Histories: Trempealeau Co. Historical Accounts:
"History of Trempealeau County Wisconsin,
1917":
Chapter 10:
American Valley
-As
transcribed from page 172
The first settler in American Valley was a man named Kenton, who came
in the early sixties.
Albert Tracy came in the spring of 1865. Sydney Conant and
the Messrs. Taft and Drake came in the fall of that year. The
experience of Conant are typical of early life in that
valley. Starting out on foot from his old home in Amsterdam
he encountered Mr. Tracy, who advised him to settle near
Arcadia. But upon reaching the Tamarack and finding no one
who had heard of Arcadia, he decided to enquire at Bishop's
settlement. Arriving at the settlement he found that he was
at Arcadia itself. From there he went to the head of what has
since been called American Valley and staked out a claim. He
had some breaking done and cut some marsh grass, and then started a
house. Some of the lumber was hauled from
Amsterdam. Most of it, however, was obtained from near what
is now Merrillan, Tracy and Conant going to the woods there with two
yoke of oxen each, and each bringing home a large load of lumber and
shingles. Conant finished the woodwork of his house, but as
the plasterer was taken ill was forced to move in before the interior
was completed. Then came the terrible cold. Dry oak
logs were burned for fuel. The stove was heated red-hot, a small space
around the stove was enclosed with blankets, within which the family
huddled. As soon as the weather moderated Conant made some
plaster from lime, sand and horsehair, which he had secured, and
started plastering. The plaster froze solid as soon as
applied. On the following Sunday, Taft and Tracy helped
complete the work.
Drake was not so fortunate. On his place adjoining Conant's
he had gathered hay, erected a stable and provided for his
stock. Lumber had been hauled for a house, but the weather
was too cold for building operations. His family was then
living near Trempealeau.
The next spring more land was broken and a fair acreage of crops put
in. Breaking the land was an interesting operation.
It was usually done with a big Whitewater plow and four or five yoke of
oxen. The sight and sound of the large "grubs" being torn
from the ground was an interesting one. Often the plow would
be stuck in an unusually large "grub," and this meant a delay of an
hour or more. As the year passed other settlers located in
the valley, but to this day it has retained its original name, given in
honor of the eastern ancestry of the pioneers.