Lyon County, Minnesota - Chapter 8: Political - 1 869-1 912, 1912

Chapter 8: Political - 1 869-1 912

BEFORE taking up the political history of Lyon county, let us resume briefly the story of events that led to its organization. Lyon county, it will be remembered, had in turn formed parts of the counties of Waubashaw, Blue Earth, Brown and Redwood, and not until the Legislature passed an enabling act in 1869 was Lyon county entitled to a place on the map of Minnesota as a political division of itself, and then it embraced also the territory now known as Lincoln county. When Lyon county was created it was very sparsely settled, and in the thirtyfive townships comprising its area was a mere handful of residents; a year later, when the first election was held, the population was less than 300 and the voters numbered only seventy-eight. Difficulties were encountered in effecting the organization of the county after it had been created. In December, 1869, Governor William R. Marshall named A. W. Muzzy, E. R. Horton and Daniel Williams commissioners, Edmund Lamb auditor, and Charles Hildreth sheriff, and vested them with authority to set in motion the machinery of county government. Circumstances prevented an immediate carrying into effect of these plans. Mr. Horton was absent from the county at the time of his appointment and did not return. Mr. Williams departed soon after the appointment and remained for a protracted visit. These absences reduced the Board of County Commissioners to one member and, of course, it was out of the question for the remaining member to act as the County Board.

The residents of the new county were anxious for organization, particularly that they might participate in the election of 1870, and in the summer of that year Horace Austin, who had become governor of Minnesota, ap- . pointed Levi S. Kiel to serve as one of the commissioners.

The organization was perfected on the twelfth day of August, 1870, when two members of the board, A. W. Muzzy and Levi S. Kiel, met at the home of Luman Ticknor in Upper Lynd. At that time Messrs. Muzzy and Kiel took the oaths of office, as did also Edmund Lamb as county auditor. Mr. Muzzy was chosen chairman of the board.1 These were

At a meeting of the County Board on October 8, 1870, the county was divided into five election precincts, polling places were designated, and judges of election were appointed for the approaching election, as follows:

Saratoga (embracing the present townships of Monroe, Custer, Sodus and Amiret) - Polling place, house of George Robinson; judges, Joseph W agner, James Mitchell, Clarence Avery.

Marshall (embracing present townships of Stanley, Fairview, Lake Marshall and Clifton) - Polling place, house of C. H. Upton; judges, C. H. Upton, Joseph Carter, L. Langdon.

Upper Yellow Medicine (embracing present townships of Lucas, Vallers, Westerheim, Eidsvold and Alta Vista) - Polling place and judges not named.

Lynd (embracing present townships of Grandview, Nordland, Island Lake, Lynd, Lyons, Coon Creek, Shelburne and Rock Lake) - Polling place, house of Luman Ticknor; judges, A. W. Muzzy, A. R. Cummins, Luman Ticknor. 2

Lake Benton (embracing all of the present county of Lincoln except Alta Vista township) - Polling place, house of William Taylor; judges, William Taylor, Daniel Williams, John Birmingham.3

At the election polls were not opened in all the precincts, but there was voting in at least Marshall and Lynd precincts - in the former at the sod shanty of C. H. Whitney and in the latter at an old claim shanty.4 Seventy-eight votes were polled in Lyon county at the first election, held on November 8, 1870, and the following officers were elected:

3The first local officers for these precincts were named by the County Board and were as follows: Saratoga, Ziba Furguson and George Robinson (succeeded by James Mitchell, Jr.), justices; Clarence Avery and William Taylor, constables; Marshall, (. H. Whitney, justice; William S. Reynolds, constable; Upper Yellow Medicine, Frank Nelson and Mr Morse, justices; Lynd, Hiram Marcyes, justice; Lake Benton, George Ross and Mr. Bentley, justices.

*A writer in the Marshall Messenger in after years told of the first election in Lyon county: "What a tussel we had when we held our election. We held it in an old claim shanty built by half-breeds years ago bul finding it too small to hold all of us we went out doors, the noisiest crowd that was ever out of prison. \\ c voted as we wished, writing our own tickets."

Office holding was not so much in style in pioneer days as in later years and there was not unseemly scramble for the honor of holding office. In fact, a number of those elected did not take kindly to the unsolicited honor and only after much persuasion consented to qualify. Party politics did not enter into the question of selecting local officers and no conventions were held. As there were no regularly selected nominees, there were no ballots, each voter casting a ballot of his own manufacture for his own candidates.

^Resigned May 6, 1871, and on that date Horace Randall was appointed. The latter did not qualify and on May 16, 1871, George Robinson received the appointment.

sThe_ Board of County Commissioners on October 14, 1870, had divided the county into commissioner districts as follows: No. 1, the two eastern tiers of townships; No. 2, the present townships of Westerheim, Grandview, Lynd, Lyons and Rock Lake; No. 3, all of the present Lincoln county and the western tier of townships of Lyon county as at present constituted. This apportionment was in force until after the creation of Lincoln county.

10In the early days of the county's history the office of superintendent of schools was an appointive one. The first superintendent was C. F. Wright, who was appointed October 18, 1S70. He was succeeded March 5, 1871, by G. W. Whitney, and that gentleman in August, 1871, by Ransom Wait, who served until March 17, 1874. After that date until the office became an elective one, G. M. Durst held the office by appointment.

An Old-Timer

princely salary of $20 annually; the county attorney received $25 each year for his services for .some time after county organization but his salary was raised to $50 in 1873 and to $100 in 1875. So late as 1875 the County Board estimated the expense for salaries for the coming year at only SI 200.

During the first dozen years of the political history of Lyon county elections were held every year, although the terms of office were two years, and only a few officials were selected in the oddnumbered years. In 1871 James Mitchell, Jr., was elected commissioner from the first district, M. L. Wood from the third, and Timothy S. Eastman continued to represent the second. Charles L. Van Fleet was elected surveyor and M. Taylor coroner.11 uThe judges of election in 1S71 were as follows: Saratoga, Benjamin Thomas, James Mitchell and Richard Hughes; Marshall, Mr. Johnson, W. H. Langdon and C. H. Upton; Lynd, D. M. Taylor, G. E. Cummins and Sylvester Fry; Lake Benton, William Marsh, William Ross and William Taylor; Upper Yellow Medicine, Berent Thompson, Ole Syverson and Anton Maartesen.

13John Snyder resided in that part of the county which is now Lincoln county, and when the new political division was organized in December, 1873, the office of judge of probate became vacant. Governor Horace Austin appointed W. M. Pierce to the vacancy in December, 1873.

I4The constitution of the state of Minnesota, adopted in 1857, provided that the counties of Nicollet and Brown (in the latter was included the present Lyon county) should form the seventeenth legislative district, entitled to one senator and three representatives. This apportionment was in force until 1860. VJnder it the district was represented as follows:

By the legislative apportionment of 1860, the counties of Faribault, Jackson, Cottonwood, Nobles, Pipestone, Rock and that part of Brown county west of range thirty-four (including Lyon county) were made to form the twentieth district, entitled to one senator and one representative. The district was so constituted until 1866 and was represented by the following legislators: elected: (). C. Gregg, auditor; Jacob Rouse, treasurer; .lames Cummins,12 sheriff; Z. (). Titus, register of deeds; John Snyder,13 judge of probate; Walter Wakeman, county attorney; Charles L. Van Fleet, surveyor; A. D. Morgan, commissioner second district. James Mitchell, Jr., and M. L. Wood continued on the board, representing the first and third districts.

While there was opportunity to vote for only a few officers in 1873, the campaigns for and against the removal of the county seat and the creation of Lincoln county made the election an exciting one and 502 ballots were cast in the county as then constituted. Following was the result :

In 1866 the future Lyon county, as a part of Redwood county, formed a part of the nineteenth district, the comprising the district being Nicollet, Brown, Sibley, Redwood, Renville, Pierce and Davis. The district, which was so constituted until 1871, was represented as follows:

The apportionment of 1871 put Redwood, Brown and Lyon counties in the thirty-seventh district, entitled to one senator and two representatives. That was the alignment for ten years. The district's representatives were as follows:

Since 18S1 Lyon, Lincoln and Yellow Medicine counties have comprised one district and have Keen represented by one senator and two members of the House. Until 1897 the district was No. 16; since thai date it has been No. 17. The representatives have been as follows:

Considerable opposition to the local Republican ticket developed in 1874 and a "Peoples" ticket was placed in nomination. The convention which placed it in nomination declared it was non-partisan and it was made up of Democrats and dissatisfied Republicans. The contest following was a spirited one and the new party elected auditor, treasurer and court commissioner. The vote of Lyon county proper was 453 in 1874. The result in figures:

Lyon county and this was done early in 1874, the districts being as follows: No. 1, the townships of Monroe, Custer, Rock Lake, Shelburne, Amiret and Sodus; No. 2, the townships of Lyons, Coon Creek, Island Lake, Lynd. Lake Marshall and Clifton; No. 3, the townships of Stanley, Fairview, Grandview, Nordland, Eidsvold, Westerheim, Vallers and Lucas. This apportionment was in force until the county was given five districts in 1880.

16No one too*k office under this election and on March 17, 1874, T. W. Castor was appointed commissioner from the third district, replacing M. L. Wood.

l7From 1872 to 1901 Lyon county formed a part of the second congressional district; since that time it has been in the seventh district, the other counties of the district being Big Stone, Chippewa, Grant, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Pope, Redwood, Renville, Stevens, Swift, Traverse and Yellow Medicine. Congressmen who have represented Lyon county since 1872 have been as follows: H. B. Strait, March 4, 1873, to March 4, 1883; J. B. Wakefield, March 4, 1883, to March 4, 1887; John Lind, March 4, 1887, to March 4. 1893; James T. McCleary, March 4, 1893, to 1901; Frank M. Eddy, 1901 to March 4, 1903; A. J. Volstead, March 4, 1903, to March 4, 1913.

party was again in the held with a county ticket, but with one exception all Republicans were chosen for county officers. The vote in detail:

20Mr. Williams was elected to the Legislature in 1877 while serving his term as county treasurer and when he qualified as a member of the Legislature he left the county office in charge of a deputy. The Board of County Commissioners declared the office vacant and on January 22, 1878, appointed R. M. Addison to the vacancy. Mr. Williams refused to surrender the office, the appointee was unable to secure possession, and the former treasurer drew salaries as a member of the Legislature and as county treasurer until the end of the term.

Six hundred ninety-eight was the highest number of votes polled for the nominees of any one office at the election of 1878. Again the opposition to the regular Republican ticket was represented, but the showing against the only organized party in the county wits poor and all Republican nominees were elected by large majorities. The vote follows:

For the first time in the county's history, in 1880 the Democrats as a party decided to enter the field of local politics and placed a ticket in the field. Without exception the Republicans were successful, although the Democratic nominee for representative carried the county. Lyon county had made rapid strides during the few years previous and the total vote now reached 1336. The vote in detail:

Eleven hundred eighteen votes were cast in 1882. A "Peoples" ticket was again in the field and there were several independent candidates. The contest was a sharp one and with one exception the Republican ticket was elected. The vote as canvassed: district* were formed as follows: No. 1. Lynd and Lake Marshall; No. 2, Lucas. Stanley, Clifton. Fairview and Grand view; No. 3, Nordland, Eidsvold, Westerheim and Vallers; No. 4, Amiret, Sodus, Lyons, Coon

The year 1883 was the last in which elections were held in odd-numbered years and the officers chosen at that time served until after the election of 1886. There was not much interest in the election and no opposition to the Republican ticket. A small vote was polled and the result was as follows:

25E. St. Julian Cox, the preceding incumbent, had been impeached and removed from office. H. D. Baldwin had been appointed to the office and served a short time before this election.

Only the Republican party was in the field of local politics in 1884 but there were several independent candidates and a lively contest resulted. The total vote was 1608 and was divided as follows :

The Republicans, Democrats and Prohibitionists named county tickets for the election of 1888 and the campaign was quite spirited, although the dominant party was uniformly successful. The total vote was 1826 - the largest yet cast in the county - and was divided as follows:

The election of 1890 brought a radical change in Lyon county politics, caused by the entrance of the farmers alliance. Before that date the Republican party had met but slight opposition, contending occasionally with a "Peoples" ticket or independent candidates. Now the Alliance party, rapidly gaining strength, put a complete ticket in the field and gave real opposition to the dominant party. The campaign preceding the election was bitter and one of the most hotly contested in the history of the county. The Alliance carried the county for their nominees for governor, congressman and the representatives (wdio had been indorsed by the Republicans) and elected superintendent of schools and two commissioners. An independent carried the county for senator and the other county offices went to the Republicans. The total vote was 1795. The result as canvassed:

The Peoples Party succeeded the Alliance forces in 1892 and by combining with the Democrats elected three county officers. The total vote was 2256 and the result follows:

was effected cm some of the Democratic and Peoples Party presidential electors in Minnesota and those electors received 7.50 votes in Lyon county.

In 1894 fusion was effected on only a few of the offices and there were four partial tickets in the field. The Republicans were generally successful, although the opposition carried the county for one representative and elected the county attorney and clerk of court. The vote was 2721 and the several candidates received votes as follows:

In 1896 the free silver issue gained many adherents in Lyon county. AVilliam Jennings Bryan, the Democratic standard bearer, received a large vote and John Lind carried the county for *governor. The Peoples Party had a county ticket in the field and its nominees received large votes, several being elected. The total vote was 3066. The result in detail:

Again in 1898 the Democratic-Peoples Party candidate for governor carried the county, as also did one of that party's nominees for the Legislature. On the county ticket the Peoples Party, which was the only one in opposition to the Republican, elected clerk of court and superintendent of schools, while an independent was chosen one of the commissioners. There was a falling off in the vote, only 2285 being cast. The result :

The Republicans made almost a clean sweep in 1900, carrying the county for all national, state, congressional and legislative nominees and electing all the county officers except superintendent of schools. The number of ballots cast was 3033 and the vote in detail was as follows: style county conventions. This has resulted in revolutionizing county politics. Lyon county being normally strongly Republican, the principal campaign is now made for the Republican nomination and there are seldom contests for county office at the general election.

The first primary election in Lyon county was held September 16, 1902, and there were contests only among the Republicans. The result of the balloting where more than one sought the office was as follows:

At the 1904 general election 3134 ballots were cast, the largest number in the history of the county, before or since. For president Theodore Roosevelt received a record breaking majority

;'.Mr. Wardell resigned in the spring of 1912 on account of ill health and died a few weeks later. H. F. Seiter was chosen to complete the term.

And now the political history of Lyon county is brought to a close. It covers a period from the time in 1870 when the first official took the oath of office - when there were less than one hundred voters in the count}- - up to and including the last general election before the publication of this volume. A brief

The county has always been normally Republican and in the early days was overwhelmingly so. Although the party of Jefferson polled fair sized votes at several elections, it has never carried the county for the national ticket; at three elections it carried the county for its nominees for governor.

During the entire early history of the county, the Republican was the" only party maintaining an organization. But during that time there was a strong independent movement, kept alive by one faction of the Republican party and the Democrats, which opposed the Republican organization and on several occasions gained partial control of county politics. With the later settlement of the county came the organization of the Democratic party, and since that time it has been a factor in county politics, although always as a minority party. Since primary election days it has participated in local politics only to a limited extent.

In the free silver days of the nineties the Alliance, succeeded after one campaign by the Peoples Party, came into existence, carried the county for governor and congressman at one election, and became a power in local politics. Fusion between the Peoples Party and Democrats was accomplished and for some time the combined forces furnished opposition to the dominant party.

The Prohibitionists have never been strong in Lyon county. In a few campaigns they placed nominees for county offices in the field. Socialists and other minor parties have little or no strength in the count v.