HISTORIES: Some Historical Background on Barron County, WI ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, or the legal representative of the contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Linda Mott 29 June 2000 ==================================================================== Barron County At various times since Columbus discovered America, four nations, Spain, France, England and finally the United States have claimed jurisdiction over the area in which Barron County and Wisconsin are now located. This area was once part of the Northwest Territory and was also once a part of the Territories of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. For a few years what is now Barron County, at different periods, was under the jurisdiction of officers from Crawford, St. Croix, Chippewa and Polk counties. In 1869, the name of the county was changed from Dallas to Barron, in honor of Henry D. Barron, a man who had gained recognition as an editor, assemblyman, senator and jurist. The boundaries of the county were changed many times, but finally in 1874, they were fixed as they are at present. Barron County is square with five townships on each side. The first election held in Barron County was at the home of John Banks, near the present Village of Prairie Farm. This was back in 1862. The county then had only one township, which was named Dallas, the same as the county. It was decided on November 2, 1863, at the home of John Banks, that future elections would be held at the house of John Quaderer in Barron which was located on the south bank of Quaderer Creek, south of what is now Court House Square. The entry is signed by J.H. Vannett and John Meyers. At a special election, probably in 1864, Solon H. Clough received all votes cast for circuit judge of the Eleventh District. On April 5, 1864, a tax of $600.00 was voted for general purposes, a tax of $100.00 for Superintendent of the poor and a tax of 6 mills per dollar as a highway tax. On January 28, 1865, Knapp Stout and Company was voted $364.00 for work done on highways. On March 1, 1865, a tax of $1200 was levied to pay bounties to volunteers for the Civil War. A further tax of $150.00 was levied to care for the needs of families of volunteers. An election was held at Barron, November 3, 1868. The following town officers were elected: Supervisors, S.P. Barker, Daniel Beagle and James G. Neville; town clerk, Rassman Kellogg; treasurer, James Bracklin; assessors, James Bracklin and S.K. Young. In 1869, the name of the township was changed from Dallas to Barron. In 1868, Governor Lucius Farchild appointed county officers as follows: Supervisors, Rassman Kellogg, S. Barker and C.P. Tuller; clerk, D.T. Boswell; treasurer, James Bracklin; register of deeds, James J. Neville; county superintendent, Oliver Demers; county judge, Francis Finley; sheriff, Alex Barton. At a county board meeting, February 6, 1869, a bounty of $2.50 was offered for each wolf killed within the county. County Clerk, D.T. Boswell was authorized to secure the necessary books for keeping county records. On April 13, 1869, S.P. Barker and the county supervisors signed an agreement for the use of the Johnson House for county purposes. This was not the spot designated by the legislature some time before. It is north of the Yellow River some distance below the lower dam. The county was to spend $60.00 to fix up the place and Mr. Barker was allowed to use one- fourth of the building for a post office. May 24, 1869, salaries of county officers were fixed: Treasurer, $600.00; county superintendent, $100.00; county judge, $75.00. A tax of $3,000.00 was levied to defray county expenses. A tax of $468.60 was levied for school expenses. At a state and county election in 1869, 124 votes were cast in the county. The total tax receipts for the county in 1869 were $2,812.78. The disbursements were $457.08. Much of the stump land in early days reverted to the county for unpaid taxes. On February 28, 1870, and for some time afterward, the county board met at Barker's Camp, section 7, township 34, range 11, now in the town of Stanley. The clerk, treasurer and register of deeds were authorized to establish offices there. The board of 1870 consisted of S.P. Barker, C.P. Fuller and Henry Sawyer. Before the year's end, J.N. Hoag's name appears on the board, probably in place of S.P. Barker. In 1870, the total assessed value of all personal property in the county was $68,663.00. The number of acres of taxable land was 124,491. The value of the land was set at $257,098.00. In 1871, Barron County made efforts to induce settlers to come here. Pamphlets were printed and circulated telling of the advantages here. A local agent in Barron County was appointed to transact business with persons desiring land under the homestead and preemption laws. At the fall election in 1871, C.C. Washburn, Republican for governor, received 169 votes. James R. Dolittle, his opponent, received 35 votes. Henry D. Barron received 202 of 204 votes cast for member of the assembly. The last county board meeting held at Barker's Camp was March 27, 1872. Starting November 12, 1872, the board began holding its meetings at Quaderer's Camp in the village of Barron. In the fall of 1872, Barron County voted for the first time in a presidential election. The Republican party carried the county 120 to 38. Henry D. Barron again won for member of the assembly, 141 to 17. In 1873, the county board members were S.P. Barker, John Leonard and John Quaderer. On June 25, 1873, the board agreed to pay Dunn County $534.92 for expenses of Barron County cases in the circuit court from February 1, 1869 to December 1, 1871. On August 6, 1873, the county board voted to take over the county roads, one state highway and two town roads. OnOctober 2, 1873, a petition signed by 97 voters was presented to the county board requesting a vote on moving the county seat to Rice Lake Mills (now Rice Lake). On November 4, 1873, 444 votes were cast on the proposal; 269 in favor of and 174 against it. C.C. Washburn was elected governor; Henry D. Barron was elected senator; S.S. Fifield was elected to the state assembly. County officers elected were: Treasure, Herman Sawyer; clerk, W.S. Grover; sheriff, Alex Beaton; surveyor, Washington Bird; coroner, S.H. Young; superintendent of schools, Washington Bird. On December 26, 1873, William Hufnail replaced John Quaderer on the board. On January 16, 1874, the county board met at Rice Lake Mills for the first time. On March 30, 1874, six new townships were formed from what had been Barron township. They were: Chetek, Sumner, Stanfold, Rice Lake, Prairie Farm andDallas. Barron County then had seven townships. The new board met at Rice Lake Mills September 28, 1874. It was madeup of the following township chairmen: T.D. Young (chairman), Oliver Demers, Daniel Beagle, S.K. Young, B.B. Fuller, John Rusk and J.C. Stewart The board meeting in Rice Lake Mills was held in a hall rented from Knapp Stout and Company. This firm was strongly in favor of having the county seat permanently located at Rice Lake Mills. John Quaderer, although employed by Knapp Stout and Company for many years, was one of the leaders in a movement to have the county seat moved back to Barron. W.S. Grover, county clerk, who owned a farm in Dallas township was another man who believed the county seat should be at Barron. In 1874, the majority of the voters voted in favor of moving the county seat back to Barron. On December 29, 1874, the governor of the state of Wisconsin proclaimed that Barron should be the county seat from then on. There was a rumor that Knapp Stout and Company was trying to get an injunction to stop this move. W.S. Grover, county clerk, lost no time. He was deputy to several county officials, and he gathered up not only his own records, but also those of all county officials except the treasurer and brought them to Barron and deposited them with John Quaderer, for safe keeping. Henry Sawyer, county treasurer, did not dare oppose the wishes of Knapp Stout and Company, and he refused to move his office to Barron. On February 8, 1875, the board met on the upper floor of the Quaderer Hotel. It was designated as the court house. Henry Sawyer was ordered to move his office to Barron. He refused to do so. The board declared the office vacant and appointed John Quaderer to fill it. He took office February 11, 1875. On November 11, 1875, the board appropriated $10,000 for county buildings. On March 21, 1876, the contract for building the court house in Barron was let. John Quaderer had given the block, now called Court House Square, for this purpose on February 19, 1876. The new court house was a frame two story building and faced Quaderer Creek. It was all complete except plastering, at the end of April, 1876. The county offices were on the lower floor and the court room was on the upper floor. Later a small office was constructed for the register of deeds near the court house. A county jail was built in 1879 on the north side of LaSalle Ave. and across the street from the present court house. It was 18 by 24 feet and cost $800.00. The floor, walls and ceiling were made of 2 by 8 inch joists set edgewise. The walls and ceiling were studded with large spikes. The sheriff's family occupied the second floor. In the late eighties, the fight for the county seat flared up again. In 1887, Rice Lake was granted a city charter with four wards. Largely through the efforts of Charles S. Taylor, Barron was also incorporated as a city with four wards in 1887. Thus the balance of voting power on the county board remained in Barron's favor. The population of the county was growing steadily. By decades the record reads as follows: 1860-13; 1870-538; 1880-7,024; 1890-15,416; 1900-23,677. In 1890, there were 25 members on the county board. The consensus of opinion was that 13 favored Barron wishes and 12 favored Rice Lake. In November, 1890, a petition was presented to the board to allow voters to express their choice for the location of the county seat. This petition had the legal number of required signatures. Friends of Barron went to work, and as a result, 196 who had signed the petition withdrew their names. As a result, the petition then had too few signatures to submit the matter to the voters at the new election. The matter was taken to the Supreme Court of this state. The decision was rendered in October, 1891. It stated the petition did not contain two-fifths of the poll list (2,573) and therefore, the matter need not be submitted to voters for a decision. In 1890, the county jail was no longer adequate. In November, 1890, the county board by a 14 to 11 vote decided to build a jail on the Court House Square. On January 9, 1891, a contract to build the jail was issued to C.D. Coe. First an injunction and later a restraining order held up the building operation for awhile. On October 20, 1891, work was resumed on the new jail and on September 1, 1892, the building and also a residence for the sheriff were completed. By 1899, a new courthouse was needed. The matter was bought up at a county board meeting. No decision to build was made at this meeting. However, a sum of $5,000 was appropriated toward the project and a building committee was appointed to make a study and gather information. On December 15, 1899, plans for a courthouse were submitted by F.D. Orff of Minneapolis, Minnesota. On November 11, 1900, the county board decided to borrow $30,000 and proceed with the project. On January 21, 1901, contracts were awarded and the corner stone was laid May 28, 1901. The work progressed so rapidly that the structure was about completed by the time of the county board meeting in November, 1901. The total cost of this fine building was $38,070.80. The cost of materials rose after the contracts were let so that several thousand dollars was saved by awarding contracts before the rise occurred. For 59 years this sturdy brick structure has served the requirements of this county very well. In the offices of a court house in that many years an enormous amount of records accumulate and require a great deal of storage space. Now more storage room is badly needed and steps will have to be taken to supply it before long. The jail, built in 1891, was replaced in 1950 by the fine, modern, fire- proof building which we see on Court House Square today, at a cost of $105,000. Twenty-five townships make up Barron County as follows: Almena, Arland, Barron, Bear Lake, Cedar Lake, Chetek, Clinton, Crystal Lake, Cumberland, Dallas, Dovre, Doyle, Lakeland, Maple Grove, Maple Plain, Oak Grove, Prairie Farm, Rice Lake, Sioux Creek, Stanfold, Stanley, Sumner, Turtle Lake and Vance Creek. At the present time, Clifford A. Bass is chairman of the Barron County Board. Census of Barron County in the last 50 years: 1910-29,114; 1920-34,281; 1930-34,301; 1940-34,289; 1950-34,703. We see that in the last forty years, the population of Barron County has remained practically stationary. --From the Souvenir Historical Album of the Barron Centennial-1960 (used by permission)