They did not approve of Reed’s refusal to open the dam and went back to Baraboo to gather their friends to physically remove the dam.
Meanwhile, the residents of Reedsburg sent for the U.S. Marshal in Madison to arbitrate the situation. It was their belief that the law was on their side since the timber had been cut from governmental lands.
However, when the Marshal arrived, he ordered the dam cut and the logs moved downstream.
An “indignation” meeting was called by Reed and his followers who met at Sanford’s Store to plan their next move. “Inflammantory” as well as conciliatory speeches were made, but Mr. E. G. Wheeler convinced the crowd that it would be foolish to resist the authority of the United States Marshal.
With the dam gone, Reed was forced to close his sawmill, taking away a lumber source for the growing town of Reedsburg. New settlers to the area began to settle elsewhere.
By November 1851, however, a new settler named Abram West had repaired Reed’s dam and opened a flour mill alleviating the need for local farmers to travel to Baraboo or Delton to have their wheat ground into flour. By 1853, Reedsburg was once again prospering.
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