through a similar opening at the eastern extremity of the depression.

The first families came to Baraboo about 1840, among them being those of Eben Peck, Wallace Rowin, and Abe Wood. The water power was the loadstone that attracted these first settlers, Peck laying claim to the land at the "lower oxbow" and the other two to the power site at the "upper oxbow" of the Baraboo river. Eben Peck was the first to erect a house in Madison, Mrs. Peck was the first white woman in the Baraboo valley, and their only daughter, Mrs. A. S. Hawley, the first white person born in Madison, now resides in the neighboring village of Delton.

Museum in Courthouse

The museum of the Sauk County Historical Society in the courthouse contains many relics of pioneer times and pictures of the pioneers themselves. There are cases of stone and copper Indian relics; display of badges given by the late Philip Cheek, at one time department commander of the Grand Army of the Republic of Wisconsin, by Mrs. Cheek, by C. S. Blanchett and others; number of flintlock and other old guns; exhibit of polished shells, stalactites, and many very interesting curios of this locality. The society also possesses a remarkable collection of handmade tools.

The First Courthouse

The first courthouse in Baraboo stood on the north side of the square at about 120 Fourth Avenue. The second story was used by the pioneers, not only for a courtroom but for church, school, lecture and dancing hall. On one occasion citizens began to arrive for both religious services and a dancing party, there being some mistake in announcing the two events. For a time there was some question as to how the matter would terminate when a violin was brought forth and the floor was soon filled with dancers indulging in the light fantastic. After being deserted by the county officers, and while being used as a saloon, the building was burned on the night of July 4, 1857.

The Al. Ringling Theatre

The beautiful Al. Ringling theatre, 136-140 Fourth Avenue, just west of the old courthouse site, was erected by the oldest of the circus firm of Ringling Brothers on the ground once occupied by the Wisconsin House, the brick portion of which was known in pioneer times as the Little Dutch Tavern. The theatre, a building of unusual beauty, was built in 1915, at a cost of about $100,000. The interior is of French design; instead of a gallery there is a crescent of seventeen boxes above the main floor. The building seats almost 1,000 persons and was opened to the public on the night of November 17, 1915, the owner, then in ill health, being barely able to be present. Mr. Ringling died soon after, January 1, 1916, in the large mansion around the corner to the right.

The Al. Ringling Residence

The Al. Ringling residence of Lake Superior brown stone was erected in 1909, the cost being about $100,000. Here the funeral of a brother, Otto Ringling, was held in 1911. Otto was born in a small frame house that stood about where the north wall of the mansion is located. The only sister of the Ringling Brothers, Mrs. Harry North, and her family now occupy the home.

The First Church

Across the street to the east of the Al. Ringling residence stood the first church in the Baraboo valley. One winter day in January, 1850, a band of Christian workers cleared away the snow, erected a building 36 by 74 feet from rough boards, filling the spaces between the walls with sawdust, and covering the floor with the same material. A bronze tablet on the treebank marks the site.

An Early College

In the days before high schools every village with any pretence to enterprise and enlightenment had a select school or college. The building at the rear of the Ringling residence, 221 and 223 Fifth Avenue, was the home of the Baraboo Collegiate Institute, established in 1858. With the opening of the free high school in Baraboo in the late 60's the institution closed its doors. Originally the building faced the east.

A Literary Atmosphere

The street later boasted a literary atmosphere as a little farther to the west, at number 316 Fifth Avenue, lived Jack Boyle, the genial author of the widely read Boston Blackie stories, during the winter of 1919-'20.

Library Where a Church Stood

Turning to the left at the corner of Fifth and Birch, one block brings the loiterer to the Carnegie Free Public Library, standing on the site of the Free Congregational Church. In the old church Samuel Longfellow, a brother of the New England poet, expounded the doctrines of Unitarianism, the choir singing hymns of his composition. In the same building A. Bronson Alcott interpreted transcendentalism, and Rev. Frederic May Holland, a cousin of Louisa M. Alcott, was heard there.

Home of the Gollmars

A little to the south of the library, 507 Birch Street, is the home of the late Mr. and Mrs. G. G. Gollmar, parents of the Gollmar Brothers who owned a circus for many years. The Gollmar sons and daughters are cousins of the Ringlings. The house is now occupied by a daughter, Mrs. Armor Brown.

Where The Ringlings First Pitched a Tent

Turning to the left on Second Avenue one block, then to the right one block, brings the visitor to the county jail, the site where Ringling Brothers first pitched their "big top," May 19, 1884. The old jail stood farther back on the lot and the circus was given near the avenue, the gate of the fence enclosing the grounds standing open all day.

Although they had given hall shows before the first circus performance beneath a tent, that afternoon in May was the beginning of a road which ended in the making of several millionaires.

Across the street and a little to the west, 210 Second Avenue, is where August Ringling (originally spelled Rungeling), the father of the showmen, died in 1898. The family previously lived at number 227, almost at the end of the block on the opposite side of the thoroughfare.

A Dream of Jugs

Continuing on Second Avenue one is reminded that on the side of the hill there was once a pottery where jars and jugs were produced in profusion. With the poet one can almost hear the potter sing:

The Lincoln Elm

The large elm in front of the residence at 506 Second Avenue was planted by the late State Senator Frank Avery on the day the news of the assassination of President Lincoln reached Baraboo in April, 1865. It is known as the Lincoln elm. As with the martyred Lincoln a tragedy came to the tree one day—Jove shot a thunderbolt into its branches, badly injuring it.

No Lions Now

Continuing down the street, the ground to the left and adjacent to the river, was the winter quarters of the Gollmar Brothers' Circus for many years. The circus was established in 1891, was conducted by Charles A., Benjamin F., Fred C., and Walter S., and sold by them in the fall of 1916 to the Patterson Carnival Company.

Largest Mill This Side of Philadelphia

Across the river stands the Island Woolen Mill (owned by the McFetridge family) the largest plant of its kind west of Philadelphia.

Lyons

Crossing the concrete bridge over the Baraboo River, where the inviting pergolas stand at the ends of the dam, one is in the village of Lyons, platted by W. H. Canfield in 1846, the first plat in the Baraboo valley, and named for Lyons, New York.

Going several blocks to the right after making the first turn, the traveler is on the