Sheboygan Press April 29, 1927 PLYMOUTH 1 FIRST SETTLERS CAME TO TOWN PLYMOUTH HARDY PENNSYLVANIANS CLEARED FARM LAND IN A FERTILE TERRITORY The first permanent white settlement in the town of Plymouth was made on May 8, 1845, by Isaac, John and Ransellar THORPE, and William BOWEN, who came from Tioga county, Pennsylvania. Their first night in that region was spent at the cold springs, near which "Cold Springs" tavern was later erected. These men were soon followed by Henry I. DAVIDSON and his son, Thomas P.; Cyrus JOHNSON; J. D. BRIGGS; James DeGROFF; Hiram BISHOP; Henry ANDREWS; and Ezra and Almond ANDREWS. The first tree was cut for a house by Ransellar THORPE on the day of his arrival at the cold springs, and the log cabin was built on the southeast quarter of Section 23. This was the first house occupied in the township and was completed on May 12, 1845. In the fall of that year THORPE cleared four acres of land on what was later Reuben CLARK's farm, described as the S.W. 1/4 of the N.E. 1/4, Section 23, and he sowed seed for the first crop of winter wheat raised in the town. The yield was forty-four bushels to the acre. BUY GOVERNMANT LAND When land was offered for sale by the government in 1836, the first purchaser was John LAW, of London, England, who bought a part of Section 1, on August 13, of that year. On August 23, of the same year, Thomas MARGRAVE, also of London, England, purchased all of Section 5. After numerous devises and bequests of the MARGRAVE estate in England, in 1872, 310 1/8 acres of Section 5 were willed to Edward SARTORIS, son-in-law of Gen. U. S. GRANT, and in 1883 the land reverted to another member of the MARGRAVE family. Under tax deed, dated June 23, 1890, Valentine DETLING acquired title to the property, which was later divided into smaller parcels and changed hands many different times. SARTORIS was in Sheboygan county for a few weeks during one summer looking after his land interest in the town of Plymouth. The first sale of land for actual settlement was made by Cyrus JOHNSON on June 7, 1845. It is claimed that the first frame dwelling house in the town was built for Martin M. FLINT in the fall of 1846, but this cannot be verified. Some of the finest and most productive farms in the county are situated in the eastern part of the town of Plymouth, but the western part is hilly and extremely rugged, the range of hills known as the Potash Kettles crossing through that section, extending north and south the entire length of the township. The first survey of the town was made in 1835 by United States Engineers, MULLET, BRINCKE, and KING. The river flowing through the township was named after MULLET. This stream, called by the Indians Ta-quit-qui-oc, meaning crooked river, furnishes valuable water power, especially to the city of Plymouth. TOWN ORGANIZED IN 1849 The town of Plymouth originally comprised the townships of Plymouth and Rhine and was organized for town purposes on April 3, 1849. The meeting that day was held in John W. TAYLOR's house, Daniel HYATT being chosen as temporary chairman, L. A. BABCOCK as clerk, Albert WALTON and Henry I. DAVIDSON as inspectors. The following town officers were elected: Supervisors - Elon W. BALDWIN, chairman; Daniel HYATT and Francis KRACKENBERGER; Clerk, James CLEVELAND; assessors, Adogniga CARTER and Valentine BUBE; superintendent of common schools, Franklin BOND; treasurer, Hiram BISHOP; justice of the peace, J. F. MOORE, Erastus C. SESSIONS, Henry GIFFIN and Julius WOLFF; constables, Samuel C. JEROME, S. D. WILSON and Augustus BETTLEHAUSER; sealer of weights and measures, Daniel WEARY. Ninety votes were cast. The first white child born in town was Anna, a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus JOHNSON, on February 8, 1846. A boulder marker was erected near the spot where the JOHNSON home was located to commemorate in history an old Indian trail and also the birth of the first white child in the town of Plymouth. The first death was an infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob MANTZ, in September, 1846. The first marriage was that of S. V. R. THORPE an Jane PATTON, solemnized on March 12, 1847. The first religious service was held in Isaac THORPE's cabin by "Father COLE," an English Methodist, early in the summer of 1845. Occasional services were also conducted by "Elder HITCHCOCK," Baptist preacher from Sheboygan Falls. In the fall of 1846, Henry I. DAVIDSON and his son, Thomas P., came from Hartford, Conn., and built a log tavern near the cold springs, near the west limits of the present city of Plymouth. This tavern was located on the road from Sheboygan to Fond du Lac and was well patronized by emigrants on their way to the central and western part of the state. John W. TAYLOR later became owner of this tavern. DAVIDSON FIRST POSTMASTER Henry I. DAVIDSON was appointed the first postmaster in September, 1846, and he kept the office in his log tavern. It is said that the receipts for the first quarter were $2.50.