Name/Title
Histories, Incidents and Descriptions of Early WaupunDescription
Incidents and Descriptions of Early Waupun. Told by George Newton (Jud) Wilcox, son of Seymour Wilcox (one of the first settlers in Waupun). Upper right corner written in pencil reads "Bertsch." Written by Horatio H. Hoard. Page 8. Typed on onion paper.
Early Waupun:
After a year or so stock began to accumulate. The old oxen were sold. Newton took six yoke of oxen to Oshkosh and not being offered what he thought they were worth, took them out under a tree and butchered them and sold them for beef. Oshkosh had a few wooden buildings and we had to ford the river or go over in a skow. After years they built a float bridge. The country was what could be called openings all the way except White Prairie by John Howards farm.
Jan. 4, 1910 (subj. Surrounding country)
What was called Prairie land began at Hoard's corner and extended west to Lake Emily. That meant brush and a scattering tree, wild cherry, white burr and black oak, thorn apple, crab apple, wild plum. The fields were full of flowers. The first thing was what we called rock rosies. They grew on the prairies. The first wild flower that came out in the spring in the woods were blood root and violets. We used to go for miles and pick a bundle of flowers. Our heart was made glad. The shooting stars were everywhere on the openings or the prairies. A perfect flower bed for miles. We used to stand on the hill west of John Sawyers house and look down north and west over a perfect carpet of flowers. Where Thurst Wilcox lived was the most beautiful place you ever saw. (ed. Post Office now.) It had the finest grove of burr oak and no underbrush. It extended east to Fond du Lac Street. We have gone out from our house down by the river and killed all the chickens we wanted for dinner in twenty minutes. To see these tame, pretty creatures strutting around in this pretty park (as it was a most beautiful park) I often could hardly take the gun to my shoulder and fire. But the necessity of the occasion made me put this beautiful picture to one side.
Duck and geese were plenty on every hand and pigeons were everywhere. They used to nest in this section. It was on the farm known as the Harry Loomans farm. We used to go and get the squabs. We used to get a bushel basket full of them at once. We have seen the pigeons so thick when they were flying we could not see sun for days at a time.