THE REPUBLICAN

March 12, 1886

 

EARLY REMINISCENCES.

Weyauwega

 

From the Weyauwega Chronicle (Third Paper, March 6 and 18, 1886).

            During the years of ’50 and ’51, notwithstanding the forbidding protestations and threats of expulsion and punishment made by the Indian agent Bruce, and other government officials, the tide of emigration continued to increase, and Squatters’ claims were daily made upon the forbidden lands about Weyauwega.  The Squatters, having full confidence that the lands would soon be surveyed, placed in the market, their claims recognized and provisions made by the government for their relief as trespassers, (which was afterward accomplished by a special act of congress legalizing their claims, and entitling all settlers who resided on the Indian lands on the first day of June, ’52 to the right of preemption), proceeded and were at this time permanently settle upon their claims in and around Weyauwega.  The Billingtons, Vannostrands, Baxters, Tibbets, Jennys, A. V. Balch, Judge Beal, with a colony from Indiana and a number of others with their families; on the Walla creek west of Weyauwega, L. C. Dow, G. W. Taggart, J. Potter, Tyler Caldwell and others.  The timber lands north of the Waupaca river were gobbled up more for the timber than for settlement and cultivation.

            This season ’51 Ira Sumner, a surveyor, was employed by the Mill Company to survey and plat the village, which plat was made, but not recorded until after the land was purchased from the government.  However, a verbal agreement was made by the Company, that title to the village lots would be given at such time as they could obtain title from the government.  Neither the village plat nor mill site were reported.  In the government survey made in ’52, but the mill site and pond were meandered as Waupaca River and Waupaca Lake, and reported accordingly by the government surveyor, thus saving to the Company all trouble and expense that might arise in proving up and entering their claims and enabling them to give direct and immediate title to the occupants of village lots.

            The conditions on which the Company had promise title to lots in the village were, that upon payment of $25, and building house upon a lot, an adjoining lot would be donated and title given of both lots.  The Weyauwegians placing the fullest confidence in the fulfillment of the verbal promise on the Company, proceeded in haste to select their lots and erect buildings accordingly; consisting of rude board shantys with stovepipe holes in the roofs, no chimneys and no materials to be had for building them.  These comprised the buildings of Weyauwega upon nearly every alternate lot on the principal streets in ’51.  The first frame building erected in the village of any importance, was the hotel built and kept by Robert Baxter as the first and only hotel of the place, and now remaining and constituting a part of the American House.

            The only means of ingress and egress to and from Weyauwega during the summer season was the navigation of natural thoroughfare, Wolf River, no highway having yet been or attempted to be laid out, or traveled, and the transportation of freight and passengers confined to a small mongrel craft between a sail and row boat of about 1 ton burthen commanded by a tall giant, weird speciman of a river gnome, bearing the title of Captain Jack, who had established his line and made regular trips between Oshkosh and Gills Landing, as the weather and river current would permit, carrying the United States mail by implied contract in his coat pocket and delivering it out to individuals, collecting his pay C.O.D.  No post office or mail route having as yet been established in Waupaca County during the year ’51.  The first post office was established at Weyauwega, and Ben. Birdsall postmaster, but no mail route to supply the office.  About this time the famous stern wheel steamer Montello, (alias the Peggy) made her appearance on Wolf River, commanded by Captain Sherwood, of Oshkosh, and commenced her regular tri-weekly trips between Oshkosh and Mukwa, that is, to go up one week and try to get back the next, coming in direct competition with Captain Jack’s line, seriously disturbing and intruding upon his inalienable rights to monopolize the navigation of Wolf River and specially carrying the United States mail.

            Hot words and hard threats passed between the two Captains, and from the positions occupied on boar their respective boats, fears were entertained of a naval conflict on the river, to avoid which a meeting was called and a committee appointed to hear their claims set forth and make and award upon the merits of the navigation aspirants, Captain Jack claimed his rights by occupation and by commanding the fastest and safest boat and cited in corroboration of his assertion a race he had witnessed a few days before between the Peggy and a saw-log, in which the law-log was the winner.  The race was downstream and Jack gave as his opinion the reason of the Peggy losing to be a want of power in her engine to resist the force of current against her stern-wheel, which overpowered the stream, turned the wheel the other way and hauled the craft up stream, thereby enabling the log to slip by and win the race.  Capt. Sherwood plead only the merits of steam over wind and muscle, and the Peggy took the cake.  Captain Jack became disheartened and left for more congenial waters while Capt. Sherwood became sole navigator of Wolf River.

            This season a post office was established at Waupaca, with David Scott as postmaster, and another at Lind, with G. W. Taggart as postmaster.  A mail route from Green Bay to Waupaca, and from Strong’s Landing (Berlin) to Waupaca was established, leaving Weyauwega out in the cold.  We then hired a cheap boy to carry the mail from Lind once a week and heartily thankful were the citizens for the improvement of weekly mail during the winter season.

            It may be well to note in sketching the first mill enterprises in Waupaca county, that, although the Weyauwega and Little River mills were commenced and in process of construction during ’48-49, yet the mill of Townsend and Powers was completed and in running order first, and the lumber used in constructing the first buildings in this village was manufactured and hauled from the Little River mill.

            The Grignon mill, first on the Little Wolf, was commenced in ’47, before the treaty of session, he reserving the site and finishing it in 1848.  The first lumbering, of any account, was done by the lesser of that mill, Eliphalet Gordon and his son, Dud Gordon, who assisted by Senator Sawyer, got in during the winter of ’48 and ’49 a large amount of logs.  They manufactured, rafted, and run down the river to Oshkosh a large amount of lumber, which found slow sale at $4 per thousand.  And here it is said by hard labor in this lumber camp did the Senator, as a day laborer, lay the foundation for his immense fortune to loom up in the dim future, and be finally consummated by the sagacity of pine land statesmanship.                                                  PIONEER.