Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin's First Governor

A romanticized portrait of Nelson Dewey.

Adventurous and ambitious, young New Yorker Nelson Dewey set his gaze on the western frontier and a place called Cassville, then but a dot on a map of Michigan Territory, and began his journey there in May of 1836. But Dewey well knew that a new Wisconsin Territory would soon engulf Cassville, as well as thousands of miles in every direction around the little town. He went to work for Daniels, Denniston & Co., New York land speculators who vigorously promoted Cassville as an ideal site for the capital of the soon-to-be-formed territory. The company went so far as to build a four-story brick building to house the new government. Though Cassville's fortunes quickly faded with the selection of Belmont as Wisconsin's first territorial capital, the building where would-be legislators might have met, later to become the Denniston Hotel, stands to this day.

Though Cassville's future dimmed, Dewey prospered. After his election to the post of register of deeds in newly formed Grant County, territorial Governor Henry Dodge appointed Dewey justice of the peace. He completed a law degree, passed the territorial bar examination, and launched a legal and business career in nearby Lancaster, earning a fortune in land and lead-mining investments. In 1848, after serving in the territorial Legislature, he was elected governor of Wisconsin at age 35, serving two terms as the first governor of the young state. He married Catherine Dunn, daughter of territorial chief justice Charles Dunn, and they returned to Grant County. In 1854, Dewey took over the bankrupt Cassville development project from years before and set about his dream of transforming the village into a prosperous city. Dewey and his family settled into the old Denniston Hotel, where he began planning the construction of a three-story Gothic Revival home of red brick along the river northwest of town, completing it in 1868.

Dewey's few years in the home failed to fulfill his hopes and dreams. Catherine Dewey left with their son Nettie in 1871 to live in Madison, where their daughter Katie attended the university. In 1873, the home burned to the foundations, leaving only brick walls standing. The same year brought financial disaster, amid a nationwide economic panic. Dewey was ruined. He continued to live alone in and near Cassville for 15 years, finally suffering a stroke while arguing a legal case in Lancaster. In a twist of irony, Dewey was taken back to the old Denniston Hotel he had once owned. He died there in poverty in July 1889.