Second Organizational Meeting
     A second meeting of Fairwater Historical Society organizers was held October 2 at the Fairwater Lions Club. Attending were Arlene Erdman, Terri Harmsen, Florian Laper, Donald Lee, Cirena Lenz, Arlene Leppin, Bill and Betty Loechelt, George and Marian Sanders, Bob Schuster, Oliver and Frances Stelter, Barbara VandeBrink, and Robert Zabel. A third meeting has been scheduled for November 6 at 2:00 at the Lions Club.

Is It Fairwater, Fair Water, or FairWater?
     George Peck’s grave, the first in the village’s cemetery, was "committed to the care of the citizens of Fair Water by the father of the deceased" in 1849. The Wisconsin Gazeteer, published in Madison by B. Brown in 1853, identifies the village as "Fairwater, P.V., Fond du Lac county, on section 30, town 15 N., of range 14 E." G. M. West, editor of the Brandon Times, identified the village as "Fairwater" in his 1867 publication, Metomen, Springvale, Alto and Waupun, During the War. The Wisconsin State Gazetteer of 1895-1896 referred to the village as "Fair Water," while the 1903-1904 Gazetteer identified it as "Fairwater." Until the 1970s, the Post Office’s preferred spelling was "Fair Water," while it has favored "Fairwater" since that time.
     Both spellings have a strong tradition in the village, and long-time residents are about equally divided as to which they prefer, whether they hail from Billtown or Jimtown, East Fairwater, West Fairwater, or North Fairwater. Perhaps in an effort to bestow harmony on the village, the Brandon Times adopted the variant of "FairWater" during the 1920’s.
     It is of some importance to historical society organizers which of the spellings is the correct one.
     The question was referred to Wisconsin’s Secretary of State, and that office has confirmed that the village was incorporated in 1921 as "Fairwater." Historical society organizers have agreed to accept that spelling, while expressing regret that they cannot use the more euphonious address on an 1882 letter delivered successfully to "Faearwautear."

Meetings Scheduled with Lions
     George Sanders and Bob Schuster will meet with the Fairwater Lions Club on October 5 to discuss short-term repairs to the roof of the former Fairwater Public School. Historical society organizers have expressed concern that if temporary repairs cannot be made to several areas of the roof this fall extensive damage to the building will occur before permanent repairs can be made in the spring.
     On October 19, Arlene Erdman, Florian Laper, and Bob Schuster will meet with the Lions to discuss interest in transferring the original portion of the building to the Fairwater Historical Society for the purpose of restoration as an eventual village history museum.

Horn-Lee Store Considered for Museum
     Although organizers expressed interest in the potential use of the Civic Center garage to house historical collections, the former Horn-Lee store in the village’s Main Street business district is environmentally preferable for collections and was endorsed at the October organizational meeting as the first choice for a museum until the former school building can be restored.
     Don Lee indicated that 1200 square feet of space could be made available on the store’s ground floor and would include handicapped access. Arrangements have been made for a tour of the space at the next meeting of society organizers.

Dave Horn’s store, later Lee’s Grocery, (left foreground)
early in the century.

Bridge Monument Rescued
     With the help of a tractor from the Stellmacher Lumber Company, George and Jerry Sanders have rescued the concrete monument thought to have stood on the highway bridge over the north branch of the Grand River. The monument has been resting in the river below the bridge for nearly fifty years and was in immediate danger because of a bridge reconstruction project.
     An inscription on the monument reads, "Education is the smarts from the barrel staves of old man experience." A similar inscription at one time adorned a wall of the Fairwater Hemp Company plant, and both are attributed to Towne Miller.
     Historical Society organizers, who hope to put the stone on permanent museum display, are looking for a temporary home for the piece.

Permanent Site for Plocker Inn Discussed
     Expressing concern that the parlor portion of the 1848 Plocker Inn would be vulnerable to damage if moved to a more visible site in the village, historical society organizers have suggested that the entire structure, now being used as a garage on the Stelter farm, could be reassembled inside the former public school if that building is restored as a museum.
     It is thought that the parlor could serve as an appropriate cornerstone for a settlement-era collection.

Pond Family Medal of Honor Missing
     Among the earliest settlers in the Fairwater area, the Willard Pond family owned a farm near Wood Cemetery just south of the village from 1847 to the early 1860’s. James Pond, the oldest son, later edited the Markesan Journal and at the outbreak of the Civil War organized Company C of the Third Wisconsin Cavalry, recruiting heavily in Fairwater. Among the eighteen recruits enlisting in Fairwater were Pond’s younger brothers, George and Homer Pond.
     Both James and George were later awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism while serving with the Third in Kansas.

George Pond, left, and James Pond (photos courtesy Kevin Dier-Zimmel)

     Recently, the State Veterans’ Museum proposed an exhibit to honor the brothers but discovered after contacting the family that George Pond’s medal had been stolen while on display at the State Historical Society museum during the Civil War Centennial.
     In investigating the loss, Kevin Dier-Zimmel, a Pond family researcher, and Bob Schuster discovered that the Pond medal was one of three taken on June 12, 1963, from a glass display case on the first floor of the museum. The other two had been awarded personally by Abraham Lincoln to William Knight and William Reddick. Medals awarded to James Pond and Theodore Schwan were not on display and were not involved.
     The thefts were not widely publicized at the time by the State Historical Society, and the Society’s current staff were unaware of the losses.
     In the hope of stimulating public awareness about the missing medals, Dier-Zimmel and Schuster have written an article about the exhibit and the theft for the Wisconsin Local History Network’s electronic history magazine, the Wisconsonian, and are working with Mike Miller of the Madison Capital Times on a second article. Paul Bourcier, director of the State Historical Society museum, has asked that his name be added to the articles as a contact for anyone with information about the medals.

Henry Pangburn Gravestone Found
    Among the Fairwater stories told in G. M. West’s 1867 publication, Metomen, Springvale, Alto and Waupun, During the War was the following:

Henry Pangburn, of Metomen, enlisted as a private, September 1st, 1864, in Company A, 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry. He was taken sick in the spring of '65, and after getting so weak as to be of no further use in the service, was granted a furlough. He arrived at his home in Fairwater, Saturday night, April 4, 1865, and died the next morning. There being a great many soldiers home on furlough at that time, an impromptu company was organized, and he was buried by them with military honors.

    Pangburn, a 41-year-old Fairwater blacksmith when he enlisted in September, 1864, is buried next to his wife in the village’s cemetery, but for many years no stone has stood at the gravesite.
    Recently, however, following correspondence with Pangburn’s descendants about replacing it, Bob and Kathy Schuster discovered the original stone under several inches of sod adjacent to Mary Pangburn’s marker. Initial inspection indicates that the original sandstone has been too badly eroded to be readable and that the stone itself has deteriorated into dozens of pieces.

    Arlene Erdman, cemetery caretaker, has volunteered to contact the state Veteran’s Affairs department to explore the possibility of obtaining a suitable replacement.