St. Mary Township

St. Mary Township

In the montli of February, 1857, a village was laid out on the west half of section 33, by Chamberlarin. Bailey & Co., which at one time was quite an important point, vying with Empire and Wilton for the honor of being the county seat of AVaseca County, in 1857. Patrick McCartliy was the original proprietor of the land upon which the village was platted, but sold it in May of the above year to the firm mentioned. His house was the pioneer building of the new town.

Other settlers who were also among the first to locate at the new village may be mentioned : Amos H. Morris, W. H. Chamberlain, John Bailey, George T. White, T. C. McClure, James F. Elliott, Edward Lang, G. E. Buckman, H. B. Morrison, Harvey Bailey Mr. Clark, and Dennis McCarthy.

Amos H. Morris was a notarj^ public at this place in 1857. lie came up here to make out papers, bringing his family, but only remained three months, going to Hastings, Minn.

W. H. Chamberlain settled in this village in May, 1856. Pie was one of the proprietors of the town site. He remained in this place for some years. While here his Avife died, about 1859 or 1860, and he then sold out and moved to New York.

Capt. George T. White was connected with the official life of the county, and is noticed in that connection in the chapter entitled State and County Eepresentation.

Edward Lang came here from Lowell, Mass., and put up a house south of the village, across the river, where he lived about a year, and then returned to the "Old Bay State." He is remembei-ed bv his by-word, "By fire."

came to this place and opened a saloon. He was in the habit of freely indulging in his own whiskey, and making himself obnoxious to tiie citizens generally on such occasions. One daj' a number of the boys, led by James Plummer, took possession of the place, and finding about two barrels of " the ardent " emptied it upon the ground. The sheriif soon arrested about twent\'-five of those implicated, and they were taken to Wilton for trial. The case was adjourned from term to term, until in the end Isaac Price, acting as their attorney, got them cleared at an expense to each one of about seven ty-five cents. McCarthy some time previous to this had frozen . both his feet, while laboring under too great a load of " benzine," and was made a cripple for life.

Whitney AVheeler came to St. Mary about 1850, and was interested in the sawmill, being head sawyer. He died in Wilton about 1809. He ran a farm wiiile liere, and practiced a little as farrier. His widow is still a resident of the county.

Warren Smith was also a new comer of the year 1857. He was elected by the people, in after 3' ears, to fill the office of county treasurer, and has been already mentioned in that connection.

J. William Jolinson, now of Waseca, settled in St. Mar}' in 1857, and entered into mercantile business with Warren Smith. Later they removed to Wilton, where they remained in trade until the removal of the county-seat to Waseca, when they removed to that place. Smith afterward retired from business, and the firm now is Johnson & Claghorn.

George Johnson came to this village about the same time, with the sawmill of which he was part owner. After the establishment of Wilton, business declined at this point, and he removed to Wilton, where he entered into the mercantile business as a member of tlie firm of Johnson Brothers & Smith. He died at Waseca.

History Of Waseca Codnty

Soon after the laying out of the village, a man by the name of Grossman opened a boarding-house, the first house of entertainment in the place. He ran it but a few months, for he died before the settlement of the place. His death was caused bj^ exposure while duck-hunting.

The first frame building in the village was erected by W. H. Chamberlain, in the spring of 1857, and is now in the city of Waseca, having been removed thither about the year 1877, and is owned by J. E. Cragin.

During the fall of 1856 the proprietors of the town site started the erection of a sawmill, with which they did sawing all the following summer, but did not complete until the winter of 1857 8. This mill was of great utility to all the surrounding country, such establishments being rare in southern Minnesota at that date. It was afterward moved down to the river, and a shingle and flouring mill attached, and continued in operation until about 1862 or 1863, when it was destroyetl by fire.

The pioneer store was opened by Warren .Smith in 1857 in a building which he erected for the purpose, carrying a stock of general merchandise. Shortly after this a copartnership was formed between Smith and the Johnsons as related elsewhere. This firm carried on Imsiness here for a few years and then removed to Wilton.

A man by the name of Wright opened a drug store here in the spring of 1857. After continuing this business for a few years he closed up and removed from the county.

After the location of the seat of justice at Wilton, St. Mary ceased to grow and soon it began to decay and pass away. Like Auburn it soon became a " Deserted Village," and one by one the buildings were removed to other places, and on the 5th of October, 1873, the site was vacated by a decree of the district court and the ground reverted to its original condition of farm land.

St. Mary's Catholic Church was organized by Rev. Father Kellei-, of Faribault, in the year 1856. The first religious services of this denomination of Christians, and doubtless the first in the townshi]), were held at the dwelling of Andrew Lynch, and after that in the schoolhouse in the vicinity. The church edifice was erected in 1858, but with the lapse of years this building becoming too small for the growing congregation, they erected a large, fine church in 1880 at a total cost of $12,000. The building was 44x86 feet upon the ground and 26 feet high, and was a most beautiful edifice. On the afternoon of Sunday, December 20, 1885, the entire structure was destroyed by tire, but very little of its contents being saved. A fine statue of St. Joseph, presented to the church but two months previous by Peter Burns and Christie Heiferan, and the figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, were taken out of the burning building comparatively unhurt. The chalices and some of the altar furniture were also saved through the instrumentality of Thomas Geraghty and James Byron. The church had an insurance upon it of $7,000, divided between the Continental and Ilekla companies. A contract for the rebuilding of the church edifice has been let the summer of this year, (1887) to J. T. Lee, and a contract for the erection of a parsonage to Thomas Flynn. Rev. Father R. Hughes is the present pastor in charge. The membership embraces about 420 individuals.