Goodhue County, Minnesota - The whole text, 1878 (part 11 of 16)

Newspaper Publications

The editors and proprietors of the " Cannon Falls Beacon " are O. T. Jones and L. C. McKenney. The enterprise was the outgrowth of the "Cannon Falls Gazette." The editor and proprietor of the "Gazette" in its day and generation, was R. M. Hamline, who started it in July, 1856. It was carried on by that gentleman for a period of about fifteen months, when it was sold to Mr. Hatch, who kept it agoing about one year, and then he disposed of the property to Hoag Bros. For luck they changed its name and styled it the "Cannon Falls Bulletin." The career of the " Bulletin " was brief but brilliant. At the end of one year it pulled up stakes and marched off to Northfield, to greener fields and pastures new, leaving Cannon Falls without a paper from that time until June, 1874, when Mr. Bromwick started the "Echo." That journal continued to echo a year and then succumbed to the force of circumstances, leaving the town again without a paper, until August 4, 1876, when John A. Leonard started the " Cannon Falls Beacon," which he continued until July 6, 1877, when he sold to 0. T. Jones and C. A. Cook. April 5, 1878, Mr. Jones purchased Mr. Cook's interest. May 27, 1878, L. C. McKenney purchased a half interest with Mr. Jones, and the paper has since prospered. Under the present management the "Beacon " has become a shining light to more than 600 subscribers, and the good work still goes on.

This township was named in honor of Gustavus Vasa, king of Sweden, more generally known as Gustavus I, the Christian king, and the founder of the Lutheran Church. It was first settled in 1853, by a company of Swedes, of whom Hans Mattson, S. J. Willard, Peter Green, Charles Roos, Gustaf Kempe and others were of the number.

The township was organized in 1858, at which time the following officers were elected: (First named, chairman.) Supervisors, Charles Himmelman, Charles Charleson, Nils Peterson ; clerk, Swante John Willard ; assessor, Nils Swanson ; collector, John Sundell ; overseer of the poor, Matts Mattson ; constables, Nils Johnson, Erick Anderson ; justices of the peace, T. Granvill Person, Franklin Morrison; overseers of roads, Swan P. Peterson, Gustus Carlson, William F. Fessenden.

Previous to this time, all the appointments had been by the Governor, and no reliable record was kept Swante John Willard and Charles Himmelman were justices of the peace, however. Since the date of the organization, the following persons have held the office of chairman of the board of supervisors, and town clerks :

In 1861 Swante John Willard was appointed superintendent of common schools for the town of Vasa, and in 1864 was elected county auditor, re-elected in 1866, and again in 1868. T. G. Pearson held the office of county commissioner from 1866 till 1869.

For the following interesting historical sketch of the township, its religious and educational struggles, trials and conquests, and finally its growth and development from its primitive days of feebleness up to the present time, we are indebted to the Rev. E. Norelius.

Evangelical Lutheran Church, At Vasa

The honor of having first directed the influx of the Swedish immigration into Goodhue county, belongs to Col. Hans Mattson. He was a young man with a military education, from Sweden, and had spent some time in Moline, Illinois, after his arrival in this country. The following is gathered from an article written by him and published in " Hemlandel," a Swedish paper, then at Galesburg, now at Chicago. The article was written in the early part of 1856. Mr. Mattson says :

" In the month of September, 1853, I started (from Moline) with a small company of immigrants for Minnesota, in order to find a place where we could commence a colony. Having arrived at St. Paul, Minnesota, some of our party took a contract for some work, while I, together with four others, started out to find a place for our future home. We were directed to Red Wing, which, a short time before, had been laid out as a village. We were told that good land could be had in the neighborhood. We went on board a steamboat and made directly for that place.- When we landed there we found the whole bank, where the town now stands, covered with Indian tepees, but we did not see more than four dwelling houses to prove to us that people of our race lived there. Soon we met several Americans, who received us with much hospitality, and when they learned the object of our visit, they got us a team and a man who was acquainted in the wilderness to go with us and show us the land. The following day we started out, but we did not feel satisfied before we got upon the prairie, now known as the Yasa settlement. On this prairie we found the best of soil and we saw good oak timber in all directions. Now we had seen enough, and we went immediately back to St. Paul, in order to make ourselves ready to move to our new place.

" It was in the month of October, and we expected a cold winter. As we considered it impossible at so late a season to build houses comfortable enough for the women and children, all those who had families resolved to stop at St. Paul over the winter. In company with two other men we returned to make claims for all of us. When we for the second time returned to Vasa prairie, we were provided with a tent, a stove, some provision and some winter tools. After having pitched our tent on the bank of a big creek (now Belle Creek) in a clump of trees and arranged our romantic camp, we went out to reconnoitre the land round about and took several claims. Thereupon we went about to build a house where we could live during the approaching winter. Some weeks after two families of our party came down from St. Paul to stay, and during the following summer (1854) we numbered ten families. Many Swedes also settled at Red Wing. Now (in the winter 1856) there are over one hundred Swedes in Vasa, and we have reason to believe that this number will be doubled during the coming summer.

" Instead of a wilderness, we no behold large fields and comfortable houses. For two years and a half ago seldom any other sound but that of the wild animals, especially the wolves could be heard; now the axe of the colonist can be heard in almost every grove of timber, and the ox driver's 'gee who haw, on the road between every house and the woods ; and instead of America's red aborigines whom we saw when we came here, we have now seen a number of nearly 100 Swedes gathered in one place to hear the preaching of the gospel. At such an occasion, when the Rev. E. Norelius', of Indiana, conducted the service, a

Lutheran church was organized, and the settlement received the name of Vasa, in memory of the great hero, Gustaf Vasa, who liberated our Fatherland (Sweden) from foreign despotism, and brought about the establishment there of the Lutheran faith. The name seems to be very well chosen, as the Swedes at Vasa strive to imitate the great Gustaf and his coadjutors. Before our place was known among the Americans by the name of the 'Swede Praire,' 'Mattson's Settlement' and also ' White Rock,' from a big rock of white sandstone, something similar in form to a small old church in the old country, situated in the southern part of the town."

From the time of Mr. Mattson's account, as above, up to 1860, a large number of Swedes arrived, partly from Sweden direct and partly from older States in the Union, and filled up not only the town of Vasa, but also parts of surrounding townships, such as Leon, Cannon Falls, Belle Creek, Goodhue, Featherstone, Burnside and Welch. Quite a number settled in Red Wing, from the beginning of the Swedish immigration to Goodhue county. The most of them were of the Lutheran profession, at least nominally.

The organization of the Swedish Lutheran churches of Red Wing and Vasa stood in connection with a missionary tour to Minnesota, which I made in 1855, in the months of August and September, I at that time being pastor of several Swedish churches in Tippicanoe and surrounding counties of Indiana. From my diary kept at the time, I may here transcribe some items:

1855, August 31. Landed at Red Wing at 12 o'clock at night; took lodging at a miserable hotel ; tried to sleep, but could not for the mosquitoes. September 1, made an attempt to scale Barn Bluff before sunrise, but was re-called by the breakfast bell. I made some inquiries to find out if there were any Swedes, but I obtained no information. After awhile I met with a Swedish servant girl, who told me that there was quite a number of them in Red Wing, and gave me directions how to find them. After having spoken to several of them and explained the object of my visit, I proposed to hold a service in the evening if a place could be had. They told me that the Presbyterians had a meetinghouse - a shanty - in the burgh, and that we possibly might get it. I then went to the Presbyterian minister (Rev. Mr. Hancock) introduced myself, and asked for permission to use his chapel, to which he consented, provided I would preach the sound gospel. In the evening I had about one hundred hearers, many among whom, no doubt, were hard cases. One poor fellow told me that " the old devil may run after preachers, but he would not." However, not a few seemed to be edified and desired me to hold as many services as my time would permit.

Sept. 2d, the Lord's Day, I remained at Red Wing;, and preached in the afternoon in the Presbyterian chapel, the house being full ; and making a new appointment for Monday night, I got a horse and a guide in the evening, and went out to Vasa, word having been sent before for divine service in the forenoon on Monday. We went up the Spring Creek Valley and got over the prairies to Mr. Carl Carlson after dark. Carlson lived in a log house, a little to the northeast from the present brick church. I was hospitably entertained at his house, and on the following morning I was to hold service there, Sept. 3. Almost every soul in the settlement came together at Mr. Carlson's. No Swedish minister had visited them before in their new home. After the service, it was proposed to organize a congregation, and the following resolutions were discussed and adopted:

1. That we, here at present assembled, hereby unite ourselves to a congregation, under the name of "The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church, of Vasa."

2. That we, as a Christian body in general and as evangelical Lutheran in particular, acknowledge that the Holy Scriptures (the canonical books,) as the word of God, is the only one sufficient rule for our faith and practice, and that we adopt not only the three oldest symbols (the Apostolical, the Nicene and the Athanasian,) but also the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, such as it is understood and developed in the other symbolical books of our Lutheran Church, as a short but true summary of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity.

6. That this congregation is willing to unite with the Swedish Lutheran congregation at Red Wing, when a church there shall be organized, in supporting a pastor, who can serve both congregations until other arrangements may be made.

Carl Carlson, wife and four children ; Ola Olson, sen., widower, and four children; John Bergdahl, widower, and one child; Samuel Johnson wife and one child ; Gustaf Carlson, wife and three children ; Erik Anderson, wife and two children; S. J. Willard, wife and one child; Jonas Gustafson, wife and one child; Nils Peterson and wife; Peter Nilson, wife and four children; Nils Westerson, wife and four children ; August Johnson, single; Peter Johnson, wife and one child; Swen

Jacobson and wife ; Anders Nilson, wife and two children ; Swen Swenson, wife and three children ; Swen Olson, wife and one child ; Benzt Anderson and wife; Ola Swenson, single; Sizuild Andersdoter, single ; Matts Mattson and two sons ; M. Flodquist, single ; Gustaf Peterson, single; Carl Peterson, single; Olof Peterson, wife and one child; Nicklas Peterson and wife ; Bonde Olson, single ; Nils Eklund, single ; Benzt Kilberg, single ; Peter Wedin, single ; Carl Roos, wife and two children ; A. G. Kempe. In all, eighty-seven persons.

It was now the great desire of the congregation to secure a pastor. On the same occasion three children were baptized, viz., Maria, born at Vasa, August 21, 1S55, daughter of Samuel Johnson and his wife Stina Lisa; Salma Adelaide, born October 15, 1853, daughter of S. J. Willard and wife Anna; John Wilhelm, born on Good Friday, 1855, son of Peter Johnson and wife Carolina. The meeting was closed by singing and prayer.

Three weeks after that time, when I returned from an extended tour to St* Paul, Stillwater, Marine and Chisago county, divine service was held at Vasa in Nils Peterson's new log house, which is still standing opposite to Mr. N. P. Molmberg's place. It was the 21st of September, in the midst of the equinoctial storms, the rain was pouring down, and I was suffering badly from the fever and ague, which I had brought with me from Indiana. A young man had taken me out from Red Wing in a lumber wagon hitched to a pair of horses, a great institution in those days. The Lord's supper was also to be celebrated at this occasion, the first in the history of the congregation at Vasa. After having preached the sermon, or just at its end, I had a very bad attack of the chills and had to go to bed, the people in the meanwhile patiently waiting till the spell was over, after which I got up and administered the communion. On the 24th of September I bade the good people of Vasa farewell, and was exceedingly glad to find an ox team to take me down to Red Wing.

Soon after I had left, or on the 30th of September, a meeting was held by the congregation at Vasa for the object of electing a pastor. It was then unanimously resolved to extend a call to me. The sum of $200 was guaranteed as salary for the first year, with the expectation that the congregation at Red Wing, which desired to participate in the call, would contribute a like amount.

accepted the call and moved to Goodhue county in the spring of 1856. I was in my twenty -third year, and had been married nearly one year. I knew that a life full of hardships was before us, but I had made up my mind beforehand, with the help of God, to conquer or die. I told my excellent young wife that we should have to swim or else to sink, and she consented to do her part.

On the 25th day of May, 1856, on the first Sunday after Trinity Sunday, I preached my introductory sermon at Vasa in Mr. Peter Wilson's new log house, which was filled to overflowing. My sermon was on the text for the day, treating of the rich man and Lazarus, and I tried to tell my new parishioners that it was better for them to be truly pious with poverty and go to heaven with Lazarus, than to be ungodly with riches and go to hell with the rich man. I told them plainly that my object in coming here was to preach and teach the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, and by a steady, earnest, and patient work, to build up a Christian congregation ; not by periodical extraordinary efforts and occasional high steam, but by a diligent and faithful instruction in the word of God. And I also assured them that the true prosperity of a community necessarily must rest upon the pure principles of the gospel.

Looking back now upon these twenty-two years, we have witnessed many movements and changes, but I have had no occasion to regret or change my standpoint which I took from the first, and I modestly think that my labor, under God's blessing, has not been altogether in vain.

There was one circumstance connected with that text and sermon which I can never forget, and which perplexed me not a little at the time, and might have led to great mischief if my object had not been understood to be wholly unintended. For it so happened that the old gentleman, Mr. Peter Wilson, at whose house I preached and stayed for some time, was known by the sobriquet, " the rich man," on account of being a man with means, of which fact I was perfectly ignorant. No trouble, however, followed, and I was always on the best terms with the old gentleman and his estimable wife as long as they lived. I buried both of them many years ago, and they have long rested in their graves. Peace to their ashes !

For several weeks we lived at Peter Nilson's, in the same room in which I preached. Our whole property consisted of a bedstead of the rope bottom kind, a plain, square table, an old bureau, an old cooking stove and some few books. Bacon and flour were high at Red Wing, and it cost $4 to bring a sack of flour and a ham home to Vasa.

house, had been put up on Mr. Willard's farni, but it was not completed at the time when I arrived, and it took the whole summer to get it in order for winter use. However we used it for divine service during the summer after the floor had been put in.

On the 22nd day of June, 1856, a business meeting of the congregation was held, when a constitution for the church was adopted, the principles of which are still in force, although considerably developed in 1857, and then again in 1870. The question as to the location for a church and graveyard was also brought up. Mr. Willard proposed to donate ten acres of land to the congregation for this purpose round about the school house, a short distance to the south east from the present brick church, and the offer was thankfully accepted. As Mr. Willard had the misfortune to lose his land, the congregation could not secure a deed to the property, and consequently could not use his offer. A number of dead were buried there, and the school house was occupied as a meeting house up to 1862. This locality is on Mr. A. P. Freeman's farm.

On the sixth day of July, 1856, a meeting was held for the election of three trustees, and the following named persons were duly elected, viz. : Peter Nilson, for the term of one year ; Carl Carlson, for the term of two years ; and Olof Peterson, for the term of three years. A certificate of incorporation of the trustees of the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church of Vasa, was made out the same day, duly acknowledged on the 13th of July, before Mr. Willard, being then a justice of the peace, and filed for record on the 17th of July, 1856, and recorded in First Book, Rel. Societies, pages 9 and 10, by J. M. Hancock, register of deeds.

From that time the congregation may be said to be fully organized. My object now will be to show something of its development during the subsequent twenty-two years of its existence. My own history is so much interwoven with that of the congregation at Vasa, (not to mention that of Red Wing and other places in this county,) that I cannot well relate the one without having to touch the other. And I hope, therefore, that the reference to myself will not be looked upon as too egotistical.

After having lived for several weeks at Mr. Peter Nilson's, we moved to a place in the neighborhood of White Rock, on Belle Creek, the place now owned by Jon Monson and widow Abram Peterson. I bought the improvements on a quarter section from old Mrs. Bockman, for $130, proved up the claim, and paid the government price the following winter. When I b6ught the claim there was a small log hut on it, 8x10 feet in size, with a flat sod roof, without any floor. This was to be our kitchen department. I got some common lumber at Red Wing, at a high price, and put up an addition to the hut - a shanty 12x16 feet - intended for a parlor, sitting-room, bed-room, &c, all in one. We moved in when three sides were up, without roof or floor, without doors and windows. Well do I remember the first night in that house, if house it was. We made our bed on the ground on a pile of shavings and hay, with the blue sky above us. I had filled the mattress with new cut grass, and, unintentionally, put in with it a small snake. No wonder, then, that in the morning, when my wife made up the bed, she caught hold of the dead snake in the mattress ! By and by the roof and ceiling were made, consisting of sheeting ; the floor was laid of common lumber, and the carpet put on ; the walls were papered, and - then we had a nice, clean, cozy house to live in. The only inconveniences we had were when it stormed and rained, for the carpet then stood like a bellows, and the rain came pouring down through both roof and ceiling, On such occasions we used an umbrella. It was only a little odd to sleep under an umbrella in the house. In the middle of September we had a visit of the well known Reverend Doctor Passavant, of Pittsburg, Pa., who stayed with us one night. He had a dream. In his nocturnal imaginations he thought he lay under the bottom of a lake, and somehow a hole had been made in the bottom. And no wonder, for it rained that night.

A little later a number of our friends from Indiana came up, and for some weeks we were no less than twenty-one persons, and the weather was at the time very ugly. Houses were yet scarce. Our neighbors were in no better condition, and some a great deal worse off than ourselves. My friend and neighbor, J. Robertson, first used a big loom for a house ; then he dug himself down in the ground, till he got a small log cabin put up. Mr. T. G. Pearson, our nearest neighbor, was busy putting up a solid log house that summer ; in the meantime he lived in the same primitive way we did.

My time was divided between Red Wing and Vasa and other places, and my duties often called me away from home. On this account it was a trying time for my wife, especially as the Indians were occasionally passing by. In the fall the prairie fire threatened to burn down our house, while I was away, my wife having to fight for dear life. We continued to live in our frail house until the 4th of November, when we moved to Red Wing, in a snow storm.

I now return to the congregation and my pastoral work. As soon as I got to be a little "fixed," I bought a horse and a rickety old wagon ; most of my trips, however, were made on horseback or a-foot, as roads were poor and far between.

During the summer I made pretty thorough canvass of the whole settlement. People were pouring in very fast and settled down on the unoccupied land. On the 8th of November I could report to a special meeting* of the congregation that the church numbered 185 members, of whom 101 were communicants. At the same meeting it was determined to establish a Congregational school, and on the 15th of November it was opened. Mr. J. Engberg, now of a book firm in Chicago, was the first teacher, with a monthly salary of $35. Ever since that time the school has been a fixed institution in the congregation, and has done much good for the religious instruction of the children. The following persons have been teachers in succession, viz.: Miss Lovisa Peterson, Miss Jane Nilson, Mr. L. Anderson, Mr. A. M. Lundin, Mr. S. Westendahl, Mrs. A. Anderson and the present teacher, Mr. P. Lindholm. The monthly salary has been from $15 to $50.

The winter of 1856 and '57 was a long and a cold one, and the snow was very deep. One Sunday morning, when 1 went from Red Wing to preach at Vasa, I stuck fast in a snowdrift, just as I got up on the prairie, and I had to return. I learned afterwards that only three persons ventured out to meeting that day. It was a very cold day, and showed their warm religious disposition, by grumbling over the non-appearance of the preacher. This, however, was the only appointment I missed that winter.

Having sold my horse to buy bread, I had to foot it between Red Wing and Vasa and other places. This caused me some hardships. On New Year's day, 1857, 1 had early service in the school house at Vasa - that is to say, at five o'clock in the morning. As the weather was fine and mild, I determined to walk to Cannon Falls and preach in the afternoon. There was no direct road to the Falls at that time, but we were obliged to go round by White Rock, then cross the Belle Creek and over the prairie, by what is now Mr. G. M. Englund's place. I started afoot after breakfast; the sun shone brightly, the weather was mild, but the snow was very deep and no track. By the time I got down to Belle Creek the weather had changed entirely. A high, cold wind commenced to blow, and very soon a bitter snow storm was blowing in my face. It was with the greatest difficulty I got over the prairie into the bush. There were no houses on the road. My scanty clothing, which had become wet by dragging myself through the snow, now began to grow stiff by the cold. I laid myself down under the first bush I reached entirely exhausted, with little hope of ever rising any more. Yet after some hours a little strength returned, and by the greatest exertion I finally reached Cannon Falls in the evening, but my ears and nose, hands and feet, were frozen, and I could not speak for a good while. After having thawed out and taken some food, I was able to hold service at night, and on the following day I returned to Red Wing. Up to November, 1858, I continued to serve the congregations at Red Wing and Vasa, besides making missionary tours to other parts of the State. For fear of making too long a sketch I will not go into details. At Vasa nothing of special note took place. The question of determining where the future church should be located was up in 1857-1858, but without any results. The congregation continued to increase, and numbered 130 communicants in the fall of 1858, and in several respects I was permitted to see some fruits of my labor. My salary was to be about $200 a year from each of the two congregations, but as the times were very hard during these years, and all being new settlers and struggling for their life, I did not receive the full amount. Thus" at the annual business meeting at Vasa on the 25th of June, 1858, there were $100 back on my first year's salary, and no prospects ever to pay it. My whole salary of both congregations, from June 25th to the 1st of November, 1858, amounted to $75 in cash and a few sacks of spoiled cprn and one barrel of beans. It was, probably, the best tKe poor people could do, and, thank God, I did not starve, though it was somewhat pinching.

A change in the pastoral relation now took place. What caused it, and the history of the congregation during my disconnection with it from the 1st of November, 1858, to the 1st of September, 1861, I will now briefly relate.

In the fall of 1857, I started a paper at Red Wing, by the name of " Minnesota posten." It was designed as a family paper, treating of political as well as religious matters, besides containing general news, etc. I still think that some good in various ways was accomplished by that paper, although I had to regret that I ever tried my hands at politics. For sometime I was suspected of having considerable political influence among the Swedes in Goodhue county ; but to tell the truth,

I never was a politician, although at various times I have discussed general moral principles of right and wrong, touching politics, but I have never taken any part in political managements, caucuses, meetings, nor have I ever preached politics. I have never sought after anypolitical office in my life. It is true, I was elected county auditor in 1858, but this was done while I was away on a journey to Illinois, and I knew nothing about it before I came home. I did not accept the office, and Mr. Going was appointed in my stead. But to return to my paper. It was published only twice a month, but the burden of editing a paper of that kind, together with the already crushing load of pastoral and missionary work which I had resting upon me, was rather too much for me. My health broke down, and in the spring of 1857, I had a severe hemorrhage of my lungs. After having carried on the paper for one year - and the year of 1857 was the hardest one in the history of Minnesota - it was proposed to unite it with " Hemlandet," the Swedish paper published at Galesburgh, Ills., and that the united paper be removed to Chicago. This proposition was accepted by both parties.

In the meantime, I had been appointed as an agent to solicit funds in the East for a Scandinavian professorship in the Illinois State University. I accepted the appointment, and removed with my family to Chicago. As the times however were too unpropitious, my agency was dropped, and I was instead elected editor of " Hemlandet" and another religious monthly. After one year, I relinquished the editorship, and served a Swedish congregation at Attica, Indiana, for one year. I was then appointed travelling missionary for the State of Minnesota, and removed to St. Paul. In this capacity I continued up to Sept., 1861.

When I left in November, 1358, the congregations at Red Wing and Vasa called the Rev. J. P. C. Boreen, who had recently come from Sweden, to supply my place for one year. At the end of that time he was elected in 1859 as permanent pastor at Red Wing; but at Vasa he was called only as a vice-pastor, or supply, because the congregation had hopes that I would return.

During his time some few families separated from the church at Vasa and organized the Methodist Episcopal and the Baptist congregations there, which, though small and weak, have continued to the present day.

Considerable trouble and some bad feelings also arose in the congregation with reference to the question of a new location for a church, which was in contemplation. Many meetings for this purpose were held, and the question was earnestly discussed, but resulted in no definite termination. The old log house continued to be used for the meetings, but was, of course, altogether insufficient to hold so large a congregation. In June, 1861, the number of communicants were 143. The inconveniences were, therefore, very great, and the necessity for a' church was very pressing.

Mr. Boreen was no doubt a good, earnest, well-meaning man. He afterwards removed to Stockholm, Pepin county, where he served a congregation, and died there the 22d of March, 1865, and was buried at Vasa.

In September, 1861, 1 was re-called to the pastorate at Red Wing and Vasa. I immediately removed to Red Wing, where I resided up to January, 1870, and entered upon the discharge of my duties.

In order to bring the question of a location for the church to a close, a meeting was called to the 7th of September, 1861, at Vasa, when a committee of eleven was appointed, consisting of such persons as lived round the whole settlement and farthest away from its center, and this committee was authorized to decide upon a place for the church, and by its decision the congregation was to abide. The committee soon after met and decided upon the location where the present brick church stands, viz., the northwest quarter of southeast qr. of section 15, town 112.

In order to secure the location the committee had first to buy 80 acres of Dr. Whitmore, of Wabasha, for the sum of $320. The congregation bought forty acres and the other forty was sold to a private person. Now, the place was decided upon, and at a meeting called on the 12th of October, it was resolved to go to work and build a church. It was to be built of frame. 60x38 feet. Soon, however, a number of families in the southern part of the settlement were dissatisfied with the location, and some other things relating to the building of a church, and withdrew themselves from the congregation. They even organized themselves into a new congregation, and talked of building a church by themselves. The congregation paid no attention to this new movement but went to work and built a small church, on the beautiful hill where it had decided upon. But in view of so many families having withdrawn themselves, the dimensions were cut down to 40x26, with a small sacristy. In June, 1862, it was so far finished that the Scandinavian Evang. Lutheran Synod of North America could hold its annual meeting there - an occasion of historical note. The movement of the seceders fell to the ground, and by and by most of them returned to the old congregation.

We were now in the times of the great civil war, and the minds of all people were occupied with that all absorbing theme. It was not a time favorable to the growth of spirituality and the peaceful development of the kingdom of God ; the times were too exciting for that. Nevertheless, the grace of mercy in caring for the sick and wounded, and the people, was during that time awakened in the congregation as never before. Not a few of its members went into the war, and many never returned. In numbers and material wealth, the congregation continued to grow during the war. At its close it had 314 communicants.

On this account, the church soon became too small for the congregation. At the annual meeting of 1865, it was proposed to move the church building from the top of the hill to the east side of the lot, put a stone basement under it, and to make preparations for erecting a larger church. This proposition was adopted, and the church was moved during the summer. In the following fall and winter the basement was occupied by the Congregational school and by the orphan home, then in its incipiency.

In regard to the erection of a new church, there were many deliberations from December, 1865, to the 2d of January, 1867. It was then resolved by the congregation that I should take the whole matter in my own hands - solicit subscriptions and direct the work from beginning to end. During the winter and spring I had some $8000 subscribed towards the new building, and during the summer Messrs. J. Paulson and J. Wilsey made 350,000 bricks. My health failing again, I had to ask permission for one year - from November, 1867 - to recruit; and leaving the pastoral work to my assistant, and the erection of the church to the trustees and a building committee, I went to Sweden in the beginning of 1868. The foundation to the new church was laid in the summer of 1868, and the church was put up in 1869. Mr. D. C. Hill, of Red Wing, being the architect and contractor for the work. In the early summer of the next year the church was finished and consecrated. Its dimensions are: length, 118 feet; width, 50 feet; side walls, 22 feet high.

A parsonage was also erected late in the season of 1869. The whole cost of the new church and parsonage as completed amounted to $31,065.22. The gentleman to whom belongs the credit of having collected and disbursed the greatest part of this sum is Hon. J. W. Peterson, who, since 1870, has been the worthy treasurer of the congregation.

With the beginning of the year 1868 the pastorate of Red Wing and Vasa was divided. I then resigned the former and retained the latter; but I did not remove to Vasa before January, 1870.

The following gentlemen have been assistant pastors: Rev. P. A. Caderstorm, from 1867 to 1870; Rev. J. Magny, from 1870 to 1871 ; Rev. A. Anderson, from 1S72 to 1873. From 1873, on account of my many duties as president of the synod, I withdrew from the active duties of my pastoral office in the congregation, and the Rev. P. J. Sward, for-

Statistics for the last synodical year, from 1877, to June, 1878 : members, 1,288; communicants, 758; baptisms, 70; confirmations, 34; received by letters, 35; deaths, 21; excluded, 17 ; marriages, 13 ; Sunday school, 1 ; congregational school, 1 ; contributions for church purposes, missions and mercies, $4,064.27.

Synodical Connections. - This congregation first belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Northern Illinois up to 1860. From that time it has belonged to the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod of North America. This synod has now a membership of 68,702, with 39,559 communicant members, in 302 congregations, with 123 ministers.

The Orphan Home At Vasa

This institution of mercy is under the control of the Minnesota Conference of the Augustana Synod. It owns ten acres of ground back of the Lutheran church, and a two-story frame building, and contains at present twenty-two orphan children of various ages. The Home was established by myself in the fall of 1865, and I carried it on alone for eleven years, when it was placed in the hands of the Conference. The free-will offerings for its support have, for the most part, come from Vasa and the Swedish Lutheran churches of Goodhue county. The institution is carried on upon the principles of a Christian home, and has been a blessing to many an orphan child.

Feathers Tone

This township derives its name from William Featherstone, who with a large family settled there in 1855. That year John Spencer, Phillip Starkel, Mr. Goldsmith, and Mr. Coleman, settled in the township, and in the two or three years following came William Frey burger, George Featherstone, J. Meacham, and Rev. John J. Watson. It is claimed by some that Robert Locke settled on section one as early as June, 1853.

James A. Jones and Miss Mary Libby were the first to embark on the sea of matrimony in the summer of 1857. Ceremony by the Rev. J. W. Hancock.

October 21, 1857, Wm. Libby called a school meeting. F. N. Leavitt was chosen chairman, and Geo. Featherstone clerk. The first board of trustees consisted of Wm. Freyberger, Wm. Libby and Wm. Watson. Wm. Featherstone was clerk; a singular coincidence in the fact of their all bearing the name of William. The children of legal school age at that date were seventeen, although the district embraced nearly the entire township. In the winter of 1857-8 the first school house was built at a cost of $250. There are now eight or ten, some of which cost nearly $2,500 each.

In 1856 the first church service was held at the house of Wm. Featherstone. In 1862 the Methodists built a church, 26x40 feet, that cost about $1,000.

In 1866 Ezekiel Burleigh built and opened a hotel but did not long continue it for the accommodation of the public. The township was organized in 1858, and the first election July 5, 1858.

Hay Creek

This township was organized in 1858. The first settler was Mr. Eger, who located a claim on section two, near the line of Wacoota township, in the spring of 1854. Erenest Schubert, Mr. Wakefield, George Steele, and Henry Einnzih settled in the township in 1854. In the fall of that year George Frederick, father of Mr. Frederick, of the firm of Frederick & Hack, Red Wing, came to the township, but removed to Belle Creek immediately after.

The first school house was built of logs in 1857, on section 24, where the Wells Creek mills now stand. This school was taught by a young man named Graves.

The first marriage was solemnized between E. Schubert and Miss Rheinhart, in 1859, by William Hay man, the first justice of the peace in the township.

This township was organized in 1858. It was named in honor of Florence Graham, daughter of Judge Chris. Graham, now of Red Wing. The township is full of historic interest. It stretches along the upper end of Lake Pepin, with its jutting headlands and ragged northeastern border looking out across the water. Here the early explorers disembarked and planted their banners, more than two hundred years ago, and some of these romantic landmarks still wear the impress of those primitive footsteps in their march of advancing civilization. It is said Count Frontenac, a French voyageur, landed where the little village that bears the musical name of Florence, now stands, as early as the middle of the seventeenth century ; and on the 17th of September, 1696, La Perrie du Bouche, with his party, ascended the Mississippi, and landed on the shore of the lake, at a point below Frontenac, where a peninsula stretches an arm out into the water. This was named by the French Point du Sable, and there they built a post or stockade, almost two centuries ago. Savs a recent writer : "The stockade was one hundred feet square, within which were three buildings, subserving, most likely, for store, chapel and quarters."

Presbyterian Church, West Florence

In the month of September, 1859, a meeting was held at the house of James B. Smith, Esq., in the southwestern part of Florence township, for the purpose of organizing a church. There were present Rev. J. W. Hancock, Rev. J. N. Williams, J. B. Smith and wife, Lorenzo Utley and wife, Miss E. Manny, Mrs. Susan H. Williams, Miss Harriet E. and Miss Sarah H. Williams, and several children.

After singing, reading the scriptures and prayer, letters of standing and church membership were presented by the following named: J. B. Smith, Lucretia Smith, Susan H. Williams, Harriet E. Williams, Sarah L. Williams, and Elizabeth M. Utley.

And according to the usual order they were constituted a Christian church, under the name of '-'-The Presbyterian Church of West Florence.'''' James B. Smith was chosen elder.

Rev. J. N. Williams was chosen to preach as stated supply. He preached in that vicinity every alternate Sunday for a little over two years, receiving $80 from the people, and the balance of his salary from the home missionary society.

In the spring of 1864 measures were taken to have regular preaching again, as will be seen by the following paragraph taken from the church records :

This church was prospered with frequent additions, having a roll of fifty-three members in all, until about the year 1872 it began to decline on account of the removal from the place of many of its members.

The Germans have taken the places of many of the former inhabitants, and religious services in the German language are now conducted in the church a part of the time.

The following is a list of the township officers, beginning with Dr. John Kelly, chairman of the board of supervisors, and J. C. Carey, clerk, as early as 1858 ; the first named being chairman, and the last clerk : numbers about 100. It is a cosy, romantic spot, on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad, with wooded bluffs, grass lands, gardens, and cultivated fields around it, and but a short distance away Lake Pepin glistens in its primeval bed.

The outgrowth of the labors of the Rev. C. F. Heyer, 1860, who founded the church with the following membership: J. C. Bennewitz. John Thompson, William Miller, Jacob Schneider, John Raeper, John Luth, John Hennings, and Fred. Kochn. J. C. Bennewitz was the first president of the church, and superintendent of Sabbath School, which positions he held until 1875.

In 1872 they built their present church edifice at a cost of $2,000. It is of wood, 36x50, and a very pretty house of worship. J. O. Bennewitz, Jacob Schneider and Wm. Miller were the building committee. They have an average attendance of forty Sabbath School scholars, eight teachers, with the pastor, Christian Bender, acting superintendent.

Christian Bender, pastor of the above described church, is a native of Germany, born September 11, 1838, where he graduated at a theological seminary. In 1868 he immigrated to Red Wing and immediately took charge of the Lutheran Church at Florence Station, Red Wing and Goodhue township.

Frontenac, On Lake Pepin

Nature has fitted this charming spot and surrounded it with such beauty and picturesque loveliness as adorns no equal area elsewhere, on this or any other continent.

For its scenic beauty, the perfection of its climate, its drives and facilities for boating, bathing, trout fishing and grouse-shooting, it already enjoys a national reputation.

Wise forethought, guided by cultivated taste, and inspired by a liberal confidence in the growing greatness of the Mississippi Valley, has planned Frontenac to be the Newport of the Northwest, the site of the hotels and summer residences of the future. Even now, the expenditure of money has been made so in harmony with the wealth of nature's gifts that it is already one of the most attractive summer resorts in the land. Two parks, extending through the village plat, one on the lake front, and one in front of the second terrace, secure to the choice residence blocks the most lovely views of wide expanse of waters, of cliffs, of wooded gorges and of prairie slopes.

The Lake Side Hotel occupies a point projecting out into the lake, of about ten acres. Here, in picturesque arrangement, are the main buildings, the cottages, the billiard hall, the boat house, the light house, the croquet ground, the dancing floor, the little park, and sea wall on the extreme point, the bathing houses and the stabling.

Frontenac is the center of the finest region in the Northwest for both trout fishing and grouse shooting. It is one of the very few places where these two sports can be had together, and there is no place where they can be had in such excellence and with such ease of access to the sportsman. A drive of six miles up the valley of Wells Creek, through highly cultivated farms, will reach the fishing grounds on this stream, and from there, for eight miles more, the road winds along the bank of the stream, so that there need be no fatigue in securing a good basket of trout. A row or sail of half an hour from the hotel across the lake and a pleasant walk of half a mile, introduces the angler to an inexhaustible and never disappointing supply of trout in Pine Creek, and a drive of ten miles will make him acquainted with the three and four pound trout of Rush River, and with the dark forests, the over-hanging rocks, and the sparkling waters of that finest of all the trout streams.

The grouse shooting begins at the nearest wheat fields, but for a day's shooting, the upland prairie, some miles away, offers the most attraction, where with abundance of game, the sportsman enjoys an atmosphere and scenery equal to a mountain top.

There are charming drives to the fine points of view on the surrounding bluffs, or over the good roads that in every direction offer some new combination of landscape beauty to the lover of nature. The drive of six miles to Lake City, along the shore of the lake, affords many interesting views, especially of that bold bluff, always in sight, noted in song and story as " Maiden's Rock." Every lover, and every one who delights in Indian legend, knows the tale which has lent an interest, beyond the charm of scenery, to this crag on the shore of Lake Pepin.

"The beautiful Winona, refused by her father to her lover, a young Dakota warrior, but promised by her father to an old chief, dressed herself with bridal garments, placed a wreath of wild flowers on her brow, and from the dizzy edge of this cliff called on her lover to meet her in the happy hunting grounds, chanted her death song, and leaped to

Another drive that no visitor should fail to take, is that on the romantic road along the ridge that terminates at Waconia Cliff, from which the delighted spectator gazes upon a panorama of wonderful beauty, in which the lake, the bluffs, the prairie, the fields of grain, the railwaytrains, the steamboats, the sails, the rafts, the farm houses, Dakota Park with its* mile track, the villages, and towns, unite in composing a picture that will be remembered with lasting enjoyment.

Central Point

This township lies in a bend in the Mississippi River directly above Lake City, and contains only three or four sections of land, and but a small population, and consequently a limited history.

Its first settlement dates back to the spring of 1853, when a Mr. Gridley selected a claim. R. L. Phillips, H. L. Barrett, and Hannibal Bonnell, followed, and in the following year still others located in that vicinity, and quite a neighborhood sprang up : the settlers became ambitious, and golden dreams of future greatness floated before their excited visions, so that in 1855 a town plat was surveyed, and speculation in town lots became quite lively for a time. Mr. Silas Crop built a store and stocked it with general merchandise. Mr. Tracy built a hotel, which was opened by E. S. Harrison. A post office was established, and Perry D. Martin was appointed postmaster.

In 1856, Messrs. C. W. & E. Hackett built another store, which was also filled with general merchandise. In this year Charles Moe built a steam saw mill, and commenced the manufacture of lumber. At this time Central Point was the only steamboat landing near. But it was soon ascertained that a much better landing could be secured at Lake City, and the result was that the village and business found their way to that point.

In 1857, another steam saw mill was built, which is now owned and operated by S. S. Grannis, of Red Wing, and G. H. Grannis> who lives on the point.

The first school was taught in 1858. The first religious service was conducted by Rev. M. Sorin, in a log house built by Mr. Barrett, which was the first one built in the township. A

Cannon Falls

1856. The only business now carried on in town is the lumber business, by the Messrs. Grannis, all the rest having been swallowed up by Lake City, which is only a mile distant.

This township was included in the Waucouta precinct, organized by the county commissioners, June 8, 1855. It is a fractional township, and comprises only a small number of sections of land. The place was named in honor of the Indian chief of that name, who had his residence at the head of the lake. The town is hilly and sandy, yet there are many excellent farms in the valleys.

The first settlement was made in 1850 by Geo. W. Bullard, who had an Indian trader's license and established a traffic with the aborigines at that point. Abner W. Post came with Bullard and built his house. Bullard was properly an Indian trader, although a great share of his custom came from the lumbermen on the other side of the river.

The next influx of immigration came along in May, 1852. In 1853 the town site was laid out, and preparations were at once entered into for having a village that should rapidly grow into a city of some magnitude. Bullard and Post built a saw mill, which was the first west of the Mississippi River.

In 1854 J. B. Smith erected a hotel, the only home for travelers up to that time being Bullard's house. This hotel was subsequently removed to Mt. Pleasant, Wabasha county, and did service as the residence of Rev. Mr. Williams.

Daniel Saunders built in 1855 another hotel, which in 1864 was removed to the town of Featherstone, and was converted into a dwelling house, the residence of Rev. Ezar Tucker. The population was increasing so rapidly in 1857, that the two hotels could not accommodate the demands of the immigration that was then pouring in. At this juncture George W. Bullard built a hotel, 40x60 feet, and finished it off in good style. This did the business until the travel and population began to wane, and hotel matters took a downward tendency at a rapid rate ; and in 1864, there being no further use for it at Waucouta, it was sold Messrs. Tibbetts & Hackett, of Lake City, who removed it to that place during the winter on the ice.

In 1857 the commissions of the postmaster at the place amounted to $75 per quarter. At the present time it amounts to about nothing per annum.

In the fall and winter of 1854, J. F. Pingrey taught school in a hall over a store. Rev. J. W. Hancock and Rev. Mathew Sorin held meetings as early as 1853. The place now supports in and around a few well tilled farms, but other towns have ripened into prominence, and Waucouta's former glory has been eclipsed by her more enterprising rivals.

Waucouta, like many places of early promise, lived its day, fulfilled its destiny and retired to the shade, to spend the evening of its days in quietness and rural simplicity.

Bely1Dere

In the spring of 1855, N. B. Gaylord and his brother George, located for a few weeks on Rock Creek, in the northern portion of the township. Mr. Ga3Tlord soon after removed to a new location on Wells Creek, and in August Joseph S. Thompson, with his family, settled near Mr. Gaylord's, and began opening a farm.

Claus Hoist and several other German families located near the head waters of Wells Creek that fall. The next season a large immigration poured into different parts of the township.

Ida Thompson was the first child born in the township June 13, 1856. The first marriage was the union of Mr. George Steele and Miss Junia Pingrey, a sister of Mrs. J. S. Thompson, at whose house the ceremony was performed, Aug. 14, 1855, by J. B. Smith. Little Etta Gaylord was the first death - 1858 - two years of age.

Mr. Gaylard having a good water power, put in operation a large hand coffee mill, and ground for himself and neighbors, flour, meal and other articles, lor the accommodation of the new beginners. Having used up two coffee mills, he next procured a small burr mill stone, and kept gradually improving his primitive enterprise until he launched out into a full-grown mill with two run of stone, with a capacity of 120 bushels of wheat per day. This coffee mill enterprise was in the year 1858-9. The Belvidere mill finally took rank among the good mills of the country. Rev. John Watson held religious services in the house of Nelson B. Gaylord as early as the summer 1856; and Miss Delia Eggleston

In 1862 the German Methodists built a cosy log church near Gaylord's mill at an expense of $300, and in the southern part of the township, 1865, the Catholics erected a good frame church building, where in connection they have forty acres of land also.

The Norwegian Lutherans built a church near the west line in 1867. Belvidere is now amply supplied with fine churches, good school buildings, flouring mills, together with the necessary mechanical and manufacturing enterprises required by a thrifty rural people in the ordinary -avocations of life.

The town of Belvidere, was settled in the year 1855, mainly by Americans from the Eastern States, and was organized as an independent election district in 1858.

The first town board was appointed by the county board as follows : Supervisors, Mason O. Egleston, chairman, William Thomas, G. D. Post ; town clerk, Hubert Eggleston; assessor, B. F. Chase; tax collector, J. S. Thompson ; justice of the peace, Marcus Eggleston ; constables, James Loan and George Gay.

The first town meeting was held on the 5th day of April, 1859, and the following officers were elected : Horace W. Twitchel, chairman of the board of supervisors, Marcus Eggleston and Mason O. Eggleston, supervisors; town clerk, Hubert Eggleston; assessor, G. D. Post; collector, J. S. Thompson ; overseer of poor, Nelson B. Gaylord ; constables, Jacob Church and George Gay; justices, Marcus Eggleston and B. R. Prince.

In the year 1860, Horace W. Twitchel was elected chairman of the board of supervisors, George Gelords and Knut Knutson, -supervisors; Hubert Eggleston, clerk ; Marcus Eggleston, assessor ; N. B. Gaylord, town treasurer and poor overseer; Marcus Eggleston and B. R. Prince, justices of the peace; assessor, Star Dennison ; justices, Star Dennison and H. N. Eggleston ; constables, Wm. Kinney and B. R. Prince. 1870, all the old officers held over except Mason O. Eggleston, who was appointed chairman of the board of supervisors, John Alley resigning.

In 1872, John C. Johnson was elected chairman of the board of supervisors, and J. S. Thompson and Stephen Redding, supervisors ; clerk, Peter J. Hilden ; treasurer, C. C. Roberts ; assessor, Walter Brown ; justices, Walter Brown and George Stace ; constables, Wm. Lane and S. Mageras. In 1873, John C. Johnson was re-elected chairman, as well as J. S. Thompson and S. Redding, for supervisors; clerk, T.J. Hilden; treasurer, N. B. Gaylord; assessor, George Stace ; justices, George Stace and Walter Brown; constables, James Arden and E. Fountain. In 1874, the same town board was re-elected, with the exception of A. W. Fountain being elected justice of the peace, Walter Brown not qualifying. In 1875, William Thomas, Perry George and Martin Johnson were elected supervisors, William Thomas being elected chairman; clerk, T. J. Hilden ; assessor, George State ; treasurer, C. C. Roberts ; justice, John C. Johnson ; constable, R. Mallan. In 1876, William Thomas, Perry George and George Stace were elected supervisors, William Thomas being elected chairman; clerk, Peter J. Hilden ; treasurer, C. C. Roberts ; assessor, John C. Johnson; Stephen Redding, justice of the peace ; John Mageras, constable. In 1877, Perry George was elected chairman of the board of supervisors ; Martin Johnson and John Shafer, supervisors ; clerk, T. J. Hilden ; assessor, John C. Johnson ; treasurer, N B. Gaylord; justices, John 0. Johnson and Peter Krall ; constables, C. A. J. Hanson and Hubert Mageras. In the year 1878, Perry George was re-elected chairman of the board of supervisors ; Stephen Redding and Olaus Johnson elected supervisors ; clerk, P. J. Hilden ; assessor, George Labbitt appointed; treasurer, N. B. Gaylord; John C. Johnson and P. Krall, holding the justice office ; C. A.J. Hanson and S. Mageras, constables. The town has always been very patriotic, and when the war broke out the men enlisted as one man, all that conveniently could leave their homes, and when President Lincoln called for 300,000 more they enlisted, whether they could leave their homes or not ; but besides this private subscriptions were made to bounties in the sum of $3,500. The following named men enlisted from time to time during the war : Hubert Eggleston, William S. Kinney, John Arden, James Arden, Michael Corcoran, T. Erickson, John E. Olin, James N. Wood, Peter J. Lotty, F. Snidert, R. J. Daniels, Bent E. Olin, Benjamin Chase, B. R. Prince, Walter Brown, William Parsons, John Alley, Cyrus Klingenschmidt, Ole Syverson, Timothy O'Regan, Timothy Houson, John Wayze, W. S. Williams, Svenom Hendrickson. A. C. Amundson, John Amundson, John C. Johnson, Jacob Wohlers, Peter J. Hilden, John Bomback, Fred. Bomback, Joachim Hoist, Jacob Hoist, Claus Hoist, John Hoist, William Buckholst, N. B. Gaylord, George Gaylor, John

Arden, Thomas Booth, Peter Swetchser, William Suckhaa, Fredrick Luchan, James T. Bowker, William Berley, Ole Nelson, John Nelson, Watson Devore, Frank Lane, Peter Wagoner, Nioolaus Lippert, R. Kolby, Andrew Baker, Ammond Larson, and Samuel Church. Some of those died in the army, and at the time the town was almost depopulated of able-bodied men ; but the town is now in a flourishing condition and at present pretty well settled, mostly by Germans and some Norwegians and Americans. We have five churches - one Catholic, two Methodist and two Lutheran, and seven schoolhouses, all in good condition.

In 1861, Horace W. Twitchel was elected chairman of the board of supervisors ; William Thomas and Mason Eggleston, supervisors ; Reuben Ward, clerk; Marcus Eggleston, assessor; Nelson B. Gaylord, treasurer and overseer of the poor; Marcus Eggleston and Ben. Prince, justices.

In 1862, J. S. Thompson was elected chairman of the board of supervisors ; and George Stace and William Perly, supervisors ; Halvor Knutson, clerk ; treasurer, H. W. Twitchel ; assessor, B. F. Chase ; justices, Peter J. Hilden and Marcus Eggleston ; constables, John C. Johnson and Frank Lane. Joseph S. Thompson was then re-elected five years in succession, and held the chairmanship six years successively. The other supervisors under him in that time were:

In 1863, William Perly and George Gay ; clerk, Oliver Knutson ; treasurer, H. W. Twitchel ; assessor, Marcus Eggleston ; J. S. Thompson, overseer of the poor, which office he held till the county took them in their care; Peter J. Hilden, justice of the peace, which office he held till the year 1875, when he enlisted in the army.

In the year 1864, C. C. Roberts and Halvor Knutson were elected supervisors; J. S. Thompson, chairman; town clerk, Reuben Ward; treasurer, H. W. Twitchel ; assessor, Julius Munger; Constables, Caleb Reynolds and William Thomas ; justices, G. H. Gaylord and P. J. Hilden.

In the year 1865, J. S. Thompson was elected chairman ; Wm. Thomas and Daniel Mallan, supervisors; clerk, Oliver or Halvor Knutson; assessor, George Stace : treasurer, H. W. Twitchel ; justices of the peace, Marcus Eggleston and John Alley ; constables, Ole Knutson and John Lucham.

In 1868, John Alley was elected chairman of the board of supervisors; George Stace and E. Northfield, supervisors ; clerk, Stephen Roberts ; treasurer, 0. C. Roberts; justices, H. N. Eggleston and Edwin Bullard; assessor, Star Dennison ; constable, Albert Pratt. In 1869, John Alley was re-elected chairman of the board of supervisors ; Walter Brown and John C. Johnson were elected supervisors ; Stephen Roberts, clerk ; treasurer, N. B. Gaylord.

This township was first settled in 1854 by Francis Yergens and John Mann. In 1855 David Hickock, John Ingerbretson, Harry Danielson, Oliver Knutson and Knut Knutson, came in, and selected lands and made claim. David Hickock and John Mann each built houses and opened them as hotels, and though the population in their immediate vicinity was small, travel was quite brisk, and the hotels were considered a success, so much so that when P. Easterly came the next year (1856) he also built a hotel, which he kept in operation for a number of years.

The first birth in Goodhue was in 1855, when a child was born to Mrs. Frances Yergens, which was christened Henry. The wife of Mr. David Hickock died in 1856, which was the first death in town. The funeral sermon preached on that occasion was the first religious service. Rev. Jabez Brooks officiated. The first school was taught by Miss Georgiette Easterly, in the summer of 1857.

In 1858 H. H. Oleson opened a blacksmith shop, which was the only one in the township, till 1868, when a man named Mutz built a shop near Easterly's hotel.

There are five good school houses. Goodhue is one of the finest agricultural towns in the county, and all the farmers seem to think they cannot do better than to stick to their farms, some of whom have very large ones.

The business of the town being entirely agricultural, events have not transpired to make a very exciting history, and interesting only so far as all are interested to know that material wealth is being gathered

The township is rich in those material elements that constitute the temporal blessings of a people, and put beyond a reasonable possibility the chances of a lack of the necessaries of life ever clouding their bright future.

Grace Church, German Lutheran

This church was organized in the spring of 1868 by the Rev. Christian Bender. It had but eight members at that time, as follows: A. Seeback, Gotlieb Seeback, R. Haas, Charles Semke, William Betcher, G. Betcher, Herman Kempe and Peter Tipke.

The church was built that year at a cost of about $500, including grounds. Rev. Mr. Bender delivered the dedicatory service the last Sunday in August. A new church is now nearly completed, 36x50 feet, which will cost about $2,500. There are now forty-two members, with William Kempe, Peter Tipke, Elder Charles Sempke and Elder Fred. Wing, trustees. Services are held every third Sabbath.

Other Churches

On section 17 the Methodists have a church, and on section 22 stands a Presbyterian edifice. There are two Lutheran churches in the township - one located on section 18 and the other on section 34. All the churches are prosperous, and the people take a deep interest in their educational and religious institutions.

Belle Creek

The first settlers in this township were two Swedes, Charles Ross and a man named Kemper, in the fall of 1853. They located on section five, built a cabin and put in the winter there. In May, 1854, Walter Doyle and five sons, Henry, Richard, Michael, Walter, jr., and John, settled sections two and four. Benom Hill and three sons, John, Henry, and Thomas, followed in July of that year, locating on sections five and eight. The next year, 1855, the township settled up rapidly, and farms and gardens and substantial habitations began to round into form.

Anna O'Neil, a daughter of James O'Neil, was the first white child born in the township, March, 1855. James Connel was the first man to die, May, 1856. He started to cross a slough with an axe on his shoulder, stumbled and fell in such a manner that the edge of the tool came in contact with his head, fracturing his skull, from the effects of which he

Lewis White and Miss Eraeline Hill were the first couple joined in wedlock. The event was celebrated in 1856, S. P. Chandler, a justice of the peace, performing the ceremony.

Alvin Herbert taught the first school in the winter of 1855-1856, in the basement of a stone house owned by Mr. Kirkpatrick. No school house was erected until 1859, although schools were in progress nearly every season up to that time, being held in some of the settlers' houses.

In 1856 James Allen laid out a village plat and christened it Troy City, and soon after Jesse Johnson put up a store and stocked it with goods. He had the entire trade of the place, as no other building was erected on the village site. The financial crash of 1857 came and all further attempts to do business or build a city were abandoned.

A post office was established in 1854, called "Burr Oak," and H. M. Doyle was appointed postmaster. This office was located on the stage route which led from St. Paul to Dubuque. In 1855 the mail route was changed, and the office was therefore discontinued. 1858 another office was established in the southwest portion of the township and named Belle Creek. S. P. Chandler was appointed postmaster.

On the 25th of May, 1855, the first religious services were held in the township at the residence of Benoni Hill, the Rev. Norris Hobart officiating.

The township is watered by Belle Creek, from which it derives its name. It flows through along the western side, and affords a fair water power, and at intervals along its borders, hay meadows, limestone ledges and fine building stone.

Belle Creek is bounded on the east by Goodhue, west by Leon, north by Vasa, and south by Minneola. The township was not organized until 1858, and the first election was held at the residence of Walter Doyle, that fall, at which thirty votes were polled. S. P. Chandler was chairman of the first board of supervisors, and Patrick Drudy, was the first clerk.

This town is bounded as follows: Cannon Falls to the north, Belle Creek on the east, Wanamingo to the south, and Warsaw on the west. The surface is mostly rolling prairie, the only marked difference being six or eight sections in the northwestern part, which are considerably broken and sandy, the ridges being covered with a light growth of tim- ber, caused by two of the eastern branches of the Little Cannon River having their sources in this part of the township. These little streams flow to the northwest and cross the township line near the northwestern corner.

The first settler in this township was Haldro Johnson, a Norwegian, who came from Dane county, Wisconsin, in the fall of 1854. He made a claim on section twenty and spent the winter there. The following summer he went back to Wisconsin, married and returned with his wife to their new home, where they have since resided. During the spring and summer of 1855 the population was increased by the addition of the following settlers and their families, all Scandinavians: A. J. Malande, Andrew Larson, Guttrom Pederson, Ole Pederson, John Johnson Wamberg (now deceased,) John Bottolfson, M. Edstrom, C. A. Haggstrom, William Olson and Regnold Johnson. They at once proceeded to make claims and improve them. Nearly all are now living where they first located.

In the spring of 1856 a number of American families settled in the central and southeastern parts of the township, but only a few of them remained. The first birth was that of Frank Johnson, son of John and Johanna Johnson, born May 8, 1856, and died September 7, 1856 ; this was also the first death.

During 1857 E. A. Sargent built the first store erected in the township, and stocked it, but after a few years discontinued it. In 1868, M. T. Opsal built a small store and filled it with goods. Trade soon compelled him to enlarge the building, and he is now carrying on a thriving business.

July 5, 1858, the township organization was perfected, an election being held in the store of E. A. Sargent; the following officers were elected : Supervisors, Ellery Stone, chairman, George Leasons and William Olson; town clerk, Geo. F. Sargent; assessor, F. F. Dimick; collector, E. D. Stone ; overseer of the poor, John Bussey ; justices of the peace, D. 0. Stranahan and S. N. McGaughey ; constables, E. D. Stone and O. L. Stranahan. E. A. Sargent was clerk of election, and A. E. McGaughy forwarding clerk. Fifty votes were polled.

The township is now inhabited almost exclusively by a steady and industrious class of people, natives of Norway and Sweden ; the former residing principally in the southwestern portion of the township, the latter the northeastern. They are all, or nearly all, naturalized citizens ; and as their interests are thoroughly identified with the land of their adoption, they take a deep interest in the political and social welfare of the country. Many of them are men of education and ability, some of them having represented their districts in one or both branches of the State legislature, while others have filled local positions of trust and

In an agricultural point of view the township is one of the best in the country. Its cultivated fields, possessing a soil of marvelous fertilily, its broad acres of arable lands, its timber and water, beautiful residences, barns and granaries filled to repletion, flocks and herds ; and finally, the health and general prosperity of its inhabitants, are the living evidences of a section of country rich in natural resources and abounding in happy homes.

The first school taught in the township was about 1857, by a man named Daniel Van Amburg, in a log school house near where William Olson now lives. At the present time there are seven, in which schools are taught most of the year by competent teachers.

There is but one post office in the township, Wastedo, but there are offices near the line in adjoining townships which give ample mail facilities.

The churches within the limits of the township number but two, although as in case of the post offices, the neighboring townships help them out.

The oldest church organization is the Spring Garden Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church, organized July 19, 1858, at the residence of Peter Johnson, on section fifteen, under the charge of Rev. P. Beckman.

The following are the names of those who composed the congregation at that time, M. Edstrom and family, C. A. Haggstrom and family, John G., Wanberg and family, Jacob Johnson and family, John P. Johnson and family, A. W. Johnson and family, Isaac Holm and family, Peter Johnson and family, Nils Challberg and family, Peter Lundell and family, Bengt Anderson and family, A. Enberg and family, Paul Nelson, John Holm, G. Holm, P. O. Holm, C. Holm, Johannes Holm, John Edwall, John Lagerstrom, and S. Anderson. The officers were : Deacons, M. Edstrom, for one year ; John P. Johnson, two years, and Peter Johnson for three years. Trustees, Jacob Johnson, one year ; Nils Challberg, two years, and S. Anderson, three years.

In 1862, a small church was built on section 11, which has since been replaced by a fine edifice, erected on the site of the original, and capable of seating 600 people. After the organization, Mr. Beckman continued as pastor until June, 1868, when he went away, and the people were without a regular minister until July 1, 1870, when the Rev. J. O. Cavallin, took charge of the congregation and is the present incumbent. The church has now a membership of about 300.

At present the officers are - deacons, J. P. Gustafson, Fred Anderson, Peter Berg, John A. Holm, Victor Anderson, and John Larson ; trustees,

The other church is located on section 30 ; the congregation is the out-growth of the Holden church at Wanamingo. It is styled the " Urland Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church." The organization took place the winter of 1871, and the building of a church was at once begun, which was completed and dedicated in 1874. It is an elegant structure, capable of seating 500 people.

The building committee were Rognold J. Onstad, Ed. L. Otterness and A. A. Flom. Rev. B. J. Muus, of Wanamingo, under whose charge they were prior to their organization, is their pastor, although he has been assisted since 1875 by Rev. M. O. Bockman, who preaches at the church every few weeks.

The first officers of this organization were : Trustees, Lars Flom, for three years ; Tosten A. Melhuus, three years ; Ole A. Melhuus, two years; Rognold J. Onstad, two years, and Johannes Ingebrigtson, one year. Members at date of organization numbered 296. There are at the present time about 650. Officers at the present time are : Trustees, Lars Nelson, Iver I. Wangen, G. P. Otterness, Hans Rasmusen and Wm. Olson.

In 1859 the Rev. Mr. Barnes organized a Presbyterian church, and about that time the Methodists; but the American families were too few, the organizations languished for want of proper support, and therefore have had no real existence for many years.

Fire Insurance Companies

There are two local fire insurance companies in the township. The "Leon Fire Insurance Company" was organized under an act of the State legislature, passed March 4, 1876. Its officers are : president, R.

The other company is styled the "Scandinavian Mutual Protection Association." It was organized in 1868, and by an act of the legislature incorporated in 1870. It insures against fire, lightning, storms and other calamities. No one can become a member unless he is conver- sant with the Scandinavian language. An admission fee of $1 is required, and members are taxed in case of loss to repair damage ; but so far no losses have occurred. John Miller is president ; vice president, John Holm; and the territory is divided into five districts, with two directors to each.

Here follows a list of the township officers from date of organization up to the present time ; the first named in the catalogue of supervisors is invariably the chairman. The following constituted the various boards of supervisors :

Constables, in order: E. D. Stone, O. L. Stranahan, B. F. Davis, John Lagerstrom, H. P. Davis, A. B. Crow, John Lagerstrom, A. Olson, H. M. Stranahan, B. F. Davis, Jonathan Poe, J. A. Holm, H. M. Stranahan, O. S. Urevig, John A. Holm, D. E. Berdan, O. S. Urevig, John Lewis, O. S. Urevig, P. J. Peterson, Ed. Berdan, K. K. Hougo and J. Holm.

Warsaw

In 1858 the township of Warsaw was organized. It is bounded on the north by Lillian, east by Leon, south by Holden, and west by Northfield, in Rice county. It is watered by the Little Cannon River, has some timber in the southeast portion, while the remainder is rolling prairie. The market towns are Hastings, Northfield, and Red Wing.

The first settlement made in the township was in June, 1855, by Moses, William, and Edwin George, Robert McCoskel, E. H. Sumner, Washington King, R. B. Wilson, J. E. Wright, and Francis McKee. These gentlemen'made claims in the northern portion of the township, and at once began turning over the sod and preparing the soil for a crop the following season.

In 1856 a child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Washington King, which in those days was celebrated as an event of greater moment than the birth of a new star in the firmament.

John Chambers was the first man to lay down his shovel and go over the " dark river." He died in 1856. Rev. Isaac Waldron held the first religious services at a room in the house of Alex McKee, in the summer of 1858. The first school was taught by Miss Emma Babcock in a room hired of Alex McKee, the summer of 1859.

The business enterprise other than agriculture in Warsaw was a blacksmith shop, put in operation by Mr. Johnson in 1864. Others have since been added, and the various branches of business have multiplied as the necessities required, until to-day these people are virtually independent of all save God and each other. They have a beautiful section of country, remarkably rich in the elements of natural productiveness, and on every hand it is teeming with thrift and prosperity. Timber and water, soil and climate, well-tilled farms and comfortable homes, both for man and beast, are some of the many blessings that cluster around this people, the fruits of their labor and the gift of the Great Giver.

Holden

The honor of turning the first furrow in this township undoubtedly belongs to Hans Ovaldson - now a resident of Belle Creek - who in the summer of 1854 broke about four acres on section 24, and soon after Ole C. Oakland broke a like amount on section 23, where they, the following year, raised a crop of wheat; but neither of them built a house till the following summer.

In the fall of 1854 Jens Ottun made a claim and built a sod hut on section 33, where he in the month of May, 1855, commenced breaking, and at the same time the building of a log cabin ; but on the 27th of the same month A. K. Finseth, K. K. Finseth, H. K. Finseth and Ole J. Bakke arrived at the claim of Mr. Ottun ; the Finseths bought Mr. Ottun's claim and he returned to Wanamingo township, where he had previously made a claim; thus the Finseths became the first permanent settlers of Holden township, as the two mentioned at the first of this sketch had not yet made a claim.

Mr. Bakke made a claim on sec. 33, and Mrs. Bakke was, undoubtedly, the first white female settler in the township. Females with red skins were plenty here at that time ; and once when Mrs. Bakke was gone for a pail of water, a squaw entered the house and stole her babe out of the bed ; Mrs. Bakke, however, soon missed her child, and running out of the house, heard its cries from the edge of the wood, where she soon arrived, whereupon the squaw threw the child upon the ground and ran off.

In the month of June, the same year, Ole O. Huset settled on sec. 23, Halvor Ennerson Vraalstad on sec. 27, and Thorbjorn Ennerson Vraalstad on sec. 35 ; and in Sept., Mrs. T. Ennerson Vraalstad gave birth to the first native-born citizen of the United States, in Holden township.

In the same year, Ole O. Naeset and Erik Anderson settled on sec. 9, and Nels Mikkelson Dalsbotten on sec. 10, and Mikkel Johnson on sec. 15. Several log cabins were soon erected, and some with a roof, others without a roof, had, with the assistance of the covered wagons, to serve as places of abode for the industrious immigrants, while they were preparing the soil for their first crop.

The small supply of provisions they brought with them was soon gone, and the two towns on the Mississippi River, Red Wing and Hastings, had to be resorted to from which to procure the necessaries of life ; the distance was great - over thirty miles - and the only accommodation, train oxen and wagons or sleds, so that those journeys were, especially in winter, anything but pleasant. The prices of provisions at those places were also very high, flour was from $10 to $12 per barrel, pork from ten to twenty cents per pound, butter from twenty to thirty cents per pound., etc.

During the summer of 1855, a large number of claims were taken, a few of which were occupied in the fall ; but the most ot them were unsettled till the spring of 1856.

The first settlers in the township were Norwegians ; but a few years afterwards a number of German families settled in the west part of the township, many of whom still reside there.

The first resident to commit matrimony, was Mr. K. K. Finseth, who married Miss Bergitte Halvorson. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. H. A. Stub, at the residence of the bride's father, in Rice county, on Sept. 13, 1856.

In 1856, a State road was surveyed through the southeast part of the township, and the following year Norway post office was established in the township, and Ole O. Huset appointed postmaster, and served as such to his death in 1862. This post office has since been moved just over the line in Wanamingo township, and B.J. Borlang, is postmaster. About the same time Holden post office was established in the north part of the township, and T. E. Thompson, appointed postmaster. Eidsvold post office was established in 1875, on the daily mail route from Red Wing to Faribault, and Hans Christianson Westermo, appointed post master.

The first two winters the township was settled, were more severe than any since, and the snow was so deep that snow shoes were indispensable. In the middle of April 1857, sleighs could still be used to good advantage, and spring work on the farms could not commence till about the last day of April. The crops however were good, and the township raised plenty of breadstuff for their own support, and had some to sell, but the price was very low.

The township was first attached to Wanamingo and other towns, for political purposes, until July 5, 1858, when the present township was organized and the name " Holden " given to it. Its political machinery was then set in motion by the election of the following officers : supervisors, K. K. Finseth, chairman, H. 0. Klemer and Charles Nichols ; town clerk, L. K. Aaker ; assessor, G. Nichols ; collector, Charles Foglesang ; justices of the peace, W. C. Crandall and Ole Olson; constables, Peter N. Langemo and H. Ennerson Vraalstad.

destroyed nearly everything, and the supply depots at Red Wing and Hastings had again to be resorted to for provisions for the families of the settlers.

At the first two town meetings, considerable interest was manifested, as the people were strangers to each other, and each one tried to elect those to office whom he knew best ; but after they became acquainted with each other, the mutual confidence became almost unlimited, which has continued to this day, and the election to township offices has ever since been almost unanimous.

During the war, from 1861 to 1865, the aggregate amount of $14,000 was raised to hire volunteers for the service, and thus no drafting was needed to fill the quota.

The earliest agricultural statistics obtainable is for the year 1865, when the acreage of wheat numbered 2,846, and the number of bushels raised was 46,788, or a little over 16^ bushels per acre ; the lowest average yield was in 1869, when on an acreage of 6,443 acres, only 82,205 bushels of wheat were raised, or about 12-f bushels per acre ; the best yield was in 1873, when 184,929 bushels of wheat were raised on 8,182 acres, or about 22^ bushels per acre.

There is one church in this township, called "Vang's Church," in " Valder's district," on section four. It is a part of the " Holden congregations," and was finished and dedicated in 1868 ; it is a beautiful building, capable of seating 500 people. The district is in charge of Rev. B. J. Muus and his assistants, and has three parish schools.

Wanamingo is bounded on the north by Leon, east by Minneola, south by Cherry Grove, and west by Holden. About half of the surface is a gently rolling prairie with every foot of land tilled; but the north branch of the Zumbro River, flowing in an easterly direction through the south part of the township, causes the land to be considerably broken, yet not so much so but that almost every acre has been turned by the plow. Spring Creek also enters the township from a southerly direction on section 32, and joins the Zumbro about a mile west of the village of Wanamingo. One of the east forks of the Little Cannon

River rises in section 3, and flows west, crossing the line near the extreme northwest corner of the township, so that one can readily see the advantages this township possesses over others in the county by reason of its many water privileges.

The first settlement was made in June, 1854, by the arrival of Henry M. Falla, Toege N. Falla, Jens N. Ottun, N. K. Fenne, Thosten Anderson, Andru Baarnhus, John Stroeme, Andrew Hesjedal, Colboern Ektveit, Gilbert Nelson and N. J. Ottun. During the summer and fall a number of others came and settled in the township; all of them were Norwegians. In the spring and summer of 1855, however, a number of American families made claims near where the village of Wanamingo now stands. Of those early American settlers, however, only one remains, K. B. Smith, who resides on section 11. The township is now occupied almost exclusively by the Norwegian people, who, since their advent here, twenty three years ago, have made such rapid strides in agricultural and other improvements that " Wanamingo township " is now the leading farming township of the county.

The first marriage was a double wedding, and the happy parties were Toege N. Falla to Mrs. Oline Gilbertson, and Johannes J. Marifjaeren to Miss Soeneva Johnson, in June, 1855. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Nils Brant, now a minister in the Lutheran college, at Decorah, Iowa.

The first store in the township was opened on sec. 4, by Hans M. Sande and Knut Sanden, in the spring of 1857. They stocked it with goods and carried it on about a year, when Mr. Sanden was married, and his attention was turned in other directions. Mr. Sande concluded he could make more money farming, so the mercantile business was by them abandoned, and they are now both well-to-do farmers, residing in this township.

In 1858 James Brown platted and laid out forty acres of land on sections twenty-five and twenty-six, and called the j)roposed town Wanamingo.

enlarged and occupied by M. Halverson, general merchandise, and the latter by A. A. Urness, who also keeps a general store. In addition to the above business houses, there are in the village two blacksmith shops, two boot and shoe shops, one hotel, and one photograph gallery.

There is a mercantile association composed of about forty of the leading farmers, called " The Aspelund Society." It was organized in 1875, and at once set about the erection of a store on section sixteen. The capital stock was at first $6,000, but has since been increased to $7,000. It was incorporated in 1876. First officers were: president, O. J. Wing ; secretary, N. J. Ottun ; treasurer, E. E. Sevareid; directors, Henry N. Talla, Hans M. Sande and Ole Lewis; N. J. Ottun was appointed manager.

The present officers are : president, O. J. Wing ; secretary, Ole O. Huset; treasurer, E. E. Sevareid; directors, Henry N. Talla, Hans M. Sande, A. T. Rygh, and John Lewis, manager.

There are a large number of blacksmith shops at different points, a number of which do a steady business ; others are owned by farmers only to do their own work.

There are three Lutheran church organizations, the oldest of which is the " Eastern Church of the congregation of Holden," which was organized September 12, 1856, on lot six, section nineteen, in a grove where now stands Dr. Charles Gronvold's residence.

The circuit of the congregation then reached within ten miles of Faribault and east to Zumbrota, and consisted of upwards of seventy heads of families. The organization was effected under the supervision of the Rev. H. A. Stub. The trustees were: Knut K. Finseth, Kjostol G. Naeset, Halvon O. Huset, and Christopher Lockrem. They then secured one hundred acres of land, on section nineteen for church purposes, which they have improved by the erection of a good parsonage, barn, granary and outbuildings. After their organization they had no regular pastor, but were visited occasionally by Revs. J. S. Munck, L. Larson, and A. C. Preus, until the arrival of their present pastor, B. J. Muus, in 1859. In 1861 they built their present church, which is a fine building, capable of seating at least 500 people. In 1863 the South Prairie congregation united with them. This congregation was organized by Rev. F. A. Rasmussen, of Lisbon, 111., in the summer of 1856 or 1857, in the south part of the township. It is now known as the " Dale congregation," but still retains its connection with the Holden congregations.

The present officers of the Eastern Church are, trustees - Ole P. Hulebak, 0. J. Wing, E. Gunhuus, Even S. Brakke, Baard B. Naeset, Johannes Svien, Anders R. Baestul, Rasmus H. Wikum and Einert Th. Wraalstad, with a membership of about 1000.

Rev. B. J. Muus, assisted by Revs. M. O. Bockman and T. A. Hansen, has charge of all the Holden congregations, consisting of seven different societies, and districts, viz.: "The Eastern Church of the Congregation of Holden," in Wanamingo township ; " Dale Congregation," in Cherry Grove township ; " Urland Congregation," in Leon township ; " Valder's" district, in Holden township ; " Gol's" district, in Kenyon township ; " Haegre" district, in Kenyon township ; and " Moland" district, which place of meeting is also in Kenyon township, but many of the members live in adjoining counties : they have all, with the exception of "Moland," fine church buildings.

In connection with each of those churches, they have a number of parish schools, as follows: Eastern district, 8 schools; "Dale," 4; « Urland," 3 ; « Valder's," 3 ; " Gol's," 2 ; " Haegre," 1 ; and « Moland " 1. These are conducted generally by teachers who are graduates of teachers' seminaries in Norway, or Decorah, Iowa. They give instruction in Norwegian language, religion, arithmetic, writing, &c, and hold school about three months in a year.

The next church organized was the " Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wanamingo," of Houge's Synod, which was organized in 1859 by Rev. A. E. Boyum. Although not ordained, Mr. O Hansen took charge of the congregation, but in 1861 he was ordained, and has ever since been actively identified with the interests of this church. On organization the membership was about 35, and the officers were: deacons, Stephen Lee and Ole J.Lee; trustees, Ole J. Lee, Hans M. Sande and Knut Sanden. There is now a membership of about 300, and the officers are : deacons, Hans M. Sande and John Avels Gaard ; trustees, Ole Salveson, Ole Sivertson and Ole J. Lee. In 1862 they built a small church, which in 1873 was superseded by the present elegant building capable of seating at least 500 people.

Rev. O. Hansen also had charge of the " Aspelund congregation," at Roscoe Center, which has just completed a splendid church at that place, about the same size as the one in this township.

"The Wanamingo Norwegian Lutheran Church" of the Norsk Danish Conference, was organized about 1872 or '73. The first trustees were: Thorsten Thoresen, John A. Skaar, John Swanson and Charles A. Swanson. Their church, which is located about one half mile north of the village of Wanamingo, was built about 1873 or -74. The present trustees are: Forbjorn Vangestad, Ole Anfinson and Ole E. Skaar. The Rev. N. E. Vikre visits them once a month.