Tabor, Wisconsin

Eldad Smith was one of the early settlers in Caledonia. He arrived in Racine on the 22d day of September, 1835, and remaining there a short time, went into Caledonia and purchased the claim of John Davis. It was a claim covering two hundred and forty acres. He built a log house and went there to live, on the 1st day of November, 1835, remaining until the winter of 1841, when he removed to Racine. He says t lat in the fall of 1835, in addition to those already named, Trystam Davis, Mr. Fowler, Mr. Stillman, Hugh Bennett, and Hiram Bennett were settled in Caledonia.

Passage source: Official Record of the Old Settlers Society of Racine County, Wisconsin : with the Historical Address of Charles E. Dyer, Delivered at Burlington, Wis., February 22, 1871, published 1871.

At the crossing of Skunk Creek, where Mr. Hood now resides, men were building the first bridge across the stream. Among them was Symmes Butler who had located near what is now called Caledonia Center. Resuming their travels, Mr Kimball and party soon reached the house of C H Blake, who was living in a log cabin on the claim which was afterwards the home of Capt. Levi Blake. Resting there until toward evening, they continued their tramp until, at night, they arrived at the residence of Symmes Butler. He was living on what was called Hoosier creek. Several families were living in the neighborhood, among them Mr. Janes, the founder of Janesville. They wTere cordially welcomed. The next morning, as they were preparing to depart, Mrs. Butler remarked: "When you get out in the woods, you will know the reason why my husband is so ragged ; he has been ruling through the woods so much he has left a rag on* every bush." With Mr. Butler as their guide, they rambled through groves of timber and openings, and crossed beautiful prairies and meadows, with only here and there % claim, and greatly exhilarated by the thought that all this goodly land could be bought for one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre ! Mr. Kimball made a claim at that time, and settled on it,. In the latter part of February, 1836, he returned to Chicago, and immediately made preparations for removing to Root river, with his aged parents. His brother, Leonard Kimball, preceded them to make preparations for their arrival. About the middle of March they started with three yoke of oxen and a wagon, and were two weeks making their journey. Arrived at their destination, they found an unfinished cabin on the premises, which was soon completed with its shake roof, rude stone chimney and elm bark floors.

Passage source: Official Record of the Old Settlers Society of Racine County, Wisconsin : with the Historical Address of Charles E. Dyer, Delivered at Burlington, Wis., February 22, 1871, published 1871.

JTOHN ELilASy dealer in groceries, dry goods, hardware and notions. Tabor; was bom in Bohemia in 1852 ; came to Wisconsin with his parents in 1854; married Miss Mary Dworak in 1878 ; she was born in Bohemia in 1859. Mr. Elias is the son of John Elias, who died April 19, 1875 ; he owns niaety-seven acres of land, situated five and one-half miles north of Racine, Sec. 18, Range 23, Town 4; he values his land at $90 per acre ; it is in a good state of cultivation ; Mr. Elias is Postmaster at Tabor ; when he was 21 years of age, he was elected Town Treasurer, and fulfilled his duties so satisfactorily that he was elected for a second term ; he was also elected as Town Clerk, but only served for six months, when he was obliged to resign on account of a cold, contracted while performing his duties ; in 1877, at the request of C. B. Richards & Boas, of 61 Broadway, N. Y., he accepted the agency for their steamship line for any point in Germany, Bohemia, and to Hamburg, from Racine; also makes remittances, for pirties desiring it. to any of these points.

Passage source: The History of Racine and Kenosha Counties, Wisconsin .., published 1879.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Caledonia Village - it names this place 6 more 6 times.