Dane County WI Archives History - Books .....Bristol 1877
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Book Title: Madison, Dane County And Surrounding Towns...

BRISTOL.
BY J. E. DAVIS, ESQ.

  THE town of Bristol is about thirteen miles from Madison, the center being
nearly midway between Madison and Columbus. It lies on the northern boundary of
Dane county, which is separated by the town of Hampden from Columbia county, and
is known on the government survey as township 9 north, of range 11 east. It was
formerly a part of Sun Prairie.

  The town was first settled by David Brazee, and shortly afterwards by R. W.
Davison, M. Sweet, William W. Patrick, and William H. Clark. The first town
meeting was held at the house of George C. Smith, in 1848, and W. W. Patrick was
elected supervisor.

  The early history of the town does not abound in as many incidents and
occurrences as some of its adjoining towns, having no place of public note or
resort, in consequence of its being somewhat off the usual beaten road, and thus
had few of those interesting way marks which are known to enliven and amuse the
traveler in those early days. Still, it was by no means deserted, commercially
speaking, for one of the main traveled roads went through the southeast part —
being the old state road running from Beaver Dam, through Columbus, to Madison.
It was a common event in those days to see the red man roving over its wild and
beautiful prairies, whose trail went through the town leading from Horicon lake,
the head waters of the Rock river, to Madison lakes. The surface of the land
presents a picturesque landscape, being as a rule quite level, and about equally
divided between wood and prairie. But like too many other towns in the county,
its beautiful forests are being cut down too fast, and not enough of other trees
set out to supply the want which we will ultimately be compelled to feel, if no
proper provision is made for tree planting. There are no rivers of any size in
the town, although a good stream, called Waterloo creek, which rises in the
northern part of the town, and then runs southeasterly into the town of Medina,
gives an excellent water power throughout most of the year, and the old stone
grist mill, formerly built by Mr. Aiken, having been divested of its old
fashioned water-wheel, and replaced with one of the improved style, by Mr.
Alexander Stevens, its present owner, is doing a good, continuous business in
the custom line, except durring [sic] very dry periods, when the old mill has a
vacation, and the humming of its machinery ceases until nature causes the
streams to rise, which again furnishes the gratuitous motive power, and sends
the old mill to work

  The red man of early days, who traveled his foot beaten trail leading through
the southeastern part of the town, could no doubt give some graphic descriptions
of a lake generally known as "Brazee's Lake," where he employed, himself in
trapping and other amusements. But in this enlightened age this same lake is a
bone of contention, so to speak, and a source of trouble for the white man, out
of which law suits have arisen. The difficulty arising from it is somewhat of a
complicated nature, so much so, that a suit to determine the real owners of it
has been carried from one court to the other, and is now pending in the U. S.
court. A reference to the facts, which seems to be as follows, will not be out
of place here.

  The lake, like some other bodies of water in this vicinity, has year by year
been gradually drying up, until at the present time the husbandman's plow
traverses it instead of the Indian's canoe, and which covering over 200 acres,
more or less, persons owning land on its border, very naturally supposed that
their farms were getting larger in proportion, while a second party comforted
themselves by supposing that they were the lucky ones, and had bought the lake
(now a fertile piece of land) from the government, having entered it at ten
shillings per acre.

  The two main traveled roads are what are known as the Columbus and the Bristol
roads; the first, or the old state road, runs through the eastern part of the
town, while the other runs almost due north and south from the north end of the
town through to Sun Prairie, its "twin sister" and for beautiful landscapes and
sightseeing, as well as the fertility of the soil and number of improved farms
and farm buildings which lie on either side of this road and others which
intersect it, is hard to beat in the county; in fact, there is no waste land in
the town, and the time is not far distant when Bristol will be among the
foremost in wealth and population.

  Its market is Sun Prairie, generally speaking, while many draw their produce
at times to Columbus.

  The inhabitants of the town are chiefly Americans, Germans and Norwegians. The
former having settled on the prairies in the southern half of the town, and the
Germans in the timber land in the northeast part, while the latter occupy the
northwest portion, which is about equally divided between prairie and wood land.

  In politics the town is about equally divided, and, during the civil war,
Bristol sent her regular number of soldiers to defend the government, some of
whom never returned alive, but whose names will ever be held in deep remembrance
by our citizens. The town has been represented in the legislature by Hon. R. W.
Davison, in its early history, and by Hon. J. M. Hint in later years. Messrs.
Hidden, Chipman, Davison, and Haner have been chosen to represent the town on
the county board at various times.

  The liquor traffic question has long since become a mooted one, and although
the intelligent voters of the town have decided that those who sell liquor must
pay a high license, still there are plenty of them in the northern part of the
town licensed to keep saloons.

  The town is well dotted with school houses, and educational privileges are
generally good. There are in the town two churches. The M. E. church, generally
known as the "Bristol Church," is located on the Bristol road about 2 1/2 miles
from Sun Prairie, and is a good edifice, containing an audience room, and a
basement which is used for lectures, donations, etc. It is also occupied once a
week by the "Grangers," who have an excellent Grange in good running order. The
other, a Catholic church, and one of the finest edifices in the county, is in
the northwest part of the town, known as the "Settlement." The town cannot boast
of a "Town House," though repeated attempts have been made at "Town Meetings" in
that direction, but thus far they have not yet been successful.

  There are in the town two stores, the largest of which is owned by John
Arians, who also keeps the post office. The town was formerly one of the
principal wheat growing sections in the county, but of late years the people are
turning more attention to raising of stock and to dairy pursuits. There are two
cheese factories that are producing an excellent quality of cheese, and well
patronized. One is owned by Mr. Chipman, who keeps a large dairy himself, about
a mile from Sun Prairie, on the Bristol road; the other is owned by Mr. John
Arians, in the northern part of the town, and who is, as mentioned above, also
proprietor of the store. There are in the town several blacksmith and wagon shops.

  The town ranks in wealth and general industry with any in the county, although
in common with other places that have made wheat raising a staple production, it
has felt the hard times and the effects of the "chinch bugs." But the fact that
farmers are now more scrupulous in preserving the prairie chickens and other
birds that have been wontonly killed off, and also raising more hay than wheat,
will, in a great measure outflank this terrible pest. The farmers of Bristol are
fully aware that they are the owners of their lands, and must use diligence and
care to preserve their crops from injuries, and as a means toward carrying out
these facts, prohibit the trespass on their lands for the hunting of prairie
chicken, which they deem their friend, and the enemy of thousands of insects
that prey upon their crops. A very exhilarating sport in the way of hunting, and
one which would meet with a hearty response from the farmers, can be had by
hunters coming in the winter and ridding the town of the wolves (which are
numerous in this and adjoining towns since the "Peshtigo fire"), that kill the
sheep in large numbers.

  The town, like all others, has had its share of law suits, and we will relate
an incident or two. A number of years ago, one of the former town treasurers
deposited the town moneys in a Madison bank, which failed, and the town supposed
by some to have lost it, while others thought the treasurer responsible for the
whole amount. During the unsettled condition of the issue between the town and
the treasurer, a bill was introduced into the legislature for his release, and
which passed, and left the town to whistle for the money. The town board were
thus authorized to free him from his bonds and indebtedness.

  Notwithstanding the fact that the town is known to have good, smooth level
roads, and bridges, still, not long since a $5,000 suit was commenced in court
by a party who complained to the supervisors of the shaky condition of one of
the town bridges, and had received injuries to his horse and vehicle therefrom,
so brought suit accordingly. But it puzzled both the supervisors and the
complainant to find out a few days afterwards where the dangerous place was.
They had driven across into a neighboring town before they discovered the
offending bridge, and then only after having been shown it by an individual who
claimed he thought he saw the accident. The joke was thought too good for both
the town and complainant, except the unnecessary legal expense the town was put to.

  Bristol without doubt has some of the best kept roads in any town, being in a
great number of places shaded on both sides of the highways by beautiful trees.
Thrift and energy are visible among its citizens as is witnessed by their
comfortable homes, and the high class of intelligence. Let the business man and
visitor see the town of Bristol before they pass judgment on Dane county, and
they will be pleased with its rich soil, beauty of landscapes and general
appearance. Prom its elevated plain can be seen the Capitol of the state, and on
a clear day the far off "Blue Mounds" in the distance.


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.

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