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- "Settlement by Whites"
(pp. 1004-1005)
The return home of soldiers who had participated in the Black-Hawk
war, all
- of whom told glowing tales of the
beauty and fertility of the Rock River Valley, called the attention
of the people in all the older portions of our land to the extraordinary
natural advantages of this then virgin country. On the 14th of
July, 1835, John INMAN, of Luzerne County, Pa., and William HOLMES,
of Ohio, "started from Milwaukee to spy out the land in
this much vaunted valley." Procuring a couple of Indian
ponies upon which to pack their provisions, and armed with the
trusty rifle, without which no one in the Northwest traveled
in those days, they set out upon their explorations. Two days'
march from Milwaukee brought them to Fort Atkinson, then just
evacuated by the officer for whom it was named and his command,
where they went into camp for the night. The next day they traveled
west and south, and camped at night at the mouth of the Yahara
(Catfish) River. When morning came, they found their ponies had
taken French leave, and that they must either pack their own
traps, or leave them behind. This was an inconvenience, to be
sure, but not a disaster to hardy pioneers; so they shouldered
their luggage and continued their explorations, following the
course of the river southward till they reached the point now
occupied by the city of Janesville, where they camped on the
point of the bluff on Racine road. From this point they saw Rock
Prairie stretching away in the distance to the east and south,
till the verdant plain mingled with the blue of the horizon.
They saw before them an ocean of waving grass and blooming flowers,
and realized the idea of having found the real Canaan - the real
paradise of the world. Continuing their journey to the eastward,
they came within half a mile of a beautiful grove, in which they
found unmistakable indications of its having been occupied not
long before as an Indian encampment, to which they gave the name
of Black Hawk Grove, which it still bears. Shortly after this
they discovered their ponies, and having secured them, set out
upon their return to Milwaukee, entirely satisfied with their
investigations, and fully determined to make this magnificent
and fertile prairie their future home. They reached Milwaukee
on the 23d of July, having been absent ten days. In all their
travels they had found but one white family - that of Mr. McMILLAN,
who resided where Waukesha now stands.
- On the 15th day of November, 1835,
John INMAN, Thomas HOLMES,
- William HOLMES, Joshua HOLMES, Milo
JONES, and George FOLLMER started from Milwaukee with an ox team
and wagon, the latter containing provisions, tools and other
necessaries, and on the 18th day of the same month, arrived opposite
the 'big rock.' The biting frosts of winter were at hand; no
time was to be lost. The banks of the river on either side were
lined with oaks, maples and ash. There was no scarcity of building
material. The woodman's ax soon resounded from the forest, and
within a week a log house graced the hillside. This was the first
settlement in Rock County." A little more than a month after
the arrival of John INMAN and his company upon Rock River, Samuel
ST. JOHN and his wife came, and soon afterward Dr. James HEATH
and wife joined the little colony. All wintered in the log cabin
together. The names of other pioneers in the county are given
in the sketches of Janesville, Beloit and Milton, at which points
the earliest permanent settlements were made. Settlements soon
followed in other parts of the county. About ten years before
actual settlement began, one Thiebaut (pronounced TEBO) established
himself at the "Turtle Village," (at Beloit) where
he remained until the advent of the pioneer settlers of the county.
His cabin is noted in the plat of the government survey of the
township in 1834.
- Towns & Villages (pp. 1010)
- The County of Rock is divided into
twenty civil townships, exclusive of the
- cities. In this connection are given
short historical sketches of each, together with an account of
their respective villages. While short, it is to hoped the facts
here presented will be of interest and value to the reader. The
history of the country is but a record of the lives of its people,
those who have wrought such a marvelous work in coverting the
wilderness into a blooming garden. This most important history
may be found in the biographical
department of the Album.
-
- (Please see the Township Histories
section on the main
index page of this site for the rest
of "Towns and Villages")
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