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FARMINGTON This town is situated south of Scandinavia and west of Waupaca, the first
settlement being made in the fall of 1849, by R. Hicks and G. Jones. The
locality has the honor of observing the Fourth of July for the first time in the
history of the county with a "grand celebration." The year was 1851,
the place was on the north side of Maple Island Lake, the orator of the day was
a Wilson Holt, then residing in Waupaca. There were fifty persons present. The
town was organized April 15, 1853, the first officers being G. Jones, Chairman;
C. O. Brown, M. Barton, Supervisors; Francis Beardsmore, Town Clerk; C. O.
Brown, Treasurer. The Lutherans erected the first church in town. Sheridan was
the first post office, W. H. Cipperly, who kept the first store, being
Postmaster. From Wisconsin County Histories, Waupaca County Edited by John M. Ware 1917
Transcribed and submitted to the Waupaca County
FARMINGTON TOWNSHIP
Farmington is one of the most prosperous and beautiful townships in the county, about half of the Chain of Lakes lying within its southern sections. The Waupaca River, in its upper reaches, also adds to its drainage, its fertility and its charming stretch of waters. Although not among the first of the townships in the number of its milch cows and cattle generally, its 1,757 bovines lead all the rural communities of the county in average value; the figures, $34.54, make Farmington third, its superior townships, in that regard, being Scandinavia and Mukwa. The neat cattle are valued at $60,691, and 644 horses at $63,584.The value of the real and personal property owned by the residents of the Town of Farmington is $1,706,420, or 4.32 per cent of the total county valuation.
The first settler to locate within the present bounds of the township was Ambrose M. Gard, who made his claim in September, 1849, on the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 25, about a mile west of the Village of Waupaca and near the present line of the electric line. Not long afterward Roswell Hicks and Granville Jones located in section 27, north of Maple Island Lake. While building a log house on their claim (the first in town), they passed a portion of the winter in a cloth tent at Waupaca Falls, "moving in" December 28, 1849. In the following spring Mr. Jones did the first plowing which ever broke the soil of Farmington. When the small crop of corn was ready to be ground the two pioneers were obliged to take it to Plover, Portage County, at which point was the nearest grist mill. It took their oxen three days to make the round trip.
Several settlers came in 1850. One of them, C. O. Brown, was a native of Sweden, and the advance agent of a number of his countrymen. In the following year, or the early part of 1852, he went to New York and returned to Waupaca County with about seventy Swedish families, a number of whom settled in the northeast quarter of the town. In December, 1850, F. L. King, a young New York farmer, pre-empted a quarter section in section 31. He built a board shanty on the banks of the creek, and then returned to Vinland, Winnebago County, for his young wife whom he had married two years before. Mr. King served in a New York cavalry regiment, during the Civil war, but after-ward resumed his residence on his Farmington homestead and continued to reside there for many years. He was prominent in both town and county affairs, and at one time had the honor of defeating Myron Reed, of Waupaca, for county commissioner.
It was not until the year 1852 that the lands in the Town of Farmington came into the market for entry, and were offered at general sale. In that year the following persons entered land at Menasha, within the present limits of Farmington: Abigal C. Sessions, Roswell Hicks, Horace Dewey, Ambrose M. Gard, William Dudterman, Merrick Barton, John M. Dewey, Caleb Preston, John McArthur, F. S. King, Robert Morrison, A. R. Gray, C. O. Brown, S. Leonard, J. K. Parish, George W. Ross, Otis Beck, Jonas Nordeen, John Harris, Francis Beardmore, A. E. Erickson, Alfred Godfrey, Maurice Hearn, Eastman Arnie, George Roberts, William P. Edwards and Granville Jones.
Sheridan, about six miles west of Waupaca, is a railroad station and quite a brisk shipping point for potatoes. A creamery is also located there.
From THE WAUPACA
REPUBLICAN - Waupaca, WI - July 13, 1876 HISTORY OF FARMINGTON Read by C. L. Green, at the Dayton Celebration Township No. 22, North of Range No. 11 East, known as the town of Farmington, was first settled by Ambrose M. Gard, who made his claim in the month of September, 1849, on the north east quarter of the north west quarter, of Section No. 25. As the tide of emigration was fast pouring into the then far West, the country soon became settled. Among the first settlers may be named Roswell Hicks and Granville Jones, who made their claims on Section No. 27, in the fall of 1849, building the first house in the town, into which they moved about the 28th day of December, having passed a portion of the winter in a cloth tent at Waupaca Falls, undergoing all the hardships and privations of frontier life; being surrounded by Indians and wild beasts, living for several months upon corn ground in a common coffee mill, and deprived of all of the comforts of civilization. The first plowing was done by Mr. Jones, in the spring of 1850. The nearest grist mill being at Plover, Portage County, they were obliged to take their grain there to be ground, it taking them three days to go and return, with oxen. The first white child born in the town was Rollin Jones, in 1851. C. O. Brown, a native of Sweden, came here in 1849. Going to New York in 1851; he returned with about seventy families of his native countrymen, a number of whom settled in the north east quarter of the town. On the fourth day of July, 1851, just a quarter of a century ago, the patriotism of the country swelled forth in the first grand celebration of American Independence held in Waupaca county, on the farm of Granville Jones, on the north side of Maple Island Lake. The orator of the day was Wilson Holt, then residing in Waupaca. There were fifty persons present at the celebration, coming from all directions on foot and with oxen. As the land in this part of the country had not yet come into market, it could not be entered. It was not until the year 1852, that it was offered for sale. In that year the following persons entered land at the Land Office at Menasha: Abigail C. Sessions, Horace Dewey, John McArthur, Robert Morrison, Roswell Hicks, Ambrose M. Gard, Merrik Barton, Caleb Preston, F. L. King, A. R. Gray, C. O. Brown, J. K. Parish, Geo. W. Ross, Jonas Nordeen, Otis Beck, John Harris, Francis Beardmore, A. E. Erickson, Alfred Godfrey, Maurice Hearn Eastman, Amie Oco Roberts, Wm. Pitt Edwards, Granville Jones, and S. Leonard. On the 15th day of April, 1853, the town was formed, the name Farmington being given it by Francis Beardmore, not because he thought it the best farming town, but because he was a farmer and thought it the most appropriate name. Previous to that time it belonged to Waupaca. The first election was held at the house of John Fisher, on the first Tuesday of April, 1854. There were forty votes cast. The officers elected were: Granville Jones, Chairman; Merrik Barton and C. O. Brown, Supervisors; Francis Beardmore, Town Clerk, and C. O. Brown, Town Treasurer. In 1861 an effort was made to build a railroad from Fremont on the Wolf River, to Stevens Point, on the Wisconsin, via Waupaca. Aid was asked of the several towns along the line of the road. Farmington responded by voting seven hundred dollars, also by subscriptions from private individuals. The funds were used, the grading partly finished to Waupaca and then abandoned. Since that time the Wis. Cen. railroad has been built, passing through the town, thereby giving to the inhabitants a better means of transportation. There is now one flouring mill, one post office, a hotel, two stores, one church, three cemeteries, one railroad depot and seven school houses in the town, with about four thousand acres of land under improvement, and a population of about eight hundred. The principal occupation of the inhabitants is farming. The chief productions are wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, potatoes, hops, and wool. There are a number of fine residences in the town; also several beautiful lakes, which are the resort of pleasure and fishing parties. One little incident may be mentioned, relating to the defenses of the country in its early days. A large black bear having invaded the territory, the neighbors congregated together to drive him away. He was driven across Maple Island Lake on to what is called Raspberry Island. Roswell Hicks seizing his large sabre in his teeth, swam across the lake, drove him back to the main land where he was slain by the land forces. C. L. Green. Copyright © 2006 Paula Vaughan |