Baraboo-Kilbourn road. Swinging again to the right the old Indian ford may be seen in the Baraboo River, the highway along the stream occupying the location of an aboriginal trail.

An Early Home

The log cabin of Wallace Rowin (sometimes spelled Rowan or Rowen) was near the large elm tree by the driveway leading to the residence opposite the ford. Rowin came into the lead region of Wisconsin during the excitement in the 30's, was an early resident at Cross Plains, the first to enter land in Columbia county, and one of the first to come to Baraboo. Rowin, and wife, the first country judge of Sauk county, Lorrin Cowles, his daughter, and others are buried on the ridge of land several rods to the left as one travels a block or more towards Ochsner Park.

The City Park

The park was acquired by the city in 1918 and formally opened to the public in 1919. The land was purchased from the Ochsner family, the celebrated Chicago surgeon, Dr. A. J. Ochsner, making his interest in the property a gift to the city.

The First House in Baraboo

At the crest of the river bank in the southwest corner of the park is where the first log cabin, the first house, was built in Baraboo. In it lived Abe Wood, his Indian wife, and their two daughters. Wood & Rowin built the first dam in the Baraboo River, a portion of it remaining a few rods below and to the left of where the cabin stood. When the water is low some of the timbers may be seen in the bottom of the stream, placed there in 1840.

An Old Hop House

North of Ochsner Park, on the Dodd estate at 706 Eighth Avenue, stands an old hop house, a reminder of the days when fortunes were made and lost growing the vine in this region.

Leaving the park at the street in front of the brick residence, the old Ochsner home, and continuing on Seventh Avenue to number 617, is found the pioneer homestead of Col. D. S. Vittum, once the scene of much social gaiety. It was a fine place in its day, crowning a hill amongst the forest trees, but like many early American homes, the time has come when it may be said:

The First School

At 321 Seventh Avenue, the visitor comes to where the first school was erected in the Baraboo valley. The site was selected by Wallace Rowin, W. H. Canfield, and Lewis Bronson. E. M. Hart the first teacher, resided with his girl wife in the lean-to of the log structure. Notwithstanding an abundance of timber in the immediate vicinity, such economy was exercised in erecting the structure, as a tall citizen once remarked, it was necessary to stoop unusually low when entering the door, "and you could throw a cat through the cracks without touching a hair."

CHAPTER II

Old Opera House—Cemetery on the Hill—Deserted Ringlingville—Bunn the Baker of Baraboo

A huge and humorous hoax was the Cardiff Giant. The collapsed humbug was told at every fireside in the land in 1869 and has been retold thousands of times since then. (If the reader is interested go to the Carnegie Free Library, Baraboo, and obtain a copy of the Century Magazine, vol. 64,—new series of Century is Vol. 42—Oct. 1902, page 948; or read in the Sauk County History, 1880, page 547.) The figure was made at Fort Dodge, Iowa, shipped to Chicago, where finishing touches were made, and later taken to Binghampton, New York, then buried on the Newell farm at Cardiff. Not long after the giant was exhumed and still later the fraud was exposed. One of the star actors in the performance was George Hull, who came from Binghampton, New York, to Baraboo, in 1867, and manufactured cigars in a shelly kind of a structure at 614 Oak Street, next to the alley, across the thoroughfare from the rear of the Warren Hotel. While Hull was away the building was burned. It is stated there was insurance of $12,000, that Hull settled for $1,000, and many people said, "Nigger in the fence."

Where Celebrities Were Heard

At the northeast corner of Oak and Fifth, 701-705, now occupied by a garage, was located the old Opera House. Here were heard such characters as Robert G. Ingersoll, the skeptic; W. J. Bryan, the silver-tongued orator; Elbert Hubbard, a victim on the Lusitania; Opie Read, the author; Robert M. La Follette, the senator; and many others. Nat Goodwin, Salvini and stars of divers magnitude played here and noted musicians filled the structure with their harmonious reverberations. The old building burned on February 22, 1905.

The Oldest Living Thing in Town

If, perchance, one dwells in a town where the inhabitants do not keenly appreciate the pleasure derived from rare old trees, or where the authorities have destroyed many a precious one, the visitor will be charmed with the beauty of the streets of Baraboo. In many places grand old elms arch the thoroughfares, giving wondrous beauty to the vista and shade in the mid-summer season.

The gnarled burr oak nearly opposite the garage, standing at 708 Oak Street, is without doubt the oldest living thing in the town. An appreciative magazine editor once graced the pages of his publication with a story of this old oak and since then it is often spoken of as the "Magazine Tree."

Church With Memorial Windows

On the northeast corner of Oak and Sixth Streets is seen Trinity Episcopal Church, a charming edifice of Gothic design, adorned with several memorial windows. A bronze tablet on the interior speaks of the long service of out of the rectors, Rev. Samuel B. Cowdry.

A Giant of the Town

A few paces on the opposite side of the street towers a giant cottonwood, one of the largest trees in town. It stands nearly in front of the residence at 821 Oak. Here Mrs. August Ringling, the mother of the circus brothers, enjoyed the evening of life and died in 1907. The daughter, Mrs. Harry North, and her family resided here until the spring of 1919 when they moved to the stone mansion at 617 Broadway.

Diagonally across the way, 107 Seventh Street, is the home of the late J. J. Gattiker, one of the early residents of the town. It is now occupied by his two daughters. This delightful old home, with its luxurious shrubbery and garden, its extensive library and pipe organ, has long been a gathering place for the literary and musical folk of Baraboo.

Passing up the street one block brings the stroller to Eighth, and to the left about two blocks, number 234, is the late home of A. G. Ringling, the first of the seven brothers to answer the call of death. The home is now occupied by Mrs. Ringling.

Relatives of a Movie Star

Just east of the Ringling residence, 218 Eighth Avenue, a small house is half hidden behind a group of pines, the place where Clara Kimball Young's grandparents, Professor and Mrs. J. S. Kimball, resided for many years. The parents of the movie star, Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Kimball, dwelt there with the professor and his wife for a year or more when the daughter was in her infancy.

Other Ringling Homes

On up Oak Street, number 103 Tenth, stands the home erected by the late Alf. T. Ringling, who died at Oak Ridge, New Jersey, October 21, 1919. The place is surrounded by a vineclad, sandstone retaining wall, has a commanding view, and is well appointed within. The place is now the home of Mrs. Ringling. Henry Ringling died in September, 1918, in the colonial house at 201 Eighth, erected by Charles E. Ringling and occupied by the family for a number of years. Mrs. Henry