Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-10-04
CERESCO.
SOCIAL EKPERIAEFT'
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To the old resident of Wisconsin the
name - Ceresco " is familiar, but to the
great majority Of us moderns It Is
meaningless symbol. Usually the trav-
eller first hears the name spoken In
the vicinity Of Ripon or the far-famed
Green Lake, one Of the numerous
summer resorts on the lines of the Chi
csgo and Northwestern railway. IL Is
a name which at once excites curioS-
ity. Its magic syllables seem to impel
to inquiry, and generally the zest for
knowledge is only quickened by the III
formation that the word was coined
=. Ceres" the goddess Of agriculture,
and that four decades ago people lived
in the beautiful valley that still bears
the name, engaged in the working out OF
a great social experiment. apart from the
world. and yet the objects of respectful
regard BY some Of the worlds bright
est intellects. The famous Brook
farm " experiment had greater names
upon its roll-names such as Hag-
thorne's and Ripley's, which aiterward
became great in literature but 1t was
not as well conducted, nor did it come
so near to ultimate success as did
CeIesco." Forty years ago, all over
the United States, men were looking
toward this Wisconsin valley TO see the
realization of their fondest dreams oil
social happiness. Here was to be
Utopia at last.
The " Wisconsin Phalanx," as it was
called, was originated in the vicinity of
the present village OF Kenosha, Wis.
In the winter of 1894, there was
much discussion in that place, as
throughout the country, of the doc
trines Of Charles Fourier, the celebrated
Socialist. The discussion resulted IN
action, and in the spring Of 1874 a
company was formed and six hun
bred acres of Government land pre-
empted. Warren Chase, the origi-
nator and first president of the - Pha-
lanx," deserves more than q passing
notice. lie was native OF New
Hampshire, and at this time WAS about
thirty years Of age. lie is described
by his associates as man Of intel
lectual power, Of commanding inilu-
ence. and Of strict integrity. One can
not read his official reports as presi-
dent of the Plnlanx without feeling re-
spect for the mans evident ability and
skill in management. His theory may
have been better than his practice,
but his writings do not bear the i'm
press of either crank " or a fanatic.
OF his later career we shall have oc-
casion to speak hereafter.
1t was in the latter half Of May. 1874.
that little band Of nineteen men start
ed with ORLEANS from Kenosha TO seek
out the "promised land" and begin
the long-talked-of experiment. The
party seems to have been made up en-
tirely Of respectable, thrifty. energetic
members of society, and seldom was
such an enterprise undertaken by bet
ter qualified set of men. Most Of them
were young or in the prime of life, and
they entered upon this self-appointed
task with all the enthusiasm incident
to new cause. They were going into
an unsettled region, where they might
test Fouricr's theories as they had never
been tested before, removed from all
the irIitations of a skeptical world.
What wonder that they rejoiced in their
toll, and pressed eagerly forward
through trackless forests and over opea
prairies toward this unexplored Wis
consin Mecca?
At length. on the 9th Of May, this
pnrty reached the spot which hal been
chosen for their settlement. 1t Was in
.bo p-aeani northwestern cOrncr town.
shin Of Fond du Lac county, in the
western part of what is now the city OF
Ripon, Wis. This lovely valley, which
even now, robbed of much OF its pris-
tine beauty by the hand Of man,
awakens unspeakable admiration in all
who behold it, then lay before them
in all its wealth of spring
freshness. Two silvery streams water
ed the rich bottom-land. Deer and
other game abounded in the oak and
maple groves along the uplands. Across
on the western hill-sides were outcrop-
pings of sand and limestone, uneI-
celled for building purposes. Ample
water-power was afforded by the larger
stream. while the smaller was a constant
feeder. The fertile soil promised untold
rewards to diligent husbandry. Chase
and his followers were captivated by the
prospect, and without dissent this was
made the chosen abode of the Phalan1
as long as that institution continued
to have a local habitation aud 8
name" These pioneers had been a
week on their journey Of one hundred
miles, for the most part through an I'M
settled country, and they ended their
toilsome pilgrimage only eighty miles
northwest of Milwaukee, in the very
heart Of what is now the most popu-
lous portion of Wisconsin. They were
among the first white men to penetrate
this region; but they did not enter a
barren wilderness. 1t seemed to them
that they were taking possession OF
lands ordained by nature for such q
work as theirs.
The first work of the pioneer party
was the clearing and breaking Of land
for the first crop, and after few acres
had been sown all were engaged in put
ting up the first rude buildings. Mean
while the women and children of the
phalanx arrived, and the new commu-
nifty began to take on the air Of perma-
nent settlement. Participants in those
early scenes are fond of telling Of
the activity that pervaded the
place. The members worked with
an uDwonted enthusiasm. They had
left the past behind them, but the
future was big with hope. The labor
being wisely directed brought quick re-
turn, and so that first summer was
passed, and the fall months found them
housed and sheltered. Late in the fall
saw-mill was completed on the water
power, so that now the colonists could
manufacture their own lumber, and in
the following summer the "unitary
dwelling" was erected. The members
49, L,k l.. o..