USA > Minnesota > Otter Tail County > History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 14
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The contract for the building of the court house was let to Stanford Brothers, of Fergus Falls, in the spring of 1879 for the sum of thirteen thousand two hundred dollars. The architect was E. P. Bassford and he received a total of two hundred and ninety dollars for his services. The grading around the building cost an additional five hundred thirty-five dol- lars and fifty-three cents, making the total cost to the county of fourteen thousand twenty-five dollars and fifty-three cents.
Unfortunately, the first court house was too small and within half a dozen years the building was so crowded that it became imperative that an addition must be built at once. On January 3, 1888, the commissioners passed a resolution authorizing an addition and on March 21, at the follow- ing session, a contract was let to Stanford Brothers for eight thousand seven hundred and seventy-five dollars. The first floor of this addition is now occupied by the auditor and register of deeds. This addition practically doubled the size of the building and it was thought that it would prove of sufficient size for many years to come. The present heating system was installed in 1895-96 by Hoorn, Bergman & Company. By 1902 the clerk of the district court and the probate judge became so cramped for space
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that the board ordered an addition, locally known as a vault. This was built in the summer of 1902 by John Lauritzen, at a cost to the county of five hundred thirty-four dollars and two cents. The county business kept increasing by leaps and bounds and it was not long before the auditor had to have additional room. In 1898 a vault was built adjoining the auditor's . office in the rear, the addition costing two thousand nine hundred and forty- five dollars. The fourth addition to the rapidly growing building was built in the summer of 1909 at a cost of two thousand nine hundred dollars. This was another vault for the use of the auditor and stands in the rear of the first vault built for this office in 1898. John Lauritzen built the 1909 addition and during the same summer repaired the vault attached to the
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GROUND PLAN OF OTTER TAIL COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
clerk's office. When Lauritzen built the 1902 vault, the commissioners did not want to go to the expense of putting in a good foundation and the result was that the vault in the course of time started down the hill toward the jail. Lauritzen, in his bid of two thousand nine hundred dollars, was not only to build the vault for the auditor, but also to move the clerk's office back up the hill and put it on a firm foundation. The last addition of the court house was completed in the summer of 1915 at a cost of one thousand one hundred and seventy dollars. This was a vault for the register of deeds and was built by J. P. Johnson, who was awarded the bid by the commis- sioners on April 25, 1915. A small coal shed was built at the southwest corner of the building, adjoining the register of deeds' office several years ago at the time the heating plant was installed. It would be impossible to designate the kind of architecture represented by this building, erected, as it has been, under such circumstances. To the original building completed in
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1881 there have been no less than six additions at different times, and yet the building presents a very respectable appearance from the outside. To the casual observer it does not appear as a conglomerate structure, a fact due to the use of the same colored brick in all of the additions. Time only can tell when the building will become so crowded that it will be necessary to build the seventh addition, but it is safe to say that it will be only a few years.
SUMMARY OF THE COST OF THE PRESENT COURT HOUSE.
Original building
1881 $13,200.00
Doubling size of
1888
8,775.00
First vault of auditor, vault of clerk
and probate judge 1898
2,945.00
Steel ceilings and general repairs
1902 534.02
Second vault of auditor
1909 2,900.00
Vault for register of deeds
1915 1,170.00
Total cost
$29,524.02
THE FIRST JAIL.
It was not until after the county had been organized two years that any effort was made by the county commissioners to provide a place for the incarceration of prisoners. While the county seat was still at Tordenskjold, Alick Johnson, the chairman of the board, offered a resolution on October 18, 1870, to build a court house and jail "at the county seat. Tordenskjold. for the sum of one thousand dollars, to be built in the months of December, 1870, and January, February, March, April and May, 1871." The jail was to be eighteen by twelve feet and built of large oak logs. The cost was to be included within the one thousand dollars, which, according to the resolu- tion. was to cover the construction of both the court house and jail. This resolution was adopted "by a majority of the board of county commission- ers of Otter Tail county. October 19, 1870."
However, this was the nearest that the county came to building a jail at Tordenskjold, if the records of the commissioners disclose all of their pro- ceedings. The last meeting of the board at Tordenskjold was held in Janu- ary, 1871, but. strange to say, no mention is made in the record of the county seat being changed to Otter Tail City, where the March meeting of the board was held. The seat of justice remained at the latter place until it was moved to Fergus Falls, the first meeting of the board at the latter village being held on January 7, 1873.
The first actual steps toward providing Otter Tail county with a jail were taken on March 15. 1871, when a deputation of citizens from Otter
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Tail City appeared before the commissioners and asked that a jail be built in their village. The commissioners seem to have felt that such build- ing ought to be erected and, accordingly, appointed a committee, composed of J. H. Sanders, J. S. Cowell and C. H. Myer, to investigate the matter and report at the next meeting of the board. No steps were taken at the next meeting ( May 9, 1871), but on July 10, 1871, the board definitely decided to erect a jail in Otter Tail City and appointed Marcus Shaw and Martin Fiedler to receive bids for a jail to be built of "Sollid Oak logs hued on three sides and floor and ceiling of the same matirial and hued on three sides." This building was to be eighteen by twelve feet inside and eight feet from floor to ceiling, with gable ends of boards and roof of shingles. Otter Tail City agreed to donate three "good" lots for the jail site. The building was to be ready for occupancy by August 15, 1871.
When the board met for the next time ( August 8) Marcus Shaw was awarded the contract. his bid of four hundred and twenty-five dollars being the lowest of a number submitted. On the same date the commissioners ordered a description of the proposed jail spread upon the records. This log bastile was to conform to the following specifications-the exact lan- guage, bad spelling and punctuation and impossible grammar are reproduced verbatim :
"Resolved by the board of county commissioners of Otter Tail, State of Minnesota; That we will build a jail for said county of Otter Tail of the size and shape as follows;
"Twenty feet long inside and sixteen feet wide and eight feet between floor and ceiling. The house shall either be built of oak or pine logs hued on four sides in the walls and on three sides in the floor and ceiling no log in floor ceiling and outer walls shall be smaler then to measure six inches diameter on the top and after it is hued. The gable ends shall be made of good pine lumber and in workmanlike manner fitted up. The roof shall be of good pine lumber and pine rafters and of No. - pine shingles sufficiently nailed and fitted on.
"The inside of said jail shall be divided into rooms as follows: two cells each six by ten and one room six by twelve feet and one room eight by sixteen feet. There shall be five windows in the whole building and all grated with three-fourth of anch round iron in sufficient number to be proper for such house. There shall be four doors one of them shall be three inches thick & lined with heavy sheet iron between a thickness of boards on both sides of said sheet to make it a thickness of three inches said last mentioned door shall be the door leading from prisoners room into the Sheriff.
"The last described door shall also be locked with an iron bar across five eight of an inch thick heavy tire iron. There shall also be two iron
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gates one into each cell the up and down iron in said gate shall be of sound three fourth of an inch bars and placed four inches appart and on the said gates shall be four bars accross of heavy tire iron and sollid hinges and sufficient locks propper for such house. The partitions wall shall be of the same strength and thickness except, the walls between the two cells shall be only four inches thick logs in planks. The two windows in the Sheriffs room shall have twelve paines of glases, each pain ten inches by twelve and the three (3) windows in the cells shall have three pains in each and each pain ten by twelve. There shall allso be a chimney made of bricks well burnt and sollid and good, and there shall allso be put on a dicent cornice under the roof and all sides of said house. Said jail shall be ready for use on or before the first Tuesday in September A. D. 1871."
When the commissioners met on the second Tuesday of the following September they found the jail practically completed and ordered the auditor to issue county orders to the contractor, Marcus Shaw, for four hundred dollars. Although he took the contract at four hundred and twenty-five dollars, yet on this date, September 6, it appears that he was to receive four hundred and fifty dollars. the final fifty dollars to be paid "at any future time when the said M. Shaw has according to bargain finished said jail." But this jail of "Sollid Oak hued logs" was destined to remain in Otter Tail City only a short time. Within a year after it had been accepted, an agita- tion was begun to remove the county seat to Fergus Falls.
The county commissioners held their first meeting at Fergus Falls on January 7. 1873, and authorized Hans Juelson, a member of the board, "to move the county jail from Otter Tail City to the village of Fergus Falls and rebuild the same on block 37 in said Fergus Falls on a suitable site." This order was carried into effect and the jail. after being razed at Otter Tail City. was hauled log by log, to Fergus Falls and raised on lot 3. block 33, the vacant lot immediately west of where the Park Hotel now stands.
The first step towards a new jail in Fergus Falls was made on January 5. 1877, when the commissioners appointed a committee, consisting of the auditor, treasurer and register of deeds, "to procure and submit a plan for court house and jail, and the probable cost of same, and report at the next meeting of this board." Not only was no report made concerning new county buildings at the next meeting, but it was not until two years later that the board made any effort toward building either a court house or jail. On January 10, 1879, a resolution was passed which instructed the chairman of the board to procure plans and specifications for a court house and it was their intention to provide quarters for prisoners in the basement of the pro- posed court house. At the next meeting of the board ( March 21, 1879) they decided "to build a court house with jail in the basement. the cost not
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to exceed fifteen thousand dollars." The building was to stand on block 37, in the village of Fergus Falls, to be made of brick or of stone and brick, as near fireproof as possible and with sufficient fireproof vaults to contain all the public records of the county.
At this same meeting the board made provisions for financing the con- struction of the buidling. Bonds to the amount of six thousand dollars (issued pursuant to chapter 70 of the Special Laws of 1877) were issued and made payable in Boston, Massachusetts. These bonds were divided into six lots of one thousand each, the first falling due five years after date, the second, six years, and the sixth and last lot being payable ten years after date. The bonds bore seven per cent. interest and were not to be sold at less than par value.
The court house was completed in the fall of 1881, but for some reason no provision was made in the basement for the jail. In 1882 a contract was let to J. H. Van Dorn, of St. Louis, for the remodeling of the basement and the installation of three steel cages. This work was completed in the sum- mer of the following year, but within less than two years it was seen that this had been a useless expenditure of money. The arrangement not only did not provide sufficient room for the incarceration of prisoners, but it was so unsanitary that it received, and no doubt merited, the severe condemna- tion of the health authorities.
There was much opposition to the temporary arrangement whereby the basement was used for jail purposes at the time the work was being done. By 1885 it was very evident that the county would be compelled to build a jail and, being unable to do this without a bond issue, the Legislature was asked to pass an act authorizing a bond issue. The Legislature responded by passing an act on February 24, 1885, as follows :
"Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota :
"Section I-That the board of county commissioners of the county of Otter Tail be, and hereby are, authorized to issue and negotiate bonds in an amount not exceeding thirty thousand dollars for the purpose of construct- ing a county jail and sheriff's residence in Fergus Falls, the county seat of said county.
"Section 2-Said bonds, and the interest coupons attached, shall be signed by the chairman of said board of county commissioners, and attested by the auditor of said county and sealed with his seal. The auditor of said county shall keep a record of all of said bonds that may be issued. which record shall show the date, number and amount of each bond, the rate of interest, the time when due, the place where payable, and the name of the party to whom issued.
"Section 3-Such bonds shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding seven
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per centum per annum, and be issued in such denominations, and be made payable at such place as the board of county commissioners shall determine. The principal shall become due and payable not more than thirty nor less than ten years from the date thereof.
"Section 4-The board of county commissioners of said county shall have authority to negotiate said bonds as in their judgment shall be for the best interests of said county, but not for less than their par value.
"Section 5-The proper authorities of said county shall annually levy, in addition to all other taxes, an amount sufficient to pay the interest on the bonds so issued; and when any principal sum is about to become due may levy a sufficient amount to pay such principal when due.
"Section 6-This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Approved February 24, 1885."
The whole issue of thirty thousand dollars was sold on March 27, 1885, to N. W. Harris & Company, of New York City, the company paying a premium of one hundred and eighteen dollars. E. P. Bassford was employed as architect and his plans were ready in a short time. The bids were opened on April 23, 1885, and the contract let on the same day. The contract was let in two parts, one for the building proper and the other for the iron and steel work. Stanford Brothers, of Fergus Falls, who had built the court house, secured the bid for the construction of the building, with a bid of $11,490, and J. H. Van Dorn was the successful bidder for the iron and steel work. His bid of $9,850 was the lowest of the several bids submitted. These combined bids, with the subsequent extras which invariably creep in, brought the total cost of the jail up to $21,852.32.
At the time the jail was built it was considered the finest penal insti- tution in the state of its kind. It combined all the latest and most improved ideas in jail construction, and was in every way the best jail in the whole state. Built as it was, under the direction of the state board of corrections and charities, it conformed in every particular with their ideas along the latest methods of sanitation. When the steel cages were taken out of the basement of the court house, an addition was made to the jail which con- tained two of them. It was thought that they were too valuable to throw away and, as the county could not get a fair price for them. it was finally decided to make the addition to the jail and put them into it. With this exception, the jail stands as it did when it was built thirty years ago. and so well was the building built that it bids fair to stand for many years yet to come.
COUNTY TUBERCULOSIS SANATORIUM.
An act of the I.egislature was passed on April 23, 1909, which provided for the establishment and maintenance of public tuberculosis sanatoria in the
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various counties of the state. Within less than three years after this act became a law, Otter Tail county took steps to provide such an institution and at the present time has one of the best equipped tuberculosis sanatoria in the whole state. In the spring of 1912 a sanatorium commission of three members, consisting of Dr. O. M. Haugan, O. M. Carr and T. A. Ranstad, was appointed by the county commissioners. As soon as this body was organized, it proceeded to investigate the several sites which had been sug- gested as being suitable for the sanatorium. It was finally decided to pur- chase fifty-eight (58.15) acres in Amor township, lying on the western shores of Otter Tail lake. This tract (northwest one-fourth of the north- east one-fourth and lot I, section 32, township 134, range 40) was pur- chased from Sven and Josephine Kron for the sum of $2,895.62, the deed being dated July 16, 1912.
With the purchase of the land settled, the next question was the erec- tion of a building for the accommodation of patients. In the fall of 1912 the commission let the contract for the building to Alex Nelson, of Perham, and he at once began work on its construction. The county in the mean- time had made arrangements to advance money to the amount of twenty thousand dollars, if such an amount was necessary. Before the building was fairly started, the Legislature passed an act which relieved the county of a great part of the expense in the erection of the building. This act pro- vided that the state should pay the commissioners of the county sanatoria of the state "five hundred dollars for each bed provided for a patient in such sanatorium at the time application is made."
Pursuant to this act, the county commissioners, on July 16, 1913, applied to the Minnesota state sanatorium advisory commission for a sum of money for the Otter Tail county sanatorium in proportion to the number of beds which it had installed. The state commission investigated the local institu- tion and reported that a total of thirty-seven beds had been provided. This report meant that the county would receive eighteen thousand five hundred and fifty dollars from the state, and the full amount was received in the due course of time. In addition to this sum, the county has expended about twelve thousand dollars, so that the present plant represents an outlay of at least thirty thousand dollars.
The contractor completed his work in October, 1913, and in the same month the building was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies. The build- ing itself, with the grading and a few other incidentals, cost about seventeen thousand dollars. The equipment for the many rooms, installation of the laundry, lighting system and other necessary additions have brought the total up to nearly twice that amount.
The present management of the sanatorium is vested in the commission
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appointed by the county commissioners, namely : Dr. O. M. Haugan, T. A. Ranstad and John Lien. All the money for the maintenance of the institu- tion is in their charge, a responsibility for which the law requires that they severally give a bond for five thousand dollars. Since the sanatorium was started, in the fall of 1913, it has been in charge of three different superin- tendents, all of whom have been women, namely: C. Russell, Hilda Edson and Mary C. Beall.
The last report of the county sanatorium commission to the county com- missioners was made in March, 1916. The commission finds that the pres- ent law providing for county sanatoria is proving very expensive. It appears from its report that a change will have to be made in the management of the institution in this county. No better statement of the conditions as regards the county sanatorium can be given than is to be found in the report of the commission. This report, which is signed by A. B. Cole as president, John Lien and T. A. Ramstad, is as follows :
To the Honorable Board of County Commissioners:
Gentlemen-Enclosed you will find the financial statement of the county sanatorium for the year 1915.
You will notice that the expense of running the same is rather high and in fact it will always be so under the present law governing it. The running expense, not count- ing upkeep or permanent improvements, amounts to sixteen dollars and fifty-two cents per week for each patient. We receive ten dollars per week from patients residing out- side of the county, making a loss on each non-resident patient of six dollars and fifty- two cents per week. If we add this loss to the care of our county patients it would make it still more.
The facts are that the sanitorium is top heavy and the overhead expense so great it can never be conducted reasonably cheap.
It is under five different heads, none of which is in complete control. We have the state board of control. state board of health, state sanatorium commission, the board of county commissioners and the county sanatorium commission appointed by you.
It is bound round with red tape so thoroughly that it can never be run economically or successfully under the present law. Your county sanatorium commission bas no par- tleular excuse for existing as such. The only real work for them to do is to pass the bills, so many of which they naturally know nothing about, appear before the county commissioners to ask for more money and otherwise as the happy receiver for such kicks and criticisms as a well-meaning public may see fit to hand them. We have noth- ing to say as to whether a resident physician shall be employed or not, or how often the state physician shall see the patients.
The idea of county sanatoria is wrong. The unit is too small. It should be not less than a congressional district. Having so small a unit it makes It exceedingly expensive to run. It has been truly said: "That what is everybody's business soon becomes nobody's business." and it particularly holds good with an institution with five different heads, each of which has other work to do and nothing definitely known where one responsibility begins or the other ends.
During the year 1915 the county appropriated the sum of $13.500 for maintenance and permanent improvements $2.000 of which is now In the hands of the state for sewer purposes. During the same perlod the records show that warrants were issued for the sum of $21.448.80.
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The maintenance fund is now overdrawn to the amount of $475, with the April bills mostly unpaid.
Therefore we must ask you for an additional appropriation at your next meeting. It is possible that a better showing can be made during the coming year but not enough to make any appreciable difference.
We therefore recommend that the money necessary for maintenance of the sana- torium for the present year be appropriated by your board and that efforts be made to secure proper changes in the sanatorium law at the hands of the next legislature.
A. B. COLE. President County Sanatorium Commission. JOHN LIEN.
T. A. RANSTAD.
COUNTY POOR FARM.
The first steps taken by the county looking toward the establishment of a poor farm were made at the July, 1880, session of the county com- missioners. On the 28th of the month, A. Levorsen, the chairman of the board, offered a resolution to the effect that the county buy such a farm. The resolution was passed and the chairman appointed a committee of three, of which he was one, the committee being authorized to select and purchase a farm of not less than one hundred and sixty acres. The board further provided for a special bond issue of three thousand dollars for the purpose of purchasing the farm and erecting suitable buildings upon it. The site for the proposed farm was selected and an option taken on the land, which was owned by Charles and August Wessberg. There were two hundred acres in all, and it was purchased as follows: One hundred and twenty acres from Charles Wessberg and eighty acres from August Wessberg. This transaction took place January 7, 1881, and one thousand six hundred and ten dollars was the amount paid for the two tracts. On January 7, 1881. the commissioners ordered the sum of one thousand six hundred and ten dollars issued in county orders to pay for the poor farm. The original tract of two hundred acres has received one addition of forty acres, which was pur- chased from Robert Spickermann, November 24, 1886. for two hundred and forty dollars. It is situated in sections 22 and 23. of Fergus Falls township.
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