Maple Lake City

Maple Lake City

Maple Lake embraces the northern half of township 120, range 26, and the south half of township 121, range 26. The town is bounded on the north by Silver Creek, on the east by Monticello and Buffalo, on the south by Chatham, and on the west by Corrinna and Albion. It was originally all timber land, with natural meadow openings. The east part of the town is somewhat hilly and broken, but the north and west are rolling. The soil is a rich dark loam, with clay subsoil. The town has numerous lakes and is well watered by small streams. The largest lake is Maple lake in the central part of the township.

A road from Monticello to Forest City was laid out through this town in the winter of 1855-56, and in the spring of 1856 several claims were marked out within the township along the line of this road in the spring of 1856, but few improvements were made.

The first actual settler was Joseph Rackliff, who in May, 1856, took a elaim on the southwest quarter of section 35, township 121, range 25, made quite a clearing, erected a house, and in Oetober of the same year brought his family and established his permanent home. John Rackliffe and Loren Wade, with their families, arrived in Wright county, May 1, 1856, and lived on Monticello prairie until October, when they moved to Maple Lake and tock elaims near that of Joseph Rackliffe.

Other settlers who came in the fall of 1856 were Frank Stone, M. Currier and Guy Hamilton. Following these came Henry Meyers, Patrick Flaherty, Michael Welton, Richard Jude, M. Pratt, Dr. Rufus Sargent, E. B. MeCord, James Somers, James Madigan, Martin Kotilinek, Patrick O'Loughlin, Edward O'Brien and Owen Dailey. Patrick Butler came in the spring of 1860, settled in the southwest quarter of section 27, and became a leading citizen.

The story of the townsite of Geneva is similar to hundreds of other now forgotten Minnesota villages. Dr. Rufus Sargent, of Reading, Penn., came here in August, 1857, and laid out a village in the southwest quarter of section 33, on the northwest shore of Maple lake. About 200 acres were platted, city shares sold, and elaborate plans were projected. Among the men interested were Samuel Bennett, C. B. Jordan, J. C. Haven, 8. E. Adams, T. M. Brown and J. G. Smith. A small clearing was made, and a building erected for a store and a hotel. E. B. Me- Cord, of Reading, Penn., was induced to take an interest in the hotel, the store and the building. He arrived June 12, 1858, and was followed in October by his family. Instead of an embryo city he found an unfinished board shanty, with a few goods seattered about, one room answering the purpose of living room, bedroom, store, hotel and office all in one, without stove, chairs or table. Having been previously engaged in professional eallings, his training had not been of such a nature as to fit him for pioneer life. Dr, Sargent left in 1858. A tract 197 acres in extent had been entered for townsite purposes, but the site was later vacated and divided among the three town proprietors who then remained. Before the site was vacated its name was changed to Maple Lake. The present village of Maple Lake is about two miles away.

The county commissioners ereated Maple Lake, April 6, 1858, and ordered that the first election should be held May 11, 1858. But through a neglect to post the notices the meeting was not held at that date. The first election was held August 4, 1858, and the following officers were elected: Supervisors, E. B. Me- Cord (chairman), William Hartford and Martin Hawley; town clerk, Rufus Sargent; justice of the peace, Charles Coleman. September 14, 1858, the supervisors appointed the following officers for the town; Supervisors, M, V. B. Holway (chairman), S. Wade and F. Stone; clerk, Dr. Rufus Sargent; justices of the peace, Joseph V. Rickliff and E. B. McCord; constable, William

Mitchell. When the town was organized it embraced the same area as at present. In 1865 an effort was made to place the south half in Chatham township, but the matter was carried to the eourts, and the effort failed.

William Elsenpeter was married to Mary White, May 10, 1862. <A daughter, Clara, was born to Guy Hamilton, June 18, 1857. Patrick Kline died September 12, 1857. The first school was taught by E. B. McCord in 1860. About the same time school was kept at Lake Ramsey, with Owen Dailey as teacher.

Rev. M. S. Harriman held religious services in this town as early as 1857 and 1858. In 1859 and 1860, Rev. M. Fox, of Monticello, preached. A union Sunday school of the Protestant faith was organized in 1860 and continued for several years.

Being in the heavily timbered region, Maple Lake had few gardens to suffer from the grasshopper ravages of 1856 and 1857. But the few settlers who came in the late fifties had other things to contend with, and with some of them times were very hard indeed. Many were about to leave in 1860, when news arrived of the fact that the people in certain other parts of the county were making money selling ginseng. The settlers at once started their search, and soon prosperity reigned where poverty had previously been the rule.

When the Sioux arose in 1862, word reached Maple Lake just at dark that the people of Albion were all slaughtered. There were few horses and oxen in the township, and the people started out on foot for Monticello; men, women and children rushing along in disorder, taking little more than the clothes on their baek, and leaving their stock and houses uneared for. After a few weeks, however, they returned. In June, 1863, durimg the next scare, the people were braver. They gathered near the home of Joseph Rackliffe, and made a stand on the high land where the church is now loeated. There they made some provisions for defense. Some still attended to their stock and crops, seeking shelter with the encampment only at night.

Nearly all the American families died or moved away. The Irish pioneers were joined by others of the same nationality, and in later years there was an influx of sturdy families from Germany, Canada and Bohemia, who brought the town to a high rank as an agricultural center.

Maple Lake Village

Maple Lake. with its six hundred active citizens, is one of the busiest and most prosperous villages in Wright county. Its streets are broad and well kept, its churches, schools and public buildings are sightly and modern, and its business section, which is constantly being augmented with splendid brick blocks, is the seene of bustling activity.

Since the days of the early settlers, the vicinity of what is now Maple Lake village has been a prosperous community, with sturdy citizens and rich farms. Through this beautiful spot, late in 1886, came the ''Soo"' line, and the station was established at the present location. Then the business began to grow. At first only a few scattering stores were built, and as the village praspered substantial buildings were erected, and gradually modern brick buildings began to replace the wooden ones that were originally put up, until now the principal street, which is a block away from what was originally intended to be the business street, presents the appearance of a small metropolis. The residence section, too, is unusually attractive.

Near the business center is a beautiful park, with baseball grounds, grand stand, tennis courts, grove, pavilion and the like, giving the widest opportunity for recreation, outings and athletic meets. The splendid brick schoolhouse is a monument to the interest which the people take in education, and the city hall is also sightly and ample. This city hall was formerly the schoolhouse, but was purchased from the district in 1907 for $1,000, and is now used for a public hall, fire department, council chambers and general public purpose. In it the Mothers' Club in the fall of 1914 established a rest room which is a boon to the women who come to the village from the neighboring farms and find there a place where they can make their headquarters, visit, rest. and care for their children. Next to the city hall is the pumping station, equipped with a 15-horsepower engine. The tower is 130 feet high, and has a capacity of 50,000 gallons. The artesian well is 386 feet deep, the underlying granite being penetrated for seven feet. The fire protection is ample, the fire department being well equipped. Thomas MecAlpin is the chief and Louis Lamer the assistant chief.

Maple Lake is eight miles northwest of Buffalo. It has Catholic and Adventist churches, a Commercial Club, two banks, a creamery, a hotel, two grain elevators, flour and saw mills, and many business houses. The principal shipments are grain, live stock, produce and wood.

A brief business directory follows: P. B. Jude, postmaster; Henry Adam, general store (Albion Center); George P. Antil, harnesses; Atlantic Elevator Co., Henry Jude, agent; Stephen Bierema, general store; B. O. Croner, general store (Silver Creek) ; Peter Dahm, wagonmaker; De Soto Creamery and Produce Co.; Thomas F. Doyle, railroad, express and telegraph agent; Henry and William Elsenpeter, hardware; Mrs. Mary L. Ertel, drugs; N, Fredericks, billiards; J. P. and T. C. Gorman, livery; J. J. Gorman, blacksmith; H. H. Haferbilt, pool (Silver Creek) ; J. F, Hamilton, barber; R. A. Jude & Son, general store; Aug. F, and Henry Happe, general store; Frank Happe, hotel; C. A. Henneman, gen-

The citizens of Maple Lake petitioned the county commissioners for the incorporation of the village, November 15, 1890. The commissioners ordered an election held at the office of M. O'Loughlin, C. H. Kohler and A. A. Jewett. The election was held December 23, 1890, forty-one voting for the proposition to incorporate and three against it. At that time the population of the village was 180.

Those who signed the petition for incorporation were: J. B. Roehrenback, M. O'Laughlin, P. H. Leahy, J. O. Jenkins, P. B. Ambuhl, C. B. Love, R. W. Bosworth, A. Westrup, Charles J. Ertel, Paul Malzahn, William Loeffler, Gustav Malzahn, Peter Dalm, J. D. Moore, J. Anderson, William Goodhard, H, F. Steege, A. A. Jewett, A. H. Jewett, C. B, MeKey, Joseph Elsenpeter, Martin McAlpin, John Hamilton, C. H. Kohler, M. D., D. Kennedy, G. A, Gareke, Con Harrington, Charles A. Dygert, Henry Stuke, Andri Peters, John Tuberty, Edw. Scanlon, Adolph Derozier.

The corporate limits were described as follows: ''Beginning at the quarter post on the W. side of Sec, 31, T. 121, R. 26, thence B, 160 rods to center of said Sec. 31 on the 14 sub. div. line, thence S. following the N. and S. 14 sub, div. line to the center of See. 6, T. 120, R. 26, being 320 rods, thence E. on the E, and W. qr. sub. div. lme in said Sec, 6 80 rods to the N. E. cor, of the W. % of the S. E. qr. of said See. 6, thence S, in a direct line on the 1/16 sub. div. line 240 rods to the S. E. cor. of the N. W. qr. of the

Marysville is situated in the central part of Wright county, and embraces township 119, range 26. It is bounded on the north by Chatham, on the west by Middleville, on the south by Woodland, and on the east by Rockford. The soil is dark or black loam, 'with clay subsoil. The surface is rolling but not very uneven or broken.: The town is crossed by the north branch of the Crow river. The Waverly lakes, commonly called the Twin lakes, cover about 800 acres. There are fourteen smaller lakes. The town was originally covered with timber and natural meadows, the timber being hard maple, oak, elm, ash, basswood or linden and quite a little tamarack,

A road, or what might more properly be called a trail, was marked out and partly opened through the town in 1856, from Greenwood to Cokato, and a few claims were selected, but the early activities centered about the old village of Waverly, and there were no permanent settlements outside of the townsite until later.

M. Duffy was one of the assistants who helped John O. Brunius survey the town for the government in 1856. Though working for the government, he had in mind the location of several town sites. One of the places to which he gave favorable notice was in this township, at the north side of Little Waverly lake, where the water power, the advantages of location, and the opportunity for the rich development of the surrounding country all seemed favorable for the establishment of a village. Accordingly some time in 1856 he went to St. Paul and interested A. C, Morris and Deacon William and Asa Colwell. Morris was a banker, Deacon Colwell had been sheriff of Ramsey county, William Colwell was his brother and Asa Colwell his nephew. Soon after the partnership was formed, they laid out, surveyed and platted a townsite of about three hundred aeres, on the northeast quarter of section 31 and the northwest quarter of section 32, along the north shore of Honey (Little Waverly) lake, and east to the shore of Acorn lake. The place was named Waverly from Waverly, in Tioga county, New York, the former home of the Colwells. The proprie- tors at once hired men to clear the land, build a dam and erect the frame for a sawmill, Many persons were attracted here by the fame of the embryo city, but as the members of the townsite company had laid claim in the names of various persons, real and imaginary, to much of the desirable land in the township, the claim hunters were compelled to go further west.

In 1857 the work on the townsite still progressed. But there were many delays. The roads were bad, and the hauling of supplies and machinery was slow, difficult and even dangerous. But at last the dam was completed sufficiently for use, the sawmill was nearly done, and preparations for a gristmill were begun. A small store was erected and stocked with goods and other improvements made,

Some French-Canadians settled in the township this year: Francis Sanders on section 28, on the northeast shore of Acorn lake; Michael Roberts on the same section, and William Berthiaume, Edward Plouder and Peter Lebeau on sections 21 and 22.

The financial disaster of the fall of 1857 found all of the proprietors except Morris without money. There was a disagreement as to the division of the property, and things were at a standstill. In the spring of 1858, A. ©, Morris and Asa Colwell went to the land office, and with Asa Colwell as a witness, Morris pre-empted and paid for all of the townsite that lay in the northeast quarter of section 31. This resulted in a still more serious quarrel, with A. C. Morris and Asa Colwell on one side and Deacon and William Colwell on the other. All work stopped. The store stock and the eattle disappeared. The machinery was left to rust. After doing what damage they could to each other, the proprietors separated and left the townsite project in, ruins.

A. ©. Morris sold his elaim and mills to Louis Roberts, of St. Paul. In 1862, Roberts sold to A. D. Kingsley, who rebuilt the sawmill, and in 1868 built a gristmill.

In the meantime, Deacon and William Colwell were still in the possession of a part of the townsite, the northwest quarter of section 32. In 1860 they appointed Joseph Brown as an agent to hold the property. Brown moved onto the land, but made na efforts to improve it. He discovered that the land was subject to private entry and planned to borrow the money and by entering the land in his own name at the land office outwit his employers and get possession himself. He imparted the details of this plan to Martin Glever, who had moved to the neighborhood. Before Brown could take action, Glover hurried to the land office and entered the tract in his own name. In 1862, Glover sold to Andrew Doerfier, and the place is now excellent farm land.

a small store which he operated during the summer months. Farming was somewhat neglected and the people gave their attention to gathering the roots. Roads were bad, there was little market for farm produce, and ginseng became the chief source of revenue, Among those who did develop good farms, however, were Henry Lammers, Henry Bremer, G. M. Wright, Jeffery O'Connell and John McGenty. With the advent of the railroad in 1869, the Big Woods were eleared less slowly, and the town made excellent progress in agriculture.

When the first word of the Indian uprising of 1862 reached the town, all the people fled, many to Minneapolis, but some to Rockford, where they helped to build the fort. Men with plunder as their object endeavored to maintain the fright that was felt, and when the citizens finally did return they found that their houses had been robbed, their crops destroyed, their cattle driven off and their horses stolen. The Indians themselves would have done little more damage than did these wandering whites. In 1863 came a genuine massacre, when the Dustins, who lived in this town, were murdered by the Indians while on their way across Mooers' prairie. The flight from the town again depopulated this entire region. Some of the fugitives fled to Greenwood, where they helped to build the stockade around the Beaver House. But squads of scouts and soldiers were soon patrolling the woods, and the people returned to their homes.

When the county commissioners created the townships April 6, 1858, the north half of township 119, range 36, was attached to Buffalo, and the south half of the same Congressional township was made a part of Woodland, On May 14, 1866, the board in session at Monticello received a petition asking that township 119, range 26, be created as the town of Marysville. The petitioners alleged that bridge and road matters were somewhat neglected and that they had to travel an unreasonably long distance to transact town business. The petition was signed by G. W. Kriedler and thirty-one others. It was granted, and an order issued for the first town meeting to be held at Waverly, April 16, 1866. The following were the first officers: Supervisors, O. Berthiaume (chairman), Geoffrey O'Connell, John Christian; town clerk, John Treat; treasurer, John MecGenty; justice, A. D. Kingsley. The early township records were burned at Old Waverly during the clerkship of C. B. Sleeper, in 1872,

The first school was taught by Mrs. Catherine Haines in 1860. It was kept in a small log cabin owned by Patrick Banning, and situated nearly opposite what was afterward the residence of John Young in section 30. No support was given by the county or town, but the teacher's wages of $1.00 were raised by subseription by G. M. Wright. Mrs. P. Fallihee was also an early teacher. A schoolhouse, 30 by 50 feet, with 20 feet posts, was built at Waverly in 1881. A schoolhouse, 26 by 40, two stories high, was built in the village of Montrose in 1880.

The first mill was erected in 1857 on the townsite of old Waverly by the proprietors, A. C. Morris and Deaeou, William and Asa Colwell. It did not amount to much and the whole mill was in a state of ruin when purchased by A. D. Kingsley in 1862. Mr. Kingsley built a sawmill in 1862 and a gristmill in 1868, In 1874 he sold to C. W. Bonniwell, who developed one of the best mills in the county. It was burned February 22, 1882, but was at once rebuilt. A steam sawmill was built in 1872, on the land of G. M. Wright, now in the village of Montrose. The proprietors were J. N. Haven, Otto Haven and Dr. A. L. Tucker, In 1874 Dr. Tucker sold to W. H. Mapes, who in turn sold to J. .N. Haven, who became the sole proprietor.

Michael Cline was born March 15, 1859, son of John Cline. David O'Connell, son of Geoffrey O'Connell, was born March 19, 1859. Michael Cassey and Ellen McHugh were married December 16, 1860. Johanna Hartwell died September 17, 1861.

The townsite of Marysville was projected in December, 1856, by Edward Ploudre and Peter Lebeau, French-Canadians, and A. 8S. Smith, who was afterward register of the land office at Forest City. The town was located on the north fork of the Crow river, occupying the southeast quarter of section 21, and the southwest quarter of section 22. The townsite was later surveyed and platted, and a number of shares were sold. In the spring of 1858 a road was cut from the site of Marysville to the present site of Montrose. An effort was made to bring steam sawmill engine and machinery from St, Paul, but the season was a wet one, the roads were bad, and the project was postponed.

One of the first things the mill was to be used for was the sawing of the lumber and boards for a large Catholic chureh. During the previous fall the larger timbers had been gotten out, James E, Cochrane, William Berthiaume, George Doerfler and others, assisting in cutting, hewing and hauling the timber, The church was to have been erected on the north side of the river near where Andrew Granger's residence was afterward located.

Timber was gotten out and framed for a bridge over the Crow river, logs were cut for the sawmill, a store and a blacksmith shop were put up, roads were partially opened in many directions, and the people awaited the arrival of the sawmill machinery. But it never came. The logs rotted, the hewed timber for the church dried up and was eventually burned, the bridge remained unfinished, the store was closed and the sound of the hammer on the anvil was heard no more. A. ©. Smith withdrew his patronage, one by one the residents left, and finally

Edward Ploudre, the moving spirit of the project, after much privation, was forced to leave. Andrew Granger later had a good farm on a part of the townsite.

Geoffrey O'Connell, a native of Ireland, arrived January 8, 1858, took a claim in the northeast quarter of section 30, and built a habitation which was partly a log cabin and partly a dug-out. Later in the same year came Stephen Meister, John Cline, Thomas MeHue, John McHue, and many others. Among those who came in 1859 were George M. Wright and Patrick Bannan, who settled in section 32; Thomas Muldoon on section 34; A. Gendrau on section 28; M. Reardon on section 31; James Birmingham on section 13; and various members of the Berthiaume family on sections 6 and 7.

The first road laid out through the town was the Mooers' prairie road, nearly on the line between Marysville and Woodland townships. It was partly opened by settlers, claim seekers and townsite owners in 1856, and was surveyed and laid out as a county road in 1857, In 1857 a road was opened from the present village of Montrose to what was then the townsite of Marysville, in section 22, on the Crow river. In 1858 a road was opened from Waverly to the north part of the town, crossing Crow river where the present Marysville bridge now is. In 1879, the citizens of Montrose, among whom were J. F. Miller, T. S. Gunn, G. M. Wright, J. N. Haven, W. H. Mapes and a few others, sueceeded in having a road laid out directly from Montrose to Buffalo. The bridges over Crow river and Buffalo creek were built by individual enterprise. While the project was an expensive one it has more than justified the faith of the promoters, and is now one of the best roads in the country.

The first bridge over the Crow river in this township was puilt in 1860, near the lines between sections 21 and 22, at the old townsite of Marysville. It was rebuilt in 1864 and again in 1876. In 1874 a bridge was built over the river in section 13.

The first division of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, later the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba, and now the Great Northern, was opened from St. Paul to Marysville in December, 1868. With the advent of the railroad came a new era of prosperity. Before this date much of timber cleared from the land was piled up and burned to get it out of the way. After the railroad came, the timber from the land would always sell for enough at least to pay for the clearing and fencing of the land. Then, too, a market was thus created for farm produce, making agricultural ventures much more profitable.

Timothy O'Connor, M. D., will always be remembered by Maple Lake and the surrounding country for the good he did during his thirteen years' practice here as a physician, A thorough master of his profession, a deep student of human nature, an honorable, upright man in all his dealings, he won hundreds of friends, and his untimely death was sincerely mourned throughout the entire countryside. Timothy O'Connor was born in Union City, 0., October 24, 1854, and died in Denver, Colo., December 11, 1903. His parents were Timothy, Sr., and Margaret (O'Neil) O'Connor, farmers of French Lake township. Timothy O'Connor, the subject of this sketch, was brought to Wright county by his parents, and devoted his life to farming until about 1884. Then he took up the study of medicine with Dr, KE. Y. Chilton, of Howard Lake. In 1887 he entered the med- ical department of the University of Minnesota, and was graduated in 1890. For a year he practiced with Dr. James N. Dunn, of Minneapolis, and then returned to Howard Lake, and practiced for a time with his former preceptor, Dr. Chilton, for some six months. At that time, Maple Lake had no physician, and Dr. O'Connor was induced to take up his home there. In regard to his devoted work here, the Messenger says: ''The doctor here began his professional career, conscientiously attending the wants and calls of his fellow-men until disease, brought about by overwork and exposure to all kinds of weather, demanded a halt. But even then he felt that he could not desert the field. Still hearing and seeing so many urgent calls among his friends for his services, he lingered and labored among his patients when he should have been taking treatment himself. Finally the strain was too great for his waning strength, and seeing that a change was inevitable he yielded to the advice of his physician, and on September 24, 1903, he and his dutiful wife bid farewell to home and friends for the more genial climate in Denver, Colo., where they remained up to the time of his death, December 11, 1903, when in a far distant land he closed his eyes to all things mortal. Dr. O'Connor was always an esteemed citizen, trying to do his duty in every respect, He held the position of mayor for several terms, and served in other positions of trust and honor.'' His body was brought back to this county and laid at rest in the French Lake Cemetery. The D. O. H., the C. 0. F. and the A. O. U. W., as well as other organizations, passed resolutions of profound grief and respect. Dr. O'Connor was married February 7, 1893, to Julia B. Archambault, daughter of Joseph Archambault, an early settler.

Victor Rousseau graduated from the University of Minnesota, College of Medicine and Surgery, in 1905, and practiced in Annandale before moving to Maple Lake.