USA > Minnesota > Nobles County > An illustrated history of Nobles County, Minnesota > Part 13
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Grading contracts were let for the line north from Spirit Lake in July, and an army of workers was' at once put in the field. The road was completed to Worth- ingion October 2, and the driving of the last spike was made a memorable oc- casion. li was a gala day, and the peo- ple were present en masse. The driving of the spike that united the new road with the Omaha was driven with cere- monies by Rev. D. G. Gunn and Mayor C. II. Smith, of Worthington, amid the ringing of all the bells of the village and the firing of cannon and anvils. Regular train service was established October 18.7. As a result of the build- ing of this road another Nobles county town, Round Lake. came into existence.
But the building of the new road was not the only thing that brought glad- ness to the hearts of the people of No- bles county in 1882. The farmers gath- vred the largest and best crop ever be- fore seen in the county, and as good as was ever grown anywhere. Said the Ad- vance on August 31 :
"To sin up: We have a big crop in
"The road is now a branch of the Rock Is- land system.
109
HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.
the stack and a prospect of the best, briskest and livliest times we have ever seen in this county. We are sure of a lively fall and winter trade, and farm- ers. merchants, laborers. everybody, will feel like 'human bein's.'"
An event of not great importance in itself, but which resulted in quite an is- sue, was the park vacation matter. which troubled the people of Nobles county carly in 1883. The prevailing good times had brought activity in business and improvements. All the towns in the county folt the effect of prosperity, and out of the good times grew the strife over the "park proposition." Messrs. Miller & Thompson. of Rock Rapids, wanted to engage in business in Worthington and were prepared to erect a handsome business block there. They could find no site suitable. and coveted the court house square. They submitted a proposition, agreeing to erect a briek block. 50x100 feet, with a public hall in the second story. providing the cast corner of the public park (the property of the county) could be secured as a site.
On December 29, 1882. a petition was circulated among the business men of Worthington, the prayer of which was that the county commissioners should lay off into lots 125 feet of the public square. facing Tenth street, and sell the same. They were asked to take this ao- tion only on consideration that the Sioux City & St. Paul Railroad company, which had conditionally donated the block to the county. would relinquish its rights for a small consideration, and that the building as outlined above should be
erected during the year 1883. The peti- tion was signed by most of the leading business men of Worthington.s
The commissioners considered the peti- tion Jan. 2. 1883. The motion pre- vailed that the request of the petitioners be complied with. Commissioners Daniel Shell. Maurice O'Hearn and P. Blaine voting in the affirmative and T. L. Taylor and James Cowin opposing. Mr. Shell was directed to confer with the railroad officials to obtain their assent to tle sale. The latter offered no serious objection. Many of the residents of the county did. however, and the matter became a much mootcd question. Those favoring the plan argued that the county would realize several thousand dollars from the sale of the lots and that Worth- ington would secure several hundred thousand dollars worth of improvements in a short time. Those opposed pro- tested from a sentimental viewpoint : they desired not the ahridgment of the beautiful publie park. Strong opposi- tion developed. especially in the west end. and the park was kept intact.
This was not the only question that troubled the people of the county in the early days of 1883. During the time the park vacation argument was at its height. there came the agitation for the removal of the county seat to Adrian. The west end had been making vast strides during the few years preceding. and Adrian had become a town of con- siderable importance. When the pro- ple of the west end metropolis decided to have a try at the county seat they went at it in earnest.
No satisfactory county scat removal
RThe signers were C. P. Hewitt. W. G. Mar- tine. Otis Bigelow, Geo. M. Plumb. Henry Davis, C. H. Smith. Mons Grinager. J. A. Town. H. H. Anderson, H. E. Torrance, Azom Forbes, C. W. Smith, S. S. Hewitt, M. S.
Twitchell. W. F. Thayer. W. A. Peterson, H. ". Shepard. R. D. Barber, A. S. Husselton, A. P. Miller, E. S. Mills, F. H. Wells, Thos. H. Parsons. L. B. Bennett, B. F. Johnson and S. McLean.
110
HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.
law graced the Minnesota statute books, and the residents of western Nobles county set to work to secure the pa -- age of a special law allowing the people to vote on the question of removal to .Ad- rian. Excitement was at fever heat in the west end. Men with teams scoured the western and central portions of the county securing signatures to a petition to be presented to the legislature. ask- ing for the passage of such an act. Something less than 600 signatures of voters were obtained.
The plan for a special law. such as Adrian first proposed to advocate, was abandoned. But through the efforts of Nobles county people a general county seat removal law was introduced and passed the senate. It failed to pass the house, and the legislature adjourned without complying with the request of the citizens of western Nobles county. The question was definitely settled for two years at least.
Nobles county's last township was or- ganized in 1883. The following set- tlers of township 103-42 asked for its organization : Andrew Thompson, John J. Thompson, Geo. Umbaugh. Abraham Abrahamson, Gunder Hansen, M. S. Conley. Geo. Rudge, Henry Slater, An- ton Titenberg. Franz Kurchel, IT. D. Hosmer. John W. Johnson. Peter Wiese. Samuel JJ. Hamilton, Sam Nelson, J. P. Hosmer. Timothy Conley. James Cowin, Thos. Barnett. Ed. Cooper, Jos. Cowin, (. J. Swanson. Alphonse Spitz, Joseph O'Grady. John J. MeCormack. The board granted the petition March 6, and on March 22 the first town meeting was held at the residence of Andrew Thomp- son on section 32.
The new township was named Larkin, in honor of John Larkin, of New York
city, one of the prominent workers in the Catholic Colonization association. and a brother of Mrs. Maurice O'Hlearn, who recently died at her home in Grand Prairie township. Mr. O'Hearn was county commissioner at the time the township was formed. As was the case with several of the last townships or- ganized, a name was not selected with- out contention. Soon after the name was designated by the commissioners, a resident of the new town wrote:
"Now it is certain that a gross fraud has been committed in this case. as the petitioners requested it should be named Grove, and it was so stated in the peti- tion when signed by them, the name be- ing changed on the face of the petition by a certain party who has no authority lo do so, and who makes his home and carries on his business in the village of Adrian. The petition has been tampered with, and criminal proceedings will be taken against the man for so doing. The only connection he holds with the town is by holding a quarter section by suffrance. As to John Larkin, he may be a very good and chari- table man. but a large majority know nothing of him, never having board his name before."
A tornado visited the northwestern part of the county on Monday, July 21. 1884, and did considerable damage. Miss Cora Graf. daughter of County Com- missioner Emil Graf. of Willmont, was killed, and D. F. Ufford. of Larkin. was seriously injured. The storm was most severe in Larkin and Lismore townships. Many buildings were destroyed, slock was lost and killed. and crops were ruin- ed. The school house in district 43. con- taining teacher and students, was car- ried several feet by the force of the
111
HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.
wind, but fortunately no one was hurt. Of the results of the storm the Adrian Guardian said :
Cora Graf, daughter of Emil Graf, county commissioner of Willmont, was killed by be- ing strnek on the head by a piece of heavy timber. She was at the barn and started to go to the house when the storm struck the large barn, 40x54, blowing off the roof and scattering the heavy timbers, one of which strnek her, with the result recorded above. She was thirteen years of age. An- other sad accident occurred at Jas. Barry's in Larkin township. The new house which they recently moved into was completely torn to pieces, and D. F. Ufford, Mrs. Barry's father, was carried a considerable distance, and when found was unable to speak. Dr. Sullivan was immediately sont for, and upon his arrival foand him in a critical condition- several ribs broken. shouldler dislocated. and shoulder blades shattered; there was also severe bruises about his head, and at first it was thought that his injuries would prove fatal, but the doctor now has hopes of his recovery.
Another railroad was built through a portion of the county in September. 1884. The Burlington constructed a line northwest from Lake Park, which passed through the southwest corner of Grand Prairie township. The village of Ellsworth was founded that fall, and soon took its place as one of the best towns in the county.
The year 1884 was one of the most prosperous in the county's history, and was a year of jubilee. Exclusive wheat farming had been found unprofitable. and only a limited acreage was sown. In- stead of raising only wheat, farmers raised flax and hay, and turned their at- tention to stock raising and dairying more than formerly. Flax growing be- came one of the big industries. There was an immense crop in this year of juh- ilce, and it commanded a big price. Hay was also a big price, and an un- usual quantity was put up. pressed and shipped. Flax. hay, butter and cattle were the principal exports: other pro- ducts shipped out of the county were
wheat, oats, barley, wool, hides, eggs, potatoes and timothy. The following table shows the shipments (car loads) of principal exports during the year from the various railroad stations :
STATION
Flax
Live Stock
Hay
Worthington
85
48
115
Bigelow
40
4
Hersey.
12
21
Kinbrae
17
36
Adrian .
182
21
...
Rushmore
35
16
..
Ellsworth
101
3
...
Totals
472
92
172
The excellent crops had a good ef- feet on the real estate market, which was more active than it had been at any time previous, with the possible excep- tion of 1822. The value of lands soll during the year was $519,639. The re- sults of prosperous times were seen in building improvements in all parts of the county and in the prompt payment of debts. The farmers wore at last firnily on their feet, and the high road to wealth was henceforth open. The ro- covery from the grasshopper sconrge was almost complete.
The census of 1885 gave the county a population of 5.642, a gain of 1,207. or about 25 per cent. in five years. The population was divided by precincts as follows:
Adrian Village
533
Bigelow
252
Bloom
115
Dewald
181
Elk
9.8
Graham Lakes
262
Grand Prairie
380
Hersey
196
Indian Lake
234
Larkin
84
Trota
174
Lismore
182
Little Rock
3.82
Lorain 106
Olney
204
112
HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.
Rau-om
205
Seward
150
Summit Lake
Westside
228
Willmont
205
Worthington Township
Worthington Village
997
Total
95,642
The legislature of 1885 passed a county seat removal bill. providing for the submission of the question of re- moval to the voters in any county in the state after certain formalities had been complied with. The act provided for the removal if the town seeking the honor should receive 55 per cent of the vote. There was some talk of the west end metropolis entering the race, but no formal action was taken. The rapid ad- vancement of the west side during the early eighties caused Adrian to be hope- ful of some day securing the honor. The vigorous growth is shown by the census figures. In 1880 the eight wes- tern townships had a population of only 1616, to 2.193 to the eastern eight. while there were 526 in the middle tier. In 1885 the west end had distanced the east end. Then there were 2.572 in the west, to 2,122 in the east, with 593 in the middle tier.
Another excellent erop was harvested in 1885, and everybody made money. As a result there was a big immigration in the fall. New settlers poured into the county, and the real estate transfers were numerous. The next year was al- so a prosperous one, the real estate transfers amounting to $565.799. The Burlington road that year built a branch line from Ellsworth to Rock Rapids. thus adding another raitroad to the .county, although only a short distance of the road was in Nobles county. A strange contrast were these days of the
eighties with those of the decade before. Compare this item from the Worthing- ton Globe at the close of the year 1887 with some of ten years carlier :
"In our own immediate vicinity all branches of industry have been unuisu- ally prosperous. Mechanics have gener- atty been busy, labor has been in de- mand, and the weather has been favor- able for all kinds of business, and the country is very rapidly recovering from the grasshopper scourge, which impov- prished so many people a few years ago."
During the history of the Northwest there have been a few winter storms of such unnatural severity that they stand out as events of historical importaner. The most severe of these awful storms was the blizzard of January 2. 8 and 9. 18:3. an account of which has been giv- (n. Ranking second was the terrible blizzard of January 12. 1888, when scores of people perished in the country. In Nobles county three lives were sacri- ficed and many people became lost in the storm and were badly frozen.
Two Hollanders. Jacob De Vries and Douwe Postma, were caught in the storm and froze to death. one in Bloom township, the other in Summit Lake. The third death was that of Seselia Knutson, wife of Knut Kuntson. She perished in the country near Rushmore. People caught in the storm in different part of the country wandered for miles over the prairies, not knowing where they were. Several were so badly frozen that it was necessary to amputate hands. feet or limbs. Even people in the vil- lages were. in some instances, unable to reach home and took refuge in the nearest houses. Much stock was lost.
In Angust, 1888, came one of the most severe hail storms ever witnessed
'Populations of other nearby counties: Rock, 5.243; Murray, 4,216; Pipestone, 3,897.
113
HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.
in the county, causing much damage to crops in the southwestern portion of the county. In places the fall of hail was remarkable.10
During the late eighties the people were blessed with good crops and pros- perous times. The result was a big
increase in population. In 1890 the feder- to differ-notahly the matter of the re- al census disclosed the fact that there were 7,958 people residing in the county. This was a gain of 3,523 in ten years and 2,316 in five years. The population by precincts was as follows :
Adrian Village
671
Bigelow 408
Bloom 175
Dewald 320
Elk 248
Ellsworth Village 25S
Graham Lakes
561
Hersey
282
Indian Lake
320
Larkín
185
Leota 185
Lismore 328
Little Rock
438
Lorain
234
Olney 257
Ransom 240
Seward 324
Summit Lake 148
Westside 310
Willmont 329
Worthington Township 289
Worthington Village 1,164
Total 7.958
The citizens of the west end of the county adopted new tactics concerning the county seat question early in 1893. Instead of agitating the removal of the seat of government to Adrian, a plan of dividing the county and forming a new one, with Adrian as the county seat, was conceived. Hardly had the legisla-
10 An Ellsworth ritizen tells me that in that village he saw hail stones piled up to the depth of about four feet where they had fallen between two buildings.
#"Changes were spoken of which may, if they are carried. add another county to the state of Minnesota. The matter will doubtless be discussed for a considerable time before any measure will be matured to ask the con- currence of the people interested. We shall give further details when we are in posses- sion of further light. The committee to
ture convened that year when a num- ber of the representative citizens of Adrian requested a conference with a like number of the prominent citizens of Worthington for the purpose of talk- ing over certain matters, about which their interests and views were supposed moval of the county seat. It was made known that it was the desire of the west end people to arrive at an amiable set- tlement of the controversy.
The Worthington people accepted the invitation. and a conference was held Saturday, January 14. The subject of the division of the county was brought up and discussed. In a neighborly way the feasibility of dividing Nobles county and creating another one was debated. There was no inclination to take hasty action in the matter. The proposition was a new one, and it was deemed best to take more time for consideration. The subject matter was left in the hands of a committee for further investigation, and arrangements were made for future con- ference.11
Hardly had the conference adjourned before the people of the central part of the county were up in arms against the movement. They saw what they believed to be a conspiracy. Here wore the erstwhile rivals. Worthington and Adrian, in carnest and friendly consultation, so- cretely planning to divide the county without consulting the wishes of the poo- ple through whose country the boundary line must run.12 They arose in their
whom the matter is referred must consult be- fore any further movement is made,"-Worth- ington Advance, Jan. 19, 1893.
"The fact that such a meeting was held was known, but the deliberations were not made public. The Worthington Advance resented the statement that it was a secret meeting and said: "There was no secret for anybody to hpep. The Advance stated the substance of the talk in its next issue, nor was there any suggestion made from any quarter that we should not make the matter public. There was
6
114
HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.
might and denounced the proposed
wary 28.13 The plan resulted only in
dismemberment. calling a mass meet- "talk," and no such measure as pro- ing to be held at Rushmore Jan- posed was presented to the legislature.
no conspiracy thought of against any portion of our county, and the interests of the people of all parts of the county were kindly and thoughtfully spoken of. In fact, nothing was said that anybody would be ashamed of."
13"Whereas it has been announced that the citizens of Adrian and Worthington are hold- ing a series of secret meetings for the pur- puse uf dissecting Nobles county for their own selfish ends, be it .hetefore
"Resolved, that we, the citizens of the cen- ter tier of townships, in council assembled, de- nouzoe such action as a conspiracy against
the best interests of the county at large, and call upon all honest men to oppose the scheme. and be it further
"Resolved, that all citizens of said county who are interested in their own welfare be. and they are hereby, requested to attend a mass meeting to be held in the Rushmore school house on Saturday, Jan. 28, 1893, at two p. U.
"A. SCHAEFFER. "W. DOUD. "A. W. FERRIN. , "Committee."
CHAPTER VIII.
CURRENT EVENTS-1893-1908.
Prosperous times continued up to the summer of 1893. Then came the mem- orable panic and the few years of hard times. Two banks, one at Worthington and one at Ellsworth, closed their doors; several business houses failed ; business was for a time paralyzed : and a period of dull times set in which was not en- tirely broken until the late nineties. The depression was not so keenly felt in Nobles county, however, as it was in many of the less favored portions of the country. The panic was preceded by a decade of flourishing times. Every- body had prospered and was in position to weather the financial crash and its resulting period of depression.
The building of a suitable court house had long been a mooted question. Time and again grand juries had investigated the county building, made known its in- adequacy for the proper care of the re- cords and for the transaction of husi- ness, and recommended the building of a new court house. The jail, which was in the court house building, had often been condemned by state officials as an unsafe place for the holding of prison- ers.
Prisoners of very ordinary expert- ness were able to break out almost at will. In the spring of 1891 a bill was
1July 18 the resolution was amended. It was decided not to issue the bonds, but to apply
introduced in the legislature, the pur- port of which was to allow the people of the county to vote on the question of bonding for the purpose of erecting a court house and jail. but the bill was killed in committee.
In the summer of 1893 a majority of the county board were in favor of erect- ing a building. and they took the matter in their own hands and proceeded with the plans. By a vote of three to two it was decided, on Jan. 12, 1893, to build a jail and sheriff's residence at a vost not to exceed $10,000, and to issue bonds for that amount.1 On the same day and by the same vote the following resolution was passed :
Resolved, That we take immeliate steps to build a new court house in the court house park at Worthington, and that the same be built without unnecessary delav. and that $8 .- 000 taxes be now levied for that purpose. the work of building to be commenced this fall if the money can be procured for that pur- pose.
Six days later it was decided to in- crease the levy from $8.000 to $12,000. Conunissioners II. M. Palm. John Mock and Chas. L. Peterson were named a building committee for both the court house and jail. As a majority of the board of commissioners they instructed themselves to proceed at once with the
to the state for a loan of $10,000.
115
116
HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.
construction of the jail and to employ an architect to prepare plans for the court house.
Opposition developed so soon as the first steps were taken. The commission- ers had only fairly started with their work when a suit was brought against the county by D. J. Forbes, of AAdrian." who asked for an injunction to restrain the county officials from proceeding with the erection of either the court house or jail. A temporary restraining order was granted. and work was necessarily sus- pended. The case was carried to the supreme court, the county being repre- sented by Geo. W. Wilson. The proceed- ings of the county officials were upheld, and the injunetion was dissolved.
Architect Geo. Pass drew the plans for the jail, which were approved Jan. 3. 1894. The contract for its erection was let to John D. Carroll, of St. Paul Park, on a bid of $9,655, and on October 19 the building was accepted.
A remonstrance against the building of the court house was presented to the county board Feb. 15, 1894. It contain- od the signatures of 416 residents. The commissioners responded by passing a resolution to the effect that application be made to the state for a loan of $30,- 000 to help pay for the court house.3 Albert Bryan was the architect selected to furnish the plans. May 5 the con- fract was let for the creetion of the court house and the installation of the heating plant to J. D. Carroll on a bid of $12,469. Mr. Bryan. the architect, was employed by the county to superin- tend the construction.
Work on the building was rushed. The corner stone was laid with interest- ing ceremonies August 1. In January. the contracts were let for furnishing the
building, and on May 28, 1895, the new court house was turned over by the con- tractor and accepted by the county.
While the legal proceedings against the creation of the court house were in progress the talk of county seat removal was resumed, and the subject again be- came a live issue. Some preliminary work was done with a view to having the matter submitted to the voters, but those interested, not securing the encourage- ment necessary to guarantee the success of the movement, soon abandoned their efforts. This was the last time the ques- tion of removal was brought up. Dur- ing the eleven years. 1883 to 1893, that the county seat question was an issue. the question was not once brought to a vote.
By 1895 the population had increased to 11,905, which was 3.947 more than it had been ten years before. By pre- einets :
Adrian Village
1,072
Bigelow
577
Bloom
325
Dewald
514
Elk
36S
Ellsworth Village
352
Graham Lakes
616
Grand Prairie
487
llersey
125
Indian Lake
174
larkin
308
1.cota 1
3-4.5
Lismoro
41S
Little Rock
550
Lorain
288
Olney
394
Ransom
300
Seward
ISO
Summit Lake
250
West -ide
435
Willmont
545
Worthington Township
353
Worthington Village
1,018
Total 11,005
The latter half of the nineties was a very prosperous period in Nobles county. Excellent crops brought hundreds of new settlers. Land values jumped several
"Passed by the usual vote of three to two.
2Entitled D. J. Forbes vs. J. J. Kendien.
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