An illustrated history of Nobles County, Minnesota, Part 19

Author: Rose, Arthur P., 1875-1970
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Worthington, Minn. : Northern History
Number of Pages: 738

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they finished surrounding the lake, and the party then went to Graham lakes, fifteen miles away. to spend the night. Shelter was secured in the log hut of H. C. Hallett, who "kept tavern" and was the postmaster.

During the time the railroad was be- ing graded through southwestern Min- nesota the site where afterwards the town of Worthington was built was known as Okabena. When the colony company became interested, and before the town was founded, the name was changed to Worthington, which was the name of. Mrs. Mary Dorman Miller's (wife of Dr. A. P. Miller) mother be- fore her marriage. The name was sug- gested by Prof. Humiston.º The Worth- ington family was a prominent one in Ohio. Among its members were Thomas Worthington, once governor of the state. for whom the town of his name in Franklin county was named; and Gen- eral J. T. Worthington.10 Not alone is

honor of Prof. Humiston's wife's family. who lived at Toledo. Again the Advance corrected the statement of Mr. Drake. The latter then appealed to Prof. Ilumiston for a state- ment concerning the naming of the town. Prof. Humiston. in letter dated Boston, Oct. 13. 1888. wrote:

"Dr. Miller, my partner, wanted to name the town 'Dorman.' after Mary Dorman, his wife. You [Drake] and the railroad directors objected, saying that 'Dorman is a sleepy. dull. uneuphonius name' and asked me tu select something else. Wanting to please Dr. Miller, I concluded that if I could not give the town Mary Dorman's father's name. 1 would give it her mother's maiden name. which was Worthington, her father being the brother of Gov. Worthington, I believe. and General Worthington, of Chillicothe. he- ing her first cousin. When I suggested the name of Worthington. it was satisfactory to you and the directors, yon remarking that you had relatives by marriage of that name: so. then and there, the name of Okabena was changed to Worthington."

Mr. Drake added the following to , Prof. - HIumiston's letter:

When he [ Prof. Humiston] pro- posed the name Worthington I said to him that I had relatives of that name. but neither he nor I supposed they were of the same family. You [Worthington Advance] were probably right that the person in whose honor the name was given was related to the Chillicothe family, and I was right in say- ing that the name was not given for Governor Worthington or any of his descendants, all of which I know intimately."

Mrs. Mary Dorman Miller, in a letter to

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HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.

the name distinguished for its Ohio con- nections. It is one of the oldest in America. From a member of the Worth- ington family" it is learned that the name can be traced back of the time of the Norman conquest in England. It is a Saxon name and originated before the time of William the Conqueror. The Saxons bearing the name lived in Derby. and there was a town of the same name. Some member of the family came to America on the Mayflower, and the American branch is founded from that ancestor.

The name was not entirely satisfac- tory, and several times in the early days suggestions were made that a change he made, but no action to that end was ever taken. Many regrelled that the Indian name "Okabena" was not given.12

So soon as it was definitely settled that the colony company was to build a town on Okabena lake preparations were begun to start the town. Before winter set in quite a little town had made its appearance on the spot where late in the summer there was not a sign of hab- itation. Construction on the first build- ing was begun on Sunday, the first day of September, probably only a few days after the Miller-Humiston party had visited the site. It was a frame business

the Advanee, dated New York, Dre. 11, 1888, wrote:

"You and Mr. Drake are far 'at sra' in your attempt to give a historical account of the naming ot Worthington; but I come to your rescue, though not as the traditional straw to the drowning man. My mother's maiden name was Worthington, Her father was Robert Worthington, of Chillicothe, Ohio. who was the brother of Thomas Worthington. governor of Ohio; and the now beautiful. pros- porous town of Worthington. Minn., was nam- od for 'the Chillicothe family.'"

The correspondence was closed with the following from Mr. Brake In the Advance of Dec. 27. 1888:

"It will now be well enough to consider the name of your thriving village settled, as to the question for whom it was named. Mrs. Miller, by virtue of her sex, is entitled to the last word. As RUp Van Winkle says, 'We will not count this.' My memory was at fault in saying the name was in honor of

house erected by II. W. Kimball for a hardware store. A detailed. and appar- ently authentic, account of the building of this first structure is furnished by a lotter written by S. C. Thayer, the car- penter who did the work on the build- ing. and it is here reproduced. The letter was dated Liberal. Mo .. Jan. 6. 1885:

The first nail was driven with the following ceremonies :

First I go back a little that you may under- stand it. At that time (August to September, 1871) I was living on a elaim in Jackson county and had been living in Jackson. Had done some work for one. W. S. Kimhall. of that place. At this time said Kimball had a nephew come from Illinois, who was to start a kind of branch hardware store at Worthington, which at this time was an nnin- habited prairie, not a stiek or house within some distance, the railroad not yet completed to Worthington.

So. on Saturday afternoon, Aug. 31. 1871. said nephew (Herb Kimball) came to my claim "shanty" with a span of horses and wagon loaded with lumber for the commence- ment of his new hardware store at Worthing- ton. He had with him a carpenter from Jack- son by the name of Stephen Ford, who was to assist mo in the erection of the building. As it was getting late in the afternoon and I had some arrangements to make in order to leave my wife and one child comfortable. I prevailed on the "ship's crew" to stay with me over night. and take a fresh start on Sunday morning, which was done.

On Sunday morning all was ready, and we set out for our long journey (some thirty miles or more) across the wild prairie, with shot guns. carpenter tools. lumber. wagons and horses, with plenty of the necessaries of life for a week or two. On we went. Noon

Mr. Humiston's family, instead of Mrs. Mil- ler's. It was given, doubtless, in honor of her immediate ancestors, and not the family at large. So. it seems Mrs. Miller, you and I were all right, only differing as to whether the name was for the Worthington family at large or her branch of it The controversy is ended, Let us have per

"George ES. Worthington, student of history al the Wisconsin University.

"Some credence has been given to a hoax on the naming of Worthington, originated in the carly days. It was said that when sel- tlers first came here and the question of a name for the town came up it was suggested that as the county had such a noble name. it was but fitting thal the first town in it should have a name worthy of the county- and that Worthington was derived from the word worthy. Of course there is no truth In tho statement.

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HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.

came, and yet we were on wild prairie. Stopped and fed, took a lunch, and we went toward the New Jerusalem. On, on, on until about five or half past we passed a kind of swamp lake, and a beautiful southern slope of another little sheet of water, and very elose to it we stopped. It was a most beau- tiful evening and also a beautiful spot of ground. Nothing to be seen except land and water.

Then arose the question in what manner we could best fit up our temporary quarters un- til we could get our building enclosed, or partly so, I suggested the wedge shaped shanty with ridge pole, which was adopt- pdl. Now for a couple of stakes to rest our ridge pole on, but lo! we were not in a tim- bered country. So we took a piece of 2x4x14 and out it in two, sharpened the ends of each, drove them into the ground. Then for the ridge pole took another of the 2x4. Here it was found that it would take a 20d spike to fasten the ridge to the poles of our building. So out of the wagon was rolled a keg of spikes, and . Mr. Kimball suggested that, inas- much as I was a carpenter, I had better do the nailing. I took the hammer and nail and stepped upon the keg, which had been placed at the foot of the post, it being a little too high to reach. At this moment it occurred to me that I was to be the man to drive the first nail in the (what was to be) eity of Worth- ington. So with these remarks I "sent the nail home" that fastened the ends of the two first pieces of wood together in your city :

"Be it recorded and by these witnesses (II. Kimball and S. Ford) remembered that I. Solon Cassius Thayer, who was born in Bloomfield. Ohio, on the 21st day of August, 1843, now a carpenter and joiner, and hav- ing no faith whatever in the popular Chris- tian religion, Gods or devils, but do believe in doing justice at all times and in all places, and for the purpose of the upbuilding of a little eity that may bud and blossom for the good of its inhabitants. do on this beautiful Sunday evening, the first day of September. 1871, drive the first nail that shall fasten the ends of two pieces of wood together for the protection of its inhabitants from the weather."13

Off and up went the three hats and cheers for the city of Worthington.

On the next morning we went at the frame- work of the new store, while Mr. Kimball went to Heron Lake for more lumber. About the time we got our frame up the lumber was on the

13Extract from Mr. Thayer's diary.

""I also built the first sail boat that sailed on lake Okabena (as it was then called), a little six foot beam by about twenty feet in length, which I sold my interest in to Prof. Humiston. It was called the Pioneer. I did considerable in and about the village, and about June 25, 1872, I left there for Jackson,

ground for a large hotel and so on, and by the time we had ours done there was quite a village.14

The site of this first building was on Tenth street, where Devaney's billiard hall is now located. As stated by Mr. Thayer, that fall there were a number of others who came, erected buildings. and added to the population of the town. The railroad was not yet completed to Worthington. and the material for all the buildings erected in the fall of 18:1 was hauled from Heron Lake, then the terminus (temporarily) of the road. The building that fall was nearly all done in October and November. Nearly all the buildings were under way at the same time, and it is impossible to give the order in which they were completed.

One of the first buildings started and completed was a store building put up at the corner of Tenth street and Third avenue by L. F. McLaurin.15 who opened a general stock of goods, including dry goods, groceries, etc. A man by the name of Leslie erected a little building on Ninth street, between Third and Fourth avenues,16 where he opened a store and sold whiskey as a side line. Henry Davis & Brother opened a gen- eral store in a tent. carrying tobacco. shoes, shirts and other articles, which found a ready market among the graders who were then at work there. This tem- porary affair was discarded that fall, when Ilenry Davis erected a one and one-half story building on Tenth street.17 Although their stock had to be hauled in on wagons from Heron Lake, three lumber yards were opened that fall. One

and have never seen your city since."-Ex- tract from Mr. Thayer's letter.

15The MeLaurin building still stands, and is owned and occupied by Peter Thompson.

"On the lot upon which T. A. Palmer's house now stands.

17Where the Davis brick block now stands.

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HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.

of these was in charge of I. N. Sater; old homes, and times were dull during another was owned by Crocker Bros. & the cold weather svason. A man who visited the town in January, 1872. said of the conditions at that time: Lamoraux, with a man by the name of Folsom in charge; the third was owned by Henry Young & Co., of which Lovi Shell was the manager.18

The most pretentious building erected in Worthington in 18:1 was the Worth- ington hotel. Excavation work was be- gun in October. the building was com- pleted that fall, and was opened during the winter. It was erected jointly by the railroad company and the National colony, and its management was vested in the latter. The cost is said to have been about $30.000. It was three stories high and was, practically, the front half of the present day Worthington hotel. Win. B. Moore was the first manager.19

The postoffice was established in De- cember, 1821. and H. W. Kimball, the hardware merchant. was appointed post- master. Regular trains were not then running to Worthington. the mail being brought in by stage by "Stormy Jack" Grier, over the route from Jackson to Luverne. 20

Times were lively in the little village during the building days in the fall of 1821. When cold weather set in some of those who were not in business left the town to spend the winter in their

isThe members of this firm were Henry Young, Lovi Shell and Daniel Shell. The office was opened in November, having temporary quarters with Crocker Bros. & Lamoraux.

1ªMr. Moore did not give satisfaction to the colony company, and after having been in charge about ten months he gave up the lease. He was succeeded by Captain A. 1. Lyon, who conducted the business only two or three months, working for a salary for the own- ers. W. S. Stockdale was the next landlord. Ilo was succeeded shortly after by Jonathan Ames, who based the property and ran it about one year, On May 1, 1874. Daniel Shell look a five years' lease on the property and became its manager. At the end of the sco- ond year he purchased the property, which had come Into the hands of Peter Thompson, who had secured a judgment against Miller. Humistan & Co. Mr. Shell conducted the Imsluess until 1488. Samuel Espey then leased the property, and after being its man- ager lon months, dled.

was succeeded

"I counted thirteen buildings all told and was informed that there were thir- teen inhabitants at that time. It was one of the 'snow winters,' and drifts were piled all around the houses. I think there were seven snow steps lead- ing down to the depot platform. There was in the hotel one newspaper and a lot of greasy pieces of pasteboard with heart shaped devices on them and other devices. Several men boarders were waiting for spring to open."

AAhnost all the inhabitants were men21 who had established business enterprises and could not leave them. They amused themselves with the newspaper, the heart shaped devices, and practical jokes. About twenty men resided in the town during the whole winter. Among these was a "mess" of five-E. R. Humiston, 1. P. Chamberlain, C. C. Goodnow, .J. C. Goodnow and Jerry Haines-who, soldier-like. went into barracks in a boarding house near the railroad and boarded themselves. Besides those in the village proper were G. J. Hoffman, who spent the winter on his claim on the south side of the lake: Wm. F. Hib-

by John Fisher, who conducted the business four years under a lease. Mr. Shell then sold the property to F. R. Coughran and others, and Mr. Coughran was the landlord for Sep- oral years. The property then passed into the hands of Geo. W. Ivar, who had charge of it personally for a short time. W. H. Doolittle became the leasee and was landlord for a number of years. He was succeeded in recent years by Geo. W. Year. Thomas Dorgan and Stanley Moore.

"The Worthington office has been held by the following postmasters; II. W. KImball. 1. (. Goodnow. M. B. Soule, R. D. Barber. 1 .. R. Bennett, Frank Lewis, E. L. Schwartz and F. R. Coughran.

"1Mrs. Herbert W. Kimball was the first woman to come to Worthington. She came here with her husband in the fall of 1871. Imit returned to her old home for the winter. Mrs. Daniel Shell was the second lady to be- come a resident of Worthington.

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HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.

bard, who wintered in a small house on the east lake; and Jerome Stewart, a blind man, who lived in a shanty just across the track from the town.

While times were dull during the win- ter it was known that with the opening of spring Worthington would be one of the liveliest towns on the frontier. As- surances were received from the colony managers that hundreds would pour into the country in the early spring. Some of the colony immigrants arrived be- fore spring set in, and even during the month of January quite a few came and took up their residence in Worthington in order to be in on the ground floor. Among these were some of the best known citizens of Worthington today. The people who were looking for the big rush were not disappointed. The first regular passenger train ran into Worth- ington April 29, 1872, bringing with it many settlers, and thereafter each day the train was filled with families who came to find homes in the new country. Mrs. Clark, who was among the advance guard of the colony, has written of the conditions in Worthington as she found them :

"We were among the first members of a colony to arrive at the station of an unfinished railroad, which was to be the nucleus of the colony and the county seat of the county. There was a good hotel, well and comfortably furnished, one or two stories neatly furnished and already stocked with goods, several others in pro- cess of erection. A few rough board tenements, temporary shelters, to serve the occupants until better houses could be built. The streets, scarcely to be de- fined as such, were full of prairie schoon- ers, containing families, waiting until the masters could suit themselves with 'claims,' the women pursuing their house-

wifely avocations meanwhile-some hav- ing cooking stoves in their wagons, others using gypsy fires to do their cul- inary work; all seeming happy and hope- ful."

Freeman Talbott, in a letter written July 20, 1886, tells of the impressions he received of the new town during the rush time in the spring of 1872:

"Fourteen years ago last May I made my first visit to Nobles county, intend- ing. if the surroundings suited me, to make Worthington my future home. Quite a number of the first settlers bad arrived. Some were living in comfort- able houses, some in rough board shan- ties, 12x14, others in tents, and still others on the bleak prairie, about to se- lect the site of future independence on or near the banks of the beautiful lake Okabena."

The arrival of the colonists had a magical effect upon the village, and new business enterprises sprang into exist- ence. On the last day of August, 1872, there were 85 buildings on the town- site, where a year before the plat had been located. Of these nearly all were permanent and much more substantial than is usually the case during the rush of starting a new town. A list of the business houses in Worthington on that date is furnished by a directory publish- ed in the first issue of the Western Ad- vance. Certainly an excellent showing had been made in one year:

HOTELS.

A. P. Lyon, Worthington Hotel.

C. B. Loveless.

DRY GOODS AND GROCERIES.

Peter Thompson. Ninth street.

I. F. MeLaurin, Tenth street, corner Third avenue.

Davis & Brother, next door to postoffice.

Davis & Morrison, "Colony Store."

HARDWARE.

C. P. Hewett & Co., opposite the park.

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HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.

11. W. Kimball, near Worthington hotel.

11. D. Ilumiston, "Colony Store."

LUMBER.

1. N. Sater, with Harrison's,

J. A. Town, with Crocker Bros. & Lamor.

DRUGGISTS.

A. K. Veitz, opposite Worthington hotel.

Barber & Lawrence, opposite park.

FURNITURE.

Heilburn & Pratt, Tenth street, opposite the park.

GROCERIES.

S. D). Sprague, Ninth street, opposite park. P. B. Crosby.

FLOUR AND FEED.

S. F. Shepard, Third avenue.

Peter Thompson, Ninth street.

BAKERY.

Hugh & Dorman, Ninth street, opposite park.

RESTAURANTS.

Fred Ilaseall, Tenth street, near the post- ofliee.

C. P. Stough, Ninth street.

Ilugh & Dorman, Ninth street.

LIVERY.

Daniel Shell, Tenth street.

MEAT MARKET.

Bigelow & Co., Third avenue.

ATTORNEYS.

M. B. Soule, Third avenue, opposite park. J. S. Shuck, Tenth street, opposite park.

PHYSICIANS.

Geo. O. Moore, corner Fifth avenue and Tonth street.

I. Craft.

R. D. Barber, Tonth street, at drug store.

NOTARIES PUBLIC.

(. C. Goodnow. postoffice.

M. B. Sonle. Third avenue, opposite park.

COLONY COMPANY.

Miller, Humiston & Co.

LAND AGENTS.

A. Miner, at postoffice.

C. C. Goodnow, at postoffice.

Soule & Langdon, Third avenue, opposite park.

PAINTERS.

f. F. Margrat and -. -. Shaw. NEWSPAPER.

Western Advance.

2A contributor to the Advance of Ang. 31. 1872. sald: "From frequent conversations with gentlemen of different parts of the state, we are assured that Worthington today has

HARNESS MAKER.

( I .. Johnson, Ninth street, opposite park.

BLACKSMITHIS.

(. B. Loveless, Eleventh street.

W. Hodgkin-on, Eleventh street. SHOEMAKERS.

(. Moore, Eleventh street.

1. S. Stone, Fourth avenue.

PRINTING.

Advance Printing Co.

The improvements for the year foot- ed up to $80,550. Included in this amount was the public hall building, known as Miller hall, which was erected by the colony company at a cost of about $7,000. The building was 48x80 feet, was two stories high, and had three large store rooms below. For several years the hall served the purposes of church building. lodge rooms, school room, and was the place of all social gatherings. It was destroyed by fire in 1878. The town was extensively ad- vertised, and during 1872 gained the reputation of being one of the best towns in southern Minnesota.22

One of the events of the year was the organization of Worthington township. A petition was filed on March 30, ask- ing the board of county commissioners to take action toward bringing about the organization, and on April 30 the peti- tion was granted. On May 20 the first town meeting was held, and the village was under township government for the first time.

The temperance question was a very live issue in Worthington during the first vear of its existence. One of the first things determined on by the founders of the National colony was that the colony should be a moral community. and to secure this end it was decided to

the best reputation of any new town in Min- nesota, and that great expectations have horn raised in the minds of the better class."

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HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY.

exclude the liquor traffic from the town and country over which it had jurisdic- tion. This fact was emphasized in all the advertising. and the result was that the majority of the first settlers were temperance people, who had been drawn to the colony largely by the promises made. A large sum of money was set aside by Prof. Humiston and his asso- ciates to prosecute liquor dealers should the traffic be started in the new town. A large part of this fund was expended during the year 187? in bringing actions against three men who made attempts to establish liquor saloons in Worthington. The saloons were promptly closed, and thereafter for many years there was no liquor sold in the village.

The village government had not been organized in 18:2, and license legisla- tion was enacted by the board of county commissioners. To that body the peo- ple of Worthington went with their ro- quest that no saloons be licensed in Worthington township. A petition was circulated August 30, and was worded as follows :

To the Honorable Board of County Commis- sioners of Nobles County, State of Minne- sota :

We. the undersigned. citizens of the town of Worthington, in said county, respectfully represent that we believe that a majority of

23The petition was signed by the following: John A. King, L. S. Roberts, Ed. Chandler. L. C. Chaney. James S. Stone. M. H. Stevens, E. T. Dillabaugh, M. B. Soule. W. B. Akins. A. P. Miller, Wellington Sherwood. John HI.

Johnson. 1. N. Sater, M. E. Distad. H. TT Kimball. H. Davis. C. E. Tourtelotte. Z langdon. Otis Bigelow, W. Hodgkinson. 1. Keller. A. P. Lyon. A. I. Perkins, B. S. Allerton, Jas. McKirahan. John Alley. A. J. Willcox, D. S. Law. Benjamin R. Prince, C. B. Langdon, Stephen Miller. W. S. Langdon, R. D. Bagley, Daniel Shell, E. J. Bear, J. B. Haines, John U. Herzig, A. L. Clark, J. S. Goodnow, George. O. Moore. James Gibson. L. H. Farnham. R. D. Barber. D. Stone, C. B. Loveless, W. S. Stockdale, B. H. Crever. C. S Newton. J. C. Clark. E. R. Humiston, Levi W. Chase. Benjamin F. Thurber. E. S. Terry, C. P. Hewitt, C. H. Stewart. R. F. Humiston. J. S. Shuck. J. P. Shaw, J. F. Humiston, A. (. Robinson, S. D. Sprague, H. M. McLean, P. A. Stoddard. C. P. Stough. Peter Thompson. T. L. Taylor, Hugh Kilpatrick. James Marden, John Ward. Midboe,

Benjamin Chas. B

our citizens within our said township are op- posed to the granting of license for the sale of any kind of intoxicating liquors-either spiritous, vinus or malt-in our said town as a beverage. And whereas the statute authoriz. ing towns to vote on the question of lieense provides that such vote shall be taken at a general election. And whereas the next gen- eral election at which sneh vote can be taken will not be holden until November 5.

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An illustrated history of Nobles County, Minnesota, Part 19

Author: Rose, Arthur P., 1875-1970 Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Worthington, Minn. : Northern History Number of Pages: 738

Author: Rose, Arthur P., 1875-1970
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Worthington, Minn. : Northern History
Number of Pages: 738