Odd Wisconsin

Odd Wisconsin Archive

Happy Birthday, Billy Barstow

Democrats had controlled the state for years, and when incumbent Democrat William Barstow ran for re-election as governor in 1855, the only serious opposition came from Coles Bashford of Oshkosh. He was the candidate of a little-known extremist party that had recently adopted the name "Republican" and championed such radical notions as freeing the nation's slaves. The Democratic machine assumed an easy victory, as usual.

But the fledgling Republicans took them by surprise. Democratic incumbent Barstow won by such a slim margin that the Republicans not only claimed victory themselves but also charged the Democrats with vote-tampering. On Jan. 7, 1856, Barstow and Bashford each claimed to be the true governor of Wisconsin, and both of them held swearing in ceremonies. The Supreme Court investigated and found that ballots had been tampered with, returns supposedly sent from outlying counties had in fact been written on paper only used under the Capitol dome, and vote totals had been tallied from northern townships where no voters actually lived.

As the evidence of fraud mounted against Barstow, he threw in the towel on March 21, 1856, leaving his Lt. Governor, Arthur McArthur, as the state's chief executive. On March 25th the Supreme Court gave its final ruling in the case and named Coles Bashford Wisconsin's legal governor.

Tensions had run so high that when Bashford arrived at the Capitol that day to assume office, he brought along a sizable contingent of muscular friends. After calmly hanging his coat in the official gubernatorial closet, he told McArthur that he'd come to take possession. "Will force be used?", McArthur asked. "I presume no force will be necessary," Bashford replied, "but in case any be needed, there will be no hesitation whatever, with the sherriff's help, in applying it." McArthur beat a hasty retreat to the sound of jeers and hoots from an assembled crowd.

Unfortunately, Bashford turned out to be as dishonest as Barstow. During his administration (1856-1857), the legislature distributed two huge grants of land awarded to Wisconsin by the U.S. government for building railroads. In 1858 an investigating committee uncovered a series of frauds in connection with this parceling out of railroad lands. Members of the legislature and other officials had received bribes proportionate to the importance of their positions, but the prime beneficiary was Gov. Bashford himself. From the La Crosse road alone he had received $50,000 in bonds, which he later converted into $15,000 cash. Although he managed to serve out his term, Bashford retired in disgrace and in 1863 fled to Arizona Territory, where he died in 1878.

Read a different Odd Wisconsin anecdote every Wednesday in the Wisconsin State Journal, and be sure to visit the Museum exhibit of the same name when it opens next month in at the Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison.

Did You Know?

The Wisconsin Historical Museum is currently featuring Odd Wisconsin objects in the latest exhibit: Odd Wisconsin. And don't miss the Odd Wisconsin book by author Erika Janik published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.