Winnebago County, Wisconsin - Chapter 25, 1880

On Extinguishment of Indian Title to all the Territory North of Chicago and South and East of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers in 1S33, Immigration to the New Purchase Set in - Lines of Steamers and Sail Ve«els are Placed on the Lakes - Roads Begin to be Used Instead of Indian Trails - Frink & Walker's Line of Stages - First Land Sales - Hard Times of '37 and '38 - Wheat Shipments Begin - Wisconsin in

JHE close of the Black Hawk war left no further apprehensions for any serious Indian troubles, and closed one epoch in the history of Wisconsin The fame of this beautiful country, and of its rich mineral and agricultural resources, had gone abroad, and immigration now began to pour in. The settlement of the Northwest might almost be said to have begun with the close of that war; for previous to it, there were no white inhabitantsto speak of,other than those of the little hamlets in the lead region, Prairie du Chien and Green Bay. Milwaukee and Chicago were but little more than trading posts. /« /8jj the first frame house was built in

The extinguishment of the Indian title to the territory of Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin in that year, opened that tract to white settlement, and the "New Purchase" attracted great attention. By the spring of 1834, immigration increased to such an extent that lines of steamers and sail vessels were put on the lakes to run from Buffalo to Chicago. These were loaded to their fullest capacity with freight and passengers. "Frink and Walker's Line" of stage coaches next made their appearance, and roads began to be used in place of Indian trails. Captain Knapp and others, in 1834, laid claims and commenced the settlement on Root River, afterwards Racine; and in 1835 a company from the East settled at Pike River, now Kenosha.

In 1 818 Solomon Juneau settled at Milwaukee. In 1834 a number of settlers arrived, among them Geo. H. Walker, Byron Kilbourn, Daniel Wells and the Dousmans; and in 1835 Milwaukee was on the high road to prosperity and fame, and in 1836 was a promising rival of Chicago. In this year an immense immigration poured into the country. Steamers arriving at Milwaukee and Chicago would be crowded with passengers, which sometimes numbered as high as eight hundred on one boat. Business was at high pressure; speculation ran high, and the laying out of new cities and sellingcity lots was a leading branch of business.

Solomon Juneau, the founder of Milwaukee, was supposed to be worth $100,000, considered vast wealth at that time. The value he put on money may be seen from the fact of its being his habit of taking the money out of the drawer of his store, after business hours, and putting it loose in his hat; which being once knocked off in a playful crowd, $10,000 in bills flew in every direction. He subscribed most liberally to every public and charitable enterprise. After seeing others getting rich on the property he sold at such low figures, he commenced buying back some of the lots, paying in one instance, $3,900 for a lot he had sold the year previous for $475. He was a man loved and esteemed by all who knew him.

In 1837 a revulsion set in, and "hard times" continued through 1838. Jackson^had issued his "specie circular," requiring coin in payment for Government bonds. He also removed the Government deposits from the Bank of the United States to the Government Treasury. The bottom fell out of the "wild-cat banks" and brought ruin to hundreds of thousands. A general business depression pervaded the whole country, east and west. In 1840 flour sold in Chicago for $3 a barrel , pork from $1.50 to $2 per hundred, butter si.x cents a pound, etc.

Although times continued dull up to 1840- 41, immigration continued to pour in and rapidly settled the southern portion of the State. The Indian trails now gave way to wagon roads, and log houses dotted the country in every direction. Long trains of teams daily left the lake shore towns carrying the immigrants and their goods out into the countr)-. Soon the fertile prairies began to ship their products east, and the long trains of teams would load both ways - hauling wheat into iMilwaukee, Racine and Southport, and carrying goods and immigrants back.

W^inter wheat then was the staple, yielding forty bushels per acre, and was a never-failing crop. The various insects that have come in with all the other demoralizing influences of a higher civilization, were unknown. The festive potato bug, the chinch bug, and all the numerous \ariety of pests that prey upon the labor of the husbandman, never troubled the early settlers. An abundance of everything that can be grown in this latitude was raised with comparatively little labor. Winter wheat was brought to Milwaukee from forty to one hundred miles in the interior, by teams and sold _ for fifty cents a bushel.

With the fall frosts came the prairie fires, which for weeks would keep the sk\- aglo«' and light up the nights. It was one of the features of the early day. Night after night we could see in every direction the long lines of flame, and its lurid reflection in the sky.

The first sale of Government lands in Northern Illinois was held in Chicago in 1835. The tract offered extended onl)' to the North line of the State.

The settlers, apprehensixe that the land speculators would attempt to bid in their lands, organized and appointed committees to take, forcible means to prevent it if deemed necr^ essary.

country. They followed and captured him and brought him back to Milwaukee, where threats failed to make him withdraw his bid. The settler, however, got his land, as all the pre-emptors did.

The opening and prairie lands in Wisconsin looked like a paradise to the Eastern immigrant. The writer can remember the rapturous exclamations of the new-comers. When a young child, I went on a visit with a friend of our family, who had formerly been a merchant in Chicago, and was then living on a beautiful place west of Southport, as Kenosha was called. We took the lake steamer at my home, Chicago, and in the forenoon arrived at Southport. It was in the fall of 1838. The village contained one store and a half dozen otherbuildings, all "wood-colored," unpainted. All the boys from a large distance seemed to have congregated on the arrival of the steamer. Nearly every boy was barefoot, and I thought I never before saw such a large number, for so few houses. We started on foot for my friend's place, some twelve miles out, and had to ford a small stream - the Aux Plaines, which was bordered by a dense growth of rushes. It was evening when we reached it and the prairie fires were burning some distance from us, but approaching at a rapid rate. I was not alarmed, for I was familiar with them. Mr. M. simply set fire to the dry grass where we stood. In a moment the fire spread to the tall rushes, which, blazing to a great height, made a noise like a continuous discharge of small arms. When a sufficient space was burned, we crossed in safety. Our trail was well lighted, for the whole country seemed in a blaze. I noticed that my companion was a little apprehensive that his home was in danger; but we found everything safe on our arrival. A comfortable log house on a beautiful elevation, and surrounded by a number of huge oaks, presented every appearance of thrift and comfort. A sumptuous supper was soon prepared; broiled partridge forming part of the bill of fare. The next morning the lovely country presented a scene of picturesque beauty; not another house was in sight. The country was rolling prairie and timber intermingled. The nearest house, hidden in a grove of trees, was two miles distant, the occupant, a sea captain and his family. The next was a young physician, formerly of Chicago. The next, a former store-keeper of Chicago, who was closed out by the "hard times. " Not one of these had ever "farmed" before, and yet they became successful in their new vocation. The country was full of game; partridges were especially plentiful, and the table was

I saw the same country a few years afterwards, but with all the "improvements" it did not look so beautiful as when I first saw it, untouched by the hand of man.

Nothing was ever seen before to equal the progress in wealth, population and improvement, that the West made Irom 1843 to 1850. Immigration poured in a continuous tide and overspread the whole country. It was estimated that sixty thousand persons settled in Wisconsin in 1843. The settlers up to the year 1842, were principally from the South and East. In 1843 the immigration was more largely European, and that to Wisconsin was largely composed of Germans. By the year 1846, the southern part of this State was well settled; villages sprang up, that in a few years became great cities, the marts of a vast trade and commerce.

The splendid steamers on the lakes were floating palaces, elegantly furnished and provided with all the luxuries of life. The Southern travel to Northern summer resorts was via the lakes, from Chicago to Buffalo. In time came the railroads, with all the attendants of modern civilization, and the "far West" moved five hundred miles toward the setting sun.