The Pioneer Aztalan Story (Part Two)
The first post office in Jefferson County was established at Aztalan on April 1, 1837. Nathaniel F. Hyer was the fist postmaster. This post office was originally known as Jefferson but became known as Aztalan July 31, 1839. The post office continued in operation until it was supplanted by rural free delivery, May 31, 1904.
Judge Thomas Brayton presided over the civil court from 1843 to 1846. The first court sessions were held at the hotel and in private homes in Aztalan. It was customary in those days to hear civil cases in the vicinity nearest to the question of law.
Education was of prime importance to these early settlers. Rev. Jared F. Ostrander taught the first school in Aztalan in 1838, probably the first classes held in Jefferson County. He taught the older children during the winter months while his wife taught a class of younger children during the summer. The first schoolhouse, a frame building, was built in the southwestern part of the village, in the area known as the South Public Square. This building was replaced by a structure of Aztalan brick about 1850, which served the area until it burned in 1918. A red brick building replaced it. Classes were held here until consolidation, when the children were transferred to schools in Lake Mills.
Rev. jared F. Ostrander, one of the original settlers of Aztalan, was an independent theologian who presided at marriages and funerals in the earliest days of the settlement. It is believed that the first religous service in jefferson County was held at Aztalan.
In 1839, a Baptist society was extablished at Aztalan. This was the sixth Baptist society organized in Wisconsin Territory. Services were held in homes and at the school until the Baptist Church was built in 1852. This was the second church edifice in the territory served by the Dane association of the Babtist Church.
Jeremiah Brayton, who had received a grant of land in Aztalan Township from the United States government in recognition of his service in the War of 1812, was one of the organizers of the Aztalan Baptist Society and served as deacon until his death in 1869.
After Brayton's death, the society attempted to establish a church at Lake Mills, which had by then, exceeded Aztalan in population. Services continued sporadically at Aztalan, with clergymen coming out from lake Mills to reside. Gradually these services became more infrequent and finally stopped completely. After a brief revival shortly before World War I, the church was abandoned.
The railroad, which was the lifeblood of many communities, brought only decay and death to Aztalan. In 1839 the Northwestern Railroad passed within five miles of Aztalan. After that, travel on the roads which had brought Aztalan to prominence began to fade. In 1881, when the line from Milwaukee to Madison was built, the tracks missed Aztalan by two miles. In 1882, the final blow came when Chicago and Northwestern Railroad extended its line from Milwaukee to Madison, passing within a mile of the fading village. As Aztalan decayed, Lake Mills, with the railroad and beautiful lake, thrived and flourished. By 1900, Aztalan, once considered as a site for the state capital, was a ghost town at a quiet country crossroad.
In 1912, the year the Aztalan Baptist Church was reopened, the only business left in Aztalan was a creamery and general store owned by Frank Crandall, who had also served as the town's last postmaster before rural free delivery. The church held services for only a year or two, and the Crandall store burned in 1925. Pioneer Aztalan had run its course.
A rejuvenating force came to Aztalan in 1941 when the Lake Mills-Aztalan Historical Society was founded. The old church, a victim of decay and vandalism, had deteriorated to a point almost beyond restoration. The Society took it over, and after a monumental effort, restored the building. In 1942, the Society's Museum, a fascinating collection of Indian artifacts and pioneer relics was opened. Since then, it has been visited by thousands of people, coming from nearly every state in the Union and many foreign countries, as well as the surrounding area. The old church, last building of a once-thriving community, stands as a memorial to the hardy pioneers who lived and worked within the shadow of it spire.
On January 25, 1969, the Registered Landmark Commission, meeting at Madison, approved Pioneer Aztalan as Registered Wisconsin Landmark No. 68.