices, Riley Ja¬ cobs, John A. Harford.

1877 - Supervisors, Robert Gleiin, John Boorman. J. A. Harford ; clerk, David Brodt; treasurer, Royal Cranston; assessor, Jacob Shrake; justices, J. A. Harford, Jacob Shrake; constables, J. A. Brad¬ ley, E. R. Houghton, Henry Baumer.

1883 - Supervisors, J. A. Harford, Louis Glass, Jacob Shrake; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1882 ; justices, A. B. Call, Ja¬ cob Shrake, P. C. Palmer; constables, J. P. Gulick, Henry Horstman, Taylor Malin.

1889 - Supervisors and clerk same as in 1888; treasurer, Wm. E. Borah; assessor, James Boorman; justices, Jacob Shrake, J. A. Har¬ ford ; constables, John Keeler, Edward Gulick, Abner Shrake.

1890 - Supervisors, Jacob Shrake, Wm. Iorns, Jacob Yost ; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as* in 1889; justices, Louis Glass, Victor M. Calkins; constables, Louis A. Beer, J G. Keeler, Ashton Morrell.

1891 - Supervisors, Jacob Shrake, Wm. Iorns, Edwin Glenn ; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1889; justices, Jacob Shrake, J. A. Harford ; constables, Emmett Palmer, Taylor Harford, Ed Gulick.

1892 - Supervisors, Jacob Shrake, Charles Glass, Thomas Gulick; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1889; justices, I. B. Palmer, Leroy Jacobs; constables, Ashton Morrell, John Rockwell, Emmett Palmer.

1894 - Supervisors, clerk, treasurer, assessor same as in 1893; jus¬ tices, J. P. Day, Abner Shrake; constables, Ashton Morrell, John G. Keeler, C. H. Eggleston.

1895 - Supervisors, Jacob Shrake, Louis Newman, Wm. Iorns; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1893; justices, Jacob Shrake, Fred Handy; constables, Taylor Malin. C. H. Eggleston, B. F. Keeler.

1898 - Supervisors, clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1897; justices, Abner Shrake, John P. Day; constables, Henry Gulick, John Keeler, M. R. Pace.

1899 - Supervisors, Edwin Glenn, Wm. Iorns, George Hausler; clerk, treasurer, and assessor same as in 1897 ; justices, Jacob Shrake, William Weed; constables, Ed Gillett, Walter Glass.

Bradtville Lodge , No. 59y I. O. O. F. - Was instituted February 18, 1893. The first officers were: T. B. Anderson, N. G.; William Iorns, V. G.; James Boorman, Sec.; Emmett Palmer, Treas.; Thomas Iorns, Chap.; Henry Sutton, Warden.

This village, on Section 17, near the southwestern corner of the town, sprang up on the building of the C., B. & N. Railroad in 1885. The first house was a store and dwelling by Bagley Brothers ; the sec¬ ond a hotel by William Thiessa, and the third a dwelling by John

Keeler. The place now has two general merchandise stores, two hard¬ ware and machinery stores, a furniture store and meat market, a lum¬ ber yard, and the usual number of mechanics for a village of its size. It has a population of 173. A post-office was established here in 1887 with Louis Glass postmaster. Jacob Shrake is the present post¬ master. The place has one church, the German Lutheran, a frame 32X52, built in 1886 on the farm of Louis Glass and moved into the village in October, 1898. The first trustees were Louis Glass, George Hetsler, Jr., and Leonard Leuber, and the present trustees are the same, except that Julius Plondke has taken the place of Mr. Leuber.