Marshall City

Marshall City

This township, in which is located the village of Marshall, the couuty seat, is named from a lake which lies in the southeast part ot the town. It is six miles west of Redwood county and iwelve miles sou'ih ol Yellow Medicine, and is town 111, ran^e 41.

The town was the first organized town of the county, though its settlement is ante-dated by that ot Lynd. The first settlement was made in 1869, W. H. Langdon, now of Lynd, locating a claim on section 8 in June of that year.

C. H. Whitney and C. H. Upton located the same summer on section 4, tho former on the southeast quarter, and the latter on the northeast quarter, both now embraced in the village incorporation. In the fall of '69 L. W. Langdon and his sou, E. B, Langdon, located in the town, on sections 18 and 8 re- .spectively. In 1870 the town gained several settlers, among whom were M.

D. Morse, Oren Drake, Mrs. U. S. Stone, G. M. Durst, C. T. and Charles Beliingham, Josiah <Jlark and Geo. E. Welch. Oi these first settlers Whitney, Upton, Drake, Durst, Bellingham and Clark are still residents of the town.

March 8, 1872, a town meetmg to organize and elect officers was held at the house of C. H. Whitney and the following .first officers of the town were elected: road being built and operated to Marshall ia 1872. The towa site ot Marshall was laid out ia August this year by a corapauy of the W. & St. P- surveyors, consisting ot J. W. Blake, W. G. Ward, J. H. Jenkins and J. H. Stewart. The location chosen was in the c«'ntral part ot section 4, and the town assumed village projjortions very rapidly, of which proper mention will be made in another place

The Redwood river, named b3' tiie Indians from the cedar trees found on its banks near its junction with the Minnesota river, flows into the town from Lynd on section 7 and cuts sections 8 and 4, flowing out in a northerly direction into Fairview. Groves ol timber and scattering trees lie along the Redwood in most of its very crooked passage through the town, and add very much to the generally attractive appearance of its prairie surface. The inlet to Lake Marshall, though a small stre^im, furnishes running water generally to the southern sections.

Lake Marshall, named after ex-Governor Marshall, is a beautiful little prairie lake lying in an oval shape in sections 25, 26 and 36. It is about hrlFa mile wide by-probably a mile and a half long, and has high banks on both shores, with an occasional tree to break the monotony and lurnish shade for the pickerel and bullheads with which it abounds. The lake is not as deep as some of the lakes in the county, but it furnishes an attractive picnic ground, and is the almost constant resort of fishing and hunting parties, Sundays excepted, of course. At the head and foot of tlie lake me adows ot the finest wild grasses in the vvest spread out for miles, making it a rich graz ing field and supplying hay in greater abundance than is needed at present. These meadows, with the future growth of the counti-y and better means of marketing, will become the richest portions of the lown. They are dry enough to become tillable' if desired, and have soil that is inexhaustable by any probable cultivation. The soil ot the whole town, tiiough perhaps more varied than some of the other tovvus, is of unsurpassed excellence, and will return large profits tor good cultivation almost to a certainty. There are several large and very thrifty farms in the town, that would be a credit to any county. The acreage reported under cultivation in 1883 was not, however, very large, being but 18;55, of which there were 7oO in wheat. ;379 in oats, 304 in corn, 98 in barley, 22 in potatoes, 60 in flax. There were also 120 acres of cultivated forest trees, and 600 rods of the same on the highways.

Tlie family consisted ot Mr. and Mrs. Fox, a little girl five or six years old and a young man, a nephew. They held a claim in Lynd, it is said the one Mr. Fezler now lives on, and had been toRedwaod Falls on a visit. On their return they were overtaken by the storm on Thursday, and when further efforts at traveling became useless they unhitched their oxen, letting them take care ot themselves, and turning over the wagon box tried to lix up a slielter. Such a shelter, however, was almost valueless in that kind of a storm, and they wei'C soon drifted into the snow When the storm abated on Saturday', lliey were found by Mr. Barnes near J. K. Johnson's and brought to Mar- Hhall. The 3'oung man and the little girl were dead and Mr. Fox was so badly frozen that he died on Monday. Mrs. Fox recovered. They were buried near the gravel pit, east of Mr. Wakeman's.

The first school was taught by Walter VVakeman in the winter of 1872 and "^ 7 3 in a building used by W. M. Todd for a lumber office. The school had about 20 pupils.

The histoiy of Lake Marshall being very nearly connected with that of the the village of Marshall, a more detailed accolint of its early events will be found in another chapter. ^

Town Of Eidsvold

Eidsvold, town 113, range i'S, is located in the northwest coiner (>l"tlie county, joining Yellow Medicine county on the north, Lincoln county on the west and the towns of Westerheim and Nordland on the east and south.

The first settlement is said to have been made by Nels Torgerson in June 1H71. The same year Swend Peterson and Ole Esping took claims and settled there. An organization was efl'ected in 1873, and the first election held Sept. 20, electing the following officers:

H. T. Oakland, chairman; Nels Torgerson and A. Amundson, supervisors; John Coleman, clerk; O. B. Ringham, assessor, Swend Peterson, treasurer: H. D. Friuk, justice; O. H. Esping and G. Amundson, constables.

In 1878 Mr. Frink opened a store west of the present village of Minneota. He had been appointed postmaster of the postolllee of Nordland in 1872, and continued in that office till 187.3, when it was transterred to N. W. L. Jager and moved to the present site ofMinneota on the southwest quarter of section 25. Mr. Jager had opened a store in 1874 at the old site of Nordland and had moved it to the new site in 1875, this being the first store there. The second store was started in Nordland in 187.5 by Dr. T. D. Seals. Christian Lee ran a blacksmith shop on section 20 tor two years previous to this. In 187G the railroad company laid out the present village ot Minneota, which, however, went by the name of Nordland till it was changed by act ot legislature in 1878 to its present name.

The tir.st public school was taught by O. H. Dahl, a railroad section house being us.al Ibr school purr.osps till 1 S?9 wiien a school ouildiug- was put up at Minneota. The first marriage was that of J. J. Wall-a and Annie Olson, Oct. 2i, 1874. The first t5irth was made a good omen lor the town in a pair of twin girls to Swend Peterson and wife in 1871. The death of a daughter of Ole Peterson in 187'3 was the first death. In 187J) Bishop li eland made a purchase of the railroad company of a large tract of land in Eidsvold and adjoining towns, and located a Citholic there. A consi(ierable pordon of this first purchase was in Eids old, and the population of the town wa, at once increksed by an iuimigration nf Eno-Iish and Irish Catholics, under spiritual charge of Father M.J Hai, \rst

- priest of the colouy. These im.uigraMts were, as a rule, too nnskiiied in tiie business of western furming to make a suddenly large sueeess oi this colonization scheme and many of the tirst iniinigranrs after a time left ,nv for other pursuits; but new and better etloris were. i.jade by R-.v j. ^udey and bis successor, Rrv. Louis Cornells, and a cla^s ot more pra-tieal agneuifurists were soon gathered inti, the colonv from England, Ireland. Canud" and Belgium, and Kev. Cornells built a chuj-ch and parsonage at Minneota. the only Catholic chui'ch in the count- .

riie coi(jny IS now divided into two branches with two pi'itsts, Father Lee at Minneota and Father Devos at Glient, some seven miles east of Mumeota, and numbers about one hundred members wh.. are fast becoming tiirilty and pr^=j perous farmers.

»' The two branches of the Yellow Medicine river How through the town, the south branch from south to north and the north branch fiom west t.> east, with a branch from the s'ouih in tiie west part ol the town. Tliis makes Ei.lsvold exceptionally well watered, and gives it rich meadows and valuabl .- grazing fields as well as unsurpassed farming lands. The grain crop ot Eidsvld has almost always been a large 31. Id, and the town is cue oJ the most f rtila districts of the west.

^ The assessor's report for 1883 gave for the town 1.812 acres in wheat. 5 3-3 iu k 5at8, 278 corn, 60 barley, z2 potatoes 2 flax, and a total acreage under cultiVAtion ot 2,735. It had also 60 acres of lorest trees growing.

School district No. 5'">, organized in 18S"2 has a good school house and an (m - rolled Rcliolarsliip of 40. S'"'hool district No. Ml) ha? tho s.\nio enrolled soholar- .ship and is in the north east part ol'tlie tttvvn.

(Inc nf liid curiosities of Eidsyold is a fossil trcse tonnd on the north branch (i)f tlic Yellow IMedicine rivtu* by Ole (). Svonnes m Dee 187.3. The larger piece is now in the yard oi Samuel Hovland in section 1. It is 2.3 inches in diarnelcr ;iii<l over six toct long, showing p:irt of the roots, knots &c. This piece has been named Dale (uidbrand, fifter an oM Norwegian chiet who {ought against St. Olof, the king who cliristianized Norwa^^

A tine truss bridge si)ans the north branch of the Yellow JSIedicine on the section line between sections 1 and 2. It is 146 feet long, built by the town at ;i cost oi ^mO.

Section IC. nw L. P. Johnson; ne iv. Knudson: s\tr K. Fodnes, se K. O. Bakkcn and Torgcr Stcne. Section 12. n] Thor Rye and H. Bo'vden; se K. Knudson; svv Ole Espiug.

Town Of Nordland

Nordlaud is situated on the west line of the eounty aud six miles from the north line. The surface of tlie town is rolling prairie watered by the soutk branch of the Yellow Mtdieine river, which fiowrf throii<rh the town, entering at the southwest corner, and, after a ver>' crooked passa2:e, leaving it on the north line near the center. This o:ives some very Hue meadow lands, aud makes the town well adapted to stock raising aud dairying w'hieh is bein^; largely entered into. The soil, like ail the soil ot I-.yon county, is unsurpassed, and there are many thrifty farms Jotting the prairie.

The (own was first settled by Frederick Holrit/,, who located on section 10- in 1870. In 1873 the town was oi'ganized, an election being held at the house of T. H. Hume March 10. Tlie following were the first town officers:

Ole O. Grofl", chairman: Ole O. Rear and Nils Anderson, supervisors; Frederick llolritz, clerk; T. i). Loftsgaarden, assessor; A. O. Strand, treasurer:;

The population of the town is entirely Scandinavian, no other uatiouality being found we think unless perhaps a few Icelanders. The even sections are fairly well settled. Very little settlement has vet been made on the railroad sections,

On the farm of Albert Ilalvcrsoii in the scuth i)art of section 28 is said to be the hiiihcst Hliitude in Lyou counlv. It is siiid that, li-ora there one 'can see Dearly siU over the county.

Town Of Grand View

Graudview, town 112. range 42 is located six miles from tliel north and west lines of the county. It is one of the b^st prairie towns in the county, atid is being rapidly settled up. The Belgian branch of the Catholic colony has tauten a considerable portion of the town within the last two years, and bids fair to take more.

Th»i (irst settler in Grandview was O. McQuestion, who located on section 34 in Aug. 1871. He did some breaking that summer and erected the first bouse, a slab "dug out" covered "with sods. Tnis was the year before the railroad reached Marshall and building material was scare? and dear.

The W. <fcSt. P. railroad runs across tms town somewhat diagonally toward the northwest, giving a station ou section 15 which was Ibrmerly named (Jrand- Tiew but was changed to Ghent by the Belgian colonists some two years ago. It is seven or eight miles from Marshall, and, under the impulse given il by the colonists is growing into a thril'tj' village.

Three Mile Creek runs liii-ougli the town toward the north, and the bottom lands along the creek aie among the finest meadows in the county. The larming lands of Grand\ icw are ^jood enough for the most critical and a larj^e number of tile faiiiis aic tlirilty and handsome homes.

The assessor's report for I880 gave 1,022 acres improveil, (52i> wheat, 2()1 oa ts, 80 corn, 1.3 barley, 20 potatoes, 8 lla.x. The crops have been uniformly as good as those ol any section of the county. A canvas made by by Mr. Vaugh this winter gives over 3,800 acres of inii)roved land, about 500 cattle and 225 horses.

The town has no natural timljer, but is reported as havnig 44 acres ol cultivated forest liees, some of the groves being ver}' thrifty and promising ones.

The last assessed valuation of Graudview was .SG.5,725, which will show a large increase in tliis spring's assessment, real estate not having been assessed lor two yea)-s.

Town Of'Amiret

Tlie W. & St. P. li. R. b'Mn^ built tnroujfh the county in 1372, a store was opened on section 32 by Wm. Coburn and a postoffije established with Cobura as postmaster. The railroad company put in a switch here and the postoffice nnd station was called Coburo;. . The Indian trading station of Sarato^ja, which had been established by Lynd about 1857 or belore that tima and which gave that name to the whole settlement on the C )otonwood, was further south, claimed by some have been on section 1 in Caster.

In 18 M 111 '. railroad company m)ved their station about a mile northwest and laid out the town of Aiuiret on railroad land in section 19. The name it is said was given in honor of the wife of one of the railroad officials. The name of the township was changed by legislative enactment to correspond with that of the station. Mr. Coburn mjved his store to the new site and continued in bu'siness for two years. In 1873 the Congregational society built a churca on section 22, but the

The firvst death vvas that of a daughter of L.' Mason in 1872. The first birth a dauarhter to Wtn. Cobnrn and vviif^ in 18G3. The first marriage was that of J. A. Hunter of Marshall to Miss C. A. Mitchi'll. June 3. 1875.

Both branches of the Cottonwood flow through Amiret, the north branch draining lake Mar-shall and Goose lake and flo^ving through the north sections of the town, while the southern and JMrger branch flows from the southw<?3t corner to its junction with the nortiicrn branch near the northeast corner This insures for the town an ample water supply, furnishes good meadows, and on the south branch considerable timber. The earlier setMers naturally topk to the timber of the Big ottonwood, and as settlement came iiilo the towa rather slowly the interest in tree culture was not awakened till late in the town's history,. so that by tlie last assessor's report there were only 27 acre;} of cultivated forcot tre«s in the town. The acreage of cultivated land by the same report was, hi/wever, 3,199. <tf which 1,287 were in wheat, 870 in oats, 428 in corn, 5i83 in barley, 57 in potatoes, 14 in beans, 57 in liax.

The station of Amiret now supplies a market, a store bi'ing operated by Mr. Kelly and a grain warehouse by VanDusen & Co. The raih-oad company has a good de[)()t, and a commodious school house hag been built here. There is no good reason why at some future time there should not be a thrifty village on the present site of Amiret.

Town Of Sodus

The towusLip of Sodus, which i.s t,own 110, range 41, lies south' ol the town of Lake Marshall, ami is six miles Irom the east aud south lines of the county. Its surface is gently rolling prairie, \vitli very little -svaste laud. The south half has more natural meadows, especially along the Cottonwood river and its branches. The irrass of these meadovvs is very valuable, and tliat section of the town makes a very desirable grazing liekl where eitlicr dairying or stock raising can be made a prolitablc and easy business. Along these water courses there are between three and lour hundred acres of these meadow lands as good as can be tound in the west. Tlio grass of these meadows, by the ovei flow of the river every sijring attains a growth of from four lo six f*et, ,and makesthe most nutritious of hay for winter feed.

Thongli with very little native timber, the town now sliows several line groves ol forest trees that have been raised by the settlers- Ayiong these may be mentioned those of Mr. Curtis, the Messrs. Neill, Mr. Fend, ^[essrs. Clark, Mr. Estee and Chace. Thei'e are also .some thrifty limber claims that will furnish luel in the near future to their owners and greatly add to the appearance ol the town. There are in tiie town 112 acres of ciltivated forest trees, and 2,314 rods set on highways.

There were reported in last assessor's report, 3,110 acres of cullivut«d laud, of which 1,5(;5 were wlieat, 867 oats, 433 corn, 137 barley, 32 po'^tatoes, 84 lias

The farmers of Sodus are of late paying more attention to good stock, and are consequently iujproving in (inanoes accordinijly. There are several pros-

The public spiritfdness of the town of Sodus is shown in their highwayfl, on wh\ih since the organization ot the town, seven years ago, they have spent in labor and lunober for bridges about three thousand dollar^.

The town has, also, four good f ame school houses, the one in district No. 5 costing about 1900, the others about $600 each. School houses are located on sections 8, 10, 30 and 32.

The town is well situated in relation to railroad markets, Marshall being five miles north, Balaton lour miles souih, Amiret one mile east; and there ig a coming prospect of another station nearby on the west when the Duluth road is completed through the county.

The first settler in Sodus is said to have been Henry Cuyle, who came in the spring ot 1871. From that time the town settled up rapidly, and m 1876 the town was organized and named Martin, but soon changed to Sodus. The tirst town me elnig was held Oct. 27, 1876, and the following first town oflicers were elected: E.Hall, cI:airraan;C. Fisher and D. Warn, supervisors; W. H. Chaflee, clerk, G. Sykes, treasurer: N. Warn and J. H. Clark, justices; O. Pangburn and W. G- Williams, constables.

The first death was that of Toilet Olson in Sept. 1873. The funeral sermon by Kev. Joseph Rees was the first public religious service in the town it is said.

Section 30, ne Robt. Nt^ill; se Wni. Neill; nw Robt. Marshall; .sw H. Ford. Section 33, nw A. Anderson; ne Wm. Shequin; se A. C. Forbes Section .34, nw T. Edwards; sw John and Wm. Griffiths; se N Davis.

Source changes here: from An Illustrated History of Lyon County, Minnesota, by Rose, Arthur P, published 1912; 8,367 words in this source stream.

Marshall City

Location - Natural Beauty - Known as the Big Bend - Homesteaders File on Site - Their Sod Shanties - The Postoffice - Campaign for a Railway Station - First Buildings - The Pioneer. Merchats - Selecting the Name - The Hotel Accident - Townsite Platted -Additions - Progress in 1872 - W. M. Todd's First Visit - Part Played by C. H. Whitney - Postoffice History - Activities in 1873 - Early Directory - First Tax Payers - One Year Old - Made County Seat - In Hopper Days - Incorporation - Becomes a ( it v - License Question - Roster of Officers - Boom of 1878 - Directory That Year - In 1884 - Later' History - Fires 129

MARSHALL, the capital of Lyon county, is the largesl and oldest existing town in the county. It is located at the Big Lend of the Redwood river, and its elevation above sea level is 1174 feet. It is a station on the Chicago & Northwestern railroad and the Great Northern railroad. Otherwise described, Marshall is on section 4, Lake Marshall township, and the business center of the city is only three miles, in a direct line, from the geographical center of the county.

The population of Marshall in 1910 was 2152, but there has been an increase since that time and a census today would show a population of about 2500. It is one of the progressive and prosperous towns of Southwestern Minnesota. All lines of business that are to be found in the towns of agricultural communities of the upper Mississippi valley are represented. It is noted for its beautiful homes, schools, churches and social organizations, and in these respects it is the peer of any city of its size in the state.

Considered in its natural state, the location of Marshall is one of unusual beauty; Southwestern Minnesota has not a more lovely spot. Through the eastern part of the city flows the Redwood river, skirted by a growth of natural timber, which forms a series of pretty little parks. In its natural state and with the embellishments added by the hands of man, Marshall ranks as one of the prettiest little cities in a state distinguished for its pretty towns. Especially is one charmed with its loveliness in summer. Then the broad avenues and parks are clothed in brightest green; trees are everywhere.

One can hardly realize that less than a half century ago this spot was an uncharted wilderness, practically unknown to white men; yet such is the case. Time was when the dusky red man pitched his tepee where now Marshall's churches are located; vast herds of bison inhabited the surrounding country and made their wallows, perhaps, where now our courts are held; timid deer browsed where at present the pupil studies his natural history; elk in countless numbers roamed the adjacent prairies and saw their antlers reflected in the clear waters of the Redwood as they bent down to drink.

When the first white man set foot on the site of the city is not known. Possibly he was some adventurous trapper who had pushed out beyond his associates to locate new grounds in which to ply his trade, and, having come to the Redwood river, proceeded up the stream to the point where was later founded the city. Maybe Joseph La

Framboise in the thirties or James W. Lynd in the fifties, in their operations in Lyon county, visited the Big Bend of the Redwood and were the first to stand upon the site. Possibly the first was a member of one of the exploring parties that visited Southwestern Minnesota in an early day.

History records that wherever the North American Indians were in the habit of gathering for purposes of residence, council, worship or barter, those spots have invariably been selected by white men on which to locate their centers of population. There is scarce an instance to the contrary, and. indeed, it would have been remarkable had a city not been founded where Marshall now stands. For the Big Bend of the Redwood was a well-known spot to the aborigines; there they were wont to gather and make their camps while on the warpath or hunt, and it came to be a popular assembling ground. Trails extended from it in four directions: northward to the Lac qui Parle country; southward, past Lake Marshall, to the Cottonwood river country and Lake Shetek; southwestward, up the Redwood river, to the Lynd woods and the famous Pipestone quarries; northeastward, down the Redwood, to the present site of Redwood Falls and the Minnesota river.

The land on which Marshall was later built (section 4, Lake Marshall township) was without a claimant until the summer of 1S69. At that time C. H. Whitney and C. H. Upton, accompanied by others, came to the county and located claims thereon, Mi'. Whitney taking the southeast quarter and Mr. Upton the northeast quarter. They l lie name of the postoffiee to Mr. Whitney. The lake was named in honor of Governor William I!. Marshall. The village was not named after Lake Marshall or in honor of Governor Marshall, but after this postoffice.

broke a little land on each of those claims and also on the northwest quarter of the same section, which was reserved as the claim of Mrs. Ursula Stone, mother-in-law of Mr. Upton and a soldier's widow. These gentlemen departed from their claims on June L">. and on the eighteenth made their filings in the land office at New Ulm.

Messrs. Whitney and Upton returned on June 1, 1870. Mr. Whitney built a sod shanty on his claim - the first building erected in Marshall, though not the first in the village as originally platted - and Mr. Upton put up a sod shanty on his claim, both being on the east side of the river and not in the original platted portion, but in additions later made. Although there was no prospect of the founding of a village at the time, Mr. Whitney, on October 17. 1870, secured the establishment of a postoffice, which was located on his claim and of which he became postmaster. The office was named Marshall1 and was operated as a country postoffice until the village was founded.

During 1870 a number of settlers located in the vicinity of the village-tobe and the Marshall postoffice became a sort of social center for those living in the neighborhood. Late in May, 1871, Mrs. Ursula Stone and Milo Morse arrived and selected as their claims the remaining land on section 4, Mr. Morse filing on the southwest quarter and Mrs. Stone on the northwest quarter. In June Mr. Morse, assisted by his neighbors, built a sod shanty at a point on his claim which is about where the Van Dusen elevator now stands, close to the Northwestern tracks.2

2"I helped to build the first house on the original townsite of Marshall, in June, 1871. It was a sod house. The original homesteader, Milo Morse, held a 'bee' and the Bellinghams, At Bean, myself and others attended." - G. M. Durst.

thought of a village at the Big Bend. Then came rumors of the proposed extension of the Winona & St. Peter railroad through Lyon county, and a little later came the surveyors who selected the route. The people at the Big Bend early put in a claim for a station on the proposed road, hut their claim was opposed by the settlers at the point where the road would cross Three-Mile creek, close to the present village of Ghent. For a time the choice was in doubt, but the settlers at the Hia; Bend were triumphant, largely through the exertions of (\ II. Whitney. He made a trip to the land office at Redwood Falls, secured data concerning the land filings in the two neighborhoods, and presented the matter to the railroad authorities in such light that t hexpromised the Lyon county station should he at the point where the road would cross the Redwood river.

It was not long after the selection of the .site was made1 before there were signs of a village. The first building erected, excepting the sod houses hefore mentioned, was put up in June, 1872. It was a little frame building erected by the railroad company for the use of its engineers and stood where the Lawrence furniture store is now. The second building was put up about the same time and stood in the middle of Third Street, facing Main, in front of the site now occupied by the Lyon County National Bank. Its dimensions were 13x16 feet, with a lean-to, and the lumber it contained was hauled from

New 11 in. The builders were William Everett, R. M. Addison and Charles A. DeGraff (the latter the head of the contracting firm which built the railroad), who formed the firm of Willi;

Everett A: Company for the purpose of engaging in business in the proposed town. A large slock of goods was carried and the firm did an enormous business from the start, most of the patrons being employes doing construction work.3

At a time when the only buildings on the site were the engineers' office, the Everett stoic building and the sod shanties of the homesteaders, and hefore it was platted, in .Inly. 1872, Marshall was named. The momentous event occurred at a supper served a party of railroad officials by Mrs. C. H. Whitney in the engineers' office.1 There were present Vice President and Treasurer Sykes, General Manager Howe, General Superintendent Stewart, Attorney General Smith, Chief Engineer W. G. Ward, Assistant Engineer J. W. Blake, Contractor DeGraff and his son, Charles DeGraff.

During the meal the naming of the station was discussed and the following names were proposed, all in honor of some member of the party: Ward City. Howeville, DeGraffton, Stewartville and Blake City. No agreement was reached and W. G. Ward suggested that their hostess, Mrs. Whitney, name the station and the others assented. Having heard the- discussion, Mrs. Whitney realized that the selection of one of the names

3The sales at this store the day it opened were $2200, and they frequently were $2000 to $2,500 per day. R. M. Addison and S. H. Mott succeeded to the business some time after the railroad came and a little later Mr. Addison became sole proprietor.

4"One day in July, 1S72, Engineer John W. Blake dashed into the 'village' upon a sweat-dripping pony which he had ridden from Lamberton, starting at leu-thirty in the forenoon and arriving here at fourthirty in the afternoon. He stated to C. H. Whitney that the engineers and railroad officers had come to Lamberton by train and were then on their way by teams to Marshall and must have supper when they arrived. Mrs. Whitney levied upon whatever the country afforded and prepared the repast in her house, and upon the arrival of the party it was conveyed to the engineers' office, and there occurred the first public repast held in this place. Major Blake says it was a meal lit for princes, and the wonder of all was that such an extensive array of viands could have been collected and prepared upon such short notice and upon the open prairie. A large number of people came with the party, but only the 'high joints' sat down to the repast in the office." - News-Messenger, September 16, 18S7.

proposed might prove embarrassing, and she selected the name Marshall, after the postoffice conducted by her husband. The name was instantly accepted by the officials. With a libation of water" sprinkled upon the ground, General Smith baptized the new town, accompanying the ceremony with a speech in which he urged upon Marshall's foster parents the duty of using their influence in the cause of temperance within its limits. The party remained in Marshall over night and then continued their journey to Lake Kampeska.

Hut little progress was made in the building line before the railroad reached the town. Early in September Jesse Bagley built a little structure where the Watson hardware store now stands and used it as a boarding shanty. In September also Captain Herrick and Major Filkins set up a large tent (to the rear of the site of John Schneider's store) and conducted a saloon, which was liberally patronized by the railroad workers. In this tent while it was so employe) 1, the first religious services in Marshall were conducted by Rev. E. H. Alden.

5A little more than a week after the hotel was opened, on October 20, an accident occurred which is well remembered by all who were present and is chronicled as an event in the history of Marshall. W. M. Todd, in correspondence to a Winona paper at the time of the accident, wrote of it as follows:

"Inside this hotel last Tuesday evening occurred ccident that is well worthy of notice, even in a metropolitan paper, and that published at a great distance away. The train from the east that evening was loaded with passengers and it contained all the railroad men employed by the company at this place. All took a bee-line for the hotel and demanded rest and refreshments. Charlie's eyes bulged out when he surveyed the multitude, but he yelled, 'Come in and we will do the best we can.' In went the throng, and as there was not room enough elsewhere, it pressed into the dining room. Supper being ready, all who Could surrounded the table and the rest stood up anywhere they could find room.

"The room was already full and commenced to pack when the weight caused the floor to break, and down went table, dishes, chairs, trunks, satchels, men, women, children, babies and all in one promiscuous mass into the cellar below. The authoi of this description was -ittiiiir on a broom handle, play-horsefashion, waiting for his turn at the coffee and boiled

The hotel was erected by C. H. Whitney and was a substantial structure. It was located where the present Atlantic- Hotel stands, was 35x40 feet and two stories high. Mr. Whitney had decided to build just one month before the hotel was opened to the public. On the twelfth of September he left for Winona to purchase the lumber. The stock was billed to "the end of the line," which proved to lie near the present village of Amiret, and was hauled from that point by team. The structure was rushed to completion and was opened October 12, the day the first train was run to the town. Supper was provided for 27o men that evening.5

For the purpose of platting the Marshall townsite a partnership was formed by J. H. Stewart, superintendent of the Winona & St. Peter Railroad Company; J. H. Jenkins, assistant superintendent; W. G. Ward, chief engineer; J. W. Blake, assistant engineer; and C. H. Whitney. They purchased the southwest quarter of section 4 from Milo Morse and the south half of the northwest quarter from Mrs. Stone and laid out the town on portions of those tracts beef, having taken a big dose of quinine and whisky to scare off a threatening ague chill, and as he saweverything begin to go down, he sprang across the 'bloody chasm' and landed in the kitchen. When he looked back into the dark cellar and saw the shadowy forms of the struggling victims trying to extricate themselves and heard the shrieks of the sex which caused the downfall of man once before, he was, to say the least, sorry he had invested. In the dining room and office wrere nearly two hundred persons, and as the lower floor of the whole house except the kitchen went down, the most of this number went down with it. "Digging out the ruins, human and otherwise, began with a vengeance. It was found that no one was hurt in going dowrn, but some were bruised in being 'snaked out.' A Miss Smith, manager of the dining room, who was under a trunk, was slightly injured. The fellow who lifts himself by his boot-straps was there and tried to pull her from under the trunk while bracing his feet on the top of it. Many complained the next morning of bruised shins, particularly 'Deacon' Knowles, the clerk, who jumped clear over a table to rescue a bull-dog. Another evidence, of the way things are done here is the fact that this cellar was cleaned out and a new floor laid before four o'clock the next morninir, and upwards of three hundred persons breakfasted there."

made October 22 by William G. Ward, Ella C. Ward, Joseph II. Jenkins, Augusta M. Jenkins, James II. Stewart, Lucy J. Stewart, Florence E. Blake, all by John W. Blake, their attorney in fact, and by John W. Blake, Charles H. Whitney and Mary A. Whitney, personally. The certificate was acknowledged before William Langdon, register of deeds, and was filed in his office October 22, 1 872.

The original plat consists of twentyfour blocks, mostly on the west side of the river. The streets running northeast and- southwest were named Easl Third, East Second, West First. West Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth. Those running northwest and southeast were named Marshall, Redwood, Lyon and Main.6

After the townsite was platted, although winter was close at hand, a number of buildings were put up and a few business enterprises started. Colonel

7W. M. Todd wrote a reminiscent article of early days in Marshall for the News-Messenger of August 21, 1903. He told of his arrival and of conditions as he found them in October, 1872, as follows:

". . . One sunny morning in October, 1872, I left New Ulm on a construction train destined for 'Redwood Crossing,' as it was then called. The name Marshall had not at that time been heard of. [Mr. Todd was mistaken. The name had been selected some time before, although the village had not yet been platted.] . . . Reaching 'Cottonwood Crossing' (Amiret), which was as near as the track was laid, I stayed over night with the Mitchell family. . . .

"I left the Mitchell hostelry next morning with John Snyder, who had been to 'the crossing' for a load of lumber to take to Lake Benton. The load was so heavy and the roads so rough that we walked most of the way and reached what was to be known as Marshall about dark That night I slept in a tent occupied by

Samuel MePhail opened a law office, erecting a little structure on the site of the Lyric Theater thai was later used as a claim shack, lb M. Addison and II. J. Tripp, who carried the mail between Redwood Falls and Lynd, formed a partnership and engaged in the implement business on the lot to the real' of the present Addison Block. David I'. Hillings came to the village and opened a general store. John A. Coleman elected a store building near the present Lyon County National Bank Building and engaged in business. Dr. S. Y. Groesbeck and J. W. Blake erected residences, the first in the village, and the former later engaged in the drug business.

A Congregational church society was organized and a building in which to hold services was begun. Daniel Farquher opened a blacksmith shop in a little building he erected near the Main Street bridge. W. M. Todd arrived in October and engaged in the lumber business, erecting a little office building in the rear of the present Youmans yards.7 Among others who located in

"Though thirty-one - almost thirty- two - years have elapsed, the impression given by the scene as I emerged from the tent next morning is still vivid. ... In every direction was a seemingly endless expanse of undulating prairie, green with a verdure which a hand of man had never disturbed, utterly houseless and without trees, excepting those which marked the course of the river. . . .

"After a simple but substantial breakfast with the bridge crew, I set out 'to see the town.' There were just two buildings: one a little structure occupied by surveyors as headquarters, the other a cheap building occupied by Everett & Company as a supply store for the construction men. Captain Herrick, of Gary, South Dakota, also had a tent on the bank of the river in which he kept a small stock of goods. His goods were called by different names, but they were all poured from the same jug.

"Farther up what I was told was a street a little frame building had just been started. Approaching it, I found a man sitting on a timber smoking a cigar. His face was smooth, his hair was thin but long, and his countenance indicated that his mind was hard at work. I introduced myself, and he informed me that his name was Charles H. Whitney and that the building being erected was to be a hotel. I told him I had cut loose from the effete East and was looking for a location in the West, where I might shake the ague, which had so long been shaking me, and grow up with the country. Whitney saw at once that his reply was expected to be in the nature of advice, and I never knew a man to make a greater effort to rise to the dignity and responsibilities of his task.

and W. M. Pierce, who were attorneys: ('. II. Richardson, Stanley Addison. Andrew Barrett. Thomas McNeil, L. B. Nichols. Lyman Turner. X. Wilkins and C. Mehan.

The following letter written in Marshall October 26, 1872, and published in the Winona Republican gives an idea of conditions in the little village at that time:

.Most everyone has heard of a little railroad station and embryo city just dug up away off somewhere in the West by the name of Marshall, but few know where it is located, except that it is accessible by the Winona & St. Peter railroad. It is situated "eighty miles west from New Ulm, forty miles from Redwood Falls, forty-five miles from the Dakota line, twenty-five miles from Lake Benton, and eight miles from Lynd, the last mentioned being the illustrious seat of Lyon county.

"Although* this little town is in its infancy, I venture the assertion that no one who has never visited it can conceive with any approach to facts the activity and interest with which business is impelled. In the morning a few untitled land, which he maintained was as fertile as it was fair: he looked a few years into the future and drew a picture of solid townships of No. 1 wheat and herds of sheep and cattle; prophetically he saw about him a thriving city with paved streets, palatial residences and metropolitan stores; he could hear the rumbling of ponderous machinery in the manufacturing plants and see the towering chimneys emitting copious volumes of smoke, which formed black mountains against the sky; he could see glistening church spires and hear the babbling of myriads of children at play about the different school buildings; he could see processions of wagons reaching from the city miles into the country, all loaded with grain and hay and fruit and stock, and he waved his hat majestically as he described the movements of the boats which would carry the products down the Redwood river to the waiting markets of the East. It was a picture no artist could paint.

"I tried to put my imagination in sympathy with his. I tried to see the processions of wagons, but as there was not a house or a hoof between us and the tar distant horizon, the wagons refused to appear. I also tried hard to see the big steamers floating down the Redwood, but there was no place in sight where I could not have jumped across the stream, and my imagination would not work right with such contradictory surroundings.

"When Mr. \\ hitney was in the midst of his eloquent peroration he was interrupted by a tall man riding a pony and carrying a gun. The visitor was introduced to me as Major Blake. The major dismounted and after a cordial greeting asked me where I hailed from, what business 1 was going to undertake, and if I had selected a lot. While we three were talking another man approached us. lie was tall and straight and wore a cape about his shoulders. He had a stately Step, wore his hair long, and had a Vermontish countenance. His name wa9 Walter Wakeman. . . .

"I left tin- place that afternoon for Winona, riding to 'Cottonwood Crossing' with Mr. Underwood, who was head clerk for Bridge-builder Watson. I ordered my lumber and returned as soon as the cars were running and began to do business. The night of my loads of lumber are hauled to a certain spot and immediately begin the creaking of saws and clanging of hammers, continued until silenced by the darkness of night, when a little shanty, 16x24 feet, or smaller, is so nearly completed as to allow men to lodge therein the same night. A family will arrive in town on the evening train and next morning charter an ox team and lumber wagon, and after loading in the live stock, start out on the prairie to find a piece of government land on which to squat and by night they will find their land and arrange to file upon the same and next morning return with a carpenter to build the house.

There are at present in process of erection here one hardware store, one grocery and dry goods store, one boarding house, one livery stable and a Congregational church. The latter will be only a temporary, two-story building, the upper story of which will be used for religious purposes, and the ground floor will be used for school purposes.

The railroad company is building, all at the same time, a depot, a turn-table, an engine house and warehouse. All these buildings, with the dwelling houses being erected, give employment to a great number of men and cause a great deal of commotion and excitement.

Nearly every nation on the globe is represented here, and when the representatives talk at once in their native tongue they make the most conglomerated gabble you ever heard.

Next comes our hotel, which was begun a little more than three weeks ago. Of course, it is not completed, yet it manages in some mysterious way to lodge the modest number of return was the night on which the floor of the hotel dining room fell in [October 20]. . . . My first customer was Levi Kiel and my second old man Waterman, tintwo coming about the same time. I remembered this because I had never seen a foot of lumber measured, and my ignorance was decidedly embarrassing. Mr. Kiel, who wasn't so fresh, showed me how to proceed. . . .

"About this time the permanent population embraced, besides those already mentioned, Charley Richardson, Stanley Addison, Dr. Groesbeck, the Hunters. General Pierce, and perhaps a few others whom I do not now remember. ... 1 engaged Walter Dunn, a husky young man from Rochester, to help me in the lumber yard.

". . . As soon as possible I built a lumber office, and then had the best - perhaps the only good - place to sleep in town. This was the first building completed in Marshall, except the surveyors' headquarters and the supply store before mentioned.

"-'old weather soon came, and with it a snow storm which not only ended all construction work on the railroad but caused a great amount of suffering among the laborers. The latter came stringing into town for a day or two, and some of them were in pitiable condition. How to shelter so many men from the piercing cold was a serious problem. Barrett and McNeil, who had rented the hotel of Mr. Whitney, had an addition to the hotel partially completed. It was rough boarded on the outside, shingled and floored. The .up-stairs portion was all in one room, the partitions not having been set off. These laborers to the number of more than a hundred were driven up into this room like so many cattle and laid out on the floor so thick that one could not turn unless all turned. McNeil, who was a big burly Irishman, went lip-stairs at intervals during the night and yelled, everybody turn over.'

"All that portion of the railroad west of New Ulm was so badly blockaded by the continued storms that there was no hope of opening the road before spring. The prospects seemed so dismal that I went to Winona and I spent the winter with my brother. ('. B. Todd. . . . I left Marshall a day or two before Thanksgiving."

[n January, 1873, thepostoffice, which before had been located a1 ('. II. Whitney's house, was moved to the village proper and Walter Wakeman became post master, the office being conducted in the drug store of Groesbeck ct Wakeman.8

During the winter of 1872-73 there was no advancement in Marshall, and a few who had located in the little town the fall before spent the season in their old homes. The new railroad was covered with drifts all winter and regular trains were not operated to Marshall until April 14. With the beginning of spring, however, there were made additions to the little town and its building up was rapid. W. M. Todd, who had wintered elsewhere but who had returned on the first train, has told of the progress that spring: "The activity in the direction of settling, building and improving the village and surrounding country during that spring of 1873 could hardly be described; or if it were described it would seem incredible. The real progress of the place, if s Walter Wakeman served as postmaster until April, 1874. Dr. S. V. Groesbeck then received the commission but served a very short time and was succeeded by C. H. Whitney. The latter served until April, 1876. During his administration, on July ">. ]s7."i, a money order office was established. W. M. Coleman served as Marshall's postmaster from April. INTO, to April, 1878; C. F. Case, to February, 1883; S. 1). How, to 1886; M. Sullivan, to August 1, 1890; S. N. Harrington, to August 1, 1894; J. S. Renningcr, to October 1, 1898; Frank W. Sickler, to November 9, 1902; Charles E. Patterson, to February 8, 1907; Oscar Krook, from that date to the present. A postal savings bank was established in connection with the office July 15, 1911.

.1. I'. Watson was one of the firs) to se1 up in business. He opened a tin shop and a little later added a stock of hardware.'-' Early in the spring (l. E. Nichols opened a saloon.1" In May U.S. Adams and Mat hew Metcalf arrived from Trempealeau, Wisconsin, bringing with them a building in sections. It was set up and the front part occupied as a blacksmith shop by Mr. Metcalf, while the rear part was occupied as a wagon shop by Mr. Adams.

A brick kiln was constructed in the summer of 1873 by C. H. Whitney and 85,000 bricks were burned. In the fall they were used by .J. F. Reichert in the construction of a double store building the first brick building in the town. John Ward became the first station agent and M. E. Wilcox the telegraph operator. Walter Wakeman and Dr. S. V. Groesbeck opened a drug store, C. Woodbury became the proprietor of the pioneer hostelry and changed the name to Marshall House, P. L. Van Sant established the Travelers Home, Langdon & Laythe established a lumber yard, J. W. Williams opened a new hardware store, Turner & Loope sold lumber, furniture and machinery, A. 0. Underbill opened a confectionery store, Mrs. Burrall a millinery store, Jesse Bagley a meat market, E. Fuller a photograph studio, Daniel Wilcox a blacksmith shop, L. Nichols a livery barn, W. M. Todd formed a partnership with Coleman &

Five rural free delivery routes are now operated from the Marshall office. Numbers one and two were established June 11, 1900, and the first carriers wen- George Watkins and Isaac Clendenning, respectively. Numbers three and four were established December 1, 1903, with Harry Jefferson and John Nash, respect i\ ely, as carriers. Number five was established May 16, 1901, with F. R. Lindsay as carrier.

10The Board of County Commissioners on March 18, 1872, granted Mr. Nichols license to sell liquor in Marshall from April 1, 1873, to March 31, 1S74. The license fee for the year was J5().

The growth of Marshall has been almost miraculous. Nine months ago the first house was erected. Now there are seventy-nine permanent buildings already constructed, and this number will soon be increased by the erection of others already planned. Upon the same ground where nine months ago the bird and insect tribe held undisputed sway, there has sprung into existence, seemingly from the very earth, a busy, bustling town, where now mingle in happy unison the sounds of the hammer and chisel, the continual rattle of passing vehicles, the shriek of the welcome locomotive, and the hoarse shout of Winona and St. Paul dry goods drummers. Within the year land has increased from $1.25 per acre to $25 to $200 each for residence lots and from $100 to $400 each for lots for business purposes, with ready sales.11

Marshall now has four general stores, two hardware stores, one drug store, one boot and shoe shop, two millinery and dressmaking establishments, three lumber yards, one meat market, two blacksmith shops, two hotels, three boarding houses, an express office, a telegraph office, a depot and other railroad buildings, one bakery, two confectionery establishments, a furniture store, a flour and feed store, one livery stable, four dealers in agricultural implements, one brick yard, one church building, one doctor, three lawyers, two claim agents and dealers in real estate, one dealer in lime, three wheat buyers, three stone masons and several carpenters and builders.

Our town is one year old this week and we challenge comparison with any other of like age in the West, from the Gulf to British America, and in this we refer not only to the size of the place and its numerous commercial advantages, but more especially to the character of its inhabitants, the business men, the schools, churches, etc. For many years Marshall will necessarily be the market and trading point for an immense extent of country.

"Winn the assessment of 1S73 was made the value of real estate on the Marshall townsite was placed at 1 14,44s. Those assessed for real estate were L. B. Nichols, R. J. .Monroe, A. O. Underhill, N. Stewart, William Clemens, Congregational church, George H. Maynard, J. A. Coleman, Johnson, Walter Wakeman, .1. Bagley, 1). P. Billing-, Everett it Company, Daniel Farquher, .1. F. Metcalf, Ezra Ticknor, J. W. Blake, E. B. Jewett, M, Davidson, ,1. W. Canfield, Joshua was increased as a result of the election in November, 1873, which gave it the county seat. Several improvements followed, and plans for the future embraced many enterprises that have not matured to this day.

The grasshopper scourge put a damper on progress and from 1874 to 1876, inclusive, the town was almost at a standstill. In April, 1874. the local paper estimated the population of Marshall at 300, but it is doubtful if the town had that many inhabitants. That year the Kendall mill was built, J. W. Blake started a cheese factory, B. A. Grubb opened a harness shop, S. H. Mott bought an interest in the store of Everett & Company, M. M. Marshall built a grain warehouse and engaged in the furniture business, C. A. Edwards established a lumber yard, L. F. Pickard opened a tin shop. Fuller & Company opened a feed store, Dr. Burgoyne located in the village for the practise of his profession,12 D. F. Weymouth opened a law office, Lockey & Yates, masons, and J. Goodwin & Company, builders, located in the village.

There were also a few additions in 1875. I. P. Farrington opened another general store, Joe Sears a shoe shop, J. A. Hutchins a blacksmith shop, Dr. Newell a dentist's office, Whitney & Webster an insurance office. George Nichols erected a brick building and Marshall, Coleman & Company and C. F. Case a double brick block on Third Street.

"Among the physicians who have practised in Marshall have been Drs. Groesbeck, Houston, Burgoyne, Cleveland, Persons, Andrews, Poaps, Armington, Baldwin, Wimer, Renninger, Whitney, Bacon, Kilbride, Hobday, Mallory, Wheat, Hard, Ferro, Powers, Gray, Akester, Ijams, Heath, Gag and Woodworth.

started out on the unsettled frontier, with no especial natural advantages except an ocean of fertile prairie tributary to it, and has fought its way to recognition through grasshoppers and hard times, all the time a live town and one with a good destiny. The terminus of the Winona & St. Peter railroad, it has been made the central point for western immigration, and through the pluckiness of its business men has built itself into the best town on the western frontier for its size and condition.

Marshall now has a population of only about three or four hundred,13 but has several substantial buildings that look as if the people here had come to stay. Among the buildings we will mention a $3000 school house, five twostory brick stores, a Methodist church, a twostory building with hall above belonging to the Congregational church, two hotels, several store buildings of wood, three grain elevators, one grist null, depot, engine house, etc., together with several fine dwellings of brick and wood. There are 'three lumber yards. We have a good brick yard.

Marshall became an incorporated village in 1876. The first action toward that end was taken at a mass meeting held at M. M. Marshall's drug store on the evening of Monday, December 27, 1875. Of that meeting J. P. Watson was chairman and C. H. Whitney secretary. It was the sense of those present that sections 4, 5 and 9 should be incorporated as the village of Marshall and J. W. Blake, D. F. Weymouth and R. M. Addison were named a committee to draft an incorporation act.

13The census of 1875 gave Lake Marshall township, including the village of Marshall, a population of only 397. The population of the village was probably not over 250.

14An amended charter was put in force in 1881 by legislative action. The changes were not great but were made necessary by defects in the original instrument. The amendments were drawn up by the Marshall Board of Trade and the new charter became operative in March, 1881.

15Two previous efforts to this end had been made. On July 30, 1892, at a public meeting attended by only a few citizens, resolutions were passed favoring the change and the Village Council was asked to draft a bill. On April 9, 1897, another mass meeting was held, called at the instance of the village authorities. It was the desire of some to incorporate under the provisions of the law of 1895, but a majority of those present were unfavorable to the change and no action was taken.

in the Legislature by Senator .1. \Y. Blake in January. A petition favorable to the act and one remonstrating were circulated for signers and forwarded to the state capital. The bill was passed with little opposition and was signed by the governor February 17.

Provision was made in the incorporating act for the beginning of municipal government and C. A. Edwards, .1. F. Reichert, (\ H. Whitney, C. F. Case, Oren Drake, John Ward and J. A. Coleman were named to call the first election and attend to the preliminaries. The election was held March 10, participated in by fifty-four voters, and a set of village officers was chosen without opposition. The Council met for the first time on Saturday, March 18, 1876. 14

Village government continued until 1901, and then Marshall was incorporated as a city.15 The action was taken as the result of a petition, signed by more than two-thirds of the voters, which had been presented to the judge of probate. On February 20, 1901, Judge L. M. Lange issued the requested order. The first election under city government was held April 2, 1901.

Following is a list of the officers chosen at each annual election, under both forms of government, from the time of incorporation to the present:16

1BDuring the greater part of the early history of Marshall the license question was an issue. Before incorporation the granting of license in the village was in the hands of the Board of County Commissioners, and prior to the beginning of municipal government saloons were licensed each year. At the Lake Marshall township election of March, 1S75, the license question entered into the selection of local officers and license advocates were successful by majorities of six.

Saloons were licensed by the three first Village Councils without the question being submitted to a vote of the people. It was the intention of the antisaloon advocates to have the question submitted :it the election of 1877, but they neglected to give the legal notice. Early in 1878 a petition was presented to the Village Council, asking that no license prevail, and on January 11 of that year the mooted question was submitted to vote without legal authority or binding results. For license received three votes and against license seventy-three votes. The Council was deadlocked, and on April 27, 1S7S, the matter was again.

indirectly, submitted to vote. One of the trustees resigned and on the selection of his successor rested the license issue. The candidate favoring license was elected and saloons were at once opened.

In 1879 license carried by a vote of 99 to 89. Thereafter for a number of years the question was not submitted directly, but was left to the village authorities, and campaigns were made by each party for candidates favorable to their cause. At nearly all these elections officers favoring license were chosen. In 1882 the Council granted license for the first six months and refused it during the remainder of the term. A license Council was chosen in lss;; by an average vote (if tin to 87. In 18S4. on a direct vote, license w mi by a vote of si to 29.

The question was not submitted again until 1894 and license was granted each year. From 1N94 to the time city government was begun the vote on the license question was as follows, in the years nut given the question not having been submitted and license having been granted :

There is no provision in the city charter for voting under the local option law, and saloons have been licensed since the charter was adopted.

--Mr. Burchard resigned August 14, 1901, and at a special election M. E. Mathews was chosen to complete the term. Mr. Mathews was succeeded as alderman by J. C. Burchard, elected September 12, 1901.

For a year after the village was incorporated there was not much progress, due to the fact that the grasshoppers were still in the land. There were, however, a few business enterprises started in 1876, among them a general merchandise store by Olof Pehrson, blacksmith shop by Keyes & Blake, imple-

23Urider the city charter the terms of aldermen are for two years, and after this first election one was elected from each ward each year. In the roster the name of the alderman from the first ward appears

B. F. Jellison, feed mill by C. A. Edwards, drug store by M. M. Marshall, meat markets by B. Gibbs and D. Crowley, millinery stores by Mrs. Clemens and Mrs. UnderhiU, machinery business by S. .1. Watkins, grain warehouses by H. B. Gary, C. A. Edwards and Addison & Mott, carpenter shop by I. Burrall.

When it became known that the grasshopper plague was a thing of the past, Marshall took rapid strides forward. Several new enterprises were started in 187729 and prospects for the future were bright. The Messenger of November 16, 1877, said: "This town is the busiest hamlet in the West. You can't, find a spot where your ears are not filled with the din of building. Houses sp'ring up in a day or two, and our lumber yards can hardly ship in enough to supply the demand. You can expect to be run over next summer if you don't get up and dust."

The predicted boom came in 1878. Before the close of spring ten two-story brick business blocks had been erected, besides several frame business houses and many residences. Among the improvements of the year was the Messenger Block. Two banks were founded, two new brick yards were established, business firms of all kinds came into existence, and a number of professional men located in the village. ' A directory of business firms published at the close of 1878 listed the following:

"Among the enterprises in 1877 were a furniture store by D. Mclntyre and James Andrews, meat market by McCormick, gunsmith shop by C. A. Haskel, lumber yard by Horton it Hamilton, general store by E. Puffer, hotel by D. Bell, lumber yard by

Marshall increased in size and importance during 1879. 30 In 1880 the value of the building improvements amounted to $85,000. The federal census that

30Among the business and professional firms established in 1879 were Youmans Brothers & Company <M. Sullivan, agent), lumber yard; \. F. Remore, machinery; Van ]>u>en & Company, elevator; Todd & Edes, Lyon County News; Laythe & Tripp, machinery; year gave the village a population of 961. During the next few years there was little increase in population, the census of 1885 showing that there were 986 people living within the corporate limits. But the town made great progress in other ways and developed into one of the best villages of Southwestern Minnesota. A business directory published in C. F. Case's History of Lyon County in 1884 was as follows:

F. S. Wetherbee, Olof Pehrson, Edwards & Company, general stores; E. L. Healy, Humphrey & Gail, J. W. Williams, groceries and crockery; J. P. Watson, R. M. Addison, hardware and machinery; Youmans Brothers, Horton Lumber Company, lumber yards; Louis Janda, shoe store; C. M. Wilcox, Walter Wakeman, A. B. Sweet, drug stores; S. Butturff, furniture; W. C. Kayser, books, stationery and tobacco; M. Hooker, stationery and tobacco; Mrs. Hillyer, millinery; J. Price, John Russell, Mrs. Hicks, bakery and restaurants; Fred Watson, harness; Woodruff & Wilber, F. Weikle, meat markets; Parsons & Wise, clothing.

E. Johnson, stock buyer; B. Wright, feed mill; Peterson & Company, tailors; D. G. Stewart, sewing machines; C. M. Wilcox, express agent; H. M. Burchard, railroad land agent; T. A. Woodruff, railroad agent; Van Winkle, telegraph operator; Charles Kent, collection agency; Strait & Company, creamery; Woodbury & Frick, skating rink.

Marshall kept pace with the development of the surrounding country during the late eighties and had a population of 1203 when the census of 1890 was

F. Weikle and J. Lohmiller, meat markets; King & Wakeman, drug store; W. L. Watson, machinery; V. B. Seward and M. B. Drew, attorneys; E. J. Harrison, marble cutter, Laythe & Pehrson, store.

taken. The years 1890-91-92 were exceptionally prosperous ones for the village. The building improvements in 1890 were valued at $55,000, mostly expended for residences. The next year the value of improvements was placed at $125,000. That year a system of electric lights was installed by Parsons Brothers, general merchants, at a cost of $6000. 31

The village installed waterworks and electric lighting systems in 1894. At a special election to vote on the question of issuing $25,000 bonds for the purpose, bonds were carried by seventy-three majority out of 308 votes cast. E. T. Sykes secured the contract on a bid of $24,340. The waterworks were in operation early in December and the lights were turned on December 21, 1894.

There was little advancement during the panic years 1893 and 1894, but in 1895 building improvements to the value of $50,000 were made. They included brick business blocks put up by T. J. Baldwin, C. F. Case and W. S. Dibble. The census of 1895 showed a population of 1744, a gain of 541 in five years.

Rapid strides forward were made in the late nineties and the village began to take on metropolitan airs. A telephone system was installed in the summer of 1897, with forty-three initial subscribers. During the past decade progress has been marked, although increase in population has not been great. Marshall's population was 2088

3 'Twenty-three arc lights was the limit of the plant at first. Of these, nine were placed in the streets, eight in Parsons Brothers' store, and the others in

The most destructive fire in the town's history occurred on the night of September 24, 1902, bringing a loss of about $100,000. The three-story brick building owned by T. J. Baldwin and occupied by Baldwin & Loveridgc's department store was destroyed. The law office of V. B. Seward and Odd Fellows hall on the second floor were destroyed, as was also Masonic hall on the third floor. A small frame building adjoining, owned by W. S. Dibble and occupied by Blakeslee's meat market, was crushed by the falling walls from the larger building. The fire burned fiercely and for a time threatened to destroy the whole business section of the city.

The second fire of consequence occurred May 15, 1905, and brought a loss of $40,000. The double store building in Syndicate Block owned by Mrs. E. D. Parsons and the store of P. H. Roise & Company were destroyed, as well as the furnishings of Masonic hall and the dental parlors of Dr. S. E. Whitmore. Losses were also sustained by J. N. Barkee, furniture; Wilson Mercantile Company, V. B. Gits & Company, Dr. A. D. Hard, Thompson's cigar factory, W. A. Hawkins and M. E. Mathews, attorneys.