Footville Village

Footville Village

a village of about three hundred inhabitants, on the line of the Chicago & North- Western Railway, is essentially a railroad town,, having derived all its former importance from the fact that for a period of about six years it was the terminus of the road. It was first located, however, in June, 1845, by Mr. E. A. Foot, from whom it derives its name, he settling on a piece of ground opposite his present habitation. For some time he lived in a small log house, but finally erected a gravel building just across the town line, so that while de jure he is a resident of the village of Footville, in the town of Plymouth, de facto he is one of the inhabitants of the town of Center. He was followed in the fall of the same year by Mr. E. F. Richards, who located near Mr. Foot. With the exception of two other persons who moved in and built at a somewhat later date, this constituted the village of Footville until 1854, when the Galena & Chicago Union, as the C. & N.-W. Railway was then called, became an established fact, then, as might have been expected, emigrants from the Eastern States and other places began to flow in. The village was then laid out by Mr. E. A. Foot and Julius Gilbert, and building became the order of the day, and when the first ttain of cars ran into the depot at Bachelor's Grove, as Footville was then called, on January 1, 1855. it met with a rousing reception from the inhabitants of a large and very prosperous village. Prior, however, to that date, viz., in 1853, Mr. Watson Beach had opened a store, the first in the settlement, and was followed in the next year by Messrs. Bancroft and Northway, the latter of whom Mr. Foot brought from Connecticut. The first "small arrival" was in the family of Mr. E. F. Richards, the little one in question being now the wife of Mr. N. L. Maxon, a prominent resident of the village.

From the cradle to the altar is but a step, so it is but meet that the nuptials of Mr. E. A. Douglas and Miss Martha Beach, which were celebrated on Christmas Day, 1846, should be chronicled as the next most important event. The name of the first member of the human family in the neighborhood smitten by the "grim destroyer," has gone down the stream of time leaving no mark by which it can be recalled, but is known to have been that of a woman who was brought in from- the country and died in Mr. Foot's house.

The Churches

The Methodist Episcopal Qhurch was organized in the fall of 1846, with the following members : E. A. Foot, F. T. Beach and wife, E. F. Richards and wife, and Abel Avery. For nearly two years, meetings were held in a schoolhouse two miles east of the village, but on March 8, 1848, a change was made, and the first meeting held on the site of the village in Mr. Foot's log house, the gentleman who officiated being Mr. Boyd Phelps. The building thus improvised into a church, was utilized until 1855, when a church building was erected at a cost of $2,800. It was a frame building, with a seating capacity of about three hundred, with a large airy basement, which was turned over to the District Board for scholastic purposes. This building the congregation had the misfortune to lose in the spring of 1875, by fire, but very soon after erected the present building, at a cost of $2,600. It is a well-constructed frame building, with ample accommodations for the flock for whom the Rev. T. C. Wilson, the present minister, is guide, philosopher and friend.

The Church of the Bisciples of Christ, a branch of the one located in the town of Center, controlled by the same Trustees and supplied by the same minister, was organized in 1869, with about twenty-five members, the reason being the distance which members living in Footville had to traverse before reaching the church. Up to 1875, they held their meetings in a hall, and in that year they erected the present church, at a cost of $1,450. It is a frame building, with a seating capacity of about two hundred. They have now a membership of about forty, the spiritual charge of whom is confided to the care of the Rev. Mr. Morrison, of the town of Center.

The Roman Catholic Church was organized in the spring of 1869, with the following members: Richard Doran, Michael Hennessey, Widow Ryan, James Ryan, Michael O'Brien, Patrick McMahon, Martin Agon, Lawrence Ward, Christian Rourke, John Nolan, Thomas Drew, Patrick Maguire, John Devins, Patrick Conlin, Michael Brenock, James Murphy, John Turpy, Austin Flynn, Thomas Torp, Patrick Conway, Patrick Knight, Ned Plunkctt and Michael Murphy.

That same year, a small frame church was erected, at a cost of $1,000 ; but, in consequence of the increased membership, which now numbers about three hundred, it was deemed necessary to enlarge it, and this year, a neat frame addition was made, at a cost of about $2,000. They have no resident minister, the charge being Brodhead, Albany and Footville, the priest being the Rev. Michael Wynne.

Secret Society

The only society of this nature is known as A., F. & A. M., Footville Lodge, No. 137, which was instituted in 18C2,with the following charter members : M. Bargewell, J. Cory, C. M. Smith, H. A. Edgerton, Edwin Bailey, E. J. Andrew, John Andrew and S. A. Couch. The officers chosen were: W. M., C. M. Smith; S. W., J. Cory; J. W., M. Bargewell. The present membership of the Lodge is thirty-two, and their property, consisting of a building and lot and funds, is worth about $1,200. The present officers are : W. M., H. A. Austin ; S. W., J. Cory ; J. W., C. H. Campbell.

The Schools

The early educational facilities of Footville were not, as may be supposed, the best in the world ; but, incomplete as they were, they laid the foundation of some very brilliant men. The first one was opened in the winter of 1848, by Julius Gilbert, in the old log building owned by Mr. Foot. It was kept there for about a year, and then a house was built half a mile north of the village, in the town of Center. That building remained in use on its first location until 1853, when it was removed into the village of Footville, and a school taught in it until the Methodist Church was erected, when pupils and preceptor moved into the basement, which they continued until the destruction of the building, in 1875. That same year, a new building was erected, at a cost of f2,600. It is a handsome frame building, with ample accommodatiorl for the large number of scholars who attend. It is under the control of a School Board, consisting of Aldredge Owens, Director; J. C. Cook, Treasurer, and C. H. Ferguson, Clerk. The whole number of scholars in the district is 115.

The cemetery, which is located in the town of Center, is used equally by the residents of the village of Footville and the town of Center ; but the control of it is vested in an association, all of whose members live in the latter place. It was laid out in 1847, and is well cared for.

The business portion of the village is composed of the following: Two stores, W. J. Owen's and J. F. Litel; two blacksmith-shops, C. H. Ferguson and Wheaton & Whitmore; one physician, Joseph Braden, M. D.; one harness-maker, William Wiggins ; one shoemaker, S. M. Chipman ; one good hotel, the Wells House, kept by Horace H. Wells ; two butchers ; Justices of the Peace, E. A. Foot and Andrew Bailey ; Notary, E. A. Foot.

The Post Office

This mark of civilization was established in the fall of 1845, the village then being known as Bachelor's Grove, with Mr. B. F. Richards as Postmaster. His duties were not of a very onerous nature, however, the mails being received but twice a week, by stage, from Galena to Janesville and return. They now receive two per day, one from the east and one from a contrary direction. Following is a list of the Postmasters: 1845-50, E. F. Richards; 1850-54. E. A. Foot; 1854-55, G. P. Bancroft; 1855-57, Zuriel Hall; 1858-61, John B. Robinson; 1861-74, Zuriel Hall; 1874-79, W. J. Owen, the present incumbent. The gross receipts of the office for the past quarter, were $76.92.

a village of about two hundred inhabitants, is situated at the junction of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul and the Chicago & North- Western Railroads. It was first located by Mr. Joseph Hohensheldt, in 1844. He was followed the next year by Mr. Mathias Gundel and wife, but about that time emigration to the new settlement almost ceased. The village was platted on April 16, 1856, by John L. V. Thomas and wife, as proprietors. The Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad, as the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road was then called, did not pass through till the year following, the first freight being received at their depot on September 4, 1857. It was from Janesville, and consisted of the following articles :

In 1856, a post office was established, with Mr. William Ranney as Postmaster, the official in fact being Mr. John Huggins, the depot agent, who was deputized to perform the duties, owing to the distance Mr. Ranney lived from the village. The latter only retained it one year, and Mr. Huggins was formally installed, continuing to act until 1873, when he died. The present Postmaster is Mr. John Jones, who received his appointment in 1878. Before the establishment of the office in Hanover, Footville was the only office in the neighborhood, the mails being received from there whenever they were sent for. Now they receive two mails per day, one from each direction.

The first birth to occur on the site of the village was in the family 6f Hohensheldt, in 1845, the lady being subsequently known as Mantana Hohensheldt. The first marriage took place in 1854, the contracting parties being Mr. Simon Hohensheldt and a Miss Fox. The first store was opened in 1856 by Mr. Nathan Aighmie.

The Cemetery. - On April 25, 1850, a cemetery association was organized with the following oflScers : James Waterhouse, President ; H. C. Inman, Secretary ; Caleb Inman, Jacob Fisher, Samuel Smiley, Samuel Johnson, Nathan Whitman and Archibald Smiley. The cemetery, consisting of one acre of ground, was laid out in the same year and lasted until 1878, when an addition of half an acre was made to it. The following is a list of the present oflBcers: President, James Van Alstein; Secretary, H. C. Inman; Treasurer, Edward Inman; Trustees, F. H. Chrisman, John B. Inman, Charles Denno and Emanuel Arnold.

There are no religious societies there with the exception of a German Lutheran society, which was organized about fourteen years ago, with seven members. It now numbers some twenty members, but they have no church edifice and, consequently, no resident minister.

The business portion of the village consists of two stores, a blacksmith- shop, a harnessshop, two hotels, one situated at the junction of the roads, and a grist-mill. The latter institution was erected in 1856, by Mr. S. F. Chipman, and after passing through the hands of various proprietors, came into the possession of Mr. A. Beckman. It is a frame, with two run of stone, with a capacity up to the requirements of the trade, which, with the exception of a buckwheat and rye flour business done with Chicago, consists almost entirely of custom work.

The village of Afton, a burg of about one hundred inhabitants, on the line of the Chicago & North-Western Railway, first became known, through the medium of that road in 1855, Messrs. Dimock, J. Allen, John Moore and Reuben Deuel being the first settlers to locate upon its site. It was laid out in 1855 by Mr. Joseph Church (the land then being the property of Messrs. Tripp, Hoyt and Hodgson) and speedily settled up. The first birth in the village o.ccurred in 1855, in the family of Mr. Charles Pulker, the young lady being now known to the world as Miss Sally Pulker. The first wedding took place in 1856, the contracting parties being Mr. Albert Newton, a Baptist preacher, and Miss Elvira Washburn.

The first death in the village was the result of a very sad if not criminal mistake. A young man (name unknown) who had been boarding for a short period at the house of a Mr. Collins, was suffering severely from ague, and sent to Beloit, so the story goes, for some quinine, which was returned through a mistake in the shape of strychnine, some of which he took, dying within an hour.

The village possesses a very nice church, the property of the Baptists. Their society was organized in 1856, with the following members : Deacon Moses L. Burdick, Elizabeth Burdick, Josiah and Mary Antisdell, Clark Antisdell and wife, Simon Antisdell, William Blanchard and wife, Rufus Washburn and wife, and Miss Nancy Church. Their meetings were held in the schoolhouse until 1861, when the present church was erected at a cost of about $2,000. It is a very neat frame building, with a seating capacity of about two hundred. They have no resident minister, the pulpit being supplied every Sunday by the Rev. Mr. Roe, of Rockton.

They have also a good school, situated a mile north of the village. Miss Clara Moulton being the lady to whom the fifty-two "youngsters" render their obedience. It was first opened in 1849 by Miss Kinney, the residents in the neighborhood being Josiah Antisdell, Samuel Church, Harmon Daly, Simon and Clark Antisdell and Mr. Inman. The first school in the neighborhood, however, was opened by Mr. Charles Newton, in 1847, in a building about a mile north of the present site of the village, known as Watts' Hotel. He taught it one year, and then removed to a little building across the river, where he also kept a school, finally giving it up in 1849, when, as before stated, the control of the institution passed into the hands of Miss Kinney.

The business portion of the village consists of a grocery store and post office, blacksmithshop, shoemaker's shop, wagon shop and a grist-mill. This latter was built in 1872, by J. F.

Litel, who kept it one year and sold it to Messrs. D. & W. H. Eldridge, who disposed of it in 1875, to Messrs. C. B. & M. E. Uehling, the present proprietors. It is a three-run mill, with a capacity of fifty barrels per day, and they ship to Chicago, New York, etc.