This county, named in honor of President Pierce, was separated from St. Croix county in 1853, and organized by the same act that created Polk county, and gave to St. Croix its present limits. It contains about six hundred square miles of territory, lying east of the Mississippi river and Lake St. Croix. It is somewhat triangular in shape, the river and lake forming the hypotenuse, and St. Croix, Dunn and Pepin bounding it by right lines on the north and east, Pepin also forming a small part of its southern boundary.

The scenery is picturesque and varied. Along the river and lake is a series of limestone bluffs, broken at intervals by ravines and valleys, and leaving the impression upon the mind of the traveler on the Mississippi of a rough, broken and inhospitable country, than which nothing could be further from the truth. Beyond these rugged escarpments of limestone and out of sight of the traveler, the country stretches away toward the interior as an undulating prairie, with meadows and rich pasturelands, with occasional forests, the whole watered and drained by an intricate network of streams tributary to the lake and river, and the three larger streams, the Kinnikinic, which empties into the St. Croix and Big rivers, Trimbelle and Rush, that empty into the Mississippi. Some branches of the Chippewa also take their rise in this county. These streams uniformly have their source in springs and their waters are consequently pure, cold and invigorating, flowing over beds of white sand or pebbles, and in their downward course forming many ripples, rapids, cascades and some beautiful waterfalls. Their total descent to the bed of the Mississippi is about four hundred feet. Pierce county has no inland lakes within its limits, nor any indications of their previous existence. The soil is formed chiefly from decomposed rocks or ledges worn down by the abrading forces of water and wind, of frost and heat. The rivers in their downward course have excavated broad valleys, having originally precipitous bluffs on either side, and even bluffs once islands in the midst of the streams. These, by later agencies, have been smoothed to gentle slopes and rounded into graceful mounds, towering sometimes as much as eighty feet above the valley or plains. In some places mere outlines of sandstone or limestone rock are left, turret-like, on the summit of a mound, as monuments on which the geologist may read the record of ages gone. As the character of the soil of a country depends upon the composition of the rocks underlying it, and those removed from the surface, reduced to soil and widely distributed, we give what may be considered as the section of any one of the mounds near Prescott in the order of the superposition of strata:

Over a great part of the county the Trenton and limestone are worn almost entirely away, and their former existence is attested only by a few mounds, bluffs and outlines. Drift is not often met with. The soil may be considered as formed out of drift, now removed from its original position, and out of the sandstone and limestone. It is, therefore, soil of the richest quality.

By the same act that created the county of Pierce, passed March 14, 1853, Prescott was declared the county seat. The town board of Prescott was constituted the county board. The commissioners were Osborn Strahl, chairman; Silas Wright and Sylvester Moore. At the first county election, Nov. 15, 1853, one hundred and ten votes were cast. The following were the officers elected: County judge, W. J. Copp; sheriff, N. S. Dunbar; treasurer, J. R. Freeman; clerk of court, S. R. Gunn; clerk of board, Henry Teachout; coroner, J. Olive; district attorney, P. V. Wise; surveyor, J. True; register of deeds, J. M. Whipple. Mr. Whipple was authorized to transcribe the records of St. Croix county up to date of the organization of Pierce.

The first assessment in the county, in 1853, amounted to $24,452. At the meeting of the supervisors, Jan. 18, 1854, the district attorney was allowed forty dollars per annum as salary. Courts were held wherever suitable buildings could be obtained. During this year Judge Wyram Knowlton, of Prairie du Chien, held the first district court at Prescott. The first records of the court were kept on sheets of foolscap paper, and fastened together with wafers. The first case before the court was that of "The State of Wisconsin, Pierce County, Wm. Woodruff vs. Chas. D. Stevens, August Lochmen, and Chas. Peschke, in Court of said County. In Equity." On reading and filing the bill in complaint, in this case, on motion of S. J. R. McMillan and H. M. Lewis, solicitors for counsel, J. S. Foster, it was ordered that a writ of injunction be issued in the case, pursuant to the prayer of said bill, upon said complainant. Some one, in his behalf, filed with the clerk of said court, a bond for damages and costs in the sum of $1,700, with surety to be approved by the clerk or judge of said court. The first document recorded in the county is an agreement between Philander Prescott and Philip Aldrich, wherein Aldrich agrees to occupy lands adjoining Prescott's, at the mouth of St. Croix lake on the west, and David Hone on the east. The second document is a deed, conveying a tract of three hundred and twenty acres of land from Francis Chevalier to Joseph R. Brown, the land lying near the mouth of Lake St. Croix, and marked by stakes planted in the ground, and adjoining Francis Gamelle's claim, dated July 20, 1840.

In 1857 County Treasurer Ayers became a defaulter to the county in the sum of $2,287.76, and to the Prescott Bank, $4,000. In 1861, by act of the legislature, the question of changing the county seat from Prescott to Ellsworth was submitted to the people. The vote as declared was six hundred for removal and three hundred and seventy-three against it. Technical objections having been raised as to the legality of the vote, the subject was submitted to the people a second time in 1862. The vote for removal was confirmed. In 1863 the district system was adopted and three districts were established by legislative enactment, but in 1870 the county returned to the original system by which the board of supervisors was made to consist of a chairman from each one of the town boards. A poor farm was established near Ellsworth in 1869, at a cost of $3,600. The county board also appropriated $31,000 for county buildings at Ellsworth.

The finances of the county have been admirably managed. In 1885 there was no indebtedness, and a surplus in the treasury of $5,000. The educational interests are well cared for. There are over one hundred school districts in the county, with well conducted schools, and generally with good substantial buildings. The school lands of St. Croix, then including Pierce county, were appraised in 1852 by Dr. Otis Hoyt, —— Denniston and James Bailey, and the lands at once offered for sale. Settlers' rights were respected. The county issued $5,000 in bonds to aid in establishing the normal school at River Falls.

RAILROADS.

River Falls has direct communication with Hudson by a branch of the Chicago & St. Paul railroad. In 1885 the Burlington & Northern railroad route was surveyed and established, entering the county on the shore of Lake Pepin, and running nearly parallel with lake and river to Prescott, where it crosses Lake St. Croix near its mouth, on a bridge, the total length of which is 520.5 feet, with one draw span 367.5 feet in length, and one piled span of 153 feet. This bridge was completed, and the first train entered Prescott, May 31, 1886. The grade of this road does not exceed fifteen feet to the mile.

MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS.

The Grand Army of the Republic have posts at the following places:

The following are the village plats of Pierce county, with date of survey and location:

ORGANIZATION OF TOWNS.

The following is the chronological order in which the towns of Pierce county were organized:

CLIFTON,

Situated in the northwestern part of the county, contains a little over thirty full sections of land, those on the St. Croix having a somewhat irregular boundary. The surface is somewhat broken where traversed by the Kinnikinic and its tributaries. It includes twenty-four sections on the west side of township 27, range 19, and fractional township 27, range 20. It was established in 1855. Its first board of officers were: Supervisors—Geo. W. McMurphy, chairman; Osborne Strahl and G. W. Teachout. C. B. Cox was the first postmaster, in 1852, at a place called Clifton Mills, from which the town afterward derived its name. This post town is situated on the Kinnikinic, in section 18, township 27, range 18 west. It has one grist mill and two saw mills, belonging to Cox, King & Goodsall. No intoxicants are sold here. The Glenwood saw mills, having a capacity of 3,000,000 feet, are located on the lake shore. In 1868 a limestone quarry was opened on the lake shore, by Oakley & Nichols. In 1881 the firm became Oakley & Hall. They have a patent kiln and good machinery, and some seasons have manufactured as much as 5,000 barrels of lime.

George W. McMurphy was born at Newcastle, Delaware, in 1821. In 1845 he came to St. Croix Falls, and in 1848 to Clifton, where he pre-empted the beautiful homestead which he still holds, and where he has successfully followed the business of farming. He has been repeatedly elected to town and county offices. In 1848 he was married to Maria A. Rice. Their children are Augustus (resident of St. Paul), George (a physician living in Ortonville, Minnesota), James A., Robert, Albert and Edward, and two married daughters. Mr. McMurphy is a member of the Congregational church.

Osborne Strahl was born in Belmont county, Ohio, in 1818; came to Galena, Illinois, in 1838, in 1845 to Mauston and Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and to Chippewa Falls in 1847. During these years he followed lumbering. In 1850 he came to the town of Elisabeth, St. Croix county, which on subsequent division of towns and counties left Mr. Strahl in Clifton, where he has been engaged in farming. He was married in 1860 to Rebecca McDonald. They have two sons, Wm. Day, living in Dakota, Howard P., in River Falls; three daughters, Mabel, wife of Joseph M. Smith, banker at River Falls, and two daughters unmarried. Mr. Strahl filled various town and county offices.

Charles B. Cox was born June 25, 1810, in Chenango county, New York. He learned the trade of a miller, lived in Ohio seventeen years and came to Clifton in 1849. He built at Clifton the first saw and grist mill in the Kinnikinic valley, in 1850. He changed his residence to River Falls in 1854, where he lived till 1874, when he removed to California. During the year 1851 he ground three hundred bushels of wheat, the sole product of the valley.

Ephraim Harnsberger was born in Kentucky, Nov. 21, 1824, moved with his parents to Illinois in 1832, and to Prescott in 1847, where he pre-empted a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres. He was married at Alton, Illinois, in 1858, to Lizzie Johnson. Their children are Charles, Sarah Etta, and Jennie.

DIAMOND BLUFF

Is a triangular shaped town, the hypotenuse being formed by the Mississippi river. It contains ten sections and three fractional sections in town 25, range 18, and five sections and five fractional sections in town 25, range 19. It is traversed in the eastern part by Trimbelle river. The town was established in 1857, and the first town meeting was held that year at the home of David Comstock. The town board consisted of: Supervisors—James Akers, chairman; Wilson Thing and C. F. Hoyt; justice, S. Hunter. Susan Rogers taught the first school. This town has the honor of claiming the first white settler, aside from traders, in the Upper Mississippi valley. He came to the site of the present village of Diamond Bluff in 1800, and named it Monte Diamond. We give elsewhere a somewhat extended account of this ancient pioneer, with some speculations concerning him and his descendants that are plausible enough to warrant their insertion. In historic times a post office was established here in 1854, called at the time, Hoytstown, from C.F. Hoyt, the first postmaster.

On the organization of the town the name was changed to Diamond Bluff. Quite a village has since grown up around it. The first frame house was built in 1855, by Enoch Quinby. The first sermon was preached by Rev. J. W. Hancock, a Presbyterian minister, for some years a missionary among the Indians. The first birth was that of Mary Day, in 1851, and the first death that of Daniel Crappers, in 1854.

Capt. John Paine.—Jack Paine, as he is familiarly called, was born in England, and for the greater part of his life has been a seafaring man. For the past thirty years he has been a steamboat man on the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers. He has been married three times: first in Rhode Island, second to Mrs. La Blond, of St. Louis, and last to Miss Ressue, of Diamond Bluff. He came to Diamond Bluff in 1848, with four children of his first wife, his second wife having died childless. He is now living with his third wife in La Crosse. They have three children.

John Day was born in Martinsburg, Virginia. In 1850 he and his wife and three children, with Allen B. Wilson and his wife, came to Diamond Bluff. Mr. Day is well known as a fearless and enthusiastic hunter. In 1852 he had a close encounter with a large black bear, which, after a desperate struggle, he killed with an axe. The Indians considered Mr. Day as "waukon," supernatural, averring that their bravest warriors would not have attacked singly so large an animal.

Sarah A. Vance, the wife of Mr. Day, was born in Kentucky. The Vance family were famous pioneers, and some of them were noted Methodist preachers. Miss Vance's first marriage was to John R. Shores, by whom she had two children, one of whom, Isabella, became the wife of A. R. Wilson.

Allen R. Wilson.—Mr. Wilson was born in Kentucky; spent his early boyhood in Shawneetown, Illinois; was married to Miss Shores at Potosi, Wisconsin, April 16, 1848, and in 1850 came to Diamond Bluff. Mr. Wilson took great interest in politics, was an ardent Republican, and was among the first to volunteer his services for the suppression of the Rebellion in 1861. He enlisted in Company B, Sixth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers, and fell in battle, Sept. 14, 1862, at South Mountain. Mr. Wilson was well informed, a close observer of political events at home and abroad, and was a brave and efficient soldier. He left five children.

E. S. Coulter.—Mr. Coulter is a Virginian by birth. In early manhood he traveled extensively as a book agent, and finally settled at Diamond Bluff, where he successfully engaged in farming and dealing in wheat and merchandise.

James Bamber, ex-musician in the British and United States armies.

Jacob Mead, ex-shoemaker, ex-soldier and miner, a man of superior natural and acquired talent.

Charles Walbridge came to Diamond Bluff in 1852.

Jacob Mead died in 1884, leaving a large property.

Charles F. Hoyt, with his wife and one child, came to Diamond Bluff from Illinois, in 1853.

Enoch Quinby was born at Sandwich, New Hampshire; was married to Matilda Leighton, originally from Athens, Maine. Mr. Quinby and his wife came from Pittsfield, Illinois, to Diamond Bluff in 1854.

THE FIRST SETTLER.

There is a pretty well grounded tradition that the first white man who found his way to Diamond Bluff was a French Vendean loyalist of the army of Jacques Cathelineau; that he fled from France in 1793 or 1794, landed at Quebec, and was traced by his enemies to Mackinaw and Chicago, where they lost his trail. He came to Diamond Bluff in 1800, and named it "Monte Diamond." He had for his housekeeper the daughter of an Indian chief. He died here about 1824. After his death the Indians always called the place the "Old White Man's Prairie." E. Quinby, of Diamond Bluff, to whom we are indebted for this account, adds: "All the additional evidence I can give in regard to this pioneer is that prior to 1793 his wife died, leaving him one daughter, who was deformed. A former friend of his had a beautiful daughter of about the same age of his own. After the uprising and defeat of the Vendeans, they became enemies, and he, to save his life, took his former friend's daughter, instead of his own, and fled to this country. The father pursued them as far as Chicago, where he saw his daughter in company with some Indian girls, and having on her person some ornaments once worn by her mother. He at once seized her and carried her back with him to France, and the old Frenchman found his way to Diamond Bluff." Faribault's son,[C] now living somewhere in Minnesota, wrote me a few years since, inquiring about the old Frenchman, saying that his grandmother claimed that her husband was a French nobleman, and that he lived near Lake Pepin. He believed the old Frenchman was his grandfather. The above statements were communicated to the late Capt. Orin Smith, of Galena, Illinois, Allen B. Wilson and myself, in 1854, or in 1855, by an old Frenchman then residing at Potosi, Wisconsin, who claimed to have seen and gathered these facts from the old man himself. Capt. Smith was well acquainted with the Frenchman at Potosi, and gave the fullest credence to his account.

EL PASO

Occupies township 26, range 16. It is drained chiefly by Rush river and its tributary, Lost creek, on the west. The two post villages in this town are, El Paso, located in section 5, and Lost Creek, in section 3. George P. Walker was the first settler. He built the first house and raised the first crop; Thomas T. Magee came in 1855. In 1860 the town was organized, Thomas Hurley and Geo. P. Walker being supervisors. In 1862 Mr. Magee built a saw and flour mill in section 5, and platted the village of El Paso. In 1875 he removed to Clear Lake, Polk county, of which town he was the first settler. Clara Green taught the first school in El Paso, in 1861. There is one Catholic and one Lutheran church in the village. The name El Paso signifying a crossing, is of somewhat obscure derivation.

ELLSWORTH

Was organized under the name of Perry, March 3, 1857, but in 1862 it received its present name. It occupies a central position in the county and includes township 26, range 17. This is a rich farming town, originally timbered with hardwood. The surface is elevated and gently undulating. It is drained on the east by the tributaries of Rush river, but has no large or important streams. The first supervisors were: P. M. Simons, chairman; Caleb Bruce and Wilson Kinnie. The first settler was Anthony Huddleston, who came April 23, 1856, and pre-empted the southeast quarter of section 20. On November 26th, of the same year, came Caleb, Elihu W. and Eli T. Bruce, who pre-empted farms on sections 18 and 19. During the same year Wilson and Norris Kinnie and David Klingensmith pre-empted farms in sections 18 and 19. Lilly, Miscen, Russ, and Campbell came also in 1855. The first log house in the town was built by Anthony Huddleston in 1855. Norris Kinnie built the first in what was afterward the village of Ellsworth. The first school house, a log building, built was in 1857, and Mary Filkins, now Mrs. G. H. Sargeant, of Minnesota, taught the first school. The first marriage was that of Charles Stannard and Mary Leonard, in 1855. The first birth, that of the twin children of Wilson. Both died. The first death of an adult was that of Mrs. Jacob Youngman in the winter of 1855. The post office was opened in 1860, with Seely Strickland as postmaster.

ELLSWORTH VILLAGE.

The original owners of the southern half of section 18, and the northern half of 19, Norris Kinnie, Eli T. Bruce, Henry P. Ames, and Wm. Crippin laid out and platted the village of Ellsworth in 1862. Wm. Crippin, built a frame hotel there in 1860. C. S. Dunbar opened a store in 1861. The prospect of Ellsworth becoming the county seat gave a great impetus to business enterprises. This was decided by a popular vote in 1861, but owing to some technical defects was resubmitted to the people of the county in 1862, and then definitely decided. In the year 1862 the citizens of Ellsworth built a log house in which the first terms of court were held; meanwhile the county officers had their offices in the basement of Crippin's hotel. The permanent county buildings were not erected until 1869. They are built of stone and cost $60,000. In 1863 a frame schoolhouse took the place of the old log structure, and in 1874 a commodious brick building was erected, at a cost of $5,000.

The Methodists, Lutherans and Catholics have church buildings. There is one newspaper, the Pierce County Herald, edited by E. F. Case and E. S. Doolittle. The Barnes saw mill built in 1867, burned down and rebuilt, has a capacity of about 5,000 feet per day. A branch railroad, built from Hudson to River Falls, was extended to Ellsworth in 1885. The depot is one mile from the village. The Pierce County Central fair grounds, containing seventeen acres, are located near the village. The grounds are inclosed and are covered with a fine maple grove, in the midst of which is a large flowing spring. D. W. Woodworth was first president of the fair association. Ellsworth has two handsome cemeteries, Maplewood and the Catholic.

The village itself is beautifully situated on an elevated plateau originally covered with hardwood timber. The streets are tastefully adorned with maple trees.

Anthony Huddleston.—Mr. Huddleston is of Irish descent. He was born in West Virginia in 1804; had but limited educational privileges; lived for a part of his life in Ohio and Indiana, and settled in Ellsworth in 1855, being the first settler in the town. He was a house carpenter for over sixty years. He was a member of the Dunkard church sixty-two years. He was married in 1826, in Ripley, Indiana, to Susannah Whetstone. They have three sons and six daughters living.

Perry D. Pierce was born in Harpersfield, Delaware county, New York. He traces his lineage to ancestors who came across in the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth Rock. He received an academic education, studied law with A. Reckor, Oswego, New York, and was admitted to practice at Cooperstown in 1843, practiced in Albany three years, and in 1854 came to the St. Croix valley, locating first at Prescott, where he served as district attorney for four years, and county judge eight years. He was married in 1860, to Lua E. Searsdall. He is now a resident of Ellsworth.

Hans B. Warner, of Ellsworth, Pierce county, was born at Gulbrandsdalen, Norway, July 12, 1844; received a common school education; is by occupation a farmer; emigrated and settled in Dodge county, Wisconsin, in 1853, and thence removed to Pierce county in 1855, where he has since resided. He enlisted in March, 1864, as a private, in Company G, Thirty-seventh Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry; was wounded and captured in front of Petersburg, Virginia, July 30, 1864, and was held a prisoner of war in Danville and Libby prisons until paroled, September, 1864; was discharged from service on account of wounds received in battle July 18, 1865. He has held various local offices, and the position of county clerk of Pierce county from January, 1869, to Dec. 21, 1877, when he resigned, to assume the duties of secretary of state, to which office he was elected in 1877, and was re-elected in 1879, serving in all four years. He was elected to the state senate in 1882 and served until 1886. His home business is farming and real estate. He was married in 1866, to Julia E. Hudson.

GILMAN.

The town of Gilman includes township 27, range 16. The postal villages are Gilman, section 10, and Olivet, section 36. Gilman was organized as the town of Deerfield, in 1868, but in 1869 the name was changed to Gilman. The first supervisors were Oliver Purdy, Caleb Coon, Bardon Jensen. The first school was taught in 1870, by M. L. Maxgood. A Norwegian Lutheran church was built in 1883, at a cost of $1,500. There are six school houses with an aggregate cost of $2,000. The first marriage was that of Caleb Coon and Cenith Preston, in 1867. The first birth was a child of this married couple. The first death was that of Mrs. Rufus Preston. The first post office was at Gilman, U. F. Hals, postmaster. The first settlers were B. F. Gilman, in 1859, still a resident; N. B. Lawrence, soon after, now removed; Rufus Preston and family; Joseph and Caleb Coon and families, in 1865, still resident. J. R. Maxgood, B. Jensen and son, E. B. Jensen, the Matthieson brothers, Z. Sigursen, H. Bredahl, S. J. Goodell, Nels Gulikson, M. O. Grinde, Albert Martin, P. Vanosse, and T. B. Forgenbakke are among the oldest citizens.

HARTLAND.

Hartland occupies township 25, range 17. It has one post village, Esdaile. It has one saw mill and a factory for the manufacture of hubs and bent wood work, operated by Charles Betcher, of Red Wing, Minnesota, which gives employment to seventy-five men and ten teams the year round. The village of Esdaile has also two general merchandise stores and a hotel. Hartland was organized in 1859. The first supervisors were A. Harris, chairman; Joseph Sleeper and R. M. Sproul. Amongst the first settlers were Augustus E. Hodgman, section 24, 1854; James Buckingham, section 28, 1854; Lewis Buckmaster, section 1, 1853. The first school was taught in 1858, by Mary Ann Stonio. The first post office was at Esdaile, Hiram Patch, postmaster. There are three church organizations, Presbyterian, Methodist and Lutheran (Norwegian), with buildings valued at from $700 to $1,000. There are nine school houses, ranging in cost from $500 to $1,400. The Good Templars have an organization.

ISABELLE.

Isabelle consists of the two upper tiers of section 7, township 24, range 17, the lower tier being much broken in outline by Lake Pepin on the south. It contains also fractions of sections in the third tier. Bay City, on the shore of the lake, is the postal town. It was organized in 1855. In 1869 it was annexed to Hartland, but in 1871 it was re-established. The first chairman of supervisors was John Buckingham. The election was held at the house of Abner Brown. Charles R. Tyler and Lorenzo D. Philips settled here in 1854, and built a saw mill where now stands the thriving village of Bay City. Saratoga plat was laid out upon this ground in 1856, by A. C. Morton. A. J. Dexter was the original claimant of the land. Mr. Morton purchased the land which covered a part of Bay City from the government. A surveyor named Markle was employed by Morton to run the lines, which Mr. Dexter considered an intrusion upon his rights, and he shot Markle. Dexter was tried before Judge S. S. N. Fuller, in 1855, was convicted, and sentenced to prison for life. After a few years he was pardoned by Gov. Barstow.

MAIDEN ROCK.

Maiden Rock occupies the four upper tiers of sections of township 24, ranges 15 and 16, except such portions on the southwestern corner as are cut off by Lake Pepin. It contains about forty sections. The town was organized under the name of Spring Valley, in 1857. Its postal villages are Maiden Rock, on the lake shore, section 15, range 15, and Warren, also on the lake shore, section 7, range 15. The site of Maiden Rock village was purchased from the government in 1853, by Albert Harris and J. D. Trumbull. In 1855 they erected the first house, and in 1856 built a saw and shingle mill. J. D. Trumbull platted the village in 1857, and christened it Maiden Rock, from the celebrated rock of that name a few miles further down the lake. Among the first settlers in the village were J. H. Steel, J. D. Brown, John Foster, and Joseph B. Hull.

The first hotel was run by G. R. Barton, in a house built by J. D. Trumbull. This hotel has since been enlarged and is now the Lake View House. The first marriage was that of A. J. Smith and Corinda Eatinger, in 1857; the first birth was that of Ida Trumbull, in 1858, and the first death that of William Trumbull, in 1858. The first school was taught by Lottie Isabel, of Batavia, Illinois. The first sermon was preached by Rev. James Gurley, a Methodist preacher from North Pepin.

A post office was established in 1856, of which J. D. Trumbull was postmaster. The receipts the first year were eleven dollars, the expenses, fifty dollars, paid by the postmaster. The town of Maiden Rock has six school houses, one saw and one grist mill.

Christopher L. Taylor was born in Oneida county, New York, in 1829; came to Chicago at an early day, and to Maiden Rock in 1868, where he engaged in manufacturing. He served as county supervisor for eight years, and as member of the Wisconsin legislature in 1876. He removed to St. Paul in 1880, where he still resides. He is a dealer in real estate.

MARTELL.

Martell occupies township 27, range 17. Joseph Martell, John Dee, Louis Lepau and Xerxes Jock, Frenchmen, were the first settlers. They located here in 1847, and remained till 1860, when they moved further west, allured by the attractions of frontier life. Martell was organized in 1854, with the following supervisors: Amos Bonesteel, chairman; M. Statten and R.J. Thompson. The first school was taught in 1857, by W. Bewel. Martell is the postal village. The first postmaster was O. Rasmunson. There are two evangelical Lutheran churches in the town, built at a cost of $3,500 and $5,000. There is also a good town hall, valued at $600. The Martell Mutual Insurance Company is in successful operation.

OAK GROVE.

Oak Grove includes township 26, range 19 (with the exception of section 31 and parts of 30 and 32), and six sections of range 20, in all about forty sections. It is drained by Big river. It was set off from Clifton in 1856. Hart Broughton was the first chairman of supervisors. It contains a flouring mill on Big river; Catholic, Lutheran, and Methodist church buildings; that of the Catholic cost $4,000, and has a school attached. There are seven school houses. Big River is the postal village. John Berry was first postmaster. The first settlers were (1848) the Thing brothers, the Harnsberger brothers, the Cornelius brothers, Rice, Schaser, McMurphy, Rissue, and the Miner brothers.

Lewis M. Harnsberger was born in Kentucky, April 18, 1822, and moved with his parents to Illinois, where he lived nine years. He came to Prescott in 1846, and pre-empted a farm in Oak Grove, where he has since continuously resided. He has filled many public positions creditably. He was married to Annie Jeffreys, of Illinois, in 1860. Their sons are Ephraim, Lewis and John.

PRESCOTT CITY

Is beautifully located at the junction of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers. The business portion of the city is on a terrace at the base of the bluff, and between it and the river and lake. The public buildings, churches, school house and residences are chiefly on the upper terrace, or bluff, and command an extensive view of the valley of the two rivers, the whole forming a landscape of unrivaled beauty. The advantages of the position are by no means limited to its picturesque surroundings. Prescott, from its position at the junction of the two rivers, was early recognized as an important point for the reshipping of freight and re-embarkation of passengers. The St. Croix, which comes in from the north, rises within a few miles of Lake Superior, and after running a course of two hundred miles, empties its waters into Lake St. Croix, twenty-four miles above its outlet. The lake is navigable at all times to Stillwater and to Taylor's Falls at the Dalles. The Mississippi comes in from the northwest, and is navigable to St. Paul, a distance of thirty miles. The two channels at the junction are each about 1,000 feet wide, with an average depth of fifteen feet, and the banks slope to the water's edge, or stand in some places in vertical ledges, thus forming a natural quay along the entire front of the city. The quay, or landing, is semicircular in shape, the upper terrace, or bench, about one hundred feet in height, is likewise semicircular, the convexity being toward the river and lake. The crest of the terrace is worn down by the rains into ravines, leaving rounded points, or promontories, on the summit of which the ancient mound builders have left traces of their peculiar art. The first settlement of Prescott was made by Philander Prescott, Col. Thompson, Dr. Emerson, and Capt. Scott, the three last named being army officers at Fort Snelling. Mr. Prescott, acting as agent for the others, made the claim in 1836, remaining three years to hold it, when it was left in the care of Joseph Mosier until 1851.

In 1837 seven acres were broken and fenced, constituting the entire landed improvements within the present bounds of Pierce county. In 1849 one hundred and fifty acres were improved. Geo. Schaser and H. Doe were the first resident farmers. From 1838 to 1849 a trading post for Indian supplies was kept by persons holding the claim. W. S. Lockwood opened a store in 1842, and other improvements were made. As the army officers were called to other fields of labor, Mr. Prescott soon found himself in sole possession of the original claim, he purchasing their interests, and in 1849, when the lands had been surveyed by the government, he entered sixty-one acres. In 1853 Dr. O. T. Maxon and W. J. Copp purchased a greater part of the town site and surveyed and platted it as the city of Prescott. A charter was obtained in 1857. A post office had been established here in 1840, called the "Mouth of St. Croix," but it was removed across the lake and named Point Douglas. The post office was re-established at Prescott in 1852. Dr. O. T. Maxon was first postmaster. The number of persons who came that year to Prescott is estimated at about one hundred and fifty.[D] Mr. Schaser platted an addition to the city of sixty-one acres in 1855. When the city received its charter the following officers were elected: Mayor, J. R. Freeman; aldermen, First ward, N. S. Dunbar, Thomas Dickerson and Seth Ticknor; Second ward, Hilton Doe, George W. Oakley, N. A. Miller; president of the council, Seth Ticknor; justices of the peace, I. T. Foster, O. Edwards; city attorney, P. V. Wise; city surveyor, Wm. Howes; superintendent of schools, Thomas Dickerson.

Wm. Schaser built the first frame house, and Mrs. Wm. Schaser was the first white woman. Their daughter Eliza was the first white child born in the new settlement. The first marriage was that of G. W. McMurphy to a daughter of Mr. Rice, April 24, 1848. The first death was that of W. S. Lockwood, in 1847.

When the county of Pierce was organized Prescott was designated as the county seat, and so remained until 1862, when, by popular election, Ellsworth was chosen.

In 1856 Messrs. Silverthorn & Dudley started a saw mill, which they operated until 1861, when Mr. Dudley purchased his partner's interest, and erected a flouring and saw mill.

A wagon and carriage manufactory was established by F. Menicke, in 1862, the Prescott brewery in 1866, by N. P. Husting, and the Prescott machine shops in 1876, by H. B. Failing. The City Bank of Prescott was organized in 1858, Charles Miller, president; W. P. Westfall, cashier; capital stock, $50,000. It closed in 1862. The National Bank was established in 1877, by W. S. Miller. The first school in Pierce county was taught by a missionary named Denton, at Prescott, in 1843. In 1851 Miss Oliver taught a private school. In 1853 the first district school was established. The school board were: Directors, M. Craig, George W. McMurphy; treasurer, N. S. Dunbar; clerk, Dr. O. T. Maxon; teacher, Miss Matthews. The first school house was built in 1854. A building for a graded school was erected in 1859. A high school building was erected in 1847, at a cost of $20,000.

The first religious society was that of the Methodists, organized in 1853, under the labors of Rev. Norris Hobart. Their first building was erected in 1856. Its dimensions were 20 × 32 feet, ground plan. In 1868 they erected a building 40 × 70 feet, ground plan, at a cost of $4,000.

In 1854 the Baptist church was organized by Rev. E. W. Cressy.

In 1854 the Congregationalists organized, with Rev. P. Hall as pastor, and in 1855 built a brick church, 40 × 50 feet, ground plan.

In 1855 the Presbyterians organized, and in 1866 built a church.

The Lutheran church was organized in 1865, by Rev. C. Thayer.

Under the preaching of Rev. M. Guild the Episcopal church was organized in 1872. Previous to this date Revs. Breck, Wilcoxson and Peabody had labored from time to time. The Catholic church was organized by Rev. Father Vervais in 1860. In 1868 a church edifice was built.

The following social and benevolent orders have organizations in Prescott:

The Agricultural Society has fair grounds just east of the city, well arranged, with a half mile race track, and buildings in good condition. Fairs are held annually. Pine Glen cemetery is situated on the bluff half a mile below the city. It was established in 1856. Nature has done much for the site. The view of the Mississippi valley is unobstructed for a distance of from twelve to twenty miles on the south, and to the bend of the river bluffs above Hastings. The grounds are handsomely laid out and adorned with shrubbery.

DESTRUCTIVE FIRES.

Prescott has suffered severely from fires. The following is a partial list of losses:

The latter was insured for $20,000. Total loss, nearly $75,000.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Philander Prescott was born in 1801, at Phelpstown, Ontario county, New York. Late in the year 1819 he came to Fort Snelling and remained there, or in the vicinity, the greater part of his life. From his constant association with the Indians, especially with the Sioux, he learned to speak their language. He was also related to them by his marriage with a Sioux woman. This fact, added to his influence among them, and being a man not only of a high character for integrity, but well educated and intelligent, he was able to render the officers of the Fort much service. He made a translation into the Sioux dialect of a number of English and French hymns for the use of the mission schools near Prescott. He gave his children an English education. In 1835, while acting as Indian interpreter, he came to the present site of Prescott, and in conjunction with several officers of the Fort, he acting as their agent, laid claim to considerable territory, and made some improvements in the shape of log buildings. When the army officers were sent to other posts, Mr. Prescott purchased their interests and held the claim. In 1849, after the government survey, he pre-empted sixty-one acres and laid out what he called the city of Prescott. He resided here and at the Fort alternately until his death, which occurred in 1862. He had been sent by the government on a peace mission to the Indians in rebellion, met them at a point near Mankato, and was cruelly assassinated by those to whom he had ever proven a true friend, and whom he had every reason to suppose friendly to him.

George Schaser is a native of Austria, and came to the mouth of the St. Croix in 1841. In 1842 he returned to St. Louis and married Christine Bucher. Mrs. Schaser was the first white woman resident in Prescott. Mr. Schaser built the first frame house in the settlement, in 1844. This house was regarded for many years as the finest house between Prairie du Chien and St. Paul. In 1855 Mr. Schaser surveyed an addition to Prescott on land he had pre-empted in 1849. In 1858 he built the brick hotel known as the St. Nicholas. Mr. Schaser died May 3, 1884, leaving a widow, three sons and one daughter. His sons are Henry, Edward and George A. His daughter Emma was married to Capt. John E. Ball (deceased 1881). An older daughter, Eliza, the first child born in Pierce county, was married to E. W. Haviland, and died in 1880, near New Orleans.

William S. Lockwood, a native of New York State, came to Prairie du Chien in 1833, and to Prescott in 1842. The year following his family followed. Mr. Lockwood died in 1847. His widow, Georgiana Barton, was married to Orange B. Walker, of Marine Mills, and died at Marine, Oct. 9, 1885.

James Monroe Bailey was born in 1824, in Sullivan county, New York, where his youthful days were passed. He came to Prescott in 1849, where he has since been engaged in farming, mercantile and real estate business. He was married in 1856, in Prescott, to Nettie Crippin. They have one son, Victor, and two daughters, Myrtle, wife of E. L. Meacham, of Prescott, and Jessamine. Mr. Bailey has a very pleasant home in Prescott. He has filled various offices, among them that of treasurer and clerk of St. Croix county, prior to the organization of Pierce.

Adolph Werkman was born in Germany in 1826; came to America in 1847, and to Prescott in 1848. He was married at Prescott in 1856.

Joseph Manese (alias Joseph Abear) was of French extraction and a native of Lower Canada. While yet a youth he came into the Lake Superior region, where he was employed most of his time in hunting and trapping by the fur companies. His history, if written in full, would abound in stirring incidents and adventures. He was a man of unusual strength and activity, and in disposition light hearted, vivacious and gay even to hilarity. He died in Prescott in 1884.

Hilton Doe was a native of New York State, and came to Red Wing, as Indian farmer, about 1840. He settled in Prescott in 1844, in sections 9 and 10, pre-emptions subsequently surveyed into town lots. Mr. Doe married Miss Daily, in Illinois, in 1844. Mrs. Doe died in 1860, Mr. Doe in 1884.

Lute A. Taylor, a young man of decided talent, a good classical scholar, a brilliant writer and humorist, came to River Falls in 1856, and in 1857, with his brother Horace, established the River Falls Journal, which they continued to publish jointly for three years, when Horace removed to Hudson and established the Times. Lute A. removed to Prescott, taking with him the material of the Journal office, and established the Prescott Journal, which he edited and published until 1869, when he removed to La Crosse and published the La Crosse Leader until his death, which occurred in 1872.

Mr. Taylor was a correspondent of various papers and an entertaining lecturer. As a conversationalist and wit, he was without a rival. A slight impediment in his speech, if anything, added to the humorous effect of his pithy sayings. He is well remembered in the valley of the St. Croix. A volume containing his biography and some characteristic sketches has been published since his death.

John Huitt, a Canadian, came to Prescott in 1847, and erected the first blacksmith shop in the village. He was married in Prescott to a daughter of Joseph Mosier, and subsequently pre-empted a quarter section of land on Prescott prairie. He built a saw and planing mill on Trimbelle river. He died at Trimbelle in 1873.

John M. Rice was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts, in 1805; was married in 1828, in Massachusetts, to Mary A. Goodenough; came in 1837 to Marine, Illinois, and in 1847 to Prescott. Mr. Rice was a house carpenter, but followed also the business of farming. He was an upright man and a member of the Congregational church. He died in 1878, leaving one son, David O., living in Prescott; a daughter, Maria A., wife of G. W. McMurphy, of Prescott, and a daughter in Illinois.

AN INDIAN BATTLE.

The feud between the Sioux and Chippewas originated in prehistoric times and from causes not now known. It has been a tribal vendetta, continuous and relentless, with the advantages in favor of the Chippewas, who, in the course of time, have steadily forced the Sioux westward from the Sault Ste. Marie to the Mississippi at Prescott. We give the following account of one of their battles, being an Indian version, translated and written out by Philander Prescott. This fight occurred in 1711, on the site of the city of Prescott. As the Indians had been supplied by the French with firearms as early as 1700, there is nothing improbable in their alleged use on this occasion. But for the story:

RIVER FALLS

Occupies township 27, range 18, and a tier of two sections from range 19. Trimbelle river drains the eastern portion and the Kinnikinic the northwest. Its early history is identified with the history of River Falls city, its first settlement. It was organized in 1854, as Greenwood, but in 1858 the name was changed to River Falls. As River Falls city was not incorporated until 1885, we shall give its early history in connection with that of the town.

The first settler was Joel Foster, in the fall of 1848. In 1849, came D. McGregor, James and Walter Mapes; in 1850, Messrs. Hayes, Tozer, Penn and Parks, and not long after the Powells and Clark Green. These early settlers chose locations at, or near, the present site of River Falls city, and along the banks of the Kinnikinic, which here, owing to its numerous waterfalls, offered unusual facilities for milling and manufacturing. The first crop was raised by Joel Foster, in 1849. The first saw mill was built in 1851 by the brothers N. N. and O. S. Powell, just below the site of the present Greenwood mill. This was burned in 1876. In 1854 the Powell brothers platted the village of River Falls, called at first, Kinnikinic, setting apart for that purpose two hundred acres of land. This plat included the upper waterfalls within the present city limits. The largest water power they donated to C. B. Cox as a mill site, to encourage settlement in the village. The brothers co-operated in building up the village, amongst other things building a frame store and stocking it with goods. This was the first store in the Kinnikinic valley. They dealt also in real estate and lumber. The name of River Falls, as applied to the village, dates from the establishment of the first post office, in 1854. Charles Hutchinson was the first postmaster, and the office was held in this pioneer store. J. S. Rounce, in 1870, built the first foundry in Pierce county.

The water powers of River Falls have been extensively utilized, many saw and flouring mills having been erected at various times on the Kinnikinic. Of these, in 1886, the more notable are, the Junction mills, owned by Freeman, Rhyder & Co., with a capacity of 400 barrels daily, and a barrel manufactory attached, which gives employment to 40 men and turns off from 300 to 400 barrels daily. The Greenwood mills, owned by Geo. Fortune & Co., capacity 50 barrels; the Cascade mills, owned by the Baker estate, capacity 50 barrels; the Prairie mill, built by C. B. Cox in 1858, and now owned by J. D. Putnam, capacity 150 barrels.

In educational matters River Falls has taken and maintained an advanced position. The first school house was built in 1854, by seven men, at a cost of five hundred dollars. Helen Flint taught the first school. In 1856 a joint stock association was incorporated as "The River Falls Academy." A building was erected, 36 × 66 feet, ground plan, and two stories in height. Prof. Wilcox was the first principal. This school was maintained as an academy until 1860, at which time it was superseded by the free schools. In the fall of 1879 the building was destroyed by fire. Subsequently a commodious brick structure was erected in its place at a cost of $15,000. Excellent private schools were maintained by Hinckley, Cody and Baker, for five years during the '60s. The State Normal School, of which a more extended account is given elsewhere, was established here, and a building erected in 1874, at a cost of about $65,000, the people of River Falls and other towns contributing to this fund $25,000, with private subscriptions to the amount of $12,000, and a donation of ten acres of land. Of the $25,000 River Falls gave $10,000, Troy $4,000, Clifton $3,000, while Pierce county contributed $5,000, and Kinnikinic, St. Croix county, gave $3,000. The building, a handsome brick, four stories high, including the basement, stands on an elevated plat of ground in the southeastern part of the city. The first board of instruction consisted of W. D. Parker, president, with the following assistants: J. B. Thayer, conductor of teachers' institute; A. Earthman, history, geography, music; Lucy E. Foot, English literature, reading, spelling; Julia A. McFarlan, mathematics; Margaret Hosford, Latin and English literature. Model department, Ellen C. Jones, teacher, grammar grade; Mary A. Kelley, teacher, intermediate grade; Lizzie J. Curtis, teacher, primary grade.

The following are the churches of River Falls, with date of establishment and name of first pastor when known: Congregational, 1855, Rev. James Stirratt; Baptist, 1857, Rev. A. Gibson; Methodist, 1858; Episcopal, 1871, Rev. Chas. Thorpe; Catholic, 1875, Rev. Father Connelly; Seventh Day Adventist, 1881.

With the exception of the last named, these church organizations have good buildings. The Congregational church building erected in 1857 was superseded by a building in 1867 that cost $10,000. This was destroyed by a tornado in 1868, but has since been rebuilt at the cost of the building destroyed, and a parsonage has been added at a cost of $2,000.

A Sunday-school was established in River Falls in 1853, and the first sermon was preached, in 1850 or 1851, by Rev. Julius S. Webber, a Baptist missionary. Rev. John Wilcoxson, an Episcopalian, held occasional services as early as 1859.

ASSOCIATIONS.

The following are the social and benevolent associations of River Falls, with dates of organization: Masonic Lodge, June, 1859; I. O. O. F., 1872; I. O. G. T., March 15, 1877; Juvenile Temple of Honor, March 15, 1877; Temple of Honor, March 31, 1878; A. O. U. W., 1878. The hall, fixtures and charter of the Odd Fellows Lodge was destroyed in the fire of 1876, but the lodge was rechartered the same year.

THE BANK OF RIVER FALLS

Was organized Jan. 1, 1874. —— Bartlett, president; Joseph M. Smith, cashier. Capital, $15,000. It was reorganized in 1883, under state law, R. S. Burhyte, president; W. D. Parker, vice president; J. M. Smith, cashier. Capital stock, $35,000. Total business in 1885, $5,770,733.98.

HUDSON & RIVER FALLS RAILROAD.

This road was built in 1878, the people of River Falls contributing $60,000 to its construction. The road is ten miles in length. In 1885 it was extended to Ellsworth, a distance of twelve miles.

RIVER FALLS BOARD OF TRADE

Was established in 1884. A. D. Andrews, president; C. H. Keys, secretary.

FIRES.

In 1875 the Metropolitan Hotel, costing $15,000, and other buildings were burned; loss $30,000. The insurance was light. In 1876 a large portion of the town was destroyed by fire.

RIVER FALLS CITY.

River Falls was incorporated as a city in 1885. At the first election for city officers, held April 7th, three hundred and nineteen votes were cast, and the following persons were declared duly elected to the positions named: Mayor, A. A. Andrews; treasurer, G. E. Pratt; assessor, E. H. Daniel; aldermen, First ward, W. W. Wadsworth; Second ward, L. M. Rosenquist; Third ward, R. N. Jenson; Fourth ward, L. Styles; marshal, R. N. Bevens; city clerk, Allen H. Weld. The license for the sale of intoxicants was fixed at $200. The population of River Falls in 1886 was 1,700. It is a lively, prosperous city, planned on a liberal scale, with wide streets, well shaded with ornamental trees. The mills have reservations by which they are separated from the business part of the city. The beauty of the original waterfalls is somewhat marred by the mills and their debris. Originally they were very beautiful and picturesque, and were widely celebrated, and much visited by the lovers of Nature. Of these falls there are four, two on the south branch, one on the north branch, and one some rods below the junction of the two streams. The falls were not noted for their grandeur, but rather for their quiet beauty, the water falling over ledges but a few feet in height, and so broken in two of them as to present the general appearance of a succession of stairs, or steps, of unequal elevation, over which the water falls. An interesting feature at the junction of the two rivers is the cave in which the pioneer settler, Judge Joel Foster, with his negro boy, spent the winter of 1848-49. From his cave cabin he had full view of the falls on the two streams, no less beautiful in their winter dress of gleaming icicles, with the frost-whitened boughs of the willow and alder drooping over them, than in their summer brightness. The judge has told me that he loved, almost worshiped, this spot. The cave cabin stood about one hundred feet from the sparkling stream. There, in the early morning, he could cast his line, and have for his regal breakfast the speckled trout. Above him towered a precipice crowned with evergreen trees, and around him, on the borders of the streams, were the elm and maple, and an undergrowth of alder and birch. There certainly could have been no fairer scene in the West. To-day no traces remain of the old cave cabin. The Junction mills have effaced the more beautiful and poetic features of the scene. The judge has passed away, and found a grave on an elevation overlooking his old home and the scenes he loved so well. The judge, although a friend to progress, and active in advancing the material interests of the locality in which he lived, was unalterably opposed to the movement to incorporate River Falls, and did all he could to defeat the measure. When the incorporative act had been passed, he moved outside of the city limits, declaring that he would neither live nor die within them; but having been fatally injured by an accident, he was brought back to his old home, and died within the city.

THE FOURTH STATE NORMAL SCHOOL AT RIVER FALLS—HISTORY.

The constitution of the State, adopted in 1848, provides "that the revenue of the school fund shall be exclusively applied to the following objects:

No effort was made to take advantage of this provision of the constitution for the endowment of normal schools until 1857, when an act was passed providing "that the income of twenty-five per cent of the proceeds arising from the sale of swamp and overflowed lands should be appropriated to normal institutes and academies, under the supervision and direction of a 'board of regents of normal schools,'" who were to be appointed in pursuance of the provisions of that act. Under this law, the income placed at the disposal of the regents was distributed for several years to such colleges, academies and high schools as maintained a normal class, and in proportion to the number of pupils in the class who passed satisfactory examinations, conducted by an agent of the board.

The law under which these schools are organized provides that "the exclusive purpose of each normal school shall be the instruction and training of persons, both male and female, in the theory and art of teaching, and in all the various branches that pertain to a good common school education, and in all subjects needful to qualify for teaching in the public schools; also to give instruction in the fundamental laws of the United States and of this State, and in what regards the rights and duties of citizens."

REGULATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE NORMAL SCHOOLS.

Tuition is free to all students who are admitted to these normal schools under the following regulations of the board of regents:

As an addition to the work of the normal schools, the board of regents are authorized to expend a sum not exceeding $5,000 annually, to sustain teachers' institutes, and may employ an agent for that purpose. Institutes are regarded as important auxiliaries and feeders to the normal schools. At present one professor from each normal school is employed conducting institutes every spring and fall.

The normal school fund now amounts to over $1,250,000, and yields an annual income of about $100,000. It will be increased by the further sale of swamp lands, and will prove ample for the objects for which it is set apart.

In 1865 the legislature divided the swamp lands and swamp land fund into two equal parts, one for drainage purposes, the other to constitute a normal school fund. The income of the latter was to be applied to establishing, supporting and maintaining normal schools, under the direction and management of the board of regents of normal schools, with a proviso that one-fourth of such income should be transferred to the common school fund, until the annual income of that fund should reach $200,000. During the same year, proposals were invited for extending aid in establishment of a normal school, and propositions were received from various places.

In 1866 the board of regents was incorporated by the legislature.

Joel Foster.—Judge Foster was born at Meriden, Connecticut, Dec. 15, 1814. He was liberally educated. He came to Edwardsville, Illinois, in 1830, and to Hudson, then known as Buena Vista, in 1848. After a careful exploration of the country he made choice of the valley of the Kinnikinic, and made him a home in the fall of 1848, at the junction of the two branches of that stream, and within sound of its beautiful cascades. He was the pioneer settler of the River Falls of to-day. He built the first dwelling house, raised the first crops, and ever proved himself a worthy citizen, first in every good work and enterprise. He was a man of far more than ordinary intelligence and moral worth, was temperate, industrious, public spirited, sagacious and independent. He has filled many positions of responsibility, amongst them that of judge of St. Croix county. During the Mexican War he served as a quartermaster in Col. Bissell's Second Illinois Regiment. Judge Foster was married at Chicago in 1856 to Charlotte Porch. He died at his home in River Falls, Aug. 9, 1885.

Jesse B. Thayer was born Oct. 11, 1845, in Janesville, Wisconsin; was educated at Milton College in 1870, and is by profession a teacher. During the Rebellion he served in the Fortieth and Forty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteers as a private. He served five years as principal of the public schools in Menomonie, and since 1875 has been connected with the State Normal School at River Falls as conductor of institutes. In 1885 he was elected to represent Pierce county in the state assembly.

A. D. Andrews.—Dr. A. D. Andrews was born in Lowell, Maine, Sept. 21, 1830. He graduated at the Chicago Medical College in 1860, and in 1861 was commissioned assistant surgeon of the Sixth Wisconsin Infantry, of the famous Iron Brigade, with which he served up to the battle of Gettysburg. After retiring from the army he came to River Falls and engaged in milling, in which business he successfully continued until 1880, when he retired. He was elected state senator in 1878. He was appointed a regent of the Fourth State Normal School in 1877. He died at his home an River Falls, after a short illness, July 23, 1885. He was mayor of the city at the time of his death.

Joseph A. Short.—Mr. Short was born in Madison county, New York, April 16, 1806. He learned the trade of a millwright. He visited the East and West Indies. He came to Milwaukee in 1842. In 1849 he went to California, but returned in 1854, and settled in River Falls, where he built a saw and planing mill, laid out an addition to the village and in various ways promoted the interests of the settlement. Mr. Short was a member of the Methodist church sixty years, and of the Masonic fraternity fifty years. He was married Aug. 25, 1831, in New York, to Olive Prossen. He died at his home, May 6, 1886, aged eighty years, leaving a son and three daughters.

Allen H. Weld.—Prof. A. H. Weld, widely known as a pioneer educator, and as the author of an excellent grammar, was born in Vermont in 1810. He graduated at Yale College. He came to River Falls in 1858 and taught the first graded school in the village. For two years he was principal of the high school at Hudson, and for six years was superintendent of schools in St. Croix county. He was a member of the state board of regents nine years, and was prime mover in securing the location of the State Normal School at River Falls. The excellent character of the schools in St. Croix county, and the high educational position of River Falls, are due to his untiring effort and wise direction. Mr. Weld was a member of the Congregational church and a consistent Christian as well as a progressive, public spirited man. He died in 1882, at his home in River Falls, leaving a widow and one son, Allen P.

Allen P. Weld was born in North Yarmouth, Maine, in 1839. In 1859 he graduated at Dartmouth College. He studied law and was admitted to practice in 1867, at Albany, New York. He taught school at Albany three years, and came to River Falls in 1859, where he is a dealer in real estate. He was married in 1872 to Alice Powell, daughter of Lyman Powell.

George W. Nichols was born in 1795, at Braintree, Vermont. His father was a soldier in the Revolution. At the age of seventeen he enlisted and served in the war of 1812. He lived in Vermont fifty years, in Massachusetts ten years, and in 1855 came to River Falls, where he engaged in farming until he was eighty years of age. He was married in Vermont to Deborah Hobart, who died in 1874. His sons George H. and William H. reside in River Falls. They were soldiers during the war of the Rebellion. His son Isaac N. was a member of Capt. Samuels' company, and was killed at Perrysville, Kentucky. The Grand Army of the Republic post at River Falls has his name. He died in 1887.

W. D. Parker—Prof. Parker was born in Bradford, Orange county, Vermont, in 1839. He received a common school and academic education. At the age of sixteen years he entered the Janesville High School, and four years later graduated. He taught two years in Janesville, four years at Delavan, and one year in Monroe, Green county, Wisconsin. In 1867 he visited Europe, after which he taught two years at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. He was superintendent of schools five years at Janesville. In 1875 he was elected to the presidency of the Fourth State Normal School at River Falls. In 1886 he was elected state superintendent of public instruction. Prof. Parker was married to Justine B. Hewes, of Chicago, in 1869.

The Powell Family.—William Powell, the father, came to River Falls in 1849, where he lived with his sons until his death, Nov. 30, 1865. His second wife was the widow of —— Taylor, and the mother of Horace and Lute Taylor, the well known journalists. Mrs. Powell died in July, 1884.

Lyman Powell came to River Falls with his family in 1855. He was married to Lucinda Taylor, sister of Horace and Lute Taylor. Mr. Powell died at River Falls, Nov. 9, 1872, leaving a wife, two sons and five daughters.

Nathaniel N. Powell, the second son, born May 11, 1827, in St. Lawrence county, New York, came to River Falls in 1849, and pre-empted the northeast quarter of section 1, now a part of the site of River Falls city. He was married to Martha Ann Hart, Sept. 28, 1842, at Hudson. He died at River Falls, Sept. 28, 1862, leaving one son and one daughter.

Oliver S. Powell, the youngest son, was born June 19, 1831, and came to Hancock county, Illinois, in 1843, where he lived eight years. He had no great opportunities for gaining an education. He came to Stillwater in 1849, bringing with him the first threshing machine north of Prairie du Chien. He threshed the first grain threshed in the county in the fall of that year, for Fiske, on a farm three miles below Stillwater. In November, 1849, he located in River Falls, pre-empting the south half of the southeast quarter of section 36, town 28, range 19, lands lying just north of those claimed by his brother, and which afterward became a part of River Falls. Mr. Powell was a representative in the state assembly in 1870-71-72, and was a county commissioner many years. He was married in 1860 to Elmira Nichols. They have three sons, Harvey C., Newell N. and Lyman T., and four daughters, Lucy M., Sarah H., Amy E., and Miriam.

Nils P. Haugen was born in Norway in 1849; came to America in 1853 and to River Falls in 1854. He graduated in the law department of Michigan State University in 1874. Mr. Haugen was phonographic reporter of the Eighth and Eleventh Judicial circuits for several years, and a member of the assembly from Pierce county in 1879 and 80. He was elected railroad commissioner for Wisconsin in 1881, and re-elected in 1884. In 1886 he was elected representative to Congress.

H. L. Wadsworth was born July 10, 1821, in Erie county, New York. He learned the trade of a shoemaker, came West in 1846, and settled at River Falls some time in the '50s, and engaged in farming. He has filled many positions of trust in the St. Croix valley, and in 1867 represented St. Croix county in the assembly. In 1841 he was married to Miss A. R. Baldwin. Eight children have been born to them.

ROCK ELM

Includes township 26, range 15. It was organized as a town Nov. 16, 1866. The first town meeting was held at the house of J. Prickett. The first commissioner was Sylvester Fox, chairman. The post offices are at Rock Elm, on the western line of the town, section 19, and Rock Elm Centre, sections 16 and 17. At the latter place is located Rock Elm Institute, a school of high grade, founded in 1880. Harrison Lowater is the principal. The town is well supplied with schools, there being as many as nine within its limits. Among its first settlers were Loomis Kellogg, Charles A. Hawn and Sylvester Fox.

SALEM.

Salem occupies township 25, range 16. It is drained by Rush river. It was organized as a town Jan. 13, 1862. First board of supervisors, C. C. Carpenter, Eben White and J. H. Shults. The first school was taught in 1857, by Thompson McCleary. The first marriage was that of Harvey Seeley and Kate McKinstry. The first child born was Sarah Fuller. The first death was that of John McCleary, Sept. 2, 1863. The first post office was established at Rush River, May 1860, Joseph Seeley, postmaster. The first settlers were Jeremiah Fuller, from Ohio, and W. Wells, 1846; Harvey Seeley, 1848; Thomas Boyle and James White, 1854; John F. Davis from Ireland, 1856 (town clerk twenty years); John H. Brasington, from Pennsylvania (town treasurer fifteen years); Eben White, James Walsingham, John Strong, H. M. Hicks, from Pennsylvania, 1858; John Foley and brothers, from Ireland, 1856; James H. Shults, Joseph Seeley, H. C. Brown, John McClure, from Ireland; C. C. and Ira W. Carpenter, from Connecticut, 1858.

Mrs. Fuller, the wife of the pioneer, was here over six months, during which time she did not see a white woman.

SPRING LAKE

Is the extreme northeastern town of the county, occupying township 27, range 15. The post offices are Oak Ridge and Spring Valley. The town was organized Nov. 10, 1868. The first town meeting was held at the house of A. M. Wilcox. The first supervisors were: W. D. Akers, chairman; Jonas Nebb; Levi Hess, clerk. The first school was taught in 1866, by Agnes Harriman. The Methodist and Baptist churches have organizations, and the Methodists have a building worth five hundred dollars. The first marriage was that of H. M. Wilcox to Mrs. Kate Rice, of Lake City, by W. D. Akers, justice of the peace. The first child born was a daughter of Ole P. Gardner. The first death was that of Leota Wilcox, in 1864. The first postmaster was B. H. Preston, 1871. The first settlers in the order of their coming were James Gilmore, O. P. Gardner, George Wilcox, John Francisco and W. D. Akers.

TRENTON.

Trenton contains about twenty-eight sections, those on the Mississippi having very irregular boundaries. Twenty-four whole sections lie in township 25, range 18, and the remainder in township 24, range 18. Trenton, in section 33, township 25, is its post village. Trenton was organized in 1857; James Akers, chairman of supervisors. Wilson Thing, the pioneer settler, came in 1848.

TRIMBELLE.

Trimbelle includes township 26, range 18. Its post villages are Trimbelle and Beldenville. It was organized March 2, 1855. Its supervisors were F. Otis, chairman, and Aaron Cornelison. Among its earliest settlers were the Cornelisons, F. Otis and M. B. Williams. It has four saw mills and one flouring mill, five school houses and one church (Methodist).

Martin B. Williams was born in New York in 1812. He received a common school education, and at the age of sixteen years was thrown upon his own resources. He learned the trade of blacksmith. He was married in New York, and has four sons, Clark M., Frank T., G. Glen and A. Judd. Mr. Williams is one of the pioneer settlers of Trimbelle, and has held many public town and county positions. He served as treasurer of Pierce county four years. He has been a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church for over thirty years.

UNION.

Union consists of township 25, range 15. It is drained by Plum creek. It has two post offices, Plum Creek, in section 24, and Ono, section 6. It was organized Aug. 15, 1863. Among its first settlers were Eleazer Holt, Hiram N. Wood, and Capt. Horst, who made their homes here in the early '50s.

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