This Photograph, taken in 1912, shows the old Ferryville Hotel which burned in the late 1940s (left) and the "Old Jens & Lough" store which later became Johnston Family Foods" and is just across the street from the new outlet for our famous "Ferryville Cheese". Be sure to check out our official Ferryville website at Ferryville.com. |
HISTORY OF FERRYVILLE BY ETHEL LERUM For just a little village one mile long, Ferryville has lots of history. At one time there were islands out on the great Mississippi River. There was a depot just down across from the "Humblebush Bed and Breakfast". Cars could drive down by the depot and across the railroad tracks and out to the ball diamond which was great for those who liked to play base ball and those who liked to watch. It was something to go to on a Sunday. It was around 1936 when they started cutting the timber off the islands. It did give lots of people employment but look at the beauty it wiped out. People used to live out on the islands. I remember back when lots of farmers would put their animals, pigs and cows, out on the island for the summer when they had plenty of food and water. If they didn't have their animals marked real good there could be a mix-up or even a lawsuit. (there was one that i know of). The post office we have today in 1996, was the G.C Lucey store and has been for as long as i can remember. The store sold general merchandise. You could buy a pair of shoes, silk or mercerized stockings, men's overalls and many other things. That was on the left side of the store. On the right side was the was groceries. We didn't have to go to the big towns to buy what was needed. It wasn't very easy to go far in those days. We didn't have the good fast cars like we have now. The old tin lizzy would go about 40 miles an hour at the most. They tipped over pretty easily, especially going around a bend in the road. There were two garages here in those days. One was owned and operated by Alfred Kandall, which is the Ferryville garage owned by La Verne Emerson. Hiram Rutter had a garage up the street a ways. He sold cars. He had dances in his garage some times. Alfred Kandall owned the two large square buildings of which one was the dance hall. The dance hall was upstairs. The one restaurant was downstairs. Mr. Handy is one name i can remember. Then Mr. Mrs. Adkins of the Viroqua area had the restaurant. Ferryville is the only village lying wholly within the town of Freeman. It was plotted in 1858 by henry w. Mc Cauley and his son-in-law, Thos. W. Tower. Mr. Mc Cauley was a pioneer settler of the town of Utica, coming there in 1854 from Iowa (now grant) county; where he had lived since 1835, as a practical surveyor. He was actively concerned with the founding of Mt. Sterling, Towerville, Ferryville, victory and De Soto. Another son-in-law was j. A. Haggerty, who with his son W. A. Haggerty were the leading Ferryville merchants for many years. The first white settlers to come to the place were Messrs. Sandborn and Stillwell, a firm of horse dealers and trainers who built the first house on land which is now a part of the Burlington right of way. It was a two-story building with a store in the lower part. They also constructed a race track where the firm trained their horses. Simeon Babcock of Pennsylvania came in 1854 but died the following year and his son john then located in De Soto. George Hutson came from Galena, Ill . And members of the family have resided here ever since. John Ross purchased large tract s of woodland in the vicinity which he logged off and then sold to incoming settlers. The Loughs, Keneficks, Eitserts, and copper families also date from before the Civil War days. William Rutter, Crawford county's oldest civil war veteran, who died in Ferryville aged 101 was the father of Hiram Rutter, a local car salesman. Tolbert G. Ankeny had a mill on Rush Creek and resided for a time in the village and later moved to De Soto. The first town meeting was held in his home. Third generation descendants of Dorsey Ames, Dermis Howarth, Eland Bishop and Alexander young have improved the farms where their forbears homesteaded. Martin Finley and Fred Kloak were early blacksmiths, and Lewis Helgerson and George Melton early storekeepers. Lansing, Iowa was the nearest business point in pioneer days and Ferryville was well named since people went back and forth across the river to trade by ferryboat in summer and by team across the ice in the winter until the coming of the railroad. The first ferryboat was a flat boat propelled by a windlass. T.C. Ankeney was owner of a better one named the Julia Hadley. The old cabin of the Julia Hadley served as a summer kitchen for a resident for years. |
HISTORY OF FERRYVILLE WISCONSIN |
HISTORY OF FERRYVILLE BY ETHEL LERUM For just a little village one mile long, Ferryville has lots of history. At one time there were islands out on the great Mississippi River. There was a depot just down across from the "Humblebush Bed and Breakfast". Cars could drive down by the depot and across the railroad tracks and out to the ball diamond which was great for those who liked to play base ball and those who liked to watch. It was something to go to on a Sunday. It was around 1936 when they started cutting the timber off the islands. It did give lots of people employment but look at the beauty it wiped out. People used to live out on the islands. I remember back when lots of farmers would put their animals, pigs and cows, out on the island for the summer when they had plenty of food and water. If they didn't have their animals marked real good there could be a mix-up or even a lawsuit. (there was one that i know of). The post office we have today in 1996, was the G.C Lucey store and has been for as long as i can remember. The store sold general merchandise. You could buy a pair of shoes, silk or mercerized stockings, men's overalls and many other things. That was on the left side of the store. On the right side was the was groceries. We didn't have to go to the big towns to buy what was needed. It wasn't very easy to go far in those days. We didn't have the good fast cars like we have now. The old tin lizzy would go about 40 miles an hour at the most. They tipped over pretty easily, especially going around a bend in the road. There were two garages here in those days. One was owned and operated by Alfred Kandall, which is the Ferryville garage owned by La Verne Emerson. Hiram Rutter had a garage up the street a ways. He sold cars. He had dances in his garage some times. Alfred Kandall owned the two large square buildings of which one was the dance hall. The dance hall was upstairs. The one restaurant was downstairs. Mr. Handy is one name i can remember. Then Mr. Mrs. Adkins of the Viroqua area had the restaurant. Ferryville is the only village lying wholly within the town of Freeman. It was plotted in 1858 by henry w. Mc Cauley and his son-in-law, Thos. W. Tower. Mr. Mc Cauley was a pioneer settler of the town of Utica, coming there in 1854 from Iowa (now grant) county; where he had lived since 1835, as a practical surveyor. He was actively concerned with the founding of Mt. Sterling, Towerville, Ferryville, victory and De Soto. Another son-in-law was j. A. Haggerty, who with his son W. A. Haggerty were the leading Ferryville merchants for many years. The first white settlers to come to the place were Messrs. Sandborn and Stillwell, a firm of horse dealers and trainers who built the first house on land which is now a part of the Burlington right of way. It was a two-story building with a store in the lower part. They also constructed a race track where the firm trained their horses. Simeon Babcock of Pennsylvania came in 1854 but died the following year and his son john then located in De Soto. George Hutson came from Galena, Ill . And members of the family have resided here ever since. John Ross purchased large tract s of woodland in the vicinity which he logged off and then sold to incoming settlers. The Loughs, Keneficks, Eitserts, and copper families also date from before the Civil War days. William Rutter, Crawford county's oldest civil war veteran, who died in Ferryville aged 101 was the father of Hiram Rutter, a local car salesman. Tolbert G. Ankeny had a mill on Rush Creek and resided for a time in the village and later moved to De Soto. The first town meeting was held in his home. Third generation descendants of Dorsey Ames, Dermis Howarth, Eland Bishop and Alexander young have improved the farms where their forbears homesteaded. Martin Finley and Fred Kloak were early blacksmiths, and Lewis Helgerson and George Melton early storekeepers. Lansing, Iowa was the nearest business point in pioneer days and Ferryville was well named since people went back and forth across the river to trade by ferryboat in summer and by team across the ice in the winter until the coming of the railroad. The first ferryboat was a flat boat propelled by a windlass. T.C. Ankeney was owner of a better one named the Julia Hadley. The old cabin of the Julia Hadley served as a summer kitchen for a resident for years. |
Old Post Office |
Visitors to This Site |
This Photograph, taken in 1912, shows the old Ferryville Hotel which burned in the late 1940s (left) and the "Old Jens & Lough" store which later became Johnston Family Foods" and is just across the street from the new outlet for our famous "Ferryville Cheese". Be sure to check out our official Ferryville website at Ferryville.com. |
This page was last updated on: September 2, 2003