History
of Northeast Portland
(by
B. E. McCormick)
The Crawfish River in an early day served the early settler in many ways.
It was the one thing that helped more than one settler to locate his
claim, not because of its beauty particularly, but principally because it
furnished him water. Then again, the
land along the river was considered more productive.
But in spite of all these advantages, it proved to be more or less of a
barrier and for a time the newcomers in Portland were satisfied to stop east of
it to avoid the difficulty of crossing. Yet
it was not so with all for there was a certain indication of productiveness west
of the river that was not present on the east side, and this was none other than
the burr oak tree. It was the
presence of this sturdy American that induced a party of home seekers, of which
the Austin families were members, to cross to the west side and take up
homesteads. The present valuation of
this section of the township is a tribute to the good judgment of that party of
men.
From S. M. Austin, who is now a resident of Waterloo, we learned the
following interesting story. It was
in 1844 that the Austins arrived at Aztalan in Jefferson County.
Here they remained for two years, but not content with the outlook, a
party consisting of S. M. Austin and Albert Austin started out to look for new
territory. They traveled to
Watertown where they engaged passage on a stage coach to Lowell, which was then
one of the most flourishing villages in Dodge County.
The party had heard of the rich land in Portland, and upon arriving in
Lowell, started for the woods passing through Reeseville and continuing toward
the Crawfish.
On their way, they marked three different claims, but not being entirely
satisfied with any one of them, they continued until they came to the burr oak
trees west of the river. This was in
1846, and these men became the first settlers in this locality.
They were soon followed by others who took up adjoining land in north
Portland and south Elba.
Among the early comers were many persons whose names are still familiar.
The land taken up by the Austin families is still retained by the younger
generation of the family. Dodge
Sweet secured a quarter section, George Adams, Andrew Storer, Jake and Walter
Lawrence and Frank Cooper acquired claims in the immediate vicinity, and while
some of the land has changed hands, the residents of north Portland well
remember these homesteads. The
settlers of this section of Portland proved to be good, industrious citizens and
a credit to any town, village or state. They
always took a deep interest in the welfare of the township and, although in the
extreme end, they never failed to share the responsibility of new undertakings.
They were good tillers of the soil and many of them, by their superior
skill in "gathering the fruits of their harvest", amassed comfortable
fortunes.
Although the remote northeast
section of the township was difficult to access by the early settler, it did not
fail to grow and develop. Situated
east of the Crawfish River, which at that time was unbridged, seven miles from
Waterloo, nine miles from Columbus, and five miles from Reeseville, the heavily
timbered land remained undisturbed for several years after the settler's ax had
laid clear other portions of the township.
The time was soon coming, however, when this section would be invaded.
Early in the 40's (the writer does not know the exact date), a party of
settlers located claims here. These
early settlers have since either died or moved to other states. Definite
statistics concerning them are not available; however, the party consisted of a
George Russel and son, who was known as George Jr., a George Plumb and Mr. Fox;
and west, Eben, Sam and Aaron Fisher. This
colony took on the name of Fisherville.
Each member of the party took up a claim a very short distance east of
what is still known as the Fisherville bridge over the Crawfish River.
This group of men, from what we can learn of their manner of living,
etc., were real pioneers. They were
conditioned not only to fight the cold weather, hard storms and difficult
problems that confronted the early settler, but also able to resent encroachment
by strangers with a perfection that few of the men of today have attained.
It is told by old settlers that when the Fishers visited a neighboring
village, the natives stayed indoors to avoid trouble, especially if the barrels
of the village inn had recently been replenished.
The Fisher family operated a saw mill in the midst of the settlement.
The mill, however, was the property of the Austin family who located on
the opposite side of the river. Like
all others, these early settlers began by clearing away the timber and using the
cut wood for residence purposes. They
had not lived here long before other settlers came in, and for some unknown
reason, this earlier group of men sold out their holdings to the newcomers and
themselves sought other places. The
second lot of settlers were of different nationality, many of them coming
directly from their homes in the old world.
Among these were Milton Bickel who purchased the Russel place, George
Eichstadt who bought the Russel Jr. place, Leonard Benninger who purchased the
Plumb farm, and Simon Zoltner who
bought the Fisher property.
Among the early arrivals were Mr. and Mrs. Gottfried Koenig.
It is to Mrs. Koenig, who at the present time resides in Columbus, that
we owe thanks for much of the data in this article.
Apparently hearty, spending her last days in comfort surrounded by a
large family of grown-up children, she little betrays the hardships that she
passed through in her life. She
recently told the story of her departure from her home in Bavaria.
As she recounted the incidents of the voyage and referred to the trials
she encountered, her features lightened up and once more she lived in the past.
Her story was not unlike too many others whose early days were spent in a
new land, hence we give it here. Mrs.
Koenig's family had heard much of America, and although they loved their mother
country much, they loved freedom more. They
had heard that America was the home of civic privileges so they set forth for
the happy land.
From Milwaukee they took up their journey westward in a stage coach and a
few days later arrived at Watertown. Here
they transferred and took a stage for Lowell, which at that time was the
terminal of a stage line to Watertown. Upon
arriving at Lowell, the family decided to start for Portland and were conveyed
there in a wagon drawn by oxen. They
finally settled near the Fisherville Bridge.
All was not sunshine in the new land.
Mrs. Koenig, who was not married at that time but lived with her father,
mother and brother, had an experience in the first two weeks of her residence
that would crush the spirit and hope of a character less strong than she.
A few days after arriving, her father, mother and brother were stricken
with a fever, and in two weeks all had died leaving her alone.
Later she married and with her husband, Gottfried Koenig, prospered by
reason of their industry and good citizenship.
Many of the people who composed this settlement held like religious
beliefs.
It was not long until the
need for school and church was realized. Soon
a log structure was erected on the crossroads and the first school established.
This is the school, which at the present time is known as the John Goebel
school. In pioneer days, it served
as a church for a number of years. In
it, one Rev. Laus, a Lutheran minister whose home was in Watertown, preached to
the people once every four weeks, making the trip occasionally by stage, often
on foot. The community continued to
grow by the coming of more settlers. As
the fortunes of those who had succeeded in clearing up land began to increase,
it was thought wise to build a new church. Consequently,
enough money and work were pledged and the structure was assured.
This is the same building which stands today as one of the "twin
churches" in the extreme northeast corner of the town.
After the church was built, there came a resident pastor in the person of
a Rev. Hagenburger, who filled the pulpit for a number of years.
With this all important want satisfied, there was apparent joy among the
settlers. As suggested, not all
early settlers came from the same province in Germany and consequently, there
was a difference in religious beliefs. The
adherents to the faith of the Reformed Lutheran Church had increased in number
until they too felt they could afford a church and pastor.
Consequently, a movement was started which resulted in the building of
the German Reformed Lutheran Church--the second one of the two which are known
as the "twin churches".
Although these early settlers had different churches and different
spiritual instruction, the children of all attended the same school.
The desire to educate their young has always been paramount in the people
who have lived in this section of the town and consequently, the public school
has always been kept up to a high standard.
The settlers of northeast Portland have not been outdone by those of any
other section. They always have been
and still are industrious, hard working people who have developed a vast forest
into one of the richest assets of the township.