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- HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY,
WISCONSIN
- INTRODUCTION
- In presenting to our patrons and
the citizens in general a history or Rock
- County, we beg leave to say that
the limits prescribed in this work will not admit of a lengthy
detail of facts connected with the early settlement, rise, and
progress of the County. In briefly considering our subjects,
there are many times, places, and persons to whom we must allude.
We will give the outlines; you must complete the picture. We
will do our little to sketch the County as it was and is, that
the contrast may show whatever of growth and development has
been attained. Volumes, perhaps, might be written relative to
the primitive days in the Rock River Valley, in giving an account
of the early scenes enacted, anecdotes, hardships, trials, toils,
and privations of the bold pioneer in advancing the cause of
industry, enterprise, and civilization. But had we the time and
space we deem ourselves entirely inadequate to the task, and
will only attempt to give in abbreviated terms a few of the most
prominent facts concerning the early settlement, progress, and
present prosperity as they are gleaned from records and the memory
of the old settlers, many of whom still survive.
- Rock County is yet as it were in
her infancy. Only a few years have passed
- since along the banks of Rock River
no pale-face was to be seen. The sound of the bold pioneer's
axe waging destruction to the majestic oak of the forest was
nowhere to be heard. The stillness and monotony was not broken
then as now by the shrill whistle of the iron horse or the almost
ceaseless hum of machinery, the result of the white man's industry.
The broad prairies, that to-day present almost every evidence
of civilization, were only a short time since traversed in all
directions by herds of deer, antelope, etc. No white man was
then a citizen of Rock County; all this section of country was
the undisputed home and hunting-ground of the red man. No one
who now beholds this beautiful country, boasting in its wealth,
its educated sons and daughters, its broad and fertile acres,
dotted over on every hand by palatial mansions, the inmates of
which are made happy through the fruitful reward of their energy,
enterprise, and industry, can reflect with surprise that the
red man was loath to leave this, to him, garden of Eden, when
compelled by the tide of white emigration to seek a new home
beyond the Mississippi. Prior to this time, and even before Rock
County even had an existence, white men had their homes in localities
all around us. Their eyes feasted on a goodly prospect, timber
and prairie, water, profuse herbage, plentiful game and pleasant
temperature: these attractions combined would fascinate anyone.
When tired of the broad, flat prairies, level as a floor, there
was the more broken country and rugged hills along Rock River.
The tide of white emigration wrested from the had of the red
man a noble heritage, and after one had seen this beautiful country
he was no longer surprised that the Indian, whose eloquence is
the poetry of nature, clung with such tenacity to the country
in the Rock River Valley.
-
- GEOGRAPHICAL & TOPOGRAPHICAL
- Rock County lies in latitude 40º
40' north, in longitude 12º west. locating it in
- the southern tier of counties in
the State, being bounded on the north by Jefferson and Dane,
on the west by Greene, south by the State of Illinois, and east
by Walworth County. The County is in area twenty-four miles north
and south, by thirty miles east and west, containing twenty congressional
townships, 720 square miles or 460,800 acres. To the eye of the
traveller the surface of the country presents a varied landscape,
being somewhat regularly divided into broken and smooth surfaces,
timber, prairie groves, etc.
- It is perhaps useless for us to
state that Rock County is one of the richest and
- most productive agricultural districts
in the State, containing but very little untillable land, and
the character of the soil being such as to yield the richest
returns to the cultivator for his labor. The County is very evenly
divided between timber and prairie; the most beautiful hard wood
groves, generally a few hundred acres in extent, breaking the
usual monotony of the prairie landscape at very frequent intervals,
and furnishing fuel, fencing, and building material in great
abundance. The prairie is as rich and fertile as the great American
Bottom, and the soil, like that, is a rich black loam, in places
several feet in depth and inexhaustible in fertility. There cannot
be found in the State a more productive grain-growing region,
or a more healthful and delightful climate. Fruits of all kinds
are easily and successfully grown, while the famous blue grass,
so common to a more southern climate, is indigenous to the soil,
crowding itself into almost every fence corner and thriving luxuriantly,
constituting Rock one of the best grazing counties in the State.
We are often asked by strangers, what kind of a country is it?
To answer that question in general terms we would say, it is
a beautiful country and its fertility is notorious. It is asked,
what is produced? We reply, all of the cereals: corn, wheat,
oats, rye, and barley do well; but corn and oats seem to be especially
adapted to this climate and soil, and are produced in almost
fabulous quantities. In short, there is no better grain-growing
country in the Western States. In addition to the productions
mentioned, tobacco is produced in large quantities. The country
is a high, rolling prairie, with very few exceptions, and the
fertility of the soil nowhere surpassed.
- Along the line of Rock River, which
passes nearly centrally through the
- County, are belts of timber, supplying
many varieties of wood for manufacturing and other purposes.
This is a beautiful stream, and at several points in the County
furnishes good water-power for the propelling of grist- and saw-mills.
In fact, an unlimited number of manufactories could be propelled.
Aside from this, there are several smaller streams in the County
that furnish power for the propelling of smaller mills.
-
- ORGANIZATION & EARLY SETTLEMENT
- At a session of the territorial
legislature of 1836-7, sitting at Belmont, in
- Lafayette County, Rock County was
set off from Milwaukee, and the county seat established on the
fractional part of section 36, lying on the east side of the
Rock River. This County, together with Walworth, remained a part
of Racine until February, 1839, when by an act of the territorial
legislature Rock County was finally organized and the county
seat permanently located at Janesville. The land on which the
town was located had been previously claimed by Mr. JANES; some
considerable difficulty arose between him and the County authorities,
but was finally amicably adjusted by the County quitclaiming
to settlers what had previously been conveyed to them by Mr.
JANES. The bright future of Janesville and vicinity dated from
this time. The pioneers of emigration to this and other portions
of Wisconsin had before them brighter prospects, and experienced
far less toil and privation, than those who led the way to the
settlement of Western New York, Ohio and Indiana; and fair and
fertile land was spread before them, ready for the hand of the
husbandman, seeming indeed to have, at some day not very remote,
been the home of civilization, and to have been abandoned after
a long course of cultivation to become the hunting-grounds of
the red man. It could not well be called a wilderness, there
were no dense forests to be hewn down to make way for the settler.
The oak openings, while they added beauty to the landscape, were
no hinderance to its rapid and easy occupation for the uses and
purposes of agriculture. There was, in brief, no obstacle to
the speedy settlement of the country; and when once the tide
of emigration westward in quest of new homes and larger fortunes
was turned in this direction, it rolled on with rapidly increasing
volume. The spot on which the city of Janesville now stands became
the central point of the influx of population to the southern
portion of the valley of the Rock River. In the month of October,
1835, Messrs. John INMAN, George FOLLMER, Joshua HOLMES, Wm.
HOLMES, Jr., and Milo JONES came here, and the first four named
set up a cabin on the south bank of the river, opposite the "Big
Rock." This rock was an old landmark of the Indians, crowned
with a growth of beautiful cedars, and although since considerably
cut down is still a prominent point, near the northern end of
the Monterey Bridge. The river was ordinarily fordable at this
point, and it was called "Big Rock Ford." The first
actual settler of the County who brought his family and chattels
with him, with the avowed intention of making a permanent home,
was Samuel ST. JOHN, of Vermont, who with his wife and three
children arrived here in the month of November, 1835.
- Before the advent of the parties
above mentioned and the St. Johns, Thomas
- A. HOLMES and a comrade had been
here on an exploring expedition in the month of June 1835. Dr.
James HEATH and wife joined the band of squatter sovereigns in
January, 1836, and the log cabin roughly put together in the
autumn of 1835 served as a sheltering-place for them all until
the following spring. A log hut only 16 by 18 feet would be considered
at this day very close quarters for eleven persons, yet it served
them all quite comfortably, as they supposed, at that early day.
The first child born in the upper valley of the Rock River was
Seth B. ST. JOHN, the second Mary C. HOLMES, the third was Henry
JANES.
- On the ninth day of March Judge
Wm. HOLMES came from Michigan City
- and located at this place, and soon
after his arrival built him a house, selecting for its situation
a spot near the edge of the cliff overlooking the river and near
the park, in the fourth ward; it was of wood, and the lumber
used was cut with a whip-saw by Robert and Daniel STONE,--now
residents and wealthy men in the town of Fulton,--who came to
Janesville soon after the arrival of Judge HOLMES in the spring
of 1836. With the exception of the HOLMES family there were then
no settlers within what is now the city limits, nor indeed in
the County on the west side of the river. For a space of nearly
ten years after the first settlement improvements were confined
to the east side of the river and Main Street of the old village.
In addition to those already named as early settlers here, a
number of others arrived. During the year 1836 Henry F. JANES,
in honor of whom the city has its name, came with his family
and his brother Edward, John P. DICKSON and wife, W. H. H. BAILEY
and wife, Levi ST. JOHN and family, together with others, enough
in all to make a very pleasant little society. Mr. Janes, who
selected for his claim the land on which the county seat was
subsequently established, immediately prepared to establish himself
as a permanent settler, and erected himself a cabin on the spot
where LEPPIN's block now stands. This cabin became the tavern
for the settlement, and served as a welcome if not a commodious
resting-place for travellers. Mr. JANES also established a ferry
here, near the site of the points on the route westward to the
mines and the Father of Waters. Mr. JANES was succeeded as landlord
and ferryman by Mr. Charles Stevens, and subsequently by Mr.
J. P. DICKSON, who continued to control the ferry until he erected
his Janesville Stage House, in the fall of 1838. The building
stood on the site of the present Meyers House, and was called
the best public house west of Lake Michigan. In the neighborhood
of the young settlement, now beginning to gather strength and
grow in numbers, A. W. POPE, Virgil POPE, D. SMILEY, Marcus FENTON,
Jason WALKER, Aaron WALKER, Alfred WALKER, David HUME, G. W.
OGDEN, and S. D. BUTTS located claims, and devoted themselves
to the improving of their new homes with commendable energy.
In 1837 quite a number of settlers made their homes at and close
around Janesville and took an active part in the affairs of the
town; prominent among those who came were Hon. E. V. WHITON,
a leading lawyer in territorial days, and for many years chief
justice of the State, V. ATWOOD, C. STEVENS, Dr. Guy STOUGHTON,
S. STOUGHTON, T. KENDALL, H. STOREY, William and Joseph SPAULDING,
G. H. WILLISTON, E. J. HAZARD, G. R. RAMSEY, and D. A. RICHARDSON.
- The year 1836 is one to which reference
is generally made by all who then
- lived in the West, and by those
at a distance whose attention was at all attracted to this portion
of the country, when they wish to show what indiscreet speculation
in lands and village lots will do to effect the ultimate bankruptcy
of a new country. This spirit of speculation was rife in this
section of the State, and Rock County did not escape the mania
then prevailing for the laying out of large towns on paper and
selling out shares in them to those anxious to become suddenly
rich, or to rapidly grow more so. Rockport, now included in the
city of Janesville, and Wisconsin City, southwest of the present
city limits, were among these early speculations. To secure a
point for a town which might obtain the advantage of being in
time the seat of justice of a county was then the principal consideration.
Janesville had to contend for this object with Wisconsin City,
Rockport, and Beloit; however, when the boundaries of the County
came to be defined, this it was evident was the place best fitted
to receive the honor of being the seat of justice, and had already
been so designated by the territorial legislature. The first
session of the District Court was held in a room of the Stage
House in 1839, and presided over by Judge Irving, aided in his
administration of justice by most of the prominent lawyers of
the Territory. The first election was held in 1839, and resulted
in the choice of the following-named gentlemen: Sheriff, L. G.
FISHER; Register of Deeds, W. H. H. BAILEY; County Commissioners,
W. S. MURRAY, Wm. SPAULDING, and E. J. HAZARD; Daniel SMILEY
and Hiram BROWN were the first justices of the peace appointed
to mete out justice in the new town. The first court-house was
begun in the early part of the year 1841, and completed and occupied
in 1842; Messrs. RICHARDSON and CHAMBERLAIN were the contractors.
It was a plain wooden building, and served its purposes very
comfortably until consumed by fire in 1859. The County was then
without a court-house until 1869, when the present imposing edifice
was erected; it is perhaps the finest and most costly county
building in the State. The first jail was a wooden structure,
erected south of the public grounds, between Main and Bluff Streets.
The first post-office was established in 1837, through the active
agency of General W. B. SHELDON, then a member of the legislature.
It was for many years a distributing office to many post routes
throughout the West and Northwest. The first bridge erected over
the river was in 1842, by Charles STEVENS, Thomas LAPPIN, and
W. H. H. BAILEY.
- Thus far we have given the names
and some incidents of those who first
- settled in Rock County in and around
Janesville. We will now mention some who in an early day pitched
their tents and laid foundations for homes in other sections
of the County. The first settlement at Beloit was made in 1835,
by Mr. Caleb BLODGETT, who bought the claim of THIEBEAU, a Frenchman,
who was the only inhabitant at the time. In 1837 Dr. WHITE and
F. H. GOODHUE bought a portion of Mr. BLODGETT's claim and settled
also. Mr. John HACKETT came in 1836, and was the first postmaster
in Beloit; L. G. FISHER came the same year. Dr. WHITE was agent
for what was known as the New England Company, who afterward
settled here. The company consisted mainly of D. J. BUNDY, H.
WHITE, H. HOBART, J. W. BICKNELL and two sons, G. W. and O. P.
BICKNELL, I. PHENEY, A. L. FIELD, R. P. CRANE, A. B. HOWE, Mrs.
L. DYER and two sons, I. CHENEY, I. YOUNG, L. C. BEACH, and Leonard
HATCH; Major Charles JOHNSON and John DOOLITTLE came the same
year. The first grist-mill in the County, if not in the State,
was build by Mr. GOODHUE on Turtle Creek. The first settlement
in what is now Clinton Township was made by Dr. MILLS, M. S.
WARNER, C. TUTTLE, and W. S. MURRAY, in April 1837. S. E. DOWNER
and Daniel TASKER with their wives located on Jefferson Prairie
the same year; these ladies are said to be the first white women
who ever visited the prairie. During the years 1838-39 their
settlement grew rapidly in population. The first religious service
in the town was at the residence of Charles TUTTLE, Rev. Mr.
TOPPIN presiding. The first settlement in what is now Center
was made by Andrew STEVENS, who still resides in the town he
located there in 1843, and was soon followed by David DAVIS,
P. DAVIS, William WEBB, Wm. WARREN, and Elijah WOOD. As early
as 1836 settlements were made in Harmony by Joseph SPAULDING,
a member of the assembly of 1835, Wm. SPAULDING, G. H. WILLISTON,
John TURNER, Harvey HOLMES, and Ansel DICKINSON. The first family
in Johnstown was that of Norman SMITH, who came in 1837, and
made a claim on what is now the site of Johnstown Center, but
soon afterward sold it to Noah NEWELL; the same property is now
owned by Henry B. JOHNSON. The second family in the town was
that of Captain C. D. HILL. Among the other early settlers we
have the names of E. NEWHALL and two sons, Ward E. G. NEWHALL,
J. A. FLETCHER, D. PHELPS, D. McKILLIP, J. PUTNAM, J. A. PICKET,
and W. VIRGIN. The first farmhouse built in the town was D. McKILLIP's.
The first claim made in Lima Township was by J. M. BURGESS, in
1836, who, however, remained but a short time. In 1837 Messrs.
T. VANHORN and S. L. HARRINGTON came to the town, and soon after
erected a saw-mill; during the same year Joseph NICHOLS, Samuel
HALL, Major PHILLIPS, G. B. HALL, Mr. GIBLET, and Mr. GROVER
made claims and became residents. In the vicinity of Milton the
first settlements were made in 1836, by D. F. SMITH, S. D. BUTTS,
A. T. WALKER, A. WALKER, P. McEWAN, G. W. OGDEN, E. OGDEN, I.
T. SMITH, and E. HAZARD; some of these came in 1837. D. F. and
I. T. SMITH erected the first cabin. It is said that S. D. BUTTS
has the credit of breaking the first prairie in the township
in 1836, and P. McEWAN built the first fence, and to the Messrs.
WALKER is ascribed the credit of having raised the first crops
in the town of wheat, potatoes, etc. The first blacksmith-shop
was erected in 1838, by Orrin SPRAGUE; previous to that settlers
were obliged to go to Racine and Kenosha for their work. The
first flour used came from Michigan, hauled by teams, via Chicago
and Racine. The nearest flouring-mill at that time was at Aurora,
Illinois. In 1839, quite a number of families came from Allegheny
County, New York, and settled; among them were Joseph GOODRICH,
H. B. CRANDALL, James PIERCE, and E. PHELPS. The first settlement
in Magnolia was in 1840, by John N. PALMER, Joseph PRENTICE,
Andrew COTTER, Washington ADAMS, W. FOCKLER, Abram FOX, J. COOK,
B. EASY, A. MOORE, G. McKENZIE, Mrs. HINES and son, and S. P.
HAMMOND. The earliest settlement in Newark Township, of which
we can learn, was made in 1842, by Mrs. GUNALE, a Norwegian widow
lady; she is said to have built the first log cabin in the township.
She was soon followed by several of her countrymen in 1844. N.
Strong, J. B. SMITH, John STEVENS, P. McVAIN, A. G. FELT, and
P. P. CHASE made purchases and erected homes. Many of them are
still residents of the town. The first settlement made in Plymouth
was in 1841, by David DOUGLASS, Stephen C. DOUGLASS, and Samuel
COLLEY, who came from Michigan, and located on Bass Creek the
31st day of May; Samuel F. CHIPMAN settled in July of the same
year. The first settlement in what is now Spring Valley was made
by John CRALL, who built the first log house, yet standing, on
the farm owned by J. W. SPENCER. Mr. Robert TAYLOR, who still
resides in the town, was the second man to settle in the township.
Among the other early settlers of the town were James KIRKPATRICK,
E. C. SMITH, R. M. SMITH, James BRADSHAW, A. SPRAGUE, A. REMINGTON,
A. HURLBURT, S. G. MILLS, and Solomon ROSE. In what is now Turtle
Township the first settlers were D. B. EBERY, --after whom Egery
Creek was named,--D. BENNETT, Chancey TUTTLE, John LEWIS, A.
LEWIS, S. G. COLLEY, R. DOLE, and John HOPKINS. In 1836 the following-
named persons, who had previously located at Beloit, came to
Turtle, viz., Wm. SMITH, Horace RICE, and Hudson CASE. About
the same time a family by the name of MEEKERS came from Pennsylvania,
and made a claim where the village of Shopiere now stands; the
same year a colony of Yankees from Connecticut settled on the
opposite side of the Creek. Some quite amusing stories are told
of the troubles between the MEEKERS and the Yankees which we
have not space here to relate. During 1837, Mr. BLODGETT, from
Beloit, purchased the contestants. The town was first called
Waterloo, in commemoration of the battle between this family
and the colony, but subsequently changed to its present name.
- The early settlement of Bradford
was in 1836, by Erastus DEAN, who was
- soon followed by Andrew McCULLAGH,
William C. CHASE, James WINNEGAR, Joseph MAXON, Wm B. ALDRICH,
C. DYKEMAN, William LYMAN, L. S. BLACKMAN, and Alva BLACKMAN.
The first settlements in Rock Township were mostly made in territory
that is now included in the city limits of Janesville, and by
the ST. JOHNs, HOLMES, INMAN, Milo JONES, and others already
mentioned. Dr. HEATH built the first tavern on that side of the
river. John INMAN & Co. started the first stage, which made
regular trips from this place to Racine. At this time Rock River
was navigable from its mouth as far as Jefferson, and boats of
considerable size frequently made trips up to this point. The
first breaking of prairie said to have been done in the County
was by Mr. John INMAN, in the spring of 1836. It was sowed in
buckwheat and yielded a good crop. Mr. I. was compelled to go
to Rockford to get his plow sharpened. The first house erected
on the east side of the river was by Ira WASHBURN, in 1838.
- The early settlements in what is
now Harmony are so nearly identified with
- that of Janesville as to make special
mention of it useless. In 1836 the first settlers located here.
- Having given the names and date
of settlement of most of those who were
- really the first to locate in Rock
County, we will now notice briefly some of the cities, towns,
and villages throughout the County. First in importance is .
. .
-
- Continues with the history of
the CITY
OF JANESVILLE and through histories
of Beloit, Clinton
Junction, Milton, Milton
Junction, Evansville and Edgerton. The chapter ends with the following:
-
- NEWSPAPERS
- The Weekly Gazette was established
in August, 1845, and was the first
- newspaper in Rock County. ALDEN
& STODDARD were its original proprietors. In 1856 the daily
was started, and in 1867 the semi- weekly was first put forth.
All three of the editions have been continued from the time of
their beginning, --the circulation of each constantly increasing,
until the Gazette is now read by more people than any
other paper in Southern Wisconsin. It is at present conducted
by the Gazette Printing Company, of which James BENTLIFF is President,
A. M. COLVIN Secretary, and R. L. COLVIN Treasurer. James BENTLIFF
is the political editor, and W. S. BOWEN local editor. Business
manager, R. L. COLVIN. As an advertising medium, the Gazette
takes its place among the leading papers of the State. An extensive
jobbing department is connected with the Gazette office,
under charge of W. H. SEYMOUR. Special attention is given to
all branches of the job printing business.
- The Rock County Recorder
was started the 1st of September, 1869, by Garrett
- VEEDER and S. S. ST. JOHN. The Recorder
is yet in its infancy, but is fast gaining strength and popularity
throughout the County. There is a well-equipped jobbing department
connected with this office, well supplied with good type and
material.
- The Janesville Times.--This
paper is edited and published by A. O. WILSON.
- It is a lively, spicy sheet, daily
growing in the favor of the citizens of Rock County. It is the
only Democratic paper published in the County.
- In addition to those mentioned,
there are two other papers issued in the
- County,--one at Evansville, and
the Beloit Free Press, which is the only paper published
in the city. Its local columns are well filled with a good selection
of news, while its editorials are spicy and well directed. The
paper commands a wide circulation and a bright future.
-
- AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
- This society was organized Janury
6, 1851. The society now occupies spacious
- grounds in the northeast portion
of the city. Suitable buildings are erected for the exhibition
of various articles. Having good stalls and pens, every facility
is offered for the successful handling and training of horses
while on exhibition, or for the trial of speed. A good one-half
mile track is connected with the grounds of the society. A general
interest in the success of the society is manifested by the citizens
of the County, and their yearly exhibitions are second to none
of their sister counties.
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