Sauk County Historical Society

Born in 1854 in Malone, N.Y., William became fascinated with the railroad. He knew that some day he would become an engineer. He worked for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and eventually came to live in Baraboo. The C&NW made Baraboo the division point between Chicago & Minneapolis, which meant the division headquarters was located here. The railroad repair yards, complete with a roundhouse and giant turntable, was located on Railroad Street. In July of 1884, William was at Mendota, taking an engine onto a side track when it suddenly jumped the rails and tipped onto its side. His fireman was able to jump free, but William could not because his foot had become lodged in the wreckage. Steam from the boiler burned him severely and he knew that his time was up--at the young age of 30. With his last bit of strength, he tore his watch from his vest and told those trying to rescue him, "It's no use boys; I am too badly burned. Give this watch to my wife, and take care of her and the baby." A few moments later he was gone. His monument is a fitting memorial to his love of the railroad. The tree stump indicates that he was cut down early in life and at the base of the stump is carved in stone, a locomotive engine, one of the loves of his life.

Born in N.Y. in 1836, Levi attended a seminary and graduated from law school in Buffalo. Coming to Baraboo at age 21, he soon  established a law practice. There was money to be made in land speculation, and he purchased two stone quarries. The foundation walls of the Presbyterian church on Ash street came from one of his quarries. In 1861, he married Julia Woodworth (a direct descendant of Elder William Brewster of the Mayflower). In September, 1894, Levi was driving through the eastern part of the city, when his pony was spooked and started to run. Upon turning a corner, the carriage overturned and he was thrown from it. A few days later he died. Over 1,200 people attended the funeral, arriving in 56 carriages.

John was born around 1820 in Kentucky. He escaped southern slavery in the 1850's and headed north. After working on a steamer on the great lakes, he came to Wisconsin and bought 40 acres near Mauston in 1856, paying $300 for it. In 1863, the Government issued a second draft for the Civil War, and John was drafted into the Union Army. However, after reporting to Prairie du Chien to enlist, he was turned down because of his race. But that did not get him off the hook, he still had to pay the $300 a man could pay to get himself out of the draft. He returned to Mauston and had to sell his 40 acres at a loss, to pay the fee. He moved to Baraboo and began a small business with two ponies and a buckboard, providing transportation to people in town. He loved to give the children rides, and each summer he would take the town kids on a trip to Devil's Lake. He loved to sing and play the piano. John died in 1894 and was given a proper Christian burial. His stone was put up several years later by Julia Crouch. Her daughter Belle, often rode on one of his ponies when she was young.

Alta's father, Edmund Theodore Hopkins, was a direct descendant of Stephen Hopkins, Royal Governor of the Rhode Island colony and later signer of the Declaration of Independence. Edmund survived the Civil War, and became a lawyer. He became involved with the Homestake Gold Mine in S.D.--later owned by William Randolph Hearst. He worked for an iron company in Ft. Wayne, the largest maker of steel wheels in the world. He also owned the Lakeview Hotel at Devil's Lake. His second wife, Lynde Enos,  bore 2 daughters, one being Alta Belle. Alta had a heart condition and died at Devil's Lake at the young age of 23. Her sister, Jessie Lynde was a noted singer, performing with large orchestras in Pittsburgh and N.Y., Milwaukee and St. Paul. While spending time abroad studying music in Paris, she met a sculptor named Dario Viterbo. They became good friends and eventually she commissioned  a work of art which was to adorn the family plot in Baraboo. The modern-looking sculpture shows a figure offering flowers to the mortal while prayer raises to heaven. The  poppies around the base unite earth & heaven

Mary was married to Louis Mogler in 1869. Louis was in the Civil War, having joined the Ohio Voluntary Infantry shortly after arriving from Germany in 1862. He was captured after fighting near a small village named Dallas, and taken to a confederate prison called Camp Sumpter, near Andersonville, Georgia. The prison held over 32,000 men and conditions were not good. Prisoners were malnourished and decimated by disease. Over 100 men were dying every day. Louis languished for 6 months in Andersonville prison before being released during a prisoner exchange. He settled in Baraboo after the war and became a butcher and operated a saloon. He died in 1881 from a disease he contracted while a prisoner.

Roseline and her husband, Eben Peck, were some of the first settlers in Madison in 1836. Three years later, they moved to Baraboo and settled near the lower oxbow on the Baraboo River. She attended to the medical needs of the early settlers, though she was not a doctor. In 1844, her husband abandoned the family and moved west. The claims on her land were usurped by unethical means, and she attempted to purchase land elsewhere, and again she was thwarted in her efforts. She died in 1899. A street in Baraboo still bears the Peck name.

Jacob was born in 1856 in Neosho. His father died when Jacob was only 2. After attending Ripon college, he came to Baraboo in 1874, where his uncle had a store. He worked for Lange & Struthers but also landed a part time job at the Sauk County Bank. After a few years he was promoted to assistant cashier and at age 22, became cashier in charge of the bank's day-to-day affairs. He married Martha Atwood in 1880. In 1844 when the Ringling Brothers started their circus, the bank was an integral part of financing their venture. The Van Ordens had a large white house on 4th Av., but they needed a larger, more stately home befitting their status in the community. Their old home was sold, sawed in two and moved across town. A new house was constructed by one of the best architectural firms in Milwaukee, Ferry & Clas. The new house had 3 1/2 bathrooms, gas & electric lights and a ballroom on the third floor. Jacob became president of the bank in 1915, taking the community through WWI, and then through the loss of the Ringling account when they left town in 1918. He died in 1927. Portraying Jacob is Lucas Schuyler Van Orden IV, his great grandson

Born 1783 in N.Y., she and her husband, John Angle, moved to Baraboo in the late 1840's. There were few people there then, just a few dams on the river and some rough dwellings. The villages of Baraboo and Adams  were laid out in 1847. Village lots were sold to pay for a new courthouse and jail. Her son, Seth, was the first postmaster in Adams. The village of Adams was later joined with Baraboo, as there were numerous villages named Adams. She died in 1850 and was the first burial in a cemetery named in her honor, Mt. Mercy, located just north of the public square. Later, she and her husband were moved to Walnut Hill Cemetery and an obelisk constructed. It was installed at an angle, indicative of the family name.

Noble came to the Baraboo area around 1848 with his family. He went exploring one day, and after an arduous journey up a "small mountain, I suddenly came to the edge of a precipice and there before me was the most delightful sight I had ever seen--a beautiful crystal lake encircled by tumbled rocks, tall pines and birches--a magnificent setting." He was so taken by Devils Lake, that he purchased land on the SE end and established a summer resort called Kirkland. Eventually owning 250 acres, he planted vineyards, had picnic grounds and lodgings constructed. The railroad came through in 1871 and tracks were laid along the east side of the lake, bringing even more tourists to the area. His gravestone is a huge quartzite pillar taken from his beloved lakeshore

Mr. Brown arrived in Baraboo in the early 1840's and laid out the plat of Baraboo in 1847. He claimed land and water rights along a stretch of river just below a hillside and flat oak savannah to the north. In 1844, he built a sawmill to make good use of all the timber in the area. Several years later, he constructed a grist mill on the north side of the river. It was so successful that in 1847 he was in the process of enlarging the mill. While a huge timber was being raised, it fell upon Mr. Brown and crushed him. He survived for a few hours in a neighbor's rocking chair. His funeral was held in Baraboo's first courthouse.

The event was sponsored, in part, by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Rag-Baldwin Funeral Home.

A DVD is now available of the Sunday in the Cemetery tour for those who could not make it to the event, and for those who would like to relive the day's tour. Also available is a booklet containing the dialog of the actors who portrayed the notable persons buried in Walnut Hill Cemetery. Stop by Sauk County Historical Society headquarters, or call 608-356-1001