Pipestone County, Minnesota - Chapter 22: Current Events - 1885-1911, 1911

Chapter 22: Current Events - 1885-1911

THE good times period which began in the early eighties continued without interruption until tlie panic of 1893. Each year witnessed the arrival of new settlers, the building of new homes, the further development of the county, the passing of pioneer days and ways. A reliable indication of the progress or retrogression of a community are the census returns, and Pipestone county made an excellent showing in the five-year period, 1880 to 1885, nearly doubling in population. The enumeration in 1885 showed a population of 4051, divided by precincts as follows:

The year 1885, particularly, was one of advancement. Close Bros. & Co., who had in the two preceding years spent many thousand dollars advertising their Pipestone county lands, then began to reap

""The Star is more than pleased to record the fact that more improvements, in the way of farm buildings, are going on in Pipestone pountv this season th.in ever before. More sod is being their reward in sales. Many who purchased that year did not locate on their lands until the ne.xt season, but some of them erected buildings, and nearly all broke their lands.' A large part of the sales of the year were in the townships of Troy, Sweet and Eden. The contract sales by Close Bros. & Co. amounted to $250,000, while the value of real estate transferred by deed was $242,257, making a total of nearly a half million dollars. Nearly all of these sales were to new arrivals and actual settlers. At the close of the year the local paper said : "The year just closed has been one of the greatest prosperity for Pipestone and the county at large. The improvements throughout the county have been more numerous and our farmers have done more than in any previous year since the county was organized.''

Good crops were the rule in 1885, as they were during all the years of the late eighties, and in 188G several hundred families who had bought lands the year before moved on their property; others came and invested in the cheap lands in order to share in the prevailing prosperity. The leading land firm made extraordinary exertions in 1887, and during the year sold over 140,000 acres of its lands in Minnesota, loua and Kansas, of which nearly acres were in Pipestone county. At the close of that year the firm had disposed of about one-half of its Pipestone county iiohlings. j\Iany substantial i)uildin,a" improvements were made in the county during the twelvemonth.

The history of Pipestone county would be incomplete without an account of the terrible blizzard of January 12, 1888, and of tlie adventures of Pipestone county residents in tlie storm. Tlie blizzard was an event in the history of tlie noithwest. So suddenly and unexpectedly did it envelop the country, changing in a moment from a warm, spring-like snow storm into a howling, icy blizzard, that there was uo time to escape its fury for those unj) repared. All over tlie northwest there was great loss of life and property. That Pipestone countv should have escaped without the loss of a life is miraculous, it being tlie only eomiiiiinity in soutliwestern Minnesota that did. There was a big loss of stock and many cases of severe freezing and narrow cscajies, but no human being perished within tlie county.

For three weeks prior to the storm the weather was cold and boistei-ous. Immediately preceding it were a few days of damp weatlier with a heavy snowfall. On January Vi the aii- was as quiet and serene as a May-day until half past four o'clock in tile aftei'uoon. TJien without a

=In Osborne township Mr. Heinibaugii lost eight liead of cattle and was severely frost-ljitten about the face and hands in his efforts to save them. J. M. Butts, of the same township, lost twelve head of stock. Elmer Hatch, of Rock township, lost sixty head.

Joseph Simpson's two sons had quite an experience at their home in Foimtain Prairie township. 'I'hey were watering the cattle wlien the storm struck, which caused the stock to stampede Willi llie wind. The boys started in pursuit, but within a few minutes were completely lost. They wandered about on the prairie f(n- an hour or nutre and tinall.v came I'o the house of August Zacher. where tiiey spent the nisht. Of the herd of ten cattle, eight were frozen to death.

Cooley. the mail carrier between Lake Benton and F'ipestone, became lost in the storm, released his team, and spent the night in a snowdrift. He escaped with light in,iury.

moment's warning the wind whipped to the nortliwest, the thermometer dropped to the vicinity of the thirties, and the most terrible of winter storms that ever visited Pipestone county in white man's knowledge was raging. The air seemed filled with all (lie snow banks of tlie country, and the icy wind, blowing willi terrific force, seemed to come from all directions, almost like a cyclone. Not a jierson in Pipestone county away from shelter when tlic storm struck reached a refnge witliout danger to bis life. The storm continued in its awful I'ury all night and into the next day.

Even on the village streets people lost their bearings and had to grope tlieir way in tlie storm ; no one who was exposed to the fury of that storm will ever forget its terrors. Fortunately few farmers were in town, and to tliis circumstance is doubtless due the fact that there was no loss of life, for of the scores who met death in ilie storm in other parts of the country nearly all were farmers or. their way home from town. The blizzard struck at the time of (lav it was customary for farmers to drive their stock to water, and most of the severe freezing in Pipestone county f(dl to the lot of those engaged in this ehoi'e. To this is also attributed the 'jieat loss id' eallle in Pipestone county - were overtaken by the storm wliile dri\-ing the cattle to water, and. although only a few rods from home, were unable to find their way in the awful storm. Mr. Birch nnhitclied the team he was driving, oveilurned tlie sleigh, and for sixteen hours he and his son j-emained in the shelter thus afforded. Mr. Birch was severely frozen. Of the fifteen head of cattle only four survived the storm.

Messrs. Gundvaldseu and .-\nderson. of Kden township, were caught in the blizzard while on their way home from Pipestone. Fhiding themselves nn.ablc to proceed, they unhitched the horses and set out on foot for shelter. Failing to tind a hcnise. they took refuge in a strawpile and there spent the awful night. The next morning they made their way to a nearby house. TlU'ir hands aftd faces were badly frost-bitten.

county in the state of eijuiil arca.^ The iJi-eliniiuary steps toward the buihlinR- of what is now the Great jSTortliern railroad (liroi:,i;ii the county were taken locally in IJic sprino- of ISSG. Backed by the Manitoba railroad interests, of wliicli James .1. Ifill was the guidint;- ycnius, the W'illiiiar I i& Situi.x Falls Railroad company was ori .ijanizcd at Pipestone March 3, ISSfi. The oroauization was made by residents of b southwestern Minnesota, acting as agents ' f<ir the Manitoba interests. The officers and directors chosen at the meeting were J. M. Spicer, of Willnmr, president; D. K. Sweet, of Pipestone, vice president; ('. C. Goodnow, of Pipestone, secretary; ('. P.. Taylor, of Marshall, treasurer; J. G. Schuiz, of Marshall ; H. T. Carson, of ' Sioux Falls."* The information was given out that Mr. Hill w-as the prcmioter of the new road, that a proposition to issue county bonds as a subsidy would soon be submitted. A preliminary survey tliiviugh

Edward McMahon and a companion, of Pipestone, were caught in the tempest at the fair grounds noi'th of town. They became bewildei'ed and dared not proceed. Fortunately, thc>- came upon the abandoned claim shanty of C. C. Goodnow on the reservation and there spent the night. Being without a fire, they were obliged to walk the floor until morning to keep from freezing.

ithe right course only by the shouts of the men at the farm, they having seen him coming- Daniel Whigam. of Troy township, had a remarkable escape. He had driven his cattle, eighteen head, to the creek, about a half mile from his house, to water, and was getting ready to return with them when the wind shifted to the northwest. He made all haste, lint the severity of the storm scattered the herd and it was impossible to gather tliem again and Mr, Whigam was compelled to look out for his life. In doing this he found he had all he could do, for in the excitement with the cattle he lost his bearings, and in the bewildering storm lie realized he was indeed lost. Mr. "V^'higam told a Star reporter of his experience:

"Had any one told me I couldn't have gone to that creek and back again in anv blizzard that ever raged. I should have had no hesitancy in calling him a liar. But this was not a blizzard: it was a tornado - a regular whirl - the wind coming from overy directioTi at tlie same time and as cold as an Iceberg. H-mnening to recollect a ba'-bed-wire fence nenr Mr. Warner's pl.ace, I struck out in what T thought was its direction. I wandei-ed aliout for a long time, floundering in the snow, tlie storm seuming-

Early in the spring of 1887 surveyors again upei'alctl in the county, and it became evident that llic road would be buiU. The people of Siou.v Falls and vicinity \i)U'i\ .i^.Mi.dOO liiuids to aiil the new road; Lyon ciHinty, .$:!(), 0(10; and Kandiyohi county. $;)0,000. In May the promoters aniKuincod tliat they would have the grading completed through the county by Janiiaiy 1, 1888, and trains running by January 1, 1889, provided county bonds to the amount of $30,000 be voted and the people assist in securing the right-ofway through the county. Committees were appointed to secure the right-of-way' and petitions were circulated, a.sking for the calling of a special election to vote on the bond issue. The election was held June 20, 1887, and resulted in a big ma-^ jority in favor of the bonds. The vote by precincts was as follows: ly increasing all the time, and it was with the greatest exertion that I kept my eyes from freezing over. I am not generally a praying man, Init I did feel just then that a little prayer would relieve me some, and about that time, to my great joy, I struck the wire fence I was looking for, and you can bet I didn't let go of it until I was at Mr. Warner's house in safety, and in .a short time reached home. But I shudder when I think how close I came to missing that which saved me. Had I wandered three rods furtlier east I would have missed the fence and perished."

After reaching the Warner home, Mr. Whigam became anxious to get home, fearing his folks would start out in search of him and become lost. By the aid of a fence he succeeded in reaching O. T. Gilson's house, and then Theodore Plank's. From there, however, there was nothing to go by. so Mr. Plank and Mr, Whigam gathered armsful of lath and binding twine, fastened one end of the twine to the hotise. and set out in the storm. Kvery few feet lliey stuck a lath in the snow and fastened the twine to it. tliaf the\- might ha\'e a guide bv which to retiu'n should the,\' not locate Mr. Wlilgam's house. 'I'he>' proceeded in tlie right direction and were soon at Mr. Whigam's home.

Precinct

The result of Ihe vote was duly celebrated in Pijiestone." Grading- was comnieneed on the road in Pipestone county Septemljer IG and was continued until cold weather set in. This part of the work was resumed in April, 1888, and the track-layers, working from the north, laid the rails to Pipestone September 29, and to the new town of Jasper October T). Train service was established north of Pipestone October 2.

The building of the railroad had a wholesome effect on Pipestone county. Three new villages, Jasjier, IJuthton and Holland, were founded, and the northeastern pai-t of the county, which theretofore had been tbinly settled, was rapidly filled with honieseekcrs. Close Bros. & Co. and the other land dealers disposed iif many acres of land, and iluring the

-"The demonstration in Pipestone Monday evening was the (grandest that ever toolt place in the \'illage. The bands were out. flaps were flyinp: from the house tops, bonfires wei"e lighted, tirewoi-l<s lit lip the hea\'ons. cannons (anvils) roared, the people marched. the\' sanpr. the>- cheered. Kver.\-I)od\' was happy. Even the women and children took part in the enthusiasm. .\nd tlie Pipestone people were not the onl.v participants. Farmers flocked in from the coinitry to get the returns, and there was not a town in the comity but that was represented, and the.y one and all .ioined the jubilee, for they were as much interested in the result as the people of Pipestone. It was a mutual good time, was highly complimented, by many strangers and land hunters in town that evening, and will long be remembered." - Pipestone County Star, June 24. 1887.

summer season several excursion trains were run to Pipestone county.' Adding to the prevailing active times, one of the best crops of years was harvested.

It was the same story during the ne.xt few years. The country at large was enjoying an era of great prosperity, and Pipestone county kept pace with the general advance. There were abundant crop yields and prices were high. In 1890 many tliousands of acres of land were sold to honieseekcrs, nearly four tliousand acres being sold in small tracts by the leading land firm in one week.* The ])opulation of the county in 1890 was 5K]2.° An exceptional year of progress was 1891, when there were great additions to the population and many new farms opened. Close Bros. & Co. sold 20,000 acres of land during the spring and early summer months.

Pipestone county's last railroad was built in 1892, the Eock Island extension to Jasper. That part of the road from Trosky to tlie pink quarries, three miles northeast of Jasjicr, was constructed in 1890, and the citizens of Jasper had made several inclTectual attcmjits to have the road built to their town. On May 17, 1S!)2, (hey voted $2:i00 bonds as a subsidy, and in tbc bill the new railroad was completed to Jas|ier.

.season there is now no room for doubt, and another year will see the many new settlers moving here and putting up buildings all over the count.y." - Pipestone County Star, July 20, 18S8.

'"Pipestone county is not only growing fine crops this season, but is also increasing rapidly in population. Newcomers are arriving every day. The.y purchase farms and settle down to farming at once. There never has been a more prosperous outlook." - Pipestone County Star, July 4, 1890.

**By precinctfe as follows: Aetna. 147: Altona, 282: Burke (Including WoodstockK 337: Eden. 476: Rdgerton. 178; Elmer (including Trosky). 314: Fountain Prairie. 232: Grange. 308: Gray, 228; Jasper (in Pipestone county), 372; Osborne, '"That Pipestone county will go far beyiiiidji^2(;7; Pipestone. 1232; Rock, 150; Sweet, 241; Troy, any previous record in the way of land sales tliis'""368.

lowed a year of erup failures and several years of low prices, and Pipestone county, in cuniaion with the whole country, passed through a period of depression.

On top of the other misfortunes came a cyclone on June 37, 1894, which left a trail of death, ruined crops and wrecked homes in a narrow strip of country in the townships of Sweet, Troy, Grange and Fountain Prairie. The cyclone formed in Eden township. About five o'clock in the afternoon a hard, straight wind storm entered the county just east of Jasper and demolished the buildings of the Jasper Stone company. No great damage was caused by the storm in Eden township, and not until the south line of Sweet township was reached did the cyclone develop. This was caused by the meeting of two .storms. Out of the northwest came a severe storm, meeting the one from the south in the southern part of the county and forming the cyclone. The Farmers' Leader on the following day told of the view of the twister from Pipestone:

"The terror was seen approaching from the southeast, and as it reached the table hind about five miles southwest of the city, it had assumed the usual funnel shape. . . . During the m o v eiiiciit of the storm hundreds of people in town stood and watche<l the monster, every turn being visible to the naked eye, as would the passing of a wagon on the street. It was a perfectly formed, trunkshaped cyclone of light color, beautiful to look u]ion, but terrible to think of its death dealing effects as it passed along.''

On section .31, Sweet township, at the farm of Claud Johannseu, the first damage by the cyclone was done. There a large barn was demolished, machinery was broken, and all loose articles scattered proiniscuously. The John Klensing farm on s('cti<in o'i was the next ])lace visited. Tlie barn and two granaries were blown ilown and the hou.se was unroofed and blown from its foundation. When the storm struck, Mrs. Klensing and two children attempted to reach the cellar by way of an outer entrance, but were picked up by the twister, carried about twenty rods and dropped, not seriously injured, in a grove. Mr. Klensing and two children remained in the house, where he received sliglit injuries,, being struck on tlie head iiy flying timliers. At the home of William HofTman, one mile north, the bani and granary were demolished and the house badly racked. A little to the east of this place, an unoccupied residence on the farm of A. L. Jaycox was completely destroyed.

The storm lifted, but struck again with frightful violence at the home of William Hill, two miles west of Pipestone. Mr. and Mrs. Hill sought refuge in the cellar and were unharmed. The house, barn and granary were left a heap of ruins and the hor.ses were killed. The cyclone lifted from the earth, traveled about a mile and a half in the air, and then came to earth on the farm occupied by G. F. Hicks in the valley of Pipestone creek. Here resulted the only death from the storm, Mi's. Hicks being the victim. Mr. Hicks, w liii had been working in the field, sought shelter in his barn just before the storm struck, and there also came Leonard Belmor, a neighbor; Mrs. Hicks was in the house alone. Mr. Hicks was about to start for the house when he saw the residence lifted by the aw I'ul force and dashed to the ground in a thousand ]iieces. The occupant was caught in the whirling wind, carried a distance of thirty rods to the north, and dashed to the ground near a grove of young trees. She was frightfully mangled and there was scarcely a stitch of clothing left on her body. She was taken to Pi|icstnn(' and died a half hour after her arrival. The barn was demolished a

There was total destruction of property on the Jacob Armstrong farm, occupied l)v Herman Doms and family, a few rods southeast of the Hicks home. Seeing the storm ajiproach, Mr. Doms sent his wife and theii' three ciiildren to the cellar, while he went upstairs to get his money, (i lancing out of the window, he witnessed the destruction of the Hicks home and made haste to get to the cellar. He had harelv reached it when the house was lifted into the air, whirled around in the air a few times like a sheet of paper might have been whirled, and deposited, a wreck. 200 feet from the foundation. The barn on the farm was demolished and the machinery was wrecked beyond repair.

The death-dealing funnel again rose, passed to the north over the Eock Island track, to the west of the Captain Flagg farm, and struck with frightful violence at the northeast quarter of section 33, Troy township. At that corner were four buildings - a school house and the residences of A. B. Mahannah, Frank Plank and Mr. Brown. Of these buildings the house of Mr. Brown esca]ied by twenty feet, but all the others were destroyed. The School house was torn to pieces and the floor, to which remained attached some of the seats, was carried a long distance, over a grove of tall trees, and deposited right side up in a grain field. Mr. x\rt.hur and family, who occupied the Plank house, sought refuge in the cellar and were not harmed, although the house was completely destroyed. Mts. Maliannah was at home with her four children. When she saw the storm approaching she decided to take the children outdoors, there being no cellar, but wa.s unable to open the door against the strong wind. She then gathered the children about her and sal upon the floor. The cyclone tore the house literally to pieces. The building was lifted by the mighty force and crashed back to earth; again it wa« taken into the air and Inirled with Titanic violence against tlie barn, completely wrecking both buildings. .Vmid the storm of flying missiles, the mendjcrs of the family were struck many times. The cook stove fell over upon Mrs. Maliannali. breaking one of her limbs, and she was badly c\it about the head and breast. Notwithstanding these serious injuries, she held pluekily to her two youngest children, both of whom were more or less injured. None of the injuries proved fatal.

Again the whirling demon left the earth and thereafter in Pipestone county only occasionally came down to do material damage. On the northwest quarter of section 15, Grange township, one of the largest barns in the county, the property of Pobert Wilkinson, was destroyed. In Fountain Prairie township the large barn of Mr. Sierks was reduced to kindling wood, and there was done the last damage in the county. Concerning the damage done by the cyclone, the Jasper Journal of June 29. 1894, said: "The path of the cyclone varied in width from 300 to 500 feet, all along the way marked by utter devastation. Crops are destroyed, 1)uildiiigs blown to splinters, farm machinery demolished, groves ruined and stwk killed. The ground traversed by the storm was left as barren of vegetation as burnt prairie."

Wiile the cyclone was operating in the wi'st and north parts of the county, another hard storm brought damage in the south-central portion, doing slight damage at Troskv. damaging a liarn on the Ij<3ng farm, two miles south of Pipestone, and wrecking the floral hall, judges' stand, cattle sheds and pens at the county fair

Main Street, Pipestone Part Op Simon Mix Post, No. 95

The first, last and cmly crop failure in Pipestone couuly's history after the grasshopper times came in 1894 and was due ill drouglit."' Coming as it did in the midst of tiie wretched times of tiie panic period, the failure was a liard IjIow to many of the residents. In the spring of 1895 many farmers were obliged to take advantage of a law passed by the legislature providing for seed grain loans. There were 135 applicants in Pipestone county who a.sked for grain as follows : Wheat, ;]184 bushels; oats, 8674 bushels; barley, :3918 bushels; flax, 755 bushels; corn, 23 bushels; millet, 53 bushels; potatoes, 40 bushels; clover, 1 bushel; timothy, 11/2 bushels.

A county jail building, wdiich was also used for county offices for a number of years, was erected in 1894 and 1895 at a cost of about $13,000. The first step toward this action was taken by the board of county commissioners July 11, 1894, when a two-mill tax was levied for the purpose and J. Hitchcox and John Pearson were appointed a committee to procure ])lans and specifications. Ground was broken for the building October 3, 1894, and the structure was completed the following year. All the work was done by Pipestone county residents. Tlie jail was paid for witliout bond issue and without overdue warrants.

Pipestone county was represented in the Spanish-American war by a company of volunteer soldiers, recruited by Captain C. W. Gilmore. On July fi, 1898, the company, thirty-seven strong, of which twenty-one were Pipestone county boys, departed for St. Paul under com-

'""We have now bade ^ood bye to summer and entered upon the faU months. The summer of 1S94 has been one for the old settlers in nineteen hundred and something to talk about. It has made the hottest, driest. longest record of anv of them. We are not sorry to bid it Koofl Ijye." - Pipestone County Star, September 7, 1894.

mand of Captain (lilmore. At Camp Ilamsey the company was recruited to its full quota, and on, July 18 it was mustered into the United States service as coip- [lany M of the Fifteenth Minnesota volunt4.'('i' inFaiitiy. The company and regiment did not see service on tiie battlefield but was in the service until March 37, 1899, heing stationed, respectively, at ('aiiip Pamsey, near St. Paul; at Camp Meade, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ; and at Camp McKenzie, near Augusta, Georgia. The regiment formed a part of the third brigade of the fir.st division of the second army corps. Following is the roster of M company at the date of discharge, with the rank of the soldier at that time and his place of residence as given ill tlic original muster roll :

Commissioned Officers

The lean ycar.s of the hard times period fdllnwinof tlio panic nf 1803 continued until 1898. Then ainindant crop.=, aided hy better condition.s in the country at large, brought a change in the status. The Pipestone County Star of January 6, 1899, told of the year'.s progress: "The year 1898 has certainly been a very prosperous one for Pipestone and Pipestone county. The crop of the year in this section was generally very good, and taken in consideration with the general improvement of conditions throughout the country, the cry of hard times has scarcely been heard this year. Money to loan has lieon abundant and labor of all kinds has been in active demand. Upon every hand throughout the county substantial improvements made tlirough the year can be seen; here a new liouse. there a new granary or barn, here a new church, there a new school liouse. and so on. All our lumber dealers report greatly increased sales of all kinds of building material, and this is certainly a strong indication of the impi-ovrniciii.-: which have been iiuidc. The iMUiiiliriil bMi-vcsl iiiid inrrcascd prices linve rlcaivd many of our I'ariucr.-^ froiu

Rinde. Alliert Hammoii and Donald A. Cousens were discharged by order of the secretary of war; Musician William F. Itlis. of Chaska was transferred to the signal corps January 211 1899; Olaiis A. Opsahl, .\ndreas K. Steen and Charles A. Strong. Jr.. were transferrecl to the regimental band July 30. 1S9S; Carl F Anderson, of Minneapolis, was transferred to the hospital corps. Ignited States army. February 7, 1S99; Theodore E. Grahn. of Minneapolis, was transferred to E company I'ebruary 9, 1S99.

The year 1899 was another prosperous one and one in which there was great demand for land. Tlie agent of Close Bros. & Co. sold over 9000 acres of that firm's land - the last of the company's once enormous holdings. On October 37 the school lands were put on sale by the state auditor, and every piece was sold. The population of the county in 1900 was 93(il, an increase of over eighty per cent in ten years. '^

From the date of organization until early in the year 1902 Pipestone county was without a court house. It will be remembered that at the second meeting of the board of county commissioners, February 20, 1879, the county authorities accepted from D. E. Sweet two blocks of land for court house purposes, which were, however, not destined to be used for such purposes for over twenty years.''' The land was broken and shade trees were set imt, and later the property was leased.

Decidedly primitive were the accommorlations afforded the county officers for the transaction of business in the early days. For two years the county auditor's ofl'icc was a 10x12 feet shack, and the other officers conducted the business at their respective homes. The Pipestone Cnuntv Star on September 19, 1879, thus bewailed the lack of a court house:

What kind of a way is it for a county like Pipestone to have its books and papers all over the village? Tlie recorder [register of deeds] has the record books at his house; the county attorney, ditto; the treasurer, the same; and the auditor, well, he would have to keep a team to bring his books and papers from his house in the morning and take them home in the evening, and as a consequence they are left in the little shanty called an office, where they

In the spring of 1881 the rooms over C. H. Bennett's pioneer frame building were rented, and there a part of the county officials, had their offices for three years. On May 26, 1883, a petition was presented to the county board, signed by C. C. Goodnow and others, asking the county lawmaking body to build a court hou.se out of the [lublic funds. The official record of the resultant action was as follows: "Prayers of the petitioners rejected for the following reasons, that there are no funds in the treasury for that purpose." In June, 1884, the upper story of Commerce block was rented for county purposes, and for many years the auditor, treasurer, register of deeds, superintendent of schools, sheriff, clerk of court, judge of probate and attorney had offices in that building, while the court was held in a little back room, far from suitable Init the best to be had.

For many years before a court house was actually built the question was agitated. In 188.') a bill passed the legislature, giving the commi.ssioners of Pipestone county authority to submit the question of issuing $40,000 bonds for county buildings, but no further action was taken. During the panic stricken days, in the spring of 1894, the matter of a court house became a live issue. In May a petition bearing many signatures, of which nearly 250 were those of farmers, was presented to tlie ciimiijjssioners, asking that body to call a special election mi the (piestion of issuing $4(1,000 lioiiils for the erection of a court house and jail. On the fifteenth of that month the board took favorable

"Owing to a technicality in the original transfer there was a cloud on the title to the block until l.SSS. when it was removed tjy decree of Judge Perkins, of tlie district court.

Tlie election was not lield. Within a short time anotlier petition, numerously si<;-ned, asked tiiat the Ijoard witiidraw tiie call for the election, and to decide the niat- Ici- a ^iiecial meeting of tiic county Ijoard was called for June 33. The friends of the measure, in the meantime, were not idle, .lunein another petition was circulated, asking that tlie county hoard do not withdraw the call, but that the call have this amendment: "All work on said buildintr must he done by residents of Pipestone countv." At the meeting the recall was decided on, and the matter was not In-ought to a vote. Times were extremely hard, and public sentiment was undoul)tedly against the bond issue. '^

In February, 189G, the offices of auditor, treasurer, register of deeds and slieritf were established in the newly constructed county building built of red pipestone building stone, being moved from the Commerce block. These oflfiees were maintained in the jail until the court house was erected several years later. The arrangement was not entirely satisfactory.'"

For several years prior to the work of building the court house, funds for the purpose were raised by direct taxation, and the board which convened in January. 1S!)9, decided to take the initial step. They examined the court houses in several of the neighboring counties and had plans drawn, but nothing further was accomplislicd until early the following year. On .Tainiarv .'>. l!)ll(). the contract for the I'oundal inn oF the building was let to lladwick & Jl<d\night on a bid of $8507. The contract for the erection of the superstructure was let November 27. 1000. to

of filed, asking the board of fouiity commissioners to bond the county for $-in,nOO or $50,000 and loan -same to the citizens of the comity. On motion said petition was laid on the table." - Commissioners' Journal. June 23, 1SS4.

The county authorities had undertaken the work without the necessary funds to complete and furnish the building, which was constructed of Pipestone red building slone, and for tlw pui-pose of raising the monev they called a special election for September V2. 1!)01. to vote on the (|uestion of issuing bonds lo the amount of $20,000. The work of the county board'" was indorsed at the polls, the several precincts voting as follows :

The court house was completed during the winter of 1901-02 and was occupied Cor the first time by the ccuiiity otVirei's ill .laniiary, 1902.

Pros[)erous times coiitiiiiii'il until I'.io:;. 'i'hat vear was one (d' disaster, bi^ougld by a destructive liail -loini and excessive rainfall. In May came a heavy rainfall, and a hail, wind and rain stiu'in early in .lul\ bi^ought consi<lcrabl(' damage in Eden niul Svvet't townships. But the disaster of tlie year was the hail storm of July 'iO, which almost completely laid waste the grain fields in the east two- thirds of the county. The Pipestone Review estimated the loss in the county at $200,000, and estimates generally placed tlie loss at from one-tliird to one-half of the total acreage. The storm [lassed from the north central p(irti(in of the county in a sontlieasterly ilireilion, tlie villages of Holland, Woodstock, Trosky and Edgerton heing in its path. At Pipestone, which was on the extreme western edge of the storm, there was a heavy fall of hail and damage was done, hut not nearly so severe as farther east ; at Woodstock hail fell to a depth of six inches, at Edgerton the hailstones had to he shoveled from the sidewalks to make them ])assal)le, windows were broken and trees denuded of their leaves. Tlie Pipestone County Star told of tlie damage:

"Throughout the whole area, the magnificent crop of barley, which was just ready for harvest, was beaten down and tiireshed out upon the ground in a manner whicli will render it worthless. Oats and wheat also suffered terribly, bnt in a few

""While the hail did very little damage near Ruthton, the farmers are not in the best of spirits on account of the rainy weather that has prevailed for some time. In many instances it will he impossible to save the crops. In some cases it is impossible to get into the fields with the bmders. and the grain in the shock will be greatly damaged by water. There is an immense amount of straw, and grain is, as a rule, well filled, but most people are predicting places will be partially saved. Corn is stripped and the yield will l)e sadly diminished. In some places the corn looks like an absolute failure. . . . It is generally conceded that the county as a whole will have a half crop. The despair immediately following yesterday's storm was, of course, greater because of tlie unusually fine prospects which lind existed up to this time."

The damage did not extend west of Pipestone, and the extreme northeastern corner of the county escaped serious damage. During the entire season the country was drenched with rains. All the low places were flooded, and in many instances it was impossible to harvest the crop.^*

There was abnormal rainfall during the two or three succeeding years, but the damage therefrom was not general in the county. The county had a population of 9G63 when the state census of 1905 was taken. ^^ Dnring the last half dozen years liefore the publication of this volume, times have been prosperous, altliough there has been no increase in population, the census of 1910 giving a population of 9553. ,