Baraboo, Dells, and Devil's Lake RegionCole, Harry Ellsworth
History
Baraboo, Dells, and Devil's Lake Region
Cole, Harry Ellsworth
Baraboo (Wis.); Dells of the Wisconsin (Wis.); Devil's Lake (Wis.); Sauk County (Wis.)
From Baraboo to Durward's Glen is a trip of exceptional interest and
scenic beauty. The ten-mile drive over a picturesque highway which
stretches along the backbone of the south range of the Baraboo Bluffs
affords rare glimpses of open valleys and wooded slopes, with the
Wisconsin River visible in the distance. The Glen, the erstwhile home
of the gifted Durward family, is a delightful retreat where the visitor
is welcome to spread his lunch by the murmuring trout stream, enjoy the
natural beauty of the spot, and the charm of interesting association.
Way to the Glen
In journeying to the Glen, variety of view is obtained by taking the
road, from Baraboo, on top of the bluffs and returning by the main
highway. The Merrimack road leads via Ringlingville, through Glenville,
and on up the bluff to the flat top about three miles from town.
Following the first turn to the left a level tract is soon noticed on
the right as the machine passes a German Lutheran church and public
school. On the unbroken surface reposed a glacial lake hemmed in on one
side by ice, and on the other by the hills. But a short distance
beyond, on the left, kettle holes (cavities left by melting blocks of
ice) may be seen, also the terminal moraine, a ridge of land but a few
rods away.
Point Sauk
About two miles from the church, where the road curves slightly to the
right, a by-road disappears between a farmhouse and barn, formerly the
P. Fitzsimmons homestead. Less than a quarter of a mile from the main
road, to the right as one proceeds, is Point Sauk, the most elevated
land in the entire region, 1620 feet high. Here one obtains an
extensive view. With a glass the capitol dome at Madison, 285 feet
high, the highest but one in the United States and the highest but
three in the world, nearly thirty miles away, may be seen on the
horizon.
[Illustration: FOUNTAIN AT DURWARD'S GLEN]
Continuing on the main road less than a half-mile to Wawanissee Point.
Lake Wisconsin may be seen in the hazy distance, the village of
Merrimack being hidden on the right.
Stepping into the wooded pasture and ascending a knoll, a wonderous
view is enjoyed. The checkered farms, the shimmering lake, the distant
hills combine in making one of the charming pictures of the region.
Wawanissee is an Indian word which means beauty or beautiful.
To the left, this side of the river, the Owl's Head, a knot of an
elevation, lifts itself above the surrounding country.
Turning to the left at the T in the road, swinging to the right at the
first turn, the way but a few rods from the T, leads directly to
Durward's Glen. There one stops by a gate at the left, after crossing a
bridge at the bottom a hill.
The Durwards
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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