Fifty Years In The Northwest
Stout, in 1859. The first death was that of Mrs. Dunlap, sister of
William Trimmer, in 1859.
The town was organized in 1855. The first town meeting was held at the
residence of William Lowell, and Samuel Deneen was the first chairman
of the town. The town was called Moscow, which name was changed one
year after to that of Sterling. It was the largest town in the county
then. It was organized into two school districts, but District No. 1
not being able to build a good school house, an old log shanty was
fixed up for school purposes, and in this Miss Fanny Trimmer taught
the first school. The first saw and grist mill was built by Dr.
Deneen. Olaf Strandburg established the first blacksmith shop and with
it a gun shop. In 1849 Charles F. Rowley built a "stopping place," so
called in those days, on the banks of Wolf creek, at the old crossing,
half a mile west of Deneen's, and cultivated a few acres of land. This
house was burned one night by a lot of teamsters in a drunken orgie.
DR. SAMUEL DENEEN, the first white settler in Sterling, was born Dec.
27, 1801, in Youngstown, Ohio. He was married in 1825 to Margaret
Conly. He studied medicine in Michigan, and came to Wisconsin in 1854,
and to Sterling in 1855. Dr. Deneen practiced his profession, made him
a farm, built a saw and grist mill on Wolf creek, established a post
office and took an active part in the interests of the new settlement.
He and his wife still live on the homestead which they have held for
the past thirty years. Mrs. Deneen was born in 1800.
WILLIAM W. TRIMMER came to Sterling in 1855 and made a home, building
and occupying what was for many years known as "Trimmer's Hotel." Mr.
Trimmer died in St. Croix Falls in 1874.
ARNOLD DENSMORE was born in Nova Scotia, in 1822; was married to
Matilda Wallace in 1845, and came to Sterling in 1867, where he died,
Jan. 20, 1886, much respected as a neighbor, citizen and Christian.
CHAPTER VI.
ST. CROIX COUNTY.
Jan. 9, 1840, the Wisconsin legislature created a new county out of
Crawford county, including territory west of the Chippewa river,
extending northward to the British possessions, and named it St.
Croix. By the same act, a day was designated for an election, at which
a county seat was to be chosen and county officers elected. "Mouth of
St. Croix," now Prescott, and Caw-caw-baw-kang, now St. Croix Falls,
were designated as voting places. Two places only were voted for,
"Mouth of St. Croix," and Dakotah, Brown's claim, now Schulenberg's
addition to Stillwater. Dakotah was chosen by a vote of forty-five to
thirteen. The returns were made to Prairie du Chien, county seat of
Crawford county, and certificates issued to the county officers
elected by C. J. Leonard, clerk of Crawford county. The legislature
had at the time of creating the new county made it a probate district,
Philip Aldrich being appointed judge.
The history of the county until 1848 has been given elsewhere, as
connected with the early history of Stillwater.
The admission of Wisconsin Territory as a state in 1848 divided the
county, giving it the St. Croix river and state line as its western
boundary. The Wisconsin portion of the old county was consequently
left without a county seat, while the portion west of the St. Croix
had a county seat, but was without state or territorial jurisdiction.
Congress, however, declared Wisconsin territorial laws to be still in
force in the excluded territory, and they so remained until the
organization of Minnesota Territory. Soon after the admission of
Wisconsin, that part of St. Croix county within its limits was
reorganized for county and judicial purposes, and a new county seat
chosen, located in section 24, township 29, range 19, at the mouth of
Willow river. This county seat was at first called Buena Vista. On
Sept. 9, 1848, the county commissioners, under the law creating the
county, held their first meeting at the county seat, in the house of
Philip Aldrich. The commissioners present were Ammah Andrews,
chairman; W. H. Morse, and W. R. Anderson, clerk. Philip Aldrich was
appointed treasurer. Four voting precincts were established, Mouth of
St. Croix, Willow River or Buena Vista, Osceola, and Falls of St.
Croix. These early commissioners performed duties of the most varied
character incident to the government of a new county. There was as yet
no county seal, and they were required to draw with the pen upon legal
documents a scroll representing a seal, and to use other forms,
appliances and devices without legal precedent.
At the second meeting of the county commissioners Osceola was
represented by Harmon Crandall, he having been absent at the first
meeting of the board. Moses Perin was appointed collector. License for
selling intoxicating liquors was fixed at twenty dollars per annum.
The rate of taxation was fixed at seven mills on the dollar. The first
state election in the county was held at Buena Vista, Nov. 7, 1848.
One hundred and fifteen votes were the whole number cast in the
county. The following officers were elected: Senator, James Fisher, of
Crawford county; representative, Joseph Bowron, Buena Vista; county
commissioners, Wm. H. Morse, Ammah Andrews, Harmon Crandall, Buena
Vista; county clerk, W. Richardson, Buena Vista; register of deeds, W.
R. Anderson, Buena Vista; judge of probate court, Alvah D. Heaton,
Osceola; county treasurer, Philip Aldrich, Buena Vista; coroner, Wm.
O. Mahony, Osceola; surveyor, Alex. S. Youle, St. Croix Falls.
At the commissioners' meeting, Feb. 28, 1849, the county was divided
into the following towns: St. Croix Falls, Buena Vista, and Elisabeth.
At an election held Sept. 3, 1849, Hamlet H. Perkins received
forty-nine votes for judge, and Joel Foster forty-one. Mr. Perkins was
drowned at St. Croix Falls soon after, and the governor appointed Mr.
Foster to fill the vacancy. Judge Foster held his first court at Buena
Vista. Daniel Noble Johnson was appointed prosecuting attorney in
1849. James Hughes was appointed in 1850. The first district court was
held in August, 1850.
At a special meeting of the commissioners in 1849, James Hughes and J.
M. Bailey were appointed a building committee to make estimates for
the erection of a courthouse and jail. At the special meeting of the
commissioners, Jan. 15, 1851, the town of Kinnikinic was organized.
They had also under consideration the erection of county buildings,
and appointed Ammah Andrews to erect the same. Otis Hoyt, for
non-attendance at this meeting of the board, was fined fifty dollars,
but the fine was subsequently remitted. The legislature of 1851
changed the name of the town of Buena Vista to Willow River, also of
the town of Elisabeth to Prescott. At a subsequent meeting the
contract with Ammah Andrews to erect public buildings was rescinded,
and Daniel Mears was made special agent to build a jail, and three
hundred and fifty dollars was appropriated for that purpose. The town
of Rush River was organized Nov. 13, 1851. At the request of
petitioners, the town of Leroy (now Osceola) was organized Nov. 9,
1852. A day was fixed in 1852 to vote on the change of name, Willow
River to Hudson. The name Hudson was adopted by a two-thirds majority.
The legislature of 1853 created from the territory of St. Croix county
the counties of Polk, St. Croix and Pierce, Polk being located on the
north, Pierce on the south, and St. Croix occupying the central
portion of the original St. Croix county, and retaining the county
seat.
St. Croix county, as at present constituted, lies on the east bank of
the river and Lake St. Croix, forming, but for slight irregularities
on the western line, a parallelogram. It includes townships 28 to 31,
and ranges 15 to 19, with fractions of range 20 on the west. The
surface varies from gently undulating to hilly. The bluffs along the
lake are not precipitous, as on the Upper St. Croix, but are even and
continuous, with gently rounded slopes. From the river, eastward, the
country is broken and somewhat hilly; the central portions are rolling
prairies on which are fine farms, and the eastern portions are level
and originally heavily timbered. The eastern tier of townships is
covered by a heavy growth of timber known as the Big Woods. The timber
is composed of basswood, maple, butternut, several species of oak, and
a sprinkling of white pine. The soil is a rich clayey loam and well
adapted for grass, grain and root crops. Good building and limestone
crop out in places. The county is well drained by the St. Croix and
its tributaries, Apple, Willow and Kinnikinic on the west and Rush
river on the east. Of these tributaries Apple river is the largest. It
rises in Polk county, where it is supplied by numerous lakes, enters
St. Croix county and passes diagonally across the northwest corner and
empties into the St. Croix river a few miles above Stillwater. Willow
river rises in Cylon township and empties into St. Croix lake, just
above Hudson. This river passes through a deep gorge in the limestone
rock, a few miles above its mouth, falling in its passage over several
ledges of rock, producing falls famed far and near for their wildness
and grandeur. Kinnikinic river in the south part of the county is
famed also for the beauty of its scenery and for its waterfalls. It
passes into Pierce county and then, uniting with its southern branch,
flows into Lake St. Croix. Rush river rises in Eau Galle, and turns
and flows thence to Lake Pepin. These streams have unfailing supplies
from springs and small lakes. There is a remarkable formation in the
Kinnikinic valley about seven miles above River Falls, called the
Monument. It is a ledge of pure white sandstone rock, nearly circular,
and rising to a height of sixty feet. It stands on a natural elevation
far above the level of the valley and so forms a very conspicuous and
curious object. The base is forty or fifty feet wide, and the summit
is a turret-shaped mass of rock about fifteen feet wide and as many
high. The part upon which the turret rests is dome-shaped, its sides
worn by the rains into deep furrows. Years ago a tree grew upon the
summit. The soft sandstone is being gradually worn away by the winds
and rains.
HOW THE SCHOOL LANDS WERE SELECTED.
Philip Aldrich was appointed commissioner in 1848 to locate the state
school lands in St. Croix county, at that time including Polk and
Pierce counties. It is said that Dr. Aldrich would climb to the
summits of the highest mounds, and, casting his eyes east, west, north
or south, would proclaim such and such numbers or sections as school
lands. Where all were so arable and fertile there was no use in
discriminating. At the division of the county in 1853 the part
designated as St. Croix county was subdivided into three towns, Buena
Vista or Hudson, Willow River and Kinnikinic or Troy. As the
population increased these towns were divided and subdivided until
they numbered twenty-three. We append their names and dates of
organization. Where more than one name is given the last is the
present name:
Buena Vista, Willow River, Hudson 1849
Malone, Troy 1851
Rush River 1851
Pleasant Valley 1851
Somerset 1856
Hammond 1856
Star Prairie 1856
Dayton, Malone, Kinnikinic 1857
Cold Spring, Richmond 1857
Erin Prairie 1858
Brookville, Eau Galle 1858
St. Joseph 1858
Cylon 1859
Warren 1860