Community Builders
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Notables
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Community Builders 〰️ Notables 〰️
Noble Kirk
Noble Kirk — known to most simply as “ Nobe ” — was born in Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, around 1825. His grandfather had helped found the town in about 1800, and though Nobe arrived a generation later, he grew up in a family rooted in that early Ohio community. His father died when Nobe was still young, leaving his mother, Martina Kirk, to raise five children on her own.
At about 23 years of age, Nobe accompanied his brother and brother-in-law on a journey to the newly established state of Wisconsin. They were in search of a promising location to open a mercantile business, and Nobe joined the trip for what he thought would be a simple vacation.
While in Wisconsin, the group heard of a newly designated county seat north of the state capital — a place called Baraboo. As his companions tended to their business, Nobe decided to do some exploring of his own. He had heard rumors of a small lake a few miles south of town and set out through dense forest to find it. After climbing a wooded hill, he suddenly emerged onto a precipice overlooking one of the most stunning scenes he had ever witnessed: a crystal-clear lake framed by rugged rock formations, tall pines, and graceful birches. The view captivated him. In that moment, as he waved his hat and cheered aloud, he resolved that this was where he would make his home.
Upon learning who owned the land at the southeast end of the lake, Nobe negotiated a purchase, returned briefly to Ohio to settle his affairs, and soon moved permanently to Baraboo. There he and his brother opened a mercantile business in town, but his heart remained at the lake. He established a summer resort there, naming it Kirkland, and gradually expanded his holdings to more than 250 acres at the lake’s south end. He planted vineyards, created picnic grounds, and built lodging for guests.
When the railroad arrived in 1871, its line ran directly past his property along the lake’s eastern shore. The scenic beauty of the area caught the eyes of travelers passing by, and soon thousands began returning to vacation at what had become one of Wisconsin’s most picturesque destinations.
Among Kirk’s many visitors was General Ulysses S. Grant, former president and commander of the Union Army. In 1880, Grant visited Devil’s Lake for a day trip, taking a ride aboard Captain Thompson’s steamer. They landed at Kirkland, where Nobe proudly showed the general his vineyards, picnic grounds, and wine cellar.
A few years later, Kirk married Sarah Warner. The couple, though childless, shared a deep affection for their home at the lake, where they spent their remaining years together.
When Noble Kirk passed away in 1895, he was laid to rest on a bluff overlooking the gap at Devil’s Lake. About a year later, his friend Captain Thompson honored him by hauling a large piece of quartzite from the base of the bluff near Kirk’s home — first by flatcar to Baraboo and then by wagon to the cemetery. That stone still marks his resting place, a fitting tribute to a man who loved Devil’s Lake so deeply that a piece of it now rests with him, his wife, his brother, and his mother.
Information provided by the Sauk County Historical Society
Cathrine Warren
Catherine Warren, whose name still lives on in Baraboo through Warren Street, was born Catherine McKennan in Herkimer , New York, in 1828. In 1855, she married the love of her life, Thompson Warren, a native of Maine born in 1812. Though sixteen years her senior, their age difference did nothing to diminish the strength of their bond.
Thompson Warren had first come to the Wisconsin Territory in 1844, settling in Mineral Point during a period of rapid growth and opportunity. A few years later, he and his two brothers moved to the emerging settlement of Sauk City, where they established themselves in banking and land speculation. In those early days, money could be loaned at rates of 25 percent or more, and land values seemed to double almost overnight. The brothers soon accumulated considerable wealth through their business ventures.
After their marriage, Catherine and Thompson lived in Sauk City until about 1867, when they moved to Baraboo so their five children — three sons and two daughters — could attend the schools there. The family purchased one of the most fashionable homes in town at the time, a large stone villa that stood on a small hill at Ash and Eighth Streets. Several years later, they purchased another home nearby, surrounded by woods and vineyards, where they would spend the rest of their lives. Known as the Warren Homestead, it became a beloved gathering place for family and friends. Their former residence, the grand stone house, was later lowered and moved to make way for new building lots. One of the first buyers was Charles Ringling, who built his large yellow home and carriage house on the site where the Warrens’ old villa once stood.
In 1883, Thompson Warren was elected mayor of Baraboo, serving three terms. A man of enterprise and vision, he remained constantly engaged in civic and business affairs. In 1884, he purchased the old Sumner Hotel downtown, added a third story, and renamed it the Warren Hotel. He also established a bank and acquired land near Oak Park, outside Chicago.
Thompson Warren passed away in 1892, just shy of his 80th birthday. Two decades earlier, in 1872, his brother Marcus had died, and in his memory Thompson purchased a granite obelisk from the Interstate Industrial Exposition in Chicago. The monument, which cost $2,000 to install, was brought to Baraboo and remains an impressive tribute to the family’s legacy.
Catherine outlived her husband by twelve years. She cherished her home on the hill, where she could look out from her bedroom window and see the Baraboo Bluffs in the distance. In July 1904, she awoke in the night and, in what was believed to be an episode of sleepwalking, removed the screen from her window and stepped out onto the porch roof. Tragically, she fell to the ground and died later that day, surrounded by her children and the memories of a long and happy life in Baraboo.
Information provided by the Sauk County Historical Society.
George Brown
George Brown could rightly be considered one of the founders of Baraboo. In May 1847, he laid out a village plat bearing that name. Having arrived in the area a few years earlier, Brown claimed land and water rights along a stretch of the Baraboo River just below a hillside and flat oak savanna to the north. Recognizing the potential for water power, he and his brother William set about improving the site and establishing a village. Around the same time, the county board commissioned the survey of an adjoining village to the north, which they called Adams. It was laid out around a central square intended for the future courthouse. In time, the two villages united under the shared name of Baraboo.
Eventually, most of the Brown family, including George’s parents, settled in the area. His sister, Martha, and her husband, Erastus Langdon, became the first couple married in the Baraboo Valley in November 1844. That evening, as guests gathered for the occasion, a lunar eclipse appeared in the sky, and news finally reached them — two weeks delayed — that James K. Polk had been elected President of the United States.
In 1844, George and William built their first dam. Their initial project was a sawmill to make use of the area’s abundant timber and produce lumber for themselves and for other settlers. While digging the foundation for the mill on the south side of the river, the brothers made a remarkable discovery — bones of a woolly mammoth buried about eight feet below the surface. Judging from the size of the remains, the animal would have been roughly thirty-six feet long.
Two years later, George constructed a grist mill on the north side of the river. The venture proved so successful that by 1847 he planned to enlarge the operation. On December 15 of that year, while raising one of the great timber sections of the addition, tragedy struck. The structure suddenly collapsed. Brown shouted for the men to get clear, but he was unable to escape in time. A heavy timber crushed his head, and though he was carried to a neighbor’s house, he died a few hours later while resting in a rocking chair.
George Brown’s funeral was the first ever held in Baraboo’s original courthouse, a large wooden structure on the north side of the square. His death also brought about the establishment of the first official cemetery in the village, as the county board donated land in the western part of town for burial grounds. Around 1855, his remains, along with others from the Adams and Mount Mercy cemeteries, were moved to Walnut Hill Cemetery, where he rests today.
It is, perhaps, as Brown himself might have said, a peaceful place to sit and ponder “ what if .”
Information provided by the Sauk County Historical Society.
Jacob Van Orden
Jacob “Jake” Van Orden was born in August 1856 in Neosho, a small village in Dodge County, Wisconsin, founded by his father, Lucas Schuyler Van Orden, in 1847. His father, of sturdy Dutch heritage from the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, had come to the Wisconsin frontier in search of opportunity and prosperity. A man of energy and ambition, Lucas Van Orden established both a mill and the first general store in the area and later served as Register of Deeds for Dodge County.
In 1855, he married Jane Struthers, a young schoolteacher from Ohio who had also come west seeking new beginnings. Their son Jacob was born the following year. Fate intervened early in Jacob’s life—his father died before Jacob’s second birthday, leaving his mother widowed at the age of twenty-two.
After attending Ripon College, Jacob moved to Baraboo in 1874, where his maternal uncle, James Struthers, operated a store. Van Orden worked for the firm of Lang & Struthers but soon accepted a part-time position at the neighboring Sauk County Bank. His aptitude for finance was quickly recognized; within a few years, he was promoted to assistant cashier, and at the age of twenty-two, he became cashier in charge of the bank’s daily operations.
In 1880, Van Orden married his college sweetheart, Martha Atwood of Waupun. The couple built their first home on the west edge of Baraboo, just three blocks from the town square. Jacob’s mother lived with them until their growing family—son Lucas Schuyler Van Orden II and daughter Mary Louise—prompted her to build a small cottage next door.
When the Ringling Brothers launched their now-famous circus in 1884, the Sauk County Bank played a key role in financing their early ventures. Van Orden personally approved and signed many of the loans that helped the brothers establish their enterprise. By the turn of the century, as the Ringlings prospered and built their stately homes in Baraboo, the Van Ordens decided to follow suit. They sold their original house to Otto Schadde, who sawed it in two and moved it across town. The couple then commissioned Milwaukee architects Ferry & Clas to design an elegant new residence—complete with three and a half bathrooms, gas and electric lighting, and even a ballroom on the third floor.
Van Orden became president of the Sauk County Bank in 1915, guiding it through the challenges of World War I and the difficult years following the departure of the Ringling Brothers Circus from Baraboo in 1918.
Jacob Van Orden died in 1927 in the home he had built and loved. His wife, Martha, passed away the same year. Their son and daughter-in-law continued to live in the house for several years, and after their son’s death, his widow sold the property to the Sauk County Historical Society—ensuring that the Van Orden legacy would remain an enduring part of Baraboo’s history.
Louis Claude
Louis (Louie) Claude was born in 1825 near Liverpool, England—an early Christmas gift to his parents that year. Trained as a civil engineer, he saw little opportunity for himself in England by his twenties and resolved to seek a new life in America.
Claude left Liverpool on September 17, 1851, filled with mixed emotions—hope for the future and sorrow at parting from his mother. On October 3, he first set eyes on American soil as his ship sailed up the Delaware River toward Philadelphia.
Unable to find work there, he joined a gentleman he called “the professor” on a journey to Cincinnati. Drawn by the allure of the American frontier, the two men bought a small skiff in Pittsburgh and set out to float 500 miles down the Ohio River. The vast forests and untamed landscape exceeded all of Claude’s dreams of the New World, but after about 80 miles, the physical strain of rowing forced them to abandon the attempt. They completed the journey aboard a paddlewheeler instead.
Work continued to elude Claude in Cincinnati, and he soon followed the advice of an acquaintance to move to Kentucky, where he finally found employment surveying a new railroad line—the first steady work he had held in nearly eight years.
Despite his appreciation for the opportunities America offered, Claude was deeply opposed to slavery and made no effort to conceal his feelings. His outspoken views were not well received in the South, and he eventually chose to move north into free territory. That decision brought him to Wisconsin around 1856, where his life changed forever.
Claude fell in love with the beauty of Devil’s Lake and decided to make it his home. In 1857, he built a residence on the north shore, which he named Eagle Crag. Designed in the style of an old English country house, it featured Gothic details and diamond-paned windows. Inside, Claude filled it with carved furniture of his own making, animal skin rugs, and artwork. He also filled it with family—his wife, Elvira Ward, and their two children, Louise and Louis.
After the Civil War, Claude sold part of his north shore property so a hotel could be built at Devil’s Lake. He later designed the plans for its enlargement. The result, The Cliff House, was a three-story Swiss-style building that became the most popular resort at the lake.
Claude’s passion for architecture and art lived on through his children, especially his son Louis, who became a talented architect. The younger Claude worked alongside Frank Lloyd Wright while both were employed by Adler and Sullivan in Chicago. Louis Claude Sr. died in 1893, just as his son was beginning his own practice.
The younger Claude went on to design many notable buildings, including the Baraboo Public Library, the old Baraboo High School, and numerous structures in Madison. He also created the elegant monument that marks his family’s resting place—a fitting tribute to the artistic legacy begun by his father.
Jerry Dodd
Jared Dodd—known to most as “Jerry” or “Uncle Jerry” to those closest to him—was born in Orange, New Jersey, in 1818 to a family of solid English heritage. In 1841, he married his sweetheart, Eliza, and together they settled in Saugerties, New York, a growing community along the Hudson River. There, Dodd operated a successful contracting business and raised six children—three sons and three daughters—all of whom survived to adulthood.
In 1862, amid the turbulence of the Civil War, the Dodd family moved west to Wisconsin and settled on a farm northeast of Baraboo. Their arrival coincided with the height of the region’s hops boom. At that time, eastern hop crops were being devastated by the hops louse, and Sauk County farmers quickly seized the opportunity to grow hops in abundance. When Dodd left New York, hops were fetching around 15 to 25 cents per pound. By the end of the war, prices had soared to 65 cents per pound—and by 1867, even higher.
Dodd eagerly joined in the prosperity, planting as many hops as his land and large family could manage. With six children to help during harvest, his farm thrived. Sauk County soon became one of the largest hop-producing regions in the country, accounting for 20 percent of the national crop in 1867—an estimated two million dollars in value. But the boom was short-lived. A year later, the hops louse reached Wisconsin, the eastern growers recovered, and overproduction caused prices to crash. Though Dodd continued to grow hops afterward, the golden days of 1867 never returned.
Fortunately, Jared Dodd was also a skilled carpenter—and more than that, a master bridge builder. Having constructed several covered bridges in the East, he soon turned his talents to the rivers of Sauk County. His first bridge, built in 1873 near the Island Woolen Mill in Baraboo, stretched 140 feet with no central supports. A few years later, he constructed another at the Walnut Street crossing, spanning 166 feet. He went on to build three bridges near Ableman (now Rock Springs) and two in Fairfield—seven in all across Sauk County. His craftsmanship earned him wide respect, and his reputation eventually led him to construct a covered bridge near Cedarburg, Wisconsin, using lumber from Baraboo.
Dodd often explained that covered bridges were designed not merely for beauty but for protection—their wooden coverings shielded the trusses from the elements, allowing them to endure for decades. His words proved true. When he passed away at the age of 90, many of his bridges were still in use, some lasting more than fifty years.
Baraboo was good to Jared Dodd. He lived a long, full life, leaving behind not only his family but a lasting legacy of craftsmanship that quite literally connected communities across Wisconsin.
Most of Dodd’s covered bridges in Sauk County endured for generations. The last to be removed was the Butterfield Bridge, located along the road to Portage where the Baraboo River runs through the Lower Narrows. It served travelers from the 1870s until 1934. The covered bridge over Narrows Creek at Rock Springs collapsed in 1930 under the weight of a gravel truck.
Today, the covered bridge near Cedarburg remains standing—the final surviving bridge built by Jared Dodd and believed to be the last historic covered bridge in Wisconsin. Built in the same manner as those in Sauk County, it features massive oak planks forming latticework sides that create a sturdy, square tube, later roofed and sided. Dodd’s bridges, many of which spanned more than 150 feet without central supports, were marvels of 19th-century engineering—graceful, practical, and enduring reminders of one man’s craftsmanship and vision.
Information provided by the Sauk County Historical Society
Fanny Morley
Fannie Morley was born in 1859 on her family’s farm northeast of Baraboo, Wisconsin. She was the third of eight children born to Nelson and Adeline Morley, and the oldest daughter.
Fannie attended local schools and, like many young women of her generation, began her career as a schoolteacher. Around the age of twenty, however, she left teaching to take charge of her father’s growing dairy operations. At that time, the Morleys maintained about seventy cows and had earned a strong reputation for the quality of their butter. Far from using old-fashioned hand churns, Fannie oversaw production using large modern tanks that could produce butter in 125-pound batches.
Across from the family’s farm on Terrytown Road, Nelson Morley had constructed a three-story stone building originally intended for cheese making. Under Fannie’s direction, the building was converted into a creamery dedicated to butter production. Through hard work and innovation, the Morleys’ butter soon gained national attention. In 1879, Fannie’s butter won the Sweepstakes Prize at the International Dairy Fair in New York City for the best butter “made at any time or place.” The award brought her both fame and pride, and her portrait even appeared on the cover of the Wisconsin Dairymen’s Association Journal in 1881—an honor she wryly noted might better have belonged to the “Dairywomen” of Wisconsin.
Her father, Nelson Morley, was a strong advocate for Wisconsin’s emerging dairy industry, and Fannie shared his belief that the state would one day be recognized as a national leader in dairy production. Her success at the International Dairy Fair played a significant role in bringing attention to Wisconsin’s agricultural potential.
Restless for new experiences, Fannie eventually sought adventure beyond Wisconsin. In 1886, she sailed for Honolulu in the Sandwich Islands—now Hawaii—where she accepted a position teaching music at a girls’ seminary. A talented musician from a musical family, she quickly endeared herself to her students and the local community. Unfortunately, the health issues she had battled in Wisconsin continued to trouble her, even in the islands’ milder climate.
By the spring of 1888, Fannie’s condition worsened. Despite medical efforts, she passed away just short of her twenty-ninth birthday. In her final days, she worried deeply about her parents and the grief her death would bring them. Her remains were eventually returned to Baraboo after a three-month journey and laid to rest near her family.
Though the Morley family is long gone, their farm still stands on Terrytown Road, and the old stone creamery remains a local landmark. Visitors who pass it might recall Fannie Morley—the gifted young woman whose butter brought national recognition to Wisconsin’s dairy industry.
When the Morleys first settled in Sauk County in the 1850s, they grew wheat, the state’s dominant crop at the time. Like many Wisconsin farmers, they experimented with hops in the 1860s before transitioning to dairy in the following decade. Fannie’s triumph at the 1879 International Dairy Fair marked not only a milestone for her family but also a defining moment in Wisconsin’s rise as “America’s Dairyland.”
Information provided by the Sauk County Historical Society