The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1884-09-26


many years, until the railroads were intro
duced, the old yellow stage coach, often call
ed g the mud stage, running from Milwau-
kee to Racine and Chicago weekly, g drew
its slow length along" Men rode al will
over the prairies, threading their way
among the tall grasses and wild flowers. with
no inpediment but the aloughs and no guide
but their compass or The sun and stars
The elastic tread of the unbroken prairie
sod will be ever remembered by those who
have enjoyed the rides and drives over it.
In cloudy days or stormy nights men were
often lost upon 1T, and there was no re-
source but to camp and wait until better
light would enable them to regain their
bearings. 1t is said that one early traveller
near Racine, leaving cabin in the morning
Of one dark day, after riding hard all day,
found himself at night at the same cabin.
He had been travelling all the time in cir
Gle.
The two great highways known as the
Burlington and Geneva roads, running few
miles from its northern and southern bound
aries, finally relieved this county of such
dangers, and ushered in the white mans
civilization. Over these three highways the
|
effected
THE SETTLEMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF TIE
COUNTY.
The lands Of Kenosha county were part
of the tract ceded to the United States By
the Pottawattamie and other Indian tribes
by the treaty Of Chicago September 26th,
1888. By that treaty the Indians were al
lowed to retain possession until 1886, all
though the Government had acquired the
right to enter in and survey the lands. The
Territorial government of Wisconsin was or.
ganized in 1886. Racine county. which then
| included Rock, Walworth and Kenosha
counties. was created by al act of the Terri
torial legislature the same year. The lands
of Racine county, including, Of course, those
Of Kenosha county, were not put on ths
market until 1889. But many enterprising
settlers, in anticipation Of the land sale, had
already come in and "taken up'' their
claims. In 1888 the village of Southport
(Kenosha) had population Of 456 inhabit-
ants, Pleasant Prairie Of 3l5, and Salem Of
Ill.
| Racine county was divided into townships
by act of the Territorial legislature January
2, 1888, aud by that law Southport Salem
and Pleasant Prairie first received their
| formal organization as towns. The first cleo.
ton in Racine county-always remember
| ing that this included then Kenosha county
was held at the school-house, at the rapids
of Root river, now about one and O hall
miles outside Of the city of Racine, on
April 4th, 1887. The county was divided
into election precincts in 1838-ihat of Pleas,
ant Prairie being established at the house OF
Daniel Stevens; of Salem OF the house oil
John Bullen; and of Southport at .sthe
school. house in the village" On the, 18th
of June, 1887, Benjamin c. Pease, ANNA
Clark and Sidney s. Derbyshire, school
commissioners elected April 4th, divided the
county into school districts The old rate
bill system constituted then our education
al code, and continued to prevail under terri
torial rule until l849. when the new code
prepared principally by our fellow-citizen,
Col. Frank, and which is substantially the
| present law, was adopted.
| The system OF county government was
that of Commissioners, and this continued
until 1912. The first commissioners chosen
were Nathaniel Bell, Harmon Marsh and
Samuel Hale, Jr., with F. s. Lowell as clerk
of the Board 1t is interesting to observe,
and creditabe to the intelligence of the
early settlers of this region, that the portion
of the old Racine county which we occupy
now Kenosha county-furnished so large
a proportion of the county officers when the
| two counties were united. citizen of
| WalWorth county once told me IS KenOsha
| county has always been great on men, y
The Supervisor system was established in
| hn riot ~ ~
the following members Tristan G. Hoyt,
chairman Daniel Slauson, Garfield Marsh
John Dexter, J. D. Benedict. A. w. Benham !,
B.. d. Hale, John I. .Towbrldge, Haines
| French, Robert Bell, Walter Secor and Peter
Van VIiet; John Ramsdel, clerk. Edgar
R. Hugunin was the first sheriff of the
united counties, having been appointed in
| 1886.
| Volney French was elected the first Judge
of Probate in 1888. The first court held In
Racine county was presided over by ] adge
Frazier in the spring of 1887.
| Charles Durkee, afterwards United States
Senator, was member Of the Territorial
Government from 1886 to 1888, and was
then first introduced into his long and USE
| full public career. William Bullen was
elected President of the Council in 1885, In
the years 1843 to l848 Philander Judson,
Michael Frank, Levi Grant, Robert Nc
Clellan, Frederick s. Lowell, are mentioned
among the council men, Wisconsin becom-
ing state in 1848, the first Senators of Ra.
cine county were c. L. Sholes and Philo
White. H. s. Thorp, our honored President,
took his seat for the arst time in the AS
sembly in l849. In the Convention of l847
which framed the constitution, S. r McClel-
Ian, Frederick S. Lowell, A. b. Jackson re,
presented this part of Racine coanty.
The county was divided in 1850, and. the
County Of Kenosha began its separate exist
ence, the story of which is too familiar and
near our own time to deserve any thing like
historic mention. At that tiuethe County
of Kenosha contained 1884 inhabitants
In the brief time which ought to occupy
on this occasion, | may not be permitted to
trace the history of our several townships
which no doubt would be interesting to MANY
of you, and still less that of the indiyiduals
who first organized them, many of wnom
happily linger in life and celebrate with us
this pleasant hour Of retrospect.
Kenosha alone, with its story Of the West.
ern Emigration Company, its Resigue
War;" its q Indian fright" when Mr.. Ba.
cons -four was stolen by the Indians, and
/" the Woodbridge quarrel" all of which, in
the faithful and graphic variations of Elder
Jason Lathrop, Col. Frank and Mr. Mygatt,
are destined to live in the records of Wiscon-
sin, could occupy the hour assigned me.
| can but remark that the early history OF
Kenosha is peculiarly interesting and instrhc
tive, as illustrating the manner in which the
most generous schemes of colonization. in O
society like ours, were compelled to yield to
the superior advantages of competition and
private interests The Western Emigration
Company, formed one afternoon at the house
of John Bullen, at Hannibal, Oswego County,
N. T., with all its benefcent plans, lived
only few months in presence of the con
hIcting interests of actual settlers. Its
most active members, according to the rec
ord of Col Frank, to which l am indebted
for many statements in these remarks, were
John Bullen, Jr., Charles Turner, Waters
Towslee, James Scott, DR.. r. B, Cary, Jason
Lothrop, Hudson Bacon, Peter Wocdin, Al
fred Foster, Orlando Foster, William Bullen.
George Bennett and Sidney Roberts, two of
whom are still properly residents of Keno
sha County. This Company was dissolved in