Freeborn County, Minnesota - Chapter 11: County Government, 1911

Chapter 11: County Government

First Board of County Commissioners Organizes - The Super¬ visor System - Doings of the Early Boards - Complete List of Elective County Officers - County Seat Contest - Court House, Jail and Poor Farm - County Ditches.

The history of the government of Freeborn county begins with an election held some time in 1856, at the home of "William Andrews, on the line between Shell Rock and Hayward. At this election twenty-four votes were cast. No county affairs, however, were voted upon at that time.

In the spring of 1857 the territorial legislature passed an act authorizing the organization of Freeborn county, which had been created February 20, 1855. In pursuance with this act the gov¬ ernor, after consulting with various persons interested in the county, appointed William Andrews, E. C. Stacy and S. N. Frisbie commissioners, Samuel M. Thompson register of deeds and Thomas C. Thorne treasurer. The commissioners were directed to meet, appoint officers, name a temporary county seat and transact other business. The register of deeds was to perform, in addition to the duties of that office, those now performed by the auditor, and was also to be clerk of the board of county com¬ missioners. Mr. Thompson never served. William Morin as¬ sumed the duties of the office as deputy, and at the second meet¬ ing of the commissioners was appointed register of deeds in place of Mr. Thompson.

The first meeting of the Board of County Commissioners ap¬ pointed by Governor Gorman was held at the home of George S. Ruble, in the village of Albert Lea, March 3, 1857, for the pur¬ pose of organization. The board consisted of William Andrews, E. C. Stacy and S. N. Frisbie. William Andrews was chosen chairman. On motion of Mr. Frisbie, E. C. Stacy was chosen judge of probate. At an adjourned meeting on the fourth the county officers were appointed as follows: Sheriff, George S. Ruble, of Albert Lea ; surveyor, Edward P. Skinner, of Shell Rock city; coroner, A. H. Bartlett, of Shell Rock city; district attorney, John W. Heath, of Geneva. The county was divided into three assessors' districts, and the following assessors appoint¬ ed: James M. Drake, John Dunning and Walter Stott; justices of the peace, Isaac P. Lvnde and George Watson; constables, George Giles, George Dearmin, William A. Hoag and Walter Stott. At this meeting a county seal was ordered, and the time for entering upon their duties by the several officers appointed was placed on the twentieth of that month. The location of the county seat came up for careful consideration. Mr. Frisbie moved that the tem¬ porary county seat be Bancroft ; Mr. Stacy moved to strike out Bancroft and insert Saint Nicholas, which motion was lost. Mr. Stacy moved to strike out the word Bancroft and insert Geneva, which was not agreed to. Mr. Andrews moved to strike out the word Bancroft and insert Albert Lea, which was carried by a unanimous vote. A resolution was adopted instructing the con¬ stables, justices and school trustees to be vigilant in protecting the school lands from trespass. At an adjourned meeting on the fifth among other items of business, L. T. Carlson was ap¬ pointed justice of the peace, and Elias Stanton constable. At these meetings William Morin was deputy clerk. The next meeting of the board was April 6, 1857, and then the interminable road busi¬ ness began. The first road laid out as a county road was described as follows : ' ' Commencing on the section line between thirty-two and thirty-three in town 101, range 20, running north as near said section line as the surface of the ground will admit, through towns 101, 102 and 103 (Shell Rock, Hayward and Riceland), thence in a northerly direction to the town of Geneva, thence north to the county line." Clark Andrews, of Shell Rock, and George P. Hoops were appointed viewers of the route. At this meeting the appointments of L. T. Carlson as justice of the peace, and Elias Stanton as constable, were rescinded for non-compliance with the statute ; and Elias Stanton was appointed justice, and Charles Giddings, constable.

The first school district was laid out as follows : Sections 33, 34, 35 and 28 and the southwest quarter of section 27, in town¬ ship 103, range 19, now Moscow. The first election precinct was also established as follows : Townships 103 and 104, ranges 22 and 23, now known as Freeborn, Carlston, Mansfield and Hartland. This meeting was continued until the tenth.

The third session of the board was on May 18, 1857, and con¬ tinued three days. Welcome S. Bacon was appointed assessor of the first precinct, vice Erastus D. Porter, not qualified. C. S. Tarbel was appointed coroner in place of George Watson, who declined to qualify. Lafayette Scott was appointed justice and Daniel Davis, constable. At this session the table was loaded with road petitions, which were given respectful consideration. The fourth session of the board was on July 6, and road matters were again considered. The assessment rolls were brought in at this meeting, and the footings were as follows: District No. 1.

real, $31,295; personal, $20,590. District No. 2, real, $28,065; per¬ sonal, $35,840. District No. 3, real, $53,553; personal, $40,665. Total, $210,008. A tax of three mills on the dollar was assessed for road purposes, and two and one-half mills for school pur¬ poses. At this meeting the county orders appeared for the first time and they aggregated $549.19. The fifth session of the county board was on September 9, of the same year. The clerk of the district court was instructed to inform Judge Flandreau

Thus the wheels of county government were set in motion. In October. 1857, the first general election in the county was held at the various precinct voting places, and 642 votes were cast. The result was as follows: Register of deeds, 'William Morin; treasurer, Henry King: sheriff, J. AY. Heath; probate judge, A. AY. AYhite. clerk of court, E. P. Skinner; surveyor, H. D. Brown; coroner, A. At. Burnham; commissioners, S. N. Frisbie, Joseph Rickard and Peter Clausen. Albert Lea was selected as the countv seat.

This board of commissioners assembled Jan. 4, 1858, and served until June of the same year, S. N. Frisbie being the chair¬ man. These early boards created road, school and assessors7 dis¬ tricts, named the towns and transacted much important business.

Supervisor System. In 1858, Alinnesota being provided with a state constitution, there began an era which in this state continued but a short time, that of countv government bv a board ot' supervisors consisting of the chairmen of the different town¬ ships and representatives from the incorporated settlements. The new law was passed by the legislature on Alarch 20, 1858.

The first board of supervisors in Freeborn county, variously called the "court" and the "legislature,'7 assembled at Albert Lea, June 7, 1858. The authorized members of the board were: AYilliam Andrews. Shell Rock: Theop. Lowry, AToscow; E. C. Stacy, Geneva; Isaac Baker, Riceland; E. J. Boardman, Hartland; C. D. Giddings, Freeborn; A. C. Wedge, Albert Lea; A. AY. AYhite, Pickerel Lake; Alathias Anderson, Alanchester; Patrick Fitzsimmons, Nunda. Stacy was appointed chairman. Asher, later known as Liudon and still later as London, had been author¬ ized to organize, but as the organization was not perfected, no member sat from that town. Stanton, now Carlston, bad not been authorized to organize, but the voters having met on Alay 11, 1858, and elected a town board, II. AY. Allen was given a seat on the county board. David Blakely presented himself with papers from Bancroft. His right to a seat was questioned on account of change of residence, but he ivas finally allowed to serve for a while. Later his removal to Austin became an aeeom-

1859. The board met in annual session September 13, with members as follows: William N. Goslee, London; Asa Bullock, Oakland; Theophilos Lowry, Moscow; M. Brennan, Newry; Ed¬ win C. Stacy, Geneva ; Isaac Baker, Riceland ; J. AY. Devereaux, Hayward; A. C. Wedge, Albert Lea; N. FI. Ellickson, Bancroft; Horace Green, Bath ; W. C. Cram, Hartland ; Mathias Anderson, Manchester: Patrick Fitzsimmons, Nuncla ; E. D. Rodgers, Free¬ born. Edwin C. Stacy was elected temporary chairman and Theop. Lowry permanent chairman. Thomas Forde presented himself as the member from Springfield (early called Stanton and Groton, now Carlston), with the explanation that Asa Walker, the rightful representative from that town was ill. Later Air. AYalker took liis seat. AValter Stott was the member from Shell Rock, but neglected, to attend the first session.

Commission System. In 1860, the state returned to the com¬ mission system, which has since been in vogue. The county had been divided into three districts as follows : 1, Hartland, Porter

(Bath), Geneva, Newry, Moscow and Riceland. 2, Albert Lea, Hayward, Oakland, Lindon (London) and Shell Rock. 3, Free¬ born, Carlston, Alanchester, Bancroft, Pickerel Lake, Nunda, Alansfield and Alden. The board which organized June 4 con¬ sisted of George AY. Skinner, Asa AYalker and AYilliam N. Go lee, the latter being chairman.

1867 - William AYhite, James F. Jones and J. AY. Devereaux. The county now being entitled to five commissioners, the board of 1867 made the following division of commissioners' districts: 1, Geneva, Bath, Hartland and Freeborn. 2, Newry, Aloscow, Oakland and London. 3, Riceland, Bancroft, Alanchester and Carlston. 4, Pickerel Lake, Albert Lea, Hayward and Shell Rock. 5, Alden, Mansfield, Nunda and Freeman.

By an act of the legislature of 1885, the terms of all county commissions expired on the last day of December, 1886. In the fall of 1886. the people of Freeborn county elected five commis¬ sioners who took office January 1, 1887. Those from the first, third and fifth districts were to serve two years and those from the second and fourth districts were to serve four years. At the expiration of the three short terms, all commissioners were to serve four years. Under this plan, which is still in vogue, the makeup of the county board can change but once in two years, except in cases of death, resignation or removals.

1887 - T. A. Helvig, AYilliam Christie, Knud Ingebrigtson, AYilliam Morin and Louis Marpe. At the death of AYilliam Morin, R. C. Aran Yechten was named in his place.

Ole Hammer

The districts are now divided as follows : 1, Freeborn, Hartland, Bath, Geneva and Newry. 2, London, Shell Rock, Oakland, Moscow and Hayward. 3, Carlston, Manchester, Bancroft, Riceland and Albert Lea (township). 4, Albert Lea (city). 5, Alclen, Mansfield, Nunda, Pickerel Lake and Freeman.

County Officials

The principal officers of Freeborn county since March 3, 1857, are given in the list which follows. In a few instances the com¬ pilers have omitted the names of those appointed for very short terms to fill vacancies caused bv illness, death or removal, their official service being so short as to be foreign to the ground which this volume aims to cover.

Register of Deeds. Up to 1861, the register of deeds per¬ formed the duties of auditor and clerk of the board of county commissioners as well. Samuel M. Thompson was appointed to the office in March, 1857, bv Governor Gorman. He never served. William Morin acted as his deputy a few days, and was then ap¬ pointed to the place by the county commissioners. He was elected in October, 1857, and served until 1862. John Wood served from. 1862 to 1872, August Peterson from 1872 to 1878 and Ole 0.

Auditor. Until 1861, the duties of this office were performed by the register of deeds, who was William Morin. Since then the auditors have been: E. C. Stacy, from 1861 to 1865; C. C. Colby, from 1865 to 1867 ; E. C. Stacy, from 1867 to 1869; Samuel Bachelder, from 1869 to 1877; then William Lincoln, after whom came Giles Q. Slocum, who served until March 1, 1883. Since then the auditors have been: C. 0. Barness, March 1, 1883, to July 16, 1888; W. A. Higgins, July 16, 1888, to January 1, 1899;

County Attorney. J. W. Heath, from March, 1857 to 1858. From that time until 1860 the office was not known to the law, it having been abolished by the adoption of the state constitution, and a district prosecuting attorney substituted, which office was held by Perkins, of Faribault. In 1860, the office having again been provided for, J. U. Perry held, by appointment, from March until December of that year. D. G. Parker, from December, 1860, to December, 1862; A. Armstrong, from 1862 to 1865; H. B. Cob ]ins, from 1865 to 1869; J. A. Lovely, from 1869 to 1873; A. G. Wedge, from 1873 to the election of John A. Lovely, who served until January 1, 1883. Since then the attorneys have been: John Whytock, January 1, 1883, to January 1, 1887 ; AY. E. Todd, Jan¬ uary 1, 1887, to January 1, 1891; H. A. Morgan, January 1, 1891, to January 1, 1899; R. S. Clements, January 1, 1899, to January 1, 1901; A. U. Mayland, January 1, 1901, to January 1, 1905; J. G. Skinner, January 1, 1905, to January 1, 1907 ; N. E. Peterson, January 1, 1907, to the present time.

School Superintendent. L^p to July, 1865, no well defined management of schools existed. In speculating upon the best system, the legislature created first a town superintendencv, then an examiner for each commissioner district, and lastly the pres¬ ent plan of one general superintendent for each county. Under this, S. Batchelder was appointed July, 1865, and served until 1869; E. C. Stacy, from 1869 to 1870; Henry Thurston, from 1870 to the election of Charles AY. Levens. O. K. Haugen took office January 1, 1889, and was followed in 1891 by John AY. Olsen, who served until January 1, 1901. Geo. P. Lattin was in office eight vears and on Januarv 1, 1909, Harold Dahlen took charge of the county schools and is still serving.

Surveyor. E. P. Skinner, from Alarch, 1857 to 1858 ; H. D. Brown, from 1858 to 1869; C. C. Colby was elected to this office in the fall of 1859, and for the two subsequent terms, holding until 1864, when J. AI. Tanner was appointed. From this time nobody seems to have aspired to the place until the fall of 1867, when Levi Pierce was invested with that honor and held until 1872. AY. G. Kellar, from 1872 to 1874; H. C. Lacy, from 1874 to 1876; AY. G. Kellar, from 1876 to January 1, 1880; Arthur Motz feldt, January 1, 1880, to January 1, 1882; W. G. Kellar, January 1, 1882, to January 1, 1884; Isaac Botsford, January 1, 1884, to

Coroner. C. S. Tarbell, from April, 1857 to 1858, in place of George Watson, who failed to qualify. At the general election of 1857, Dr. A. M. Burnham was chosen to this office, but he did not qualify, and it stood vacant for a period of ten years. Geo. S. Ruble was elected in 1861, but did not serve; Samuel Eaton, from 1868 to 1872; W. AY. Cargill, from 1872 to 1874; N. H. Elliekson, from 1874 to 1876. In 1876 came John Froshaug, who was succeeded by Paul Jensen, AY. H. Smith and J. P. ATon Berg. Since then the coroners have been: H. H. AYilcox, January 1, 1891, to January 1, 1895; Clint. L. Luce, January 1, 1895, to Jan¬ uary 1, 1901 ; F. Leslie AYilcox, January 1, 1901, to January 1, 1903; L. W. Spicer, January 1, 1903, to January 1, 1905; David Gordon. January 1, 1905 to the present time.

County Seat Contests

The most important epoch in all the history of Freeborn county was doubtless the location of the county seat, of which a brief review is of much interest. There were two contests. The first was in 1857 - a free for all in which Albert Lea, Bancroft and St. Nicholas were the chief factors, though Freeborn and Shell Rock City - now Glenville - received a few votes just for appearance sake.

The county commissioners appointed by the governor had or¬ ganized the county on AJarch 3, 1857, at the home of George S. Ruble, 522 Bridge street, Albert Lea, and had designated that vil¬ lage as the temporary seat of government. Never in the history of the county has the voter taken such a deep, profound interest in a canvass, and election as in this contest. lie was coaxed, cajoled and implored, and if the shroud of secrecy could have been raised it would have revealed that not a few received their

An enumeration in June showed a population in the county of 2186, which at the time was condemned as far too large by conservative people. Albert Lea, which included the township, showed a population of 285, while at the close of this year the writer has a personal knowledge that the village contained but fourteen habitations and could not have had to exceed sixty souls, with not over ten families living on farms. The village at the close of the war in 1865 contained but forty habitations and could not have exceeded 200 people at that time. This same enumeration gave the number of voters as 960, 664 native and 296 naturalized. The election was held on October 13, 1857, and shows a total vote in the county of 642, as follows : Freeborn, 1 vote: Shell Rock, 10 votes; Saint Nicholas, 29 votes; Bancroft, 199 votes ; Albert Lea, 403 A7otes.

Albert Lea has been spoken of as we were more familiar with its surroundings, but we would not have the reader infer she was more corrupt than Bancroft, as Bancroft's financial interests were wholly in the hands of a townsite company, mostly non¬ residents.

This coveted prize, however, was not to be so tamely given up, for in 1860 Itasca, a promising village only three miles north¬ west of Albert Lea, locked horns with her nearby rival. But the contest was short and decisive, for the county seat had her mechanism in even more perfect order than during her former contest, and Itasca was so overwhelmingly beaten there seems to be no record of the votes recorded.

An amusing feature of the county seat location of 1857 is well worth relating. A. H. Bartlett, of Shell Rock City, had been elected a representative to the legislature in the fall of this year, whom Albert Lea people greatly feared. A goodly sub¬ scription was taken up and E. C. Stacy, then of Geneva, was em¬ ployed to hasten to St. Paul and see that Bartlett let the county seat alone, but when Stacy had gone they became more suspicious of him than of Bartlett, and it was at one time thought necessary to send Dr. A. C. Wedge there to watch them both. There were lighter hearts in Albert Lea when that legislature adjourned.

Of the six villages that fought for the county seat but three remain. Bancroft was the first to give up the ghost in a few months, her property was sold for taxes, soon passed into the possession of the county and has for many years been known as the site of the county poor farm.

St. Nicholas hung out some pretensions as a village until the breaking out of the Rebellion, but in May 1862 Ly Brand and Thompson, its founders, boxed up their goods and removed to

Alexandria, Minn., never again to view the scenes of their blasted hopes. They have both passed to the Great Beyond - Ly Brand in 1890, Thompson in 1907 - both resting in the cemetery at Red¬ wood Falls, Minn. William Eddy, the blacksmith, was the last to leave, and for forty-eight years it has been the site of a beau¬ tiful farm.

Itasca showed most wonderful vitality as nature had endowed her with a most beautiful site of unlimited, smooth prairie called ' ' Paradise Prairie" by Albert Miller Lea, and a lovely scenery not equaled by the county seat; but she was deserted in 1864 by the last one of her original proprietors, C. C. Colbj7. She soon became known as a village only in memory, but should the city of Albert Lea grow out as in the last few years, she will ere long be the county seat by adoption. By Martin V. Kellar.

Court House, Jail And Farm

Court House and Jail. The first board of county commis¬ sioners met at the home of George S. Ruble, 522 Bridge street, Albert Lea, March 3, 1857. and in spite of several contests, as related elsewhere, the seat of county government has always remained in Albert Lea. In the earliest days most of the county business was transacted near the corner of Clark street and Broad¬ way. Dr. A. C. Wedge and William Morin, the latter the register of deeds, occupied an office on the west side of Broadway be¬ tween Clark and William streets. Here the board meetings were held. Augustus Armstrong occupied a building just north of the Wedge-Florin office. E. C. Stacy occupied an office in a build¬ ing on the southwest corner of Clark and Broadway. Other ' officers in the early days looked after county affairs in their own place of business at their residences. The supervisors, being a large body, met in the upper floor of the old Webber house. Court was also held there, and the attic at times was used as a jail.

In 1856, when the village of Albert Lea was platted, the pres¬ ent court house square was set aside for county purposes. In 1883, George S. Ruble attempted to regain possession of this square, but the courts held that so long as the square shall be used for county purposes, the title remains vested in the countv

The matter of providing a county court house was considered at a very early date. The first official mention of the matter was made in September, 1857, when the people of St. Nicholas filed a $10,000 bond to provide the county with a $5,000 court house if that village was accepted as the county seat. A tract

While the county seat question was being agitated, in 1860, the leading citizens of Itasca, to secure, if possible, the county seat there, executed a bond in the penal sum of $6,000, pledging themselves to build a court house according to certain plans and specifications, within two years, and also to furnish suitable of¬ fices for county purposes. The plan was a good one, giving good, large sized offices, jail room, and a court room twenty-four by twenty-eight feet, with suitable jury rooms. The parties who executed this bond were : A. M. Burnham, C. C. Colby, J. G. Sanborn, R. J. 'Franklin, E. D. Hopkins, Samuel Batchelder, Charles Dunbar, J. Dunbar, J. Colby, John Adams and J. S. Longworth. This was signed in the presence of Isaac Botsford and Hanibal Bickford, and certified to by Ole I. Ellingson, clerk, per Samuel Eaton, deputy.

The citizens of Albert Lea were not to be outdone. June 4, 1860, there was presented to the county board an offer from sev¬ eral citizens, agreeing to furnish free of charge, offices for the several county officials, a court room, a meeting place for the county board, and a jail, until better should be provided. This offer was signed by A. C. Wedge, George S. Ruble, Augustus Armstrong, Samuel Eaton and H. D. Brown. September 8, of the same year, a bond was executed making the same agreement, but specifying a time limit of three years. The signers were A. B. Webber, A. C. Wedge, A. Armstrong, William Morin, George S. Ruble, James A. Robson, H. D. Brown and John Brownsill.

In accordance with this agreement, the people of Albert Lea furnished court room, jail offices and suitable meeting places for county officials not only for three years, but until the fall of 1866, when the court house was comnleted. The men of Albert Lea, in 1860, started to build a log jail on court house square, but it Avas never completed and the logs were moved away.

Toward the close of the AAmr the court house proposition be¬ gan to be seriously considered. In March, 1864, a committee con¬ sisting of William Morin, Frank Hall, and Augustus Armstrong submitted plans and estimates for the construction of a fireproof building for offices and court room, as follows: Brick at $6, $1,320.00; fireproof roof, $300.00; laying brick and furnishing lime, $550.00; eight thousand feet of lumber at $20, $160.00; doors, nails, sash, glass and putty, $400.00 ; carpenter AATork, $300.00; plastering and lime, $300.00; total, $3,330.00. Various petitions were presented against the issue of bonds for county buildings. A resolution, hoAveArer, was adopted to issue and ap¬ propriate bonds to the amount of $2,000.00 toward erecting fire¬ proof buildings for the county offices, with the understanding that Albert Lea should appropriate $1,000.00 to add a suitable hull for court purposes. Messrs. Hall, Morin, and Armstrong were appointed commissioners to sell the bonds and to erect the building. The first bond of $1,500 was issued and cashed by Joseph Hall. It bore 10 per cent interest and was dated March 16, 1864. In July, 1864, the county board passed a resolution iocating the county buildings on the west side of Broadway, north of AVilliam and south of Clark street, providing a title to the land could be secured without cost to the county. Later the commissioners decided to build on court house square. In June, 1865, James F. Jones, Asa Walker and E. P. Skinner were added to the building committee.

After many delays, the building was completed, being ready for occupancy in the fall of 1866. The building was located on the corner of Broadway and College street, the entrance being on the former street. The upper story which was used as a court room was completed at an expense of $1,000 by the people of Albert Lea. The main floor contained the county offices, and the jail. The stairs to the court room lead from the hall in the back part of the building. Within a short time it was found that the brick of the upper story was crumbling. Considerable repairing was consequently done, and the entrance was placed on the outside of the building, leading from Broadway, to a portico which was built in front of the court room on the second story.

In 1875 a .jail was erected on the corner of College and New¬ ton street, on the same square. A sheriff's residence was later added, and improvements were made from time to time until the jail and residence assumed their present form.

In 1887 plans were set on foot for the building of a new court house, and after the completion of the present beautiful edifice, the old court building was torn down. At the completion of the new structure, the "Freeborn County Standard" published the following article:

"The contract for the building, after considerable competition, was let March 22, 1887, to Alexander McNeill, of this citv, at $55,785 and although he has made little, if any profit, he has done his work faithfully, skillfully and well. He sublet the stone and brick work to the late Thomas F. McCormick at $35,500, and his share of the job, while under his control, was equally well done, and his sureties have in good faith completed it. He lost nearly $10,000 on his contract, and this, together with ex¬ posure while engaged in the work, caused his death. The architect was A. C. Dunham, of Burlington, Iowa, and that his work is a conception of highest genius is evident and acknowl¬ edged by all familiar with it. The cost of the completed struc¬ ture to the county, including steam heating, furniture, architect's commission, expenses of meetings of county board, and all ex¬ tras, is $67,110.68. In addition is the loss to Mr. McCormick and his sureties, which brings the actual cost to a round sum of $75,000, and it could not be duplicated for this sum. There has been no jobbery connected with this work, it has been honestly done, and many public buildings have been erected in the North¬ west not nearly as good, which have cost a quarter or one-third more. The building was taken possession of by the county officers October 1, 1888, or a year and a half after work was begun on it."

When it was known that McCormick's bondsmen were to lose a considerable sum of money, a majority of the voters of the county petitioned the commissioners to reimburse them. Accord¬ ingly, D. R. P. ITibbs, representing the bondsmen received a check for $7,000, which was used to repay the various sums which these gentlemen had expended in completing the building.

County Poor Farm. The county poor farm consists of 100 acres of good land, with suitable buildings in section 21, Ban¬ croft township. The farm occupies the site of the old village of Bancroft. When that village was abandoned the county grad¬ ually acquired possession of the lots and blocks by reason of un¬ paid taxes. Some of the land thus acquired was sold, leaving the present 100 acres.

Drainage Ditches

Containing as it does much marsh land and many lakes, Free¬ born county has been the scene of considerable public ditching since the passing of Chapter 258, of the general statutes in 1901. Under this act county ditch No. 1, in Freeborn township, county ditch No. 4, in Pickerel Lake township, and county ditch No. 5, in Nunda and Mansfield, were completed and preliminary steps were taken toward digging others. But the act of 1901 imposed many restrictions and the people of Freeborn county made stren¬ uous efforts to have a more elastic law passed. Accord¬ ingly the legislature in 1905 enacted Chapter 230 of the general statutes. This new act greatly simplified the methods of pro¬ cedure and gave a wider opportunity for the change and modi¬ fication of plans as the proceedings developed, also making pro¬ vision for the utilizing of old papers and proceedings in making new attempts to secure the establishment of ditches. The act also provided for the purchase of a right of waj7- in other states, without which provision the construction of county ditch No. 18, which is now under way in Freeborn county, would have been impossible. Since the passing of this law one judicial ditch, nine county ditches and one private ditch have been established and three more are under way. A discussion of the methods of procedure in the establishment of these ditches is beyond scope of this work. It is sufficient, for historical purposes, to give here the length and location of each ditch already built, the cubic yards removed in constructing each, the cost, the benefits as¬ sessed and the acres benefited. The twelve county ditches and one judicial ditch now completed in the county occupy a mileage of 99.40 miles; 2,801.507 yards of earth have been removed; the cost has been $291,488; 29,545.03 acres have been benefited, and benefits have been assessed at $681,470.15. Judicial ditch No. 1 drains Rice lake into Turtle creek, passing through Geneva, Rieelaml. Xewry and Moscow. It is thirty-three miles long; 1,739,779 cubic yards were removed; the cost was $152,438.36; 10.124 acres were benefited, and benefits were assessed at $417,- 227. County ditch No. 1 is in Freeborn township. It is 1.23 miles long; 14,244 yards were removed; the cost was $2,444.65: 348 acres were benefited and benefits were assessed at $6,896.65. No. 4 is in Pickerel Lake township. It is 3.11 miles long; 67.766 cubic yards were removed; the cost was $7,821; 578 acres were benefited and benefits were assessed at $15,440. No. 5 is in Nunda and Mansfield townships. It is 4.26 miles long; 99,438 cubic yards were removed; the cost was $10,934.77; 1,299.88 acres were benefited, and benefits were assessed at $27,061. No. 8 is in Bath township. It is 5.25 miles long; 77,881 cubic yards were removed; the cost was $10,657.69; 689 acres were benefited and benefits were assessed at $12,017. No. 9 is in Manchester township. It is 5.80 miles long; 81.706 cubic yards were removed; the cost was $11,043.44; 1.043 acres were benefited and benefits were assessed at $23,298.50. No. 10 is in Freeman township. It is eleven miles long; 145,740 cubic yards were removed; the cost was $19,143.53; 2,297 acres were benefited, and benefits were assessed at $41,304. No. 11 is in Manchester township. It is 5.60 miles long; 50,162 cubic yards were removed; the cost was $7,705.49; 004 acres were benefited, and benefits were assessed at $1 1,070. No. 12 is in Hayward and Oakland townships. It is 9.15 miles long; 212,584 cubic yards were removed; the cost was $28,179.90; 3.529.12 acres were benefited, and benefits were assessed at $51,820. No. 14 is in Riceland and Hayward town¬ ships. It is 5.25 miles long; 112,013 cubic yards were removed; the cost was $15,300.51; 911 acres were benefited, and benefits were assessed at $22,435. No. 15 is in Bancroft and Riceland town¬ ships. ii is 3.40 miles long; 29,724 cubic yards were removed; the cost was $4,679:42; 418 acres were benefited, and benefits were assessed at $8,430. No. 16 is in Albert Lea, Freeman and Shell Rock townships. It is 8.25 miles long; 126,904 cubic yards were removed; the cost was $14,121.76; 1.127 acres were bene¬ fited. and benefits were assessed at $32,085. No. 17 is in Nunda and Freeman townships. It is 4.10 miles long; 43,626 cubic yards were removed ; the cost was $6,956 ; 517 acres were benefited and benefits were assessed at $11,120.

Three ditches are now under way. County ditch No. 18 in Mansfield and Nunda will connect with county ditch No. 5. County ditch No. 23 will be in Alden and Mansfield; and county ditch No. 24 in Pickerel Lake and Albert Lea. County ditch No. 20 is a short private ditch in Hayward.