Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2025 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== History of Northern Wisconsin pub: The Western Historical Company, Chicago, 1881 [pages 153-155] EARLY HISTORY The earliest authentic history of this region testifies that about the middle of the eighteenth century the "Naudouesioux," or Sioux tribe of Indians, occupied this territory. Passing to about the middle of the nineteenth century, without detailing the various inter-tribal con- tests that occurred during the intervening period, when white settlements first advanced up the Mississippi, this was regarded as disputed territory by the surrounding tribes, the Winnebagoes claiming the land below, the Chippewas the country north, and the Sioux occupying the opposite shore. This region was, therefore, the scene of many bloody battles between these three tribes. But they were all peaceably dis- posed toward the whites. The stimulus of early adventures up the river was the fur trade, some going to the head waters of the Mississippi, while others landed at intermediate points, as opportunity would afford or interest suggest. The special inducement offered to tarry within the present limits of Buffalo County, was the trade of surrounding tribes. Accordingly, as early as 1839, and perhaps much earlier, MR. HOLME located in a little shanty near the present site of the beautiful village of Fountain City, and engaged in traffic with the Indians. He furnished fuel to the Missis- sippi boats. Holme was a genuine Western pioneer. To him life in the wilderness was a necessity, and the restraints of law and civilization a burden. Here he remained until 1846, when, like the Arab at nightfall, he "stole silently away," and all trace of him is lost. ADAM WEBER followed him in 1841. MR. HOLME claimed to have lived there fifteen years previous to WEBER'S arrival, making the year 1826 the date of his first settlement. MR. WEBER was happy in the wilds, actively engaged in trade with the red men. But when white faces became familiar, he sold his squatter claim to HENRY GEORKE, and, with his squaw and children, moved toward the setting sun, in search of some quiet spot where neither ax nor plow might disturb his solitude - where, it is not known. During these years, occasional floaters would stop; but not till 1842 was there any perma- nent settlement begun. This was introduced by the arrival of a party of Germans from Galena, Ill., among whom were HENRY GEORKE, CHRISTIAN WENGER, RUDOLPH BEINER, VICTOR PROBST, JOHN MENZEMER, ANDREAS BAERTSCH, CLAUS LEISCH, and others, all young men of courage and enterprise. These formed the nucleus of the first white settlement in Buf- falo County. They located at the point now called Fountain City, built a row of log cabins along the river bank, and "Holme's Landing" became a stopping place for Mississippi boats in Summer, and a trading point for supplies of all kinds. These men were all engaged in cutting cord-wood for the use of those boats, which, at that time, were making monthly trips during the season of navigation between Galena and Fort Snelling. For a number of years after this, "Holme's Landing" was the only settlement in Buffalo County, the rest of the territory remaining in undisturbed possession of the Indians. During the next few years, immediately fol- lowing 1842, an occasional man joined the settlement, and, in 1845, HENRY GEORKE, becoming dissatisfied with the bach- elor community, made a trip to Galena, and returned in a few days, bringing with him a bride. MRS. GEORKE (now Mrs. BODENSTAB) was the pioneer white woman in the county. She still lives at Fountain City, and delights to recall the time when hers was the only hospitable roof between La Crosse and Wabasha. It is said that this act of MR. GEORKE was regarded favorably by the community, and that others imitated the example with commendable promptness. In August, 1848, VICTOR PROBST and JOHN C. WECKER made claims where Alma now stands. In the same year, MADISON WRIGHT opened a wood yard on Section 11, Town 22, Range 14, on the bank of the Mississippi, in what is now the town of Nelson. PETER SHANK settled on Section 3, in what is now the town of Cross, in 1850. He was the only resident of Cross for three years. J. C. WECKER, J. P. STEIN and JOSEPH BERNEY came to Belvidere in the Spring of 1851. MR. WECKER and BERNEY were former residents of Alma, and removed from there to Belvidere. MR. STEIN came from Wabasha. MR. WECKER settled on Sections 19 and 30, MR. STEIN on Sec- tion 33, and MR. BERNEY on Section 9. CHRISTIAN SCHAUBLIN located on Section 36, town 23, Range 14, in what is now the town of Nelson, in 1852. Among the other settlers of 1852 are ANTON FINK, ANDREW HULLER, FERDINAND SCHAF and MATHEW PROFUTLICH, who came direct from the Rhine in Ger- many. At Milwaukee they purchased ox teams and wagons, and wended their way slowly to where they settled, in what is now the town of Lincoln. HENRY NEUKOM, HENRY KELLER, CASPAR REGLEY, JACOB BOLLINGER and JOHN MILLER also settled in the town of Belvidere, in the Spring of this same year, and began at once to open farms. In the year 1853 came FRANCIS JOHN, GUSTAV A. KRETSCHMER, FRED. SCHMIDT, Francis Ginskay, CHRISTIAN SCHOEPP and FREDERICH SCHAUB, who became permanent settlers of Lin- coln. ADAM WEBER and MICHAEL OBERMEIER opened farms on Section 31, in the present town of Milton, and a MR. PIPER, after whom Piper's Valley was named, settled on the bluff, on Section 14, in what is now the town of Buffalo. In the Spring of this year ANDREW BAERTSCH, CHARLES PIBES, PHILLIP MENZZMER and GEORGE ZIMMERMAN settled, and at once began the opening of farms, in what is now the town of Cross. REV. MR. ALDERMATH set- tled on Section 31, in this same town, in the Fall of 1853. In the summer of 1854, CHRISTIAN BOHRI, J. LESTOR, J. COMSTRAL, C. BUEHLER, H. KELLER and FRED. TINDER settled in the town of Cross. HENRY PLATH and HENRY HEUER also settled, during this year, in little val- leys, which are yet known by their names, in the town of Buffalo. The first settler within the present limits of the town of Glencoe was PATRICK MULCARE, who settled on Section 33 in the Fall of 1854. The first entry of land in Waumandee was made in September of that year, by JOHN BACHLER and CHRISTIAN MASERMAN; but they did not become permanent settlers until about a year and a half afterwards. FRED. ZIRZOW, JACOB BRAEM, JAMES HOHANS, JOSEPH JAHN, GEORGE GOLL and WILLIAM JAHN made claims and settled in the town of Lincoln in 1854. In 1855 the county settled very rapidly. On every hand were evidences of civilization. A great number of farms were rapidly cleared and fields prepared for crops. A great number of the settlers making their settlement during this year were poor at the time, but now are among the most wealthy and propersous farmers of the county. The present towns of Maxville, Canton, Naples, Gilmanton and Alma were settled dur- ing this eventful year, JOSEPH RICHARD settling in the town of Alma early in the Spring, on Section 25, Town 22, Range 13. He was followed during the Summer of the same year by ULRICH WALD, on Section 31; JACOB METER, Section 31; PETER MARGRETH, Section 32, and CASPER GROB, who began at once to construct cabins and break land for crops, which they first planted in the Spring of 1856. WILLIAM BEAN, JOHN LAFFERTY, GEORGE KING, ABBOTT READ and MICHAEL AARON settled in the town of Maxville; H. P., L. D. and P. FARRINGTON, WILLIAM VANWATERS, THOMAS GLASSPOOL and H. BROWN be- came settlers of Naples. What is now known as the "TUTTLE Farm," within the present limits of Canton, on Section 2, was occupied and improved by a man named QUACKENBOS, and in August, SAMUEL GILMAN and his four sons, FRANK, EDSON, ANDREW and DANIEL, took up land on Sections 8 and 17, in the town of Gilman- ton, in what is now known as GILMAN'S Valley, and be- gan at once to build cabins and cut hay to winter their stock. They spent the Winter in getting out rails for fencing. Land was broken, and crops planted the following Spring. PHILO ENGLESBY also settled in this town in the Fall of 1855, on Section 7, in what is now known as ALLEN'S Valley. In September, 1854, ROBERT HENRY entered land on Section 30, in the town of Waumandee, and returned at once to Racine, where he had left his family, and came back with them and settled on his land in May, 1855. MR. HENRY and fam- ily traveled the whole distance from Racine to Wau- mandee with an ox team and covered wagon, reaching Waumandee on the second day of May. Any one acquainted with the severity of this northwestern climate will readily see that such a trip was any thing but plea- sant. CHARLES KIRCHNER, HERMAN ALTMAN and CHARLES HOHMAN settled in Waumandee on the fourth day of April, 1855, and began at once to make improvements on their land. JOHN RICHTMAN, ANDREW BECK AND JACOB AUGST settled in this town in the Spring, and JOHN MAUER, CONRAD ULRICH and JOHN SCHMIDT in the Fall of the same year. In the Spring of 1855, E. LEES, JOHN BURT, WILLIAM BURT, J. MORE and a few others settled in the town of Cross; GOTLIEB KELLER, GOTLIEB KRAUSE, JACOB BATZETT and ALFRED STREET settled in the town of Buffalo; BENEDICT HANNEY, HENRY KESSLER, SEBASTIAN KLETT, JACOB BLUM and LUDWIG MOCHBEMPAK opened farms and planted crops in the town of Milton, and CARL KISCK settled, in the Fall, in the same town, and began to make improvements on a farm. At the time the preceding settlements were made in the town of Milton, there were many Indians belonging to the Sioux and Winnebago tribes who annoyed the settlers very much by petty thefts. In the Summer of 1855, the Scandinavians began to settle in the town of Nel- son. Among those who came were OLE HANSON, who set- tled on Section 11; ARNE OTTESON, on Section 14; JENS HOWLAND, on Section 23. These settlements were all made in what is now known as Norwegian Valley. WILLIAM GUMBERT also settled on Section 16, on land now owned by the Beef Slough Company. During the year 1856 the county was also largely in- creased in population and resources by the advent of numbers of new settlers, the present towns of Dover and Montana receiving their first settlements, S. S. COOKE settling on Section 27, in the town of Dover, on the 20th of August, and CHRISTIAN KINDSCHY, ULRICH VON- WALD and AUGUST HELWIG, with their families, settling in the town of Montana in the Spring of this year. They began at once to construct rude cabins and open farms, MR. KINDSCHY and VONWALD locating on Section 36 and MR. HELWIG on Section 25. A number of the other towns received additional settlers during this year, also WILLIAM ALLISON, JAMES MAIR, HERMAN FULLER and BARNEY McDONOUGH locating in Maxville; WILLIAM LOOMIS, DANIEL LOOMIS, A. P. LOOMIS, EZRA HUTCHINSON, W. H. H. AMIDON, MOND E. FERRY, T. C. BAILEY, L. J. CLAFLIN, C. W. RATHBUN and FRANK HATCH, locating in the town of Gilmanton; JOHN BURGESS, J. L. HALLOCH, ANDREW DEWITT, IRA LAWRENCE, H. KOLHIPPI, PETER MATHEW, WILLIAM IVES, ELIJAH WILCOX and WILSON CRIPPIN in Nel- son; JAMES FAULDS, WILLIAM MUIR, DAVID J. DAVIS and J. P. FERNHOLZ settled and began the improvement of farms in Glencoe; JOHN OCHSNER and HENRY WAELTY lo- cating in Waumandee, MR. WAELTY purchasing Mauli's claim and JOHN OCHSNER a mill-privilege, where he has now a fine grist-mill. REV. B. F. MORSE settled a lit- tle below where the village of Mondovi now stands, in the town of Naples, and held the first religious meeting in this town in a log house, 16x20, owned by LUTHER EAGER. An event of interest, and not common in a new country, occurred in the Summer of 1857, which was the settlement of Messrs. COLEMAN and MAXWELL in the town of Maxville with a herd of over 200 cattle, also three span of mules and a number of horses. This stock was driven from Illi- nois and kept on Maxville prairie until sold. Among the other settlers of 1857 were JUDSON HUTCHINSON, R. E. FULLER, D.C. and D. D. LOOMIS and JOHN MERRILL in the town of Gilmanton; J. S. DeGROFF, LUTHER HEWITT, A. BELL and H. H. HURLBURT in Nelson; THOMAS COURTNEY and ANDREW CASHEL in Glencoe ; JOHN MAHLMAN on Section 31, JOHN WINDANDY, on Section 5, JOHN ALLEMAN, on Section 36, DAVID JOST, THEODORE MENLI, CONRAD MOSER, Sr., and MATHIAS HAMMER set- tling in the town of Alma. In 1858 the first settlement was made in what is now the town of Modena, on Section 26, in the month of March by WILLIAM ODELL, Sr., and his two sons, DAYID and AUSTIN, who were former residents of West Point, Columbia County. DAVID WHITE, a former resident of Pepin County, settled at the same time on Section 26 also, and WILLIAM ODELL, Jr., settled on Section 23, GEIRGE W. WOOSTER located on Section 18, in the town of Dover. During the Spring of this year JACOB and PETER WALD, JULIUS and FRANK GOBAR settled in the town of Alma, and in company with W. H. GATES built a mill on Mill Creek, which was afterwards known as the "Mill Creek Mill." In the Fall of this year CONRAD CHRIST and ANDREW FLORIN settled in the town of Montana, on Section 32, Town 22, Range 10. They were both former residents of La Crosse County, and came from there to Montana. In 1859 F. SCHNELLER and B. KARISH located in the town of Montana; MR. SCHNELLER on Section 23, and MR. KARISH on Section 27. J. G. FOLMER, JOSEPH ARPGAUS and J. FORD settled in the town of Alma. There were a number of other settlers in this town during this year, but we are unable to learn their names. In the Spring of 1860 J. W. McKAY settled on Section 24, and in the Fall of the same year F. A. SISSON and R. P. GOODARD settled in the town of Modena. LEWIS KNIFFIN, JULIUS PAR and T. W. GLASSPOOL, Sr., settled the southwest corner of the town of Canton, and about the same time or a little before, came EARLE WARD and THOMAS ENSCOE, who settled in the north part of the same town. Thus year by year was formed the nucleus from which has grown this wealthy and prosperous commonwealth. We do not claim this a complete list of those who settled in Buffalo County during the years referred to, but have merely made a brief record of the early settlements, in different lo- calities in the county, as they have occurred to us. From 1860 the county increased so rapidly in population and the development of its resources, that any attempt to mention more individual names would render this sketch very tedious. ===========================================================================