Child's history of Waseca County, Minnesota : from its first settlement in 1854 to the close of the year 1904, a record of fifty years : the story of the pioneers, Part 29

Author: Child, James E. (James Erwin), b. 1833
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Owatonna, Minn. : Press of the Owatonna chronicle
Number of Pages: 934


USA > Minnesota > Waseca County > Child's history of Waseca County, Minnesota : from its first settlement in 1854 to the close of the year 1904, a record of fifty years : the story of the pioneers > Part 29


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78


Ilon. Alexander Ramsey, who was governor of Minnesota at the outbreak of the Rebellion in 1861, was present and gave a short history of the mustering in of the regiment and of its glori- ous record.


The following answered to roll call :


COMPANY A.


Stephen Lyons, Wayzata. E. J. Palmer, Jordan.


W. Mattheis, St. Paul. John Halstead, St. Paul.


COMPANY B.


James Cleary, Stillwater. Adam Marty, Stillwater.


John Cooper, Bloomington.


Chas. Valentine, Minneapolis.


Ed. A. Stevens, Minneapolis.


COMPANY C.


M. Sherman, St. Paul.


A. A. Laflin, Maple Grove.


Wm. Lochren, Minneapolis. M. Taylor, Dayton. J. B. Ellison, Minneapolis.


W. H. Hoyt, St. Paul.


S. G. Flanders, Faribault. Geo. F. Johnston, Janesville. John Rohrer, Morristown. Benj. Buck, Morristown. E. Phillips, Owatonna.


COMPANY D.


Wm. Garvey, Kasson.


COMPANY E.


E. B. Lowell, Minneapolis.


G. S. Lewis, Lake Crystal.


COMPANY F.


COMPANY G.


C. B. Jackson, Morristown. Geo. Thom, Brownton.


. E. Hollister, Warsaw.


E. E. Verplank, New Richland.


I. DuBois, Owatonna.


Myron Shepard, Stillwater. A. A. Capron, Stillwater. John P.Dunsmore, Stillwater. William Darich, Stillwater. C. A. Bromley, Stillwater.


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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.


E. Z. Needham, Farmington.


J. H. Johnston, Minneapolis.


G. R. Buckman, Waseca. Philo Hall, Waseca.


C. M. Benson, Morristown. Samuel Reynolds, Waterville.


J. S. Bemis, Waterville. W. W. Brown, Kilkenny.


L. J. Mosher, New Sharon, Ia.


E. D. Haskins, Faribault.


H. C. Whitney, Faribault.


George Magee, Faribault.


COMPANY H.


Chas. Mansfield, Mankato. Chas. Shatts, Minneapolis.


John C. Shaffer, Chicago, Ill.


COMPANY I.


Richard L. Gorman, St. Paul. A. E. Rider, Oak Centre.


James Cannon, Mankato. Geo. Klein, Janesville.


Omer H. Sutlief, New Richland. Theodore Golden, St. Paul. Milo S. Whitcomb, Faribault.


COMPANY K.


M. McEntyre, Mankato.


W. H. Churchill, Stockton.


Gus Coy, Mankato.


C. H. Andrus, Mankato.


COMPANY L.


A. J. Underwood, Fergus Falls. J. T. Dahl, Waseca.


Evans Goodrich, Mankato.


NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.


Frank Dickinson, Redwood Falls J. W. Pride, Jr., Shingle Creek.


The first day of the reunion was spent by the veterans, after listening to the address of welcome and to the congratulatory speech of ex-Governor Ramsey, in social chat and in getting acquainted with the people of Waseca. In the evening there was a big campfire, attended by nearly all the people in Was- eca. On the second day the great attraction was the address of Hon. William Lochren, at this writing one of the United States district judges of Minnesota. Judge Lochren's address was really a condensed history of the regiment. The following ex- tract is a gem in the record made by the men of the "First." After mentioning the other battles in which the regiment parti- vipated, he described the great battle of Gettysburg, and con- eluded as follows :


"During the forenoon of the second day we were in reserve, except that three companies were detached for the support of batteries. Still we were within the range of artillery and some of our men were wound- ed from shells.


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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.


"After noon we were moved to the left to support a battery on the position from which Sickle's corps had advanced against the enemy. There on the crest of a slight ridge we could see about a half mile in our front the conflict between our forces under Sickles and the enemy who were giving away before him. Seldom had we such an opportunity of viewing a battle, in which we were not engaged, and great was the anxiety as to the result, as our men would at times seem to press the enemy, and at other times to yield to superior force. At length the vastly increased volume of musketry told plainly of stronger reinforce- inents on the side of the enemy, and soon we saw with alarm that our men were overpowered and retiring; at first slowly, but soon in confu- sion and disorder and presently in full retreat, passing our position, while the bullets from the enemy begun to whistle past us as they ad- vanced steadily in well-formed lines of battle, apparently fifteen or twenty thousand strong, and had nearly reached the dry run at the foot of the ridge. Had they succeeded in getting to our position they would have turned the left flank of our army and been in its rear and must have forced the position, if supported by an attack in front, and won the battle. At that moment Gen. Hancock, our corps commander, galloped up to our little band which was about three hundred strong, and calling to Col. Colville, asked, "Colonel, will your men charge these lines?" A glance showed what was meant.


"It was necessary that the regiment should be sacrificed to save the army, by delaying for a short time the advance of the enemy until the Sixth corps, in reserve, could be moved to the position. Every man saw the necessity and knew what was expected. It was apparently cer- tain death, but there was no faltering. The Old First had never failed to go where ordered, and never had retired without orders. As Napoleon's Old Guard at Waterloo threw itself in front of the whole allied army to save the emperor, every man was nerved at the instant, and stepped off promptly, as the command "Forward" came from our gallant colonel. "Double-Quick" followed the next instant, and down that declivity rushed the handful of devoted men, the speed increasing with every stride, but the numbers melting away under the storm of lead such as men never faced before, which was poured into us from the enemy's whole force. Rapid as was our pace, it seemed as if none would reach the enemy, but the survivors struck them with the force of a projectile, just as they were beginning to cross the run. The suddenness and vigor of the charge and prompt use of the bayonet, caused a recoil, and soon cleared the run of ten times our numbers, and the first line of the enemy broke to the rear in confusion. Sheltering ourselves as well as we could in the run, we opened fire on the enemy in front, having to sustain not only the fire from the front, but from both flanks, as far as they could reach us. But the enemy's whole advance was checked. How long we held this position 1 could never estimate, but for a sufficient time to enable the reserve to occupy the position, and until we were commanded to fall back. But of the three hundred who made that charge, not more than


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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.


seventy-five returned scathless; and when our dead and wounded were gathered, not a man was missing."


Immediately after Judge Lochren's address, a public banquet was served, followed by toasts and short speeches. In response to the toast, "The Press," a well preserved copy of "The First Minnesota," printed and published by the boys while in the service, was presented by the speaker. This copy, the only one known to be in existence, was furnished by Neri Reed, of Iosco, in this county. This paper was published at Berrysville, Va., March 11, 1862, by the boys of the "First." It was edited and published by Ed. A. Stevens, Frank J. Mead, T. H. Presnell and two others whose names I do not call to mind. Mr. Stevens gave a short history of capturing the printing office and issuing two editions of a loyal paper on the "sacred soil" of old Virginia. Ex-Governor Ramsey secured the paper and deposited it in the archives of the State Ilistorieal Society.


HEAVY STORMS.


There was a terrific hail storm on the 12th of May, 1879, which did much damage. The fruit trees and small fruit were badly injured. The window glass on the south side of nearly every building was broken more or less. Hail stones as large as ordinary hens' eggs covered the ground in many places, while those of an ounce in weight were numerous. J. F. Murphy meas- ured one chunk of ice, which was two inches in diameter. Many a window looked as if it had been riddled with bullets. The post office building, in particular, received considerable damage. The sky-lights to Pahner's photograph gallery were almost en- tirely destroyed.


The public buildings injured were: The Baptist church. 21 lights of glass; the school buildings. 47: court house, 13: English M. E. church, 54; Congregational church, 19: Turner hall, 13. There was scarcely a dwelling in the village not injured more or less. The grain was not far enough advanced to be mate- rially injured.


Another storm visited the county May 27, 1879. There was a heavy rainfall, accompanied by a strong wind. Weak fences were blown down, out-houses were upset, shade trees were in- jured, some shanties were unroofed, lumber piles suffered, and chimney extensions flow around with perfect looseness. The


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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.


marshes and streams filled with water and the whole surface of the country was pretty well wet down.


Speaking of the storms of July 1 and 2, a local paper said :


"Last week, Tuesday and Wednesday night, terrific rain storms vis- ited a large portion of the state. In some places west of us the wind and hail entirely destroyed the small grain, and did much damage to other crops. In some parts of Nicollet county, buildings were blown down, and some cattle injured. In Blue Earth county, near the Waseca county line, west of Freedom, considerable damage was done. Mr. Gun- zolus, of this county, had his granary blown down and his house partly unroofed. In Steele county, many buildings were torn in pieces, some persons injured, and some cattle killed. At Vassa, Goodhue county, dwellings were torn in pieces, seven persons killed outright, and thirty others more or less injured. News comes from all portions of the state of local tornadoes doing more or less damage. In this county, with the exception of a small tract in Freedom, no serious damage was done to the crops. The rainfall was very heavy, probably as heavy as in other portions of the state, and there were local dashes of hail, but the wind, with the exception noted in Freedom, was not heavy."


FOURTH OF JULY.


The Catholic society of Waseca held a picnic for the benefit of their church-the net receipts being $200. New Riehland held a formal celebration, Hon. William Brisbane and Hon. M. D. L. Collester being the orators of the day. Blooming Grove did herself proud, as usual, Rev. William Pagenhart and James E. Child being the speakers. The Erwin family and neighbors, in St. Mary, observed the day in a formal manner-the venera- ble P. A. Erwin, then eighty-two years of age, presiding. The ladies furnished a most appetizing dinner and all fared sump- tuously.


HORSE THIEF AND HIS REVOLVER.


On July 16, 1879, Mr. Finger Fingerson, of Blooming Grove, had a horse stolen, and on Thursday a man, giving his name as Frank Carr, stopped at Esquire Northrup's on the road between Waterville and Morristown, to borrow a saddle. Mr. Northrup being suspicious of him, questioned him pretty closely, and finally concluded that he had stolen a horse, and ordered his arrest by three or four men who were there. Mr. Carr took to his legs and ran toward Morristown; but Messrs. Brooks and Purring- ton, with a horse and buggy, soon overtook him. Then the thief


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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.


stopped and drew a revolver on them. While Carr was standing there with drawn revolver, Mr. Benson, who had eut aeross the field on foot, eame quietly up behind him, in the brush, and threw his arms around him; but the man, being quick and quite mus- cular, threw Mr. Benson down. Before the thief could again run the two men in the buggy were upon him, he was taken back to Mr. Northrup's, and committed to the Riee county jail. In a short time after he was sent to Faribault, Sheriff Keeley, who had been pursuing him, arrived at Mr. Northrup's and identified the horse as the one stolen and returned it. On Sunday the thief was turned over to Mr. Keeley, brought to Waseca, and lodged in jail. He was afterwards convicted and sent to prison at Stillwater.


ELECTION OF 1879.


At this election there were three tiekets in the field-Demo- cratie, Republican and Prohibition. The following candidates were elected : C. McKenna, treasurer; Matthew Keeley, sheriff; Charles San Galli, register of deeds: M. D. L. Collester, county attorney: Orson L. Smith, surveyor; J. B. Hayden, elerk of court; H. C. Woodbury, judge of probate; Dr. M. V Hunt, superintendent of schools; Dr. D. S. Cummings, coroner; Philip Purcell and N. M. Nelson, eounty commissioners.


CHAPTER XLVIII.


WASECA COUNTY HORSETHIEF DETECTIVES.


This mutual protection organization is one of the oldest in the state, having been organized in 1864. In every sparsely set- tled farming community, horse stealing is almost a profession. The summer of 1862 revealed the fact that we had in our midst a gang of horsethieves. In the month of June, Orrin Pease, who had just settled in the town of St. Mary, had a pair of fine horses stolen. After considerable search by Sheriff Whipple and others, the horses were found in the possession of three men named Erno, Beatty, and a colored person called Anderson, all three of whom were convicted of larceny, but, pending an appeal to the supreme court, broke jail at Wilton and made their escape. The stealing of these horses, the eseape of the thieves, and the expense attending their arrest and trial, created a strong feel- ing of indignation on the part of our people against thieves in general and against horsethieves in particular, and was the pri- mary cause of the organization of the Waseca County Horse- thief Detective Society that still exists. The names of the Pio- neers who brought forth this organization are as follows:


W. L. Wheeler, Eri G. Wood, Henry Watkins,


Asa G. Sutlief,


M. S. Gove, M. D.,


Myron Blackburn,


Wm. Brisbane,


Eugene A. Smith, J. K. Myers,


Geo. E. Brubaker, W. H. Young, Sr.,


Q. A. Heath,


Noah Lincoln, Joseph Bird,


B. A. Lowell,


D. L. Whipple,


Wm. Roddle, James E. Child.


The minutes of the first few meetings will be of interest. The first, or preliminary, meeting was held at Wilton, in the court room, February 16, 1864. The minutes read as follows :


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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.


"Wilton, Feb. 16, 1864.


"A meeting of citizens of Waseca connty was held at the court house this date for the purpose of organizing an anti-horsethief association. William Brisbane was called to the chair and E. A. Smith elected secre- tary. Motion was made and carried that the chair appoint a committee of three to draft and present a constitution. The chair appointed as such committee D. L. Whipple, B. A. Lowell, and E. B. Stearns. The committee presented a constitution which, after slight amendments, was adopted and reads as found on pages 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this (record) book. On motion a temporary organization was effected hy electing Dr. M. S. Gove president, Wm. Brishane vice-president, and E. A. Smith secretary. The following named persons then each paid one dollar to the secretary and signed the constitution, thus hecoming members of the association." (Then follow the names hereinbefore given, and the record continues : )


"On motion, the society proceeded to ballot for four temporary riders, which resulted in the election of Henry Watkins, D. L. Whipple, W. L. Wheeler, and E. G. Wood. The riders-elect then chose D. L. Whipple captain. The following persons were elected viva voce às a vigilance committee, viz .: B. A. Lowell, J. K. Myers, A. G. Sutlief, and Joseph Bird.


"On motion, the meeting adjourned till Saturday at one o'clock, Feh. 27, 1864.


(Signed.)


E. A. SMITH, Secretary."


Evidently several men that did not have a dollar with them that day took an active part in organizing the society. But they paid in their dollar at the next meeting. Portions of the eonsti- ution, as adopted, are given, as follows :


"We, the citizens of Waseca county, to secure our property against thieves and marauders, do form ourselves into a company to be known as the 'Waseca County Horsethief Detectives,' and will be subject to the following rules and regulations:


"Art. 1. Any resident of Waseca county, being recommended by five of his townsmen that are members of this society, may be admitted to membership by a vote of the company upon signing this constitution and paying into the treasury one dollar." (At the next meeting this was amended to read "two dollars.")


"Art. 2. The officers of this association shall be a president, a vice- president, and a secretary, who shall be ex-officio treasurer. These officers shall be elected annually on the Tuesday following the third Monday in February, at Wilton." (This was afterwards changed to Waseca.)


"Art. 6. There shall be twelve riders elected from among the mem- bers of this company, who shall be elected for the term of one year, or until others are elected. * * *


"Art. 7. One of the riders shall be elected captain. He shall be the leader of the riders and shall control and direct all their operations."


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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.


There were twenty-one articles of the constitution as origin- ally adopted, and within the year three others were added, mak- ing twenty-four in all.


At the adjourned meeting, held February 27, 1864, eleven more members joined. The temporary organization and officers were made permanent, and the following additional riders were elected: W. H. Young, Sen., L. S. Wood, E. Plummer, J. K. Myers, Jos. Bird, Peter Vandyke, Wm. Roddle, Sen., and Austin Vinton.


The meeting then adjourned until the third Saturday in March, 1864. At the March meeting John Anderson, L. F. Peter- son, Chas. Johnson, Edw. Schmitt, and O. Powell joined the association.


The first man of the association to die was the secretary, Mr. Eugene A. Smith, who died at Wilton, of typhoid pneumonia, Sept. 19, 1864.


A meeting was held Nov. 27, 1864, for the election of a secre- tary in place of Mr. Smith, deceased. Dr. Gove presided, L. S. Wood served as secretary pro tem., and James E. Child was elected secretary to fill the vacancy. John G. Greening was eleet- ed a member at this meeting.


Evidently, from the records of the society up to the annual meeting in February, 1900, many persons had been elected, had paid their fees, and yet had neglected to sign the constitution. The membership was carried along in this loose condition until the annual meeting in February, 1900. At that meeting, upon motion of Mr. Adam Bishman, it was ordered that all the names of the members of the association, residing in the county and in good standing, be published in the Waseca County Herald as a part of the report of the meeting. In accordance with this mo- tion, the secretary, Mr. E. P. Latham, gave a list of the members of the Waseca County Horsethief Detective Society, in good standing and residing in said county, Feb. 17, 1900:


Obadiah Powell, Thos. Johnson,


Patrick Farrell,


James E. Child,


James Bowe,


Geo. Matthews,


G. E. Brubaker,


Michael Gallagher,


Hugh Healy,


B. F. Weed,


Wm. R. Brisbane,


Christy McGrath,


Jos. Manthey,


M. H. Helms,


N. J. Breen,


C. C. Comee


J. H. Wightman,


John Curran,


James M. Dunn,


W. J. Fitzgibbon,


E. P. Latham,


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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.


Thos. Barden,


L. W. Sterling, Iver Iverson,


W. H. Gillis,


W. D. Armstrong,


Guy Evans,


Gil Peterson,


Dr. J. B. Lewis,


James . Curran,


J. S. Abell,


Thos. Collins,


David Zimmerman,


Jacob Dane,


W. F. Schank,


Wm. A. Henderson,


Chas. Konrad,


Henry Reynolds,


Henry Buker,


Wm. Lindsay,


Knute Jameson,


John A. Krassin,


John Radloff,


Thos. Fitzgerald,


Chas. Clements,


J. W. Cleland, Gottlieb Krassin,


John G. Arentsen,


A. Guyer,


S. H. Drum,


Adam Bishman, E. G. Wood,


H. A. Waggoner,


John P. Whelan,


Ed. Schmidt,


G. H. Goodspeed, Tim McGuire,


John Blowers,


Wm. H. Gray,


J. W. Aughenbaugh,


Siegfried Lawin, Michael O'Brien,


Ole Olson,


B. J. Chapman, Alfred Wood,


Jos. T. Dunn,


John Carmody,


John Y. Brisbane,


Henry Gehring,


Wm. Byron,


Frank Domey,


Sam Hodgkins,


John Byron,


B. M. Gallagher,


R. Miller,


Gottfried Gehring,


F. A. Swartwood,


J. A. Taylor,


Henry Meyers,


H. Roberts,


Nicholas Weller,


Thos. Ratchford,


M. J. Swift,


Wm. Buker,


John McWaide,


Jacob Echternach.


Geo. H. Wood,


Barney McAnany,


Chris Hansen,


B. G. Sutlief,


Mike Smith,


H. F. Hass,


E. A. Everett,


A. Lynch,


Henry Schwenke,


S. J. Krassin,


T. J. Kerr,


Michael Heffron,


Herman Gehlhoff,


Wm. Mettzler,


Julius Gehring,


Archie Johnston,


Fred Betner,


Walter Child,


Louis Klessig,


R. P. Ward,


Andrew Liane,


A. D. Goodman,


S. Hawkes,


Carl A. Sampson,


Chas. Rudolph,


John Bouchier,


John Zimmerman,


Robt. Schwenke,


Phil Bishman,


Malachi Madden,


Martin Collins,


Sam Leslie,


David Fell,


R. O. Swift,


C. Fettie,


P. C. Bailey, Henry Blaeser,


Aug. Summick,


Ed. F. Hayden,


Ole Brack,


O. H. Sutlief,


I. Ballard,


Robt. Collins,


J. J. DInneen,


Chas. K. Wheeler,


Nora Armstrong,


Hiram Powell,


Gus Slaack,


Joseph McCarty.


John J. Diedrich,


Wm. Coulthart,


J. A. Tyrholm,


C. McGuigan,


Some of these members have since died, and many new names have been added.


There is no doubt in the minds of the men of this association


Wm. Trahms,


Wilfred Vinton,


Christy Hefferon,


H. F. Lewer,


John Olson,


F. O. Peterson,


H. L. Hoyt,


Wm. Bartel,


E. Bauman,


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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.


that the organization has been the means of putting almost an entire stop to horse-stealing in this county.


During the forty-one years of the life of the organization only one horse has been stolen from any member of the organization and not recovered-and even in that case it was a question with some whether or not the horse was the property of one of the members. The thieves probably thought it was not. In that case the most strennous efforts were made to find the property and the thief or thieves.


While the horse then stolen was never recovered, it is a well- known fact that at least two families then stopping in this vicin- ity found it convenient to move out of the county a short time afterwards on account of the close watch put upon all their movements. It is believed that the gang has not tried to operate in this county since.


CHAPTER XLIX, 1880.


PARTY TOMAHAWK BURIED-ROUND HOUSE AND MACHINE SHOPS OF C. & N. W. RY. CO .- GREAT CONTEST BETWEEN WARD AND DUNNELL FOR CONGRESS-A RED HOT CONVEN- TION -- ELECTION RESULTS-TERRIBLE SNOW STORM OCT. 15 -SOME STOCK PERISHED - ANN HAYDEN KILLED BY A DRUNKEN MAN-DEATH OF H. F. BIERMANN-WOLVES KILLED.


In 1880 Waseca was still a village, but rapidly approaching the stature of a city. The village election in 1880 fell on May 4. Evidently the political tomahawk had been buried and the com- batants had smoked the pipe of peace; for at this election only 259 ballots were cast, of which R. L. McCormick received 209 votes, B. S. Lewis 204 and Wm. MeIntosh 62-McCormick and Lewis being declared duly elected. The new board met and or- ganized May 21, 1880. R. L. McCormick was elected president, M. D. L. Collester elerk, F. A. Newell treasurer, Wm. Blowers marshal, Wm. Coulthart street commissioner. The new board started out by instructing the marshal to notify all saloon keep- ers that the laws and ordinances regarding the traffic would be strictly enforced. The board went so far as to have the ordin- anee printed and posted in the saloons. The number of persons to whom saloon licenses were issued this year was seventeen.


ROUND HOUSE AND MACHINE SHOPS.


On July 12, 1880, a very important move was made to secure the location of the C. & N. W. Ry. roundhouse and shops at Wa- seca. A petition signed by nearly one hundred of the prominent men of Waseca asked the village board to appropriate $1,000 to


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HON. WM. G. WARD.


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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.


purchase twenty acres of land of W. G. Ward to be decded to the railroad company for a round house and repair shops. There was considerable excitement at the time, and the trustees, the same evening, passed the following resolution :


"Whereas, W. G. Ward has conveyed to the W. & St. P. (C. & N. W.) R. R. Co. a strip of land 400 feet in width for the purpose of an engine house, etc., containing 24 and 50-100 acres of land, now, therefore,


"Resolved, that there be paid to said W. G. Ward, from any funds in the village treasury the sum of $1,225.00 upon the executing and deliv- ering to the clerk of the village his personal bond to refund said amount to the village, less reasonable damage for the disturbing the surface, use and occupation of said land, in case said land shall revert to him by the conditions of said deed."


Thus was accomplished, in a very short time, an important un- dertaking which did much to increase the population and the business of our young city. It was also in evidence that in really very important matters our citizens are a unit. The pay roll of the C. & N. W. in Waseca, amounts to at least $10,000 a month, on an average. The new, or present, round house was erected in 1880-1, and constitutes an important factor in the business prosperity of Waseca.


AN EXCITING CONGRESSIONAL CONTEST.


The year 1880 will long be remembered by the people of Was- eca county on account of the very exciting congressional contest of that year, in which one of our citizens was a contestant. For years there had been a strong feeling against Congressman Dun- nell on account of his "salary grab" record, and his general sub- serviency to corporations and combines. The district was then composed of the counties of Winona, Houston, Mower, Fillmore, Olmstead, Steele, Freeborn, Waseca, Blue Earth, Watonwan, Rock, Pipestone, Murray, Nobles, Martin, Jackson, Faribault, Dodge, and Cottonwood. Dunnell had created a machine which was strong throughout the district. But there were many able and determined men who thought it could be smashed. The plan was to bring out favorite sons from a number of counties and in that way get control of the convention as against the salary grab- ber. And thus it was that Freeborn county instructed for John A. Lovely, Fillmore for H. S. Barrett, Houston for James O'Brien, Faribault for J. B. Wakefield, Blue Earth for E. P. Free- man, Waseca for Hon. W. G. Ward. The convention was to con-




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