sale; therefore, for the purpose of securing to ourselves our just rights, and to protect our improvements, it is unanimously resolved that we will be in readiness to protect each other in our respective claims to the utmost of our power; and that a claim shall consist of not more than 320 acres, in two legal subdivisions, for the purpose of farms or settlement only, and not for speculation." The officers of the Association were: Harvey Canfield, President; Abe Wood, Vice President, and John B. Crawford, Secretary. The resolutions were signed by fifty-six persons, residents of the precinct of Baraboo. The following were within the limits of what is now the town of Baraboo, and will show who some of the early settlers were: Harvey Canfield, Ralph Cowles, Andrew Garrison, Andrew Washburn, Job Barstow, Jr., Nathan Dennison, Hiram Webster, J. T. Clements, G. Willard, Andrew Paulson, Chester Matson, E. G. Williams, James Christie, Alexander Crawford, John B. Crawford, Dr. C. Cowles, Luther Peck, A. F. Washburn, Marvin Blake, J. H. Jackson, Job Barstow, Chauncey Brown, J. Lamar, W. B. Clement, Edward Johnson, W. H. Canfield, Erastus Gilson, James Waddle, Levi Moore, Abe Wood and H. P. Van Valkenburgh. Notwithstanding the organization of this society, the lands were in some cases entered from under the settlers. From the Madison Express, of August 24, 1847, something more respecting the society and its work is learned: "Previously, Eben Peck had started for California, and had probably been massacred by the Indians, as nothing was ever heard of him afterward, and nearly all of his party are known to have suffered such a fate. This left Mrs. Peck to fight her battles alone, and to support herself and her two little children. A meeting of the Claimant Society was held August 10, 1847, with James Waddle in the chair. Count Haraszthy, an Hungarian, addressed the meeting, and pictured out their wrongs in glowing terms. A committee of five was then appointed to draft new resolutions, the substance of which was as follows: "Whereas, certain persons not residing in the county, unjustly and in defiance of the rights of early settlers of the county, have entered the claims of those, who, from unseen and unfortunate circumstances, have been unable to protect themselves, and as Chauncey Brown has chosen to seize upon, and enter lands, embracing all the improvements of Widow Peck; it is resolved that we will defend and protect each other; that we will prevent any and all persons from taking possession of the lands thus entered by Chauncey Brown, Jr., one Esterbrook and Simeon Crandall, and use our best endeavors to punish any person or agent of such person who shall attempt to take possession of or improve such claims. The fourth of July had been celebrated for the first time that year, and the table was still standing in the grove. After the resolutions had been drafted, a meeting was held at that place, and it was resolved that Simeon Crandall should listen to the reading thereof. He refusing to come peaceably, they carried him to the spot and laid him out on the table. But as soon as an opportunity occurred he made an attempt to escape, and would have done so had not an enthusiastic dog, that had the rights of old settlers at heart, seized and detained him until his captors could again get possession of him. He was therefore obliged to listen to the reading of the resolutions; and he afterward made a satisfactory settlement with the claimants of the land. But Chauncey Brown, Jr., held on to his newly acquired property, refusing even to sell it. The enraged settlers followed him finally to Sauk, where he had taken refuge, taking him from his bed one stormy night, and forcing him to begin with them, on foot, a return journey to Baraboo. On the way, after repeated threats of hanging, they rolled him in a mud-puddle, and that brought him to terms. He agreed for a certain amount of money to deed the land to Mrs. Peck. To consummate this all parties went back to Sauk, where the deed was made out and the money paid into his hands. The money he gave for safe-keeping to the official by whom the business was transacted. But the matter did not end here. The deed, having been obtained by force, would not stand in law, and by taking the matter into the courts Brown won the case. The land suit was in law five years, and cost Mrs. Peck several hundreds of dollars. Besides all this, not being able to prove her husband's death, she did not have the same advantages in entering lands as the others had. In order to secure herself a home, she borrowed money at 50 per cent interest, and purchased an 80-acre piece, upon a part of which she now resides. There were other similar cases in which the association participated as the defenders of old settlers' rights; the foregoing, however, will suffice to show the character of them. SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS. The growth of Baraboo has been of the cautious character, and what it is to-day is the result of mere necessity. This speaks well for the frugality and bank accounts of its citizens, though in the past five or six years there has been a more general unloosing of purse-strings. Let us review the various stages of its growth. In April, 1856, a local correspondent wrote: "The village and vicinity are rapidly increasing in population. In the village there are six churches organized; three of them have good houses built, and stated preaching. Baraboo has a population of about 2,000, and is the most healthy, as it is the most beautiful, village in the State. We have a first-class female seminary, and it is in a very prosperous condition. Baraboo has a water-power superior to any within a hundred miles of her. On what is known as the Baraboo Rapids, within a distance of less than two miles, four dams have been built, and there is a chance for another. At the lower mills, known as Manchester, there is a large flouring-mill, a saw-mill, and a carding and cloth-dressing establishment. At the next dam above, which is situated centrally in the village of Baraboo, there is a large grist-mill-built the past season—a saw-mill, a lath, picket and shingle machine, an extensive cabinet and planing establishment, and other machinery. At the next dam above is a saw-mill; and at the next above that is another sawmill, doing the best business of any mill on the river; also an extensive machine and cabinetware establishment, which gives employment to a large number of hands.". A year later, the editor of one of the local papers set forth the advantages of the place in the following terms: "We have one bank, one banking-house, eight dry-goods stores, five grocery stores, three hardware and stove stores, three drug stores, two flouring-mills, three saw-mills, one carding-mill, one tannery, two furniture factories, one sash factory, one pottery, one jewelry store, one book store, five hotels, a livery stable and two markets. We have besides half a dozen physicians, as many lawyers, the same number of clergymen, two dentists, two daguerreans, five or six painters, as many shoemakers, half a dozen blacksmiths, five cabinet and wagon makers, two gunsmiths, and as many harness-makers." In 1862, the institutions were thus reckoned up: One bank, three boot and shoe stores, one bakery and confectionery, six blacksmith-shops, two cabinet warerooms, three cooper-shops, five dry-goods stores, two drug stores, two dentists' rooms, one daguerrean gallery, two flouring-mills, three grocery stores, one gunsmith shop, two hardware stores, four hotels, one harness-shop, one hub-factory, one jewelry store, one millinery and book store, one music store, two meat markets, one mill for grinding corn, one pump factory, one sash and blind factory, three saw-mills, two tailor-shops, three wagon-shops, one woolen-factory, one college and one female seminary. "It is a perfect New England town," says a writer of 1863, "transplanted to a new country, with its wide streets, shaded by beech, locust, elm and maple trees, its clean, fresh-looking white-painted homes, embowered in shrubbery, roses and trailing vines; its gardens, fruit orchards, pleasant walks and that general air of refinement denoting a population intelligent, cultivated and independent. Baraboo, although the shire town of Sauk, one of the oldest and richest farming counties in the State, is more especially noted for its manufactures, to the development of which it has brought a genuine Yankee skill and perseverance. The beautiful Baraboo River, gracefully winding through the valley about a stone's throw from the court house square, is the archimedean lever that turns numberless mill-wheels, and offers a cheap, immense and inexhaustible motive power to future mills and factories that must sooner or later arise upon its banks. The beauty of the scenery in the vicinity, differing from that of other parts of the State in its larger variety, is the universal remark of travelers and tourists. The residents themselves pay but little attention to it and frequently go abroad for "a change of scenery.' The somewhat renowned Baraboo Bluffs lie but two miles distant, in view of nearly every part of the village; and the steep declivities of the "lake gorge are likewise visible. Overhanging the north side, is a beautiful hill known as Mount Mercy. The village itself is adorned with many fine oaks of open forest growth, and the surrounding knolls and valley-dimpled plains are covered with handsome groves and shrubbery." THE RAILROAD AND ITS BENEFICENT RESULTS. When the Chicago & North-Western Railroad had been completed to Baraboo, the company very wisely selected this place as the grand central distribution point for what is known as the Madison Division, and temporary workshops, roundhouses, etc., were erected with all the speed consistent with the uninterrupted progress of the road westward. The effect upon the business interests of Baraboo was immediately perceptible. There was a general revival in trade, and a noticeable activity in real estate. South Baraboo, especially, became the scene of renewed enterprise. There seems to have been an awakening of the progressive spirit that predominated in pioneer days, when mills and dwellings, schoolhouses and churches, were completed in a fortnight. Building lots were in greater demand at advanced prices; likewise, brick, lumber and stone. Mechanics and common laborers were less plentiful than formerly; there was no longer any excuse for idleness. Handsome brick stores and hotels and neatly finished dwellings was the result. Baraboo long since took on the airs of a city, and the gradual and substantial increase in population during the past ten years entitles her to recognition as such. In 1879, the railroad company enlarged their shops and increased the capacity of their roundhouse to twenty-five stalls. The total amount expended in improvements of this character was from $40,000 to $50,000. A large portion of this was paid to residents of Baraboo for material and labor. The average number of men employed in connection with the company's shops at this point is about one hundred. The estimated disbursements on the division will reach nearly $60,000 per month, or $720,000 per annum. Of course, this amount is not all disbursed in Baraboo. For instance, the aggregate of the monthly salaries paid to agents, telegraph operators and clerks distributed along the line of the division will reach about $4,000. It is estimated that $12,000 per month is paid out to "train men" (conductors and brakemen), $4,500 to section men, and at least, $10,000 for extra men employed in connection with the construction department. The monthly salaries of engineers and firemen approximate $8,000; $5,000 per month, is considered a fair estimate of the average amount expended in the construction and the repair of bridges, and a like amount is disbursed every month among the employes of the company who are stationed permanently in Baraboo. Supplies and ordinary repairs cost $10,000 per month on an average. Here we have nearly three-quarters of a million dollars for operating expenses alone, expended annually on the division running from Belvidere to Winona, a distance of 219 miles. Baraboo, being located midway between the two points, and being the division headquarters, necessarily reaps vast benefits from the road, other than the advantages arising from its favorable situation. It is claimed that about $200,000 of this amount is expended in Baraboo. This may be a slight exaggeration; it is considered, however, a very fair estimate, speaking in round numbers. There is no denying the fact that the permanent location of the division headquarters at this point, combined with the ordinary advantages of the road, has placed Baraboo in the front rank of interior cities in Wisconsin. A few years ago, the place was scarcely known outside a radius of fifty miles; now it has become renowned, wherever civilization has penetrated the Western Hemisphere. This very desirable condition of things has been brought about chiefly through the energy of its own citizens in striving to secure an outlet by rail. A great many earnest efforts were made in this direction at an early day, but the citizens were deceived in the promises made them by the managers of Milwaukee's railway interests. It was not until they "put their own shoulders to the wheel" that outside capital saw a safe investment in the construction of a road through the Baraboo Valley. The road completed, Baraboo's advantages as a business place, as a permanent home, and as a summer resort, became known. |