Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1920-02-12
To the Editor:

! In recent issue referring to the
destruction by fire of an old mill near
Delton, you raise the question as to
whether it was the oldest mill buff
| in Sank Co., and mentioning the fact
that a mill had been built in Merri.
mack saying, History fails to re
cord the date"
| In this you are mistaken as history
authority than the History Of Sank
County published in 1880, by the
/ Western Historical Society, a copy
of which you will find in the libraries
of all the pvrominetn citizens OF the
county, who put UP their little $500
for it, as well as very glowing des,
cription of their birthplace, date OF
their arrival on this planet, and their
general worth to the communities In
which they resided.
Perhaps you searched it's pages In
vain for the information desired, and
I will put you wise, where 1t can be
found.
| Way down near the last items OF
the contents of said history, on page
w, you will find in Chap XIV, Town
of Merrimack, P. SIT 1-2". The num-
Der of pages would look as if they
had IL notion not to put it in at
all, and compromising by putting il
where it would not be noticed except
| by one having paid the price, for a
favorable mention and would look care.
fully to see that he had value re-
ceived
! To save you looking it UP in the
original, I will quote from it's pages
notwithstanding little as I go along
I On Page 678: 1.-THE several mills
that have been erected, having long
since ceased to saw or grind; the first
one was a grist mill built as early
as 1914 of AS by H. Scarf on Sec. 4,
on what is known as Searl's Creek.
1t had not been up more. than two
months when a freshet undermined
the dam, and swept every thing to rack
and ruin.
IL was not rGDu1lI.
This place is little west of Full
1er's crossing, on the G. e ~ W. where
a high trestle used to be, and is the
spot, where since the Wisconsin power
adjacent the best fishing has .been
found.
In my days, the remains of the old
dam were plainly visible, and it fur
nished an illustration of that old story
"of dam by mill site, but not a
mill by a dam sight"
Resuming, history says, 'The next
person to enter the field was David
King, who two or three years after
the above disaster bought whatever
was valuable left of the old Scarf mill
and building a mill near the bluffs on
the same stream, began operations
this was a trifle south of Parfrey's
Glen, or near the old Roser place.
1.-TWO or three years subsequent the
mill was burned He soon after re-
built saw mill which subsequently
after his death in 1885, became the pro-
perty of Mr.. Naracong.
Mr.. King also started distillery,
which passed into the hands OF Fred
Roper.
This is near the time of my father,
H. M. Jones, Crossing the Wisconsin
and assuming the ownership of the
Ferry House in the village of Merri-
mack.
'Mr. Naracong put an engine in
to the old mill. Previous to this an
undershot or overshot wheel had been
used altogether.
Mr.. Naracong's enterprise proved q
failure
Ct we'll remember seeing the old
two f1ue boiler laying on the ground
in my first visit to the place with my
father, who went there TO purchase
a little of the product of Mr.. Roper's
distillery, as all taverns then kept
what was considered d nescessity as
an aid to digestion and preventative
of disease?
Mr.. Naracong, I think, afterwards
built and for long time successfully
operated,a mill on Spring Greek abou
half way between Okee and Lodi. II
that mill the writer came very nea
ar untimely death from starvation.
In 1866 he worked on farm il
West Point, and was sent to mill witt
a grist, and had to await his tur1
for it's grinding. 1t was the middl
of the afternoon before he was next,
and by that time he realized how pos
sible, the tale of the prodigal sons
hankering for the food given the swim
might be.
He arrived home at six p. M. jus
barely able to sit up, and take noun
ishment. I think this the only time i
: his lifetime he ever missed a meal, bu
this, like the minute that was los
can never be recovered.
! To resume history: In 1856 Q
1857 Fordice Roper built, which 500