Wabasha County, Minnesota - Chapter 20: Mount Pleasant Township, 1920

Mount Pleasant occupies Congressional Township 111, Range 13, and is bounded on the north and west by Goodhue County, on the east and south by Lake and Gillford Townships. Its surface is an undulating prairie, sloping to the east and but comparatively little broken by cooleys. At a point a little south of the center begins a ridge which runs westward into the edge of Goodhue County, and in its vicinity are several natural mounds, one of these, the Lone Mound, being the highest point in the township. The name was suggested by the magnificent view presented to an observer from the tops of some of the elevations in the south central part. From the summit of Lone Mound the sight is especially impressive. For miles in all directions stretches the expanse of prairie, whose fertility is attested by the neat and commodious buildings everywhere present; while to the northeast the eye catches the river hills of the Wisconsin side, and a glimpse of the blue waters of Lake Pepin through the valley of Boodie Creek. The northern part is drained by Sugar-Loaf Creek, sometimes called Gilbert Valley Creek, and in the eastern part Boodie Creek begins its short course to the lake, amid wild and romantic surroundings. The underlying rocks here are Potsdam lime and sandstone, which appear as pic¬ aresque walls along the valleys, with an occasional outcrop on the prairie, and are covered with strata of till, sand, gravel, yellow and blue clay, and rich loam.

A few birch, shrub-oak and poplar grow along the cooleys, but no timber of consequence is found. Wild grapes and plums are abundant in their season.

On the prairie roads are good but in the cooleys much labor is required to keep them passable, owing to the rains which frequently work destruction by washing away or covering with debris from the hillsides. An Indian trail from Central Point formerly ran through Gilbert Valley, and one crossed the southern part of the township. The first road in the township was one from Central Point to Mazeppa, reaching the prairie at the head of Bull's Cooley. It was laid out by P. D. Martin and Robert Phillips, of Central Point, and used but a few years, the Mazeppa road, crossing the township diagonally, was early established, being the main artery through which Lake City receives its ex¬ tensive trade from the southwest.

In June, 1854, the settlement was begun by the location of 0. A. Warren on the northwest quarter of section 1. He came with his family from Jo Daviess Ccunty, Illinois, and was a native of the Empire State. The fall of the same year saw the arrival of Isaac Horton and William Bean, who settled on sections 12 and 1, respectively. In the spring of 1855 William Walters and Alfred Hannings settled in the northeastern part, and the next summer brought Milo Bull and Joel Clark. Mr. Clark purchased William Bean's "right of set¬ tlement" for $250.00. In the fall Sanford Gilbert settled here. These settle¬ ments were all made in the valley. In 1856 the prairie in the southeastern part was settled by William Mann, Benj. Taylor, E. P. C. Fowler, S. B. Clark, George Clark, E. H. Palmer, William Lewis, Jacob Rinus, Alfred Betterly, and per¬ haps others. The year 1857 saw quite an immigration, and the township rapidly filled up.

Those who came with a supply of money got along well enough, but many who lacked ready cash, experienced considerable hardship. During the "win¬ ter of the deep snow" (1856-57) markets were often inaccessible, provisions rather scarce, and trust was not to be had by the moneyless. Stories are told of those who lived for weeks on potatoes and salt, or a similarly scant diet, and one family is said to have existed four weeks on frozen rutabagas. Here, as elsewhere, the monotony of life was broken by visiting with ox teams, merry gatherings, getting lost on the prairie, hunting and fishing, and as the settle¬ ment grew older, and the virgin soil bestowed successive bounties on the brave pioneers, population and prosperity rapidly increased, and this little spot, but yesterday the home of the buffalo and Indian, has become one of the most desirable places in the county.

Until the building of the narrow-gauge railroad through the central part of the county the Mazeppa road was the scene of a constant stream of travel, many of the farmers coming long distances. For the accommodation of this portion of the traveling public, in the temporal matters of eating, drinking and lodging, J. Kramer, in 1858, built a small log hotel on section 26. The Boston House, about a mile down the road, was erected in the fall of 1857 by Sidney Cross. For several years after it was built it enjoyed a good patronage until 1878, when the travel was materially lessened and the Boston House was closed to the public. With the introduction of the automobile traffic, the Mazeppa road has resumed some of its former importance.

In the summer of 1856 the residents of the northeastern part hired Laura Eldred to teach a term of three months. The only shelter available for the work was a little claim shanty which stood across the road on the edge of Goodhue County. These were the first educational advantages enjoyed by residents 3f this township. The first term taught in the township was probably in the summer of 1857, in the northern part, by Mrs. Alexander Graham. Among the other pioneer teachers of that day were Alfred Hannings, who taught the first term in district No. 7; Mary Smith, who began the work of education in No. 12; George Sexton, of No. 10; Mrs. P. C. Tabor in No. 67, and Mary Burleigh in No. 8. The first schools were nearly all taught before the organization of the districts by private subscription, and usually in some discarded claim or log shanty. In some instances schools were held in private houses for several years, and the facilities enjoyed were necessarily very crude. Books from dif¬ ferent states, and of many kinds, was one of the difficulties presented to the teacher. In district No. 12 the third term was held in a little log house in which Sidney Cross had formerly "bached it," and he again found himself master in that shanty, this time in a different capacity. In this instance each family provided a seat for its young hopefuls, the size of the family bench being regulated by the number of children. In one district a school was held in a small granary about the time that very large hoops were the style; as the teacher dressed in fashion when she entered the temple of learning but little room was left for much else. So the hoops had to be dispensed with, making an odd and noticeable change in contrast with her usual appearance.

The first birth in this township was that of a daughter to Mrs. S. B. Clark. In the spring of 1857 death first visited the town, taking Mrs. Palmer from the little settlement. In March, 1859, the Rev. Silas Hazlett united in marriage Ephraim Selby and Adaline Clark, which was probably the first marriage in the township.

In the spring of 1858 a meeting was held at the residence of E. H. Palmer to determine the name of the township about to be organized. Several names were proposed, among them "Huntington," by Wm. Lewis, and "Greenfield,' by Silas Gilbert, both seeking to honor places of former residence. After con¬ siderable debate the present name was adopted, as before mentioned, being suggested by the views the adjacent elevations commanded. May 11, 1858, the legal voters met at the house of Benj. Taylor, on section 32, twenty-three voters being present. The meeting was organized by choosing Stanton B. ( lark, moderator; James M. Knapp, judge; and E. P. C. Fowler and Sidney Cross, clerks. The officers elected were: Supervisors, E. H. Palmer (chairman), J. W. Cross and Silliman Gilbert; clerk, E. P. C. Fowler; treasurer, 0. A. Warren; assessor, Joel Clark; overseer of poor, Harvey Seymour; constables J. M. Knapp and Alfred Betterly; justices, S. B. Clark and Isaac C. Smith.

Good Templar Lodge, No. 121, was organized July 27, 1875, by F. C. Stow, D. G. W. C. T., at the Presbyterian church, with fifty-six charter members. Soon after this meetings were begun in the grange hall, and there continued until the sale of the building, which deprived them of a place of meeting and was the main element in the death of the organization, no regular meetings being held thereafter.

In 1870, T. A. Thompson, of Plainview, then state lecturer in the interests of the grange, visited this neighborhood and stirred up an interest which re¬ sulted in the establishment of a grange. Mount Pleasant Grange, No. 53, was organized at the schoolhouse of district No. 10, June 21, 1870, by D. K. G. Clark. It began with thirty-one charter members and the following officers were chosen: W. J. Newton, M.; J. C. Fowler, Sec.; N. F. Randolph, Chap., and T. W. Robinson, Lect. At first meetings were held at the schoolhouse and afterward for several years at the residence of J. C. Fowler. In 1874 the old schoolhouse of district No. 10 was purchased and fitted up for a hall, which was used until the disbanding in 1878. The last meeting was held May 8, 1878.

Rev. Silas Hazlett, of Lake City, was the first to hold religious services in this township. In January, 1857, he met about a dozen persons at the log house of Stanton Clark. Two weeks later he preached at E. P. C. Fowler's, and for some time his services were held at private houses, or on the open prairie beneath an oak-tree's verdant roof. When the schoolhouse of district No. 10 was built services were there held, and the Presbyterian church was organized with about six members. In 1867 a frame church was erected.

During the war the community in the southwestern part of the township was visited by Rev. Stillwell, who preached a few times; by Rev. Hill, a Baptist, who preached occasionally for about a year; and also by Charles Hudson. In 1865 Henry Goodsell began preaching in the schoolhouse of district No. 10; he awakened considerable interest and organized a Methodist class. It was during his ministration that the church reached its period of greatest pros¬ perity, and a church was built and dedicated free of debt.

The first preaching in the northern part of the township was in the fall of 1865, by Rev. Birch, then a student at the Hamlin University of Red Wing. He continued his visits about two years and organized a class in the spring of 1866 at schoolhouse No. 8. He was followed by Henry Goodsell, and during his incumbency the County Line church was built. Rev. Richardson succeeded him, and during his stay this class and the one in West Florence, Goodhue County, united. Services were held in this little church for many years, until about 15 years ago, when, having fulfilled its mission, it was torn down. The English Methodist Church in the lower part of section 29, was moved to Oak Centre 13 years ago and is still flourishing. The little church building to the northeast of it in the same section, near the line of section 28, in use for a number of years by a German Methodist congregation, was torn down about 15 years ago.

In 1880 Thomas Hartley, a Wesleyan minister of Greenwood Prairie, preached regularly in the schoolhouse, and the next year was followed by R. Balbridge, of the same denomination. A revival followed his efforts and serv¬ ices were transferred to the County Line church. February, 1882, a church of thirteen members was organized by him, and afterward they purchased the church building of the Methodist Episcopal organization.

Read's Landing is one of the historic spots of the upper Mississippi Region. It has been a place of much importance, and is still a most beautiful and pic¬ turesque spot. The location is a delightful one and most admirably adapted for the purposes of early Indian trade. Above it the river broadens out into the beautiful waters of Lake Pepin, around whose shores the natives were wont to gather, and associated with whose waters and rocks are some of the most plaintive legends of the northwestern tribes. Just across from it is the mouth of the Chippewa River, down whose current the fur-laden canoes came in early days, only to be followed in later years by the rafts of the Wisconsin lumber¬ men, each raft the tribute of a forest. The village occupies a narrow strip along the river, at the base of the cliffs or bluffs which here rise, quite precipi¬ tous, almost from the rocky shore, leaving footing, however, for the business houses and dwellings of what was the most thriving town.

Brewery Creek is a small stream fed from springs in the ravine back of ;he village, and emptying into the Mississippi river just west of Riverview cemetery. It forms the boundary line between Reads and the corporate limits of the city of Wabasha, and during some of the floods that have poured down the sides of the bluffs, during the excessive rainfalls of this season, has been swollen to a destructive torrent. The most disastrous rise was that of July 21, 1883, when in an hour's time it overflowed its banks, flooded Burkhadt Broth¬ ers' brewery to a depth of eight feet, swept out as though it were brushwood the solid stone abutments of the bridge on the main road from Reads to Wabasha, and carried the solid granite block, weighing tons, rods down the stream, leaving scarcely a stone to mark the old foundations.

Read's Landing has a traditional history dating far back into the opening years of the nineteenth century. It is said that Joseph Rocque had a trading post here in 1800 or soon afterward. Edward Hudson established a post here in 1840. He died three years later. His widow married Lewis Rocque, who, in 1847, sold to Charles R. Read.

Fordyce S. Richards came here in 1850 and established a trading post. Some five years later he built his storeroom and warehouse on the northwest corner of Water and Richards streets. This was a three-story building as seen from the levee, two stories from the street in front, and in this Mr. Richaids did a very large business for years. The following season Knapp, Stout & Co., one of the heavy lumber firms of the Chippewa Valley, built theii stoie and warerooms on the west of Richards', adjoining, and so business multiplied. Prior to this, in 1854, a hotel was built, and later the Bullard House was erected, which from 1859 to 1865 was known as the best hotel on the river. In 1863 the storage and commission house of Charles Nunn was established. Helmick & Warszawski followed, with others, until at the close of the war there were few points of its size on the Upper Mississippi River where so thriving a trade was

The river at Read's was the meeting-place of those hereditary foes the Chippewas and the Sioux, and to their mutual hate was often added a common enmity against their white neighbors, whose presence on both sides of the river was frequently resented. The old settlers still tell an interesting stoiy i ustrative of this: Late in November, 1856, two white men, Sam Sutton and Jerry Landerigan, were paddling down the river in a canoe past Nelson's Landing, where a party of whites, half-breeds and natives were sitting near the shore. Among the bucks was the son of old Ironcloud, second chief of Wacoutah s oand. Young Ironcloud had for some time aspired to the honors of chieftain¬ ship, and on being taunted by the young men of his tribe with having done nothing to deserve such distinction, had declared he would shoot the first white man or Chippewa he met. The present seemed a fitting occasion to display his prowess, an# remarking that he wondered if his gun would carry that far, drew bead on the men in the boat and shot them both. Sam Sutton was mortally wounded, surviving, however, about twenty-four hours. Jerry Landerigan was severely wounded in the breast, but recovered after being laid up several -nonths. Wahshechah-Soppah, known by the English name of John Walker, was in the company with young Ironcloud, and immediately crossing the river ;o Read's Landing, gave information of the affair. As both the wounded men resided at Read's the excitement was intense. Sutton had made his home at Charlie Read's for more than a year, his principal occupation being the manu¬ facture of ox-bows for the lumbermen in the pineries. Landerigan had recently come to the landing. It was not considered prudent to allow the matter to pass, as young Ironcloud was known to be a dangerous character. A party was soon started across the river wTio captured the murderer and brought him to Read's for trial. He was arraigned before Justice Richards, but the justice was powerless in the case, the crime having been committed in another terri¬ tory. To obviate this difficulty resort was had to Indian law. The culprit, of whose identity there was not the smallest doubt, was quietly escorted to the place from whence he came by a band of determined whites, led by Charles R. Read, and was there lynched. The squaws tracked the party by their imprint in the snow, and the next day cutting down young Ironcloud's body, brought it across the river and buried it. The snow lay deep upon the ground at the time. The margin of the river was frozen on either side, the current in the main channel only open. Wrapping the body in blankets, the squaws tied a rope around the feet and dragged it to the margin of the stream, placed it in a canoe and brought it over to the Minnesota shore. A ball was in progress at Read's Landing the evening of the lynching, and the excitement was most intense among the young people there assembled, many of whom had only that summer come to the county, and were totally unused to such scenes of blood, or to such a summary mode of dealing with a murderer.

Read's achieved its first importance as a convenient point for the fur traders. Next it became a steamboat point of wide fame. In the steamboat days of the fifties and sixties, the period of about two weeks in the early spring between the opening of the Mississippi River and the opening of Lake Pepin, - changed the hamlet into an active metropolis.

The steamers arriving from below, a score or so in number, loaded with north-bound passengers, were impatiently awaiting the opening of the lake. The crews had no better business on hand than to make the most of their time on shore, and the passengers, those of them who did not take stage northward, only served to swell the tide of impatient discontent. Bets would accummulate, and money was freely wagered daily on the question of an opened or closed lake within a given period. Burbank's stage route, which connected La Cross with St. Paul during the winter season, was fully utilized at this season by those desirous of making their way northward for opening naviga¬ tion, without delay; and as the rattling vehicles clattered over the gravel and cobble-stones with which the streets of Read's are so plentifully sprinkled, t^e little town took on an appearance of active business.

The building of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway along the Mississippi in 1871 robbed Read's of its importance as a steamboat center. It still continued a busy place as a center of supplies for the lumbermen of the Chippewa Valley, but this business was taken away by the building of the Chippewa Division in 1882. For many years the town was a favorite resort for lumber jacks, and many scenes of violence and lawlessness were staged on the streets, but in time this trade was also diverted to other points.

It was during the season of Read's greatest prosperity, before the opening of the railway to Eau Claire, that the incorporation of the village was deemed advisable by the inhabitants of the little big trading and freighting post, and steps accordingly taken to accomplish that object. This incorporation was effected under an act of the state legislature approved March 5, 1868, and the election to fill the various offices created by said act was held on the second day of the following month, April 2, 1868. The officers to be elected were five trustees, one clerk, one treasurer, one marshal, one justice of the peace and one assessor. The judges of election were: J. Sauer, C. R. Read and Wm. B. Haines; the clerks were: P. B. Cline and Claude R. Haines. The highest num¬ ber of votes cast was for the office of trustee, ninety-seven being polled. The successful candidates were - trustees : F. S. Richards (president), D. W. Wil¬ son, Joe Dieterich, Jacob Sauer, Christ. Neihardt; clerk, Joseph Warszawski; treasurer, B. Brass; marshall, Wm. F. Clock; justice of the peace, Wm. B. Haines; assessor, Chas. Hornbogen. After several years of municipal gov¬ ernment the incorporation was abandoned, and the hamlet meiged in its

Methodist Episcopal Church. - The planting of the church in this place was a proceeding of no small difficulty, and it was more than a decade aftei the tii st attempts were made before the seed had germinated sufficiently to predicate a fact of life in the case at all. As Read's Landing and Wabasha have always been connected for church purposes, save during those >eais fiom 1856 to 1866, in which it does not appear that Read's Landing was even thought of in connection with the religious work of the Wabasha circuit, with which fiom 1854 to 1856 it was connected as a missionary station. In 1857, by vote of a quarterly conference held at Wabasha for the Lake City and Wabasha circuits of the Red Wing district, it was decided that the Wabasha circuit should include Wabasha, Read's Landing and Cook's Valley, but there is no record of any services at Read's, nor, as before said, is there authentic account of further work there until 1866. The importance attached to Read's at this time may be inferred from the fact that in the fall of this year, when the annual estimates for minister's salary were made up, it was hoped that a deficiency of seventeen dollars, remaining after other apportionments had been allotted, might be sup¬ plied by Read's. Whether this modest hope was realized or not, does not appear from the record, and in fact for ensuing two years no promise of life appeared for Church organization at Read's. Its life as a lumber depot, ana center of rafting operations, called together the wrong class of people for any very narked interest in church work. Exceptions of necessity there were, but so little hold had all attempts hitherto made taken upon the life of the p ace, that at this time the church had neither class nor organization of any kind, nor did it have for the ensuing two years. In 1868 Rev. S. G. Gale was transferred from the New York East conference to the Minnesota conference, and appointed to the Wabasha and Read's Landing circuit. His salary was fixed at eight hun¬ dred dollars, six hundred and fifty dollars of which to be paid by the chuich , the remaining one hundred and fifty dollars from the missionary fund. In t following winter, 1868-69, Rev. Gale entered vigorously upon his woik of build¬ ing up a church at Read's, as the village incorporated the previous spring was sailed. A series of meetings was held with gratifying success, and steps take to build a church. A lot was secured in a central location, one sheet back f the main business street of the village, and on this property, the i gift of some generous-hearted Christian whose name is not recorded a comfoi table frame church, 30 by 60, with spire and bell, was erected. The original board of trustees, incorporated according to state law and church usage were : W - W. Slocum, B. F. Welch, W. W. Cassady, W. B. James S. Bullard, Geo. J. J. - Cnch ton W F Kennicott, Daniel Dansion and Franklin Berins. Rev W. C. Rice this, his second pastorate, a substantial frame parsonage was erected on the lot adjoining the church on the east, commanding a pleasant view of the river and the Wisconsin bluffs. Rev. Gale remained two years, leaving behind him as monuments of his three years' ministry, a commodious church, a comfort¬ able parsonage and a flourishing "class." Other early pastors were: Revs. W. C. Shaw, M. 0. M'Niff, W. H. Soule, James Door, W. A. Miles and D. J. Higgins.

Pepin Township is a fractional township lying along the shores of Lake Pepin and the Mississippi River. Pepin Township is virtually a ridge or narrow tableland, lying between the Mississippi river and the Zumbro, at an elevation of from three hundred feet to five hundred feet above the level of the Missis¬ sippi river. This tableland breaks off abruptly on the north or lake side, but descends more gradually on the south toward the valley of the Zumbro; but this southern declension does not begin within the limits of Pepin Township, so that the high character of the ground is preserved to its extreme southern limit. The surface of this tableland is quite rolling, at times even broken, but all lies elevated, and is, with the exceptions of some ravines jutting up from the lake, of tillable character. There are no streams crossing the face of the township, though a small one, in which water is found running at nearly all seasons of the spring, summer and fall, empties into the lake near the north¬ eastern corner of the township, through the ravine technically known as King's cooley. There are two of these "cooleys" within the limits of Pepin township - King's cooley in the northeast, and Smith's cooley in the southwest. Through both of these the water rushes, an impetuous torrent, after copious rains, or when the deep snows, lingering late on the uplands are suddenly melted by the ascending sun of late spring, but at other times they are dry, and in Smith's cooley for most of the time no water is found running.

The soil of Pepin Township is a friable clay, yellowish in color, and with a very slight admixture of sand. It was originally covered with scrub oak.

The first claims outside of Read's Landing were taken in the middle fifties, but the first permanent settlers outside the village did not come until 1859.. They were Henry Schmauss and Ben Lager. Henry Schmauss settled on the northwest quarter of section 30, buying out the original claimant. Ben Lager settled on the northwest quarter of section 28, also buying out the original claimant. In after years he said that in 1859 there were not more than fifty acres of ground broken on the ridge between Schmauss' and Read's Landing, which is virtually to say there was not more than that amount under cultivation in the entire township. The fact that the elevation above the lake was high, no streams affording water for stock, and the situation naturally exposed to the wind, seemed to overbalance the considerations of productiveness of soil and nearness to market, to such an extent that the lower-lying and well watered valleys of the interior of the county were settled from four to five years before Pepin was really taken for farming purposes.

The formal organization of Pepin Township was effected in common with that of the other townships in the county, May 11, 1858. This meeting of the electors of the township for the purpose of formal organization was held in the hamlet of Read's Landing, at the office of S. A. Kemp.