WISCONSIN DELLS

Soaring high above you the cliffs of the Wisconsin River are the Wisconsin Dells. You see the tourist trap ahead and wonder, how and when did this start out? What did this place, now full of motels and water parks, used to be home to? Well, I shall tell you. The Wisconsin Dells started out as a small village by the name of Kilborn. The land which it stood on, which was a mile long and half a mile wide, was purchased in 1855 by the Wisconsin River Hydraulic Company. A man by the name of Mr. Holly was the first to settle there. The lots of the city were put into sale in 1856, and the sale was attended by many people from other cities close by. The lots were sold in a price range of $50 to $1,450.
Another important thing began in 1856. The first school was built. When opened, the first session was a class of 14. Later on, though, a new school house was built and more people came, making the total of all attending about 335.
Eventually the residents of Kilborn asked for better water supply. Even though a well 1,300 feet deep was drilled, more water came in. It ended up that they fixed up the old pipes.
On a different subject, the first steamboats on the Wisconsin River, came partway up in 1835. They were, besides the Indians, or Native Americans, the first to see the wonder of the cliffs and the deepness of the murky Wisconsin River. That is how the Dells got started.