WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL
Wednesday 23 March 1966
Shooting victim Also Is Charged
Millston - A warrant of criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct was issued Monday against Cletus Conant of the Tomah area after he was allegedly shot in the foot by his mother-in-law here. The warrant was issued by Dist. Atty. Robert Radcliff of Jackson county after the alleged shooting sunday afternoon in the home of Conant's mother-in-law, Mrs. Clara Gorbet. Conant, who is estranged from his wife, reportedly came to the home about 4:30 p.m. Sunday to see his five children when Mrs. Gorbet shot him in the left foot. He was reported to be in satisfactory condition in La Crosse hospital. Radcliff would not disclose any further details. The charge of criminal damage carries a maximum penalty of a $200 fine or six months in prison or both. Mrs. Gorbet was charged with the reckless use of firearms.

THE DAILY TELEGRAM
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Saturday 23 April 1966
Millston Woman "Not Guilty"
Black River Falls - A Millston woman who accidentally shot her son-in-law in the leg with a rifle was found not guilty Thursday on a charge of reckless use of firearms. County Judge Richard F. Lawton ruled in the case involving Mrs. Clara gorbet, 54. Mrs. Gorbet fired the rifle through her front door March 20. The bullet struck her son-in-law, Cletus Conant, 41, of Cataract (Jackson County), who was outside, in the leg. The judge ruled that Mrs. Gorbet could not have known the bullet would strike Conant since she fired through a closed door.

GALESVILLE REPUBLICAN
15 April 1915

BLACK RIVER FALLS BOOMED AWAY BACK IN 1839

Neighboring Paper Objects to Town Being of Recent Origin

In a brief historical sketch published by The Republican last week concerning the late Emily Marshall-Davis of North Bend, some statements were made which the Black River Falls Banner reprints and takes exceptions. The Republican feels that the early history of this section should be preserved, and it uses material wherever it find it. Sometimes this may not be authentic. Anyhow, the Banner's comments are here given:

The Banner gladly reproduces the article from an exchange of well known reminiscent proclivities, but objects to the statement that Black River Falls "was hardly a settlement" in 1851 and 1852. The fact is that is became a settlement in the summer of 1839, when a double log cabin was built by a party of settlers under the leadership of Jacob Spaulding, who became a fixture and in the spring of 1840 built a sawmill and other houses. It was in the fall of 1941 that the first white child was born on Black River (daughter of Mrs. and Mrs. Jacob Spaulding) made her advent here, and afterwards became Mrs. S. P. Jones. The year 1845 witnessed the arrival of quite a number of ment at Black River Falls who continued to reside here and afterwards became prominent in this region, and some of them beyond the lines which could be considered as this region - among them being W. T. Price, Amos Elliot, L. S. Avery and others. In 1846 C. R. Johnson came and in February 1848, established a school, the first one ever taught here. It was in 1846 that the Shanghai House, which afterwards became quite a noted hostlery, was built here. It was in the summer of 1847 that a Methodist preacher was established. There were other advents and transpirings, which proved Black River Falls to be a pretty lively settlement by 1851 and 1852. By this time the influx of new settlers had become so numerous that local historians had ceased to keep a record of them. It cannot be, either, that the last sentence in the above quotation is based on correct information - that then "The Marshall place was the only settled homestead between North Bend and Black River Falls, and there was no road except an Indian trail." It was only four years after that that the Banner was established.

The La Crosse Tribune
Thursday 9 October 1913
page 3
Black River Falls
Laurel Vandervort was accidentally shot through the hand while out hunting last week. The bullet entered the palm of his hand and came out of the wrist. Dr. Krohn attended to his injuries and he is not getting along nicely.

Badger State Banner
Black River Falls, Wis.
27 July 1916

While changing about some things in his house recently John C. Johnson found a brass bridge toll check which read as follows:
"Lower Falls Bridge, E. L. Brockway. Toll 25 cents. 1866"
It is a coin probably between a silver quarter and a half a dollar in size and is a historical relic worth of preservation. We think the bridge must have been built in 1965 and was owned by Mr. Brockway. It did a tremendous business from the time it was built until the west Wisconsin Railway reached Black River Falls in 1868. It caught all the travel from Sparta and Tomah to Neillsville and Eau Claire. Teams paid a toll of 25 cents and foot passengers 5 cents and a man on horse-back 15 cents. The bridge probably paid for itself in the few years that it was in operation. The south end of it rested on the bank of Black river a little to the north of the present residence of Fred Brockway, which was then the residence of its builder, who then also had a large saw mill and a general store. The north end of the span across the river rested on the low bank on the north side and from there was a trestle work bridge, probably about 900 or 1000 feet long to a point about 400 feet west of Mrs. Able Cheney's present residence. In those days that was indeed a busy thoroughfare, the travel going thence east to what was then the United States Hotel, where the Bright residence is now located, and from there north to the Business part of the city. In those days our hotels were always filled with guests for dinner and over night, enroute further north and west, and a business like lot of people they were indeed.
(submitted by Diana Heser Morse)