Joseph Call was the first settler in Yorkville. He located at what is now known as Ives Grove, in the summer of 1835. He built a log house which he afterwards kept as a tavern.
In the fall of 1835 Nelson A. Walker bought a quarter section claim, from Call, at the Grove, immediately went upon it, and worked it from March, 1836, until the fall of that year, when his family joined him. Mr. Walker says that when he bought his claim the only white woman in Yorkville was Mrs. Betsey Call, and there was no house between the Grove and Rochester. He found at the Grove, in addition to Call, Samuel Kerr, Daniel Whitmore and Samuel Daniels, who each had a claim, but lived together.
Mr. Walker lived on his claim until 1838, when he removed to Mr. Pleasant, where he has since resided. It is worthy of mention that when Mr. Walker came into the country he walked from Toledo, Ohio, to Wisconsin.
George Nichols and Charles Nobles were among the earliest settlers in the town, coming in in 1836. Early in 1837 or late in 1836 Marshall M. Strong and Stephen N. Ives purchased Joseph Call's claim, upon which his tavern was situated, and in May, 1837, sold it to Roland Ives, who then located upon it, his family arriving in May, 1838. The grove has ever since been known as "Ives Grove." John Nobles settled at the same place in the spring of 1837.
In 1837 L. S. Blake made a claim of 160 acres in another part of Yorkville, and sold it to Cornelius Brezee, who settled on it with his family in June, 1837, and there lived until his death.
Charles C. Wait and Alexander Gray, accompanied by George Nichols, came to Yorkville in 1837. Mr. Wait and Mr. Nichols had made their claims in November, 1836, and located with their families in March 1837. Mr. Wait, in 1835, came from Vermont, to Troy, N. Y., via the Champlain and Troy canal, thence to Buffalo by canal, from Buffalo to Detroit on the steamer "North America," from Detroit to Niles, Mich., traveling upon foot, from Niles to St. Joseph, and thence across the lake on a vessel to Chicago; thus, in his own experience, realizing the difficulties and vicissitudes of a journey to the remote West in that early time.
Mr. Wait is yet the owner of 120 acres of land in Yorkville, for which he received a patent from the government, and which he has never removed from, conveyed or incumbered.
Reuben Wait, father of Charles C. Wait, settled in Yorkville on the 8th of April, 1838. The first school in the town was taught in Reuben Wait's house, in the winter of 1839 and 40, by Levantia Barnum. There were eight scholars in attendance, and the teacher was employed by Mr. Wait at his personal expense.
Among the other early settlers should also be named Edward Buchan, Robert Bell and Col. F. F. Lincoln, who came in 1837. He made his claim in June, '36, then went away, and returned in September, '37. Mr. Lincoln is remembered to have traveled through the settlements in the early days threshing with a flail.
Mr. Collar and the Northways came in 1836, and were among the earliest settlers.
Abram Gilmore, in September, 1840, also settled in Yorkille, where he has ever since resided.
In 1838 Arba. B. Terrell located at Ives Grove. He was a carpenter by trade, and a great mimic, when amusement among the settlers was desired. He built Elisha Raynonds's first barn in Raymond.
In September, 1838, Owen Campbell bought the claim of N.A. Walker, paid $1,000 for it, and purchased the land at the land sales. He came out first with Roland Ives, in 1837, and in the subsequent year settled on his claim as the future home of himself, his wife and ten children, who were thus early in years introduced to the hardy experience of pioneer life. Forty acres of his claim was improved.land.
The settlers in this locality were particularly exposed to prairie fires. The grove standing like an island in the prairie, all around it the fires were accustomed to sweep, by night and by day, exposing property and sometimes life to danger.
Dr. Homer Campbell, a son of Owen Campbell, tells me that although exposed to some privations and dangers the settlers were contented and happy. For meat they depended chiefly upon game, in the summer season, which was everywhere abundant. They ate their meals from pewter plates, and submitted cheerfully to the inconveniences of their situation.
Religious services on Sunday, were held at the houses of the settlers when a passing missionary came, or opportunity was otherwise afforded.
Mr. Campbell was a justice of the peace, in his town, seven years, and was familiarly known as Esquire Campbell far beyond his neighborhood.
Ebenezer Heald settled at Ives Grove in June, 1837. He occupied the claim of Samual Daniels until May, 1838, when he made a claim in Dover, where he built a log house, which was burned. This misfortune pushed him further west, and he made a claim and permanently settled in Burlington where, in 1840, his daughter, now the wife of Mr. John Wilson, of Racine, taught school.
The first white child born in Yorkville was Mrs. Mary Jane George, daughter of Nelson A. Walker, born May 13th, 1838.
YORKVILLE TOWNSHIP-1916
The Town of Yorkville is one of the southern tier. It is bounded on the north by the Town of Raymnd; on the east by Mount Pleasant; on the south by Kenosha County, and on the west by Dover Township. It embraces Congressional Township 4 North, of Range 21 East, and has an area of thirty-six square miles. The South Fork of the Root River flows in a northerly direction through the central part, and this stream, with its tributaries, affords good natural drainage to the entire township. The surface is generally level, or slightly rolling, and the soil is above the average in fertility.
To Joseph Call belongs the distinction of having been the first settler in Yorkville. He located at what is now known as Ives' Grove in the summer of 1835, built a log house, and afterward conducted it as a tavern. The fall after he located there he sold 160 acres of his claim to Nelson A. Walker, whose family came the following March. When Mr. Walker bought his claim in the fall of 1835, there was not a single house between Ives' Grove and the settlement at Rochester, and Mrs. Call was the only white woman in the Town of Yorkville. Other early settlers were Samuel Daniels, Daniel Whitmore and Samuel Kerr, who all lived together in one cabin, though each had a claim of his own. In 1838 Mr. Walker sold his claim and removed to Mount Pleasant
Charles Nobles and George Nichols settled near the Grove in 1836. Late in that year or early in 1837, Marshall M. Strong, of Racine, and Stephen N. Ives purchased Joseph Call's claim, including his tavern and in May, 1837, sold it to Roland Ives, from whom the name of the grove was derived. About that time John Nobles settled at Ives' Grove and L.S. Blake made a claim in another part of the township, but soon afterward sold it to Cornelius Brezee, who settled upon it in June, 1837, and there passed the remainder of his life.
Alexander Gray, accompanied by Charles Waite, came in 1837. Other settlers of that year were: Robert Bell, Edward Buchan, Ebenezer Heald, Owen Campbell and
Col. F. F. Lincoln. Colonel Lincoln had been here in June, 1836, and selected his claim, but did not become a permanent settler until in September, 1837. In the early days he traveled through the different settlements threshing wheat with a flail, in the use of which he is said to have been an expert.
In April, 1838, Reuben Waite, father of Charles E. Waite, located near his son. He was one of the most public spirited of the early settlers. Late in the year 1839 he concluded that the children of the neighborhood ought to attend school, so he fitted up part of his house for a school room and employed Levantia Barnum at his own expense as a teacher. Eight scholars attended the school, which ran through the greater part of the winter.
Another settler of 1838 was Arba B. Terrell, who located at Ives' Grove. He was a carpenter by trade and had no trouble in finding employment. One of the buildings he erected was the first barn of Elisha Raymond, in the Town of Raymond. He was something of an elocutionist, a great mimic, full of good humor, and was quite a favorite at entertainments.
In the fall of 1838 Owen Camp purchased Nelson A. Walker's claim for $1,000, Mr. Walker removing to Mount Pleasant, as above stated. Mr. Campbell had first come to the county the year before with Roland Ives. Forty acres of his claim had been improved by Mr. Walker. His family consisted of a wife and ten children. One of his sons, Homer Campbell, afterward studied medicine and practiced his profession for years in Racine County. Owen Campbell was one of the early justices of the peach of Yorkville.
The first white child born in the township was Mary Jane, daughter of Nelson A. Walker, who was born on May 13, 1838. A few months later her parents removed to Mount Pleasant, where she grew to womanhood and married a man by the name of George.
Yorkville Township was first erected by an act of the Legislature, approved on February 7, 1842. Section 4 of the act provided: "That all that part of the Towns of Mount Pleasant, Burlington and Rochester comprised within the following limits, to wit: Commencing at the southeast corner of Section 25, Township 3 North, Range 21 East; running west to the southwest corner of Section 27, in Township 3, Range 20; thence north eleven miles to the north line of the County of Racine; thence east on said line to the northeast corner of Section 1, in Township 4, Range 21; thence south to the place of beginning, shall be and is hereby set off into a separate town by the name of Yorkville."
The boundaries as above described included all the present Town of Yorkville, except a strip one mile wide across the south side, all of Raymond, the eastern half of Norway, and the eastern half of Dover, except Sections 34, 35 and 36. The act also stipulated that the first election should be held at the house of E. Adams.
When the Town of Raymond was set off by the act of February 2, 1846 -- under the name of Black Hawk -- Section 10 provided: "That all that district of country comprised in Township 3 North, Range 21 East, and the east half of Township 3 North, of Range 20 East, in Racine County, be and the same is hereby organized into a separate town to be all the town of Yorkville, and the first town meeting in said town shall be held at the house of E. Adams."
By this act the southern boundary of the town was extended to what is now the Kenosha County line, and when the Town of Dover was created Yorkville was reduced to its present area. A division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul Railway system runs across the southern part of Yorkville and there are two stations in the township -- Sylvania (formerly called Windsor), near the eastern boundary, and Union Grove, in the southwest corner. The latter is an incorporated village. In 1910 the population of Yorkville, not including the Village of Union Grove, was 1,146, and in 1915 the property was assessed at $3,164,022.
SYLVANIA-1916
This is a small railway station on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad in the southeastern part of Yorkville Township, ten miles west of Racine. It was formerly known as Windsor Station. A few dwellings in the immediate neighborhood and the little station building constitute the entire village.
IVES GROVE-1916
IVE'S GROVE SCHOOL
One of the early settlements of Racine County was made at Ives Grove in the summer of 1835 by Joseph Call. The Grove is situated in the eastern part of Yorkville Township, in Section 12, Township 3, Range 21, on the road leading from Racine to Rochester. In the latter part of 1836 or early in 1837, Joseph Call sold his claim to Marshall M. Strong and Stephen N. Ives, who in turn sold it to Roland Ives and soon after that a postoffice was established there and given the name of "Ives Grove," by which the place has ever since been known. The postoffice has been discontinued and the inhabitants now receive mail by rural carrier from Union Grove.
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YORKVILLE -1916
The old postoffice of Yorkville was established at an early date a little north of the center of Yorkville Township. It was on the old mail route between Racine and Mineral Point and a little hamlet grew up there, but no plat of a village was ever officially made or recognized by the authorities. The postoffice was discontinued some years ago and the people of that section now receive their mail by rural carier from the postoffice at Union Grove, which place is the nearest railroad station. Yorkville, as shown by the Wisconsin Gazetteer for 1916, has a general store, a dealer in hardware and agricultural implements, a nursery, a creamery, a blacksmith shop and a few dwelling houses.
HISTORY OF EARLY UNION GROVE
