Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1920-08-19
INTERESTING
PLATE TURNED
UP BY PLOW
"'New Baltimore, W. t. Who
In All Wisconsin Knows Where
1t Was?

II. e. Cole of Baraboo, now, visiting
at Pierceton, Ind has delivered to the
museum of the State Historical Soc
Iety at Madison of which he is a cura-
tor a curious piece of ironwork which
had been given him by Editor Robert
M. Crawford of the Mineral Point
Democrat. It is in the form of a bar,
one foot two inches in length, one and
one-eighth inches wide, and about
three-eighths of an INCH thick, on one
face of which have been wrought the
characters spelling the words
NEW BALTIMORE, w. T.
Before and after the word Bal
timore' is a round puncture formed
on the lettered side for tapering
screw head.
This, says Joseph Schafer, super
intendent of the State Historical So
ciety, indicates that the plate was
probably fastened to some wooden
object, perhaps over door as a sort
of sign.
Mr.. Schafer, looking into the mat
ter further, finds that the name
New Baltimore does not appear in
the Wisconsin Gazetteer neither is it
given among the names of WiscOn-
sin postoffices in the Official Regis
ter of the United States. However,
in William r. Smiths Observations
on Wisconsin Territory, 1888, there
is a map which locates q place Of
that name five miles south of Mineral
Point on a small branch of the Pecat
Onica river, short distance above
the point where this stream joins the
larger west branch.
A proposed railway line is shown
as originating at Buchanan" at the
mouth of Mineral river en- the Wis
conSin, and as running south
through Dodgeville and Mineral Point
to New Baltimore. There it turns
sharply to the right and runs west
TO Belmont, from which place it is
represented as running southwest
across a corner of Grant county to
mississippi City opposite Du-
buque.
In the text of Smiths book is
found an explanation of New Balti-
more which was the name Richard
McKim gave to his establishment
consisting of his mansion" lead
smeltering furnace, sawmill, and
workmen's cottages Since the
name failed to get into the lists of
either postoffices or villages, it is
doubtless only one more example of
the paper towns" of early Wiscon-
sin.
Smiths book is extremely useful
In locating the paper towns of 1888.
He notes and maps a number of
them. For example, he lays down
on the map in Grant county, place
called ''Fayette' or 'La Fayette" at
the junction of Blue river with it's
western or Fennimore branch, in
township eight, range one west. He
likewise describes this place in his
text, along with other places on the
Wisconsin, like Prairie du Bay or
Sutherland (where there was
good steamboat landing = and
nothing more, Buchanan, river ter
minus of proposed railroad, etc.
Now, from plat of original gran
tees Of township s, range ! west,
it appears that $50 acres, at the
forks of Blue river, were entered in
1887 by Hugh Russell Hunter, Ste-
Dhen Taylor, w. p Sheldon, Martin
Van Buren, Burris and others. That
these persons laid out a town there
is known from the fact that Smith
speaks of it, and also from survey
stakes later plowed up by those
delivered within whose farms the
town of Lafayette fell. But there new
er were even the most ghostly fore
shadowings of real town" at the
forks of Blue river.
OF course, New Baltimore, having