Dane-Iowa County WI Archives History - Books .....Blue Mounds And West Blue Mounds 1877 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wi/wifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com April 26, 2006, 6:32 pm Book Title: Madison, Dane County And Surrounding Towns... BLUE MOUNDS. BY JOHN C. WARD AND IRA ISHAM. THE town of Blue Mounds is situated in the southwestern part of Dane county; is hounded on the north by Vermont, east by Springdale, south by Perry, and west by Ridgeway, in Iowa county. Two-thirds of the town is rolling prairie, and the balance good timber, with now and then a fine grove on the prairie. The soil is rich, a good farming country, and well watered. This town was settled first by Ebenezer Brigham in 1826, on section 6. In 1828 he struck what has since been called the Brigham lead, on section 7, and hundreds of thousands of pounds of lead ore have been taken out of it. There are a great many other diggings in the town, but this one is the largest; and though some of them are worked until this day, the last mentioned has yielded about 10,000 tons. A fort was erected here in 1832, on section 7, called the Blue Mounds fort, for the protection of the miners and inhabitants of the surrounding country. In 1831 or 1832, Mr. Brigham had occasion to send two men to his residence on section 6, to repair some fences, when a number of Indians, who lay in ambush, rose up and fired on them, killing one and then capturing both of their horses; the other man made his escape to the fort, about a mile distant. It was also about this time that Lieut. Force and Capt. Green of the fort (the latter's family residing in the fort), rode out about two miles in a northeast direction on to the Madison and Mineral Point road, on section 9, and were attacked by Indians that lay in ambush among some hazel brush. Firing on them, they killed Lieutenant Force dead and wounded Captain Green in the arm, breaking it; he undertook to make his escape to the fort on horseback, but the Indians being also mounted, and being in large numbers, succeeded in surrounding him in a grove on section 16, where they killed and scalped him. Their bodies lay on the ground for about three days, until Gen. Dodge, from Dodgeville, came out with the rangers or volunteers and buried them just where they were killed. Their remains were afterwards taken up and buried near the fort. Nothing of importance occurred from this time till 1844 to 1845. The permanent settlers of the town in the spring of 1845 were, Ebenezer Brigham, Jeremiah Lycan, Edward Dale, Ira Isham, William Rowe, and John Rowe. In 1846, two or three Norwegian families settled in the town, and quite a number of Americans. John Rider and a number of others came in 1847 and 1848. The first town meeting was held at the house of Ira Isham, and the following officers elected: Supervisors—Ebenezer Brigham, chairman; Thomas Heaney and Thomas Steele; Clerk — A. S. Needham; Assessor — John Sample; Treasurer — Edward Dale; Collector — Jeremiah Lycan; School Commissioners -— Granville I. Neale, Wm. Howe, David Smith, Ebenezer Brigham, Edward Dale and Thomas Steele. Game, such as deer, wolves, bears, prairie chickens, partridges, quails, etc., were abundant in those days. In the spring of the year it was nothing uncommon to see from twenty to thirty deer in a drove, and thousands of prairie chickens, partridges and quails, could be shot quite easy from a wagon. The wolves were also plenty, but very shy, seldom ever seen in the day time, and did not attempt to attack any human beings. Three-fourths of the population at the present time are Norwegians, who are an industrious people and good citizens; the others are Germans, Irish, English and Americans. From 1845 till the railroad passed through Madison going west, there was a daily mail through here, and sometimes as many as four extra stages, all four-horse. There was a post office in this town as early as 1828, called the Blue Mounds post office. There is no East Blue Mounds post office, as sometimes by mistake it is called. There is a West Blue Mounds in Iowa county, and a post office in this town called Mount Horeb, making two post offices. We have four whole, and two joint school districts, and also good school houses. The first school district number one was established in 1846, on section 10, on the Madison and Mineral Point road. There are four churches, one Methodist Episcopal, one German Methodist, one Norwegian Lutheran, and one German. Lutheran; they are all well attended. We have no saloons in the town, and never granted licenses but once or twice, and then the whole time the saloon was kept was about three years. At Blue Mounds F. Brackenwagon is postmoster, [sic] and keeps a store with a general stock of merchandise suitable for a country trade. At Mount Horeb O. C. Nubson is also engaged in the mercantile business and keeps a suitable stock of goods. F. J. Field and Samuel Thompson are the blacksmiths; Paul A. Sletto, shoemaker; Andrew E. Thompson, capenter; [sic] while Dr. P. A. Platen is the physician, with a good practice. [The following communication, sent us at our special request by J. R. Brigham, of Milwaukee, nephew of the patriarch pioneer, Ebenezer Brigham, will be read by our readers with unusual interest. We regret the brevity of it, but nevertheless feel deeply obligated to him for his hasty sketch of the times and events that surrounded historic "Smoky Mts.," and a just pride in reflecting that the history of Dane county's first pioneer belongs to the whole State, and every stone placed in the structure is tending to the repleteness of the whole fabric] Blue Mounds was created a political town by an act passed at the last session of the territorial legislature, approved March 11,1848, the same year that Wisconsin became a state. The act provides that "so much of range six as is embraced in towns six and seven, in Dane county, is organized in a separate town, by the name of Blue Mounds, and the first town meeting shall be held at the house of Ira Isham." Mr. Isham, who is still living on his fine farm in the same town, a hale and hearty farmer, lived at that time in what was then and still is known as the "Brigham Place," where he kept public house for the accommodation of travelers, who at that day were numerous. In earlier times, and before the day of railroads in Wisconsin, the Blue Mounds road was one of the chief thoroughfares of the territory. The natural dividing ridge, which extends from near Madison almost due west to the Mississippi river, and separates the waters running northerly to the Wisconsin from those running in the opposite direction, finding their way to the Mississippi south of the Wisconsin boundary, passed close by the house. Along the natural grade of this dividing ridge was established the military road from Fort Winnebago (now Portage) to Fort Crawford (now Prairie du Chien). This was probably the first wagon road maintained within the limits of Wisconsin, At the date of the organization of the town, it was the stage route from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river. The four-horse coaches of the United States mail, with nine passengers inside and more on top, passed each way daily. The old stage coach, now almost forgotten, was then in its glory. The driver's box was a throne, and the stage driver was a monarch. Among the best known of the good drivers of that day was Andrew Bishop, "The Elder," as he was respectfully termed by his brethren of the four-in-hand. Since that time, Mr. Bishop has acceptably filled the important offices of sheriff of Dane county and chief of police of the city of Madison, which last position he holds at the present time; but he can scarcely be a more important character, or better or more widely known in either of his later offices than he was in the days when he lustily wound the sounding horn along the echoing sides of the Blue Mounds, and, with a cheery flourish of his long silver-mounted whip, brought Ms load of nappy passengers up to the door of the house for dinner. There were no second-class seats in the coach of those days, but it was a coveted privilege, and memorable to him who secured it, to ride on the box with " The Elder." The date of the political organization of the town is by no means the beginning of the history of Blue Mounds. As long ago as when the school maps designated all the country west of Lake Michigan as Northwest Territory, a point about midway between the Mississippi and the lake, was marked " Smoky Mts." North of this the Ouisconsin river (as the spelling was) was indicated, and nothing else of all that makes our present state had name or place. The two peaks so marked Smoky Mts, since called the Blue Mounds, are conspicuous features in the landscape of western Wisconsin. Rising abruptly from the long rolling prairie at their foot to the height of 1,100 feet above the level of the river, they are distinctly visible more than fifty miles away, and seen from a distance, across the prairie on a summer day, the names Smoky and Blue Mounds well characterize their appearance. The settlement, which has always borne the name of Blue Mounds, is worthy of special mention in a history of Dane county, because it was, by several years, the earliest settlement in the county, being among the earliest in Wisconsin. Its first settler was Ebenezer Brigham, who established himself there in the year 1828, having come up from near the mouth of the Missouri river, first to what is now Galena, and from thence to the Blue Mounds, in search of Mineral lands, that is, lands containing lead ore. The discovery of lead in the upper Mississippi, in the region of which Galena is now the heart, created an excitement among the settlers of the Mississippi valley, farther down, and produced a rush for the new mining district quite parallel to the California excitement of 1849. The last was more widely spread, but in intensity and wild excitement among those whom it reached, in those days before railroads and telegraphs, the lead fever in 1827 and 1828 was equal to the gold fever twenty-one years later. Both brought sudden riches to a few, and untold hardships and misery to the most. Mr. Brigham was successful in making discovery of a valuable body of mineral (as the lead ore was and still is called by the miners) in some diggings on section seven, in the present town of Blue Mounds, which had been, before, somewhat worked by Indians and, perhaps, by wandering white men, but had been abandoned before Mr. Brigham's discovery of the lode which still bears his name. He built his cabin near a fine spring of cold clear water, on the side of the. Mound, overlooking the prairie for many miles, The spring still, flows,-but the original cabins, in which he and Ids companions lived for several years, long since disappeared, and the larger and more comfortable farm house afterward built, which old settlers will remember pleasantly, as a welcome stopping place of the olden time, and which had been maintained in its original form, until it had become an interesting antiquity in our new state, having endured more than forty years, was burned to the ground in January, 1877. As Mr. Brigham was not only the first settler of the town, but was also a man well known in the early history of the territory and state, it is proper to make a brief record of his public service. On the organization of Wisconsin Territory, in 1836, which then included what is now in Iowa and Minnesota, as well as the present state of Wisconsin, Mr. Brigham was elected a member of the Territorial council, from the county of Iowa, which then embraced all south of the Wisconsin river and west of the Four Lakes. The council consisted of thirteen members, of whom seven were from districts within the present limits of Wisconsin, and six were from west of the Mississippi. Mr. Brigham attended the first session of the Legislature, held at Belmont in 1836, and the two sessions held at Burlington in 1837 and 1838. After the division of the territory by the line of the Mississippi river, he was elected a member of the council for the district composed of the counties of Dane, Dodge, Green and Jefferson, and was present at the sessions of 1838, 1839, 1839-40, 1840-1, and 1841-2, which were held at Madison. During this period, the question of continuing the seat of government at Madison was frequently up and hotly contested. During one session, the members of the council were so nearly equally divided that the absence of one member, voting for Madison, would have deen [sic] fatal. Mr. Brigham was, naturally, a champion of Madison. He was the only member of the council who had ever seen the spot, when the act of 1836 was passed, locating the seat of government at a point "between the Third and Fourth Lakes," at the section corners where the capitol now stands. He was also one of the three members of the assembly from Dane county at the first session of the state legislature in 1848. He died in 1862, and his remains lie buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery of Madison. During the Black Hawk war, in 1832, Blue Mounds was the site of one of the neighborhood forts, for the protection of settlers against the Indians. It was called the Mound Fort, and was the home of about twenty-five people, including women and children, until the war closed. The fort was situated on the high prairie, somewhat more than a mile from the foot of the mound, and commanded a view wholly unobstructed, in every other direction, for many miles. The fort was sometimes threatened, to the serious alarm of the inmates, but was never actually attacked by the Indians, who were frequently seen in the near neighborhood, so that it was never safe to be far outside the stockade. At different times, they succeeded in killing three men of the little garrison, outside of the protection of the fort. Two of them were butchered, in plain sight of the inmates of the fort, but too far away to be rescued. The two Misses Hall, who had been taken captive, were brought in to the Mound Fort by Winnebagoes and surrendered, on the payment of ransom, and the young women were returned to civilized life. Their story attracted a good deal of attention and interest throughout the country, and the Blue Mounds were brought into considerable notoriety, by the fact that the surrender was made there. Blue Mounds was the point where Gen. Henry, with his command, effected a junction with Gen. Atkinson and his forces, two days after the battle of the Wisconsin Heights, where the Indians, under Black Hawk, suffered terrible defeat. At the Mounds, fresh supplies of amunition and provisions were procured, and the troops moved on at once. Crossing the Wisconsin at Helena, they continued the pursuit of the flying savages to the Mississippi, where the Indian forces were completely destroyed, in what is known as the battle of Bad Axe. Black Hawk escaped alive, but soon after surrendered himself a prisoner, and the war was ended. The importance of Blue Mounds as a point in these movements, lay in the fact that it afforded the shortest and almost the only feasible route to the Wisconsin river, by way of a remarkable ridge, sometimes called the "Hog's Back," just wide enough for a wagon, leading from the back of the mound nearly to the river, crossing the deep ravines and avoiding the marshes, and affording a natural and practicable road across a country otherwise almost impassable. By taking this route, guided by one well acquainted with the country, the army was enabled to overtake the Indians in then retreat, and to put an end to the war at a blow. The records of the town show that the following were important citizens in 1848, at the organization of the town government, viz.: Thomas Haney, Thomas Steele, A. S. Needham, John Sample, Edward Dale, Jeremiah Lycan, Granville Neal, William Rowe, David Smith, William Skinner, N. Dryden and James Tennison, of whom very few still survive. At the present time the town is off the usual routes of travel, and but little known by the public. Its natural features remain, and few, if any, more charming prospects are afforded any where, than that gained from the summit of the high mound in a clear day. WEST BLUE MOUNDS-DR. R. W. JONES. THE village of West Blue Mounds is situated at the base of the "West Blue Mound," the highest and most noted of all the Blue Mounds. On the east, south and west, we find rich, beautiful prairies — not an unbroken and level plain, but undulating, and in some places quite broken. The West Blue Mound is 1,187 feet above Lake Michigan, and 490 feet above the village. We are told by reliable parties and good authority that this mound is the highest point of land in this or neighboring states. From the summit of the mound one can see the capital city with the naked eye, and with a good glass, farms and buildings can be studied in every particular a distance of more than forty miles. Here we find a signal station and an observatory, constructed, we believe, by Profs. Davies and Irving, and a corps from the State University, while studying the topography of the country. Near the summit we find several fine sulphur springs, pouring forth large streams of their peculiar mineral water. This mountain is the property of Mr. C. B. Arnold. Persons desiring absolute quiet, pure air and water, cannot find a more suitable spot wherein to pitch their tent. As a resort for fatigued brain-workers, this point is especially adapted. No one breathes this pure air without feeling a sense of exhilaration that is really astonishing. About a mile southeast of the village is the site of the old Blue Mound fort where the early settlers had prepared a place of safety for their families in case of trouble with the Indians. The stockade is gone, and only the walls of earth remain to mark the spot where the brave and hardy pioneers in years gone by were wont to assemble for mutual assistance and protection. In the immediate vicinity of the village are some of the most noted lead mines in the state, such as "the Brag Holler," Brigham, and old Dudley diggings. The ore from these mines, I believe, is the richest in the world, being more than 90 per cent, pure lead. The business interests of the place have never nagged. The Hon. John Adams, of Black Earth, was the first business man of note in the village, and he has done more than any other, perhaps, to establish the commercial interests of the place. The magnet (railroad iron) took him from this point many years ago, and he is so enamored of the steam whistle, that it is only once in a great while that his genial face is seen among his old friends and associates. Mr. Adams has an enviable reputation among the farmers of this section for honesty and fair dealing; in fact, is known as the farmer's friend. Next among the men who helped greatly toward building up the place, we note Mr. Richard Wade, now of Adamsville. Mr. Wade was proprietor and landlord of the then "Wade House." He also carried a large stock of goods, and made quite a fortune by his strict business manners and hard work. Another thing Mr. Wade did was to rechristen the village. From a weakness the miners had for the game of "poker," he named the place "Pokerville," and by that name the village is best known hereabouts. Mr. Ira Isham is said to be the originator of the name. H. Isaacson, Esq., now of Black Earth, was formerly of this burg, and "Ike" has handled many a crisp bill and bright gold piece while a merchant of this town. At present the business interests of the place are in a very flourishing condition. Mr. William H. Jones, the leading merchant, is a strict and judicious business man. He is doing a very large business, selling anything a man wants, from a cambric needle to a prairie farm. Mr. Jones' business amounts to upwards of twenty-five thousand dollars a year, and by his square dealing, genial manners, and an eye to trade, it is constantly on the increase. Certainly no man has the confidence of his customers more implicitly than Mr. Jones, and from an intimate acquaintance with his private life as well as his business principles, no man is more deserving of such a trust. Aside from his large store, Mr. Jones is proprietor of the up-town hotel. The house has a reputation among traveling men that speaks more forcibly than any pen picture can advertise it. Let the readers of your book stop once at this house, and they will be satisfied that this is one of the best country hotels on the continent, Next we meet our old friend C. B. Arnold, who has been here a quarter of a century. Mr. Arnold is a strict business man, and owns many hundreds acres of land, including the famed West Blue Mound. Aside from this fine property, he is conducting a large and excellent hotel, also a well ordered store. Mr. A. has kept a hotel here for more than twenty years, and certainly understands his business. Through all this period the traveling public have eaten the good things from his table, and all agree that the house is hard to beat. I understand the firm name is soon to be changed to C. B. Arnold & Son, Mr. A. taking his son Ralph into full partnership. Messrs. Smith & Racely are the leading wagon makers and smiths of the place. They are young men of skill, muscle and energy, and are bound to win. They have a fine, commodious building, well stocked with wood and iron, ready at all times to do work in their line neatly and satisfactorily. Mr. John Helmenstein is the "boss" boot and shoe maker. John is an old settler, and has, aside from an exceptionally large trade in the shop and shoe store, one of the very best farms in Wisconsin, which is manned from his own household, having six hardy sons, who, by the way, are most excellent farmers. John is one of the oldest settlers at present in town. Mr. James B. Quinn is doing a large business in the harness trade. Being a first-class workman himself, and having only good journeymen in his shop, the public cannot help but be satisfied with his work. Mr. Quinn is also doing a good business in the liquor trade. We recommend Mr. Q as a first-class man. C. W. Miller, carpenter and joiner, is an old settler, a first-class mechanic, and the best shot in Iowa county. We might descant on his many virtues, but all to no end, for every one within a hundred miles knows " Old Tony the Scout." Mr. Miller is an old plains man, Indian fighter, scout, and the best natured, biggest hearted, and most contented man living; that is "our opinion." Dr. R. W. Jones, a Kentuckian bred and born, is the only physician in the village. There are no lawyers nearer than Black Earth, Mazomanie or Dodgeville. The general health of this place and the surrounding country is remarkably good, and free from the results of malaria in less favored localities. Black Earth, Mineral Point, Mazomanie and Madison, are the railroad points to and from which all our wares come and go. So much for Pokerville. Among others doing a good trade in general merchandise, is Mattheus Gratz, who is favorably known through a large portion of this and adjoining towns. Carl Morhrhenney and Son are also known as good mechanics in the blacksmith business; while Ole Olsen has a steady increasing custom in harness making and repairing. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Dane County Towns Section MADISON, DANE COUNTY AND SURROUNDING TOWNS; BEING A HISTORY AND GUIDE TO PLACES OF SCENIC BEAUTY AND HISTORICAL NOTE FOUND IN THE TOWNS OF DANE COUNTY AND SURROUNDINGS, INCLUDING THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNS, AND EARLY INTERCOURSE OF THE SETTLERS WITH THE INDIANS, THEIR CAMPS, TRAILS, MOUNDS, ETC. WITH A COMPLETE LIST OF COUNTY SUPERVISORS AND OFFICERS, AND LEGISLATIVE MEMBEES, MADISON VILLAGE AND CITY COUNCIL. ILLUSTRATED, MADISON, WIS.: PUBLISHED BY WM. J. PARK & CO., BOOKSELLERS, STATIONERS AND BINDERS, 11 KING STREET. 1877. COPYRIGHT. WM. J. PARK & CO. 1877. DAVID ATWOOD, STEREOTYPER AND PRINTER, MADISON, WIS. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wi/dane/history/1877/madisond/bluemoun20nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/wifiles/ File size: 24.3 Kb