History of Houston County, Minnesota, Part 19

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge
Publication date: 1919
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1343

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Fourteen townships were created April 5, 1858: La Crescent, Hokah, Brownsville, Crooked Creek, Jefferson, Mayville, Winnebago, Houston, Sheldon, Caledonia, Wilmington, Hamilton, Yucatan and Spring Grove. La Crescent township embraced sections 1 to 24, in township 104, range 4; and sections 1 to 24, and all of sections 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33, township 104, range 5, north of the Root River. Hokah Township embraced the old Hokah Precinct, namely, the south twelve sections in township 104, range 4; the north twelve sections in township 103, range 4; the east half of township 103, range 5; and sections 25, 26, 27, 34, 35 and 36 in township 104, range 5. Brownsville Township consisted of the south twenty-four sections in township 103, range 4; and the north twelve sections in town- ship 102, range 4. Crooked Creek Township embraced sections 13 to 36, township 102, range 4; sections 1 to 6, township 101, range 4; and sections 24, 25 and 36, and the east half of sections 23, 26 and 35, township 102, range 5. Jefferson Township consisted of all except the northern tier of sections in township 101, range 4. Mayville Township embraced all of township 102, range 5, except sections 24, 25 and 36, and the east half of sections 23, 26 and 35. Winnebago Township embraced township 101, range 5. Houston Township embraced township 104, range 6; the west half of 103, range 5; and all of 104, range 5, south of the Root River. This conflicted in sections 34 and 35, township 104, range 5, with the borders of Hokah Township. Sheldon Township included township 103, range 6. Caledonia Township included township 102, range 6. Wilmington Town- ship included township 101, range 6. Hamilton Township embraced town- ship 104, range 7. Yucatan Township embraced township 103, range 7. Spring Grove Township embraced townships 101 and 102, range 7.

December 15, 1856, Black Hammer was created of township 102, range 7. April 29, 1858, to take effect Feb. 1, 1859, Union, the name of which was afterward changed to Mound Prairie, was created from Hokah, Houston and La Crescent. From Hokah were taken sections 26, 27, 34 and 35, in township 104, range 5, and the west half of sections 2, 3 and 10, in town- ship 103, range 5. From Houston was taken the west half of township 103, range 5. From La Crescent was taken that part of township 104, range 5, south of the territorial road and west of the east line of sections 14 and 11, leading west from La Crescent and known as the Ridge Road. Dec. 15, 1858, when the name was changed to Mound Prairie, the township was

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altered to consist of sections 14 to 35, inclusive (except sections 24 and 25), in township 104, range 5, and sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, the west half of section 2, and the north half of sections 10, 16, 17 and 18, in township 103, range 5. On the same day, a new town of Union was created, con- sisting of all of township 103, range 5, except sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, and the west half of section 2, and the north half of sections 10, 16, 17 and 18. It was also on the same day that Black Hammer Township was created from township 102, range 7. In 1865 the name of Hamilton was changed by act of the legislature to Money Creek, thus completing the list of townships. The boundaries of the townships have been changed in minor details many times since, but they occupy approximately the same relative positions as when created.

BROWNSVILLE TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE

Brownsville is the central township of the five that border on the Mississippi River, which forms its eastern boundary. On the north lies Hokah Township, on the west Union and Mayville, and on the south Crooked Creek. Though Brownsville embraces a part of two government town- ships, it is several sections smaller than a full town. Between the river and the village there are no intervening sloughs, there being, consequently, a good natural landing, a condition quickly noted by Job Brown, the pioneer, when in quest of a town site.

At this point, from the river's bank rises Wild Cat Bluff, nearly 500 feet in height, and which, being the highest point on the river for miles, was a prominent landmark for the early pilots and steamboat captains. The landing here was also the point of debarkation for a large number of the pioneer settlers, especially those going to Caledonia and the vicinity.

The material of the bluffs is sandstone as a base, with limestone near the top, and some good quarries have been opened, where lime is made. Both varieties of stone have been used for building purposes.

The principal river, aside from the Mississippi, is Wild Cat Creek, coming from the west, and a branch from the south, which unites with the main creek a mile from the village, the stream thus formed entering the Mississippi by way of a slough that starts opposite the lower end of the town. The precipitous bluffs on the river lead to elevated plateaus, with prairie-like expansions, covered with fine farms. Both lowlands and high- lands, though differing somewhat in the character of their soil, are in most places are well adapted to agricultural purposes, and have been so utilized since the early settlers located here. Some of the land, however, can only be used for pasturage.

Brownsville was settled in 1848 by Job Brown and two wanderers whom he encountered living on an island in the river. In the winter he brought his brother, Charles Brown, and his brother-in-law, James Hiner, as well as some helpers. In 1850 came David Brown, not a relative of the other Browns. A little later came William Morrison and William Blair. These men all settled in the village, and there the history of the township has since centered.

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Among the earliest settlers in the township, outside of the village, were George Shrof, John Whitlow, Mr. Stone and Mr. Watson, who located on the ridge to the north, which was known as Connaught Ridge, owing to the number of Irish who took claims there. Among them was Dennis Sheehan, who put up a shanty in 1853; William Power and his father, in 1854. James Hickey, who came in April, 1854, located on section 10, and Jonathan Hall on section 4 the same year. John Shelly, who at first stopped a few miles above the village, also took a claim in section 4, but two years later moved into the village. Within the next three years John Flannery, Joseph Keefe, Thomas Gavin and others arrived.

The first building put up in town was one of logs, moved down from an island opposite the mouth of the Root River. It measured 14 by 12 feet, and had a "shaker" roof. It was about 300 yards above the stone warehouse. The second house was just above the spring and was after- ward sold to William Morrison, better known as "Wild Cat Jack."

The first frame building was erected by Charles Brown in 1850, and it was afterwards used as a schoolhouse. Mr. Brown also built the first public building, which was called the town hall, and was used both as a church and a schoolhouse. The Methodist Episcopal society held services in it for a number of years, and it was used first as a schoolhouse in May, 1857, with Mary J. Wells as teacher, and A. McLaren, Charles Brown and J. H. Smith as trustees, its use in the latter capacity being abandoned when the large brick schoolhouse was erected.

In a very few years after the founding of the village, it presented a lively scene. In 1855 the levee was crowded with goods, and during the quarter ending June 30 the land sales amounted to $74,292. The census then gave the county a population of 2,616. There was a theatre in suc- cessful operation in the village, and lots were selling at from $100 to $800 each. At the beginning of this year the population of the village was 50 inhabitants, and there were 20 offices and stores, but by the end of the year there were 228 inhabitants and 45 new buildings had been .erected. In the fall a Sunday school was started in the store of Gates & Wykoff.

On July 1, 1856, several stage lines were started, carrying mails; one from Brownsville to Chatfield, via Hokah, Houston and Rushford; another from Brownsville to Caledonia, via Elliota, and a third from Brownsville to Traverse de Sioux. D. A. J. Baker was the contractor.

While the land office was here Dexter & Ripley conducted a bank, but it was not one of issue. Much of the business of this institution was to supply the land buyers with specie to complete their government pur- chases. When the land office moved on the Chatfield the bank was dis- continued. Mr. Ripley was afterwards appointed to the supreme bench of the state.

In 1870 there were nearly fifty stores in active operation, but in 1882 there were not more than half as many places of business all told, including saloons and shops. The following is a fairly comprehensive list: A. L. Darling, general merchandise and hardware; John H. Rippe, general mer- chandise; John Cluss, hardware; Frank P. Moore, drugs ; Miss T. M. Dorival,

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millinery and fancy goods; Aug. Knautz, boots, shoes and harness; Thomas Curry, grocer and shoemaker; Leaonard Schwartz, meat market; Edmund Kelly, groceries and liquors; William Tohman, groceries and liquors; Wil- liam Powers, general merchandise; John C. Beck, wagon and carriage maker; William Ideker, blacksmith; James Colleran; Gustavus Graf, black- smith; Adolph Rier, carpenter and cabinetmaker; F. Brehme, barber, con- fectionery and toys; Matt Roster, Fred Gluck, Peter Thimmersch, Florian Hauber and George Hoffman, saloon keepers; Michael Feeney, groceries and meat market; John Rippe, agent for the Diamond Jo, salt, cement and lime. There were three principal hotels: the Gluck House, conducted by Fred Gluck; the Roster House, by Matt Roster, and the Minnesota House, besides several smaller public houses. In the winter of the same year a St. Louis firm made arrangements for cutting 10,000 tons of ice above the village. At this time the town had two physicians, Dr. J. M. Riley and Dr. W. W. Bell. :

Several manufacturing industries were established at an early day in the village and its vicinity. One of the first of these was the Brownsville Knoblack Brewery, established in the early fifties. In 1856 the demand for the product was far in excess of the supply.

The Wild Cat Flouring Mill came into existence in 1866, the builder and proprietor being George Schaller. It was two and a half stories high with a basement, the ground dimensions being 40 by 50 feet. The power was derived from Wild Cat Creek, which has a fall of 24 feet, and was transmitted by an overshot wheel, 19 feet in diameter. It was originally a two-run mill, with first class machinery.

In 1878 the Schaller Brothers, J. C. and P. J., who had bought it in 1870 and remodeled it in 1875, sunk an artesian well near their mill to a depth of 590 feet, which yielded 590 gallons of clear, sparkling water per minute, having a regular temperature of 541/2 degrees winter and summer. The water was turned into the flume to help supply the power to run the mill.

The City Flouring Mill was put up in 1873 by Julius Hanke. The Brownsville Bluff Brewery was constructed in 1871 by V. and J. Fetzner. Clark's saw-mill was constructed in 1878, the main building being 36 by 85 feet, with an addition 25 by 36 feet.

The first saw mill was erected by Job and Charles Brown and Alex- ander McLaren in 1855. The first grist mill was built on Spring Branch Creek by Job Brown in 1856, the run of stones used having been in opera- tion at the sawmill the previous year.

The village was platted and recorded by Job and Charles Brown, imme- diately after the county was organized. Several additions have been added to the original plat, extending the village both to the north and south, and well up the hill to the west of the lower end, so that the second stories of the buildings on the west side are usually on a level with the ground, and the cellars are excavated as tunnels into the bluff. The business part of the village is 25 feet above the river, while that part situated in the ravine is 30 or 40 feet above the river. The railroad runs along the river's edge, on a grade somewhat lower than Front street. Near a western addition to the

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village there arises Spring Branch, a small stream which pours into Wild Cat Creek.

The municipal history of Brownsville dates from March 20, 1858, when the legislature incorporated the "Town of Brownsville" in sections 23, 24, 25 and 26, township 103, range 4. The town council was to consist of a president, a recorder and three trustees, all of whom must be householders. Upon the town council were conferred the usual powers of village authori- ties. The early records of the village have not been preserved.

A crisis in village affairs came in 1873, when acting under a bill passed by the legislature that year authorizing the village board of education to levy taxes at its discretion for school purposes, the board erected a commodi- ous brick shoolhouse at a cost of about $10,000 to accommodate the rapidly increasing youthful population. Many of the citizens opposed the erection of this building on account of the cost, several moved away, the taxes were heavy, and the village received a decided set back.

At various times in the past Brownsville has been the scene of attempted mining operations. Tradition relates that the origin of these attempts dates back to 1832, when a party of United States soldiers, and several engineers, who had had pracical experience in the discovery of lead near Galena, Illinois, encamped near the foot of Wild Cat Bluff, and engaged in prospecting experiments, examining caves and making excavations, though without success. They eventually sunk a shaft 105 feet deep, a mile and a half directly west of the bluff, and, it is said, believed that they had discovered evidences of lead. The time allowed them in the neighbor- hood having expired, they were unable to do more, but before moving on they filled the shaft with loose earth, brush and stones, macadamizing the opening and finishing with a large key stone. It was the intention of two of the engineers to keep their discovery a secret, and after the expiration of their term of service to return and resume operations and secure the mine for their own benefit. Owing to unforeseen circumstances, however, these miners never returned. Both went to the Mexican war, in which one was killed and the other lost his legs. The latter, supposing he was going to die, imparted the secret of the mine to a friend, instructing him how to find it. In the latter seventies this tradition came to the knowledge of George Graf, then proprietor of the land on which the shaft was sunk, and on inves- tigating decided that such operations had actually been carried on.

In 1875 William McCormick sunk a shaft, 60 feet deep, on section 22, and found evidences of lead ore. In March, 1877 he also began another shaft, and the first year put it down 100 feet, at which depth he found water.

Later he carried the shaft to a depth of 200 feet, and by him, or others, a lateral drift was also run for 75 feet or more. This work cost over $2,000, without the finding of any profitable ore. Mr. McCormick began his inves- tigations at that particular spot, as it had been noticed that lightning fre- quently struck there.

In 1877 Bernard Graf began a shaft on section 15, and carried it to a depth of 65 feet, when water prevented further progress with the means at command. In the winter of 1878 he opened another shaft, being assisted by an old miner, and reached a depth of 92 feet, when the shaft caved in.

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For some time he continued his operations, starting a shaft in another place. But in spite of these and other attempts, which occasionally met encouraging indications, no ore in paying quantities has yet been dis- covered.

The town of Brownsville was organized May 11, 1858. The officers elected were: Supervisors, Frederick Gluck, chairman; James Ruddy, and Mr. Lynn; clerk, L. Holstein; assessor, Stephen Reynolds; collector, Jacob Reider; constables, Stephen Reynolds and Michael Brady; overseers of the poor, Edward Bogan and L. D. Selfridge.

BLACK HAMMER TOWNSHIP

The township of Black Hammer lies on the western boundary of the county. It is bounded on the north by Yucatan, on the east by Caledonia, on the south by Spring Grove, and on the west by Fillmore County. It is a full government township, with an area of 23,040 acres.

The surface in the southern part is generally rolling prairie, inter- spersed here and there with little groves of young timber. Riceford Creek enters the township in section 31, and winds its tortuous course in a north- erly direction, to finally leave the town between sections 4 and 5. 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. On the top of the hills are level ranges, with a growth of brush and small oak timber, and this, when removed, leaves the land in a fair condition for cultivation.

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 cov- ered with timber of different varieties, such as oak, elm and basswood, with an occasional red cedar clinging 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 originally owned by the farmers of Caledonia in ten and twenty acre lots, from which they procured fencing and fuel.

The appearances in the north part of the township indicate that this region was at one time the favorable rendezvous of a race that antedates our American chronology. Near Riceford Creek are the remains of what might have been fortifications, or perhaps constructions intended 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. 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 feet to six feet. At one time a gold coin was found in this cavern by Peter C. Carrier, a son of William Carrier, who disposed of it to James Vincent, of Houston village. It was about the size of a $5.00 piece, but bore no intelligible in- scription.

The first white man who came to the township with the view of locat- ing was Ed. Stevens, who arrived from Cambridge, Wis., with his wife in the summer of 1852. He picked out a location in section 21, but on account

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of the dry weather and scarceness of water, remained there only a few days, removing to a place in section 4, where there was a spring, and there he and his wife built a log house. In 1854 he sold his claim to Peter Carrier, Sr., and moved to a mill site he had found in Yucatan.

In March, 1853, the second pioneer of Black Hammer arrived, in the person of Torkel Aageson, a Norwegian, born in 1818, who had been two years in America, having lived awhile in Rock County, Wisconsin, and Winnishiek County, Iowa. He brought tools with him, with which he built a habitation of poplar poles, with a birch bark roof, where he lived alone, the only white man in town, except Stevens, who was several miles away to the north. During the first season he broke ten acres, which marked the beginning of agriculture in the town. He afterwards planted an orchard and gathered the first crop of apples ever raised in this section.

In June, 1853, other settlers arrived, including Knud Olsen Ike, with his three sons, Knud, John and Ole; Mr. Guttorm, and Jens Olsen Otterness, the two last mentioned of whom were still living on their original claims thirty years later.

Lars C. Findreng settled in section 21 in 1854. He died in 1873, when his son, Ole T., came into possession of the farm. Halver Olson came in 1853 and was a squatter on section 17. He moved west in the seventies. Another early settler was Christopher Ericson, who located in section 17.

The first death which occurred in the township was that of a daughter of Lars Skime, who died in 1854, and as a burial place a spot was designated on the farm of Torkel Aageson, on the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 22, where about twenty interments were made prior to the establishment of the cemetery near the church. All indications of the spot having once been used as a burial ground, however, have long since disappeared.

The first birth in Black Hammer Township was that of Anna Maria Otterness, daughter of Guttorm Otterness, and occurred in the fall of 1853. She died in early womanhood.

The first town meeting was held in the schoolhouse in district 37, on April 5, 1859. The officers of the meeting were: Julius Billings, modera- tor; George Mitchell and O. W. Olson, judges, and Alexander Simpson, clerk. The meeting was called to order at ten o'clock. H. E. Solberg moved that the name of the town be "Clinton," and the motion prevailed. This name, however, was subsequently rejected by the state authorities, as there was already a town in the state by the same name. At this meeting reso- lutions were adopted permitting both hogs and dogs to run at large. Twenty-five votes were cast. 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 districts, and the boundaries of each specifically de- fined. Three road overseers were appointed, William Carrier for the north- ern part, John McCabe for the southwest, and Christian Lamen for the southeast. At a town meeting on Dec. 31, 1863, it was voted that each volunteer soldier receive $300 as a town bounty, and that the drafted men receive a like amount, payable in town orders.

Black Hammer Township is probably the only township thus named in

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the country, unless some former residents may have bestowed it upon some newer settlement farther west. The name was derived in the follow- ing manner. 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 township to the north, including a bluff which formed part of sections 27, 28 and 34. Its charred appearance at once suggested to his mind a certain bluff located in Slidre Valders, Norway, which was Mr. Bergo's birthplace, and so he exclaimed in Norwegian, "Sort Hammer," which signifies "Black Bluff;" and the peole have had the good sense to retain the name to this day, which, it will be perceived, is com- posed of an English and a Norwegian name. Mr. Bergo died many years ago and was buried in Spring Grove cemetery. In the early eighties his widow was living with her only daughter Mrs. Knud S. Nohre, near Rice- ford. The only son, Ole, removed to one of the western counties in the state.

The men from Black Hammer who early enlisted for service in the Civil War were assigned to Company F, Tenth Minnesota Volunteer In- fantry. Their names, so far as can be learned, were: Hans O. Oleson and Chandler Flemming, who were killed at Nashville, Tenn .; Alvin Smith, who died at Memphis, Tenn .; Silas Carrier, who died at Ft. Snelling, Minn .; and Frank Brown, William Cooper, Silas J. Cooper, Henry Cooper and John Birdsell.

About Oct. 1, 1864, a number went into Company D, First Minnesota Heavy Artillery. These were Tosten Johnson, Ole O. Ike, Andrew Chris- tiansen, Ingvald Hansen, Ole O. Ose, John Anderson and John McCabe. Mr. McCabe was the only one who did not return. He left a widow and two children, who lost their lives in August, 1866 when their house, in section 29, was swept away by a flood.

A military company was organized in the town under the state laws during the war, and was duly officered and drilled. It numbered about 75 men, and had a band of three pieces, purchased by the town, and con- sisted of a fife, a snare drum, and a base drum. The headquarters of the company were at the schoolhouse in district No. 37. The officers were: Tosten Johnson, captain; George Mitchell, first lieutenant, and Lars Larsen, second lieutenant, with the usual non-commissioned officers.

CROOKED CREEK TOWNSHIP (Reno and Freeburg Villages)

Crooked Creek is one of the eastern townships of Houston County and the second north of the Iowa line. It is somewhat smaller than a regular government township. Its eastern boundary line is formed by the western bank of the Mississippi River, while to the north lies the township of Brownsville, and a small part of Mayville; to the west May- ville and a part of Winnebago, and to the south Jefferson and Winnebago. Along the river, as in the other eastern townships, may be seen a chain

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History of Houston County, Minnesota, Part 19

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge Publication date: 1919 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1343

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge
Publication date: 1919
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1343