Deacon West Octagon House

In 1860, F. B. Ward, of Brookfield, became noted for producing a crop of potatoes, some of which weighed three and one-fourth pounds. J. Woodruff, of Lisbon, exhibited one that weighed three and one-eighth pounds, and Mr. Heath, of Pewaukee, exhibited a beet weighing sixteen and one-fourth pounds, and a radish weighing twelve pounds.

Passage source: The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources; an Extensive and Minute Sketch of Its Cities, Towns and Villages--their Improvements, Industries, Manufactories, Churches, Schools and Societies; Its War Record, Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Prominent Men and Early Settlers; the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, Statistics of the State, and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution and of the Constitution of the United States, published 1880.

The men thought that very favorable to their prospects, though had they known as much as they found out afterward, they would have come to a different conclusion. As they came into Prairieville, the Elder left them and said he would go up to Deacon Clinton's, who lived on his farm just out of the village, and have a talk with him, and would meet them at night at Jones' tavern (the Prairieville House), by 10 o'clock, with the Deacon. He meant to keep them away from Pewaukee neighborhood as long as possible. He then went to Deacon Clinton's and told them to send a boy for Deacon Mendall. Deacon Mendall came. The Elder told him to take a man with him, get the girl away from Pewaukee, and keep out of the roads as much as possible, for these men might be prowling around, but to lose no time in getting Eer away. The Elder and Deacon Clinton went as agreed to the Prairieville House at 10 o'clock that night, and talked and gassed with the men till about 12 o'clock, and finally came to the conclusion that they would have nothing to do with the matter in any way. Deacon Mendall was a man of whom the people stood in awe. He had been something of a fighting character in younger days, but at this time was a good Christian man and a member of the church. He took a man by the name of Jewett with him, and went to Mr. Dougherty's and brought the girl to Prairieville to Deacon Allen Clinton's (brother to Deacon Edmund Clinton, who also lived on his farm two miles from the village). That Sunday all of Allen Clinton's folks went to church except his wife, who stayed with Caroline. That morning a man came to me at church and tried to tell me about the girl ; but I did not want to hear. 1 told him that the fewer people there were who knew about it the better ; but in the afternoon Daniel Chandler came to me after church and told me to have my team ready that night at a place designated a mile west of the village iii oak openings. I did not dare to take my owji horses out, for I was watched ; but I told him I would be at the place with horses. So I went to Daniel Chandler and said: " 'Mr. Chandler, I want your horses to-night, and I don't want you should ask me a question. ' He let me have his team, a splendid on.e, of which he thought everything. I took the horses after dark, and went to the woods according to promise. After awhile I heard a whistle and answered it. By-and-by I heard it again in another direction, and I answered as before. Deacon Alletf Clinton then made his appearance on horseback, Caroline riding with him. Two or three others came also - Chandler and Deacon Mendall. Caroline was given into my hands. I chose Deacon Mendall as company and we started with Caroline curled down in the straw in the bottom of the wagon for - we had no idea where, but any place of safety. On the way we stopped and got James Rossman to accompany us. I drove down through Mukwonago and toward Spring Prairie, thirty miles from Prairieville. We reached Spring Prairie about daylight, and stopped at Charles Thompson's. He said he would have thrashers that day and it would not be safe to have the girl there, but he took us to another place in the vicinity, where we left her and turned toward home as quickly as possible. On the way home in moving my feet around in the straw, I hit something hard ; on picking it up it proved to be the longest butcher knife I ever saw (Deacon Mendall, in his earlier days, had been a famous butcher.) I says, 'Deacon, what's this ? '

Passage source: The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources; an Extensive and Minute Sketch of Its Cities, Towns and Villages--their Improvements, Industries, Manufactories, Churches, Schools and Societies; Its War Record, Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Prominent Men and Early Settlers; the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, Statistics of the State, and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution and of the Constitution of the United States, published 1880.

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 Pewaukee City - 38,760 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.