USA > Minnesota > Washington County > History of Washington County and the St. Croix Valley, including the Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota > Part 38
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Monday of August, 1840, at which time the pao ple shall determine by a popular vote the location of a county seat. The same act also authorized the county commissioners to erect suitable build- ings at such point as received the largest number of votes.
The polls were opened at Chasiwakau Falls, on the St. Croix, and at La Pointe; returns to be made to the clerk of the board of commissioners of Crawford county. Two points were contest- ants for the county seat; "Prescott's Claim," at the mouth of Lake St. Croix, and "Brown's Ware- house" at the head of. the lake, on the west side. On canvassing the votes, it was found that Brown's Warehouse had received the majority of the votes, by a vote of forty-five to thirteen.
The commissioners were Hazen Mooers, Sam- uel Burkleo and Calvin A. Tuttle. The board deeded to Joseph R. Brown the tract of land described in his claim, in consideration of $800 paid into the county treasury, reserving one-half acre for county seat, arrangements being made with Mr. Brown to furnish all necessary build-
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HISTORY OF SAINT CROIX COUNTY. 1
ings for the use of the county for the first four years.
At the same election the following officers were elected : Joseph R. Brown, treasurer, register of deeds, and surveyor ; Orange Walker, Joseph Haskell and Philander Prescott, assess- ors; Phineas Lawrence, collector; J. S. Norris, coronor; the returns of the election being certi- fied to by C. J. Learned, clerk of Crawford county. By an act approved April, 1844, the clerk of the board of county commissioners of St. Croix county, was authorized to perform all duties in relation to elections that were required by law to be performed by sheriffs. The third section of the same act made St. Croix a probate district, and Philip Aldrich was appointed judge of probate. In 1845 St. Croix county was re- duced in size by setting off the county of La- Pointe.
The remaining territory of St. Croix county was bounded as follows: Beginning at the mouth of Porcupine river, passing up said river to its first forks, thence to Meadow fork of Red Cedar river, thence up that river to Lac Courte d'Orielle, thence to Yellow Lake, thence to the mouth of Mud river, thence down the Mississippi river to the point of starting, including an area of about eleven thousand square miles. The population of the entire district was estimated at one thou- sand five hundred, St. Croix Falls being the most important town.
In 1846, congress passed an act permitting the territory of Wisconsin to become a state, provid- ing the people would adopt a constitution and accept certain boundary lines, which boundary on the west was formed by a line, running directly south from the rapids of the St. Louis river to the main branch of the St. Croix river, thence down the main channel of the stream to the Mis- sissippi. By this act a large portion of St. Croix county was left unorganized. By an act approved the following year, the then re- maining territory of St. Croix was organized for judicial purposes. This division of territory took away from St. Croix her county seat, thus de- stroying her organization. It thus became nec- essary for the county to establish a county seat within her own limits. This was done by an act of the legislature approved June 8th, 1848, which
located it at the mouth of Willow river on sec- tions four and five ..
In August, 1848, the act was amended by lo- cating it on section twenty-four, requiring the courts to be held in some house on that section until special buildings could be erected.
The same year the last court was held at Still water as the county seat of St. Croix county. Judge Aaron Goodrich presided. Harvey Wilson was clerk, and A. M. Mitchell United States dis- trict attorney, H. L. Moss attorney for the county and John Morgan sheriff. In August, of the same year, a special election was held to elect officers for the new county.
The first board of county commissioners met at the house of Philip Aldrich, on section twenty- four, township twenty-nine north, range twenty, west of the fourth principal meridian, on the 9th day of September, 1848; commissioners present, Ammah Andrews and W. H. Morse. Ammah Andrews was appointed chairman of the board; W. R. Anderson, clerk. On motion, Philip Aldrich was appointed treasurer of the county. It was voted to establish a new voting precinct. All that part of the county lying south of a line running due east from the mouth of Kinnicinnic river to the east line of the county, was formed into a new election precinct, entitled the " Mouth of St. Croix Precinct." Thus form- ing four voting precincts in the county, namely; Kinnickinnic River, Willow River, and Osceola and Falls of St. Croix, voted at same meeting that the scroll of the pen shall denote the seal of this county. At a meeting of the county commis- sioners, called at the house of Philip Aldrich, October 2d, 1848, Harmon Crandall, in the chair. On motion, Moses Perrin was appointed collector for St. Croix county. At the same meeting it was voted that the retailers of liquors shall pay for license $20, and not be allowed to retail less than one quart; voted that the rate of taxation for the year shall be seven mills on the dollar; voted by the board to accept and locate a certain lot of land, donated by Philip Aldrich, and des- ignated on the plot of the town of Buena Vista, surveyed and platted by H. Wilson, for the pur- pose of erecting county buildings thereon. At the state election held November 7th, 1848, there were one hundred and fifteen votes cast in the
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TOWNS ESTABLISHED.
county of St. Croix for electors for president and vice-president.
Zachariah Taylor, Martin Van Buren and Lewis Cass, being candidates that year. The first officers elected under the state legislature by the legal voters of the then existing St. Croix county was as follows : A. Hayatt Smith, mem- ber of congress; E. E. Williams, superintendent of schools for the state, and James Fisher, state senate. For member of assembly, Joseph R. Brown; county commissioners, W. H. C. Morse. Harmon Crandall and Ammah Andrews; county clerk, W. Richardson ; register of deeds, W. R. Anderson; judge of probate, A. D. Heaton ; coro- ner, W. O. Mahoney; county treasurer, Philip Al- drich; A. S. Toule, surveyor of logs and lumber ; assessors, Geo. W. McMurphy, O. Weymouth, and M. V. Nobles; road supervisors, Edward Worth, H. Crandall, Moses Perrin, and L. M. Harnsberger; collector, Geo. W. McMurphy, the "Mouth of St. Croix precinct," W. Thing and I. R. Rice, justices of the peace; A. Carneli- son and L. M. Harnsberger, constables. At Willow River precinct, justices of the peace, Philip Aldrich and E. R. Steves; constables, J. McKnight and P. F. Bouchea; Osceola and Falls of St. Croix precinct, John Davis, Andrew Kelley and S. S. Crowell, justices; R. H. Hughes, John Weymouth and G. E. Deathey, constables. Three licenses were granted that year: F. Lar- penter, mouth of St. Croix store; Geo. Field at the Falls of St. Croix; M. M. Samuels, at the Falls of the St. Croix tavern. At the same election in the representative district of St. Croix and La Pointe fifty-three votes were cast for member of the assembly; W. R. Marshall received. thirty- four.
At a meeting of the county commissioners held at the house of Philip Aldrich, the first Monday in January, 1849, a license was granted to Philip Aldrich to run a ferry across Lake St. Croix at a point any place on the north-west half of section twenty-five, south of Walnut street. It being the south boundary of the present plat of the vil- lage of Buena Vista.
The rates to be charged for ferriage were regu- lated by law as follows: Footman 25 cents, horse and rider 75 cents, horse, driver and single buggy $1.00; one span of horses with wagon or buggy $1.25, wagon with four horses or wagon with
four oxen and driver $1.50, horned cattle, mules or horses 25 cents each, sheep or swine 12} cents each, lumber per 1000 feet 37} cents, all kinds of freight 8c per 100 pounds.
At a meeting of the board held at the house of Philip Aldrich, February 28, 1849, on motion, the county of St. Croix was divided into towns, as follows: All that portion of the county lying north, of the south boundary of township No. 28, north, and south of the line between Nos. 30 and 31 shall comprise one town, named "Buena Vis- ta;" and all that portion of the county lying north of the south boundary of township 31, north, shall compose one town, called "Falls of St. Croix ;" all that portion of the county lying south of the line between townships No. 27 and 28, north, shall compose a town to be known by the name of "Elizabeth."
At the same meeting it was voted to purchase a lot of ground for county purposes, lying due east of block No. 3, of the original plat of Buena Vista, containing one acre, from Moses Perrin, re- ceiving from said Moses Perrin a bond for a deed, the conditions of which were that the county commissioners or their successors in office pay or cause to be paid to said Perrin, on or before March 1st, 1850, the sum of $53.50.
Also voted that the first town meeting shall be held in the several towns, viz: The town of Eliza- beth, at the house of Freeman Larpenter; the town of Buena Vista, at the house of Philip Ald- rich ; the town of Falls of St. Croix, at the house of J. Mclaughlin.
The result of the first county election by towns at which ninety votes were cast, was as follows: Sheriff, N. C. D. Taylor ; district attorney, S. J. Hewett; county surveyor, R. V. D. Smith ; clerk of the circuit court, J. D. Ludden.
At a meeting of the county board of supervis- ors for St. Croix county, held at the house of Philip Aldrich, June 4th, 1849, it was voted to authorize the clerk to issue a license to W. H. Moses to run a ferry across Lake St. Croix, for the term of three years. He, the said Moses to comply with the law in such cases made and pro- vided. Also a tax was voted for the current ex- penses of the present year, of ten mills on the dol- lar. It was voted at the same meeting that the treasurer proceed against persons elected to office in the several towns, also county, who failed to
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HISTORY OF SAINT CROIX COUNTY.
qualify, at a meeting of the justices, and clerk of county board of supervisors, September 17th, 1849, to canvass the vote for county judge at the election held September 3d, ninety-one votes were canvassed, of which Hamlet HI. Perkins received 49, Joel Foster 41, and Bailey F. Baldwin 1.
Hamlet H. Perkins, though elected to the office of county judge, did not fill the position in con- sequence of the sad calamity of his death, which happened by drowning during the winter follow- ing his election. Mr. Perkins was a lumberman, and had received the support of this class of peo- ple at the election. During the winter he broke through the ire while engaged on the river, and thus met an untimely end.
Accordingly, Governor Dewey, first governor of the state of Wisconsin, made out a commission with an appointment, and sent at once to Mr. Foster, who had received the next largest num- ber of votes at the previous election, by the sup- port of the farmers, to come to Hudson and take charge of the first court. Mr. Joel Foster by this means obtained the office and continued to discharge its duties until the separation of Polk and Pierce county.
At an election held November 6th, 1849, the following was the result: whole number of votes cast, 69; John S. Watrous, member of assembly; Joseph R. Brown, clerk of circuit court; Sylvan- der Partridge, sheriff; D. N. Johnson, prosecu- ting attorney; Alexis S. Toule, surveyor of logs and lumber. At a special meeting, called at the house of P. Aldrich, May 25th, 1850, it was voted to appoint James Hough district attorney in place of D. N. Johnson, resigned; also John O. Henning, county surveyor. In view of the fact that there was no suitable place for holding court and for other county purposes, it was voted that a committee be appointed to make arrangements for a suitable building for such purposes, also for the confinement of county prisoners. The com- mittee appointed was James Hughs and J. M. Bailey.
At an election held the first Monday in July, 1850, for the election of judge for the sixth judi- cial district, 130 votes were cast, of which Wiram Knowlton received 74. At an election held No- vember 5th, 1850, the following was the result: 152 votes cast; Benjamin C. Eastman, member of congress; Joseph R. Brown; senator, John O.
Henning, member of assembly; W. R. Anderson register of deeds: W. R. Anderson, county sur- veyor; James M. Bailey, clerk county board of commissioners; W. H. Simmes, district attorney; James Perrington, coroner; J. W. Stone, county treasurer; James Hugbs, surveyor of logs and lumber.
In 1850, the value of real and personal property in the three towns and one village which com- posed the county of St. Croix was: Elizabeth town, 522 acres of land assessed at $3,930; personal property, $11,281; amount of taxes, state and county, $310.31. Buena Vista town, 3,100 acres of land, assessed at $31,765; per- sonal property, $2,430; taxes, $697.56. Village of Buena Vista, real estate, 105 lots assessed at $7,164; personal property, $130; taxes, $148.80. Falls of St. Croix town, 1,531 acres of land, assessed at $19,425; personal property, $83,497; taxes, $2,099.61. The population of St. Croix county in 1850, was 624.
At the annual meeting of the county board held November 15th, 1850, Otis Hoyt was fined fifty dollars for non-attendance at the meeting of the board, but the action was rescinded at a subse- quent meeting on his making due explanation of the cause of his absence. At a special meeting of the board held at the court-house January 15th, 1851, a petition was presented by the citi- zens of the Kinnickinnic valley, desiring to be set off into a separate town. After due deliberation it was voted to grant said petition, the boundary of said town to be as follows: Beginning at the north-west corner of section 3 in township 28 north, range 19 west, and running east along said township line to the east boundary of said county, thence south to the line between townships 26 and 27 north, thence west along said line to the center of township 27, range 19; thence north to place of beginning; which town shall be called Kin- nickinnic; the first town meeting to be held at the house of Joel Foster. At the same meeting the board voted to erect a building for the use of the county, as a temporary prison. Mr. Ammah An- drews was appointed agent to carry out the same, with specifications given. During the session of the legislature of 1851, John O. Henning pre- pared a bill, which was passed, changing the name of the town of Buena Vista and all villages there- in, to Willow River; also the village of Elizabeth
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ERECTION OF COUNTY BUILDINGS.
and town changed to Prescott. At a meeting of the county board held at the village of Willow River, Otis Hoyt was called to the chair. It ap- peared at this meeting that Ammah Andrews had failed to fulfill his contract with the county to build a jail.
The board voted to rescind said contract, also voted to appoint Daniel Mears to build said jail after different specifications ; said jail to be lo- cated on the grounds of the county. At an ad- journed meeting of the board, held November 13th, 1852, a petition was presented, signed by Joseph E. Bonin and others, asking for a new town to be set off from Kinnickinnic, and granted, the boundary of said town to be as follows: Com- mencing at the north-west corner of section 4, township 28 north, range 17 west ; thence east on township line, between townships 28 and 29 north, to the eastern boundary of the county ; thence down the county line to the township line, between the townships 26 and 27 north ; thence west along the township line, between the town- ships 26 and 27 north, to the south-west corner of section 33, in township 27, north of range 17 west; thence north to the place of beginning ; said town to be known by the name of Rush River. It was further ordered that the first town meeting be held at the house of Daniel McCart- ney. At an adjourned meeting of the board, No- vember 14th, a petition was granted to James Anderson to run a ferry across the Lake St. Croix at Stillwater. At an adjourned meeting of the board, November 15th, it was voted to ap- propriate $350 to build a jail. At an annual meeting of the county board, held at the office of J. Bowron, November 9th, 1852, the following pe- tition was presented, signed by Aaron Chase and others, desiring a new town to be set off from the town of Falls of St. Croix. On motion the pe- tition was granted, with the following boundaries, viz : Commencing at the southwest corner of fractional township 31, of range 19; thence east to township line, between 14 and 15; thence north to township line, between 31 and 32; thence east to the east line of St. Croix county ; thence north to township line, between 33 and 34; thence west on said lines to St. Croix river ; thence down said river to the place of beginning ; said town to be known by the name of Leroy. The first town meeting to be held at the house of
W. Kent. At the same meeting of the county board, a petition was presented by A. Day and others asking that the name of the town of Wil- low River, and the villages therein contained, be changed, to be hereafter known by the name of Hudson. Since the people were dissatisfied with the old name, they voted two to one for the change. Alfred Day had the honor of suggesting the new name. By an act of the legislature March, 1853, all that portion of St. Croix county lying south of the line between townships 27 and 28, was set off as Pierce county. By the same act. all that portion of St. Croix county lying north of the line between township 31 and 32, was set off as Polk county, leaving a strip of ter- ritory between Polk and Pierce counties, twenty- four miles wide, and thirty miles long, which was then known as St. Croix county, with seat estab- lished at Hudson.
At a special meeting of the board of super- visors, called at Hudson, July 2d, 1850, with Duncan McGregor in the chair, on motion of Ira Parks it was voted to annex that portion of the town of Leroy, in St. Croix county, lying between the south line of Polk county and the north line of Hudson, to the town of Hudson.
At a meeting of the county board held June 15th, 1855, it was voted to purchase and adopt a seal for said county board of supervisors, de- scribed as follows : "C. B. S., St. Croix County, Wis.," to be used as the seal of the board of super- visors of said county. At a subsequent meeting of the board, held July 28th, 1856, a petition was presented by B. C. B. Foster and others, asking the organization of a new town to be known and called Star Prairie; said town to consist of the following described territory : commencing at the north-east corner of section one, township 30, range 17, and running west a distance of 118 chains and 40 links; thence north on the east of township 31, range 17, a distance of 482 chains and 10 links; thence west along the north line of township 31, a distance of 960 chains; thence south along the west line of township 31, range 18, a distance of 480 chains; thence east, along the south line of township 30, a distance of 125 chains and 67 links; thence south, along the west line of township 30, range 18, a distance of 240 chains and 50 links; thence east, through the center of township 30, ranges 17 and 18, a
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HISTORY OF SAINT CROIX COUNTY.
distance of 961 cbains and 80 links; thence north along the east line of township 30, range 17, a distance of 243 chains and 37 links, to place of beginning. That is to say, all of township 31, ranges 17 and 18, and the north one-half of town- ship 30, ranges 17 and 18; the first town meeting to be held for organizatian, and election of officers at the house of B. C. B. Foster.
At a special meeting of the board, called at the clerk's office, September 19th, 1850, the following petition was presented from the towns of Rush River and Kinnickinnic, asking for the formation of a new town, with the following boundaries, viz: the east half of township 28, range 18, and the west half of township 28, range 17; said town to be called Pleasant Valley; the first town meeting to be held at the house of Davidson Williams, on the first Monday in October, 1850.
A second petition was granted for a new town to be called Somerset, comprising the following territory, viz : commencing at the north-west corner of the town of Star Prairie, running thence west to the St. Croix river; thence down said river, and Lake St. Croix to the south line of section 15, township 30, range 20; thence east to the south-east corner of Star Prairie; Thence north on the west line of Star Prairie to place of beginning; the meeting for the organization and election of officers to be held at the house of Mr. Chaples, on the 1st Monday in October.
At the same meeting a petition for the organi- zation of the town of Hammond was presented with the following boundaries: all of township 29, ranges 15, 16 and 17. The meeting for the election of officers and the organization of the town was ordered held at the store of George Spaulding.
While the board was in session the question of building a new court house was discussed. On motion it was voted to advertise for sealed bids or proposals to build said court house. At a meeting of the board held October 27th, 1856, it was voted to change the boundary line of Kin- nickinnic and Pleasant Valley towns, by taking from the west end of Pleasant Valley two miles by six and adding it to the town of Kinnickinnic.
At a meeting of the board held November 13th, 1856, it was voted to award the contract of build- ing the court house for St. Croix county to Am- mah Andrews on condition that he would build
said house according to the proposals, now be- fore the board, for $14,300. At an adjourned meeting held November 14th, 1856, it was voted to form a new town from township 28, range 18, said town to be called Dayton ; the first meeting for the organization and choice of officers to be held on the first Tuesday in April 1857, at the school house in district number two.
At the same meeting, November 14th, 1856, it was voted to add the west half of township 28, range 19, and all that part of the fractional town- ship running to Lake St. Croix, of township 28, range 20, of Hudson, to Kinnickinnic. At a meeting of the board, held March 25th, 1857, it was voted to change the name of the town of Dayton to Malone. December 9th, of the same year the inhabitants of Erin Prairie presented a petition to the board, asking the formation of a new town with the following boundaries, viz: all of township No. 30, ranges 15 and 16, and the south half of township No. 30, range 17. At the same meeting petitions were presented, asking for the formation of a new town with the following boundaries: all of township 30, range 18, to be known as Cold Spring. It was also voted to at- tach to the town of Star Prairie, township 31, ranges 15 and 16 ; first meeting to be held at the village of Fremont. December 10th, 1857, the board voted to change the name of Kinnickinnic to Troy. On motion it was voted to annex the following territory to Erin Prairie, viz: sections 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 in township 30, range 17.
At a meeting of the board held March 10th, 1858, a petition was presented by the inhabitants of township 28, ranges 15 and 16, asking for the formation of a new town to be called Brockville ; petition granted, but the name was subsequently changed to Eau Galle; the first election to be held at the school house near Holmans.
At a previous meeting, the board voted to es- tablish a new town to be called St. Joseph, with the following boundries, commencing at a point on the shore of lake St. Croix, where the south line of lot number 1, in the north-west quarter of section 12, township 29, range 20, intersects said lake, and running east on said line to the town line between township 29, range 19, and township 29, range 18; thence north to the centre of the east line of township 30, range 19; thence west to the shore of the lake; then south along said lake
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DIVISION OF TOWNS.
shore to place of beginning. At the same meet- ing it was voted to change the name of the town of Cold Spring to Richmond. At a meeting of the board held November 25th, 1858, it was voted to set off from the town of Hudson the territory embraced in township 29 north, of range 18 west, to be called the town of Warren, the first elec- tion to be held at the house of Dr. J. N. Van Slyke, to organize said town.
At a meeting of the county board December 2d, 1859, an order was issued to detach sections 1, 2, 11 and 12 of township 30, range 17, from town of Cylon and annex the same to Erin Prairie; also that sections 6, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, township 30, range 17, be detached from the town of Star Prairie and annexed to town of Erin Prairie; the order to take effect the 1st Tuesday in April, 1860.
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