An illustrated history of Jackson County, Minnesota, Part 30

Author: Rose, Arthur P., 1875-1970
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Jackson, Minn. : Northern History
Number of Pages: 720

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The dedieation, which was acknowl- edged December 1, 1866, and recorded a few days later, was made in the follow- ing language :

The townsite of Jackson, in Jackson county, in the state of Minnesota, as it is laid out and platted by Messrs. W. Ashley and H. S. Bailey is described as follows, to-wit: Com- meneing at a point (35) thirty-five rods west of the center of section No. (24) twenty-four, in town No. (102) one hundred and two north of range No. (35) thirty-five west; thence running south (110) one hundred and ten rods: thence west 75 rods; thence north (110) one hundred and ten rods; thence east (75) seventy-five rods to place of beginning, con- taining (51 9-16) fifty-one nine-sixteenths acres, all on land owned by W. Ashley and I. S. Bailey. The above described land is divid- ed into (35) thirty-five blocks of (8) eight lots each. Each lot is (3 by 5) three by five rods. The streets between the blocks are four rods wide. There are also alleys between the lots running north and south of one rod in width.

WELCH ASHLEY, HI. S. BAILEY. Proprietors. Jackson, Minn., December 1, 186.

I hereby certify that the within is a correct description of the townsite of Jackson, in Jackson county, and state of Minnesota, as it is surveyed and platted.

JIIRAM S. BAILEY,

Notary Public, Jackson County, Minnesota. Recorded December 10, 9 o'clock a. m., 1866.

"The name of the county was probably re- sponsible for the name of the town. It will be remembered that so early as the spring of 1857 Alexander Wood had named the site JJackson and that the Minnesota legislature of that year had designated "Jackson" as the county seat of Jackson county, so that the name of the townsite is, in fact, older than the county. Possibly the fact that a township near Welch Ashley's old home In Pennsylvania was so named had its influence in the selection of the name by Messrs. Ashley and Balley.

The original plat consisted of thirty-five blocks. The streets running east and west were named Sheridan, Grant, Sherman, Ashley. White, Bailey and South. Those running north and south were named Riv- er. Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth. A stone was set in the ground to mark the center of the southwest quarter of section 24, and this was at the inter- section of Fourth and White streets."

Some two or three months before the plat became of record the first building was put up and the Jackson townsite boasted its first inhabitants. These were Thomas 11. White and George C. Cham- berlin. They first came to the site one day in the month of August, 1866,7 in- vestigated the prospects of the new town,

"Additions to Jackson have been platted as follows:

Bailey's-Surveyed by (. Chamberlin; dedi- cated by Hiram S. Bailey October 27, 1869.

Dumont's Subdivision-Surveyed by James E. Palmer: dedicated by John B. Dumont Septem - ber 11, 1884.

P. Brown's-Surveyed by L. L. Palmer; dedi- cated by P. Brown August 13, 1855.

Ashley & Moore's Subdivision-Surveyed by 1 .. 1 .. Palmer; dedicated by Benjamin W. Ash. ley and George R. Moore October S. 1892. Anderson & Lindsley's-Surveyed by J. I .. Holst; dedicated by 11. G. Anderson and F. W. Lindsley June 19, 1895.

Krause's-Surveyed by J. 1 .. Holst; dedicated by William Krause June 21, 1895.

Highland Park-Surveyed by J. L. Holst; ded- icated by George W. Priest and William C. Portmann September 30, 1535.

Owens'-Surveyed by J. L. Holst; dedicated by Even Owens October 17, 1899.

Louis Kiesel's Second-Surveyed by J. L. Holst; dedicated by Louis Kiesel January 9. 1900.

Ashley & Moore's Second-Surveyed by George E. Sawyer; dedicated by B. W. Ashiey and George R. Moore December 4, 1900.

Central Park-Surveyed by J. L. lloist; ded- Jeated by John Paulson July S. 1901.

Brown's Terrace-Surveyed by J. L. Holst; dedicated by J. K. Brown June 16, 1902.

Previous to making Jackson my home I had resided for a short lime at Blue Earth City, and it was here 1 Orst met my frlend Chamberlin In Minnesota, although I had known him for several years in the cast. Dur- ing our first Interview I told him of a recent trip to Jackson and of my determination to lo- cate there. I described the townsite as one of nature's wonders-the surroundings as all that could be desired-and expressed the opinion that Jackson would at no distant day he a prosperous and growing town. 1 also informed him that I had engaged Jim Pratt to take out n load of building material and that I would return in four or five days to erect a building and prepare for winter. It was soon arranged that he should accompany me to the promised land."-Thomas H. White in Jackson Republic March 9. 1SSS.

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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.

and returned to their temporary homes at Blue Earth City the next day.s Mr. Chamberlin was absent two weeks and then came back to Jackson on September 1. He tells of the new town as he found it on that date:

I found that during my absence, by virtue of the surveyors' chain, Jackson had made a wonderful advancement toward metropolitan proportions. It now actually contained 150 or 200 corner lots, several hundred lot stakes. street stake's and alley stakes.

Mr. White returned to his new home some time in September, bringing with him more stoek for the store which he proposed to open. He also brought a wife, having been married since his previous visit to Jackson. Welch Ashley's saw mill having been put in operation by this time. Mr. White at once began the erection of his store building, the first load of lumber having been hanled to the site by Menzo Ashley. For temporary quarters a shelter was made by taking tour joists and nailing rough boards around them six or seven feet high : two shelter tents provided the roof. When this was completed Mrs. White prepared supper, a table was made by placing a board on a tool chest and box. and Mr. and Mrs. White and Mr. Cham- berlin sat down to partake of the first re- past served in the village of Jackson.

The store, which was ereeted at the cor- ner of Second and White streets, where Robertson's implement house now stands, was completed in October. It still stands. forming a part of the implement house. It

"We [Chamberlin and White] arrived in Jackson the next afternoon [in August. 1866] and stopped at Thomas' old log hotel, the only stopping place of the kind in the country. The next morning we went down through the tim- ber, crossed the river to Jackson-yes, to Jack- son. All there was then of Jackson was tall prairie grass, but we pronounced the surround- ings and situation good and left. The next day we set out on our return to Blue Earth. Some- where on the prairie after we started out we met a company of engineers on their way to survey a line for the Southern Minnesota rail- road. I was unsophisticated then and supposed that surveying a railroad meant a railroad in the near future, and right then and there decid- ed to cast my lot in the new town. . George C. Chamberlin in a speech delivered

September 5, 1889.

is built entirely of native lumber and is about 18x20 feet in size, with a small up- stairs room. The store was opened as soon as the building was completed. and soon customers came with their muskrat, mink and other pelts to exchange for calico and groceries." Mr. White conducted the store until February, 1868. Then J. W. Hunter bought the stock at sheriff's sale and con- tinued the store.

The White store was the only building erected in Jackson in 1866, and during the following winter Mr. and Mrs. White were the only residents on the town, Mr. Cham- berlin having spent the winter in St. Paul. Upon his return to Jackson he took charge of the store while the proprietor and his wife spent two months visiting in the east- ern part of the state. Mr. Chamberlin has written: "Hence from the ?end of March to the 22nd of May, 1867, I was

"Concerning events of this time Mrs. W. L. White in 1895 wrote:

"Twenty-eight years ago last September I left my old home in Faribault county for the wilds of the west-even as far out as Jackson county. We took hut few household goods with us, expecting to have them come later with a small stock of goods for the store. It was our intention to board at Mr. Thomas' hotel until our store and dwelling combined could be built; but when we arrived we learned to our disappointment that the lumber was not all sawed yet. I have forgotten now what was the cause, but think it was either the great demand for lumher or they were waiting for the timber to grow. Anyway, our plan of getting plenty of help and rushing the build- ing right along had to be given up. After stay- ing at the hotel a few days, we decided to go to house-keeping in a tent pitched on the beautiful townsite of Jackson.

"The weather favored us, being perfectly de- lightful during October. Not having been in the house-keeping business very extensively for some time previous, and necessarily having very few conveniences in so small quarters, I did not find it the all-absorbing pleasure it is sup- posed to be-by the men. Of course, if I could have washed windows and doors and scrubbed floors, and so kept real husy all the time. 1 might have enjoyed tenting better than I did. Finally, after taking the boards as they dropped off the logs as the saw plowed through them, we got our building enclosed, the roof on, the loose boards down for the floor, and moved into the up-stairs of the first building in Jack- son. But in spite of our late fall, the whole structure was so very green that it was badly frost-bitten. I wonder quite frequently at the

present time how we managed to exist in the building that winter, unfinished, as it was; but I remember how our sheet-iron stove used to blaze with heat, and I presume the parties who sold us the wood we hurned realized that we were not at all economical in that line.

"There was no necessity for night-watchmen

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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.

the only inhabitant of Jackson. Certainly society circles were select during those two months, waiving all claims to respec- tability." During these early days of Jackson's history Mr. Chamberlin acted in the capacity of advertising agent, and quite a number of the town's early residents came as a result of his representations. Ile opened up a correspondence with thirteen newspapers in different parts of the coun- try from Minnesota to the far east, telling of the vacant government lands to be se- enred and advantages in the new country. with a view to attracting new settlers.

During the winter of 1866-67 the first bridge at Jackson. located where the low- er bridge is now. was built. It was Imilt of oak piles and hewn lumber. furnished by Welch Ashley. and the work of building the structure was donated. The bridge was not long in commission, for the ice took it out in the spring of 1867.19

in those days. We had quite a number of boxes of goods outside our tent (from which we sold to an occasional customer through the day), and they never were disturbed in any way. Jackson in those days was noted for one thing-scarcity of money-and as a conse- quence too much credit was asked to insure a successful business. While some asked credit with the assurance of millionaires, once in a while a man offered some security. I have in mind one case: a man with a large share of the alphabet for initials came into our store one day and asked for a few things on time. insisting on leaving as security a couple of plated wine goblets. They might have cost $4.50 wholesale. After this, on one promise or another, he ran that little bill up to $25.00, and the goblets were all we ever had for it. As soon as he ran out of securities he left the county. And get in many other cases men were not ale to give any security. So, as some of the present residents well know. our venture In business was not a success.

"In the spring of 1867 we Went off on a sort of a wild goose chase and left our jolly friend Chamberlin to look after our interests during our absence; and he did A well, too, judging from one tti I now remember we found on the book: 'To one darning needh. ten rents.' I do not recall other mistakes. if there were any. and being booked' could easily he corrected, and our few cash customers did not suffer to any great extent Mr. Chamberlin used to tell the joke on himself, so probably remembers it. Having lived there three and one-half years. I became attached to the peu- ple and place and was foth to leave."

10The second bridge over the Des Moines riv- er at Jackson was put up during 1869 and 1870 where the upper bridge Is now. It was a bent brider and the stringers were whipped out by hand. The county stood part of the expense of its construction and residents of Jackson the rest. It was in commission about ion

In the spring of 186; Thomas HI. White was appointed postmaster of Jack- son, and at once entered upon his duties. Previous to this time the postoffice had bien at the Thomas hotel on the east side of the river, and Joseph Thomas had been the postmaster. During those times the office was supplied by weekly mail from Emmel ( Estherville). the carriers being Major II. S. Bailey and his son. Frank Bailey. At the old hotel on the hill the settlers were want to congregate every Thursday to witness the arrival of the mail, which contained the St. Paul Work- ly Press, two weeks old, as the latest in- telligence from the outside world. What letters and papers were not handed out on the spot to the owners would be laid back on a shelf to await the call of the owners. Mr. White has written of his appointment as postinaster :

It was a lamentable fact that while we liv- ed in the city we had to go three-quarters of a mile into the country for our mail. A friend of Mr. Aiken Miner. from Fillmore county, had stopped at my place for an hour or so during the winter and had comprehended our wants. On his return to Fillmore county he immediately took steps to have the writer appointed postmaster, and this was against my wishes at that time. However, the ap- pointment came, and in due time the office was moved to town."

Jackson's second building was created in the spring of 1867. It was built by Wolh Ashley for his son-in-law. Palmer Hill. on the site of the present Jackson National Bank building on Second street. It was a

years. & combined iron and wood bridge look its place, and that was washed away during the high water of INS. From its wreck an- other was constructed. The present upper bridge was put in ten or more years ago by the county and township. The present lower bridge was built by the county and village about 1889.

"Mr. White served as postmaster untit Ises. Then J. W. Hunter received the appointment and vondueted the office at his store until 1870. Im April Is of that year Moses A. Strong be- came postinaster and served until October 4. 1877. In May. 1871. the Jackson office was des- ignaled a money order office, but it was not until aluly that this department began opera- tions. Alexander Flddes succeeded Mr. Strong and served until March. INNG. That month John Fiddes became the Jackson postinaster. He served until his death, which occurred May

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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.

two-story building, built of native lumber, and was occupied by Mr. Hill for a wagon shop for three or four years. The family lived up-stairs. It was in this building that Jackson's first bank was started. It now stands on Third street and forms a part of one of the buildings of the R. S. Robertson lumber yard.

The season of 1867 was wet and back- ward, and it was not until July or August that the little saw mill could furnish suf- ficient lumber for the few contemplated buildings of that year. Every board was. taken possession of almost as soon as' it left the saw. The cause of the activity in the building Jine was the arrival of two families in July, who came to engage in business and become permanent residents of the village. These were the families of W. S. Kimball and Samuel M. Clark, who increased the population of the Jackson townsite from three to eleven-a gain of over 200 per cent in one day.

Owing to the scarcity of humber, these new arrivals were obliged to take tem- porary quarters in an improvised board shanty located where the Ashley house now stands. George C. Chamberlin, who was about to erect a building, generous- ly surrendered lumber and carpenter priv- ileges, and those gentlemen began the con- struction of business houses. Mr. Kimball, who later became one of the best known business men of the village, erected a store building on the corner south of the Ashley house and opened a hardware store. His was a two-story building, and he and his

24. 1887. D. M. DeVore served under appoint- ment by President Cleveland from August. 1887. to August 1, 1889. From that date until November. 1893. Alexander Fiddes was again in charge of the office. From that time until November 2, 1897, the office was under demo- cratic administration and V. B. Crane was the postmaster. Herman Strom then became the postoffice official and served until February 1. 1902. He resigned and Alexander Fiddes again received the appointment. Mr. Fiddes has since conducted the office. He has served nearly twenty-three years as Jackson's postmaster.

family resided upstairs.12 Mr. Clark erect- ed a dwelling house on the site of the present Cowing block, and a blacksmith shop just to the cast of his house. An- other building erected in Jackson in 1867 was the office and dwelling house put up by Mr. Chamberlin. This stood at the corner of -Second and Ashley streets. When it was moved in 1889 to make room for the Berge block, Mr. Chamberlin gave the history of the building, as follows:

Consequently this was number four in the order of architectural enterprises during the starvation season of 1867. The half inch bass- wood boards used as siding were unloaded on the grass just south of Cowing's old store, and nearby stood a carpenter's bench, where one side of those boards was smoothed by the acting carpenter. I suppose one hundred teams now pass to and fro within the time then occupied by that brevet carpenter in dressing one-half dozen boards, but he gave as a reason for the slow progress that the boards should be thoroughly seasoned before using.

12Mrs. Frances M. Kimball, wife of W. S. Kimball, in 1895 wrote of her arrival to Jack- son :

"The little cottage in the village of Austin had been sold. the last goodbyes spoken, and we had started on our westward journey in the good. old-fashioned way. hoping to build our fortune by supplying the early settlers with the stock of hardware that had been pur- chased for the new town. On the outskirts of the city which had been our home for years, we were joined by the family of an honest blacksmith, familiarly known as Sam Clark. The season was an unusually rainy one, the newly laid out roads almost impassable and the streams unbridged. Only those who have traveled in like manner can realize the joy we felt as our train drew up before the log cabin of Uncle Joe Thomas, and. although almost twenty-eight years have elapsed since we reached the wooded bluffs on the Des Moines. I remember still the good warm meal that was set before us, and that bed! It may not have been down, but it seemed as such to us after those long nights of camping.

"But where was Jackson? This was the question I asked my husband as we stood on the banks of the bridgeless river. Silently he pointed to the little sawmill at our feet and the small. unfinished dwelling in the valley. These were the only signs of habitation as far as the eye could see: not a roadway to tell of neighboring villages; only the redman's path, a too vivid reminder of the terrible massacre that had so recently swept our borders. Trees were felled, and soon the little mill had pro- vided us with boards enough for a small one- room shanty, which we shared in common with the blacksmith. September came, and the north half of the building now owned and occupied by Ole E. Olson was ready for occupancy, and the two families were moved to the second story. To be sure it was neither lathed nor plastered. There were no partitions, and the roof rose like the dome of a church over our heads, but we did not complain though the winter was long and severe, for such is the life of pioneers."

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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.

It was the home of the writer for several Years: county officers and county commission- er- here transacted their duties: different business gatherings were wont to convene within its walls: social chit-chats, town gos- siping. and local loafing generally seemed for a time to drift to that billing as headquar- ters.

At one time Rev. Peter Baker hell pro- tracted meetings there, and the tunes and palms sung on that occasion were far more sacred than these sung by the carpenter boys, who almost every evening during the antum of 1868 assembled there for interchange of songs and stories. That was a busy seast, and every room was occupied. The boys would not only remain during the evening, but brought in their blankets and covered the floor during the night.

Justice courts were frequently held in this building, and in this connection many curious coincidents have already been recorded. first land trial after the United States land office was moved to Jackson in 1869 was held in this building and lasted until long into the night. As rather a strange circum- stance in this connection. the one before whom the trial was had, the two contestants and the half dozen or more witnesses have all left for distant parts. The two who acted as at torneys, however, are still residents of Jack- son-one of whom can appear on your street- only with the aid of two crutches, while the other is infirm and blind.

In the autumn of 1869 another building formed an addition to this structure, where early in 1870 the Republic was born and flour- ished until 1874. The old quarters were then used for a justice office and pea- unt stand-as a gentleman crossing the street read the sign, "Justice and Peanuts for Sale!"

In 1869 this building was the office of coun ty auditor and register of deeds: in 1889 it serves the same purpose for court commission- er and county surveyor; and I suppose in 1909 it will be occupied by whoever may be the scholastic and cultured persons filling the of- fices of superintendent of schools and county attorney, and the same oak shingles split and shaved by M. S. Clongh in 1867 will protect them from rain and storm.

Milton Mason has described Jackson as he found it in the fall of 1807 :

In October, 1867. myself and family landed at Jackson, on the 20th. The first persons when I met were Joseph Thomas. . Ir .. and R. D. Larnard. They assisted me down the stoop embankment just below the mill. We crossed the river and made straight for Aiken Miner's. I found quite a change in the townsite. 1 found a general store, well stocked. W. S. Kimball's hardware store. Clark's blacksmith shop, and Joseph Thomas' hotel near by. ] also found the following families living near by: Major I. S. Bailey, Welch Ashley. Clark Baldwin. R. N. Woodward. W. V. King. Parby

Whalen. Ben Johnson, Benjamin Dayton, Wil. son Garratt, Simon Olson and S. S. Gregg.

During these pioneer times every addi- tion to the town was cause for much com- ment and congratulation. The residents would gather around the carpenters as they would begin sonne little building, and that would be the principal resort until the building was completed.

An important addition to the communi- to in the spring of 1868 was John W. Coming, who founded the town's second general store, erecting a building in the middle of the block between the present locations of the Robertson implement house and the Albertus clothing store. 13 Another arrival in 1868 was John .1. Myers, who opened a store in a building situated where the First National Bank now stands. This building was one and one-half stories high and was erected dur- ing the summer by Welch AAshley. It was the first lath and plastered edifice erected in Jackson county, the lime and lath hay- ing been hauled by ox team from Mankato hy Menzo L. AAshley. This old store build- ing >till stands. to the east of the First National Bank.

During the late sixties rivalry sprang up between the communities of the cast and west sides of the river. It was learned that the original plat as laid out hy Messrs. Ashley and Bailey was defective for some cause or other, and in May, 1868.

""Thirty years ago last spring a slim young man drove over the brow of the hill in front of the Thomas place and took a look at the townsite of Jackson. He had been traveling in a covered wagon and camping by the road- side. looking for a location to commence life

for himself. The sight was a pleasant one. and before descending the steep hill to the ford he had decided that this was the place he had been looking for. He had five hundred dollars in cash and some personal property. Securing a lot be unloaded his plunder, and, buying an nix. he started out to buy trees enough to mmild a store. Cutting and hauling the logs himself. he soon had enough lumber to put up a small Imilding. 16x24 feet. on the lot now occupied by A. B. Oison's store. It was an immense store building at that Ume, and John W. Cow- ing soon had a small stock of goods displayed. and his career as a merchant commenced."- Republic, October 11. 1898.

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An illustrated history of Jackson County, Minnesota, Part 30

Author: Rose, Arthur P., 1875-1970 Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Jackson, Minn. : Northern History Number of Pages: 720

Author: Rose, Arthur P., 1875-1970
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Jackson, Minn. : Northern History
Number of Pages: 720