USA > Minnesota > Otter Tail County > History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 62
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CRAIGIE'S MILL.
James G. Craigie, his wife, and Annie Faulkner, daughter of Mrs. Craigie and step-daughter of Mr. Craigie, came to the United States from Aberdeen, Scotland, and settled on the east shore of Otter Tail lake in 1868 or 1869. He built a grist-mill on the outlet of Crane, Clitherall, East Battle, West Battle, Blanche, Minnie and Battle lakes. He put his dam across the outlet a few rods from the shore of Otter Tail lake. He was not able to get much waterfall, but in those days there was a good flow of water, ample to run a two- or three-stone flour and feed grist-mill.
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This mill was completed in the fall of 1870 and settlers came from a radius of twenty or thirty miles with grists. This was the first grist-mill north of Alexandria. It was much needed and in a very short time was overrun with grists, becoming a fortunate investment for its owner. Soon Mr. Craigie was out of debt and had money to make further improvements.
Craigie wrote a letter to some magazine in Aberdeen, praising this new country and advising his friends to come here. John Cromb saw this letter and wrote Craigie. Finally Cromb, and a woman, whom he claimed to be his wife, came to Craigie's mill (now known as Balmoral). They stopped with the Craigies for about a year and then moved to Detroit in Becker county.
In the summer of 1872 Cromb's lawful wife came from Scotland. She claimed that Cromb had left her in Scotland and that he and the woman he represented as wife had come to America together. She wrote to me about Cromb and I advised her to come here and sue for a divorce. I met her at Craigie's on Tuesday. We had arranged to go to Detroit on Friday of the same to commence proceedings.
Before Friday came, however, she, Craigie and his wife, went out sail- ing in a small boat on Otter Tail lake. The boat, being weighted heavily with stones for ballast, swamped and sank to the bottom in about ten feet of water.
Craigie had no children. His reputed daughter, Anna Faulkner, ran away from her mother and married a half-breed Indian named Archie McArthur. He testified in court, at Otter Tail City, a few weeks before the drowning, in a suit she brought against James G. Craigie, that she was not Craigie's daughter. But after his death she claimed to be his daughter and heir, and two juries in Otter Tail county said by their verdicts that she was. I feel sure that not one of these twenty-four men for a moment believed that she was. She won this mill and all of Craigie's property as a result of the suit being decided in her favor. She and her husband let the mill run down until it became worthless and it was finally shut down and later sold. After losing all their property wrongfully given her by the jury, Mc. Arthur and his wife went on to the Indian reservation at White Earth. She soon died and later, I understand, McArthur died. Cromb moved to Crookston and became receiver of the land office, and was promin- ent in the business and political circles. He and his wife also died and today there is not left a single actor in the Craigie mill drama (even the mill itself has totally disappeared) to tell its history except myself, and I only do it in order to preserve the true history of the case for future genera- tions.
At the annual meeting of the old settlers' association of Otter Tail
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county held in Battle Lake in July, 1910, I read a paper recalling some of the important events in our early history. I cannot do better than give the substance of this article, bringing it down to date, to conclude my contri- bution to this volume.
I came to the county July 3, 1870, and in the fall of the same year was elected county attorney. I had a good deal to do with all the early history of the county, especially the legal part of the organization of townships and school districts and the establishing of roads. In fact, all county, town and school officers were without precedents or any books or forms to guide them and nearly all were serving their first term as such officials; so that the county attorney was very near to all of them and had more or less to do in guiding and advising them. Few of today can realize the amount of detail this involved. When I look back over the history of this county for the last forty-six years and note its progress and what it is now with its present system of records in all the offices, county, town and school, I cannot but admire the great progress which has been made all along the line. While they were doubtless many irregularities in the books and records of these early officers. I am glad to say there were very few criminal acts com- mitted by them.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY.
The first act of the Legislature of 1858, which was the first Legislature under the state after its admission, was the act establishing Otter Tail City as the county seat, which was approved March 18, 1858. By chapter 94, of the Special Laws of 1870, the Legislature attempted to locate the county seat on the southwest quarter, section 32 (at Hoff's Mills) in the township of Tordenskjold, without submitting the question to the voters, however. By chapter 85, of the Special Laws of 1871, the act of 1870, establishing the county seat at Tordenskjold, was repealed, as the act itself explains that this act was unconstitutional in not submitting the question to the voters of the county.
I was never able to learn who got this act through, removing, or attempt- ing to remove, the county seat from Otter Tail City to Tordenskjold. Otter Tail county was then (1870) in a legislative district represented by H. C. Wait, of St. Cloud. in the Senate; and by Isaac Thorson, of Pope county, and John L. Wilson, of St. Cloud, in the House. Tordenskjold as a county seat had a short life; the county commissioners did, however, hold one meet- ing there in January, 1871. It was here I qualified as the first county attorney, the other county officers having all been elected in 1869; viz., Ole Jorgens, county auditor; M. Shaw, county treasurer; J. H. Saunders, register of deeds ; William M. Corliss, clerk of court. They also appointed a county superintendent of schools. The county commissioners were Mar-
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tin Fiedler, of Marion Lake; Aleck Johnson, of St. Olaf, and Hans Juelson, of Sverdrup.
ATTEMPTED ORGANIZATION OF HOLCOMB COUNTY.
The Legislature of 1871, by chapter 99 of the General Laws, approved March 6, 1871, provided for the establishment of Holcomb county, by tak- ing in range 44 of Wilkin coutny, or what was popularly known as a part of that county, and ranges 41, 42 and 43 of Otter Tail county. The name was given in honor of Hon. William Holcomb, of Stillwater, who was the first lieutenant-governor of the state, "Father of the Normal School system," etc., and who had died in the fall of 1870. The act provided that the ques- tion of establishing this county was to be submitted to the voters of Wilkin and Otter Tail counties at the general election to be held in November, 1871, which was done.
This question of a division of Otter Tail county brought on a warm contest in Otter Tail county, and was defeated here by a good majority, but Wilkin county, which had no organization, nor any right to vote upon the question, as was subsequently decided by the supreme court (66 Minn., p. 32, in the range 44 case), had some election precincts established and they gave a large majority (as compared with the vote on other questions) for the formation of Holcomb county. Especially was this true in the pre- cincts including Norwegian Grove, Trondhjem and Oscar as now organized. Nearly every settler in these precincts favored the formation of Holcomb county. The act for the organization of the new county provided that a majority of the voters in each county could vote for the proposition in order to effect its adoption. Wilkin county gave the required majority, but Otter Tail did not, and so the proposition failed. The act providing for the organization of this county established its county seat at Fergus Falls. I went with others into the precincts above named to oppose this formation, and we were told by nearly everyone we saw that it was in every way more convenient for them to come to Fergus Falls to do their county business than to go to Breckenridge; that in fact they would be obliged to go by the way of Fergus Falls to get to Breckenridge as they were unable to cross the big slough west of the settlement. Relying upon these statements made to me, and upon the vote of these people to come to Fergus Falls as their county seat, I felt that it was safe to attach this range to Otter Tail county the next year so far as they were concerned.
ACQUISITION OF RANGE 44.
In the fall of 1871 I was elected to the Legislature, and then the guess- ing began. The Northern Pacific railroad, which was supposed to go via Otter Tail City, had been built via Niganoma, the first station north of Rush
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Lake, which was a little east of where Perham now is situated, where the best and only hotel was a large tent in which we slept with forty below zero weather during the winter of 1872. The St. Vincent branch of the St. Paul & Pacific railroad whose grant apparently compelled the building of its line via Otter Tail lake, had secured a ruling by the secretary of the interior that the company could build its railroad via Fergus Falls, and still comply with the provisions of the land grant. The railroad company had changed its route from Otter Tail City to the present line by way of Fergus Falls. So Otter Tail City was left out as a railroad possibility. It was claimed at the time that the Northern Pacific would have gone into Otter Tail City but that the owner, one Thomas Cathcart, of Crow Wing, would not give the company any part of the land.
When I went to St. Paul to take my seat in the Legislature, in January. 1872, the conditions were these: There was a small settlement at Parkers Prairie; also one around Rush Lake; and quite a pretentious village at Otter Tail City. the county seat. which seemed to have no chance of getting a railroad. The principal settlements at that time were in and around Clither- all, Eagle Lake, Maine. Tordenskjold, St. Olaf, Tumuli, Dane Prairie, Aur- dal, Buse and Fergus Falls town and village. In the Pelican valley there were Elizabeth, Erhards Grove and Pelican Rapids. The majority of the settlers were in the middle and southern part of the county. Wilkin county had voted to add range 44 to Holcomb county. Otter Tail county had voted against the proposition to divide itself and attach three ranges to 44 to make the proposed Holcomb county, with Fergus Falls as its county seat.
No one could even then claim that we could hold the county seat at Otter Tail City without a railroad; no one thought at the time that we could prevent a division of the county. In fact, Otter Tail City men advised me to introduce a bill to divide the county and give Fergus Falls the county seat of the west half: but this did not solve the question about Otter Tail City as the county seat of the east half; nor was there a clear way to deter- mine what we could do about a county seat there. It must either be at Otter Tail City, Niganoma, Parkers Prairie, or perhaps at Clitherall. which, by the way, had the largest settlement at that time.
In 1872 there were very few settlers north of the Northern Pacific rail- road or east of Otter Tail City. I had not up to this time located in any village, but was still living on my homestead on Lake Clitherall. waiting to see where the new county seat was going to be located. I must confess that I was feeling sad to see the chances of Otter Tail City gradually but none the less surely fading. I was hardly on speaking terms with the people at Fergus Falls, as I had opposed the formation of Holcomb county at the last election. Thus matters stood when I went to St. Paul in January, 1872.
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to attend to my duties as a legislator. After getting there I felt that the responsibility of deciding the momentous question was too much for me, so I concluded to return home and have a conference with my friends who had fought against the formation of Holcomb county.
I got all the leaders in that fight together and candidly laid the whole situation before them and asked them their advice as how to proceed- whether it was best or not to agree to a division of the county. I was very much opposed to a division at that time, owing to conditions in the eastern half of the county. Clitherall, the largest settlement, was in the extreme western part of the east half and also far to the south; Parkers Prairie was a flourishing village, but it, too, was badly located for a county seat; Perham. in the north half. offered the same objections. There seemed to be but one alternative if division were to be avoided-to move the county seat to Fergus Falls and at the same time attach range 44 to the county. My friends and I agreed that this was the most feasible plan, and I went back to St. Paul with my mind made up as to just how to proceed.
It might be well right here to give a little history of Wilkin county, as the plan finally adopted had so much to do with that county. The first Legislature after Minnesota became a state divided all the hitherto unorgan- ized portions of the state into counties, section 223, of chapter 1. of the General Statutes of 1858, established Toombs county and defined its bound- ary as "Beginning at the junction of the Bois de Sioux river with the Red river of the North ( which would be at Breckenridge), thence down the Red river of the North fifteen miles ( this would be near McCauleyville), thence east to the Pelican river ( which would be through the township of Erhards Grove ). thence down the Pelican river to where it intersects the Red river of the North, thence due south to the Chippewa river (this is an impossible line, as it would never strike that river ), thence in a direct line to the mouth of late Traverse, and thence down the main channel of the Bois de Sioux on the west boundary line of the state to the place of beginning."
It will be seen that this included a part of range 43 in Otter Tail county and leaves out Norwegian Grove, Trondhjem and a part of Oscar in range 44. and all of northern Wilkin county, and probably included the northern part of Traverse county as well as a part of Grant county. But to add to the confusion created by this act, no surveyor could possibly fol- low its lines and described. When Bob Toombs became a rebel, the patriotic: state of Minnesota promptly changed the name of Toombs to that of Andy Johnson and at the same time attempted to correct its boundary by making the north line of the county the present north line. and the line between ranges 43 and 44 its eastern boundary ; and at the same time leaving out the
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north end of Traverse county, but including the township of Lawrence in Grant county.
President Andrew Johnson, for whom the county was renamed, hav- ing by a change in his political policy, offended the radical Republican Legis- lature of Minnesota, was responsible for having the county christened a third time. The Legislature in 1868 changed the name of the erstwhile Andy Johnson county to that of Wilkin, in honor of Major Alexander Wilkin. Major Wilkin was in the Second Minnesota and afterward colonel of the Tenth Minnesota. He was killed in the battle of Tupelo, Mississippi, July 14, 1864. The Legislature took no more chances on living men, but fore- stalled any possible contingency by naming the county after a dead hero. And thus was Wilkin county in 1872.
WILKIN COUNTY IN 1872.
In 1872 there were a very few small settlements in Wilkin county; a small group of settlers at Breckenridge, a few settlers and squatters along the Red river, but the largest number were to be found in range 44. There was no county organization, no county seat, and all that I knew about the county at all, was what I heard from the settlers in range 44. A commit- tee of three Breckenridge and McCauleyville men came to St. Paul to see me about organizing the county and locating the county seat. Of course, they wanted the county seat at Breckenridge at the terminus of the new rail- road. I told the committee that I had promised to attach range 44 to Otter Tail county; that the settlers on that range claimed that they could not get from the settlement in Norwegian Grove to Breckenridge without going through or near Fergus Falls; that Otter Tail county did not want any of their territory without their consent and to accommodate the people, and would not take it. As I recall, this committee consisted of J. R. Harris, Ruke Messer, and a man from Breckenridge whose name I do not now remember. I told the committee to return home and talk the matter over with the settlers of Wilkin county and see what they wanted; that I would carry out their wishes as soon as I heard from them. In a day or two the committee came back to St. Paul to see me again and informed me that they had agreed to have the county organized, leaving out range 44, and making Breckenridge the county seat. Therefore, as may be seen, range 44 was attached to Otter Tail county with the consent of the leaders in Wilkin county from which it was detached.
RANGE 44 ATTACHED AND FERGUS FALLS MADE THE COUNTY SEAT.
I then introduced a bill to attach range 44 to Otter Tail county, the act providing for the submissal of the question to the voters of Otter Tail county at the next general election, November, 1872. Wilkin county was not
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authorized to vote on the question. I then introduced a bill to remove the county seat from Otter Tail City to Fergus Falls. This second act was to be ratified by the qualified voters of the county before it went into opera- tion, and this was done by a substantial majority at the election in the fall of 1872.
OTTER TAIL CITY PARTISANS INDIGNANT.
These radical legislative measures of course engendered "war along the line" and I need not tell you that my friends and I came in for severe criti- cism, at times amounting almost to personal abuse. There is perhaps noth- ing which stirs up quite as hot a fight as a county seat removal and, next to that, a division of a county, and Otter Tail county had a taste of both at one time. Otter Tail City was naturally furious at what I had done. When I returned from St. Paul after the session I came through the town and stayed there over night. The people did not kill any fatted calf for me; in fact, they treated me very coolly. I heard no exclamations from its good citizens of "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." As could have been expected the northeast part of the county was solid against both mea- sures in general and against Corliss in particular. The eastern and mid- dle parts of the county were divided, but all the small politicians especially were up in arms to condemn all I had done. Those who were satisfied said but little, but voted for the measures.
REMOVING THE COUNTY SEAT AND RECORDS.
At the general election in November, 1872, the people voted to annex range 44 to Otter Tail county, and on the same day voted to remove the county seat from Otter Tail City to Fergus Falls. I have often heard it claimed that Ole Jorgens and myself went to Otter Tail City in the night and unlawfully carried away-stole them, so our enemies said-all the county records, a statement which is maliciously false. I know that I was not there at all. I do not know whether Jorgens was or not, but I presume that he was since his office was there. I am sure, however, that the moving of the county records was done in full accordance with the law and not in any surreptitious manner as has been so frequently alleged in the past by some people. They were removed under the direction of the county com- missioners, Martin Fiedler, of Marion Lake, Hans Juelson, of Sverdrup, and Alex Johnson, of St. Olaf. Mike Anderson, as I recall, the newly elected sheriff, had immediate charge of the removal.
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WEIL.
After very many years of observation and experience I think it is a fact that these legislative acts and the approval the people gave them dur- ing the formative period of this county have had more to do with the
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county's development, its present wealth and influence, than all the subse- quent legislation of more than forty years since that time. I think that those acts were decisive of the county's present condition and promising future. I do not think that the old settlers, the most of whom favored the proposition, believe now that it would have been better in 1872 to have left off range 44; nor do I think that they would leave the county seat at Otter Tail City with the prospect of having the county later divided into three or more small and poor counties. I do not claim that all our present pros- perity and greatness is due to the acts of the early settlers, or that there has not been since that time vital and needed legislation for the county. But I do claim that the acts of the early pioneers made it possible for this county to become great, wealthy and influential.
LEGISLATIVE CHANGES.
It might be noted that our present ninth congressional district com- prises only a part of our then legislative (the 4Ist ) district. All of north- western Minnesota was included in it, and yet at that time we had only one senator and two members of the lower house of the Legislature. In the same territory we now have six senators and thirteen representatives, and this same section of the state is now demanding additional representation in the state Legislature.
PIONEER COUNTY OFFICIALS.
As I have previously stated. the county board of commissioners which met in January, 1871, was composed of Martin Fiedler, Alex Johnson and Hans Juelson, all faithful and intelligent men. To them should be given the credit for starting in motion the machinery of the county. Under their efforts the following townships were organized in the years 1870, 1871 and 1872: Parkers Prairie, Dane Prairie, Fergus Falls, Eagle Lake, Elizabeth, Otter Tail, Pelican, Erhards Grove, Buse, Rush Lake, Aastad, Hobart, Scambler, Maine, Nidaros, Perham, Effington, Norwegian Grove, Western, Deer Creek, Oscar. Trondhjem and Gorman. Five townships had been organized in 1868 and 1860: Clitherall, Saint Olaf. Tumuli. Tordenskjold and Aurdal.
. They also organized many school districts in those years, besides laying out and opening up numerous roads over this broad county. Highways were badly needed to connect the widely scattered settlements and the records of the commissioners during the first few years are more than half taken up with petitions for roads. On an average it may be said that four-fifths of the minutes of each meeting cover just two subjects-roads and schools. Besides this work the commissioners had to provide temporary offices for the county officials, and between 1872 and 1874, they had to provide every- thing from pens and ink to a court house and jail. All their acts have
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become history and their friends may look back with pride at their official careers.
SOME EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND SETTLERS.
The little settlement which began at Clitherall in 1865 and at Rush Lake in 1867, Mormon and Catholic, respectively, and both dissenters from the mother church, are today practically extinct; both have been swallowed up by other and stronger churches.
Parkers Prairie was really the first to be settled by nonpartisan religious settlers and there were found representatives of several of the religious denominations found in the county today. The real farmer settlers com- menced to settle there in 1868, when G. A. Lindquist, Henry Asseln, J. G. Nelson and other men of sterling character staked out their farms on the prairie. Lindquist afterward became county treasurer and commissioner ; Asseln was the first merchant of the village and one of the wealthiest men of the county at the time of his death; J. G. Nelson was a county com- missioner and later a state senator and one of the strongest politicians of the early days. Then there were such men as Ben Pease, Ed. Livernash, Jacob Saunders and Charles Swenson, the latter coming direct from Sweden. And they came from many other countries from across the sea.
From the Fatherland came the sturdy German; the staunch and reliable vikings from Norway were early on hands; there were the descendants of the Puritan Yankees of New England: and everywhere the professional empire builders of the middle west. The early pioneers of the county com- prised nearly a score of tongues, but they went to work in peace and har- mony to till the soil and establish homes in this paradise of the state. No one questioned them as to their nativity-whether Yankee, Norwegian, Swede, Irish, German, French, Canadian, or Finnish. All mingled together in the various sports and social affairs common to those days. Everyone was welcome in every other home in the community. whether we said "yes," "ja," or made use of any other language in expressing what we had to say. We worked together as one large family; all were intent on one thing, and that was the establishing of homes in this fair county for ourselves, our children and our children's children. How well we succeeded you of today may see. You who are enjoying these broad and well-cultivated acres today should be reminded once in a while of the struggles of your fathers and mothers on these same farms during the early seventies and even for several years afterwards.
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