Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1925-03-11
The Main Streams


Grant river, named after Grant, the
second Indian trader, heads in the
lower part of Fennimore township
and flows in sOuthwesterly course
down through Lancaster township and
thence in a general southerly direc-
ton through Beetown, passing from
which it makes a curve to the west
and passing through Waterloo town
ship empties into the Mississippi riv-
er in the southern part of the town
of Potosi This river in early days
was navigable for steamboats, as far
as Potosi, but is now nothing more
than a little dirty stream. The Platte
river finds its source in the northern
part of the town of Clifton and flows
thence in a general sOutherly course
until it empties into the Mississippi
in the extreme northeast corner of
the town of Potosi. This river, like
Grant river, in early days was navig-
able for steamboats, up to the once
fiourishing little city of Paris that is
no more The river is often inclOSed
during it's course by hills gently slop
ing on one side and quite steep on
the other. This feature is more espe-
cially noticeable near it's mouth. The
first saw mill in the county was on
this river a short distance above its
mouth at a point called Gibralter and
was erected by Edgerton Hough in
1929. The Blue river and Green river
are two other rivers within the bOun-
diaries of Grant county.
Heights in Grant County
The following list will show the ell
ovation in points in the county. All
heights are computed from the level
of Lake Michigan and are just that
number of feet abovep the lakes sur
face Wyalusing SO feet, Glen Haven
% feet Cassville 80 feet, North And
over $50 feet, Bloomington 327 feet,
Patch Grove 498 feet, Mt. Hope 49S
feet, Little Grant $50 feet, Beetown 1874
feet, Potosi 204 feet, Lancaster court
house 500 feet, Mt. Ida $50 feet, Fen
nimore $50 feet, Liberty Ridge 566
feet, Animation 271 feet, EllenbOro Ill
feet. Dickeyville $50 feet, jamestown
p. o. 334 feet, Fairplay 220 feet, Sim
sinawa College 34S feet, Hazel Green
$50 feet, st. Rose 416 feet, Big Patch
239 feet, Platteville 257 feet, Wash
burn 263 feet, New California All
feet Montfort 515 feet, Castle Rock
269 feet, West Platte Mound 694 feet.
Muscoda 109 feet, Boscobel SO feet,
British Hollow 2S7 feet, Rockville 34S
feet The Mississippi bottom at the
southern extremity of Grant county
is 900 feet above the sea. The highest
point within Grant county is the top
of Sinsinawa Mound
More Early Justice
Continuing my narrative of early
IN, ho mi in o. h.
Iished a few weeks ago, l must call
attention to the fact that Peter Coyle
was a noted character in his day, and
founded the first store in Snake Hol-
low which followed Van Buren, in a
direction northward to what is now
known as Potosi He arose to the dig
nifty of Justice of the peace and upon
one occasion in the very early days
his court was honored by the presence
of two distinguished lawyers, the Hon
William Hull and Judge c. X. Lord,
The defendant attorney let fall some
observation which suggested lack OF
respect to His Honor when the latter
pulled his nose and afterward creased
it with burning candle remarking
he would teach him to respect the
court. CoyIe was a keen, shrewd and
intelligent man and was one OF the
founders of ST. Thomas Catholic
church in Snake Hollow. now Potosi,
in 1886. He died enroute to Califor-
mia in 1850.
Some Cold Winters
Among incidents connected with the
history of the county are several win
tiers noted for their exceptional Sc
verify. Among the first spoken of was
that of 1886 when the Frost Kings
reign lasted long into April, teams
heavily loaded crossing the Mississip-
ri river as late as the goth of that
month. This was followed by another
in 1S43 which if not quite so severe
as its predecessor, was about as long
continued. But all these paled before