Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1920-05-19
VERNON NAMED FOR WHOM
A WALW0RTH PIONEER CLAIMS
THAT HONOR
A Seeming Conflict of Authority ON
That Point-Name Changed in
1862 BY The Legislature

The writer is in receipt of the Elk
horn Independent, published at the
county seat of Walworth county, Civ
ing the death of an honored pioneer
of tn t county-George Vernon
Weeks-at the age of 50 years. The
paper recites that Hr. Weeks was a
special boyhood friend and a native
of the same town in the state of New
York OF our former longtime resident
of Viroqua, Sylvester G. Lincoln, a pio-
neer hotel man and postmaster, who
suggested that our eounty's name
bad AK" be changed to Vernon" in
honor of his friend. On this point
there is conflict of authority, and we
reproduce from the county history a
chapter on this score.
Changing the Name to vernon"
When Jeremiah M. Rusk was in the
legislature, in 1862, w. F. Terhune
prepared petitions and circulated
them throughout the county for sigma
lures, asking the legislature to change
the name, but without designating a
substitute. And here we introduce a
letter of Gov. Rusk, addressed to the
editor, explanatory of what followed:
EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
Madison, Wis, October 20, 1888
Dear Sir: Many of the leading
citizens of the county believed that
the name Bad AK was a detriment to
the future prosperity of the county.
The Hon. William F. Terhune went
east about 1859, and when he return
ed he was thoroughly convinced that
the name of the county was a great
detriment to it, and from that time he
strongly urged the change. An effort
was made to change the name in 1860.
In 1861 was elected to the Assembly,
and a very strong petition was signed
and presented to me, urging the change
to something else, but not designating
what. At that time | was not very
favorable to the change; but when the
convened | became thor
oughly convinced that the name was
a detri,nent to the county. Whenever
| rose and addressed the chair, and the
speaker recognized "the gentleman
from Bad Ax", every body in the
chamber turned to look at the men,
Der to see if he looked like the rest of
the members. | Immediately wrote
Judge Terhune to select a name and
would do what | could to make the
change. Judge Terhune sent me the
lldiilC CANOH anu Tie Dlll Was pre-
sented and passed that legislature.
Yours very truly,
j. NJ. RUSK."
Mr.. Terhune found much trouble in
selecting a new name that was pleas
ing to the people Some thought it
should be Wheatland; others suggest
I'd Minnesheik, as already noticed land
,ther names had advocates. Finally,
Mr.. Terhune hit upon the name of
Vernon as kind of compromise. The
'eason for its suggestion was that the
DOT of the word (greenness) was APP
)licable not to the people but to the
general appearance of the county, COW
red as it was in many places with |
sreen wheat fields. Besides this, the |
word was euphonic and carried with it |
pleasing association with Mt. Yer |
ION the home (as is well known of |
he Father of his Country, during his |
lifetime. These considerations Undue
d Mr.. Terhune to believe that the |
word would be, as it proved, generally |
acceptable to the inhabitants of the |
ounty; and he sent it forward as Gov
ausk states in his letter just given.