2003 Senate Joint Resolution 51
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: proclaiming March 30, 2004, as Sauk City Day in Wisconsin.
Whereas, in 1673, the French explorers, Pere Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, paddled by this location where the Wisconsin River turns west, on their way to the Mississippi River; and
Whereas, in 1766, Jonathan Carver stopped at an Indian village housing a population of 3,000 and described in his expedition diary the "Great Town of the Saukies" as the finest Indian town he had ever seen; and
Whereas, in 1832, called out to defend the territory, Colonel Zachary Taylor, Lieutenant Jefferson Davis, and Private Abraham Lincoln all journeyed through this area; and
Whereas, on July 22, 1832, 60-year-old Black Hawk, with a force of 60 sharpshooters, delayed the 570-man military force of General James D. Henry and Colonel Henry Dodge at the Wisconsin Heights Battle site while his people crossed the Wisconsin River to safety; and
Whereas, in 1838, Berry Haney staked his claim on the western shore of the Wisconsin River; and
Whereas, in 1839 in a mud dugout, Anna Haney gave birth to Charles, the first white child born at Sauk City; and
Whereas, in 1840, Agoston Haraszthy, with cousin Charles Hallasz, journeyed from Hungary to America and, on arrival, bought claims on the eastern and western shores of the Wisconsin River; and
Whereas, in 1843, Haraszthy's father, Charles Haraszthy, purchased the squatter's claim at the land office in Mineral Point, had it surveyed, and then filed the first plat of the Village of Haraszthy, which would later be named the Village of Sauk City; and
Whereas, in 1845, Reverend Adelbert Inama, a Norbertine missionary from the Tyrol, established St. Norbert's Church in Roxbury and also mission churches, St. Aloysius Church in Sauk City and St. Mary's Church in Lyndon Station; and
Whereas, in 1848, Wisconsin became a state and on March 30,1854, Sauk City incorporated, making Sauk City the first incorporated village in the state of Wisconsin; and also at which time the Sauk City Fire Department formed, making it the oldest organized volunteer fire department in the state with the oldest extant firehouse in the state; and
Whereas, in 1949, Sauk City, with the village of Prairie du Sac, formed a joint police department, the oldest joint law enforcement agency in the state; and
Whereas, among many in Sauk City who aspired to make a better world are the following:
(1) Agoston Haraszthy built the first business in Sauk City, a brickyard, and established the foundations of a winery that is today's Wollersheim Winery;
(2) Matthias Leinenkugel, a Prussian, and his family, arriving in 1845, constructed both the first Sauk City brewery and the first Leinenkugel Brewery;
(3) Eduard Schroeter, an 1848er, served as speaker to the Freie Gemeinde, now the last remaining freethinker congregation in the nation;
(4) Alfred Clas, a world renowned architect, designed the Sauk City Freethinker Hall, Wisconsin Historical Society building, Milwaukee Public Library, and several World's Fair buildings;
(5) Earl McFarlane and John Westmont assembled the first 25-horsepower Wisconsin tractor and established the McFarlane Manufacturing Company;
(6) Margaret Stoeffels Turner began the first community hospital that today is the Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital;
(7) Henry Grass built Grass-Premier fire trucks;
(8) Theodore Decot invented the Red Arrow fire siren, still used today;
(9) Emanuel Philip became governor of the state of Wisconsin;
(10) August Derleth wrote more than 150 books and described Sauk City, her people, and the Sauk Prairie area in his prose and poetry; and
(11) Hugh Heiney was the first Village Administrator in the state; and
Whereas, the people of Sauk City honor all who have lived here, including Native Americans and pioneers of this community; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature acknowledge that on Tuesday, March 30, 2004, Sauk City, joined by communities within the Sauk Prairie School District, will celebrate the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of official incorporation and will welcome all Wisconsin people to help celebrate our "Year of Sesquicentennial" beginning in January 2004; and, be it further
Resolved, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature congratulate the Village of Sauk City on its 150th Anniversary and proclaim March 30, 2004, Sauk City Day in Wisconsin; and, be it further
Resolved, That that the senate chief clerk shall transmit a copy of this joint resolution to the village president of Sauk City, James Anderson.
