HISTORIES:  Pepin Co. History from the book "History of Northern
Wisconsin,
            1881."

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PEPIN COUNTY.

PHYSICAL FEATURES. 

This is one of the western counties in the State, and is separated
from Minnesota by Lake Pepin, which forms a part of its southern
boundary. Its northern boundary is the line between Towns 25 and 26,
and the line north of Sections 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30, Town 24,
Range 15 west, and Sections 25 and 26, Town 24, Range 16 west. Its
eastern boundary is the line between Rauges 10 and 11, and the Chippewa
River, which flows nearly southerly from the northwest corner of Range
13, Town 24, bearing slightly to the west until it enters the
Mississippi River in Range 14, Town 22. Its southern boundary is the
line between Towns 24 and 25, and Lake Pepin almost due southeast from
the northwest corner of Section 25, Town 24, Range 16 west, until it
receives the Chippewa in Town 22, Range 14. Its western boundary is
Lake Pepin and the line between Ranges 14 and 15. The Chippewa River
runs across the county from northeast to southwest, consequently the
drainage is good and the natural advantages are great. The general
surface of the country is level, though some portions of it are
slightly undulating. East of the Chippewa River are found Cranberry,
Fall, Dutch, and Bear creeks; the three former flowing northward nearly
and entering the Chippewa in the vicinity of Meridian, Dunn County, and
the latter flowing due northwest and entering the Chippewa in the town
of Durand, on Section 16, Range 13 west.  Bear Creek has its source in
Buffalo County; the others find their sources in Pepin County, and are
formed by springs in the marshes on the lower lands. On each side of
Cranberry Creek are found various small cranberry marshes, hence its
name. On Bear Creek, about four miles from where it enters the
Chippewa, is a flouring mill, with three run of stone, the property of
V. W. Darwin. On the west side of the Chippewa River, the first stream
of any importance is the Eau Galle River, which runs a little east of
south, and enters the Chippewa in the town of Waterville, on Section
30, Range 13 west. This river, in former days, bore a great amount of
pine lumber from the northern counties, all of which entered the
Chippewa in Pepin County. The next stream is the Little Missouri Creek,
which has its source in Dunn County, and flows nearly southward and
enters into the Eau Galle about half a mile from its mouth, on Section
7, Town 25, Range 13. On this stream about half a mile from where it
enters the Eau Galle, on Section 1, Town 25, Range 14, is a custom
flouring mill, with two run of stone, the property of William Stellers.
The next stream is the Arkansaw Creek, which has its source in the
northwest corner of the town of Waterville, on Section 6. Its general
direction is due southeast and empties into the Eau Galle on Section
24, Town 25, Range 14. On this stream are several mills, a custom saw
mill owned by Abel Parker; a custom flouring mill with three run of
stone, operated by H. M. Miles, and a saw mill owned by E. C. Bill &
Co. The lumber sawed in this mill is for their own use only in the
manufacture of furniture.  This firm also has a cabinet shop on this
creek. The next stream is the Porcupine Creek, which has its source in
Pierce County, and flowing in a general southeasterly direction,
empties into Plum Creek on Section 17, Town 24, Range 4. The next
stream west is Plum Creek, which also has a general southeasterly
direction, and empties into the Chippewa River on Section 26, Town 24,
Range 14. This stream has a number of improvements, but none of them in
Pepin County. The next stream is Little Plum Creek, which has its
source on Section 30, Town 24, Range 14, flows also in a southeasterly
direction and empties into Plum Creek about half a mile from its mouth.
Roaring Creek has its source on Section 1, Town 23, Range 15, and runs
in a southeasterly direction and empties into Lake Pepin, near its
southern end, on Section 31, Town 23, Range 14. On this creek is a
custom flouring mill with two run of stone, the property of Philipp
Pfaff. Lost Creek has its source on Section 2, Town 23, Range 15. This
stream runs due south, and loses itself about a mile north of Lake
Pepin. Bogus Creek has its source on Section 4, Town 23, Range 15,
flows due south and empties into the lake on Section 21, Town 23, Range
15. On this stream was a flouring mill, with two run of stone, the
property of 0. P. Carruth. This was burned down in July, 1881.  Near
the central part of the county from the middle of Section 36, in the
town of Waterville, and extending through Sections 1, 2 and 11, in the
town of Frankfort, is Dead Lake. This lake is about three miles in
length by one-half a mile in width, and is supplied by springs. Its
outlet is the Chippewa River.

The Chippewa River and Eau Galle River are navigable for rafts, and
the former is also navigable for
boats of small tonnage. All of the above streams afford abundant water-
power, a resource as yet, but little developed as will be perceived.
Most of the creeks referred to are formed by springs, and in their
liquid depths is found that gamiest of fish, the speckled trout. The
two larger rivers, together with the lake, furnish all sorts of fish
found in Western waters.

The eastern portion of the county is mostly prairie, with oak
openings, hay marshes and tamarack swamps.  The central portion (the
Chippewa and Eau Galle bottoms) is a great natural hay meadow. The
western portion is more rolling, and covered heavily with hardwood
timber, such as oak, ash, elm, maple, basswood, butternut and birch.
Lumbering, as before stated, is carried on in a few places by small
mills, but only to supply local needs. The timber is mostly used for
rails and fuel. The soil in the woods is a heavy loam, with clay sub-
soil. The eastern portion is mostly a rich loam. The county is
productive of all the cereals, grasses and vegetables common to the
latitude.  Wheat being the principal crop, of which there were 13,014
acres sown in 1881. Oats, corn, barley, rye and amber-cane are also
staple products. The climate is too severe for the peach or pear, but
an occasional apple-orchard is seen on the protected hillside; but as
yet the demand far exceeds the home supply. The small fruits, both
domestic and wild, grow in abundance.

Pepin County also possesses all the requisites for a fine stock-
growing and grazing district, and in later years farmers are turning
their attention more to this industry, and the results justify the
investment. The county has good roads, and is justly proud of her
substantial bridges. The principal exports are furniture, hard-wood
lumber, flour barrel staves and wheat.  Pepin County has no debt. The
Mississippi and Chippewa rivers afford such an easy and cheap outlet
for all produce, that she has never felt the especial need of a
railroad, although one is now in process of construction across the
county in the Chippewa Valley, the Chippewa Valley & Superior Railroad,
and another along the shore of Lake Pepin, the Chicago & St. Paul Short
Line.

Geologically there is considerable of interest connected with Pepin
County, although it never has been a field of very extensive
explorations by the State Geological Corps, but what has been
discovered is mainly through private persons or parties. Generally,
here is found the top of the Potsdam sandstone, and the bottom of the
Magnesian limestone. The bed-rocks have been seen cropping out in
places in the Chippewa River. The rocks are a gray sandstone, called
the Potsdam sandstone, varying from 100 to 150 feet in thickness, which
appears to be filled up with a great many kinds of trilobites and
various kinds of insects (the nearer the top of the sandstone the more
trilobites), then comes for a few feet in thickness, a rather impure
limestone on the hill-tops (the county being rather broken, with ranges
of high hills on the east side of the Chippewa River). The soil,
between the hills, varies from a few feet to about one hundred feet in
thickness above the sandstone, and appears to be made up of drift earth
and stones of many kinds. It appears in many places like a sand bar in
a river. Stones of nearly every formation, from small pebbles to large
syenite and granite bowlders of two thousand pounds or more in weight,
are scattered throughout the valleys.  The soils are of various kinds,
from a coarse sand to the finest black muck. The sandstones are a very
fair rock for building purposes. Some of the limestone makes a first-
class lime for plastering purposes. All of these rocks where they crop
out show marks of water and ice. On the tops of the hills are found
large quantities of porous flint rocks which are full of fossil shells,
also bowlders of quartz, syenite, granite, etc., scattered over the
surface.

On the west side of the Chippewa River the rocks are very much the
same, but the limestone becomes thicker as you "go west," and the
sandstones are very rarely brought to view. Twenty or thirty miles west
of the Chippewa River, the limestone reaches the thickness of 400 feet
and over, and in many places the rocks are almost entirely made up of
shells, different from what are found on the east side of the river.
These shells vary in size from the size of a man's thumb nail to two
inches across.

The soil through this part of the country is mostly made from the
fragments and decay of lime rocks, but even here at an elevation of
from 500 to 700 feet above the Chippewa, the high lands are strewn with
these large bowlders. The limestone on the west side of the Chippewa is
in many places well adapted for building purposes, and a good quality
of lime is made from the same. The lands west of the Chippewa River,
known as the Magnesian limestone, is thickly set with a heavy growth of
hardwood timber and well watered with springs, and when cleared, brings
the best crops of all kinds. About one-half of the towns of Waterville,
Stockholm, Frankfort and Pepin extend into the limestone region, and
the other half runs to the river, and Lake Pepin occupying the sandy
and broken soils of all kinds. The county has not been the seat of any
unhealthy excitement over the discovery of minerals. In a great many
places throughout the county are found numbers of Indian mounds, and
those of immense proportions, but they have not pricked the ambition of
curiosity seekers, or if they have, the fruits of their search have not
been preserved to any great extent.  In many of them have been found
skeletons, some of immense proportions, together with a number of
implements of war and different kinds of pottery. From the various and
indescribable positions in which these skeletons have been found, this
has probably been the scene of many bloody battles between different
prehistoric tribes. These mounds make a wide field for curiosity
seekers to work in, and in the near future discoveries of great
importance will probably be made concerning them.

FORT BEAUHARNAIS.

At the invitation of the Sioux Indians, a trading post was established
in their territory. The point selected was the middle of the north side
of Lake Pepin, probably within the present town limits of Stockholm,
Pepin Co. The expedition was under the command of Sieur de Laperiere,
operating under the auspices of the French Government. He arrived
September 17, 1727, at noon, and immediately began operations. The
"fort" was finished the fourth day, and consisted of three buildings,
respectively thirty, thirty-five and thirty-eight feet long by sixteen
feet wide. These were secured in an inclosure 100 feet square, which
was surrounded by pickets twelve feet high, with two good bastions. The
expedition was accompanied by Father Guignas, who established here the
mission of Michael the Archangel. This post was continued about two
years, when it was abandoned because of the menacing attitude of the
Foxes, through whose territory the traders must pass in order to reach
this region.  Some writers have regarded this as a garrisoned fort, but
there is no evidence that it was ever more than simply an inclosed
trading-post.

EARLY HISTORY.

To the visitor of to-day, witnessing the vast resources and
accumulation of capital now wielded in this section, it may seem almost
incredible that some of the wielders of this capital commenced business
only a few short years ago with nothing but their own indomitable
energy and perseverance. This has been accomplished, not by speculation
and the adroit, lucky turning of fortune's wheel, but by actual
creation of much wealth, added to the store of human comforts, using
only the advantages supplied by Nature's abundant and common store-
house. The settler on any of our western prairies, and the axmen who
enter upon the primeval forests, where no mark or sign of man's
destructive force or redeeming power is seen or felt, is frequently the
subject of strange reflections, as he follows his plow, turning up the
virgin soil, that through all the ages has remained undisturbed, or
hews down the stately tree, that for a thousand years has flourished
and grown, unnoticed and uncared for by the hand of man, he wonders how
it occurs that he, of all the people that lived and still live on the
face of the earth, swarming, as it does, with so many millions, should
be the first to appropriate to his comfort and convenience the
blessings so long held in reserve in Nature's vast storehouse. He
wonders, too, why his race should require all the resources of the
earth, the productions of forests, mines, rivers, lakes, oceans; of the
soil plowed, planted, cultured and garnered; the flocks and herds,
feeding and gamboling on a thousand hills, for his subsistence, while
other races have remained, from generation to generation, in all the
untamed wilderness of the wild deer and elk, on which they subsist.
What of the race that but yesterday was here! Have these rivers, fields
and forests, now so peaceful, always been so calm and still, or have
they, like the old world, been the scene of some sanguinary and savage
conflict?  We speculate in vain on the long-ago dwellers upon the banks
of these pleasant streams. Their war-dance and savage yells may have
been the only sound that ever waked the stillness of these hills, or a
race long extinct may have plowed and sowed, and builded, and loved and
worshiped, and cultivated all the graces and amenities of civilized
life, but the records of whose deeds and virtues have been obliterated
by the convulsions of Time's relentless changes. Such must have been
the musings of those persevering and energetic pioneers, who, severing
the ties of home and kindred and early association, plunged into the
wilds of Pepin County and carved from the rugged forces of nature the
comfortable homes they now enjoy.

The first settlement was made by John McCain, from Indiana Co., Penn.,
in December, 1841. He spent most of his time, until 1845, as a raft
pilot on the Mississippi River, and in exploring this portion of the
State. McCain was not very circumspect in his morals, but having become
acquainted with a woman somewhere along the river, who was willing to
share his fortunes, an industrious and frugal housekeeper and manager,
the two cleared quite a farm and secured a considerable competence. He
made his claim in 1845, and in the Fall of 1846 built a house out of
hewed logs, this being the first in the county. This claim was made
about two miles north of where the village of Pepin now is. At the same
time, in the Fall of 1846, W. B. Newcomb came from Fort Madison, Iowa,
and settled near McCain, in the present village of Pepin, and assisted
him in building his loghouse. At that time this was a part of Crawford
County, Prairie du Chien being the county seat, and the nearest post-
office, about two hundred miles away. Both of the above named persons
are still residing where they first located. At that time the nearest
neighbor was fifty miles distant, at Point Prescott, and Fountain City,
fifty miles southeast, had two log cabins. In the Fall of 1847 Robert,
William, Samuel and J. Hix came from Illinois, and settled four miles
east of McCain, on Roaring Creek, near the trail leading up the
Chippewa River, and the energy and public spirit displayed by these men
in laying out and working roads in different directions, soon had the
effect to settle the country, and their prospect seemed hopeful. In
1848 James White, from Beloit, settled west, and S. Newcomb, from Fort
Madison, Iowa, settled two miles north of the McCain farm. Truman
Curtis came in 1849, and settled in the northern part of the county, in
the present town of Waubeek. Among the next settlers were John
Holverson, Jesse Hardy, Perry Hardy, W. F. Holbrook, Vivus W. Dorwin,
Isaac Ingalls, Melville Mills, Miles Durand Prindle, C. N. Averill, L.
G. Wood, S. L. Plummer. J. S. McCourtie, and one McGuinn.

W. F. Holbrook came in 1852, and built the first saw-mill in the
county, on Arkansaw Creek. Isaac Ingalls and Melville Miles built the
first grist-mill in 1853, on Roaring River. J. S. McCourtie opened the
first store in the county, in 1853, in the present town of Frankfort.
Mr. McGuinn entered the first land in Bear Creek Valley in 1854, and,
in 1855, brought his family and began to open his farm. John Holverson
came in 1855, and went to work at the carpenter's trade, building the
first house in the village of Bear Creek. C. N. Averill settled on Bear
Creek, about five miles from where it enters the Chippewa, in the
Spring of that year. He is still a resident. Jesse Hardy settled about
eight miles from the mouth of Bear Creek, in July of that year, and in
1856, built a hotel, a store, and a house at the mouth of Bear Creek,
in what afterward became the village of Bear Creek. Perry Hardy located
160 acres of land on Sections 1, 2, 11 and 12 in the present town of
Durand, and in 1856 his family came. Vivus W. Dorwin located Section
23, Town 25, Range 13, in 1856. H. Clay Williams, coming in 1856, was
the first lawyer in the county. Miles Durand Prindle came in June,
1856, and at once laid out and platted the town of Durand, in company
with Charles Billings, which they completed on the third day of July.
Most of the above named persons are still residents of the county. From
this time the county increased in population so rapidly that it will be
impossible to mention individual names without lengthening this sketch
to tediousness. Since this time the Indian has disappeared. The land he
had inherited from a long line of savage ancestors, passed from his
possession. Savage and civil life could not exist together. The
dominion theory of the survival of the fittest prevailed. On every hand
were evidences of civilization. On bluff and in valley could be heard
the sturdy blows of the pioneer as he felled the huge trees for his
rude cabin, cleared the fields for the golden harvest, and thus laid
with an honest hand the foundation of the future prosperity. It will
readily be seen that Pepin County has made very rapid strides in the
development of her resources.

In 1846, the first farm was opened and crops planted, and in 1881
there is a cultivated area of about 35,000 acres, and the following
principal crops were planted: Wheat, 13,014 acres; corn, 6,051; oats,
4,272; cultivated grasses, 3,950; rye, 1,317 ; barley, 507; potatoes,
299. The total valuation of real estate and personal property is
$1,107,279.50, and the county pays a State tax amounting to $2,300.85.
The total population of the county, according to the census returns of
1880, is 6,188.

In 1849, the United States survey of land was made, and the land east
of the Chippewa River was brought into market at La Crosse, and that
west of the Chippewa at Hudson. John McCain entered 160 acres in what
is now the town of Pepin, on Sections 22, 23 and 27, and consequently
became the first freeholder in the county. He also broke the first land
and planted the first crop.

The first white child born in the county was Lydia Hix, now a resident
of Dunn County. This occurred in 1850. The first marriage occurred in
1849, when David Young and a Miss White were united in the bonds of
matrimony, at the house of John McCain.

The first religious services were held at the house of W. B. Newcomb,
in 1850, by a Rev. Mr. Hancock, a missionary from Red Wing, Minn. The
first school taught in the county was by Louisa Ingalls, in 1853, in a
house built by Elias Brock, at Pepin.

The first stage line was operated in the county by H. S. Allen & Co.,
between Chippewa Falls and the village of Pepin. Now there are five
stage lines-all but one centering at Durand: From Durand to Pepin; to
Eau Claire; to Alma and to Menomonee; and from Stockholm northeast
through the county.

A series of low-water seasons had induced a few persons to believe
that the bottom lands of the Chippewa did not overflow, and, in 1855, a
town or village plat was laid out at the mouth of Bear Creek, a few
miles above the present village of Durand. A hotel, a store or two, and
several dwellings were erected, but the long-continued high water of
the two succeeding years dispelled their hopes - the town site being
under water for several months each year - and the project of building
up a town was forever abandoned. But the distance from Eau Claire to
the Mississippi River was too long, and the demand for a town at some
intermediate point on the south side of the Chippewa was to apparent to
be long neglected, and the next year, in 1856, Durand took its start.
By looking at a map and the statistics, it will be seen that the county
is well supplied with schools and school-houses. The primitive log-
cabin has given place to the brick, stone or frame building, while the
curriculum of study, the ability of the teacher and the requirements of
the School Board, have all advanced with equal pace. The attendance is
good, schools being kept open from six to nine months in the year.

OFFICIAL.

Pepin County was formed from Dunn County, by a special act of the
Legislature, approved February 25, 1858. This act also located the
county seat on Section 25, in Township 23, of Range 15 west, the
village of Pepin. By the same act, the Governor was requested to
appoint the necessary county officers, who were to serve until the
first day of the following January. He appointed Henry D. Barron,
County Judge; N.W. Grippin, Clerk of the Court; Benjamin Allen,
District Attorney; Ebenezer Lathrop, Treasurer; Edward Livingston,
Sheriff; U. B. Shaver, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors; Lucius
Cannon, Register of Deeds; J. C. Wolcott, Surveyor; W. F. Holbrook,
Coroner. The first election for county officers occurred November 2,
1858, and resulted in the selection of Lyman Gale, Sheriff; George B.
Rickard, Treasurer; M. B. Astell, District Attorney; U. B. Shaver,
County Clerk; B. T. Hastings, Clerk of the Court; A. W. Miller,
Surveyor. In 1860, Durand laid claim to the county seat, by virtue of a
majority of the voters in the county and obtained leave to test the
question at the polls, which, however, was lost that year, but the next
year the result was favorable to Durand, by a vote of 329 to 337, and
it was removed from Pepin during that year. Durand was declared the
legal county seat, by judicial decision, rendered at La Crosse, in
1867, at the termination of a law suit in which the case became
involved. An elegant court-house has since been erected, at a cost of
$7,000, and is a monument to the county as well as to the village of
Durand in which it is situated. The first court was held in Pepin in
the Spring of 1858, S. S. N. Fuller presiding. Among the first
attorneys were, H. C. Williams, M. D. Bartlett, Frank Clark, H. D.
Barron, A. D. Gray, H. E. Houghton, and John Fraser. The three last
named are still residing and practicing in the county, A. D. Gray at
Pepin, and H. E. Houghton and John Fraser at Durand. Among the first
criminal cases, of any importance, that was tried by the court, was the
celebrated "Mag Wheeler" case, which occurred in 1866. Ira B. Wheeler,
living at a place known as "Five Mile Bluff," was murdered on the 24th
of March, under circumstances that implicated his wife, Margaret E.
Wheeler, and James E. Carter, in the atrocious deed. They were
immediately arrested, but as the body had been concealed under the ice
in the Chippewa River, and no positive proof of his death, or the
manner of it being adduced, they were discharged. On the 12th of May
following, the body having been discovered with marks of violence about
the head, they were re-arrested and committed for trial at the ensuing
term of court. For greater safety, they were taken to Eau Claire County
to jail. Owing to some informality no Grand Jury was empaneled in Pepin
County at the next term of court, and the parties lay in jail until the
following March, when they were arraigned, but on the affidavit of the
District Attorney the case was removed to Dunn County, thence to La
Crosse, on the affidavit of the defence. Their final trial and
conviction was before Judge Flint, at the May term in 1898, when their
mutual accusations clearly showed that both were present at the killing
and participated in the murder, and that both assisted in putting the
body under the ice, and in concealing the evidence of their guilt. The
verdict of the jury was, murder in the first degree, and the sentence
was, imprisonment in the penitentiary for life. Alleging, however, that
the removal of the case from Pepin County to Dunn County, on the
application of the prosecution was unconstitutional and illegal,
Margaret Wheeler was remanded for a new trial on appeal to the Supreme
Court, but failing to order her to be committed for safe keeping, her
defense obtained a writ of habeas corpus from the Court Commissioner,
under which Mrs. Wheeler was discharged, but immediately re-arrested by
the officers of Pepin County, from whom she managed to escape,
assisted, as it is supposed, by an old lover who took her to parts
unknown.

In the settlement of all new countries, frequent changes become
necessary in the organization of Senatorical and Assembly districts,
and questions often arise in conversation, as to the number or
description of the district in which a certain locality was included at
a given period. Such changes have occurred in this section, in which
Pepin County is situated, in every decade and semi-decade, since the
organization of the territory, and a concise statement of the districts
in which this county has been included, and the time of their formation
and the names of the various senators and assembly-men whom the people
of the county have delighted to honor with seats in the Legislature,
may be of interest to our readers. The county as before stated, was
formed from Dunn County, in 1858, and it remained as a part of Dunn
County in all assembly and senatorial elections, until the fourteenth
session of the State Legislature, which occurred in 1861, this being
the year following the national census, which of course necessitated a
new organization of the districts, and Pepin County then became
included within the Thirtysecond Senatorial district, and Buffalo,
Trempealeau and Pepin counties, constituted an assembly district. This
county after its organization, was first represented in the Senate by
Daniel Mears, of St. Croix, in 1858-59, and next Charles B. Cox, of
River Falls, in 1860-61, and their assembly-men for those years were:
1858-Lucius Cannon, of Pepin; 1859-Richard Dewhurst, of Neillsville;
1860-W. P. Bartlett, of Eau Claire; 1861-Rodman Palmer, of Chippewa
Falls.

After the redistricting in 1861, M. D. Bartlett, of Durand, was chosen
Senator from the Thirty-second District, for 1862-63; Carl C. Pope, of
Black River Falls, for 1864-65; and Joseph G. Thorpe, of Eau Claire,
for 1866-67. The Assembly District was represented during those years
as follows: 1862-Orlando Brown, of Gilmanton; 1863-Alfred W. Newman, of
Trempealeau; 1864-Fayette Allen, Durand; 1865-John Burgess, Maxville;
1866--William H. Thomas, Sumner.

At the Session of the Legislature in 1868, the assembly districts were
again remodeled and Pepin together with Eau Claire, constituted an
assembly district and was represented in 1867 by Fayette Allen, of
Durand; 1868-Horace W. Barnes, of Eau Claire; 1869-Fayette Allen,
Durand; 1870-Charles R. Gleason, Eau Claire; 1871-Henry Cousins, Eau
Claire. The Senatorial District was represented in 1868-69, by A. W.
Newman, of Trempealeau; 1870-71, by William T. Price, of Black River
Falls. The apportionment of 1871, included Pepin County in the
Thirtieth Senatorial District, which was represented in 1872-73, by
Joseph G. Thorpe, of Eau Claire; 1874-75, by Hiram P. Graham, of Eau
Claire; 1876-77, by R. J. Flint, of Menomonee. This apportionment also
made Pepin together with Dunn County are assembly districts, which was
represented in 1872, by Elias P. Bailey, of Menomonee; 1873-Horace E.
Houghton, of Durand; 1864-Samuel L. Plummer, of Waterville; 1875-R. J.
Flint, of Menomonee; 1876-Menzus R. Bump, of Rock Falls. The
apportionment of the latter year, included Pepin County in the Twenty-
Ninth Senatorical District, which was represented in 1877-78, by
Alexander A. Arnold, of Galesville; 1879-80, by Horace E. Houghton, of
Durand; The present Senator is Augustus Finkelnburg, of Fountain City.
This apportionment also made Pepin, together with three northern towns
of Buffalo County, an assembly district, which has been represented by
Vivus W. Dorwin, in 1877 and 1878; James Barry, in 1879; William
Allison, in 1880; and George Tarrant, in 1881.

The present county officers are as follows : Sheriff, A. F. Peterson;
Treasurer, D. W. Phelps; County Clerk, J. J. Morgan; District Attorney,
John Fraser; Clerk of the Court, A. G. Coffin; Register of Deeds, John
Newcomb; Surveyor, Nat Plumer; Probate Judge, S. L. Plummer; School
Superintendent, William E. Barker.

PRESS.

The first paper in the county was published at Pepin, in 1857, called
the Pepin Independent, by Lathrop & Shaver. The next year, in 1858,
Richard Copeland started the Hesperian Monthly. These papers lived only
for a short time, when they withdrew from the "vain world " and became
things of history.

In 1860, Myron Shaw started the Home Mirror, at Durand. In 1862, he
sold a part interest to George Van Waters, and the name was changed to
the Durand Times. In 1863, Mr. Shaw severed his connection with the
paper, Mr. Van Waters purchasing his remaining interest, and continuing
its publication until 1868, when he disposed of it to Powers & Foster.
In 1869, Mr. Powers sold his interest to Mr. Foster. In October, 1873,
Mr. Foster disposed of the Times to W. H. Huntington. Mr. Huntington
continued the publication of the paper until May, 1876, when he
disposed of it to Matteson & Bon. Mr. Matteson soon purchased Mr. Bon's
interest, and published the limes until November, 1878, when the office
and presses were consumed by fire.

In 1869, George Van Waters started the Lean Wolf, which he published
in Durand only about three months, when he removed it to Menomonee,
where he soon sold it to Knapp, Stout & Co.

In December, 1877, W. H. Huntington started the Pepin County Courier.
In November, 1878, after the Times office burned down, he purchased the
subscription list, etc., of Mr. Matteson, and changed the name of the
paper to the Pepin County Times and Courier. In January, 1880, it again
became the Pepin County Courier, under which name it is still
published. It is stanchly Republican in politics. It is a newsy, well
edited, well printed, spicy local paper. It receives a liberal support
from the business men of the place and county, and is the official and
only paper in the county.

The Pepin County Agricultural Society was organized in March, 1878,
and their first fair was held in September of the same year. The first
officers were: S. L. Plummer, president; W. H. H. Matteson, secretary;
and George Tarrant, treasurer. Soon after its organization, the
citizens of Durand rented for five years and fitted up their present
fair grounds, by subscription. They expended $200 in fitting them up
for fair purposes. The society hold their fairs yearly, the last one
occurring on the 31st of August, and the 1st and 2d of September, 1881.
The present officers are; S. L. Plummer, president; Miletus Knight,
secretary: and George Tarrant, treasurer.

Since our history was written, Ed. Maxwell, alias Williams, who
murdered the two Coleman brothers, was captured in Nebraska and taken
to Durand, where the enraged populace took the law into their own
hands, and placed the desperado where he can do no more harm. We clip
from the Chicago Tribune the following account of the affair.-EDS.

JUSTICE--THE RED-HANDED DESPERADO AT DURAND LYNCHED - RECORD OF THE
MIANY BLOODY ACTS WHICH MADE ED. AND LON. WILLIAMS INFAMOUS.

At a quarter past two o'clock this afternoon, Ed. Maxwell, alias
Williams, was hung in the court-house yard here. His examination was to
have taken place this forenoon. He stated that he should waive
examination, but the matter was postponed till two o'clock in the
afternoon. The fact that he was not at once sent back to Menomonee gave
rise to the suspicion that there was a movement to be made to take him
away from the officers. From about noon until two o'clock, the people
from the surrounding country came into Durand by squads, and at two
o'clock the court-house yard and court-room were thronged with men and
women. The prisoner made a statement, confessing the shooting of the
Coleman brothers, and what he claimed to be the facts connected with
the affair, and that he should claim that it was done in self-defence.
Immediately thereafter, a rope was thrown over his neck. He made a
feeble, but momentary, effort to release himself, but was instantly
jerked down, then through the aisle, down the stairway to the ground,
and dragged to a tree a few rods distant, and the rope was thrown over
a limb and Ed. Maxwell left swinging between earth and heaven. It
appears that the lynching was preconcerted and arranged, and, if not
participated in by the masses, received their tacit consent. The widow
of Charles Coleman and Henry Coleman and his wife were present and
witnessed the rescuing of Maxwell from the custody of the law. So rapid
were the movements of the vigilantes that death from strangulation
ensued before they reached the tree.

There is intense excitement at Durand, and even those who do not
approve of the summary method by which he was executed, do not give
expression to their disapproval. There, doubtless, was no more hardened
criminal in the land, and his statements and manner of making them
showed him to be utterly void of all moral faculties.

AN EYE-WITNESS'S STATEMENT OF THE LYNCHING.

I send you the story of an eye-witness of the culmination of the
Maxwell tragedy at Durand, Wis. A Pioneer-Press reporter joined Maxwell
when he passed through St. Paul, rode with him in the cars to
Menomonee, spent part of Friday night with him, followed in a buggy the
vehicle that took him and the Sheriff to Durand, and assisted at the
examination this morning, and was present at the tragic termination of
the legal proceedings at two o'clock this afternoon. Durand is twenty
miles, by a frightful road, from the nearest telegraph office, and the
full account was not transmitted until at an early hour this morning.
The following is the dispatch:

Edward Maxwell to-day waived examination before an earthly Judge, and
in ten minutes after was summoned before the Eternal Judge. He was hung
by a crowd of excited citizens of Dunn and Pepin counties, at 2:15 P.
M., in the presence of at least 500 people, among whom were the widow,
children and brother of one of his victims. This morning, between nine
and ten o'clock, he sent for your reporter, who, arriving at the cell
he left the evening before, found a gaping crowd peering through the
bars, and in the cell proper several persons talking to Ed., whose
shackles had been taken off that he might walk up and down and relieve
his limbs of numbness. He took me into a corner and said: "I haven't
any friends here. I guess I haven't many anywhere, but you don't seem
particularly hostile, and I would like to ask you what you think about
my waiving an examination. They told me I was to be examined at nine
o'clock this morning, but now I hear the District Attorney says lie
won't be ready until two o'clock this afternoon. I guess if I waive a
hearing he won't have much to get ready. What do you think about it?" I
told him a prolonged hearing could do him no good, and he then said:
"I've made up my mind, then. But I will make a statement about the
murder before I leave the court-room." We had some further
conversation, and I left him, promising, at his request, to see him
later. The jail-a common two-story frame house, with iron gratings at
the windows and wooden ones inside, a flimsy, insecure structure
throughout--stands on a little eminence about a block and a half from
the court-house. The latter is surrounded by a large yard, in which are
several small and one large tree; one with a projecting limb reaching
to the walls of the building. When I reached the yard, I found a number
of people therein, all talking about Maxwell, and all waiting
patiently, though it was far from warm and there were several inches of
snow on the ground, for a sight of the prisoner when he should be
brought out for his preliminary examination. Most of those gathered
there seemed like farmers or lumbermen from out of town, and there was
a fair sprinkling of women and children. As the minutes past the crowd
augmented, and when two o'clock came, the court-room up-stairs-a small
apartment at best-was crowded to suffocation. As Maxwell, cool and
collected as he was yesterday, when he landed from a skiff in the midst
of a crowd on the river-bank and not showing the faintest trace of
nervousness, was led through the aisle between Deputies Knight and
Coleman, the crowd surged and pushed to get a better sight of him, and
threats grew from mutterings to menaces, but he flinched not a whit,
and stood before Justices Dwyer and Huntington as unconcernedly as if
he had been on the bench and they in the dock. His eyes roamed a moment
over the crowd, and I saw his lips move into a half-sneering smile.
Possibly he was thinking of a remark he made to me in the morning:
"There will be a big crowd at the examination to-day. You stand at the
door and sell tickets, and be sure you divvy on the square." To the
formal question he pleaded not guilty, and then said: "waive
examination and would like to make a statement." He was told to go on,
and spoke as follows:

"We killed the Coleman boys in self-defense, but didn't know them from
Adam. We were sitting in the grove up town when we saw them pass us.
They had guns with them and looked around often as if searching for
something. We knew there was no game about there, and that they
wouldn't be hunting Sunday, so we knew they were after us, and kept a
sharp lookout. When they got past us they started to run. Then we got
over the fence and followed them up the road, thinking we were
surrounded and caught in a trap. We had not gone but a short distance
before we met them, and the one nearest the fence (Milton Coleman)
fired first, his shot hitting Lon in the face and arm. Charley fired at
me, and I at him in a second later. His shot struck my arm, and he fell
to my bullet, but got on his knee and fired again. Lon had shot the
other one before that, and both were down. We then turned and ran." All
this was delivered in a conversational tone, as if it were a recital of
the most ordinary adventure, and I could see as the story progressed
that the spectators were edging nearer and nearer to him. He had
scarcely finished-indeed, I am inclined to think he was about to
continue-when, with a growl like a wild beast, a dozen men sprang on
him. Women shrieked as the melee grew greater, and it was impossible to
tell for a moment what was being done. The officers made resistance,
but not a very determined one, and in less than a moment the prisoner
was dragged through the yelling crowd to the door. A rope had made its
appearance as if by magic, and when he reached the outer door the noose
was round his neck. I caught one glimpse of his face as he was going
down the stairs. It was as pale as marble, but his eyes glared
defiance, and every look betokened the agonizing wish: "If I had but my
Winchester and a second's freedom," but arms and freedom Omnipotence
alone could have given him. The crowd, the initiative having been
taken, was wild with passion. "Hang him!" "Choke him!" "Burn him!"
etc., etc., were heard on all sides, and if pity was felt by a single
creature its expression was not heard. It took minutes to write this,
it took seconds only to reach the tree I spoke of above. The end of the
rope was over the projecting bough in an instant, and a shuddering sob
went up from the onlookers as the body of the desperado was jerked into
the air, a score of willing hands tugging at the other end of the rope.
There were a few spasmodic clutches of the ironed hands, the feet were
drawn up once or twice, and then the head fell over with that sickening
droop familiar to all who have ever witnessed such a death, and all was
over. The cord of the rope was made fast, the crowd dispersed in the
awsome silence that fell after the deed was done, and the body, so full
of muscular energy a few moments before, swung to and fro in the cold
wind, the drifting snow ever and anon hiding it in its drifting rush.
Maxwell died as he had lived, a desperate man, but endowed with an
amount of physical courage rare indeed, and filled with a restless
energy that preferred crime to inaction. The sentiment here is, of
course, divided on the question of the right or the wrong of the
lynching. Most all aver that if there had been any decent chance of
meeting out ample punishment to Maxwell by law the summary mode would
not have been pursued, while others deprecate the whole affair, and say
its effect will only be evil. One thing is certain. The people of
Durand had very little to do with the affair. Of the arrivals from out
of town, many of them were blue or red shirted lumbermen. I do not
believe, either, that there was any concert of action beyond a circle
of five or six, who knew, however, that they had only to commence to
receive ample support. If the District Attorney had not put off the
examination till this afternoon, but had held it at 9 A. M., as first
intended, Maxwell would, in all probability, be alive in Menomonee jail
at this moment. Knight intended, he says, to take him to Menomonee on
Monday, and the team that brought him here yesterday was held across
the river for his return.

THE MURDER OF THE COLEMANS.

The murder of the two Coleman brothers by the desperate Williams boys
is still fresh in the memory of those who read of the crime, and their
meeting with the desperadoes at Durand on the evening of Monday, July
10, is well remembered. The skill of the Williams brothers in the use
of firearms resulted in the death of the brave Colemans, who had
started out to capture them, and on the dead body of Milton Coleman was
found a blood-soaked postal-card, signed by J. O. Anderson, Sheriff of
Henderson County, bearing a description of the two desperadoes, who
were wanted in Henderson County for horse-stealing. The card also bore
the following words, written in red: "Go prepared. They are desperadoes
and will resist arrest." It was this letter card that directed the
Colemans to their death. The story of the crime is well known, and
Sheriff Anderson, who spent some time with the party in pursuit of the
criminals, said he was determined to hunt down the murderers, as the
victims were in a measure performing his orders when they were shot.
His story of the Williams brothers is as follows: "The true name of the
family is Maxwell, and they have adopted the name of Williams for use
in Minnesota. Just about the commencement of the civil war the father
and mother and the two sons-one of whom was at the time a mere child-
arrived in Fulton Co., Ill., and represented themselves as refugees.
Tile father rented a small farm and cultivated it. In 1874 the family
moved to Washburn, Woodford Co., thence to Lexington, McLean Co., and
thence to Colchester, McDonough Co. The son Edward was detected in
petty thieving while in Washburn County, and during his residence in
Colchester he broke into a clothing store one night and took out a $70
suit of clothes which he had purchased a day or two before and ordered
done up. He was employed on a farm near the town at the time, and the
proprietor of the store soon found out that he was the thief. He went
out to the farm, and while he was talking with the farmer Ed. stole his
horse and rode rapidly away. The officers who were after him for the
theft of the suit gave chase, but he escaped them.

Some weeks after this, Ed. and Lon, the younger brother, went to La
Harpe and robbed the houses of two farmers, doing it boldly with the
use of their revolvers. They were followed to the next town and found
in a saloon, but they brought their revolvers into play again and
escaped a second time. The two brothers were captured about three weeks
afterward, but Ed. succeeded in breaking jail. Subsequently he was
arrested and imprisoned in the Stillwater Penitentiary. He was
sentenced to serve a term of six years, while his brother, Lon, was
imprisoned for three years.

Their experience in Wisconsin has been wide, and they have a good
knowledge of the country. Lon has been known at Hersey, Knapp and
Menomonee, for at least two years, and, while he has ostensibly been
working, he has been engaged in deviltry of various kinds. He has
associated with the worst class of people, and many serious crimes have
been traced to him during his residence in that section. The three
Wolfe brothers have been associated with him in his depredations, and
they have undoubtedly visited the murderers in the woods. Last Fall,
Ed. Williams joined his brother at Hersey, and was described as looking
pale, thin and consumptive. It is believed that they lived together
there, and engaged on odd jobs when they had no thievery on hand.

On the night of May 30, they, the brothers, turned up in Henderson
County, Ill., and stole two horses. These they rode to Colchester,
reaching there Wednesday, and thence proceeded to Macomb, McDonough
Co., where they stole a single and double harness and a single top-
buggy from the stable of the Hon. W. H. Neese, the lawyer who
prosecuted Lon when he was sent to Joliet. After going twenty-five
miles through the woods, the buggy was run into a stump and ruined, and
the buggy and harnesses were found in the woods. They then went to
Smithfield on the horses' backs and camped in the woods until Friday
morning, when a boy discovered them. They tried to intimidate him, and
said they were out hunting. The boy gave the alarm, and Sheriff
Anderson was telegraphed. He took the track and followed them across
the Illinois River, just above Peoria, where they crossed Saturday
night and stopped in a school-house, putting the horses in a coalshed.
An alarm was given by a man who saw the horses sticking their heads out
of the shed. An investigation was made, and the school-house found
locked. A trustee unlocked the door, and on entering was confronted by
two revolvers. The crowd withdrew without further invitation, and the
robbers quietly mounted their horses and rode away. They went south
three miles and doubled back, an old trick of theirs, passing Sheriff
Anderson and his posse in the woods.

About two days after, the trail was discovered, and it was found that
the thieves had doubled back to Washburn, where they were known,
Sheriff Anderson, who had been informed that they were at Woodford,
went there and found they had gone north. This satisfied him that they
were bound for Wisconsin, and he sent telegrams and postal-cards to all
sections. One of these postal-cards was received by the Colemans, who
came upon them accidentally at Durand, and were murdered. When in this
section, they had a horse and top-buggy and led another horse. Their
rig was captured in the woods by the officers. The brothers called
afterward at the house of a Mrs. Sands, where they left the rig, but
they were not captured there, as they should have been.

THE CRIMES IN ILLINOIS.

On the 3d of October last, Gov. Cullom offered a reward of $500 for
the capture of the Williams boys, who had turned up in Pike County a
short time before and killed the Sheriff of Calhoun County, who
attempted to capture them, besides wounding two of the posse. After the
killing they roamed around Calhoun County and had very little trouble
in keeping out of the hands of the law, either owing to the fear or
friendliness of the citizens of that county. One of their exploits was
to ride into a small village saloon and order the drinks for a crowd of
loafers. The latter drank, but the Williams boys did not, and rode away
without molestation. At that time they were heavily armed, and carried
a powerful field-glass, by the aid of which they were able to detect
pursuers long before the latter could discover them.

HOW KILLIAN CAPTURED THE DESPERADOES.

Sheriff Joseph Killian, of Hall County, Nebraska, received information
on the evening of November 5 last from Constable Chris Stahl, of
Merrick County, that there were two suspicious characters at the house
of a neighboring farmer, named William Niedfeldt, living near Grand
Island. The two men were supposed to be the notorious Williams
brothers. The next morning about four o'clock the Sheriff, Stahl, and
Ludwig Shultz, a neighbor of Niedfeldt, and August Nitsch, a Grand
Island cigar-maker, armed themselves with shotguns and revolvers, and
started for Niedfeldt's house, reaching there about 5 A. M. They
represented themselves as hunters, and had breakfast prepared for them.
While waiting they were shown into the room occupied by the suspicious
characters, who had heard their approach and had their Winchester
rifles lying within easy reach, while two revolvers lay under their
pillows. Killian passed the time of day with the brothers, who
represented themselves as goose-hunters from Hastings, a town on the
Burlington & Missouri Railroad. They were asked questions about the
town and its inhabitants, which they were unable to answer, and this
fact, together with the fact that they were too heavily armed for goose-
hunters, convinced Killian of their identity, and he resolved to arrest
them while at the breakfast table. The boys dressed themselves
leisurely, keeping an eye on the Sheriff's posse, and it was noticed
that Lon Williams, who had lost the second toe on the right foot, put
his stockings on with his feet under the bedclothing. After dressing
Ed. posted himself near the corner of the room, with his right hand on
his Winchester, while Lon left his hat and coat and leisurely walked
out of the kitchen door and towards the barn. Changing his plans,
Killian coolly walked up to Ed., and said: "I want you." As Ed. moved
to bring up his gun, Killian grabbed and floored him, and took the gun
away, Nitsch covering him with a shotgun. On being secured and bound,
he saw that the "jig was up," and set up a series of yells to alarm
Lon. The latter ran to the corner of the house, but was confronted by
Killian, who was there, and covered him with a revolver and ordered him
to halt. Lon replied with a shot, but Killian dodged, got into the
kitchen, closed the door, and put his foot against it. Lon came up,
expecting it to fly wide open. It only opened a few inches, and Lon
found himself looking into the muzzle of Nitsch's gun. He then jumped
around a corner of the house and went to another window, but Nitsch was
ready for him and aimed at his head. Both cartridges, however, failed
to explode. This seemed to satisfy Lon that further attempts at
rescuing his brother would be futile, gave it up as a bad job, and made
for the tall grass on the bottom at full speed. By 7:30 that evening
Ed. was landed at the Grand Island jail.

DURAND.

Durand, the county seat of Pepin County, is a village of about 900
inhabitants. It is built on the eastern bank of the Chippewa River,
about twenty-five miles from its mouth. It includes within its
corporate limits all of the south half of Section 21, the northwest
quarter of Section 28, the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter
of Section 22, and the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of
Section 21, all of Township 25, Range 13. 

Miles Durand Prindle was the first American to settle in what is now
Durand. The village is named after that gentleman's middle name. He
arrived in the Summer of 1856, and found a German family by the name of
Babberts living there. The first house was built on the bank of the
river by Charles Billings. This was merely a board shanty, where Mr.
Billings used to put up on his way up and down the river. The first
nail was driven for the town of Durand on the 4th of July, 1856, and a
board hung out with the name of "Durand" upon it. Peter Carver built
the first dwelling house in the village, in 1856. Mrs. Babberts was the
first white woman in the village, and the first white child born in
Durand was that of Mrs. Babberts. The first death in the village was
Charles, a son of W. F. Prindle. This occurred in 1857. The first
marriage was celebrated in August, 1856. We failed to learn the names
of the happy couple.

The first hotel and boarding house was kept by Peter Carver in 1856.
A. W. Grippen built the first hotel proper and ran it, in 1857.

The first store was opened by M. D. Prindle and Charles Weatherbee, in
1856. The first blacksmithing was done by Alonzo Allen, who built a
shop and commenced work in 1856.

In 1856, a keel boat was built by M. D. Prindle, called the "Dutch
Lady." This was run for a number of years between Read's Landing,
Durand and Eau Claire, carrying the freight between those places.

The first religious services were held in a house owned by William
Seely, by a Rev. Mr. Webster, a Methodist, in 1856. The first school
was taught in a building owned by Caspar Hugg, by Emma Ide, now Mrs. H.
R. Smith, during the Summer of 1857.

The first saw-mill was built in 1857 by W. F. Prindle, George
Ellsworth and W. E. Hays, with a capacity of 15,000 feet of lumber per
day. A ferry across the Chippewa River was also started during that
year, by Jacob Kuhn and John Schell. This was a pole ferry, and was run
as such until 1860, when it was changed to a horse ferry, and
subsequently to a steam ferry, now owned and operated by H. R. Smith.

The Post-office was first established in the Spring of 1858, with D.
C. Topping as Postmaster. He was succeeded by W. F. Prindle in 1861,
and he in turn by P. J, Smith; he by Myron Shaw, and then the present
Postmaster, H. D. Dyer.

The village was laid out and platted by M. D. Prindle and Charles
Billings in the Summer of 1856. L. G. Wood did the surveying. As the
agricultural resources of the county became developed, Durand was found
to be the nearest market to a large wheat-growing country and quite a
flourishing business was soon established in whipping that cereal to
Eastern markets. It was not a place that held out great inducements for
the investment of capital, but by industry and economy the people of
Durand have achieved reasonable success and surrounded themselves with
a fair amount of the comforts and elegancies of life. In 1860 Durand
laid claim to the county seat by virtue of a majority of the voters of
the county, since which time an elegant court-house has been built at a
cost of $7,000 and the bitterness caused by the removal is fast
disappearing.

By a special act of the Legislature, approved in March, 1871, Durand
was incorporated as a village, since which time it has maintained a
separate municipal existence. The following is a list of those persons
who have been honored with the presidency of the village since its
organization: 1871-2, D.C. Topping; 1873, Alfred Calvert; 1874-5,
George Tarrant; 1876, H. W. Carlisle; 1877, E. B. Parkhurst; 1878-9, A.
W. Hammond; 1880, A. R. Dorwin. The present officers are: D. W. Phelps,
President; Martin Maxwell, George Hutchinson, Trustees; J. D. Eldridge,
Clerk; Richard B. Goss, Treasurer; A. W. Hammond and W. H. Huntington,
Justices of the Peace; Miles D. Prindle, member of the County Board.

A high school was established under the Free High School law of the
State, and in 1876 a commodious schoolhouse was built at a cost of
$4,000, and which the village has just cause to be proud of.

Churches.-The Methodist Church Society was organized at the house of
John Stafford in 1856, by Rev. Monroe Webster. In 1866 they began the
erection of a church which was completed and dedicated in 1870. The
church building is 40x60, of frame, and cost $6,000. It now numbers
about seventy members, and has in connection a flourishing Sabbath
school. The pulpit is occupied by Rev. William C. Ross.

The German Catholic, or St. Mary's Church was organized about twenty
years ago. It now numbers about one hundred familes. The church
building, built in 1875, is of frame, 22x50, and cost about $2,000. The
pastor is Rev. Joseph M. Bauer.

The Congregational Church Society was organized in September, 1874, by
Rev. A. Kidder. They worshiped in the court-house building for six
years. In 1879 they began the erection of a church building which was
finished and dedicated in 1880. It now numbers about forty members. The
building is 33x66 and cost about $5,000. A. Kidder is the pastor.

About four miles east of the village of Durand, is a grist mill, a
carding mill and a cheese factory, the property of Vivus W. Dorwin. He
built his grist mill in 1857, with two run of stone, and it now has
three. He manufactures an excellent quality of flour, which is mostly
retailed to merchants. He built his carding mill in 1865, and that is
now doing a thriving business. In 1872, he built a cheese factory,
which consumes the milk of about 100 cows, from which an excellent
quality of cheese is made.

In 1857, a saw-mill was erected by W. F. Prindle, George Ellsworth and
W. E. Hays, with a capacity of 15,000 feet of lumber per day. This,
subsequently, passed into the hands of William Dorckendorff, who
operated it for a few years, doing a thriving business. It has since
been owned and operated by William Kinney and the Eau Claire Lumber
Company, from whom it was purchased by its present proprietor, Frank
Griffin. It now has facilities for sawing both soft and hard wood
lumber, which is mostly used in the manufacture of wagons, carriages,
etc., in Durand. 

Besides these manufactories, are a number of repairing blacksmith and
wagon shops, all of which do a thriving and prosperous business.

Societies.-Durand Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 157, was instituted November
10, 1869, with five chartered members. The first officers were: Walter
Greenwood, N. G.; George Hutchinson, V. G.; L. G. Wood, treasurer; H.
E. Houghton, secretary; Seth Scott, P. G. They have fitted up a hall,
at an expense of about $500. The order now numbers sixty-one members.
The present officers are: W. H. Huntington, N. G.; H. C. Page, V. G.;
R. Morsbach, recording secretary; W. L. Bachelder, Per. Sec.; Jacob
Fritz, treasurer; R. R. Root, warden; N. M. Brown, Condr.

Durand Lodge, A., F. & A. M., No. I49, was granted a dispensation May
7, 1864, and their charter is dated June 15, 1864. The first officers
were: A. Vantrot, W. M.; C. J. Smith, S. W.; Miles D. Prindle, J. W.;
John Lane, S. D.; E. C. Hopkins, J. D.; P. Vantrot, Treas.; D. C.
Topping, Sec.; Stephen Davenport, tiler. The present officers are: A.
J. Wallace, W. M.; A. W. Miller, S. W.; L. Schell, J. W.; A. W.
Hammond, S. D.; A. R. Dorwin, J. D.; George Tarrant, Treas.; C.
Bruerin, Sec.; George Gerber, tiler. 

Durand Lodge, I. O. G. T., No. 284, was instituted in February, and
their charter is dated February 3, 1877. It numbered fourteen chartered
members. The first officers were: William Boyd, W. C. T.; Mrs. B. M.
Scott, W. V. T.; Seth Scott, Chap.; C. D. Bon, Sec.; Maggie Dyer, A.
S.; Jennie Henry, F. S.; Mrs. Hutchinson, Treas.; Charles Noyes, M.;
Mattie Lewton, D. M.; Field Fraser, I. G.; W. E. Atkins, 0. G.; Lucy
Hammond, L. H. S.; Henry Doughty, P. W. C. T. The present officers are:
Miletus Knight, C. T.; May Babcock, V. T.; W. Galloway, R. S.; Mrs.
George Dunlap, F. S.; Mrs. C. B. Ford, T.; Bert Scott, M,; Anna
Gazeley, D. M.; Henry Doughty, C.; George Tarrant, Jr., G.; C. M.
Storey, S.; Lizzie Hillie, R. H. S.; May Goss, L. . S.; Clara Smith, 0.

Temple of Honor, No. 182, was organized in February, and their charter
is dated February 22, 1878. It numbered twenty-eight chartered members.
The first officers were: V. W. Dorwin, W. C. T.; George Hutchinson, W.
V. T.; Alex. G. Coffin, W. R.; William Boyd, Jr., W. F. R.; R. B. Goss,
W. T.; W. . HH. Matteson, W. U.; C. M. Storey, W. S.; C. C. Livarz, W.
C.; William Bachelder, W. G.; Harvey Houghton, P. W. C. T. The present
officers are: D. W. Phelps, W. C. T.; Henry Doughty, W. V. T.; Alex. G.
Coffin, W. R.; R. B. Wood, W. A. R.; M. Knight, W. F. R.; C. M. Storey,
W. T.; James Rhodes, W. U.; George Moore, W. A. U.; M. Moore, W. S.;
Allen Goben, W. G.

Durand Lodge, A . U. O. W., No. 59, was organized by A. H.Taisey,
March 10, 1879, with thirty chartered members. The first officers were
W. H. Huntington, P. M. W.; A. W. Hammond, M. W.; M. D. Prindle, G. F.;
George Tarrant, financier; Philo Goodrich, guide; William Boyd,
recorder; D. C. Topping, receiver; S. M. Scott, Overseer; Hadley
Thomas, I. W.; L. L. Briggs, 0. W. It now numbers thirty-nine members.
The present officers are Miletus Knight, P. M. W.; Andrew J. Wallace,
M. W.; A. W. Hammond, G. F.; George Tarrant, financier; John Foster,
guide; W. H. Huntington, recorder; D. C. Topping, receiver; Hadley
Thomas, overseer; Truman Smith, I. W.; Seth Scott, O. W.

The rise of Durand has been steady and permanent, taking into
consideration that there has been no railroad communication. All
merchandise has to be brought up the Chippewa River by steamboat in the
Summer, or by teams from Menomonee and Read's Landing in the Winter.
The enterprise of the citizens of Durand is noted, and when they are in
possession of railroads, we anticipate finding a village abounding with
manufactories of all descriptions.

In about 1863, Harstoff & Stending erected a brewery. This was
purchased, in 1866, by its present proprietor, P. Lorenz. It burned
down in 1874, but was shortly afterward rebuilt. It is 26x52, two
stories high. Mr. Lorenz manufactures between 500 and 600 barrels per
year, which is mostly sold in the immediate vicinity.

A terrible tragedy was enacted in the village of Durand, on Sunday,
July 10, 1881, by which two brave and good men lost their lives. Ex-
Sheriff Charles G. Coleman, of Durand, and Milton Coleman, Deputy
Sheriff of Dunn County, were shot and instantly killed by Edward and
Alonzo Maxwell, alias "Ed." and "Lon." Williams, two desperadoes who
had been prowling about this part of the State. The Williams brothers
had recently stolen a couple of horses from Illinois, one of which had
been captured by Deputy Sheriff Miletus Knight, of Durand, and from
inquiries it was supposed they had come to town with a view of
obtaining the horse. A reward of $200 was offered for their capture by
the authorities of Henderson Co., Ill., and Milton and Charles Coleman,
knowing they were the parties from descriptions given of them by
persons who saw them, started in their pursuit. They overtook and went
ahead of the desperadoes in the upper part of the village, and turning
back, met them face to face, when Milton called upon them to halt, but
before he could get the words out of his mouth or raise his gun, the
Williams's fired, Milton falling dead from the spot, and Charles
staggering a few feet, when he also fell and soon expired. Both of the
Colemans were dead before any one could reach them. During the
excitement that immediately followed the shooting, the Williams
brothers escaped to the woods back of the cemetery, where they are
supposed to have remained several hours, and evidently crossed the
Chippewa River before daylight. Sheriff Peterson immediately headed a
party of men and crossed the river in pursuit. A detachment of the
Ludington Guards went from Menominee on Monday, and was engaged in the
search about a week. Fresh bodies of men constantly arrived, and it was
estimated that at one time fully four hundred persons were engaged in
the search, which was kept up for about a month. The Williams brothers
were seen a number of times on the west side of the river in the Eau
Galle woods, which are so thickly studded with timber, and the
underbrush so thick and heavy that they escaped capture. Up to the
present writing their arrest has not been effected.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF DURAND RESIDENTS INCLUDE:

AVERILL, Charles N.
BACHELDER, William L.
BAUR, Rev. Joseph M.
BRUENN, Christian
DORWIN, Hon. Vivus W.
FRASER, John
FRITZ, Jacob
GOSS, Richard B.
GRIFFIN & SINCERBEAUX
HALVERSON, John
HOUGHTON, Horace E.
HUNT, D. Winslow
HUNTINGTON, William H.
HUTCHINSON, George
KNAPP, Henry A.
KNIGHT, Miletus
LORENZ, Phillip
MAXWELL, Martin
MORSBACH, Robert
PRINDLE, Miles Durand
SCHUR, Frank
SMITH, H. Rollin
TARRANT, Hon. George
VAN NORNAM, Jacob
WALLACE, Andrew J.
WOOD, Robert B.

- see the above listed biographical sketches in our "Biographies"
section of these Archives.


PEPIN.

Pepin is situated in the town of Pepin, in the southwestern part of
the county. It is snugly nestled at the foot of Lake Pepin, and has a
population of about 500. Lake Pepin, "lying like a pearl dropped from
the ocean's casket," is twenty-two miles long by two and one-half miles
wide; is surrounded on the Minnesota side by rugged bluffs, and on the
Wisconsin side by undulating hills and prairies, giving a most charming
variety to the scene. This locality has been a favorite one for years
with hunters, who knew they would be amply repaid for the time spent in
the locality, not only as hunting and fishing grounds, but for the
beautiful scenery that they enjoy.

Among the early settlers of Pepin, VW. B. Newcomb has the honor of
being the first. He came from Fort Madison, Iowa, in 1846, and built
the first house in what is now Pepin. This house was built of logs.
Soon after this, the population of the embryo village was increased by
the settlement of a number of others, among whom were Otis Hoyt, Elias
Brock, James Little, Ebenezer Thompson and B. O'Connor. Elias Brock
built the first frame house in 1853, in which the first school was
taught, in the Winter of 1853, by Louisa Ingalls, she having about
twenty scholars.

It was supposed by many at that time that a flourishing city would
grow up at some point near the mouth of so large a river as the
Chippewa, and the settlers of this village counted much upon it as the
embryo city, but the landing for steamboats was difficult in low water,
the lake being very shallow for a considerable distance from the bank,
which was a serious drawback.

W. B. Newcomb, in company with Otis Hoyt and Benjamin Allen, laid out
and platted the town of Pepin in 1854, the surveying being done by A.
W. Miller, then a resident of Hudson, and now of Maxville, Buffalo Co.,
and the first village lots were purchased by Elias Brock. The first
store was opened in 1855 by B. O'Connor, in a building erected by
Ebenezer Thompson. The first blacksmith shop was built, and
blacksmithing done, by George W. Brant in 1855. The first hotel was
kept by Ebenezer Thompson, in a building which he himself erected in
1855. During this year, A. C. Allen and a number of others built a
warehouse. This is now a hotel, kept by J. A. Dunn. The first church
was built by the Methodists in 1856; this was torn down in 1864, and
their present elegant and commodious brick church was built in 1867.

The first school-house was built by E. W. Gurley, by subscription, in
1857. This was subsequently sold to the school district, and is now
used both by the district and high school.

The first religious services were held at the house of W. B. Newcomb,
in 1850, Rev. Mr. Hancock, a missionary from Red Wing, Minn.,
conducting them.

The Post-office was opened in the Winter of 1854-5, with John Newcomb
as Postmaster. He has been followed successively by Benjamin Allen, H.
D. Barron, Joseph Manning, W. B. Newcomb, M. B. Axtell, Minus Richards,
Solomon Fuller, and the present Postmaster, William Dunlap.

From about this time Pepin began to assume a metropolitan appearance,
building after building appeared in quick succession. Hotels and a
number of business houses were opened, and two banks, the Oakwood, with
B. O'Connor president, and A. C. Allen, cashier, and the Chippewa Bank,
with E. Lathrop, president, and J. C. Mann, cashier, went into
operation under the free banking law of the State, and all the place
lacked was a well settled and flourishing country back of it, to make
it prosperous, and great efforts were put forth to secure the trade and
open up the country around to settlement and civilization. A wagon road
was opened to Chippewa Falls and a stage and mail route was soon
established.

In 1859, Pepin was set off from the town and incorporated by a special
act of the Legislature. The first village officers were: W. B. Newcomb,
President; Joseph Manning, Dudley Manning, Peter B. Granger and H. D.
Barron, Trustees; U. B. Shaver, Clerk. They maintained their municipal
existence about four years, when they gave up their charter, as a great
number of causes were operating to defeat their hopes of this lake
shore village. The country on the south side of the Chippewa River, was
filling up with industrious and enterprising men, and it was soon
ascertained that a shorter route could be opened between Chippewa
Falls, Eau Claire and the Mississippi, on that side. Steamboats, too,
of lighter draft, were used to navigate the Chippewa, which, in a great
measure, relieved the Chippewa Falls and Pepin stage of any business,
and the building of a railroad on the Minnesota side of the lake which
has caused travel and traffic to seek other channels. But in spite of
all difficulties we find a thriving and prosperous town, inhabited by
an enterprising people, who are filled with energy and doing for
themselves.

A beautiful little steamer makes daily trips around the lake during
the Summer, calling at Reed's Landing, Lake City, Maiden Rock,
Frontenac, as well as at Pepin. Pepin holds out good inducements to
farmers who are desirous of obtaining good farms; to manufacturers who
wish to locate in a country where they can establish a lucrative
business; to pleasure-seekers who are in quest of a place to spend a
few Summer weeks in a state of sweet idleness.

The act of the Legislature that created the county in 1858, also fixed
the county seat on Section 25, in Township 23, of Range 15 west-the
village of Pepin. It remained here until 1861, when, after a lengthy
contest, it was removed to Durand. In 1865, Hiram Fuller established a
machine shop, which has since been enlarged and improved, and is now
one of the most important features in connection with the village. The
size of his shop is 22x30, and gives employment to six men. He
manufactures all kinds of steam engines and machinery, and does
repairing of all kinds.

In 1869, George Topliss established a wagon shop. In March, 1879, he
enlarged his capacity by putting in a six horse-power engine, and now
manufactures on an average seventy-five wagons yearly. He employs four
men.

In 1856, a store and warehouse was built in Pepin. This has since been
remodeled and refitted, and is now a steam elevator, owned by Hart &
Betty. Its capacity is 20,000 bushels. In 1874, F. Stahl built an
elevator with a capacity of 15,000. These two elevators handle yearly
between 75,000 and 100,000 bushels of grain.

In 1855, a Masonic Order was instituted in Pepin. This is at present a
thriving and prosperous order, and has seventeen members. The Ancient
Order of United Workmen was instituted in April, 1877, by J. H. Tacy,
with thirteen chartered members. It now numbers thirty-one members. The
Good Templars was organized in the Spring of 1877, also with twenty-
eight chartered members, and now has thirty members. The Chosen Friends
was organized in March, 1881, by John Howard, with twenty-eight
chartered members, and now has thirty-one members. These societies are
all in a thriving condition.

In 1856, the Methodists built the first church in Pepin as well as in
Pepin County. This was torn down in 1864, to give place to their
present brick structure, which was dedicated in 1867. In 1860, the
German Methodists built a church. These churches are prosperous
institutions, and are among the many other evidences of a moral and
intellectual culture.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PEPIN (VILLAGE) RESIDENTS INCLUDE:

BARRY, Hon. James
FAYERWEATHER, S. Carlos
HALLSWORTH, James
JAHNKE, Fred
LANGERS, Emil
McCAIN, John
MURRAY, Capt. N. O.
NEWCOMB, William B.
PFAFF, Philip
TOPLISS, George

- see the above listed biographical sketches in our "Biographies"
section of these Archives.

ARKANSAW.

The village of Arkansaw, situated in the town of Waterville, was first
settled in May, 1845, by George and W. F. Holbrook, who built a log
house, moved into it, and commenced building a saw-mill and furniture
shop. The next year, H. M. Miles built a small grist-mill upon the site
where his present large mill stands. One of the best in the Chippewa
Valley. Previous to these settlements a small settlement had sprang up
on the Dead Lake Prairie, a short distance west of the village of
Arkansaw, but this locality offering better facilities for the
investment of labor and capital than the prairie, a number of the
settlers moved into Arkansaw.

The first marriage was solemnized, November 30, 1857, the contracting
parties being W. F. Holbrook and Mary Ames.

The first death was old Mrs. Cascaden.

The first birth was a child of Mr. and Mrs. Grant Stevens, in March,
1855.

The first religious services were held at a log house on Dead Lake
Prairie, a short distance west of Arkansaw, in 1855, by a Rev. Mr.
Kellogg.

The years intervening between 1855 and 1870 was characterized by hard
struggles and no very rapid advancement. In the year above named, James
Pauley, of Read's Landing, entered into partnership with Holbrook. They
enlarged their mill, built a large furniture manufactory, a large
store, potash and pearl-ash room, and during the next year, H. M. Miles
and Miletus Knight started in business, under the firm name of Miles &
Knight, in the general merchandise business, and in 1872, F. Hillard
and V. Rounds started a drug and variety store.

In 1869, the first church was built, by the Methodists, at a cost ot
$2,500. It is 30x40, and a monument to the village.

The saw-mill and furniture factory built in 1855, by Holbrook, now
employs about thirty-five hands. The yearly sales from his furniture
amounts to $30,000. In addition to the manufacture of furniture, he
saws about 1,000,000 feet of lumber per year, about one-half of which
he uses, and the other half sends to down-river markets. Besides this
they operate an extensive pearl-ash factory, which has proven more
successful than was anticipated.

Arkansaw is situated just on the border of the large tract of hard
wood timber, lying in Pepin, Pierce and St. Croix counties, and two and
one-half miles from the Chippewa River. To farmers seeking homes, or
capitalists seeking a locality for investing their money, it offers
superior inducements. The facilities for manufacturing from hard wood,
bass and butternut, are not excelled. There are eight good water-powers
within a distance of two miles from the place, only part of them being
improved.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF ARKANSAW RESIDENTS INCLUDE:

CLIFF, Stephen
HILLARD, Forest H.
IOLBIROOK, Willard F.
McCOURTIE, Jacob S.
PLUMMER, Hon. Samuel L.

- see the above listed biographical sketches in our "Biographies"
section of these Archives.

STOCKHOLM.

This place is situated in the town of Stockholm, in the western part
of Pepin County, and on the shore of Lake Pepin. It was first settled
in 1852, by Erick Peterson. He remained only a short time, but returned
to Norway, and in the Fall of 1854 came again, with his family. In the
Spring of 1854 came Jacob Peterson, John Anderson, Erick Frieck, Lars
Olson and Frank Nelson, with their families. Most of these came from
Norway in 1853, and wintering in Illinois, came to Stockholm as above
stated. They at first built a log shanty, which served as a shelter for
all until each one could build for himself a separate house. John
Anderson built the first frame house, in 1854. This house is now
standing.

The first birth was Matilda Peterson, daughter of Erick Peterson. She
was born on the day of his arrival from Norway with his family, in the
Fall of 1854.

The first marriage was consummated, in the Spring of 1856, the
contracting parties being Abram Josephson and Annie Peterson.

The first hotel was kept by George Rickerd, in 1856. A church was also
built during that year. The church building was subsequently sold and
converted into a schoolhouse, in which the first school was taught by
Amelia Smith, in the Summer of 1859. Their present school-house was
built in 1877.

The first religious services were held in 1856, by a Rev. Mr.
Norerius, a missionary from Red Wing.

The post-office was established in 1860, John Rosenberg being the
first Postmaster.

Stockholm was laid out in 1858, by Eric Peterson. A. W. Miller did the
surveying. It has now four stores, representing a considerable amount
of capital. A neat little school-house and a Lutheran Church are
evidences of a moral, religious and intellectual culture.

Stockholm Lodge, No. 363, I. 0. G. T., was organized April 4, 1877,
with sixteen charter members, and now numbers thirty-four members. The
first officers were: A. F. Peterson, W. C. T.; Matilda Peterson, W. V.
T.; Alfred Josephson, secretary; Anton Peterson, financial secretary;
G. Stille, treasurer; Agnes Peterson, I. G.; John Mattson, O. G.; Isaac
Windberg, chaplain; Charles Tidbolin, marshal. The present officers
are: Anton Peterson, W. 0. T.; Miss C. O. Bock, W. V. T.; H. J. Bock,
secretary; 0. Mattson, financial secretary; G. Stille, treasurer;
Amanda Anderson, I. G.; R. B. Nelson, 0. G.; A. F. Peterson, chaplain;
John Mattson, marshal.

In 1868, Paul Sandquist started a lemon beer manufactory, which he has
since operated. He now manufactures between 400 and 500 cases per year.
John Gunderson started a spruce beer manufactory in 1878, and now
manufactures about 500 dozen bottles per year.

In 1874, Andrew Stromberg established a wagon manufactory. Soon
afterward, Charles Plann went into partnership with him, and
subsequently G. Stille became a partner. They manufacture about twenty-
five wagons per year, besides doing general repairing work.

A. D. Post built a warehouse in i873. Martin Nelson purchased it in
1876, and now buys about 50,000 bushels of grain per year. The capacity
of the warehouse is 30,000 bushels.

Stockholm is situated on the edge of the richest farming country in
Pepin County, and its growth has been slow but permanent, and when it
is in possession of railroads, we anticipate a more flourishing village.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF STOCKHOLM RESIDENTS INCLUDE: 

PETERSON, Eric
PETERSON, Karl A.
PETERSON, Louis
SAHLSTROM, August
WAKEFIELD, George L.

- see the above listed biographical sketches in our "Biographies"
section of these Archives.