Left-John Donald leveling the road bed in front of the family farm on hwy 92
John Sweet Donald
John Sweet Donald was one of Mt. Horeb Area's most famous and influential residents. His contributions to Wisconsin's politics were many. He was born January 12, 1869 in a log cabin, near what now is Hwy 92 in Section 29 of Springdale. He was born to John Strong Donald and Ellen Sweet. (His biological father, John, died at the age of 26, three months before his son was born.) Young John lived with his mother on the forty acres his grand-father, Rev. James Donald had acquired from the State. He attended country school in Springdale and went on to Business College in Madison. He then attended Valpraiso University in Indiana, and in 1897 he graduated from the Chicago Dental College.
John was never to practice dentistry, however, as in 1897, his stepfather, John Jones, passed away. His Mother was left with the expense of not only the Donald Farm but the McCord farm and the Sweet farm which they had bought. John moved back home, and worked to keep the three farms together. In 1898 he brought his bride, Vona De Crow of Valparaiso, Indiana, to Springdale to live with him. They had three children, Delma, born in 1899, Robert, in 1901, who lived only a few weeks, and Dora, in 1903, who died at six months.
In 1893, at the age of 23, John served as assessor of Springdale. From 1899-1902 he was Springdale's Town Chairman on the Board of Supervisers. He was active in local politics and in 1902 his friends urged him to run for the State Assembly on the Republican ticket. He was elected to the Assembly that year and reelected in 1904. In 1908 and 1910 he was elected as a Member of the State Senate and went on to serve two terms as Secretary of State of Wisconsin in 1912 and 1916.
John Donald championed many causes while in elected office. He was active in support of the Railroad Compensation Bill, Workman's Compensation, Grain Inspection Bill, the Primary Election Bill, and many other progressive bills. He introduced a bill prohibiting large telephone company monopolies from unfairly cutting rates putting small independent companies, like the Mt. Vernon Telephone Company, out of business. He was chair of the committee that drew up the Pure Food Laws, protecting the health of the public as well as weights and measures laws, protecting consumers against fraud. He was chair of the Education Committee, and served on the Public Welfare committee.
What John Donald is best remembered for is the "Good Roads Bill" and he was often called "the father of good road laws in Wisconsin." Before he introduced this bill in 1911, Wisconsin's roads were cared for by a patchwork of farmers maintaining their own roadways. Good roads were a necessity to get products to market. The Bill gave State aid to highways, and created a highway commission to secure funds to build and maintain the State Highway System. This bill was known as the "Donald Bill."
All of his hard work in public office earned John Donald the respect of fellow legislators as well as his constituents. Politics however was not his only passion. the Donald Farm was a model farm, and the Donalds were innovators in many new farm practices. The Sweet farm was one of the first farms in Wisconsin to be rented on a 50/50 co-operative share basis. The Donalds planted one of the first fields of alfalfa in Springdale to yield three cuttings of hay in one year, and were one of the first to apply lime on the soil in their fields. The Donalds raised purebred Percheron horses, Shorthorn cattle and Berkshire hogs. They built new dairy barns on each of their three Vernon Valley Farms.
In 1917 and 1918 John Donald served as chairman of the Dane County Council of Defense and a member of Exemption Board #1. When the Y.M.C.A asked him to serve overseas as a A.E.F. (American Expeditionary Force) secretary, he said he had sent so many young men into service he felt he could not refuse. After serving in France in 1918, he worked with the Army Educational Corps, organizing classes in agriculture for the army of occupation. After he arrived home, He joined the faculty of the UW College of Agriculture and worked to pioneer the keeping of farm records. He set up simple adequate forms for farm records and wrote two sets of farm record books one of which was used when teaching farm accounting.He talked to many farmers about the importance of farm records, with the slogan: "A farm without records is like a clock without hands".
As if these achievements were not enough, John Donald's accomplishments also included, A Charter Member of the Madison's Rotary Club, a 32nd degree Mason, a member of the Knights of Templar, the Shriners, and the consistory. He was President of the State Livestock Breeders, and the State Conference of Social Work, Treasurer of State County Life Assn. Friends of Our Native Landscape, and Secretary of Dane County's Agriculture Society.
John Donald died on January 10th, 1934 and is buried in the Mt. Horeb cemetery. His insight and dedication earn him a special place in the history of our State, and in particular of the Mt. Horeb Area.
In a Memorial to John Donald, the University of Wisconsin had this to say of John Donald:
"Thus Mr. Donald, whose quiet and kindly nature seemed at times almost to obscure his initiative and force, will live not alone in the hearts of those who knew him personally, but also in the lives of those who, for years to come, will find their world a little better because of his loves and labors. He would ask no better reward than to be written as one who loves his fellow man."
So the next time we drive past the "Donald Farm" on Hwy 92 (now on the National Historic Register) remember John Donald, his dedication to agriculture, his visions for good roads, and his progressive work for social betterment.