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

DEERFIELD.
BY K. O. HEIMDAL.

  THIS town is the third from the north and south, in the eastern tier of towns
in the county, occupying the whole of township No. 7, range No. 12 east, and was
set off from Cottage Grove, which bounds it on the west; and organized as a
separate town in 1849. The first town meeting was held April 3, the same year,
at the house of D. R. Hyer, and thirty-five votes were polled, and the following
officers were elected: Allan E. Adsit, chairman; Emery Sampson and George R.
Fryer, supervisors; H. L. Foster, town clerk; Benjamin Potter, treasurer; and
Martin W. Adsit, assessor.

  Previous to, and during the early settlement, deer were very plenty, and when
the sleighing was good, it was a favorite method to hunt with teams, and
generally with good success, and so it was suggested that the town should be
called Deerfield.

  The first house put up in this town was on section 18, on the road from
Madison to Milwaukee, by Philip Kearney. The work on the house was done by Judge
N. F. Hyer and others. It was intended for a half-way house between Madison and
Aztalan, and is said to have been occupied only a short time; but by whom, we
have been unable to ascertain. The house was built in the summer of 1839, soon
after those long corduroy bridges were finished across the marshes, in the
eastern part of the town. The lumber for this house was drawn from Lake Mills,
by B. Ingraham, who afterwards settled in the town; but not having a permanent
occupant, it was in a short time ruined, and carried off piecemeal.

  Judge Hyer, one of the oldest settlers, has courteously furnished the
following exceedingly interesting letter, which we quote in full, and wish he
had given us a still further resume of his early Wisconsin history. He resided
in Wisconsin from 1836 until 1849, when he left for the South, on account of ill
health, residing most of the time in New Orleans. He still continues to cherish
a deep interest in everything that relates to the settlement of Wisconsin, both
past and present. He writes:

  In the fall of 1837, Capt. Stansbury, with Lieuts. J. D. Webster and Charles
Hagner, of the U. S. Engineer Department, came to Milwaukee for the purpose of
expending an appropriation by the government in making a road from Milwaukee to
Madison, on the most direct and practicable route. They being unacquainted with
the country, Capt. Stansbury sent for me, then residing at Aztalan, to come and
pilot them through, which I did. On arriving at Aztalan and finding comfortable
accommodations at the house of Thomas Brayton, Esq., who had recently arrived,
and discovering it to be very impracticable to ride through on the route to
Madison, on account of the impassable marshes, I was employed to make the survey
through, which I did, but not without some suffering, as there was some nine
miles of the way so surrounded with marsh that it was impossible to get on with
team or pack horse, so we had to take on our backs the tent, camp equipage,
provisions, etc. The day was cold, and we had to wade streams and marshes, and,
before reaching the point selected for camping, my pantaloons became frozen to
my boots, my boots to my stockings, and stockings to my feet, and my feet, as a
matter of course, became somewhat cold, but the sensation was rather that of
pain than cold. We soon had a rousing fire; I cut the boots from my feet, and
spent most of the night in making moccasins for use the next day. My assistants
did not appear to suffer so much. We soon found ourselves tolerably comfortable,
and, after partaking of a hearty meal, hastily cooked, began to feel quite well
again, and turned in for the night, but soon the sensation of thirst came upon
us, when we realized the fact that we had not with us a pail or bucket to get
water from the stream (Koshkonong creek) which was near by. One offered to go
and get the water, if he had anything to bring it in; another offered his boots
for buckets; tins being the best we could do under the circumstances, was
adopted, and we were thus enabled to quench our thirst. The next day we
succeeded in reaching Madison.

  Why the Half-way House was built:

  The next season, in October, 1839, Philip Kearney, a gentleman residing in the
city of New York, father of Gen. Phil. Kearney, of the U. S. army, who was
killed in the rebellion, sent his nephew P. J. Kearney with an introductory
letter requesting me to assist in locating some land in Wisconsin. I started
with him for Madison, on his way to Mineral Point, where the Land Office was
then kept. Our new road not being then opened, we went by way of Sun Prairie,
where lived three brothers, by the name of Lawrence, in a small cabin, who
entertained travelers as well as they could; there we arrived about one o'clock,
tired and hungry; we wanted our horses fed and dinner for ourselves. We
succeeded in getting feed for our horses, but for ourselves they had nothing but
one wild goose; nothing to cook him with, and nothing to eat with him when
cooked. Mr. K. wanted him roasted; so a fire was made, and the goose strung up
for roasting. Those who have not watched the slow roasting of a turkey or goose,
when very hungry, cannot realize our condition while watching and waiting for
that goose. Mr. K. at length becoming impatient, asked me if I would not select
a place on our new road about half way between Aztalan and Madison and have a
double log house built where travelers could be accommodated. I told him I
would, and did; and that is the way the first house in Deerfield was built. Mr.
Philip Kearney paid for the land and the house.

  It now occurs to me that of twenty men, including the three government
engineers, assisting in making that survey, none are left save Levi. P. Drake
and John Starkweather, of Madison, and your humble servant,
                                            NATH. F. HYER.

  The bridges or causeways mentioned above were built for the purpose of
facilitating the travel across the marshes by the several stages, whose route
day through the town, and was done by the filling up of the marsh with every
kind of brush and waste material found near by, and then large logs felled and
laid across. In the wet season it frequently happened that the stages would
drive over these causeways, with the water nearly up to the wheel hubs. The
changes incident to the cultivation of the soil have materially affected these
roads for the better, and they are now dry and substantial.

  The first settlers in this town were Norwegians, and and [sic] the first Nels
Siverson. He settled on section 35, and built a cabin in the spring of 1840. He
is still living, but resides in Minnesota. In 1842, his brother Ole Siverson,
settled on section 33, where he still continues to live. Lars Davidson settled
on section 28, the same year, and is still in the town. In June, 1843, Colben
Olson and his brother, Stork Olson, settled on section 30, and still continues
to reside there; and about the same time, B. Ingraham and David R. Hyer, the
first two Americans in the town, located together on section 9, where the
village of Deerfield now is, built a tavern, which they conducted for some
years, and then dissolved partnership, Mr. Hyer becoming the proprietor. For a
number of years, it was the relay house for the old Milwaukee, Janesville,
Columbus and Madison four-horse stage, where fresh horses were exchanged going
or returning, until the Chicago, Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Railroad
supplied their more expeditious route. The supplies for the stages were bought
and kept here, the oats and hay being obtained from the surrounding farmers, and
purchased by Mr. Hyer. Many a jolly load of passengers stopped at Hyer's for
refreshments, and during the session of the legislature extra coaches had
sometimes to be sent out, which made lively times for the tavern keepers. Mr.
Hyer was the first postmaster in the town, and held the office as long as he
lived here. He now resides in the town of Springfield, and has furnished us the
following facts, which we feel certain are but as a drop, compared with the
numerous incidents which he must have witnessed and known when he was mine host
of the Relay tavern:

  About the 1st of August, 1842, I commenced with a force of ten men to build a
log house on Sec. 9, T. 7, R. 12 E. (now Deerfieid), for the purpose of keeping
a tavern for the accommodation of travelers, who were daily increasing in
numbers, and within three weeks completed a substantial building, with six
rooms. One night, during our stay, we were much annoyed by wolves, who had
caught a deer and devoured it within a few rods from our encampment, small
remains of which were found scattered about in the morning. At another time,
they made an attack on our cattle, that were feeding near by, and caused a great
commotion among them; they bellowed and ran together, the same as they do when
they smell the blood of any of their number slain. None were killed, but many of
them showed the marks of the teeth and claws of the wolves.

  Soon after completing my log house I removed therein, and was appointed
postmaster, and the place was duly christened "Deerfield." I built my stables
for the accommodation of forty or more horses, and made additions to my house as
occasion required, until the ground floor covered a space of 44 by 74 feet, and
could conveniently accommodate forty or more persons with lodging; and a dancing
hall 32 by 25 feet, where parties, often from a distance of twenty-five miles,
came for recreation.

  In addition to the mail route from Milwaukee to Madison, a new route was soon
established from Janesville to Columbus, with two-horse coaches, via Deerfield.
The staging on the Milwaukee and Madison line increased to two daily post
coaches, and often two or three extras, and the demand for oats to feed teams,
purchased and furnished by me, amounted to from 5,000 to 7,000 bushels annually
for five years. The oats were all raised within a radius of ten miles of my
house. This much was accomplished about fifteen years from the first survey
through the wilderness.

  The settlers spoken of were only the beginning of more extensive immigration.
Lars Torgerson settled here in 1842, and still remains. Charles and Martin
Adsits settled in 1845, while Allan E. Adsits and family came in 1846. For four
or five years after the first settlement, the town increased in population very
rapidly, and has continued to do so up to the present. In 1875, when the census
was taken, the population in the town was 906, the largest proportion of which
were of foreign birth, such as Norwegians, Germans and Irish.

  The only streams of any importance are Koshkonong and Mud creeks. The first
named enters the town on section 19, and flows easterly into the large expanse
of water known as Krogh's Mill Pond, which covers a portion of sections 13, 14,
15, 22, 23 and 24, leaving the town on the last section. The pond has been the
source of litigation between the mill-owner and the property owners on the edge
of the pond, in consequence of the large amount of land submerged. The current
is very slow on this stream, so that it gives no water-power in the town, though
over the line in Jefferson county there is a mill privilege. Mud Creek enters on
section 34, and empties into the pond on section 27.

  The surface of this town is gently undulating. A portion of Liberty Prairie,
lying within the southwestern part, is included within its boundaries. The
southeastern part of the town is prairie and openings, the northwestern part,
bare openings; and the northeast part, heavy timber, with more or less marsh.
This timber land was entered by the early settlers in the adjoining towns for
timber lots; but as it is now cut off, the land is cleared for agricultural
purposes. We have, in the southwestern part, excellent stone quarries, both
limestone and sandstone.

  Some years ago, there was a saw-mill built on section 20, by Mr. Thompson and
Mr. Knudson; but just as it was ready to run, the dam broke, and it was never
repaired, as the country being extremely level, the damage caused by overflowing
was very great.

  Along these streams are excellent hay marshes, as good as any in the county.
In the northeastern part of the town, some of the marshes will, in course of
time, be valuable for the cultivation of cranberries. In this part of the town
there is a large pond, which is called "Goose Pond," from the great number of
these birds frequenting here. Hunters find abundance of duck also, and in the
fall of the year it is very much patronized.

  In educational matters, we have achieved very satisfactory results. We have
five good schoolhouses, a number of joint-districts, and some private schools.
There are in the town three churches, one Lutheran, Rev. J. A. Ottesen, pastor;
one Evangelical Lutheran, Rev. Rasmus O. Hill, pastor; and the other, Roman
Catholic, Rev. Father Maher. Each one have regular service performed by their
respective pastors.

  There are two postoffices in town, one in the village of Deerfield, Henry
Bennett, postmaster; and the other at Nora, near the stone church, on Liberty
Prairie, Andrew A. Prescott, postmaster; mail tri-weekly. In the village there
is one store kept by Charles Mayer; two blacksmiths shops kept by H. Bennett and
Mr. Seeley; and a good hotel kept by Mr. Benj. Baldwin.

  For years, wheat has been the principal crop raised, but of late, our best
farmers have engaged more in what is called mixed farming, raising of stock, and
seeding down their land. In 1876, the acreage of the different kinds of crops
was as follows: Timothy and clover, 227 acres; wheat, 2,710; oats, 1,078; corn,
1,045; barley, 1,387; rye, 94; hops, 21; tobacco, 30.

  The facilities for marketing our produce in this town are, on the whole, quite
convenient. Marshall and Waterloo are on the north, Jefferson and Fort Atkinson
on the east; Stoughton and McFarland on the south and west, so that if we have
no railroads, we have the consolation that we have ready access to market. The
town has no bonded indebtedness.


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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