USA > Minnesota > Martin County > History of Martin County, Minnesota > Part 16
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larities as the returns were all made the attorney general and public ex- aminer with relation to having a full examination made of the books and and the vouchers of Mr. Hackett, in order that the county might be provid- ed with proof in its suit against the bondsmen. In April of this year Col. C. H. Bullard sold his half interest in the Martin County Sentinel to Burt W. Day. An assignee sale of the Bank of Fairmont and the Smales & Lyon property was made. Notes represent- ing over $7,000, sold to A. D. Cadwell for $1815 and a set of abstract books costing the bank $1,000 were sold to H. W. Sinclair for $75. The committee in session with the bank examiner re- ported the shortage of Samuel Hackett at $4266.25. The expense of the term of court this winter was $2757.84. Taking into consideration the expense of the term of court, the treasurer's defalcation, the failure of the Bank of Fairmont and other individual failures it did not look very promising for our people, Dr. Chubb, who had moved away, came back this year and pur- chased the block of lots where V. Wolheter's house now is, and set out some evergreens. in one handwriting and the signatures of officers to the returns being in one handwriting, and it being about the time in the Southern states that re- turning boards decided elections by throwing out or canvassing such as they desired, our officials patterned after them and threw out the entire vote of Fox Lake, which left 26 major- ity for bonds. If the vote of Fox Lake had been counted there would have been a majority of 27 votes against bonds. Before the bonds were issued Eric Olsen and others brought suit to obtain an injunction, but not desir- ing to anticipate the result, we will leave this for a short time, A party by the name of Sincombe had been making his headquarters here and at Mankato talking up the idea of a wooden railway to connect this county with the timber country around Man- kato. He had an invention of his own, au ingenions contrivance something after the style of a hand car, with a sail attached, in which he made trips between here and Mankato, managing to keep off the time of regular trains. While making a trip from this point to Mankato, when between Winnebago The Victoria wind mill fans were blown down this year. F. F. Harlow leased the Occidental hotel and took possession of same. The school dis- trict built an additional school build- ing 25x40 feet. On June 3d there was a very heavy wind storm and tor- nado and hurricane. The wind blew I down a great many trees and the circus that was here at the time had their tents blown down and their horses and other animals stampeded and the fat mau and fat woman were blown over into the ditch. On the north and northwest of us thewind blew down City and Delevan, a wild train with a snow plow attached came along and met him with the result that himself and car were thrown into the air. The car was wrecked and he was killed withont being seen by the tra nmen. At the March meeting of the commis- sioners the bondsmen of S. Hackett not having made payment a resolution was introduced and passed ordering the county auditor to commence suit against them. The chairman of the board of county commissioners, the county attorney and the county auditor were instructed to confer with a number of houses and barns and
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broke down a lot of timber. It is-re- markable that there was as little 1088 of life as occured. In Frasier town- ship the house of Julius Goetz was blown down. There was a number of people in the house at the time. Mr. Goetz was killed and a number of others badly injured. This place was on the outskirts of the storm. It was a very heavy wind, and before it struck us the roar could be heard for at least ten minutes. On the north side of the buildings a great many windows were broken.
Cecil Sharpe started an agricultural implement business this year. In June of this year while cutting grain A. M. Welcome found the body of a man near his place in the edge of the timber. Who he was, where he came from or how he met his death has not been as -. certained. Coroner Sharpe had an investigation and buried the body. In July a side-track was put in where the village of Welcome now is, but no station was established, simply a ship- ping point for grain. Harvest was very fine, good weather and a fair yield. The auditor and treasurer at this time had their office in the Wollas- ton building on North avenue. We had a heavy frost on the 13th of Sep- tember. Hog cholera was very bad this fall, a great many losing all their hogs. The 1880 election resulted in the election of the following men: J. A. Armstrong representative, M. E. L. Shanks county auditor, William Bird sheriff, F. S. Livermore probate judge, J. L. Higgins county attorney, A. N. Fancher county surveyor, C. P. Chase coroner, and C, H. Bullard court com- missioner. On October 15th the day was somewhat cloudy and cold with fenced with snow fences, and as the a northeast wind. Commencing with a rain it turned into a snow and b efor
the morning of the sixteenth a howl- ing blizzard was raging from the north. west. The passenger train was blocked and stuck in the snow between Sher- burn and Jackson. There were some bad drifts, and there was much suffer- ing on account of the people not being prepared for winter. The snow stayed a number of days and it was quite cold but it finally went off and we had some fair fall weather, but an early winter. This fall the LaCrosse Board or Trade made an excursion along the line of the Southern Minnesota railway and stayed over night here. They had a jolly time. The returns of the census as taken this year shows the population of the county to be 5253, being an in- crease since 1875 of 1515. We had a quite bad snow early in November, and quite cold weather. Snow drifted badly during November and December and the railroad company began to ex- perience trouble in keeping their line open so as to run their trains. There were a great many cases of diphtheria this year. We forgot to state that in the previous year the suit brought by Eric Olson and others to prevent the issuing of the bonds was compromised and settled in some way. Not being on the inside we do not know how, but the result was that the bonds were issued and the court house was built the next year, of which mention will be made. At the January term of court the railroad became blockaded and it was impossible to keep the road open and the attorneys and judge in attendance were obliged to take teams and drive across country in order to get home. At this time the railroad company had not had all their cuts snow was very deep it drifted in almost as fast as it could be shoveled out. A
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force of shovelers estimated at 200 were kept at work on their line of road this side of Wells. Fairmont got a few trains, very few, and for a long time were without trains. The company finally succeeded in opening the road to a point within about five miles of us and our business men turned out to the number of about fifty and went down and tried to help get a train through to us that night, and worked in the cut at the gravel pit in the hope of being able to clean the cut in time to get the train through to us that night, but were unable to do so, and the result was the wind raised in the night and the cut was level full of snow the next morning. West of us the bloekade was not raised so that a train could reach Flandrau until the 21st of April. Teams were brought into re- quisition to haul supplies and carry mail, we having to carry onr mail by team clear from Wells. People used sort of snow sleds with sails. The snow was so deep it was impossible to
are not satisfied as to the number of days our railroad was blocked or as to the time when the blockade was finally raised as to this place, but it was late in April before any seeding was done. The water was very high, caused by the immense body of melting snow. The first seeding that I know of being done was on the 26th of April. A part of the time during the winter this was headquarters for the snow shovelers. They had a train and worked in both directions but were unable to reach Jackson or open communication with Wells. They also had a gang at work this side of Wells and a gung west of Jackson. The longest term of block. ade for Fairmont was 19 days, but there were a number of short block- ades varying all the way from a week to fifteen days. When a train did get here, their instructions were to im- mediately return to Wells as a ruise in the wind meant the filling of the cuts. During this time the weather was very cold, the thermometer registering as timber was drifted full and farmers had great trouble in keeping roads open to their barns or get their cattle to water or haul hay for feed. Two saloons were licensed this year for $150 each. The commissioners let the con- tract for the building of our present court house and jail to J. A. Smith for $9,242.10. After the snow blockade was raised. the people were bothered
drive teams and supplies were hauled low as 33 degrees below zero. The by hand on hand sleds. The streets were blocked and tunnels were cut under the snow. There were in ex- istence a number of photographs taken at the time of the snow blockades showing the cuts and different parts of the road with the shovelers at work. As they had thrown the snow out a number of times, it became so high that a man could not stand at the bot- tom and throw it out, so they would in getting supplies on account of the toss it up on to a sort of scaffold and high water in the country. The rait- the men there threw it out of the cut. , road company profited by the exper- There was a tunnel cut under at House- ience of that winter and protected their cuts with snow fences. Since then there has been but one or two in- man's meat market on North avenue, crossing the street on the east side, so that a team could be driven in under stances of blockade, and then only for it. The meat market then was near a day. The building of the court where the Pfeiffer saloon now is. We house progressed rapidly and it was
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completed in the full and occupied by the county officers.
From this time a period of only 15 years exists to the present day. It has been our aim to give an early history, commeneing with the first settlers in 1856 and extending to 1881, a period of 25 years. Since 1881 there are but a few settlers who are not acquainted with the events which have transpired in that time, and we judge it would be no information to those who were here, although in talking over the events of the last ten years there is a difference of opinion as to memory and circum- stances. For the first five years, set- tlement we could mention the name of every family who were residents of the county, perhaps for a longer period until the passage of the homestead law which gave to each actual settler 160 acres of government Jand, which brought in a large increase of settlers. We have spent a great deal of search and inquiry in order to got an official statement by the census of the condi- tion of this county in 1860. That would be the first census after the set- tlement of the county. We find that the population of the county in 1860 was 151, in 1865 1,430, in 1870 3,867, 1875 3,738, there being a decrease between 1870 and 1874 of 129 caused by the locust devastation. In 1880 5,253, twenty-four years' growth of the county; showing that it took 24 years to make a population of 5,553. Our peo- ple at this time would consider this a very slow growth to take place in a quarter of a century. We have been unable to obtain a census of the live stock, cultivated land and agricultural product of the county in 1860. The first census of this county as to live stock to be reported was in 1865 at which time Martin county had 189
horses valued at $10,134 the average value being $53.62. The census of 1880 gives the horses in the county as 2,605 valued at $139,357. In 1865 the census gives the number of cattle including all kinds as 1,107 valued at $16,447, average value $14 04. In 1880 the total number of cattle was 8,194 valned at $103,860. The number of sheep in the county in 1865 was 1,345 valued at $4,982 average value $3.72 the number of sheep in 1880 was 13,852 valued at $27,760. The number of hogs in the county in 1865 was 61 valued at $181, total number of hogs in the county in 1880 was 2,871 valued at $5,856, average price $2.04. There were no mules returned from this county in 1865 the number returned in 1880 was 87 valued at $6,560, average $67.62. The census of 1880 shows this item which is of interest. There were 1,821 acres of land planted te timber on which the state was paying bounty. The number of rods of trees planted on highways and farms was 15,207 to 47 miles 167 rods. This number has been in- creased in the last 16 years so that our people can readily see why this county at the present time has the ap- pearance of a timber country and our groves have taken the place of un- broken prairie.
The first census giving the number of acres of land cultivated and the amount of cerials grown which we have been able to find is for the year 1868, at which time there were 4,474 acres under cultivation.
Following is the statement of the agricultural products of the county for 1869:
Wheat, aeres sown 7016, bushels raised, 94,773; average yield, 13 bushels. Oats, acres sown 2,871; bushels raised, 85,575; average yield, 30 bushels. Corn,
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acres planted, 1114; bushels raised, 36,400; average yield, 3216 bushels. Barley, acres sown, 144; bushels raised, 3,250; average yield, 22}. Buckwheat, acres sown, 31; bushels raised, 281; average, 9 bushels. Potatoes, acres planted, 200; bushels raised, 16,734: average yield, 831. Dairy products were 79,336 pounds of butter and 2,040 pounds of cheese; Flax, acres sown, 5; bushels raised, 50; average yield, 10 bushels. Number of sheep 556. Num- ber of pounds of wool, 2,046. Number ef acres of deeded land in the county, 2,550.
Following is the statement of the agricultural product of the county in 1880:
Wheat, acres sown, 11,682; bushels raised, 85,120; average yield. 7.29. Oats, acres sown, 7,624; bushels raised, 268,866; average yield 35.39. Corn, acres planted, 8,370; bushels raised, 262,144: average yield, 31.44. Barley, acres sown, 1,219; bushels raised, 23,- 298; average yield, 19.11; Rye, acres sown, 61; bushels raised, 893; average yield, 14,63. Buckwheat, acres sown, 98; bushels raised, 970; average yield, 10 bushels. Potatoes, acres planted. 381; bushels raised, 31,659; average yield, 83 bushels. Flax, acres sown, 145; bushels raised, 1,327; average, 9 bushels. Apple trees growing, 22,546; apple trees bearing, 2184.
The first census giving the nationali- ties of the residents of the county was in 1870 as follows:
American, 3,323; Canadians, 203; Eng- lish, 97; Irish, 91; Swedes, 26; Norwe- gians, 8; Danes, 3; Germans, 66; French, ¿.
Compare this with the census of 1895. as to foreign born:
Polish, 42; English, 181; Irish, 120; Scotch, 21; Welsh, 5; Danes, 148; Norwe-
gians, 243; Swedes, 892; Germans, 1,640; French, 6; Canadians, 207. This shows the increase of our foreign born oiti. zens, and that our Germans are not quite double in number to our Swedish citizens.
The total number of school districts in the county in 1880 was 68; total number of school houses 63 and total number of of scholars enrolled, 1,504. Number of births during the year of 1879, 166; number of deatha in the county for the same year 51
There were 19 post offices in 1880, as follws: Cedarville, Chain Lake Center, Dunnell, East Chain Lakes, Fairmont, Horicon, Lake Belt, May, Monroe, Nashville Center, North Star, Pleasant Prairie, Rose Lake, But- land, Sherburne, Tenhassen, Triumph, Waverly and Westford.
In closing the history of this county up to the year 1880 it is proper that we make a summary to that time in order that we may be able to judge some- thing of the future. The first settle. meut was made when this state was still a territory. This county was then unknown, and was with nine now pros- perous counties part and parcel of Brown county. No farms, no post offices, no communication with the outside world except by the Indian and trapper trails, afoot or with ox teams. With no farm products raised the supplies for the sustenance of our first settlers was brought from long distances through cold winters, blus. ering storms, hardships and pri- Vations almost past the comprehension of those who live here at the present time. Add to all these the perils and dangers of the early settlers and their families from Indian massacres and the constant menace by them to their lives until the establishment by the
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government of forts garrisoned by U. S. soldiers.
ment and accumulation of prop- erty. This country has been par- tacularly unfortunate on account of its settlement being retarded by Indian massacres and a period of time when crops were a failure owing to the locust devastations, yet from this it has gradually improved until roads were established, post offices created, places of worship erected and educational institutions built. It took years to make the start. Develop- ment, like the snow ball set in motion gradually increases in size and the longer it is kept in motion the greater and more rapid is its growth.
The slow gradual settlement by the addition of perhaps half a dozen families a year, when every resident within a radius of 20 miles was a neigh bor, with no schools, no place of wor- ship, no social organizations; the readers who have followed the history will see the gradual development, the building up and creation of the various and neccessary organizations of society, civilization and settlement of the county. How first each additional settler would be welcomed and any- thing that tended to bring them closer together and unite them into a Then an unbroken prairie with the exception of a little timber skirting the shores of our lakes now has the appearance of a timber country. The census of 1880 gave the number of acres of artificial timber in this county as 4,700 acres scattered all over our prairies. The dug-out in the side hill and the sod shanty, the straw stable and the well in the slough have given place to the modern residence, capa- cious barns, overflowing granaries and artesian and tubular wells with wind- mill attachments. Instead of bringing in grain and supplies for sustenance from a long distance oyer drifted snow on the pack and hand sled this county ships our wheat, oats, corn and flax, also hogs and cattle sufficient it would seem to supply the inhabitants of the entire country at the time of the Revo- Jutionary war. With only a few miles community with the laws and customs of older places. It may be true that those who first made the pathway and marked the trails for settlement and keep in advance of families who desire to make permanent settlement are the trappers and people lacking in educa- tion but this county, if such be the case, was an exception. Among our first settlers were those who came from well settled and older settlements in the East, and having all the intelli- gence and refinement of the communi- ties from which they removed. They came here for the purpose of establish- ing a home for themselves and their children. It is the history of all new countries that the first settlers, those who endured the hardships and made possible a better day for the luter set- tlers, seldom get the benefit of their privations in the way of accumulation | of railroad in Wisconsin. none in this state, the Dakotas, Nebraska and the group of states in the west, with our only communication by way of the slow laborious work of the stage coaches carrying the United States mails, when every passenger was expected if neces-
of property. The best days of their lives and energies have been expended in a battle to bring forth from the sol- itude of an unsettled county a deve- lopment from its wild condition, re- sources which shall make it possible and profitable for actual settle- sary to work his passage by assisting
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in lifting the coach, out of the mire. We have witnessed development until the network of railroad communication extends all over this state. We can take passage at any station in. this county in the evening, retire to rest in a Pullman coach and in the morning wake up in the city of Chicago.
that of the past it may be that before some of the first settlers are called to depart this lite more wonderful changes may be witnessed by them. It was as much a matter ot conjecture and uncertainty as to our rapid trans- portation of the present time as it is for us now to think of being able to navigate the air with conveyances for passengers and carrying of freight.
To-day there is hardly & family that does not have a top buggy and some of Inventive genius which has given ns our farmers have fine equipages. If the machinery by which our farms are tilled and the vocations of business and manufacture are carried on, it it continues to expand for a like time, will revise our present mede of farm- ing, etc. The electric lights have turn- ed night into day. They may be uti- lized in the near future so there will be no night and the most imaginary conjecture of the fiction writer may be realized as to our navigation through space or underneath our lakes or the ocean. Whatever the future may have in store we know the past and am proud of the record of the early settlers while here. Their re- union when they meet together for social intercourse, converse and re- minissence should be perpetuated and made lasting. In these days of rapid- ity we are apt to forget or overlook the humble beginning as to individuals and communities. It may be consider- ed sentimental, yet we believe that the Well being of nations, communities and individuals should lead them to remember their past and their humble origin and let the experience of their lives be a guide. Old buildings and land marks should be preserved. A sod shanty would be a great curiosity to our present settlers. In the great city of Minneapolis this year large del- egations of children from the public schools accompanied by bands of music we desire to communicate with the outside world the fast mail is at our disposal, and the missive contained in our letter reaches our friend or busi- ness acquaintance in the number of hours that it used to take days. The electric wire is at our disposal giving almost instaneous communication. Even as we have been writing we have heard our people communicating over the telephone wire with distance points in this and other counties and are able in some instances to recognize the voices of those with whom we are talking. It took long years for the accomplishment of all this, yet as we stop and think it seems but a day. Judging the future by the accomplish- ments of the past, what has the next quarter of a century got in store for Martin County? A brother of ours writing of this country in 1880 used this language "I have seen a good deal of this country and I have con- cluded that you have as fine a location as any place North or West, and the citizens and the surroundings more pleasant and more agreeable than any place I have seen." That was his esti- mate of it after our first quarter of a century residence here. We are un- able to conjecture; we make no pre- tensions to prophesy. If the develop- ments of the future keeps pace with
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moved the first house built on the site of that city to its public park at Minnehaha, chere to remain for the in- spection of its citizens and visitors. As to comparison with the palatial residences and immense business blocks, it has none, yet it is harmoni- ous with the beginning.
As yet this county has taken no steps to perpetuate any of its first build- ings. There is on Main Street a store building moved from the site of the then mill northwest of the city in 1864. It was the first business build- ing in Fairmont or in this county. This summer as we walked by we saw it filled with small children and learn- ed that it was used as a kindergarten. We thought then of the beginning of business and that it was well occupied as the beginning of the earliest aduca- tion of our children. We are not believ- ers in sham aristocracy or pretence. No business man or other individual is so unsafe or insecure as when they for- get the beginning and the lessons which it taught. We suggest that the
old settlers at their next meeting de- vise some plan and perfect some or- ganization to perpetuate some of the land marks of the early settlement. While the first have been destroyed in the march of improvement, there are still some which remain at the pres- ent time which can be kept for the in- spection of our children and those who will follow them.
We have with our best care and effort from the records written the main incidents of this county for 24 years. They may not be all absolutely correct but we believe they are. We have refrained from language in de- scriptions which would savor of what the present generation would call old settlers' yarns. If the information we have given shall be of any benefit to the future and of interest to the pres- ent settlers we shall be repaid for the time we have spent, and we trust the history will be continued from 1880 at a later time by those who are com- petent to enter the same of record.
WM. H. BUDD.
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