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Settlers Dug First Homesin Verona AreaBy MRS. II. II. GRABANDT(State Journal Correspondent)VERONA—Rhovels and picks rather than hammers and saws were used in building the first homes in the Verona area, for the first residents 105 years ago lived in shelters dug in the side of Badger Mill creek.Two Scotchmen. James Young and Thomas Stewart, were the first settlers. They took possession of land on the south side of the creek in 1837, dug a 6-by-8 foot excavation, roofed it with poles and grass, and lived there until their “cave home” was washed away in I a storm. From that time on buildings were made in a more substantial manner.The Verona of a century ago was 1 not located on its present site. Young and Stewart were joined at Badger Mill creek in 1840 by a dozen pioneers from Verona, N. Y. i It was those later residents who ! named the community when it was organized on Feb. 17, 1847.Not until three years after arrival of the Newr York families did the new community get a trading center. Badger Mills was built in 1843 by William A. Wheeler and George Vroman, a public house ! was opened by Cheney Luce, and other businesses were established. R. Dunlop operated the settlement’s first store.Residents of the small community read their mail, which arrived at infrequent intervals by horseback and later by stagecoach, * while the village blacksmith was 1 . shoeing horses used on the farms.Dr. Spencer was the first phy-| sician, and the first school opened | the winter of 1846 with Amy j Thornton as teacher.Disputes were settled by Mat-j thew Hawes, supervisor and jus-j tice of the peace, and order was j enforced by Harvey L. Hawes, vil-j lage constable. Both were elected in 1843.Nine years later Dane county i j purchased from Wheeler, the mill I operator, his farm in section 14,| and here a 40-by-60 foot struc-! ture was built for a county poor , farm. The original house still ! ! stands and is the center of the 1 present building.Believing that business would be better, tradesmen moved the black-1 smith shop, stores, and tavern to j “the Corners” during the 70s, and Verona has been at its present lo-l cation since. However, the commu-i nity had no transportation except | stagecoach until 1880, w'hen the ; North Western road built a spur connecting Madison and Lancaster.Today, comfortable farmhouses dot the Badger Mill creek area where the tw'O Scotchmen dug their first homes and which later settlers described as “a perfect place for farming and living.”
Newspaper Details
Madison Wisconsin State Journal
Madison, Wisconsin, US
Tue, Mar 31, 1942
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Uw -.
WI, USA 13 Jun 2024
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