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 29
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The township is in its initial stage of settlement, although parts of it have been well-developed during the last few years. How- ever, its valuation has decreased one-fifth since it was organized in 1913. In natural beauty the region is particularly attractive, and the roads are comparatively good. The Duluth and Iron Range Railway passes within a mile or two of its eastern boundary and some of the settlers are making good farming homes.
The township may have mineral wealth, but it is just outside the area in which mining on the Vermilion Range has been under- taken.
There were fourteen people living in the township in 1900; in 1910 the number was 207; in 1920 it had increased to 299. It is too sparsely inhabitated to profitably, or economically, maintain a sep- arate school district; therefore it is included in what is called the Unorganized School District, directed by the county school admin- istration.
The township officials in 1920 were: Henry Simonson (chair- man), Sam Holappa and Matt Laitinen, supervisors; Peter Peyla, clerk ; Ernest Simonson, assessor ; John Johnson, treasurer.
Waasa .- Alleging failure of the Township of Embarrass to con- struct roads in township 60, north of range 14 west, a majority of the freeholders of that congressional township petitioned the county commissioners, in 1911, to detach that township (60-14) from the Township of Embarrass, and organize it separately as the township of "River." The petition was sworn to by August Aukrein on April 15, 1911, and filed with the county auditor on the twentieth of that month.
The petition eventually came before the board of commissioners, and was the subject of protracted discussion. Ultimately, the com- missioners announced that hearing of remonstrances would be set for November 7, 1911, when they hoped to dispose of the matter. Either earlier, or on that date, bitter opposition by the residents of township 60-15, the western half of the Township of Embarrass, developed, they being much averse to the movement to detach town- ship 60-14.
The commissioners were unable to decide until February 6, 1912.
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Then they decided in favor of the petitioners, and passed a resolution that township 60-14 be detached from the Town of Embarrass, to form another organized township, to be known as "River"; and they ordered election to be held, on February 27, 1912, "at the school- house, No. 5, Dist. 11. sec. 20," of township 60-14.
On February 8, 1912, the county auditor was advised by the state auditor the name "River" was that of a township in Red Lake County, and that therefore another name must be chosen. The freeholders of the newly organized town asked the commissioners to select one of three names suitable to them: Joki. Waasa, or Oulu; therefore, on March 6th the county board selected the name of "Waasa." As that the township has since been recorded.
An attempt was made in December, 1916, to annex unorganized township 60-13 to the Township of Waasa, a petition to that effect being prepared by Jack Kero and others. The motion to annex was lost at the meeting of the board of commissioners on June 7. 1917, and it was unorganized territory until 1920.
Waasa is settled principally by agriculturists of Finnish origin, who perhaps are the pioneers best fitted to develop such territory. The population, according to the 1920 census, is 318, and the assessed valuation of the township is $34,870. It is in what is known as the Unorganized School District, that directed by the county adminis- tration, a system economical yet adequate for sparsely populated regions. There are two schoolhouses in the township, one on section 20, and the other on section 11.
The township officials are: Sam Heikkila (chairman), Emanuel Isaacson and Nikolai Kari, supervisors; August Anderson, clerk ; J. Rautia, assessor ; Thom Koskela, treasurer,
White .- The Township of White embraces three congressional townships, 57, 58, and 59 north, of range 15 west, and it comes into history as one of the important mining townships of the county. Aurora, its chief incorporated place will be given a separate chapter, and its mining history will be reviewed elsewhere, this chapter deal- ing mainly with township organization records.
The Township of White was organized in 1906, a petition dated September 20, 1906, and signed by Charles R. Hill and others living in townships 57, 58, and 59 north, range 15 west, appealing to the county commissioners to set off that, then unorganized, territory as the organized Township of White.
The matter came before the county commissioners at their October, 1906, session, and met with their approval. They ordered the first town meeting to be held "at the Village Hall, Aurora," on October 27th, the election date being later changed to November 7, 1906, then the organization of the township was completed.
The township then had an assessed valuation of $1,120,457. . In 1919, the assessed valuation had increased to $9,797,502. And the taxes increased from $21,784.66 in 1906 to $557,908.88. in 1919. These figures are exclusive of those of the incorporated village of Aurora, the assessed valuation of which in 1919 was almost $3,000,000, upon which the tax levy was $234,845.04 in 1919. It will therefore be seen that White is one of the important townships of the county.
The federal census showed that in 1900 only seven people were resident in the township; in 1910 there were 1,036 inhabitants; and in 1920 slightly less, the census showing only 862. However, these figures are exclusive of those for the Village of Aurora, which
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maintains an increase in population for the township. Aurora's population in 1910 was 1,919; in 1920 it had increased to 2,809, with prospects of steady continuance in growth.
Aurora was incorporated in 1903, and is the only incorporated place in the township. However, an attempt was made, in 1913. to secure corporate powers for another place in the township. A petition was circulated among the residents of Pineville, section 6, of township 58-15, in February of that year, and was signed by many people. The document ultimately reached the county offices, but was declared to be irregular by the county attorney, who found that the unplatted part of the land petitioners sought to include in the limits of the incorporated village did not adjoin the platted portion. The county commissioners considered the petition at their March session, but took no action, and before they next met, certain signers of the petition notified the commissioners of their wish to withdraw their signatures. The commissioners therefore rejected the petition at the next meeting.
Among the important mining properties of the township are the St. James, Miller. Mohawk, Meadow, Fowler, Bangor, Stephens. and Perkins mines. More is written elsewhere regarding them, and mining is, of course, the chief industry of the township and will be for many years.
The officials of the Township of White in 1920 were: Erick Erickson, (chairman) ; Anton Skubic and E. T. Sandberg, super- visors ; O. F. Halstrom, clerk ; Victor Rebrovich, assessor ; Aug. Matt- son, treasurer.
Willow Valley .- Township 63 north, range 20 west, was detached from the Township of Linden Grove, in February, 1916, to form the Township of Willow Valley, which had been erected by the county commissioners on February 4th of that year, in response to petition of John Ostlund, A. P. Olson, M. Peterson, and others of that town- ship.
The petition was filed at the county auditor's office on December 30, 1915, and was discussed by the commissioners at their January meeting. They favored the detaching of township 63-20 from Linden Grove, and called for a stating of any objections by interested per- sons to such action by them, fixing February 4th for a hearing of such. On that day they granted the petition, and ordered the first town meeting of the township of Willow Valley to be held on Feb- ruary 19, 1916, "at Schoolhouse No. 20, situated in section 15, of township 63-20."
Election was apparently held on that date, and organization has since been maintained, with the same boundaries and powers. During the last few years there has been a slight increase in the valuation of the township, and in all probability it will steadily go forward to full agricultural development. No population was reported in 1910. and in 1920 there were 180 people living in the township, the families being those of legitimate homesteaders.
Its school affairs are directed by the county school staff, the township paying a school tax of 37.1 mills, and a total levy of 71.2 mills for all purposes.
Township officials, 1920: Aug. Grund (chairman). Esa Teppo and Wm. Carlson, supervisors; Oscar Hanson, clerk; A. P. Olson, assessor ; Magnus Peterson, treasurer.
Wuori .- The Township of Wuori, the limits of which are those
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of congressional township 59-17, was organized in 1908, and seems to have just missed being one of the important mining townships.
The township is, apparently, just on the fringe of the rich mining area of the 'Mesabi Range, and had a couple of good mining prop- erties in the extreme southern tier of sections, but its southern border adjoins what is known as the "Sliver," which name well describes the strip of unorganized territory that lies between the townships of Wuori and Missabe Mountain. One writer thus refers to the Sliver : "Some of the early surveys were formal enough. There was the Virginia Sliver, for example, so called because whoever sur- veyed 58-17 neglected to hook up his lines with the boundaries of 59-17, which had been previously run on the north. It left a gap of no-man's land, five miles long east and west, and nearly a quarter of a mile wide at the western end, tapering to nothing on the east. And as that happened to contain some millions of tons of iron ore, it gave rise to one of the prettiest bits of litigation this country has seen."
The addition of the "Sliver" to Wuori would have materially in- creased its importance, from a mining point of view. Still, the Ordean Mine has yielded a million tons of ore, and possibly other good mines will develop when there is need of the ore.
The township was formed in 1908, following the presenting of a petition, which bears date of April 29, 1908, to the county com- missioners, who considered the document at their session of May of that year. They approved the petition at that meeting, and passed resolution to organize township 59-17 as the Township of "Hill," that being the wish of the petitioners. The first town meeting was ordered to be held "at the Homestead School House on section 10, township 59-17," on May 25th, and presumably was held.
Later, it became necessary to find another name for the new township, there being another "Hill" township in the state (in Kitt- son County) ; and when this became known to the commissioners they fell back upon the name first written into the petition, and named the township "Wuori," although they had earlier been of the opinion that such a name would be too unusual to be advisable.
When the township was organized in 1908, Wuori had an as- sessed valuation of $242,244, and in that year the taxes totalled to $3,052.27. In 1919, the valuation had become reduced to $90,362. The Ordean Mine shows practically no more ore available, and the Allan Mine has not been worked since 1914.
Nevertheless, in some respects, Wuori Township is advancing. It is gradually being settled, and there are some good farms in the township, which in 1920 was shown to have a population of 296, an increase of 74 over the 1910 census.
The Virginia school district, known as Independent School Dis- trict No. 22, has jurisdiction throughout Wuori Township, which is debited a school tax of only 16.4 mills. Some rural school districts pay as high as 37. mills. The history of the Virginia school district will be reviewed with the general history of that city.
The officials of Wuori Township in 1920 were: Ed. Arvola (chairman), Emil Wittanen and Wm. Rekonen, supervisors; Antti Heikkila, clerk; Alex Niemi, assessor ; Sam Lampi, treasurer.
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Mango
CHAPTER XXVIII
TREVANION W. HUGO. The studious interest he takes in the history of the Head of the Lakes country and the reputation he has gained as an authority on many phases of Duluth and the Range affairs is a by- product and incident of Mr. Hugo's long and active participation in the very practical affairs of this section. In a business and professional way he has been identified as an engineer with activities both afloat and ashore.
Mr. Hugo was born July 29, 1848, at Bodinnoc, Cornwall, England, where the family had lived for many generations of the old Cornish stock. The motto on the coat of arms of the family is "Ubi libertas ibi patria," suggesting the independence, enterprise and daring that have inspired the different generations to exploits by sea and by land. His father, Nicholas K. Hugo, served an apprenticeship as a ship builder with John Marks and married his employer's oldest daughter, Mary Rundle Marks.
Trevanion W. Hugo as a young boy was brought to America and was reared at Kingston, Ontario, attending public schools. For his record in his studies he received a scholarship called the Chairman's prize by the Chairman of Queens College and the Chairman of the Grammar School. After completing his college career he took up his profession as a mechanical engineer, serving five years of practical apprenticeship in Kingston in the foundry and engineering works of that city. While em- ployed as a marine engineer on lake steamers he first became identified with Duluth in 1878, and subsequently was a stationary engineer with shore duties and is still practicing his profession as a consulting mechan- ical engineer in Duluth and throughout the state of Minnesota. He was one of the first members of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, being elected in 1882, the second member from Canada then and the oldest now from there in point of membership, and he has recently been elected a life member.
As a very young man in Canada Mr. Hugo was a member of the Fourteenth Battalion Princess of Wales Own Rifles, and had a period of real military discipline and duty during the Fenian raid while stationed at Cornwall, Ontario. His public record at Duluth has been one of well . deserved honor. He was for four years an alderman of the city, four years a director of the Board of Education. and then in 1900 served as mayor four years, and sixteen years after his first term was again called to the same office, which office he held until the spring election 1921. He was the first chairman of the Public Affairs Committee of the Com- mercial Club ; is a stanch Republican in political affiliation, and for half a century has been a member of the Masons and Odd Fellows. In Odd Fellowship he has held every Grand and Subordinate office and the same has been true of his Masonic affiliation except in the Blue Lodge. He is a Past Grand Sovereign, Grand Cross of Constantine; Senior Sub- stitute Magus, High Council Societas Rosicrucinac. U. S. A., and Hon- orary Magus, IXº of the Rosicrucians in England, and holds several other foreign honorary affiliations. He is the Active Sovereign Grand Inspec- tor General, thirty-third degree in Minnesota and is the Grand Minister of State of the Supreme Council. A. and A. S. Rite, So. Jur. He is editor and writer of the Duluth Masonic Calendar : director of the Scot- tish Rite infant welfare work in Duluth: member of the Charter Com- mission of Duluth from 1908 to the present time : originator of the Duluth Masonic Free Sunday Concerts ; for ten years president of the I. O. O. F.
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Home Board of Minnesota and at present is vice president of the Masonic Home Board of the state, wrote the 1920 Duluth Pageant and is the author of a monograph on the French gentleman after whom Duluth is named. His writings on Masonic subjects are many, including a "Digest- Index" of Albert Pike's "Morals and Dogma."
Mr. Hugo married Miss Jane Lanigan in Kingston, who died a num- ber of years ago. The eldest son, Victor, died in St. Louis, Missouri, and his widow makes her home at the family residence in Duluth with her two daughters. Rene T. Hugo, the younger son, is married and lives in Duluth. He is president of the Hugo Manufacturing Company.
HENRY F. SALYARDS, who has been a resident of Duluth for nearly three decades, is connected with some of the most important enterprises of the city. At present he is president of the Duluth Board of Trade and is one of the heavy grain operators of this region. He was born at Lib- erty, Missouri, July 10, 1869, a son of Richard G. Salyards. The latter was a resident of Missouri during the reconstruction period following the close of the war between the North and the South, but later was a news- paper man of southern Illinois. He was married to Miss Helen Baker, and they became the parents of four children. For several generations the Salyards have been connected with the newspaper business in Ohio and Kentucky, and from the latter state Richard G. Salyards went into Missouri and Illinois.
Henry F. Salyards completed his educational training at a high school. Going to Chicago, he obtained a clerical position with a pig lead firm, and later went into northern Dakota and Montana and engaged in cattle and sheep ranching, but terminated those connections in 1893 and, coming to Duluth, embarked in a grain commission business with Governor Eli C. D. Shortridge, the first Republican governor of North Dakota. This as- sociation continued until the death of Governor Shortridge, after which Mr. Salyards continued alone. In 1920 he was honored by his associates on the Board of Trade by election to the office of its chief executive, and he is still serving as such. He is also a director of the First National Bank, and is otherwise prominent in public matters. The Baptist Church has in him an earnest and generous member. In politics he has always been a strong Democrat. Prominent as a Mason, he has been raised to the Commandery, and also belongs to the Mystic Shrine.
On October 10, 1890. Mr. Salyards was married to Miss Mary Ely. of Center, Missouri, and they have three children, Ely, Myra and Pa- tricia. Ely Salyards was a first lieutenant of Battery A, Three Hundred and Seventh Division, Field Artillery, and served for twenty months in the late war in France. He was honorably discharged after the signing of the Armistice, returned to Duluth, and is now in the grain commission business with his father. Many of the present improvements of Duluth have been advocated by Mr. Salyards, and stands as the result of the wise and indefatigable zeal of him and his associates for bettering their com- munity. The years he has spent at Duluth have been of incalculable im- portance in the city, and he has kept abreast of the advancement, and at the same time has widened his own knowledge and developed his capa- bilities.
HENRY TURRISH, for nearly a score of years a resident of Duluth and now engaged in lumbering, operating at the present time in Idaho, Wash- ington and Oregon, was born on a farm in Portage county, Wisconsin, October 16, 1864, a son of James and Catherine (Campbell) Turrish. both of whom were natives of Ireland.
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James Turrish was reared in his native country, but when still a young man, in December, 1850, took passage on a sailing vessel bound from Glasgow, Scotland, to the United States. His vessel sprung a leak, and it was not until March, 1851, that he arrived in New York city. He lived at Wilmington, Delaware, for a time, and was married at New York city. In 1862 he came to the west, locating in Buena Vista, Portage county, Wisconsin, which locality was his home for practically the remainder of his days, although in his later years he moved to Stevens Point, Wis- consin, where he died in 1907.
One of a family of ten children, of whom seven grew to maturity, Henry Turrish worked on the home farm in Portage county, Wisconsin, while a boy, and attended the district schools, supplementing this with an academic and business course at Madison. He began his business career in the logging camps of the pine woods of northern Wisconsin, fol- lowing which he worked at nearly every branch of lumbering, including cruising, cutting, rafting and office work. About 1890 he began lumber- ing in Wisconsin for himself, buying stumpage rights, logging and sell- ing, and later, about 1898, moved to Superior, Wisconsin, and there began manufacturing, at the same time purchasing timber in Wisconsin and Minnesota with associates, which was aside from his regularly-established business. About 1901 Mr. Turrish moved to Duluth, having disposed of his Superior holdings. At Duluth he had previously maintained an office for several years with W. H. Cook. On coming to this city he at once became secretary and general manager of the Minnesota Log and Tim- ber Company, and for several years was engaged in manufacturing lum- ber. Upon the completion of the work thus mapped out he became as- sociated with others in the acquisition of large timber holdings in Florida. Idaho, Oregon and Washington, giving to the western holdings his per- sonal attention.
Mr. Turrish is a director of the City National Bank of Duluth ; a di- rector of the Elk River ( Idaho) Bank ; vice president and director of the Pollatch Lumber Company of Idaho; director of the Boise Payette Lum- ber Company, Boise, Idaho; president of the Western Land Company, Ltd .. of Idaho; vice president of the Western Timber Company, presi- dent of the Mehalen Timber and Logging Company, president of the Portland Southwestern Railway Company, president of the Beaver Lum- ber Company, president of the Appledale Land Company, director of the Fir Tree Lumber Company and of the Drew Timber Company, all of Portland, Oregon, where the general offices are located ; president of the O'Connell Lumber Company ; director of the Curran Timber Company of Washington ; and director of several land and exploration companies of Minnesota. Mr. Turrish is a member of practically all the clubs of Duluth. He is a Republican in politics, but has not aspired to political official honors.
On June 17. 1891, he married Margaret V. Keating. of Antigo. Wis- consin, who died December 26. 1912, leaving four daughters: Marie. the wife of C. E. Hazen ; Nannie, who died September 7, 1920, as Mrs. Philip L. Ray ; Vivian, the wife of Miron Bunnell; and Frances. Mr. Turrish's second marriage occurred February 21. 1914, when he was united with Miss Minnie B. Lander. Mr. and Mrs. Turrish are com- municants of the Roman Catholic Church.
MARTIN L. JENKS. For the past twenty years Mr. Jenks has been one of the prominent grain men of Duluth, and his individual enterprise and the capital he represents have given a decided impetus to the com- mercial power now wielded by the Zenith City.
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Mr. Jenks was born at Forrester, Michigan, July 15, 1861, son of Benjamin L. and Amanda (Messer ) Jenks. His father for many years was identified with farming in St. Clair county, Michigan, but in later years was active in the lumber and timber industries of Michigan. At Woods Mill in Sanilac county he was manager for the J. L. Woods interests, and was also interested in the wholesale firm of Pack, Woods & Company of Cleveland, wholesale lumber dealers. Besides acting as manager of the saw mill and general store his services were valuable in locating timber, and a considerable part of his time was spent as a cruiser. Throughout his life he was known as a man of strict com- mercial integrity, ability and honesty, and was frequently called upon to act as arbitrator on account of his faculty of seeing both sides of the question. In politics he was a Republican.
Martin L. Jenks, the youngest in a family of five children, was edu- cated in the public schools of Michigan and spent one winter in a col- lege at Kalamazoo and another winter at Mount Morris, Illinois. When twelve years of age he earned his first money and beginning at the age of sixteen was regularly working in general stores and on farms. At the age of twenty-four he entered the service of a wholesale dry goods store at Kansas City, but about three years later returned east and became identified with a rolling mill at Findlay, Ohio, and during the five years there became superintendent of the Findlay Rolling Mill Company.
Since then his chief. interests have been in the grain business. When he came to Minnesota he first located at Washburn, spending two months with Nye Jenks & Company, when he was transferred to the Nye Jenks & Company office at Minneapolis as cashier, where he remained two and a half years. He was then sent to the Milwaukee office of the Rialto Elevator Company, a subsidiary of Nye Jenks & Company, and remained in Milwaukee until the spring of 1900. The firm did a profitable busi- ness in that city, and while Mr. Jenks was there and since has operated the Angus-Smith Elevator. In the spring of 1900 he came to Duluth to organize the business of the Itasca Elevator Company, buyers and ship- pers of grain, buying it on exchange and shipping east. The first year they handled not quite three million bushels, and their business has in- creased until the total aggregate of one season has reached as high as twenty million bushels. Mr. Jenks now gives his special attention to the Itasca Elevator Company as secretary and manager.
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