HISTORY OF GREEN COUNTY. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY. 
 
Among the questions which naturally in- 
terest the citizens of Green county of to-day is 
this: "Who were the first settlers within its 
limits and where did they locate? There is a 
curiosity always manifested by those who come 
after the.pioneers, not only to learn their names 
and their place of settlement, but also the dates 
of their arrival. Especially is the time of their 
coming a matter particularly desirable to be 
known. The county itself, so far as the people 
constitute it, begins then, although its forma- 
tion and. organization did not take place for 
some years subsequent to their arrival. The 
better to understand the first settlement of the 
county and the condition of things at that time 
in this region-let us first consider, in a general 
way. 
EARLY TIMES IN WISCONSIN. 
It is difficult, if not impossible, to convey to 
the present generation a correct impression as 
to the actual state of affairs in Wisconsin, even 
if we go no farther back than the existence of 
Wisconsin Territory; since, except among pio- 
neer settlers, there is nothing in its experience 
that furnishes a standard for comparison. The 
most it can conceive is a vast and fertile region 
as yet unsurveyed and scarcely penetrated by 
the white race, without settlements, roads, 
bridges or population, except in a few widely 
scattered and detached farms, hamlets and vil- 
lages, cluste'ed generally about military posts. 
In 1830, the population west of Lake Michigan 
by census enumeration aggregated less than 
3,000o, which in 1840 had only increased to 30,- 
045. Wbhn the apiptl was located at Madison) 
 
what is now Green county, contained but very 
few permanent white settlers, and many others 
now teeming with industrious multitudes were 
then wholly unoccupied. Isolated communities 
was the rule, to which there was no exception, 
and lack of means and routes of travel scarcely 
permitted other than slow and most difficult 
communication.   Gradually, however, mail 
service was secured, and the swell of incoming 
immigration brought the 'early   settlements 
nearer and nearer to each other. The move- 
ment at first slow, yearly gained in intensity, 
until the waste places were nearly all absorbed. 
It was fortunate for Wisconsin that State or- 
ganization did not take place until the financial 
affairs of the country had settled down upon a 
safe business basis, and wild and reckless enter- 
prises received no countenance. The bitter ex- 
perience of the States formed out of the old 
northwest territory served as a lesson and warn- 
ing, which was not lost when the essential fea- 
tures of our proposed constitution received a 
preliminary discussion. At one period, these 
States can scarcely be said to have had either 
credit or resources, while their debts, incurred 
for works which even when completed scarce 
paid the cost of repairs, were out of all propor- 
tion to the assessed valuation of property. As 
late as 1843, the State of Ohio sold its bonds at 
fifty cents on the dollar to raise funds to meet 
obligations, while the bonds of Michigan, 
Indiana and Illinois were for several years 
quoted in market at from twenty to thirty cents, 
with few or no buyers. Such was the penalty 
paid for embarking the public credit in wild 
 
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