# / E\/OLUTIOA/ OF /YAC/A/E (OC/A/TY Cfr P*-/*£I I i On Oct. 16, 1818, the part of Michigan territory lying west 4M ?>¥'Lake Michigan was divided Into two counties;-Brown ana Craw- ford, the former comprising the east half of the s^o^e; the lat- •'wHat is now {££/ ter the west half, Including most of^Iowa and Minnesota. On Sept. 6, 1834, Milwaukee county was set off from Brown county, and included the whole southeastern portion of the state, about 100 miles sfluare;-.10,000 square miles. Milwaukee county
; was organized by abt of the Michigan territorial legislature, ap proved August 25, 1835, entltled"an act to organize the counties "M ( 2 ) •ts^f of Allegan and Milwaukee." During the same session of the Mich igan legislature, and in fact upon the same day on which the act organizing Milwaukee county was approved, tne "boy governor" of Michigan territory, Stevens T. Mason, appointed and commissioned the following officials;of Milwaukee county;- Chief Justice, Wil liam Clark; associate Justices, Joel Sage and James Griffin; County Clerk, Albert Fowler; Sheriff, Benoni W. Finch; and Judge of Probate, Gilbert Knapp. Joel Sage and Gilbert Knapp were resi dents of Root River (Racine) then part of Milwaukee county. Gil bert Knapp, founder of Racine, was therefore the first County Judge of Milwaukee county, and a large oil portrait of him hangs today, on the walls of the Milwaukee court houfie.attesting that fact, M* pcrfnUU A with imam of others acOKiXX»«XXKacit following nliikr that office.
Foot-note (I) History of Milwaukee, by Winfleid 3mlth « (2) " Forrest. f, t A/CFMEKS Busy In 1836 there were only about 11,000 white people in Wis- cons in as now bounded.'%nd very few of them were in Milwaukee (79 oj (I) * county. I can discover no evidence that Gilbert Knapp ever "held court", or gdCSE performed any of the other functions of that office while county Judge of Milwaukee county; or that Joel Sage ever "sat" as Associate Justice of that county. Racine county was set off from Milwaukee county on December 7, 1836, only sixteen months after their appointment, and the Inference Is /la l&Eti fair that they were^caiied upon to perform few,if any, of the us ual functions of their respective offices during that interval.
(Foot-note) (I) A. census of Wisconsin, reported by the sheriffs of the four counties as of July, Io36, was as follows*- Bro"*n county, 2706; Crawford county, 830] Iowa county, 5234; Milwaukee county, 2893» a total for the territory of II, 683. Henry M. Hubbard was the then sheriff of Milwaukee county. 3 * ,. 7?AC/NE dcu/VTY &/YST/T//TED
Racine county was ..constituted, and naued in an act of the A Territorial Legislature, approved December t7, 1836* entitled •An act to divide the counties of Brown and Milwaukee". One of the provisions of this act -was the following;- "The townships numbered one, two, three and four north.of ranges 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 east of the said fourth princi pal meridian, shall be, and the same are hereby constituted a separate county, and be caned Racine; and the Seat of Jus tice of said county is hereby established in the town of Racine. The county of Racine shall be organized from and af- ter the passage of this act, &c, ba^F/^jaMu^t^^faftwyu. &>. Jfr/ That is, In plain words;- The first five townships ^ west of Lake Michigan, in the first four tiers of townships north of the state line, shall constitute SKA" Racine county. This included all of the territory in what are now Racine and Kenosha counties. Kenosha was set off from Racine county in 1850, being given nearly one-half of the territory in volved. The action of the Territorial Legislature in December, 1836, in giving the name "Racine" to the county, -..as in the nature of official approval and ratification of the info«aal action of the early set tiers in. the spring of the game year, when the name Racine h&4~*****i selected for the village. I*/
(I) Foot-note;-The whole of the Northwest Territory ,when surveyed, was laid out in townships, each off which was 6 miles square, except where for unavoidable reasons they were fractional, see "Surveys". (£) Foot-note;- See Appendix; "Names". TmrTtm mftMi/ti Cm/a y
By act of the territorial legislature, approved Jan. 2, i 4 4> 1838, the county of Racine was divided into towns, three in —now Racine county— the north half, and three in the south half,—Kenosna county,,
The northern towns were Racine, Mt. Pleasant and Rochester; the southern; Southport, 3alero and Pleasant Prairie. The town of-Racine as set off in the above act, comprised all of the territory included in the present limits of Racire county, east of a line drawn due north and south approximately five miles west of Lake B^jihijtEn'at the mouth of Root River;-. a total of about flfty^square miles. Mt. Pleasant as set off in the above act comprised all of the territory ten miles west of the west line of the town of square Racine (described above ) totaling 120-miles. Rochester Included all of the territory in Racine county west of the town of Mt. Pleasant,(described above) twelve miles square; a total of 144 square miles.
It was provided in the above act that the polls of elec tion for the town of Racine "shall be opened at the hotel of John M. Myers, in the village of Racine J"; for the town of Mt. pleasant "at the house of George F. X&K&SKSSK Robinson, in the ; and village of Mt. Pleasant*;* for the town of Rochester "at the house of Stebbins and Duncan, in the village of Rochester, and at Moses Smith's in Burlington". PAC/NE COUNTY TCWA/S *" Following Is a list of names of the towns of Racine county, In the order in which they were set off and organized, with the dates on which the legislation authorizing them was approved, and Stmt mi* *NM* changes in boundary lines. TOWNS. Racine; set off by act of the legislature approved Jan. 2, 1838 Name changed to "Orwell" I859 Town of Orwell vacated I860 Mount Pleasant; set off by act of Legis. approved Jan. 2, 1838 boundaries reset Aug. 7, 1842 Part of town of Orwell attached I860 Rochester; set off by act of Legis. App. Jan. 2, 1838 re-located and bounded liar, 8, 1839 " by Bd. of Supervisors Nov. 17, 1852 Burlington; set off by act of Legis. App. Mar. 8, 1839 re-located by Bd. of Supervisors Nov. 17, I852 Caledonia; set off and bounded by act approved Feby. 7, 1842 portion of Orwell annexed I860
Yorkville; set off by act of Legis. Approved Feby. 2, 1846 relocated by Bd. of Supervisors Jan. 12,1850 Raymond; set off and named Black Hawk Feby. 2, 1846 name changed to Raymond by act app. • 3, 1846 Norway; set off and bounded by act of Legis. App. " II, 1847
Dover; set off and organized by Res.Aof Supervisors; Jan. 12, 1850 Waterford; set off & organized by Res. of Bd. of Sup. Nov. 17, I852 I RACIiiE COUNTY COURT ^ /
By act of tne state legislature, approved Feby. 8, 11850, alternately /^rj ) it was provided tnat "Every other general and special termAof the county court, shall hereafter be neld at the Odd Felloes Han, in the town of Burlington, or at such other place as the Judge of said county court shall direct until herein otherwise provided." The same act also provided that "From the first Monday in March, 1853, every other general and special term of the county court shall be held in the village of Waterford for a term of three years". All of which was contingent on £M bonds being furnished by the citizens of Burlington and Waterford, that a good and suf- 1X&&SX. ficient court room would be furnished In each case, without cost to the county. Whether or hot the county court wets held in either of the above towns does not appear in any record that I have seen. ' How/{mPVs TROUBLES WERE COMPOSED 1 In' the historical address of Charles E. Dyer, published in Pamphlet form in I87I, by tne Racine County Old Settlers' soci ety, there appears an account, quite in detail, of Cap't. Knapp1;s troubles in validating his claim to the site of Racine. It was written by a good lawyer, who knew capt. Knapp intimately, and doubtless consulted him, as well as the records of the proceed ings, and his account is doubtless technically correct in every detail; it is as follows;— "At this point in our history we find Knapp, Hubbard and Barker the claimants of the original plat of Rauine; Stephen Campbell in possession of tne Harbor Addition, ana Joel Sage settxyu upon the tract on the west side of the river. The war fare which they were obliged to wage lr. maintenance of their titles, are not an unimportant or uninteresting feature of
tA.oae romantic times. Let us therefore give you a brief record of the fortunes of these pioneers in acquiring their rights to the iar.ds, upon v/hich, to this day, valuable muniments of ti ll* are founded."
In 1836, Capt. Knapp, not feeling entirely satisfied •ItA Ala rights ao a settler to the lande to wnich ha made claim, procured, from Jaques vaux, a float title to lata one and tw«v, section nine (-»)» «uich «•• t&fl receiver's receipt issued June 19. 1854, under the preemption act of 1834; and on the 25th. of July, 1836, procured its assignment to Gurdon 3. Hubbard. At the same time, he also obtained from Lewis Vaux, a float upon lot 6, section 9, on the south side of the river, and on the 25th. of July, 18.36, procured its assignment to Gurdon S. Hubbard. •v
"In the winter of 1835 and I836 the city of Racine was laid out in lots and blocks." "Subsequently Congress passed the re-emption bill, by the terms of which, no right of Pre-emption was granted to actual settlers upon lands whtfcin the location, of any incorporated town, or to any portion of lands which had been actually se lected as sites for cities or towns, or speciaxly occupied or reserved for town lots."
"The float title to the Tillage was consequently decided to be invalid. But, by an act of Congress, approved. May 26, 1824, the right had been, granted to counties, of pre-emption to quarter sections of land for seats of justice within the same. The seat of justice of Racine county had been, In 1836, located at Racine, and so on the 2nd. day of January, 1838, an act was passed by the territorial legislature authorizing the county commissioners to sell and convey the right and title of the county, under the act of 1824, in and to the east fractional half of section 9 to Gilbert ftarapp, his heirs and assigns, up on his paying to the board, within two years, from th« date of conveyance, at the rate of ten dollars per acre therefor, with ten per cent interest; and providing further, tnat the county commissioners shall immediately enter up and secure the pre emption to which the county was entitled; and the money arising from the sale by the county to Capt. Knapp, to be disposed of in the erection of county buildings, for tne county of Racine, according to said act of Congress." 4 "The county officers refused to carry this law literally into effect, and the title remained, uncertain until the winter / of 18.38 and 1839, when an arrangement -"as made between the orig inal proprietors and the county officers, by which the former should erect, or procure to be erected, county buildings, con sisting of court house and jail, and building for county offi ces, and the latter should release and convey their Interest. in the lands to the first claimants."
"On the 9th. of February, 1839, Samuel Hale, Jr., and John Bullen, as county commissioners, procured a duplicate of lot 6, east fractional half of section 9, under pre-emption act of 1834, which, on on the Ilth. day of February, 1839, ws as- assigned to Capt. Knapp. On the same day Capt. Knapp gave to the commissioners his mortgage on the property, conditioned for the performance of the agreement that had been entered into. Tde oounty relinquished all of its interest in lots I, 2 and 6, in section 9, and the contract for the construction of the county buildings was assigned to Roswell Morris and Wm. H. Waterman, who In 1839, built your first court house. The jail *as built in 1841, in connection with and as part of the log jail built in 1837, and the brick building now occupied by the clerk and register was constructed in 1842. Thus, after adversities and sacrifices, the proprietors of the original plat secured to themselves the rights watch they originally suppose,! they had acquired by virtue of settlement and possession-, and tile county of Racine sec ured the construction of county buildings. " / "In consequence of legislation by Congress, which I have already alluded to, Mr. Campbell, who had settled on the Harbor l ' - ess Addition, found himself disposed of the rights which he supposed he had. acquired by virtue of original settlement. The village of Racine, by If. B. Mead, its president, on the 17th. of October;, 1843, obtained the title to this property, but made arrangements with Mr. Campbell by means of which he retained a quarter inter est, the village securing a three-quarter interest. The three- quarter Interest was disposed of by the village, and the pro ceeds were expended on the harbor, which fact gave to this tract of land, its name as the harbor addition. " _>9 SUFNllit CONCEHNINQ MR SEE \J It is only recently that it has dawned upon the writer arrival XH&&xXX«XXX10a that Mr. See's &tmim to the Rapids of Root River in the same month that Capt. Knapp staked out his claim at the mouth of the river, was part of a well-devised plan of the promoters of the enterprise. During the early winter of 1834-5, Gilbert Knapp secured Gurdon S. Hubbard, a pioneer of Chicago, and a man of influence and means, as a partner in his project of founding a city at the mouth of Root River. On Mar, . 30, I835, Mr. Knapp, on the suggestion of Mr. Hubbard, wrote to Jacob A. Barker, a capitalist of Buffalo, N.Y., offering him a one-third interest in the venture, whicn he described as "our imprivement at Port Gilbert, or Root River, which in cludes the mouth of the river, the town site, and a mill seat at the fall, four miles above, at which point we have contract ed for the erection of a saw mill, which we promise win be In operation by 1st. May."
My surmise is that Mr. Hubbard , having known Mr. 3ee long and well*--his energy, ability and character, interested him in. the project, and saw to it that he got on the ground early, where there was water power to operate a mill to make lumber, which would be needed in the growing village and sur rounding country*, and he probably helped to finance KHff it, as a major contributing factor in the success of the larger enter prise, and profitable in itself, to its promoters and builders,
William See was the first settler in Racine county af ter Gilbert Knapp, staking out his claim at the Kaplds in Nov ember, 1834, a few days after Capt Knapp established himself at the mouth of the river, and early in 1335 oegan the erection of his projected saw mill, which he had promised to have in operation by May I. In corrobgratlon of the foregoing state- f- (r) v>««-*»-'' sent, Charles E. Dyer, in his "Historical Address", relates that William Smith, of Pike Grove, told him in 1871, that in company with his brother. George Salt** he too*, a trip in January, 1835, froa Gross Point to Milwaukee, along the Green. Indian Bay^Trail, which crossed Root River at the Rapids, and that Willlaa See at that place, was the only white man living be tween Gross Point and Milwaukee on the route they traveled.
Mr. See's daughter, Leah, was the first wife of James James Kinzie
Kinzie, of the pioneer Kinzie family of Chicago;ABtt was him self a pioneer of Racine, owning a saw mill and much land just west of Kinzie Ave. bridge in the very early days. Kinzie Avenue was named for him.
Foot-note (I) See Dyer's Historical Address, page 44, t : ' V.
\ / J 7 - Pioneers K&al Americans. ..,—tt'ne rignts or the Indians un- j Of the very early settlers of Ra der the' above reservation were not' pine—county and city.—not -mAf less safeguarded, the government making l 0% :han seventy-five per cent came from no serious attempt in that direction, i Slew England and New York, many of The "squatters" who came in before them with several generations of 1836 were liable to summary -ejection,, jturdy American ancestry behind them, and to have their property confiscat jmd all of them with habits of industry, ed at any time, but they were not, integrity, economy and thrift bred in disturbed by the authorities. TW the bone. More important still, all reason for this lies probably in the 'of them were lovers of their country fact that although the premature set and believers in the public school, tlement of the land was a technical find best of all many of them had the invasion of the rights of the Indians, fear of God in their hearts, and es it did in fact work no hardship on tablished his worship throughout the them or elicit from any of them a County very early in its history. serious protest against it. In 183 5 SPhese qualities, that lie at the foun there were comparatively few of : dation of good citizenship and good them left on the tract, and those government, were, of course, not mo who were here apparently had no nopolized by these pioneer men and desire tp quarrel with the situation. women, but were shared in greater It is a fact, also, that the government 'or less degree by the majority of was not averse to the earliest possible thos© who came later, many of them settlement of the new purchase. h»'| from across the sea. The persistence Godfrey's Convention. B :>f these- sterling qualities in our cit "Wisconsin territory was created by izenship today, is accounted for in act of congress approved July 3, 1836, targe measure by that fact. | and its first governor was Henry the Indian Treaty. Dodge, appointed by President An drew Jackson; the oath of office j Tfee settlement of southeastern was administered to him at an Inde Wisconsin was begun in 1833 at Mil pendence day 'celebration a.t Mineral waukee, and in 1834 in Racine, when y Point, on July 4, 1836. The fjrst Gilbert Knapp staked out his claimj|' legislative assembly in the territory —... j „» Dnima„t,—.now in Jeffer-
in NoveiNovembei r of that year; From that time on the country began filling up vrith settlers. The previous owners and occu pants of the land were Indians - Pottawattenias, chiefly - whose rights therein were recognized by the Federal govern ment in a treaty concluded with them on Sept. 20, 18 33. The government demanded an. amendment, however, and i£XM3CXXK£X.Xhh- ' the treaty was not finalLy ratified until Feb'y. 21, 1835* By the terms of this treaty, a five million acre tract in?, northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin, was ceded to the United States government. It provided for the immedi ate removal beyond the Mississippi River, of the Ii'.dians on the Illinois land, and reserved to the Indians on the tract north of Illinois the right of occupancy until 1838, and to the Government the right to survey It in the meantime. This concession was perhaps made in mitigation of the provision requiring immediate removal of the Illinois Indians. In 1833, when the treaty was negotiated, there were no white people In the country involved north of Illinois, and there was then no reason to believe there would be during the period of the Indian occupancy of that tract.^fef»2d JccTrvu/ <^>-OOLAA^\ *m~- - \ f / :1 ^{^ ¥/' J* J / neers Bfeal Americans. .r.^e»~4fnz ngntK 01 tne Indians un- | Of the very early settlers of Ra- der the< above reservation were not; line—county and city,—not MM$ less Bafeguarded, the government making han seventy-five per cent came from no serious attempt in that direction. • New England and New York, many of The "squatters" who came in before them with several generations of 1836 were liable to summary -ejection,, jturdy American ancestry behind them, and to have their property confiscat [ind all of them with habits of industry, ed at any time, but they were not integrity, economy and thrift bred in disturbed by the authorities. The- llhe bone. More important still, all reason for this lies probably in the bf them were lovers of their country fact that although the premature set and believers in the public school, tlement of the land was a technical find best of all many of them had the invasion of the rights of the Indians, fear of God in their hearts, and es it did in fact work no hardship on tablished his worship throughout the them or elicit from any of them a County very early in its history. serious protest against it. In 1835 Whese qualities, that lie at the foun there were comparatively few of dation of good citizenship and good them left on the tract, and those government, were, of course, not mo who were here apparently had no nopolized by these pioneer men and desire tp quarrel with the situation. women, but were shared in greater It is a fact, also, that the government br less degree by the majority of was not averse to the earliest possible those who came later, many of them settlement of the new purchase. -»' from across the sea. The persistence Godfrey's Convention. ' :>f these- sterling qualities in our cit Wisconsin territory was created by izenship today, is accounted for in act of congress approved July 3, 1836, targe measure by that fact. ! and its first governor was Henry- The Indian Treaty. Dodge, appointed by President An Tthe settlement of southeastern drew Jackson; the oath of office was administered to him at an Inde Wisconsin was begun in 1833 at Mil pendence day 'celebration at Mineral waukee, and in 1834 in Racine, when Point, on July 4, 1836. The fbrst Gilbert Knapp staked out his clairnjjj legislative assembly in the territory i gathered at Belmont—now in Jeffer son county—Oct. 25, 1836, composed of representatives from five counties, as follows; Iowa, i Dubuque, Des Moines, Brown and Milwaukee. Gil bert Knapp represented Milwaukee county, of which Racine county was then a part, in the first territorial council. He was nominated by the first convention ever held in the county, at' Godfrey's tavern, Roches ter, where he had furious opposition, and after a most exciting campaign, he was elected, over the opposing candidate, William See, also a Racine man, who owned the saw-mill at ihe "Rapids." That first political gath ering in the county was ever after known as "Godfrey's Convention. Racine county was separated from Milwaukee county on Dec. 7, 1836, and included what is now Kenosha county. Walworth a,nd Rock coun ties were also created territorially, but were so sparsely settled that they were- known as precincts or town ships, and were attached to Racine county for election and judicial pur poses. On Dec. 6, 1836, the legislat ure enacted a law creating a dual form of government for counties, for 7 the benefit of sparsely settled dis tricts, which was practically a town ship government with county pre rogatives. First County Election!/ The.fciB? election, in the county was \ ' held in the "school house at the (l#* Rapids of Root river," April 4, 1837. That historic statement has special Milwaukee—was but 15,925 This significance aside from its political gave Racine county the largest dele interest, for incidentally, it is con gation m the convention, which is a clusive- evidence that the first settlers distinction worth recalling. Racine of this county were real Americans county had 12 /delegates in that con vention and Milwaukee eight And in their understanding of the import 0 a Racine ance of education, for which they ?»°JL J^ " f 's delegation the largest, but/t was notable also in that were careful to make provision even l before their county government was I7u°t^i h/neatest lawyers that the state ha^fproduced were amons its established. The governor had ap- I members-i-Edward G Ryan and -i pointed seven justices of the peace Marshall M. Strong-the former of iAtodiW*™' for the county—Alfred Cary, Hiram W be ame 7 Ball, Eldad Smith, Samuel Hale, jr., i^hie£»?\f Justice£ . Wisconsin's gaatwrt 7* Richard Miller, Joel Sage and Walter Constitutional Conventions. Cooley, who were designated a board The first constitutional convention of elections. Joel Sage was chair Opened ita Besstons on Oct. 5, 184 6, man, or moderator, as they called him,' and Walter Cooley, clerk. There i and adjourned Dec. 16 following.] were 193 votes cast, resulting in the I The constitution which it formulated j election of William Waterman as ] was rejected by the people, largely j register of deeds; Eugene Gillespie, I by reason of the opposition organ- ; treasurer; Alvin Raymond, coroner, ized by 'Marshall M. Strong, who re and-A. W. Doolittle, district surveyor. signed his membership in the conven- | At the same election a corps of so- tion in indignation at its endorsement \ called township officers were also of some things of which he disap chosen, including three supervisors, proved. This rejection made a sec- j one collector, four assessors, three ond convention necessary, which met school commissioners, 13 constables, Dec. 15, 1847, and concluded its la- i one town clerk, three highway com bors Feb. 1, 1848. The constitution missioners, three fence viewers, and Which it submitted to the people was two directors of the poor. "When that promptly approved by them, ami is day's work was done the political ca still in force, Wisconsin having the reer of RaciiMll county was fairly oldest constitution of any state west launched. of the Alleghanies. The growth of the county in popu "Rapids ojt Root River." lation, agriculture, manufacturing It. isvan interesting historical fact and commerce, and the organization that the,. "Rapjds of Root River," of its cities, villages and townships, where theNH*«t election in the coun with.^their changes of boundaries, is ty- was held, wis a quite important another story, which will be taken community durilig.the first few years up later, A complete roster of coun after the settlement of Racine coun-. ty officers, from 1837 to 1922, will be ty was begun. William See began printed next wceL the building of his saw-mill there in December, 1834 within a month af ter Gilbert Knipp staked out his claim in Racin-., and within a year two three others were in opera- tioiTTn—the^vicinity. A grist mill was erected alsoj^and all were operated by water power, of which there was an abundance in those days.. It was not long before the production of lime and stone was begun there also. The farmers brought their grain to be ground, and both farmers and vil lagers were glad to buy the product of the saw-mills. The first postoffice in the county was established there in January, 1836, with A. B. Saxton as postmaster, but in May following it was located at' Racine, and B. B. Cary put in charge. The Green Bay trail from Chicago crossed the river 0) at the dam and roads were early sur veyed in sevenv, directions. A rail road from Racine through the set tlement was projected^ and incorpor ated, though not built»[.'k.nd it was the confident expectation - of many that, the "Rapids" was to become an im- ! portant business center^ but that hope ! was not realized..Sjf, /^l Some Census Facts. In 1836, at the time it was separ ated from Milwaukee county, with a territory five tilmes as large as now, Racine county 6ad a population of 1400, of which mjmber 800 lived with in the limits of the county as now defined. In 1838 this number had reased to 3.5 5J3; in the summer of to 6,318, arid in 1846, when the first" constitutional convention was called, with it? territory reduced more than half! its population was 17,983, the largest of any county in the state, while the next largest— il) Foot-note;- The Racine & Root River Rapids Rail Road. Though distinguished XfcR for nothing else, the words in its name do form a most unusual alliteration. 12) Foot-note;- 1S^B date _ I8^ -was only six years after the first steam railway in the United states was successfully operated. \ 1/ TNE COUNT/UL/SE The court house of the county is | time. T. E. Parmeiee was elected | the seat of its government, the head chairman, and fiery speeches were quarters . of its oflf*ials, and the de-, made, committees appointed, and res pository of its records, and should be ! olutions adopted denouncing the V, not merely a structure with sufficient seizure, and solemnly declaring the office and vault room to comfortably federal "slave-catching law of 1850 house those officials and safeguard disgraceful, and also repealed." Al those records, but in its architecture though that presumptuous action did and setting should fitly represent the not seriously affect the law, one hun sovereignty of the great state of dred men, headed by William H. which it is a political unit, and in a Waterman, went to Milwaukee that sense express the\jignity that resides afternoon on the boat (there were no in a democracy ofjsiMKOOO people who railroads) and assisted in breaking are here demonstrating their ability in the doors of the jail and liberating to govern themselves peacefully and the negro, who was never re-taken. In order. At the time of their con Carroll's Horse Pistol. struction, the two court houses that The character of some of the meet Racine county has erected would ings held there is well illustrated by fairly well have answered the de Michael W. Carroll's mass meeting in mands of the above ideal, which is 1856. The story goes that Mr. Car perhaps enough said to start a train roll, a bright-witted, hot-headed Irish of thought in the mind of the reader lawyer, had been greatly incensed by which he may finish at his leisure. some of the acts of our represent Old Court House. ative in the legislature, Thomas Fal The story of how Racine county vey, and called the meeting as the got its first court house, and inci most effective method of registering dentally how Gilbert Knapp, the first j his protest. It certainly was typical. settler, secured a clear title to his ! Mr. Falvey's friends let it be known ,claim, (or the other way around if \ tnat they would be there, ar.d there yeii like), is one that every citizen j was prospect of a lively time. In shotiHknow. Built originally in the I calling the meeting to order Mr. Car shadowNpf the oak trees by which roll said: "I have been given to un it was surrounded, it was the archi derstand that the minions of Mr. tectural pridV^of the pioneers, and Falvey intend to break up this meet justly so. Tke-JSage coach; -over the ing (then pulling out a brass horse plank road, brot!K'Hr*«-^wwypr-----?rnd pistol about two feet long.) If any litigant to its-.«o'ictjse.(wfe(Lwhose walls body here has any such intention I resounded with oratory ?is fervid, if want to tell him that at the very first not so finished, as has greeted those attempt to do so, I will fill him so of its more dignified but less revered full of holes hat he won't be good successor. From 1839 to 1876, that for anything but a colander here old frame building was the seat of after." The meeting, proceeded as justice for Racine county, and much per schedule, with a lot of loud and more beside; for when Racine was a plain talk^ but no one was hurt. 6* village, and for years after it was jrirst Court Houise. • j* made a city, its court room was the Allusion has been made more than forum where legal issues were ad once in these articles to the fact that ^A judicated, of course; but also where the first settlers in Racine were on various other matters of public pol the ground without legal right, and icy or interest requiring a quick remained in possession in the expectaj-J- crystallization and expression of pub tion that their claims wojiW tie lic opinion were discussed and often validated when the go'vepa-rffent sur 0* times brought to amicable settlement. vey should be made^-eCnd the lands It was the town hall; the lecture offered for saJe^^A^detailed account platform; the political stumping of this . matterTw-a—very mtereet+ng ground; the religious assembly; the story, but an outline sketch is all there place where jurisdiction was taken will be space"for in. ,-*his» / Third Court House Flaiuied In 1912, plans for a third court house, to occupy almost all of the present site, and to cost $165,000, were accepted and purchased, and con tracts for the buildings were let. There had developed very determined opposition to the plan to put the new building on the old site, and while matters were going forward in Ra cine, the legislature enacted a law forbidding the erection of a court house within 40 feet of another build ing, which effectually blocked the Racine project. Clarence Snyder was credited with instigating the passage of this law, the ostensible purpose of which was the safeguarding of the county records. In the clearing-up process, Racine county was put to very considerable loss in making set tlement with builders and others, whose contracts it had been neces sary to cancel. Remodeled in 1014-1915. In 1914-1915 the court house quite thoroughly remodeledarfS re paired, at a cost of abpj*r $31,000, transforming it into^aT three-story I $& building. Duringthls remodeling the -jjounty offlces^w'ere removed to the ' olaVTelephone/building, at the corner • of Wisconsin and Fifth streets. UgtRB is, some agitation at thi*~.time*iB«fMwr of an enlargement of tha coat* house by extending it to Ahe WiseonsittHMireet i limei' '**- **''" (IH^W U i nit 0tA\.1 ^-w^i i U({ •*\MJ/ — / / 7. V/ jksre/? \\ ry Clerks of Court. George West I .'.1880 : I Henry F. Cox, jr. 1837 J. George Teal 1886 I i Albert G. Knight 1846 Frank M. Roberts 1892 ' Isaiah G. Parker 1848 George H. Herzog 1898 (& Samuel G. Knight 1852 John E. Rowlands 1904, I>afayette Parker 1854 James Bolton ''-j-1906 I Ja^ob S PI-ITT. I860 John P. Barry , 1914 Lafayette Parker . 1862 John P. Barry (died) . .: 1919 ; Francis L. Graham 1864 Robert Mutter (apptd.) •. 1919: A. H. Adams 1) .- 1868 Robert Mutter 1920 Charles S. Chipman | 1870 ' Fred W. Bruce . . /., 1872 I Charles S. Chipman '. 1874 : F. W. Bruce , 1875 James McLaren 1886J Otto E. Ahrens 1 1892 : John R. Hulbert . ...<.,. •'• 1900 j Lemuel F. Owen . . j 1906 ; County Judges. I John W. Trumbull <1 1910 | During the first 13 years of this I John C. Hood j, 1914 | office its incumbents were called probate judges, but on the division of the county in I860, and the creation #nt,s ZvjTHt . mi of Kenosha county, they were called county judges. At the time of the j division Judge Chatfield was the' probate judge, but a new election was . District Attorneys. V held for Racine county alone, and j Marshall M. Strong t , .1838 ) Judge Wording became the first j Horace T. Sanders '.t 1843 j county judge. : O. S. Head | 1847 Henry B. TOwslee A 1848 ! Volney French 1838 Ira C. Paine ...... J, .1850 Samucb Hale 1840 | Lewis Royce ...... fj , 1852 \ Ezra Birohard 184 3 ! William Penn i.yonBH^^^^H&.l£54 Volney French ..1844! .1858 Josiah Bond 1848 Champion S. Chase '. A. G. Chatfield 1849 ] Nicholas H. Dale . 1 .I860 C. W. Bennett ....;!. .1862 i William E. Wording 1850 I .1868 j John B. Adams , 1861 I John T. Fish ;. j Elbert Q. Hand 1869 J Charles H. Lee .1872, S. B. VanBuskirk . ,i 18"4'i , Charles A. Brownson 1881 Abner C. Fish ' 1878 j I Philo Belden (apptd.) 1882 Henry Allen Cooper 1880 !- Philo Belden (elected) ...... 1883 | Thomas M. Kearney-! 1886 [ I Ellsworth B. Belden j 1893 Frank M. Fish :..'Q '. . . .1888 j Max W. Heck 1901 Elbert O. Hand . . .",,. 1890 j [Walter C. Pa,lmer 1913 John W. Owen ...',!.... 1892 I Peter B. Nelson ...-'.: 1894 > £l/V[£R Ftf/Tr/ASS 1?46 Charles L. Lukes . ;, 1898 | rj, Ottan ^Sl^o^rnj ffo t Superintendents of Schools. | . Racine County Surveyors. (Office instituted in 1861.) A. W. Doolittle .'. .1837 s C. W. Levens 1861 Jason Lothrop '. 1839 L. D. Coombs .1865 Moses Vilas .....: 1844 L. M. Hawes 1867 A. W. Doolittle 1847 Lyman Earle 1869 O. A. Perkins 184S George Skewes 1871 Alfred W. Doolittle '. 1849 Thomas Malone 1873 Moses Vilas . .1850 Matthew J. Smith 1875 Ira M. Sumner 1852 Charles H. Sproat 1877 Thomas Bones, Jr 1858 Charles A.'Morse . 1879 Edson Burchard ' 1860 William G. Gittings : . . 1881 D. M. Montgomery 1869 Byron O. Nobles 1888 Sayers G. Knight' 1882 Agnes M. Worsley 1890 F. F. Foote 1888 E. A. Morse . 1894 Sayers G. Knight 1892 William W. Storms ,...1898 T. Harold Knight 1904 G. J. Zimmerman 190 4 T. Harold Knight (resigned) ....1917 Frank LaBudde *...... 1915 Byron Henry • • • • •' 1920 Isabelle Swantz 1917 Tsabelle Swantz (resigned) /.oats T. P9PH. Edith McEachron (apptd.) .... .1921 f* BEGINNING OF WISCONSIN JUDICIAL HISTORY CIRCUIT COURT JUDGES,RACINE COUNTY The judicial history of Racine county, and of Wisconsin, be gan with the appointment, in 18^4, of James D. Doty as a federal judge for the counties of Brown and Crawford,- the whole of the state as now bounded. Judge Doty was succeeded In that position in 1832 by David Irvin, who held the office until 1836, when a separate Territorial supreme Court for Wisconsin Territory was appointed, composed of Charles Dunn, Chief Justice, and David Irvin and William C. Frazier, Associate Justices. Andrew G. Miller succeeded Judge Frazier on the latter's death in 1838, and the personel of the court was thereafter unchanged until I8H-8, when ID Wisconsin became a state. •jf' JU^ES Of H%$T {tftttjiT Following are the names of the judges of the first circuit, in which Racine County is located, in the order In which they were elected, or appointed, with the year of election or ap pointment; — Edward V. Whiton 1848 Wyman Spooner Apptd. 1853 James R. Doolittle 1853 Charles M. Ba&er Apptd 1856 John M. Keep 1857 David Noggle IS 59 William P. Lyon I865 Robert H&rlcness Apptd. 1871 Ira c. Paine Apptd. 1875 John T. Went^orth 1875 John B. Winslow 1883 Franlc M. Fish Apptd. 18 91 Ellsworth B. Belden 1901 (I) Foot-note;— See pages I and z, "Story of A Great Court?, by John B. winslow.