Mower County, Minnesota - Chapter 37: Sargeant Township and Village, 1911

Chapter 37: Sargeant Township and Village

This is cue of the uorthern tier of towns in Mower county. Its limits are those of congressional township 104 north, range 15 west of the fifth principal meridian. It is bounded on the north by Dodge county, east by Pleasant Valley, south by Dexter and west by Waltham. The surface is rolling, the soil a somewhat heavy loam, being mixed in some places with clays and is in all parts quite productive. The land is an open prairie, except along the banks of Root river, and its principal affluent, which are skirted with a flourishing growth of timber. Root river, entering the town in section 35, flows in a general northerly direction till it reaches section 12, through which it takes an easterly course into Pleasant Valley. The town receives its name from H. N. Sargeant, an early settler.

Early Settlement

In 1860 John Butler, from Wisconsin, settled on the southeast quarter of section 11, which had been pre-empted by his brother Fred a few years before. Here he built a house and fenced the land. Soldiers were now wanted, hosts of them, to defend their country's flag. Butler enlisted and went to the war. Its perils he survived, but never came back to this town. An Englishman named William Langton settled on the northeast .quarter of section 13 in the year 1863. Two years later he sold his place and moved to Rochester, where he died. His widow is still living in that city. Henry N. Sargeant, a native of Canada, having come across the border to seek a new home in the States, arrived here some time in the year 1865. He found a desirable location in the southeast quarter of section 11 and there built him a house. Samuel King settled in Sargeant township in 1869 on section 13. There were thirty acres broken and a log house and granary on the place, which constituted the improvements. He improved 200 acres of the land and weather boarded and painted the house, built a good granary and lived there until 1875, when he purchased a half section in 23 and 26 and moved there. Lieutenant Nelson A. Sumner came to Mower county in 1871 and built a house on the northwest quarter of section 35, town of Sargeant.

In 1872 or in 1873 Hans Peterson, C. W. Oswald, Nils Christianson, P. Johnson, 0. C. Osbern and G. Thorson came here. Oswald was a German. He settled on the southwest quarter of section 11, selling out in 1882 and moving to Rochester. Christiauson was a Dane. He settled on the southwest quarter of section 22, but sold in 1880 and went to Big Stone county. Peterson, also a Dane, settled in the northeast quarter of section 16. He stayed there until 1882, in which year he sold his place and removed to Marshall. Thorson, a native of Norway, settled on the soiathwest quarter of section 35 and lived there until 1884. In the year 1874 Peter Nilson and his son Nils Peterson, natives of Denmark, took possession of the lands on sections 8 and 16. During the same year Thor Johnson, Gjernes, his son. Nils T. Gjernes and Philip Johnson, all natives of Norway, came here. The first named settled on the northeast quarter of section 11.

C. R. Koplin, George Biersdorfer, William Prudahl and others started a German settlement in the southwest quarter of the town in 1876-77, and C. L. Swartz located farther north. The failure of the Avheat crop in 1878 had a disastrous etfect on the settlement. Some of them moved away and others changed their intention of coming.

Organization

The township of Sargeant was organized September 16, 1873 ; previous to that time the west half of its territory had been attached to Waltham and the east half to Pleasant Valley township. The first town meeting was held at the house of H. N. Sargeant. Mr. Sargeant was chosen moderator and James Lowry clerk of the meeting. The following were elected officers to serve imtil March, 1874: Chairman, Samuel King; supervisors, P. C. Olson and P. ^'ohnson ; clerk, H. N. Sargeant; treasurer, P. C. Olson ; justices of the peace, L. King and Nels Christianson ; constables, L. King and Hans Peterson ; assessor, C. W. Oswald.

Early Hotel And Store

A house for the entertainment of travelers is said to have been built at an early day in the history of the settlement on the northeast quarter of section 35 by a man named Seckley (Avord of doubtful spelling). The property soon passed into the hands of one Dilarzon Ketchum, who, finding the business not a paying one, was glad, in his turn, to find a purchaser. Henry Bagley, Avho bought out Mr. Ketchum, kept the hotel open but a year, when he removed to Udolpho township. Not long after the house was closed it was burned down.

In the spring of 1865 a man named William Pitcher put up a shanty on section 26, in which he kept for sale a small stock of goods. With so few settlers in the neighborhood, it is evident that trade could not have been very brisk. The store was closed at the end of the summer and Pitcher left the township.

St. John'S Church

Evangelical Luthefan St. John's Church, U. A. C, In 1877 Adolf Zander, Carl Zander, August Wietstock and F. Weiss came from Goodhue county to reside on their newly acquired possession in Mower county. These attended services at Trinity church at Waltham until the following year. That year a divine connected with the Iowa Synod made occasional visits and held services at the homes of C. and A. Zander, respectively. In 1879 Henry Kerchner, F. Ladwig, William Prodahl and several others of Goodhue county arrived with their families. Rev. Achilles, connected with the Lutheran Minnesota Synod, took charge of the missionai-y work, conducting services in schoolhouse of District No. 114, northeast quarter of section 32, Sargeant township. In 1879 Rev. W. V. Schenk, of Rochester, Minn., was given charge. Hard times compelling many families to leave, services were discontinued for a period. In the early eighties the pastor of a Lutheran church in Dexter township (Seebach's church) again held occasional meetings until 1885, in which year Rev. J. C. H. Martin, of Trinity church, Waltham, took charge of the field and held regular services, also after being transferred to Pleasant Valley church. In 1898 Rev. Herman Meyer, of Waltham, was invested with the pastorate. That event marks the beginning of a new period. In October a meeting was held at A. Zander's for the purpose of effecting an organization, which also took place. Present were A. Zander, C. R. Kopplin, F. Lange, F. Augustin, H. Kerchner, August Wietstock, Julius Henning, Walter Pieper. Hans Augustine, of Hay Creek, Goodhue county, donated three acres of land in northeast quarter section 31, Sargeant tOAvnship, a site for church and cemetery. October 6, 1900, Rev. C. A. Affeldt, of Trinity church, Waltham, was installed by Rev. A. Dubberstein. In January, 1901, after being incorporated, the congregation decided to erect a church on its site. This Avas done during the summer. It is a frame structure, 32x42 feet, with additional altar niche and 80-foot steeple, in which a bell is hung, cost $2,500. In December, 1906, the first parochial school was opened in charge of Rev. W. F. Lange, formerly of Hay Creek, Minn., but now retired from active ministry. This congregation has a promising future. Present membership: 144 souls, eighty-three communicants, twenty voting members. Officials: C. A. Affeldt, pastor; A. Zander and F. Lange, elders; Carl Kerehner, Otto Goetseh, Albert Biel, trustees.

Sargeant Village

Sargeant village is a flourishing trading point in section 18, near the west line of the township, and is located on the Chicago Great Western. The railroad came through in 1887, established a .station here, and thus made the village possible. It is in the midst of a good farming country and has a population of about one hundred persons. It has several business houses, a bank, a hotel, an elevator, a schoolhouse and Baptist and German Evangelical churches. The village is incorporated. The village was platted September 7, 1894, in section 18, township 104, range 16, by John Pfuhl.