USA > Minnesota > Minnesota as it is in 1870 : its general resources and attractions for immigrants, invalids, tourists, capitalists, and business men ; with special descriptions of all its counties and townsand inducements to those in quest of homes, health, or pleasure > Part 18
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STATISTICS .- Land assessed, 21,380 ; value per acre, $2.23. School land, one-eighteenth ; railroad land, 100,- 000 acres; State University, 6000; State capital, 6400 ; cultivated, 1867, no report. Horses, 1868, 109 ; cattle, 584; sheep, 405; hogs, 56; carriages, 1; watches, 16; money, $729. Assessed property, 1866, $48,903 ; 1868, $62,087. School districts, 6; scholars, 213 ; year's in- crease, 56.
VILLAGES AND POST OFFICES .- KANDIYOHI is the county seat. No villages have yet developed. The railroad is now being finished through the northern part of the county.
LAKE COUNTY.
Four thousand square miles, fronting 100 on Lake Superior. (See " Northern Minnesota," and " Scenery,"
228
LINCOLN AND MONONGALIA COUNTIES.
Part First.) Population, 1860, 96; 1865, 154; 1869, over 300. School district, 1; scholars, 107; year's in- crease, 12. Lands assessed, 22,869 acres ; value per acre, $1.26. Personal property, $2260. County seat, BEAVER BAY. Post offices at Grand Portage and Lake Lillian. Indian trading post and fishing station near Pigeon River. 35 or 40 lakes.
LINCOLN AND MONONGALIA COUNTIES.
Fine agricultural counties, similar to Kandiyohi. Lin- coln is very sparsely settled, and has no statistics re- ported. It has a post office at Wahhahsahpah.
There are 80 lakes in Monongalia, and 19 in Lincoln.
MONONGALIA has a population of about 2500, a majority Swedes and Norwegians. Vote for Grant, 381; Sey- mour, 74. School census, 1868, 552; year's increase, 193; school districts, 29; houses, 10; value, $1750. Land assessed, 31,800 ; value per acre, $2.29. School land, one-eighteenth ; railroad land, about 75,000 acres ; cultivated, 1867, 1753 acres. Wheat product, 14,467 bushels. Personal property, $188,771. Horses, 408 ; cattle, 2090; mules, 4; sheep, 1452; hogs, 239 ; car- riages, 31 ; watches, 70 ; pianos, 1 ; merchandise, $5575 ; money and credits, $8971.
VILLAGES .- NEW LONDON, the county seat, has 3 stores, a saw and grist mill, blacksmith shop, and 40 inhabitants.
POST OFFICES at Green Lake, Burbank, Georgeville, Land Lake, Harrison Irving, Norway Lake, and Rose- ville.
229
LE SUEUR COUNTY.
LE SUEUR COUNTY.
One of the " Big Woods" counties, which means black, deep, rich soil, and capitally adapted to agriculture. Area 14 townships. About 4 townships or over one- fourth of the county in the southern and eastern parts are prairie, with timber and water so arranged, that the farms seem to have been " made to order ;" balance heavily timbered with oak, ash, elm, basswood, hickory, butter- nut, and some of the finest black walnut in the State. 60 splendid lakes. Limestone and brick for building. Ex- cellent natural meadows. Water power on the Cannon and Le Sueur. Wild land $2.50 to $5 and $7 per acre ; improved, $10 to $25. Population 1860, 5281; 1865, 7834 ; 1869, 13,000. Vote for Grant, 876 ; Seymour, 1095. Nationality nearly one-third American, nearly one- fourth German, over one-fourth Irish, 2000 Bohemians.
STATISTICS .- Land assessed, 255,970 ; value per acre, $3.60 ; school land, 4610 ; homestead, 320 ; railroad, sev- eral thousand. Assessed property, 1860, $498,194 ; 1868, $1,351,353 ; personal, $416,697. Horses, 1865 ; cattle, 6699 ; mules, 22; sheep, 4947; hogs, 5074 ; carriages, 207; watches, 118; pianos, 12; merchandise, $24,985 ; money and credits, $20,224. School districts, 77 ; houses, 67 ; value, $17,747 ; scholars, 4024 ; year's increase, 282 ; churches, 20.
VILLAGES .- LE SUEUR, the county seat, on the railroad and river, 64 miles from St. Paul, population about 1200, two-thirds American, one-fourth German, 100 Irish, has 5 general stores, 1 grocery, 2 hardware, 3 milliners, 1 drug, 1 book, 1 clothing, 4 hotels, 5 saloons, shops, &c., a Baptist, Catholic, Methodist and Episcopal church, Presbyterian and Christian congregations, several lawyers and doctors, and a weekly paper.
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230
MANOMIN COUNTY.
OTTAWA, also on the railroad, is a pleasant, thriving little village of 3 stores, hotel, saw and grist mill, Episco- pal church, shops, &c.
CLEVELAND is a live town of 2 stores, hotel, Catholic church, 2 saw mills, an ashery, stave manufactory, sa- loon, shops, &c.
WATERVILLE is beautifully located between two large lakes, and is second only to Le Sueur in business and population. Has 3 stores, 2 hotels, 2 saw and 1 flouring mill, church, shops, &c.
ELYSIAN, another beautiful place on Elysian Lake, has 2 stores, 2 hotels, 2 mills, saloon, shops, &c.
KASOTA, on the railroad, has 2 grist mills, 2 saw mills, a store, hotel, saloon, shops, &c., and is near Lake Emily, a resort for tourists.
CORDOVA, on Lake Gorman, is a pleasant resort for tourists, has a hotel, saw and grist mills, store, sa- loon, &c.
LEXINGTON has a hotel, saw and grist mill, store, shops, &c.
ORAL is a post office in Lanesburg, the Bohemian town- ship, which has nearly 2000 Bohemians, 2 Catholic churches, 2 stores, and 1 saw mill.
POST OFFICES .- Anawauk, Blue Grass Grove, Dressel- ville, Jefferson Lake, Kilkenny, Lake Washington, Marys- burg, Montgomery, St. Hubertus, Union Centre.
MANOMIN COUNTY,
Originally a part of Ramsey, consists of one-third of a township, and Manomin is a railroad station with a hotel and a few houses. It polls 27 votes, 24 for Sey- mour.
231
MARTIN COUNTY.
MARTIN COUNTY,
(SEE DESCRIPTION OF SOUTHERN MINNESOTA.)
On the Iowa line, south west of and adjoining Blue Earth, has 20 townships or 460,800 acres of land, mainly gently undulating prairie, with timber along the lake chains and on Elm Creek-about 2500 acres ; soil a dark sandy loam, 12 to 2 feet deep, with clay subsoil, natural meadows of blue joint and pea vine, yielding 3 tons to the acre. Sixty-six large lakes and many smaller ones, besides numerous streams of living water. Fish by the wagon load. Brick and stone for building. Price of land, 70,000 to 75,000 acres free ; wild, $3 to $5 ; improv- ed, $10 to $15 ; timber, $50 to $75. Fuel, $3 to $4 per cord. Population, 1860, 151; 1865, 1430; 1868, 3500; 1869, 5000. Three-fourths Americans, with some Irish, German, English, French, Scotch and Norwegian. Vote for Grant, 520 ; Seymour, 101.
STATISTICS .- Land assessed, 27,060 acres ; value per acre, $2.09 ; school land, 24,965 ; nearly 100,000 acres held by homestead and pre-emption claims ; railroad land, many thousand acres. Cultivated, 1867, 4695 ; wheat produced, 20,554 bushels. Assessed property, 1860, $33,- 452 ; 1868, $170,956 ; personal, $174,860. Horses, 620; cattle, 2554; mules, 10; sheep, 1290 ; hogs, 392; car- riages, 15 ; watches, 46 ; pianos, 2 ; merchandise, $4730 ; money and credits, $4404. School districts, 42 ; houses, 18; value, $2690; scholars, 1012; year's increase, 100 ; 2 or 3 saw and 1 grist mill ; 5 or 6 church societies.
VILLAGES .- FAIRMOUNT, the county seat, handsomely located on an elevation of 40 to 60 feet above one of the Centre Chain Lakes, and commanding a view of 10 to 20 miles extent, has 4 stores, 2 carpenters, 2 blacksmiths, 2
232
MCLEOD COUNTY.
lawyers, 1 doctor, and a population of 100-also a weekly newspaper. Wanted, a hardware store, good hotel, wag- on maker, and more mills in the county.
POST OFFICES .- Amber, Andrew Johnson, Belmont, Cedarville, Centre Creek, Chain Lake Centre, East Chain Lakes, Horicon, Lone Cedar, May, Nashville Centre, Pleasant Prairie, Rose Lake, Rutland, Waverly, Tenhas- sen, Walnut Grove.
MCLEOD COUNTY.
West of Carver, 14 townships or 322,000 acres, mode- rately rolling, about one-third timber-balance prairie and meadow. Two north-east towns, Hale and Winsted, entirely in the Big Woods. East of a line drawn from the north-west corner of the county to the south-east corner in Helen township, about half timber and half prairie ; and west of that, all prairie with groves of timber, under- growth hazel, prickly ash, high-bush cranberry, &c. Soil rich and deep, with clay subsoil. Produces good winter wheat. Fifty large lakes, and numerous streams of living water: good water-power on Crow River. Ex- cellent meadows : brick for building. Wild land, $3 to $10 per acre. Population, 1860, 1286 ; 1865, 2457 ; 1869, 5500. One-half Americans, balance Germans, Norwe- gians, French, Bohemians, and Irish. Vote for Grant, 605 ; Seymour, 381.
STATISTICS .- Land assessed, 166,182 acres, value $2.62 per acre. School land, 15,238 ; homestead, 67,249 ; cul- tivated, 1867, 2456 ; wheat, 46,060 bushels. Assessed property, 1860, $220,862; 1868, $684,578 ; personal, $233,519. Horses, 803; cattle, 4366 ; mules, 4; sheep, 3230 ; hogs, 1263 ; carriages, 80; watches, 50; pianos,
233
MEEKER COUNTY.
7 ; merchandise, $17,222 ; money and credits, &c., $6200. School districts, 46 ; houses, 22; value, $8660 ; scholars, 1540 ; year's increase, 471. 6 or 8 saw and 3 or 4 grist mills ; several churches.
VILLAGES .- GLENCOE, the county seat, 30 miles from Carver, 60 from St. Paul, on the line of the Hastings and Dakota Railroad. 400 population, 2 hotels, 4 general stores, a Methodist, Catholic and Congregational church, saw mill, hardware store, shoe store, 2 saloons, 2 lawyers, 1 doctor, shops and mechanics, and a weekly paper.
HUTCHINSON has about the same population, stores, shops, &c., with the addition of 1 doctor, 1 lawyer, 2 drug stores, a large flouring mill, Episcopal, Catholic and Methodist worship, but no church and no paper. Popu- lation, American, German, Bohemian and Norwegian.
POST OFFICES .- Bergen, Brush Prairie, Glendale, Key- stone, E. Hutchinson, Koniska, Plato, Rocky Run, Silver Lake, Winsted Lake.
MEEKER COUNTY.
Second west of Hennepin and south of Stearns, 15 townships or 345,000 acres, 10 townships described by the government surveyors as soil first quality, four as " good," and one as variable, with part second and third rate. Surface mostly level or gently undulating, timber and prairie well distributed. About 100 large lakes, be- sides many smaller ones. Price of lands 4 to 15 dollars. Boulders around the lakes. Population, 1860, 930 ; 1865, 1229 ; 1869, over 5000 ; Americans, Swedes and Norwe- gians, Germans, Irish, &c. Vote for Grant, 600; Sey- mour, 285.
STATISTICS .- Land assessed, 109,528 acres ; value per
234
MILLE LAC COUNTY.
acre, $2.85; school land, 9221; railroad land, large amount. Cultivated, 1867, 3660 ; wheat product, 33,414 bushels. Assessed property, 1860, $197,767; 1868, $468,000 ; personal, $184,583. Horses, 757; cattle, 3207 ; mules, 17 ; sheep, 1620 ; hogs, 499 ; carriages, 57 ; watches, 87 ; pianos, 2 ; merchandise, $12,805 ; money and credits, $7903. School districts, 35 ; houses, 12; value, $2270 ; scholars, 1426 ; year's increase, 333.
VILLAGES .- FOREST CITY, the county seat, on Crow River, has 200 population, 4 general stores, 1 tin and hardware store, hotel, flour and saw mill, 1 doctor, 2 law- yers, shoe, tailor, carpenter, and blacksmith shops, 1 saloon, 1 Catholic church.
GREENLEAF has a hotel, saw and grist mill, 2 stores, a saloon, blacksmith shop, Presbyterian church, U. S. land office, and from 50 to 75 population.
KINGSTON has 3 stores, saw and grist mill, hotel, and 50 to 75 population.
MANNANNAH has a store, and there are two stores in Ripley township.
LITCHFIELD and DARWIN are embryo towns, just laid out, on the railroad passing through the north part of the county.
POST OFFICES .-. Crow River, Koronis, Lake Harold, Swede Grove, Swift Lake, Sylvan Hill.
MILLE LAC COUNTY.
East of Benton and Morrison, 20 miles from the Missis- sippi River. About 17 townships, or 435,000 square acres. A belt across the south part, four miles wide, open and brush prairie, and oak openings ; soil sandy on the open prairie and oak openings, fair quality ; rich on the
235
MILLE LAC COUNTY.
brush prairie. A belt of hardwood timber north of this, five miles wide ; oak, elm, ironwood, hickory, maple, ash, &c. ; soil very rich. North of this, pine timber on the ridges, and poor lands ; hardwood on the lower and bot- tom lands, with a very good soil ; one-third pine, one-third hardwood, and one-third extensive and excellent hay meadows, with many tamarack and fir swamps, and cran- berry marshes. The hay meadows in the two southern belts are among the first in the State. It is finely watered by Rum River passing out of Mille Lac through numerous small marshy rice lakes, thence southerly through the whole county, through fertile, well wooded bottom lands, fed by numerous tributaries. Mille Lac Lake is 25 miles across, clear, deep, full of fish ; bold, rocky and beautiful shores. Brick, boulders, and lumber for building. Land $2.50 to $5 wild, $5 to $10 improved ; in 1868, nearly 40,000 acres free government land ; good water-power. Cuts 50 to 100,000,000 feet of pine lumber annually. Market in the pineries. Population, 1860, 71 ; 1865, 333 ; 1869, over 1000, mostly in two or three southern town- ships. Vote for Grant, 118, Seymour, 41. Nationality, two-thirds American, balance Germans, Irish, and others.
STATISTICS .- Land assessed, 181,208 acres ; value per acre $1.29 ; school land, 1-18th; considerable railroad land; homestead, 1200; cultivated, 1867, no report. Assessed property, 1860, $196,755 ; 1868, $272,238; personal property, $35,452. Horses, 122; cattle, 629 ; mules, 4; sheep, 131; hogs, 73 ; carriages, 2; watches, 10 ; pianos, 2 ; merchandise, $2400 ; moneys, &c., $3700. School districts, 5; houses, 4; value, $4355 ; scholars, 264 ; year's increase, 56. 'Churches, 1 or 2 ; mills, 1 flour and 2 saw.
VILLAGES .- PRINCETON, the county seat and only town, has 400 population, nearly all Americans, and half from
236
MOWER COUNTY.
Maine, 3 stores with over $40,000 annual sales, 2 large hotels, 2 steam saw mills and one flouring mill, 1 lawyer, no doctor, 2 preachers, 1 carriage shop, 4 blacksmith shops, 2 shoe and 2 carpenter shops. Princeton is the only post office.
MOWER COUNTY,
75 miles south of St. Paul, on the Iowa line, and 65 from the Mississippi River, 20 townships or 460,000 acres, about one-fifth timber and oak openings, four-fifths high, rolling, fertile prairies, abounding in springs and streams of living water, but no lakes ; 4 townships without tim- ber ; brick and stone for building ; crossed by two rail- roads built, and one projected. Wild lands, $3 to $10 per acre ; improved, $10 to $25; timber, $15 to $75. Population, 1860, 3216 ; 1865, 5150 ; 1869, over 10,000 ; majority Americans, over 1500 Norwegians, over 600 Irish, over 400 Germans. Vote for Grant, 1239; Sey- mour, 469.
STATISTICS .- Land assessed, 384,631 acres ; value per acre, $3.53 ; school land, 3016 ; cultivated, 1867, 24,247 acres ; wheat, 181,494 bushels. Assessed property, 1860, $729,218 ; 1868, $19,349.26 ; personal property, $492,784. Horses, 2351 ; cattle, 6341 ; mules, 42 ; sheep, 2709 ; hogs, 1427; carriages, 220; watches, 165 ; pianos, 25 ; mer- chandise, $60,939 ; money and credits, $42,950. School districts, 72 ; houses, 60 ; value, $39,929 ; scholars, 2965 ; year's increase, 471. Church organizations over 30; buildings, 10 or 12 ; Methodist and Baptist most numer- ous ; mills, 8 or 9 saw and grist.
VILLAGES .- AUSTIN, the county seat, at the junction of Cedar River, St. Paul and Milwaukee and Southern
237
MOWER COUNTY.
Minnesota Railroads, and two or three others projected, has had its principal growth within three years. Popu- lation estimated at 2500, three-fourths Americans, bal- ance Irish, Germans and Norwegians. It has 20 stores, besides shops, 2 breweries and 1 grist mill, business, $1,000,000 per annum ; two banks, with $1,000,000 busi- ness, 5 hotels, 6 lawyers, 6 doctors, 10 saloons, 3 printing offices, 5 mill sites in the township, 2000 acres of heavy timber, and 5000 oak openings ; a Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Congregational and Episcopal church, and Universalist organization, Masonic and Odd Fellows lodge; and lots worth $50 to $1500. The growth of Austin and its location indicate its pro- motion to the rank of a city in the census of 1870.
LEROY, 30 miles south-east of Austin, on the railroad, laid out in 1867, population, 275 ; 12 stores, business, $200,000 ; saw and grist mill, good water-power, 3 saloons, 1 lawyer, 1 doctor, a Methodist church, hotel, &c. Nationality, American, Irish and German.
LANSING, on the railroad, 6 miles north of Austin, has a weekly paper, 275 population, 3 stores, business, $50,000 ; a Methodist church, a doctor, &c.
ADAMS, 16 miles south-east of Austin, by rail, on Cedar River, has 5 warehouses, 4 stores, 3 saloons, a Norwegian church, about 15 houses and 75 population, Norwegian, American and Irish. Business, $75,000.
BROWNSDALE has 200 population, 2 stores ; business, $30,000.
FRANKFORD, 150 population, 2 stores ; business, $20,000 ; and a Methodist church.
POST OFFICES .- Canton, Colfax, Esba, Grand Meadow, Lyle, Madison, Mineral Springs, Mower City, Nevada, Prairie, Root River, Rose Creek, Waltham, Cedar City.
238
MORRISON COUNTY.
MORRISON COUNTY,
About 20 miles north of St. Cloud on both sides of the Mississippi, about 30 townships, or 690,000 acres. West side, soil best quality, timber predominating ; splendid pine forests on the head waters of Two Rivers, Swan and Little Elk. East side poor and sandy along the Missi- ssippi ; balance good soil, prairie predominating, with tim- ยท ber enough for present use. Splendid meadows. First- class pine forests on head waters of Platte and west branch of Rum rivers. County finely watered : 34 large lakes. Extra water-power at Little Falls and Little Elk. Home market in the pinery. 200 miles of navigation north. Building stone at Little Falls. Land $2 to $5 per acre ; most of it still free and vacant. Population, 1860, 588 ; 1865, 796 ; 1869, over 1200. 500 French, 400 Amer- icans, 300 Germans and others. Vote for Grant, 68, Seymour, 139. "Can beat the world in fish : no end to game."
STATISTICS .- Land assessed, 221,941 acres ; $2.19 per acre. School land, 1-18th ; homestead, 9780 ; cultivated 1867, 868 acres ; wheat, 3656 bushels. Assessed prop- erty, 1860, $433,436 ; 1868, $564,763 ; personal, $77,496. Horses, 274; cattle, 1178; sheep, 795; hogs, 2406 ; carriages, 12; watches, 33; pianos, 1; merchandise, $6160; money, &c., $8971. School districts, 11; houses, 8; value, $1175 ; scholars, 418; increase, 5. Churches, 5, Catholic and Methodist ; mills, 4.
VILLAGES .- LITTLE FALLS, the county seat, has 3 stores, 2 mills, 1 Methodist church, lodge of Good Templars, no lawyer, no doctor, 2 clergymen. Store business, $100,000.
POST OFFICES .- Belle Prairie, Culdrum, Fort Ripley, Green Prairie, Pike Rapids, Swan River, Two Rivers.
239
NICOLLET COUNTY.
MURRAY COUNTY.
(ALSO NOBLES, PIPESTONE, ROCK.)
See Part First, pages 36 and 37-also Jackson County, to which these are similar, with the exception that Rock is better supplied with building stone. There are 32 large lakes ; and Nobles is to be crossed by the St. Paul and Sioux City and Southern Minnesota Railroad, and Rock by the latter.
These are all unorganized counties, with scarcely a settler, and the land rich and nearly all free, much not yet surveyed.
NICOLLET COUNTY,
On the Minnesota River, has nearly 13 townships, or about 297,000 acres ; 15 lakes, covering 25 square miles ; mainly prairie, mostly high rolling, with much meadow land in the western part ; timber one to two miles wide, fringing the river, and groves bordering the lakes ; soil deep and rich ; building stone and brick on the river bluffs, east and south side of the county ; water-power at the outlet of Swan Lake. Crossed by the Winona and St. Peter Railroad. Lands wild, $5 to $7 per acre. Popu- lation, 1860, 3770 ; 1865, 5019; 1869, 8500; one-third American, one-third German, balance Norwegians, Irish, Swedes, and others. Vote for Grant, 780 ; Seymour 485.
STATISTICS .- Land assessed, 141,101 acres ; $4.00 per acre ; school lands, 6171 ; homestead, 38,807 ; cultivated, 1867, 14,810 acres ; wheat, 135,331 bushels. Assessed property, 1860, $738,852 ; 1868, $1,267,031 ; personal property, $515,889. Horses, 1885 ; cattle, 6440 ; mules, 15 ; sheep, 4213 ; hogs, 1353 ; carriages, 149 ; watches, 187 ; merchandise, $63,356 ; money and credits, $37,001.
240
OLMSTED COUNTY.
School districts, 38 ; houses, 26 ; value, $7927 ; scholars, 2674 ; year's increase, 366. Churches, 11, 2 Catholic and 5 German, and Scandinavian Lutheran ; mills, 3 saw and grist, and 1 windmill for grists.
VILLAGES .- ST. PETER .- St. Peter is the county seat, 72 miles from St. Paul by rail, and 134 by river ; the location of a U. S. land office, and the State Lunatic Asy- lum ; with a population of about 3000, has 30 stores, and 3 agricultural warehouses, selling $500,000 of goods, a large steam flouring mill, with a capacity of 100 bbls. per day, and several water mills near, a foundry and machine shop, a boot and shoe factory, with machinery to make 100 pair per day, manufactories of agricultural imple- ments, fanning mills, and a steam cabinet factory ; a Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic, Episcopal, a German Lutheran, Swede Lutheran, and Norwegian Lutheran church, and lodges of Masons, Odd Fellows, and Templars. Besides the river, the St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad, and the Winona and St. Peter Railroad-a railroad from St. Cloud to St. Peter has four sections of State lands to the mile, and will finally be built-the whole combining to make St. Peter a central point of supply and trade with a rich back country.
POST OFFICES .- Fort Ridgely, Cortland, Granby, Hebron, Lafayette, Middle Lake, Nicollet, Norseland, Timber Lake, Redstone, Traverse des Sioux, and West Newton.
NOBLES COUNTY .- (SEE MURRAY.)
OLMSTED COUNTY,
Next west of Winona, and 15 or 20 miles from the Mis- sissippi, has an area of 18} townships, or about 422,000
241
OLMSTED COUNTY.
acres, about two-fifths prairie, two-fifths brush and grub land, and one-fifth groves and forest timber, oak, black and white walnut, elm, bass, maple and black poplar. Soil a fertile black loam, with clay subsoil ; surface level or gently rolling ; land from $10 to $50 per acre ; fuel at Rochester, $5 to $7; lumber, $20 to $25. Good building stone and brick in High Forest, Cascade, and Rochester. Good water-powers in Orion, Pleasant Grove, Quincy and Oronoco townships. Abundant natural meadows. Crossed by the Winona and St. Peter and two other projected railroads. Population, 1860, 9520 ; 1865, 15,076 ; 1869, 24,000. Americans, about 15,000 ; Irish, 3000 ; Germans, 1900 ; Norwegians, 2500 ; English, 500 ; Scotch, 300; Welsh, 200; balance Bohemians, Poles, Swiss and others. Vote for Grant, 2369 ; Seymour, 1308.
STATISTICS .- Land assessed, 403,726 ; value per acre, $5.30 ; school land, 1275 ; cultivated, 1867, 99,451 acres ; wheat, 1,024,656 bushels ; 1869, cultivated, 135,000 acres ; wheat, 1,900,000 bushels (estimated.) Assessed property, 1860, $1,719,698 ; 1868, $4,300,108 ; personal property, $1,580,963. Horses, 6403; cattle, 12,346; mules, 156 ; sheep, 6447; hogs, 4397; carriages, 354 ; watches, 365 ; pianos, 49 ; merchandise, $211,591 ; money and credits, $182,025. School districts, 120; houses, 111; value, $94,900; scholars, 6813 ; year's increase, 436 ; mills and churches throughout the county.
ROCHESTER, the county seat, had a population of 2666 in 1865 ; 4620 in September, 1868 ; estimated, 1869, over 5000. Building improvements, 1868, $202,150. Banks, 2 ; capital, $92,000 ; average deposits, $155,000 ; private capital in loans, discounts, &c., $400,000. Sales, 1867, from internal revenue assessors' books, agricultural ma- chinery, $265,000 ; lumber, 4 yards, $150,000 ; hardware,
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242
OLMSTED COUNTY.
123,000 ; drugs, 55,000; groceries, $285,000 ; general merchandise, $821,000 ; of which one house sold $269,- 000 ; licensed dealers over 50, liquor dealers over 36. Hotels, 6. Churches, 8, costing $58,000 ; court house, $32,000 ; high school, $65,000. Methodist church, average attendance, 400 ; Congregational, 200 ; Presbyterian, 160 ; Episcopal, 125 ; Baptist, 125 ; Universalist, 100 ; German Methodist, 100; Catholic, no report. Mills, 3; costing $60,000; average capacity, 1800 bushels per day. Court calender, 1867, 111 causes. Letters sent from post office, 120,000. The business establishments and pro- fessions are about as follows : dry good stores, 15; groceries, 19 ; boots and shoes, 13; hardware, stoves, &c., 6 ; hats, 5; drug, 6; clothing, 11; agricultural im- plements, 6; doctors, 6; lawyers, 9; etc., etc. The water-power is good, and considerable manufacturing is done. Exports of wheat in September, October and November, 1867, 380,000 bushels.
EYOTA, 13 miles east of Rochester, on the railroad, surrounded by a rich country, is an enterprising town of 500 population, and has 4 hotels, 13 general stores, 2 grocery, 1 hardware, 1 boot and shoe, 1 drug, 1 furniture store, warehouses, shops and lumber yards, a grain ele- vator, and shipped in September and October, 1867, 177,600 bushels of wheat.
MARION, 6 or 7 miles south-east of Rochester, in a rich and populous township, has a hotel, 2 stores, a church, a doctor, &c.
Byron, Oronoco, Pleasant Grove, High Forest, and Stewartville are thriving villages, with stores, hotels, mills and shops-some of them beautifully and roman- tically situated, with from 200 to 500 population.
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