USA > Minnesota > Rice County > History of Rice and Steele counties, Minnesota, Vol. I > Part 36
USA > Minnesota > Steele County > History of Rice and Steele counties, Minnesota, Vol. I > Part 36
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FARIBAULT TOWNSHIP.
The Township of Faribault was organized May 11, 1858. On motion of A. J. Tanner, Geo. W. Batchelder was elected chairman by acclamation, Solon C. Gilmore was selected as moderator, and J. Ezra Buck, clerk. A committee was appointed to ascertain the amount needed to defray expenses for town purposes. This committee consisted of J. B. Cooper, L. Nutting, G. W. Batchelder, M. Cook, C. Wheeler. The town was divided into road districts with overseers as follows: North Faribault, Geo. H. Farrar; South Faribault, M. Cole; East Prairieville, G. W. Pope. The election resulted as follows: Supervisors, G. WV. Batchelder, chairman ; Geo. F. Pettit, Norbert Paquin ; town clerk, M. C. Peltier : collector, E. W. Leavens; assessor, E. C. Hind; overseer of the poor, E. D. Gifford ; justices of the peace, W. W. Owen, W. B. Leach; constables, E. N. Leavens, T. L. De Lancy. August 4, E. C. Houck was appointed assessor in place of E. C. Hind, and E. J. Crump overseer of the poor in place of E. D. Gifford. September 9. E. J. Crump was appointed overseer of road district No. 1, in place of G. H. Farrar. Sep- tember 14, Geo. C. Albee was appointed supervisor in place of G. F. Pettit. October 11, Geo. M. Gilmore was appointed supervisor in place of Geo. W. Batchelder. November 20, R. A. Mott was appointed justice of the peace in place of William B. Leach.
The last annual town meeting of the old township of Fari- bault was held at Firemen's Hall. March 12, 1872. The meet- ing was called to order by O. H. Wily, town clerk pro tem. The election resulted as follows: Supervisors, S. C. Dunham, L. C. Ingram, J. D. Green ; clerk, H. P. Sime ; treasurer, H. C. Pres- cott ; assessors, Isaac Plumer, Henry Dunham; justices, J. B. Quinn, John Leo, O. F. Perkins.
FARIBAULT IN 1872.
Faribault previous to its incorporation in 1872 was exceed- ingly primitive in its government. There were few sidewalks in town, outside of the business portion, and those consisted for the most part of two planks laid lengthwise about a foot apart. Stock of all kinds ran at large and there was a strong opposition to any radical change. The county had no adequate court house and no jail of any account. The county building was a one story two-room brick building, about 40x16 feet on the ground, on the corner of Third street and Second avenue, where the treasurer and recorder, the auditor and the clerk of court kept their offices. The central school house had been built at a cost of over $30,000, the third floor being used as a
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public hall. There were also four small, outside primary school buildings. The Episcopal cathedral had been built, so also the Catholic church of the Immaculate Conception, the Congrega- tional, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches as they now stand. The schools of the Bishop Seabury mission, and St. Mary's hall had been organized, but the only building now occupied which had been erected is Shattuck hall. The state school for deaf mutes and the blind occupied together the south wing of the present main building of the present school for the deaf. Fari- bault had suffered from the bridge fever and its fires had not dimmed when the city was organized. Already the First, Second, Eighth and Fourteenth street bridges had been erected over Straight river and two over the Cannon, but the bridge notion did not subside until 1887, when the Third street was put in and a cut made through the bluff to permit approach from the east side. Since then other bridges have been erected. The principal hotels were the Barron house, a two story wooden building at the corner of First street and Central avenue, with a substantial stone three story addition on the north. The Arlington house, or rather the part of it north of the south wing, and a three-story stone building now occupied by the Security bank, were erected in 1871, the former by Joseph D. Green and the latter by F. A. Theopold. The United States hotel, the present Superior house, a substantial three-story stone and brick building, had been previously erected and used as a hotel by Jacob Stelily. There were a few other substantial brick and stone buildings in the city, the Straight River mill and the Ken- dail mill, a three-story stone building on Central avenue erected by Geo. F. Batchelder, the Fleckenstein stone block corner of Central avenue and Third street, the Mee Brothers building and the stores occupied by Schulein's clothing store, Carpenter & Smith, T. H. Loyhed & Son, and the Degan building on Third street, the Stocklein building on Central avenue, and a few others since destroyed by fire and rebuilt.
Since 1872, all the public buildings have been erected, with the exception of the Central school, the north wing of the state school for the deaf, and Shattuck hall. Most of the business blocks and homes have also been erected since that date.
Luke Hulett who came to Faribault in 1853, with his family, was perhaps the most prominent of the early settlers. He was a native of Rutland county, Vermont, born in 1803. He emi- grated to the West when twenty-seven years of age, and resided for a time in Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin, where he engaged for the most part in farming, but built and operated a saw mill on the St. Joe river for a time. When Mr. Hulett set- tled in Faribault he brought his wife and seven children, two
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of whom, Mrs. Robert Smith and Mrs. Frank Carrier, live in Faribault. The oldest child and only son, Jolin, died while a young man. The oldest daughter, Mrs. John Adams, died in Missouri. Mrs. Ruel Smith lives in Minneapolis. Mrs. Orlando Johnson lives in Medford. Mrs. Emmonds Taylor lives in East Prairie. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hulett in Faribault, Mrs. A. C. Miller, who still resides here, was the first white child born after the actual settlement of Faribault. The youngest child, Ida A., died in childhood. Mr. Hulett was a man of wide information and possessed of excellent judgment. and naturally became a leader in public affairs. His advice was largely sought and freely given. He was liberal in his views, heroic in character, and generous in his impulses, and left an impress upon his associates which will long be felt in Faribault. He died March 18, 1882, and at the age of 79 years.
THE F
FREDERICK W. FRINK
CHAPTER XV.
FRINK'S NARRATIVE.
Extracts From a "Brief History of Faribault"-Old Town Site- Appearance of Faribault in 1855-Early Manufacturing In- terests-Location of the County Seat-First Church, School and Newspaper-Indian Scares-Denominational Concord- Costly Fire-A Few Old Settlers.
F. W. Frink, in his "Brief History of Faribault," has written the following interesting facts :
February 10, 1855, a survey and plat of the 280 acres, com- prising the original town of Faribault having been previously made, an agreement by and between John W. North, Porter Nutting, F. B. Sibley and Alexander Faribault, as proprietors, and John W. North, as agent, was entered into, empowering the agent to sell all lots in town north of Third street, reserving to Alexander Faribault thirty blocks, being all south of Third street as his individual property, and the record of that instru- ment marks Faribault's birthday, being the first day of its cor- porate existence. Under this agreement, Mr. North was author- ized to give away fifteen lots to any person or persons who in his judgment would promote the interests of the town. February 16, power of attorney to execute this agreement was given to Mr. Nortlı, and recorded. Meanwhile, before any sales were made, Mr. North, having founded a town of his own, retired from his position as one of Faribault's proprietors and his power of attorney was revoked. Gen. James Shields having a short time previous located on the shore of the lake now bearing his name was induced to take an interest in the new town, and a new agreement was made under date of September 10, 1855, by and between Alexander Faribault, Porter Nutting, John Banfil, James Shields, Fred B. Sibley and Charles T. Crehore, as pro- prietors, and General Shields, as agent, by which the agent was empowered to sell all lots north of Third street and reserving to Mr. Faribault the lots south of Third street as in the previous agreement. This agreement gave also every third lot north of Third street to General Shields for his services. Power of at- torney to carry this agreement into effect was executed Septem- ber 11, 1855, and recorded. Under this arrangement, the title being yet in the Government, all lots were conveyed by quit claim deed up to June 1, 1856. February 16, 1855. a plat and
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survey made for the original proprietors by B. Densmore, was filed in the register's office of Dakota county, to which Rice county was attached for judicial purposes prior to January 1, 1856.
Let me attempt a pen picture of the scene presented to me in April, 1855. I approached the town from the east, coming down the hill by the Front street road (now Division street), being the only road opened to the ford of Straight river before the Cooper ravine road was opened in 1859. Looking across the valley, the most conspicuous objects that met my sight were numerous scaffoldings elevating by rude pole structures ten or twelve feet above the ground the bodies of dead Indians accord- ing to the custom of the Sioux to help their departed warriors on their way to the happy hunting grounds. All along up and down the river were the tepees of the Wa-pe-cou-tas (Wapa- kootas), far more numerous than the habitations of the white man, and the intermingling of tepees, log cabins, frame houses just begun, with four or five steam saw mills plying a busy trade in their midst, with the rude monuments of an Indian cemetery in the background, pictured a blending of civilization and barbarism never again to be seen on this continent.
After General Shields became agent for the proprietors, ad- vantage was taken of a law of congress providing for obtaining title to town sites on Government lands prior to their coming into market. This law provided that a judge of the district court for the district in which the town site was situated might enter all lands laid out in lots with streets dedicated to public use "For the several use and benefit of the inhabitants thereof." quoting the language of the patent. This patent was issued under date of December 1, 1855, to Andrew G. Chatfield, judge of third judicial district of Minnesota, and covered the 280 acres comprising the original town of Faribault. May 29, 1856, acting under authority of an act of the Territorial legislative assembly passed March 3, 1855, Judge Chatfield gave a deed of warranty to James Shields, who thus became nominally the owner in fee of the whole town site. This, however, was only for convenience in making sales and confirming titles by deeds of warranty to lands before conveyed by quit claim, the real ownership being, determined by the agreement previously made and recorded. After perfection of the titles the growth of the town was only retarded by the inability to procure building material and skilled labor to use it.
During the winter of 1854-55 the first manufacturing estab- lishment of any kind in Faribault was a large steam saw mill of the old-fashioned kind, running a single upright saw and built by the brothers, J. G. and H. Y. Scott. I recall an incident in
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the life of Harvey Y. Scott that I have placed in my memory to his credit. While living on his farm on East Prairie he heard of the effort being made in behalf of Mr. Faribault, and imme- diately brought a load of wheat to town and gave the proceeds to the maintenance fund, remarking, "If any more is needed let me know, for Mr. Faribault was mighty good to me when I first came here, and I don't forget it." After this saw mill started it was thronged with waiting applicants for lumber, and a board would scarcely leave the saw before it was pounced upon and carried off as a precious thing. Even after this mill had been reinforced by five or six portable steam mills with a daily capac- ity of from three to five thousand feet each, the supply never equaled the demand, and lumber piles never accumulated. The only other way of getting lumber was by hauling from the Mississippi, over almost impassable roads. Not a few of the first business houses and residences of 1855-56 were built of logs, owing to the difficulty in procuring lumber, some of which are still in existence and were much more comfortable than the more aristocratic houses of the time hastily constructed of green lumber.
Before the entry of the town site by Judge Chatfield, one quarter section of its area, embracing what is now the most valuable part of the city was claimed by one Charles Morton as first settler under preemption laws. This quarter section in- cludes the land lying between Seventh street on the north, Division (formerly Front) on the south, Chestnut street or Second avenue on the west and Mott avenue on the east.
In 1855, there were no church edifices in Faribault, but re- ligious services were held every Sunday, in unfinished buildings sometimes. but more frequently in halls over business places ; places generally devoted to dancing, pleasure parties and polit- ical gatherings week days, and sermons Sundays. The first sermon the writer ever heard in Minnesota was in a grove on the borders of East Prairie. The next was in Crump's hall, Fari- bault. The sermon was preached by that old man eloquent, Elder Cressey, then living and owning a farm on the confines of Cannon City. He was a Baptist preacher, but that made no difference, for there was no warring of creeds in those early days. It was necessary for all denominations to ignore sectarian distinctions and combine for the general welfare. Faribault's early days were never characterized by the turbulence and ruf- fianism so generally prevalent in the rapid settlement of western towns, especially those towns whose principal industries are connected with mining or lumbering. Faribault's early settle- ment was made up from people seeking homes and farming lands, followed by the usual proportion of merchants and mechanics,
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each and all bringing with them some capital, generally derived from the sale of former holdings in older states. It follows as naturally that society formed from such material must be capable of fostering education, religion and all the best instincts of mankind.
Here seems a fitting place to record the circumstances at- tending the location of the county seat of Rice county, and the competition between Faribault and Cannon City. Some time in the summer of 1855, Governor Gorman, beguiled by the wily tongues of the proprietors of Cannon City, located the county seat at that point and appointed county commissioners which gave them a temporary advantage which might be made perma- nent. The rivalry beginning with that location and ending only with the next October election, is well illustrated in many points by Eggleston's "Mystery of Metropolisville." The election of county commissioners decided the location of the county seat and all the efforts of both towns were directed in behalf of those officers. The struggle was fierce and that there was no breach of the peace was probably owing to the fact that the only polling places in the county were located at the competitive points and the voters generally voted at the place of their choice, giving no chance of collision between opposing interests. One of the proprietors of Cannon City, however, appeared in Faribault early on the day of election and signified his intention to remain all day to challenge votes. This announcement brought con- sternation, resulting in a hasty consultation by the Faribault management, for each party well knew that many votes had been promised that would not bcar investigation, especially in the matter of residence, which the law required to be six months in the state. (That law, by the way, when we had occasion to look for it was found in the statutes of 1849, under the heading of "sheep and swine.") The result of the consultation was that Levi Nutting and Norbert Paquin were detailed to take charge of the challenger and prevent his diminishing the vote for Fari- bault to any great extent. How well they discharged their duties may be inferred from the fact that not a vote was challenged dur- ing the day. Once, indeed. we came near losing ten votes. Near the close of the day, vigilance was somewhat relaxed when he saw ten voters approaching the polls under the guidance of Paquin, which we knew had not been residents the required six months and neither Scars nor Levi had yet observed them. Levi canght sight of them first, but there was no time for argument, so, hitting Sears a rousing thwack between the shoulders he shouted at him, "Doug. Sears, you arn't a d-d fool!" Sears turned on him mad as a hornet and shouted back at him, "who the h-I said I was." Then began an explanation that was not
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ended until the polls closed. The commissioners chosen at that election who were to organize the county and locate the county seat were all living when last heard from, but only one of them in Faribault; their names are F. W. Frink, chairman, and G. F. Pettit and Andrew Storer, associates; before admission into the Union, Territorial law required but three commissioners elected at large. After admission the law went to the other extreme and required a commissioner from each town, with one extra for the county seat, thus creating what the people called a pony legislature.
County Seat. Incidents attending the location of the county seat in Faribault may be worth mention as showing how such things were done in primitive times. At the first meeting of the board of the elected county commissioners in January, 1856, the county seat was located so far as the designation of the quarter section could effect a location, but no particular part of that quarter section was selected as a site for county building. In the spring of 1856 the commissioners met according to previous agreement with General Shields, nominal proprietor of Fari- bault, and Norbert Paquin, proprietor of Paquin's first and sec- ond additions. The first choice of the commissioners fell on the block now occupied by the Congregational church, A. W. Mc- Kinstry, A. W. Stockton and others, but that whole block had been previously sold and could not be had at any price the commissioners could afford. The block now occupied by the A. L. Hili residence and others was the only whole block the proprietors of Faribault could offer, and Mr. Paquin offered the whole block now occupied by A. W. Tenney and others, being block 10 of his first addition. In the opinion of the commission- ers neither of these blocks was available as being too remote from the business center of the town. My choice was then the south half of the block on which the court house now stands, the north half being already built upon and occupied. Two lots of the south lialf had been bargained for, but Shields told us that if we could get quit claim from Wattles, to whom he had agreed to sell them, he would sell to the county for the same that Wattles had agreed to give. We sent our clerk, Isaac Ham- mond, to see what Wattles would sell the lots to him for. In the meantime Wattles had seen us with Paquin looking at the block offered by him, and thinking to speculate a little at the expense of the county, quit claimed to Hammond his interest in the lots we wanted for $50, and made haste to secure two lots in the block he supposed the commissioners had selected. He had agreed to give Shields $175, so the lots cost the commission- ers $225, which they had to advance, as there was then no county funds. The other three lots were donated by the town pro-
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prietors. Two years later, under the supervision of the late Gen. Levi Nutting, the little one story brick building, 20x40, on the ground, was erected on the Wattles lots, and for the next sixteen years was occupied by the county auditor, county treas- urer, register of deeds, clerk of court and judge of probate, and all the archives of Rice county were sheltered therein. From time to time as occasion offered in 1867-68 the north half of the block, now a part of the court house grounds, was purchased for the county at an aggregate cost of $7,600 from six different owners. In the years 1873-74 the county commissioners had the proceeds of $50,000 in bonds with which to build a court house and jail. When those buildings were completed, six hundred dollars expended in grading the grounds, and four hundred in fencing, besides expending two thousand dollars in furnishing the buildings, the building committee found that they had over- drawn the building fund account forty-seven cents, and imme- diately balanced the account by paying that amount into the county treasury. The writer knows this bit of history to be truc, because he was county bookkeeper at the time. The com- missioners who expended the building fund so wisely and well were: T. B. Clement, chairman, J. C. Closson, J. G. Scott, Michael Hanley and H. H. White.
In November, 1856, the number of occupied buildings on the platted portion of the town and additions of Faribault, according to actual count as reported by Charles E. Davison, who made the enumeration, was nearly three hundred. Of those three hun- dred buildings scarcely more than a score are now in existence. Of that score of buildings the one bidding fair to outlast its newer neighbors is the first home built by Alexander Faribault. builded as houses were in the days before balloon frames came in fashion, built to stay.
Next to the manufacture of lumber, which must necessarily be limited by the supply of raw material, came the establishment of a furniture factory by Ansel L. Hill, on block 47 on First avenue cast, built in the winter of 1857, and having for its motive power a little spavined mare hitched to a long sweep, something after the manner of the cider presses of old New England. How the business grew and prospered under the energetic care of Mr. Hill from such a small beginning is best illustrated by contrast- ing the little building on Second avenue with the magnificent plant extending from Central to First avenue cast. Since the death of Mr. Hill in 1897, the factory has been idle, no one as yet having been found able to take his place. When he died the most sincere mourners, outside of the family circle. were his workmen who had always found steady employment. through good times and hard times, for Mr. Hill ran his business at a
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loss during such times rather than let his workmen suffer. An- other furniture factory was started soon after that of Mr. Hill, by two men of German birth, Christian Wandell and William Worlein, and was located on the lot where the opera house now stands. It was operated by a small steam engine, but only man- ufactured for the local trade, and went out of existence when its last owner died many years ago.
The next manufacture of importance was begun by Henry Reidel, who, having previously operated a portable sawmill for a year or two, began the erection of a flouring mill in 1857, the boiler, engine and machinery for which was hauled by ox teams from Dubuque in that severest of winters that Minnesota ever knew-the winter of 1856-57. Owing to the difficulty and ex- pense of getting material together, the mill building was not enclosed until the summer of 1858, and by that time Mr. Reidel's means were exhausted and he could go no further. He sold out to the bankers, Dike and Judd, who put the mill in operation in the spring of 1859, retaining Mr. Reidel as manager. The mill started with four run of stone and could make one hundred barrels of flour every twenty-four hours. After Mr. Judd had disposed of his interest to the late John W. Griggs, a brother- in-law to Major Dike, the mill was operated by them until its sale to the late William L. Turner, in 1872. Mr. Reidel, the original owner, operated the mill, in connection with Mr. Turner, long enough to recover more than he lost in building it and in- vested his gains in successful milling in Owatonna. Mr. Turner, after two or three years of poor trade, was compelled to remodel his mill to bring it up to date and equip it with rollers and puri- fiers in order to keep his flour in the market. In this way he became involved, and the mill was sold on foreclosure ten years after he came into possession. January 29, 1885, it was pur- chased by Messrs. Stockton and Hutchinson, and has been in successful operation ever since. The old mill raised in 1858 forms the central portion of the Faribault Roller Mills of today, and it is doubtful if another mill operated by steam of the same age can be found in the state. We find in statistics of Fari- bault, gathered in 1873, that the principal manufacturers of that year were the output of flour made by "five flouring mills."
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