Jackson County, Minnesota - Chapter 10: Era of Development - 1868-1872, 1910

Chapter 10: Era of Development - 1868-1872

THAT agriculture was not the principal industry during the late sixties is attested by the poor showing disclosed in the returns of products. During the era of which we are writing flouring mills and markets were long distances away. It was not profitable to raise crops for which there was no market, so each settler raised vegetables and grain for his own use only, and as a means of income turned his energies in another direction.

The country- was literally alive with small fur-l)earing animals, including musrats, skunks, mink, foxes, martens and badgers, and the taking of their furs offered profitable employment. So the farmer settlers became trappers. Inexperienced at first in the art of trapping, they had no easy task. They were often caught in the blizzards miles from home, sometimes being on the prairie during a storm of several days' duration, where nothing but c-ourage and physical strength could save them. But in time all became expert trappers. Generally the market for fur was good, and the pelts passed as legal tender. Thousands of dollars worth would be taken during the season.*

*On the 14th day of May, 1870. there were shipped from Jackson to Mankato 68.000 muskrat and mink hides. The shipment was made by a man named Barkman, of Spirit Lake.

Jackson county made rapid strides forward in 1869. There was a large increase in population, many of the new settlers penetrating to theretofore unsettled portions of the county. It became known that the country would produce bountiful crops of wheat, and the prairies became dotted with the sod shanties and dugouts of the new settlers. The increase in the cultivated area was large, 2,549 acres being listed as sown to crop. The organized townships had cultivated areas as follows: Belmont, 332; Des Moines, 1,200; Minneota, 121; Middletown, 342; Petersburg, 244; Wisconsin, 355. The taxable propertv in 1869 was valued at over $73,000.

range 34, lying to the east of Des Moines township, received many of the settlers of the sixties, the majority of them coming from the state of Wisconsin. This township had been attached to Jackson, or Des Moines, township at the time of the organization of the county, but in the spring of 1869 its residents believed their population had reached a point where they could support a separate organization. They, therefore, petitioned the county board, and on April 10 were granted a separate organization under the name of Wisconsin township, the name being given in honor of the state from which so many of the settlers had come. Those who received land patents from the government in Wisconsin township in the early days were as follows :

Middletown township was also organized in 1869, the commissioners taking the necessary action on May 10. This political division had originally been attached to Petersburg township, but when Min- neota was organized in the fall of 1866 the west half had been bestowed upon that precinct while the east half remained under the jurisdiction of Petersburg. The commissioners named the township in accordance with the expressed wish of the petitioners. The fact that the township was situated between the two older organized townships suggested the name. The following were granted government patents to land in Middletown in the vears indicated :

The winter of 1869-70 was an exceptionally severe one an'd "lingered in the lap of spring/^ The scattered settlers suffered many hardships during the long winter. Two Jackson county residents met death in the storms, and others had narrow escapes. The severest blizzards occurred during the month of March. Tuesday and Wednesday, the 15th and inth of that month, were the stormiest davs of the season. The roads became blockaded and impassable, many of the houses were drifted ever with the snow, the winds howled and the snow blew over the bleak prairies. All who could remained in doors ; the merchants of Jackson closed their shops. This storm was followed on March 21 and 22 by another blizzard of frightful violence.

One of the victims of the storm was Ole Sime. He had a claim in Enterprise township, and on Monday, March 14, started from the timber along the river, where he had spent the winter, for a load of hay on his claim. He secured the hay and returned with it to a point in Des Moines township near the home of Clark Marshall. There he was overcome by the storm and perished. The oxen were found dead about fortv rods from Mr. Sime's body. The body was found on the 17th by M. L. Bromaghim and Clark Marshall. Its condition gave evidence that the unfortunate man had suffered terriblv before succumbing to the storm.

Another who lost his life that month was Archie Lee, who lived on Heron lake. He started from Jackson with a load of timber on his way home on the 11th in an intoxicated condition. He arrived within a few miles of his home, and then all trace of him was lost. The day was stormy, but not exceptionally so. He is supposed to have abandoned his load and tried to reach home with his team, but in the storm and darkness wandered from his course and was la«t. His horses were found a few days later, but his body was not found until the 25th. He had wandered way to the south, and his body was found lying on a snow drift twelve miles southwest of Jackson.

Eighteen hundred seventy was a banner year. During the spring months many who had come the previous year and filed on claims and then gone away for the winter came back to take possession of their land, make improvements and begin farming. Many new settlers came to make Jackson county their future homes. Prairie schooners began to arrive early in the spring and continued to bring in the new settlei's all summer. Tlie new arriv- als generally brought cattle, horses, sheep, hogs and farming implements with them, prepared to at once begin the cultivation of the soil. A fair crop of wheat and other grain was raised. The weather was ideal for crops in the spring, but in July a drought reduced what had promised to be an enormous yield. Com was an excellent crop, and wheat was quite up to the average.

Three new townships were organized during the year 1870 - Heron Lake, Round Lake and Delafield. Heron Lake township had received its first settlers in the spring of 1869,* but so great was the settlement on its fertile lands that the question of detachment from Belmont and its organization as a separate township was taken up in the spring of 1870. The matter was postponed until later in the year, and on September 7 the county commissioners officiallv declared the township organized. To it were attached for township purpose^ the two townships lying to the west. The name was supplied by the immense body of water which penetrates the township.^ The organization of the township was perfected September 24, when the first town meeting was held at the home of D. P. Cleveland. Following were the first officers of Heron Lake township : F. Ebert, chairman ; Abram Johnson and D. F. Cleveland, supervisors; W. H. Ashley, clerk; William Wiley, treasurer; C. B. Rubert and Charles Malchow, justices of the peace; Newton F.

-On June 21. 1871, the township was enlarged by the addition of that portion of West Heroti Lake township which lies east of the lake, and it is the largest township In the county.

Round LaJ^e township was another whose settlement was rapid and which early prepared itself for organization. J. N. Dodge was the first settler, locating on the north bank of Round Lake in the spring of 1869, when there was not another settler in the whole soutliwestem portion of the county. In the spring of the following year only three claims were taken in the town,^hip, but a few months later nearly every quarter was filed upon." The township was organized in October and named Round Lake, after the beautiful sheet of water within its boundaries. The following received patents to land from the government in Round Lake :

***We understand that nearly all the vacant claims in rangre 38. town 101 - the southwest corner township in this county - have ?)eGn taken. The citizens are about petitioning for township orgranization and are also about bridgins" the Little Sioux." - Jackson Republic, October 8, 1870.

When the county's first townships were organized, township 104, range 36, bad been attaclied to Belmont, and it was under Belmont's jurisdiction until October 11, 1870, when the county commissioners organized it into a separate political division under the name of Pleasant Prairie. This name had soon to be changed because it was learned that there was a township of the same name in Martin county, and law or custom forbade two townships in the state to bear the same name. Orwell was then decided upon as the name, but this had to be changed for the same reason. On January 4, 1871, the commissioners named the township Bergen, but soon it was learned that Mc- Leod county had a copywright on that as the name of a township, and the name Delafield was finally designated on March 4, 1871. Fortunately, no previously organized township in the slate had thought of that name, and the township was at last permanently named. Titles to land in Delafield township were granted to early day settlers as follows:

The following items from the report of the county superintendent of schools for the year 1870 give an idea of 'the school conditions at that early date :

The assessed valuation of the county, as left by the board of equalization, reached a total, of $128,342 in 1870. This was divided among the p^ecinct^i^ and between

'Heron Lake, Delafield and Round Lake townships had not been organized when the assessment was made. The assessTPent for the first two was included in that of Belmont and the Round Lake assessment was included in that of Minneota.

Precinct

The products returns for 1870 give a total of 4,220 acres cultivated. This acreage was divided into precincts as follows:® Belmont, 543; Christiania, 74; Des Moines, 1,705 ; Enterprise, 77 ; Heron Lake, 77; Minneota, 263; Middletown, 395; Petersburg, 526; Round Lake, 3V2; Wisconsin, 557.

By an act of the legislature, approved March 7, 1870, Jackson county was detached from Martin county, to which it had been attached for judicial purposes since 1865, and was separately organized for judicial purposes. Provision was made for holding court at Jackson, and the counties of Nobles and Rock were attached to it for such purposes. These counties were detached in 1873, when Nobles county was organized for judicial purposes.

From the time or reorganization early in 1866 until 1872, Jackson county did not have a court house. During these years the duties of the county officers were not manv, and what business it was neeessary to transact was done in the homes of the various officials. The first agitation for the erection of a court house was made in 1870. Then the population had increased to such a size and the county business had reached a stage where many people believed the primitive ways of pioneer days should be discarded, that Jackson county was rich enough' to build a

-Although Chrlstiania and Enterprise townships had not yet been organized In 1870 they are included in the report, which, apparently, was not tabulated until the year foUowinET.

court house. Accordingly a bill was presented to the legislature and became a law March 1, 1870, authorizing the cominissioners of Jackson county to issue bonds in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for the purpose of building a court house and jail. But there was a proviso to the act, to the eifect that the people of the countv bv their ballots must ratify the act before it became effective. The people of Jackson, the county seat, were naturally heartily in favor of the project, and Jackson people offered to donate free rent for all countv offices until October 1, 1871, should the people ratify the act.* But in other parts of the county there was strong opposition to the measure, and at the election held in April the bonds were defeated.

The county officers were still obliged to transact the county's business at their homes or in rented buildings. That they did not squander a great deal of the county's money for office rent is evidenced by the fact that on May 11, 1871, the board of county commissioners unanimously passed the following resolution: ''Resolved that we shall allow no more than one dollar and iiftv cents to each countv officer entitled to rent for office rent per month."

During^ its entire early history Jackson county anxiously awaited the coming of a railroad, and much of the settlement of the early days -came as. the result of the belief that a railroad would soon be built into such a promising territory. In 1870 hope ran high. The Southern Minnesota, which was acquiring the lands under the generous grant of 1866 as fast as its line was extended, that year completed its road to Wells, and Jackson county people be-

-"Partles stand ready to donate to the county FREE RENT for all county officers untU October 1, 1871, in case the voters ratify the law authorizingr the county commissioners to issue bonds for county buildings." - Jackson Republic, April 2, 1870.

But they did not pin their faith to a single road. During the summer railroad enthusiasm was rife, owing to the proposed building of the Des Moines Valley railroad, which was to come from the south and continue up the Des Moines river, by way of the village of Jackson. Mass meetings were held and promises of financial support were made should the promoters decide to build. Prospects for the road coming seemed favorable, and everybody was happy. But, as is so often the case with proposed railroads into a new country, it did not come.

While a railroad did not come in 1870, in the fall of the next year one was builded into and beyond the county. When it became definitely known that the road was to be constructed there was a rush of landseekers, who soon filed claims to all the government land in that part of the county through which the road was to run. In May, 1871, the immigration began, and from then until fall prairie schooners were to be seen every day wendincr their wav to the choice locations in the western part of the county. The new arrivals invariably brought live stock and farming implements with them, indicating that they intended to become permanent settlers. The Jackson land office was overwhelmed with the work of attending to the filings. The center of attraction was along the right of way of Ihe proposed railroad in the northwestern part of the county, but in all parts of the county where there was still government land open to entry the newcomers located.^<»

--"On Thursday last [June 1], from nine o'clock in the morningr until noon, thirty immigrant wasons passed througrh Jackson, havinsr with them 166 head of stock of different kinds. There has been a continual rush during the entire week, and probably it will continue during the month. The western part of Jackson county is rijceivlng a good portion of this immigration." - Jackson Republic, June 3, 1871.

While the Des Moines river country was by this time a comparatively old settled country, the western part of Jackson county was still frontier land. Because there was an enormous immigration in 1871 and the whole order of things changed, it must not be imagined that the country was subdued in a day. Most of the settlers arrived too late to get a crop in the ground, and very little was raised the first season. Except that the prairies became dotted with the homes of the settlers, it was largely the same virgin country it had always been.

The game lover found himself in a paradise. Birds abounded. There were ducks, geese, brant, curlew, pelicans and prairie chickens. Occasionally glimpses were caught of some of the big game that formerly roamed the prairies in vast numbers. The summer was fine. The days and nights were frequently glorified by thunder storms of terrific and ineffable grandeur. The newcomers often sat till midnight watching the frolic of sheets lightning playing over miles of cloud banks, vividly suggesting the possible glories of another world. Vegetation grew rank. The farmer rode along the creek bottoms or on the edges of the lakes and sloughs through seas of wild bluejoint grass up to the horses' backs.

It was the experience of a lifetime, this breaking up of virgin lands and building a community from the ground up, and many have been the probable and improbable stories told of those days. Letters went back to the old homes in the east, telling how the residents of Jackson county planted corn with an ax and caught fish with a pitchfork, and how the pianos were set up in the shanty and the libraries stacked up under the beds.

Christiania township had been attached to Belmont township on April 10, 1869, and remained under its jurisdiction until March 4, 1871, when the count)- commissioners declared it an organized township, with the township to the east (Kimball) under its jurisdiction. The action was taken in accordance with a petition of the resident dated January 5J5, 1871." Nearly all the residents were Norwegians, and they selected the name of the capital city of their native country as the name of their township. The government granted patents to land in Christiania to the following persons in an early day :

"The petitioners were Hans Knudson. Ole Erickson, Arne Anderson, Ole Anton, Halvor Halverson, Karl Olson. Bjaren Olsen. Halvor Olson, Jacob Olson, Gilbrand Hansen. G. Syverson, Olo A. Wold, Halvor Christlanson and Lars Erickson.

Enterprise, like all the northern townships, had been attached to Belmont in the early days. It was organized March 4, 1871, in response to a petition of the residents dated February 12." The original petition asked that the township be named Loud Lake, but many objected to the name because there was no lake of that name or any other name in the township. Messrs. Samuel D. Lockwood and Anders Roe suggested Enterprise, and after some wrangling that name was decided upon. The first township board consisted of Joseph Benjamin, Samuel D. Lockwood and J. J. Tagley, supervisors; Charles B. Lillie, clerk. Following were among the township's early settlers who took claims and received patents from the government :

"The signers to the petition were S. D. Lockwood. Samuel A. Lockwood, Eliza Benjamin, Joseph E. Benjamin. George Benjamin. Charles 6. Lillie, Adolph Matter, Lewis E«ckel. Jacob Klein, Hiram Benjamin, Martin Thompson. H«lver Thompson. Thomas Olson. Torls Skrove. Otto Thomson, Erlok Paulsen. Peter Paulsen, J. J. Tagley, Stephen Banjamin, William Montague and Richard Shanon.

A Pioneer'S Home The Barn

commissioners for township organization under the name of Eden, and the board took the required action on May 11. The organization of Eden township was perfected on ^lay 27, when the following were selected as the first precinct officers : Charles Winzer, chairman; William Peter and Peter Johnson, supervisors; L. 0. Beck, clerk; Andrew Peterson, assessor; Christian Knudson, treasurer; Henry Knudson and Nels Johnson, justices of the peace; Sibom England and Qtto Johnson, constables. It was soon learned that a township in Brown county boasted the name of Eden, and the citizens petitioned that the name be changed to Weimer, which was done bv the commissioners October 20, 1871. Charles Winzer, the township's first settler, selected the name in honor of his home town in Germany - Saxe-Weimar. On the petition asking that this name be bestowed the spelling of the name was Weimar (which is correct), but through a mistake the official spelling of the name of the township was Weimer. Following are the names of the earlv settlers of Weimer township who received patents to land and the dates the titles were secured :

The survey for the line of the Sioux City & St. Paul railroad through Jackson county was made early in April, 1871, grading was commenced during the summer and track laying was begun in September and completed to Worthington in October. It had been the intention of the company to begin the operation of trains at once, but the heavy snows kept the line covered all winter, and it was not until April, 1872, that regular train service was established. The road was opened to Sioux City in the fall of 1872." As a result of the building of the county's first railroad the village of Heron Lake was

^»This line of railroad - now the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha - Is one of the oldest in the state of Minnesota. Its construction was begun in 1865 by the Minnesota Valley Railroad company, which was organized under an act of the legislature approved March 4 1864. Ten sections of land per mile of road was granted the company as a bonus. Its authorized capital was 1500.000, of which 1473.000 was at once subscribed and paid in. The first board of directors and principal stockholders were H. H. Sibley, RusseU Blakeley, R. H. Hawthorne, George Culver, W. F. Davidson, E. F. Drake, H. M. Rice, J. L. Merriam, Horace Thompson, Franklin Steele, J. B. Thompson, J. C. Burbank, T. A. Harrison. John Farrington, W. D. Washbum and C. H. Bigelow.

In 1865 the road was located and construction commenced between Mendota and Shakopee. That part of the road was opened for traffic November 16, 1865. In 1866 the line was completed to Belle Plalne, in 1869 to Lake Crystal, and In 1870 to St. James.

At the time of the organization of the Minnesota Valley Railroad company, and at the instance of Its Incorporators, there was organized the Sioux City & St. Paul Railroad company, to build a railroad from Sioux City to the south line of Minnesota. On April 7, 1869, the name of the Minnesota Valley Railroad company was changed to St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad company, organized with a capital stock of $2,400,000. In 1871 a contract was made between these two companies by the terms of which the Sioux City & St. Paul company completed the line of road from St. James to LeMars, Iowa, where connection was made with the Iowa Falls & Sioux City railroad for Sioux City. For several years the line was operated by the two companies - from St. Paul to St. James by the St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad company, and from St. James to Sioux City by the Sioux City & St. Paul Railroad company - both companies controlled by the same interests. May 25, 1880, a reorganization was brought about and the line, together with others, became known as the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha. In December, 1882, the line became a part of the Northwestern system.

Efforts were made to have a branch line of the new road built into eastern Jackson county. On February 6, 1871, a mass meeting was held at Jackson to discuss the advisability of issuing bonds for the purpose of aiding in the construction of a branch line from Bingham Lake or some point in the vicinity to Jackson. Almost a solid affirmative vote was given. In May E. F. Drake, president of the Sioux City & St. Paul Railroad company, went to Jackson and submitted a definite proposition. He gave the choice of two lines - one from Bingham Lake, the other down the west side of the Des Moines river - ^and stated that his company was ready to commence building such a line when a bonus of $80,000 was raised. The money was not raised and the road was not built.^*

The year 1871 was a prosperous one, due to the immense immigration and the bountiful harvest. The wheat crop liad never been better, oats and barley were an extra crop, and com was far ahead of that of any previous year. With the coming of the railroad came markets for the grain, and all the claim holders turned their attention to farming. In the fall a few farmers were damaged to some extent by prairie fires. The state legislature appropriated money for the relief of the sufferers from hail and fire in the frontier counties, and in January, 1872, Jackson county officials received $100 of this money, which was divided among those who had sustained loss. According to the assessors' figures for 1871 there were 19,- 057 acres of land subject to taxation. The

From the report of the superintendent of schools it is learned that in 1871 there were nineteen organized districts, of which thirteen reported. There were 465 children of school age in the county, and there were enrolled in the summer schools 231 pupils, while 156 were enrolled 'in the winter schools. Six teachers were employed to conduct the winter schools and eleven the summer schools. In the county there were three frame school houses, one of stone and four of logs. The value of all the school buildings was $1,589.

The unwise legislation which withdrew from homestead entry nearly one-half of Jackson countVs lands began to have its effect in 1872. The bulk of the government lands had been taken before, and now homeseekers passed through Jackson county on their way farther west, whereas many would have stopped could they have secured free lands. To Nobles county thousands came in 1872 as the result of the operations of the National Colony company, which had secured thousands of acres of the railroad lands and was selling them at low prices.

Despite the lack of immigration, rapid strides forward were made. Those who had come in 1871 broke out their land, erected buildings, and added to the prosperity of the county. The number of acres of taxable land in 1872 was 44,014. The assessed valuation reached $202,845 - nearly twice the assessment of 1871.

Hunter township, which since March 13, 1866, had been attached to Des Moines township, was created February 13, 1872, and to it were attached for township purposes the present townships of Rost and Ewington. The precinct was named in honor of J. W. Hunter, a pioneer merchant of Jackson and county treasurer at the time the township was created. Among the early settlers of Hunter were the following, who received patents to land in the years ntentioned :

The northeast corner township was created on the same day as was Hunter, it being detached from Belmont and made a separate political division under the n^me of Rosendahl. The organization was perfected in March. The name was changed to Kimball bv action of the board of eountv commissioners on March 23, 1872, it being named in honor of W. S. Kimball, the pioneer hardware merchant of Jackson. Land patents were issued to Kimball settlers m an earlv dav as follows:

Township 103, range 38, was authorized to begin township government September 3, 1872, the commissionei-s naming the township Baldwin. The name was changed to Alba a few days afterward, and the first town meeting was held Saturday, September 21, at the home of the first settler, Ole Thompson. Following were the names of the first officers : Samuel Umphrey, chairman; William Blaisdell and Ole Thompson, supervisors ; Torge Omberson, treasurer; Dr. J. F. Force, assessor; George Umphrey and Dr. J. F. Force, justices of the peace; Ole Thompson and Lawrence Remlle, constables. The following were early day settlers of Alba township who received title to lands from the government:

La(h*osse township was also organized in September, 1872. In the early days a party of claim seekers, among whom was Benjamin J. Svennes, moved from La- Crosse. Wisconsin, to the northwest cor- ner township of Jackson county and became permanent settlers. When the township was organized the name of the Wisconsin town from which many of the settlers had come was bestowed upon the new township. Following are the names of many of the early settlers of LaCrosse township and the dates they received land patents from the government, with the number of the sections upon which they had their claims:

The ever-dreaded winter storms claimed five victims earlv in 1872. In the southeastern part of Delafield township C. D. Carlestrom and hh son, Clarice, met death in a blizzard on January 12 while hauling wood. The body of Mr, Carlestrom was found three davs later. The

On Tuesday, February 13, 1872, the county experienced the most severe blizzard since the terrible storm of March, 1870. The storm raged from four o'clock on Monday afternoon until midnight Tuesday. On Monday the weather was warm and fine. In the afternoon a warm snow fell until four o'clock. Then the wind instantaneously whipped around to the northwest and came in freezing gusts, filling the air with blinding snow and making it impossible to see more than a few yards. The change was so sudden that many were overtaken and lost in the blinding storm. Three human lives were sacrificed to the furv of the storm, and many were the narrow escapes.

One of the itnfortunate men was Mr. Garner, of Enterprise township, who was overtaken by the storm while on his way home from Cedar lake with a load of wood. He was unable to find his house, although he passed within a hundred rods^ of it. At that point he unloaded his wood and began traveling with the storm. His dead body was found on the Jackson-Winnebago City stage road. Mr. Garner's team was found in the vicinity of Twin lakes, one of the animals frozen to death.

Terrible suffering must have preceded the deaths of John Johnson Buckeve and Ole Rognaes, of Heron Lake. They were on the way home from their timber Jot when struck by the storm, within two miles of Heron Lake station. I^nyoking their oxen, the men started out on foot for the nearest house, traveling with the storm. The tracks of the unfortunate men found by a searching party Wednesday disclosed the fact that they had passed liou?e after house, sometimes going within four rods of a house, but unable to Fee it through the wind-driven snow. The body of Mr. Rognaes was found near Boot lake, a distance of sixteen miles from the point where the men started. The appearance of the snow showed that Mr. Bnckeye had carried his companion some distance after the latter had given up. Mr. Buckeye pushed on with the wind. After traveling a long distance, he became so badly frozen that he was unable to walk ; then he crawled foi* a considerable distance farther. His body was found in a thicket near the Des Moines river at the foot of a hill, down which he had slid. Unable to rise, he perished there. This was at a point about four miles northwest of Jackson and twentv-four miles from the place where he began his wanderings. The body was found on Friday.

Several other people were known to have been caught in the storm. On Wednesday morning, which dawned bright and clear, searching .parties were sent out to look for them. The driver of the Winnebago City stage was one of these, but he had been able to secure shelter for himself and team. The storm resulted in many deaths in other parts of southwestern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa.

The progress made in Jackson county (luring 18T2 is illustrated by the increase in school facilities and school attendance. According to the county superintendent's report for the year, there were twenty-six organized districts, of which twenty-one made report. There were 610 children of school age. Of these 82 were enrolled in winter schools and 223 in summer schools. Four teachers were employed during the winter and fourteen during the summer. There were six frame and five log school houses, the total value of which was $1,864.

A question of vital importance, relating to the diminution of the county's area, was decided at the general election in November, 1872. The legislature, on February 29, passed a bill providing that the townships of La Crosse, Alba, Ewington and Bound Lake should be detached from Jackson county and given to Nobles count}-. At the same time another bill was passed which provided that the four westem townships of Nobles county should be given to Bock county." The proposition was to enlarge Bock county at the expense of Jackson county. The act was not to be put in force until both Jackson and Nobles county should ratify it by ballot. The election on the question was almost a farce. Nobles countv decided in favor of the proposition by a vote of 121 to 109, but Jackson county naturally voted no. Only thirty-six voters in Jackson county registered in favor of the surrender of territory, and all except one of these lesided in Alba and Bound Lake townships - townships which were closer to Nobles county villages than they were to those of Jackson county. The result by townships was as follows: allowed to rest two years. Then, on February 12, 1872, citizens of Jackson met at the office of Anderson & Tiffany to take steps to secure a county building. A petition was drawn up and forwarded to St. Paul asking the legislature to enact another law allowing the commissioners to issue bonds for this purpose. In an informal manner it was agreed that Jackson people should donate part of the necessary funds. In accordance with. the expressed wishes of the people who signed the petition, an act was passed and approved February 27, 1872. It authorized the commissioners to issue bonds not to exceed $6,000, but, again, the act to become operative must be ratified by the electors.

A special election for this purpose was held March 12, when the act was approved by a vote of 226 to 156. Owing to severe weather, a light vote was polled, and no elections were held in the townships of Weimer, LaCrosse and Rosendahl (Kimball). The north part of the county was almost solidly against the bonds, as the vote shows: pay the sum of $1,480, providing the court house should be erected during the year 1872." All of this amount wajs not paid into the county treasury, however, and suit was brought to collect some of the contributions. A statement of the standing of these accounts made December 26, 1878, shows the standing at that late day: Amount paid, $865; partly paid and considered collectable, $160; in suit $85; uncoUectable, $370.

The $6,000 bonds were quickly disposed of, and on June 10 the contract for the erection of the building was let to T. L. Twilford, of Spirit Lake, on a cash bid of $5,800." The building was rushed to completion and was accepted from the contractor December 28. Faulty construction was alleged, and there was considerable trouble over the matter before a final settlement was made. For thirty-four years this building erected in 1872 served as the county court house, and was displaced by the handsome edifice recently dedicated."

A. Dickinson, afterwards for many years a Justice of the supreme court; J. L. McDonald. Charles M. Start, the present chief justice ot Minnesota; M. J. Severance, A. D. Perkins. P. H. Brown, Lorin Cray and James H. Quinn. Among the eminent lawyers who practiced at its bar were T. J. Knox, who tried the first and last lawsuits In the building; John B. Sanborn. W. H. Sanborn. Young & Lightner, W. B. Douglas, Savage & Purdy, J. W. Losey, H. H. Field. James A. Tawney. M. J, Severance. John Lind.