website watertownhistory.org
ebook History of Watertown,
Wisconsin
Buena Vista House
300 N Fourth
In
1847, the Battle
of Buena Vista took place during the Mexican-American War.
U.S.
troops, led by General Zachary Taylor, fought Mexican General
Santa
Anna’s forces, who ended up withdrawing.
In the
spring of 1848, there came Dr. Fischer, John C. Halliger,
Hohrmann and Ernst
Achilles together with families, then the first Baptist Fried. Schielemann with wife, Nottorf,
Grossmann and Lorenz Fribert, Wilhelm Wiggenhorn with family, among whom were his sons Constanz, Alexis, Eugen
and August; Adolf Beurhaus and Adolph Lange,
both married, Henry Maldaner, Fritz Herrmann,
Chas. M. Ducasse, Gustav Schnasse,
Martin Hopf, George Schempf and family, Schmidt Toelle,
Henry
and Louis Mulberger, Carl Roedel,
Georg Koenig, Louis Stallmann, Leonard Meth with
wife and several others.
Wilhelm Wiggenhorn
arrived here with his family in the month of October, 1848, after he had been
on the farm with Averbeck for several weeks, and
bought the Buena Vista House and the opposite lot from Henry Boegel for the sum of $1680. The house [hotel] at that
time, however, was in only a half-finished condition, and only plastered one
time, but it was furnished comfortably as an inn and the upper story was even
used for divine services of the Evangelical Protestant parish, which, in the
absence of a regular preacher, was presided over by Mr. Senator Meyer. In his absence, Louis W. Ranis led the parish, and special religious functions
such as weddings, christenings, etc. were performed by Pastor Dietrichsen from Milwaukee who came here from time to
time.
In the
vicinity of the Buena Vista House, a German lathe operator had erected a
windmill on a stump, in order to operate his turning shop with it. His name, not accurately determined, was
declared by some as Schiess, by others as Spiess. He
did not however achieve his wish with his windmill, and for a long time
afterward its rudder stood there, without being used until finally this and
other buildings had to make way for the [St. Henry’s] German Catholic church.
1866
Francis Gebhardt, proprietor, Buena Vista House. [Gebhardt was paid rent in 1859
for Pioneer fire dept engine room] The Annual Charter Election of 1859; one
of the polls was at the Buena Vista House.
