Belmont Village (part 1 of 2)

Belmont Village

Belmont is in the extreme northwest corner of La Fayette County, comprising Townships 3 and 4 north. Ranges 1 and 2 east, of the Fourth Principal Meridian. In 1862, Sections 6, 7, 18, 19, 30 and 31 were taken by act of Legislature from the town of Kendall and attached to Belmont, which is now composed of forty-two sections. It derives its name from the mounds within its limits. At an early day, French travelers who were passing through this region, pursuing their explorations of the Northwest, discovered the mounds and named them " Belle Monte," signifying beautiful mountain. These mounds are three in number, one near the center of the town, called "'Belmont Mound," and two in the western part, termed respectively " Little Mound" and "Platte Mound." The mounds of Belmont are known throughout the southern part of the State, and are visited annually by hundreds of tourists. The general surface of the town is a beautiful rolling prairie, and, to the eye of the traveler passing through the town, it forms a magnificent view. There are about four square miles of uncultivated land in the town. This embraces the northeast corner, which is known as the Welsh Settlement. The soil of the town is a black loam, and will average about twelve inches deep. This soil is recognized as being valuable, especially for the cultivation of corn and oats, the yield of this product being enormous. Stock is raised quite extensively in Belmont, owing to the peculiar adaptation of the town for this branch of industry. At one time, flax was prominent among the products, but of late years it has been abandoned. Located in different parts of the town, may be found valuable groves of small timber of the different kinds indigenous to this locality, ash, black and white oak.

The town is well watered by the ''Mound," "Bonner's" and " Harris'" Branches of the Pecatonica River. These, with their numerous sub-branches and the many natural springs found here, render it one of the best-watered sections in the county.

The town is settled by diff'erent classes and nationalities; the Germans, however, who form one-quarter of the population, predominate. In point of intelligence, education and general qualifications, the citizens will compare favorably with those of the most advanced settlements in the county.

In 1868, the Platteville Branch of the Mineral Point Railroad was built through it, crossing Sections 13, 14, 15, 10, 9, 8, 7, and passing into Grant County from Section 18. The earliest settler and pioneer in the town of Belmont, is a Mr. Bonner, who immigrated to the county in the year 1827, and located the farm in Section 10, now owned and occupied by Edwin Johnson. During the same year, Thomas Welsh came to this town and settled near "Old Belmont." Soon after, in 1828, came Robert Terry; in 1829, Col. James H. Gentry and Oliver Holzhouser; and, in 1830, followed James Wiswell. Moses Eastman, Cornelius

DeLong, Col. John Moore and Moses Whiteside were prominent old settlers, having located in the town in 1833. The first building erected in the present limits of Belmont, was a \o<r dwelling, built by Thomas Welsh in 1828, on his claim, near the site of "Old Belmont." In 1829, Robert Terry built a smelting furnace on his selection, and continued to smelt the minerals of the surrounding country until 1832, when, at the opening of the Black Hawk war, the business was abandoned. The old mineral house connected with the furnace, was afterward used for a schoolhouse. About 1830, Oliver Holzhouser established the first blacksmith-shop in the town. The few tools used belonged to the smelting-works.

An amusing incident occurred here during the winter of 1831. Mr. Holzhouser was engaged to build a sleigh for one of the settlers, and, as the weather was very severe, after procuring all necessary articles, he proceeded to the construction of the vehicle inside the little log shop. The work having been completed, the sleigh measured 8x12 feet, and, to the astonishment and chagrin of the blacksmith, it could not be drawn out through the 3x5-foot door of the shop. Nothing daunted, however, he immediately proceeded to remove the roof of the building, and, with the aid of a few settlers, the much-prized sleigh was raised and placed on terra firma outside. It is with a keen sense of the ridiculous that Mr. Holzhouser now relates this incident to his friends.

About the first land entered in the town was 320 acres, which is at present occupied by Mrs. M. Whiteside. When entered in 1834, it was the property of Dr. Addison Philleo, of Galena.

Always in the early settlement of a new country is found a sharp appreciation of educational institutions, and the settlement of Belmont is no exception to the rule ; for, as early as 1833, a school was established in the old building used for storing the minerals of the abandoned smelting works, and John Boyer was engaged to instruct the dozen scholars in attendance. To show the contrast between past and present, there are now in the town of Belmont seven schoolhouses, requiring the services of eight teachers. The number of children in the town over four and under twenty years of age aggregates 423. The average wages paid to male teachers is $37.50 ; to female teachers, $25. The value of school property in the town, as shown by the report of the Town Clerk of 1880, is $5,975. The first district school in Belmont was established in 1842, on Section 3, Nathan Olmsted being employed as teacher, and paid by subscription. At this school, books of all kinds and from all parts of the Union were studied. Previous to the founding of Old Belmont, the citizens of this town received their mail from Mineral Point, Iowa County.

The first church erected in the town was built in 1846, in the extreme northwestern part of the town, in the locality known as the Kirkpatrick Settlement. This was of the Methodist denomination.

Belmont was organized as a town in 1848, immediately after the adoption of the constitution of the State, and the first election, at which 70 votes were polled, was held at David Wright's. Judge Charles Dunn, the first Chief Justice of Wisconsin, was elected Chairman of the board.

In 1865, a grist-mill, run by water power, was erected by Thomas Martin and son John on Section 18, where it was operated until 1875, when it was moved to the village of Belmont, and was burned in 1876. The site of this mill in the village is now occupied by a steam gristmill, erected in 1879, by Charles Simmeron.

Old Belmont, The First Capital Of Wisconsin

The site of this decayed village is located in the center of the town of Belmont, on Section 3, near the foot of Belmont Mound, and is now known as Grand View, a station on the Galena Narrow-Gauge Railroad, which was built through the township in 1876.

The Territorial government was established by act of Congress, approved April 20, 1836, and the Territory of Wisconsin embraced within its boundaries all of what is now Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and a part of Dakota. Henry Dodge was appointed Governor, J. S. Horner, Secretary, and Charles Dunn, Chief Justice. These persons took the prescribed oath of office July 4, 1836. A census was soon after taken, and the time of election appointed for October 10, 1836. The permanent location of the seat of government, the division of counties and th6 location of county seats were the all-absorbing questions. The Governor, by proclamation, designated the village of Belmont as the place for the first session of the Legislature, and October 25, 1835, as the time for the meeting. At this time, the village of Belmont became the subject of the most sanguine expectations. Forthwith an embryo city was laid out, the most extravagant plans indulged in, and extensive improvements projected and displayed on paper. Speculations raged high, village lots being sold for $500 each. The imaginary din of the busy streets and avenues of a great commercial center so wrought upon the feelings of the people that every other village in the Territory was dwarfed in their estimation to their own Belmont. But the Legislature speedily dissolved their blissful hopes by locating the capital at its present site November 28, 1836, and deciding to hold its next session at Burlington, now in the State of Iowa.

A well-informed pioneer, who was at Belmont during the session of the Legislature in November, 1836, says : " The location of the capital was the all-important question before the Legislature, and a very animated and somewhat angry warfare was carried on between the friends of Milwaukee, Portage, Belmont, Cassville, Mineral Point, Madison and many other places, for the recognition of such of their favorite towns as the most eligible site for the future seat of Government.

"J. D. Doty, of Green Bay, and Gov. Mason, of Michigan, had purchased a considerable tract of land of the United States, between what was then known as the third and fourth of the Four Lakes, at $1.25 per acre. Mr. Doty, with all the proverbial integrity and adroit skill that characterizes the modern lobbyist at Washington, was on hand with a beautiful plat of Madison, to convince the members that it was far better to locate the capital in the interior, than either on

Lake Michigan or in the neighborhood of the Mississippi, where the population of the Territory at that time was principally located. The most common and convincing argument to secure votes in favor of this proposition seemed to be, that by locating the capital in the interior, ii would promote the settlement of a large tract of country, then without inhabitants, and, when the whole Territory vas settled up, it would be found to be exactly in the right spot. This, then, was the ostensible reason why a majority voted for Madison, but the records soon after revealed the fact that a large proportion of the members had deeds of lots in their pockets, of earlier date than the passage of the bill, which clearly indicated one of the reasons that influenced their votes."

Although the wisdom of the selection of Madison for the seat of government is pretty generally conceded, yet the historic Belmont, overlooking the waters of the Pecatonica, with its majestic mounds, the beauty of its surroundings and general attractiveness, might have formed a city which, but for the inconvenient distance from the northern part of the State, would compare very favorably with the now much admired city of the lakes.

The site of the village of Old Belmont consisted of eighty acres, and was owned by Col. John Moore, who located on Section 33, near the village site, in 1833. Col. Moore entered the land in 1834, and afterward sold it to John Atchison, of Galena, who, in 1835, proceeded to survey a village. Capt. Craig, from Galena, was the Surveyor, and Oliver Holzhouser, the Chainman, who platted the historic village of Old Belmont. The heirs of Mr. Atchison afterward sold the village site to David W. Jones, who disposed of it to Owen Wright, whose heirs now own a part of the property. Immediately after the laying-out of the village, John Atchison, who acted as contractor, proceeded to the erection of suitable buildings for the meeting of the Legislature of the vast Territory of Wisconsin. One of these buildings was the first structure erected in Old Belmont. The buildings designed for the meeting of the Legislature, were a council house. Governor's residence, and lodging-house for members. The old Council House, known in Belmont as " Noah's Ark," from the fact that a half-dozen families have been sheltered within its confines at one and jhe same time, is now occupied by John Garber as a residence. The old "Lodging House," after the adjournment of the Legislature, was fitted up for and occupied by Judge Charles Dunn, as a dwelling. The " Governor's Residence " has long since decayed. The Legislature held but one session here, and that during the winter of 1836- 37. At the convening of the Legislature in 1836, a printing office was established here and a weekly paper published by Plowman & Nash, editors and proprietors. This oflSce, however, was removed the following spring, and was the foundation of the Burlington Gazette. The building was converted into a kitchen for Judge Dunn's residence.

The first house erected for hotel purposes in the limits of the village proper, was built in 1836, by John Atchison, and kept by Mrs. McArthur, a sister of Gov. Dodge. This building was subsequently occupied as a private residence, and was burned in 1839.

Here it was that the first post office was established in the precinct of Belmont. This office, named " Belle Monte," was located in 1836. John R. Coons was appointed Postmaster, and the mail was received and delivered at his store. He was succeeded, in 1841, by Nathan Olmsted, who continued here until 1846, when he was transferred to the " Cottage Inn " Post Office, then just established. The mails were received at the " Belle Monte " Post Office, from what was known as the " Blue Mound and Portage City Mail Route." Traveling over this route was a daily line of four-horse coaches, established in 1836, by John Frink and Martin 0. Walker.

The school in the village was taught in 1836 by a Mr. Reigo, and was held in a house built for a boarding-house. Succeeding Mr. Reigo's school was the private school taught in the same place by a Congregationalist preacher named Isaac E. Heaton. The first district school established in the town was located here in 1842, and held in the house erected for the residence of the first Governor of the Territory. It was taught by Nathan Olmsted, whose salary was $40, paid by subscription.

The first store in Old Belmont was built in 1836, by John R. Coons, and occupied by him with a general stock of goods. He was followed by a number of other merchants, all of whom removed their merchandise and buildings to different business centers, soon after the unexpected action of the Legislature, in locating the future capital of Wisconsin at Madison,

Col. John Moore

Col. Moore was born in the year 1784 (January 28), in the State of North Carolina, and emigrated to West Tennessee in the year 1802. While living in that State, he setved in the war of 1812, under Gen. Jackson, and commanded a company as Captain, and participated in the memorable battle of New Orleans, having a brother and brother-in-law killed in that engatrement. He afterward served as Colonel in the Creek (Indian) war, and was in the battle of the River Raisin and other engagements of that war.

He had the warm friendship and full confidence of Gen. Jackson, from whom he received expressions of high regard after he removed to this State (Wisconsin), while Gen. Jackson was President of the United States.

In 1819, Col. Moore was married to Miss Nancy Stallcup, of Sumner County, Tenn., with whom and one child, Elvira Jane, he moved to Jackson County, in the State of Missouri, in the year 1827, and settled upon a farm. In the spring of 1828, he removed to this county (La Fayette), and settled at what was then and afterward, for a long time, known as the Prairie Springs, but now known as the Col. Parkinson farm, five miles south of Mineral Point. At this place. Col. Moore erected a tavern and kept entertainment for travelers and boarders, until 1832, when he removed to Mineral Point, now in Iowa County, just at the commencement of the Black Hawk war, and was chosen Captain of the fort at that place, and had under his command about sixty men. At the close of the war, he removed to a place on the Pecatonica River, now known as the Ansley farm.

Here, again, he engaged in the hotel business (which seemed to be well suited to his genial nature), and erected a large and commodious house. As a landlord, no man was more popular. His house was always filled with guests, who were always treated with the most bountiful fare and extreme good cheer. He continued in this business until a few years before his death, which occurred March 12, 1849.

Col. Moore, as a man, was warm hearted, genial in manner, kind and hospitable in nature, always surrounded by warm friends. In size and build he was almost a Hercules, being six feet two inches in stature, well and compactly built, weighing, in the zenith of his manhood, 240 pounds, with nerve and activity. He was a man of meager education, but of sound and practical sense.

His family consisted of five children - Elvira Jane, the oldest, now Mrs. Whitesides, of Belmont (a widow) ; Emily P., now Mrs. Cronin (also a widow) ; Alphonso W., now of Cassville, Green County; Mary T., now Mrs. Eastman (also a widow); Sarah A., now Mrs. Peter Parkinson, Jr., of Fayette ; Capt. John P., now of Fort Worth, Texas, who commanded Company G in the Third Wisconsin Cavalry during the war of the rebellion.

Col. Moore was a Democrat of the Jeffersonian and Jackson school, and was the compeer, in the pioneer days of this county, of such men as Gen. Dodge, Col. D. M. Parkinson, Col. William S. Hamilton, Col. Ebenezer Brigham, Col. James Collins, Judge John W. Blackstone, Gen. Charles Bracken, and many others of equal prominence, and shared the friendship and confidence of all of these men to the fullest extent.

The First Territorial Legislature

From a sketch prepared by Hon. Moses M. Strong, read before the State Historical Society in 1870, and from the Belmont Gazette for 1836, the following narrative is compiled, descriptive of the first Territorial Legislature:

The first important thing to be done to complete the formation of the embryo government was the organization of the Legislative Assembly. Preliminary to this a census was to be taken by the Sheriff, and an apportionment of members of the two branches made by the Governor among the several counties. That portion of the Territory which comprises the present State consisted of four counties - Brown, Crawford, Iowa and Milwaukee.

The time fixed by the Governor for the election was the 10th of October, 1836. The election excited a very considerable interest, growing, chiefly, out of local considerations. The permanent location of the "seat of government," the division of counties, and the location of county seats, were the questions that chiefly influenced the elections, while the views of candidates in relation to national politics had little or no influence upon the results.

Mr, John Atchison, an enierprising citizen of Galena, during the summer and autumn of 1836, having laid out a town plat between the two Platte Mounds, to which he gave the name of Belmont, erected there several buildings designed for the accommodation of the Legislative Assembly ; and the Governor, by his proclamation, appointed that place, and the 25th of October as the time, for the meeting of the first session of the Assembly.

A quorum of each House was in attendance at the time fixed for the meeting ; and the two Houses were speedily organized by the election of Henry S. Baird, President of the Council ; Edward McSherry, Secretary ; Barlow Shackelford, Recording Clerk ; Henry F. Fox, Engrossing Clerk ; William R. Ross, Enrolling Clerk. Peter Hill Engle, Speaker of the House of Representatives ; Warner Lewis, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives ; Robert Cook, Enrolling Clerk of the House of Representatives ; James Barry, Recording Clerk in the House of Representatives ; T. A. B. Boyd, Engrossing Clerk in the House of Representatives. Each of the three branches of the infant government was now in working order, except that it remained for the legislative assembly to divide the Territory into judicial districts, and make an assignment of the Judges. This was speedily done. Crawford and Iowa constituted the first district, to which the chief justice was assigned, Dubuque and Des Moines the second, to which Judge Irvin was assigned ; and Judge Frazer to the third, consisting of Milwaukee and Brown Counties.

The first act passed by this first Legislative Assembly was one which privileged the members from arrest, and conferred upon themselves authority to punish for contempt. The next one, with the exception of that already referred to, establishing judicial districts, was "to borrow money to defray the expenses of the first session of the Legislative Assembly."

Three banks were incorporated, the Miners' Bank, of Dubuque, the Bank of Mineral Point, and the Bank of Milwaukee, all of which were organized and went into operation, and all failed and became utterly bankrupt, and one of them, the Bank of Mineral Point, with a loss to the community of over $200,000.

All of the territory south and east of the Wisconsin and Fox rivers was subdivided into counties, as they now exist, except that Ozaukee, Waukesha, Kenosha and La Fayette have been formed respectively out of Washington, Milwaukee, Racine and Iowa. In most of the counties the county seats were located at the same session. These questions, however, did not create much discussion, as the questions, where any existed, had been mainly decided at the elections, and the members had only to give effect to the expressed will of those citizens by whom they had been elected.

The protection of the lands donated to Wisconsin by the United States Government for school purposes, and the creation of a common fund, first called the attention of our public men to the cause of education. The first resolution on school matters ever introduced into the Legislative Assembly, was at this session, and referred to the report of a bill to "prohibit persons from trespassing on the school lands in the Territory, by cutting and destroying timber." A memorial to Congress was adopted, requesting that body to authorize the sale of the school section in each township, and to appropriate the money arising, toward creating a fund for the support of common schools.

The paramount question of the session was the location of the seat of government. To this, all others were subordinate and made subservient. The wild spirit of speculation, which, in the earlier part of the year 1836, had, like a tornado, swept over the whole country, and which, having invaded and unsettled the prices of every species of personal property, seized upon the unsold public domain, which was transferred by millions of acres from the control of the Government and the occupation of the settler, to the dominion of the speculator - although on the wane in the last months of that year, was still omnipotent, and exerted a marked influence upon many of the members of the Belmont Legislature.

Numerous speculators were in attendance, with beautiful maps of prospective cities, whose future greatness was portrayed with all the fervor and eloquence which the excited imaginations of their proprietors could display. Madison, Belmont, Fond du Lac and Cassville were the points which were most prominently urged upon the consideration of the members.

Hon. James Duane Doty, afterward a delegate in Congress and Governor of the Territory, and more recently Governor of Utah (where he died), had resided for many years at Green Bay, as additional Judge of Michigan Territory. His frequent journeys in the discharge of his judicial duties, in the different parts of the Territory, had rendered him familiar with its geography and topography, and had given him superior advantages forjudging of the elegibilities of different points as sites for the capital of the Territory and future State.

Judge Doty fixed upon the isthmus between the third and fourth of the four lakes, and, in connection with Stevens T. Mason, the Governor of Michigan Territory, purchased from the Government about one thousand acres of land, in Sections 13, 14, 23 and 24, upon the common corner of which the capital now stands. Upon this tract of land, a town plat was laid out, called Madison, and, under the auspices of its founder, became a formidable competitor for the honors and advantages of being selected as the seat of government. Madison town lots in large numbers were freely distributed among members, their friends, and others who were supposed to possess influence with them.

Nearly four weeks were spent in skirmishing outside the legislative halls, when, on the 21st of November, the battle was formally opened in the Council, and the bill considered in committee of the whole until the 23d, when it was reported back in the form in which it became a law, fixing on Madison as the seat of government, and providing that the sessions of the Legislative Assembly should be held at Burlington, in the present Des Moines County, Iowa, until March 4, 1839, unless the public buildings at Madison should be sooner completed.

When the bill was reported back by the Committee of the Whole, and was under consideration in the Council, where the ayes and nays could be called, a spirited attack was made upon it ; and motions to strike out Madison and insert some other place were successively made in favor of Fond du Lac, Dubuque, Portage, Helena, Milwaukee, Racine, Belmont, Mineral Point, Platteville, Green Bay, Cassville, Belleview, Koshkonong, Wisconsinapolis, Peru and Wis- consin City, but all with one uniform result - ayes, six ; nays, seven, - and the bill was, by the same vote, ordered engrossed, and next day passed the Council. In the House of Representatives, the opposition was not so formidable, and on the 28th the bill was ordered to a third reading by a vote of sixteen to ten, and passed, the same day, fifteen to eleven, thus ending one of the most exciting struggles ever witnessed in the Territory of Wisconsin.

This question having been disposed of, but little remained which was thought expedient to act upon at that session. A proposition for a commission to codify the laws was made ; but, as the opinion was prevalent that the Territory would soon be divided, it, and others of a similar character, met with but little favor.

The First Legislative Assembly, having enacted that the annual sessions should thereafter be held on the first Monday of November, adjourned, sine die, on the 9th day of December, 1836, having been in session forty days, and passed forty-two laws, about one-half of which were of a private nature.

Village Of Belmont

During the year 1867, the survey of the Platteville Branch of the Mineral Point Railroad was commenced, and, during the summer of 1868, had progressed to within nine miles of its destination, in the town of Belmont, which was to be, for a time, the terminus of the road. Forthwith a land company was organized, composed of George W. Cobb, William A. Garden, H. Robbins and Samuel Moore, who purchased from Edwin Johnson the present site of the village. Mr. Garden, civil engineer, next proceeded to survey and lay out into streets, avenues and squares, the land owned by this company, which they afterward named Belmont.

The first lot sold in the village was sold August 17, 1868, to Charles Mappes, now proprietor of the St. Charles Hotel, though the first actual settler was Samuel Miles. During the ensuing four months after the establishment of the village, lots to the value of $13,000 were disposed of, and at the end of the year, five months from the date of survey of the village, sixty-eight buildings graced the site of Belmont. The following spring the sale of lots was continued under favorable circumstances, but about that time a severe check was experienced, by the interference of parties in Platteville, who raised the question of title to the land belonging to the Belmont Land Company, and brought suit against the corporation. During the years 1869 and 1870, the cases involving title passed through the lower and Supreme Courts, resulting finally in a verdict of qualified title for the defendants. This drawback, at such a time, was so severe that the village never fully recovered from the effects of it. In the early life of the village, it was called " Belmont Station" and subsequently "New Belmont," to distinguish it from the old capital village of the same name ; but it is now generally known as Belmont.

The first building erected in the village was built by E. H. Marshall, for a warehouse. Brown & Law built and occupied the first store in the village ; their stock was drugs and groceries. A. R. Law, of this firm, was the first physician to engage in the regular practice of the profession of medicine in Belmont. Following the firm of Brown & Law came George Frost, who, in the fall of 1868, built a one-story building and stocked it with a general supply of goods. The building is now occupied by Cabinis, Jackson & Co. Calvin Goodfellow soon followed with a general stock of goods, and erected a building, which is still standing.

The first two-story dwelling - in fact, the first two-story structure of any kind - built in the village, was erected by William A. Garden, in February, 1869, and is still occupied by him as a residence. The first manufacturing establishment was a planing-mill and machine-shop, built in 1868, by John Richord, of Platteville. This mill was removed to Platteville, in 1870.

In 1868, David Jones erected and run for some years the blacksmith-shop now owned and occupied by William Hambly. Cyrus Robert was the first shoe-maker in Belmont. He came from Dodgeville,_in 1868, and conducted a shoe-shop in the building now occupied by James Carbes, for the same purpose. Judge Charles Dunn was the first attorney to locate in the village, he having settled there in 1869. He died in 1870. In 1871, the present two-story school-building was erected at a cost of $6,000. since which time two teachers, a Principal and assistant, have been continually employed, at salaries ranging from $40 to $75 per month. Previous to the establishment of this school, the children of the village attended the district school adjoining. There are now 181 children of school age in the village. The teachers are Dr. L. H. Stevens, Principal, and Miss Mary Loofborrow, Assistant. The different Principals who have taught here, are Truman B. NefF, Charles Estabrook, John Cummings, Mr. Cline, Alfred L. May, Joseph Luce,W. F. Mayne, Miss Addie Johnson, William Davis and Dr. L. H. Stevens.

The first religious services held in the village were by the Protestant Episcopal form, and were conducted by Rev. Lyman Phelps, of Mineral Point. At this service, which was held in a carpenter's shop, Cora and Lee Babcock were baptized. The next meeting was held in the same carpenter-shop, by Bishop Armitage, the subject of his sermon being the very appropriate one of " Christ as a Carpenter." In the spring of 1878, a Protestant Episcopal Mission was organized in the village of Belmont, and in May of the same year the foundation was built and corner-stone laid for a chapel, which was never completed, owing to the removal of the missionary incumbent. The mission was called " Holy Innocents," in memory of two children, Jennie, daughter of William A. Garden, and Jennie, daughter of 0. E. Minor, who were buried in the cemetery connected with the church property.

The first child born in the village was a son of John Donnelly, who first -saw the light of this world in the fall of 1868. The settlers promptly named the infant Belmont Donnelly. The death of this child was also the first to cast the gloom of sorrow over the peaceful village, he having died in the spring of 1869.

October 10, 1869, was a red-letter day for Belmont, it being the date of the arrival of the first locomotive and train of cars in the village. About this time, the station was located here, and Samuel Moore, of Platteville, appointed agent. In 1870, the branch was completed to Platteville. Mr. Moore took charge of the station at that place, and was succeeded in Belmont by J. J. Smith. Mr. Smith remained here until January, 1871, when the present agent, F. Neff, took charge of the station. The different telegraph operators here have been Mrs. Byron Wilcox, Miss Lizzie Jeffrey, Miss Anna Mates, and Miss Jennie Mates, the present incumbent.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1868 with the following constituent members : Nancy Mills, John Fredrick, Mary A. Fredrick, Benjamin Trevarthan, Sr., Benjamin Trevarthan, Jr., Jane Trevarthan, Elizabeth Trevarthan, Mary Trevarthan, Catharine Trevarthan, Henry Ellifeit, Isabel Fredrick, Julia A. Carrol, James Roberts, Anna Evans, William Miles, John S. Trump, Thomas H. Barber, Martha Barber, John Pritchard, Louisa Goodfellow. The first services were held in the schoolhouse by the Rev. William Cook, who was the first Pastor. The church edifice was erected during the pastorate of Rev. W. P. Hill, in 1869-70. The first Board of Trustees was composed of William Mates, John Mates, John A. Gowdie, Robert W. Brown, William Miles, Benjamin Trevarthan, S. Mills, John Fredrick and C. Goodfellow. The present members of the congregation are William Miles (Leader), R. W. Brown, Margaret C. Brown, J. Pritchard, John Mates, Catharine Mates, Benjamin Trevarthan, Henry Ellifeit, Eliza Rollins, Mary Tallady, William Hambly, Mary Hambly, Leonard Mates, John Bennett, Jane Bennett, Louisa A. Goodfellow, Lizzie B. Williams, George Brown (L. D.), John Barrett (Steward), Nancy Ellifeit, Thomas Martin, Mary A. Martin, William Mates, Ann Mates, Martha Mates, Porter Ellifeit, Isaac Milton, Mrs. Milton, Miss De Long, Anna Evans, William Roy, E. J. Barber, Robert Dobson, Mrs. R. Dobson, Mattie Pritchard, Mollie Pritchard, Minnie Wassley, Leroy J. Barber, Mrs. Wassley, Rebecca Cook, Rev. William Cook, Pastor. Since the establishment of the Belmont Methodist Episcopal Church, the spiritual destinies of the society have been guided during 1868-69 by Rev. William Cook ; 1869-70, William P. Hill ; 1870-71, Edwin Bunce ; 1871-72, Edward McGinley ; 1872-73, John Knibbs ; 1873-75, John Pressider; 1875-76, James Sims; 1876-78, Richard Pengilby ; 1878-80, Francis Howarth ; 1880, William Cook.

Belmont Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., No. 289, was instituted under dispensation, by Thomas H. Brown, G. M., of Milwaukee, April 8, 1879. The charter was granted June 5, 1880. The following were the charter members ; E. J. Bennett, William Hambly, Joseph Schollmeyer, Henry Albers, Louis Mappes, E. N. Benedict, Charles Blewath, William L. Jones and S. Hamphil. The oflScers since organization of the Lodge have been, April 8, 1879, Charles Blewett, N. G. ; E. J. Bennett, V. G. ; E. N. Benedict, R. S. ; Ben Trevarthan, P. S. ; William Hambly, Treasurer. Same officers were chosen for the second term, January 6, 1880 : E. J. Bennett, N. G. ; E. M. Benedict, V. G. ; Ben Trevarthan, R. S. ; S. L Stein, P. S. ; William Hambly, Treasurer. July 6, 1880, E. N. Benedict, N. G. ; Ben Trevarthan, V. G. ; William Hambly, R. S. ; S. S. Stein, P. S. ; W. L. Jones, Treasurer. The lodge now numbers twenty-three.

A flax-mill was established in 1868, by Sp3ilman, Pusey & Pischell. Soon after the establishment of the mill, Mr. Pusey retired, and the firm was then known as Speilman, Dement & Pischell ; the business was continued under this firm name until 1875, when John Dement purchased the interest of his partners, and has since continued the business alone. The object of this mill is to reduce flax-straw into tow, which is shipped to Dixon, III., where Mr. Dement has it manufactured into bagging, and it is sold to Southern planters, who use it for baling cotton. During 1879, this mill used 1,500 tons of flax-straw, and required the services of sixteen men. The foreman and manager is Matthew Wasley.

The Belmont flouring-mill was established February 28, 1879, by Charles Simmeron, of Platteville. The present two-story building was then erected, and.two runs of stone put in. The mill is run by a thirty-horse-power engine, and has a capacity for manufacturing two barrels of flour per hour. Three men are constantly employed, J. R. Adkison being foreman. This mill has usually been crowded to its utmost capacity with custom work, its trade extending for many miles in every direction from Belmont.

In the year 1868, after the laying-out of the village, Mr. Garden applied to the Government for the establishment of a post office at this point. The petition was granted in September of the same year, and Mr. Garden appointed Postmaster. Until the railroad provided facilities, the mail was received from Platteville by private means. The first office was in the building erected by Edwin Johnson, now owned and occupied by John Dickenson as a meat market. The salary of the first Postmaster here was $1 per month. In February, 1871, Nathan Olmsted was appointed Postmaster, but resigned in the fall of the same year, when Mr. Garden was re-appointed, and continued to serve until March, 1877, when he was succeeded by the present incumbent, George 0. Brown. There are now received at this office five mail pouches a day, from Platteville, Warren, Darlington, Mineral Point and Calamine. The Belmont Post Office was made a money-order office July 7, 1873, and the first order was issued July 14, 1873, to Nathan Olmsted, of Belmont, in favor of M. S. Robeson, of Dubuque, the amount being $25. Since the establishment of the money-order office, 3,951 orders have been issued.

The St. Charles Hotel was the first public house of the kind established in the village. This hotel was built by Charles Mappes, the present proprietor, in 1868, and originally consisted of one story, 19x40 feet. In 1869, an addition was made, and in 1870, the whole structure was raised and a stone basement built, which made the hotel three stories in height, with accommodation for forty guests. The basement is used for office and billiard room. The hotel property is valued at $15,000.

The United States Hotel was built in 1869, by W. W. Watkins, of Dodgeville, and managed by him for five years. His successors have been Mr. Ford, Dr. Hoffman, Ben Barett, and the present proprietor, J. W. Dickenson, who took possession in May, 1876. The building is a two-story frame structure, with accommodations for twenty-five guests.

Town Of Kendall

Kendall is in the northwestern part of the county, and is bounded on the west by Belmont and Elk Grove, on the east by Willow Springs, on the north by Iowa County, and on the south by Seymour. In the year 1868, the Platteville Branch of the Mineral Point Railroad, now the property of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, was built through it, entering on

Section 12, and crossing Sections 11, 10, 9, and passing into Belmont from Section IT. The territory of Kendall comprises Town 3, the south half of Town 4 north. Range 2 east of the Fourth Principal Meridian.

The surface is generally rolling and somewhat broken, though there is considerable beautiful prairie within its limits. The town is well watered by the Pecatonica and branches ; is well supplied with timber, and presents almost every variety of soil and surface.

Before the division of the county into towns, the northern part of this town was included in the election precincts of Belmont, the remainder in Prairie and Willow Springs. In 1862, six sections on the east of this town were attached to the town of Belmont. At the time of the township organization, the name of Kendall was adopted, in honor of James Kindle, Sr., the earliest settler and pioneer of the town. The Board of County Commissioners, composed of John Ray, Samuel Cole and John Armstrong, who named the town, concluded to change the orthography of the name from Kindle to Kendall, as it would be more easily written and spoken. Kindle being a very uncommon name.

There is as yet no village in the town, although at an early date Richard McKim surveyed and platted the city of New Baltimore, upon what has since been known as the Ansley farm ; but its high-sounding and pretentious streets, avenues and squares have long since relapsed into more useful and peaceful corn and potato fields, and given up all pretensions to civic dignity.

James Kindle, Sr., the earliest pioneer and settler in the town of Kendall, emigrated here from the vicinity of Gratiot's Grove to the farm where his son, James Kindle, Jr., now resides, in the spring of 1829, and, on Section 16, built a log house with two rooms, which was the first building erected in the town. In 1832, Mr. Kindle built a log grist-mill on what is called Bonner's Branch, and to this mill, which was one of the first erected in the county, grain was sent from every region of the country for twenty-five or thirty miles ai'ound.

At the farm of James Kindle, Sr., on Section 15, a fort was erected and occupied during the Black Hawk war by a company of " Michigan Volunteers," as they were then called ; and here a young man named Adam Hymers, a son-in-law of Mr. Kindle's, met his death by the accidental discharge of his gun, being the only life lost in the town during that war.

There were but few farms in the town of Kendall at the time of the division of the county, and, as late as 1852, there were 15,000 acres of vacant land in the limits of the town, all of which long since has been converted into snug and thriving farms. Following the oldest settler and pioneer, James Kindle, Sr., came Abner Westrope, Nathan Olmsted, the Stewart family, Peter Perry and B. F. Dennison.

The first educational instructor in the town of Kendall was James Noble, who was engaged in the winter of 1832 by James Kindle, Sr., to teach his family of six children. The first schoolhouse was built on Section 16, in 1835 ; it had accommodations for about a dozen scholars. Caroline Dane was the first district schoolteacher. At this time there were but about eight or ten children of school age in the town.

By way of contrast, examine the report made by the Clerk of this district in 1880. It enumerates 357 children of school age, 177 of whom are females and 180 males. There are six schoolhouses, requiring the services of nine teachers - three male and six female. The average salary paid male teachers is $27.66 ; female, $21.14. During the year 1880, $1,249.83 was received, and $1,175.72 paid out for school purposes. The school property in the town of Kendall is valued at $1,500.

The first church built in the town was the St. Pius Catholic Church. This building, which is located on Section 23, was built by Rev. Father O'Connor, who was the first Pastor, in 1856. The first Catholic services were held at the residence of Patrick McEwen, in the western part of the town, March 17, 1855, the congregation at that time numbering about twenty persons. The congregation now numbers seventy families, and services are held every second Sunday. Connected with the church is the St. Pius Cemetery, established in 1858, the body of Timothy McGinty being the first remains interred therein. The successors of Father

O'Connor have been Revs. Father Stroker, Father David, Fathers McGinty, two brothers, Father Fitzgibbon and the present Pastor, Rev. M. Hannon.

The first and only post office established in Kendall was located at " Cottage Inn," in 1847, the Postmaster being Nathan Olmsted. Since 1862, when '' Cottage Inn " was attached to Belmont, the mail has been received at Belmont or Calamine.

Midway between Belmont and Calamine, in the town of Kendall, on the Platteville Branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad system, is located the flag-station of Lynchburg, nominated in honor of Mr. Lynch, who established a grist-mill in the vicinity in 1860. The mill was continued until 1875, when the hapless proprietor met an untimely fate by being crushed to death in the wheel.

The first election for town officers was held at the schoolhouse near James Kindle's farm, and the following persons chosen as the Town Board: Nathan Olmsted, Chairman; S. B. Ansley, Town Clerk, and George Olmsted, Treasurer.

In 1850, the population of Kendall was 333, 189 of whom were males and 144 females. In 1855, the population had increased to 714 - 418 males and 296 females.

The assessment list of the town in 1849 amounted to $42,841 ; in 1856, the equalized valuation was $100,200, and in 1880, $283,495. The population of the town is composed principally of a thrifty, intelligent and educated class of farmers of Irish nationality or descent. The present town officers are : Supervisors, Patrick McDerraott (Chairman), Ramsey Beaumont and Patrick McGuigan ; Michael McDermott, Assessor ; Bernard McDermott, Town Clerk ; Edward Ruskill, Treasurer; James Moorehead, Justice of the Peace.

Town Of Willow Springs

This portion of the county was for several years prior to 1849, a voting precinct, and included considerable territory which now constitutes the town of Darlington, but, when on the 12th of January of the above year, the different towns were erected, the town of Willow Springs was constituted, embracing the present territory. The first regular election for town officers was held April 3, 1849, when the following officers were chosen : John Ray, Chairman ; James Noble and Nicholas Dunphy, Supervisors; Thomas H. Sheldon, Clerk; Elihu Hall, Treasurer; D. M. Parkinson, Assessor. There were also three Constables, four Fence Viewers, and five Overseers of Highways elected at this time.

The surface of this town is pretty evenly divided between rough and smooth, the northeast portion being for the most part a handsome rolling country, little broken, while the southwest is nearly the reverse, the general contour being hilly and uneven, especially in that section in the immediate vicinity of the Pecatonica. The soil of the prairies here, as elsewhere in the county, is a rich, black loam, the result of alluvial deposits, having a heavy clay subsoil. The rough portion, although possessing in part as good a quality of land, particularly in the river bottoms, is not generally as good or productive as the prairie. This portion of the town is the best adapted for pasturage and grass-raising. The bottoms here have frequently borne from three to three and one-half tons to the acre in days gone by. The timber supply is good, especially in the central portion, where, in early days, there were heavy growths of oak that had to be cut down to make the present farms. The timber on the rough part of the town is usually scrubby oak, from which this kind of timber land early acquired the name of " Oak Barrens." In the northeast part of the town, there is comparatively but little timber, yet in considerable variety, as oak, quaking ash, walnut, ash and other kinds are found here. The population embraces the usual mixture of nationalities found in this country. The prairie land, being the best, is taken principally by Americans, who were the pioneers of the town, and could choose the best. The rougher portion is taken by Irish, while here and there are scattered a few Germans, Englishmen and Norwegians. The present occupation is agriculture, but, in the early history of the locality, lead smelting and mining was the leading business. The chief product at the present time is fine stock, hogs being the specialty. The general condition of the people

IS excellent, which could not be well otherwise, considering that the country has been improved in great part for nearly half a century, and, with all the natural resources of this locality for farming, cannot be surpassed. Therefore it may be said the entire town is an aggregation of happy homes as the result of civilized industry and time's benignant influence.

Perhaps no portion of La Fayette County has been the scene of more varied historic events than Willow Springs. One of the very earliest settlements was made here ; and, when surrounding localities were yet uninhabited, there were several smelting furnaces in operation in different parts of the town, and several farms had been started.

The first settlement was made at a place known as Willow Springs. At the foot of a hill, in a valley formed by the converging points of several rocky bluffs, the first comers found several springs bursting forth, which were overshadowed by willows. One of the springs in particular was shaded by a large, wide-spreading willow, the pride and beauty of them all. As nature seemed to have provided this spot for the special entertainment of strangers, the settlers were not slow in availing themselves of the gift, and thus, before the Indian war of 1832, quite a bustling little hamlet had sprung up here. But, as the mining industries waned, the glory of Willow Springs departed, so that now there is scarcely a relic left to mark the spot save the old springs, but these, though they should sometime cease, will be perpetuated in the name of the town where they exist.

As to whom belongs the distinction of having been the first one to locate here, there ar© doubts. Probably D. M. Parkinson, who arrived in this county in the fall of 1827, was th© first one on the ground. However, very soon after, or about the same time, several other parties came here. These were William Tate, John Moore, John Smith, John Ray, Isaac Chambers, Bonham King and others, who came early in 1828, but whether they came before that time is not known.

The first cabin or cabins were erected by Mr. Parkinson, on the old Magoon place, near the Pecatonica, in the fall of 1827, this being on the line of travel between Galena and Fort Winnebago. Mr. Parkinson made a business of entertaining travelers and miners. This place he sold later to Jameson Hamilton, the pioneer of the town of Darlington.

In 1828, early in the season, John Ray came here with his wife, and, it is generally conceded, erected the first cabin at Willow Springs, and subsequently broke the first land in the town. About this time, a man by the name of Smith settled north of the Pecatonica and built a cabin, wherein he entertained travelers. Mr. Smith subsequently removed to Galena and engaged in hotel-keeping. John Ray began by keeping a tavern, and also opened a grocery at the same time, this being the first store in the town. He was assisted by a man named F. M. Fretwell, who wa? known among the old settlers as a great joker. Very soon after this, William Tate came here and started a smelting-furnace, what was then known as a log-and-ash furnace. A year or two later, it passed into the hands of John Parkinson, and from him to Elias Pilling. This was doubtless the first furnace in the town, but, within three or four years, there were several erected at different points. Two of the early characters were Joseph Vance and Hugh De Priest, who tended the furnace. Col. John Moore located in the north part of the town, where D. M. Parkinson lived during the later years of his life. Col. Moore was well known as one of the prominent men during the Black Hawk war. It is said that he was the first person among the early comers to assume the marriage relation.

The first child born in this toivn was J. 0. J. Ray, son of John Ray, who was born at Willow Springs in February, 1829. The next birth was Sarah Bracken, a daughter of Charles Bracken.

The most prominent improvement made this year was a three-roomed log cottage at Prairie Springs, which was put up by Col. Moore. This was the extent of immigration into Willow Springs during 1828. There were a number of peripatetics who became self-constituted guests of the town within that period, but none remained longer than to ascertain the absence of attractions, when they departed to more congenial spheres.

In 1829, Joshua, Josiah and Isaac Bailey became residents of the town, settling one and a half miles east of Willow Springs. They came from Ohio, and, excepting the Clark family, "were the only pioneers who entered up claims.

In 1830, there were a good many settlers in the town. There were, besides the Baileys, Bonham King and sons (Polite and Narcisse), James Robb, Charles Bracken and others. Of those who came into the town previous to 1832, not spoken of, there should be mentioned JeflF Higginbotham, John and Jacob Ripperton, Henry Crow, Elias Pilling, Isaac Chambers, - Mcllwaine, Abbe Atkens and George and Lawrence Bailey.

In 1830, George Bailey and his brother built a furnace on what is now called the old Bracken place. In 1831 or 1832, this furnace was purchased by Charles Bracken and John Van Matre, of Fayette. Van Matre died in 1834, and subsequently the furnace was operated by Mr Bracken until it was abandoned.

Up to the close of the Black Hawk war, the country was exempt from occupation by the whites to any very great extent. In 1830, a number of changes were made in the ownership of enterprises, and some improvements made in the enterprises in progress. John Parkinson succeeded William Tate as a smelter.

Gabriel Bailey and John Lawrence settled in the northern part of the township, where the former, with his brothers, erected a log furnace, and with Mr. Lawrence put up one three miles from the point where their settlement was first made. Times were extremely dull during this and the ensuing year. The farms were scarcely in a sufficiently advanced state of cultivation to produce returns, and the discoveries of ore had not been such as to encourage the miners to a successful prosecution of their labors. Added to these embargoes, the Indians continued in an attitude threatening the peace of this portion of the country, which per se, created an influence extremely remote from encouraging. All are conversant with the realizations, a year later, of what was apprehended in 1831. Prior to the inauguration of hostilities, R. C. Hoard settled near the Pecatonica, and erected a smelting furnace on what is now known as the Ansley farm, where John Brown, who came with Hoard, was employed, residing with his family near by. As an evidence of commercial enterprise, it may be stated, that, before the war, Lawrence & Bailey disposed of their furnace to Charles Bracken and A. P. Van Matre, by whom it was operated for many years.

Early in 1832, Fort Defiance was raised in the northern part of the town, at Prairie Springs, by Col. D. M. Parkinson, Charles Bracken, R. C. Hoard, Joseph Bailey and others. The stockade was 120x80 feet, and made of heavy split timbers eighteen feet long, sharpened at the top and set face to face, thus making an almost impenetrable wall with no openings, except loop-holes. At the corners were bastions, used for cooking-rooms, and still above those were erected block-houses, which reached about five or six feet above the tops of the palisades at two opposite corners. The bastions were twelve or fourteen feet in dimensions. The block-houses were sixteen feet square, projecting two feet beyond the bastions. Within the inclosure were still two other buildings, having two large rooms below and two above, which were used to accommodate the families of the settlers. The garrison numbered in all about forty men, the larger number of whom belonged in this part of the county. The commanding officers were Capt. Robert C. Hoard ; First Lieutenant, Charles Bracken ; Second Lieutenant, D. M. Parkinson. Subsequently, Robert Gray was created Lieutenant. The First Sergeant was James Lovett, who was also Drill Master, he having served in the regular array. The company at this post had the reputation of being the best drilled of any in the frontier. The equipments were old-fashioned muskets, with long bayonets, and accouterments to match. The men's pay was $8 per month for post duty. This fort was not attacked during the war, which lasted three months, but two or three of the garrison were killed at the battle of the Pecatonica.

Soon after the close of the struggle, the business of mining and smelting was resumed, and settlers began coming in rapidly. The following parties, among others not known, came in before 1836 : G. F. Backard, Louis Cline, John Logue, Owen Harben, J. H. Sheldon, Chris Blackgraves, Benjamin Martin, Elihu Hall, J. C. Hall and son George, Louis Sandford, Rufus and

There was a blacksmith-shop at this place, which had been established by Tate several years before this time. A man by the name of Giles was the blacksmith at a later date. D. M. Parkinson once carried a plow eight miles on his shoulder to this shop, in order to get it there quicker than with an ox-team.

It is said that during the very early days, Isaac Chambers had a tavern on one side of the road at Willow Springs, opposite to John Ray's place, and that they ran a sharp competition. In the morning, each one would out and walk in front of his house, or else the hired men would do so, and one would hurrah for Jackson and the other for Adams, and, as whisky in those days was cheap, and times comparatively lively, this chief thoroughfare was often the scene of much hilarity.

Religious services were held at Willow Springs at a very early day, probably before 1830, but who was the first minister to come is rather uncertain. In all probability, either Elder Stevens or Elder Crummer was the man. In 1832, the first Sabbath school was begun under the direction of Mrs. John Ray and Mrs. Pilling. Mrs. Ray was a. leading woman of the Methodist faith, and often performed missionary labors, traveling far and wide to attend to the mission of her faith and declare the Gospel to the erring ones. Since that date, the opportunities for worship have gradually improved, until at present there are three churches in the town, two Protestant and one Catholic. The Disciple Church, of the Campbellite persuasion, in the northeast part of the town, is substantially built of stone, the work of construction having been performed about two years ago, by Philip Allen, of Mineral Point.

In the north part of the town, on land presented by Nathaniel Parkinson, is located a Primitive Methodist Church, and near it a temperance hall. These buildings are framed, and were erected not more than eight years since. The Catholic Church has been built a good many years. It is situated not far from the center of the town, and is supported by a large congregation. The land on which the church stands - four acres - was given by John Smith.

The first school was taught in an old log house, which stood on Section 16, since decayed, in the winter of 1833-34. There were twelve scholars. The teacher was a Mr. Sylvester, a miner from Mineral Point, who, having injured his arm, engaged to teach the few pupils to be obtained in the town at that time, for a nominal sum, which was obtained by subscription. The first schoolhouse was built in 1836, on Section 3. A Mr. Hall, from Tennessee, was the first teacher here, there being about twenty-five scholars. This was also a subscription school. A denominational school was opened about 1838, by Elder Stevens, a Presbyterian preacher, in a room attached to his dwelling-house for the purpose, which would accommodate about twentyfive to thirty pupils. This school was called a female seminary, and the pupils were boarded at the Pastor's residence. It was not continued long. Mr. Stevens was at one time an Indian missionary. He eventually started the Platteville Academy. There are now eight comfortable schoolhouses in this town, supported by taxation.

About 1835, a furnace was built one mile north of where Calamine now stands. Peter Hartman was the builder, and his successor was John McCann. In 1846, Charles Bracken and John Smith erected a blast furnace near Otter Creek, on the land now owned by Hugh Hough. This furnace was built for melting copper, but, as the copper supply was very limited, the enterprise had to be abandoned, and the furnace went to ruin. At about the same time, a furnace for smelting lead was built by E. Pilling a mile or more south of the Bracken establishment. This furnace was run for several years. They were built here principally because of the large groves of timber, which afforded the necessary fuel. Not more than one- fourth of the ore smelted was taken from mines in this town. The most of it came from Mineral Point and that section of the country. There were several mines in this town, however, the more noted being the Duke, the Prairie, the Fretwell, the Porter Grove and the Van Matre Survey Diggings! Of these, the most extensive were the Duke Diggings.

A saw-mill was built in the town in 1836 or 1837, by Rufus Scott, at the location since known as the Maguire Place. Benjamin Martin was the millwright. In 1850, Scott erected a grist-mill here, which, within a few years, became the property of L. Childs and Charles Cox, merchants, of Mineral Point, who connected a store with the mill. It passed into the hands of Mr. Hurd in 1855, without the store, who conducted it successfully until 1860, when it became the property of Mr. McGuire, who operated it until 1874, when the dam was swept away. Since that time the mill has stood idle.

There was a blacksmith-shop at this point during the early times, run by the Scott Brothers. The old saw-mill has long since gone to decay. A building was erected about 1845, by John Clowney, to be used for various mechanical purposes, which was afterward converted into a corncracking mill. There is at present a good grist-mill at Calamine.

In early times, stores were kept at Willow Springs by Patrick Dillon and Mr. Crow. Mr. Elihu Hall also kept a temperance house here from 1836 until within a few years. Mr. Hall was in early times one of the most influential and stirring Methodists in the country, he having been largely instrumental in keeping up the Sabbath schools and religious services.

Isaac Davis and Nathan and Horace Woodworth were prominent as local preachers from 1840 to 1845. Horace Woodworth was also a singing-school teacher, the do, me, sol, of "ye ancient pioneers " having been first melodiously discoursed by him.

Slave Charley, as he was called, was one of the noticeable characters of early times. He was an escaped slave, and received employment from Josiah Bailey. Being large, powerful and healthy, he was considered especially valuable, and, although the poor fellow had come to the very confines of civilization, nevertheless his master found out where he was and followed him. Charley was so kind and devoted in his attentions to his employer and the people generally that he became a great favorite. When the slave-hunter came, the fugitive was not without strong friends, and, although no one interfered with the Southerner in his search, yet he did not find his victim. He kindly left ropes with the settlers with which to bind the runaway if he should be discovered. Eventually, Charley left these faithful friends and went away to work for a man in the southeast part of the county. As there was a reward of $100 for the slave's apprehension, this wretch determined, with the assistance of two other men, to return him to slavery. When it came to taking him, a terrible struggle ensued, but he was finally overpowered and sent back to bondage.

One of the spots that has always been much frequented in the Spring, for many years, is what is known as Lamprell's or Hall's Fish-Trap, at Cedar Bluff", on the Pecatonica. There is a fine mill privilege at this point, but about the only use that has ever been made of this natural provision is fish-catching. The fish and the wild fowl which abounded here in former times in almost unlimited numbers, furnished a large amount of the food consumed by the first settlers ; but now there is scarcely ever a pheasant or a prairie-chicken seen.

Of the settlers who came before 1850, and not already mentioned, there are now living here Joseph and William Monahan, Thomas H. Sheldon, William Johnson, John Riley, Stephen McDermott, John Noble, Paul Noble, George Mathews, Jack Noble, Michael Kerns, Patrick McQuade, Hugh Hough, James and John Smith, Ed and John Meehan.

Of the families of the first settlers, there are now only parts of five families : T. B. Roy, Polite King, John Laze, Abe White, T. H. Sheldon and Robert and John Pilling.

Calamine

The land where this little hamlet stands was entered from the Government by Elias Pilling, one of the settlers of 1832, when the Government land first came into market, or soon after that time. Nothing was done here toward building up or even starting a village until after the line of the Mineral Point Railroad had been surveyed out and was under process of construction. Then the natural advantages of this locality, with the superb water privileges, which are especially adapted to extensive manufacturing industries, suggested the propriety of laying out a village. M. M. Cothren and M. M. Strong were the principals throughout in the enterprise, although not the only parties interested.

The first plat was made for Mr. Cothren on the 3d of January, 1856, J. C. Temple being the survevor. The second plat, called Strong & McNulty's Addition, was made November 16, 1859. The original plat lies on the west half of Sections 8 and 17, and the lastnamed lies on the east half of the same sections.

During the first two or three years after the place was laid out, a number of lots were sold, and considerable building was done, but the first effort was almost the last ; for, owing to the contiguity of this village to Darlington, or to the lack of enterprise in the people, the place has grown very slowly. This appears somewhat singular, considering the natural advantages with which this locality is blessed, besides the fact that the Dubuque, Platteville & Mineral Point Railroad starts from this point. The water-power privileges here or in the immediate vicinity are equal, if not superior, to any in the county. There is a good and available power on Bonner's Branch, which unites with the Pecatonica at this point; also one at the mouth of this stream, near where it empties, of unusual capacity ; one below the mouth of the Branch, of almost equal extent, and one above the Branch on the Pecatonica, that has already been utilized. Thus it will be seen that the people can justly take a pride in the situation, if they have not developed or applied its resources to any very appreciable degree.

The first building of any especial merit erected here was the depot, which was built in 1856. During the same year, a store was started by Danvers Neff, and, during that year or the following year, George Henderson opened a hotel here. A post ofiice was also early established at Calamine, and various mechanics' shops soon sprung into existence, increasing the size of the place as well as adding conveniences that are indispensable to every community. Either in the village or country, the mechanic is the most necessary adjunct to improvement.

The mill, which was built here about IST-t by Joseph White, is a substantial frame structure, resting on a stone foundation. It has two runs of stone, and is considered one of the best in the county. The present owner is Charles Sherman.

In 1873, the Platteville Branch (mentioned) was built. This road, in connection with the Mineral Point line, belongs to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company, and is supplied with accommodations, in connection with the Mineral Point Railroad, at one depot. There is a good warehouse here, which does a large shipping business. It was erected in 1857, by Alex Gordon, but is now controlled by Frank Wood.

At the present time, there are two stores in the place, one owned by Mr. Tiernay, and the other by Mr. Keifer. Besides a hotel, there are also a wagon-shop, a blacksmith-shop, a shoeshop and the inevitable saloon.

It is to be hoped that at no distant date this place may take unto itself new life and expand into a size and business position commensurate with its natural advantages.

Town Of Fayette

The town of Fayette comprises Township 3, Range 3, and three miles of Township 4, Range 3 east of the Fourth Principal Meridian. It is bounded on the north by Waldwick, Iowa Co., east by Blanchard and Argyle, south by Wiota, and west by Willow Springs. The town was originally six miles wide by nine miles long, until 1854, when one mile, or one tier of sections, ofi" the south end, was attached to Wiota. The town is now six miles wide by eight miles long, and contains forty eight sections. Two thirds of the surface of the town is rough and broken, and in many places very low. The soil of the town is principally clay, and not well adapted to grain raising. The best portion of the town for farming purposes is included in a strip two miles wide, extending from the northwest to the southeast. The soil here is a black loam, and particularly well adapted for grain-raising. In the rough and broken parts of the town, stock is the main resource, hogs especially being raised in large numbers. The town is well watered by numerous natural springs, Yellow Stone Creek and its many branches. The population is chiefly American. In the eastern part, is located the Norwegian settlement, and in the northern part the Irish predominates. In point of intelligence, education and general qualifications, the inhabitants of Fayette may truthfully be said to be superior to many other towns in the county, and excelled by none. Fayette has graduated fifteen students from the State University at Madison ; included in the number are judges, lawyers, professors, and ministers of the Gospel. From the very early settlement of this town, the people have manifested a deep interest in education, having always maintained select schools, taught during vacations, by its representatives from the State University. For many years Prof. J. B. Parkinson, now of the State University, taught a select school in the town with the most gratifying results.

The earliest pioneer and settler in the present limits of Fayette was Thomas H. Price, a lineal descendant of the Hamptons of South Carolina, of which Wade Hampton is now prominent. He emigrated to this country in 1830, and located the farm now owned and occupied by Abram Campton. Here he built the first log cabin in the town, which he occupied in 1831, and cultivated fifty acres of land. In connection with his (at that time) extensive farming, he pursued mining for many years. The next permanent settlement was made by Isaac Hamilton, who came here from Ohio, in 1831, and located on the place now owned by Thomas Van Meter, and known as the old "Van Meter farm," where he erected a cabin and inclosed asmall farm of three acres. The Black Hawk war prevented the further improvement of these incipient farms. In 1833, Mr. Price died of the cholera, and Mr. Hamilton returned to Ohio. Early in the year 1832, a Mr. Henry, familiarly known as Dutch Henry," located in Fayette, on the old Isaac Hamilton farm, where he lived one year. He then purchased and for some years cultivated the farm near Fayetteviile, now owned and occupied by Peter Parkinson, Sr.

During the summer of 1832, the brothers Peter and Nathaniel T. Parkinson made the third permanent settlement in the town of Fayette. They located Sections 29, 30, 31 and 32, Town 4, Range 3, at one time known as " Duke's Prairie." Here they built a comfortable log cabin, and kept "bachelor's hall" for five years, the nearest woman, their step-mother, being five miles distant. The boys had sixty acres of land broken in 1832, and cultivated in 1833. Since then they have been adding to and increasing their possessions, until now the two fai-ms together consist of 500 acres of well-tilled land. In 1837, one of the brothers was married, and another dwelling, a frame building, was erected by Nathaniel T., and the farm equally divided. The Parkinsons, who have figured prominently in public aff"airs throughout the county and State, came originally from Madison County, 111., to New Diggings, in La Fayette Co., Wis., thence to Willow Springs, in 1827, and Mineral Point in 1828, and Fayette in 1832. In the year 1833, Arthur Dawson, of Ohio, located on a part of the farm now owned by Peter Parkinson, Sr. Here he built a cabin and cultivated a garden-spot, which he shortly after sold to "Dutch" Henry, who added twenty acres more, and in 1836 sold to Peter Parkinson. John A. Brinniger started a farm in Fayette in 1834, a part of his claim being now owned by William Richards and David Jolley. Mr. Brinniger remained here until 1856, when he sold out to William Richards.

In 1835, George and Jonathan Helm located in the southeastern part of the town, on the farm which they now occupy. "Jimmy" George settled on the " Cline" farm in 1835. In 1837, Samuel and Aaron Colley located on the old "Colley farm." The year 1838 brought to the town Jacob and John Jolley, John and Edward Journey. Among the pioneers and early settlers of Fayette, now living in the town, are Peter Parkinson, George and Jonathan Helm, Peter Parkinson Jr., David Jolley and Samuel Colley.

In 1842, the first school was taught in the town, the teacher being John Trevoy. This class, which consisted of twenty -five scholars, was taught in the basement kitchen of Peter Parkinson, Sr. The school was continued three months. In the winter of 1843, a school was established at the same place, and Andrew McDowell engaged as teacher. H. Foster taught a " subscription" school during the summer of 1844 in the house of Carroll Parkinson. In 1846, the first district school was established, and H. Foster engaged as a teacher. This was a stone building, and was located within the present limits of Fayetteville. The rock used in the construction of this schoolhouse was, in 1854, utilized for the foundation of the Methodist Church, which was built in the village that year. The basement of this church was used for the district school until the present two-story structure was erected. There are now in the town ten schoolhouses.

In 1849, the first post office in the town was established in the village of Fayette. M. W. Anderson, who kept a general store at that time, was appointed Postmaster. He has been succeeded by James Trousdale, James Freeman, Mrs. Elizabeth Cornell and Dr. Abrahams, the present officer. In 1853, the northeastern part of the town was quite a mining district, and, in order to accommodate the large number of miners here at that time, and also the people generally of that section, a post office was established in that year, and named Georgetown. Nathaniel T. Parkinson was appointed Postmaster, which position he held until the office was discontinued four years later.

As early as 1838, religious services was held in the town by Rev. James Simpson, of Indiana. The place of meeting was at William Parkinson's. The first church in the town was built in the village of Fayette in 1854. It was of the Methodist denomination. The Pastor of the new church was Rev. Mr. Close. Within the limits of the town, there are now three churches, two Methodists, and one Free-Will Baptist.

In the northeastern part of the town, located on Yellow Stone Branch, is the little village of "Yellow Stone." Here a post office was established in 1854, and Benjamin Scott, the present incumbent, was appointed Postmaster. The village now has a store, a blacksmith-shop, post office and schoolhouse.

Before the organization of the town, Fayette was known as the Prairie Precinct, and embraced the present territory. The first polling place was at the residence of George Helm, in the southern part of the town. The town was organized in 1849, and the first election was held at the schoolhouse in the village of Fayette. Fifty votes were cast, and the following officers elected : John Armstrong, Chairman ; Royal Pierce, Clerk ; William Grennehan, Treasurer. The present officers are : R. Scott, Chairman ; John Sweeney, Robert Henry, Supervisors ; William Trousdale, Clerk ; Mr, Henry, Assessor,

Hon, Peter Parkinson, Jr

He was the oldest son of Col. Daniel Morgan Parkinson, who was nephew to Gen. Daniel Morgan, of the Revolutionary war. His mother was Miss Elizabeth Hyder, who was a niece of Col. Wade Hampton, of South Carolina, the father of Gen, Wade Hampton, now United States Senator from tiiat State.

In 1819, he removed with his father to Southern Illinois, and settled on Silver Creek, twenty-five miles east of St. Louis, which was then a frontier country, and St. Louis a small village. From there, in August, 1828, he came to Wisconsin, his father and family having come the year previous.

In 1832, he, with his brother N. T., settled in the town of Fayette, where he has ever since lived. In this year, he and his brother broke up sixty acres of land, the first farm of any considerable size made in the town.

On this farm he and his brother lived together for five years and kept bachelor's hall, and increased the size of the farm to 400 acres in cultivation. In 1832, he served in the Black Hawk war, under Gen. Henry Dodge, and participated in the battles of the Pecatonica and the Wisconsin Heights, and assisted in burying nearly all the men who were slain upon the border. He is now the only surviving soldier or man that was in the battle of the Pecatonica.

In 1854, he was a member of the State Legislature, and was one of the four members of the House who had nerve enough to vote against the anti-Kansas and Nebraska resolutions of that body. During the same session, he introduced the notable railroad bill extending the pro- visions of the mechanic's lien to laborers on railroads, the first bill of the kind ever introduced in any of the States, but now the law of nearly all.

He was appointed by President Pierce, in 1855, to the office of Lieutenant in the Third Cavalry of the United States Army; has been County Commissioner, Chairman of the Town Board, Justice of the Peace, etc., but he never sought public position, preferring to use his influence for others, rather than himself. Still, in addition to the above, he has often been President of the Agricultural Society of the county, President of the Old Settler's Society of the county, and the President of the Pioneer Association of the State, which he instituted and organized. As a presiding officer, he was more than ordinary.

He is not a practicing lawyer, but he understands well the elementary principles of law. He is familiar with the provisions of the statutes, and argues a case before a Justice of the Peace as well as the most of the practicing attorneys, with whom (in the early days of the country) he often came in contact. As a writer, he is strong and vigorous, writes well on all subjects, and upon some topics he is one of the best writers in La Fayette County, outside of the editorial fraternity.

As a speaker, he is clear and logical, rather than eloquent, though a correspondent, in speaking of one of his Fourth of July efforts, said that was "truly eloquent."

He is a kind of man that is always equal to the occasion, and his public speeches were generally pronounced the best of their kind. His addresses before the pioneer associations of the county and State, are pronounced by competent judges as among the very best ever delivered in the State.

His prominent traits of character are firmness and decision. Sincere and ardent in his friendships, having no sympathy or patience with littleness or meanness ; ready and severe in his cond mnation of the evil-doer; ready and willing at all times to expose and bring to justice all this class of mankind. As an old neighbor said of him, "a good hand to do right himself, and a good hand to make others do right."

He has been prominently identified with the early history of his county, town and State, and has one of the finest recollections of the early incidents and reminiscences of the county of any man in it.

In December, 1837, Mr. Parkinson was married to Miss Lucy McCollum, being the first person married in the town of Fayette. The fruits of this marriage were two sons and one daughter, only one of whom now survives, John Daniel, who is Circuit Judge of the Twentyfifth District of the State of Missouri, having been Judge of that district ten years. Thomas Benton was killed at Little Rock, Ark., during the war of the rebellion. The daughter died in infancy, and was not named. Mrs. Parkinson, his first wife, died April 5, 1842.

In 1847, Mr. Parkinson was again married, to Miss Cleantha S. Welch, of Madison, the sister of William Welch, Esq., now of that city. By this marriage, he had four daughters - Lucy Hellena, Mrs. Derrick, of Oil City, Penn., now deceased; lantha Corine, now Mrs. Abbey, of Dane County; Tessie Alberta, now Mrs. Jenkins, Cheyenne, Wyoming; Mary, unmarried.

In November, 1864, he was again married, to Miss Sarah A. Moore, of Old Belmont, the fourth daughter of Col. John Moore, one of the early pioneers of this county, whose biography will be found elsewhere in this book. By this marriage, he has had five children, three of whom are living - Nancy Jane, twelve years old; Philip Alphonso, nine years old; Miss Elvira Elizabeth, five years old.

Mr. Parkinson now resides in the village of Fayette. Owns a farm near by of 575 acres. Is a Democrat of the Old Hickory Jackson style. Makes no profession of religion, but indorses the Methodist doctrine (mainly), and is a man of good morality.

Village Of Fayetteville

is located in Section 6 of the town of Fayette, eight miles northeast of Darlington, and disputes with Yellow Stone for precedence in point of business and material interests. Though Fayette Township was among the earlier settled in the county, some years elapsed before the thought of building a village occurred, and a later day before preliminaries in that behalf were satisfactorily disposed of. V^hile the early history of the county is far from obscure, and though the names and origin of its inhabitants have never been subjects of discussion, the exact dates and authorship of prominent movements have never been iree from doubt or separated from a mystery, the solution of which has never been entirely successful.

As near as can be ascertained, the land upon which the village was subsequently built and to-day flourishes, if not the loveliest of the plain, as was claimed for Goldsmith's "Auburn," presents much in its situation and surroundings to attract, belonged originally to John Journey. He was one of the original pioneers who came to La Fayette County - a man of enterprise not less than a man of piety, prominent not more in religious than secular advancement, and a true type of the class whose energy, perseverance and character have contributed so effectively to the development and building-up of the entire country. Early in the forties, the expediency of establishing a post town was generally agitated, and met with abundant encouragement from those interested, as also from those who would be thereby benefited. The project, however, was mooted for some time before active steps were inaugurated to that end, and it was not until June, 1844, that efforts in that connection crystallized into deeds. In the month when perfect days brighten the heart of man, and nature combines to augment the felicity of that experience, Mr. Journey set apart twenty acres of his domain for village purposes, and caused the same to be surveyed and platted by Charles F. Legate, it is said, a civil engineer residing near Mineral Point. Among those residing in the vicinity, and who, like the designer of this new dispensation of civilization in the wilderness, had plunged at an early day from cosmos into chaos, as it were, were Peter Parkison, Sr., Peter Parkison, Jr., William and Thomas Brinegar, N. T. Parkison, D. H. Clement, Isaac Bailey, John McFarland, Levi Reed, Samuel M. Bashford, Aaron and Samuel Colley, the Helm family, Amos Hunnel, James Hudson, Arthur Dawson and John and Peter Etheridge. All of these had come West at an early day. Some of them had participated in the Black Hawk war and witnessed the annihilation of the savage band who yielded up their lives a tribute to the white man's prowess at the battle of the Pecatonica. Few of them have survived the rush of time, but all are held in sacred memory by after generations for their valor, their virtues, and the lives of sturdy, unflinching integrity they led.

The village laid out was not followed by the immediate sale of lots or elaborate improvements. The men who projected and perfected this plan were farmers as a rule, to whom the idea of a home was associated with a farm and its equipment. Lots in the corporate limits of what now is Fayetteville, were sold at an average of $25 each, and, as already stated, were in excess of the demand. Settlers doubtless looked in upon the property held, and may have purchased, but there were no houses built until 1845. In that year John Roberts, who still resides in the town, where he maintains the only hotel, put up a frame tavern. It was of frame, one story high, and located on the main street, opposite Mr. Roberts' present caravansary, was known as the tavern. Here came immigrants and found shelter, travelers, adventurers, and speculators, and received a welcome. The political club, too, was a factor in the history of this house, and hither came representatives thereof, who accepted the hospitality afforded there, for which they paid with orders on the club, until the monotony of this proceeding precipitated its abandonmert. The building cost $500, and served the purposes for which it was erected for many years. The next house was also a frame and occupied the present site of Abrahams' drug store. John Etheridge came to the front about this time with a frame house, and James Etheridge followed in his brother's wake with commendable promptness. The former was located to the rear of the present Methodist Church, the latter beyond Roberts' tavern, where it still is and used as a barn.

Between that date and 1850, Timothy 11. Johnson built a house on the left side of Main street, near the tavern, and William McGranahan the first brick house in the village. It remains as complete as when first utilized for residence purposes, and is to-day occupied as the residence of Dr. Abrahams. In 1854, the schoolhouse was built, as also the Baptist Church, the latter of brick. At one time the Baptists were a powerful congregation in Fayetteville- The society numbered fully 300, and exerted an extended influence. Internal discords, dissensions and scandals, however, weakened the forces, destroyed its influence and exerted a wide-spread comment. To-day the church is represented by " thriie scattering members " in the village, while its edifice is unoccupied and rapidly going to decay.

The chief source of village pride is its school ; established before the village itself was concerned, it has furnished the means of education to hundreds of ambitious youth, all of whom have profited by their teaching, and many of whom are now in the enjoyment of distinguished honors throughout the East and West. Among these are the Hon. John D. Parkinson, Judge of the Circuit Court for the Twenty-fifth Judicial Circuit of Missouri ; John B. Parkinson, Professor of Mathematics in the State University at Madison ; Thomas Benton Parkison, an officer in the army, killed at Little Rock; Robert M. Bashford, a prominent lawyer, and son-in-law of ex-Gov. Taylor ; Wesley Bashford, also a lawyer, now practicing at La Crosse ; the Rev. James Bashford, in charge of the church at Jamaica Plains; the Rev. Whitford Trousdale, an eminent divine at Boston, and others, who were educated in the stone schoolhouse at Fayetteville.

The village has scarcely kept pace with the times, or its rivals in other portions of the county, in many respects, however. Those who are conversant with the facts, insist that it is no larger than it was a quarter of a century ago. The buildings then are all that are to be observed to-day - many of them weather-beaten and aged in appearance, but revered as the pioneer residences of first settlers, and the homesteads from which many young men went forth to contend with the world, and have done honor to their blood, and protected as the shrines to which these honored descendants return when weary with the cares of life.

The population to-day is estimated at less than one hundred, to whom this pleasant hamlet, shut in by hills and forests, contains as much that is sacred and attractive as do more pretentious towns and cities. The improvements consist of a brick hotel, two stores and probably twentyfive houses devoted to residence purposes. But the limited numbers, who live, trade and are educated and prepared for the active duties of life within its corporate limits, unite in contending that, though humble, there is no place like home.

The School

The first school erected in the village limits was completed during the latter portion of 1847, and occupied the following summer. It occupied a site nearly opposite the present Methodist Church, was of stone and cost $250.

It might here be observed that the first school in the township was taught by James Trevoy in the cellar kitchen of Peter Parkison, Sr.'s residence. This was in the winter of 18.37, and his pupils consisted of Nathan and Joseph Van Matre, Todd Gibler, Peter Etheridge, the Journey girls, Mary, who subsequently became a Mormon, and some few others. Among other accomplishments introduced by Mr. Trevoy, was " oratory." He organized a debating club during his administration, which was maintained until the breaking-out of the war, and was the means o" developing a number of good speakers.

The school begun in the village was taught by Hopey Foster, first in C. Parkison's private house, until the building was erected, and attended at its first term by John B. and Margaret Parkison, Angeline, Jane and Elizabeth Journey, Joseph and Nathan Van Matre and some others whose names are not remembered. The course of instruction was simple, embracing reading, writing and arithmetic, with such other advanced branches as the pupils elected to pursue. This schoolhouse was occupied with varying regularity and varying attendance, averaging from ten to thirty pupils, until about 1857, when its worn and aged superstructure was razed, the foundation being appropriated to similar uses for the Methodist Church. When the same was laid and the apart- ment therein inclosed suflficiently protected, school was again opened, and the cause of education advocated within the sacred precincts of this religious underpinning for ten years and upward. Along in 1873 or 1874, the present stone schoolhouse opposite the residence of Peter Parkison, Jr., was contracted for and built. It is, as stated, of stone, commodious and handsomely finished, and was built with the intention of adopting the graded system. At first two teachers were employed, but in 1876, the number of scholars diminished, and but one teacher was regarded necessary, since which date the force has remained the same.

At present the school enjoys an average daily attendance of forty pupils. The support of the school requires an annual expenditure of |300, and its management is delegated to a board, as at present constituted, consisting of John Roberts, Mathew Wilkins and Charles Abrahams.

The Fayette Methodist Church

The only congregation established in the village is quite large, and said to be in independent circumstances. The nucleus of the present congregation was organized as early as 1840, when John Journey officiated as Leader of a small class of Wesleyans, composed of C. E. Parkison and wife, William Parkison and wife, Mrs. Peter Parkison, Sr., Edward Journey and wife, Levi Reed and wife and Amos Hunnel and wife. The services were conducted in private houses until 1847, when the stone schoolhouse first erected within the village precincts was obtained, and used until the society was enabled to build a house of worship. About 1857, this desideratum was attained, and the frame church then erected which now does duty as a town-house. This was occupied jointly by the schoolhouse, and continued in active service as a church and schoolroom until 1873, when the present frame edifice was completed and dedicated. It is of frame, 60x36 feet, cost, furnished, a total of $4,047.43, and will comfortably accommodate a congregation of 400.

Blanchard was first brought under town government as a part of Argyle. It is located in the extreme northeastern corner of the county, and is bounded on the north by Iowa County, on the east by Green County, on the south by the town of Argyle, and on the west by the town of Fayette. The town was named in honor of its leading citizen and the founder of the village, Alvin Blanchard. It comprises eighteen sections of Township 4 north. Range 5 east, of the Fourth Principal Meridian. The general surface of this town is very uneven, high bluffs and swampy bottoms, especially along the river. The town is well adapted to its leading resource, stock-raising, though there are many well-cultivated and nicely improved farms within its limits. It is well watered by the Yellowstone River and Dodge's Branch of the Pecatonica, also by many natural springs. The hills and meadows are of a sandy loam, while the farming or grain-raising district is of clay. The town is well wooded by the diff"erent kinds of oak, quaking ash, hickory, walnut, elm and maple.

The electors of the town of Blanchard met at the schoolhouse in the village of Blanchardville on the 6th day of April, 1869, as directed by order of the County Board, and organized the first annual town meeting by electing Josiah G. Baker, Chairman, John Robinson and Dudley Risley, Inspectors ; John G. Baker and D. B. Rockwell, Clerks. After taking the oath of office as by law prescribed, the meeting was declared duly opened. The total number of votes cast was 69. At this meeting, it was voted that |75 be raised to defray the expenses of the town for the ensuing year.