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Wilbert, Carl F. / History of the town of Mequon
([ca. 1990?])
Log raising
Log Raising Log raising in the early 1840 was an event that gave the e3rly settlers a spirit of helpfulness to each other. It is noted that in 1841, one Mr. Dibble built a dam across the Milwaukee River in the towns to the north, Grafton. In the fall of that year he sent word to the town to the south that he would build a saw mill. To do this, it would take a lot of help. Some were expert ax men with great skill, preparing the logs, trimming them and knotting them at the ends so as to fit them and give rigidity to the building. Others would lend their man power to lift and slide them into place. It is recorded that on this particular occasion, that from our Town of Mequon, there participated old settlers from Mequon such as Fred W. horn, Ephram Woodworth, William North, and Peter Turk, nnd many others. Since this raising took several days, the helpers had to sleep in an old shanty,half log and half bark, built several years earlier and in a few wigwams put up by the Indians. Despite these hardships, they had a good time after the work was done. They got a fiddler to call the turns of the square dance. "Never," said Mr. Horn, "have I enjoyed a dance as I did at the saw mill raising". Mr. Horn was a man of culture from Germanyl During the settlement of the Town of Mequon, there were many house and barn raisings. In these early days, most houses and b~rrns were built of logs, etched, notched,
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