Fifty Years In The Northwest / With An Introduction And Appendix Containing Reminiscences, Incidents And Notes

by William H. C. Folsom

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Louis Massey came of a long-lived French-Canadian family. His father lived to the age of one hundred and seven and his mother to one hundred and five and he himself lived to the age of ninety-nine years. He was born in Canada, near Montreal, in 1788. In 1805 he left home to enter the service of the British fur traders at Detroit. In his eventful life he had many adventures and passed through many perils. He was once arrested with his employer by the American authorities and once made prisoner by the Indians. In 1812 he entered the employ of the notorious Col. Dickson, and, while with him, made a trip from Detroit by way of Mackinaw, Green Bay, Fox and Wisconsin rivers to Prairie du Chien in a birch canoe. He made two trips in mackinaw boats from Prairie du Chien to New Orleans and return. In one trip he was four months making his way from New Orleans to St. Louis. He made one voyage in a birch canoe from Montreal via Ottawa river, Georgian bay, Lake Huron, St. Marie's river and Lake Superior to Fond du Lac, at the mouth of St. Louis river, via Sandy lake and the Mississippi river to Lake Winnibagoshish, and another from Fond du Lac to Brule river, across to St. Croix river, thence to the Mississippi, and by way of St. Peter's river to Lake Traverse by canoe. In 1818 he entered the service of the American Fur Company, and lived at Fond du Lac, the headquarters of the company, for ten years. There he was married to a sister of Peter Bouchea. In 1828 he settled on the reservation near Fort Snelling, where he was held in such estimation that, on the expulsion of the settlers, the officers of the Fort assisted him in his removal to Willow River, whither he came in 1838 with Peter Bouchea. Wm. Steets and Joseph Lagroo soon followed them. These four were the first settlers in Hudson. Mr. Massey lived at his old home with a son-in-law, Richard Picard, until his death, Oct. 14, 1887. His only child living is Mrs. Picard.

Peter Bouchea was born at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, about 1815. He spent his early life in the neighborhood of Lake Superior, was married to a daughter of —— Bruce, and came to the mouth of Willow river in 1838. Mr. Bouchea had been educated for the Catholic priesthood. He was a truthful, intelligent, reliable man and filled some positions of responsibility. He had many stirring adventures and was once wounded by Indians and cared for by Gov. Cass, of Michigan, at Detroit and Fort Gratiot. He died in 1875, at Fort Edward, on the north shore of Lake Superior.

William Streets came to Willow River in 1838, a refugee from the Fort Snelling reservation. He was frozen to death in the winter of 1851.

Capt. John B. Page came from Piscataquis county, Maine, to the St. Croix valley in 1844, and engaged for awhile in cutting pine logs on Willow river. While rafting on the Mississippi he met, and after a brief courtship married, a woman who returned with him to his home on Willow river and who survives him. Mrs. Page had some reputation as a (Thomsonian) physician. They made their home in Hudson in 1847. Their daughter Abigail was the first white child of American descent born in Hudson. Abigail married George Bailey, and their sons, George W. and David, were for a long time residents of Hudson, and have but lately deceased. Mr. Page died Feb. 11, 1865.

Dr. Philip Aldrich, although not a permanent settler till 1847, was an occasional or transient visitor, and had made a land claim in section 24. He took a deep interest in the affairs of the pioneer settlement, and at his house many of the public gatherings, political and social, were held. He was the first postmaster, and, in the exigencies of the service, sometimes carried the mail on foot. While a resident of St. Croix Falls in 1844, he was appointed probate judge. In 1848 he was appointed treasurer of the county of St. Croix, and at the election in November of the same year, elected to that office. Dr. Aldrich was born in New York in 1792, and died at his home in Hudson, March 16, 1858.

The Nobles Family settled in Hudson in 1847. Rev. Lemuel Nobles, the father, was a Methodist local minister, and in 1847 preached the first sermon at the mouth of Willow river. He came originally from New York, lived a few years in the valley and removed to Michigan, where he died. His children were William H., Milton V., John, Mrs. Battles and Mrs. Morton S. Wilkinson, deceased. Wm. H. became a resident of Minnesota and a noted man. His biography is given elsewhere.

Milton V. Nobles was born in New York in 1818; removed to Michigan; was married to Matilda Edwards, Sept. 2, 1846, in Stillwater, and came to Hudson in 1847, where he followed lumbering until 1860, when he returned to New York and located at Elmira, where he resided until his death. While at Elmira he became an inventor and took out several valuable patents. His fortunes varied, and as is frequently the case with inventors, at one time he was wretchedly poor. In the midst of his galling poverty he sold one of his patents for a beautiful homestead in Elmira. Mrs. Nobles had not been informed of the transaction, but with her husband had visited the occupants of the homestead. Mrs. Nobles could not but contrast this pleasant home with her own poverty stricken surroundings, and in inviting her entertainers to return the call, told them plainly that she lived in a very humble home, and feared she could not make a visit pleasant to them. At this point the host stepped forward, and, by a preconcerted arrangement, presented her a deed to the mansion and grounds—a joyful surprise.

John Nobles, the youngest son, returned to Michigan and New York, where he became a Methodist minister. Some time subsequently he removed to Colorado, where he died.

James Purinton was born in 1797, in Tamworth, New Hampshire. He was married to Mary Mann, in Sandwich, New Hampshire. He afterward removed to Maine. He came to St. Croix Falls in 1842, and leased the St. Croix mills, and some time after became part owner. This venture not being successful, he removed to Willow River in 1847, where he built a large dam across the river, and with others erected a saw mill on the point of land between the lake and river. This venture was not successful and the mill property passed into other hands. Mr. Purinton was an experienced lumberman and an active, energetic man. The north side of Willow River, in which he was so much interested, became afterward quite valuable on account of the centralization of shops, depots and business of the West Wisconsin and North Wisconsin railroads. Mr. Purinton died in Hudson in 1849, leaving two married daughters—Mrs. ----Graves and Mrs. James McPhail.

Ammah Andrews was born in Herkimer county, New York, in 1801, and passed his early life in that place. In 1829 he was married to Laura Andrews, and in the same year moved to Michigan. He came to Hudson in 1847. Mr. Andrews was a carpenter and took some important building contracts. He was one of the first commissioners of St. Croix county under the state government, and also one of the first school directors. He has been an active and influential member of the Methodist Episcopal church the greater part of his life. He has three sons, now living in Nebraska, and one daughter, the wife of F. D. Harding, of Hudson, Wisconsin. Mr. Andrews died Jan. 5, 1888.

James Walstow.—Mr. Walstow was born in Nottingham, England, in 1815; was married there, and came to Hudson in 1849. He removed to Nebraska in 1863.

James Sanders was born in Devonshire, England, in 1818; came to America in 1841, and lived for years in New York. In 1844 he married Mary Walstow, removed to St. Croix Falls in 1845 and to Hudson in 1850, where he opened and improved the first farm in the present St. Croix county. Mrs. Sanders died in 1873. She left two sons, William and Walstow. Mr. Sanders removed to Osceola in 1880.

J. W. Stone was born in Connecticut in 1800. He came to Hudson in 1849 and opened the first store the same year. He died in 1860.

Joseph Bowron was born Aug. 1, 1809, in Essex county, New York. His parents were from Newcastle on the Tyne, England. His mother was a member of the Society of Friends. She died when Joseph was five years old, and he was reared by his aunt until nineteen years of age, when he engaged in business for himself in Lower Canada. Some time afterward he removed to the United States and obtained work on the Illinois canal. He next removed to St. Louis, and from thence, in 1841, to St. Croix Falls, where he acted as clerk, scaler of logs and mill superintendent. He was a member of the first state legislature of Wisconsin, in 1848. W. R. Marshall had received the certificate of election, but Mr. Bowron successfully contested the election. Mr. Bowron removed in 1848 to Hudson, where he attended to general collections, and served as justice of the peace. In 1849 Mr. Bowron was married to Celia Partridge, of Columbia county, Wisconsin, who died three years later. In 1854 he was married to Rosanna Partridge, who died in 1863. Mr. Bowron died April 10, 1868, leaving two children, who now reside in Kansas.

Moses Perin was born in 1815; came to St. Croix Falls in 1847 and to Hudson in 1849. He was the first collector of St. Croix county. In 1853 he built a warehouse and saw mill at Lakeland, Minnesota. The warehouse was burned, and the saw mill removed. In 1847 Mr. Perin removed to San Diego, California.

John O. Henning was born at Bellefonte, Centre county, Pennsylvania, in 1819. His great grandfather was the first settler in that county. In 1825 his father removed to Ithaca, New York, and there the youthful Henning received his education at the academy. During the excitement of the Jackson administration he became an ardent Democrat, and, that he might enter more fully into the political strife of the day, learned the printer's trade and devoted himself more or less to newspaper work. He visited the Mississippi valley in 1838, remained some time at St. Louis, Missouri, Springfield, Illinois, Burlington, Iowa, and some other places. In 1846 he established the Journal at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and in 1849 removed to Hudson, Wisconsin, where he still resides. He served eight years as register of the United States land office at that place. He represented St. Croix county in the assembly of the Fourth Wisconsin legislature and has held many other positions of trust. Mr. Henning was married, Jan. 29, 1840, to Fidelia Bennet. Mrs. Henning died June 27, 1886, aged sixty-six years.

Moses S. Gibson was born in 1816, in Livingston county, New York. He received the rudiments of a common school education. He was engaged in mercantile pursuits a large portion of his life. He settled at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1844, but afterward moved to Fond du Lac. He represented Fond du Lac county in the constitutional convention in 1847. He was appointed receiver of the United States land office at Hudson in 1849. In 1856 he was married to Carrie F. Gilman. During the Rebellion he acted as paymaster, United States army, and was assigned to the department of Missouri, with headquarters at St. Louis. In 1878 he was appointed assistant in the sixth auditor's office, Washington, District of Columbia. Mr. Gibson has led a busy and useful life and has acquitted himself well in the various positions of responsibility to which he has been called.

Col. James Hughes.—Col. Hughes was born in Prince Edwards county, Virginia, Oct. 12, 1805. He received a classical education at Hampdon-Sydney College, Virginia, studied law, and was admitted to practice in Virginia. He came to Ohio in 1835, and was elected to the legislature in 1838 and 1839. He was married in 1839 to Elisabeth Mather, in Jackson county. He remained in Ohio until 1849, publishing successively the Jackson Standard and the Meigs County Telegraph, both Whig papers. In 1849 he came to St. Paul and brought with him the first printing press and outfit in that city, and established the Minnesota Chronicle, which subsequently united with the Register. The first number bears the date June 1, 1849. In November of the same year he sold his interest in the Chronicle and Register and removed to Hudson, where he established the St. Croix Banner, the first paper printed and issued in the St. Croix valley. Mrs. Hughes was associated with him in its management. They subsequently published the Hudson Republican. Mr. Hughes died at Hudson in 1873, leaving a widow and eleven children, seven sons and four daughters. Of the sons, Eleazer is a farmer in St. Croix county; Geo. R. is engaged in the real estate business in St. Paul; Edward P. is a lawyer in Anoka; James S., a surveyor; Chas. V. is manager of the Western Telegraph Company; and Lucius A. is a telegraph operator in St. Paul.

Daniel Anderson was born in 1806, in New York; received a common school education, and removed with his parents to Macoupin county, Illinois, in 1820; was married in 1831 to Eliza Hoxsey; lived in Dubuque in 1847 and 1848, and moved to Hudson in 1849, where he followed merchandising until 1876. He was county treasurer in 1877 and part of the year following. He died July 1, 1878: Mrs. Anderson died in September of the same year, leaving a daughter, Medora, wife of Alfred Day, of Hudson, and one son, Jarret, now a resident in Montana.

Alfred Day was born in 1824, in Vermont, and came to Hudson in 1849, where he engaged in the real estate, farming and livery business. Mr. Day was married in Hudson, to a daughter of Daniel Anderson. He died in St. Paul, Nov. 18, 1880, leaving a widow, three sons and two daughters.

Dr. Otis Hoyt.—Dr. Hoyt was born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, Dec. 3, 1812. His parents were George and Mary Hoyt. Both grandfathers were soldiers in the war of the Revolution. He received a common school education; prepared for college in the academy at Fryburg, Maine; graduated at Dartmouth in 1833, and from Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, in 1836. He practiced his profession at Mason, New Hampshire, and Framingham, Massachusetts, until 1846, when he entered the service as surgeon in the United States army during the Mexican War. In 1849 he came to St. Croix Falls, and practiced medicine. In 1852 he removed to Hudson. The same year he was elected to the Fifth Wisconsin legislature, as assemblyman. In 1862 he entered the United States service as surgeon of the Thirtieth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, but was on detached service most of the time. For awhile he had charge of the hospital at Camp Randall, Madison, Wisconsin. He was examining surgeon of 11,000 recruits, and was medical director at Bowling Green and Louisville, Kentucky. He was eminent in his profession, yet public spirited, and engaged at times, successfully, in real estate and railroad enterprises. As a physician, it is said, to his credit, that he was impartial to the last degree, and as prompt and punctilious in visiting the log cabin of the poor man as the parlor of a state or government official. He was married in 1837 to Mary King. Two children were born to them, Charles and Mary (Mrs. H. A. Wilson, deceased). Mrs. Hoyt died at Framingham. In 1843 Dr. Hoyt was married to Eliza B. King, sister of his first wife. Their children are Ella Frances, married to Dr. Chas. F. King, Hudson; Annie, married to Dr. Eppley, of New Richmond; Hattie, married to —— Wyard, Crookston, Minnesota; Ida, a teacher at Stillwater, and Lizzie, married to Rev. W. R. Reynolds, of Hudson. Dr. Hoyt died at his home in Hudson, Nov. 12, 1885. Mrs. Hoyt died Oct. 1, 1886, in Boston, Massachusetts. Her remains were brought to Hudson for burial.

S. S. N. Fuller.—Mr. Fuller was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, in 1814. He removed to Harford, Pennsylvania, with his parents when six years of age. He was educated at Harford. He studied law and was admitted to practice at Montrose. He practiced at Great Bend, Pennsylvania. He came to Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, in 1844, where he was seven years district attorney. He came to Hudson in 1857, removed to Iowa in 1865 and died at Logan, Harrison county, Iowa, in 1851. He was married to Clarissa A. Day in 1841, who with one son and four daughters, all married and resident in Iowa, survives him. He was district judge some years for the St. Croix Valley district.

Miles H. Van Meter was born in Kentucky in 1810. He received a common school education and learned the trade of a builder. He was married to Mary P. Litsey, in Kentucky, in 1830, moved to Illinois in 1836 and to Hudson in 1850. He has six sons and two daughters. Abe C. is editor of the St. Croix Republican at New Richmond. Two of his sons are in Illinois, three in Dakota. Mrs. Van Meter died in 1875.

Philip B. Jewell was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, Oct. 25, 1816; was raised on a farm; obtained a common school education; in 1841 was married to Hannah J. Fuller, and in 1847 came to St. Croix Falls, where he lived until 1851, when he removed to Hudson. He engaged in lumbering and piloting on the St. Croix. At the beginning of the late war he enlisted in the Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry and served during the war. In 1874 he was appointed inspector of logs and lumber of the Fourth district. Mrs. Jewell died in 1875. He married, as his second wife, Ellen Restiaux.

John Tobin.—Mr. Tobin was born in Ireland in 1818. His father died in 1830, and he came with an uncle to this country. He settled at Marine in 1842, and in 1853 came to St. Joseph's township, where he resided until his death, Jan. 22, 1880. He was married in Illinois in 1848 and his widow still lives at the old homestead. Of twelve children seven are now living.

Horace A. Taylor, son of Rev. Adolphus Taylor, of Norfolk, New York, was born in 1837. His father died in 1842. At the age of ten years Horace was earning his living on a farm. At thirteen he came to River Falls. Some time after he returned East and spent four years on a farm. Returning to Wisconsin he established a stage line between Prescott and Hudson. In 1857, with his brother Lute A., he established the River Falls Journal, and, in 1860, purchased the Hudson Chronicle and changed its name to the Hudson Times. Four years later the Times and the North Star were consolidated under the title of the Star and Times. Mr. Taylor is a man of energy and enterprise and has engaged in real estate transactions on a large scale. He is a man of quick perceptions and of ready wit and has been honored with some important public positions. He was for some time state agent of railroad lands. He was appointed consul to Marseilles by President Garfield in 1881, but resigned the position in 1884. In 1860 he was married to Lizzie Madden, of Chicago.

Jeremiah Whaley was born in 1818, in Castile, New York. His father dying he aided in caring for his widowed mother. He was married in Pike county, New York, in 1839, and came to Hudson in 1851, where he engaged in the mercantile and real estate business and acted as postmaster. Mr. Whaley died in Hudson in 1884, leaving a widow, two sons in Michigan, one in Pipestone, Minnesota, and four daughters.

Simon Hunt was born in Camden, Maine, in 1826. He lived at home until seventeen years old; acquired a common school and academic education; served an apprenticeship of five years at boot and shoe making in Georgetown, Massachusetts, and came to Hudson in 1851. He was married to Jane C. Arcy in Maine in 1854. Mr. Hunt has served as mayor of Hudson and was for several years superintendent of schools. Mrs. Hunt died in 1880.

John S. Moffatt was born in Tompkins county, New York, in 1814. He received a common school and academic education. In 1844 he was married to Nancy Bennett. He removed to Hudson in 1854, and was in the land office several years. He is a lawyer by profession; has served thirteen years as police justice, and eight years as county judge.

James H. Childs was born in Montear county, Pennsylvania, in 1825; came to Wisconsin in 1848; settled in Hudson in 1849, and engaged in the real estate and lumbering business. He was married to Elisabeth McCartney, in Hudson, 1860.

William Dwelley was born in Foxcroft, Maine, in 1816; came to the St. Croix valley in 1850, and settled in Hudson in 1854. Mr. Dwelley was an explorer, scaler of logs, and surveyor. He died April 8, 1885.

James M. Fulton—The ancestors of Mr. Fulton came from Scotland and settled in New York about 1770. His father served in the army during the war of 1812 and died while in the service. James M. Fulton with his family came to Hudson in 1854, where he died, March 30, 1858, aged about forty-six. Mrs. Fulton still lives in Hudson.

Marcus A. Fulton, oldest son of James M. Fulton, was born in Bethel, Sullivan county, New York, in 1826. He came with his parents to Hudson in 1854, and engaged with his brother in the mercantile and real estate business. He was elected to the state senate in 1866 and 1867. In 1878 he was elected mayor of Hudson. He has also served on the board of education, and as alderman. He was married in 1863 to Augusta Ainsley, who died in 1876. In 1877 he was married to Adelia Frances Ainsley.

David C. Fulton, second son of James M. Fulton, was born in New York, February, 1838. He came to Hudson with his parents, and, after completing a common school and academic education, engaged in mercantile and real estate business. Mr. Fulton has been elected to various important positions. He was mayor of Hudson one term, supervisor of St. Croix county three years, member of the board of education, alderman, and member of the state assembly (1873). He served three years during the Civil War as captain in the Thirtieth Wisconsin Infantry, and was promoted to position of major. Since the war, he served six years as one of the board of managers of the National Home for Disabled Soldiers, and is now serving, by appointment of President Cleveland, as United States marshal for Western Wisconsin. Mr. Fulton was married in 1866 to Minnie Champlin.

N. S. Holden was born in 1822; was one of the early settlers of the St. Croix valley, and for many years a citizen of Hudson. He followed surveying and scaling. He died suddenly, July 4, 1882. He left a widow, two sons and four daughters.

William H. Semmes was born in Alexandria, Virginia. He came to Hudson in 1851, and practiced law, as a partner of Judge McMillan, in Stillwater. He was a young man of great promise, but died early and much lamented, Sept. 13, 1854.

Sterling Jones was born in Steuben county, New York, in 1812. He removed to Indiana in 1833, and in 1835 was married to Elisabeth Sines. They removed to Beloit, Wisconsin, in 1847, and to Hudson in 1850. Mr. Jones died in 1874. Mrs. Jones, five sons and two daughters are still living. Edwin B. married a daughter of Rev. W. T. Boutwell. Jerome B. married a daughter of Rev. Wm. Egbert, of Hammond, and resides in Hudson. He has been sheriff and treasurer of St. Croix county and has held town and city offices. The remaining sons, George R., Henry B. and Harvey J., and the daughters, Eunice M. and Sarah E., are married and reside in Hudson.

D. R. Bailey was born April 27, 1833, in Vermont. He attended Oberlin College, Ohio, and graduated in law at Albany Law School, in 1859. He was collector of customs at Highgate, Vermont, from 1860 to 1864. He practiced law at St. Albans, Vermont, ten years, and was state representative in 1866 and 1867. He was a delegate to the Republican National convention in 1878, and a member of the Vermont senate from 1870 to 1872. He made his residence in St. Croix county in 1877, where he resided till 1883, when he removed to Sioux Falls, Dakota. While in St. Croix county he engaged in farming, lumbering and manufacturing.

Henry C. Baker was born in 1831, in Genesee county, New York; graduated at Albany University, New York, in 1854, and was admitted to the bar in 1858, and came to Hudson in 1859. He has practiced law continuously since; has also held many town and county offices; has been attorney of the various railroads centring in Hudson, and is now attorney of the Minneapolis, Soo St. Marie & Atlantic railroad. He was married in 1860 to Ellen M. Brewster.

Mert Herrick was born in Orleans county, New York, in 1834. He received a common school education. He came to St. Croix in 1857; was married in 1859 to Lois P. Willard; enlisted at the beginning of the Civil War in the Thirtieth and later in the Fortieth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and served during the war. He has held the office of treasurer of St. Croix county for six years. He is at present a member of the Hudson Lumber Company.

D. A. Baldwin, president of the West Wisconsin railroad, built a fine residence on the shore of the lake, north of Willow river, in the latter part of the '50s, and did much to promote the interests of North Hudson, which he surveyed into village lots in 1873. D. A. and H. A. Baldwin erected a commodious hotel in North Hudson in 1873. The hotel was subsequently sold to H. A. Taylor and removed to Hudson, where it was known as the Chapin Hall House. Mr. Baldwin removed from Hudson when the West Wisconsin railroad passed into other hands.

John Comstock was born in Cayuga county, New York, in 1813. When he was twelve years old his parents removed to Pontiac, Michigan. He here served an apprenticeship of three years to a millwright, and afterward engaged in business at Pontiac until 1851. He came to Hudson in 1856, and was city contractor six years. In 1863 he founded the First National Bank of Hudson, in which he has ever since been a director. Mr. Comstock has been engaged in many public enterprises and has been uniformly successful. He is one of the most reliable and substantial of the business men of Hudson. He was married in 1844.

Lucius P. Wetherby was born in Onondago county, New York, October, 1827. At eighteen years of age, he went to Weston, New York, where he studied law with Martin Grover and W. J. Angell. He was married in 1849 to Sophia Antremont, and in 1856 removed to Hudson. In 1860 he was elected judge of the Eighth district, Wisconsin, and served six years.

John C. Spooner.—Mr. Spooner was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, Jan. 6, 1843. He was educated at the district schools until 1859, when his father, Judge Spooner, removed to Madison, Wisconsin. This removal afforded the son an opportunity of entering upon a course of classical instruction in the State University, which he would have completed but for the Civil War. In 1864 he enlisted as a private in the Fortieth Wisconsin Infantry. He did honorable duty at the front until compelled by sickness to retire from the army. After having served a short time as assistant state librarian, and having been restored to health, he raised a company which was attached to the Fiftieth Wisconsin Regiment, and became its captain. His regiment was sent to the Missouri river to do service among the Indians, and was stationed at Fort Rice, Dakota. In July, 1866, it was mustered out of the service. He then returned to Madison and commenced the study of law.

When Gen. Lucius Fairchild was elected governor, Mr. Spooner was chosen as his private and military secretary. He held this position for eighteen months, when he resigned and entered the office of the attorney general of the State as assistant. In 1870 he removed to Hudson and began a general law practice. The following year he was elected a member of the state legislature. While a member of this body he vigorously championed the State University, which institution was at that time in sore trouble. His service in this matter was afterward recognized by the governor, who appointed him a member of the board of regents of the university, which position he still retains. He was for twelve years general solicitor of the West Wisconsin Railroad Company and the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Company. In May, 1884, he resigned. Mr. Spooner stands deservedly high in his profession, and has acquired eminence also as a political speaker.

The Wisconsin legislature elected him to the United States Senate, January, 1885, and he at once took rank among the most eloquent and able members of that body. He is of small physique, not weighing over one hundred and twenty-five or one hundred and thirty pounds, has a dark complexion and a smoothly shaven face, and is possessed of great bodily as well as mental energy.

Thomas Porter.—Mr. Porter was born in Tyrone, Ireland, in 1830; received a common school education, and learned the trade of wagonmaker. He came to America in 1855; served three years during the Civil War as a private in Company A., Thirtieth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers; moved to Hudson in 1871, and represented St. Croix county in the assembly in 1885.

Herman L. Humphrey was born at Candor, Tioga county, New York, March 14, 1830; received a public school education, with the addition of one year in Cortland Academy; became a merchant's clerk at the age of sixteen, in Ithaca, New York, and remained there for several years; studied law in the office of Walbridge & Finch, was admitted to the bar in July, 1854, and removed to Hudson, Wisconsin, where he commenced practice in January, 1855; was soon after appointed district attorney of St. Croix county, to fill a vacancy; was appointed by the governor county judge of St. Croix county, to fill a vacancy, in the fall of 1860, and in the spring of 1861 was elected for the full term of four years from the following January; was elected to the state senate for two years, and in February, 1862, resigned the office of county judge; was elected mayor of Hudson for one year; was elected in the spring of 1866 judge of the Eighth Judicial circuit, and was re-elected in 1872, serving from January, 1867, until March, 1877. He was elected a representative from Wisconsin in the Forty-fifth Congress as a Republican, and was re-elected to the Forty-sixth Congress. During the past three years he has devoted himself to his profession in Hudson. Mr. Humphrey has been twice married. In June, 1855, he was married to Jennie A. Cross, in Dixon, Illinois. Mrs. Humphrey died in January, 1880, leaving two sons, Herman L., Jr., and William H., and three daughters, Fanny S., Mary A., and Grace J. Mr. Humphrey was married to Mrs. Elvira Dove, at Oswego, New York, October 1881. In 1887 he served again as a member of the assembly.

Theodore Cogswell was born in 1819, at Whitehall, New York. He received a common school education and learned the trade of a painter. He removed to Stillwater in 1848 and to Hudson in 1861 and to St. Paul in 1882. He was married to Augusta B. Kelly in 1855. His son was for many years editor of the Hudson Republican.

Frank P. Catlin is of Revolutionary and Connecticut stock. His father entered the war of the Revolution at eleven years of age as a musician. He served seven years. His discharge is signed by George Washington. Mr. Frank P. Catlin is the youngest of fourteen children. He was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, in 1815. He was married in 1840 to Elizabeth Dubois, who died in 1852, leaving three sons, Charles L., Frank E. and Fred. Mr. Catlin was married to his second wife in 1857, who died in 1872, leaving one son, William W. Mr. Catlin moved to Green Bay in 1840, to Green Lake in 1844, and to Hudson in 1849, having been commissioned by President Taylor as register of the Willow River land office. This position he held four years. Mr. Catlin spent some time traveling in foreign lands. In 1868 he removed to Ripon, Wisconsin, but returned in 1870 to Hudson, where he still lives.

Charles Y. Denniston was born in Orange county, New York, in 1832; graduated at University of Vermont in 1852; studied law in Iowa in 1853-54, and came to Hudson in 1855, where he engaged in real estate and insurance business, in which he has been quite successful. He was married in 1856 to Maria A. Coit, of Hudson. Mrs. Denniston died Aug. 31, 1886.

A. E. Jefferson.—Mr. Jefferson came from Genesee county, New York, to Hudson in 1859. For the past fifteen years he has officiated as cashier of the Hudson First National Bank.

Samuel C. Symonds was born in 1831, in Hooksett, New Hampshire. He graduated at the University of Vermont in 1852 and the ensuing year came to Hudson, where he taught school and studied law for three years and afterward engaged in the real estate business and subsequently officiated as county judge four years. He was married in 1860 to Mary C. Bloomer. In 1886 he was commissioned postmaster of the city of Hudson by President Cleveland.

John E. Glover, an old citizen and successful lawyer of Hudson, has gained a prominent position amongst the solid business men of the city by his untiring industry, combined with rare judgment and knowledge of men. In addition to his law business he is an extensive operator in real estate, flouring and lumber mills.

Lemuel North, a reliable merchant of Hudson, a public spirited citizen and a kind hearted man, merits the respect which his townsmen accord him. He has been successful in business.

Edgar Nye, much better known under his nom de plume "Bill Nye," was born in 1846. When a boy he came West with his parents to the Kinnikinic valley. Mr. Nye studied law and practiced some years in Laramie City, Wyoming Territory, where he obtained a national reputation as a wit from his connection with the Laramie newspaper known as the Boomerang. Mr. Nye's mirth-provoking sketches have been published in book form. His parents still live at River Falls.

William Thompson Price.—Mr. Price was born in Barre, Huntington county, Pennsylvania, June 17, 1824. After receiving a fair education, he came West, and in 1845 settled in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, where he at once entered upon the occupation of a lumberman. In 1851 he was elected to the assembly as a Democrat, but on the organization of the Republican party in 1854, he united with the organization, with which he remained during the balance of his life. In 1853 and 1854 he was judge of Jackson county; in 1855 he was under sheriff. He was a member of the state senate in 1858, 1870, 1878, 1879, 1880, and 1881; a member of the assembly in 1882; was collector of internal revenue from 1863 to 1865, and held many local offices in his county. For many years he was president of the Jackson County Bank. In 1882 he was elected to the Forty-eighth Congress; was re-elected in 1884 to the Forty-ninth, and in 1886 to the Fiftieth. He died at his home at Black River Falls, Dec. 6, 1886. He was a man of immense energy and endurance; and was ever ready to do his full share of labor in all places. As a public man he acquitted himself well. In addition to business tact and energy, and practical common sense, he was a public speaker of unusual readiness and ability. In private life he was a generous hearted man, strongly attached to his friends, and greatly respected for his sterling qualities of character.

E. B. Bundy.—Judge Bundy was born in Broome county, New York, in 1833. He received a common school and academic education and attended one year at Hamilton College. He came to Dunn county, Wisconsin, where he practiced law until 1877, when he was elected judge of the Eighth Judicial circuit, to which position he was re-elected and is still serving. He stands high in the estimation of his associates and the people as a judge, and not less high in social life.

BALDWIN.

This town is coextensive with township 29, range 16. It was set off from the township of Springfield and organized Dec. 3, 1872. Wm. Whewell was chairman of the first board of supervisors.

BALDWIN VILLAGE,

Located on the West Wisconsin railroad, on the west boundary of the township, has a population of eight hundred, about evenly divided between the Norwegian and American elements, the latter being principally from Vermont. The Bulletin, a lively weekly paper, established in 1873, is published by B. Peachman. The graded school has three departments, with two hundred and twenty-five scholars, under the control of Prof. J. E. Brainard. The school building cost $4,000. A state bank, organized in 1883, has a capital stock of $25,000, and a surplus of $12,500. F. A. Decker is cashier. Baldwin has one elevator, of 750,000 bushels capacity, two flour mills—one with a capacity of two hundred and fifty barrels per day, built at a cost of $55,000; the other of one hundred and twenty-five barrels, at a cost of $20,000; one creamery, one cheese factory, one tannery, a good town hall, capable of seating six hundred persons, four good church buildings—Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal and Congregational—and over thirty stores or shops. The water supply is ample, the village being furnished with public cisterns and wells, and having an excellent fire department, with hook and ladder company. The village is surrounded by a rich agricultural country.

WOODVILLE VILLAGE

Is situated four miles east of Baldwin, on the West Wisconsin railroad, at the junction of a branch road extending into Pierce county. It is the centre of heavy lumbering operations, and is a flourishing village. It has one church.

CADY.

Cady is the southeastern township in St. Croix county, and occupies township 29, range 15. It is drained by Eau Galle waters. Amongst the first settlers were Irving Gray, Charles, John, and Brazer Bailey. A post office was established near the centre of the town in 1860. D.C. Davis was first postmaster. A branch railroad traverses the town from northwest to southeast. There are two lumber mills. The town was organized in 1870. The supervisors were William Holman, Charles Palmer and Mead Bailey. The village of Brookville is on the west line of the town.

CYLON,

Including township 31, range 16, lies on Willow river. It is a rich and populous township, consisting originally of mixed prairie and timber lands. The first settlement in this town was made in 1855. The early settlers were Otto Natges, J. Smith, H. Fouks, E. Johnson, George Goodrich, S. W. Beel, and J. Tomlinson. The town was organized in 1859. The supervisors were C. A. Hall, chairman; John Sweet and John Gibson. A post office was established in 1861, Mrs. John B. Gibson, postmistress. The Wisconsin Central railroad passes through the southwest, and the North Wisconsin through the northwest part of the township. There are four church buildings, one on section 18, one near Cylon post office, and two in Deer Park village. This village, a station located on the North Wisconsin railroad, is a wheat buying centre of considerable importance, and has several business houses. The school house is one of the best buildings in the county outside of Hudson. The Catholics and Methodists have churches here.

EAU GALLE,

Township 28, range 16, is drained by the Eau Galle and Rush rivers. We have not the date of the first settlement, but it was amongst the earliest in the county. The first settlers were William Holman, Andrew Dickey, Joseph Barnish, and Uriah Briggs. The town was organized in 1858, with the following as supervisors: Wm. Holman, —— Babcock, and ---- McCartney. A post office was established in 1853, of which W. Holman was postmaster. Mr. Holman built a saw mill the same year, the first in the region. There are now six, mostly lumber mills. The township is traversed from north to south by a branch of the West Wisconsin railroad. Wildwood, a thriving station on this road is the headquarters of the St. Croix Land and Lumber Company, a stock company with a capital of $300,000. The town of Eau Galle has one church building belonging to the evangelical society.

EMERALD

Includes township 30, range 16. It is drained by the waters of Willow and Menomonie rivers, and was originally covered with pine and hardwood timber. It was organized in 1861. The Wisconsin Central railroad passes through the northeast part of the township and has one station, Emerald. A high mound is a conspicuous object near the centre of the township.

ERIN PRAIRIE.

Erin Prairie, township 30, range 17, lies on Willow river. John Casey entered the first land in 1854. The first house was built on section 17, in May, 1855, by John Ring. Among the settlers of 1855, of whom there were about twenty families, we have the names of Michael Hughes, Peter Queenan and James, Michael and Thomas McNamara. The town was organized in 1858, with the following board of supervisors: Richard Joyce, chairman; Alexander Stevens and Peter Queenan, and Wm. McNally, clerk. Richard Joyce was first school teacher and first postmaster.

There are now two post offices, one at Erin Centre village, and the other at Jewett's Mills, two and a half miles apart. There are at Erin Centre one store, one wagon shop, one blacksmith shop, and a Catholic church; at Jewett's Mills a store, a saw, a planing and a flour mill, all run by water. There are six good school houses in the township. It is traversed by the Wisconsin Central railroad.

FOREST,

Embracing township 31, range 15, occupies the northeast corner of the county. It is heavily timbered with pine and hardwoods, is a new town and is fast being converted into an agricultural district. Willow river has its sources in this town. It was organized Dec. 10, 1881, with S. D. Love as chairman of the first board of supervisors.

GLENWOOD,

Set off from the town of Emerald at its organization in 1885, embraces township 30, range 15. It was originally a pine and hardwood region. Its waters flow eastward into the Menomonie. The Wisconsin Central railroad crosses the township from east to west. Its only station is Glenwood. It is being rapidly settled and has already some good farms and several saw mills. H. J. Baldwin was the chairman of the first board of supervisors.

HAMMOND

Includes township 29, range 17. It is drained by tributaries of the Rush river. Of the first settlers were the Peabodys, James R. Ismon, Rev. Wm. Egbert, Rev. George Spalding, Mert Herrick, John Thayer, Mrs. Adams, John Nelson, and Thomas Byrnes. The town was organized Sept. 16, 1856, with A. G. Peabody as chairman of supervisors and John G. Peabody, clerk. It is now a prosperous farming town. The West Wisconsin railroad passes through the south part of the township.

HAMMOND VILLAGE,

Located on the line of this road, in sections 27 and 28, has seven hundred inhabitants. It is situated on a commanding elevation, giving an extended view of the rich farming country surrounding it. It has a school house, built at a cost of $2,500, with rooms for three grades, and one hundred and seventy-five scholars, one elevator of 20,000 bushels capacity, one first class hotel, the Gardiner House, Odd Fellows', Good Templars' and Grangers' halls, and three church buildings, with parsonages—the Catholic, Congregational and Methodist. The village contains about twenty-five stores and shops. The water supply, on account of the elevation, is from wells and cisterns. Rev. George Spalding preached the first sermon and was the first merchant in the village. Hammond was incorporated Sept. 20, 1880, with J. B. Fithian as president of supervisors and John W. Owen, clerk.

John Thayer was born in 1809, in Worcester county, Massachusetts, from which place he moved to Ohio, and, after residing there fifteen years, came to Wisconsin and settled at Hammond village. He has been twice married, his second wife still living, and has one son, Andrew P. The father and son are engaged in merchandising in Hammond.

Rev. Wm. Egbert was born in 1815, in Oneida county, New York. He obtained a common school and academic education. He spent his early life in New York City; came to Indiana in 1837 and to Hammond, Wisconsin, in 1856. The first trial in Hammond was before Mr. Egbert, as justice of the peace, in 1856. He has been for forty-one years a local minister in the Methodist Episcopal church. He has been twice married, his second wife still living. He has four children.

HUDSON.

Hudson includes sections 7 to 36, inclusive, of township 29, range 19. Willow river flows through the northwest part. The North Wisconsin and West Wisconsin railroads pass through the township. It is one of the handsomest and richest farming townships in the State. It was organized as a town in 1849. Its history is given in that of the county of St. Croix and in the biographies of its early inhabitants.

James Kelly was born at Osnabruck, Ireland, where he grew to manhood. In 1850 he came to Hudson and located on a farm, where he prospered, and became an honored citizen. In 1857 he married Catherine, daughter of Wm. Dailey. He died at Turtle Lake, Barron county, Wisconsin, of injuries received from a rolling log, Feb. 19, 1888, leaving a widow, three sons and one daughter.

Daniel Coit was born in Vermont in 1801. He learned the trade of a house carpenter; came West as far as Galena, Illinois, in 1845, to St. Croix Valley in 1848, and to Hudson in 1850. He died in Baldwin in 1884. He was a man of eccentric manners, but upright life.

James Virtue came to Willow River Mill in 1849, settled in the town of Hudson, and died in 1874.

Theodore M. Bradley was born in 1831, in Jackson county, Illinois. He lived three years in Lafayette county, Wisconsin; came to Osceola Mills in 1850, and to Hudson in 1867. He has engaged chiefly in farming. In 1857 he was married to Margaret Wilson. They have two sons and three daughters. Mr. Bradley died in 1887.

William Dailey was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1800; came to America in 1819, and settled in Hudson in 1849, where he lived, a successful farmer, until his death in 1867. He left five sons—William, Guy W., Jacob, Edward, and Asa, all farmers, industrious and prosperous, all good citizens, and church members, all married and settled in St. Croix county. Guy W. represented St. Croix county in the state assembly of 1877. In 1866 he was president of the St. Croix Agricultural Society.

Robert and William McDiarmid, brothers, came from St. Stevens, New Brunswick, and settled in Hudson in 1851, on a farm in sections 10 and 14. By industry and perseverance they have become independent, and own fine farms, with blooded stock, improved agricultural implements, and all the appliances for successful farming. Robert married in 1857, and has three sons and three daughters. William married Laura Rabold, in 1860, and has three sons and four daughters. William has been chairman of the county board of supervisors several years.

William Martin was born in Vermont, in 1800. In 1846 he moved to Janesville, Wisconsin, and in 1851 to Hudson, where he engaged in farming. He was an exemplary christian man, and a member of the Baptist church. His son, Geo. W. Martin, succeeds him on the farm. He died in 1885.

Paschal Aldrich was born in the state of New York, in 1820; came to Illinois with his parents in 1826; was married in Illinois, to Martha Harnsberger, in 1841, and came to Marine in the same year. He returned, for a short time, to Illinois, and again moved to the valley of the St. Croix, settling at Hudson in 1846, where he died in 1860, leaving three sons and five daughters.

KINNIKINIC

Originally included nine towns of townships 27 and 28, from St. Croix lake east. By the setting off of Pierce county from St. Croix, the towns in township 27 were stricken off, and the territory has since been reduced until comprised in township 28, range 18. It is a wealthy agricultural township. Its surface is agreeably diversified with undulating prairies and high hills. The Kinnikinic, a beautiful and clear winding stream, drains it from the northeast. The famous Monument Rock, an outlying sandstone formation, is in the centre of this township. From the summit a magnificent view may be obtained of this fine farming region. The farmers have fine dwellings and barns, and the town has numerous school houses; one church is located on section 15. The history of the town, as far as we were able to obtain it, may be found in the biographies of the Mapes brothers.

Duncan McGregor was born in Perth, Scotland, in 1821. His educational advantages were limited. He emigrated to Canada while yet a youth, served seven years in the British Army, and was one year in Canada during the Papineau Rebellion. He was married to Jane Morse, in Canada, Jan. 31, 1848, and in 1849 removed to the United States and settled at River Falls, where he still lives on the homestead which he pre-empted. Mrs. McGregor was the first resident white woman, and Mr. McGregor the second person who settled at the Falls.

His mother, an aged lady living with him at the Falls, at one time found the house surrounded by over a hundred Sioux Indians, who commenced plundering the garden of everything eatable. Mrs. McGregor bravely confronted and drove them away. The only crops in the valley at the time were those of Messrs. Foster and McGregor.

Mr. McGregor learned in early life the trade of a mason. While a resident of River Falls he followed farming except during a few years in which he kept a hardware store. He was three years county commissioner of St. Croix county. He has three children living, Roderick, Malcolm and Neville.

W. B. and Jas. A. Mapes, brothers, from Elmira, New York, landed at Willow River Sept. 7, 1849. They proceeded at once with an ox team and cart, on which last was placed all their worldly goods, to the valley of the Kinnikinic. Having selected a claim and erected a temporary shanty, William B. returned by river as far as Galena, for a breaking team, wagon and plow, and other farm furniture and provisions, while James remained to make hay. After the brother's return, a substantial winter cabin was built. The ensuing spring they broke ground and raised a fair crop, consisting of 80 bushels of oats, 200 of buckwheat, 100 of corn and 100 of potatoes. The winter of their arrival, Duncan McGregor came to the settlement and spent the winter with Judge Foster. In the fall of 1850 came Ira Parks and family, and settled on lands adjoining the Mapes farm. This family and others were entertained by the Mapes brothers, with genuine frontier hospitality. Among the families coming in at this time were those of Dr. Whipple, Mrs. Sprague, Lorenzo Daggett, and the widow of Josephus Medley, of Stillwater. This year came also the Pomeroy brothers, Luke and Frank, from New York State, and J. G. Crowns, James Penn, and William Tozer, from Illinois. During 1851 several families settled in the valley, among them James Chinnoch and Elisha Walden, from Ohio; Alanson Day and John Scott, from Pennsylvania; the brothers W. L. and J. E. Perrin, single men, from New York State, and Mrs. Lynch, from Illinois. Previous to the settlement of these families there were no young ladies in the town. The arrival of fifteen young ladies, mostly marriageable, produced a flutter of excitement among the lonesome bachelors of the colony, and the services of Rev. S. T. Catlin were soon called into requisition. The first couple married was James A. Mapes and Eunice E. Walden, in 1852. The next year W. B. Mapes and Catherine Scott were married. In 1852 J. W. Mapes, a younger brother, joined the colony. In 1857 G. W. Mapes located a Mexican War land warrant on adjoining laud. W. B., J. A. and C. W. Mapes had also Mexican War land warrants.

In 1860 J. W. Mapes sold his farm and returned to New York, enlisted in the One Hundred and First Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served through the Peninsular Campaign under McClellan, and afterward in North Carolina, where he was captured at Plymouth, April 23, 1864, and taken to Andersonville, where he died, June 30, 1864. W. B. Mapes sold his farm to Chas. Davies and removed to Macon county, Mississippi, in 1866, at which place he died in 1877. His widow and five children still reside there. C. W. Mapes sold his farm to G. I. Ap Roberts, and kept store for awhile in the village, and in 1879 removed to Sussex county, Virginia, where he still resides. He has four children living. Jas. A. Mapes still resides on the old homestead. Mr. Mapes was honored with an election to the office of treasurer for St. Croix county in 1883 and 1884.

PLEASANT VALLEY.

Pleasant Valley includes the west half of township 28, range 17. It is drained by the headwaters of the Kinnikinic. The first settlement was made Sept. 19, 1856. Among the first settlers were Sheldon Gray, Asa Gray, S. W. Mattison, and Allen Webster. The town was organized March 30, 1857, with Peleg Burdick as chairman of supervisors. The first school was taught in 1857, by Miss Mary Munson. A post office was established in 1866 with Peter Hawkins as postmaster.

RICHMOND.

Richmond is a rich agricultural township, consisting chiefly of undulating prairie land. It is included in township 30, range 18. Willow river flows diagonally through it from northeast to southwest. The following persons settled within the present limits of the town prior to 1855: Eben Quinby, Lewis Oaks, James Taylor, Harvey Law, Norman Hooper, J. J. Smith, A. S. Kinnie, W. R. Anderson, Francis Kelly, Clinton Boardman, S. L. Beebe, the Beal brothers, E. P. Jacobs and E. W. Darnley.

The town of Richmond was organized in 1857, with the following officers: Supervisors, Robert Philbrick, chairman; C. A. Boardman and Harvey Law; clerk, W. M. Densmore; assessor, W. R. Anderson; treasurer, G. W. Law. The first post office was established at the house of Joel Bartlett, who served as postmaster. This post office was known as the Richmond post office. It was a small affair. The first mail, brought on a mule's back from Maiden Rock, contained but one letter. The first quarter's commission amounted to but one dollar and fifty-nine cents. The post office case contained but four boxes, five by six inches in size. This case is preserved at the Republican office, as an interesting relic. Small as was the office, and meagre as were the receipts, the postmaster was able to employ a deputy, F. W. Bartlett. By way of agreeable contrast we give the commission for the first quarter of 1886 as $674.89.

BOARDMAN VILLAGE

Is located on the east bank of Willow river and near the western boundary of Richmond. It is a flourishing village. Its public buildings are a Methodist church and a large school house. Boardman has a good flour mill. Everything in the village bespeaks enterprise and thrift.

GRIDLEY VILLAGE

Was platted by Gridley & Day in 1857, and, together with Fremont village, platted by Henry Russell, was incorporated in the village of

NEW RICHMOND

in 1878. The first officers of the new village were: President, F. W. Bartlett; trustees, B. C. B. Foster, Wellington Pierce, Thos. Porter, Peter Schore, S. M. Bixby, Geo. C. Hough.

NEW RICHMOND CITY

Was incorporated in 1884. It includes the northwest quarter of section 2 and the northeast quarter of section 3 of township 30, range 18, and the south half of section 36, township 31, range 18. This latter half section originally belonged to Star Prairie, but is now attached to New Richmond. The first election was held April 8, 1884, at which the following officers were elected: President, Ward S. Williams; aldermen, First ward, F. W. Bartlett, Geo. A. Gault, Th. Gaskell; Second ward, A. L. Greaton, A. H. Stevens, J. C. Sabine; Third ward, John Halversen, D. H. Dodge, H. F. Fall; treasurer, L. Taft; clerk, W. F. McNally; assessor, D. A. Kennedy.

The city is beautifully located on a level prairie. The streets are from eighty to one hundred feet wide and bordered with maple, elm and boxwood trees. The city lots and grounds attached to the residences are beautifully adorned with shrubbery and flowers and are without fences. The commons and unoccupied spaces in the city are covered with a luxuriant growth of white and red clover, filling the air with its pleasant odor, and suggesting the title of "Clover City." It has many fine business buildings and tasteful residences. It is in the midst of a fine farming country, on the banks of a beautiful stream, Willow river, and two railroads, the North Wisconsin and Wisconsin Central, furnish abundant means of communication with the outer world. It has one steam saw mill with a capacity of 60,000 feet per day, and a water power flour mill with a capacity of one hundred barrels per day.

The Bank of New Richmond was organized in 1878, with a paid up capital of $35,000. In 1885 the bank did a business of about $8,000,000. The bank had a surplus in 1886 of $9,000. It has an extensive agency in flour, wheat and other agricultural products, also in lumber and real estate. The officers are: President, F. W. Bartlett; vice president, Mathias Frisk; cashier, John W. McCoy. The annual business of the city amounts to $12,000,000.

The city has a high school, established in 1884, with six departments. The building cost $12,000. The Baptists, Catholics, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, and Methodists have church buildings.

There are several fraternities here, including the Masonic, the Odd Fellows, Good Templars, Women's Christian Temperance Union and Catholic Knights of St. John. There are also a hook and ladder company and a library association. There are two cemeteries, one belonging to the masonic order.