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RAYMOND TOWNSHIP
Northeast of the center of the county lies the Town of Raymond. It is bounded on the north by Milwaukee County;
on the east by the Town of Caledonia; on the south by Yorkville, and on the west by Norway. It is coextensive with
Congressional Township 4, Range 21, and its area is therefore thirty six square miles The Root River just touches
the northeast corner, and the South Fork of the same stream flows in a northerly direction through the central
part, so that the township is well watered The surface is gently undulating, the soil is fertile, and some of the
finest farms in the county are in Raymond.
The first settlers in this township were probably Nathaniel Roger and his son Joel, who located there in the spring
of summer of 1835. About the middle of September of the same year they were joined by Elisha Raymond and his son
Alvin, who came from Chicago on the Agnes Barton, the crew of which consisted of one Frenchman and two Indians.
Elisha Raymond bought a claim already made (160 acres) for twenty five dollars, upon which he built a rude cabin,
where he spent the winter of 1835-36 His son Alvin went to work for William See, in the saw mill at the Rapids,
and remained in his employ for about a year, beginning in October, 1835.
On June 20, 1836, Seneca Raymond, another son of Elisha, arrived at Racine, having come around the lakes from Oswego,
New York, bringing with him his own and his father's family. Immediately after the arrival of his wife and children,
Elisha Raymond built a large two story log house, to take the place of the cabin in which he had passed the preceding
winter. The house had a stone chimney and was one of the best in the county at the time it was finished and occupied.
Seneca Raymond brought with him twenty bushels of potatoes, which he planted on the fourth day of July and in the
fall of 1836 dug 150 bushels.
Other settlers in this township in 1836 were: Joseph Drake, John Brewer, Orson Bump, John and Reuben Rogers, Timothy
Sands and Nelson Bentley. The last named left Manlius, New York, with a two horse team and wagon on the same day
that Seneca Raymond and his folks embarked on the vessel at Oswego, and by a curious coincidence they both arrived
at Racine on the same day, each making the journey in exactly six weeks.
In 1837 Caleb J. True, William 0. Mills, John Jones, Zachariah Sands, Frederick and William Schwartz and the Scofields
Charles, George, Dr. John E. and Reynolds - all settled in what is now Raymond Township Dr. John E Scofield was
the first physician to practice his profession in that part of Racine County.
Among the settlers of 1838 were: Leonard Upham, Walter Shunway and Loring Weber. Mr. Weber arrived at the house
of Elisha Raymond on the 12th of May and lived with him for about six weeks, or until he could make a claim and
erect a dwelling of his own. He built the first frame house in the township, obtaining his lumber from Mr. See's
saw mill at the Rapids, and lived in it until about 1869 or 1870, when he left the county. He also assisted in
building the Congregational Church, which was the first meeting house in the township. Soon after he was comfortably
settled, he and Elisha Raymond went to Illinois and returned with thirty head of cattle and fifteen hogs, some
of which they sold to other settlers in the neighborhood.
When the first white men came to this part of Racine County Indians were plentiful and sometimes they gave the
settlers trouble, not by open hostility, but by their begging and petty thievery. The Raymond settlement was not
far from Jambean's trading post, to which the Indians made frequent visits. If they were successful in obtaining
a supply of "fire water," they were in the habit of committing little depredations on their return to
their camp, so that the settlers had to be on their guard to see that nothing was carried away from their premises
by the drunken savages. On one occasion Alvin Raymond happened to fall asleep in the field where he had been cutting
grass, with his rifle by his side. He was suddenly awakened and discovered thirteen ponies, with two or three Indians
astride each pony. Grasping his rifle, he sprang to his feet, but the Indians showed no disposition to resent his
hostile demonstration. They merely inquired if he had a squaw and a wigwam and went directly to his house. But
all they did was to ask for something to eat, a request that Mrs. Raymond was afraid to deny, and after a hearty
meal they departed. White children were few, and Charles Raymond, Alvin's son, played so much with Indian children
that he could speak the Potawatorni language when only three years of age.
The first marriage in Raymond was that of Willard Flint and Miss Eliza Raymond, which was solemnized on May 27,
1838.
On February 2, 1846, Governor Dodge approved an act of the Territorial Legislature, one section of which provided:
"That all that district of country comprised in Township 4 North, of Range 21 East, and the east half of Township
4 North, of Range 20 East, in Racine County, be, and the same hereby is organized into a separate town to be called
Black Hawk, and the first town meeting in said town shall be held at the house of Elisha Raymond."
This section was repealed the next day by an act, Section 1 of which reads as follows: "That all that part
of the Town of Yorkville, in the County of Racine, lying north of Township 3 North, in Ranges 20 and 21 East, shall
be and is hereby set off into a separate town, by the name of Raymond, and the first town meeting shall be held
at the house of Elisha Raymond."
The repealing act, although written in different phraseology, included the same territory in the Town of Raymond
that had been incorporated in the Town of Black Hawk the day before. As originally created, Raymond included all
the present township of that name and the eastern half of Norway. It was reduced to its present dimensions by the
act of February 11, 1847. The population in 1910 was 1,512, and in 1915 the assessed value of the property was
$2,422,827.
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