The first regular town election was held at the house of D. C. Reed, April 2, 1850, sixtytwo votes being polled. The successful candidates were: For Supervisors, Lewis Butterfield (Chairman), Eber Benedict and Samuel Northrup; Town Clerk, Horace Croswell; Assessor, Samuel Northrup and Eber Benedict received fifty-nine votes, according to the record; Town Superintendent, Horace Croswell; Town Treasurer, John H. Rork; Constables, Alex. Murry, Charles Minchin and Jacob P. Mowers; Sealer, Horace Croswell.

In 1851, the town of Reedsburg was organized, and on the 1st of April a town election. was held at the schoolhouse, at which 102 votes were polled. The following officers were elected: Supervisors, John H. Rork (Chairman), Sebastian Kerstetter and William P. Randall; Superintendent, Robert G. Williams; Clerk, Oliver H. Perry; Justices, William Randall and William Andrews; Treasurer, Daniel Carver; Assessors, Alanson C. Reed and John Randall; Constables, Alfred Leonard, Amos R. Sprague and John Kerstetter; Sealer, Horace Croswell.

In the early records of the Town Board (1850), we find that a school had been taught in School District No. 2 for three months, the wages as agreed upon between the Clerk and the teacher being twelve shillings per week, or $18 for the term.

Reedsburg continued under town government until the spring of 1868, when it was incorporated as a village according to a special act of the Legislature, sitting the previous winter. The first election under the charter was held on the 13th day of April of that year, 107 votes being polled as follows: President and Police Justice, A. O. Hunt, 105 votes, and C. M. Gaylord, 1; Trustees, Nelson Wheeler, 100; W. Warren, 105; Moses Young, 104; D. B. Rudd, 105; D. Schwecke, 105; O. H. Perry, 65; E. A. Dwinnell, 41; G. Bellenger,1; H. Smith, 1; Clerk, Giles Stevens; Treasurer, H. C. Hunt; Constables, G. Bellinger and W. H. Root; Attorney, G. Stevens; Street Commissioner, G. Bellinger; Surveyor, G. Stevens.

1869-President and Police Justice, A. O. Hunt; Trustees--Moses Young, Henry Geffert, A. P. Ellinwood, W. Warren, M. Finch and E. G. Gregory; Clerk, G. Stevens; Treasurer, H. A. Tator.

1870-President, John H. Rork; Police Justice, J. D. Mackey; Trustees-E. Buelow, A. F. Leonard, R. C. Lewis, Henry Geffert, William Stolte, and N. W. Sallade; Clerk, G. Stevens; Treasurer, J. V. Kelsey.

1871--President, N. W. Sallade; Justice, A. O. Hunt; Supervisor, S. Mackey; Trustees -Moses Young, W. Warren, W. Stolte, J. Barnhart, R. C. Lewis and A. F. Leonard; Clerk, Moses Young; Treasurer, J. Mackey.

1872 President, A. P. Ellinwood; Justice, A. West; Trustees-Austin Seeley, W. Stolte, A. Barnhart, Thomas Ingalls, B. A. Barnhart and G. Stevens; Supervisor, John Kellogg; Clerk, G. Stevens; Treasurer, W. Stolte.

1873 President, A. F. Leonard; Justice, R. A. Wheeler; Supervisor, W. I. Carver; Trustees-H. Geffert, A. R. Rork, John Geffert, J. B. Clark, James Lake and J. F. Danforth; Clerk, J. F. Danforth; Treasurer, William Finch.

1874-President, W. Warren; Justice, W. A. Wyse; Supervisor, W. I. Carver; Trustees -H. J. Smith, A. P. Ellinwood, Peter Dangel, H. Hahn, S. Ramsey and J. W. Gale; Clerk, A. P. Ellinwood; Treasurer, M. Finch.

1875-President, D. A. Barnhart; Justice, R. A. Wheeler; Supervisor, W. I. Carver; Trustees W. G. Hawley,* Peter Dangel, Thomas Ingalls, William Roeckel, E. L. Leonard and W. Stolte; Clerk, W. G. Hawley;* Treasurer, W. Stolte.

1876-President, A. P. Ellinwood; Justice, A. West; Supervisor, S. Mackey; TrusteesS. J. Dearholt, P. Buck, A. L. Harris, W. Stolte, P. Dangel and W. Roeckel; Clerk, W. A. Wyse; Treasurer, M. Finch.

1877-President, Moses Young; Justice, F. J. Mackey; Supervisor, H. C. Hunt; Trustees F. G. Rodermund, N. W. Sallade, H. J. Smith, J. H. Rork, J. H. Hagenah, Fred Schroeder; Clerk, W. A. Wyse; Treasurer, W. A. Sallade.

*Resigned as Trustee and Clerk April 12; W. A. Wyse appointed to fill vacancy.

1878-President, Safford Mackey; Justice, W. G. Hawley; Supervisor, H. C. Hunt; Trustees-J. Kellogg, H. J. Smith, E. F. Seaver, J. H. Hagenah, A. P. Ellinwood and P. Dangel; Clerk, W. A. Wyse; Treasurer, Moses Young.

1879-President, R. C. Lewis; Justice, J. M. Stewart Supervisor, Paul Bishop; Trustees-D. A. Barnhart, F. G. Rodermund, J. C. Young, W. Roeckel, John Buckley and Henry Krug; Clerk, W. P. Briggs; Treasurer, A. R. Rork.

1880-President, Horace J. Smith; Justice, W. P. Briggs; Supervisor, H. J. Smith; Trustees―J. B. Clark, George Hagenah, H. Geffert, A. S. Brooks, W. Stolte and J. W. Gale; Clerk, W. A. Wyse; Treasurer, J. W. Gale.

BRIDGES OVER THE BARABOO AT REEDSBurg.

The only place in the town of Reedsburg where the Baraboo River could be crossed before the erection of bridges was just below where Kellogg's mill now stands. The water there was about two feet deep at a low stage, and ran rapidly over a rock bottom. Of course a flood stopped all travel. In the spring of 1858, some emigrant families, bound for Narrows Prairie, reached here at the time of the flood. After camping several days on the high grounds, near where the Congregational Church now stands, the water subsided enough to enable them to They took over their household goods in a scow belonging to J. W. Babb. Mrs. Stern Baker, who was then living at her father Babb's, came down with her clothes-line and assisted. The line was tied to the horns of the cattle, and, one at a time, they were forced into the stream and swam across. No one knows the value of bridges like those who have settled a new country in advance of their being built. The first bridge over the river was built in the spring or summer of 1849, by D. C. Reed and others, as a volunteer effort. It stood two or three rods above the present bridge in the village, where the stream was then quite narrow. In the course of two or three years, the land on the west side of the river became so soft in the wet season of the year as to be unsafe for travel, and a new bridge was deemed indispensable. Therefore, in the winter of 1853, D. C. Spaulding and James Goodwin entered into a contract for building a new one. It was about the length of the present structure, and was placed upon the ground where it now stands. It was made entirely of wood, the posts of the piers being put down through holes cut in the ice. It cost $300, $75 of which was paid by the town. The third bridge was erected in the winter of 1861-62, by John H. Rork, at an expense of $1,200, which was paid by the town. It was placed upon stone abutments and piers, about thirty feet apart. The portion of the bridge between the piers was upheld by two piers of timber, placed at the center, in the form of a letter A, with an iron rod running from the top of the A to the bottom of the bridge. This proved to be an insufficient support, and the bridge fell in August, 1867. There were teams upon both the second and third bridges when they went down, but they escaped without injury. A temporary bridge was built in August, 1867, some ten rods below the mills, which was used until the following winter, when the present bridge, made in Chicago, was put in by John Kellogg and C. M. Gaylord at an expense to the town of $3,000.

In the spring of 1851, the town voted an appropriation of $100 for two bridges over the river, below the village. During the ensuing summer, the Fordham and Cole bridges were built, partly by volunteer efforts of individuals. They have since been rebuilt and kept in repair at the expense of the town.

THE NATIONAL ANNIVERSARY.

Mrs. Belle French, in her "Sketch Book," relates the following: "The first Fourth of July celebration in patriotic Reedsburg occurred in 1849. There was little with which to make a celebration. The men determined to raise a liberty-pole on that occasion, and regretted that they had no flag to adorn it. But the women resolved that a flag should adorn that same pole, and they set their wits to work in order to find material. The men wore blue denim clothes, and so did many of the women, but this, after much wear, was not very blue. Neither could

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they get a piece large enough for the ground-work of the flag, so it was resolved that the stars should be blue upon a white ground. The men wore buckskin patches on the seats and knees of their pantaloons, and, to economize as well as to get pieces that were of a brighter blue, the women cut out the half-worn denims under the buckskin and made it into stars. A woman's under-garment furnished a square of white and some stripes, while, by a little shortening up of the men's shirts, some red stripes were obtained. But the women did not know how to cut a five-pointed star, and, in consequence, the stars on that flag all had six points. Horace Croswell was the ladies' man and general confidant at that period. To him the women confided the secret, showing him the flag. That won't do,' he immediately declared. The national star has only

five points.' So the stars were all ripped off; and, as there was no material to make new ones, one point of each was cut off and the others twisted into shape. One young lady, Agnes McClung, embroidered on a piece of cloth that charming couplet:

"The star spangled banner, long may it wave,

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.'

This was tacked on the flag, and the work was pronounced complete. Then came the dinner to prepare. Groceries and luxuries were few, but the combined possessions of the settlers formed quite an array of dainties, though no one person could have made even a pie, independent of her neighbors. Rev. A. Locke delivered the address. His only trouble was his forgetting the exact date of the Declaration of Independence; and, no one being able to inform him, his hearers bade him 'proceed and never mind it.' Otherwise the lecture was pronounced a success. The dinner, the like of which had never been tasted in this part of the world before, was highly enjoyed, and the remains of it were given to the Indians, that they might make merry too. The celebration was held in the mill, which had neither floor nor roof. But some loose boards had been put down, and upon these the people danced that night, lighted by only a few flickering tallow-dips. It was the first dance in Reedsburg."

Elder Dwinnell tells us of the succeeding celebrations: "The second celebration was in 1850. The day being rainy, the assembly convened in the west wing of the newly erected hotel of John Clark, near the bridge. An able address was given by E. G. Wheeler.

"The third celebration was held on the public square, in 1852, the writer giving the address. Many of his hearers were displeased with it because he arrainged our nation as inconsistent and wicked in boasting of being the freest and most enlightened nation on the globe, while holding 3,000,000 of its people in the most abject and degrading bondage. The objection was grounded on the position, which the speaker regarded as false, that nothing should be said on the Fourth of July in which all did not agree. A picnic dinner was provided by the ladies.

"In 1853, a celebration was held in the park, the address being given by E. G. Wheeler. The procession marched to the music of a flute and a violin. The States were represented by thirtyone young ladies, each carrying a banner with the name of the State printed upon it, the two who led the procession being dressed in Bloomer costume, the first that had been seen in these parts. After a picnic dinner had been served, sentiments and toasts were in order. L. Gay Sperry gave the following, referring to the representations of the States: Behold the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.'

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"The fifth celebration was held in the park July 4, 1856. The assembly was large and the day fine. E. G. Wheeler was President of the day, and J. Mackey Orator, and Rev. E. D. Bunce Chaplain. A. B. Smith provided dinner at his newly opened Alba House, now the Central; $100 was spent for fireworks, which were sent up from the southeast corner of the public square. This was the first exhibition of the kind in this part of the county, and was witnessed by large numbers. Taken all in all, in its results and consequence, near and future, that was the most important celebration ever held here. It was estimated at the time that it cost the people $1,000.

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