Winnebago City

Winnebago City

In September, of this year, five energetic young men, then in St. Paul, moved by the spirit of the times and impelled much by the same motives which had actuated the founders of Blue Earth City, also conceived the idea of establishing a town somewhere in the great Territory of Minnesota. Their names were Andrew C. Dunn, Warren N. Dunham. Elijah H. Barritt, James Sherlock and Charles H. Parker. Having determined on this project, they at once purchased a team and outfit, and all except Mr. Parker, started out to find an eligible location. They laid their course for Lake Albert Lea, in Freeborn county, adjoining this county on the east, and ar- rived there about the first of October. But on reaching that point they found that tlie only suitable location for a town had already been taken up by George Ruble and others. They endeavored to get an interest in this location, but failed. The question then arose to what point should they now direct their course? Mr. Dunn remembered having met, during the summer of this year, at Mankato, Grover C. Burt and Hiram L. Young, who were at the time living on the Blue Earth river, in this county, and who had given him very glowing descriptions of the Blue Earth Valley and strongly invited him to visit this region. So they started for the Blue Earth, where they safely arrived and made inquiry for Mr. Young, whom they found living in a tent on the lands of Capt. H. H. Bigelow, adjoining what is now the site of Winnebago City. Mr. Young and one B. K. Burt were then "claiming" the two quarter sections on which the village of Winnebago City was afterwards located, but on learning that our company were desirous of founding a city, they surrendered their claims and took others. Our company camped with Mr. Young about six weeks, while making the claim and locating the town. The town was located upon the south-east quarter of section thirty-four and the south-west quarter of section thirty-five in town one hundred and four of Range twenty-eight west.

The final surveys were made in January, 1857, by Messrs. Wellman and Johnson, civil engineers, of St. Paul, and the plats were filed soon after, in the office of the register of deeds of the county. Mr. Young having the logs hewed for a small house (12x14) was induced by the company to erect the house on the town- site, which was done in November and was occupied by an agent of Mr. Parker, with a small stock of goods during the winter of 1856-7. This was the first house in the town and the first store in the city.

A hotel building next demanded attention. One Dr. W. N. Towndrow, assisted by the town proprietors, undertook this important work. This structure was twenty by thirty-six feet and one and one-half stories high. The boards for the floor and roof - green basswood and elm - were purchased at Mankato, at an expense of about seventy-five dollars per thousand feet. The building, however, was not finished until the next year, but served a good purpose as a fort, during the Indian excitement, in the spring of 1857. A steam saw mill was also purchased in Chicago, by the company during the year, but did not arrive until the following spring. The further history of this young city will be found in the historical sketch of Winnebago City township.

Here now was another village, between which and Blue ICarth City there sprang up in after years, contests and rivalries like "The Wars of the Roses," and lasted a long time. No blood was shed, indeed, but in political figuring, bitter denunciations, heated con- tests and prodigious blustering, resembled somewhat, on a small scale, the old wars of the houses of York and Lancaster. But the old feuds have now happily- passed away.

The First Election

On the second Tuesday, the 14th day of October, the tirst election in the county for civil officers occurred. It was held at Blue Earth City, the county seat. The whole county was then one election district. The question also of the permanent location of the county seat was voted upon as required by law, and resulted in the unanimou.s choice of Blue Earth City. The judges of election were Moses Sailor, J. B. Wakefield and H. T. Stoddard. The whole number of votes cast was eighty-two. It seems that no votes were cast for members of the legislative council and house of representatives, in this county at this election County officers only were elected as follows: -

It cannot now be determined whether any other county officers were elected at this election, or not, as no record of the election can now bo found. This was the year of the eighteenth presidential election, but as Minnesota was then but a territory, no vote was cast here for presidential electors.

The presidential candidates were James Buchanan, democrat, John C. Fremont, republican and Millard Filmore "know-nothing." Mr. Buchanan was elected, but had only what is called a plurality popular vote. This was the first great contest of the new republican party and the election was an exciting one. The main issue between the republicans and democrats was that of the further extension of slavery. The great plank in the platform of the knownothing, or American party, was that none but native Americans should be put in office. The real contest, however. M'as between the two former parties and various causes rendered it a lively one. A great principal was involved, in which the troubles in Kansas heretofore referred to, intensified the interest. An event had also occurred in Washington of such significance as to add fuel to the fires. In May of this year, on the floor of the U. S. senate chamber. Charles Sumner, senator from the state of Massachusetts - a noble and honored statesman, one of the foremost men of the age and a great champion of human rights, while sitting at his desk, was, because of .some words spoken in debate, brutally assaulted and beaten over his bare head until he fell to the floor insensible, gashed, bleeding and powerless, by a detestable coward named Brooks - a representative from South Carolina. It was a most infamous deed and without a parallel anywhere in history. But to return to our local election. It was as above stated the first in the county and we are happy to say it was a model election. Those were the days here of x'epublican (or if you choose democratic) simplicity and purity of the ballot box. There were no parties, nor partizan politics involved at this election. It was not preceded by "packed" caucuses in the townships. There were no county conventions managed by party wire pullers, or political demagogues, dictating for whom the people should vote by setting up candidates. There wei"e no country school house meetings and no riding up and down the county, canvassing the electors and extolling the vast abilities and immaculate virtues of one set of candidates and the prodigious villainy and utter incompetency of the other set. Office hunters and office hunting were unknown and the candidates were the free choice of the electors. Tlie honors of office were unsought and were borne by the recipients with modesty and diffidence. Blessed days were those, but never to return again. Alas! alas! how the times have degenerated! But we must now turn from these subjects to deeds of violence and death nearer home and recount the

Second Homicide

Samuel V. Hibler, the register of deeds of the county and one of the original town propietors, was holding the southwest quarter of section seventeen in township one hunderd and two, range twentyseven, adjoining the town- site of Blue Earth City, as a claim under the pre-emption laws. He had erected a small log cabin and made some other improvements on the land. Not probably living up to the strict letter of the law as to residence upon the land and the land then being deemed quite valuable, one Theophilus Bowen "jumped the claim," as it was called in those days and determined to contest Hibler's right and ordered trial at the local land office, than located at Chatfield, Minnnesota. In Hibler's absence Bowen had gone upon the land and taken possession of the building. The jumping of claims was in those days, very unpopular and was viewed as a gross infringement of private rights, which warranted extreme measures. Many persons in those early days lost their in this teri'itory because of claim jumping. In many places on the frontiers law and order in the first settlement of the country is not well established, and but little respected and persons considering themselves trespassed upon, often seek to right their wrongs "by the strong and bloody hand."

Hibler returned and on the fifteenth day of October, taking several friends with him, proceeded to the house on his claim and ordered Bowen off of the premises. A young man named Alfonso Brooks, was in the house at the time with Bowen. High words followed between Hibler and Bowen, and they got into a scuttle, when Brooks interfered and Hibler, who had a stout cane in his hand, struck Brooks over the head. Brooks stooped down to pick up a piece of brick from a small pile in the corner and as he arose, Hibler struck him asain on the head several times. Brooks fell and died in about an hour. His skull was broken. Mr. Brooks was buried in the graveyard at Blue Earth City, the Rev. J. G. Whitford preaching his funeral sermon. It was indeed a .=ad affair. A young man of good habits, intelligent, of inoffensive character and not one of the principal parties to the quarrel, stricken down in the prime of life.

Bowen immediately went to Mankato, in Blue Earth countj', to which this county had been attached for judicial purposes, and made complaint against Hibler and some others, whom he considered implicated. The complaint was made before a justice of the peace, who forthwith issued a warrant for the arrest of Hibler and the others. They were arrested and taken before the justice for examination. Thomas J. Galbraith. an able lawyer of Shakopee. and James Dow, an attorney i-esiding at Red Wing, were retained as counsel by Hibler and his friends, and Lewis Branson, of Mankato. who afterwards became judge of the sixth district, appeared as prosecuting attorney. When the case was called, Mr. Galbraith moved the court to discharge the prisoners on the ground that the justice had no jurisdiction over the territory (in the county) ^here the offence had been committed, the statute of the time enacting that the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace should be "Co-extensive with the limits of his county and no other or greater." They were discharged. Mr. Hibler never returned to this county. He went to Shakopee where he remained a short time, and then returned to Pennsj'lvania, his native state. The others, being no more than mere spectators of the homicide, came home. Bowen subsequently pre-empted the land in dispute, the larger part of which, in after years, was laid out in additions to Blue Earth City. The current opinion of the time was, that the killing of Brooks was mainly an accident and that Hibler was not seriously to blame under the circumstances.

The Weather

The weather, during the summer and fall of this year, was very pleasant until the winter set in, on the twenty-second day of November, coming down suddenly in the shape of a foot of snow, and became very severe. The winter of 1856 7 will long be remembered over the whole north, as one of the longest, coldest and stormiest ever known in the northwest.

Frozen To Death

But the tragedies of the year are not all told. About the first of December, Daniel Schneider, a resident of the county, and a man named Porter, started for Twia Lakes in the state of Iowa, to bring in a load of provisions, which Porter had succeeded in getting that far, but being unable alone to get further with his load, he had come to the residence of Schneider to get assistance. It was very cold and the snows deep, but they safely reached Twin Lakes and got ready for starting, but were delayed one day as a great snow storm was raging. There was then no one living at Twin Lakes, and they had to camp out.

While at this place there came there a man named Jones, and another man quite advanced in years, whose name is now forgotten, who were on their way to this county. They soon found tliat they could not move with their load, owing to the great additional depth of snow and the drifts, and the cold becoming very severe, they were compelled to leave everything and seek some human habitation or perish. They turned their oxen loose to shirk for themselves and all started for the residence of one Adams, in the Big Brush, near Forest City, about fourteen miles distant over the open prairies. All were frozen to death on the way, except Jones, who, almost exhausted and with feet and hands badly frozen, reached the cabin of Adams. It appears that Schneider was the first to fail on that terrible journey, as he gave out and laid down to die about six miles from Twin Lakes. Porter kept along some miles further and wandered off the road in the direction of Coon Grove, where he sank down in the sleep of death. The old man whose name is unknown, next succumbed, not far from their destination. A party went out from Forest City in a few days after and brought in the body of Porter, but the others were not found at the time. It was said that Porter had about one thousand dollars in gold with him, but no money was found on his body. Schneider's remains were found the next April, by his father. He was lying on his back, his limbs quietly composed, as though he had gone to sleep. His face and hands had been eaten away by wolves. His pockets had been turned inside out and his wallet lay upon his breast, empty. Whether the remains of the old man were ev-er found and what became of the oxen and load of provisions, the writer has never been able to learn.

Immigration

Many permanent residents came into the county during the year, and great improvements were made, but there is now no means of knowing what the population of the county was at the close of the year.

The first settlements were made during the year in the towns afterwards known as Minnesota Lake, Lura, Delavan, Walnut Lake, Poster, Emerald, .Jo Daviess and Seely, as will be seen by reference to the historical sketches of the several towns. The times were prosperous, the future promising and the people active and hopeful.