Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1910-03-09
OLD BLOCKHOUSE
NOW WISCONSIN S
BLUE MOUNDS LANDMARK Is
GRANTED TO STATE HIsToR-
lcAL SOCIETY.
HEIRS OF FIRST SETTLER OF
DANE COUNTY PRESENT
SITE TO STATE.
HISTORIC PATCH OF QUARTER
ACRE WILL BE SUITABLY
MARKED.
Madison, March 5.

Madison, March s.
The heirs of Ebenezer Brigham, the
first American settler in Dane county,
yesterday presented to the state his
torical society the site of the old
blockhouse at Blue Mounds, which
figured prominently in the Black
Hawk war, in 1882. The deed was
formally accepted for the society by
it's secretary and superintendent, DR..
Thwaites, from the hands of Charles
l. Brigham of Blue Mounds and Brig
ham Bliss of st. Paul, representatives
of the heirs.
Ebenezer Brigham settled at Blue
Mounds in 1928, having opened a lead
mine at that place Either in the
autumn of that year or the spring OF
the next, Mr.. Brigham journeyed TO
Fort Winnebago, at Portage, to get
supplies for his miners and make ar
rangements for shipping his lead by
way of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers.
On his way to Portage, he passed
along the northwest shore of Lake
Mendoza; but on his return reached
the site of Madison at about where
Williamson street bridge now is, be-
tween Lakes Mendoza and Monona.
He had left Fort Winnebago in the
morning, and night overlook him as
he reached the hill now crowned by
the capitol. Within the limits of the
present park, near the east gate, he
pitched his tent of blankets. In after
years, he said that he plainly recol-
lected Madison as it then was, as
IAN open prairie, on which grew d
few dwarf oaks while thickets COW
cred the lower grounds Struck with
the strange beauty Of the place, he
predicted that village or a city
would in time spring up there" This
was about eight years before even
Wisconsin territory was formed, this
region being then part of the terri
tory of Michigan.
Blue Mounds, or "Brigham's place, :"
40 lI1C Il(IiO Nll1oSC was Qu1tG oS OlISn
known, soon became a famous rally
ing point for the eastern portion OF
the Wisconsin lead-mine country. 1t
took on the usual rough Characters
tics OF a mining town, with saloons,
much drinking, and rough sport; and
here travellers by horseback. put up,
in passing along the well worn trails
from Prairie du Chen and the lead
mines to Fort Winnebago and Fox
river points.
In 1892, the uprising of Black Hawk,
the famous leader of the Sank Indi-
ans at the mouth of the Rock river,
caused great excitement in the Wis
cOnsin lead district not only because
an invasion by the Sauks was feared,
but because the Winnebago of south
ern Wisconsin were much excited and
threatened to rally under Black
Hawks banner. At each of the prln-
cipal mines, therefore, log blockhous-
es were hastily erected. Into these
the nefghbors fiocked, men, women,
and children; going out in the day,
fully armed, to get water and supplies
and attend to necessary duties IN
field and mine, but at night lying hud-
died within the fort, prepared for pos
sible attacks by the enemy.
1t was a strenuous summer in our
lead mine country. Colonel Dodge
and his company of roughrider scouts
We're recruited from Blue Mounds and
other centers of settlement, and were
in the thick of the fight everywhere.
At several Of the blockhouses there
were sharp contests, but as a rule
these were south of the Illinois-Wis-
consin boundary At Blue Mounds
severI incidents occurred however,
that made the fort memorable.
Here We're given up by the Winnie
bago and Potawatomi the Hall sisters,
stolen by Sauks from an Illinois
farm, and for whose return $4,000
was offered by the governor of that
state. Later, three men who had ven
tured too far from the blockhouse
were killed by lurking savages-Wil-
liam Aubrey, George Force. and EN-
srson Green. Their bodies were
chopped to pieces by their captors,
almost within sight of the little gar
rison of half dozen men. At or
near Blue Mounds, also, were conduct