BlockThree Lakes Township
The complete chapter on this township from The History of Redwood County, Minnesota, published 1916. 522 words, covering 1 settlement. Source changes inside the text are labelled at the exact paragraph where the next book begins.
Contents
1 sectionThe section headings the book prints inside this chapter. Each one jumps to where it begins.
The modern record here
1 settlementWhat the federal record holds for each settlement inside this township: wildfires and storm reports since the 1950s, mineral workings, and museum specimens collected nearby. These are counted within a few miles of each settlement, so neighbours share them and the columns are deliberately not added up. Every row links to the settlement's own page, where each figure is broken out.
| Settlement | Fires | Storm reports | Mines and quarries | Specimens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clements | - | 11 | - | - |
Settlements in this township
1 placeEvery populated place the Geographic Names Information System records inside this township's Census boundary. It is named in the chapter.
The chapter
522 wordsReproduced complete and unedited from The History of Redwood County, Minnesota, published 1916. The text is machine-read from scans, so expect recognition errors: misspelled names, dropped words, and stray characters. Nothing has been corrected, because correcting a proper name invents one. The headings below are the books' own; source changes are labelled in place.
Three Lakes Township
Three Lakes township is located in the east-central part of Redwood county, and embraces Congressional township 111-35. It is bounded on the north by Paxton, on the east by Morgan, on the south by Sundown and on the west by New Avon. The Evan-Marshall branch of the Chicago and Northwestern crosses it in the southern part; and the Sleepy Eye-Redwood Falls branch of the same road passes through the northeast corner. The surface is smooth prairie land. There are two lakes of fairly good size in this township. The only village is Clements. The trading centers are Morgan and Redwood Falls, in Redwood county, and Springfield in Brown county. There are four school houses. The predominating nationality is German, with quite a few Bohemians.
The original survey of this township was made during 1858, work being started by James L. Nowlin, U. S. deputy surveyor, on July 7, 1858. This township was mostly rich, smooth prairie. The timber was scarce. There was one lake in parts of sections 4 and 9 and another in parts of sections 8 and 9. There were quite a good many low marshy places all through the township.
Beginning with the organization of the county, this township was considered a part of Redwood Falls township. Three Lakes was created by the county commissioners with its present boundaries March 16, 1876.
The History of the Minnesota Valley published in 1882 says : "The first claim was made in the spring of 1868 by David "Watson ; the claim was jumped by two men. Hunt and Walker ; they put up a shanty and lived there for a time, but in 1869 Watson regained possession. Settlers of 1869 were David Parker, Henry Blanchard, Ora A. and Oland Sisson, Mike Mahoney and A. J. Welch. Mary Tenney taught the first school in 1874; a frame school house was built in 1876. Three Lakes postoffice was estab- lished in 1875, and discontinued in two years. The first town meeting was held at the house of David Watson, April 4, 1876. Officers elected: James Watson, chairman, Robert Parker and Abel Leighton, supervisors ; Daniel Watson, clerk ; Robert Parker, assessor; Robert Montgomery, treasurer; James and David Watson, justices ; David Parker and Albert Dahms, constables ; Robert Montgomery, poundmaster."
According to the records now in the possession of H. N. Redig, town clerk, the above information regarding the first meeting is incorrect. Mr. Redig 's transcript of the minutes of the first meeting is as follows: "The first town meeting was held at the home of David Watson, April 4, 1876. Robert Parker was appointed clerk of the meeting, James Watson, moderator, and David Watson and Thomas Moore, judges of election. Ballots were then cast for town officers as follows: Chairman, James Watson, 8 votes ; supervisors, Robert Parker 7 votes, Louis White 6 votes; Justices, David Watson 7 votes, Thomas Moore 7 votes; clerk, Louis White 6 votes; treasurer, Robert Montgomery 5 votes; assessor, Robert Parker 5 votes; constable, Albert Dahms 9 votes: overseer of the poor, Albert Leighton 3 votes; overseer of roads, James Watson 5 votes; poundmaster, Robert Parker."
Provenance
Text from The History of Redwood County, Minnesota, published 1916, in the public domain in the United States and digitised by the Internet Archive. The settlements listed against this township are matched by point-in-polygon test of each Geographic Names Information System coordinate against the Census Bureau's county subdivision boundary, not by name.