USA > Minnesota > St Louis County > Duluth > Duluth and St. Louis County, Minnesota; their story and people; an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development, Volume II > Part 26
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The election having confirmed the petition, the commissioners ordered election to be held at same place on August 10, 1901. to bring the incorporation into operation by the election of village
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officers for that year, and in due course the village administration became: L. B. Hagen, president; N. M. Buffer, recorder ; Hy Meyer, J. P. Westlund and Andrew Hansen, trustees ; Henry Dastula, treas- urer; Frank Carlson and Oscar Olson, justices; J. W. Wilkins and John Meyer, constables.
The Village of Fall Lake became a separate election and assess- ment district in 1906, and continued as "Fall Lake" until 1914. Ordi- . nance No. 21, passed and approved May 12, 1914, was authority for the change of the village name from "Fall Lake" to "Winton."
Winton (as Fall Lake) had an assessed valuation of $19,126 in 1902, and the tax levy was $638.81, for all purposes. In 1919 its valuation was $36,034, and levy $2,637.43.
It is part of School District No. 12 (Ely), and the school levy in 1919 was 26.7 mills. Its population on May 22, 1901, when census was taken for the purposes of petition for incorporation, was stated
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in that instrument to have been 227 persons; the federal census of 1910 showed 423 residents; and the 1920 census credited Winton Village with 499 inhabitants, so that its growth has been healthy.
The village officials in 1920 were: Andrew Hanson, president ; George Hendrickson, John Maki, Gust Kuskila, trustees; Oscar Lar- son, clerk; John A. Hurtley, assessor; Gust Johnson, treasurer.
The important mining within Morse Township will be the sub- ject of a special chapter of this work, and need not be further written of here. The lakes of the township will also be referred to elsewhere ; they make the township one of the most beautiful in St. Louis County.
The township officials in 1920 were: Alex Whitten, chairman ; H. J. Fatland, supervisors; I. J. Walker, clerk; 'H. C. Hurning, assessor ; Matt Knutte, treasurer.
New Independence .- The Township of New Independence is one of the well-established farming townships of St. Louis County. It was set off in 1890, following a petition by Peter E. Schelin and others.
They wished to have township 52-17 organized as the Town of "Independence." The petitioners were represented by P. E. Schelin
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and E. S. Erickson, who filed the paper with the county authorities on February 25, 1890, and then took oath to the accuracy of the statements made in the petition, also to the regularity of its signing.
The question of organization came before the county commis- sioners at probably one or more meetings before that during which they granted the request, and organized the township, which they did on June 5th of that year. They named it "Independence," and the first township meeting, which was held in the log house on the northeast quarter of section 34 of that township, on June 24th, was conducted in the name of the town of "Independence." When it became "New Independence" has not been discovered by present com- piler.
The Township of New Independence is bounded by the Town- ship of Industrial on the south, by that of Grand Lake on the east, by Northland, on the north, and by Alborn on the west. It has two small communities, Independence being the larger. There are a couple of lakes in the township, and the Cloquet River passes through a few sections in the southeast. It has no railway con- nection, but three systems pass within easy reach.
The township had an assessed valuation of $24,587 in 1890; in 1919 its valuation was $65,517. It pays about $5,000 a year in taxes. The population of the township in 1900 was 77; in 1910 it was 241; and in 1920 there were 233 residents.
The school system is mainly under the county school superin- tendent, as part of the Unorganized School District, which takes over the direction of education in sparsely populated townships. Part of the township comes into School District No. 33 (Alborn).
The present township officials are: S. T. Haakenson, (chair- man) ; Charles Schelin and Walter Schwartz, supervisors; Erik J. Erikson, clerk ; John Fjerem. assessor; Emil Windmiller, treasurer.
Nichols .- The Township of Nichols, the boundaries of which are township 58 north, range 18 west, and the southern half of town- ship 59 north, range 8 west, might appropriately have been named the Township of Merritt, for its most important history has been that which has reference to the mining explorations and operations of the brothers Merritt, who were the first to bring Mesabi iron ore onto . the market by railroad. The brothers Merritt, of Duluth, were the most active of the interests that sought in the early '90s to prove and market the ore that explorers were convinced was to be found on the Mesabi Range; their operations were on a larger scale than those of any other interest on the Mesabi in the first few years of the last decade of the Nineteenth Century ; and although, in the main, the financial benefits of their initial operations passed to other capi- talists, the brothers Merritt probably are entitled to the first place among the pioneer explorers and mine operators of the Mesabi Iron Range of Minnesota. They had many experienced mining men test-pitting for them in 1890-92, and their most spectacular opera- tions were in township 58-18, where they developed the Mountain Iron Mine, from which the first trainload of ore shipped from the Mesabi Range left Mountain Iron in October, 1892, the enterprise of the Merritt companies also being responsible for the tapping of the district by a railway.
Early Explorations .- The U. S. Geological Survey, XLIII. records the following of the Merritts, and their operations :
"The most important of the explorers were the Merritts, and their faith in the Range was the first to be rewarded. One of their
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test pit crews, in charge of Capt. J. A. Nichols, of Duluth, struck ore on November 16, 1890, in NW qr., sec. 3, T. 58 N., R.18 W., just north of what is now known as the Mountain Iron Mine. Ore was next discovered by John McCaskill, an explorer, who observed ore clinging to the roots of an upturned tree on what is now the Biwabik mine. This led to the discovery of that mine, in August, 1891. Ore was quickly discovered in other places, and the rush of explorers followed."
However, as the organized township 58-18 was not named Mer- ritt. it is fitting that it should take the name of their mine captain, J. A. Nichols.
Discovery of Ore .- Regarding the discovery of the first mer- chantable deposits of iron ore on the Mesabi Range, David T. Adams, in an article specially written for this historical compilation, in December, 1920, states :
"In, or about, the winter of 1889 and 1890, Captain Nichols started explorations for the Merritt Brothers, of Duluth, on the Mountain Iron, in the northern part of the N. half of the NW qr. of section 3, township 58, range 18, on the northerly feather edge of the deposit. The matter encountered in his first series of test pits was a red ocherous ore. About the same time, Captain Kehoe started explorations for the Merritt Brothers on the Biwabik, in the northwest corner of the NE qr. of the NE qr. of section 3, township 58, range 16, in a spot where Jack McCaskell had previously dis- covered yellow ocher on the roots of an upturned tree. His first work was also on the northerly feather edge of the deposit, and the material encountered in his first few pits was a brownish and a yellow ocherous ore. About the same time, I started explorations for A. E. Humphreys, George G. Atkins, and others, on the Cincinnati, in the NW corner of the SW qr. of the NW qr. of section 2, township 58, range 16, and I encountered a blue ore in my first pit, after passing through about thirty feet of surface. That was the first commercial blue ore discovered on the Mesabi Range. Captain Kehoe then moved his works to the south and started a pit almost due west of my No. 1 pit on the Cincinnati, and after passing through about thirty- five feet of surface and brown ore, he encountered blue ore on the Biwabik. John T. Jones happened to be there at the time, and saw. the first bucket of ore hoisted out of the pit, and he rushed to Duluth and secured a sub-lease on the Biwabik, in favor of the late Peter L. Kimberly, before Kehoe had a chance to report the find to the Merritt brothers. Thereafter, Captain Nichols moved his works on the Mountain Iron further to the south, where he eventually struck the main body of ore on that property."
Alfred Merritt's Story .- Alfred Merritt, in his autobiography written at the request of, and treasured by, the Old Settlers Society of the Head of Lake Superior, wrote, under date January 1, 1917 :
"The year 1889 the first work was done on what is now the Mountain Iron Mine. I took a crew of six men in by way of Tower, on March 17. Started from Tower with three dog trains, and we were the dogs. We went in by way of Pike River, and then by way of Rice Lake, then to Mountain Iron. We dug test pits, and finally drilled. All work was done on the S. half of S. half of section 34, township 59 north of range 18 west. We found that we were too far north for ore, and on going south found the ore on section 4, directly south of our first work, the summer of 1890.
"No one who has not gone through the hardships and the dis-
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couragements of keeping a camp going, out so far from the base of supplies, can realize what one has to contend with. The raising of money alone was no small job, and worst of all the task of endeav- oring to keep up the courage of one's partners.
"After the ore was found we then had to look for transportation. We went to the Northern Pacific Railroad, and also to the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad, they being separate at that time. Neither would do anything. Their officials did not realize the value of the Mesabi Range, and of the great traffic which was to originate from the many mines. We hardly knew what to do. We were almost discouraged. Finally, we got hold of the Duluth and Winnipeg Railroad, and they said that if we would build out to Stony Brook, they would make a traffic contract with us. We scratched around and built a line from Mountain Iron to Stony Brook, a distance of forty-five miles, with a branch off our line, from the station called Iron Junction, to Biwabik, a distance of sixteen miles. This line was completed in 1892. The year of 1893 we built into Duluth, because the Duluth and Winnipeg Railroad did not build any. St. Louis County offered us $250,000 worth of bonds if we would build into Duluth. We accepted this offer, and built into Duluth, and also built into Hibbing from our main line, from Wolf Station."
So came about the possibility of marketing the immense deposits of iron ore of the Mesabi Range. The shipments that began in township 58-18 in 1892 now have reached a yearly total of more . than 30,000,000 tons. The historic Mountain Iron Mine has not been worked since 1908, but it yielded to the world prior to that more than 17,000,000 tons of ore, and still has available more than 28,000,000 tons, which, as needed, will presumably be worked by the Oliver Iron Mining Company, to which subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation the property now belongs.
Township Organization .- The Township of Nichols was erected on May 6, 1892, the county commissioners being petitioned by R. H. Fagan and thirty-eight other residents of 58-18 township. Peti- tioners sought township powers, under authority of chapter 10, of the General Statutes of 1878 of the State of Minnesota.
John Helmer presented the petition to the county officials, and took oath, to the accuracy of statements made in petition, on April 30, 1892. On May 6th, the document was certified to be correct, in form and execution, by the county attorney, and the same day the territory was laid off by the commissioner, they ordering first town meeting of the new township of Nichols to be held "at Grant's office," NW. qr. of section 3, township 58-18, on May 25th. Notices to that effect were posted "at the Saw Mill, at Grant's office, and at Hotel Grant," on May 12th.
First Officials .- The first township officers were: A. P. Wood. (chairman) ; William Buckley and G. O. Beede, supervisors; Fred Colby, clerk; W. Stephens, treasurer; J. E. Shear, assessor; G. R. Sutherland and Charles H. Erickson, justices; W. F. Cyr and Alex Murray, constables.
On May 17, 1893, Alfred Merritt, on oath, deposed that officers of the Town of Nichols had failed to hold the annual election in 1893. He prayed the commissioners to appoint officers, recommend- ing the following: Robert Purcell, (chairman) ; Captain John Gill and Chas. F. Joyce, supervisors ; L. R. Clark, treasurer ; C. C. Jennis (or Jenius), clerk ; D. J. Mead, assessor.
Mining .- In addition to the historic Mountain Iron Mine, the
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mining operations in the Township of Nichols have developed other important mines. The Iroquois, the fee owners of which are the Roswell Palmer estate, is situated in section 10, and shipments from it began in 1903, continuing until 1914, the years yielding a total of 1,358,412 tons of ore. It is an underground mine. The Wacoutah mine, which is operated by the Pitt Iron Mining Company, SE-SW and SW-SE, sec. 3, SE-SE of same section, and NW-NW, sec. 11. shipped its first ore in 1906. In 1919, the total yield from its first year was 972,251 tons. The Brunt mine, NE-NE and NW-NE and SW-NE and NW-SE, sec. 10, owned by the Hanna Ore Mining Co., is on the shipping list, with a total shipment of almost 1,500,000 tons between the years 1906 and 1919, and with more than twice as great a quantity available yet. The Pilot Mine, NW-SE, sec. 2, is a state mine, as is the Wacoutah in part. leased to the Hanna Ore Mining Company. The first shipment, 80,815 tons, from the Pilot was in 1919. It is not a large property. Then another state property is the Leonidas, situated in the extreme southeasterly section of the township. That is an important holding, leased to the Oliver Iron Mining Co. Almost 4,000,000 tons have come from it, to end of 1919; and there is still available about 13,000,000 tons. The Hanna Mine, (state), W. half of SW, sec. 2, and W. half of SE, sec. 3. has yielded practically 1,500,000 tons, to end, of 1919, first coming into the shipping list in 1919. Prindle Reserve, a state mine, leased to Oliver Company, situated in E. half, sec. 36, of township 59-18, has only yielded 47,487 tons, in the three years 1914-16, since which time it has been inactive, with 2,590,871 tons available.
Transportation .- Nichols Township has some good roadways, and all the land is not given over to mining. There are some good agricultural acreages being developed.
There is an electric trolley system passing through the township hourly to the other centres of the Range. The Duluth Missabe and Northern Railway Company is the ore carrier.
Valuation .- The assessed valuation of Nichols Township in 1892 was $310,944. The assessed valuation of the township in 1919 was $14,727,911, including the villages of Mountain Iron and Leonidas, which villages in reality represent more than $14,000,000 of that total. The tax levy in 1892 in Nichols Township was $3,793.51. In 1919, the taxes amounted to $791,931.66, including those of the villages.
Population .- The township was practically without an inhabitant in the '80s. In the early '90s, the population had scarcely reached three figures. In 1900, the population was 930; in 1910, 1983; and in 1920, the federal census showed the township, including Mountain Iron and Leonidas villages, to have a population of 2,923. Of this number 1,546 persons were resident in Mountain Iron.
Education .- Part of Nichols Township is included in the Unor- ganized School District, which comes under the direct supervision of the county school administration; but the greater part of the township is in what is known as Independent School District No. 21, which centers from Mountain Iron. The history of that school district will be reviewed in the chapter regarding Mountain Iron.
Administration .- The present officials of the township are : E. J. Kane, chairman; John Harwood and E. D. Rudd, supervisors; Ben Ericson, clerk ; Oscar Castren, assessor ; A. B. Carmen, treasurer.
Village of Costin .- John Costin, Jr., one of the pioneers of Vir- ginia, to which city he came in 1893, and where he developed a sub- stantial real estate and insurance business during the following twelve
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or thirteen years, had acquired, among his other realty investments, a tract of seventy-one acres of land in township 58-18, adjacent to Mountain Iron. Upon it, he platted the townsite of Costin, and. probably was one of the prime movers in the endeavor, prosecuted in 1907, to secure corporate powers for the village. A petition was circulated in June, 1907, among the residents of about 360 acres of sections 4 and 9 of township 58-18, and signed by J. A. Beck and 26 others, praying for the incorporation of the territory under the powers of section 702 of the state Laws of 1905, as the Village of Costin. The petition represented that there were at that time resident in the territory 261 persons, and David Tonsignant, John A. Beck and John Lamminen took oath to the accuracy of census and of the petition in general.
The paper was filed with the county auditor on June 7, 1907, and came before the county commissioners at their June meeting. They granted the petition, and ordered election to be held at the residence of David Tonsignant, on July 2d. The election was held, but of the 261 inhabitants only eleven voted, all voting in favor of the incor- poration.
An attempt was made in 1913 to bring about the dissolution of the village, but without success. A special election was held on September 2d, and twelve of twenty-one votes cast were against the dissolution.
However, a further attempt was made in January 18, 1915, with different result, the voting being in favor of dissolution.
Village of Leonidas .- The incorporated Village of Leonidas was formerly known as Leonidas location. As a location, it was estab- lished about eight or ten years ago. The Leonidas Mine belongs to the state, and shipments first began in 1914. It is leased by the Oliver Iron Mining Co., and operations are regular, and substantial.
The townsite was owned by the mining company, and it was thought that an attempt would be made to bring the location into the city limits of Eveleth. Probably that was the main reason why on September 5, 1917, a petition, signed by H. E. Mitchell. R. H. Stephens, W. J. Matters, and twenty-nine other residents of Leonidas location, was presented at the county offices for the consideration of the county commissioners, said petition seeking incorporation, as the Village of Leonidas, of the SE qr. of section 25, all of section 36, of township 58-18, and the east half of NE gr. of section 1, town- ship 57-18, the whole embracing 880 acres, part of the acreage hav- ing been platted as "Leonidas" and part as "Gross." The peti- tion stated that a census taken at the time of signing of petition showed that there were then 275 persons living in the territory for which corporate powers were asked.
On motion of Commissioner Pentilla, the petition was adopted on September 7, 1917, the county commissioners ordering election to be held at the town hall of the Township of Nichols, situated in the SW qr. of SE qr. of section 36, township 58-18. on October 8, 1917. At the election forty-six votes were cast, all in favor.
At the subsequent first election for officers, the following became the original council of Leonidas: R. Trevarthen, president ; E. J. Kane, W. J. Matters, HI. E. Mitchell, and W. Holder, trustees; H. E. Mitchell, clerk.
The village is growing rapidly on the south side, near the school. but in reality the community is almost as it was when a location. There is no store in the village, and it is peopled almost wholly by
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employees of Leonidas Mine. The school is under the administra- tion of the Mountain Iron School District.
The village officials in 1920 were: R. Trevarthen, president ; E. J. Kane, P. A. Anstess, W. J. Matters, trustees ; R. G. Trevarthen, clerk; Wm. Cox, treasurer; O. Castren, assessor.
Normanna .- On April 30, 1904, a petition was circulated among the inhabitants and voters of the township 52-13, then unorganized. for the purpose of securing township powers under the General Statutes, of the State of Minnesota, 1878 compilation, as amended by the General Laws of 1895. Anton Hjelm appears to have been the prime mover in the matter, and he was the first to sign. The petition bears date of April 30, 1904, and was filed with the county auditor of St. Louis County on May 2d. It came before the county commissioners for their consideration on May 5th, and met with their approval at that meeting. Consequently a town meeting to organize soon followed.
The first township officers, who were elected at the meeting held at the schoolhouse situated in the northwest corner of the northeast quarter of section 21, township 52-13, on May 24, 1904. were: Anton Hjelm, chairman: Martin Moen and J. B. Johnson, supervisors ; F. B. Schumann, clerk ; J. A. Bonning and Peter Flaaden, justices; Hy Kruse, treasurer; A. Olson and C. Hagen, constables; Albert Anderson, assessor.
Within a few days after the organization of township 52-13, as the Town of Normanna, the unorganized township next north of it, 53-13, was the subject of a petition by its inhabitants, who wished to have it attached to the Township of Normanna. A petition to that effect was presented to the county officials on May 28, 1904. It was signed by William Carlin and others, in sufficient numbers to influence the commissioners at their next meeting. June 7, 1904. to act upon it, and call for a hearing of remonstrances on July 11, 1904, against the petition to attach the northern congressional township to that which constituted the Township of Normanna. The matter was completed on July 11th, by the commissioners, who then added township 53-13 to the boundaries of the organized township.
The Township of Normanna has since been bounded on the south by the Township of Lakewood, on the east by Duluth Town- ship, on the north by unorganized territory, 54-13, and on the west by Gnesen Township, which was founded in 1879. The Cloquet River passes through the western part of township 53-13, but Nor- manna has no railway facilities.
In 1905, its assessed valuation was $335,742; today its valuation is one-eighth less, although it has increased more than 100 per cent in tax-levy in the fifteen years.
It has always been in School District No. 32, which school dis- trict is confined to the two townships of Normanna (52 and 53-13). There are two frame schoolhouses in the district, valued in 1919 at $10.500. The enrollment in 1919 was nineteen ; two female teachers were employed at average salary of $82.50 a month, for the eight months of school. School board officials: Mrs. Mary Solem, Lake- wood. R. F. D. No. 1. clerk; Mrs. Evelyn Cooke. treasurer; A. H. Carlson, chairman of directors. School levy in 1919 was $5,006.88.
The township officials are: John Bonnah, (chairman) ; M. H. Woldhagen and William Gray, supervisors: Adolph Solem, clerk ; Albin Kanen, assessor: George H. Cooke. treasurer.
Northland .- The Township of Northland, 53-17. was organized.
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as the Township of Tronther, in 1904. Peter (or Peder) Ericksson, and other residents in congressional township 53 north, of range 17 west, petitioned the county commissioners in November, 1904, to have that township organized as the "Town of Tronther." The docu- ment was filed with the county auditor on January 3, 1905, and it seems that the petition was altered during, or before, consideration by the commissioners. At all events, when the petition was acted upon by the county commissioners, at their meeting of February 9, 1905, they organized the territory as the Township of Kauppi, pre- sumably in recognition of service to the county by Commissioner Kauppi. The commissioners ordered election to be held at the schoolhouse on March 1, 1905.
It was at that first town meeting, apparently, that the voters requested the commissioners to change the name of the township from "Kauppi" to "Northland." Such action was taken at the March session of the county board, and the township has since been known as "Northland."
Boundaries are still as when first organized. There is unor- ganized territory bordering Northland on the east; on the north is the Township of Cotton: on the west is Meadowlands; and on the south the Township of New Independence bordered it. Northland has no railway facilities, although three railway systems pass through bordering townships.
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