USA > Minnesota > Otter Tail County > History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76
1863. General Sibley's" expedition" to the Missouri river; July 3. Little Crow killed; July 24, battle of Big Mound; July 26, battle of Dead Buffalo Lake; July 28, battle of Stony Lake.
1864. Large levies for troops. Expedition to Missouri river, under Sully. Inflation of money market. Occasional Indian raids.
1865. Peace returns. Minnesota regiments return and are disbanded. In all 22,016 troops furnished by the state. Census shows 250,099 inhabitants.
1866-72 Rapid railroad building everywhere; immigration heavy; "good times" prevail, and the real estate inflated.
1873. January 7, 8 and 9, polar wave sweeps over the state; seventy per- sons perish. September, the Jay Cook failure creates another panic. Grasshopper raid begins and continues five seasons.
Digitized by Google
53
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
1876. September 7, attack on bank at Northfield by a gang of armed outlaws from Missouri; three of the latter killed and three captured.
1877. Biennial session amendment adopted.
1878. May 2, three flouring-mills at Minneapolis explode; eighteen lives lost.
1880. November 15, portion of the hospital for the insane at St. Peter destroyed by fire; eighteen inmates burned to death, seven died subsequently of injuries and fright, and six missing ; total loss, $150,000.
1881. March 1. the state capitol destroyed by fire.
1884. January 25, state prison partially burned.
1886 April 14, a tornado strikes the cities of St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids, demolishing scores of buildings and killing about seventy people.
1887. Important legislation regarding the liquor traffic, common carriers, and elections.
1880. The Legislature enacts the Australian system of voting in cities of 10,000 and over. The first electric street railway started in the state at Stillwater.
1890. United States census shows a population of 1,301,826. July 13, an excursion steamboat returning from Lake City encampment foundered on Lake Pepin, and 100 people drowned. July 13, tornado swept across Lake Gervias, in Ramsey county, demolishing several buildings and killing six people.
1891 June 15, a series of tornadoes started in Jackson county, near the town of Jackson, traversing .Martin, Faribault, Freeborn, Mower and Fillmore counties, on a line nearly parallel with, but from five to fifteen miles north of, the Southern Minnesota division of the Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, doing a large amount of damage to farms and farm buildings, and causing the death to about fifty people along the track of the storm.
1892. June 7, Republican national convention held at Minneapolis. The Australian system of voting used at the November general election.
1893. The Legislature authorizes the appointment of a capitol commission to select a site for a new capitol, and providing a tax of two- tenths of a mill for ten years to pay for the site and the erection of a building. A great financial crisis causes the failure of several banks and many mercantile and manufactur- ing establishments in the larger cities of the state.
1
Digitized by Google
54
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
1894. September 1. forest fires start in the neighborhood of Hinckley, in .: P'ine county, carrying death and destruction over nearly four hundred square miles of territory, destroying the towns of Hinckley and Sandstone, causing the death of 417 people, rendering homeless and destitute 2,200 men, women and chil- dren, and entailing a property loss of about $1,000,000. .
1895. A census of the state was taken during the month of June, and the total population of the state was found to be 1,574,619.
1896. The Red Lake Indian reservation was diminished to about a quarter part of its former area, and on May 15 a large tract of agri- cultural and timber lands formerly belonging to that reserva- tion was opened for settlement.
1897. July 2, the monument at Gettysburg to the First Minnesota Regi- ment was dedicated.
1898. July 27, the corner stone of the new capitol was laid. Minnesota supplied four regiments for service in the Spanish-American War, being the first state, May 7, to respond to the president's call. October 5, the Pillager Indians attacked United States troops near Sugar Point, Leech lake.
1899. Semi-centennial of the territory and state celebrated by the Old Set- tlers' Association, June 1, and by the Historical Society, November 15.
1900. Population of Minnesota, shown by the national census, 1,751,394. Death of Senator C. K. Davis, November 27.
1901. In the Pan-American Exposition, at Buffalo, New York, the superior exhibits of wheat, flour, and dairy products of Minnesota caused her to be called "the Bread and Butter State."
1902. August 23. the fortieth anniversary of the Sioux War celebrated at New Ulm. Monuments and tablets erected there and at other places in the Minnesota valley.
1903. Tide of immigration into Minnesota, particularly in northern and western sections. April 22, death of Alexander Ramsey, first territorial governor, later governor of the state, United States senator, and secretary of war.
1904. Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Minnesota exhibits win many first prizes for flour, butter, fruits, iron ores, work of pupils in schools, etc.
1905. January 3. Legislature convenes in the new capitol. The population, according to the state census, June I, was 1,979,912.
1906. September 3, live stock amphitheater on the state fair ground dedi- cated. with address by James J. Hill. Attendance at the fair on that day, 93,199; during the week, 295,000.
Digitized by Google
55
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
1907. Folwell Hall, the new main building for the College of Science, Literature and Arts, of the University of Minnesota, com- pleted at cost of $410,000 for the building and its equipment. The total number of students of this University enrolled in all departments for the year was 4,145.
1908. The fiftieth anniversary of the admission of Minnesota to statehood was celebrated in connection with the state fair, its attendance during the week being 326,753.
1909. Death of Gov. John A. Johnson as the result of an operation, at Rochester, Minnesota, September 21, 1909. Lieut .- Gov. Adolph O. Eberhart sworn in as governor by Chief Justice Start, in the Supreme Court retiring room, at 11 o'clock the same day.
1910. Population of Minnesota, shown by the national census, 2,075,708. Death of State Treasurer Clarence C. Dinehart, June 8. E. S. Pettijohn appointed to succeed, June 11. Forest fires in northern Minnesota during the second and third week in Octo- ber, results in death to about thirty people and the destruc- tion of about $20,000,000 of property. Spooner and Baudette wiped out.
IQ11. The Legislature ratified the proposed amendment to the United States Constitution for election of United States senators by popular vote. October 18, George E. Vincent was inaugurated presi- dent of the University of Minnesota.
1912. The Legislature in special session enacted a new primary election law and "corrupt practices" act. October 19, the statue of Governor Johnson on the capitol ground was unveiled.
1913. June 16-20, the American Medical Association held its sixty-fourth annual session in Minneapolis. United States postal savings bank and parcel post inaugurated in Minnesota. Practical reforms in state road laws enacted. Work begun on the new building of the St. Paul Public Library and Hill Reference Library. New postoffice and new railroad depot building in Minneapolis. November 5, the historic Carver's cave, all trace of which had been lost for forty years or more, was definitely located.
1914. March, Minneapolis made the reserve city in the Northwest for the system of regional national banks. Remarkable impetus to building operations in Minnesota cities. April 4, Frederick Weyerhauser, extensive lumber operator, died in his winter home at Pasadena, California. April 15. plans adopted for St. Paul's new terminals and union depot. May 9, a bronze statue of Gen.
Digitized by Google
56
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
James Shields, tendered by the Loyal Legion and the Grand Army of the Republic to the state of Minnesota, for a niche in the capitol. Unveiled in November; formally presented to the state by Commander Samuel Appleton, of the Loyal Legion; accepted by Governor A. O. Everhart; eloquent memorial address by Comrade and Companion John Ireland, archbishop. July 4-1I, the National Educational Association held its annual convention in St. Paul. November. Winfield Scott Hammond, Democrat, elected governor of Minnesota, defeating William E. Lee, Repub- lican nominee.
1915.
January 2, session of the thirty-ninth Legislature opened at the state capitol; Hon. J. A. A. Burnquist, lieutenant-governor, president of the Senate; H. H. Flower, speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives. January 3, Winfield Scott Hammond inaugurated governor of Minnesota. February 12, birthday of Abraham Lincoln observed by Minnesota Commandery of the Loyal Leg- ion by a banquet at the West hotel, Minneapolis. Oration by Bishop William A. Quayle, of the Methodist Episcopal church. February 19-20, forty-ninth annual convention of the Minnesota Editorial Association assembled at the St. Paul hotel, St. Paul, President H. C. Hotaling, presiding. December 30, death of Governor Hammond. December 31, Lieutenant-Governor Burn- quist assumed the office of governor.
1916. February, discovery of discrepancies in the office of Walter J. Smith treasurer of the state, and his subsequent resignation.
Digitized by Google
CHAPTER II.
THE GEOLOGY OF OTTER TAIL. COUNTY.
SITUATION AND AREA.
Otter Tail county lies in the central part of western Minnesota. Fergus Falls, its largest town and county seat, is distant in a direct line about one hundred and sixty and one hundred and seventy miles, respectively, to the northwest from Minneapolis and St. Paul. The other most important towns and villages are Perham. Bluffton and New York Mills, on the Northern Pacific railroad; Carlisle, northwest of Fergus Falls on the Great Northern ; Elizabeth, Erhard and Pelican Rapids, on the Great Northern; Underwood. Battle Lake, Vining, Henning and Clitherall, on the branch of the Northern Pacific; Vergas, Dent, Richville. Ottertail. Almore and Parkers Prairie, on the Soo line.
The length of Otter Tail county from east to west is nine townships, or fifty-four miles, and its width is seven townships, or forty-two miles. It is a rectangle, excepting a deficiency of one township from its northwest corner, leaving its area sixty-two congressional townships, each six miles square, amounting to 2,240.20 square miles, or 1.433,726.44 acres, of which 162.748.67 acres are covered by water.
SURFACE FEATURES.
Natural Drainage-The greater part of Otter Tail county lies within the basin of the Red river of the North. Only one considerable stream is tributary to the Red river in this county, namely, Toad river, which flows into the north end of Pine lake. Dead river, the outlet of Dead and Star lakes. which flows into the northwest side of Otter Tail lake, and the outlet of Clitherall. East and West Battle lakes and others, flowing into the south- east side of Otter Tail lake at Balmoral, are also large streams.
Pelican river, which joins the Red river of the North three miles west of Fergus Falls, being its only notable tributary above Breckenridge. is forty-five miles long in straight line, having its headwaters in southwestern Becker county. It receives the waters of many lakes, of which the largest are Detroit. Cormorant, Pelican, Lizzie and Lida.
In the east part of Otter Tail county are the sources of the Red Eye. Leaf and Wing rivers, which send their waters eastward to the Crow Wing and the Mississippi. Streams tributary to Long Prairie river. and by that to the Crow Wing, drain the south part of Eastern and Parkers Prairie.
On the south. the farthest source of the Chippewa river is in Effington.
Digitized by Google
58
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
St. Olaf and Tumuli, while portions of Eagle Lake, Tordenskjold and Dane Prairie are drained by the Pomme de Terre river, both of these streams being branches of the Minnesota river.
Lakes-Otter Tail is the banner county of the state for lakes. The government surveyors report that there are one thousand and six meandered lakes in the county. A glance at the map shows that the lakes occupy the central townships of the county. The eastern and western tiers of town- ships have none, or a few small lakes. This distribution of lakes corre- sponds with the position and bearing of the moraines. Entering the county at the north, in the township of Hobart, the general direction of this drift deposit is southwest until, in the vicinity of Fergus Falls. it tends southeast and east. and then swings northeast. where its greatest development is seen in the "Leaf mountains," as they are popularly called. This hilly area is gemmed with lakes. Every depression in the rough and rolling ground holds a mirror to the sky and clouds. They are of all sizes, shapes and depths. Some have outlets, the larger ones especially ; others have none, except in very high water; others have no outlet whatever at any time. Of some. the water is whitish or clouded, holding in solution mineral sub- stances derived from the clays and gravels of the shores. Others are appar- ently perfectly pure, colorless and sparkling.
Of the small lakes, Lake Sewall, in St. Olaf, is as good a representative as any other, and its description will fit in a general way hundreds of the lakes of the county. It is about two miles long and half a mile wide. The shores are not very high and generally slope gently to the water's edge. There is a fringe of trees and shrubs of the common species about the lake, but most of the country is massive rolling prairie. with frequent lakelets and sloughs. The lake is thirty-five to forty feet in depth in the central or deeper parts. As there is no erosion of the banks, the waters are quite pure and free from mineral substances. The bottom or floor of the lake is clay covered by gravel stones, and the beaches are deposits of sand and pebbles.
In all these smaller lakes the same features are repeated over and over. A large number of these lakes have no visible outlet except in very high water. The channel of the outlet is grass-grown and dry, except a few weeks or perhaps a few days in the year.
Lake Clitherall is a beautiful sheet of water, nearly four miles long and one mile wide. It has a deep bay, extending toward the south a dis- tance of two miles. The south shore is densely wooded and presents to the observer on the north side a very picturesque appearance. The shores at various points are bold and high, and there is a fringe of forest trees on the north side, also, where the village of Clitherall stands. There are one or two bars extending nearly across the lake. so that the water does not lie in
Digitized by Google
59
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
one continuous basin. Soundings give for the east part of the lake a depth varying from fifteen to forty-four feet, and for the west part from ten to thirty-two feet. This lake lies at an elevation of one thousand three hun- dred and thirty-two feet above the sea. Its outlet is at the northwest side and discharges into West Battle lake.
West Battle lake lies in two basins, the western half being nearly twice as wide as the eastern. The shores are in some places bold and abrupt, rising forty to sixty feet above the lake, while at other points the prairie slopes gently down to the water. There is not much forest. Nearly all the surrounding country, especially at the western extremity, is cultivated prairie. The lake is over six miles long. The western part is about two miles wide; the eastern division, about one mile wide. A high, wooded hill or promon- tory on the north side marks the line of division. The bottom of the lake is uneven. There are ridges and shallow places out some distance from the shore. The lake has been sounded and in several places there has been found about fifty feet of water. The depths vary rapidly within short dis- tances. The mass of the drift about these lakes is silicious. Some of these bluffs are almost pure sand, crumble under the action of frost and weather, and are distributed over the bottom of the lake by the waves. All the beaches are sand and pebbles. There is very little vegetation in the waters of this lake.
Owing to the purity of its water and the inequalities of depth, this lake presents a most rapid and beautiful play of colors. There is not a more charming or attractive spot in Minnesota than the vicinity of the Battle Lakes. They lie in the midst of the famous Park Region. Groves, lakes, culti- vated farms and unoccupied woodland combine to give variety and beauty to the scenery.
West Battle lake has two inlets, one from Lake Clitherall, the other from East Battle lake. Its outlet is on the north side and, after passing through several smaller lakes, discharges into Otter Tail lake at Balmoral Mills.
The country around Fast Battle lake is very broken and hilly. The Leaf mountains lie a few miles to the south. Several small streams con- vey the drainage of these hills to the lakes. The basin of this lake is very irregular, the depth varying from twenty to forty feet. There are numer- ous promontories, points and bays. The hills and shores of the lake are covered with trees and shrubs. The outlet into West Battle lake has evi- dently run much wider and larger than now. It flows through a low meadow or swamp. and is still a considerable stream, about ten feet wide.
Otter Tail lake is the largest body of water in the county. Indeed. in this whole lake district, which embraces parts of Becker. Otter Tail, Douglas.
Digitized by Google
60
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
Pope and Kandiyohi counties, there is no lake which can compare with this in size. It is about ten miles long and three miles wide, its longest direc- tion being from northeast to southwest. It has three inlets. one from the south and two from the north. The largest of these is the Red river of the North A large inlet also flows down from Dead lake, on the north. At Balmoral Mills on the south side it receives the surplus waters of the Battle.lake chain. For a distance of half a mile or more from the shore the water is quite shallow, being only six to eighteen feet deep. Toward the center of the lake it deepens to forty, fifty and sixty feet, the deeper area being some distance toward the head of the lake.
The lake is without islands or any bold and prominent indentations of the shore. It is, therefore. less picturesque and attractive than some other and smaller sheets of water. The southeastern shores of the lake were once fringed with trees and a few are still left. Farther north, the prairie comes to the water's edge. On the western and northern shores are forests, inter- spersed with some fertile prairies or openings.
Northwest of Otter Tail are several lakes of irregular shape, surrounded by forests and morainic hills and deposits of clay. Approaching Dead lake from the south, near its outlet, a fine growth of native forest trees is encoun- tered. The sugar maple, basswood, oak, elm, ash and ironwood are especially noticeable. The lake itself is divided by bars and points into several dis- tinct basins and bays. The bottom is as irregular in shape as the shore line; however, the main body of the lake is shallow. There is a good growth of reeds, wild rice and other vegetation in the lake. There are a few small islands. The shores are full of boulders, both granite and limestone rock. It is indeed a lake of the woods, difficult of access, but wild and picturesque. a favorite haunt of water-fowl and other game. The principal tributary is a small stream which connects it with Star lake. The country to the east is rough and hilly. One hill near the outlet rises abruptly ninety-eight feet above the water. On the north side the shore slopes more gently and smoothly to the water.
Farther still to the northwest is a chain of very beautiful lakes, lying on the west side of the great moraine and tributary to Pelican river. These are Lakes Lida and Lizzie and Pelican. Between these lakes, and on the east side, there is a fine forest of hardwood trees of the species already mentioned. On the west side the prairie stretches away toward the Red river. All the surrounding country is rolling and uneven. The largest of the three lakes is Lake Lida, which is about seven miles long and two miles wide. A narrower arm, about one mile wide, extends south from the main body of the lake for two miles. The eastern shore is wooded and hilly,
Digitized by Google
61
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
while the western shore is more level and the forest soon gives place to the prairie.
Between Lakes Lida and Lizzie, which formerly constituted one lake, there are several old beaches, now covered with forest trees, indicating that the former level of the lake was from seven to ten feet higher than it is at present.
The outlet of Lake Lida is at the north end. It. is a strong current of water, three feet deep and fourteen feet wide. The lake varies in depth from ten to forty feet, being shallow about the shores. The water is very pure and clear and there are several fine springs about the shores. There are, in the vicinity of these lakes, a number of cranberry marshes from which, without any effort at cultivation, a good many bushels of cranberries were formerly gathered every year.
The southern part of Lake Lizzie is quite shallow and narrow and filled with reeds and rushes for some distance out from the shore. The northern part is broader and deeper. The eastern shore is covered by forest, while on the western side the prairie, in some places, comes nearly to the lake. The country is massively rolling, and as a general rule sandy, but there are also large deposits of clay. One well, on the west side of this lake, was dug seventy-eight feet deep, through sand and gravel, and another, a quarter of a mile away, sixty feet, through clay. The outlet of Lake Lizzie is the Pelican river, at this point forty feet wide and three to four feet deep. About a mile west of the outlet the river spreads out into Prairie lake, which has an area of about two square miles. The quality and tem- perature of the water does not differ materially from that of Lake Lida. There are two small islands of about two acres each in this lake.
Pelican lake is very picturesque and: beautiful, with bold, high shores, wooded on the east and with prairie at the western end. The water is pure and sparkling. The depth varies from eight to forty feet. On the south side are some excellent springs. The exposures of soil on the lake shores are sandy, no clay being seen. The bottom is very uneven, especially in the south arm, which is sometimes called Fish lake. From this arm the out- let discharges its waters into Lake Lizzie.
These three lakes, with seven or eight others in Becker county, which lie above them, constitute the Pelican chain and are a grand reservoir of water, feeding that river with perpetually fresh supplies.
The course of the Red river in this county is southeast as far as Pine lake, and thence south to Otter Tail lake. The elevation of the river- bed above the sea near Perham is one thousand three hundred and twenty- four feet. The elevation of Otter Tail lake is about one thousand three hundred and fifteen feet. Thus far the river has no clearly marked valley.
Digitized by Google
62
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
It flows in a channel eroded by its own agency in the drift. The banks vary from six to twenty feet high. Sometimes there are swamp-like expansions at one side or other of the stream. At other points the banks are perpen- dicular or abrupt and the river has eroded the side of a bluff. But in gen- eral, the characteristics of the river are those simply of a drainage channel, carrying off the surplus waters of the region. Below Otter Tail lake the Red river assumes a somewhat different character. Having received in the lake itself two important affluents, it flows out at the western extremity a swift, strong current, between moderately high bluffs.
The country through which the river winds is exceedingly hilly and rough. The morainic deposits are composed of clay, sand and gravel, and the river, eroding the sides of these hills and bluffs, becomes colored by the earthy matter held in suspension, so that it is milky or whitish-yellow in appearance. It passes through three or four lakes, which are little more than expansions of the river where the conformation of the surface favored the spreading out of the water. Owen, a geologist, who reported on this region several years ago, found ten of these lakes, but some of them must have disappeared, for at present there are only three or four places that can claim that distinction. The descent is quite appreciable and the current gen- erally rapid. In fairly high water the river rushes along with great force, and a ride in a batteau is an exhilarating pleasure. The fall from Otter Tail lake to Fergus Falls is about one hundred and forty-two feet, the eleva- tion at Fergus Falls being one thousand one hundred and seventy-three feet above the sea. The general course of the river is southwest, though the windings of the channel direct its current toward nearly every point of the compass. Its flood-plain is, as a rule, co-extensive with its valley, which has been entirely eroded, apparently by the present river.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.