The chronology
The land through time
Every documented event, from the property outward: Beloit, Rock County, the region and the world. Each one links to the page of the source that records it. The record so far covers 1820–1864; more years are being added.
1840
Beloit
- 1840 The Hanchett family came to Beloit, bought forty acres in Sec. 34, and Mr. Hanchett built the dam across Rock River at Beloit.
- August 7, 1840 Caleb Blodgett, the first white settler at Beloit, died.
- 1840 By fall, the Rock Prairie Norwegian settlement was established, consisting of five homesteads: Gravdal, Hallan, Odegarden, Lars Skavlem, and Gullik Halvorsen Blakstad (Skavlem); Gisle Hallan had taken possession of his new home in Sec. 6, Town of Beloit, and Gullick Halvorsen Blackstad (Skavlem) located on Sec. 28 during the spring and summer.
Rock County
- September 1840 The parents of Paul M. Green came to Rock Co. and purchased 120 acres on Sections 4 and 5 (Milton).
- 1840 Easton and Gusta Johnson arrived in Rock county and settled in Avon township.
- Fall 1840 A church and parsonage were erected on a lot at the southwest corner of Section 36, known as the First Congregational Church of Rock County, at a cost of about $500.
The region
- 1840 The lands in Rock and Jefferson Counties came into market; the sale was at Milwaukee; settlers could first obtain title to the land that year.
- Summer 1840 An organized school was set up in the shanty first occupied by the Ogdens.
- 1840 Rock County members served in the Fourth (extra) Session of the Second Legislative Assembly (James Maxwell, Edward V. Whiton, John Hackett, Hugh Long).
Nation and world
- August 5, 1840 James D. Doty was re-elected Territorial delegate.
1841
Beloit
- October 1841 A settler came to Beloit, which then had about three hundred inhabitants, all on the east side of the river.
- April 4, 1841 A settler arrived in Beloit on a Sunday morning, having walked from Racine in the spring of 1841.
- 1841 A Beloit settler went to Michigan in 1841 and then came to Wisconsin, locating at Beloit.
Rock County
The region
- 1841 The Government sent a military detachment to enforce the removal of the Rock River Winnebagoes beyond the Mississippi.
- October 22, 1841 Quarter-section entries were recorded for Margaret Oles Dater (Mrs. Gullik Springen) and Erek Gulbeitson.
- July 12, 1841 A quarter-section entry was recorded for Geesley Saberson Hollen.
Nation and world
- September 13, 1841 President Tyler appointed James Duane Doty governor of the Territory in place of Dodge; another passage gives the appointment date as September 30, 1841.
- January 25, 1841 Dunn was commissioned as secretary of the Territory in place of William B. Slaughter.
- December 7, 1841 Henry Dodge took his seat in Congress for the first time.
1842
Beloit
- Summer 1842 The central bridge at Beloit (a toll bridge built by a private company, a timber trestle structure framed by John P. Houston) was built over Rock River; it was later given to the village in 1844.
- February 17, 1842 The town of Beloit was constituted by an act of the territorial legislature.
- July 6, 1842 The corner stone of the "old stone church" (Congregational) was laid at the northwest corner of Broad and Prospect streets, Beloit; the edifice was erected in 1842 (built in 1842 and 1843).
Rock County
- Fall 1842 A house of worship was constructed on the northeast quarter of section 35, town of Milton, and the congregation became known as the First Congregational Church of Rock County.
- July 1842 Adrien Bassett and Annie Gates came to Rock County.
- February 17, 1842 The town of Rock was organized into a separate town.
The region
- February 19, 1842 Goelick (Goelicke) Holt (Gravdal) was registered as the purchaser of land.
- September 26, 1842 Land was registered to Ole Newhouse (several parcels) and Kittel Newhouse.
- September 29, 1842 Land was registered to Abram Hobartson (Herbrand Halvorson Skavlem).
1843
Beloit
Rock County
- November 1843 James Sowle came to Rock County and settled on Sec. 26, purchasing 240 acres; the land was deeded to him from the Probate Court in the fall of 1843.
- 1843 The subject's father moved to Rock county and settled on land his father had purchased.
- 1843 E. Bowerman came to Wisconsin and settled in Fulton Township, Rock Co.
The region
- April 12, 1843 An act was approved appointing commissioners to alter the Beloit–Madison road and lay out roads from Janesville to Ellis's Mill and to Mineral Point.
- 1843 The log schoolhouse at the "big ford" of Rock river was used until 1843, when another log house was occupied by the school.
- 1843 Surveyor Willard Barrows noted Black Hawk's wigwam and grave while surveying.
Nation and world
1844
Beloit
Rock County
The region
Nation and world
1845
Beloit
- September 1845 A tavern-keeper came to Beloit and bought eighty acres of land in Section 4, building a log house.
- 1845 The first bridge across Rock River at Indian Ford was built by private subscription, Stephen Allen, builder.
- January 1, 1845 A merchant (a Buffalo former resident) came to Beloit and commenced business as a merchant.
Rock County
- 1845 Arrivals and settlements in Rock County recorded without more precise dates: A. Wyatt Smith removed to Janesville ; Capt. William Macloon came from Boston and settled at Janesville ; A. M. Simmons (father) settled in Harmony about 1845 ; a Beloit lawyer removed to Beloit ; Ezra Philo Doty came to Janesville ; a Walworth lawyer came to Wisconsin and located at Janesville ; a New York farmer bought a farm at Beloit ; a Connecticut man took up eighty acres in Sec. 18 at Beloit ; the Millett family located in Beloit ; Hans and Bargitt Halverson's family came to Newark, buying land in Section 12 ; a Durham Co. settler located in Newark, buying and improving two farms ; the Case family moved to Clinton and settled on 160 acres ; L. Burdick's neighbors ; a Rhode Island man located in the town of Lima ; Abram Caufman emigrated to Center ; an 1837-born resident came to Wisconsin ; E. Footville-resident moved to what is now Footville ; a settler located on his present homestead in Center ; families emigrated to Wisconsin ; a Bennett came to Wisconsin and taught school in Union ; Leonard Bullard's family settled in Union Township ; a Hancock Co., Me., man located in Union Township ; the Hubbard family settled on land entered in 1840 in Union Township ; a Cortland Co. man located in Union Township ; a settler bought 200 acres and built one of the first log houses in Plymouth Township ; Jacob Fisher came to Plymouth Township about 1845 ; a Steuben Co. man located at Darien ; a New York man came to Wisconsin locating at Johnstown ; a Scotland-born man came to America in 1845 and settled on a farm in Harmony ; A. Douglas entered forty acres of land settled in 1843 ; Johnstown settlers from New York located there, purchasing farms [B156]; G. came to Rock County and bought a farm of forty acres of government land ; M. Wilcox located and bought 100 acres in Harmony ; the Miller family came to Harmony Township, buying 240 acres ; families from Ohio settled in Milton township ; a father settled on a 1,000-acre farm in Lima township ; the Marquart family moved from Ohio and settled in Wisconsin ; an Irish couple (Clinchy) came to Wisconsin and bought a farm northwest of Beloit ; a family settled in Milton township ; Thomas bought eighty acres in section 6, Bradford township ; the Moore family located near Milwaukee ; the Bradley family settled on a farm in Turtle township ; Mr. Fifield's brothers later joined his lumber business ; a resident came to Janesville prior to January 1845 and served as probate judge for Rock County in 1845 and 1846 ; Carpenter engaged in general merchandising in Beloit .
- Spring 1845 A Norwegian family (Keesey) came to the United States and purchased and settled on a farm in Rock County.
- October 1845 A Freeborn came to Wisconsin and wintered in Cooksville, Rock County.
The region
- February 24, 1845 Prior to this date Rock and Walworth counties constituted one election district; the territorial legislature of 1845 passed an act dividing the district and constituting Rock County an election district.
- 1845 Charles C. Cheney, Henry Chesebro (Cheesebro), William Loyd, Adelmon Sherman and Ephraim Leach, Jr., made their land purchases (in 1844 and 1845).
- 1845 The first church organization on Rock Prairie was made by Diedrichson; Lars H. Skavlem was one of its members.
1846
Beloit
- 1846 The first Catholic services recorded in Rock County were held in Beloit by Rev. Father McKernan, who celebrated mass in the house of Captain Powers.
- 1846 Settlers came to Beloit in 1846: a Connecticut-born settler (40 acres in Sec. 7), a Herkimer Co. N. Y. settler (120 acres in Sec. 21), William Shaw of Ireland (farm outside the city), and a teacher seeking occupation.
- 1846 The Chamberlin family moved to Beloit, to a farm a few miles west of Beloit.
Rock County
The region
- February 2, 1846 A charter was granted to Beloit College by the Territorial Legislature.
- 1846 Some 1,250 Winnebagoes came back from Iowa and settled along the Fox and Wisconsin, Kickapoo and Lemonweir valleys.
- Spring 1846 A settler located at La Prairie, Sec. 11, purchasing a 160-acre farm from the Government.
Nation and world
- January 14, 1846 Morgan L. Martin, territorial delegate, introduced in the House of Representatives a bill to enable Wisconsin to adopt a constitution and form a state government.
- August 6, 1846 The congressional enabling act for Wisconsin statehood became law.
- August 8, 1846 Congress approved an act granting land to aid the improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers and to connect them by canal.
1847
Beloit
Rock County
- Fall 1847 A family came to Rock Co. and bought a farm of eighty acres in Sec. 25, Newark Township, and 80 acres in Sec. 30, Beloit Township.
- Fall 1847 Settlers arrived in Rock County townships in 1847: D. I. Daniels, Royal Wood, John Nichols, W. Cator, I. Woodle, Frank Wheeler, A. Lawrence, John M. Keep.
- December 1, 1847 A census of Rock County was taken, showing Janesville at 2,587 and Beloit at 1,851 (the county total from P3 being 14,720).
The region
1848
Beloit
Rock County
- February 1848 A farm of seventy-three acres in Rock County was purchased.
- August 17, 1848 Surveys were commenced in Rock county for the Rock River Valley railroad.
- December 20, 1848 A meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Madison & Beloit Railroad Company was held at Janesville, with stock subscriptions agreed to.
The region
- February 21, 1848 The territorial legislature approved an act authorizing A. Hyatt Smith, Ira Miltimore and associates to erect a dam across Rock river.
- 1848 Mr. Millett bought 240 acres of Government land in Section 9.
- August 19, 1848 A charter was granted the Madison & Beloit Railroad Company by an act of the first legislature.
Nation and world
- May 29, 1848 Wisconsin was admitted into the Union.
- November 24, 1848 A supplementary treaty was made with the Stockbridges.
- May 8, 1848 William Pitt Lynde was elected Member of Congress for the First District.
1849
Beloit
Rock County
The region
- November 1, 1849 A meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Beloit & Taycheedah Railroad was convened at the Planters' Hotel, Watertown, for the purpose of organization.
- 1849 The (Jones) mills were completed.
- 1849 Mr. Hugh Lee made the first survey, of the Rock River Valley Union Railroad, from Chicago to Fond du Lac.