Archibald Brockmeier’s Search for The Swamp Monster

 

By Paul Schilling

July 2017

 

My name is Paul Schilling and I live in Avon Township, Rock County, WI.  My wife Helen and I owned and operated Paul’s Tree Farm, a 100 acre Christmas tree plantation from 1963, when we were married, till 2012 when we sold it and retired.  My grandfather, Clayton McNitt, started the plantation in 1948 when he planted the first seedlings.  He also owned and operated the Avon Lumber Company located on our farm where he had a sawmill and sold building material.  My dad and mother, Duane and Mary Schilling, operated the dairy farm also located here.  While growing up on the farm I helped my dad and grandfather on the farm, lumber yard and Christmas tree plantation. 

 

The Christmas tree plantation was located along the Sugar River which is about one half mile south of our house on the Beloit Newark Road.  Besides planting and harvesting the Christmas tree crop every year we also spent most of June and July shearing the thousands of pines, spruces and fir trees growing on our plantation. 

 

While shearing trees along the river one summer in the 1970’s we had our first sighting of the fictitious creature the “AVON SWAMP MONSTER” as he became called.  I’m sure everyone living within 50 miles of our place has heard all of the tales about this creature so I won’t go into a lot of details here.  There is a lot of information in the articles on the Avon Swamp Monster page on the “Swamp Monster” section of this website.  The creature is tall, maybe 8’ or so.  He is a large hairy beast that walks upright and smells much like the swamp he lives in.  He is quite shy and never comes too close to people, however he has been known to a time or two.  He is not aggressive and has never harmed anyone that we know of so I have always assumed he is not dangerous.  I am not sure if there is only one creature or more.  No one has ever seen more than one at a time.  But if there is a pair, they aren’t reproducing at any great rate.  There is a lot of mystery surrounding him to this day. 

 

After giving you, the reader, this brief background about me, my family and the “Avon Swamp Monster”, I now want to tell you about the latest information recently uncovered to this great mystery and story. 

 

 

I was recently going through some old boxes of papers that had been stored in our attic for years that belonged to my grandfather, Clayton McNitt.  I came across several letters that were written to an Archibald Brockmeier, all dated back around the Civil War era and after.  They were letters he had received from his homeland of Germany.  I have no idea how my grandfather came by these letters.  That’s a big question that I will never know.  When he was alive he never mentioned having them to anyone that I ever heard of.  My great grandparents, William B. and Minnie Henry, grandma McNitt’s parents, lived on this farm since around 1898 or so.  I know William Botsworth Henry bought the farm in 1898 and built a new house around 1910 close to the road.  This is on the north side of the Beloit Newark Road.  He probably lived in the older house that was back up the lane by the barn before building his new home.  I know the lumber used to build it was brought from Brodhead by horse drawn wagon.  The total cost for building the house was $1000.  Maybe somehow they acquired the letters some way and passed them on to my grandparents. 

 

I have heard stories about a small settlement along the Sugar River on the south of our farm but have never seen any evidence or remains of any buildings there.  There are the remains of an old farmstead down there.  There was a stone house, small barn and machine shed or hog house.  There isn’t much left of them now except the foundations.  These buildings are a little farther north than where the settlement was supposed to be.  When I was young I spent many days hunting and fishing in this area, so not ever seeing any evidence I’m not sure about it.  However according to the letters this is the area Archibald Brockmeier had his cabin and lived.  Before I discovered these letters, I or no one else in the area, that is now living, had ever heard the name Archibald Brockmeier. 

 

The letters are from his family and evidently from a professor at a university or research lab in Germany.  What I have gathered from these letters is that Archibald came to this country with financial backing in the “old country”, in search of a large hairy creature living along “Sugar Creek”, as it was called then. 

 

In one letter from a Dolf Brockmeier, it stated that everyone back home was happy to hear that Archibald had arrived safely to the intended area and glad he got his small log cabin built before winter set in.  It sounded like he had a small, one room, log cabin with a wood burning stove and he also got a supply of wood cut and laid by for the winter. 

 

If our farm was actually the site of his cabin down by the river, it would have only been about a mile or so from there to the village of Avon where he could have gotten other necessary supplies.  I would assume he would have owned a horse as that was the main mode of travel back in those days.  Most everyone had a fruit cellar back then to store food supplies for the winter.  It sounded like he had cleared an area for a garden and raised a lot of his own food.  He surely would have had to store enough food for the winter as the snow sometimes gets several feet deep and drifts maybe up to six to eight feet high in this area.  Once the snow came he would have been snowed in for the winter.  If he had a horse or any other animals he would have had to have food for them also.  One letter did mention something about him having a dog named Alex.  He also spent a lot of time hunting and fishing for his supply of meat.  There was an abundance of deer, rabbits and squirrels and catfish in the creek.  There were also ducks and geese in the spring, summer and fall.  While hunting, trapping and fishing he was always on the lookout for the mysterious creature he came to search for. 

 

It has been several weeks since I wrote the above and in the meantime I have been going through more boxes of my grandfathers’ old papers.  I just came across a small journal or diary written by Archibald Brockmeier that proves to be very interesting.  Its first entry is in the spring of 1862. 

 

He states that he has found an ideal spot to build a small log cabin on a rise to hopefully be out of the flood plain of Sugar Creek in Southern Wisconsin.  He also states he had a pleasant and safe journey over on the ship and traveling across the country to southern Wisconsin.  He did have a horse and wagon.  He did come across a stray dog that took a fancy to him and followed him most of his trip on land.  He named him Alex. 

 

A lot of entries are brief and not a lot of detail.  He purchased his wood stove at the general store in the village of Avon along with other necessities.  He had to clear an area to build on and plant his garden.  It took him all of the first summer to build his cabin and get himself established and store enough food and wood for the winter ahead.  He had an outside fruit cellar that wasn’t dug very dep because of the high water table.  There was plenty of slew hay available for his horse.  He had a rifle and a shotgun for hunting and protection.  There was no problem securing meat as wild game was abundant and he grew his own vegetables. 

 

Before I go on any further there is one thing I should explain.  The letters were all written in German so I had a friend translate them for me.  He stated in his journal that he has learned English very well and says he writes everything and always speaks in English so he will keep improving.  Therefore his journal was in English and quite good English at that.  I believe he must have been very well educated and financially well off to be doing what he was doing. 

 

He wishes he had a better camera than what was currently available.  If he did spot the creature the current camera technology is to slow to capture a moving object in a photo.  I know the Kodak Brownie cameras and roll film was introduced around 1900.  Before that about all that was available was Daguerreotypes beginning about 1840, glass plate negatives beginning around 1850, Ambrotypes beginning around 1855 and tin types beginning around 1855.  All of these were extremely slow and no movement could be allowed during the long exposure time required for the exposure or the image would have been badly blurred.  So there really wasn’t anything available at that time that would have been appropriate to take a photo of a moving object.  I don’t know if he had a camera of any kind as no mention of one was made or photos found.

 

One entry in his journal stated he would purchase ammunition, gunpowder and lead shot in the general store in Avon.  He also states that he could purchase everything necessary that he couldn’t grow or shoot in Avon so he didn’t have to travel to the next nearest town, Brodhead, which was another seven or eight miles to the north. 

 

His dog, Alex, was his constant companion and states he would have been quite lonely if it wasn’t for Alex.  He did get to know a few people in Avon and spent time visiting with them when he went for supplies.

 

He said he didn’t know exactly how to go about locating the creature he came for other than keeping his eyes and ears open while hunting, fishing and working in his garden.  He did make several blinds to sit in for hunting and just to watch for anything unusual.  But all he ever saw was the abundant wildlife of the area.  He stated he was 32 years old when he made his first entry.  He never mentioned anything about ever being sick and the entries went on for another thirty years.  So he must have been a healthy person.  Most of the entries were repetitious year after year about working in his garden and putting up enough food and supplies for the winter.  There were several entries over the years stating that he hadn’t seen the creature he came looking for and was beginning to doubt its existence. 

 

Towards the end of the diary he made several very interesting entries.  In the spring of 1892 he stated:  May 10, 1892---“I have never searched more than an eighth to a quarter of a mile from my cabin, mostly south and east.  I decided to go to the west at least a quarter to a half a mile along the north side of Sugar Creek and stay on the higher ground that doesn’t flood.  This was all wooded area,  mostly oak trees.”

 

He had lost Alex about 15 years earlier from old age.  He had gotten another dog from someone in the village that had a litter of puppies and was giving them to good homes.  He named him Fred after a dog he had as a kid back in Germany.  Fred was now getting old but still accompanied him everywhere he went. 

 

“Fred and I walked quite a ways west and a little north, probably one fourth to a half mile.  We came upon a small clearing in the heavily wooded area.  Tall slew grass was growing there.  The grass was probably close to six feet tall.  The area covered about a half an acre.  Out in the center of the area was an unusual site.  It was a grass covered hut, maybe ten feet around and nine or ten feet tall in the center.  The door was about eight feet tall.  It was constructed with poles put in the ground and a tall pole in the center.  The grass covered roof sloped up to a peak in the center.  It was very well constructed and tied together with vines.  The door had vine hangers and opened and closed easily.  I wondered if this was the work of the swamp creature.  If so, he is quite intelligent.  There was no sign of anyone being around since the slew grass had grown up this spring.  There was a large rock with a flat top inside the hut which could easily have been used as a chair.  Maybe it was used as shelter in the winter?  Fred and I sat down inside and just thought about the situation.  We were there about an hour when we got up and were going to head back home before it got dark.” 

 

“As we stepped out the door I spotted a large object moving through the heavily wooded area.  Could this be what I have been searching for all these years?  It was dark in color and was walking upright and was about eight feet tall.  It was very difficult to see in the thick timber and underbrush.  It was only visible for a few seconds and was out of sight.  Fred and I walked over to the area where we saw him and found a well-used trail going off towards the creek.  But there were no visible tracks in the hard ground.  It was getting late so we headed home for the day.”

 

May 11, 1892:  “I was so excited when Fred and I arrived back at our cabin last evening that I couldn’t eat much supper and went to bed early.  However, I couldn’t sleep.  I tossed and turned all night trying to figure out what to do next.  I am going back today and look around some more.”

 

May 15, 1892:  “I went back to the area of the grass hut and searched the entire area, for what I do not know, just looking for more clues and maybe spot the creature again.  I found that the trail did lead to the Sugar Creek where he could have swam, bathed and drank water.  I found another trail leading off to the west.  Fred and I followed it for quite a ways, but it kept going on and on so we decided to turn around and go back.  We found another area with slew grass growing and decided to build a small blind about thirty feet off the trail so we could sit quietly and watch.  It took a couple of days to complete the blind as I was careful to build it so it would blend in with the surrounding vegetation.  If I do say so myself, I did a very good job, as it was hardly visible from the trail.  You would only see it if you knew where it was and was looking for it.  I am going to let it sit there for a few days without going back, then go back and just sit and watch and hopefully see something.  At first I thought I wouldn’t take Fred with me but decided it would get very lonely, day after day, without my companion and best friend.  I just hoped he would keep quiet and not bark and carry on if the swamp creature did appear.  I would love to get a good look at him and not frighten him in the process.” 

 

May 20, 1892:  “Fred and I have been sitting in our blind for four days now.  We would get up early each morning, have breakfast, feed my horse and pack a lunch and then head to the blind.  I took an apple, cheese sandwich and some venison jerky for myself and some table scraps from supper the evening before for Fred.  I also took a jug of water and a book to read to pass the time.  The first four days we didn’t see any sign of the creature.  But did see several deer, turkeys, rabbits and squirrels.  Geese and ducks flew over from time to time so it wasn’t as boring as I thought it might be just sitting, not much different than hunting or fishing.  Fred was good and I did visit with him quite a bit and read in my book.  When it got close to sundown we headed back to the cabin and made supper.  It was always dark when we finished eating.  Yesterday we sat till late afternoon seeing nothing except the regular wildlife.  Then, all of a sudden, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye to my right.  I didn’t move even though I was quite concealed and it moved slowly down the path.  I could see quite well and it was definitely the “swamp creature”.  He was about eight feet tall, covered with dark hair and smelled a lot like the Avon Bottoms which was his home, kind of a swampy smell.  He would stop now and then and pick some leaves or berries to eat.  It took him ten or fifteen minutes to travel out of my sight.  He was not in a hurry.  I sure wish I had one of those newfangled cameras they talk about.  I believe he was moving slowly enough that I could have gotten a decent picture, if I had the camera set up on a tripod.  I was so excited I could hardly just sit there.   My heart was beating out of my chest.  We sat still for maybe a good hour or more after he was out of sight.  I didn’t want to get up and move and spook him.  I did want to get back home before dark and write a letter to my brother Dolf and tell him the exiting news.”

 

This was the last entry in the journal.  Why no more I cannot say or what ever happened to Archibald Brockmeier.  Curiously there was a letter in with all of the other letters he had received that he had written to his brother Dolf dated May 19, 1892 and was never mailed.  In the letter he stated that after all these years he finally made a discovery and had spotted the swamp creature that he had been searching for.  He went on to describe the beast and how he finally accomplished this feat.  He said he was hurrying to write this letter so he could get up early the next morning and take it to the Post Office in Avon.  Obviously the letter was never mailed as it is in my possession now along with all the other letters he had received from back home.  Whatever happened to Archibald Brockmeier and Fred I guess we will never know.  But we did learn a lot about his living in Avon for at least thirty years and that the “Avon Swamp Monster”, as we call him, existed in the 1800’s or at least his ancestors were alive then.  We never have been able to determine whether there are more than one or if they reproduce or not.  Or is the one Archibald saw the same one we are seeing?  There are still a lot of questions, but it is all very fascinating. 

 

 

I am now 75 years old and don’t know how many more years I will be able to continue the search for answers to the swamp monster mystery, so if there is anyone out there that wants to take up the challenge, I encourage you to use as much of the information and facts on this site and start a site of your own.  This would preferably be a younger person that would have many years ahead of him or her to continue the search.  This person should also enjoy hunting and fishing or just being an outdoors type person who is willing to enter the realm of the creature to continue the search.  It will take someone with more education, imagination and ability to write than I have if the mystery of the Avon Swamp Monster is ever to be completely solved.  I have not made any attempt to capitalize on this continuing search but just want to inform you, the general public, on the situation as new information arises.  I am still hoping that if anyone out there has any additional information, that they will send it to me by E-mail and I will continue putting more information on this site as it becomes available and as long as I am able to continue on, which, hopefully will be for quite a while yet. 

 

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