DARTFORD: 1875-1899

                       DARTFORD: 1875-1899

                       by Harriet Shikoski

     In 1875 the United States was nearing the end of its first one hundred years.  It had survived the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, expanded its territory from ocean to ocean, and was working on the reconstruction of a unified nation.

     Dartford in 1875 had come a long way from its humble beginning in the 1840s.  In an 1875 Dartford Directory three store keepers were listed: T. J. Clute, Merchant, Dealer in Dry Goods, Groceries and Notions; M. W. Brooks, General Merchandise; and E. P. Locke, Druggest and Dealer in School Books, Stationery, Notions and Perfumery.  Also listed in the directory were M. Brayman, Attorney-at-Law; and I. H. Brooks, Postmaster, Insurance and Collecting Agent, and Justice-of-the-Peace.  Dartford had two churches (Methodist Episcopal and Congregational) with active memberships.  It had been incorporated as village in 1871, it had become the Green Lake County Seat by winning the dispute over this issue, it had a new jail, and it had been connected to the outside world with a railroad.

     A Brooklyn farmer's diary gives a review of the year 1876: "This the Centennial year of our Independence has gone never to return.  The Anniversary has been celebrated at Philadelphia in a style & manner becoming to us as a great nation.  Though unable to attend myself, I have kept posted as well as possible & see by reports that it was a big thing.  It has been our year to elect a President which has been so close that one electoral vote turns the scale & that so disputed as to make it necessary to resort to some extra means to determine who shall be president for the next 4 years.  5 republicans, 5 democrates & 5 Judges of the Supreme court have decided it in favor of Hayes for President & Wheeler for Vice President.  The Winter of 1875 & '76 was uncommonly mild.  No sleighing to amount to anything, but a good rain about once a week.  The Summer in June & July was uncommon warm.  The Spring was backward.  We have enjoyed usual good health through the year.  We had one of the worst hail storms on the evening of the 28th of May that ever passed through this part of the country since it has been settled, hail fell half as large as a hen's egg.  It drifted out about 30 rods of fence & drifted the hail in heaps from 2 to 4 ft.  It lay two ft. thick at noon near McConnels where it fell the hardest.  It looked like snow banks.  It drifted our fences out on the north part of our farm so it took us 3 days to repair them.  It washed out our corn so it took us three days to replant them.  Our crops were not very good.  We had 42 bus. of wheat from 33 acres (shrunk considerably) & 127 bus. of Oats from 4 acres (very poor oats) & 200 bus. of potatoes from 2 1/2 acres which were small ones.  Our corn crop was poor.  Our hay crop not very good.  We milked 10 cows (this all kinds) & sold butter to the Am't of 1,034 3/4 lbs.  We sold 311 doz. of Eggs from nearly 100 hens.  We sold 2,350 lbs. of Pork & kept 4 for ourselves.  Also 200 lbs. of Turkeys at 9 cts. per pound.  We raised 46 lambs & 3 calves & are wintering 10 hogs."

   
  This farmer's patriotism was high, harboring no strong complaint against the federal government.  His main interests were the same as today's: politics, weather, health and "shop" talk.  He subscribed to The Princeton Republic, Harper's Weekly, & Monthly, and the Chicago Advance.  The Chicago Advance was a religious periodical which in 1867 had absorbed the "Wisconsin Puritan."

     Several newspapers attempted to establish themselves in the latter 1800s but did not seem to survive very long.  The Princeton Republic was popular in Dartford.

     In its early years transportation around, to and from Dartford had been precarious.

     Water travel and transportation to other parts of the country was not significant because the Puckyan River was too small for anything larger than a canoe or small boat.

     Roads were in poor condition.  The Military Road that passed south of Green Lake was surveyed and built at federal expense while Wisconsin was still a part of Michigan Territory.  By the time it was finished in 1837 the sections first completed were deteriorating, and improvements made from time to time were discontinued after 1845.  It had cut through forest and bridged streams but it had never been planked or covered with crushed stone.  With the exception of the Military Road no federal or state money helped build roads in Wisconsin before 1908.

     By 1875 roads through and about Dartford were maintained by the residents.  The Puckyan River had been bridged and the causeway southwest of the bridge were built in the 1850s, but most of the roads were simply hard packed dirt.  While village streets were fairly well maintained, roads between Dartford and other villages were not.  In the surrounding areas "Pathmasters" were elected whose responsibility was to oversee the maintenence of the public road in his district and to collect the tax needed for such maintenence.  It was up to the pathmaster to direct any road work need; he was to report to the town board twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall before the first of Novermber.  Each property owner had to furnish so many days' work and/or the use of his horses or equipment; or he could pay his tax in money, i.e. in 1882 C. P. Hadley in the Town of Brooklyn worked off his road tax by furnishing 2 men & team, a wagon and a plow for 2 days; 11 hours one day and 11 1/2 hours the second day.

     This arrangement of depending on local unskilled help was not always acceptable.  It was claimed that too often the land owner would send a delapitated old wagon, broken down old plow, old scraper or tired old span of horses.  Also he was apt to send a lazy son or hired man to work in his place.  Frequently the day set for road work turned out to be a sort of annual picnic where farmers met to swap stories and trade horses.  Roads continued to be subject to spring thaws and autumn rains.  In the 1890s it was the absence of a good road between Dartford and the Lawson Estate that caused workers and supplies to be taken to Lawsonia by boat.

     By 1875 the railroad was Dartford's saving transportation system that connected her to the great outer world.  The Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railway Company had extended its line to reach Dartford in late 1871.  It was extended to Princeton in April, 1872, having taken three weeks to lay the track from Dartford to Princeton.  The S. & F. R.R. Co. was financially aided in its building by the places through which it passed; namely the City of Sheboygan, the County, City & Town of Fond du Lac, and the Towns of Riverdale, Ripon, Brooklyn, St. Marie and Princeton.  These governmental units were willing to help finance the railroad for the commercial benefits of efficient transportation.

     In January, 1877 a traveler going from Dartford to Whitewater gave this cost of his trip: 25 cts. train fare from Dartford to Ripon; 80 cts. train fare from Ripon to Fond du Lac; $2.65 train fare from Fond du Lac to Fort Atkinson; 75 cts. for stage coach from Fort Atkinson to Whitewater; total of $4.45.  He seems to have found a cheaper route back.  Evidently he was taken free of charge to Fort Atkinson.  It cost him $1.65 from Fort Atkinson to Burnett Junction; $1.00 from Burnett Junction to Ripon; and 25 cts. from Ripon to Dartford; a total of $2.90.

     The coming of the railroad opened Dartford to the outside world.  Railraod construction throughout the country advanced rapidly at this time bringing raw materials and foodstuffs to industrial centers and carrying finished products to domestic and foreign markets.  Manufacturing and corporate growth brought wealth to many, and of those many, not a few discovered the delightful vacation spot of Dartford.  Dartford with its cool lake breezes, its availability by train, its clean country air and its beautiful scenery became a popular resort.  

     An 1878 Historical Atlas says, "The water of Green Lake is remarkably clear, yet it is of a greenish tinge which gives its name to the lake.  Black bass, pickerel and other fish abound.  Game in its season rewards the hunter. * * * Dartford is the summer resort of hundreds of southern tourists, and the lake hotels register several thousand visitors each season."  

     An 1875 Green Lake County Atlas states: "There are five established summer resorts of which Oakwood & Sherwood Forest are chief.  Each is fitted up in fine style for comfort and pleasure and will accomodate 150 guests.  Pleasant Point, a celebrated picnic ground, has lately been purchased by Wetmore Bros. and is a favorite resort.  Forest Home is kept by Mr. Bushee and is situated in a magnificent forest on the western shore.  The Walker House in the Village of Dartford near the lake is deservedly popular."  Besides the summer resorts mentioned Dartford had a hotel (Green Lake House later known as Mill's Hotel, owned by James C. Mills, known as Deacon Mills.)

     As satisfied patrons told their friends and relatives about it, Dartford resort owners expanded their businesses and others were built; Hazen Richard Hill's Spring Grove opened about 1878, Velorous Root's Dartford Hotel in 1881, Dr. Victor Kutchin's Maplewood in 1891, and Henry Oelke's Lake View Hotel also in 1891.

     Many of Dartford's summer people came from Chicago, St. Louis or farther into the South such as Biloxi and New Orleans.  Summer heat and fevers encouraged those who had the time and money to get away during the hot weather.  Whole families came with children and servants.  Some fathers left their families here and went back to their businesses, visiting their wives and children on weekends whenever they could.

     The summer resorts accomodated everyone, but not together.  Special separate facilities such as dining rooms or recreation areas were provided for the servants, young children and their nurses.  Older children could eat either in the main dining room, or, for a lower rate, at the service table.

     Entertainment was provided by the resorts. Croquet and boating were popular.  Often picnic baskets of food were taken along on excursions either by boat or horse.  A cloth was spread on the ground and the fresh air and cool breezes were enjoyed while eating.  The resorts maintained boats and carriages for the convenience of their guests.  Visiting, sing-alongs, reading and telling stories, charades and impormptu plays were popular pastimes.  Sometimes concerts or dramas were presented.

     The trains, not only brought summer guests in, they also let the residents out for recreation or business.  Some Dartford natives took the train to Milwaukee or Chicago for professiona concerts and dramas.  Others reversed the resort trend and traveled to the southern states for winter vacations, some of which were quite extensive.

     The early boats on Green Lake were small ones propelled by sails and oars.  "Rustic Belle," the first steamboat on the lake, appeared in 1871.  On June 20th of that year it took some people from Dartford to the Green Lake County School Picnic on the south side of the lake.  It came so close to tipping over once or twice on the way over there, that some who rode to the picnic on it refused to ride back on it.  Other picnickers showed great interest in viewing it, but would not take even a short ride on it.  It had not functioned properly because some machinery on it had broken.  The steamboat redeemed itself July 4, 1873, when it aided in rescuing passengers of sail and row boats tipped over in a tornado.

     Another early steamboat on the lake was "The Camera" owned by Wm. M. Lockwood, a photographer from Ripon.  Other steamboats followed and became more accepted, more trusted.  They became a fast, dependable means of traveling to places around the lake.  Among the best known were "The Katherine C." and "The J. Norton." owned by the Norton Brothers, and "The Fern" owned by Charlie Wilson.  Around 1890 the steamboat "The Katherine C." transported workers from Dartford to the Lawson Estate and back again.  It made three trips a day, taking workers to Lawsonia in the morning, transporting supplies during the day and taking the workers home in the evening.

     As a general rule boats were rented out, not individually owned.  Boat liveries were operated which furnished boats for both excursions and fishing.  Fishing was largely done in rented boats with the boat liveries furnishing not only the boats but the guides and whatever bait or tackle was needed.  A steamboat like the "J. Norton" might have a string of rowboats in tow which would fan out after a good fishing area had been reached.  Almost every resort hotel had its own boats which they would rent out to their guests.  Other fishing guides were Captain Pierce, George Marshall, and Dave and Bob Malcolm.  Some of the local boys earned "pocket change" by catching minnows for fishermen.  After "minnowing" all day three boys took their catch to Oakwood in the evening.  Frank received $1.45, Ed received $1.10 and Edwin also received $1.10 for their minnows.

     Many local people were employed by the summer resort businesses as cooks, maids, cleaners, busboys, porters, coachmen, guides etc.  Also needed by resort owners in expanding their business were carpenters, masons, roofers etc.  They all needed food and clothing and other necessities.  Businesses grew and became more numerous.  Dartford's economy was expanding. Dartford was somewhat sheltered from the national disaster of the panic of 1873 and the depression that followed, but was left with a shortage of "hard cash" and a distrust of banks.  Residents of Dartford "hired" money from neighbors or relatives rather ask for a loan from a bank.  If they saved any money it was apt to be stashed away someplace or "hired out," rather than be deposited in a financial company.  Much bartering occurred, even with merchants, who took in trade eggs, butter, firewood, fruits and vegetables such as apples or potatoes, or anything else of value that the customer might have.  When workers were needed they were often paid "in kind" with the employer working for the worker an equal number of days sometime later.  This was especially true with farmers from the surrounding countryside.  Swapping was a way of life, and people soon came to know who was honest and who was gullible.

     An example of this bartering was in June 1876 when Whiting Bros. of Ripon made a bargain with a Brooklyn farmer.  For a sulky plow priced at $36.00 they took 3 cords of wood @ $4.50 per cord, and the balance in money when the farmer's wool was sold.  Other swaps made in 1876 by the same farmer included: 1/2 bus. seed corn for 3 new kinds of potatoes; onions were traded for vinegar; 6 3/8 cords of stove wood to Kohl's Hardware in Ripon for a stove and stove pipes; 14 1/2 bu. of corn for a spring bedstead; and 36 1/2 bus. turnips to Kingsbury in trade.  Byron Kingsbury ran a grocery store in Ripon.  In December 1880 a 4 year old colt was traded to Hank Eaton [Henry Hubbard Eaton b 1833] for a yoke of oxen and $15.00.

     Settlers had needed grist and flouring mills and in the earlier days Dartford had two, the J. C. Sherwood's Mill and the Brooklyn Mill.  They were the envy of people in other places when water levels were low.  The Bivouac newspaper of Feb. 22, 1865 contained this item:

          While other water-powers are drying up and mills      stopping, the Dartford and Brooklyn Mills keep grinding on   with the usual supply of power, unconscious of drouth or   diminuation of head.  The consequence is a great rush      hitherward of grain to be floured.  During the past week      several large grists have been brought here from Rosendale and other places equally distant and converted into the best superfine.  Come on gentleman you will always find water     plenty and mills in running order ready to grind your grists   large and small.  Green Lake is a big mill-pond always full,   with water running away, and our Millers, Messrs. Sherwood and      Vliet, always on hand, gentlemanly and accommodating and ready      and able to perform their work to the satisfaction of    everybody.         

     Pride goeth before a fall..  By 1875 the situation had drastically changed.  Due to a feud between the millers and disastrous fires both mills were forced to close.  The Sherwood flour mill had burned prior to 1875 and was never rebuilt.

     John B. Vliet, who owned the Brooklyn flour mill, had borrowed money from Washington Libby on a promisory note.  The note and the mortgage was destroyed by fire.  Vliet acknowledged the debt and borrowed more to repair the damaged mill.  He was unable to clear the debt and the court appointed a referee to audit the income and expence of the mill.  Eventually Washington Libby owned the mill, although John Vliet continued to operate it.

     About the same time the Hadley grist mill at Bluffton lost its operating water-power when the wing dams built in the Fox River raised the water level halfway up the flume of that mill, effectively making that mill inoperable.

     Farmers around Dartford had to take their grain to the Ceresco or Arcade mill in Ripon, or else to a Berlin mill to have it ground.  A Brooklyn farmer's diary for Nov. 23, 1875 stated "Ten bus. of wheat to Ceresco.  We got 360 lbs. of flour & 160 lbs. of Shorts & Bran.  We had borrowed flour to the am't of 60 lbs of flour to be paid out of this."  Note that they had not gone out to buy flour when they needed it; they "borrowed" flour; no money was exchanged.  An entry for Feb. 29, 1976 stated, "Ten bus. of wheat to Ceresco.  We re'c'd 360 lbs. of flour & 110 lbs. of Shorts & Bran.  I also took 5 bus. of corn for meal to feed."  May 30th, 1876, "10 bus. of wheat to Arcade & 5 bus. of corn to Ceresco."  No explanation was given why he had gone to two different mills on the same day.

     John B. Vliet had gotten the Brooklyn Mill running again as soon as he could.  Besides the milling operation, Vliet also sold "plaster" which was spread on the fields for fertilizer.  He charged 40 cts. per hundred for it and asked for a deposit on the bags which held the plaster.  The deposit was returned when he received the bags back.  The Berlin Courant in August 1881 stated "hose who have used plaster on their clover this year have seen the most gratifying results in big growth."

     Just as important as the mills to the people was the need for blacksmiths.  In 1875 T. J. Crabtree was the blacksmith in Dartford and Philip King was the blacksmith in Green Lake Center.  (He was also the proprietor of Center House.)  They shoed horses, sharpened and repaired iron tools, "ironed" wooden implements and designed new iron objects--plows, hoes, shelf brackets, oil lamp holders, etc.  "Ironed" was an expression which meant attaching iron at points of wear or stress.  A wooden wheel was "ironed" by shrinking an iron "tire" (rim) around the outside of it.  In August, 1876, a Brooklyn farmer paid $1.25 for "setting two wagon Tires and Repairing."  Thomas Crabtree charged 40 cts. "for setting two shoes."  Making and repairing plows and tillage implements was a large part of the blacksmith's business.

     Much of the manufacturing done in the country was made by one-man small shops.  An 1875 Dartford Directory listed besides T. J. Crabtree, the blacksmith: C. V. Clark, Manufacturer of Furniture, Moulding and Picture Frames; L. D. Olin, Maker and dealer in Boots and Shoes; and G. I. Stanley, Wagon Maker.

     The last quarter of the 1800s saw an increased use of farm implements.  Reapers, and then binders, replaced scythes and cradles.  The sulky plow and riding cultivators came into use.  Steam engines were not only powering steam boats but driving threshing machines.  Farm women were getting patented butter churns and sausage grinders.  Wheat was giving way to cows, and some farm wives were making butter and trading it to the general stores or selling it to the summer resorts who were feeding "several thousand visitors each season" according to the 1878 Historical Atlas.  (Brooklyn Creamery was not organized until 1902.)  In 1881 a sorghum mill was built by a Mr. Sherwood, and cane was processed that fall.

     By 1875 religious life was actively practiced by Dartford residents.  It had two church buildings, the Methodist Episcopal Church on West Hill Street and the Congregational Church on the southwest corner of Mill and Scott Streets.  Their Sunday morning worship, their Sunday Schools and Sunday evening services were well attended.  Guest speakers often gave sermons, especially in the summer months when guest ministers would be in the area.  Some of them were: Rev. O. B. Clark of Princeton; Rev. J. O. Peck of Chicago; J. M. Craig who gave a Temperance lecture; Dr. Steele, Pres. Lawrence University, who gave a lcture on, "Ten Days in Rome," Rev. Wm. Richards; Rev. Victor Kutchin; and Horace Kutchin who gave a temperance address.

     Many Dartford residents having come from other places professed other faiths but were too few in numbers to build their own churches.  Some attempted to meet with others having the same faith for religious purposes, conducting services either in their homes, the school house or other convenient place.  Some simply attended one of the local churches even though they did not agree with everything professed.  Some worshiped in a neighboring town whenever they could.  And some kept their beliefs privately in their own way.  A group of Christian Scientists were small but active.  They met in the home of Marion Kutchin on the southwest corner of Hill and Gold Streets.  Many religious meetings were more community affairs then denominational, i.e. gathering around a community tree at Christmas time, or listening to a temperance meeting.

     Temperance was a hot issue both in and out of churches.  Keeping Sunday holy--a day of rest and relaxation--was strictly observed.  This is brought out by a 16 year old fellow's diary:

          Sat. July 3, 1875 - Dartford celebrated the "Glorious      Fourth" today.  Was down town nearly all day. A hard shower in    the after noon.

          Sun. July 4, 1875 - Went to (Congregational) church and Sunday School.  At   home in afternoon.  Went to M. E. Church in the evening.

          Mon. July 5, 1875 - Jay, Frank and I went to Ripon today     and celebrated the "Fourth."  Arrived home about 6 o'clock.     Went up to firewords at "Oakwood" at night.

Not even celebrating the Fourth of July took precedence over Sunday worship.

     Recreation in the last quarter of the 1800s was often very simple--visiting friends and relatives, croquet, checkers or chess, picknicing, and riding, either in a buggy or sleigh (espectially on "The Avenue" as Illinois Avenue was called.) Swimming in summer and ice skating and sledding in winter were common.  A ride to Mitchell's Glen for a picnic was highly prized.  A diary entry for Aug. 21, 1875 reads, "I went to a picnic today at the glen.  We went with a four horse team, one span of ours and one span of H. Hildreth.  There were 21 in all that went.  We had a first rate time."

     The Berlin Courant mentioned this outing, "The Methodist and Congregationalist Sabbath Schools joined in a picnic at Clarence Park on Wednesday last."  Clarence Park was the Sherwood Forest grounds which John C. Sherwood had developed.  He sold the three story hotel to Robert C. Baker who called the place Clarence Park.  It was noted for its elegant parks and fine drives.

     The Berlin Courant also mentioned another outing: "On Thursday evening, Mr. Lucas gave the citizens of Dartford the benefit of a free ride on the lake.  The Ripon Brass Band was hired for the occasion, and the Steamers Palette and Louise took the company over to his grounds, where they were very hospitably entertained, and a fine ride on the lake was also enjoyed.  The excursion returned to Dartford about 1 o;clock on Friday morning.

     Occasionally a fair or circus came along.  A sixteen year old boy took in several.

          Thur. Sept. 16, 1875 - Spent the day at the Ripon Fair.     Went over on the 8:30 train.  Came back on the evening train.      Had A very good time.  A rainy misty day.  A very large crowd      at the fair.  Came home very tired.

          Wed. Sept. 29, 1875 - Started for Oshkosh on the 8:15      train.  Reached Mr. Thomas' at 11 o'clock.  Jay and I visited the City in the afternoon.  Cloudy and rainy.

          Thurs. Sept. 30, 1875 - Attended the fair all day.  Cool      and cloudy.  Went down to the City at night.

          Fri. Oct. 1, 1875 - Will and I went down town in the morning.  Jay and I took the 2 o'clock train for Ripon.  I    rode home from R with [his sister].  Warm and pleasant.

     In 1878 Dartford received its first telephone only two years after Alexander Graham Bell had invented one.  It connected John H. Brooks store and post office with the railroad depot.  Several years later the Wisconsin Telephone Company opened an exchange in Dartford with four subscribers: the depot; the court house; Edward Morris at Grey Rock and the H. W. Colvin cottage.  This exchange was originally established in the the Brooks store but later moved to a building owned by George S. Thrasher.  In 1895 the Green Lake Telephone company was formed.  It also maintained a switchboard in the Thrasher building.  G. S. Thrasher became its first manager and his wife became the chief operator.  Subscribers were four hotels (Oakwood, Maplewood, Sherwood forest and Pleasant Point), two liveries (A. S. McCray, and Whiting & Peterson), Brooks, Nortons, Captain Pierce Boat Landing, the depot, the post office and two homes.

     In 1885 the Harry Randal Post No 202 of Dartford Grand Army of the Republic was organized by Captain Blackman with Lester Clawson of the 12th Battery Wisconsin Light Artillary as its first commander.  The post was named after Elisha Harrison Randall, a Dartford native who lost his life in Mississippi during the Civil War.

     In the 1880s the Dartford School was a two room building.  Prospective teachers were examined by the Green Lake County School Superintendent who directed a County Institute in Princeton.  The Institute held classes for the teachers for four weeks in the early fall.  They were graded on the subjects of Orthography (Writing and Spelling), Pronunciation, Reading, Penmanship, Mental Arithmetic, Written Arithmetic, Grammar, Geography, United States History, The Constitution of the United States, The Constitution of Wisconsin, Theory and Art of Teaching and Grammatical Analysis."  Those who passed this four-week course received a one year teaching certificate.  High School graduation was not a requirement.

     In the 1880s teacher's wages in Green Lake County ranged from $25.00 to $40.00 a month--a month being 20 school days long.  Wages depended upon the teacher's experience and gender.

     Toward the end of the 1800s increased school enrollment caused the Dartford school board to convert a woodshed into a recitation room.  The people of the district pressed for a new school building and for an accredited high school.  A new school was built in 1898-1899.  It was a two-story building with two classrooms on each floor.  Further expansion and the accredited high school classes occurred in the 20th century.

     Besides interest in the education of school children, Dartford women were also interested in educating themselves.  Seven of them attended the initial meeting in 1896 which eventually developed into the Dartford Educational Club.  The first programs were quite serious and instructive.  Discussions were mostly on current events and history.  A constitution for the club was adopted in 1898 launching it into the 20th century.

     Golf came to Maplewood and Dartford in 1893 soon after it came from Scotland and England to America.  It did not stay long at Maplewood.  In 1896 it moved to the newly created Tuscumbia Golf Club.  Golf became another drawng card attracting visitors to Darford. 

     Sail boats and steam boats had become common scenes on the lake.  The Green Lake Yacht Club organized around 1894.  The advent of the use of motor boats was yet to come.

     In 1898 a new brick court house and separate jail were built to replace the original court house and jail.   

     At the end of the century Dartford residents could look back and see the progress that had been made in the last twenty-five years.

     Dartford had become a more widely known popular summer resort town.  The Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railway, along with other railroad lines, had become the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad.  Instead of two trains a day the Green Lake station was handling six passenger trains a day, three in each direction.  The old station building had become inadequate and was replaced by a larger one about 1898-1899.

     The July 10, 1899 issue of The Berlin Journal describes the immense crowd of people that came into Dartford on an excursion from points between Appleton and Dartford.  The depot and bus service to the lake was no where near adequate to handle the visitors.  Some buses were so full that the drivers had to sit on the roof.  The author suggested that a "dummy line" be built between the depot and the lake like "the Chicago elevated before the introduction of electricity.  This, of course, would knock out the liverymen who make a pretty good thing carrying passengers back and forth between the depot and lake, but if Green Lake continues to prosper as a swell summer resort the road will be a realization ere long.    A line around the land is not an impossibility either, unless great difficulty in securing a right-of-way should be experienced.  Then, too, the summer residents might not like a steam engine screaming around their cottages, but these could not be much worse than some of those bang-ety-bang gasoline launches that ply around the lake.  Green Lake must surely add some of these modern means of conveying passengers to the lake before many more summers roll by.

     "Or, if a system of transportation that calls for tracks will not pay why not put on an automobile or two?  The bus system is too slow and unsatisfactory and is, with the increasing business at the Lake bound to give way to something more satisfactory."

     The Berlin Evening Journal of July 11, 1899, has this item: "Hotel owners of the 5 large summer accommodation places at this resort are united, and expressedly so, on the single proposition that August is to be a record breaking period at this outing place.  The number of arrivals is already in excess of most past years, for this time in the season.  Maplewood, owned by Victor M. Kutchin, former chaplain of the Waupun state prison, has undergone the most marked improvement with an increased hotel building that gives it double its former capacity.  It was formerly conducted more on the lines of a sanitarium, but now it stands as a first-class resort hotel.

     "The social event of the week and one of great significance to Green Lake was the opening of Meyer's Terrace Beach Casino on July 4, with matinee and evening performances.  The hotel guests and people from Ripon, Berlin and Dartford mingled in making the opening a grand triumph to the efforts of Manager W. A. Meyer.  The theatrical management is under the direction of Frank Dodge, formerly of Ripon, and who has a wide experience in this line."

     The Meyers who built the Terrace Beach Casino had moved there from Sunnyside.  Sunnyside had been built in by John McDonald of Whiskey Ring notoriety in 1870.  When he left the lavish furnishings remained.  The Meyers had moved the beautiful furniture to Terrace Beach.

     The Berlin Journal in its August, 1899 issue, related that the crowds at Terrace Beach Hotel Casino are increasing and "it is safe to say that it will have to be enlarged another season to accommodate its patrons."  Enjoyable music, dancing and a change of bill weekly in the theater satisfied all.  A special matinee was given Sunday afternoon, and informal Hops on Wednesday and Friday nights.  "The Shamrock," an Irish Comedy Drama was to be given the next week.

     On October 18, 1899, Terrace Beach Hotel burned to the ground with the loss of two lives, Mrs. Myers' father and his wife.  It had cost $40,000, was insured for $5,500, and was never rebuilt.