Belvidere Town

Belvidere Town

The Town of Belvidere was set off by resolutions of the County Board of Supervisors first on the 5th day of February, 1855 and organized at the next townmeeting. It consisted then of Townships 20 and 21, Range 12. The following year it was remodeled. Some sections were taken to Waumandee and some to Alma, the southern part to Milton and in later times other parts were taken to form the town of Lincoln. It now consists of the following territory : of section and quarter section corners, which are however dependent one on the other. The surface of the town is level in the western part, especially in township 20, and the parts adjoining of township 21, but the whole northern, central and eastern part is hilly, although on the top of the bluffs the land is gently rolling. With the exception of some sandy patches on the level land, most of the town contains good farming land, but is not so well provided with water as the town of Alma. The first settlements in the town were made in the level part, and two of the first settlers were of the pioneers of Alma, John C. Waecker and Joseph Berni, whose biographies are to be found in the chapter on Pioneers. The next settler of some importance was John Peter Stein, who came from Wabasha April 17th, 1851. At that time there was no dwelling house between Fountain City and Alma to speak of, although Stein took up the claim of one Guetle, who had built the little log hut which went by the name of the old blacksmith shop in after times and served Stein and his family as a dwelling house for some years. Stein claims to have raised the first crop of wheat, also the first barley and the first potatoes in the town. The seed for wheat he procured from Galena, 111., the barley, about a gallon, of Mr. Buisson of Wabasha, and his potatoes were dug by the Indian squaws, who carried to their tepees every evening the wages of the day in potatoes, the bucks standing by and grunting their approval. A resident of Buffalo City assured me that Indians as late as 1857-58 used to land their canoes at that place and strike a bee-line for Stein's house. Stein being a blacksmith made himself useful to the aborigines, who were of the Sioux nationality, by tinkering their guns, and other hunting tackle and lived in good harmony with them. He acquired some considerable property, which in course of time was lost, much of it by a law suit, into which he found himself involved on account of having been security for Valentine Brehl, when that gentleman kept store in the village or city of Belvidere, which was within the town, and not very far from his residence. An attempt to build a mill on his premises also proved ruinous. But whatever his fortunes, he and his family were always kind and hospitable to every one and sometimes to whole crowds especially at election times. He had built a new house and for some time kept also a tavern and saloon, which was the place of meeting for the whole neigh- borhood on Sundays. He and his wife are still alive and as cheerful as ever, though now considerably advanced in years. Stein was for many years a Justice of the Peace in the town.

About the same time with Stein there came a number of settlers, among them Daniel Schilling, Sebastian Neukomm, Henry Nenkomm and Melchior Schwy, all o-f them from the Canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and their number was increased in 1852 and '53 by J. J. Mueller, Caspar Regli, Bollinger, John Mueller, and probably John Rahm, also another family by the name of Rahm. It is remarked that at the building of the house of John Rahm there were eleven men assembled, who came all of them from Unter-Hallau in the above named canton. Mr. Bollinger was the first death in the town. The first couple married who resided in the town were John C. Waecker to Sabina Keller, the knot was tied by Marvin Pierce, who had been elected county judge in September 1853. He also married Mrs. Bollinger to Henry Keller, but I find no record of the e marriages. Possibly there were no arrangements for it at the time. About that time there was a man by the name of Marolf living on the Southeast quarter of Section 25 T. 21 R. 12 which was included at the first organization in the town of Belvidere. He lost his claim, it is said by an intrigue of Marvin Pierce. This, Mr. Stein thinks, was the first settlement beyond the bluffs. It was bought by Robert Keith and of him by Edward Jaeger, who now lives upon it. This Marolf is the same mentioned in the town of Alma. In his career of Justice of the Peace, Stein solemnized the first four marriages on record. About the year 1855 John Linse arrived, and we find him a Justice of the Peace in 1856. John Linse was a native of the Province of Saxony of Prussia. He was quite a politician and a man of general enterprise, and made his settlement on the northern tier of forties of Sect. 16 T. 20 R. 12 near the junction of the lower Buffalo City Road with the Fountain City and Alma Road. After having sold out in Spring 1865 he built a house about 1} miles farther south on the same road and died in the winter of 1866-^7. He kept tavern and saloon as long as he lived in his old place, and will be remembered by a great many of the remaining old settlers. The first chairman of the town was J. P. Schnug, jr., who owned the farm on which the railroad station Cochrane is now located. In 1859 the City of

Buffalo which had hitherto formed a part of the town was incorporated. The City of Belvidere which at first was called the village of Buffalo was laid out about three miles above Buffalo City on Pomme de Terre Slough. , The plat of the village of Buffalo was recorded May 6th, 18-56, in Vol. I of Deeds, that of the City of Belvidere, April 23d, 1858, in Vol. 4. The first settler upon the land on which these two plats were laid out was Glaus Liesch, whose biography is to be found in the chapter on Pioneers. The 3ity was long ago vacated, and some years later also the so-called village, but old settlers will still remember Squire Frederick 3chmid, nicknamed Speculation-Schmid, Valentine Brehl, who kept a general country store, and Michael Kuehn, who now lives in Wabasha and kept in 1859 a saloon in Belvidere. In 1856 Henry Klein settled on his place, Joseph M. Rohrer, John Kaiser, Jacob Stirn, Ernst Hermann and others are all of the earliest settlers, as ilso Jacob Stuber, and Caspar Huber, who was in 1859 yet a resident of Buffalo City. Urs Scheidegger, Rudolf Kochwelb, Henry Winter and Carl Duenger also were of the earliest settlers, md there were some more, as for instance Peter Schwartz, Joseph Hofer, etc., but i,t would take too much time and room to name ill. For other things I have to refer to the chapters to which they oelong, as indicated in the history of the city and the town of A.lma. This sketch would not be complete without giving some iccount of the nationality or descent of the people. They are all aermans, nor have there ever been more than two families not of j-erman descent in the town. The first was Collins Bishop's, now )f Arcadia, an American, I believe, the other that of John Anderson, a Scotchman. Both lived on the place now owned and occu- 3ied by Jos. M. Rohrer. Perhaps the reader is surprised at the inexpected length of this sketch, but to me it seems quite natural ;o know and say so much of a town in which I have lived and leld office for five years, and with whose citizens I have ever since L859 been so well acquainted.