In these days when wages of a dollar a hour is not unusual and most people are employed in a gainful occupation, it is hard for us to imagine how our ancestors could have made a living when first moved intothe wilderness with no acres cleared. They could not hire out for wages and money was scarce. They had to work early and late to get the land ready to produce. The first job however was to build a home to shelter them from the cold winters. Log houses must have been common but saw mills were set up within a year after Valton was laid out. WM. Mann built the first saw mill in 1857. It was located on the south side of town and was the first in the township of Woodland.

The first occupation with pay was perhaps school teaching. A school was built in or near Valton after people began moving in. How they were able to raise money to pay the teacher remains a mystery. Men were considered to be worth ten to fifteen dollars more than women. More will be said about this in the chapter about education.

What could people find to eat before the land was cleared? They found some of their living in the woods. Game was plentiful. It is reported that one man killed 60 deer in one season. The rivers and streams must have been full of fish also. Berries of various species were growing wild. There were also nut trees such as Hazel nuts, Butternut and Hickory.

Many of the families bought a cow of two with them. My mother tells about the difficult times they had trying to find the cows in the woods. When the cows were milked, they poured the milk out into pans in the milk house. When the cream had come to the top they skimmed it off and when the cream was ripe they churned it to make butter. They could find some sale for the butter as some might not be so fortunate as to have a cow. Later they took there cream to a factory at Oaks where a man by the name of Clark made cheese and butter.

The first land to be cleared around Valton was on the ridge later owned by David Mortimer and now owned by Harold Mortimer. The way they cleared the land would shock us today. They cut down the trees faster than they could use them up for wood. Perhaps hundreds of cords of wood and excellent logs were rolled into a big bonfire and burned. A lot of the wood was put to good use, however, when it was piled on end and covered with dirt for charcoal. When this pit was burned out the dirt was removed and they found a pile of charcoal that could be taken out in sticks almost the same size as the green logs. Henry Holderman helped burn charcoal on the 40 acres just west of his farm on the ridge. When the charcoal was ready for sale they piled it on big racks, 100 bushel to a load. Mr. Monigan came from Indiana to supervise the work. much of it was hauled to Ironton where it was used to heat Iron Ore. There is a trace of a charcoal pit on the ridge near the four corners on the Valton-Cazenovia road. Charcoal must have been used for a time in the Valton foundry when Levi Frazier made a few kettles & sleigh shoes. John Muholland was his molder.

Another occupation that was note worthy was store keeping. Samuel Mann built the first store in 1857. This building and the saw mill represented the first two businesses that were set up in the town. The next year another store owned by Davis bro's and Benson was built. Alonzo McCoon was also the keeper of the store. According to some he had a store just East across the street from the Creamery. He also opened up a store on the spot were Anna Mortimer's house stands. This last store was later moved farther back to be used as a pig sty.

The supplies for these stores was carried or hauled long distances over trails, not roads, from Portage, Lone Rock and Richland Center. I've heard of men carrying sacks of flour or even rocking chairs long distances across the country on their backs. Sometimes they would be gone almost two week. The Big Store started in 1870 by Craig and Clement's was a place of note for many years. At first it took on the services of a department store and during its years of service to the people handled most kinds of merchandise. Lester Clements was one of the proprietors. While it was not jointly owned they sold dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, bought livestock and staved. The last two named were shipped to Chicago. He Owned 28 village lots and 30 acres of land. When he died the town felt they had lost a valuable citizen. Lewis Lee married a daughter of Clements and took over the store. He built the store bigger and better. He continued as merchant there till moving to Glenlive Montana.

Other proprietors of the Big Store have been Pratt and Stearns, Herbert Mortimer, Bert Mortimer and Arthur Bruce. The lower store was kept by the following in the order they occupied the business: Wilson Mortimer, Abe Gorochow, Will Smith, Charlie Bryan, Ira Tainter, Vilas Eastman, Mr. Robinson, Frank Kuche, Lyle Dietz. This store also housed the Post Office for the last few years that it was in Valton. When cars became plentiful a filling station was built on the corner East of the Big Store. Wesley Shore owned it around 1930. Lewis Manglos bought it about 1937. Later a line of groceries was put in by Frank Kuche. Then Ole Jacobson bought the business and has it as of this writing.

Valton has had a resident doctor several times during those early days. There was not enough doctoring to make a living so he had to fond a second occupation to make ends meet. Dr. John Thompson came to Valton in 1867. He had already had experience as a apprentice doctor and was also interested in milling. He bought the mill and installed stone for grinding feed. His profession took him away from the mill so much that his sons gradually took over the mill and the responsibility of running it. The Norwegian people brought such heavy sacks of grain the boys could hardly handle them. They came from wood to have their grain ground.

Dr. Philip Slack came to Valton in 1890 to be the friends first paid minister. Before that time their minister was a local man who did not expect any pay for his labors. Dr. Slack's pay for one year was only 13 dollars in cash. Dr. Slack was a family doctor for many around Valton in the three years he was there. (An account of his activity will be given in a later chapter.) Other Doctor's who lived at Valton are: Dr. Kassabian (an Armenian), Dr. Bowen, Dr. Curless and Dr. Flowler.

Lime burning : The Lime Kiln Hill has been a familiar landmark during most of Valton's existence. People who used to burn lime there and had charge of the work have gone from our mist. So long ago that only the oldest residents can remember them. The first owner of the business was Elijah (Lije) Hollingshead and the last one was Enoch Horine. About 1890 the last lime was burned today the remaining lime just makes a white spot on the hill. The name of Simon Davis was also connected with the business. He has burned quite a lot of lime also. Other people were allowed to bring in their own lime and burn it. Henry Holderman burned some two different times. There was quite a lime burning business on the J. H. Horrine place, now owned by Jesse Cox in the valley below the Frog Hollow School. Lime sold for 5 to 10 cents a peck. They shipped it to LaValle where it was put on the train. Some lime was used at home in there white wash for the walls of their home and also for mortar. In 1880 Mr. Horrine burned over 1000 bushel of lime.

Barrel making at one time flourished on the lot where the Wesleyan parsonage now stands. Barrel staved and barrel hoops were both made. The well in back of the parsonage was in use when the industry was thriving. Young folks would find employment there during the winter. Several people would be employed at one time. Large piles of Staves were once corded up on the vacant lot between the Woodman Hall and the Will Gibeaut house (now owned by Willis Stittleburg and wife, LaVera Mortimer). After the steel hoops were invented the industry soon died out.

Blacksmithing was a very necessary trade in the new community. I've been told that there were blacksmith shops at the following placed: East of Rev. Hahn's house across the road, (This was owned by John Deerholt): On the lot next to the Valton school, (built by Levi Frazier) later owned by Heywood Frazier, Rhiney Hendericks, Merlin Hendericks and Dick Woolever on the farm east of Wilson Mortimer farm there was a shop. Cy Cox was the owner.

Shoe Making was also tried. The first shoemaker in town lived in the Alvin Stanley house. The two men who made shoes were Carl and Ole Olson. George James made a few pair of shoes when he lived in a house once standing between house now occupied by Rev. Hahn and Rhiney Hendericks. Joe Rbedy once made shoes in the Levi Good house.

Mr. Green who lived in a house just east of Susie Mortimer's house was a furniture maker. Anna Mortimer has a bureau that he made. A furniture store once stood on Susie Mortimer's corner. It was owned by Charley Gibbons. The last casket there was bought for 25 dollars.

Millinery was once sold at Valton. Mae Mortimer once sold ladies hats at a house on the corner near where Rhiney Hendericks house stands. Hattie Smith's sister Mary was a Dress Maker. She had a shop in the house where August Landsinger's live.

Postmaster : The Post Office came to Valton in 1866 and Alonzo McCoon was the first Postmaster. Lester Clemens was Postmaster for a few years. During the Presidency of Cleveland, Bill Gibbons had the job. For three years after 1909 Dell Mortimer was Postmistress. Hattie Smith took it over in 1912 until the Post Office was closed permanently in 1915.

Grist Milling : Nellie Mortimer's Great-Great Grandfather Caleb Harvey built a Grist mill for grinding grain such as corn near the farm building formerly owned by Will Mortimer. Power was obtained from a spring just above the valley. My mother can remember when she went fishing below the mill. Before this mill was built, there was a saw mill on the bank near the Mary Small property. In 1867 John Thompson installed stones so that he could grind feed and even flour. He sold the mill in 1877. Steve Erd and Dave Thompson also ran the mill. It was struck by lighting in 1905 and burned when owned by Martin Mortenson.

Saw Milling : The first saw mill was built by WM. Mann in 1857 just east of Valton. This was the first one in the town of Woodland. Caleb Harvey built one in 1863 in Section 32. Reuben Bunker had a prosperous mill on his property now owned by Elmer Henderson. For the planing of lumber Rhiney Hendericks had a machine installed in his shop. I think that Mr. Bunker was also equipped to do the same work.

Sorghum Making :The climate and the soil in the new community was excellent for the growing of Sorghum Cane and the manufacture of syrup or Sorghum Molasses. The area between Levi Good's house and the John Thompson mill was the scene of such activities for a number of years when Jones and Mortimer made Sorghum they used a huge pan called an evaporator that was % feet by 20 used to boil sown the sweet juice of the cane. In 1880 they produced 4000 gals. of syrup which was half of all produced in Woodland. In one day of twelve hours they would finish off 112 gal. of syrup. The juice was ground out of the cane by a four-horse machine, run by four horses.

Maple syrup and Maple Sugar : Nearly every farm possessed a "nice sugar bush". Which would be sufficient in a good season to yield quite a few gallons on maple syrup and cakes of sugar. Emma Crompton liked to visit a sugar bush near the town. When people put it on the snow it would get hard something like taffy. Emma said she used to put the syrup in her milk.

Watch Repair : Mr. Chamess repaired watches in the house east of the Berberich garage. Where Eddie Small lives now. In Rev. Elmer's house there once was a watch repair shop owned by Sam Thompson.

Harness Repair : Wm. Mitchell repaired harnesses in this same shop later used by Sam Thompson for watch repair. He made other miscellaneous repairs too. I recall when I was a boy taking the spout of our cream separator for soldering.

Carrying Mail : When there was a Post Office at Valton, people found employment carrying mail to Wonewoc. George James, Eddie Mortimer, John Mortimer and Elwood Good. In 1879 Nathan Harvey the job of carrying mail from Cazeniova to Mauston. Mention has been made also that the mail carried from Ironton to Valton before 1866, but there was little or no pay for this.

Carpenter Work : I realize the information on this point is rather incomplete about carpenters in the early days. John Richard, who was doing carpenter work yet when I was just a boy, built Henry Holderman's house. It is perhaps the oldest frame house now standing. The oldest log house in the country is Able Good's house in Frog Hollow. The following people have made carpenter work their trade and living: Roy Carpenter, John Day, and Lona Mortimer. Lona Mortimer built the Friends Parsonage in 1915. Most barns in the community were built in the days when they had barn raising. One or two carpenters on the job would direct the work of a group of men called a "bee". In one day a barn would be raised, beams, rafters, and even some roof boards.

Painting : Valton has something that few communities much larger can boast of, a hall that has been decorated inside, walls and ceilings with scenery painted by a skilled artist. Although the work was done over 50 years ago- 1898-1899, the paintings are surprisingly clear and almost free of smoke. Ernert Heupenden did the work. At that time he was known as the "bum painter". there was a story behind his name, telling of his downfall through the effects of the liquor habit. He married a rich women who was used to serving strong liquor with meals. It wasn't long till he was on the road to " skid row ". It was said that he died by freezing to death in a snow drift. Another painting that he did was found on the Burr Valley road. It showed three scenes of a man who had poisoned cattle and resembled an incident that actually happen. The first picture -- showed a man spreading poison feed in the pasture by moonlight. In the second picture the cattle were lying around dead. In the third picture the is dying and the cattle come back to haunt him. Only the bravest people could think of going by this at night.

Another painter who showed skill was Frank Cosa. He displayed paintings he had painted. They appeared to be the work of a mature artist. He also knew something of mechanical drafting. A family south of Valton have in their possession a set of drawings of which showed a new invention that would pick up stones.

Mollie Turner who lived south of town on the present WM. Holderman farm, worked mostly with pastel colors. Her painting were found in many homes in and around Valton. She continued painting after moving to Stanley Wis. Mrs. Pratt, the wife of the store keeper, had a lot of oil paintings in her house that she had done.

Music Teaching : When I was a boy, a piano teacher visited our town for a short time, long enough to give a few lessons to a small class. Her piano studio was in the house Susie Mortimer now lives . This teacher was Kate McFarland. After she left those wished to continue their music found a teacher in the towns near by, going as far as Reedsburg. When Rev. McCarger was the Friends Minster he had a good class of piano students. Several others have also given lesson through the years.

Farming : This occupation has made the greatest contribution the financial welfare of the town and country around it. It has furnished a living directly or indirectly for everybody. For those living in town it has given them seasonal employment. Most of the crops grown and consumed right on the same farm. The chief aim was the production of milk for cream and butter. The whey, butter-milk, and skim milk were feed to the pigs. The young calves were given whole milk or skim milk. One or two haulers were paid to take the cream from the farmers and deliver it to the creamery. The butter was hauled to a freight station and shipped to Milwaukee or other places.

Butter Making : For many years the Valton Co-op creamery hired a butter maker. Sometimes one of the local boys would take up the trade and when he finished his apprenticeship would take over the duties of buttermaking. Some buttermakers the creamery has had were, Iver Farmness, David Dunnit, Joe Bauer,--( you may think of others ). A secretary was hired to make out the weekly or semi-monthly checks and yearly income from shares. One share sold for 25 dollars. Hattie Smith was secretary for a number of years. Ina Holderman and James Mortimer had this job in the years before the factory burned in 1936. The factory meant so much to the community that one year after it burnt, my father wrote in the assessment the following; Valton is now a dead town since the factory burned. It was caused by the ignition of gasoline that a truck was delivering to the factory. It overflowed and got too near the boiler in the furnace room. The ice that was in the ice house did not burn because it was well covered with sawdust. Several weeks later ice cake could be seen looking out from the cracks in the sawdust. After this the farmers began hauling their milk not cream, to factories in surrounding towns. This was not the first time some of them done this however. For several years there had been competition between Valton, And others in Cazenovia, Reedsburg & etc.

Garage Machinist's :Some of the local boys took up garage work. There has been one in Valton for more than a generation. The Jones brothers have done good garage work, also Lyle Dietz. Ray Berberich has a good business in Valton at present time.

There is one business, though, that has never gotten a place in or around Valton. That is the saloon or tavern. When one was brave or brazen enough to try to get a licenses to sell liquor, the people have gone to the polls to vote it down. Some moonshiners was reported to be carried in prohibition days, but no liquor has ever been sold and protected by law.

Some reference has already been made to the price and wages but this page has been reserved for special facts on the economics of those early days when the country was young.

The land was bought from the government for $ 1.25 an acre. When the land was resold it brought higher prices. From this writing of a former resident I learned that one 80 acre farm was bought for 200.00 dollars and a double barrel shot gun. A farm of 108 acres was bought for $ 1000.00.

There was a sale for wild ginseng which was plentiful in the woods. When green the roots sold for six to seven cents a pound. After being dried it brought 25 cents a lb. My mother told of the time that her mother let her and her sister have some old roots lying in the cupboard. They were hungry for candy so they sold the roots and bought candy, but the amount of candy was so much that their mother was sorry for having given them the ginseng for that purpose.

When the production of sorghum was at its peak in Valton. 4000 gal. a season, it sold for 50 cents a gal. Eggs used to be 9 or 10 cents a doz. and perhaps less at first. Butter has been sold for 18 - 20 cents a lb. in 1915 when war was on the horizon. Butter sold for 35 cents a lb., eggs were 30 cents a doz. a loaf of bread came to 5 cents and a can of salmon was 13 cents. At this time wood sod for $ 2.00 a cord. the year before eggs had sold for 14 cents a doz. there seem to be quite a variation of Prices due to the times.

Shoes were once made in Valton and sold for $ 9.00 a pair. When a days laborer was earning only $ 8.00 for a months wages. Henry Holderman split 1000 rails for Josephs Good when he was 17 and received his pay of $ 10.00 in small change. Wood was selling for 70 cents a cord in 1876. That is what Valton school paid for their wood. In 1867 the district voted at their summer meeting to pay $ 5.00 for 12 cords of good hard wood. In 1870 they got wood for 37 cents a cord. According to the school records Elijah Hollingshead was given the job of making two desk, doing some repair work, patching, and plastering, all for only $ 9.79.

From an old assessment roll made in 1874 the following assessments put a value of $ 15.00 a cow. Horses were valued anywhere from $ 10.00 to $ 50.00. Sheep were put at $ 1.00 each. The value placed on 40 acres was from $ 100.00 to $ 200.00. My grandfather Murdock owned 32 lots in Valton which had a total value of $150.00 Teacher wages will be discussed in the chapter on schools.

Note : If you know more about the prices in the early days, I would be glad to hear from. Some of the facts given above were furnished by people who were raised in Valton and have lived there most of their lives. Some facts were gleamed from an account book that Hattie Smith kept.

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Back-To Chapter One - Settlements before Valton, Page 4.

Forward-To Chapter Three - Getting an Education, Page 6.