USA > Minnesota > Houston County > History of Houston County, Including Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota > Part 58
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322
HISTORY OF HOUSTON COUNTY.
spoken, that the exemptions were set aside by a general order. In March, 1865, was the last draft of the war. The final quota in Caledonia was filled through the energy of Sprague, Abbotts, Buell and others.
HOUSTON COUNTY SOLDIERS IN WISCONSIN REG-
IMENTS.
Great care. has been taken to make this list as nearly complete as possible, but it is not unlikely that some defenders of their country, who had a greater regard for their duty than for preserving their records, may have been omitted.
THE FIRST WISCONSIN BATTERY .- This was raised in La Crosse, and was largely recruited from this side of the river. The names of the Houston county boys were:
Gabriel Armstrong, Cuyler Armstrong, Lafayette Briggs, Wm. H. Cramer, Cyrus D. Chapman, James B. Davidson, Patrick Donnelly,
Almeron Fluman, Francis M. Garner, Mark Hargreaves, Charles M. Kellogg, James A. Magill, Joseph Meir, Samuel H. Pound. Wm. C. Pidge. Winfield Scott.
Eri Summy. G. W. Snure.
Norman Webster. Robert Watson.
George W. Armstrong, Ira Butterfield, D. C. Cameron, Silas Cramer, John M. McCan, Wm. J. Davidson, Thomas Donald, James M. Garner, James H. Gillett, James A. Knapp, George W. Lore. William Matteson, William C. Paddock, Henry Payfair. Wm. F. Richards. Edwin B. Stewart. Wm. S. Snure.
Carlos D. Ward.
Benjamin B. Webster.
The following list embraces those from Houston county, who were enlisted in Wisconsin regiments, and for whom credits were given by the author- ities at Madison, but it is reasonable to infer that the number is not exaggerated:
John N. Ingman. A. Jacobson.
John Donnivan. William Donald.
Patrick Brady. A. Ramsdell.
S. Thompson.
P. Thompson.
F. Reiner. Wm. F. Mozier.
William Kilgan. H. B. Todd.
P. Riley. George Hendricks.
H. Cushman.
Trulo Paulson.
William Clow. Michael Brennan.
S. G. Amidon. Ole G. Gjermundson.
James G. Sheldon. D. Knapp. Edgar E. Webster.
George Truax.
W. Snure was in the 12th Illinois Regiment; Dr. C. S. Cranson, of Sheldon, was in the 18th Michi- igan Light Artillery; Cyrus Ballou, of Mound Prairie, was in the 8th New York Heavy Artillery.
The following roster of men from Winnebago, who served in organizations outside of the State, was kindly furnished by Mr. Edmund Stevens: Jerry Crowley, Fourteenth Wisconsin Veteran Volunteers
Henry Colley, Fifth Iowa Cavalry. H. F. Kohlmeir, Fifth Iowa Cavalry. James Gillett, First Wisconsin Battery.
Lyon Burt, Nebraska Regiment. Wm. Monk, Fifth Iowa Cavalry. Fred. Monk, Twelfth Iowa Infantry. William Powell, Fifth Iowa Infantry. Philip Pierce, Fifth Iowa Cavalry.
William Semoss, Fifth Iowa Cavalry. William Teppery, Fifth Iowa Cavalry.
There are quite a number of persons in the county, who did honorable service for the Union, but who have come since the war from other counties or States, and from the very nature of the case, it would be utterly impossible to furnish their names. Unquestionably, the names of Union soldiers here presented will create a more lively interest as time goes on, and, as one by one they are called to enlist in an army, in relation to the tactics of which so little is known, the institutions they have helped to preserve will be more affectionately cherished by the remaining few.
The following is a list of soldiers from Houston county, as prepared from the Adjutant General's report:
FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY.
John B. Le Blond, Surgeon. SECOND REGIMENT INFANTRY .- COMPANY A.
H. S. Bailey, Sergeant. Lewis Smith, Sergeant.
PRIVATES.
Manly S. Harris.
Joseph M. Ripley.
Alfred J. Stewart.
Charles C. Quigley.
COMPANY B .- PRIVATES.
Edward Bennett.
Peter Carroll.
James Ford.
John Halliday.
.
Joseph Kiefe.
William Lynn.
Peter O. Rash.
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WAR RECORD.
COMPANY C .- PRIVATES.
William Carrier.
Patrick Welch.
COMPANY E .- PRIVATES.
Neil Golaxon.
Peter Johnson. Andrew Oleson 1st.
Joseph Melvin.
Andrew Oleson 2d.
COMPANY F.
Wm. Connington, Corporal.
PRIVATES.
Jacob Leiser.
Edmund Norton.
Harry Messenbrink.
John Rheinhart.
Ole Severson.
Nicholas Bouquet.
John C. Emstler. Bernard Graf.
George W. Knight. Joseph Wesbacher.
COMPANY G .- PRIVATES.
Carl Fessler.
Anton Guilaume.
Frank Pope. Ernst Ruhe.
Ernst Serfling. Jonn Wieltgen.
COMPANY H .- PRIVATES.
Orsen Bagley.
Louis Dibble.
COMPANY I .- PRIVATE.
William Mason.
COMPANY K .- PRIVATES.
Peter Erickson. Christian Olson.
Hans Severson.
THIRD REGIMENT INFANTRY, COMPANY A .- PRIVATES.
Matthew Darwin.
Charles Spanmeth.
COMPANY B .- PRIVATES.
Edward Coffee.
Isaac F. Freeman.
Charles I. Hoyt.
COMPANY G .- PRIVATE.
Harrison Hasket.
FOURTH RGIMENT INFANTRY, COMPANY B .-- PRIVATES.
James Bradley. Joshua Burton,
Harvey McQuillin. Charles N. Sutton.
Joel Stevens. Daniel E. Way.
Hiram Hazelton.
COMPANY C .- PRIVATE.
Jeremiah Moon.
COMPANY D .- PRIVATE.
Daniel Kere.
COMPANY E.
John M. Thompson, Captain.
PRIVATE.
William Smith. COMPANY F .- PRIVATE.
Andrew Peterson. COMPANY K .- PRIVATES.
Jabez G. Smalley.
John H. Spangler.
William H. Going.
Daniel Hurley.
FIFTH REGIMENT INFANTRY, COMPANY G .- PRIVATES.
Thomas Gale.
Simeon D. Lamb.
COMPANY H .- PRIVATES.
Patrick Kevman.
Samuel C. Robb.
SIXTH REGIMENT INFANTRY, COMPANY I .- PRIVATES.
Giles E. Reynolds.
William H. Stone.
COMPANY K.
William W. Woodard, Captain. William W. Braden, First Lieutenant.
Henry S. Bassett, Second.
Lorenzo D. Churchill, First Sergeant.
Thomas Lee, Sergeant.
David C. Miller,
Charles E. Massey, Sergeant.
Charles Chapman
John C. Shelby, Corporal.
John H. Brown 66
PRIVATES.
Jacob Apple. Peter Berger.
James C. Braden.
Rev. W. Clark.
Joseph Curry. Michael Dignen.
John Gunn. Jacob Heschler.
Nathan Hannahs. Fabian Hastenson.
Edward A. Kuler. Michael McDonnell. Joseph McPherson. John McMann. James Newberry.
Albert Newberry.
James Ostrander.
Ross Phillips. Mathias Roster. Homer Halverson.
John S. Offley. William Phillips. George W. Srouf.
Horatio H. Selfridge. Oliver P. Sprague.
Harrison H. Selfridge. John C. Smith. John Whitlow.
Alvah Wright.
TENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY. James C. Braden, Adjutant.
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James McDonnell. Michael Manders.
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HISTORY OF HOUSTON COUNTY.
COMPANY E.
Ebenezer H. Kennedy, Captain.
COMPANY F.
Ebenezer H. Kennedy, First Lieutenant promoted to captain.
John A. Birdsel, Sergeant.
Lorenzo Curry,
Francis S. Brown,
Charles H. Forrester, Sergeant.
Andrew I. Shaw,
Amos E. Glanville,
PRIVATES.
Henry C. Ballou.
Roswell Burch.
Silas D. Carrier.
Joseph D. Cox.
Henry Cooper.
William E. Cooper.
Theodore Each.
Jesse I. Ferguson.
Michael Fangle. George Graves.
Franklin Healy.
Lewis Hening.
John Howe.
Theodore Hacker.
George Larson.
George C. Northrup. Charles Miner.
Andrew J. Nariconge.
Myron A. Rollins.
Henry Ruff.
George T. Shumway.
D. A. Sherwood.
Alexander Simpson.
America R. Wilsey. Joseph Winkleman.
William Wooden.
Simeon Wait.
COMPANY H .- PRIVATE.
James Carroll.
ELEVENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY, COMPANY K.
George F. Tyler, Captain.
Benjamin C. Prentiss, First Lieutenant.
Rufus Thomas, Second Lieutenant.
FIRST REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY, COMPANY B .-
PRIVATES.
Andrew Bye.
Patrick Conniff.
Richard A. Murray. Ole Paulson.
COMPANY C .- PRIVATE.
Martin Lynch.
COMPANY D .- PRIVATES.
John Amundson. Joseph Christenson.
Tosten Johnson. Cyrus Kennedy. Daniel McGraw. Ellna Nelson.
FIRST REGIMENT MOUNTED RANGERS.
Samuel McPhail, Colonel.
COMPANY A.
Ebenezer A. Goodsell, First Lieutenant.
Benjamin C. Prentiss, First Sergeant. John E. Moore, Sergeant. John E. Burt,
George Rile, Corporal.
Paul H. Rosendahl, Corporal.
Michael Bennett,
PRIVATES.
Richard Clayton. Dennis Cahill.
Jesse Dores. Giles Farmin.
Gilbert Gilbertson. Ole Johnson.
Even M. Johnson. Thomas Kelly.
Jeremiah Leary.
Ole Larson.
Nicholas Murphy. John McDermott.
Patrick Manney. John Marks.
George M. McGonan. Charles S. Plummer.
Isaac N. Russell, John Seewald.
George D. Ticknor. Jabez M. Whitney.
Charles Wheaton.
George D. Winship.
COMPANY G.
A. B. Lahey, Sergeant. Charles E. McCan, Corporal. John Walker, Teamster.
PRIVATES.
Jacob W. Baird. Isaac Freeman.
John E. Hacket,
James Hiner.
Thomas Jennison.
J. R. Johnson.
Thomas Kelly.
Bazil D. Paddock.
John L. Russell.
C. R. Smith.
T. R. Stewart.
Henry Thomas.
James Thompson.
BRACKETT'S BATTALION CAVALRY, PRIVATE
James F. Addleman. SECOND REGIMENT CAVALRY.
J. M. Thompson, Major. W. H.Lapham, Com.Sergt. COMPANY A .- PRIVATES.
Robert Anderson.
Myron Bandy.
Charles J. Hayes.
William Lapham.
John T. Mumma.
Fritz Micka.
Henry Olebaugh.
Charles C. Seamen.
Lewis W. Schrader.
George B. Winship.
COMPANY C .- PRIVATE.
Henry P. Pitcher.
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Levi O. Leonard.
Willard H. Lincoln.
John B. Northrup.
Andrew New.
Daniel Riggles. Alvin Smith. Jacob Shaw.
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BLACK HAMMER TOWNSHIP.
COMPANY D .- PRIVATES.
Martin Anderson. William H. Birdsall.
M. Bigelow.
William H. Drummond.
Ole Engebretson.
Milton Fellows.
Ole Iverson.
Elling Knudson.
Ole Neilson. Edwin P. Wallace.
COMPANY H .- PRIVATE.
Charles A. Comstock.
COMPANY I .- PRIVATES.
Albert Bisbee. Lewis A. Cook.
J. Q. Adams Low. A. H. Smith.
La Fayette Whitehouse.
COMPANY K .- PRIVATES.
Anthony Demo, Jr. Benjamin Franklin.
Charles E. McCan. John H. McMullen.
Truman B. Neff.
Daniel D. Rice.
David W. Robinson.
Jacob F. True.
FIRST BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY-PRIVATES.
Stephen Emery.
George Appleby.
Peter Tuper. G. E. Whitehouse.
THIRD BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY-PRIVATES.
James Cleary.
Henry Harnish.
Peter Lee. Addison G. Wilson.
BLACK HAMMER.
CHAPTER L.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION-PRE-HISTORIC-EARLY SET- TLEMENT - POLITICAL ORGANIZATION -- NAMING THE TOWN --- RELIGIOUS - POST-OFFICE- FIRST BIRTH-FIRST DEATH-BLACK HAMMER IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION-SCHOOLS-BIOGRAPH- ICAL.
This town was originally included in the town- ships of Spring Grove and Yucatan, and was or- ganized as a separate town in April, 1859, the first town meeting being held at that time.
It lies on the western boundary of the county; is bounded on the north by Yucatan, and on the south by Spring Grove, and contains an area of 23,040 acres, being a full government township.
The surface in the southern part is generally rolling prairie, interspersed, here and there, with little groves of young timber. Riceford Creek enters the town in section thirty-one, and winds its tortuous course in a northerly direction, to finally leave the town between sections four and five. Along this stream the surface is more broken, with bluffs that extend up from 350 to 400 feet above the surface of the water below. Here, on the top of these hills, are level ranges, with a growth of brush and small oak timber, and this, when re-
moved, leaves the land in a fair condition for cul- tivation.
The soil is a dark loam, mixed with clay, and capable of producing wheat and the other cereals. The sides of the bluffs are more or less covered with timber of different varieties, such as oak, elm, and basswood, with an occasional red cedar cling- ing to a crevice in the rocks. The eastern and northeastern part of the town is also bluffy or broken, and covered with timber, which is largely owned by the farmers of Caledonia, in ten and twenty acre lots, from which they procure fencing and fuel.
It is estimated that about one-fourth of the whole area of the township is unsuitable for culti- vation by present processes and for present crops, but is useful for grazing and to raise timber.
Beaver Creek makes its way through a portion of the eastern part of the town. The bottoms along these creeks are covered with good varieties of indigenous grasses, which supply hay or grazing for stock.
PRE-HISTORIC .- The appearances in the north part of the township indicate that this region was at one time the favorite rendezvous of a race that antedates our American chronology.
Near Riceford Creek are the remains of what
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HISTORY OF HOUSTON COUNTY.
might have been fortifications, or for some other use. They have been plowed over, and other eroding processes have been at work, and now some of them are well nigh obliterated. Still traces of them are visible near the residences of William and Peter Carrier. There is also, in this vicinity, a cave, or cavern, that may have been formed or modified by human hands. It has an entrance not unlike a door, four feet square, and extends a thousand feet or so, varying in height from five to six feet. Not long ago a gold coin was found in this cavern by Peter C. Carrier, a son of Wm. Carrier, who disposed of it to Mr. James Vincent, of Houston village. It was about the size of a $5.00 piece, and bore no intelligible in- scription.
EARLY SETTLEMENT .- The first white man to come to the town, with a view of locating, was Mr. Ed. Stevens, who came here from Cambridge, Wisconsin, with his wife, in the summer of 1852, and his first resting place was on what is now the "Ike Farm," on section twenty-one, but he only remained a few days. That season was uncom- monly dry, and the water was so scarce that he struck out for a spring, and succeeded in finding one in the north part of the town, in section four, where he set to work, and with the assistance of his wife, put up a log dwelling, the remains of which are yet to be seen.
In the year 1854, he sold this claim to Mr. Peter Carrier, Sr., and moved to a mill site he had found unoccupied in Yucatan.
Another hardy pioneer was Torkel Aageson, a native of Hanauges, Norway, whose nativity bears date April 1, 1818, and who emigrated to Amer- ica in 1851, first stopping in Rock county, Wis- consin, and a few months afterwards, pushing on to Winneshiek county, Iowa, from whence he came to this place with an axe on his shoulder, and a pair of iron wedges and beetle rings, arriving in March, 1853. He put his tools to a good use in building a habitation of poplar poles, with a birch bark roof, and there he lived like Alexander Selkirk, all alone, and monarch of all he surveyed, the only white man in town, except Stevens, who was several miles away to the north.
In June several other families came. Mean- time Mr. Aageson went vigorously to work split- ting rails to enclose some of the land he had claimed, and succeded the first season, in breaking
ten acres, which marked the beginning of agricul- ture in the town. He afterwards planted an or- chard and gathered the first crop of apples ever raised in this section.
In June, 1853, several other families followed; among them were Knud Olsen Ike, with his three sons, Knud, John, and Ole; Mr. Guttorms and Jens Olsen Otterness, the two last mentioned be- ing still living on their original claims.
Lars G. Findreng came in 1854, and cast his lot on section twenty-one. His son, Ole T., lived with his parents up to the time of his father's death in 1873, and he now occupies the farm, his mother still living with him. He was married in 1869, to Miss Tilda Oleson.
Halver Olson came in 1853, and was a squatter on section seventeen. He moved west a few years ago, and is now dead.
Christopher Ericson located on section seven- teen at an early day.
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION .- The first town meet- ing was held in the school house in District No. 37, on the 5th of April, 1859. The officers of the meeting were, Julius Billings, Moderator; George Mitchell and O. W. Olsen, Judges, and Alexander Simpson, Clerk. The meeting was called to order at ten o'clock. Mr. H. E. Solberg moved that the name of the town be "Clinton" which seemed to meet with the approval of the citizens, as the mo- tion prevailed. On submitting the question to the State authorities, however, this name was rejected, for the reason that there was already a town in the State with the same name.
At this meeting a resolution was adopted that hogs should be allowed to run at large, and anoth- er, that dogs should also be permitted to be at large. The total number of votes cast was twen- ty-five. The assessment for road tax was two days work for each poll, and five mills per cent. on real estate. The town was divided into six road dis- tricts, and the boundaries of each specifically de- fined.
Three road overseers were appointed, Wm. Car- rier, for the northern part, John McCabe for the southwest, and Christian Lamen for the south- east.
At a town meeting on the 31st of December, 1863, it was voted that each volunteer soldier re- ceive $300, as a town bounty, and that the draft- ed men receive a like amount, payable in town orders.
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BLACK HAMMER TOWNSHIP.
TOWN OFFICERS, 1881 .- On the 8th of March the following officers were elected:
Supervisors, Alex Simpson, Chairman; C. P. Onstad, H. E. Solberg; Clerk, Ole S. Olsen; Assessor, Espen M. Tuftene ; Treasurer, John Senter; Justices of the Peace, Julius Billings and E. F. West; Constables, Wm. Carrier and Andrew C. Anderson.
HOW THE TOWN WAS NAMED .- Why the town received its singular name is worthy of mention and preservation. It matters little what the name of anything is, if it serves the purpose of a name, which is, if not to characterize it, at least to dis- tinguish it from all else with which it may be con- founded.
Black Hammer is a most admirable name, be- cause there is no other like it in America, nor will be, unless some resident, removing further west, shall carry the name with him, to be engrafted upon a new settlement on the frontier. But this is the way the town finally got its name. Knud Olson Bergo, who was living just across the town line in Spring Grove, on getting up one morning, saw that a fire had swept over the prairie in the south part of the town, including a bluff which formed a part of sections twenty-seven, twenty- eight, and thirty-four. Its charred appearance at once suggested to his mind a certain bluff located in Slidre Valders, Norway, which was Mr. Bergo's birth place, and so he exclaimed in Norwegian, "Sort Hammer," which signifies Black Bluff, and the people have had the good sense to retain the name to this day, which, it will be perceived, is composed of an English and a Norwegian word. Mr. Bergo died many years ago, and his dust lies in the Spring Grove cemetery; his widow lives with her only daughter, Mrs. Knud S. Nohre, near Riceford, in the edge of Fillmore county, and the only son, Ole Bergo, lives in one of the western counties of the State.
RELIGIOUS .- The church going people of Black Hammer for a number of years attended the church at Spring Grove; but there was, during this time, an occasional religious service at various places in the town. The first of these was held by the Rev. F. C. Clauson at the house of Knud O. Ike, in the early part of 1857. Before this, how- ever, a colporteur, named Peter Mehus, had con- ducted services in Mr. Ike's house. Up to the time the church was built, the Rev. Mr. Clauson was
a regular missionary, holding meetings most fre- quently in District No. 37.
A frame church was constructed in 1868, in which meetings were held, although it was not quite completed until the following year. It was not of mammoth proportions, or of very superb finish, but it cost, including a bell of 809 pounds, $4,000.
MANUFACTORIES.
The manufacturing of the town is confined to domestic work, except a single blacksmith shop, where Berndt Hanson blows the bellows and manipulates the glowing iron. This institution was founded about 1871, by Gunder Mathison.
A small saw-mill was put in on the Riceford Creek, in section twenty-nine, in the year 1858, by David Soper; it never did a large amount of work, and after a while it was totally abandoned In August, 1866, at the time of a terrible flood, the most disastrous ever remembered in the county, it was completely swept away, and at the same time the unfortunate widow and two children of John McCabe were, with the house in which they lived, carried down by the remorseless waters, and met a watery grave; the remains of one of the children not being recovered until the next spring.
Mr. McCabe was among the first to enlist in the war of 1861, and his bones were left reposing in southern soil.
POST-OFFICE.
The post-office was not established in this town until 1871, when Gunder Mathison was commis- sioned as Postmaster, and when he moved away, 8 few months afterwards, Mr. Ole S. Oleson took his place, and indicated Mr. B. J. Haug as his deputy. Two years later Mr. Berndt Hanson was appointed, and he is still the incumbent. . The office has always been at private residences on section twenty-seven. It has a tri-weekly service, ' Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays of each week, and is on the route between Houston, Min- nesota, and Decorah, Iowa.
THE FIRST BIRTH.
The first person to be ushered into this unfeeling world in Black Hammer, was Anna Maria Otter- ness, daughter of Guttorm Otterness, who was born in the fall of 1853. She died several years ago.
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HISTORY OF HOUSTON COUNTY.
THE FIRST DEATH.
This was a daughter of Lars Skime, who died in 1854, and as a burial place, a spot was desig- nated on the farm of Torkel Aageson, on the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of seo- tion twenty-two, where about twenty interments were made prior to the location of the present cemetery near the church, where fine slabs and monuments mark the last resting place of the honored dead of Black Hammer. In the old burial place not a stone or a mound indicates that it was ever used for such a purpose.
BLACK HAMMER IN THE WAR OF 1861.
The men who early enlisted were assigned to Co. F, of the Tenth Minnesota Volunteer Infan- try. Their names, as far as can be learned, were as follows: Hans O. Oleson and Chandler Flem- ming, who were killed at Nashville, Tennessee. Alvin Smith, who died at Memphis, Tennessee. Silas Carrier, who died at Fort Snelling. Frank Brown, William Cooper, Silas J. Cooper, Henry Cooper, and John Birdsell.
Those who, about the 1st of October, 1864, went into Co. D, First Minnesota Heavy Artillery were Tosten Johnson, Ole O. Ike, Andrew Christian- sen, Ingvald Hansen, Ole O. Ose, John Anderson, and John McCabe; the latter was the only one who did not return, and whose family was drowned as above recorded. A military company was or- ganized in the town under the State laws during the war, and duly officered and drilled. The com- pany numbered about seventy-five men. Their headquarters were at the schoolhouse, District No. 37. The officers were: Tosten Johhson, Captain; George Mitchell, First Lieutenant, and Lars Lar- sen, Second Lieutenant, with the usual non-com- missioned officers. The company had a band, the instruments being purchased by the town, consist- ing of a Bass Drum, a snare drum, and the ear piercing fife. It must be remembered that when the war came on, this settlement was less than a decade in age, and it is to the infinite credit of the town that so many enlisted as actually did.
SCHOOLS.
DISTRICT NO. 3 .- The early records of the dis- trict have not been preserved, but from what can be learned, this district was organized and a school- house built in 1865, and the first term of school taught in 1866, by Miss Comstock, a daughter of J. W. Comstock, now a resident of Yucatan.
DISTRICT NO. 69 .- This was set off from No. 37, by the County Commissioners on the 18th of May, 1865, in response to a petition of the residents. The first officers were Julius Billings, Clerk; Jos- eph Haninan, Director, and Tolef Hogensen, Treasurer. Theinitial term was taught by Miss Maria O'Connor, at the residence of Julius Bil- lings, in 1865. The schoolhouse was completed in 1867, on section twenty-eight, on land of Lars Ericksen.
DISTRICT No. 80 .- This school district was or- iginally carved out of No. 37 by the board of County Commissioners at the March session in 1870. The first officers were: Alex. Simpson, Clerk; John Soutu, Treasurer, and John Cunning- ham, Director. During the fall of the same year the schoolhouse was completed. The first term was taught in the spring of 1871, by Miss Ella Dibble. The present officers are identical with those first elected.
DISTRICT No. 74 .- On September 9th, 1868, this district sprang into existence, the primary meeting being held at the house of H. E. Solberg, when the following officers were elected: H. B. Allen, Treasurer; Elling Anderson, Director, and H. E. Solberg, Clerk. A site for the school build- ing was decided upon on the land of Helge Olsen, on section thirty-five, and a schoolhouse, 16x24 feet, was accordingly erected, and completed the following year. The school was inaugurated by Miss Lena J. Heaul, in the winter of 1870.
DISTRICT No. 19 .- A part of the northwest cor- ner of the town is embraced in this school district, jointly with Yucatan.
DISTRICT NO. 65 .- This takes in a part of the west edge of the town, and is a union organization with a portion of Fillmore county territory.
DISTRICT No. 37 .- We come now to the northern district of the township, and the one first organ- ized, and from which the others have been taken. At first it embraced all, or nearly all of the town, and the first schoolhouse was laid up with logs, in a sort of a pic nic way, every man bringing a few logs and an axe, and putting in his work. This was as early as 1857, and the first teacher was Frank Brown.
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