Town of West Point Area Historical Society

06/10/2026

Gasless Sundays
During WWI a US Government Conservation program, the U.S Fuel Administration requested Sunday pleasure riding in vehicles to stop. With the exception of emergency vehicles and essential drivers for business's, American drivers were told to volunterrialy keep their vehicles parked on Sundays to conserve gasoline for the war effort. In the first several months of the ban, 500,000 gallons of gasoline where saved and redirected to the troops / allies overseas. Pearl Ryan was 103 years old when she was interviewed and mentioned this story to us. The WPAHS put this story in the West Point History Calendar. The photo of the.family in the wagon going the church is of Pearl's family from West Point.

06/04/2026

Sauk County News May 22, 1930.
Paul Errington was a caller at Albert Gastrows farm on Monday He is doing government nature survey work on bird life of this district.
**********************************************
Paul Errington was born in South Dakota in 1902 . He received his PhD from UW Madison where he met and worked on field studies with Aldo Leopold . Aldo Leopold worked with West Point farmer Albert Gastrow. Albert was a part time employee of the Wisconsin Conservation Commission later to be known as the DNR. In May of 1930 , Paul Errington was involved in field studies in the Town of West Point. After graduation in 1932 Paul became the Research Professor at Iowa State College where he worked until his death.
Errington's early publications (1929-1935) resulted mostly from this thesis research emphasized practical aspects of bob white ecology and management. He published several papers on the techniques of appraisal of food habits of raptors and other predators. However, he devoted one paper to the examination of factors influencing vulnerability of bobwhites to predation and demonstrated the
relationship between predators, territorial behavior and carrying capacity
of the habitat. Photo of Albert Gastrow on the right and Paul Errington on the left. The two letters are from Paul to Albert regarding Albert's employment for the 1932, 1933 study.

05/27/2026

Former West Point resident Don Nolden shares the history of Lodi and Town of West Point on a tour of the area with residents from the Pines Senior Living.

05/26/2026

05/25/2026

Garden Bluff Memorial Day Program 2026. Was hosted by the Garden Bluff Cemetery Association this morning May 25,2026 at 9 am. About 115 Memorial Day observers were in attendance. The program opened with the Pledge of Allegiance followed by opening prayer , readings from General Logans Orders, the Gettysburg Address and the poem, In Flanders Fields. Bagpipe music echoed through the peaceful cemetery in memory of the military soldiers that rest at Garden Bluff. The Lodi and Dane American Legion presented a gun salute and Taps were played witnessed by respectful spectators. A Memorial Day speech was presented by Retired Col. Chad Mine before a bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace and the closing benediction said by Rev. Hunter Newton from the Lake Wisconsin Evangelical Church. The Garden Bluff Cemetery thanked Sexton Scott Ness for all the work at this peaceful hilltop cemetery and for preparations and set up for the Memorial Day Program.

05/25/2026

Memorial Day programs have been held at Garden Bluff Cemetery for over 146 years. At the 1879 West Point Memorial Day Program A. F. Abbotts poem, The Day of the Dead was read by E. H. Burlingame. Orations by Hiram .E. Polly This years 2026 Memorial Day Program at Garden Bluff will start at 9am. All are welcome to attend.

05/25/2026

Philip (Phillip) Ryan immigrated from Gleninchnaveigh, County Tipperary, Ireland in 1851 to New York. . In 1856 when he was 11 years old he moved with his father Dennis to the Indian Reserve by Fish Lake, Roxbury, Wisconsin. Philip enlisted in the Union Army in August on 1862. He served as a private in Company K, 23rd Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry until the end of the Civil War. He served 3 years and was honorably discharged on July 4, 1865 at Mobile ,Alabama. After his military training at Camp Randall in Madison, Wi. his company left for Covington, KY. on September 15th, 1862. The 23rd saw action at Chicksaw Bay on the Mississippi River that December, Fort Hindman, and then Cypress Bend Arkansas, Greenville, Champion Hill and Black River Bridge, MS. He was at the siege of Vicksburg in May to July 1863 and then the siege at Jackson, MS. in July of that same year. In April of 1964 the 23rd was engaged with the confederate army at Sahine Cross Roads , LA. and at Cain River , LA. From March to April 9 , 1865 the 23rd was part of the siege at Fort Blakeley, AL. And on October 5th 1865 Philips Regiment was engaged at Jackson , LA. Fighting at siege of Vicksburg Philip lost hearing in his left ear and while in New Orleans he contacted chronic stomach issues. In 1882 Philip applied for partially disabled benefits from the U. S. Military.
After mustering out Philip returned to West Point Township to farm. He married another Westpointer Elizabeth Carroll in Februrary of 1870. They farmed in the Town of West Point. Philip died in November of 1923 and is buried at St. Aloysius Cemetery in Sauk City, Wi.