Meeker County, Minnesota - Chapter 2, 1877

Chapter 2

On the old Government map of 1842 accompa¬ nying the official report of J. N. Xicollet and J. C. Fremont, of astronomical and barometrical obser¬ vations and surveys of the hydrographical basin of the Mississippi during the year 1S36, to and in¬ cluding 1840, and long before the territory now composing Minnesota was christened, and before St. Paul was dubbed " Pigs Eye, " this territory was appropriated to and known and divided up as reservations for different sub-Indian bands.

'-Mankasa" (Mankato) was known as War-peku-te country. All west of Mankato River, and southwest of the Upper " Minnesotah, " was known as the War-pe-ton and Sisseton country. The whole classed as Undine (or Spiritual) region; while the entire country west of St. Anthony, and north of the " Minnesotah " was known as the M-de-wa-kan-ton country, a little west of the cen¬ ter of which, in latitude 45, and longitude 95, Nic¬ ollet retained as the most beautiful lakes in Min¬ nesota, the romantic Indian name of Kan-di-vo-hi.

The terms St. Anthony, Fort Snelling, Manka¬ sa, Le Sueur, Lac qui Parle, St. Peter, Kandiyohi and Blue Earth, all find a location on Nicollet's old map. The Coteau du Greene Bois, ranging north-west and south-east through the centre of the State, constitutes the height of land from which streams flow in all directions. Small streams take their rise in Kandiyohi county and flow in all di¬ rections, the lakes being near the height of land, and are situate about 1,200 feet above the level of the sea.

Meeker and Kandiyohi counties unquestionably constitute the Garden of the State, and few will be the circling years, ere these counties will teem with the richest gifts of Ceres and be densely fill¬ ed with a thriving and enterprising people.

dwellings will adorn the hillsides and peep from the numerous groves surrounding sparkling lakes and en-trance the beholder as he gazes on the fairy scene outspread before him.

In 1875, Meeker county alone sent her offering to " those who hunger for bread " to the tune of six hundred thousand bushels of wheat, and in less than five years more, Meeker and Kandiyohi counties will be fully able to feed the entire State.

In the summer of 1S55, John W. Huy and Ben. Brown poled a canoe up the Crow or Hassan River in search of pine timber as far as the pres¬ ent site of Forest City, and made a hasty explora¬ tion of the country. D. M. Hanson, Thomas H. Skinner, Fred Schultz and Dr. Ripley arrived at the site of Forest City about the same time, via Glencoe.

The following spring the county of Meeker was organized on paper - County Commissioners, D. M. Hanson, Dr. Frederick Noah Ripley and J. W. Huy; Register of Deeds, Milton G. Moore; Sheriff, Abijah Bemis.

In March, 1856, Thomas H. Skinner and John YV. Huy took possession of the town-site of Forest City, and subsequently had the same surveyed and platted.

Names Of First Settlers, Etc

(118 - 29 means Township 118, north of the base line, and 29 west of the fifth principal meridian, according to the United States survey, and so of the other towns hereinafter mentioned):

118 - 29 - Collinwood; so named by the first settlers who came from Collinwood, Canada. For a few years prior to its actual settlement it was known as New Virginia. The first permanent settlements were made in May, 1866, by Oliver Rasnick, Jacob Hutchins, Thomas Hutchins, Henry Fuller and George Fuller. Town organ¬ ized May &, 1866.

118 - 30 - Ellsworth; named at the suggestion of Jesse V. Branham, after the unfortunate Col. Ellsworth whose tragic end occurred at Alexandria during the war of the rebellion, first settled in 1856, by Dr. V. P. Kennedy, T. R. Webb and Dr.

The second death was a man by the name of Halstead, in 1862. The village of Greenleaf is embraced in this township and was founded in 1858, by W. H. Greenleaf, Dana E. King and Bennet M. and Judson A. Brink.

First school house built in 1859; first teacher. Miss Lydia Angier. First and only lawyer, Mark Warren. Rev. J. C. Whitney preached the first sermon at Greenleaf, (Presbyterian). There is one Indian Mound in the Township which has not been opened. This town was originally attached to Rice City in 1858. - organized as a separate township September 1, 1868. This township was not exempt from incidents of the Indian war in 1S62.

Two weeks after the attack on Hutchinson, Caleb Sanborn having been killed at Cedar Lake the day before, a small party, consisting of Lewis Harrington, Frank Tewett, T. R. Webb, Dave Hern, Nath. Pierce, Daniel Cross and Silas Greene came out from Hutchinson for the remains of Sanborn. When north of Cedar Lake woods, three guns were simultaneously fired by unknown hands, and Cross fell mortally wounded. Five of the party, less Webb,sprang into the double wagon and made their escape round the lake. Webb took to a small boat on the lake and paddled for Cedar Island where he was compelled to spend the night. The Indians lined the lake shore during Webb's retreat, but not till after he had reached a safe distance did he turn to the red skins and place his thumb to his nose - thus inviting them to come where he was if they wanted him.

This party recovered the remains of both San¬ born and Cross and took them to Hutchinson. It was afterward ascertained that there were thirteen Indians in the skirmish.

iiS - 31 - Greenleaf; named after Hon. Wm. H Greenleaf, who first commenced improvements by the erection of a mill dam on the site of the village of that name, and the subsequent erection of a flour and saw mill. The first settlers of this Congressional Township were three brothers Wm., Herman and Charles Kruger, in the spring of 1857, originally attached to the town of Ness - organized as town of Greenleaf, August 27, 1S59,

When we first saw Wm. H. Greenleaf, he was standing up to his knees in the mud in the outlet of "Lake Willie," artistically laying up the sods with his hands, in a fruitless endeavor to prevent water from running down hill! We are glad to say that he has had far better luck at other business since.

Two gentlemen by the name of Orcutt and Pratt effected a settlement in this town in 1856, on land now owned by Vincent Coombs. They plowed about 3 acres, and while at dinner one day the Indians killed one of their oxen, which broke up their team, and becoming disheartened deserted their claims and went to Forest City where they, remained till fall when they left the country. Branham and Whitcomb settled in 1857 and the McGannons in 1858.

118 - 32 - Danielson, originally part of Acton, was organized distinctively March 12th, 1872, and named after Nels Danielson, who settled in this town in 1861, where he continued to reside till his death in 1870. His family still reside there.

Noah White, Esq., first settled in this town in 1857 but abandoned it in 1858, removing to Kandiyohi county where he has ever since resided and still resides. Noah, was the political "Moses" of Kandiyohi county for about 16 years. In long years gone by, when the Republican party wanted to concentrate public sentiment and obtain a full delegation from Kandiyohi county in State and District conventions, they had but to look up Noah White and the thing was fixed.

The native mosquitoes and fleas of Kandiyohi county will be long and pleasingly remembered by various politicians of Hennepin county during the past decade.

Having occasion to spend a beautiful moon¬ light Autumn night on one of these occasions, watching the Republican politicians, we enjoyed a nights rest on the soft side of a log with the bark on and an oak chip for a pillow, and as the silent watches of the night drove sleep from our eye lid, ouf position called to mind the words of a great philosopher:

"Life is an inconceivably beautiful thing, so soon as we reach that point whence we can look out upon it through a clear conscience and a character well buffeted by experience. The one diffuses a pure, heavenly light over all the strange

119 - 29 - Swan Lake, was named after a lake of that name in this township - originally part of Kingston. The first settlers were men by the name of Ayres and Richardson in 1856, from Mexico, N. Y. They were surveyors. They left in 1862 and the Indians soon burned their cabin.

After the Indian war, Isaac N. and A. W. Russel, were the first settlers in 1864 or 5, and were followed soon after by a colony from Kentucky.

The village of Dassel is embraced in this town, and was platted and settled in the spring or summer of 1869, on the completion of the St. Paul and Pacific Rail Road to that place. It was organized as a separate town September 4, 1866, and the name changed to " Dassel, " after a railroad gentleman of that name. The old farm or claim Of Ayres and Richardson was sold and conveyed about 6 or 7 years ago to Mr. Harlow Ames.

118 - 30 - Darwin, (organized April 5, 1858,) takes its name from a man of the 19th century who was so unfortunate as to own stock or bonds of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Co., and not from the originator of the Darwin-ian theory,

Until the railroad was built this town was known as " Rice City, " named by a party of surveyors from Dubuque, who made claims on paper, and who laid out and platted a townsite W'hich they named " Rice City, " in honor of Hon Edmund Rice, of St. Paul. John Curran was one of the first settlers of this town.

119 - 31 - Litchfield, is named after another unfortunate stockholder of the Railroad company, who, it appears, resides in the rural village of London, England. The Congressional township was originally called " Ripley " from the lake of that name in said to^n, and the lake was named from the fact that near its banks one Dr. Ripley was frozen to death in the winter of 1855-6, and his remains found and buried in the spring of 1856. (See chapter,Dr. Frederick N. Ripley.)

Two or three years later the name was changed to "Ness" in honor of Ole Halverson Ness, Esq. This name was taken from the name of the elec¬ tion or church district of Noi*way, whence came the first settlers of the town in July, 1856.

Gunder Olson and Amos Nelson, of Fosen, now called Amos N. Fosen, were the first settlers, three of them had families. They settled on their present farms in July, 1856. Amos N. Fosen, our present worthy County Treasurer, first moved into the town of Acton, but soon found that town would not hold him for scarcity of land, and he therefore finished his claim and settlement in the town of Ness - he worked the first winter for Ole H. Ness, at splitting rails, and was the first known rail splitter in the county-. Henry Halverson built the first house - Ole H. Ness built the first barn and lived in it till the next season.

The Jones family (so called) were the first fi\*e persons massacred in the Indian war, and were buried in this town in one broad grave in the cem¬ etery of the Lutheran Church.

There are a number of small mounds similating Indian mounds in this town, mostly in the timber, and of evidently great age. None have ever been explored. In 1869 the town of Litchfield was platted and settled, and the county seat was removed from Forest City to Litchfield by a vote of the people in the fall of 1869. As before remarked, the town and village of Litchfield took their present name in honor of a Mr. Litchfield, of England. Mrs. Litchfield is said to have given $2,000 to the erec¬ tion of the Episcopal church, parish school and parsonage at this point.

On the present town-site, Mr. Waller's shanty was the first structure erected, and the " Litchfield House " the first building of any size. These build¬ ings, however, were not on the original town-site.

The first building on the town-site proper, was that of Truls Nelson, on the opposite corner north of the Town Hall, and now occupied by John Pet¬ erson. B. F. Pixley's house was the second. Heard & Ward's store was the third. H. B. Johnson's and Joseph James' buildings next, and so on.

Mrs. Marietta, wife of C. O. Porter, was the first woman on the town-site to reside. - Mrs. M. L. Pixley was the second. These ladies arrived in Litch¬ field respectively August 26th and 27th, 1869.

Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist, Christian or Campbellite and Swedish Methodist; also a union school house, costing three or four thousand

Clergy

Rev. Messrs. T. G. Crump, Episcopal; J. S. Sherill, Presbyterian; I. H. Riddick, Methodist and F. A. Grant, Christian. (See Chapter on Churches.)

119 - 32 - Acton was organized April, 1858, and originally embraced 118 - 32, and the south half of 120 - 32. Acton takes its name from Acton, Canada, where the Ritchie family came from when they first settled in Acton, in 1857. In 1857 Robinson Jones, Howard Baker and mother and Abram Kelley settled here. Capt. Robinson and John Blackwell came in about the same time. All except John Blackwell had formed an acquaint- ance with each other in a lumber camp the previ¬ ous winter, on the upper Mississippi. Of the old settlers named, Abram Kelley alone remains.

The first child born in Acton was to Peter Ritch¬ ie. Jones, Howard Baker and his mother were three out of the five killed by the Indians, August 17th, 1862, at the house of Howard Baker.

Benjamin Dorman was the first man to turn the sod in this town, while in the fall of 1857, Mr. A. P. Whitney, Henry Averill and S. B. Hutchins took possession of the town-site of Kingston, on Crow River and commenced the erection of the dam,where now stands the Kingston saw and flour mill.# Whitney is now in California, Averill has gone to parts unknown, and Hutchins resides in Wright County.

Some six or eight young men - the aristocracy of Forest City - having heard of the arrival, and not having seen a lady for three or four months, joined in a " pleasure excursion " to Kingston, to see Mrs. Fitzgerald. This was the first pleasure ex¬ cursion that took place in Meeker County. On be- ing introduced to Madam Fitzgerald, she proved to be a very good, kind,straight-forward, plain-spo¬ ken woman, who remarked that the " skeeters had been awful." Slightly elevating the crinoline, she /exhibited an instep swolen and distorted by musquito bites, and assured the masculines present that that was not an over-wrought picture of her entire condition. The boys returned to Forest City wis¬ er and more reflective, if not better men.

In 1858 some flour had been stolen from Kings¬ ton, and a search warrant was duly placed in Sher¬ iff Jewett's hands, with the view of finding the sto¬ len property. Examining various houses with the assistance of Deputy Sheriff Maddox, they entered the house of Madam. Morris Powers. Fearing the flour might be concealed in the cellar, the dep¬ uty' descended through a trap door, whereupon Madam Powers stationed herself,with a tub of hot suds at the trap door,and with a tin dipper obstruct¬ ed the egress of Maddox, and he was not seen for about an hour. Maddox soon thereafter resigned his office.

120 - 30 - Forest City received its name at the hands of Thomas H. Skinner, who entered the town-site of the U. S. Government in February, 1858. The town had been settled two and a half years previous, and among the first settlers were

The site of Forest City was originally intended to have been made farther up the river,in the town of Harvey, on the old Wigle claim (so called),now owned by Mr. Driver, and was to have been called by the Sioux name of Kar-i-shon or Krow.

Of the first settlers above named, Dart, Mitchell. Vanness, Jewett, Campbell, Whalen, Schultz, and Mrs. Dudley Taylor, with their families, alone re¬ main.

The log house now owned by Mr. John Heath, was the first public house in the county, and was kept by Mr. and Mrs. Dudley Taylor. Mr. Taylor afterwards enlisted in the United States service - became disabled by the falling of the deck of the steamer " Gladiator, " on the Tennessee river, and subsequently died in the State of New York, where he formerly lived.

Dr. Ripley froze to death on the prairie seven miles south of Forest City, in the winter of 1856, and his remains were found in the spring, by Wm. S. Chapman, now of California, and buried near that beautiful lake adjoining Litchfield, which now bears, and will forever bear, his name. - ( See Chap¬ ter, Dr. Frederick N. Ripley).

Thos. H. Skinner died at Milwaukee,August 20th 1863. and was buried at St. Albans, Maine ; aged 29 years. Up to the time of his death, he was President of the Forest City Town Company.

John Whalen and John Flynn came through the big woods in the spring of 1856, near Kingston, fording the Crow River at that point with the wa¬ ter shoulder deep. The river was swolen and the banks full from heavy rains, and they found it a vast deal easier to get into the river than to get out. Whalen finally drew himself out by a root on the bank, and Flynn was rescued by Whalen. They brought their bread from St. Anthony, and after selecting their claims, they started on their return for their families. They had one small loaf of bread two weeks old, and about the size of a ten-pound cannon ball, and of somewhat similar appearance, which was to last them to Monticello, and until it was necessary to use it, they wrapped it in a hand¬ kerchief and used it fora pillow. The first night out, some person stole it, and they had to go through the woods without eating. Staid at Mon¬ ticello one night, and were charged $6 each for supper, breakfast, and lodging on shavings. They returned with their families, and reached their claims Oct. 22, 1856.

120 - 31 - Harvey. This town was named in honor of James Harvey, who settled in that town in i860, and subsequently resided at Forest City during the Indian war.

Harvey was first settled by John and Thomas Dougherty in 1856. They broke 25 acres of land that summer. A man by the name of McCue came into the town about two weeks ahead of the Dough¬ ertys, but soon left. This town was originally a part of Forest City, but set off, and organized sep¬ arately in 1867. There were no marriages or deaths in this town till 1870. Dennis Dougherty and Mary Finnegan were married in May 1870. Ed. Dolan, a child eight years old, died the same year. Thomas Dougherty was the first Justice of the Peace.

this town. His mother. Charity Britt, nee Tib¬ betts, came with the family from Maine. She was born in Litchfield, Maine, April 3d, 1773, and is consequently now 103 years of age - the oldest woman in the county, if not the state. She pre¬ empted 160 acres of land.

by N. E. Hanson, Neis Elofson, Hans Peterson, Peter E. Lund, Nels Weylander, Andrew Peter¬ son and John Rosencranz and a few others - most, or all with families. The town was named by N. E. Hanson and Nels Elofson, from the fact that this town was settled by Swedes. This town was originally a part of Acton - was organized by itself March 15th, 1868. Nels Elofson was ap¬ pointed Post-master in 1859. ^

121 - 30 - Forest Prairie - is situate north of For¬ est City, in the big woods, and was named Forest Prairie for the same reason that the boy named his pony " Snow Ball " - because he was black as jet. It was called Forest Prairie becaftse there was not a bit of prairie in the town. First settled in the spring of 1866, by Merrit B. Case, C. T. Groot, J. S. Reynolds, George Scrivner, George Smith, Mr.

Polk and by Stevens and Roach, mostly with fam¬ ilies. Next year the town was pretty well settled by the arrival of new-comers. This town was du¬ ly organized June ioth, 1867. Mr. Stoors was the first Post-master, in 1867.

On the 15th of November, 1855, Chris Davis, Green Sykes, Ziba Caswell and Nathan C. Cas¬ well left Monticello, Wright County in search of a mill-site and farm-land, passing through the "big woods, " so-called, and struck the prairie near the present site of Darwin, thence north to what is now Forest City, thence down Crow River about 10 miles, and thence on a straight shoot back to Mon¬ ticello. Trying it again, on the ioth day of De¬ cember 1855. Ziba Caswell and N. C. Caswell started for the big prairie, and emerged from the woods near where Kingston now stands, thence up stream past Forest City, (then a City of "Magnifi¬ cent Distances, " no buildings obstructing the view) Harvey, Manannah, Union Grove and Swede Grove, thence returning, concluded to trade with " Uncle Sam " for some claims at Manannah on tick. Arrived at Monticello, December 24th, 1855.

In 1856, Alonzo, Ziba, Silas, Albert and N. C. Caswell captured the town, and together with James Nelson, Edward Brown, and A. D. Pierce took up the claims around the old townsite, and built the first shanties in Manannah, backing their provisions from Monticello. Ziba Caswell and one J. W. Walker surveyed and named the town-site of Manannah in December, 1856. The settlement was increased the same fall by the addition of Car¬ los Caswell, John Tower, Andrew Hamilton, and Lucy Ann Lobdell, nee Slater, (See Chapter, A Wild Woman's History "). On the 4th of March, 1857, the Caswells put up the first building of any size, designed fora hotel. Prior to the organization of the town, the County Commissioners appointed

N. C. Caswell Road Supervisor, April 27th. 1857, being the first office ever held in said town. The first prairie broken by the Caswells, May 4^1,1857.

First marriage was James Nelson and Elizabeth A. Caswell, by E. B. Kingsley, J. P., in the spring of 1S57. First child born was Hattie Estella Kim¬ ball. First death was Samuel Clyde.

freshet in 1859, and was never rebuilt. Two or three years since, Mr. N. C. Hines erected a fine flour and saw mill, a mile or two below the old site,and a fine village has sprang up in consequence-

A stockade was erected at the old town-site of Manannah in 1863, to aid in the protection of the settlements of that region, and a few soldiers sta¬ tioned there by Col. Ney-Smith, of Wisconsin, be¬ ing a portion of his regiment. It was here, one fine sun-shiny day of that year, that we greeted Hon. M. J. Severance in his military blouse, sun¬ ning himself on a log as high private. He was in the line of his duty.

This town was a point of tragic interest during the fall of 1862, connected with the Indian War, an account of which will be found elsewhere in this volume.

121 - 32 - Union Grove ; was firstsettled in 1856 by Lyman Allen, Andrew Hamilton, and by two other men by the names of Baker and Haywood. Allen and Haywood returned to Massachusetts in 1S60. Baker is dead. Mr. Allen named the town, wherefore or for what is unknown. We have been promised a sketch of the early settlement and in¬ cidents of this town, but have thus far failed to re¬ ceive it. This town was duly organized April 18, 1S66.

117 - 31 - Cedar Mills ; this town took its name from Cedar Lake, situate'in that locality, and the lake received its christening at the hands of Nicol¬ let and Fremont, from the fact of an island in the lake covered with red cedar. It was hence desig¬ nated on the old map as Ran-ti-tia-wita, the Indian for " Red Cedar Island Lake."

This town Was first settled in 1856 by Daniel Cross, who was killed by the Indians in 1S62. The widow and family of three children still reside on the old claim.

In 1S57 R. J. Brodwell, O. S. Merriam, Philand¬ er Ball, Geo. R. Jewett and a few others settled here. Mr. Nichols built a flour mill at this point in 1858, with three run of stone - capacity, 60 bar¬ rels per day.

116 - 32 - Cosmos; was named by an eccentric gentleman, an early settler by the name of Hoyt, who was frozen to death four years ago last win¬ ter, in an effort to go on foot to the Minnesota Riv-

Dr. Kennedy says the word " Cosmos " is Greek, and the Dr. knows, and that it signifies " the uni¬ verse. " The Dr. is an original Greek scholar,and if he has deceived us, we shall never forgive him - never. We think the Dr. is right, for the Greek order of architecture pretty generally prevails in this township, mostly of^ the plain Doric, which was invented by the Greeks, and it was in this very town that the rigor of the seasons obliged the settlers to construct shelters from the inclemency of the weather, and here they first learned to plant trees on end and then lay others across to support a covering. The bands which connected those trees at top and bottom, first gave them a clear idea of the base and capitol of pillars.

Mathews and Eddy were among the early sett¬ lers, but it was not much settled till after the Indi¬ an war. This town and Cedar Mills were voted from McLeod county, and became legally attached to Meeker County in 1871.