Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1921-08-24
14lttll thu 39ntnat ItnnRRra
(By Judge Wilmottl

The first saw mill erected in what
is now the town of Potosi was oper-
ated by Asa Hough down near the
mouth of Platte river. He sometime
afterward added the equipments OF a
grist mill where the early settlers
could get their grain reduced to flour
if not of the very whitest at least a
good palatable article. John Kendall
built a grist mill on Boice Creek in
1910 and Kendalls mill was known
far and wide for its quality of good
-four. Operations at the mill ceased
when Kendall died and the old mill
was operated by others until some
years later the property was purchas-
ed by Christian Cellar who had the
old mill remodeled and installed a
turbine to take the place of the stone
burrs and added other improved ma
chinery. A man named Schultz then
took charge of the mill. He was a
practical and first class miller and
gave good satisfaction to the trade.
Two young men from the village were
employed in the mill and learning the
-four milling trade. One OF them
Johnnie OFT, son of the late John
1
shaft in the mill and instantly killed.
The other one John Price finished his
apprenticeship and years later owned
and conducted -four mill at Fonda,
Mimi, and much Of his -four was sold
in Potosi. The late Andrew Kern of
Ellenboro succeeded Schultz in the
management of the mill and conduct
ed it for a few years. The mill was
later destroyed by fire thus ending
the old Kendall mill.
+ -
There were discovered in the early
mining days some wonderful mineral
ranges. Chiefly among them were the
Long and Woolev ranges, the cave
range, the Mcdonald, Hudson, Brock,
Madison and Keith ranges. The
Mudd and Apple River, the st. John.
Meade and Gillette, Mattcx, De Tanta-
bar and Watson, May and Skate
ranges, and what was known as the
famous Pump range and hundreds OF
other ranges of less note that yielded
great quantities of lead o:e It is
related that the Long range yielded
ten million pounds of ore and the
WOOley range followed with seven
million pounds. The Cave and Pump
ranges also produced millions of
pounds. Wooley and Templeton owned
claim on the east end of the Pump
range and it is said that one million
pounds Of ore were taken from one
shaft on their claim. The mineral
went into the water at the depth of
fifty feet and WColey and Templeton
put on horse pump at this shaft.
hence the name of Pump" range.
Alexander Polkenborn owned the next
claim west and the Polkenhorn shaft
was noted for the large quantity OF
ore taken from it. George Madria
owned the next claim, while Jas and
John Hull owned the extreme west
end OF the range. Here the mineral
lay in huge chunks in the blue clay.
1t was said that ninety thousand
pounds Of mineral was broken from
one chunk on this claim. This range
was not lengthy one but was about
twenty feet wide and it can truthfulIy
be said that it was an opening from
the top of the ground down. The st.
John range, southwest, bearing north
eastward. dipped into this big opening
caused the immense body of ore in
the Pump range. In 1855 Thomas
Palliser and r. H. Visscher put on q
steam pump in the Wooley and Temp
Teton shaft and worked the crevice
that had become narrowed eastward
Though they took out considerable
mineral the venture was not a paving
one. The Skaife range. though NOT
as prominent as some of the others.
was the cause of much litigation. The
elder James BleWett and others from
British Hollow, were mining nearby
and practically on the same range
William and Samuel Skate Disputed
BleWett's and his partners right TO
mine on the range. The Blewett partv
upheld their right of discovery and
the next course was lawsuit to do
termlne the ownership, and the
SKATE brothers won by right of dis
coyery. The case caused much bitter
feeling among the friends of both
parties, British Hollow stood bv tha
BleWett party and Potosi for the
SKATES, and several fistic encounters
TOOK place with Potosi on ton.