Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1898-10-20
LO6HL'HISTORY.
An Interesting Account
of Early Times in
Patch Grove.

The first permanent settler of Patch
Grove township was Moses Hicklin,
whose wife is still living on the land
first pre-empted, afterward purchased
from the government for a home.
Mrs. Sally Hicklin at The extreme age
of ninety seven years has clear reool-
lection of the incidents and dangers
of her early life in Wisconsin.
Mr.. Hicklin came first in 1927, but
returned soon after to his home
in Missouri, to prepare to remove
with his family to Cassville in 1929.
His first claim was made on the land
owned by Alex Ramsey to whom he
sold it.
In the course OF time troubles arose
with Indians which ended in the
Black Hawk War; through these
dangerous times many settlers took
refuge in the block house at Cassville
among them the Hicklin family.
Scouts were out constantly watch
ing the Indians lest they might con-
centrate for an attack upon the
whites; while out for this purpose Mr..
Hicklin selected the location that has
been the home of the family ever
since 1884. The double log house
was built on the Military road living
between the Forts Crawford and Win
nebago, and became the shelter and
home for all the travelling public I'M
Ill 1884 when the arrival of the Henry
Patch family made another place of
entertainment for the public.
George Dodge. who always travel
ed in those days on horse back ac-
companied by colored servant, made
for the Hicklin house, as he remarked
the smoked ham and good fragrant
coffee reminded him of his cold
Kentucky Home.r Over the Military
road that passed the house, came the
travellers from Portage and Green Bay,
troops of soldiers, military supplies
and provisions, bags of silver and
boxes of gold, to pay the soldiers at
Fort Crawford were transported, and
there is no record that we know of,
that robbery was ever committed,
although there is half remembered
tradition of one having been planned
by two women, which failed in its
execution.
In 1884 Henry Patch, Sen. located
on the northwestern extremity of the
large prairie which took the name of
''Blake's prairie from Page Blake,
who, with Charles Blunt, Pitzer and
Ray, built their cabins at intermediate
points from Patch's place to Cassville,
and this was known as Stringtown, in
early days.
d., bo uall
among old settlers, made claim north
of Patch's on what is known as J. A.
Davis farm. Previous to Davis S
ownership the farm was owned by
Ephriam Hail. In 1888 Elisha Warner
and his son Jared settled in the hol-
low long known as the Pocket, where
they built sawmill. Later on Jared
built another, as the demand for lum-
Der increased, and from it was sup
piled the lum Der for scores of houses,
barns. etc, on the prairie, some of
which are still to be seen; our house
is the oldest dwelling on the prairie
that is inhabitable at this time. Be-
tween the years of 1886 and 1874
farms were located by John Thomp-
son, Lawless, two Humphreys, two
Bronsons, Thos. Burnett, Dickinson,
Ballentines, Hall, Gilbert Newberry,
: Pike, Finn. Franklin, two Pauls,
Stockwell, Adams, Nagle, Scott, Room
ey Goodman, Careys, Dowlans and
others now forgotten; there was a
stage route through from Platteville
to Prairie du Chen by which mail was
received three times week at the
~ tn ff,.
Postage on letters at that time was
% cents apiece.
But one house stood on the present
site of Patch Grove, it was owned by
Z. p Finn, not restige of it can be
seen today in the green pasture lot.
The nearest trading point was Bee
town; there was no grumbling about
bad roads for each might take the
shortest cut across the wild prairie he
chose to with only the house of Hiram
Hudson, a short distance this side of
Beetown, and the old stone one of
John Thompson on the northern
boundary OF the prairie for guides to
steer by. Butter and eggs was the
currency mostly used by the farmers
on their trading excursions.
There being no place OF worship at
that time, religious meetings were
held on ordinary occasions in the
houses of Humphrey. Patch and
Blunt; but for quarterly meetings
their spacious barns were used In
1911 there was frame school house
built near Justus Dickinson's farm,
which for several years was used for
all sorts of gatherings. Sunday and
week day schools, meetings for wor-
ship. elections, lectures, etc The
circuit traversed in that early day by
the itinerant preacher extended many
miles in each direction, and between
their visits two very eccentric men
oficiated as leaders aud preachers.