McLeod County, Minnesota - Chapter 16: Origin of Place Names, 1917

Helen township was named for Mrs. Helen Armstrong, said to be the first white woman to become a permanent resident of the township; her husband, J. R. Armstrong, was sheriff of the county in the early years of the Civil War.

Bergen was named by the Norwegian settlers of the township for the important city on the west coast of their fatherland. Many of them had emigrated from and near Bergen.

Hassan Valley was named for the south fork of the Crow river, which stream was called by the Sioux Indians "Chan Hassan," meaning hard maple, the sugar maple. Both n's have the French nasal sound, somewhat like the n in think. The Sioux pronunciation is nearly chahn hahssahn, with the accent on hahs. Chahn means wood or tree, but the meaning of hahssahn is unknown to the compilers. The current pronounciation among the white people is chan hassan with all the a's flat like in pan, and the accent on hass. The Sioux for soft maple is tah hdohoo, with the accent on tah.

Sumter was called for Fort Sumter, whose bombardment by the South Carolina Confederates, April 12, 1861, precipitated the American Civil War.

Round Grove derives its name from a former primitive picturesque grove, circular in form, situated within the township and which was called by the pioneers "the" Round Grove. It was a noted land mark in early days,

Acoma was named to please Dr. Vincent P. Kennedy, who came to Meeker county in 1856, and for a time lived on the Dr. Ripley claim, at Cedar City. He was a member of the Minnesota Legislature in 1861 and 1862, and of the Dakota Legislature subsequently. He served in the Union army for three years as surgeon of the Fifth Minnesota, and after the war was Indian physician among the Chippewas at Red Lake. Mc- Clelland was informed that the Doctor named the township for a town in New Mexico, but the U.S. Postal Guide contains the name of but one post-office named Acoma, which is in this county.

Hale was named either for an early settler or for John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, a distinguished American statesman and the Free Soil candidate for president in 1852. It is said that the Hutchinsons and other anti-slavery men of the county induced the county board to name the township for the eminent New England Free Soiler.

The name of Rich Valley was induced by A. B. White, a pioneer of Koniska, who designated it to characterize, and commemorate the fertile valley of the Buffalo in which it is situated.

Lester Prairie was probably named for John Lester, the first settler on that prairie, although McClelland says that the prairie was named for Lester's wife, Mrs. Maria Lester "who was the first white woman to set foot on that section."