Waseca County, Minnesota - Chapter 24, 1905

Chapter 24

SEVERE HARDSHIPS - DESTRUCTIVE FLOODS - TOWNSHIPS ORGANIZED - ADOPTION OF SUPERVISOR SYSTEM INSTEAD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS- COUNTY BONDS ISSUED - BRIDGE APPROPRIATIONS - JURY LISTS - OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

The few that had opened farms so as to plant seeds in the spring of 1857 received bountiful crops in, return, with the exception of oats, which lodged, owing to heavj' growth of straw. Very little wheat was cultivated then, and most of that was of the "club" variety, which never succeeded well here. The year 1858 opened Avith a heavy cloud in the financial sky, and with a general feeling of depression everj'where.

The new board of county commissioners, Messrs. B. B. Stearns, L. C. Wood, and John Bailey, met for the first timn January 4th, 1858, and organized by the election of Mr. B. B. Stearns as chairman. It was indeed fortunate for the county that at that critical period in our history we had three so honest and capable men at the head of affairs. No one was allowed to rob the public, for every bill presented to the board was closely scrutinized and investigated.

At the meeting of the county commissioners April 5, 1858, the first separate township organizations were instituted. What is now Janesville was then named Okaman and given two polling places ; one at the house of A. Tuttle, near the ilorth end of Lake Elysian, and the other near the south end of the lake, at the house of Caesar De Regan. Alex Johnston, W. N. Buekout, an.d C. H. Bishop, all since deceased, were appointed judges of election.

Township 108, range 22, was s^t off and named Blooming Grove, with James Isaac, Patrick Healy, and J. M. Bli^on as judges of the next election, which was appointed at the residence of Patrick Healy.

AVoodville was the name given to township 107, range 22, and Eri G. "Wood, J. K. ]\Ieyers, and William ]\I. Green Avere chosen judges of the first election, whicli was to be held at the house of E. G. AYood.

St. ilary was the name applied to township 107, range 23, the tavern of J. AY. Clark was designated as polling place, and B. AI. ]\Iorrill, AYarren Smith, and II. AY. Chamberlain were named to serve as judges of election.

Township 106, range 22, was designated as Otiseo, election at the house of ()wen Salisl)ury, and H. G. Alosher, S. S. Grigus, and ( >wen Salisbury were chosen to serve as judges.

Township 10.5, range 24, was named A'ivian, and that township, together with the west half of what is now Byron, was made an election precinct. The first election was appointed at the residence of J. B. Hill, and that ucntleman, with S. L. Daggett and E. AYoodruff, constituted the board of election judges.

At the next meeting of the county board, Alay 17th, on presentation of a petition therefor, the name of township IttS, range 21 was changed from Okaman to Janesville ; and now the name of that once busy and beautiful little hamlet of Okaman, at the head of Lake Elysian, remains only in history.

The first state legislature after the adoption of our present constitution, substituted the supervisor system of county government for the connnissioner system, and the first meetino- of the new board was held at AYiltoii, Sejitember 14th, l.^.^iS. The members of the new board were E. B. Stearns, Col. AY. AY. Robinson X. E. Strong, C. AY. Johnstcm, J. AY. Davis, Philo AA^oodnift', Obadiah- Powell, and J. B. Hill. At this meeting E. B. Stearns was chosen to preside as chairman of the board for the ensuiu>T year, and E. A. Rice was chosen as clerk of the board. xVt this session, the matter of ways and means agitated the minds of the local statesmen of the county in no small degree. The last legislature having authorized the borrowing of money by the county, it was ordered after much deliberation, "that the county issue its bonds for $3,000, to be made payable March 1, 1862, and to draw interest at the rate of fifteen per cent per annum, payable annually." The bonds were to be issued in denominations of $50 and $100, with a proviso that they should not be sold for less than ninety cents on the dollar.

The bonds were to be printed and to be signed by the chairman of the board, and countersigned by the clerk of the board, with the seal of the county attached. W. W. Robinson, afterwards colonel, and E. A. Rice, afterwards major, were appointed a committee to get the bonds printed and also to negotiate them. Afterwards, at the same meeting, the amount of bonds was increased to $3,500. ]\Iessrs. Robinson and Rice were required to give a bond of .^;5,000 each for the proper performance of their duties in the negotiation of the bonds.

At a meeting of the county board, December 20th, 1858, the order passed at the September meeting of the board, regarding the bonds, was so modified that they should be issued in five, ten, twenty, fifty, and one hundred dollar denominations - that two thousand dollars be issued in $50 and $100 denominations, and that the remainder of said amount, $1,500, be issued in equal amounts of five, ten, and twenty dollar denominations. These bonds were made payable in 1862, with interest at 15 per cent per annum, paj'able annually.

At the meeting of the board of supervisors, November 1st, 1858, township number 105, range 22, was organized into a town and named Norway. The name was shortly after changed to New Richland. Township number 105, range 23, was at this meeting organized and named Byron. There is some difference among old settlers as to how this township came by its name. J. B. Hill, Esq., one of the first settlers in Vivian, and at the time of that meeting a member of the county board, claims that the town was named in honer of Byron F. Clark, then a resident of Wilton ; Avhile it is claimed by Roscoe Philbrook that the town was named for his brother Byron, who now lives in California. It is of no great importance at best, for even if it were named after Lord Byron or Lady Byron it would be just as poetical as it is now. It is getting to be a very beautiful township, and its name is ail right, even if Byron F. Clark did loan money at that time at six per cent a month - and to Waseca county at that.

At the same meeting of the board there was considerable discussion in regard to building a county jail. E. B. Stearns, W. W. Robinson, and Philo Woodruff were appointed to select a site for it and also to let the contract for its construction, provided the board could issue bonds to pay for the building. E. A. Eice, clerk of the board, was instructed to get the opinion of the attorney general as to whether the board could issue bonds to build a jail without first submitting the proposition to the people. It appears subsequently that there was no legal objection to issuing the bonds and building the jail, as will more fully appear hereafter.

For the upper Wilton bridge, over the Le Sueur river, on the Owatonna road, .$400.00; for the construction of a bridge over the Le Sueur river, at the village of Otisco, $200.00 ; for materials and mechanical labor in constructing a bridge over the outlet to Lake Elysian, in the town of Janesville, on the ]\Iedford and ^Mankato road, .$200.00; for the construction of three bridges in the town of Vivian, on the St. ]\Iary and Vivian road. $100.00; for the construction of a bridge over the inlet to Lake Elysian, town of Iosco, on the iledford and ]\Iankato road, $100.00. These appropriations were made upon condition that the toM-ns in which these bridges were to be built should see that the bridges were completed on or before January 1st, 1S.j9. At the same time one hundred dollars was appropriated toward the construction of a bridge over the Le Sueur river on the Wilton and St. ilary town line road, to be paid in county bonds. The county paid all its debts in bonds or orders in those days, for which the needy holder could get seventy-five cents on the dollar in store pay.

Hard Times

ty. It will long be remembered by all who then inhabited this section. Nearly or quite one-half of the people of the county had settled upon the bottom lands along the Le Sueur river. Many of the farmers had no crops except upon these lands adjoining the river. During the early part of the season, the crops grew magnificently, and promised an abundant harvest; but in the latter part of July heavy and oft-repeated storms swept with fury over the whole country. During the first week in August, it seenu'd as though the windows of heaven were again opened as in the days of Noah. Storm succeeded storm until the whole country was inundated. The waters of the rivers and streams were increased to such an extent that all their banks were overflowed. The bottom lands looked like great inland seas. Trees were washed out by the roots. Fences were torn down and carried away. Hay and oraiii stacks were raised bodily, torn in pieces by the raging, whirling floods and carried down stream. Wheat, oat, potato, corn and garden crops were destroyed in a day.

"Whole families stood by in helpless astonishment, despair depicted in every feature, and watched the relentless destruction of tlieir only means of subsistence for the coming year. It was indeed a sad time with our people. Most of the settlers had spent their generally very limited means in purchasing their lands and improving them, and were entirely dependent upon their growing crops for a supply of food. All the crops on the bottom lands, nearly or quite one-half of the whole in the county, were almost a total loss, while those on the higher lands were also injured.

Many settlers gave up in despair and, with what they had remaining, pulled up and left the country for good. A general depression like a dark shadow rested upon the whole country, and the succeeding year was really a season of hard times. A whole chapter of incidents might be written of the losses sustained by that flood, and the only thing that could really be said in its favor was that it drovraed most of the striped, gray, and pocket gophers that it caught upon the bottom lands. For several years afterwards the bottom lands were free from these pests.

This county has never since seen as much deprivation, according to the number of people, as that which our people suffered in consequence of the flood of 1858. Such experience as that tried the

I have never been able to get a full list of the first grand and petit jurors for the fall term of court held in October, 1857, but the following were certainly present at that term, and drew pay, viz: W. W. Robinson, J. B. Jackson, James E. Child, Robert McFate, A. J. Woodbury, S. W. Long, H. G. :\Iosher, S. J. Willis, P. H. Thomas, John Bailey, Caleb Northup, James Chadwick, P. H. Young, Buel Welsh, Joseph Clayton, M. V. B. :\Iorse, E. G. Wood, John Forrest, H. P. Norton, Francis Green, John Jenkins, Philo Woodruff, Geo. H. Bishop, S. F. AVyman, E. K. Carlton, J. K. ilyers, Z. Holbrook, S. W. Franklin, Noah Lincoln, H. P. Chamberlain, and James Roberts.