USA > Minnesota > Goodhue County > History of Goodhue County, Minnesota > Part 57
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Early in the spring of 1852. John Day came over from Dia- mond Bluff, Wis .. and made a claim in the upper part of the town. Benjamin Young, a French half-breed, also settled here at about this time, and Day, Young. Bush and Potter staked out claims on the land now occupied by the city. in anticipation of the Indian treaty which was then being discussed and anticipated.
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About the middle of May in this year came those two sturdy pioneers, William Freeborn and Dr. W. W. Sweney. Later in the season Dr. Sweney brought his family here, as did also James McGuinness, and later E. C. Stevens. The story of Dr. Sweney's coming is told in his own words in the general history of the county which appears in this volume. To Dr. Sweney and his brother-in-law, William Freeborn, belong the honor of selecting the place as a village site. The former purchased the claim right of Bush and Potter and the latter that of Young, which adjoined the Bush and Potter claim on the west or upper side.
All these events occurred before the Indians had received word that the treaty had been ratified, and when as a matter of fact. the whites had no real rights here, though Dr. Sweney, the "medicine man," was a most welcome settler, and the others, for one reason or another, as the case might be, were tolerated.
In this year came the real influx of population. A raft of lumber from the saw mills at Stillwater was floated down and taken out of the river for building purposes and two young men were employed as carpenters during the winter of 1852-53. They were Hiram and Joseph Middaugh. They prepared the timber and finishing wood for a hotel, which was erected and made ready for the reception of guests as soon as the weather would permit in the spring. That hotel was the first frame building erected here. It stood on the corner of Main and Bush streets and was kept open for the accommodation of travelers for about two years by Andrus Durand. While Mr. Durand was the land- lord it was the Red House, afterward it. was called the Tee-pee- tonka, or "big house." and was kept by Jacob Bennett until destroyed by fire in 1865.
In the words of Mr. Hancock: "Troops of elaim hunters came in this season (1852) and many and amusing were the strifes about who should hold this or that favored claim in the surrounding county. At that time there had been no United States survey and each man was permitted to mark off his 160 acres. It was astonishing to see how long some men could pace. Then, every one had a host of friends coming after, for each of whom he must have a elaim selected, and in duty bound must see that their rights were protected. All this made business lively in our embryo city. Arbitrations and appeals to the court of Justice Lynch were everyday occurrences. A slight skirmish was not infrequent, but to the honor of the first settlers of Red Wing, no lives were lost and none to our knowledge were seri- ously injured. Very few of the first claim hunters remained as permanent residents. They had come too soon. It was dull business to wait until the land could be surveyed and brought into market. boarding one's self in a log cabin eight or ten feet
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square, without any floor or window. Nobody thought of rais- ing wheat at that time. Our flour. pork and butter all came from down the river."
At the opening of navigation in the spring of 1853. the pros- pects of the future city were brightened. The arrival of the first boat was looked for with great expectations, and these ex- pertations were to a measure realized. It brought needed sup- plies of provisions. It also brought some friends, who had come to remain as permanent settlers. In fact, all that season and for several years following. the landing of the steamer at this port was hailed with delight. It was not an uncommon sight to see the larger part of the population hastening toward the river when a steamer was heard approaching. Among those who came to make the place their home this year were the following : William Freeborn, who having built the first frame dwelling in the city moved his family here : Isaac Lanver. James Akers, Revs. Mathew Sorin, Norris Hobart and Rezin Spates. These all brought their families. Several other families came later in the season, among whom were W. D. Chilson, Warren Hunt and T. J. Smith. The young men who were here as residents without fami- lies were Nels Nelson (known as Dr. Sweney's Nels), Mathias Petersen (Ringdahl). the Middangh brothers, Ilugh Adams. S. A. Hart, E. P. Lowater and David Puckett. Several built for themselves houses this year. Besides Mr. Freeborn's. already mentioned, William Lauver, James Akers, Mathew Sorin, Norris Hobart and Warren Hunt had cach of them a frame dwelling house completed during the autumn of 1853. The remainder of the population occupied shanties or log cabins except the boarders at the hotel.
In August of this year the first company of Scandinavians who colonized the town of Vasa landed here. These were the pioneers of practical farming in this county : S. J. Willard, Hans Mattson. Peter Green. Charles Roos and A. G. Kempe. These men were so often seen in Red Wing for several months after their coming they were generally considered citizens, but they were the real founders of Vasa township.
It was in this year also that the village was surveyed and platted by J. J. Knauer for the proprietors, who were the follow- ing: William Freeborn. Benjamin F. Hoyt. Charles L. Willis and Alexander Ramsey.
The great event of the year, which did most towards trans- forming the old village into the new, was the first great confla- gration. By this the style of architecture was wholly changed. It must be remembered that at this time the Indians had soll
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their land by treaty and had .agreed to move to a reservation. However they still maintained their tepees here. The great fire occurred near the time when the Indians were accustomed to return from their winter hunting grounds to occupy the summer tepees and be ready to plant corn, which usually was early in May. The day was serene and cloudless; carpenters were en- gaged on the new houses that were being constructed. Between 12 and 1 o'clock the cry of fire was heard while nearly all the people were eating dinner. Leaving their tables immediately. they saw smoke rising from the bark wigwams, which was quickly followed by flames bursting from the roof of every structure of the kind. Nobody seemed to know what to do. All stood look- ing as if paralyzed with amazement. In less than an hour all the bark covered houses in the place disappeared. This evidently was the work of incendiaries, but they were not discovered. There was no policeman and no magistrate to bring them to justice. The few log houses then occupied by the white settlers escaped the conflagration, as did the new frame buildings. Only a few days after some of the natives returned. looking somewhat disappointed at the change, but took it all as a matter of course and fixed their habitations temporarily at other points in the vicinity.
W. B. Hancock, who arrived in Red Wing in October, 1853. thus describes the city at that time. after speaking of the rather starting appearance of the Indians: "The whole town-site was covered with bushes some ten or twelve feet high. The hotel on the corner of Main and Bush streets was nearly finished and occupied by Mr. Durand. William Freeborn had a fairly large frame house. II. L. Bevans had some goods in a board shanty on Main street. Warren Hunt had a small house. That is all the buildings on Main street that I ean think of. . William Lauver, Squire Akers, and a man by the name of Smith, had small frame houses on the other side of Jordan, as it was then called. John Day lived on his claim all the time. I do not think the city ex- tended that far. His shanty stood on the bank of the bay where the Red Wing Stoneware Company now has its works. Rev. Sorin had a frame house. Calvin Potter had a hewed log house with a store in the same building. The same was afterward used. with a new front built on, for a hotel called the Metropoli- tan. burned many years ago. There were some mission houses, which stood on Bush street (what would now be about the mid- dle of the street, a little to the south of mid-way between Main and Third streets). II. L. Bevans lived in one, J. W. Hancock. the other. The latter was two stories and double, one end being used as a school and meeting house. Dr. W. W. Sweney lived in a log house near the river bank. A man by the name of Hoyt
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had a log house somewhat further back. Mr. Chilson, who after- ward built the Chilson House, was here. Jim McGuires moved into the school house and lived in it that winter. The family of Rezin Spates lived out on Spring ereek. The house stood where the poor farm now is. These are all the married families I can recollect, but there were several bachelors' establishments in and around Red Wing at that time."
Some farming was done this year. Wheat, oats, eorn, pota- toes and rutabagas were grown within the limits of the present eity. Probably the first wheat raised in Minnesota south of the Minnesota river was raised here at that time. A notable event was the first Christmas dinner (1853), when the town proprietor, William Freeborn, invited the entire population to a Christmas dinner at his home. With one or two exceptions, all accepted, making an event at which practically the entire population of Red Wing was present.
An incident of this year is related as follows: A number of Indian families were encamped in the vicinity of Red Wing, a few miles up the river, on the Minnesota side. A man named Hawley had a shanty on the Wisconsin side. just above the site of the present village of Trenton. Some trouble occurred be- tween Hawley and Ta-sha-ta (Deer Hoof), in which the Indian received a fatal stab with a knife. Word was brought to the few settlers at Red Wing that Hawley had killed an Indian and the settlers were seriously alarmed, for it had been the boast of Red Wing's people that none of that band had ever killed a white man, and it was naturally expected that they might now seek retaliation in vengeance on the whites. Some of the settlers went up to the Indian encampment and assured the Indians that Hawley should be punished as he deserved. and they were satis- fied, manifesting no desire to wreak vengeance on the innocent settlers. Hawley fled from his shanty and was never afterwards seen in the country. A report subsequently eame back that he had been shot and killed by an Iowa sheriff.
The little community at Red Wing spent the winter of 1853 in peace and safety. Religions services were held each after- noon Sabbath in the school room of the old Mission house. Hiram Middaugh was leader of the choir and also teacher of singing. Debates and social parties were held occasionally. As soon as the ice on the river became strong enough to bear up teams, travelers began to pass up and down the river, frequently tarry- ing for the night in this little village. In the fall of this year, Dr. W. W. Sweney was appointed postmaster.
The spring of 1854 opened early. That year the steamer D. Hillman passed through the lake. April 5, 1854. on its way to St. Paul. Early this spring came a number of new settlers.
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Hon. W. H. Welch, then chief justice of the territory of Min- nesota. visited the place and decided to make his home here. AAmong others who came to stay were W. W. DeKay, P. Sand- ford, W. H. Wellington, C. J. F. Smith. William Colvill, Jr., P. S. Fish and S. J. Hasler. A large number of private houses were erected. The American House (at first Mrs. Allen's boarding house) was opened, and J. C. Weatherby's dry goods and grocery store, E. P. Lowater's shoe store and Hoyt & Smith's warehouse all commenced business. Wheat raised this year was found to be of a most superior quality, and the marketing and shipping of this cereal gave Red Wing its first start as a business point. A few years after, and before any railroads had found their way into this territory, Red Wing was claimed to be the greatest primary wheat market in the world.
Red Wing this year was made the county seat of the new county of Goodhue. A full complement of county officers were appointed by the territorial governor, nearly all being citizens of Red Wing. The burdens of office, however, were easily borne. Philander Sanford, the first lawyer in Red Wing, built an office on Main street, where practically all the publie business of the county was transacted.
One thing that gave the place some reputation abroad at the early beginning was the probability that it would soon be the seat of an institution of learning of a high order. It was known that the Methodist Episcopal church was about to estab- lish a university somewhere in the northwest and that Red Wing had been selected as the proper place for it. The hopes of the people in regard to such an enterprise began to be realized toward the end of the year 1854, when Prof. Jabez Brooks, on November 16, opened a school in the hall over Smith, Hoyt & Co.'s store. This school was called the preparatory department of Hamline University.
The prevalence of cholera on the river during the summer of this year had retarded the growth of the town somewhat. Per- sons were frequently landed here from boats who were in- fected with the disease, and, though cared for as tenderly and patiently as possible, many of them died. It was remarkable that the pestilence did not spread among the residents.
The Indians had been formally removed by the government in the fall of 1853. to their reservations, but many stragglers came back again and encamped near the place during the fol- jowing season. Considering that this was the home as well as the burial place of their ancestors, this is not surprising. No danger was apprehended by those acquainted with the ways of the Reds, but some of the new comers had their fears. It would have been very easy for the Indians to have taken the place by
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surprise and murdered all the inhabitants in a single night had they been so disposed. The distance between Red Wing and their new home was not great. Very few white settlements then intervened. The Indians were fully acquainted with the country. but greatly dissatisfied with the change that they had been com- pelled to make. But their patience was not quite exhausted and the settlers were not molested. One man was badly scared, how- ever. Awakened suddenly in the night by a hideous noise, he thought the Indians had certainly come and that the work of death was going on at his neighbors' houses. Believing that all was lost. he resolved nevertheless to sell his life as dearly as possible. Snatching his revolver, which was ready loaded, he bounded into the street in his night dress, and. rushing to a «lump of bushes which stood between his house and the others. he awaited the attack, hoping to kill at least three or four Indians before they should kill him. An interval occurred in the noise, revealing the sound of familiar voices among those who were imitating the savage war whoop, and he was convinced of his mistake. It was only a party of boys paying their respects to a newly married couple.
The winter of 1854-55 was very mild for this latitude, and the usual intellectual and social enjoyments of the season were passed with all the pleasures incident to such scenes. But though mild and pleasant, it seemed to extend unusually long into the spring. The first boat from below was never waited for more anxiously than at that time. With a large majority of the in- habitants it had been the first winter of their experience in Minnesota. Along in the spring the winter supply of meat, flour. vegetables and fruit began to fall short. There was money enough. but for a month or so pork and flour could not be had in Red Wing for money. The ice in the river was too weak for traveling. No one was in actual danger of starvation, fish were plentiful, and as the ice began to melt in places, wild ducks came to the rescue, yet the settlers craved a change of meat and more bread. The proprietor of the Red Wing House had his diffi- «ulties in supplying his guests. With a flour pail in his hand he was frequently seen calling on some private family to borrow a few pounds of stuff to make bread of, promising to return it in full when the first boat should arrive. The puffing steamboat vame at last and landed a stock of groceries and provisions for the firm of Jackson and Enz. a firm which had just opened a store on Bush street. Among the goods landed at this arrival were eleven barrels of flour and a large hogshead filled with smoked hams and shoulders. These articles found so ready a sale that, although they did not arrive until Friday evening. they were all sold out before Monday. Under the circumstances, the
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firm prudently limited each family to a certain portion. Thus all were, for the time, supplied. Settlers living on claims far from town came in as soon as they heard of the arrival of a boat. Other boats came in a few days, bringing needed supplies for other firms, and plenty now reigned among those who had the money with which to buy.
The United States land office for the Red Wing land district was opened here about the beginning of the year 1855; W. W. Phelps, register. and Christopher Graham, receiver. They first occupied the office of P. Sanford and were kept busy in filing the declaration of intention of pre-emptors and "proving up" until the time of the first publie sale.
The same year, some time in the summer. the Red Wing "Sentinel," the first weekly newspaper, made its appearance. It was a very creditable appearing sheet, published by Merritt & Hutchins. The printing was done in a building on Main street which was used as a carpenters' shop and a house of worship. being afterward remodeled into a private residence.
This was the year of the first liquor agitation in the village. To quote from a previous history: "The most remarkable event of this year was the advent of whiskey. The town proprietors and nearly all the early settlers were professedly temperance men. Liquor selling was to be forever prohibited. But, at a time least suspected, the evil made its appearance. A building, afterward occupied by the "Argus" on Bush street, had been erected by Jared Boughton, and was rented to a dry goods mer- chant named Parish. This store began to be a place of frequent resort by those who loved to talk. After a while it was told to one of the unsuspecting citizens that this dry goods merchant kept 'hardware' in his cellar. More than two years had passed since the town was begun and no intoxicating liquors had been kept for sale here openly. How the whiskey ever got in the cellar of that dry goods store was a mystery. It was soon evi- dent that it was there. Men were seen coming from that store with unsteady step and flushed visages. A public meeting was called. Men of every profession and trade met together to ex- press their indignation. Long speeches were uttered, and poli- ticians joined their voices against the illegal sale. A committee of five was appointed to wait on the merchant who had the hard- ware in his cellar and inform him that the sale of the stuff could not be allowed. The committee visited the offender, going in a body to the store, stating the object of their visit and the author- ity under which they acted. The man winced somewhat under the influence of popular feeling thus boldly expressed. denied the charge of selling it. but admitted that men could go to his
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place and get as much as they wanted. This man soon after closed his business and left the place."
The first sale of public lands occurred at the United States land office in Red Wing, beginning August 29, 1855. W. LeDuc, of Hastings. was the auctioneer. The notice of this sale had been previously given in the newspapers and many strangers were in the village at the appointed time. The settlers had formed a claim association in this immediate vicinity for the purpose of protecting themselves from landsharks and speculators. David Hancock was president ; P. Sandford, secretary, and Rezin Spates. assistant secretary of this association. Royal Lovell was ap- pointed to represent the settlers at this sale. He stood close by the auctioneer and bid in all the lands that they respectively had claimed. Mr. Lovell held a description of every claimant's land, ready to bid the moment the numbers were called by the gov- ernment agent. The settlers stood by, ready to back him if the occasion required. Though a large number of speculators were present ready to take advantage of such opportunities as offered for picking choice tracts. they dared not bid against the settlers after being informed of the combination.
The first brick yard in the county was opened for the manu- facture of brick in East Red Wing by George Wilkinson in the summer of 1855. He had taken the contract for the erection of Hamline University and came and commenced the manufacture of brick for that structure chiefly. however furnishing material for others also. Besides the university building there were two brick dwellings erected that same year. The university building was completed and dedicated early in January. 1856. The pre- paratory department was immediately opened for students and a college class was soon afterward formed. Before the year closed two teachers, besides Professor Brooks, were added to the faculty. The institution soon obtained a wide reputation and students flocked hither from a distance to enjoy its advantages. The lectures given by the professors from time to time and the debates of the literary societies were often attended by citizens and contributed much to make the new home attractive to all.
A large immigration from other states and from Europe came to this place in 1856. Many new enterprises were begun. Mer- chants and mechanics flocked hither and buildings of various size and materials were constructed. The north side of Main street. between Bush and Plum streets. was filled with business blocks. mostly of wood, the south side of the same street having but two or three vacancies. A boarding house was built by Mrs. Huldah Allen. who soon afterward became Mrs. Richard Free- born. The first machinery for the manufacture of sash and blinds was put in operation this year by Hasler & Todd. They
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used a one-horse tread mill power. The land office did a four- ishing business and called many strangers to this place during the three years it remained. Hotels and boarding houses multi- plied and were well patronized. Barnes & Vanhouten opened a brick yard at the west end, and commenced the manufacture of that article, while Mr. Wilkinson's yard was still supplying brick, but not in sufficient quantities to meet the demand. The first sawmill here was put in operation by Pettibone & Knapp. It was afterwards conducted by Freeborn & Pettibone. Cogel & Blakely built a mill for the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds. The machinery for this mill was sunk in the Mississippi with the steamer Itasca while on its way hither. Other ma- chinery was soon purchased and the mill put in operation before the close .of the year. The following year the same firm com- menced the manufacture of wheat flour, with one set of stone. The prominent firms doing business here so early as 1856, besides those already mentioned, were: J. C. Weatherby, dry goods and groceries ; Melntire & Sheldon, F. F. Philleo, Richter & Sher- man. general merchants: Betcher & Brown, hardware; W. E. Hawkins and W. H. Wellington, painters: William Colvill, Mur- dock & Bristol, Charles McClure and E. T. Wilder, attorneys at law ; Smith, Towne & Co .. dealers in real estate. The last named firm consisted of Otis F. Smith, Thomas F. Towne and J. C. Pierce. There was a hall over a business block on the north side of Main street, called Philleo hall, which was finished and devoted to the use of the public during the year 1856. This hall was for some time the place of holding conventions, public lec- tures, concerts, church festivals, etc .. by the Presbyterians, Epis- copalians and Baptists in succession, until each had built churches for themselves. The Methodists occupied the chapel of Hamline University for Sunday services until their church edifice was completed. The fourth day of July was duly celebrated for the first time in Red Wing in 1856. There was a grand procession following a band of musicians, three in number. First came the officers of the day, officers and reader; second, school children and teachers; last, citizens generally. This procession marched to a grove near-by, where the usual exercises, appropriate to the occasion, delivered, were listened to with attention. Hon. W. W. Phelps delivered the oration. Long tables had been prepared by the ladies, loaded with the best eatables the times could furnish, and a free dinner was partaken of by all present.
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