Fillmore County, Minnesota - Chapter 37: Political History (2 of 2 so headed), 1912

Chapter 37: Political History

Story of the Political Movements in Fillmore County - Original Democratic Influence Brought by Land Office Officials - Republicans Gain Control on Railroad Taxation Question - The Grange Movement - Greenbackers - Alliance - Men Who Have Been Prominent in State and National Politics. - Edited by Samuel A. Langum.

The political history of Fillmore county, so far as it concerns service in county office, has already been given in previous chapters. But there is an interesting story of political movemenis still untold. This story is formulated with the greatest difficulty. The leaders of the early days are dead, or at that stage of life where details of names and dates are no longer held clearly in the memory. The records are lacking in that personal element which would prove so interesting in a history of this sort. And unfortunately, although many of the leaders were men of literary ability, none has lett us such a story as would enlighten us as to those stirring times when the policies and polities of Fillmore county were in the course of formation.

In general it may be said that the county was at first Democratic and the officeholders were of that faith. While since 1860, the county has been considered Republican, the contests between the two parties were close for many years; and in the first twenty-five years of the county's history many Democrats served on the county boards and were elected to the legislature, representing Demoeratie portions of the county. Even in those years, however, the county officers, elected as they were from the whole couuty, were largely Republican.

The People's movement, under various names, and sometines fused with the Demoeratie ticket, was a considerable factor in the political life of the couuty from 1873 to 1902, its principal vietories heing in 1873, 1878 and 1890. Since 1902, except for oeeasional candidates, the Republican ticket has been the only county tieket in the field.

in building up new towns to pay much attention to polities. Members of the territorial legislature and the county officers had been elected with little regard to their party predilections.

In the spring of 1856, the United States Land Office was removed from Brownsville to Chatfield, and the Jand offieers being administration Democrats, proceeded to organize their party. Their first political meeting, it is said, was held in Tillotson's grove on what is now the county farm. Being in a territory the people of Fillmore county then had no vote in the national election of 1856, and there was no general canvass. In the spring of 1857, the Republican party was fully organized and entered the contest for six delegates to the Constitutional Convention. The county was thoroughly canvassed and the result was the election of the Republican ticket. The delegates were: UH. A. Billings, of Spring Valley; H. W. Holley, of Chatfield; A. H. Butler, of Newburg; N. P. Colburn, of Carimona; John Cleghorn, of Elliota, and Charles Hanson, of York.

The county election in 1858 was a contested ane. The: canvassers threw out vote from the town of Chatfield on account of alleged illegal voting, and this gave the Republicans « majority of 100, but finally the matter coming into court, the judge (Wilson) reversed the action of the board, and ordered the Chatfield vote to be counted, thus keeping the Democrats in power.

In 1859, the Republican party went into the field un the motto *'No taxation for railroad purposes,'' and carried the state and county principally on that issue.

In 1860, when there was a state movement to form a People's Union party, several Fillmore county men were interested. However, only the two parties, the Demoerais and the Republicans, went into the campaign.

In 1863, Charles D. Sherwood, of Fillmore county, was speaker of the lower house of the Minnesota legislature, and in the ecampaign of that fall was the Republican candidate for lieutenant vovernor, serving in 1864 and 1865. Filhnore county at that time was one of the most populous in the state, and many of her citizens were men of state prominence.

In the fall of 1866, the two parties in the iield were the Republicaus and Demoerats, and this arrangement continued for several years. In 1868, John Q. Farmer, afterward a distiuguished judge, was speaker of the house, his residence being at Spring Valley.

In 1869, the Prohibition party appears in state politics for the first time. A number of votes for this party were polled in Fillmore county.

The Grange movement began to be felt in state and county polities in 1873. The Grange, or as it was Officially called, the Society of the Patrons of Husbandry, was an organization of farmers all over the United States, with local Granges in practically every hamlet and township, the object being the betterment of farm conditions and the welfare of the poor man. The Civil War issues were dead, and new issues were now before the people, the principal one being the increasing powers of the railroads and other monopolies. The Grangers, or, as those of the movement who were interested in politics called themselves, the Anti-Monopolists, first went into the Republican state conyention of 1873 and endeavored to control that party. The Fillmore county representation was especially strong. When the first fight came over the selection of a speaker of the convention, J. Q. Farmer, of Spring Valley, received 138 votes against 166 for W. iH. Yale, of Winona. As a nominee for lieutenant governor on the ticket, N. P. Colburn, of Fillmore county, received 136 votes against 170 for A. Barto. The Grangers and Anti-Monopolists, not satisfied with the Republican platform, formed the People's Anti-Mouopoly Party, and the Demoecrati¢es fused with them.

In 1876, the Greenbackers, who constituted a movement which was the outgrowth of the Granger and Anti-Monopoly movements, began to be felt, and in the fall of 1877 an active campaign was conducted in this county. Jt was in this campaign that Thomas J. Meighen, who had been interested in the previous People's movements, so called, came to the front as a political factor, he being the first chairman of the Greenback county coulmittee. He was subsequently chairman of the Alliance county committee.

The campaign of 1878 was one of the most imteresting ever held in the county. There was a straight Republican county ticket in the field, and against this was arrayed a county fusion ticket of Greenbackers and Democrats. The fusion ticket sueceeded in electing Ole Allen, sheriff, and sent C. 8. Powers to the senate and J. N. Graling and Peter McCracken to the house. They were re-elected in 1880.

In 1879, the same party elected Ed Stevens as a member of the board of county commissioners. In 1881, they elected R. N. Foster. In 1882, they re-elected Mr. Stevens and clected Thomas Quinn, and thus with Stevens, Foster and Quinn, the board of county commissioners in 1883 and 1884 was in control of the Greenback, or at Jeast the Fusion, party,

In 1881, while this Greenback movement was at its height, W. W. Braden, from this county, was elected state auditor on the Republican ticket, serving from January, 1882, to January, 1891.

The Alliance movement had its beginning in 1887. It was especially strong in Fillmore county, and at one time there were no less than twenty-five local organizations here. The Alliance movement, like the Granger movement, concerned itself with the material as well as the political life of the farmers, and like the Grange, had purchasing agents, stores and elevators. It also had a number of creameries, and was really the progenitor of the present co-operative movements among the farmers.

John A. Lovely opposed Milo White as a candidate for the nomination as congressman on the Republican ticket, and the convention, which was held at Kasson, took 113 ballots, extended over a period of three days, before Mr. Lovely won out and had his name placed on the ticket. Mr. Lovely was in turn defeated at the following election by Judge Thomas Wilson, of Winona.

In 1888, C. G. Edwards, of this county, was a delegate to the national Republican convention at Chicago, and was placed on the committee on resolutions.

In 1890, W. W, Braden, of Fillmore county, was candidate for nomination of governor on the Republican ticket. The convention gave him thirty-four votes, while Nelson received seventyfive and Merriam 330.

The Fusion ticket, consisting of Alliance, Democrats and Prohibitionists, in 1890, elected Ole P. Hadland and A: H. Gilmore to the legislature, and through their efforts a bill was passed, lowering the salaries of the county officials of Fillmore county. The bill, which under the suspension of the rules, passed the senate and house ov the day it was introduced, provided that the proposition be submitted to the people of the county. The question heing duly submitted in the fall of 1891, the people by an overwhelming majority voted in favor of the reduction. These special laws have, however, been since repealed.

In 1891, the People's party having been born, Thomas J. Meighen was nawed the chairman of the People's party state central committee. In 1892, A. D. Gray was one of the Republican presidential electors.

In 1896, Thomas J. Meighen was candidate ai large for presidential elector on the Democratic ticket. The same year, Burdett Thayer was presidential elector on the Republican tieket. A. D. Gray was a delegate to the Republican national convention. In 1908, R. E. Thompson was presidential elector on the Republican ticket.

In 1900, William Meighen was nominated on the Democratic ticket as a presidential elector, and the same year Thomas J. Meighen was candidate for lieutenant governor on the Fusion Democratic-People's ticket. Two years later Thomas J. Meighen was a candidate for governor on the People's ticket.

In the fall of 1910, Sidney J. Anderson, a young lawyer from Lanesboro, was elected to congress from the First distriet, and is still serving.

The Republiean party is now and has been for many years firmly entrenched in the county. The present Republican county committee is composed of the following gentlemen: FE. K. Blexrud, chairman; W. B. Huntley, Geo. Andrus, C. K. Foss and J. P. Johnson.

From the foregoing brief review it will be seen that Fillmore county has taken a somewhat active part in the affairs of state and nation, and many of her sons have been entrusted with positions of honor and emoluments. As intimated at the beginning of this chapter, the making of a complete history, embellished with interesting personal experiences, especially of the earlicr days, is an impossible task owing to the passing away of the men who participated, while the even tenor of latter-day events leaves no room for extended comment. Hence this narrative must of necessity be largely composed of facts, names and dates - a mere matter of chronology.

Publishers' Note. The editor of this chapter has refrained from mentioning his own prominent part in state and national life, and for this reason the following brief note is appended :

S. A. Langum was elected secretary of the state senate in 1895, and held that position for eight consecutive sessions, ineluding one special session, breaking the record for continuons seryice. In 1898, he was a candidate for seeretary of state against Albert Berg, the then incumbent, and fell short forty votes in a convention of 1,000 delegates. Again in 1900, he opposed Peter E, Hanson and others, leading on the first ballot, but again failed of nomination through a series of untoward circumstances. At the close of the 1907 session of the state senate he was by resolution requested to serve as secretary of the 1909 senate, composed of the same senators, an honor never before bestowed by that body, but he was destined not to comply with the request, as in December, 1907, he was elected postmaster of national House of Representatives at Washington, serving as such daring the Sixtieth and Sixty-first congresses, retiring with incoming of a Democratic house.

Cilapter Xxxviil Agricultural History

Pioneer Farmers - Breaking the Ground - Early Drawbacks - Census Report of Live Stock and Farm Products - Roads and Bridges - Fillmore County Agricultural Society - Underground Waters - Edited by John C. Mills.

Fillmore is acknowledged as being among the best and most prosperous agricultural and stock raising counties in Minnesota. Its people are wide awake and keep step with the procession in industry and culture. The first settlers of the county were mostly farmers, and they were, with but few exeeptions poor men, as is the case in the history of every agricultural region. In fact, few had more than enough to barely get settled upon their lands; but they came with that which was in those days equal to it - training in agricultural pursuits, brawny hands that were able and not ashamed to work, and in connection with industrious habits the energy and determination to win success. The country was new, and there was no alternative but that success must be wrought from the soil, which was their only wealth and their only hope. And, in spite of all the obstacles and ineonveniences, notwithstanding the fact that the whole aim of the farming community has changed, success attended their efforts. Nor _ is the end yet reached, but the county has a mine of wealth yet undeveloped, whieh as years roll on, will grow more and more valuable as the agricultural population becomes more and more able to utilize it,

In the earliest days, when the land was first broken, it was grubby and hard, and rutabagas were largely grown. Gradually the common vegetables were raised, and wheat early became the main product, and for a number of years excellent crops were raised with scarcely a failure. At the present time, wheat has given its former place to other cereals, and the farmers find other avenues, especially dairying and hog raising, in which to devote their time and energy.

The farms of Fillmore county are similar to the farms of any other county having a similar climate and soil. It has its good farms and its poor farms. Agriculture, like every other trade or

Its mean temperature for summer is 70 degrees, the same as middle Mlinois, Ohio and southern Pennsylvania. The extreme heat that is felt in these states is here tempered by the breezes of the elevated plateau. Its higher latitude gives two hours more of sunshine than at Cincinnati. This with an abundance of rainfall, 26.36 inches annually, on a rich soil, accounts for the rapid and vigorous growth of crops and their early maturity. There is a uniformity of temperature during the winter season in southern Minnesota, with bright sunshine, dry atmosphere, good sleighing and infrequent thaws that make life a pleasure in this bracing, healthy climate.

The soil is for the most part a deep, rich, warm loam with clay subsoil. Cultivation is easy and ''irrigation and dry farming'' that one hears so much about to-day, and which is so necessary to secure a crop on much of the new lands that are being opened up in the West, at so great an expense, are not necded here. During the past few years a number of farms have been tiled and with such marked success that within a few years most of the farms will be improved in this respect. The lay of the land is such that alinost every farmer gets good drainage without difficulty.

The first settlers found here a rich, unbroken virgin soil, a land that had none but nature's care from time immemorial. Century after century, year after year, the grasses grew in all their richness and the flowers bloomed to waste their fragrance on the summer air. No foot trod the unbroken stretches save that of wild beasts or bird, or the red warrior. No plowshare turned the green sod, nor was it torn by the iron tooth of the harrow, from the time an almighty power had unrolled it like a carpet until 1851, when a few settlers reached the southeast corner, and started raising a small crop for family use.

Fillmore county has no state highways of macadam. The roads, which are made of the soil of the county, on the whole are good, and some of them are kept in the best of condition. This eounty understood road-building in the earliest days, and ihe greatest volume of business done by the early county commissioners and supervisors was in establishing road districts and providing for the maintenance of highways.

There was a time in Fillmore county when, like all new lands, the first consideration was to build good barns for the housing of the flocks and herds, and the home was the most inconspicuous object in the landscape. As the farmers prospered the log house disappeared and now there are few log houses in the entire county. Now the farmer's house vies with the city residence, and has many of the modern conveniences. Where electric light and power cannot be secured, gasoline engines furnish power, and a number of farm houses are lighted by their own gas plants. By the use of elevated tanks in the house or barn, or pneumatic tanks in cellars, farm houses often have all the sanitary eonveniences of a house in town. Our farmers recognize ihe value of keeping their property m the best of shape. Houses and barns are well painted, lawns are carefully kept and flower gardens show that our people recognize that the things which beautify add a value to life as well as to property.

The first two problems which confronted 'the early settlers were sustenance and shelter. The wagon in which the settlers came, or the log cabin provided shelter. The ground must provide the sustenance.

The settlers found here a wide diversity of soil and surlace, prairie land, forests, oak openings, bottom lands along the streams, and many hillsides. To break the sod, a breaking plow drawn by four to six yoke of oxen was required, the neighbors pooling their mterests and helping each other. By this method, about two aeres of land could be broken a day. In this way, the settlers had a few acres broken, and started raising such food stuffs as were needed for their own tables. The hopes of crops in 1857 was blasted, and there ensued the hard winter of 1857-58, during whieh the people existed on little more than cornmeal.

In 1858 and 1859, the crops were better, and in 1860, when Gov. Alexander Ramsay issued his Thanksgiving proclamation, the soil of Fillmore county had brought forth iis increase in abundant measure.

The Civil War caused a severe setback in the progress of Fillmore county agriculture. At the outbreak of the war, the county was on the road to suecess and prosperity. Improved land was worth from $5 to $10 an acre, and more land was being broken each year. The average cultivated field consisted of some twenty or thirty acres, upon which wheat was the principal crop; other vegetables and grains being raised practically for home use only. But the war called the able-bodied men to the front, and the old men, the invalids, and the women and children were left to operate the farms as best they could.

The insect pests were not strongly in evidence in the early days. The most serious of these pests, the Colorado beetle, better known as the potato bug, put in its appearance in 1869, and flourished until 1870, when the Paris green method of killing them was introduced, since which date they have been sueeessfully fought. In the sixties, the rats also made their first appeatanee in the county, brought here by immigration. Snakes haye always been plentiful, and in the early days the deadly rattlers were a serious menace to Fillmore connty husbandmen. In 1873, the grasshopper plague began to work its ravages in the state, but did little damage in Fillmore county. The chinch bugs made their appearance in 1579, and the next three or four years their ravuges were so great and such great losses were sustained by the farmers that wheat ceased to be the staple crop from that time. The cultivation of corn, oats and barley was substituted for that of wheat, the live stock industry and dairying was introduced, and from this time a new era dawned for Fillmore county. Land rose in value from $15 or $20 to $100 and #150 per acre.

The story of the primitive tools used in the early days, the gradual introduction of modern machinery, and installation of the windmill, the gasoline engine, the silo, the milk separator and other improvements is a history which this county has in common with all the other counties of southern Minnesota. The almost exclusive use of oxen in the early days, the gradual introduction after the war of horses for farm work, and the still more gradual introduction of steam and motor power is also a tale that can be told of all the counties in this region, and is not peculiar to Fillmore county. However, an interesting article on this subject by William Willford appears in another chapter in this work.

The vear 1868 marked an important epoch in the agricultural history of Fillmore county. It was this year that the Southern Minnesota R. R. eame through, and provided an output for the Fillmore county wheat. Previous to this, grain had been carted to MeGregor, Iowa, or Brownsville or Winona. Railroad facilities gave impetus to all farm pursuits, and thonsands of acres of wild land were broken every year, from 1868 to 1877. The latter year marked the greatest wheat crop of the finest quality that the county has ever known. The next year the erop was much smaller, and wheat raising in the county has, since 1879, gradually decreased, corn raising and dairying and stock raising taking its place.

The farmers of Fillmore county have had many difficulties to overcome. The gophers, the blackbirds, the pigeon and the prairie chickens were deadly enemies to the crops from the earliest days. Then, too, the climate presented difficulties, for although most of the settlers had considerable experience as farmers, their experience had been in warmer sections, and the climate here, with iis early frosts, was a new condition to which they must become accustomed.

The following report of Fillmore county issued in eonnection with the Thirteenth Census of the United States, speaks for itself in regard to the present day agricultural conditions in the county.

Land and farm areas: Approximate land area, 555,520 aeres. Land in farms, 518,814 acres. (Land im farms in 1900, 521,261 acres.) Improved laud in farms, 391,336 aeres. (Improved land in farms in 1900, 389,886 acres.) Woodland in farms, 87,917 acres. Other unimproved Jand in farms, 39,561 aeres. Per cent of the whole county in farms, 98.4 per eent. Per cent of farm land improved, 75.4 per cent. Average acres to each farm, 16114. Average improved acres to each farm, 12114.

Value of farm property: All farm property, $36,250,145. (In 1900 the value was $20,358,108.) The percentage of increase in farm value in ten years was 78.1 pev cent. Value of land alone, $24,236,255. (Value of land alone in 1900, $14,240,595.) Value of buildings alone, $6,481,481. (Value of buildings alone in 1900, $2,801,725.) Value of implements and machinery, $1,075,637. (Value of implements in 1900, $653,260.) Value of domestic animals, poultry and bees, $4,456,772. (Value of domestic animals, poultry aud bees in 1900, $2,662,528.) Per cent of value of all property in land, 66.9 per cent. Per cent of value of all property in buildings, 17.9 per cent. Per cent of value of all property in implements and machinery, 3 per cent. Per cent of value of all property in domestic annnals, poultry and bees, 12.2 per cent.

Average values: Average value of all property per farm, $11,282. Average value of land and buildings per farm, $9,560. Average value of Jand per acre, $46.71. (The average value per aere in 1900 was $27.32.)

Farms operated by owners, 2,317. (Farms operated by owners jn 1900, 2,652.) Per cent of all farms in the county operated by owners, 72.1. (In 1900, 76.3 of all the farms in the county were operated by their owners.)

Degree of ownership: Number of farms operated by owners consisting of owned lands only, 1,804. Number of farms operated by owners which also inelude with the owned land some hired Jand, 513. Of the men in the county owning and operating their own farms, 1,430 are native born and 887 foreign born.

Farms operated by tenants: Number of farms, 879. (Number of farms operated by tenants in 1900, 802.) Of ali the farms in the county, 27.4 per cent are operated by tenants. In 1900 the per cent was 23.1.

Form of tenancy: Share tenants, 501. Share-cash tenants, 65. Cash tenants, 247. Tenure not specified, 66. Of the people renting farms in the county, 697 are native born and 182 foreign born.

Mortgage debt reports of farms operated by their owners: Number free from mortgage debt, 1427. Number with mortgage debt, 855. Number of which no mortgage report was made, 39.

For farms consisting of owned land only: Number reporting debt and amount, 594. Value of their land and buildings, 45,074,442. Amount of mortgage debt, $1,513,896. Per cent of value of land and buildings mortgaged, 29.8 per cent.

The following live stock is taxed in Fillmore county, according to the list of 1911: Horses, mules and asses - One year old, 1,812; two years old, 1,598; three years old, 10,305; stallions, fine bred mares and race horses, 78. Cattle - One year old, 13,497; two years old, 8,692; cows, 18,450; all other cattle, three years and over. 8,882. Sheep, 20,771. Hogs, 18,062.

In addition to the above there was raised (in 1880): Wild hay, 8,856 tons; Timothy seed, 9,597 bushels; clover seed, 2,377 bushels; apples, 7,912 bushels; grapes, 4,209 pounds; butter produced, 689,076 pounds; cheese, 12,716 pounds; honey, 26,280 pounds; maple sugar, 100 pounds; maple syrup, 63 gallons; strawberries, 2,027 quarts; tobaeco, 2,640 pounds; wool, 14,077 pounds. Apple trees: The number reported in county is 88,389,

Roads and Bridges. The first attention paid to road matters by the commissioners of Fillmore county was on July 9, 1853, at the Winona IZotel, Winona, when it was ordered that a road be laid out by the most feasible route from Minnesota City to Winona. 'This was outside the present limits of Fillmore county. The viewers were Harvey Hubbard and E. B. Drew.

The first road that the commissioners ordered laid out from a point within the present limits of the county was one from Winona on Wabasha Prairie, through Burns' Valley, thence to the town of Chatfield. This act was taken at the home of Robert. Pike, Jy., in Minnesota City. The viewers appointed were James MeClelland and William Hewett. When Winona county was set off, February 20, 1855, it left much of this route outside of Fillmore county. At the meeting of commissioners held in Chatfield, April 7, 1854, the part of the ronte Jeft im Fillmore county, that is the part of the ronte that is now in Olmstead county, had been viewed and was ordered surveyed, while the commissioners recommended that the road from the boundary line of the county {that is, the present boundary line of Olmsted county) to Winona, should be constructed by the commissioners of the newly ereated Winona county.

The first road entirely within the present limits of Filmore county ordered built by the county commissioners by one connecting Elliota, section thirty-two, 101, nine, with Warpeton, section four, 102, eleven, thence to Chatfield. This action was taken by the commissioncrs April 7, 1854, and the viewers appointed were J. W. Elliott and J. C. Pickett.

District three. Townships 105 and 106; ranges eleven, twelve and thirteen. This disirict was outside the limits of present limits of Fillmore county.

In January, 1856, L. M. Smith was appointed road supervisor in the First distriet, H. B. Morse in the Second, and John H. Main in the Third.

July 22, 1857, the first road 1ax in the county was laid. In Carimona, Preston and Chatfield precinets a tax of 3 mills was laid; in Elliota precinct a tax of 244 mills, and in Waterford precinct a tax of $100. The extent of these precincts. at that time

The first official action taken in regard to bridges in Fillmore county was at the meeting of January 6, 1857, when ithe commissioners appropriated $500 for the coupletion of a bridge over the main branch of the Root river, on the eounty road froin Preston to Chatfield; 4200 for the completion of a bridge across the north branch of Root river, on the territorial road from Mankato to La Crosse; $200 for the completion of a bridge across the south branch of Root river at Preston, on the territorial road from Rochester to Jowa state line; $200 for the completion of a bridge across the middle branch of Root river, on the territorial road from Elliota to St. Paul.

At the present time the roads of Fillmore county are in exeel- Jent condition, and large appropriations are made each vear for the construction and maintainanee of roads and bridges.

The Freeborn County Agricultural Society will hold, in 1912, iis fifiy-third annual fair. <All the fairs, with the exception of ihree at Lanesboro, have been held at Preston, on a plat laid out in 1872 by H. S. Bassett and others on land of Barbara Schweitzer, now owned by the village of Preston, and leased to the Agricultural Society for fifty vears. The society and its fairs have done much to encourage agriculture in the county, and the grounds are well kept. It is now proposed that a large horse barn and a modern floral hall be built im the immediate future. This year the sui of nearly 45,000 is offered in prizes, premiums and purses. The officers are: President, James O'Hara; vicepresident, A. W. Thompson; treasurer, Thomas J. Garratt; seeretary, Frank J. Ibach; board of managers, I. S. Holton, B. G. Duxbury, C. Boyer, D. D. Ayer, Charles Dunn, Charles Utley and A. H. Langum.

Underground Waters

The water supply in Fillmore county is exeellent. <A report of these waters by C. W. Hall and M. L. Fuller has recently been issued by the United States Government. The following information culled from this report is of greatest interest to the people of the county:

Fillmore county lies of what was originally a broad plateau. Tn the western aud southern portions of the county the plateau character is still preserved, but in the northern and eastern parts the surface is very rugged, consisting of deep, sharp valleys separated by ridges with flat or gently rolling crests, the latter representing remnants of the original surface. The elevation of the plateau in the western half of the county is more than 1,300 feet above sea level, but to the east it descends to 1,230 fect, or about 550 to 600 feet above the Mississippi. In the western part of the county, where the plateau has not been dissected, it is fairly level, the flatness being due in part to the mantle of glacial drift that rests upon it. Farther east there is little or no drift, but the upland surface is covered by a thin mantle of yellowish silt or loess, which, though it somewhat masks the inequalities of the rock surface, does not completely hide them, leaving a rather rolling surface. In the areas underlain by the Galena limestone and Decorah shale occasional basins or sink holes as well as mounds and low hills of the limestone occur.

The principal valleys are those carved by Root river and its tributaries. In the harder rocks the valleys are narrow and canyon-like, but those in the softer rocks reach a width of a mile in places and contain extensive deposits of alluvium. The streams generally flow in rapids where they cross from harder to softer rocks, the change also being marked by terraces along the sides of the valleys. In some places bluffs and picturesque pinnacles border the vaileys.

Surface Deposits. The surface deposits include alluvium, loess and glacial drift. The alluvium of Fillmore county ineludes the gravels and sands deposited by Root river and its tributaries. The thickness of these deposits in some places is not known, bub perhaps reaches fifty feet or more, the average probably being between twenty-five and thirty feet. They contain considerable water and usually yield ample snpplies for domestic and farm purposes. The loess is a fine yellow loamy silt deposited over the uplands to a depth rarely exceeding ten feet. It is unimportant as a water-bearing bed, but is of value owing to the fact that it collects rainfall and feeds it to the underlying rock.

The glacial drift of Fillmore county consists chiefly of clay mixed with pebbles and bowlders, but locally it contains gravel aud sand layers and in some places deposits of peat. It is found mainly in the western third of the county, where its greatest thiekness is 100 feet. In the eastern part it is very thin, in many places oceurring only in scattered patches. No water is found in these thin isolated deposits, but in the sand and gravel layers of the thick accumniations quantities sufficient for farm and domestic purposes occur. Certain dark elays, about 20 feet thick and woderlain by several feet of waterbearing sandstone, have been thought to be cretaceous, but there is little ground for this assumption.

Paleozoic Formations. The Devonian rocks in Fillmore county consist of thin-beeded, even-grained, granular, yellow magnesian and arenaceous limestones. They onterop on the hilltops in the southwestern townships and have a total thickness of about 100

The Maquoketa shale consists of caleareous and sandy shales, aggregating about eighty feet in thickness. It outcrops along a northwest-southeast line from a point near Hamilton on the western to Granger on the southern boundary. Beeause of their impervious character the shales contain practically no water, but intercept the water seeping through the overlying Devonian and residuary material, forming an important spring horizon.

The Galena limestone, Decorah shale, and Platteville limestone outcrop in a number of bluffs bordering the headwaters of Root river. On the uplands the Galeua limestone yields moderate quantities of water, but near the valley edges the water is largely lost by leakage. The supplies from the Platteville limestone are very sinall, as the water either escapes into the adjacent valleys where the formation outerops or sinks into the underlying St. Veter sandstone.

The St. Peter sandstone outcrops in the upper parts of the bluffs bordering the principal streams and constitutes the surface rock on the upland areas in the eastern third of the county. It vields large supphes except near the valleys, where leakage has removed most of the water.

The Shakopee dolomite is about 75 feet thick and is exposed in the bluffs bordering the principal streams in the eastern half of the county. Where it lies beneath the St. Peter sandstone it seems to hold up the water in that formation and makes shallow wells possible. It earries some water in its bedding planes and sandy layers, but rarely affords supplies to wells. It gives rise to some springs along the valleys.

The New Richmond sandstone is from twenty-five to forty feet thick and outerops in the principal valleys. It is not an important source of water supply.

The Oneota dolomite is essentially a magnesian limestone, but in this county earries some green sand and oceasionally shaly layers. It is about 200 feet thick and is exposed in the valleys of Root river and its tributaries. It carries less water than the alluvium of the valleys and less than the overlying New Richmond. In itself it is not to be regarded as a source of water supply.

The Jordau sandstone is about 100 feet thick. It ontcrops in the Root river valley as far upstream as Lanesboro and also along several tributaries of this stream in the eastern portion of the county. Along its exposures in the valleys the supplies of water that it yields are usually small, but to the west where it passes under the uplands it earvies large amounts of water and is the strongest water-bearing bed encountered. Here the water

The St. Lawrence formation consists of about 175 feet of limestones, shales, and sandy beds, of which about' seventy-five feet are exposed in the bottom of the Root river valley below Peterson. It carries a little water in the sandy beds, but because everywhere except in the valley mentioned it is overlain by ihe Jordan, which is a mueh stronger water bearer, it is of Little importance as a source of supply.

The Dresbach sandstone oceurs about 125 feet below Root river at the eastern boundary of the county. It is an open porous sandstone, saturated with water under considerable pressure, and yields supplies that rise nearly or quite to the surface of the river bottoms. Jn the valleys and near the edge of the uplands this sandstone affords the best source of water, but where it is deep below the surface, as in the western part of the county, there is no advantage in sinking to it, as equally satisfactory supplies ean be obtained from the Jordan at a considerably less depth.

Beneath the Dresbach sandstone are shales that earry little or no water. Below these shales is a sandstone that affords large volumes of water, but perhaps no more than the Dresbach sandstone, although it is under somewhat greater head. At still greater depths is the red elastic series, resting in turn on a granite foundation,

Underground Water Conditions. Head of the Water. Flowing Wells are obtained in the valleys of Root river and its affluents as far upstream as Rushford. The water comes from the Dresbach and underlying sandstones and rises to 730 feet above sea level. It will not, however, rise to the surface in the upper parts of the valley, and on the uplands stands several hnndved feet below the surface. Even in the highest portions of the county, the water from shallow horizons underlain by impervious formations, may stand near the surface. The head of the drift wells varies with their position, depending on the altitude of the surrounding moraini¢c masses and outwash plains. There are several flowing wells in township 101, range thirteen, near the state line, and others occur along the upper Jowa river in Iowa.

Quality of the Water. The water of the county is all moderately hard. It contains considerable quantities of calcium and magnesium and the bicarbonate radiele, but is not otherwise highly mineralized.

Wells. The wells of Fillmore county may be divided into. several groups, the most important of which are (1) the shallow wells in glacial drift, (2) the shallow wells in alluvium, (3) the noufiowing rock wells, and (4) the flowing rock wells. The drift is not commonly a source of water except near the western border of the county, where it is fifty to seventy-five feet thick or more in places and usually carries considerable water at a level within easy reach of shallow open wells. Eastward across the county the drift decreases rapidly in thickness and yields but little water, so that it is necessary for wells to enter a rock formation. [xcept near the edge of the uplands, satisfactory supplies ean be obtained at depths of 100 to 150 feet. Near the deepest valleys, however, the water is free to escape from the bluffs, and many of the upland wells must penetrate to depths of several hundred feet. It is not unusual for wells near the bluffs to go 250 to 350 feet for their supplies, and in some of them water is not obtained until the level of the valley bottom is reached. In general the wells on the south side of the valleys are deeper than those on the north side, because of the southward dip of the rocks. In the deep valleys many farm and village wells ubtain their supplies from the alluvium at very shallow depths, but more satisfactory wells are proeured in the valleys by drilling into the underlying saudstones, which are reached at moderate depths and from whieh the water rises nearly or quite to the surface.

Springs. In the deep valleys everywhere cut into the rock in the eastern portion of the county the water is free to escape and issues in numerous springs, some of them very large. These springs occur along lines that mark the upper surfaee of impervious shales and limestones. Many of the streams fed by such springs are eapable of affording water power, and some of them ave sourees of supply for public waterworks. The strongest springs are said to be on the north side of the east-west valleys, the emergence of the water being facilitated by the southward dip of the rock.

Water Supplies for Cities and Villages, Lanesboro. The village of Lanesboro obtains much of its supply from large springs issuing from the New Richmond sandstone and possibly from the Oneota dolomite and Jordan sandstone. The spring known loeally as the City spring is inclosed to form a eement-lined cistern about fifteen by thirty feet in size, from whieh the water 3s pumped by an eleetrie motor into the village system. Although only about 27,000 gallons is consumed daily, the spring is said to be capable of yielding four times that amount. There is a large spring in the park near the village, the water of which apparently comes from the Jordan; another one and a half miles south of the village is one of the largest springs in this locality and was formerly used for water power. These springs are interesting geologically as well as ceonomically, beeause they indicate that large streams flow through deep-lying Paleozoie rocks. The drainage of the region is sufficient to produee such underground erosion that long cavernous passages have been carved out of the limestone. Where these springs are used for drinking supplies, the source should be sought out and guarded against pollution.

Spring Valley. The public supply at Spring Valley was at first obtained from springs issuing from the limestones and shales. This source soon became inadequate and the present supply is derived chiefly from a well forty feet in diameter, sunk into the limestone and shale eighteen feet below the surface.

Preston. One of the most notable springs of the county is that furnishing the Preston public supply. It issues from bedding planes at the base of the New Richmond sandstone and the top of the Oneota dolomite. It is only two feet above the level of the river and was formerly subject to overflow, but is now protected by cement walls. The water is collected in a eceinent cistern built down to the rock. The yield is said to be 250 gallons a minute, of which only about thirty gallons is required for the public supply. The flow is constant and independent of seasons. The water has but little permanent hardness aud will not form much scale if heated before being admitted te hoilers.

Rushford. The first public supply for Rushford was installed about 1887, the water being obtained from a well sunk on the side of the bluff above the vulage. This well was used for a ntunber of years, but, because of the expense of pumping, a new well 353 feet deep was sunk in 1901 on low ground in the center of the village, and flowing water was obtained. The fiow shows certain puzzling fluctuations. When the barometric pressure is low, and usually in the spring, it discharges out of a pipe one and a half feet above the ground, but at other times the flow steps. The changes are irregular, however, and may have some other cause besides variations in barometric pressure.

Chatfield. The village of Chatfield, which extends into Olinsted county, has a system of public waterworks deriving its supplies from wells sunk to the Jordan sandstone. Private wells drilled to depths of sixty-five to 100 feet procure an adequate supply.

Harmony. The public supply at Harmony comes [rom a well 220 feet deep, which ends in the St. Peter sandstone. The water is reported to stand 130 feet below the surface. It is used largely for domestic purposes.

Wykoff. The publie supply at Wykoff is derived from a welt 600 feet deep, which has been pumped at the rate of 180 gallons a minute. The water is reported to stand 300 feet below the surface. It is used by most of the people for domestic purposes.

Fountain. The first deep well in the vicinity of Fountain is said to have been sunk by William Herman. Its suecess showed the possibilities of deep wells, and accordingly others were drilled by private persons and by the municipality. The first village well was originally six inches in diameter and 376 feet deep, but later it was sunk to a depth of 585 feet and now obtains a good supply, the water rising within 840 feet of the surface. <A street well was sunk to a depth of 376 feet and was pumped by a windmill and Jater by a gasoline engine, but it finally failed. A new village well, sunk in 1906 to a depth of 608 feet, obtains water at depths of 90 feet and 370 feet and at the bottom.

The Jarge springs from which Fountain derives its name are a mile or more northwest of the village and issue at a level 147 feet lower than the general level of the village. The water comes in large volume from solution crevices in the limestone immediately above the shales (see the above sections). At one time it was lifted by a ram to the village, but the springs were abandoned beeause of the muddiness of the water after storms, evidently due to the earth entering the underground passages through the sinks in the vicinity. Sinee these sink holes are often made the receptacles of refuse, the waters are liable to pollution, and the village did well to abandon its supply.

Mabel. The public supply at Mabel is here drawn from a well 140 feet deep, in which the water rises within forty feet of the surface. A majority of the people use private wells.

Canton. In the village of Canton there is a well 240 feet deep. The stock yards are supplied from a well reported to be 318 feet deep. These wells apparently derive their water from the New Richmond and Jordan sandstones, respectively.

Summary. The most reliable supplies in Fillmore county are derived from the deep sandstone formations. The water from these beds stands at a level fay below the upland surface, but rises nearly to the level of the deepest valleys and near Rushford produces flows. Many satisfactory wells for farm and domestic supplies are obtained from the surface deposits and from the rock formations near the surface. These wells have an advantage over those going to the deep sandstones both in depth and in head. The waters from all the horizons utilized are similar in chemical composition. They contain rather large amounts of calcium and magnesium and the bicarbonate radicle, but little other mineral matter.