SELHS News
Newsletter of the Sterling Eureka and Laketown History Society
Volume 6, No.2
Memory Room – Cushing Community Center
April, 2012
Email [email protected]
Website http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wiselhs/
Confederate Soldiers Settle in
Laketown
The Civil war lasted from 1861 to 1865. It was
fought between the southern states and northern
states predominantly over the issue of slavery of
black people in the South. The founding fathers
of the United States compromised on the issue of
slavery and explicitly allowed it in the USA.
They had to do this to get the southern states to
join the Union.
Slavery was never popular in the northern
states and gradually the opinion grew that
slavery was immoral. In the South, plantation
owners were dependent on slaves to do much of
the labor. Although slavery was most often on
the large plantation farms, there were also small
farmers and businesses that had one or two
slaves. They were bought and sold on an open
market with very little regard keeping slave
families together.
The 1850s the country was strongly divided
over the issue of slavery. Northerners, often
through their churches, believed it was
absolutely immoral. Southerners believed that
God and the Bible sanctioned slavery and that
they were doing black people a favor by taking
care of them under slavery. As we still see
today, people can find justification for opposite
beliefs within the same religion.
The Republican party of Abraham Lincoln
was strongly anti-slavery and included many
people who believed it must be outlawed. The
Democrat Party believed that slavery must be
preserved in the South. In 1861 Lincoln was
elected president. The South chose to secede
1
(leave) the rest of the country and form the
Confederate States of America out of fear that
they would be forced to stop slavery.
In the South there were people who were not
in favor of slavery. These people resisted
fighting for the South and often openly
supported anti-slavery movements and peace
movements. They were often violently harassed
by their pro-Confederate neighbors.
The settlers who came from Alabama to create
the Alabama settlement in Laketown were from
all accounts opposed to the Southern states
leaving the Union and fighting to preserve
slavery. They lived in the poor hill country of
NE Alabama, struggling to make a living out of
the poor land and conditions.
During the Civil War, three men who would
later come to Alabama, Wisconsin were drafted
to fight for the Confederate Army. We have a
William Addington and wife
few details. Lycurgus Bell’s obituary in the
Grantsburg newspaper, 1910 says:
“Last Thursday morning at 9:30 the Angel of
Death visited the home of Dr. L (Lester) Bell and
removed from its earthly bondage the spirit of
his father, Mr. Lycurgus Bell. Grandpa Bell was
born in Cleburne County, Alabama, Sept 9,
1845. He grew up under the guidance of
Christian parents until 17 years of age, when he
was drafted against his own as well as his
father's will to aid in the secession of the
south. After disablement while on duty he was
mustered out and returned home. At the age of
23 he went into Georgia and married Miss Eliza
J. Bomar, then a young lady of sterling qualities
and Christian spirit, and together they started
northward. In March, 1869, he filed on his
homestead, now the home of the doctor (in
Laketown Township). He served his town and
county in various official capacities and a better
Lincoln Republican never lived. Two months
Lycurgus Bell on the right with a
brother
ago he wished Mr Lewis (Republican) would
win out. Mrs. Bell died nine years ago and six
children had also gone before. Mr. Bell's
funeral was held at the house and in the M. E.
church at Atlas, Reverends Birchall and
Anderson conducting the same. Internment was
at the Union cemetery at the family lot. Mr. Bell
was a good citizen, a true Christian, and a
neighbor ready to assist the needy. His place is
vacant, his work ended but his memory shall live
with us another generation. He has only one son,
sisters and brothers in the south, and a large
circle of neighbors and friends to mourn his
departure”
Mark McKee, a descendant of Lindsay McKee
who moved north writes “James Lake owned a
plantation in a fork between two rivers and
owned five families of slaves. He set his slaves
free before the Civil War, which caused much
grumbling on the part of his sons. After the
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Civil War, the family migrated north to
Wisconsin.”
The lure of free land and a chance to start over
in a place where they were not seen as traitors to
the South’s war caused them to move to
Laketown in 1869, four years after the war was
over.
Lucy Orr Johnson in 1936 interviewed one of
the Addington daughters who came north for her
column in the Inter-County Leader: "Wm
Addington, Robert Enloe and L. Bell were
confederate soldiers, but the Mrs. Addington
who visited me told me that her people were
much in sympathy with the Union forces, but
because of their location in the south were
drafted into the southern armies."
The war was over in 1865 and by 1869 the
families were in Wisconsin. In the Northern
states, a Civil War veterans organization, the
Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was formed.
Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5
May 1868 by General John Logan, national
commander of the Grand Army of the Republic
and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when
flowers were placed on the graves of Union and
Confederate soldiers at Arlington National
Cemetery. The tradition of marking all graves
North and South continues now with flags. I
think the Alabama soldiers would be proud to be
remembered with an American Flag.
Alabama Settlement
There are a few historical markers on top
of a hill overlooking a pretty lake at the corner of
230th street and 285th Av near Atlas in Laketown
township, Polk County. This is the site of
Alabama, one of the oldest and most fascinating
ghost towns in our area.
Roger and Marilyn Carlson of Lindstrom,
Minnesota have sent this story about his great
grandmother. It was written in the 1960s by
Grace Pilgrim Bloom as part of her book
“Ebenezer Ayers His Story”.
“It came about this way: Just at the close
of the Civil War the mother of Elizabeth Canady
died, leaving three-year-old Lizzie and her little
sister Emma, but one year old. The Canadys
were living sixty miles from Wedowee, county
seat of Randolph County, Alabama, where
Elizabeth was born at the home of her
grandfather, William Addington. When, two
months after the death of his daughter, Mr.
Addington heard of the plight of his young
granddaughters, he mounted a horse and rode the
whole sixty miles to get them. But he found he
could not manage the two little ones on
horseback, so he borrowed a two-wheel cart and
An 1887 plat map of Alabama and what would
become Atlas. Notice the mill on Trade River
where Atlas will be
an old Negro mammy to hold the children and
set out on his return to Wedowee, riding the
horse that drew the cart.
The Addingtons, the Bells and their neighbors,
the Lakes and the Enloes and the Murphys were
no longer happy in Wedowee. Though their
homes had not been in the actual path of the
conflict, they had lived within hearing of the
guns, and their land, run down in the course of
the war, had been torn up by the
shells.
Moreover, they were Northern
sympathizers who had found life in the
Confederacy uncomfortable during the rebellion,
and intolerable thereafter.
3
Pamphlets in circulation painted Minnesota
and her neighboring state of Wisconsin as a new
land of promise, so, lured by glowing
expectation, the seven neighboring families
determined upon an exodus. They would drive
to Chickasaw on the Tennessee and then proceed
north by boat. The Enloes owned a pair of
oxen; the Lycurgus Bells, one horse and one
mule; the others, horses, perhaps. On March
12, 1869, just as the leaves were beginning to
burst out, the migrants climbed into their covered
wagons.
The Addington family included their two
little granddaughters.
The wagons were
provisioned with staple commodities and
cooking utensils for camping out. The women
had provided bedding, crockery, pewter plates
and mugs. It took full three weeks for the train of
seven covered wagons to reach navigation waters
at Chickasaw on the Tennessee. There the
migrants boarded the steamer Phantom and their
animals and conveyances were all towed to
Paducah on the Ohio. There they boarded a
little boat, the Billy White which carried them
down the Ohio to Cairo where they again
changed boats, taking the Bismarck to St. Louis,
and another big boat the Phil Sheridan to the
lower waters of Lake Pepin.
There they found the channel frighteningly
full of ice floes. At Reed’s Landing they had
met Captain Oscar Knapp of Osceola who had
tried to get their tickets changed so that they
could take his boat to Taylors Falls,
Minnesota. But that was impossible. They
waited a week, camping out three miles below
Lake Pepin, and finally persuaded the captain of
the Countess to break the ice and carry them
through to St. Paul where they found the mud
hub deep for their covered wagons. .They drove
through from St. Paul, finally reaching Taylors
Falls on May 1. On the long and tedious trip the
children had broken out with measles and scarlet
fever. The caravan moved on, the animals
reduced to skin and bones, but the drivers
pressed on until they reached their chosen site in
the upper tier of townships in Polk
County. They named their settlement Alabama
for their homeland in the south. Today it lies in
Laketown, Polk County. There they planted
patches of fields with seed grain they had
brought with them and erected, for shelter, log
cabins, with open fire places for cooking.
Soon after their arrival, seven-year-old Harriet
Elizabeth was bound out, for bed and board, to a
family named Walsh who lived not far from the
Rooney school. There her life was filled with
hardship. Her one pleasure was the privilege of
going to school, even though her attendance was
perforce irregular. But school attendance held
its terrors too, for there was an Indian settlement
to the north of the school and she frequently met
roaming bands of Chippewas.
She feared
almost equally the Indian braves and the dogs
that accompanied them. She found she could
appease the hungry dogs by tossing her school
lunch to them and running away while they
gulped it down.
When Elizabeth was eleven Mrs. Walsh
died. Mr Addington came for Elizabeth, taking
her home to live with him and his wife at
Alabama. Schooling was missing but she
persisted in acquiring the rudiments of learning
by herself. Self-taught she found a lifelong
interest in keeping abreast of current events.
Somehow the Addingtons become close
friends of Mr. and Mrs. Seth Ayers who kept the
“stopping place” on Osceola prairie and the
teenage Elizabeth Canady went down to help
Mrs. Ayers with the work. There Franklin
Ayers met and courted the attractive Elizabeth. “
The story continues with Elizabeth’s further
adventures including Franklin and Elizabeth
Ayers marrying and moving to Sterling where
they lived for many years on a farm just up the
hill east of Wolf Creek on Hwy G.
***
In 1936, Lucy Orr Johnson interviewed one of
the Addington descendents and wrote several
columns about the Alabama area and settlers.
We excerpt parts as we continue our story of
Alabama.
“Coming down now into the Alabama
community, we find people from the sunny lands
of the south who settled here and named their
little settlement in honor of their old home. The
(Civil) war in the south was their reason for
leaving down there.
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Alabama Methodist Church. Photo from 1924
book celebrating the 50th anniversary of the WI
Swedish Baptist Church. All that is left are some
foundation stones, lilacs and a marker.
There was a beautiful little lake there at the
time, but since it has gone with many other lakes
of its kind. (LOJ wrote this in 1936 in the midst
of several very dry years).
William Addington, a southern soldier,
homesteaded. Hardy Addington of St Croix is a
grandson. Jake Addington, a son, farmed here
for years. Joe Lake owned the farm on which
Anton Nelson lives today (1936). Lycurgus P.
Bell, father of Dr. Lester Bell, also had his
homestead nearby in this little settlement. Dr.
Bell later had a hospital in his old home and was
making a rapid success when death snapped out
his young life one stormy night in an automobile
wreck.
The McKee brothers came from the south and
settled at Alabama. Milton, Louis and Lindsay
McKee all settled in here. Lindsay McKee was
the first settler in Alabama. Arfurd Gross now
owns the land.
The first schoolhouse in
Laketown was built in 1870 in Section 8, on the
Lindsay McKee homestead. Patrick Tierney was
the first teacher there. Lindsay McKee was the
first Alabamian to sell out and moved to Sterling
just south of Bass Lake. Lindsay McKee was
the first postmaster.
Louis McKee and Mary Addington were the
first couple married in 1871. The ceremony was
by L. Bell, a Sterling justice of the peace. The
Murphy’s also came with the southern settlers.
The father of the late Robert Murphy
homesteaded the land that has always been the
Murphy home.
These southerners were jovial and thrifty.
They worked hard to establish themselves in
these wild woods. The bear, the deer, the wolf,
the fox, the badger and yes, even the panther was
here; besides all of the hundreds of smaller
animals. Snakes? Plenty of snakes! Even a few
rattlers were killed by early settlers and some
large and strange kinds seen that have
completely disappeared now. Children of these
early settlers have had many scares, and ran from
snakes to their cabins just in time to see the big
monster whack up against a window.
There were no roads. Pioneers had to blaze
trails by which to find their way through the
dense forests in Laketown. The homes were
mostly one room cabins, roughly hewn from
logs.
Many were so well built and fitted
together so closely that they needed no chinking
of mud to keep out the cold.
Home made
shingles called “shakes” were used on the roofs.
Some cabins had fire places; most of them had
two small windows and one door. The average
sized cabin was ten by twelve feet. A few were
larger. The floors were bare earth until hand
made plank floors could be constructed.
The first church was Methodist started 1871.
Rev. Pringer was the first minister in Alabama.
Jake Addington and Oscar Fornell conducted
Sunday School (a Southerner and a Swede). A
little farther southeast of Alabama, the Lutherans
built a small church of tamarack logs. This has
always been called Tamarack Church.
Tobacco growing was introduced here by the
southerners.
The tobacco twists that the
southerners made were almost too much for the
Scandinavians. An amusing story is told of Nels
Fornell who was about to pull a tooth for an old
lady. She offered him a chew of her tobacco
twist to steady his nerves. It worked severely on
Mr. Fornell, instead of steadying his nerves it
made him so ill that he was unable to extract her
tooth. In 1869 Caleb Cushing bought 7200
acres of land. The little village of Cushing as
named after him.” -- Lucy Orr Johnson - 1936
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Stories from the upcoming new book on
Alabamians in Polk County WI.
(mystery building on back is the old Wolf
Creek Methodist church used from the 1890s
to 1950s)
From the President Russ Hanson
We have been working on our Civil War
project of identifying and remembering local
veterans from that war. This newsletter
remembers Robert Enloe, Lycurgus Bell and
William Addington, three young men who lived
in NW Alabama state and were drafted against
their principles, into the war to preserve slavery
in the south. They came to Laketown township in
Polk County to get away from persecution for
their beliefs in the south. It is an interesting
story that will be covered in detail in the latest
book to be out in June from SELHS, “Alabama
Corners.”
The book will be available first at the 74th
annual Sterling Picnic on June 24th at the
community center in Cushing. The potluck lunch
is a celebration of living in our neck of the
woods and attempts to remember the settlers
who came before us.
The Settlers Picnic committee is preparing for
the 75th anniversary in 2013 by planning a
program showing local history from the days of
Native Americans, logging, settlement and
becoming a suburb of the Twin Cities!
My part is trying to collect and assemble a
book that chronicles the picnics, the families who
have participated and the settlement being
celebrated. We are very interested in getting
photos, stories and other details and items from
early picnics.
You can find my contact
information on page 7 of this newsletter.
Memorial Day we will again be involved with
the Wolf Creek program, singling out a Civil
War veteran this year for special recognition.
We haven’t chosen one yet, however, Jennie
Nelson from Wolf Creek has gathered
information on her grandfather John Iverson, so
we may choose him as she has done much of the
work. We have info on Franklin Noyes also.
Our initial meeting of 2012 will be the third
Thursday of April (19th) where we will have a
business meeting to plan our activities for 2012.
Please plan to attend. We have coffee, cookies
or bars and a lot of fun visiting.
Mark Johnson is pushing us along in the effort
to refurbish, replace and add historical markers
in our three townships. Many have disappeared,
probably fallen into the ditch or rotted away.
The Polk County Historical society told us they
preferred we use the same redwood routed
character signs as those put up in the 1980s. If
we are to do that, we need some help with
learning how to use a router to make the signs.
Thanks to all of you who renewed your
memberships after the last newsletter. I am
working on getting the list of members up-todate on my computer. Send your email address
to [email protected] to get updates on
our activities.
Hope to see you at some of our events this
summer and at our next meeting! Russ H
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Sterling Old Settlers Picnic
photos: Top – at the Sterling
Town Hall. Left Ralph Doolittle
and Raymond Noyes (I think
these are portraits taken by
Karen Benson?). Below left is a
picnic out at Trade River and
Cowan Creek. Below are a
couple of modern old settlers—
Phil Harris and his wife Sharon.
The Harris family lived in West
Sterling after most other settlers
had moved out. Needed: More
settlers pictures for our book!
Elected Officers and Board Members
Sterling Eureka and Laketown Historical
Society November 2011
Chair - Russ Hanson
2558 Evergreen Av, Cushing, WI 54006
(715) 488-2776 (507-356-8877 Jan-Feb)
[email protected]
Vice-chair - Mark Johnson
St. Croix Falls, WI 54024
Secretary/Treasurer - Donna Blair
St. Croix Falls, WI 54006
Emeritus Chair – Marcie Marquardt
[email protected]
Executive Board Members
George Laier, Russ and Dottie Adams,
LeRoy and Marlys Hedberg, Joan Swanson,
Justin Swanson, Marcie Marquardt (I think!)
Order a book from SELHS
Postage included in price
$13 A History of Making Maple Syrup
$18 St Croix River Road Ramblings 2010
$18 River Road Ramblings 2011
$18 The St Croix River Road
$18 History of Cushing Wisconsin I
$18 Stories of the Trade River Valley I
$18 Stories of the Trade River Valley II
Check to SELHS, Box 731, Cushing, WI
54006
All profits go to SELHS to preserve local
history. Or go to Amazon.com and order.
Coming soon: Alabama Corners, the story of
settlers from Alabama state coming to
Laketown Township in the 1860s and their
history.
7
Meetings are the 3rd Thursday of each
month at 7:00 pm at the Cushing
Community Center Back Entrance
No Meetings December, January and
February, March
Startup 2012 meeting April 19th
The Polk County Genealogical society is at
the Luck Museum the second and fourth
Mondays of each month from noon until 3
pm. They will help you do research on your
family history. No charge and no
appointment needed. Email us at
[email protected] and check our website at
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wipolk/
Do you have an email address? If so, send it
to [email protected] and we
will keep you up-to-date on what is happening
with regular releases and send our
newsletters directly and in color!
Sterling Picnic: Sunday June 24 Noon at the
Cushing Community Center. Free! Potluck lunch.
Awards for milestones of age and years married.
This is the 74th annual picnic. Sterling covered all
of Washburn and Burnett counties as well as all of
Northern Polk County in the early days, so we
consider all those folks potential Sterlingites!
Family oriented; music, speaker, wonderful food.
Get to know your neighbors! Looking for family
histories and photos for the 75th Picnic History
Book now underway—Contact Russ
Renew your membership at the Picnic this June
and see what premium you get!
To Do in 2012: Fill out the application for
SELHS to become an independent non-profit
instead of a subchapter of the Polk County HS.
We have to do this in 2012!
Sterling Eureka and Laketown Membership Form
Send completed
form to
SELHS.
P.O. BOX 731
Cushing WI 54006
(LOOK AT THE
DATE AFTER
YOUR NAME
On mailing label
For the last time you
Joined (i.e. 2011)
Name _____________________________
Address____________________________
City _______________State____Zip_____
Phone_____________________________
Email_____________________________
Annual Membership Levels
Individual
Student
Life (ind or couple)
$10.00
$5.00
$100.00
All memberships in excess of $10 as well as any additional
donations to the SEL Historical Society are fully deductible.
8
Mystery Building (answer on page 5
–all that is left of it are the cement
steps where, as a 6 year old
attending Bible School, Russ
dropped his dime down the cracks!)