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

ROXBURY.
BY HON. JOHN T. CLARK.

  LOCATION, — This town is situated in the northwest corner of this county; is
bounded on the north by the town of West Point, in Columbia county, on the east
by the town of Dane, on the south by the town of Berry, and on the west by the
town of Mazomanie and the town of Prairie du Sac, in Sauk county. It is not
quite a full township, the Wisconsin river cutting off the northwest corner of
section six.

  The territory which now forms this town was taken from the town of Dane, and
the name Roxbury was given to it on a vote of the residents, at the suggestion
of James Steele, Esq., who still resides there. At the time of its formation,
which was in the year 1849, all the land lying west of the present town and east
of the Wisconsin river was attached to Roxbury; but in 1863, the strip of land
last described was, by an act of the legislature, attached to the town of
Mazomanie.

  The first officers of the town were: Burke Fairchild, chairman: Lorenzo Farr
and Lorenzo D. Miller, supervisors; James Crowder, town, clerk; Lorenzo Farr,
assessor; James Steele, treasurer; Z. Bowers, J. Crowder, George Richards and B.
Fairchilds, justices of the peace. Not a German in the list, while now none of
the town officer is of any other nationality, unless he be American born of
German parents.

  SURFACE AND SOIL. — The surface is much diversified. The hills frequently rise
to a great height, and are mostly filled with fine building stone, some of which
is made into lime of the best quality. Between these hills or "bluffs," as they
are called, when of considerable height, the lands are very fertile. Some of the
best wheat lands are on the top of high hills. The land is what is called
openings, with here and there a few acres which might be termed "prairie."

  On sections one and two is a beautiful sheet of water, from its transparency
called "Crystal Lake." The water of this lake is shallow, extending into West
Point, and covers about a section of land.

  On sections three and four is another smaller lake, covering about a half
section of land; This is called "Fish Lake," or "Clark's Lake," from the name of
the owner of the land on which it is situated. It is not known how deep this
lake is. It has been sounded to the depth of eighty feet and no bottom found.
These lakes are well stocked with fish. There is also another small lake on
sections fourteen and fifteen, called "Crane Lake," and in many parts of the
town there are ponds which, with springs here and there, and the Wisconsin
river, supply the stock with water.

  The people, who are almost exclusively Germans, are engaged in general farming
and grape raising. There is no manufacturing carried on, unless under that term
wine making can be included. It is believed that there are more grapes raised in
this town than in the rest of the county, and perhaps than in the whole state
besides. Jacob Kehl, who resides near Prairie du Sac, has the largest vineyard.
All over the town may be found sunny slopes where, in the proper season, hang
thousands of rich clusters.

  There is no large village or market place in town. Clifton, situated on the
Wisconsin river opposite Prairie du Sac, and in the very northwest corner of the
town, was once a promising village, but it has not kept pace with the growth of
the country about it. In the southeast corner of the town is a small village
called "Alden's Corners." Superior City, on the Wisconsin river, was one of the
earliest laid out towns in the state, and will be hereafter noticed. The only
stores in town are those of B. Reuter, near the church and the center of the
town, and of P. J. Schleck, near the Sauk City bridge.

  The produce raised in this town is marketed at Madison, Middleton, Black
Earth, Mazomanie, Sauk City, Prairie du Sac (which is connected with Portage by
steam navigation on the Wisconsin river), Lodi, Dane station and Waunakee. All
points of the compass compete for what the town can raise.

  On the 21st day of July, 1832, the battle called "the battle of Wisconsin
Heights," in what is known as the Black Hawk war, was fought here, principally
upon sections 19 and 24, and near the present residences of George Richards,
Esq., and Richard Taylor. A painting of this battle ground, executed by Brooks,
may be seen at the rooms of the State Historical Society at Madison. The
thrashing machine represented on this painting was on the farm of Mr. Richards.
The Indians and their pursuers appear to have come over the bluff from the
southeast. A sort of running fight was kept up while the savages were driven
through the valley, across the lowlands and the Wisconsin river, and so on to
Bad Axe. Many human bones, as well as arrow heads and other paraphernalia of
Indian warfare have been dug up beneath, or found on the surface of the earth in
this vicinity.

  SUPERIOR CITY. — One of the earliest, largest, and most successful paper towns
ever laid out in the west, was located in this territory, now called Roxbury. It
was principally upon section nineteen; beginning near the present residence of
P. J. Schleck, Esq., extending southward and down the Wisconsin river, covering
the farm owned by T. M. Warren, Esq., and now occupied by John Steinfelder, and
embracing the Varnell place, spreading over more than three hundred acres of land.

  It appears from all accounts that in the year 1837 or 1838, a company was
formed in the eastern states, of which company one Floyd seems to have been the
principal manager, to lay out a town on the Wisconsin river, either with the
honest expectation that such town would be built, and legitimate gain be made
thereby to the proprietors, or with the hope that a speculation might be made
out of such parties residing at the east as had more money and credulity than
sound judgment.

  This, be it remembered, was at a time when such device was new, and no bubble
of the kind had ever burst in the land.

  The town was christened " Superior City," and a most elegant map was made of
it, showing the streets, the public buildings and parks, the "Wisconsin river on
which steamboats were plying up and down, and also navigating the smaller
stream, a tributary coming down from Crane Lake by Father Inama's house, on
which stream splendid mills were represented (which stream, by the way, is dry
ten months in the year), and in general setting out every convenience, elegance
and attraction which could be placed on paper by the most ingenious Yankee.

  All in fact, which had ever been done towards building a town, was to stake
out the streets, lots, blocks, and squares, and to fell some trees and hew them,
apparently with the intention of using the timber in building. This was all that
was ever done in this direction, unless perhaps a shanty was built for the
laborers who cut and hewed the timber.

  The map was taken to Chicago, New York, and Boston, accompanied with the most
glowing descriptions of the beauty, salubrity and commercial advantages of the
city, and large numbers of the lots were sold, some at as high figures as $800
each. They were sold, too, to persons who had been considered as of sound mind.
Daniel Webster, "the Godlike Daniel," is said to have had about $13,000 in the
great city.

  After making the maps and selling the lots, neither the proprietors, their
agents, "nor any other man," came to build the city; the timber was sold by the
laborers to whom the company was indebted for work, or appropriated by such
persons as thought they needed it. The stakes have long since fallen, and the
place which knew Superior City "shall know it no more forever."

  EARLY SETTLEMENT.—In 1840, Augustine Haraszthy, commonly known as Count
Haraszthy, with his cousin Charles Hallasz, the latter of whom has ever since
resided and now resides at what is now called Sauk City, Hungarians by birth,
immigrated to and located at the place last named. Haraszthy appears to have
been a man of great energy and of considerable means, and very enthusiastic
about the future of this country. He invested at once in lands in the
neighborhood, and set about improvement. So far as can now be ascertained, in
the fall of 1840, he erected the first building in this town, not for a
residence, but as a sort of hunting lodge. This was a log building, and was set
upon a point of the bluff above and near the Wisconsin river, and nearly
opposite the lumber office of Mr. Hallasz, as it now stands in Sauk City.

  During the year 1841, Haraszthy established a ferry across the Wisconsin river
near or a little below where the Sauk City bridge now stands, and the house now
owned and occupied by P. J. Schleck, Esq., as a store, saloon, and post office,
was built by Mr. Haraszthy in that year, and used as a ferry house. Robert
Richards and Jacob Fraelich operated the ferry, and resided in this house. This
is supposed to have been the first dwelling erected in town, and they the first
residents. At this point two or three Indian trails met, and for several years
this was the usual crossing place. From this date there was little improvement
in the town for four years.

  The year 1845 determined in a great degree the nationality and religion of the
population of the town. In that year came Father Adelbert Inama, a German
catholic priest. He had been two years from his native land, and those two years
had been passed in New York. He had come to seek a home in the wilderness, and
to plant and uphold here the standard of the cross. He selected for his
residence a most romantic spot; a little ravine surrounded by hills except where
at certain seasons of the year, a stream, sometimes swelling into a torrent,
passes through. Here he still lives, with no house in sight except his own, and
with no clearing except a good sized garden. His cows pasture through the woods,
and he keeps no horse, preferring to walk wherever his duty has called him. Here
in 1845, he built his log cabin, which looks out toward the midday sun. Directly
in the rear rises a steep bluff covered with timber. You approach the dwelling
across a foot bridge over the ravine down which heavy rains and melting snows
hurl their floods to the river. After a time he adds at the west end of his
cabin a kitchen, using his room first built for all the purposes of his priestly
office. His work grew upon his hands, and he joined to the east end of his
original building an audience room and an altar, the two forming his chapel,
which, surmounted by a cross, is still standing, and in which chapel, till 1853,
mass was said every day.

  When Father Inama came, there was but one catholic in what is now Roxbury;
that was one Matthias Schmidt, and he soon left. The lone priest made great
efforts to induce immigration. He entered a considerable amount of land near the
center of the town, and allowed those coming in to take it at government price.
As a matter of course the new comers were catholic Germans, and the diligent
pastor soon found a flack gathering about him. His little chapel in the ravine
was visited by those of his faith from all the country round. All nationalities,
and even some Indians who had been converted through the labors of the early
missionaries, were glad to find this lonely spot where they could receive the
rites and enjoy the privileges of their mother church.

  So one family after another came, either directly from Fatherland or from the
states, until in the year 1853, the society was able to complete, near the
center of the town, the little red brick church, 24 by 30 feet in size, which
now stands in the rear of the stone building, and is occupied by the altar. The
growth of the society continued until in 1860 it embraced from sixty to seventy
families, and the little brick church having become quite too small, they
enclosed the present stone front, 44 by 50 feet in size. This, with the old
church, was used but not finished within, till 1866. This society has continued
to increase until now it embraces over one hundred families. They have commenced
a second addition to the church, the foundations of which are already laid, and
when complete they will have a magnificent edifice. The plan provides for the
removal of the little old brick church in the rear, extending the stone building
until its length shall be 110 feet, and adding wings so that when finished the
building will stand on the ground in the form of a cross.

  Mention should be made of the fact that this church has above its altar what
is considered one of the finest paintings in America. It is large; there are
five figures upon it. Above are the Virgin and Child, two beautiful forms;
below, on the left, is St. Jerome, and on the right are St. James and St.
Norbert, after the latter of whom the church is named, and who is represented
with the features of Louis I, king of Bavaria. This choice painting was executed
by an artist in Munich, in 1859, and was sent by said king, as a present to this
church, in 1860.

  This is the only church edifice in town, though there are a few members of
other church organizations.

  Connected with the church just described, in a commodious stone building, is a
school, taught by "sisters," where the children and youth are instructed in the
doctrines and faith of their fathers. The town has no other school except the
common district schools, for which there are several fine buildings.

  Father Inama is now in his 80th year. He has served this church and the
country round about since 1845, assisted only for a time by Father Max Gardner,
until 1872, when he was relieved by Father Matthias Heigl, a young man of fine
talents and education, of preposessing personal appearance and cultivated
manners, who now performs the duties of pastor to this large congregation.

   Father Inama born in Tyrol in 1798, having spent five years in Botzen,
devoted to the study of the classics, four years in Innspruch, given to
literature and philosophy; to theology one year in Vienna, two years in
Innspruch and one in Trent, speaking with fluency several languages, at the age
of seventy-five years, having ministered in the same town for thirty years, and
having been largely instrumental in settling that town, and in promoting its
prosperity, respected and honored by men of all classes and religions, and of no
religion, retires to spend the remnant of his days in his vine covered cottage,
surrounded by flowers; in his little chapel daily offering prayers for his
beloved congregation, with eyes scarcely dimmed or strength abated, calmly
awaits the summons of his Maker.

  The same year in which Father Inama settled in Roxbury, also came George
Richards, Adolph Fasbinder, Carl Schugart, Richard Taylor, ___ Weber, ____
Campbell, James Crowder and Burke Fairchilds. In 1846 came Anton Ganser, T. M.
Warren, George Baltis, Nicholas Breckendorf, Michel Michel, Michael Loeser,
Conrad Jordan, and perhaps others.

  From that time the population increased rapidly, until from almost every
valley and hilltop rose the smoke of a log cabin. The few Americans who were
among the early settlers have mostly disposed of their property to the Germans,
until so far as the language spoken and heard in this town is concerned, one
might as well be in Deutchland. The population at the census taken in 1875, was
1,151.

  The inhabitants are generally industrious, economical and thrifty. There is
almost no litigation in the town. There is scarcely any crime to be punished,
and the public peace is not often disturbed. On special occasions, King Lager in
some cases prevails over sobriety, and black eyes and bloody noses abound; but
the next day all are at work, some, perhaps, with aching heads, but such trifles
are never brought into court. The next Sunday all are at church and in peace.

  The town is rapidly improving; the waste places are being cleared out and
brought under cultivation; the log cabins are fast disappearing, and in their
places are rising good, substantial buildings, mostly of stone, and on every
side are found the evidences of permanent prosperity.

  Thanks are due for information touching the early history and settlement of
the town to Charles Hallasz, Esq., of Sauk City, James Crowder, now of Lodi, to
Father Inama, and to George Richards, Anton Ganser and Horace Miller, Esqrs., of
Roxbury.


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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