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^K
BARABOO And Other Place Names In Sauk
County, Wisconsin
By H. E. COLE Baraboo, Wis. The Baraboo News Publishing BARABOO. WISCONSIN December. 1912
Co.
JAN
-J
«9t8
INTRODUCTION iLACES
named
are
various
reasons.
for
Fre-
name of commemmany appella-
quently the a
person
orated,
tions origin,
again a
is
of
Indian
often
applied
are
name is
because of some natural
characteristi c
or object of the locality.
Once Governor Doty of Wisconsin pointed to a river and of an Indian asked name. The Indian supposed the governor meant the water in the river and not the name of the stream and responded "Nee-nah". The Indian word for water is "nee-nah" and to this day the river is called Neenah. There was once a Frenchman at Portage by the name of Paquette and its
when the people of the village now known as Poynette desired the government
to
establish
a
postoffice,
Uncle
Sam asked what the name should be.
PAQUETTE or
POYNETTE when scrawled with a goose quill pen might easily enough have the "A" look like an "O"', the "Q" like a "Y" and [5]
the "U" like an
"N". So it was when
the would be postmaster sent the name
down to Washington. The clerks had never heard the name Paquette and so decided the name was Poynette. When the name of the office came back to the Columbia county hamlet the
citi-
zens thought it was a great joke and the matter rest.
let
The place is called Poy-
nette to this day.
Not only are names sometimes applied in an unusual manner,
but place
names are often changed for trivial reasons.
A study of the origin of the place
names in a community is an one.
interesting
On account of its importance
name Baraboo is here given
first
followed by the other names in
county.
[6]
the
place,
the
BARABOO Whence came the word Baraboo? It was first applied to the river, then to the rapids,
bluffs and valleys and later to the town and city. There are many conjectures and uncertainties surrounding
the appellation and it is very doubtful if the mystery will ever be cleared. In W. H. Canfield's "Outline
Sketches of Sauk County" published in 1873, he says:
"John de la Ronde, a Frenchman
who settled at Fort Winnebago, May 5, 1828, and now living with his Winnebago wife upon the banks of the Baraboo river, six miles from Portage, says the river received its name
from a Cap-
who was in Moran's exagainst the Indians, and who
tain Barebeauy,
pedition
wintered at the mouth of the stream.
"On a 'Sixpenny map of the United States' brought from Glasgow, Scotland, by John Dickey, in 1842, a river bearing the name of Belle Chasse occupies a position nearly where the Bara-
boo river is situated. Mr. Dickey thinks the map was published in 1817. Its English would be 'beautiful chase, '—fine hunting grounds.
"Upon Farnam's map of the tories of Michigan
Terri-
and Ouisconsin, pub[7]
lished in 1830,
it
is
called
Bonibeau's
Creek.
"upon the map of Long's Second Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in 1823, it is called Mahlenak. Morse & Brees' Map of Wisconsin, published in 1844,
is
the first to call it
Baraboo."
The Winnebago Indian name is Ocoochery, signifying "plenty of fish." The information is sometimes given that there was once a large sand bar in the Wisconsin river at the mouth of the Baraboo river and that at that time the latter stream
something
of
was known as "Beau" or that nature. This word
preceded by the word bar makes Barbeau which is easily expressed as Baraboo.
According to an article by William Hill in the "History of Sauk County," published in 1880, Baraboo is derived from a French surname. Aside from the mythical old Frenchman, "Barabeau," to whom legend assigned a shanty at the mouth of the river in days prior to the a number of names of real personages give hints of the name Baraboo. The Barbou fam-
settlement of the valley,
ily
was,
perhaps,
the
most
cele-
brated family of printers of France from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. [8]
The same author hints at the name being given in honor of Lieutenant General de la Barre, of the eighteenth century and Colonel Isaac Barre, who was a friend of Wolfe and saw him die at Quebec.
At the time the county history was published Professor Henry of the Smithsonian Institution said
it
might
have come from French Barbue
— cat-
fish
that
— a not uncommon designation of
rivers and creeks by the eaily voyageurs;
— carp or sucker. What now Putman's creek in Essex county,
or from Barbeau is
New York, was Riviere a la
Barbue of M. de
the French and is so set down on
Levy's map of 1748,
and
Memoir of the war
of
in
Pouchet's
Other examples are given and he says that the transition of Barbue to Baraboo is easy. Mr. Hill found that the term Barbeau was synonymous with Barbel, a large, coarse,
1755-60.
fresh-water
fish
having
several barbs of beard-like feelers pend-
ant from the leathery sucker like mouth,
which gave it the name. At that time the Baraboo river was rich in sturgeon and catfish as recorded by Archibald Barker.
In
the spring of
1841, while
running down the Baraboo river, Mr. Barker says: "In company with Ed. Kingsley, going down the lower Baraboo Rapids each on a crib, I hallooed to him to look [9]
— that somebody seemed to have made a dam of stone across the river. As we approached we saw it was the backs and tails of fishes. We were soon among them and found they were sturgeons.
I
jumping into the water to get them I was knocked down by others running against my legs. For a short distance the river seemed to be jammed full of them." Mr. Hill was of the opinion that "Riviere a la Barbeau" should in the case of Baraboo be interpreted "Sturgeon River." It strengthens this conkilled three with a handspike. In
clusion that the Winnebago name of the river,
Ocoochery,
"plenty
signifies
of
fish."
Bearing upon this subject Louis Claude wrote March 12, 1872, as follows:
"The name
'Baraboo'
now up
is
for
and although the abundance of 'suckers' both aquatic and terrestrial, which it appears has always final judgment,
distinguished this valley
lends so
great
a weight to the 'Barbeau' theory
that I
will not 'carp' at it,
still I
beg to
the following mite of suggestion
hardly be called information teen years ago,
I
the date of about
—
offer
— can
viz;
it
Fif-
brought here a map of 1837,
but dishonest boy sold
which a small
me
(emphatic-
on the cars for one of 1857. On this map the Baraboo river is marked as ally)
[10]
I have always believed the above to be the cor-
Barivaut's or Baribaut's Creek. rect derivation."
There is a statement
in
the same
History of Sauk County from
Hon. J.
Allen Barber that in 1649 and 1650
the
Hurons and their allies, who had been converted to Christianity by Father Brebeuf, were overthrown by the Iroquois, and part of them fled to Wisconsin
on their w-ay
to
the
Mississippi.
They were met and driven back by Sioux. In 1659
tlie
— 60 the French traders
found them stationed about six days' journey southwest of Lake Superior, or not far from what is now called Baraboo. Very soon after that period they had returned to Green Bay. As they were Christians, may they not have given the name of their religious teacher,
whose memory they would honor, to
their temporary residence
near the por-
The word 'Brebeuf might possibly leave its shadow behind in the form tage?
of Brabo or Baraboo.
John T. de la Ronde was a ready writer and
gives the following as
the
origin of the name Baraboo according to his narrative in the cal Collections.
Wisconsin Histori-
In speaking of his jour-
ney through this region he says: "I may mention what I learned from the Perrish Grignon, older than his half-broth[11]
er,
Augustine Grignon, derived from
his grandfather, Charles Ivanglade: That
when Captain Moran defeated the Sauks and Foxes at the Butte des Morts, in the last century, they fled to what is now known as Sauk Prairie; and when Moran heard of their new location, he drove them down the river, leaving a force under an officer named Rabault, and from him Rabault or Earaboo river received its name. W. H. Stennett in "A History of the Origin of the
Place
Names on
the
Chicago & Northwestern Railway" says Baraboo was named for Jean Baribault, an early French trapper and settler. A river of this name was by Miss Julia A. Lapham asserted to have been named for Capt. Barabeary, who was alleged to have been an officer in Moran's expedition against the Indians, but there does
not seem to be any real evidence to sustain the story, as it is
river was named
after
very certain
Jean
the
Baribault,
who lived on this stream before Moran's expedition was ever thought of.
Mrs. Kinziein "Waubun" spells the
word "Barribault, but does not say why the river is so named. The same refer'
'
ence is made in Wisconsin
Historical
Collections.
Henry Gannett in his volume on "The Origin of Certain Place Names" [12]
named
says that Baraboo was
Jean
for
Baribault, a French settler.
In the Wisconsin Historical tions, B.
W.
Brisbois says
Collec-
that
Bari-
beau or Baribault was the name of an old Canadian French trader, who had his trading^ post on what is now known as Baraboo river, and which stream took its name from him. As M. Brisbois. Sen'r knew him well and often spoke of him, he must have traded there the latter part of the last century or early in this. Mr. Brisbois does not know what became of the trader or anything further of his history.
K. Estabrook of
Omaha wrote on
March 15, 1872:
"Governor Doty
told
me as many as
twenty-five
years
ago
that when he was one of
judges of
the
Michigan (embracing Wisconsin) he used to travel from Green Bay to Prairie du Chien by canoe up
the territory of
the Fox river, across the portage and down the Wisconsin; that one of his
stopping places was the trading post of a Frenchman named Barabeau mouth of the river now known
at
the
as
the
Baraboo, that the river took
name
its
from this trader." His brother,
Capt.
brook, commanded the
Ward, on Lake Superior. [13]
M. H. Esta-
steamboat, Sam
In walking
through the old French village, Sault Ste. Marie, he saw a sign
now to a
trading house on the main street,
P.
BARBEAU.
On May 12,
1872,
B W. .
Brisbois
wrote from Prairie du Chien that Baribaut had a permanent trading station where the county seat is now located, about 12 miles west of the Wisconsin
When the place was settled the American people could not well pronounce the name Baribaut and to come as near as they could to the name, it was changed to Baraboo. James G. Soulard wrote from Galena on May 26 of the same year: "l received my information in boyhood from portage.
Pierre
Baribeau (which Brisbois spells
Baribaut) whose
name was
spelled in
my father's account book Pierre Baribault. He was a carpenter and worked many years for ni}^
father in
Mo., in that capacity.
St. lyouis,
He was a truthful
and remarkably honest man, and a naCanada, or of that immediate neighborhood, and established and kept for many years a trading post, as explained by my friend Brisbois. Baribeau's statements were made to me in tive of Montreal,
[14]
1808
to
1810 in
Baribault went
to
Wisconsin probabl}^
the years
lyouis.
St.
in 1800 or before."
On John Farmer's map of the Territories
and Ouisconsin
Michigan
of
printed in 1830, the name of the river is
Bonibau's creek. S.
Augustus
map
Mitchell's
Ohio,
Indiana and
phia,
1831,
name
the
is
of
Philadel-
Illinois,
Bonibau's
creek.
On another map by the above map maker, Philadelphia, 1835, the name is the same. On a map printed in 1836 by Phelps & Squire of New York and now in the Sauk County Historical society, the name of the river is given as Bonibau's creek.
In General William R. Smith's history of
Wisconsin,
published in
1838,
the name of the river is given as Boni-
bau's creek.
On a state map of Wiskonsan, 1840, (?) the name is Baraboo.
On a state map of Wiskonsan, 1844, the name is Beribeau river.
Miss Louise Phelps Kellogg, of the State Historical society, adds the follow-
ing account
concerning the Baribeau Tanguay's Genealogi-
family found in cal dictionary:
"The
first
of
the
[15]
name
in
Nev/
France was Francois Baribeaii, who was born in 1624, (probably in France altho the record does not say so) was married in 1669 and died at Batiscan, leaving a
number of children, who spell the name in
various ways;
Baribault
Baribaut,
and Baribeau. (The pronunciation is the
same in every case and should be given long o, like o in robe).
Francois'
cois,
junior,
some
of
Batiscan, but others at Pirade. Of
the
third
whom Ste.
Jean
(2),
lived
at
Anne de la
generation there
were Michel and Jean Baptiste, lyouis;
sons
and Fran-
were lyouis, Jean (l), Pierre,
sons of
Francois Antoine,
Francois (2) Joseph, sons of Jean (l). Michel had a son of the same name; and
Jean Baptiste three sons, Pierre, Joseph and Francois. Jean (2), had a son lyOuis Joseph, Francois (3), a son of the same name; Francois Antoine, a son named
Jean Baptiste, and Joseph a son of the
same name. So the family widens and the plauconclusion is that there was a Frenchman by the name of Baribeau who established himself as a trader on the Baraboo river early in the last cen-
sible
tury or near the close of the century before.
When Dr. Reuben Gold Thwaites
<f Madison edited the Mackinac Register
he found that Sieur F. Baribeau (pronounced Baraboo) voyager, v/as god[16]
.
father
at
the baptism of a female neo-
phyte, July 22, 1847.
There is nothing
to indicate which one
of the
Baribeaus
came to Wisconsin, and had a trading post at the mouth of the Baraboo river. Tanguay's record does not come beyond 1791; and all it proves is that there was a well known family of that name and that the "f. Baribeau" mentioned in the
Mackinac Register (1747) was probably Francois, the progenitor of the family.
Francois (3) was married in 1742 at Montreal, and was probably the signer at the baptismal
service
as
written in
the register in 1747.
One writer says that Baribeau was a young man, only seventeen years old,
when he sought the Wisconsin wilderHudson Bay company and later for the American ness to secure pelts for the
Fur company. Portage was the nearest settlement and when speaking of him it would be natural to say down at Baribeau's or Baraboo's. Hence the name appeared in various ways on the early maps and in the early annals of this region.
From whence this Frenchman came there is much uncertainty. Of him we know so little that he is a veritable man of mystery
or whither he went
ri7]
-
OTHER PLACE NAMES Ableman — Village named
Col.
for
Stephen Van Rensselaer Ableman. The place was once called Ablemans Mills, Rock Springs and Excelsior. The name of Rock Springs was given from the springs at the base of the rocky bluff,
and Excelsior from the seal York. See Excelsior.
New
of
Adams — See Baraboo. Babbs
Prairie
— Level tract near
Reedsburg, named for James W. Babb and son, John, who settled on the prairie in 1845.
Badger — In
connection with
these
pages on Sauk County place names it is interesting to note why Wisconsin is called the Badger State and the residents Badgers. Dr. R. G. Thwaites in his "Stories of the Badger State" says: "In the old lead mining days of Wisconsin,
miners from southern Illinois and still farther south returned home every winter, and came back to the 'diggings' in the spring, thus imitating the migrations of the
fish
'sucker', in the
popularly
called
south-flowing rivers
the of
For this reason the south winterers were humorously called 'Suckers.' On the other hand, lead miners from the far-off Eastern states were unthe region.
[18]
able to return home every
and
winter,
at first lived in rude dugouts, burrowing
into the hillsides after the fashion of the
These burrowing men were
badger.
the first permanent settlers in the mines
and called
north of the Illinois
line,
themselves 'Badgers.'
Thus Wisconsin,
in
later
days,
when
it
was
thought
necessary to adopt a nickname, was by its
own
State.'
people dubbed
'The
Badger
"
Badger Valley
—
Vale nine miles east Spring Green, named for animals once numerous there. Bald Bluff Hill in the eastern part Years ago there was no of Greenfield. timber on the land but since the coming of the early settlers trees have covered From this elevation or from the hill. that region several streams have their of
—
origin Sibertz,
and among them are Jackson, Calydon, Clark and Palmer
creeks.
Ball Prairie— Small level tract in the
western part of the county,
named
for
resident.
Baraboo
— City, town,
river,
valley
and bluffs. See first article. The town of Baraboo was originally in the northwestern part of the county. See map. Baraboo The county seat which, on the maps and in the early accounts, was spoken of as "On the Baraboo", similar
—
[19]
to saying
"On the Wabash" or "On the
Lemonweir. Afterwards it was 'Baraboo Rapids" and "Baraboo Mills." When a plat was made by Charles O. Baxter for Prescott Brigham, Mr. Brig'
'
'
ham decided to call the place Adams as he held John Q. Adams and the Adams family in Massachusetts in great esteem.
Soon after George Brown made a plat of his property and called it Baraboo. Much of Brown's land was south of the river. On January 14, 1849, the board of
county commissioners
ordered the
plats of Adams and Baraboo to be called
Brooklyn, but the villages continued to be separate until May, 1866, when a village charter was obtained uniting the
two under the present name.
At the
suggestion of the postal authorities in 1852 the name Adams was dropped and the postoflfice was afterwards
Baraboo.
known
as
As to the origin of the word
Baraboo see first article.
X^
Bassinger
Island— Island
in
the
Wisconsin river opposite section nine in the town of Merrimack, named
for
Dr.
Samuel H. Bassinger, formerly of Prairie du Sac and member of the legislature.
Bear Greek— Town and stream the southwestern part of the called on account
of
in
county so
the prevalence of
bears in that vicinity in the early [20]
da3^s.
,
The town was named after the stream. The Winnebago word for Bear Creek is Hoonge-Nee-Shun-ick. Bessemer—See North Freedom. Big Creek —Stream in the town of La Valle. Name suggested from the size of the stream.
Big Hollow— The name
can-
a
of
yon or valley three miles long atid three miles wide in the town of Spring Green named for size. There are a number of these so called hollows along the
bluffs.
Hawk— Discontinued
post-
Black
office in the
town of Troy named for the
Indian Chief, Black Hawk, leader of the Indians in the Black Hawk war.
After
the battle near
Sauk City the Indians fled through the wilderness near where the hamlet is located.
Blakeslie Prairie— Level land in Ironton, named
for
tract
early
of
resi-
dent.
Bloom— See North Freedom. Bluff Postoffice—A discontinued postofSce on the East Sauk road, of Sumpter, near the bluff.
Brooklyn— One
of
the
town
original
towns in the northeast portion of the county. See map. It was named by R. G. Camp for Brooklyn, that city
New York, being named for Breuckelen,
Holland.
The name
signifies
up land" or "marshy land." [21]
"broken
Calydon — When the United geological surveyors were
at
States
Diirwards
glen at the time of making the contour
map of this region they asked B. I. Durward, the poet-painter who resided there, the name of the stream flowing through the glen. He replied, "the Calydon." It comes from Caledonia and is the poetical expression of the word. for
"Oh Caledonia, steru and wild," says Scott in the "Lay of the I^ast Min" strel
"Not thus in Ancient Days of Calydon,"
he also sings in the "L,ady of the Lake." Caledonia is an ancient name in
Cahoon Mine —
vScot-
Durward. Iron mine opened
land, the native land of
Mr.
in 1911 about two miles south
of
Bara-
boo and named for former Assemblyman Wilber Cahoon.
Carr Creek and Carr
Valley—
Stream and vale in Ironton named for David Carr. Casseli -Discontinued postofiice in the town of Troy. See Casseli prairie. Casseli Prairie Level tract in town of Troy, named for Dr. J. N. Casseli. Chapman Lake Small body of
—
—
water in Fairfield, named for Parkman
Chapman. Christiehood Prairie— Level of
land
between Baraboo and [22]
tract
North
named for James Christie. Clark Creek Stream which enters
Freedom,
—
the Baraboo river in Glenville, mile southeast of Baraboo,
about a
named
for
Judge A. M. Clark. Cliff House
discontinued
—Abandoned hotel and
postofnce on
the
north
was originally called Minnewaukan after a lake by that name in North Dakota Climax A railroad siding between I^a Valle and Wonewoc. The farmers in the neighborhood called it Poor Dickie and finally it simmered down to the meaningless word, Podunk. The place is sometimes called Crossmans crossing, for a land owner there. shore of Devils lake.
It
—
Clinton Square— Paik in Lyons named for Governor DeWitt Clinton of
New York.
Governor Clinton was one Erie canal and W. H. Canfield was a surveyer on the of the projectors of the
new water-way.
Afterwards,
in
1846,
Mr. Canfield, deputy district surveyor for Sauk county in the territory of Wisconsin, made a plat of Lyons and named the public square or central park for the
Empire state executive.
Collamer — See Merrimack. Congress Flail Glen between
—
ton and the Wisconsin river
Del-
named by
the Topping family about 1850 from the
form of the first chamber r.t the entrance.
—
Coon Bluff Elevation in Dellona where the animals are numerous. Copper Creek Stream in Wmfield named because copper ore was found there. The ore came down from the north in glacial times and was known as ''floating ore." The land was held by the government for a long time on account of the supposed mineral wealth and in the meantime much of the ore was hauled away.
—
Cramers Corners — See Plain. Crawford Creek — See Draper Creek. Crossman— See CHmax. Dawn—Summer home of the Kerfoot family on the Wisconsin river
Kilbourn.
When S. H.
Kerfoot,
near Sr.,
and bride came from Virginia to Lake View, Chicago, they called their home
Dawn, as symbolical
of
the
beginning
The Wisconsin home was named in memory of the Chi" of their
married
life.
cago residence.
Dead Mans Spring— On section 21, In 1846, a man town of Excelsior. died near a spring and it was afterwards named Dead Mans spring, by James Babb. The man who died there was a
His name has been forgotten. Dell Creek A streim in the northThe word east portion of the county. surveyor.
—
Dells, as applied
to
the
region
of
the
Wisconsin river above and below Kil[24]
bourn, comes from the French,
meaning the narrows
a
of
Dalles,
river
or
No doubt the place
between the cliffs.
was given the name by early Frenchmen
who came
to
this
From
region.
the
word dells we get L,ower Dells, Upper Dells, Dell Prairie, Fern Dell and Dell creek. Delton, as applied to the town and village, is a contraction of Dell Town. Dellona, the name of a town, is from the same source. DeU creek was named from the number of dells along the
stream.
The name
appears
early as 1845 as shown by
as
govern-
the
ment plats of the survej^s. Dellona One of the towns.
—
See
Dells.
Dellona
— Discontinued postofiice in
the town of Dellona.
Delton
See Dells.
— One of the towns.
See
Dells.
Delton ton,
— Village in the town of Del-
platted
by Edward
called Norris, for
postofiice was established
and
Norris
When
himself. it
was
the
called
Loretto, the first name of Mrs. Norris. Afterwards the name was changed to
Delton.
Denzer
— Discontinued postofiice in
Honey Creek, named for William Denzer.
Devils
Lake— Going back
days of the Indian this [25]
body
to of
the
water
was called Minnewaukan or n'vil
The
Spirit
unusual echoing powers and for this reason the Indians supposed the bluffs were infested with lake.
lake has
The belief is current that the Indians were afraid to camp there because of the evil spirits in the hills.
spirits.
When I. A. I^apham visited the lake in the fall of 1849
he wrote in his
field
now in the Sauk County Historisociety; "The lake is vulgarly
notes, cal
called Devils
lake from the wild, rocky
place in which it
is
The first
found."
recorded visit of any person to the
lake
is James S.
Alban, the
the trees.
On the early maps it is called
permanent settler in Sauk county. While wandering through the hills in 1839 he caught a glimpse of its sparkling surface through first
L,ake of the Hills or Devils lake.
Devils Lake— Station formerly called Kirkland, for Noble
C.
Kirk.
the Cliff House was occupied office there
the
When post-
was called Devils Lake and
at the sam.e time the railroad called
station at Kirkland, Devils Lake.
the
This
was confusing to the postoffice and railroad company so the postoffice at Kirkland was changed to Devils Lake the one at the Cliff
when
House was discon-
tinued.
Devils Nose
—The eastern extremity
of the south range of bluffs,
[26]
named by
.
Chicago & Northwestern railwa^^ who built the road.
the employes of the
Draper flows
into
Creek—A
which
stream
the Baraboo river
the
at
pumping station named for John Draper. It was formerly
called
Crawford creek
for James Crawford.
Eagle
— One of the original towns in
the county, named probably for national
emblem.
See map.
Excelsior
— One of the towns, named
by Col. S. V. R. Ableman.
The name
appears in the seal of the state of
New
York, the native commonwealth of Col.
Ableman Excelsior— See Ableman. Fairfield Town, probably named for Fairfield, Massachusetts. The town was first named Flora by Timothy Adams for an old sweetheart. The residents did not like the name and a petition was circulated by John Crawford which resulted in a change. The counties and towns of New England named Fairfield were so called from the
—
beauty of their fields.
Featherston named
Ironton,
Creek— Stream for
Thomas
in
Feather-
ston.
Flora- See Fairfield. Franklin Town, named for Benjamin Franklin or geographical division of the same name in another state.
—
[27]
Freedom — Town, the name no doubt Freedom was formerly a part of other towns and the residents When worked hard to be separated. the new town was formed the word Freedom may have been used as typical is
patriotic.
of their efforts.
Garrison —Abandoned
village
discontinued postoflice at
the
and
Lower named
Narrows of the Baraboo river, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Garrison,
for
residents there.
Giddings
— Discontinued
postoffice,
section one, town of Excelsior, probably
named for Joshua Reed
Oriddings,
an
American statesman.
Glenville
— Region
and Pearson
southeast
near Baraboo, named by C.
L,.
for the glen like appearance of the locality.
The
little
red
school
house was
once the name of the section.
Gordon — A telegraph station established between Reedsburg and I,a
when
Chicago built a second track. the
&
Valle
Northwestern
The origin of the name is unknown unless it be for Will-
iam W. Gordon, president of a
railroad
in Georgia.
—
Greenfield Town named by Nathan Dennison for Greenfield, Massachusetts, Greenfield, Massahis former home. chusetts was named for a river which [28]
Before
intersects it.
its
incorporation
as a town the settlement was
known
as
"Green River District."
Hacketts Corners
—See North Free-
dom.
— —
Haraszthy See Sauk City. Harrisburg Discontinued postoffice, section sev^enteen, town of Troy, named for John W. Harris.
It
was
originally
spelled Harrisburgh.
—
Hay Creek Stream near Reedsburg where the early residents cut hay, hence its name. Haystacks
— Elevations in Dellona
having fantastic shapes,
as
the
name
implies.
Hill Point— See Tuckerville.
—
Hubbell Prairie Level tract of land in La Valle, named for early owner. Hulbert Creek Stream in the town of Delton, named for Joel Hulbert. Honey Creek I. A. Lapham in his
— —
History of Wisconsin, published in 1836, says the stream is called Naumatonan or The former name is Honey Creek.
probably Winnebago but its meaning is unknown. The name of Honey creek
was applied to the stream on account of so many wild bees with rich stores of
honey being found there by the early settlers.
Honey creek
is
the
stream wholly within the county. [29]
largest
Honey Creek — Town named for the stream.
The town was originally much
larger.
See map.
Horse Bluff — An elevation just west of the village of
La Valle named
in
a
way. H. C. Palmer relates that in an early day several hunters were camped there and while seated around peculiar
the blazing
fire,
smoking
their
pipes,
they were startled by the neighing of a
Very soon a pony, saddled and came trotting into the camp. For two days a search was made for the The only white owner without avail. horse.
bridled,
men known in that vicinity at the time were James W. Babb and his son, John, on Babbs Prairie. The mystery was never cleared and since that day the elevation has been known as Horse Bluff.
Humboldt— Discontinued section
thirty-five,
town
probably named for
the
of
postoffice,
Ironton,
geographer,
Baron Alexander von Humboldt.
—
Ironton Town and village, named by Jonas Tower on account of the presence of iron.
Early surveyors
re-
ported iron on account of the variation of the needle.
Iroquois Mine —An iron mine in the town of Freedom, first called the Sauk mine for the name of the county. It was originally owned by the Iroquois [30]
,
Co. which operated the Iroquois Furnace company. When the Oliver Iron Mining company purchased the plant the name was changed to Iroquois for the name of the furnace. The word Iroquois is from one of the five great Indian nations which once inhabited central New York, and is said to come from "hiro", I have said, and from "koue", a vocable, which expresses, joy Iron
or
sorrow,
according to the
rapidity
with which it is pronounced. Jackson Creek— A stream which enters the Baraboo river near the Jackson bridge in
Greenfield
and
called Jackson creek for
early
settler.
topographical
J.
usually
is
Jackson, an
On the United States map issued about 1897
the stream is called
Rowley
the
creek,
name being that of another resident. territorial times the stream,
or
at
In
least
was known as Leambro lived with
the upper portion of it,
LrCambros creek.
a group of Indians at the headwaters
He was a had a squaw for a wife. Jonesviile —Discontinued
the cteek.
northeast corner
town
of
of
Frenchman and
of section
Spring Green,
postoffice
nineteen,
named
for
Thomas Jones, the first postmaster. The office stood on an Indian burying ground
which has since been eaten away by the Wisconsin river. [31]
Karstetter Prairie
— Level tract of
land in La Valle, named for early owner.
Kings Corners office in the
— Discontinued postSumpter, named The village plat was
town
of
for Solomon King.
called New Haven.
Kingston —One of the original towns, named for Kingston, New York, the home of the King family, early resiSee Sumpter.
dents in the town.
Kirkland— See Devils Lake.
Kirkwood — Railroad siding west of Stennett says the name was given for N. C. and Timothy Kirk.
Baraboo.
—
La Bars Pond See Mirror lake. Lake of the Hills — See Devils lake. La Rue— Village site platted in the town of Freedom and named for W. G. /
La Rue, a former resident of Baraboo, who was instrumental in locating the vast beds of ore in the region.
—
La Valle Town and village. The There is name means "the valley." some dispute as to who should have the honor of applying the term.
See Mars-
ton.
—
Leach Creek John Brink named Leach lake and creek from the fact that the water leached or percolated through the soil. Brink was a United States surveyor from Crystal Lake, 111., and when he made the subdivisions of Fairfield he [32]
camped near the creek.
Leach Lake — See Leach creek.
Lsambro Creek— See Jackson creek. Leiand
— Discontinued postoffice in Honey Creek, named
the town of
Cyrus Leiand, member of
state
for
legisla-
ture.
Lime Ridge— Village in the town of named for a lime
Ironton,
ridge
about
a mile west of the place, where the
first
postoffice was located.
Litchfield— Portion of the plat of the named by R. G. Camp for lyitchfield Conn., which in turn was
city of Baraboo,
named for Litchfield, England, Little Prairie of Troy,
— Level tract in town
named from the small size
of
the prairie.
Loddes Mill — Discontinued postoffice
du Sac, named The postoffice was for Martin Lodde. once called Rowells Mills for Henry in the town of
Prairie
Rowell.
Log Town — See Plain.
—
LorettO Discontinued postoffice in the town of Bear Creek, named by Rev. Fr. T.
A Byrne for Loretto, Italy.
It
is sometimes spelled Loreto.
Loretto
— See Delton.
Lower Narrows— See Narrows.
Lyons— Suburb of Baraboo named by Harvey Can field, for Lyons, New York[33]
where he once resided. lyyons, New York, was named for Lyons, France.
Manchester — Abandoned is located,
of
and
station
named for eastern city.
Man Mound Park— A town
plat
pumping
village where the city
Greenfield,
park in the
named
large
for
Indian effigy mound shaped like a man, the only known man mound in the world.
—
Marian Park A park at Prairie du named by W. H. Jacobs for his
Sac,
daughter.
—
Marston Town formerly in the northwestern part of the county, no longer on the maps, probably named for some resident or eastern town by the name of Marston. There was a postoffice called Marston which was changed to Iva Valle on account of it being
simi-
Mansion in the next county. MattS Ferry See Merrimack. Merrimack Town and village, named by Mrs. J. G. Train for the county of Merrimack in New Hampshire. It
lar to
—
—
should be spelled with the
final
k,
the
same as the New Hampshire name. The villag,e of Merrimack was first called Matts ferry for Chester Mattson operated a ferry there.
who
When the post-
office was established it was called Collamer for the postmaster general. The name was afterward changed to Merri
[34]
.
mack. Gannett says the Indian word Merrimack means "sturgeon" or "swift water".
Minnewaukan — See Devils lake.
—
Mirror Lake Once known as the "upper" or LaBar's pond. It was formed in 1860 by the erection of a dam near the village of Delton. As the people came to visit it for pleasure or fishing, the remarkably clear reflections
attracted
attention
and
exclamation,
"what a mirror," and the like. In this way the name gradually changed. It is said that Mrs. C. A. Noyes of Kilbourn is credited
with first applying the name.
Narrows Creek — A stream which flows through the narrows and into
the
Baraboo river at Ableman. Narrows Prairie A level tract west of Ableman, named for Narrows creek which flows through the prairie
—
and quartzite narrows.
Narrows, Upper Narrow gorges
in
and Lower
the
—
quartzite hills
where the Baraboo river enters and emerges from the canoe shaped Baraboo valley
New Buffalo — Town northeastern part of the
longer on the map.
once in the county but no
Many of
dents came from Buffalo,
New Buffalo. r35]
the resi-
New York, to
New Haven — Abandoned
village
plat in Sumpter, named for New Haven,
Conn.
See Kings Corners.
Norris— See Delton. North Freedom — Village located in the northern part of the town of Free-
dom, hence North Freedom. Where the roads meet in th e center of the section was originally called Hacketts corners from the families residing there. When the railroad was built two plats were made, one called Bloom for George W. Bloom and one called North Freedom. Afterwards Bloom station was changed to North Freedom. Iron ore used for paint was later discovered and the name became Bessemer in honor of Sir Henry Bessemer, who
invented the
process of reducing iron ore.
North Freedom upon.
was
of
The name
later
Oliver— Village site, platted
decided in
the
town of Freedom in 1911 and named for Henry W. Oliver who was engaged in the mining industr\^ Otter Creek A stream in the towns of Sumpter and Prairie du Sac, so named for the animals which once in-
—
habited the stream.
Otterville
— An abandoned postoffice
near the head v/aters of Otter Creek.
Palmer Creek— Stream field,
named for Isaac Palmer. [36]
in
Green-
Glen
Parfreys
— Beautiful glen in
Greenfield, named fot
There was once a
Robert and
mill
Parfrey. distillery
there.
—
Pecks Prairie A level tract east of and adjacent to the city of Baraboo, named for Eben Peck. Pewits Nest A
—
gorge on Skillet
water-fall
and
W. H. Can-
creek.
'
"Outline Sketches' that the place received its name in 1843 says in
field
his
from the circumstance of an ingenious, eccentric mechanic building a workshop in a recess of the
solid
sand-rock,
ten
feet above a
deep pool of water, confined within the walls of this canyon, dug out by the plunge of water over a fall of eight
or ten feet in
height.
The
approach to it was either through a trapdoor in the roof or a trap-door in the floor. If through the roof it was by climbing down the rock wall to it; if through the floor it was by a floating bridge upon the pool with a ladder at its end leading to the trap-door in the The shop could not be seen from floor mouth of the canyon or from the the top from any direction save one. Hence, by the early settlers it was dubbed "Pewits Nest". Pine Creek— A stream which flows .
into Skillet creek, named for the timber
on its banks. [37]
—
Plain Village in the town of Frankonce called Cramers Corners because Solomon Cramer, John Cramer and Adam Cramer owned the land. A number of rough buildings were put up at the corners and the place became known H. Carpenter of as Log Town. J. Spring Green says the place was called Plain because the inhabitants were plain lin,
people.
Pleasant
Prairie— See
Websters
prairie.
—
Plum Greek Streim in Woodland named for wild fruit once abundant in the locality.
Plummer Lake— A lake in Fairfield named for Edward Plummer. Plum Valley —See Plum creek. Point Sauk— The highest land in Sauk county, being about 1,620 feet above sea level. The point was named by the United States Geographic board in 1907 and is located on the P. Fitzsim-
mons farm, near the
center
of
section
15, town of Greenfield.
Podunk— See Climax. Poor Dickie — See Climax. Prairie du Sac — Town and village, named for the Sac or Sauk Indians once residing there
— Prairie of the Sacs or
Meadow of the Sauks. Prentice Creek Stream in Green-
—
[38]
name for Alexander Prentice. Ouiggle Creek Stream in Merrimack, named for D. M. Quiggle. It field
—
was once
called
Searl creek
H.
for
Searl who built a mill there.
Quisisana
— Resort on the Wisconsin
near Kilbourn, "Here you find health."
The name was given by
Mrs.
L,ydia
city
named
Ely, Kilbourn.
Reedsburg -Town and The
for D. C. Reed. ally spelled
city
was origin-
Reedsburgh.
Rattlesnake Knob— An elevation in the town of Dellona inhabited by rattlesnakes.
Rebock Prairie — Level tract of land in La Valle,
Riches
named for early owner. Postoffice
— Discontinued
postoffice in the northeast portion of the
town of Troy, named for Robert Riches. Rock Springs— See Ableman.
Rosalietown— Deserted
hamlet on
the Wisconsin river between Merrimack
and Prairie du
Sac,
named
for
Mrs.
Rosalie Naffz, wife of Charles Naffz.
Rowells Mills
— See Loddes
Mill,
Rowley Creek — See Jackson creek. Russells
—
Corners Discontinued named for John
postoffice in Fairfield,
B. Russell.
Sandusky — Postoffice in the town of Washington, named by William Dano Holmes for Sandusky, and Joshua [39]
Ohio, their former home. the name
outsandouke,
"there
from pools of water." here,"
from
is derived
or
is
Gannett says the Indian pure water
sa-anduste,
Another
"large
authority-
gives the meaning as "cold spring."
Sauk —The county, from the tribe
of
the Sac Indians. When county was organized January 10, 1849, the word Sauk was familiar, the Indians
Sauk
or
having formerly dwelt at Prairie du Sac where they had quite a village. They lived the in Michigan, according to earliest records, were driven to Wisconsin, then across the Mississippi river, afterwards into Iowa, Kansas and at last to Indian Territory. Carver visited the village at Prairie du Sac in 1766 and wrote that the Indians had comfortable houses. The word and Sac. Sauk Saukies are synonymous and Ozaukee is form for the trithe Chippewa bal name of Sauk. According to Legto is commonly asserted mean "people living at the mouth of a
ler the word
river," while Gannett
interprets
it
as
signifying "people of the yellow earth."
In
1849 Alfred
Brunson
wrote that from
Sauk county received its name Sauk prairie within its limits.
Sauk City— Village first called Harszthy for
Count Augustine [40]
Harszthy,
one of the founders.
The name was
difficult to remember so it
was
changed
to Westfield but as the word city,
when
attached to names of places, was popular then,
it
was
later
called
after the name of the county
Sauk
City,
.
Sauk Prairie —See Sauk county.
In
Wisconsin published
in
his history of
A. Lapham says: "The prairie is about eight miles wide and extends eighteen miles along the Wisconsin. Its name is given in allusion to its form, bag and not being that of a sack or from Sauk, the tribe of Indians." Saukville Section between Prairie du Sac and Sauk City, now included within the limits of the villages. Searl Creek— See Quiggle creek. Sibertz Creek— A stream in the 1846,
I.
—
eastern part of Greenfield,
named
Jacob Sibertz. Skillet Creek— Captain Levi built a
cabin near
Skillet
for
Moore and
Falls
named the stream and
falls from the waterworn holes in the soft sand-rock because they looked much like iron ves-
sels called "skillets."
Skillet Falls— See Skillet creek.
SligO
—An early Irish settlement
in
Winfield, named for Sligo in Ireland.
Spring Creek
— In Winfield, named
for the many springs along its course.
[41]
—
Spring Green Town and village. There is much uncertainty and there has been much discussion es to the naming Spring Green. The Spring Green
of
News of July 10,
that
ac-
cording to the late Samuel Huntley
the
prairie was the first in the spring of
the
1902, says
year to show vegetation, hence the town was known by that name many years previous to the existence of the village.
Some believed the name came from Garwood Green, the second postmaster, but this is not likely as the
town was
named Spring Green some years
before
the village, where the postoffice
was lo-
cated.
J.
F.
Morrow writes to the Bar-
aboo News as follows: "Mary Williams named Spring Green, all old settlers know this. There was a spot on the south side of the bluffs that always 'greened up' sooner in the spring than did the prairie under which is a stratum of cold clay that keeps it back. Mrs. Williams could see this from her house which stood until some years ago northeast of the town, and no doubt, after the long, lonesome winters, viewed this spot in an exaggerated way. As SpringGreen lies in the bend of the river the cold ice water keeps the vegetation back, but when it comes it comes with a rush." [42]
Sumpter — Town once called KingsWhen Fort Sumter was fired
ton.
upon the name of Kingston was changed to Sumpter
on account of there being
another Kingston in
the
name Sumpter was wrongly an early map and
the
spelled
on
"p",
is
letter
named
Fort Sumter was
still inserted.
for Thomas Sumter of the
Revolution-
means
ary war and the word
The
state.
a
pack-
horse or the driver of a pack-horse.
—
Stead Prairie Level tract of land in Baraboo valley, named for early owner. Troy Town named by Johnathan W. Harris for Troy, Richland county, Ohio, his former home. Troy is the
—
name of a city in Asia Minor. Tuckerville Discontinued
—
office in
post-
the town of Washington named
for William
Tucker.
The
now called Hill Point, from
vicinity
a
hill
is
lo-
cated there.
Twin Creek— Streams in Winfield, so named because there are two alike.
Upper Narrows— See Narrows. Valton
— Postoffice in the town of
Woodland, probably
contraction
a
of
Vale Town or Valley Town.
Washington — Town
,
probably
named for first president and not Washington Gray, a resident of town
Websters
Prairie r43]
for
the
— Level tract be-
twecn Baraboo and Delton, named for H. H. Webster. On the early maps it was called Pleasant prairie. Westfield Town, named for the
—
village
of Westfield,
now
lyOganville.
New
C. P. lyOgan came from Westfield,
York, and gave the name to the village. The original Westfield was in Massachusetts, so named because on the western boundary of an early survey. Westfield— See Sauk City. White Mound— Postoflfice in Frankhill
called
White
Wilson Creek — A
stream
in
named Mound.
lin,
a
for
the
southwestern part of the county named for Thomas Wilson, a Scotchman, who
came to Helena
to
work
in
the
shot
He crossed the Wisconsin river
tower.
as early as 1838 to explore the country and moved into Sauk county in 1840. Wisconsin When a new country discovered the first objects to be is
—
named are the bodies of water,
streams,
elevations and
other natural
features.
The first name
in
state
to
this
appear on any
section of
the
map was the
name of the river which bounds Sauk county on the northeast and southeast the Wisconsin. The name was spelled far differently two hundred or more years ago and it is interesting to note
—
[44]
some of the changes which the word has undergone. In 1673 Marquette and Joliet discovered the river and Joliet wrote it Riviere Miskonsing.
Henry
Legler
E.
says
in
his
and Meaning of Wisconsin Place Names" that on a map supposed to have been made by Engineer Franhe calls Wisconsin (I68I) quelin
"Origin
"Miskous". Marquette spelled it Meskousing. Franquelin's map, 1688, R. Ouisconsing.
Coronelli map, 1688, Ouiscmising.
Hennepin, 1683, R. de Ouisconsins.
Hennepin, 1697, R. Ouiconsing.
Hennepin, 1697, Riviere Ouisconsing. (Engraved for Book.) I,a Hontan, 1709,
R. d. Ouriconsing.
L,a Hontan, 1703, Ouisconsink.
All these
in
time
crystalized
into
Ouisconsin, this orthography being used on Mitchell's Travelers Guide, 1634, and
by Phelps & Squire, 1836. Copies of the last two named maps are in the Sauk County Historical society collection.
Mr. lyCgler further says: "As wi'h other geographical names derived from Indian sources, the real meaning of the
word Wisconsin (Chippewa origin, is so r45]
obscure as to be in dispute.
The pop-
ular translation is 'wild, rushing nel,'
chan-
a definition that accords well with
the nature of
the
stream,
but
which
nevertheless is of doubtful authenticity.
Another rendering, 'the gathering of the waters', is pronounced absurd by students of the Algonquin tongue. Mrs. Charlotte Ouisconsin Van Cleve,
in her
'Three Score Years and Ten', says that the Indians termed the stream Nee-na-
hoo-na-ninka (beautiful little river). "It is claimed by Consul W. Butterfield that the name is derived from the physical features of its lower course, where are observable the highlands or river hills. 'Some of these hills present high and precipitous faces toward the water. Others terminate in knobs. The name is supposed to have been taken from this feature, the word being derived from Missi, "great," and Os-sin, "a stone or rock." "The word Wisconsin is the resul tof considerable change from the first rendering. On Marquette's genuine map, where the stream is indicated for the first time, no name is put down. Joliet's map gives it as Miskonsing. Friar Hennepin wrote it Onisconsin and again Misconsin, and the French traveler Charlevoix, who visited this country early in the eighteenth century, gave his '
[46]
preference to this form: It was not long
before
Ouisconsing. the
final
letter
form was retained until the present English spell-
was dropped, and
this
ing superseded that of the French.
"From its source in Lake Vieux Desert on the northern boundary line,
the
stream flows through this state for four hundred and fifty miles. Its descent
from the lake to where, at Prairie du Chien, it debouches into the Mississippi, is about a thousand feet. From the famous portage that has played such an history, in Western where the Wisconsin turns to the south-
important part
west, the current is
exceedingly rapid,
and the distance to the mouth a hundred and eighteen miles." The same authority says Wisconsin means "muskrat house." Dr. R. G. Thwaites in his "Wisconsin" says that the meaning of the aboriginal word thus variously rendered is now unknown. Popular writers declare that it signifies
"gathering of the hav-
waters," or "meeting of waters,"
ing reference possibly, to the occasional
mingling of the divergent streams over the Foxthe low lying watershed at Wisconsin portage; but there is no warrant for this. In order to preserve the sound in English, it became nee[47]
Americans At "Wiskonrendered
essary on the arrival of the to modify
the
French
spelling.
was locally san" (which is closely phonetic,) then "Wiskonsin"; but congress seemed to prefer the hard c, and this was refirst it
tained in place of k, despite the protests cf Governor Doty and many territorial Thus the official newspaper editors. spelling became Wisconsin and the territorial legislature on January 30, 1845, approved by resolution the act of con-
gress nine years
before,
concludes the
historian.
The
territorial
legislature,
January
30, 1845, passed a
resolution
declaring
the name of the territory, "Wisconsin," The same orthography was used by con-
government. The act by congress was approved April 20, 1836. W. H. Stennett of Chicago says that Wisconsin comes from a Sauk Indian word having reference to holes in the bank of a stream in which birds nest. Wilson Creek Discontinued postoffice in the southwest corner of Troy, named for Thomas Wilson. Winfield— Town, named for General Winfield Scott.
gress in establishing the territorial
—
Witwen — Discontinued postoffice in
/ the town
named for G. and who built a mill there.
of Troy,
P. Witwen,
[48]
J.
Woodland — Town. There
is
some
doubt as to the origin of the name but probably named on account of the abundance of timber. Woodlawn Discontinued postoffice in the town of Washington, named for Dr. William A. Wood.
—
[49]
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many letters were written to
persons
in various parts of the county and coun-
try in order to in these pages.
obtain
the information
To all these thanks are
The following books have also been consulted: Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, by Henry Gannett, 1905. A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, by W. H. Sten-
due.
nett, 1908.
Outline Sketches of Sauk County,
by
W. H. Canfield, 1861. History of Sauk County, 1880. Origin
and Meaning
of
Wisconsin
Place Names by Henry E. Legler, 1903.
Wisconsin Historical Collections.
[50]
SAUK COUNTY, WIS.
The
territorial legislature of Wisconsin passed an act
to establish
by the heavy lines around the outside. It will be noted that the Wisconsin river formed a part of the original plat as it now does. The act was approved January 11, 1840, and the county commissioners on January 10, 1849, divided the county into six towns Honey Creek, Prairie du Sac, Kingston, Eagle, Brooklyn andBaraboo. The limits of the six towns are the county of Sauk and defined its limits
as
indicated
—
also indicated by the heavy cross lines, while the
light
boundaries of the towns as they are at the present of the original area
county.
was afterward cut
off
lines
time.
give the
A portion
and put into Richland
A *bv^
:^
?v
-^^^''
^^
\/ ym^^ '%.^^'«#%X/ :S A
° .
"
= .
<^>
.s^"-.
0'
f*^
^p<b-
-^
'b V^ ^^
.^'
<'.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS