The
City of Independence is situated at the confluence of a creek and a
river. Elk Creek flows from the north through the beautiful Pleasant
Valley into the Trempealeau River, a tributary of the Mississippi. The city lies on a
plain which is surrounded by wooded hills and valleys, with good roads
radiating in all directions through excellent farm land. Independence is a
flourishing city with a metropolitan population of over 1100. It enjoys
orderly municipal government, has public and parochial schools,
churches, a bank, retail stores, manufacturing plants, a post office,
publicly owned utilities, a medical clinic, a tri-county mental health
clinic, a tri-county telephone system, a weekly newspaper, a well
organized fire department, a large feed mill, a lake, a locker plant,
parks, taverns, restaurants, a large beer distributorship, and many
other enterprises. The citizens of the
city and surrounding area are descendents of early settlers who braved
the frontier and came to the west from New England, England, Scotland,
Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Poland, and Bohemia. Events Preceding The Founding of Independence What we know today
as Wisconsin had been for centuries the homeland of the Indians who
subsisted on its bounties. Spain, France, and England claimed
sovereignty over it by virtue of discoveries, explorations, and
conquests. The Revolutionary War brought it under United States control. The Ordinance of
1787 established the Northwest Territory, which included all of the
country north of the Ohio River and west of Pennsylvania as far as the
Mississippi River. Within this territory the domain of Wisconsin
remained, until 1800 when it became a part of Indiana Territory formed
that same year. Next, Wisconsin was made a part of Illinois Territory,
then of Michigan Territory, which included all of the present State of
Iowa. Wisconsin was created a territory in 1836. By the year 1837 the
Indians of western Wisconsin had been induced to surrender their land
to the United States Government and remove themselves to areas west of
the Mississippi River. The government then opened the land for
settlement at $1.25 per acre. In 1848 Wisconsin became the 30th state
of the union. Shortly after,
Trempealeau County was created in 1854, there was an influx of settlers
into the present Township of Burnside. Among the first was William S.
Werden, who in 1855 filed a land claim and in 1858 obtained title to it
from the United States Government. Nothing is known of Werden or the
location of his dwelling if any, nor whether he cultivated any of the
land. In 1872 Werden sold
out to Lawrence Pampuch, a Polish Silesian, who had recently arrived
with his family from the village of Poppelau, Upper Silesia, Prussia.
For a time the family lived in a log house, on the present Osseo Road,
on property now owned by Edward J. Kulig. Pampuch raised wheat on 280
acres, part of which was to become the business district of
Independence. Burnside - Cradle of a City It is fitting that
we pause and consider some of the highlights in the history of the
Township of Burnside, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin. It was through the
efforts of its early settlers that resulted in the building of the
railroad depot in Independence in 1876, a landmark in the history of
the village and the City of Independence. The township was
created in 1863 and named in honor of Ambrose E. Burnside, a general in
the Union Army during the Civil War 1861-1865. The first town
meeting was held on April 6, 1864 in the home of Giles Cripps one of
the very early settlers in the then non-existent Burnside Township. The
house was built of logs in 1856 and was replaced, on the same site,
about 1863 by the present dwelling, located two miles north of
Independence on Highway 93 near the former Cripps School, the dwelling
is unoccupied and is currently owned by Andrew Deino. The nine men who
attended the first meeting were: A.C. Baker, Charles Lynn, Peter Sura,
Lawrence Bautch, Talcot Moore, Giles Cripps, George H. Markham, H. C.
Rurnsey, and George E. Parsons. The following were
elected to office for the year of 1864: George E. Parsons, Chairman;
Talcot Moore and H.C. Baker, Supervisors; George H. Markham, Town
Clerk; H.D. Rumsey, Justice of the Peace; H. L. Rumsey and Lawrence
Bautch Constables. Giles Cripps was
unanimously elected overseer of the highways. Board supervisors were
appointed to confer with Giles Cripps and H.W. Whitemore about a
purchase of a burial ground for which $5 had been appropriated. It was voted that
the next town meeting should be held in the school house, District No.
1, (Cripps) this being the only school at that time. The financial
statement for the first year 1864 to April 1865 was: county and state
tax $245,17; town tax $155; school tax $270; for a total of $670.17.
After the orders were paid for the year the town had a balance on hand
of $99.06. In the pioneer days
grain was the source of money income. The crop report of 1875 showed
that there were 5082 acres of grain in the fertile soil of Burnside of
which 2483 were seeded in wheat. The April 7, 1874
meeting raised $40 expense money for George H. Markham and James L.
Hutchins to see the railroad officers in Green Bay regarding the
location of a depot in the township. Because the town clerk's duties were getting bigger and more complicated James Post was appointed deputy clerk. In 1879 the people
living in that part of Burnside which presently comprises the Town of
Chimney Rock, Township 23, agitated for a separate township of their
own. In the 1880 spring election the Chimney Rock proposition was
defeated by a vote of 162 to 148. However, there was a favorable vote
in the spring of 1881 and Chimney Rock became a separate township on
November 22, 1881. On March 29, 1898
the boards of Independence and Burnside Township met to divide property
jointly owned as of April 26, 1897. It was agreed that the Town of
Burnside shall have and own all property owned jointly and that in
consideration of the interest of the Village of Independence had in the
property Burnside shall pay $200 to the village. An agreement to this
affect was signed by the two boards on May 29, 1898. George H. Markham
and Giles Cripps were two people who had much to do with the affairs of
Burnside when it was only an infant. Markham was its first town clerk
and later held public offices in Burnside and Independence. He also
served in the state assembly. Cripps was the first town treasurer,
clerk and supervisor and also town chairman for five years. Herman Wolfe was
town clerk from 1921 to 1953. Julius Sylla was town chairman for 4
years and town clerk from 1900 to 1921, a total of 25 years. James
Hunter was town chairman from 1898 to 1922. Henry Russel was chairman
for 17 years. Peter A. Woychik was treasurer for 4 years and
chairman for 13 years a total of 17 years, George Graul served the town
board as supervisor, assessor for 9 years and clerk of the New City
School District for a total of 42 years of public service. Many other people devoted long years of service to the township and other organizations. Of the present town
offices, as of 1976, Adolph Gierok, has served the longest. He was town
treasurer for 13 years and has been town clerk for 23 years a total of
37 years. He had also been a school district clerk for 7 years. William
"Bud" Kwosek also has a long period of township service. He was
assessor for 8 years and treasurer since 1953 for a total of 30 years.
He also served on the district school board from 1941-1948. Since 1974
he has been the township's first full-time maintenance man. Alex
Killian and Lawrence Bautch have been township supervisors for
approximately 3 years. Vince Karasch was recently appointed as
assessor. Gerald Wronske became constable about 2 years ago. John Watek served on
the town board from 1953 to 1971 - 2 years as supervisor and 16 years
as chairman. He has been a member of the Trempealeau County Board since
1957 and its chairman since 1963. Prior to the
district school consolidations there were several schools in the
township, among them Cripps, New City, Wickham Valley, Borst Valley,
Farmers or Zimmers School. Burnside Taxes - A Century Ago Taxes of every kind
are a touchy subject and can generate heated arguments. They are always
too high but never too low. Today the variety of taxes seems infinite
in contrast to what they were a hundred years ago. Our pioneers were
mainly confronted with taxes on real estate and personal property and
if they had any comments they are unrecorded. Below are a few
examples of real estate and personal property taxes paid as shown in
the 1875 Town of Burnside tax receipt book when James Reid was
treasurer. Land valuations are not given in the tax book, but remember
that settlers had recently bought the former Indian lands from the
government at $1.25 per acre. Frank Shivek paid $12.11 on 80 acres plus
personal property; David Garlick paid $10.03 on 160 acres plus personal
property; George H. Markham paid $69.45 on 640 acres plus personal
property and tax on "Ronceval" the Markham Castle; George Burrows paid
$53.85 on 1080 acres; Giles Cripps paid $53.93 on 478 acres; Martin
Borst paid $66.94 on 1416 acres plus personal property; lgnatz Gierok
paid $4.96 on 40 acres plus personal property. Records are not readily
available as to taxes on land presently covered by the Independence
business area. Current taxes on the above items would probably seem astronomical. The 1895 township
assessment role listed 12 bicycles and 33 gold and silver watches all
items of which were taxable. Horses were assessed at 20 to 30 dollars,
cattle at 5 to 20 dollars and swine at 2 dollars each. Charles Weideman
had 40 head of cattle and 8 horses. John Sprecher had the most personal
property, evaluated at $6205. Letter to the Editor The following is an exact copy of a letter which appeared in the May 19, 1876 issue of The Trempealeau
Republican of which C.A. Leith was the editor. In the second paragraph
correspondent William Hunter refers to activities which gave birth to
Independence though when he wrote the site had not yet been named. The
Jack Bampoo in the second paragraph apparently referred to Lawrence
Pampuch, owner of the site. The May 19, 1876 issue featured many articles and illustrations on the Nation's Centennial exposition at Philadelphia.
FROM BURNSIDE
Burnside May 14,1876
Friend Leith-Since
spring again has shown its fine face, the flowers begin to smile again
and cheer the toiler on. Since spring set in everyone has been busy
with their spring's work although the spring has been considerable
earlier than we expected after such a mild winter it has come at last
and most of the farmers are through with their small grain seeding.
Some few who were behind with their fall plowing are still busy yet,
and on a good many places the grubbing picks are started, and as soon
as the weather will warm up a little, corn planting will be on hand.
Grass comes very slow as there is little or none to be seen yet, it is
hard on the cattle as the hay is nearly all played out.
While the farmers
are busy I see they are getting quite a stir in the neighborhood of New
City with the depot. They have started to build at last. There is quite
a number of men at work. They have commenced to build the station
house. It is to be 26 x 50 feet. They are building it on the grounds
formerly owned by Jack Bampoo of Elk Creek about a mile and a half
above New City and the surveyor with his crew are busy at work laying
it out in lots and the lots will be for sale in a few days and Mr.
Noteman thinks the company will sell some at very reasonable prices. As
the grounds are about five feet above high water mark there will be no
danger of people being flooded out by every thunder storm we have in
the spring as has been the case so far at Arcadia, and we should get
the county seat here as it will be about the center of the county,
there will be no danger of the sheriff having to open the jail door to
save the prisoners from being drowned every spring or heavy rain that
comes as would most likely be the case at some of the other points on
the R.R., who think they have a better right to it than we have. We
will have quite a number of new buildings going up soon.