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

PERRY.
BY GABRIEL BJORNSON, ESQ. 

  THIS town was named in honor of Commodore Perry, and is the southwest township
in Dane county, adjoining Iowa county on the west, and Green county on the
south. The soil in this town consists mostly of light openings, and partly of
choice natural meadows, yielding the best kind of natural grasses for stock. It
is abundantly supplied with good, clear water from beautiful sparkling springs,
and several beautiful small streams, emptying into the Pecatonica river, having
their sources from springs of water in the town. Its surface is what is usually
termed undulating or rolling; but the soil (with the exception of a few stony
ridges) is mostly of a good quality, and well adapted both for dairy and grain
farms.

  The first settler was one John Brown, a native of Indiana, who in the spring
of 1846 settled on section 27. Soon after, John, Hobart and Anton Keller, three
brothers, from Germany, came into the town and settled on sections 3 and 10. The
next settlers were Shute Rudy and John Sears, from Kentucky; John Eastman, from
Ohio, and S. H. Campbell, from Virginia, who, in the year 1847, settled in the
southern part of the town. In the early part of the year 1848, B. F. Denson, a
native of North Carolina, settled on section 34. In the summer of the same year
several Norwegian families moved in, of whom Lars Halvorson and T. Thompson
settled on section 17; Hans Johnson, on section 20, and Ole O. Bakken, on
section 4. The above named persons may properly be considered the pioneers of
the town; and of those, only Ole O. Bakken now remain, the rest having moved
away. N. W. Denson was the first white child born in the town, March 19, 1848,
and a daughter of John Eastman was born April 14th of the same year.

  This town has a serious drawback, on account of its long distance from
railroad communication, being situated in the center, between several railroad
stations, none of which is nearer than twenty miles from its center; but there
now seem to be strong hopes of a narrow guage railway at no very distant day, to
be built through the village of Blanchardville (from Freeport, Illinois, to Lone
Rock, Iowa county, Wis.). Blanchardville is a thriving village, located about
three miles southwest from the southwest corner of the town, in the town of
Blanchard, La Fayette county. There is also a village, named Moscow, located
about two miles southwest from the southwest corner of the town of Perry. Both
of these places have good grist mills and other conveniences usually found in
villages — such as postoffice, churches, school houses, traders, mechanics, etc,
The village of Moscow is located on the Blue Mounds' branch of the Pecatonica
river, and the village of Blanchardville on the Pecatonica river, where the Blue
Mounds  branch empties into it.

  The first church in the town was built in 1851, on sec. 8, and belonged to the
Norwegian Lutheran denomination. The style and size of this church structure
exhibits in a striking degree the simplicity of pioneer life, and the modest
pretensions of that day. It was built of logs, and its size only twenty feet
square. It also served as a school house until the fall of 1852, when the first
one was built in the town. This school house was of small dimensions, hastily
constructed of rude logs, and located about a quarter of a mile east of where
Daley's store now stands, on section 8.

  Town of Perry was at first joined to town of Primrose for township system of
government, but in the winter of 1854 was organized as a separate town and had
its own government. At the first town election, A. Sanderson, one of the early
settlers, was elected chairman, and O. B. Daley, town clerk. To exhibit an
instance as a remarkable contrast between early pioneer life and the present
day, in relation to choosing officers, and to show that the offices sought the
men, instead of the men the offices, in those good old times, may be mentioned
the fact, that, at the first town election, O. B. Daley, Esq., was elected town
clerk, justice of the peace, superintendent of schools and town treasurer.

  The nationalities settling in said town, since 1848, have been mostly
Norwegians and Germans, and these are now the only remaining nationalities
therein; about three-fourths of the population of said town being Norwegian, and
one-fourth German, the other nationalities having all moved away.

  The town, politically, is noted for its casting a large republican vote, the
Norweigian portion of its citizens voting that ticket, while the Germans adhere
to the democratic party with equal distinctiveness.

  The town, on account of its detached situation from the rest of the business
world, had, during the first years of its existence, to suffer considerable
inconvenience in relation to mail communications. The nearest postoffice was at
Blue Mounds, where Ebenezer Brigham was postmaster; and to relieve the
inhabitants of Ferry and vicinity, somewhat, a sort of private mail
communication was established by the citizens, by which they hired a person as
mail carrier who each week, brought the mail matter from Blue Mounds postoffice,
for all of those in the town of Perry and vicinity, who had joined in paying the
expenses for this private mail establishment. On this occasion O. B. Daley,
Esq., was selected postmaster, to distribute and receive the mail. This mail
service was kept up until 1857, when a special mail route was established
through the town5 with the appointment of A. Sanderson as postmaster. He served
as postmaster until 1871, at which time a regular mail route, with a semi-weekly
mail, was established through the town, and O. B. Daley, Esq., residing on
section 8, was appointed postmaster. On section 23 there was another postoffice
established at Forward, with Christian Evenston as postmaster. He is also
engaged in the sale of merchandise.

  The town has no village, but O. B. Daley, Esq., has established a trading and
general business place on section 8, where he has kept a well furnished store
since 1853. In close proximity to him is a commodious church of the Norwegian
Lutheran, denomination, erected in i860, together with the parsonage of the
pastor. Kev. P. M. Brodahl was the first regular pastor of the church, and
served as such from the summer of 1856 till the summer of 1868, when he returned
to Norway. Rev. A. Jacobson is the present pastor, and has served since 1868.
The church is in a flourishing condition, and its pastor is well liked, and
faithfully attends to his pastoral duties.

  There is also near Daley's store a beautiful and commodious frame school
house, which has the last few years taken the place of the old log school house,
the first school house in the town. There is a wagon and blacksmith shop
conducted by Errick Henderickson and Ole E. Stam, while Dr. William McFarlane
has settled in this town, and is engaged in the practice of his profession in
the place of Dr. C. B. J. Hersch, who for a number of years was the settled
physician in town, thus making the place contiguous to Daley's store a lively
place as a hamlet.

  There are now three churches in the town, two belonging to the Norwegian
Lutheran denomination, and one German Catholic. There are five organized school
districts, besides parts of districts adjoining other towns.

  For the growth and progress of Perry much credit is due to A. Sanderson, the
first chairman, and to O. B. Daley, the first clerk. They were both
indefatigable in encouraging the settlement and contributing largely to its
growth and progress. To O. B. Daley, Esq., is mainly due the honor of getting
the Norwegian Lutheran congregation effectively organized, and it may well be
said, without exaggeration, that O. B Daley, Esq., is justly deserving of the
universal respect and esteem in which he is held by the community of which he is
the honored member. A. Sanderson is no longer in the land of the living, having
laid down the struggles and warfare of life about four years since. Many others
of the early settlers have also crossed the river of death. The present chairman
of the town is L. M. Anderson, Esq., who has served the town faithfully in that
capacity since 1870. Mr. Anderson has well earned the confidence thus bestowed,
in sending him for so many successive terms to represent the town in the county
board of supervisors, as public interests will be well taken care of, and never
suffer in his hands. The town has once been represented in the legislature by
Hon. Ole Torgerson, now a resident of Madison.

  Notwithstanding the inconvenience of long distance from markets, Perry has
made rapid strides towards wealth and competency, and has now a population of
about one thousand souls, made up mostly of thrifty tillers of the soil. Judging
from facts, it may be safely predicted that the town will contribute its full
share to the rapid increase of the population of old Dane; peopled as it is by
Norwegian and German branches of the prolific Teutonic race. As an instance, it
may be mentioned that one of the early settlers, Michael Gobel, who died about
one year since, left surviving, thirteen healthy children, and several other
instances, nearly approaching this can be shown in this town. If we may thus be
allowed to judge by analogy, we may safely claim that the town of Perry will, in
the near future, possess a numerous population of American born descendants of
the Norwegian and German branches of the Teutonic race of men, proudly tracing
their lineage from this great ancestral source. Thus are made up the historic
streams, forever mingling their waters with the great and mighty flood of the
American Republic.


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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