USA > Minnesota > Otter Tail County > History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 26
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OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA. 239
gen Hanson, Halste Halstensen, Halvor Marken, Knud Pederson, Johan Marken, John Olsen Kolstad, Knud Knudsen Onstad, Lars Johnson Medja, Edward J. Wold, John J. Wold, Ole Gjordal and Andreas O. Seem.
The tax duplicate of 1878 gives the following taxpayers for Sverdrup township for that year: Ole (). Aune, Ole Bjornaas, Ole J. Butlevud, Ole Erekson, Peder M. Hendrikson, Jorgen Hanson, Halstensen Halshens, Lars Hanson, Carl Hill. John E. Hill, Jens Jenson. Even Johnsen, Habs Juelson, Renerth Johnsen, Johan O. Kolstad, Knud Knudson, Petter Larsen, John Marken, Lars J. Medjan, Halder E. Nilson, Ole O. Nygaar, Johan O. Nils- bye, A. W. Petterson, Ole Pederson, Knud Pederson, Bernth Sunelbye, M. O. Sjvlberf, T. C. Sagge, Petter P. Sande, Ole J. Stompra, Andreas Skramstad, Ole Sjordaal, Jens E. Wold, Ole Loseth, J. H. Low, Peder J. Nilsen and John Schroeder.
Sverdrup township has more than its share of lakes and there is not a section which does not contain a lake or a part of one. The largest lakes in the township are North Turtle, South Turtle, Anna, Dagmar, Norway. Bass, Onstad, John, Crooked, Horseshoe and Lost. The whole township drains into Red river which runs through Maine township about a mile north of Sverdrup. There is very little level land in the township although it is not so rugged that it cannot be brought under cultivation.
The preponderance of the population has always been Norwegian, the people from that country being its first settlers in large part. The first vil- lage was Southvick, the forerunner of the present village of Underwood. The postoffice established at this place was known as Turtle Lake. After the building of the Northern Pacific through the southern part of the township in the early part of the eighties, Southvick was platted as Underwood. The only other place in the township which has aspired to urban honors was Maplewood, which appeared on the maps of the county in 1882 as a station on the railroad, but soon disappeared.
The present township officers are as follow: Supervisors, Ole A. Berg. John Sem and Henry S. Bye: clerk, A. F. Lund; treasurer, Gust Onstad; assessor, Otto Nilsby: justices, Ole Aune, Jr., and Elof Hagen ; constables. Theo. Westerhaug and Anton Haukebo.
Underwood.
The village of Underwood, located on the branch line of the Northern Pacific in the southern part of section 32. was laid out by Robert Miller for Timothy and Lydia H. Kellogg in the fall of 1881. The village was incor- porated as a result of a petition signed September 30, 1912. by the following legal voters residing in the proposed incorporation : F. E. Solomonson. C. F. Pederson, Carl H. Christiansen, O. C. Olson, O. J. Lein, George Kugler. H. Ledding. Odin Loseth, Conrad Skalman, P. K. Onstad, Gustav Schmidt.
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Christ Jensen, H. Hawkins, E. S. Evenson, Nils Wilson, O. C. Pries, Jens Jensen, Theo. Sjordal, H. C. Secoy, G. K. Haukebo, S. L. Brydahl, John J. Anker, H. N. Pederson, Siverin Lokken, H. L. Anker, H. Hendricksen and Henry Dahl.
The petition stated that the village contained a total population of two hundred and four and that the territory asking for incorporation comprised three hundred and twenty acres. The petition was presented to the commis- sioners on October 8, 1912, and at once granted. The board set Tuesday, November 12, 1912, as the date for an election to determine whether the village should be incorporated. The result of the election showed twenty- eight votes in favor of and ten against incorporation.
This town has grown to such proportions in the last few years that it is a rival of many of the towns which were laid out at an earlier date. The population at present numbers nine hundred. There is a Norwegian Luth- eran and Unitarian church in this town. There is a bank, hotel, feed mill, creamery and two elevators. E. T. Evenson is the present postmaster.
The present village officers are as follow: President, Nils Wilson; trustees. G. Gilbertson, Gustav Schmidt and F. E. Solomonson; clerk, E. S. Evenson; treasurer, C. J. Moen; assessor, Hans O. Olson; justices, W. A. Lee and C. H. Christensen; constables, Carl Mortenson and Oliver Bergem. INMAN TOWNSHIP.
Inman township made its appearance among the townships of Otter Tail county on March 18. 1878. Undoubtedly the proposed railroad from the Northern Pacific which was to run through this congressional township (township 133, range 37) via Fergus Falls to Pelican Rapids was respon- sible for the creation of Inman township at this particular time. The first election was held on April 8, 1878, at the house of Thomas Inman, in whose honor the township was named. It is interesting to note that not all of the citizens of the proposed township wanted it called Inman. William Ogden and others presented a petition on the day that the township was organized asking that it be called Custer, but the followers of Inman either had a greater number of signers to their petitions, or else more influence, since they induced the commissioners to call it Inman. The names of the peti- tioners who desired the name Inman were as follow: William Ogden, A. C. Gould, H. Stinson, C. H. Sturns, Charley Treubly, Albert Hough, Will- iam Hough, Charles Tidthey, August Doane, Benjamin Stuart, Thomas Gask, H. T. Gash, Jacob Haish, J. E. Inman, A. B. Stewart, Testel H. Huesh and Frank Fellows.
Inman township is now without a lake of any size, although forty years ago there was a lake in the south central part of the township more than two miles long and in many places half a mile wide. Fortunately the
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topography of the township is such that it has been easy to drain this lake and now it has practically disappeared. There was also formerly a lake in the northwestern part of the township, but it too has nearly disappeared. The northern part of Inman drains into Leaf river on the east and Red river on the west while the old lake bed in the southern part of the township is drained by a stream which eventually finds its way to Leak lake and thence to Red river.
The first saw-mill in the township was located in the center of section 15 and for many years did a flourishing business. The first postoffice, called Inman, stood in the extreme northeastern corner of section 22. After the branch line of the Northern Pacific was built through the northwestern corner of the township in 1882, a station was established in the western part of section 5 and given the name of Parkton. This has never been platted and is only a flag stop.
The present township officers are as follow: Supervisors, G. W. Moats, Nels O. Buset and Andrew Isakson; clerk, W. J. Henderson; treas- urer, E. Parks; assessor, Nels N. Holt; justices, Henry Dilly and E. E. Inman; constables, Erick Edholm and Leseure Moats.
HENNING TOWNSHIP.
The present township of Henning (township 133, range 38) began its formal career under the name of East Battle Lake on July 17, 1878. The first election was held at the house of M. J. Mattson on the fifth day of the following month. On August 1, 1884, in response to a petition of C. W. Brandberg and others of East Battle Lake township, the commissioners changed the name to that of Henning.
On the 28th day of May, 1878, twenty-two of the legal voters of this township presented a petition to the county commissioners asking for the organization of East Battle Lake township. The list is as follows: M. P. Mattson, T. Christensen, Ole Christensen. C. Tyggeson, Peder C. Janson, Samuel Anderson, Barow Swanberg, B. L. Riis, Charles Johnson, Christen Christenson, Julius Paulson, Olaf F. Johnson, Christian Kangballe, Hans Markuson, Olaf P. Penson, Andrew Olson, Halvor M. Sorknes and August Pitters.
This was the thirty-eighth township organized in the county and began its official career on the same day as Bluffton. Henning is bounded on the north by Leaf Lake, on the west by Girard, on the south by Folden, and on the east by Inman. It can truly be said that the township has no lakes entirely within its limits. . The southwestern part of the township is drained into East Battle lake. The northern and eastern parts drain into a small tributary of Leaf river which rises in Elmo township, flows through Inman (16)
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township and enters Henning in the northeast corner of section 24. It then meanders across the northeastern part and leaves the township in the north- western corner of section 2. There was formerly a lake of considerable size in the southern part of section 4 which has practically disappeared in the last thirty years. The Northern Pacific and Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie railroads pass through this township. The former enters the township in the northeastern part of section 12 and runs in a south- westerly course, leaving the same in the southeastern corner of section 32. This road was completed in 1882 and intersects the Soo line at the village of Henning. The latter road was not completed until 1902. There is only one town in tay this township which has ever been platted.
The present' township officers are as follow: Supervisors, Oliver Fossee, S. T. Nyhus and Charles Peppling : clerk, "Elof Mollerstrom ; treas- urer, E. Klimp: assessor. Lars Olson : justice. H. H. Wheeler.
Henning.
The village of Henning is located in the township of the same name at the junction of the Soo and Northern Pacific railroads. It was platted by Charles J. Wright for Hiram L. and Sarah E. Holden, Jacob and Nancy Sallade and George W. Lentz. The question of incorporating the village was broached in the spring of 1887, and within a short time a petition was prepared and signed by a sufficient number of the legal voters residing within the proposed incorporation asking the district court for the privilege of vot- ing on the question. The petition stated that the proposed incorporation included twenty-five hundred and sixty acres and contained a total popula- tion of two hundred and fourteen. It is interesting to note that the petition- ers submitted to the judge a complete list of the one hundred and ninety- nine persons whose names appear on the state's census of the village taken June 15. 1885. It is not evident why this was necessary and especially in view of the fact that the petition submitted two years after this census showed a population of two hundred and fourteen. The petition was signed by P. H. O'Hara, H. B. Barney, A. Wiley, W. S. Reynolds, Carl C. Lang- balle, A. S. Paulsen, A. M. Bader, A. Weaver. G. A. Saetre, George A. Paulson. Hans M. Markuson, Hans C. Pedersen, Henry Johnson, George W. Dixson, B. L. Reis, H. H. Aurberg. Christian Christensen, J. J. Hille. August Parduhu, Jacob Nelson, O. T. Westerberg. B. Andrianne. M. E. Hall, J. Poulson, C. M. Nelson, Olaf P. Peterson, John Anderson, C. Peter- son, R. R. Tichenor, J. W. Whitaker, E. E. Saetre, James Leonard. Martin Erikson, J. Gronbeck, D. McMillan. T. Walker and Christian Sorenson.
This petition was completed and later granted on August 8, 1887. The first election for village officials was held on September 17, 1887, at the
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store of J. Gronbeck and thirty-eight votes were cast-twenty-six for and twelve against incorporation.
Henning lies at the intersection of the Soo railroad and the Fergus Falls branch of the Northern Pacific. It is a village of approximately six hundred and twenty-five persons. It is thirty-one miles east of Fergus Falls. The churches of this village consist of a Baptist, Swedish and Nor- wegian Lutheran church, also a Methodist Episcopal. There are two banks, two hotels, two grain elevators, a flour-mill, a creamery and a weekly news- paper, The Advocate. All of the different public and private enterprises are boosters for the town and its growth has been steady and it is a safe prediction that it will continue. Fred Von Ohlen is the present postmaster.
The present village officers are as follow: President. H. J. Cordes; trustees, C. M. Anderson, C. G. Hipple and C. G. Hanson; clerk, I .. A. Johnson; treasurer, A. O. Saetre: assessor, C. Christenson; justices, Iver Bondy and C. W. Barker ; constables, H. S. Berg and J. C: Halvorson.
BLUFFTON TOWNSHIP.
The congressional township of 135, range 36, was organized as the civil township of Bluffton on July 17, 1878. The commissioners ordered the first election to be held at the house of William S. Hurst on August 5. 1878. The petition presented to the commissioners was signed by seven- teen of the qualified electors of the township, as follow: W. A. Walker, Patrick Burns, W. S. Hurst, Dennis McCortez, G. W. Rice. C. M. Maltby, G. W. Handy, Joshua Winter, Peter Nelson, John Q. Ostrander, James E. Ostrander, Royal P. Ostrander, S. McGuire, Daniel Philips, Ames Philips, John Anderson and John Shoborg.
Bluffton township lies on the extreme eastern side of Otter Tail county. It is bounded on the north by Blowers township; on the west by Newton; on the south by Compton; and on the east by Wadena county. This is one of the few townships in this county that does not contain a lake within its limits. This township has good drainage because of many streams which flow through it and these streams afford ample means for natural and artificial drainage.
The general slope of land is to the south and east. Leaf river enters this township on the southern side, a mile south of Bluffton, and meanders northeast until it reaches a point one mile east of Bluffton, where it flows due east entering Wadena county from section twenty-five of this township. Its tributaries are Mill creek, which lies almost wholly within this township and affords excellent drainage for the eastern half of the township, and North Bluffton creek which flows across the northwestern corner of the township and then enters Newton township. flowing in a southern direction until it again enters Bluffton township in the northwest corner of section
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thirty. It then flows into a small body of water on the western side of the town of Bluffton which is then emptied into Leaf river. The Northern Pacific runs through the southern part of the township, entering at Wadena Junction and leaving it at the southwest corner of section thirty. There are just five miles of track of this railroad in Bluffton township. The building of this railroad in 1871 through this section of the county was responsible for the settling and organizing of this township at an early date.
Bluffton.
The village of Bluffton is located in section 33 of Bluffton township and is the only village in the township. The Northern Pacific, which runs across the southern part of the township, is responsible for the location of the village. It was platted by A. M. Darling for the proprietor, C. M. Maltby, .in the spring. of 1880 and recorded on the 27th of March of that year.
In the winter of 1902-03 the village waged a successful campaign for incorporation. On December 26, 1902, they took a census of the village and found that there were two hundred and thirty-three inhabitants in the territory seeking to be incorporated. On January 10, 1903, a petition was presented to the commissioners asking for a special election to ascertain the sentiment of the voters regarding incorporation. The petition was signed Iver Johnson, Joseph Yunch, Matthias B. Klein, Peter Klein, C. M. Klein, Bernard Kluenenberg, M. P. Hammer, William S. Gray, Peter Lorge, J. M. Pallauch, John Ostlund, John C. Jones, Reinhold Langer, Ernest Pilger, John Goeller, John Endre, Hubert Welsch, E. B. Beighley, Charles Kupper, Rubert Arbuckle, Joseph Barth, James M. Howes, William Pilger, Nicholas Lick, Mary Beighley (widow), Jess Hoppes, Flora Boldon (widow), Bernard Hentger, J. E. Erickson, Leonard Geiser, Peter Paggen, John Triesch, J. W. Kramer and A. T. Kramer.
The board granted the petition and set February 24, 1903, for the elec- tion. A total of forty-six votes were cast, of which thirty-two were for and fourteen against the proposed incorporation.
Bluffton lies four miles northwest of Wadena and, although lying in such close proximity to a town which is much larger, this has not succeeded in keeping down the growth of this town. The population at present is about five hundred. There is one hotel, a bank, creamery and grain ele- vator. The Catholics have the only church in the town. R. M. Stunte- beck- is the-present- postmaster .. .
The present village officers are as follow: President, Jos. Ahles; trustees, John Regan, M. B. Klein and Jos. Geiser; clerk, J. A. Otte; treas- urer, Anton Raykowski; justice, G. A. Howes; constable, Kaufmann.
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LIDA TOWNSHIP.
Otter Tail county may well boast of its many beautiful lakes and more than fifteen hundred have been ennumerated with the limits of the county. There is one township in the county where the water area actually exceeds the land area and Lida township (township 136, range 42), while it may not claim distinction on any other score, yet has undisputed claim to the honor of having the least land area of any township in the county. It was organized on March 19, 1879, upon the presentation of a petition signed by Stephen A. Card and others, totaling a majority of the legal voters of the territory in question. The petitioners asked that the new township be called Lake Lida, but the commissioners shortened it to Lida. The first election was held at the house of C. A. Rogers on the fifth of the following month.
The petition asking for the organization of the township carried the following signers: Stephen A. Card, George Skeplorn, J. S. Pease, F. W. Vickry, J. W. Rogers, Melvin Stone, W. Wright, H. Baker, F. H. Harris, H. J. Wilson, Louis De Pocher, Henry Hostermann, C. A. Rogers, H. Cummings, A. Cummings and A. E. Rathbun.
Two lakes, Lida and Lizzie, cover more than half of the township, while there are in addition nearly twenty lakes of smaller size scattered over the township. The whole township lies in the Pelican river basin; in fact, the Pelican river flows through Lake Lizzie. The surface of the township is very rugged, especially on the eastern side.
The first store in the township was on the shores of Lake Lida in the northwestern corner of section 14 and the postoffice which was kept in this store was known by Uncle Sam as Lida. Another postoffice, called Bessie, was kept at the house of Benson L. Brown in section 34. It was called Bessie in honor of his wife. Both Lida and Bessie were discontinued in 1905 when the rural service out of Pelican Rapids was extended to cover Lida township. Early in the history of the township a steam saw-mill was put into operation in the extreme southwestern corner of section II. Another saw-mill was on the farm of Herman Hostermann on the western side of section 7. At the present time there is neither a store, mill nor blacksmith shop within the limits of the township.
This township has one of the most unique bridges or causeways in the county, if not in the state. It is built across the narrows of Lake Lida, in sections 32 and 33, and is at least half a mile in length. The causeway is flanked on either side with large granite boulders and filled up with dirt and sand to a height of three or four feet above the level of the lake on either side. The width is only sufficient for one rig to pass at a time, although it is widened at one place in the middle so that two rigs might
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pass each other in case they happened to meet midway. Toward the east end of this causeway is a steel bridge, which has been erected within the past few years. Probably the most picturesque road in the county is the one leading round Lake Lida. One mile of this road on the west side, from Kinney's Camp to the causeway, is cut out of the high bluff which rises precipitously from the shores of the lake. As soon as the lake freezes over, the people drive across it and this is usually done for at least three months every year.
AMOR TOWNSHIP.
The first effort to establish a township by the name of Amor was made in January, 1879, at which time the county commissioners rejected a petition to organize township 135, range 40 (now Dead Lake township) and town- ship 136, range 40 (now Edna township) as Amor township. No reason is assigned for the refusal to grant the request of the petitioners although it is reasonable to suppose that the commissioners deemed the population too scanty to warrant the creation of the township.
However, the name Amor, which in Norwegian means Cupid, seemed to have had a fascination for some amorously inclined Norwegian. On March 19, 1879, a petition was presented to the commissioners, signed by T. Syverson and others, being a majority of the legal voters in congressional township 134, range 40, "praying that the same be organized as a new town to be called 'Amor.'" It is to be noted that this was a different congress- ional township from the one for which a petition was presented at the Janu- ary session. The petition was granted and the first election ordered held at the house of S. Larson on Saturday, April 5, 1879, "at nine o'clock in the forenoon and continue till five o'clock in the afternoon of the same day for the purpose of electing town officers and transacting such other business as may be transacted at any regular town meeting."
The twenty-three signers of the petition, asking for the establishment of Amor township were all Norwegian, but some of their names are impos- sible to decipher on the petition. Those which can be read are as follow : T. Syverson, Frank Munk, August Johnson, J. H. Eller, E. Johnson, John Hult, H. I. Gurgels, Andrew Johnson. Andrew Mortenson, James McNulty, Andrew Breitenbaugh, F. C. Young, O. Lundberg, Iver Erikson, John Shell- man, John Young. S. Larson, A. N. Martinson, T. K. Johnson, B. Austin, J. O. Ehler and John Munk.
Amor is the center township of Otter Tail county, there being just four tiers of townships on the east and four on the west, by three tiers on the north and three on the south. It is bounded on the north by Dead Lake. on the west by Maine, on the south by Everts, on the south and east by Otter Tail Lake and on the east by Otter Tail township. Approximately
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one-half of Otter Tail lake lies in this township and ten sections are covered by the waters of this lake. Walker lake is the next in size in this town- ship. It lies to the north of Otter Tail lake, has an outlet into the latter body of water. Twin lake and Mud lake are the only other lakes of any size in this township. The farming land in this township is very fertile and productive and although having a very large acreage of water there is little swamp land and the farms are very tillable. There was originally a post- office at Amor but this is now accommodated by a rural route and little remains to mark the town except a few dwellings, church and country store. Vida, in section 4, was once a postoffice, but has long since been abandoned.
Camp Nidaros is located in Amor township, section 12, on the shores of Otter Tail lake. It was platted by H. A. Aalberg for F. E. Kaiser and recorded November 4, 1900, in the office of the register of deeds.
The present township officers are as follow: Supervisors, F. H. Lang- vick, J. E. Ritchey and C. O. Hult; clerk, John Lien; treasurer, J. A. Wallin; assessor, F. E. Kaiser ; justices, C. Bjorgaard and S. T. Putnam; constables, C. W. Ekman and Osea Sundberg.
DORA TOWNSHIP.
Dora township began its official career on July 22, 1879, at which time the commissioners granted the request of George W. Smith and others for the creation of a township (township 136, range 41) bearing this name. The signers of the petition asking for the establishment of the township were as follow: William Englemann, George W. Smith, P. M. Smith, E. L. Thomas, Herman Klug, Carl Klug, Julius Raschke, Gottlieb H. G. Doeltz, Jacob Bouer, Anton Honor. Gottlieb , Carl Gustav Wagner, Y. S. Powers, Ernest Lubbermann and William Schimelpfinnig. The election of the first officers on the ninth of the following August at the house of David Parks formally marked the beginning of the independent career of the township.
Dora is one of the north central townships of Otter Tail county; it is bounded on the north by Candor, on the west by Lida, on the south by Star Lake and on the east by Edna. This township, as is the case with all the townships of the central and western part. truly lies in the lake district of the county. There are twenty-five lakes lying entirely within the limits of this township and eight additional lakes which extend into it. Spirit, Loon, Big McDonald. Silent Lakes and Lake Loon are the five largest lakes in the township. Star Lake also extends into sections 34, 35 and 36 from Star Lake township. There are only two sections, 30 on the west and 12 on the east, which either do not contain a lake or a part of one. Those lakes on the southern and eastern side have an outlet into Star lake and are part of the Red river system. Those on the north are drained through Loon
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