The Town of Vermont – "The Early Years"

1846 – 1890

by Marian Swoboda

INTRODUCTION

The early history of the Town of Vermont as chronicled here was gathered from a book called simply Vermont published in 1977 to celebrate the history of the town during our Nation’s Bicentennial year. The book was appropriately dedicated to the Pioneers of Vermont by the book’s organizers and compilers "The Vermont Bicentennial Committee": Viola and Joe Dybdahl, Lola and Arnold Forshaug, Fern Frame, Bette and Bertil Johnson, Dorothy Kelliher, Avis MacLean, Lola MacLean and Betty Rosenbaum.

The Committee’s source of information came primarily from the centennial edition of the Dane County News written in 1880 and the History of Dane County Volume 11, edited by Judge Elisha W. Keyes, published in 1906. The family history section contained in the book written by family and friends adds a rich source of information otherwise unavailable.

THE EARLY YEARS

Early immigrants seeking a better way of life came to Vermont Township from England, Scotland and Ireland; Prussia, Austria, Switzerland and Norway. Some came from the eastern states. The Winnebago Indians, a peaceful tribe, were in the area before the white man came. Two of our town roads, "Indian Trail" and "Blue Mounds Trail" were named after an old Indian trail walked by the Indians on their way from their campgrounds along the Wisconsin River to Blue Mounds where they held their ceremonials.

1846 The first white settler was a Pennsylvania Dutchman by the name of Joseph Harmony. He was an old man when he came and had neither money nor team to plow the land. He erected a cabin as best he could. After seven years the old man and his still older wife succeeded in getting three acres under cultivation. At about this time someone purchased the claim from the government and the old gentleman had no home. At this juncture, his neighbors together raised $50, and bought forty acres of land on Section 31 for the veteran pioneer.

1847 A group of families from England under the auspicious of the British Temperance Immigration Society arrive in the township in 1847. Without work or money, many families suffered from hunger and illness. While county commissioners gave aid to the ill and poor, there were many deaths. The Temperance Society failed to keep its promise to provide a house, plowed land and a well.

Vilkin Asbjornson from Norway also arrived in 1847 with his wife and young son, Thomas. They came to the homestead of Mrs. Asbjornson’s parents, the Lars Munsons who had arrived a year or so earlier. Their homestead was in the immediate vicinity of the present Wilkins homestead. The Asbjornsons built a log dwelling near by. The spot was probably chosen for a dwelling place because of a spring from which they could get their water. The spring serves the Wilkins homestead to this day.

At about the same time, Gulbrand Andersen Eisbakkene (Braatelien) from Etneda, Valdres, Norge and his wife Anne Sveddsdatter, a widow with two sons, Arne and Andreas, immigrated to America, claimed 120 acres of land and built a log house at the site of the Arnold Forshaug farm. Not only were their grandchildren born in this log house, but also their great-grandchildren, the Forshaug’s were born there. Gulbrand and Anne had four children, Olia, Gunhild, Anders and Hans. Tall tales were told of the size and strength of the enormous Viking who was Gulbrand. When he built the log house, he felled the trees and dragged the logs home by hand. One time at butchering season, the people needed a scalding tank for butchering hogs. Gulbrand purchased the tank and carried it the 20 miles home on his back.

1848 It was in the year 1848 that I.C. Steele from Delaware County, state of New York, became the first American born settler. He became a very successful farmer, stock raiser and grain producer. He played an active role in public affairs, later on becoming one of the first supervisors in the Town of Vermont.

Jorgen Gulson (1826 – 1898) immigrated to America also in 1848 by way of Quebec and the Great Lakes. He evidently walked from Milwaukee to the Vermont area. He first located on the farm where David Haugen presently lives, later moving west to another area. In 1855 he walked to Mineral Point to have the transaction of purchase recorded. He was a single man.

1849 C.K. Syverud from Norway, one of the early Norwegian settlers, opened the first blacksmith shop in the township in Section 25.

1850 Halvor Bakken moves from Perry Township, having spent a year there after arriving from Norway and settled near the Elvers Mill community. He brings with him a small infant girl having lost his wife during childbirth. He cleared some land and settled down as a squatter but hardly got squatted when a land speculator came along and told him the land he was occupying belonged to him. Apparently, the land speculator was a decent fellow and offered to compensate Halvor for his work. His compensation was a team of oxen. Halvor lost no time moving to a new location, building again another log home.

John Coldwell and Harriet Knight were married in Sheffield, England in 1818. They came to America in 1849 settling in Vermont Township in 1850 on land purchased by the British Temperance Society. They had 13 children, of which 9 grew to adulthood. Seven came to America with them. By 1980 the descendants of Harriet and John Coldwell grew to more than 400.

1851 Arne Gladhaug Mickelson and wife Thora Vilkin emigrated from Norway to America in 1851. After spending a year in Springdale, they moved to Vermont Township and bought land in the beautiful valley of Sagabottom toward Mt. Horeb. Their first home was a sod hut where they had some frightening encounters with snakes. They soon moved into a two-story log home expanding it as their family grew. They had eight children over the years. By 1947 they had 209 living decendents.

1852 The first death is reported when cholera sweeps through this section of the county. It was Mathew Rasbeck from England who so generously contributed to the purchase of land for Joseph Harmony.

Piltingsrud Dokken Halsten and his wife, Ellen, emigrated from Norway to Vermont Township some time after 1852. They homesteaded on land later known as the Schroeder farm on Highway 78. Soon after settling, Halsten died, leaving his wife and six children in only a sod home. He was buried a short distance from the Vermont Lutheran Church in an unmarked grave.

Arne Olson Steensrud, born in Norway in 1799, came to America in 1852 with his wife, Berit, and eleven children. Arne and several of his sons became farmers in the Steensrud School District.

1853 Ole Andersen Eidsbakken married Gunnhild Olsdatter Aaeneie Moen in 1853 in Sor-Aurdal, Valders, Norway. They immigrated to America in 1853, settling on Section 28, Vermont Township, not far from Elvers Mill and close to the Bohn School. They had a family of seven children.

1854 An Irish pioneer Jeremiah Deneen settles in Section 20 and 29. He was born in County Cork, Ireland in 1817. He married Hannah Deneen, a native of the same place, with whom he had six children. He was active in town affairs, had a fine farm, nicely located, only half a mile from Elvers Mills.

In the same year the second American settler arrives in a covered wagon. His name is George Beaty from the state of Pennsylvania. His extraction was English and Pennsylvania Dutch. He settles in Section 36 and becomes a successful farmer and stock raiser. He was born in 1808, married to Mary Way with whom he had three children. His second wife was Sarah Nace, a native of Virginia. He played an active role in town affairs and was Chairman of the Town Board for several years.

Knud Olsen Gjesme and his wife Margrette Endresdatter Lad immigrated to America in 1854. Knud was born in Hafelo, Norway in 1821; Margretta in 1829. Three children were born before they left Norway. One died in infancy. Upon arriving in Black Earth, the family went to the Erik Solvei place in Vermont Township where they shared a small, crude dugout, which was the Solvei home. While there a son was born. Eight more children were born while they lived in the Township of Vermont. They owned land in Sections 34, 36, and 25.

The Town’s Country Schools

The first schoolhouse was built, in what later became identified as District No. 2, of log construction in the early 1850’s. Elizabeth Beaty taught school there for five years. Part of the time her only textbook was the Bible. This little log school was in operation through the years of the Civil War until 1874 when the decision was made to build a new schoolhouse. Elizabeth’s father, George Beaty, donated the land upon which the new schoolhouse was built, thus the school became known as the Beaty School. During the first years the school had a very high enrollment, especially during the winter months. In those days men and also some women went to school in the winter to learn to read and write. At one time during the 1880’s there were sixty pupils in the school, most of whom were Irish. During the early year there was no well on the premise; drinking water was obtained from a spring some distance south of the schoolhouse.

In 1865 the first Steensrud School was built in District No. 5. It stood until 1885 when a special meeting was held to consider a new location. The new schoolhouse would measure 20’ x 30’. There would be a stone wall built around the building, five feet high with plastered walls inside and wainscoted three feet up from the floor. To George Bryant went the job of digging out stumps and burning brush for $6.00; to John Temanson the job of digging rocks necessary for the wall under the building for $10.00; to Andrew Huset and Ole Stay the job of digging the basement for $22.00; to James Deardsley the job of laying the cellar wall, lathing and plastering and laying the chimney for $35.00; to Andrew Haugner the job of carpenter work for $80.00.

Also in 1865 another meeting was called for the purpose of levying a $1.278.95 tax for the building of a schoolhouse in District No. 3. The school was first named after the Isaac Steele family who lived in the district when the schoolhouse was built. In later years, the Steele family moved away and the school was renamed the Booth School after the Booth family who were the oldest residents in the district. Students from four generations of the Booth family attended the school.

The Helland School in District No. 1 began operation in 1866. The earliest available record, the annual meeting of 1867, voted to have a man teacher for the winter months and not to pay over $40.00 per month. At a special meeting in 1869 it was voted to purchase land in order to change the road by the school, build a board fence around the school ground, and to build one privy. At the annual meeting in 1876 it was agreed that the McGuffey Reader was as good as any textbook and it was only throwing money away to bring in any other.

The oldest record of the Bohn School in District No. 6 is a deed signed in 1865 by Ernest Bohn and District Board members Ole Olson Sale and Edward O’Hare granting one-half acre more or less to the District to hold during the term the district wishes to maintain a schoolhouse for school purposes. The school was named after the Bohn family who deeded the land for the school. Four generations of the Bohn family attended this school. The oldest school record book begins in 1867. It was voted to raise $132.25 by tax on the District to build the school. While the schoolhouse was built in Section 28 of the Town of Vermont, it served students from the Town of Blue Mounds as well. The school served the community until 1892 at which time a new schoolhouse was built on the same site. The building measuring 18 x 32 x 10 feet cost $586.49 plus $66.80 for 20 seats.

The Deneen School in District No. 4 was built in 1868 at a cost of $350.00 Humphry Lynch, Aaron Denney and James Blake were each paid $105.00 for building the school. In March 1869 Aaron Denney received $100.00 for teaching school for four months and Jane Simpson received $72.00 for three months. Other expenses were 25 cents for a broom, 35 cents for a fire shovel, and 65 cents for a pail and dipper.

The Sandridge School built in District No. 7 in 1883 was the last schoolhouse to be built in the Town of Vermont. The legal voters at the time were: Guul Olsen, Jorgen Olsen, Thos. Wilkens, Ever Mikkelson, Syver Berthus, Paul Handel, Frank Handel, Wm. Deneen, Michael Bakken, Paul Anderson, Hans Gilbertson, Gilbert Anderson, Ole P. Moen, Ole Tollefson, Joe Souitoulfth, Ole Amble, Syver Amble, Halvor Bakken, Erick Bakken, John Lohrs, Arne Steensrud, Gilbert Erickson, Florian Zwettler, and Andrew P. Moen. The first officers elected were: Director – Ever Mikkelson; Treasurer – Guul Olsen; and Clerk – Andrew P. Moen

Mr. Moen loaned $200.00 and a motion was made to build a schoolhouse 16 x 24 x 10 feet, three thicknesses of board, the two outsides of flooring and the middle of common lumber covered with tar paper and to locate the school on about ¾ of an acre in Section 15. The school district rented the land from John Wall and Ole S. Amble for five cents a year for as long as the premises were kept for public school purposes. Ole Amble agreed to furnish good dry oak wood, cut to fit the stove for both terms for $10.00. Three hundred dollars was to be raised to finish and furnish the schoolhouse and pay the teacher’s wages. In the winter term from November 1884 to March 1885, 33 pupils were enrolled: 19 boys and 14 girls with an average daily attendance of 22. In the summer 19 were enrolled: 9 boys and 10 girls with an average daily attendance of 11.

1855 When first surveyed, the Township of Vermont was attached to the Town of Madison. In 1848 the Territorial Legislature removed Vermont fromthe Town of Madison and combined it with the Town of Blue Mounds. Seven years later in 1855 Vermont was segregated from the Town of Blue Mounds and became a separate entity. It was named the Town of Vermont by one of the old settlers in honor of the Green Mountains of his home state.

The first recorded meeting of the Vermont Lutheran Congregation was also held in 1855, September 27 to be precise. In the following year the congregation elected a committee to determine a place for a church to be built. In the meantime they bought a log schoolhouse from the Village of Black Earth and with 20 teams of oxen moved it into the Vermont Valley on what is now Highway 78.

John Barsness was born at Naeverseter, Sogndal, Norway in 1836. He came to America in 1855 with his parents, brothers and sister, settling on a farm in Vermont Township. John served in the Union Army in 1864 and 1865 in Company G, 16th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry. In 1866, he married Siri Nilsen, daughter of Nils Engebretson and Siri Seversdatter of Etnedal, Valdres, Norway. Siri was born in Norway in 1850; she was orphaned and left Norway when very young. It is believed that she came to America in about 1860 with her sister, Marit, who was married to Anders Monson, and early settler in Vermont. Twelve children were born to John and Siri. (Note: People in Norway were identified by their given name with the father’s name plus "son" or "datter." A third name was often added which indicated their place of residence.)

1856 The first meeting of the Town of Vermont was held on the first Tuesday in April in 1856. Whalen Hasbrook was elected Chairman; J.C. Steele and John Caldwell, Supervisors; and Aaron Dana, Clerk.

In the same year, Ole Tollefson Flashaugen from Norway made his first purchase of land in the Town of Vermont, Section 22, up a valley east of Blue Mounds Creek, north of the junction of Highway J and Bohn Road. His wife was Thora Andersdatter Heiene. To this union were born three children, Mathea, Berte, and Ole. Mathea and the mother died in the early 1860’s and were buried on the Urness farm, where a single monument marks several graves. Ole must have taken care of his children himself for a time, and it is told that he walked with two children to the Civil War induction center to inform them he could not serve. Thora had been the oldest of five children. When she died Ole must have sent for her youngest sister, Ingeborg. They were married in the Vermont Lutheran Church of which Ole was a charter member. To this second marriage were born eight children.

Jon P. Dybdahl was born at Svinningseiet, Brandbu, Norway in 1821. In 1848 he married Anne Andersdatter Eidsand. Two sons were born to them in Norway. In 1852, Jon and his family immigrated to America. They spent the first year in the Norwegian settlement at Koshkonong, moving to Vermont Township about 1856. In 1861, Jon purchased 40 acres on Section 2. The same year his wife, Anna, died. In 1863, he married Thora Eriksdatter Eid, an immigrant from Valdres, Norway. Six children were born to Thora and Jon, two of whom died in infancy.

1857 Elver’s Hall at the settlement of Elvers becomes the meeting place for the Town of Vermont. Elvers continued to be the town hall until 1957 when the town bought the Sandridge schoolhouse. This location continues to be the Town Hall to this day.

Johannes Hansen Urness was born at Urness, Sogn, Norway in 1829. In 1857 he emigrated from Norway and settled on Section 11 of Vermont Township. He was married to Martha Nilsdatter from Hafslo, Sogn, Norway. They had nine children. Johannes was an extremely honest and deeply religious man. He was known as "Honest John" in the community.

On Christmas Day, in 1857, Jeremiah Deneen, who immigrated to Vermont from Ireland in 1854, lay dying "And when I go," he was known to have said, "bury me on that hill above the road under that big gnarled tree." "Surely, you can’t be meaning what you say" said to him, Hannah, his wife, "that ground hasn’t a hint of blessing on it." "You let me be buried there and God and his people will take care of the rest" came back Jeremiah, and died. He was buried on the hill above the road under the tree. That same hill is today the St. James Cemetery.

1860 In this year funds were gathered for the building of a church on the hill where Jeremiah was buried. Much of the work was a "do-it-yourself" type so common and also so necessary among frontier people. It was named St. Simons. Later when a second church would replace the first structure, Vermonters would refer to the first church as the "old brown church." Some families who were boosters for the building of a church as early s 1857 were: Lynches, Sweeneys, O’Hares, Powers, Dolohantys, Cuneens, Curtains, Brenners, Kelleys, Haskins, Blakes. Deneens, Frawley and Keatings.

The Civil War Years 1861 – 1865

Vermont men make the supreme sacrifice in service to their country during the Civil War: Christopher Erickson, Torgrim Mikkelson, Ole Mikkelson, Ole M. Olson, Peter Urness, Andrew Everson, Thomas Everson, Arne and Anders (sons of Gulbrand Andersen Eisbakkene and Anne Svendsdatter Aasen) lost their lives.

1863 The Vermont Lutheran Church builds a new church on property just west of the current Vermont Church on Vermont Church Road at a cost of $804.90. To raise the money the congregation voted to tax each farmer $1.00 per "Forty" for each $100.00 he possessed otherwise, exclusive of debt. This applied to those who were not landowners. Pastor Olaus P. Syftestad, called to serve the congregation in the new church, served until 1890.

1864 Ernest Bohn was born in Saxony, Germany in 1839. In 1853 he emigrated with his parents and brothers to America settling first in the Town of Berry. In 1861 he and four brothers enlisted in the Civil War. After serving three years he returned to Wisconsin and settled in the Town of Vermont, buying the eighty-acre farm from his father. In 1866 he married Marie Minix. Eight children were born to them.

1870 The population of the Town of Vermont reaches 1, 244 in 1870; the highest peak throughout the town’s history.

1871 Florian Zwettler was born in 1844 in Vitus, Austria. In 1871 he boarded the steamship Berlin coming to America. On the same ship was Agnes Litschaurer, who left Rohrbach, Austria. They were married in 1870 at Cross Plains. They lived in a couple different homes in the Town of Vermont when their seven children were born. In 1900 Florian bought a farm in Section 7. The Zwettler’s were members of St. James Catholic Church and active in town affairs.

1875 Charles Elver, miller, farmer and fancy stock breeder moved to the Town of Vermont in 1875 settling on Sections 20 and 21 near Elver’s corner. He was born in Mecklenberg-Schwerin, Prussia in 1849; came to this country with his parents at the age of three, grew up in Middleton, Dane County and married Minnie Lohff when he was 20 years old. They had four children. In 1876 he purchased the Elver’s Grist Mill and turned it into one of the finest flourmills in the country. He owned 163 acres of land and waterpower in the berg of Elvers, valued at $14,000.00. He had all of the conveniences for feeding stock and bred Poland China hogs, shorthorns, and Cotswold sheep.

1878 Charles Elver established the first post office name "Elvers" in 1878. John Lohrs, a native of Prussia, served as the first postmaster, unpaid but with the privilege of operating the town’s first grocery and saloon at the same place. Mail was picked up from the Mt. Horeb Post Office twice a week and brought to the Elvers Post Office where it was picked up by people living in the vicinity.

Cheese Factories of the 1880’s

Seven cheese factories were established in the Town of Vermont between the years of 1882 and 1888. The Mickelson Factory on County Highway J on Section 26 was the first to open in 1882. Fred Feller was one of the first cheese makers. The factory made Swiss, brick and limburger cheese. In order to have fuel for the boiler, each farmer had to furnish one large load of pole wood for every cow he had. The factory closed in the middle 1930’s. It is now a family home.

The Anderson Brothers’ Factory on the Anderson Brothers’ farm across the road from the Sandridge School on County Highway JJ might have started around 1883. It is known that children attend the Sandridge School would sometimes go over to the factory at noon to eat curd if it was ready. The first cheese maker was Sever Amble. The building is still standing. Notice the entrance to the cheese cellar as you drive by.

The Greenwald Factory was built between 1880 – 1890 on Greenwald Road just off Highway 78. It was named after Henry Greenwald. On a certain day farmers would gather to saw wood for wintertime fuel. Some of the cheesemakers were Carl and John Ampor, Fred Hofer, Werner Sheidegger, John and Fred Wittwer and Anton Kohler. The factory closed down in the early 1930’s, later becoming a residence.

The Pleasant Valley Factory on the corner of County Highway F and Zwettler Road, also built between 1880 – 1890, was first named Kelliher Cheese Factory. Around 1928 it was destroyed by fire. After it was rebuilt it was name the Pleasant Valley Cheese Factory. Brick and limburger cheese were made at the factory. In later years it was American. The factory closed in the late 1960’s. It is now a residence.

The Tom Denny Factory at Peculiar on County Highway FF on the upper side of the road was also built between 1880-1890. Butter rather than cheese was made at the factory. Early known buttermakers were: John Stukki, Ole Gunderson and Charlie Rush. There is no sign of any building there now.

The Vermont American Factory located on the corner of Old Indian Trail and County Highway JJ was incorporated in 1888. It is told that many interesting things happened at this factory. Years ago there was a rule that all farmers had to have their milk delivered by 9:00 a.m. When Adam Hefty was the cheesemaker he would blow their telephone ring with the whistle on the boiler when it was getting close to that time. The idea of Patron’s Mercantile Co-op originated at the factory. At the time Amos Thorsrud was ordering supplies for the factory and the farmers, someone suggested, "Why not have our own store in Black Earth?" So, Patron’s was born. When Torge Goderstad was at Vermont making cheese, Charles Bennett suggested to Torge he should get a truck and haul milk for the farmers. Hjalmar Sveum was the first milk truck driver hired. The factory closed in 1967 when the boiler broke down. The building is no longer standing.

The Diamond Cheese Factory, located on the corner of State Highway 78 and Vermont Church Road, was built in about 1888 by John Braun. The first cheesemaker was Art Foye. Twelve other cheesemakers followed. At one time the factory had a milk truck that hauled milk for the farmers. Philip Skalet was the driver. The factory closed in 1958. The building served as a residence for several years until it was demolished to make room for the widening of Highway 78.

1883 St. Simon’s Catholic Church builds a new church and sells "the old brown church" to St. Barnabas in Mazomanie.

1888 Gilbert (Guul), age 28, married Marit Arnesdatter, age 24, daughter of Anne Mikkelsen and Thora Iversdatter, in 1878. Her parents farmed in Section 28 and his, in Section 27, about a mile apart. It is said he was her feeding the hogs and "promised to take her away from such hard work." They bought a farm in Sections 16 and 17 in 1888 and lived there until their deaths. They had ten children.

1889 J. Adam Reich, born in 1845, a German immigrant, and his wife, Lena Schlick, born in 1854 in New York State, were married in 1875. They came to Vermont Township in 1889 to a farm located in Section 7, in the area called Peculiar. They had three sons: Otto, Louis, and Albert.

AIN’T THAT PECULIAR? On this day in 1889, young Tom Denny was definitely upset – at the postal service. He had just driven his team and wagon over five miles of dirt road to pick up his mail in Black Earth. His "Irish" began to show when he discovered his mail had been shipped to Blue Mounds, seven miles in the other direction. Cooling off a little on the way home, he was just crossing Blue Mounds Creek when the idea hit. With a long look at his home and the Denny Factory on the other side of the stream, and thoughts about his neighbors who shared his mail problems he determined to solicit Washington permission to open his own post office. Three years before it came to Dane County, Thomas Denny of Vermont Township had his own Rural Free Delivery. Once a week the mail was carried by horse down the seven-mile dirt road north from Blue Mounds and delivered to Denny’s front door. The letters and packages were all addressed to PECULIAR POST OFFICE.

It was suggested that the name "Peculiar" originated with the post office department. However, Denny graciously took responsibility for the origin of Peculiar. He explains that he submitted three separate lists of names (about six to a list) to the Third Postmaster General. None of these being acceptable, he writes: "I intimated that it was somewhat peculiar none of these would do, why not call it "Peculiar?"

With this, the chronology ends. September 10, 2003