Transcribed and submitted by Kay Scholtz <scholtz@tznet.com>
Source: 1918 History of Clark County Wisconsin; Compiled by
Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge. Reviewed by James O'Neill, Chicago and
Winona, H. C. Cooper, Jr., & Co. 1918, “Historical Contributions”,
pages 706-7
MRS. EMMA F. ROBINSON was one of the early pioneers and her experiences
were most interest. Writing Nov. 25, 1901, she says:
“I came to Clark County, Wis., in January, 1859, my husband, myself and
little twenty-months-old baby girl, now Mrs. James O’Neill. We
drove through from LaCrosse with a team to what was then known as
Weston’s Rapids. We were four days making the trip. There
were but a few settlers then in Clark County. Among them was the
late James O’Neill, founder of Neillsville, Judge Dewhurst, Robt. Ross,
Chauncy Blakeslee, B. F. Chase, James Hewett and S. C. Boardman.
“Neillsville was then a mere hamlet, although the county seat. It
was there that I attended my first Fourth of July celebration in Clark
County. Dr. B. F. French was the orator of the day. I met
Mrs. French, Mrs. A. W. Clark and Mrs. John King for the first time, at
that small gathering of patriotic settlers.
“There was a dam and bridge across Black river at Weston’s
Rapids. A sawmill and grist mill were in operation there.
There was a ‘tavern’, as it was then called, for the accommodation of
the lumbermen, and several tenement houses. We lived in one of
those houses nearly two years and kept the first post office
there. We only got our mail once a week and had no county paper
at that time; in fact all literature was very scarce in those
days. The books and periodicals which we had brought from our
eastern homes were gladly exchanged with our neighbors. They were
read and re-read, passed out from one home to another till when they
returned they were often in a somewhat dilapidated condition.
After a time we were favored by having a very good little district
library, which was greatly appreciated. Mrs. Melvin Mason, Mrs.
Chandler and myself composed the committee to select the books for this
small library of 100 volumes.
A Methodist Church soon sprang up. It was built in Neillsville,
all contributing most willingly. Its good influence was soon felt
and it was the means of bringing the old settlers together oftener in a
social way. Many are the church sociable we attended when our
only conveyance was a big wagon or sleigh drawn by oxen or a span of
mules. Before we had our little church our only pleasures
socially were the meeting in our homes to read and discuss our well
worn books and papers, and dancing. It was not considered a
hardship by any means to have the big sleigh brought around right after
supper and drive six or eight or even ten miles to a dance, gathering
up our friends on the way. Mrs. Stafford, Mrs. Blakeslee, Mrs.
Clark, Judge and Mrs. Dewhurst were generally along and always ready
for a good time. By the way, it did not take as much to give us a
good time then as at the present day. We were all young and full
of health and hope and enjoyed everything to its fullest extent -our
books, our dances, our drives and, last but not least, our church meant
much to us in the wilds of Northern Wisconsin.
The woods abounded with wild game, which was the means of bringing a
great many Indians to our country. But they were friendly - too
friendly, we thought, when several would walk into our houses and
demand food, without even stopping to rap. We soon learned to
keep our doors locked day and night and not to be frightened when we
saw their dusky faces looking in the window at us.
There was a log shanty near what is now known as Scofield’s Corners,
which was then used for a trading post for the Indians, by quite a
notorious character in the early history of Clark County, by the name
of George Pettengill. He was a tall, muscular fellow and affected
Indian style by dressing in buckskin and wearing his hair long,
reaching to his waist, and spending his time hunting and trading with
the Indians. He at one time openly shot and killed a half-breed,
which so enraged the Indians that the settlers were obliged to have him
(Pettengill) arrested and lodged in jail at LaCrosse. But he was
afterwards acquitted. He was not generally disliked by the white
settlers and was allowed to trade with the Indians in the shanty on the
corner without being interfered with, although they got in exchange for
their furs and game a few gaudy trinkets and lots of poor whisky, and
the nights were often made hideous by the weird cries of those poor
children of the forest as they went reeling by to their wigwams after
indulging too freely in 'fire-water'. I think there was quite as
much need of a Mrs. Nation and her hatchet in those days as there is
now.”
