LA CROSSE COUNTY HISTORICAL SKETCHES


Kienholz, Sr., John Schild, Jr., and
John Bernet families (the last nam-
ed from Wiedelsbach), John Flick,
Melchoir Eggler and Ulrich Tho-
mann. In all there were 52 persons
in this group. Economic conditions
in Canton Bern were bad. These
men and women left a rocky terri-
tory where sheep-herding was one
of the  few   possible occupations.
Families drove their sheep into the
mountains in the summer time, and
spent the summer there, living on
milk and cheese.
  The party left Switzerland March
3, 1856. Their volage from Havre
to New York lasted 42 days, the
boat landing in New York April 19.
From New York the group went by
railroad to Buffalo, traveled by a
Lake Erie boat to Cleveland, rail-
road to Cairo, and up the river by
steamboat to Dubuque. Others of
the Swiss settlement in   Mormon
Coulee came by sailboat via New Or-
leans and steamboat up the Missis-
sippi river.
   Only the Kienholz and    Schild
families and Melchior Eggler of this
group settled immediately in Mor-
mon Coulee after a few short trips
in Iowa and up the Mississippi to
look for land. Flick and Thomann
remained in Dubuque, Flick later
settling in Dunn county. The Ber-
nets went to Muscatine, Iowa, where
some relatives had settled, but came
to Mormon Coulee in 1857. Of the
original 52 persons in the party, but
three survive today. John Flick,
now 93, lives at Durand; Mrs. Mag-
dalene Schmoker, a daughter of Pet-
er Kienholz, Sr., lives in Oregon;
and Mrs. John E. Hauser, another
daughter of Peter Kienholz, Sr.,
lives on a farm near La Crosse.
   Later Swiss settlers in Morman
 Coulee were John John and Casper
 Anderegg, who came in 1865 and
 1866, respectively, settling in the
 town of Greenfield; Peter and Cas-
 per Eggler, who settled in the upper
 end of Mormon Coulee; a family by
 the  name   of   Graessle;  Chris
 Schmoker, Sr., who settled in Mor-
 mon Coulee first, and moved to Fort
 Dodge, Iowa, in 1868; John Seller,
 who settled up on the ridge in the
 town of Shelby; John Stahli, who
 came from Meiringen, Canton Bern,
 in 1867 with his family; Nicholas
 Ott, who settled in Mormon Coulee,
 and moved to Albert Lea, Minn., in


1869; and John Sopfi, who had emi-
grated to New York in 1852, and
came to Mormon Coulee in 1867.
  According to reports of descend-
ants of the original settlers, the
more desirable land around     La
Crosse and in Mormon Coulee had
been obtained from the government
before the Swiss arrived, and most
of the land  in  Mormon    Coulee
whereon they settled had to be pur-
chased from non-resident owners.
  The   Kienholz-Schild party pur-
chased two farms in 1856. During
their first winter they lived in a sin-
gle small house, as many as seven-
teen living in one room. Exper-
iences of these settlers during their
first years were not so severe as
those of earlier settlers, but many
were visited by sickness, hunger and
deprivation.  Their  first  homes
were rudely constructed of wood.
Though there was plenty of wood
for fuel, it was difficult to obtain
in winter when it was needed.
  Farming was carried on with dif-
ficulty during the first years. Wheat
and corn became the chief crops.
Most of the plowing was done with
the aid of oxen with wooden plows,
which often struck the roots of the
many trees and were broken as a re-
sult. When    the  land had been
plowed, it was seeded and cultivated
by hand. The cradle was used for
harvesting, and the grain was laid
on the ground in a circle and oxen
driven around on it to thresh it. It
is said that these primitive methods
of farming were used longer by the
Swiss than by other people because
the physical features of their fath-
erland were such that modern and
newer methods seemed impractical
there. Dairying became important.
The custom of making cheese was
carried over from Switzerland, and
many families sold their cheese in
the city of La Crosse. La Crosse
was the best market for all their
crops, which were sold for whatever
could be obtained for them.
   The first church was organized
in 1857 by William Hass, a Luther-
an itinerant evangelist who   was
holding services at various places in
the district. The Swiss, however,
had been members of the Swiss re-
formed church 4.i Switzerland, and
soon organized a church of their
own sect, with a Rev. Kurtzman as
preacher. The first church    was