Turning to the left at the corner of Fifth and Birch, one block brings the loiterer to the Carnegie Free Public Library, standing on the site of the Free Congregational Church. In the old church Samuel Longfellow, a brother of the New England poet, expounded the doctrines of Unitarianism, the choir singing hymns of his composition. In the same building A. Bronson Alcott interpreted transcendentalism, and Rev. Frederic May Holland, a cousin of Louisa M. Alcott, was heard there. Home of the Gollmars A little to the south of the library, 507 Birch Street, is the home of the late Mr. and Mrs. G. G. Gollmar, parents of the Gollmar Brothers who owned a circus for many years. The Gollmar sons and daughters are cousins of the Ringlings. The house is now occupied by a daughter, Mrs. Armor Brown. Where The Ringlings First Pitched a Tent Turning to the left on Second Avenue one block, then to the right one block, brings the visitor to the county jail, the site where Ringling Brothers first pitched their "big top," May 19, 1884. The old jail stood farther back on the lot and the circus was given near the avenue, the gate of the fence enclosing the grounds standing open all day. Although they had given hall shows before the first circus performance beneath a tent, that afternoon in May was the beginning of a road which ended in the making of several millionaires. Across the street and a little to the west, 210 Second Avenue, is where August Ringling (originally spelled Rungeling), the father of the showmen, died in 1898. The family previously lived at number 227, almost at the end of the block on the opposite side of the thoroughfare. A Dream of Jugs Continuing on Second Avenue one is reminded that on the side of the hill there was once a pottery where jars and jugs were produced in profusion. With the poet one can almost hear the potter sing: "Turn, turn, my wheel, turn round and round; Without a pause, without a sound." The Lincoln Elm The large elm in front of the residence at 506 Second Avenue was planted by the late State Senator Frank Avery on the day the news of the assassination of President Lincoln reached Baraboo in April, 1865. It is known as the Lincoln elm. As with the martyred Lincoln a tragedy came to the tree one day--Jove shot a thunderbolt into its branches, badly injuring it. No Lions Now Continuing down the street, the ground to the left and adjacent to the river, was the winter quarters of the Gollmar Brothers' Circus for many years. The circus was established in 1891, was conducted by Charles A., Benjamin F., Fred C., and Walter S., and sold by them in the fall of 1916 to the Patterson Carnival Company. Largest Mill This Side of Philadelphia Across the river stands the Island Woolen Mill (owned by the McFetridge family) the largest plant of its kind west of Philadelphia. Lyons