Houston County, Minnesota - General Description First Settlement - First, 1882

General Description First Settlement - First

This is one of the river towns of Houston county, the second above the Iowa line, with the river Mississippi on the east, Jefferson on the south, Mayville on the west, and Brownsville on the north. In size it is somewhat smaller than a government township.

To one accustomed to a level and even country, that part of Houston county lying along the Mississppi and Boot Rivers may present a rugged and forbidding appearance, as nothing appears to meet the eye save the rooky hills and the heavy growth of timber. This line of blufls generally extends back into the country from two to four miles, and there is to be found fine prairie and timber land, gently rolling, while a few miles further west the surface of the country is often a plain - perfectly level. In the valleys between these high bluffs the land is quite as good for farming purposes as the prairies, and the convenience of springs vastly better, as there is scarcely a valley in the county but has an abundant supply of clear and wholesome water. About one-sixth of the county, we estimate, consists of these hills and bluffs, about one- fourth of timber, and the remaining portion well adapted to the growth of grain, and advantageous for the raising of stock of all kinds. It is between the ranges of bluffs that are to be found the large number of water-powers of which this county can boast, and which offer such fine opportunities for a number and class of manufactures unsurpassed by any other in the Western States. No part of Southern Minnesota offers a greater number of available sites for mill seats than this; and the day is not far distant when, in no other portion of the State, the same in extent of territory, will be more intimately blended the interests of manufacture and agriculture.

Crooked Creek is a stream coming into the town from the west, toward the northern part, and making its tortuous way to the slough on the eastern side of the town. Another small stream, with a valley seemingly out of proportion to its size, joins the creek from the southwest. Springs along the bluffs are not uncommon.

The whole surface of the town is rough, that is, made up of valleys and ridges with their connecting bluffs. The soil in the valleys is remarkably good, as is that on the top of the ridges, and, although most of these are narrow, they contain good farms.

Inside of the Mississippi is a slough, into which Crooked Creek enters; it is called Minnesota Slough. It is a branch, leaving the main river opposite Fairy Bock, near the northwest corner of section twenty-five, and Hows south through sections twenty- five, thirty-five, and two, and thence into Jefferson. The land east of the Mississippi blufts is marshy, and fit only for some varieties of timber, and Tor hay.

In relation to the water question, which is more or less perplexing throughout the county, it may be said that the valleys furnish water with little trouble almost everywhere, and that on the bluffs toward the river numerous springs are found, but on the ridges productive wells can be sunk only in exceptional cases and at widely varying depths, and so at almost every house there are cisterns for domestic and stock purposes.

Clear Creek starts from a single spring on the farm of John Muller, on section three. It runs northeast, and finally gets an outlet into Minne- sota Slough, near the mouth of Crooked Creek. This Clear Creek abounds in trout, the speckled beauties that occasion so many weary tramps, so much patient waiting, and affords so much satisfaction when success rewards the toils, the precautions, and hopes of this variety of aquatic sportsmen.

Crooked Creek has several other affluents, one starting from a spring in section eighteen, on the farm of P. Graham. Its general direction is northeast. Another begins at a spring in section twenty one, and enters the creek near the south line of the same section. Another little rivulet originates in a spring on the farm of Mr. G. Brown, on section twenty -nine, and reaches the creek on the same section. The general surface of the town inclines toward the river. The bluffs sloping to the south are inclined to be more bare of brush and timber than those in the opposite direction.

The town was settled mostly by emigrants from Ireland and Germany, who have proved to be industrious people. The very first settlers, however, were English, but they soon pushed' on to other pastures.

As the bluffs are usually covered with some kind of vegetable growth, there is excellent pasturage for sheep which this land is particularly adapted to raising.

The Narrow Gauge railroad comes down the Crooked Creek valley to join the trunk line on the river bank, which is now a through line from Minneapolis to St. Louis, and the transfer of freight and passengers is made at the junction.

Thus the town, with the Mississippi river, which must always remain a great inter-state thoroughfare, and a railroad from the west bi-secting it, and a north and south line on its eastern border, may be said not to be wanting in transportation facilities.

The First Settlers - The first claim planted in this town was that of Mr. George Powlesland, in June, 1852, on section thirty -six. At this time he was working a farm in Iowa, and he soon returned there, but came back in September and cut and cured a lot of hay along the creek bottom and put up a shanty, but again returned to Iowa. At this time Mr. George Littleford, who made a claim further up the creek, came with Mr. Powlesland, but he did not remain until a year afterwards. On the 12th of January, 1853, Mr. Powlesland arrived

They came with a wagon which was the first in this region, and although it was in the winter, there was but little snow, and the complex team of horses and oxen came through over the trackless distance with little trouble.

At that time the nearest place for supplies was at Lansing, twenty-five miles away. The distance to mill was about forty mile3, to Columbus, Iowa, although a nearer route was afterwards looked out and traveled.

When the next year the land office was established in Brownsville, that became quite a good market, and in 1855, Mr. Powlesland sold his corn in the field for fifty cents a bushel.

Wm. Oxford was from Boston, and in the fall of 1852, made his way west and put his signet on some land in section thirty, and surrounding a certain amount of space, as a protection against atmospheric vicissitudes, the following spring introduced his family to their new abode, which, although not up to the Beacon Street standard, nevertheless had a capacity for supplying the requirements of a home. Mr. Oxford also entered a quarter section in thirty -five. The village of Freeburg is located on his old claim, and he also owned pieces of land in other parts of the town. Mr. Oxford came up from Iowa with Mr. Powlesland, and on arriving near the place, the prairie fire having swept over it and obliterated his land marks, Mr. Powlesland became bewildered. At night the oxen were tied, and a retrograde reconnoisanoe revealed the bearings, so the next morning they came through all right. Mr. Oxford drove the first team through to Brownsville in the spring of 1853, following a narrow Indian trail and returning the same way, doing considerable work on the road, and that to-day is the road to Brownsville from Crooked Creek. His house, alluded to above, was of logs with an elm bark roof, and the thickness of the floor was only limited by the diameter of the earth. At first he raised corn, turnips, and buckwheat, and as it was so far -to mill, they used a coffee mill to grind the buckwheat, and Mrs. Oxford's green veil to sift it through, and they thus lived, with, however, plenty of roots and venison, which was obtained of the Indians in exchange for corn and pumpkins.

The few red men who were about here at the time of the early advent of white men were Winnebagoes, and they must have been straggling bands from the Turkey River reservation, where this tribe, or a part of it, was sent from Wisconsin after their treaty with the United States in 1837,in which they ceded all their remaining lands. At this time the Sioux were further north, and only came down this far in detachments on some predatory expedition. In the fall of 1853, the last contest of any note took place between these hereditary foes near the mouth of Crooked Creek where the railroad junction now is. The Sioux were victorious, as the Winnebagoes came back in a sorry plight, very bloody and crest-fallen. To the colonists, who treated them with consideration, they were always civil. As the country filled up these people were seen less and less frequently, until they finally disappeared altogether, and here "Where they lived and loved," and hated too for that matter, "they only survive in the songs and chronicles of their exterminators," who should have no dispostion to disparage their rude virtues, or to make light of their unhappy fate, which seems to be in obedience to the law of creation, that the inferior shall give place to the superior.

George Schaller was one of the arrivals in 1856, and Mr. Snyder came about the same time. An old Indian hunter, who was quite successful, used to stop often at Mr. Oxford's, and he would quietly get up at daybreak and go out and bring in the steak of a deer to cook for breakfast.

After a while the people no longer had to go to mill to Yellow River, for a mill was put up only eighteen miles away, at Waterloo, and if the settlers were happy then, their cup must have bubbled over, when the mill at Freeburg, right in their own town was built.

In 1858, Mr. Oxford built a saw-mill and kept it running up to about 1877, when the dam gave out and he gave up the mill. His fine residence was constructed of lumber from this saw.

George F. Brenner came to the county in 1854, and staked out a claim in section thirty-two. Thomas Eicher migrated here in 1854, and raised a large family of children. Thomas Ryder landed in Crooked Creek in August, 1854, but afterwards lived for a time in Wisconsin and Iowa. He has h?ld several town offices in Crooked Creek.

John Muller and sons arrived in 1856, and planted a homestead on section three. Lawrence Duggan settled on section eighteen, where he still lives. Another old timer is Patrick Graham, who located on section eighteen in the year 1856. Mr. Franz Hurdelbrink reached Crooked Creek in 1857, and has been an enterprizing citizen! He put up the first house with a shingle roof, in the vicinity.

Early Events

First Birth. - The initial event of this interesting character was on the 24th of May, 1854, and the little stranger was named Mary Jane Oxford.

The First Wedding. - This happy occurrence was on the 6th of August, 1854, and the high contracting parties were Mr. Geo. F. Brenner and Miss Caroline B. Weidman.

Anthony Huyck, the enterprising and genial pioneer, put his sign manual on several eligible acres in Crooked Creek, at an early day, ^nd sold his improvements to actual settlers. Among the hardy pioneers who should be mentioned are Thomas Bayne, and Mr. Dean, who died in the army, Nicholas Roster and family, who secured a claim from Mr. Huyck, with a timber residence 12x14 feet and succeeded in securing 320 acres near or in the present village of Freeburg .

Town Organization

This important step was taken on the 11th of May, 1858. The first officers chosen were: Supervisors, George Powlesland, Chairman; George Muller, and Anthony Noel; A. N. Pierce, Clerk; Wm. Powlesland, Assessor; J. P. Schaller, Treasurer; William Oxford, Overseer of the Poor; J. P. Schaller aud. Lawrence Duggan, Justices of the Peace; John Peryerand Nicholas Krauss, Constables. At this meeting, J. P. Schaller was Moderator, and L. D. Churchill was Clerk of the election. The total number of votes cast was 43. The mill was the polling place.

school building was put up in 1856. Mrs. Charlotte Bayne taught the first school in a private house, the first regular term being three months, and thirteen pupils were got together.

Dcstrict No. 92. - This was taken from No. 46 as late as 1876. The earliest school was taught in Mr. Hurdelbrink's house, and the first teacher was Miss M. J. Finney, of Lansing. The schoolhouse was built in 1877. The first trustees were Carl Baeske, Frank Hurdelbrink, and John Brown, and the same gentlemen occupy the same positions now.

District No. 45. - Some time in 1857, this school district was formed and fully organized, and a school was started in a slab shanty of David Snyder by Mrs. Charlotte Bayne. It was a nine months' term, with ten scholars. The first trustees of this school were Phillip Schaller, George Powlesland, and Wm. Powlesland. The district now has a new schoolhouse. The present trustees are George Brown, Michael Hosier, and Thomas Welsh.

District No. 72. - This was organized in the spring ol 1868. The first trustees were Jacob Walter, Joseph Bigley, and Patrick McCarthy. Miss Ellen Conley taught the first school, in the old house of Mr. L. Yohe. The present trustees are L. Yohe, Thomas Ryder, and George Lambert.

Broom Factory. - John Muller commenced to manufacture brooms the first year he came to town, in 1856, on section twenty-seven, where he remained about five years when he removed to section three, and has kept up the manufacture ever since. The firm name is now John Muller & Sons. About 4,000 brooms are annually turned out. The work is done during the winter season, and between times, while carrying on the farm. They raise their own broom corn, and supply the whole vicinity with these indispensable household implements. The factory is 16x32 feet, and two stories high, and contains the necessary machinery.

Flouring Mill

The first grst-mill was built, as already stated, by George Schaller, in the summer of 1857. Mr. Schaller operated the mill for eight or ten years, and sold to Nicholas Roster and J. P. Streif, and after running it two years or so, it was transferred to Michael Mauder, who in turn disposed of it to Nicholas Roster, who kept it going until 1874, when it was again sold, this time to Wm. HOI and J. M. Graf. The mill was burned in December, 1876, and Messrs. Graf & Hurley rebuilt on the former site in the summer of 1877, when Mr. Graf purchased the interest of Mr. Garret Hurley, and has since been the sole proprietor. The mill has three run of bub rs, with the requisite auxiliaries, driven by two Eureka turbine wheels. In relation to the same mill it may be proper to add, that it was formerly a saw-mill, with a sash saw, and a capacity of about 2,000 feet a day. It was run for about six years, and demolished in 1866 or '67, and was at first put up to saw lumber for a gristmill. The first grist-mill had a single run of four foot stones, a "Grimes smutter," and a single bolt, with a capacity of about thirty barrels a day, and was driven by a wooden wheel with a center discharge, which was remakably efficient

Religious

Lutheran. - The first service by this denomination was held on September 27th, 1857. The Rev. Mr. Liebrandt was the officiating missionary, and the meetings have been kept up every three or four weeks since.

Methodist. - Services in this interest were held at an early day, the supply being from the larger towns near here. In 1860, the members of this society bought the old schoolhouse of District No. 46, and afterwards used it as a church. The present pastor is Rev. Mr. Bucholt, of Hokah.

Roman Catholic. - In 1859, the first mass was said at the house of Mr. Theodore Fisch, by Rev. Father Pendergast. At this service Mr. Oxford's children were baptized. Their church was the first in town, and was erected in 1865. It is a frame structure, 30x55 feet. The service is monthly, by Rev. John Zuzek, of Caledonia. There is a cemetery near the church, and the first interment was a child of Mr. John Goergen.

Natural And Artificial Curiosities

Fairy Rock. - This is the name of a bluff in which is a cave. It is in section twenty -three, and about a half a mile north of the railroad junction. This cavern is about twenty-four feet long, ten feet wide, and seven feet high. It has three en- trances, one at each end of the side toward the river, and one on the south. It is situated near the top of the bluff, two hundred feet or so above the water. Its walls and ceiling are of sandstone and they are covered with the names of visitors who have inscribed here with the dates, for the last twenty years or more, and some go back to 1856. One of the early settlers, Mr. Charles Brown, of Brownsville, utilized this place as a residence during a part of his early experience here. For those who have never visited any of the noted caves this would be well worth looking at, although if the name has given an etherial idaa of the cavern and its surroundings, it might be disappointing in that regard, for the make up of the hill and dell suggests anything but fairy like views.

Prb-Historio Mound. - On section three is a mound about twenty feet high and one hundred and fifty feet long. At first it had quite a sharp outline and was symetrioal, but since it began to be cultivated, a few years ago, its form is disappearing.

Bobbers* Boost. - On the Mississippi lowlands, in section thirty -six, nearly opposite the Bad Axe, is a place where, during the war, ten or twelve men lived by plundering on the river and along the banks on both sides. The roost was finally raided and some of the men shot, and some drowned, and others were sent to the Wisconsin State prison.

Present officers of the town of Crooked Creek : Supervisors, George Powlesland, Chairman ; Philip Ofct, Fred Both; Treasurer, Lawrence Yohe; Clerk, John N. Boster; Assessor, George Lambert; and Constable, Peter Perret.

Frbebubg Village

Freebnrg is situated in section thirty, and is on the line of the Narrow Gauge railroad; a side track is in construction and will soon be completed with a station. The place has a grist-mill, now owned by Mr. J. M. Graf, a blacksmith shop by Welsh k Noel, a hotel, a store and saloon by Michael Boster, and another saloon by Jacob Both, a 8choolhouse and a church, and the Post-office, with several dwellings, conclude a sketch of this place which must have a future before it.

Caledonia Junction

This is in the eastern part of the town, near the mouth of Crooked Creek, on the Minnesota slough. It is of course the connecting point between the railroad running north and south along the river and the Narrow Guage road from the west, and where everything has to be transferred. It contains the station, a residence for the agent, roundhouse, coal shed, water-tank for both roads, stock and transfer yards and other facilities. It has the Junction House, the Cliff House, and several other dwellings and a Post-office. The government name of the post-office isBeno; John Merkle is the Postmaster. It is not likely that this village will increase in size for a long time, as there is hardly room for expansion without ascending the bluff or running back into the valley, and the location on the slough, with the extensive alluvium deposits in such close proximity, is not conducive to the higest condition of health. What improvements may be made in this regard by controlling the great river, or lifting its present marshy banks by some ambitious journeyman world repairer, no one can now predict.