Sauk County

Sauk County Was Established

 

In the spring of 1838, three men staked out claims at the present site of Sauk City. By 1840, settlements had been established at what are now Prairie du Sac and Baraboo. Sauk County was formed in 1840 and was surveyed between 1840 and 1845. Description from John W. Hunt's 1853 Wisconsin Gazetteer: "SAUK, County, is bounded on the north by Adams, on the east by Columbia, on the south by Iowa and Dane, and on the west by La Crosse, Bad Ax, and Richland. It was set off from Crawford in 1839 The boundaries were changed March 6, 1849, and further changed 1853. The seat of justice is at Baraboo, on river of the same name, a few miles southeast from the centre of the county. The number of square miles is about 800. The soil, in every part where cultivation has been attempted, produces well, and seems peculiarly congenial to wheat. The timber, except on the Baraboo Bluffs, is oak in its different varieties. There is an almost inexhaustible body of heavy timber, consisting of sugar maple, elm, basswood, iron wood, hickory, butternut, oak, cherry, &c. The surface of the country is generally undulating -- in some places level, in others hilly -- presenting, perhaps, as great a variety as any county in the State. Its leading geological formation is old red sand stone. On the higher points there are occasionally found the remains of the carboniferous lime stone, so abundant in the northwest. There are no mines in the county worked at present with any degree of profit, though there are strong indications of copper, and a considerable quantity (five tons) was once dug on Copper Creek, near Reedsburg. The principal streams are the Wisconsin and Baraboo rivers, Honey, Dell and Narrows creeks. The Wisconsin river has as yet only been used for the purpose of navigation, though at present attention is being called to the construction of a dam across it at the Dells. The following is a pretty accurate detail of the hotels, stores, manufactories, &c., in the county: 13 taverns, 22 stores, 5 groceries, 4 drug stores, 7 tailors, 3 distilleries, 1 brewery, 2 steam saw mills, 4 grist mills, 1 foundry, 1 furniture, 1 machine, 9 shoe, 15 blacksmiths, 6 wagon, 4 coopers, 5 tinners, and 3 jewelers shops, 1 carding machine, 6 lath and picket factories, 1 pottery, and 1 tannery; 302 farms, 7 manufactories, and 821 dwellings; 4 district school houses, 3 select schools, and 3 churches. Population in 1840 was 102; 1842, 393; 1846, 1,003; 1847, 2,178; 1850, 4,372.

Research Resources

Make sure you check the "Research Resources" section! There are books on line: History of Sauk County, c. 1868 (it has all kinds of names and dates of Sauk County families), indexes of books: "The First 100 Years", also "Yankeetown News" from 1890, books for sale, newspaper articles beginning in 1877, helpful links, look up volunteers and local researchers to help you out.