THE REPUBLICAN

January 10, 1896

 

DANA DEWEY’S VERSION

How Waupaca Came to Own the Court House Square

 

            Dana Dewey the old pioneer of Waupaca, who now at the age of 72 last June, came to this place Oct. 22, 1849 from Randolph, Orange County, Vermont, when the town was called Waupaca Falls, and who has been identified with all the history and growth of this pretty spot in all these years past, and who at this ripe old age is well preserved and able to take his regular trips down town daily and make his usual visits among his friends.  To a REPUBLICAN reporter Mr. Dewey said the other day:

            “I know something of the early history of the Waupaca county court house site, which Manawa would like to sell off in building lots for the purpose of having a fund to erect a court house over there, but she nor no one else will do it.”

            “I was there myself June 15, 1849, E. C. Sessions took up the four original forties upon which was afterward platted the village of Waupaca.  Then Sessions sold all except a few lots to Silas Miller, in March 1850.  Miller then sold some to N. P. Judson.  On the tenth day of September, 1852 the lands came into market.  Then Mr. Spaulding the receiver of the land office at Menasha gave notice that it would be ten days from the above date before applications would be received at his office.  I went down Sept. 20 and called for the 80 acres which lies north of the forty where stands mayor Nelson’s feed mill.  Mr. Spaulding said that the forty north of the mill originally taken up by Sessions was thrown out.  I told him that he must have made a mistake.  He said he would send to Washington and have it changed by act of congress.  Before the matter got round the lands had to be sold.  O. E. Druetzer had made an arrangement for several lots of Sessions which included the lots now owed by Beadleston Bros. And Dr. Calkins but had not secured them.  Druetzer went down to Menasha and made a contract with John C. Fitzgerald, who was expecting to buy the forty, (which included the present court house square) that if he would let him have the lots which he had arranged for with Sessions, he (Druetzer) would help him to get the balance of the four forties.  Mr. Spaulding wrote a letter to Capt. David Scott, Winfield Scott’s father, to send a man down, for Waupaca (which included the four forties) would be bid off the next week Sept. or Oct. ’52.  I was selected to go.  I had my orders from Judge S. F. ?Ware?, David Scott and Wilson Holt what to do.  I went down.  John C. Fitzgerald bid first; I bid the land off at last for $4,650 which was in the interest of those who were enjoying squatter’s rights, and had made improvements.  I walked down and walked back, and lacked just a dollar on board bill at Menasha which Capt. Scott immediately liquidated with cash sent in a registered letter. Wilson Holt wrote a letter to Washington to Congressman Williams, who was from Fond du Lac, to have congress act so the county judge from Oshkosh could come up and deed this land to each and every actual settler.  Mr. Holt told me in ten days that he had received a letter from Washington that the matter had been acted upon and Judge Wheeler would come up in due time.  I went down and took a deed of the eighty acres north of Nelson’s planing mill, Nov. 14, 1853 and E. L. Browne, (who had come to Waupaca the Aug. previous) was employed to help make a plat of the four forties before mentioned. After they had made the plat and designated what each individual was to have, Mr. Wheeler said the Washington authorities by act of congress had decided to charge to each settler $1.25 per acre.  Then when it was all bid in except he block where the court house now stands, Mr. Wheeler said, who is the lucky man to take this.  Silas Miller had a squatter’s claim to it but said as he had no money to spare, he guessed he did not want to buy it.  Judge Wheeler complimented the Waupaca people and said, he would give this square of land to the citizens of Waupaca for a park.  Mr. Miller asked if we would have a patent to the land.  Judge Wheeler said no, that whatever he done would be ratified at Washington, and he said that all the names designated would be recorded at Washington and the square designated would be also recorded and no person can ever buy or sell it.  In 1855 Waupaca, at their own expense built the court house which is the building now owned by Martin Peterson near stone bridge, and donated it to Waupaca County which previously had been having trying titles with Mukwa and Weyauwega for location but Waupaca won.  The county took possession in ’56 and the building was used for a court house until 1881 when it was replaced with the fine structure standing on the square to day  and one of the conditions of the erection of the new court house was that Waupaca let the county have the use of the site as long as the county wanted to use it for court house purposes and donate $7,000 toward the new building and the money was paid.  I have lived to see all the plans of the schemers to deprive Waupaca of the county seat fail.  I have done my part personally and by paying taxes to build the two court houses and I expect to live long enough to see the present scheme of removal fail, because it is well enough as it is and because of the misrepresentations of the schemers; and I shall expect the present site will be used for court house purposes for Waupaca County until Gabriel blows his last trump on the Millennial morn.”