Jacob SPAULDING

1810 - 1876  (65 years)

• Name	Jacob SPAULDING
  Birth	2 Jul 1810	New Marlborough, Berkshire County, Massachusetts   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	Businessman. sawmill owner, politician
  Death	23 Jan 1876	Worcester, Chippewa County, Wisconsin, USA
  	22 Jan according to Spalding Memorial
  Burial	25 Jan 1876	Black River Falls, Jackson County, Wisconsin, USA   [2]
  Notes	Spaulding name Black River Falls legend Jacob Spaulding came to the Black River Falls area before 1840 when he and his colleagues established a sawmill. Later Spaulding, considered the founder of Black River Falls, bought out his partners and developed other interests in the community. A few early settlers have become legends among present day area inhabitants because of contributions they made to what is here today. Jacob Spaulding, founder of Black River Falls who died 100 years ago, in 1876, was one of those. Local historians refer to him so often that "newcomers" not familiar with Black River Falls history are inclined to think he died just a few years ago. A physical giant of a man, his extraordinary strength carried him through many hardships of pioneer trials in the Black River wilderness. When Spaulding came to Jackson County in 1839, the only means of transporting large cargoes was via the Black River. Overland Indian trails were so narrow travelers were forced to walk single file. Keel boat expert The keelboat (about 60 feet in length) was used to carry supplies to the Falls and Spaulding was an expert keel boatman. Historian Calvin R. Johnson in his writings in 1869 stated: "Spaulding met hardships and dangers as though they were but pastimes, and by the aid of his strong arm and unconquerable will, navigated again and again as occasion demanded, his keep boat, loaded with supplies, up the waters of the Mississippi and Black Rivers. Remained alone When supplies ran low at the Falls during the winter of 1840, Spaulding remained alone at the wilderness mill while other members of the expedition returned to Prairie du Chien. Spaulding subsisted on whatever wild game he could find with his rifle. This venture alone in the wilderness and his continuous residence at the Falls earned him the title of "Founder of Black River Falls." Historian Johnson continues, "The banks of the Mississippi and Black Rivers were frequently lined with warlike and unfriendly red men who looked upon the pale face as their enemy. Personal heroism There are incidents of personal heroism in the early pioneer life of Spaulding that would reflect glory upon the name of chieftains whose names are emblazoned on the pages of history; but he never regarded them as of any importance. It was as natural for him to be brave as to breathe. His great self-reliance and courage soon gained for him the esteem of the Indians. Forgetting that he belonged to the hated pale race, they respected him for those personal qualities which characterized his eventful life. Long friendship The friendship formed between Spaulding and his Indian neighbors continued until his death. He made trips to Washington, D.C., (at his own expense) in efforts to find a satisfactory permanent home for his Indian friends. In 1874 the U.S. government ordered removal of the Winnebagoes from their hunting grounds in northwest Wisconsin to a reservation in Nebraska. Spaulding visited the Nebraska land and from very careful examination of it became satisfied moving the Indians there was but another name for extermination. Knowing his great influence with the Indians, the U.S. government offered him a large compensation to use that influence to induce them to go to Nebraska. Spaulding replied: "I am poor, and need money badly; but you never saw money enough to induce me to be false to my Indian friends." Spaulding was born in 1810 in Massachusetts, son of Jeremiah and Wealthy Bennett Spaulding. His ancestry in America goes back to Edward Spalding, who immigrated in 1619. Spaulding moved with his parents to New York in 1830; learned the trade of millwright; and in early life was engaged in bridge building. He married Nancy Stickney March 15, 1833, in New York. His son Dudley Jeremiah was born July 13, 1834, at Sarasota, N.Y. In 1836, Spaulding and his family accompanied his father's family west to Warsaw, Ill. Hearing an expedition to the falls of the Black River was being organized by the Wood brothers in 1839, Jacob and his brother, Jeremiah Jr., hired out as millwrights. The expedition arrived in August, 1839, and established a permanent settlement now known as Black River Falls. As millwright, Spaulding erected a sawmill near the mouth of Town Creek. Spaulding was the most conspicuous and influential member of the Wood Brothers expedition and soon purchased his employers' interest at the Falls, making him sole owner of the waterpower and much of the adjacent property. In addition to vast lumbering activities, he was instrumental in advancing growth of the small nucleus of a community. His large hotel on Water Street was soon dubbed by the townspeople "Shanghai House" on the principle that a man who was better dressed than his neighbors as a "Shanghai." The hotel was the most prominent house on the river, having a frontage of 60 feet, two stories high, finished inside and out with dressed lumber and regarded as a masterpiece of design and finish. First school Spaulding established the first school in Jackson County in 1847, in his old boarding house. Religious services were conducted in the Shanghai House in 1848 by a Methodist minister, and are considered the community's first religious element. His business enterprises included surveying, real estate, justice of peace, lumber and gristmill and general store. Spaulding's ad in the first issue of the Jackson County Banner in August, 1856 stated; "hard times can not stop the 'Old Pioneer.' Ready made clothing, boots and shoes, dry goods, gloves and mittens - will sell cheap for cash or will trade for cattle, horses, sheep, pork, venison, corn, wheat, flour, butter, etc. - Also sell best cut lumber at low rates - have put up at my mill a corn cracker." --Jean G. Anderson Extracted from the Eau Claire Leader Telegram Special Publication, Our Story 'The Chippewa Valley and Beyond', published 1976 "Along Black River Logging was developing on the Black River about the same time. In 1839 Andrew and Robert Wood, along with Jacob Spaulding, a millwright, and 20 others proceeded up the Black River on keelboats and by the spring of 1840 had a mill operating. Spaulding outlasted the Woods and eventually gained controlling interest in the project. Mormons came up the Black River in 1841 to cut timber for a Temple they were building at Nauvoo, Ill. However, they jumped Spaulding's claim and he drove them off. The following year they purchased his mills and property. In 1844, after the death of Joseph Smith, the Mormons returned the property to Spaulding and left." --- Arnie Hoffman Extracted from the Eau Claire Leader Telegram Special Publication, Our Story 'The Chippewa Valley and Beyond', published 1976 January 1874: Uncle Jacob Spaulding, of Black River Falls, was in town on Saturday, with a petition asking Congress to set aside a large tract of government land east of that village, as a reservation for the Winnebago Indians who desire to remain in this state. The names of nearly 200 of the citizens of Jackson County were on the petition. The petition received the addition of many names here and we believe that a majority of the people in the two counties are in favor of the Indians remaining here. Clark County Press Black River Valley (Historic Marker Erected 1976) Bell Mound Scenic Overlook, westbound lane I-94, 5 mi. S of Black River Falls, Jackson County White pine trees were growing here when Columbus made his voyage to America. In 1819 the first attempts to saw lumber were unsuccessful, but in 1839 Jacob Spaulding founded Black River Falls by erecting the first permanent sawmill and settlement on the Black River. This valley contained the largest pine trees, some of them up to six feet across at ground level, and the most pine trees per township in the state. Before logging ended in 1905, more than fifty sawmills had been in operation in Jackson County. Accurate records kept over a period for forty years reveal that enough lumber was sawed to have built a plank road nine feet wide and four inches thick around the world. Iron ore was smelted at Black River Falls in 1856 and again in 1886, but the old process proved too expensive and was abandoned. The Jackson County Iron Company, a subsidiary of Inland Steel, built a modern processing plant in 1969 that ships 2800 tons of taconite pellets every day of the year to its blast furnaces in Indiana. The mine buildings and open pit mine are visible from the overlook on top of this scenic Bell Mound. [Source: McBride, Sarah Davis. History Just Ahead (Madison:WHS, 1999).] January 1874: Uncle Jacob Spaulding (father of Dudley J. Spaulding), of Black River Falls, was in town on Saturday, with a petition asking Congress to set aside a large tract of government land east of that village, as a reservation for the Winnebago Indians who desire to remain in this state. The names of nearly 200 of the citizens of Jackson Co were on the petition. The petition received the addition of many names here and we believe that a majority of the people in the two counties are in favor of the Indians remaining here. Clark County Press
  Person ID	I205	Ellingboe
  Last Modified	27 Nov 2012

  
  

  Marriage	Married by Jesse Hartwell, Elder Marriage record gives name of Wealthy Bennet. See general notes under her name.
  Family ID	F83	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Jacob Spaulding (1810-1876)

  
  

  Documents		The Falls History Project 2011 BRF in 1875: Spaulding and the Removal Episode Project directed by teacher Paul S. Rykken in Black River Falls High School 2011.
  		Letter from Jacob Spaulding to President Ulysses S. Grant 1 September 1873 An appeal for the Ho Chunk tribe of Wisconsin. Transcription of a letter written by hand. Source: Jacob Spaulding to U.S. Grant, 1 September 1873, M234, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, Roll 944, Microfilm copy, Record Group 75, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

  
  

  Headstones		Gravestone of Jacob Spaulding (1810-1876)
  		Spaulding - Price memorial

  
  

• Sources

  [S159] Vital Records, New Marlborough, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, NEHGS F74/N553/M37 (Reliability: 3). [S131] Gravestone.