Brandon Village

Brandon Village

This prosperous village lies in the southeastern part of Metomen. The first building within present corporation limits was built by R. W. Pride, in 1849, and stood on the site of F. M. Hillman's residence. The place was not improved nor continuously occupied for several years.

It did not become a center of business until the completion of the railroad in 1856, when it began rapid strides toward the dignity of a city. In its early history, it was a lively place and known as " Bungtown." The station and village was named '- Brandon" by William Lockin, in honor of many Vermont settlers. It was not organized as a village until January 8, 1878. The first Trustees were, J. Abercrorabie, W. D. Ash, J. Lockin, L. Marsh, Gr. H. Paine and J. Raube. First President, William Plocker, and Clerk, Charles Heuman. The present officers are. President, G. A. Russell, and Clerk, E. Ensign.

A Methodist class was formed as early as 1848, by Rev. H. Allen, a lay preacher and farmer, in the north part of Metomen. Meetings were held at Union Prairie Schoolhouse, wliich was one of a circuit containing three charges. This society in 1861 removed to Brandon, which by its rapid growth had become of central importance. The first official record of the Brandon Methodist Episcopal Church, is that of a quarterly conference held on Round Prairie, November 24, 1855, Rev. J. M. Walker, Presiding Elder, and Rev. John B. Armatage, preacher in charge. Services were held in private houses or schoolhouses, or sometimes in the hall of the building now kept as a hotel by Warren Hall. The present church was built in 1863, during the pastorate of Rev. Henry Requa. The present Board of Trustees are F. M. Hillman, F. P. Furguson, T. R. Darrow, William Bronson, G. A. Russell, C. P. Knapp and A. G. Yorty ; Clerk is W. R. Brown; Superintendent of Sunday school is Leander Ferguson; Rev. Jesse Cole is present Pastor. The total membership is 153. They have a commodious church and a comfortable parsonage. The society is an active force, and numerically exceeds any other religious association in the town. The Methodist Episcopal Church at Reed's Corners is also connected with this charge.

The Congregational Church of Brandon was organized on the 19th of April, 1857, by Rev. S. Bristol, in the schoolhouse near the center of Metomen Town. John Wilson was the first Deacon, and Robert Jenkinson the first Clerk. In July, 1862, the society removed to Brandon, and during the following summer their present house of worship was erected, under the pastorate of Rev. Norman McLeod. The present Board of Trustees are R. M. Wilsie, R. Graham and R. C. Kelly. Mr. Kelly has been a member of the Board continuously from its organization. The Deacons are George Bly, A. Turner and R. Graham. Martin C. Short is both Clerk of the Church and Superintendent of the Sunday school. Rev. Homer W. Carter is Pastor. Membership numbers seventy-five. The society is harmonious and prosperous.

The German Methodist Episcopal Church of Brandon erected its church edifice in 1876, under the pastorate of Rev. F. Strobel. A class was formed about ten years before that, by Rev. August Turnitzer, who supplied them with pi-eaching. Their meetings were held in the Congregational Church. Trustees are Fred Gauger, F. Praatz and F. Nordwig. Superintendent of Sunday school is F. Sheffelbein. Present Pastor is Rev. John Deitrick. Membership, eighty-eight.

The German Lutheran Church was built in 1874. The Pastor was Rev. Holtzner. At the present time they are supplied with preaching once in two weeks, by the Pastor in charge at Ripon. The society is small, and a majority of the members live in the country.

Brandon Public Schools

From the small school taught by a single teacher in 1856, the Brandon school has gradually developed to its present acceptable proportions. In 1864 the present schoolhouse was erected. It is a wooden, two-story structure, containing four schoolrooms. The Principal, Prof. Kirk Spoor, has been in charge since 1872. He has three assistant teachers, all ladies. The present Board of Education are, James Turner, M. D., President; M. C. Short, Clerk, and F. R. Foster, Treasurer. The Board, under the high-school law of 1877, adopted the three-years course recommended by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. A class of four graduated in June, 1871). " The course is designed to fit graduates for practical business life, and includes more than is required for a first-grade certificate for teaching. For the last five years, the school has drawn a gratuity under tlic law to promote high schools. In January, 1880, the average attendance was 170, with a total enrollment of 211. There is an average attendance of twelve non-resident tuition pupils. The teachers are faithful, the administration quietly efiicient, and the school enjoys public confidence.

The Brandon Lodge, A.^ F. ^- A. 31., was organized under dispensation dated June 13, 1863. The first meeting occurred July 10, 1863. The charter members were: Elisha Gallop, -who was the first Master ; II. C. Kelly, who was the first Secretary ; Hanson Ely, James McClelland, E. H. Yorty, James McGill, Henry Henrickson and Zenas Scott. The charter is dated June 14, 1864.

Lodge No. 107, I. 0. 0. F., was organized under a charter from the Grand Lodge dated January 21, 1864. The charter members were Lewis Whistler, Frank Perkins, C. B. Pierce, L. S. Shepherd and Isaac W. Tower.

The present oflicers are: H. H. Green, K G.; N. A. Stevens, V. G. ; J. E. Gee, P. S.; Samuel Wcinstock, Treas.; T. Watson, R. S. The Trustees are G. W. Sargeant, A. Butts and T. Watson. The society has been large and of social prominence.

Hope Lodge, No. 84-, I. 0. G-. T, organized April 7, 1869, with ten charter members. The first W. C. was William R. Brown, and the first Recording Secretary was A. Pallister. The membership of the Lodge is fifty-si.x, and the officers are : Horace L. Brown, W. C. T.; Mary Whitton,W.V.T; Eva C. Knapp, P.W.C.T.; Charles Allen, W. R. S.; Fayette Butts, W. F. S.; Lizzie Yorty, W. T. ; F. E. Jones, W. M. ; Rev. H. W. Carter, W. C. ; Jennie Randall, W. G. ; Charles Blake, W. S. The Lodge is thoroughly efficient.

The membership is forty-nine, and is composed of those who are in the habit-forming period of life, namely, from six to sixteen years of age. Most of the members arc pledged to abstain not only from intoxicants, but from tobacco and profanity. Fully six thousand of these Juvenile Templars are numbered in Wisconsin, and ought to be a potent factor in shaping the future history of the State.

Brandon G-range, No. 52, was organized January 24, 1873, by Edwin Reynolds, Deputy of the State Grange. The first Master was John Wormwood, and the first Secretary was R. C. Kelly. The present membership is forty-four.

In the autumn of 1877, the Brandon Grange, in connection with several surrounding Granges, organized a stock company for tlic management of a co-operative store in Brandon. They commenced with a capital of $4,0.50. Chester Ilazen is President of the Cooperative Association ; F. Collins, Secretary ; J. Wormwood, Treasurer. R. C. Kelly was engaged to take charge of the store, which has thus far been a success. It is conducted mainly on a cash basis. The profits are divided among the stockholders, not in proportion to their stock invested, but according to the amount of purchases they have made at the store during the year. Mr. Kelly is assisted by Frank G. Fowler, salesman, and also most of the time by an additional clerk. The capital, on the 1st of October, 18.79, was $5,950, showing a net increase of $1,904. The Grangers express satisfaction at the result of the experiment. The present Master of the Lodge is William Irwin, and the Secretary is 0. B. Knapp.

The efforts of this township and others in this locality were successful in securing railroad connections, and the Milwaukee & Horicon Railroad was built through this township in 1856. It passes northwesterly, from Section 36 to Section 3, in its course through Metomen. The road is now owned by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company. It was built by a construction company, who did not meet all their obligations, which caused some difficulties. Near Reed's Corners, the tracklayers were forcibly prevented from putting down the rails, by the unpaid workmen who had graded the road-bed. Civil and military aid was invoked and the rails were laid amid much excitement. The scene of the encounter is still known as the " battle ground." During the building of the railroad much freight had accumulated at Waupun, and some was sent over the line before the regular running of trains.

Way-bill No. 1 and first freight receipt were dated Tuesday, October 14, 1856. The goods were consigned to G. Perkins & Co., who were merchants, then located in the Walker House. The senior member of that firm is now County Judge of Fond du Lac County. Regular freight trains did not run until the 19th of October, 1856. The first regular passenger train which left Milwaukee for Brandon, and returned on schedule time, came into Brandon with flying colors about noon on Saturday, October 18, 1856. The event was an occasion of special rejoicing ; Charles Larrabee, of Horicon, was the leading orator of the day ; a public dinner and free drinks made it a memorable day. H. W. Gregory was the first station agent at Brandon. The express and railroad agent at the present time is W. S. Randall.

The village is fairly supplied with manufacturing establishments, and among the leading ones are the planing-mill and sash, door and blind factory of C. P. Knapp ; the wagon factory of Alexander Turner, and the fiouring-mill of H. G. Mathews.

There are two hotels - the Ensign House, kept by the owner. Esquire Ensign ; it has twenty-two rooms for guests, has a good reputation, and is a pleasant home for pilgrims and strangers. The Walker House, about the same size, is kept by the owner, Warren Hall. This was the first hotel in Brandon, and still retains a share of the traveling patronage.

The business interests of Brandon are represented by enterprising men in the various departments of industry and commerce. An extended sketch of most of them will be found in the Biographical Department of this History. A rich agricultural country is tributary to Brandon, which is a thrifty village of 800 population. It contains four general stores, three hardware stores, two drug stores, two groceries, three milliners' stores, one notion store, one jewelry store, one flouring-mill, one planing-mill, two wagon-shops, three harness-shops, two shoe-shops, two meat markets, two hotels, one merchant tailor, two paint-shops, one cooper-shop, one cabinetshop, three blacksmith-shops, one barber-shop, four grain warehouses, two lumber-yards, five grain and produce buyers, two jobbers and contractors, two stonemasons, four agricultural-implement dealers, one drayman, two justices of the peace, one lawyer, three doctors, four ministers and four churches, three saloons, two insurance agents, one police magistrate, one broker, one newspaper and printing office, one money-order post oSice, one depot, one graded high school and seven secret societies.

Fairwater

In the southwestern part of Metomen, on the Grand River, in 1847, a flouring-mill was built by Messrs. Dakin and Lathrop ; it was a favorable site for a village and was the startingpoint of Fairwater, which rapidly grew and was for ten years the commercial center of a large tract of rapidly developing country. The railroad, in 1856, left Fairwater "out in the cold," and a decline was inevitable.

The first church in Metomen was built at Fairwater. The society was organized February 2, 1850, with the name of the First Free- Will Baptist Church of Fairwater, under the ministrations of Rev. William Mitchell ; the first Clerk was Deacon R. M. Harwood. Their church edifice was dedicated on the 10th of July, 1856, by Rev. Ransom Dunn. The cost was $1,600, and, in 1863, the society built a $1,000 parsonage. The original membership was eight; the present is thirty. The Trustees are F. Newland, C. Tinkham and P. P. Tucker, who also is Clerk. John Hogben is Deacon, and Rev. J. P. Hewes, Pastor. This first church of the town, at the present writing, is the scene of unusual religious interest. The First Regular Baptist Church of Metomen, at Fairwater, was organized March 30, 1851; the Council was held April 30, 1851. Original membership, thirteen. Elder Peck was the organizing Pastor. Their church was dedicated in July, 1860. The society was at one time quite flourishing, but by deaths and removals has become very small. It is now nominally a branch of the Ripon Baptist Church, but most of the former members attend and help support the Free- Will Baptist Church of Fairwater. No regular services are now held in the church ; it is the temporary lodge-room of the Good Templ-ars.

The temperance people of Fairwater and vicinity organized Lodge No. Ill, of I. 0. of Good Templars, on the 9th day of February, 1876. The oiScials are: W. C. T., Frank Hunt; R. S., Warren Batson; Lodge Deputy, Frank Collins. They have a membership of forty, and are in good working condition.

The first Evangelical Lutheran Church of East Fairwater was organized at a meeting held on the of June, 1872. The presiding and recording oiBcers of said meeting were William North and Louis Dreis. The first Pastor was Rev. G. Heolzel, who began his pastorate in the autumn of 1872, and a church was erected the same season. The membership includes forty-seven families. The President of the Board of Trustees is Gottlieb Klawon, and the Clerk is H. Kath.

The leading industry of Fairwater is the flouring-mill of N. C. Hurlburt. The Postmaster is J. H. Brown. The village has two general stores, one flouring-mill, one blacksmithshop, one shoe-shop, two carpenter-shops, one stonemason, a post oflice, one secret society, two ministers, three churches and one saloon.

The northern portion of Metomen was settled as early as the western, and several of the first settlers located in the vicinity of what is known as Reed's Corners. A post oQice was established at that point in 1852, with Giles Eggleston as Postmaster. In 1847, a Wesleyan Church society was organized by Rev. Marcellus Sarnum, but no church was built until 1857. This organization was consolidated with or merged into a Congregational society on the 21st of May, 1865, and Rev. S. Bristol was their first Pastor. The church property was deeded by the Trustees of the former Wesleyan society to the new organization, which is named the " Second Congregational Church of Metomen," and is located at Reed's Corners. The Deacons are M. Barnum, L. Stillwell and G. C. Goodfellow. The Clerk is H. E. Stillwell. Pastor, Rev. Heman Safibrd. Membership, thirty-two.

Rev. W. G. Miller, Methodist, held meetings on Section 2, near Reed's Corners, in 1846. Services were afterward discontinued, but, in I860, were revived by Rev. S. S. Lang, who organized a class and appointed S. T. Wilsie Class Leader. Their present church edifice was built in 1866, during the pastorate of Rev. A. A. Reed. The Trustees are S. T. Wilsie, N.

Van Camp, J. B. Russell, N. A. Miller and T. Hutchinson. The charge is connected with Brandon, and is served by Rev. .Jesse Cole, as Pastor. Present membership about thirty.

The place was once of local importance, and had stores, shops,' depot, post ofBce, etc., but in 1873, the post office and depot were removed half a mile south and the station named Metomen. The location of the two churches at Reed's Corners gives it prominence. It receives its name from AVarren Reed, deceased, who was actively identified with the locality.

Mctomcn is the other railroad station in the township, besides Brandon. It has no business houses, stores., shops or manufactories. The post office is in official charge of Mrs. E. Reynolds.

There are two cheese factories in the town, one established by H. C. Kibbie, on Section 18, in 1871. The other by Ilazon & Norris, on Section 26, in 1872. The town is noted for its pleasant farmhouses and spacious, substantial b;irns. Probably no portion of Wisconsin can show so largo a percentage of first-class barns as Metomen and the few surrounding towns. The contents of these barns are supposed to be more secure because of the existence of a thoroughly organized Protective Association, with fully seventy members. The name suggests its purpose. E. Roynohls is President, and R. M. Wilse, Secretary. In 1875, the town had a population of 1,838, and will doubtless show its proportionate growth according to the census of 1880. More than the usual percentage of old pioneers still retain their original purchases from the United States Government. There are eleven schoolhouses and nine churches in the town; the people, being largely from New England, are of the class which builds churches and schoolliouscs very soon after securing their first cabin homes. Metomen is a choice town, both in the fertility of its soil and in the character of its inhabitants.

Source changes here: from Fond Du Lac County, Wisconsin, Past and Present, by McKenna, Maurice, published 1912; 1,769 words in this source stream.

Brandon Village

The bank of Brandon is that of F. R. Foster & Son. It is capitalized at $50,000 and has deposits of $375,000. The members of the firm are F. R. Foster and J. W. Foster.

Brandon High School

Robert Jenkinson, school commissioners; S. H. French, S. A. Carpenter and Ira Lee, justices of the peace. Of the $161.32 levied as taxes in Metomen in 1846, $100.87 were collected.

Metomen lies on the west line of Fond du Lac county immediately south of Ripon and northwest of Waupun. It has the distinction of being a very rich locality. Its topography is fertile, undulating prairie, with little of its area in timber. The uneven portions have a soil of sandy loam and a subsoil of gravel, with an occasional outcrop of limestone which has been profitably worked for commercial use. Gravel has been generously used for the building of good roads. The lowlands have developed much vegetable mold, and these when tho¬ roughly drained have constituted a mine of agricultural wealth.

Round Prairie, northwest of Brandon, has always been celebrated for its beauty and fertility and Metomen is generally a veritable Eden. Its elevation is a gradually rolling and surface a deep warm soil. Much of the land is higher than any of the surrounding country. In fact it is a watershed, upon which the streams flow southeasterly, northerly and westerly. The east branch of Rock river rises in Metomen and the Grand river in the southwest corner affords mill advantages. Creeks and brooklets are in evidence except upon the uplands and some remarkable springs also abound. The spring on the old Almon Os¬ born farm on section 2 is the largest in the county and is the principal source of Silver creek, which flows into Green Lake. Cariboo spring, on the old Mans¬ field farm, discharges an immense volume of water. This is the head of Grand river. Wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley fructify most generously in this community and with the production of these cereals stock-raising has been added, from which a large annual revenue is acquired by the busy and enterprising husband¬ man. It is said that for general farming purposes Metomen is not excelled in the state.

The first real settler was Daniel Eggleston, who brought his family to a log cabin in the third week of Tune, 1845. One week later, Jacob Carter and family located near here. The settlement was added to that season by Almon Osborn, S. H. French, E. F. Mansfield, Robert Jenkinson, John and Thomas Coats, William C. Worden M. D., and Matthew Wilson and A. Dart, and from that time on the population increased in numbers and in wealth. In 1846 there were other additions made to the little band of settlers, among them be¬ ing Daniel Eggleston, S. A. Carpenter, James England, D. L. McCorpin, Jacob Carpenter, Harvey Sexton, A. C. Robbins, Henry Boardman and Ira Reed.

The first birth in the town was that of Franklin French, who was born on the 26th of October, 1845, *n the unfinished cabin of Jacob Carter. The first sermon was preached in the spring of 1846 by Rev. Jeremiah Murphy, a Bap¬ tist minister, in Daniel Eggleston's log cabin. In the summer of 1846 Rev. W. G. Miller, whose reputation became state wide, began preaching in the schoolhouse on section 2, in the Walworth vicinity. Elder Marcellus Barnum was the first resident clergyman of the town. He organized a W esleyan Society at Reed's Corners in 1847, which was afterwards merged into the Congrega¬ tional church. The first death was that of Frederick Nay, which occurred in March, 1846. The first marriage ceremony performed united a Mr. Farnam and a Miss Collins, in April, 1846.

was the teacher, her pupils gathering in a private house. The next summer, however, a schoolhouse was built on the same section and the school therein was presided over by J. W. VVilsie.

In the spring of 1846 a postoffice was established, called Grant River. Jacob Carter was placed in charge. At about the same time another postoffice was established, called Mansfield, with Daniel Eggleston as postmaster. The office at Grant River was soon discontinued but the Mansfield office remained for a number of years. Later an office was established on section 10, called Metomen. This has since been discontinued. It was a station on the Chicago, Mil¬ waukee & St. Paul railroad, five and a half miles southeast of Ripon, where there is a general store, a grain elevator and a Methodist church.

William Stanton in 1846 built a sawmill, and Dakin & Lathrop erected a flouring mill in 1847 011 Grant river, within the town limits of Fairwater. This firm were also the first merchants in the town, having started a store at Fairwater in 1847.

The town of Metomen has a number of schools and churches, splendid roads, and is crossed by two branches of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad - one in the southern tier, in the second tier of townships from the south, and the other entering in section 36 at the southeast corner and leaving it at section 3 in the northern tier.

The village or hamlet of Fairwater, is a station on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad on section 30, and is eight miles south of Ripon and four and a half miles west of Brandon. Here is located the Fairwater State Bank, of which A. W. Bonesteel is president ; Derk Bruins, vice president ; and C. S. Griffith, cashier. There are two churches - Free Baptist and Zion Evangelical Lutheran, grain elevator, lumberyard and farm implement concern, general store, well conducted hotel, creamery, blacksmith shop and a physician.

Several of the first settlers located in the northern part of Metomen, at what later became known as Reed's Corners, at one time a settlement of some importance, but now of no especial note. In 1852 a postoffice was established at the Corners and Giles Eggleston was appointed to preside over it. This office has been long since discontinued. A Methodist church was organized by Rev. Marcellus Barnum in 1847, but the society did not erect a building until ten years later. In 1865 the society merged with the Congregational, which had for its pastor Rev. S. Bristol. In 1846, Rev. W. G. Miller held religious ser¬ vices near Reed's Corners and in i860 a class was formed by Rev. S. S. Lang.. The society erected a church in 1866, during the administration of Rev. A. A. Reed.

Brandon is a prosperous village, lying in the southeast part of the town, with its corners extending into townships 25, 26, 35 and 36. In its early history it was a lively place, known as "Bungtown," but on the completion of the railroad in 1856 the village was named Brandon by William Lockin, in honor of many of the early settlers who had come from Vermont. The first house built within

Horicon railroad, now a part of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul system, and passes through the center of the village almost diagonally from southeast to in 1856 was in the Walker House. Mr. Perkins later became county judge of Fond du Lac. Regular freight trains, however, did not run until the 19th of

The first passenger tram which left Milwaukee for Brandon came into the village about noon on Saturday, October 18, 1856. The event was an occasion of special rejoicing. Charles Larrabee Horicon was the leading orator of the day. IT. W. Gregory was the first station agent. Since the advent of the rail¬ road, the town has grown to considerable proportions until it now has a popula¬ tion of 690.

Rev. H. Allen, a lay preacher living on a farm in the northern part of the town, formed a Methodist class in 1848. The meetings were held at Union Prairie schoolhouse until 1861, when the church was removed to Brandon and it rapidly grew in strength and importance. Services were held in private houses or schoolhouses and sometimes in the hall of a building later converted into a hotel. A church building was erected in 1863 during the pastorate of Rev. Henry Rector. This has since given place to a more modern structure.

The Congregational church was organized on the 19th of April, 1857, by Rev. S. Bristol, in a schoolhouse near the center of Metomen town. The first deacon was John Wilson and the first clerk, Robert Jenkinson. The society moved to Brandon in 1862 and in the following summer erected a church edifice under the pastorate of Rev. Norman McLeod.

The German Methodist Episcopal church was organized by the formation of a class in 1866 by Rev. August Turnitzer, who supplied the pulpit for some time. A church building was erected in 1876 under the pastorate of Rev. F. Stroebel. The first meetings, however, were held in the Congregational church.

The German Lutheran Evangelical church building was erected in 1874. The society, however, had been organized some time previous to this time.

Public Schools

The first school in Brandon was a small affair presided over by a single teacher in 1856. By 1864 a two-story frame structure was erected containing four rooms, each presided over by a teacher. This building has given way to a more modern structure and today the Brandon high school is one of the best ap¬ pointed and conducted educational institutions in the county. Graduates from this school are fitted for entrance into institutions of higher learning and for practical business life.

Brandon Lodge, A. F. & A. M^. was organized under dispensation dated June 13, 1863. The first meeting was held July 10, 1863. The charter members were: Elisha Gallop, who was elected the first master; I. C. Kelly, first sec¬ retary; Anson Ely, James McClellan, E. H. Yorty, James McGill, Henry Hen-

Brandon Lodge, No. 107, I. O. O. F. was organized upon a charter from the grand lodge, dated January 21, 1864. The charter members were Lewis Wistler, Frank Perkins, C. B. Pierce, L. S. Shepherd and Isaac W. Tower. The lodge owns its temple - a two-story brick structure, free from incumbrance.

Brandon is a flourishing little city and is a trading point for a rich agricul¬ tural country. It has general stores, hardware stores, drug stores, groceries, millinery shops, jewelry stores, and flour mill, planing mill, wagon shops, harness shops, shoe stores, meat market, hotels, blacksmith shops, barber shops, grain elevators, lumberyard, farm implement concerns, physicians, creamery, gas works, bank, a newspaper - The Brandon Times, manufactory of road graders and a lawyer, who is also an auctioneer.