Smelser Town

Big Patch

The first settlements in the present town of Smelser were at the Big Patch mines. These were discovered in June, 1828, on Section 10, Town 2, Range 1. Very large stories are told of the enormous pieces of mineral found here. It is said that four men raised 45,000 pounds in one day. The names of the miners who dug here in the twenties have passed into oblivion. It is said that William Bowmer came in 1828. The discoverers of the Big Patch mine were Fitz and Jarrow. John Harms (who afterward settled for life on a farm in Section 2) came in 1835 and his brother Diedrich in 1836. George E. Cabanis was here for a short time in 1838, and went away, returning to settle on a farm on Section 10 in 1845. William Spencer settled near the village in 1837, and John Spink settled on Section 11 in 1841. Stephen Dinsdale came in 1840, Dr. J. C. Campbell, John Clayton and others came in 1840. William Kay opened a store and built a mill and a furnace in 1841. In 1843 John Walker, T. M. Robinson, and Thomas Booth settled near the village. David Wilkinson (one of the few remaining pioneers) came in 1844. John Wilkinson and William Fort¬ ney came in 1845. This year occurred the first death in the neighbor¬ hood, that of Thomas Brooks. Joshua Yeadon started a blacksmith shop about 1845. Jonas Rawson (who had came in 1846) and Charles Butler, put up a tavern and liquor house on the Platteville and Dubuque road in 1849. In 1856 a town-site was platted and recorded by Garrett V. Dennis ton on the northwest corner of Section 10. It was called Kaysville. The village is still so called, but is bet¬ ter known by the name of the post-office. Big Patch. The great bod¬ ies of mineral were soon worked out and now only one mine is worked in the vicinity of the village.

about fifteen dwellings, one store, kept by the old pioneer D. Wilkin¬ son, a creamery run by a Platteville man named Craig, two churches, and a blacksmith shop.

Schools. - The first school in the neighborhood was taught in a log house a quarter of a mile below the store, in 1846, by Joseph Thomp¬ son. The next year school was taught by George R. Frank in a house near the mill-pond, afterward used as a blacksmith shop. The next school was taught by George R. Frank in a building erected by the Sons of Temperance on the Cabanis farm. Frank was followed by H. B. Harvey and Linus Bascom. In 1860 the old Methodist church was bought and removed to Section 2, a mile and a quarter east of the village. School was taught there several years ; then a new house was built in the village.

The Methodist Episcopal Church. - The society was organized in 1856, and consisted of John Wilkinson, George Thomas, Major M. M. Griffith, Mrs. Hannah Buxton, and the wives of George E. Cabanis, John Wilkinson and Major Griffith. The first services were held in the school-house on the Cabanis farm, which building was afterward moved out on the Platteville road. In 1874 a frame church 18X36 was built in the village at a cost of $1,200. Among the pastors have been : Revs. John Trimby, William Summersides, John Bean, Stephen Pike, E. S. Bunce, John Trezedor, William Cook, James Slims, William Howard, William Sheppard, J. Jefferson, T. J. Lewis, T. W. North.

Primitive Methodist Church. - This society was organized in 1845 with a large membership, some of whom afterward joined the M. E. Church. Services were held in the residence of William Kay, the lead¬ ing member, until 1850, when a small frame house was built, which served until 1874, when it was sold. to George Fox and was used as a blacksmith shop. In its place a fine frame building 30X40 was erected at a cost of $1,600. The following ministers have had charge : Revs. Hobson, Joseph Hewitt, James Alderson, Lansonby, George Wells, William Tompkins, T. A. Cliff, J. Dawson, Henry Lees, Christopher Hendra, Thomas Dooley, John Harrington, J. Arnold, and Wm. Andriss.

Big Patch Mill. - This was built in 1846 by William Kay. In 1856 the mill was bought by David Wilkinson, who put in a second run of stones and in 1868 he put in steam power.

Hi8Tory Of Grant County

This village is situated on the corner where Sections 21, 22, 27, and 28 join. In 1833 Jonas M. Smelser (for whom the town was named) settled on Section 22, Lysander Gilmore on Section 34, and Hamilton Gilmore on Section 33. J. W. Kanmp came in 1834, and Charles Gillham, Thomas Render and Hugh Patterson in 1835. D. B. Patterson came in 1836, Thomas Booth in 1840, William and Joseph Brandon, William G. Wood, T. J. Neal, and Jonas Jones in 1843, Thomas Robbins in 1845, Hugh Calhoun in 1846, Nadab Eastman and Ceylon Otwell in 1847, apd J. V. Donohoo in 1849. George Wineman settled on Section 27 in 1845 and in 1848 he put up a large log house on the site of his subsequent dwelling and opened a store. In 1849 a post-office was established at this store with Mr. Wineman as postmaster. He was followed in office by Captain Robert Nash (who held the office a long time), R. A. Wilson, J. H.Cabanis, William Dent, and James Jeffrey, the present incumbent, who came in in 1897.

In 1849 Jared Todd established the first blacksmith shop. The village grew very slowly. In 1860 the Nash House was built by George Wineman and at first occupied by Peter Walker as a store. In 1858 a store was established in a new building by Pearl and Speer Spencer, who soon sold out to William Peters. The building was afterward used by Brandon & Jeffrey as a warehouse. About 1861 Isaac Dod¬ son established a blacksmith and wagon shop on North Main Street, and Andrew Gregg put up a story-and-a-half building afterward occu¬ pied by J. H. Cabanis with a store. At the beginning of the war the population of the village was about fifty. The village plat was sur¬ veyed May 19, 1870, by Joseph Allen. It contained four blocks, one in each of the four sections previously mentioned.

The village now contains two stores, one hotel, one blacksmith shop, two churches, and fifteen or twenty dwellings. It has a cream¬ ery owned by a company, of which Fred Heil is president and James P. Jones secretary and treasurer.

Schools. - The first school taught in the town of Smelser was taught in 1836 by D. B. Patterson in a log school-house near the pres¬ ent site of Georgetown. In 1847 a school was taught in the village by George Dingley. On the list of pupils are found the names of Cab¬ anis, Calhoun, Campbell, Bray, Smelser, Simmons, Richards, and Forqueran. The school-house was burned in 1848 and school was taught in.private houses until 1852, when a school-house was built and used

Methodist Episcopal Church. - This society was organized in 1855 with a few members. Services were held in the school-house until 1867, when a frame church costing $1,500 was built. The ministers resident here have supplied the churches in several other places. Their names have been given in connection with the church at Big Patch.

Christian Church. - The society was organized in 1853 with Hugh Calhoun, James Plunkett, Ceylon Y. Otwell, Mr. Forqueran, and the wives of these, and Miss Fanny Pretts as members. Services were held in the school-house until 1867, when a frame church, 27X40, was built at a cost of $1,500. The following ministers have had charge: Revs. Charles Levan, Daniel Howe, Henry Exley, George Sweeney, E. Searles, Monroe, and others.

Georgetown Lodge , No. 185 % A. F. & A. M. - The lodge was char¬ tered June 15, 1872, with twelve members and the following officers : Peter Heil, W. M. ; R. A. Wilson, S. W.; William Thomas, J. W. ; James O. Luce, Sec.; John Eplett, Treas. Meetings were held in Brandon & Jeffrey's Hall until the completion of the Masonic Hall. The present officers are: S.E. Smalley, W. M.; Frank Cams, S. W.; Emery Bray, J. W.; Wm. Williams, S. D.; J. P. Jones, Treas.; Jas. Jeffrey, Sec.

Morning Star Lodge, No. 185 , I. 0. 0. F. - This lodge was organ¬ ized December 8, 1871, under a charter granted to Thomas Thomas, H. W. Smith, B. F. Saltzman, W. J. H. Newton, J. M. Quick, William Kay, and William LeValley. Meetings were held in Brandon & Jeffrey's Hall, until 1873, when, in conjunction with the Masons, they erected a hall.

Cuba City

This is by far the largest and most prosperous village in Sraelser. The first settler on the site of the village was Jack Debord, who, in 1846, built a cabin where the depot now-stands. In the same year Isaac Nichols built a house half a mile southeast of the village. In 1851 the Davis family built the Western Hotel and kept it as a hotel until 1859, when a man named Blodgett bought it and after running it a year sold it to William Miller. In 1865 Robert Packard took charge of the hotel .and conducted it in connection with his farm. S. A. Craiglaw bought the property of Debord and William Stephens bought out Packard. In June, 1875, Stephens & Craiglaw laid out the village on a large scale, making 422 lots. The railroad from Ga¬ lena to Platteville had just been built, furnishing a shipping point for a magnificent farming country, and the new village grew rapidly. It was at first called Yuba City, but the name was soon changed. Wil¬ liam and Thomas Mitchell put up the first building in the new village and occupied it as a wagon shop. Mrs. J. G. Schmole put in the first store. At present the place contains three large general merchandise stores, one of them dealing largely in farm machinery, three hardware stores, two drug-stores, two milliner shops, two banks, one furniture and undertaker's shop, two barber shops, two livery stables, two ho¬ tels, two butcher shops, one harness shop, three physicians, two dent¬ ists, one steam roller flouring-mill, and several blacksmith and other mechanic shops. A very large shipping business in grain, stock, zinc ore, etc., is done. Waterworks and electric lights serve to give the village an up-to-date appearance.

Free Methodist Church, Cuba City

sion of the Benton parish at St. Rose, now a railroad station about a mile and a half north of Cuba City. A small church was built there in 1852. In 1894 a fine brick church was built in Cuba City at a cost of $13,000. The congregation consists of about forty-five Irish and twenty German families. Services are held every Sunday by the pas¬ tor resident at Benton. The congregation maintains branches of the Catholic Order of Foresters, Catholic Knights, and Holy Rosary and Temperance Societies.

Methodist Episcopal Church. - This denomination has established the headquarters of a circuit in the village and built a church. The resident ministers have been, Revs. J. N. Mills, P. S. Mather, A. C. Halsey, and J. F. Poorman.

Schools . - Before 1878 the children of the village attended school in District No. 9. In that year a commodious school-house was built on the south side of the village. It is a two-story building 28x48, intended for two departments.

The Cuba City News. - This paper was started in August, 1894. It is a six-column quarto. One page is devoted to Hazel Green affairs and has a Hazel Green head. T. C. Snyder is editor and publisher.

The village was incorporated in 1894 and has the following offi¬ cers: President, E. D. McCormick; trustees, E. A.Gillham. John Clem¬ ens, George Hoffman, Clem Heitkamp, Joseph Harris, Jr., T. F. Splin¬ ter; clerk, William Mitchell; treasurer, Joseph Longbotham; justices, John Stephens, James Conlan; constable, J. O. Laird.

Elmo Station

In 1854 Emanuel Whitham built a large frame house at the junc¬ tion of the Galena and Platteville and Mineral Point roads and kept a tavern there called the Junction House. In 1875 the railroad com¬ pany built a depot near the hotel and Mr. Whitham laid off a village about the depot. J. S. White put in a store that year, and the next year a post-office was established there with T. H. Leslie as postmas¬ ter, and he put in a stock of goods. James Welch established a harness-shop at the place and Robert Whitham a blacksmith shop. Four or live residences were built, and the place was for a time a rival to Cuba City, but it soon fell out of the race, and now a single building, serving as a hotel, store, post-office, and residence, contains about all the business of the place except that done by the railroad company.

St. Rose Station

This is a mile and a half north of Cuba City. In 1852 a small Catholic church was erected here, giving a name to the place. In 1853 Marsh Lukey kept a hotel in the brick house at the station, now a residence. In December, 1874, J. V. Donohoo laid out a village here with the understanding (or, as it proved, misunderstanding) that it was to be the only station on the road between Galena and Benton. He sold one lot to Thomas Murray, who built a residence there. A store, hotel, and blacksmith shop had been established there, but all these, and the church, have disappeared.

Smelser, Organization And Officers

1882 - Supervisors, R. A. Wilson, Joseph Kay, Henry Spink ; clerk, treasurer, and assessor, same as in 1881 ; justices, H. J. Witherbee, J. H. Smyth; constables, Wm. Kay, Jonas C. Rawson, Anthony Gibson.

1892 - Supervisors, James P. Jones, Job Slack, Jacob Harris ; clerk, treasurer, and assessor, same as in 1891 ; justices, John Eplett ; con¬ stables, William Kay, William Kopp, James 0. Laird.