USA > Minnesota > Wabasha County > History of Wabasha County : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc. : gathered from matter furnished by interviews with old settlers, county, township, and other records, and extracts from files of papers, pamphlets, and such other sources > Part 60
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Agriculture is the chief occupation of the people. Minnesota has always been called the great wheat state, and as good crops have been raised in this township as in any part of the state. The past four years have been rather unfavorable to wheat-growing, and the farmers are now turning their attention more to corn and barley growing and to the rearing and feeding of stock. The following is a summary of the products of the year 1882 : Wheat, 16,271 bushels ; oats, 23,223 bushels ; barley, 20,525 bushels ; corn, 19,773 bushels ; potatoes, 2,950 bushels ; apples, 203 bushels ; hay, 427 tons ; butter. 9,550 pounds : wool, 152 pounds.
Hyde Park has an I.O.O.F. of which she is justly proud. The first movement toward organization was begun in the summer of 1877. and public interest in the lodge became so intense that before the summer was half over it was organized and started with a large and effective membership. It is generally conceded that Scot Foster was the prime mover in the organization of the lodge, largely aided by the venerable Jolin Ritter, who held the first office of Noble Grand. The name of the lodge is the Hyde Park I.O.O.F., although many of its members are residents of Gillford and West Albany townships. The place of meeting is in Gillford township, at a place called "Grange Corners," where they have a pleasant room 18×22
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HISTORY OF WABASHA COUNTY.
feet, and comfortably furnished. The lodge holds weekly meetings and is in a very promising condition. The following is a list of its charter members : Scot Foster, Fred Foster, Albert Foster, Clarence Foster, Geo. A. Roberts, Joe Roberts, Wilson Roberts, Albert Rob- erson, Louis O'Harra, L. A. Doty, Robert Disney, John Disney, David Williams, J. Clark, E. D. Southard, Russel Warren, Frank Warren, Samuel La Mont, Ed. Clifford, John Ritter.
TOWNS.
This township has two small towns which furnish a market for not only the people of Hyde Park but also for the townships adjoining it.
Jarretts is a thriving little village, situated in the southeastern part of the township, on the C. M. & St. P. narrow-gange railroad, just thirty miles from Wabasha. Before there was an inhabitant near the present site of the town, there was a ford in the Zumbro where the old settlers in an early day crossed, and since the nearest dweller was Mr. Jarrett, the place came to be called "Jarrett's Ford, " and when a postoffice was established it received the name of Jarretts. The village consists of one general merchandise store with postoffice, one flouring-mill, one grain elevator, a sngar manufactory and about one dozen dwelling-houses. The town really had its birth in 1878, when the narrow-gauge railroad was built. The flouring-mill, run by water-power, was built in 1878 by Kimball & Kitzman, and is the only mill in the township. The elevator is a frame structure with a capacity of five thousand bushels, and is used as a feeder to the large flouring-mill at Mazeppa.
Hammond is a village of about two hundred population, situated three miles west of Jarretts, on the C. M. & St. P. narrow-gauge rail- road. The place derives its name from a Mr. Hammond who owned the land where the village now stands. The town is divided into two parts by the river Zumbro, and the two parts are connected by a large bridge of wood and iron work, mounted on stone basements. The first building was erected in 1877, and from the increase in the past the prospect is encouraging for its becoming a town of more than county reputation. The elevator owned by the Mazeppa Mill Co. is a large wooden structure, erected in 1879, with the dimensions 40×80 feet, eighty-five feet high. It has a capacity of seventy-five thousand bushels. This is the largest elevator in the county, and its erection and operation has greatly benefited the citizens of Hyde Park and the surrounding country.
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HYDE PARK TOWNSHIP.
SCHOOLS.
There are three schoolhouses in the township all of which have a large attendance and which are well conducted. It has always been the desire of the people to have good schools, and the trustees, realizing this desire, have aimed to secure able teachers. The re- sults of good training are attested by the fact that now men and women educated in these schools are teaching in all parts of the county, some even holding the responsible positions as principals of the high schools of Elgin and Plainview.
The first schoolhouse in the township was built in the summer of 1856, on the northeast corner of section 3, on the land now owned by Robert Fish. This schoolhouse was in the district now numbered 45. The first teacher was Miss Mary Shaw, who received twelve dollars per month for her services. There were three families in the district : Shaws, Parkers and Yorks.
The first school held in what is now known as district 46, was taught by Unus Potter in 1857 at a private house. The next year it was held in a barn owned by Mr. Peter Kelley, and the next year a log schoolhouse was built by the settlers. The first school in district 84 was taught by Miss Lucy Roberts, the date being uncer- tain, probably about 1859.
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS.
In 1866 the county bought of John F. Ross one hundred and sixty acres of land in this township to be used as a county poor- farm, but for convenience it was exchanged for a farm near the county seat.
In 1856 Wm. Parker opened and stocked the first store in the township, which he operated until 1865. He was the first post- master in the township. John Reller was the first blacksmith, and he opened the first shop in 1858. Francis Shaw had the first shoe- shop, which lie opened in 1857.
The first birth was that of Effie Woodward, born February 14, 1856. The first marriage was that of Jacob York and Mrs. Jane Shaw, June 22, 1856.
At the time of the construction of the narrow-gauge railroad through the township, the question whether the township should bond itself was voted upon. At the first election the "bonding" was defeated, but after a few days the decision was reversed and the people agreed to pay six thousand dollars, giving seven per cent
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HISTORY OF WABASHA COUNTY.
payable semi-annually. This was a large amount for so small a township to pay but they have gained great benefit from the road, since now they have a good market close at home, whereas, prior to the construction of the road, the grain and marketing had to be taken by wagon twenty to twenty-five miles.
The year 1883 is the first year liquor license has ever been granted in this township.
Politically the township is strongly democratic. The township has a population of about four hundred and eighty-five, of whom ninety-one are voters.
CHAPTER LXXXIII.
GILLFORD TOWNSHIP.
Ix the early part of May, 1855, Messrs. Wm. McCloud, George and Seymour Fanning came to this township, and after taking claims and working through the summer season, they returned to Illinois for the winter and in the following spring they returned here with their families. The same year, 1855, Jos. Fuller took a claim near Mazeppa, but being discouraged by a heavy frost in June was about to return to Illinois when his brother-in-law, Mr. Gill, dissuaded him, and they both settled in Gillford. In the fall of 1855 Mr. Gill re- turned to Illinois for his family ; after spending the winter there and when returning here he was taken sick and died. Mrs. Gill, however, settled in this township, and on account of her amiable character the township was named for her. Much might be said in commendation of all those old settlers, but one deserves particular notice here. Mr. MeCloud was a man of very great worth to county and township. He laid out the roads in the township ; he was a great patron of schools ; he did his utmost to promote religions interest in the community ; as regards hospitality he could not be sur- passed. In the spring of 1856 Messrs. E. M. Hoyt, E. F. Hoyt, W. F. Green and F. Lamb came to this township and took claims in the northwestern part.
The first town meeting was held at the house of L. W. Manning on May 11, 1856. The result of the first election was as follows : E. M. Hoyt, L. W. Manning, David Fanning, supervisors ; E. M.
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GILLFORD TOWNSHIP.
Rider, town clerk ; James Morehead, William' McCloud, justices of the peace ; S. Tysdel, assessor ; William Green, overseer of poor. The number of votes cast was thirty-four.
LAND.
The land of this township has a gentle roll, and is exceedingly suitable for grain-growing. It is situated midway between the forests and rough land, bordering on the Zumbro on the south, and the similar land along the Mississippi on the north. There is an abundance of clear-running water, which renders stock-raising com- paratively easy.
PEOPLE.
In the early history of the township the people were mostly natives of New England, New York or Pennsylvania, but the last ten years has seen quite a change. A large number of the old settlers having moved farther north and west, their places are now occupied by Germans. A careful investigation has shown that more than one-half of the present population are German, who occupy the eastern and northern parts of the township ; of the other half, quite a large number are Irish, who reside in the southeastern part, and the rest living in the western part of the township are for the most part natives of New York and Pennsylvania. The present population numbers about two thousand, and the largest vote cast was two hundred and six.
TOWNS.
There is but one town in the township, Zumbro Falls. It is situated in the extreme southwestern part of the township and has a population of about two hundred people. The river Zumbro divides it, the dwelling-houses being on one side, in Chester township, while the business-houses are in this township. A large bridge connected the two divisions until recently, when a storm, which did much damage to the village and surrounding country, completely destroyed the bridge. A new one will soon be constructed. A man by the name of Tuttle first owned the land where the town now stands. Mr. Tibbitts owned it next, and then Mr. Whaley, who is still a resident of the place and owner of considerable property in that vicinity, purchased it. The town really began to exist in 1878, when the narrow-gauge railroad was laid through this township. Mr. Haradon is the present postmaster.
There is a postoffice in the northern part of the township with
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HISTORY OF WABASHA COUNTY.
which is connected a general merchandise store. Mail is received and taken twice a week by stage. The name Oak Centre was given to this postoffice by Mr. C. C. Lowe on account of the abun- dance of oak-trees in that vicinity.
RELIGIOL'S SERVICES.
Until the summer of 1859 no religious services were held in the township, the principle reason being there was no leader. In that summer Haradon organized a Sunday-school at Oak. Centre, and after that was in successful operation, two more were organized. As yet there was no preacher or preaching. In the spring of 1860 a man by the name of Stillwell came into the township and took a claim. It was soon rumored around that he was a Methodist exhorter, so he was waited upon and asked to preach at Oak Centre the following sabbath. He preached, and the people were so well pleased that he made several appointments, and thus the work continued through- out the summer. In the course of several months a great revival took place, which was so widespread that three new churches were organized, which still exist.
Mr. Stillwell was one of those quiet, modest men, with little self- confidence, but he won the respect and admiration of all the people with whom he came in contact, and the good he was the means of accomplishing cannot be overestimated.
There are three churches in the township. A Methodist Episco- pal church, on section 16, which was built in 1862, but which has no regular services at present. There is a large cemetery connected with this church, where many of its members and others are laid to rest. A woman's mission organization hold regular sabbath ser- vices in the schoolhouse, district No. 19. The German people have a Lutheran church at Jacksonville. It is a handsome frame structure, 30×16 feet, comfortably furnished and surrounded by one-half acre of land covered with beautiful shade-trees. Abont twenty-five families attend this church, Mr. Mire having been the pastor since the church was organized in 1878. All these churches sustain large Sunday schools, and an annual union picnic is held, which is one of the grandest occasions of the year to all.
There are two Good Templars lodges in the township, one at Zumbro Falls, with a membership of eighty-six, and the other at Oak Centre, with a membership of forty-five. They are in a pros- perous condition, holding weekly meetings, at which literary exer-
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GILLFORD TOWNSHIP.
cises form a part of the evening's programme. Games and social pleasures are also indulged in, and many pleasant as well as profit- able evenings are spent together by the young people in uniting themselves against the common foe, intemperance.
SCHOOLS.
There are five schools in the township, Nos. 15, 16, 17. 19 and 20. The first teacher in the township was Miss Lizzie Green (Bartlett), who taught a select school in a "claim shanty," 10×12 feet in dimensions, in the summer of 1858. in the bounds of the district now known as No. 15. The second school was established on section 12, near the present schoolhouse No. 19, and the first teacher was Miss Rosa Montgomery. It is a lamentable fact in connection with the schools of this township, that the records, iincluding names of teachers, number of pupils, salaries, dates, etc., have not been preserved.
GENERAL FACTS.
The first marriage was Mr. E. S. Fanning and Miss Hannah Fanning in the spring of 1865. The first birth was Miss Mary Fanning, a daughter of the above.
The first death was that of Mr. Samuel Fanning, in the fall of 1856.
A liquor license has never been granted in this township. Dur- ing the war there was not a man drafted from this township ; a sufficient number enlisted.
At the time of the construction of the narrow-gauge railroad through the township a vote was taken whether the town should bond itself. It was lost by a few votes. There are six thousand two hundred and sixty-nine acres of land under cultivation. Politi- cally the township is republican.
CHAPTER LXXXIV.
LAKE CITY.
THE citizens of that section of Wabasha county lying along the shores of Lake Pepin and contiguous to the county of Goodhue on the north, did not aspire to corporate responsibilities, honors and burdens at a very early date. That portion of the county, for years known as the town of Lake City, had been organized as a township for nearly thirteen years before any attempt to in- corporate a village or town within its territory was attempted, and it was more than seventeen years from the date of the perma- nent settlement of the town before any effective attempt at incorpo- ration was made. During those years there had grown up here an intelligent and thriving community of twenty-five hundred souls. Under no government other than that of the township organiza- tion, effected on the admission of the state into the union in 1858, a prosperous mercantile and shipping trade had been developed and successfully fostered ; churches had been organized and built ; schools established and well provided with all necessary appliances of buildings and apparatus ; streets had been opened, graded and furnished with sidewalks ; police and sanitary regulations adopted, and in short the whole paraphernalia of village organization intro- duced and successfully manipulated under that old township organi- zation of May 11, 1858, supplemented by some special legislative acts to which specific attention will be necessary in order to arrive at a true understanding of the status of this city, which was only a town : and of this portion of the town of Lake City, which was so much more than a township, as was only too apparent when the city of Lake City was carved out of the old township of Lake City, which one year thereafter received by legislative enact- ment the curtailed name of "Lake," as it now is. The state census returns for 1865 give as the population of the town of Lake City for that year, fourteen hundred and eleven souls. De- ducting the population of the township outside of the corner occu- pied by the afterward city, and making allowance for the increase of population during the year ending March 31, 1865, and it will
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LAKE CITY.
not be far from the actual figures if we place the population of that section of Lake City township, now included with the incorporated limits of Lake City, at about eleven hundred, in the spring of 1864. By special legislative enactment, of date March 3, 1864, the super- visors of the town of Lake City were given special powers, which special powers were equivalent in general terms to those usually exercised by the board of trustees of an incorporated village, or the common council of an incorporated city, but these special powers were only made applicable to a particularly specified section of the town of Lake City, to wit : The S. W. } of S. W. } and lots Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Sec. 4 ; and the E. ¿ and N. W. ¿ of S.E. } of Sec. 5 ; the E. g of N. W. { and the S. ¿ of N.E. { and lots Nos. 1 and 2 of Sec. 5 ; and the E. ¿ of N. W. ¿ and the N. W. } of N. W. } and lots Nos. 1 and 2 of Sec. 9, all in T. 111 N., of R. 12 W., according to United States survey. This tract, as above described, included very nearly so much of the present city limits as is laid off in plats and blocks. Or, to describe it otherwise, it included that portion lying between the railroad track and the lake, with the addition of some small territory on the south side of the railway tracks about the depot, and also in the lower part of the village. It was a strip of land lying along Lake Pepin, a distance of a little over one and a half miles in length and extending backward from the lake a distance varying from one-half to three-fourths of a mile. It was this portion of Lake City township, that while still con- tinuing an integral part of that township, was practically cut off from it, by the special act of March 3, 1864, above referred to. The powers conferred by this act upon the supervisors of the town of Lake City, were to the effect that within the above specified territory, they could enact and enforce ordinances for a variety of purposes, which briefly stated were :
1. To compel owners and occupants of slaughterhouses, groceries, cellars, stables, sewers, vaults, or any unwholesome or nauseous house or places, to cleanse or abate the same as deemed necessary for the health and comfort of the town.
2. To direct the location and management of slaughterhouses, markets, and to regulate the sale, storage and conveying of gunpowder and other con- bustibles.
3. To prevent the incumbrance of streets, alleys or sidewalks, with anything whatever.
4. To restrain cattle, hogs, sheep, dogs, poultry, etc., from running at large, and to provide for impounding, selling or destroying them as the case might be.
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HISTORY OF WABASHA COUNTY.
5. To prevent the bringing into the district as above described, any putrid carcass or other unwholesome thing, or in case of its being so brought in, to provide for and enforce its removal.
6. To regulate the burial of the dead, and provide against the spread of contagious diseases and their introduction.
7. To prevent any persons from doing damage to the crossings and side- walks.
8. - To prevent open drunkenness, brawling, obscenity, etc., and provide for the arrest and punishment of those guilty of thus offending against the general peace.
9. To prevent the dangerous construction and condition of chimneys, fire- places, ovens, boilers and boiler-stacks, etc., the deposit of ashes in the high- ways, or in unsafe places ; to regulate the use of fireworks and firearms, and in general to prevent and provide for the extinguishment of fires as might be con- sidered necessary and expedient.
10. To provide for the maintenance of suitable sidewalks and street-cross- ings on both sides of Washington street, at the expense of the owners of the adjacent properties.
11. To establish a grade for Washington street, under direction of a com- petent surveyor, cause profiles thereof to be made and registered as town plats are recorded, and make regulations for excavating or filling in streets as may be required.
12. To prevent and punish noise at public meetings and assemblies, riots, disturbances of all kinds, and generally to promote and preserve the public peace.
It was made the duty of the township supervisors to enforce the regulations that should be made in the interest and for the further- ance of the above objects, and the manner of procedure in such cases was duly set forth ; all by-laws, regulations or ordinances passed by them for this purpose were declared to have the force of law pro- vided they controvened no existing laws, and severe penalties could be enforced for their violation. The justices of the town of Lake City were given original and exclusive jurisdiction in all cases aris- ing under the act, and no appeal could be taken in any case where the fine imposed did not exceed twenty dollars. The supervisors of the town of Lake were also empowered to appoint a marshal, and it was made their duty to so appoint within thirty days of the an- nual town election. Said marshal was required to furnish bond, and given all the authority of constable under the statute of the state, to receive fees for his services, and such other compensation as the supervisors should determine, subject to limitation. The supervisors were also authorized and required to vote a tax upon the taxable property of the district thus governed sufficient to pay
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LAKE CITY.
the expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of the act ; that tax was to be by majority vote of the town supervisors, and the town clerk was required to file a copy of record of such vote upon which the tax was to be levied and collected, as all other town ship taxes were. The assessor of the town of Lake City was also required to make a separate list of the persons and personal property of all resi- dents of the specified district in the same manner as was required to be done in the case of residents of incorporated towns. The act took effect from and after its passage, and thenceforth the town supervisors of Lake City had a corporation to look after, which was not incorporated, and the district above described had all the honors and privileges of an incorporated village or city without its liabilities and many of its burdens. The legislature of 1866 made some addi- tional provisions, supplemental to the act of 1864, by which the special regulation concerning the building of a sidewalk on Wash- ington street became a more general one, and included all the streets of the special district. In addition to this the town supervisors were authorized to direct so much of the poll and road tax, derived from the tax of the special district, as they deemed to be best, to the maintenance of bridges and highways in adjacent townships. This was only in effect to empower the town supervisors to do officially what the public spirit of the citizens, of the village which was not a village, had been doing privately and unofficially for a number of years. Of this more specific mention will be made in another place.
By act of legislature, approved March 9, 1867, some very ma- terial additions were made to the powers of the supervisors of the town of Lake City, by which they were authorized to license and regulate exhibitions and shows of all kinds, caravans, circuses, con- certs, theaters ; also, all auctions, billiard tables, tenpin alleys, bowl- ing saloons, etc .; also, all taverns, saloons, and persons dealing in spirituons, vinous or fermented liquors. They were also given authority to prohibit gaming, card-playing, and restrain persons from engaging in the same, or from vending any article for which license to sell was required, until the license so required had been duly granted. Another important addition to their powers was that of establishing fire-limits, and prescribing what character of material should be allowed in building within such fire limits ; also, to prevent the reconstruction within such limits of all wooden build-
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HISTORY OF WABASHA COUNTY.
ings, where such buildings had been damaged fifty per cent of their valne. It was also enacted that they should provide a place for the confinement of all arrested persons, no matter from what cause, until discharged by due process of law or committed to the county jail. They were finally empowered to lay out a street through the center of a certain block (No. 1), levy a tax to compensate owners for damages, and to lease so much of the levee as to them shall seem just, provided it does not seriously affect or injure said levee, and pro- vided also that said leases should not extend for a longer term than ninety-nine years. The supervisors and town clerk were allowed two dollars per diem compensation each for all time actually em- ployed in discharging the duties set forth in the above act and its amendments ; and with this the special legislation ended for this special district which was virtually the incorporation of the city of Lake, and yet did not exist as such incorporation until eight years thereafter.
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