“Ancient musket barrels clue to LaSalle’s Stay” from the March 7, 1974 Door County Advocate
Ancient musket barrels clue to LaSalle’s Stay
By MATH S. TLACHAC
Clay Banks was the seventh organized township in Door county, being set up by the county board at its February meeting in 1859. Prior to that time it was a part of the township of Forestville. Abel Crawford was the first chairman of Clay Banks being elected in the April election of 1859. Other residents who served as chairman during the first 40 years of the existence of the township were W. H. Warner, D. B. Coon, A. J. Schuyler, C. R. Thayer, G. M. Rickaby, Alex Tufts, Charles L. Fellows and James Madden.
During his residency in Clay Banks, Fellows occupied the position the longest, being elected 13 times. This attests to the confidence the people in the township had in his knowledge of local governmental affairs.
The name of Clay Banks is one of long standing and originated among the sailors on the lake. The Lake Michigan shoreline of the Door county peninsula is mostly low with the exception of the six mile shore line of Clay Banks. These high banks rise almost perpendicular to a height of almost 100 feet. The banks loom up very prominently and become sort of a point to reckon distance for the sailors on the lake. These high banks are very picturesque, having a distinctive beauty not found elsewhere in the county.
It is one of the best sections for agricultural purposes that the county possesses. The clay soil is rich and goes down a hundred feet or more, and while in many parts of the county the soil is shallow or rocky, here in Clay Banks stone is at a premium. The land is gently rolling and easily tillable, although crops usually mature somewhat later than those farther inland due to the cool lake winds in spring and early summer.
The first settlers to take up homesteads for agricultural purposes were William Helmholz, John Mackey, Charles L. Fellows and William Warren. They came in 1855. In 1856 came D. B. Coon, Albert J. Schuyler and Chauncey Hitt.
The Civil War broke out in 1860 and no further settlement was made until after the war ended. Then came John Hoslett, John Madden with sons, James, Jerry and John; Alexander Tufts, James Davidson, Capt. Chauncey Thayer, George Roberts and James Spalbury, with sons, Richard, Wesley and William. There were other arrivals but, unfortunately, no record has been kept.
Among these early settlers were several of Irish descent but the greater part of the population in Clay Banks is of Norwegian nationality. This large settlement of Norwegians in Clay Banks occupied the eastern edge of the township of Forestville and extends up to Sawyer. The Norwegian settlement started about 1870. A few years earlier Capt. Andrew Larson, formerly of Manitowoc county, while on a visit to Door county, told of the excellent land that was open to homesteading in Clay Banks. A man by the name of Arne Knudson made a journey northward to investigate. He personally selected land just south of the county line in Kewaunee county and reported that there was an abundance of land equally as good in Manitowoc county where the Norwegians resided. This caused an exodus of Norwegians from Manitowoc county.
Those who came in 1871 were Henry Jorgenson, Haldor Haldorson, G. J. Anderson, Erik Nelson, Knute E. and Nils Viste. This immigration continued for the next few years. Nearly all these Norwegians were originally from the same part of Norway — Valders in the central part — and had lived for a short time in Manitowoc county.
By 1872 the Norwegians were so numerous that a congregation was organized. This was the first Lutheran congregation to be organized in Door county. Prior to this, meetings and services were held in various homes in the community and one such service was held in the saloon or dining room of Charles Hitt but the then Pastor Bjorn imposed a condition which was that no male present shall “expectorate tobacco juice on the floor.” The pastor’s injunction was strictly observed. The pastor further added, “Ja dere kan val holde der fra vaere svin en times tid.”
A small log church 18 by 22 feet was constructed in 1874. It was a plain one-story structure with an attic which was used by the pastor as living quarters. It served as the nucleus of other churches built by the Norwegians in Clay Banks. The Norwegian Lutheran church did much in the early days to keep alive love of tradition and characteristics of the mother country. The sermons were preached in the mother tongue and the children were taught the language of their forefathers. The old songs, native to the mother country, were sung with fervor and respect. The Norwegians were noted for their excellent singing voices and their ability to harmonize.
Other Norwegian customs were preserved by those early settlers to be handed down to their children but like those of other nationalities in Wisconsin, many of these Norwegian customs have given way to the modern.
These people from the land of the fjords were basically tillers of the soil but in later years many distinguished themselves in various fields of endeavor. John Madden (although of Irish descent) became a Catholic priest. Bernard Madden aspired to became superintendent of Door county schools after which he assumed principalship of Door-Kewaunee County Training school for teachers in Algoma. Upon retirement from this post, he enrolled in the school of medicine and became a doctor of note in Milwaukee. The genial Kenneth Viste also superintendent of schools in Door county and under the able leadership of this educator the quality of teaching was greatly uplifted.
Others became school teachers who met with success in their chosen field and were dedicated to their duties as teachers.
Joseph Hoslett graduated from normal school in Valparaiso, Ind., then engaged in business in Sawyer (now a part of Sturgeon Bay) during which time he also served on the county board. J. A. Spalsbury became a dentist who practices in Sturgeon Bay. Two Clay Banks citizens became law makers and represented Door county in the legislature in Madison. They were Lewis Johnson, in 1913 and Lawrence Johnson in 1960.
Successful in business must be mentioned Herman Teske, although not born in Clay Banks. He was somewhat of a patriarch in Carnot where he owned a cheese factory and grocery store. He helped to organize the former State Bank of Forestville and was its only president. The people in Clay Banks showed their confidence in him by electing him town chairman and, in addition, he was chairman of the county highway committee, treasurer of the Carnot school district and treasurer of the Door County Fair Association.
If any reader in Clay Banks knows of others who aspired to prominence in the county and is not mentioned in this article, it is because sources of information failed to mention them.
The history of Clay Banks can be traced to the time of the first explorers who set foot on the Door county peninsula. In 1680, the greatest of French explorers, Robert Cavalier Sieur de LaSalle, having heard of the discovery of the Mississippi by Father Marquette, was commissioned by the king of France to further explore and trace the river to its mouth. That year, with a party of 40 men, LaSalle left Montreal, Canada, in canoes and paddled along the western shore of Lake Michigan southward. When reaching what is now the shore of Clay Banks, LaSalle and his men were running short of food. Disembarking, they mounted the shore but soon found the Indians to be hostile, and in order to protect themselves, LaSalle decided to build a fort. He selected a high point in what is now LaSalle park in Clay Banks and from this elevation he was able to scan the area for the movements of the Indians. Here LaSalle and his men remained several weeks until game was obtained and until his scouts reported that the danger was passed and their journey could be resumed.
When reaching the area where Peoria, Ill., is now located, LaSalle built a trading post. But some of his men, disappointed by privation, hardship and danger, deserted him and decided to return to Montreal. Paddling northward, they again stopped on the shore of Clay Banks in search of food. They penetrated the interior of the forest and were never heard of again.
In 1880, there were found fragments of muskets and some other implements as well as human bones on the farm of Eugene Madoche in Clay Banks. The musket barrels found were of the ancient flintlock pattern, the kind carried by explorers in the 1680’s. The theory has been advanced by historians that these muskets and other implements were carried by LaSalle’s men who deserted him. Thus the history of Clay Banks can be traced back almost 300 years.
Like other immigrants from Europe, why did these Norwegians come to the new world? To gain proper perspective, it is important to understand the conditions under which they lived in their homeland. Here the land was not owned by arrogant nobles. Instead, the government freely gave to each settler a quarter section of wild land if he would live on it and develop it. Here men were free and equal. These conditions, so commonplace to us, were things of wonder and delight to the early homesteaders. They were, therefore, glad to settle in the deep wilderness and toil as never before. Here they had the incentive of freedom, equality and hope of prosperity.
To be sure, theirs was a rugged life, filled with many disappointments, loneliness and danger, but the spark of hope they possessed in their breasts never was extinguished. Eventually, little by little, their clearings widened, their stock multiplied and their hope for independence and prosperity for those who came after them was finally realized. The heritage, which they left to their posterity, consisted of gentle rolling countryside, homes and farms. It attests to the resourceful and progressive qualities of the happy, energetic and hard-working Norwegians.
The Taube or Silverdale school in 1914. The teacher in center background is Charles Nelson. The photograph is from the album of Laurie Robertson, Manitowoc.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
[Adjusting somewhat from Google translate, the pastor's line in Norwegian means, "Yes, you can choose to keep from being a pig for an hour."]
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