USA > Minnesota > Hennepin County > Minneapolis > Personal recollections of Minnesota and its people : and early history of Minneapolis > Part 20
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THE WINNEBAGO TREATY.
Aside from the historical fact, perhaps in justice to those who have passed away, mention should be made of a public meeting held in Minneapolis, January 21st, 1854, in opposition to the treaty with the Winnebagoes pending in the United States senate, the confirmation of which would make the Indians of that nation near neighbors of the citizens of Hen- nepin county. Charles Hoag was called to the chair, and John H. Stevens was appointed secretary. The object of the meeting being stated, Dr. H. Fletcher, our member of the legislature, addressed the meeting. He had secured the cooperation of Hon. Joseph R. Brown, Hon. Wm. H. Nobles, the other two members of the sixth council district in the legislature, against the measure. Messrs. C. F. Stearns, H. S. Plummer, and Cephas.Gardner, members from St. Anthony representing the third council district, had also heartily co-
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eperated with them in opposition to the treaty. Messrs. S. Baldwin Olmstead, president of the council, with Messrs. William Noot, Wm. A. Davis, and Louis Bartlett, of the second council district, St. Paul, had aided in opposition to the treaty. Further remarks were made by Messrs. Hoag, Harmon, D. M. Hanson, and Hoyt, when a series of resolu- tions was presented to the meeting by John H. Stevens, seconded by D. M. Hanson, and were unanimously adopted. Suffice to say, that owing to the efforts made by the pioneers of Minneapolis, the treaty failed.
Considerable uneasiness developed among the settlers on the late military reservation, early in January, at the non- action of congress in relation to a bill which had, early in the session, been introduced by Hon. R. C. Malony, of Illinois, securing to them the right of preemption to these lands. Messrs. Franklin Steele, Dr. A. E. Ames, and Edward Mur- phy, proceeded to Washington to render such aid as they could to our delegate in Congress, and other friends in that body, to secure the early passage of the bill. These gentle- men remained in Washington all winter, at their own expense, and labored faithfully in the interest of the settlers. They secured the ordering of an immediate survey of the land by the government. Up to the early summer of 1854, when the survey did take place, all the lines between the settlers were arbitrary. These lines had been brought from over the Mis- sissippi river, by the early local land-surveyors, Messrs. W. R. Marshall, C. W. Christmas, and C. B. Chapman, which proved, when the government had completed the regular survey, to be unusually accurate. I cannot remember, at this time, of it being necessary to alter a single boundary line between the settlers.
Dr. Fletcher secured the passage of a bill, in January, through the territorial legislature, confirming the action of the county commissioners for the Hennepin court-house, and other county buildings. This site was on the high hill that then existed immediately in the rear of the present Nicollet house. It embraced about five acres of land, and overtopped the whole country. The surface was covered with beautiful oak trees, known in the early days as oak-openings. The land was owned jointly by John Jackins and John H. Stevens,
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the two entering into heavy bonds with the county commis- sioners to give a warrantee deed of the land as soon as they had secured a good title to it from the government, free of charge. This land is worth to-day several millions of dollars, but in consequence of the rivalry between what was then called upper and lower Minneapolis, in 1856 the site was changed to one in the brush on Dr. Ames' land, thus releasing Messrs. Jackins and Stevens from their obligations to the county ; but they never made anything out of the land, and the county was greatly the loser in the change. There was, however, two good results from the removal of the site for the court-house, one of which does not concern the public ; the other was the annexation of the fractional township in which St. Anthony was situated, to Hennepin county. In order that the measure might be carried through the legisla- ture, members of that body demanded in return for their votes for the removal of the site of the court-house, the annexation of St. Anthony to Hennepin county.
Another and more important site-question occurred on the other side of the river. It was demonstrated that if St. Anthony retained the site for the University, more land must be secured for that purpose. The regents had no money to help forward any beneficial movement for the University. When it was necessary that funds should be raised, they were obliged to put their hands in their pockets and donate it in such sums as the exigency of the case demanded. Mr. Steele, president of the Board, contributed thousands of dollars for the good work, for which he never expected, wished, or received, reimbursement. Judge Atwater, Judge Meeker, . and other regents residing in the neighborhood of the Falls, also paid large sums for the same purpose. The original site was exchanged for the present beautiful one. Calvin A. Tuttle and others aided much. The land that Mr. Tuttle gave for this object is to-day worth a large sum of money, and probably there are few of the present citizens around the Falls who have any conception of the sacrifices these earnest men made, so long ago, in order that the University of Min- nesota should not be removed from their midst. It is true that they never received any credit for what they did ; their noble efforts have long since been forgotten by the older
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people of the state ; the more recent population never knew it ; while thousands who are now so much benefitted by the university have never found it out. In order to check the strong sentiment prevailing in the territory, that the univer- sity should be removed to some point considerably south of the Minnesota river, the regents were obliged to force meas- ures in the commencement of the buildings, so that St. Anthony would have a charter-right to hold it for all time to come. When the distribution of the sites for the three great public institutions, the capitol, the state university, and the state penitentiary, took place, southern Minnesota belonged to the Indians, as did the whole of the territory west of the Mis- sissippi. After the Indian lands were opened to settlers, they were occupied so rapidly it was evident that in the near future those lands would contain a large majority of voters ; that they could control a majority in the legislature, and being left out in the cold when the three principal plums were distributed, it was but natural they should wish to have a new deal, so that the recently-ceded territory should be the recipient of one or more of these public favors. The regents were continually importuned by those residing in the neigh- borhood of the Falls, who were really fearful that the uni- versity would he removed from St. Anthony to a more central place further south, to commence the buildings as soon as possible, and to take immediate steps in every possible way to silence home complaints at what was called non-action of the board of regents in making the necessary preparations for the erection of permanent buildings. Up to this time the bountiful grant of land by congress in the interest of the university had not been selected by the regents from the different sections of the state, principally for the reason that the public lands had not been surveyed by the government, so that selections could be made in a proper manner. The time had now come for action on the part of the regents. They had by law the right to select any unclaimed land, timber or prairie, for the benefit of the university. As a member of the board I was appointed, at the January meet- ing, to proceed at once to Rum river and select some ten thousand acres of pine land for the university. I was further directed to secure such assistance as would be necessary for
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this purpose. The services of Captain John Rollins, and his nephew Simon B. Bean, were obtained, and mainly to the superior knowledge of these two gentlemen, in relation to the best timber on pine land, was the university indebted for the choicest tract that bounded the banks of Rum river and its tributaries. It was not the most pleasant season of the year to make the selection, but mid-winter was more favorable than spring, and as the land had been surveyed, and would soon be in market, if we obtained the best and most convenient lands to the river, the selections had to be made before other parties laid claim to it. We devoted two months of the winter of 1854 to securing these lands, paying all attendant expenses, without a thought of charging the board of regents, or the state, for such work.
The first Congregational church was dedicated in St. Anthony on the 15th of February. Rev. S. Hall was master of the ceremonies. Messrs. Galpin of Excelsior, Twitchell of Rum river (now Anoka), Rice, and Secombe, all Congrega- tional ministers, and Rev. J. C. Whitney, the Presbyterian pastor of Minneapolis, were present. This was the first Con- gregational church dedicated in what is now Minnesota.
The ice in the river was thin this winter. Several accidents of a serious, but not fatal, character occurred. Among the victims was John Chambers, who lived on and preempted a portion of the present Brownsdale farm. In crossing the river he fell through the ice, and was barely rescued alive. It is said he received injuries from which he never recovered. The ferry over the river commenced running March 25. St. Anthony's early friend, Wm. R. Marshall, was married in Utica, New York, on the 22d of March, to Miss Abby B., daughter of George Langford, Esq.
The third term of the district court of Hennepin county commenced April 3, Judge Chatfield presiding. R. P. Russell, who had recently moved over from the St. Anthony side, was foreman of the grand jury. The jury list contained the names of prominent farmers in what would now be three counties, viz .: Hennepin, Carver, and Sibley. The court was in session for three weeks, principally engaged in trying criminal cases. The first civil suit tried in Hennepin county, the only civil case of moment, was against Edward Murphy by Hiram
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Burlingham, to test the fence question, which in the early days of the territory was the. source of frequent litigation among the farmers. As this was the first civil suit tried in the county, and a somewhat novel one, I will give the points in the case. Mr. Burlingham had a field of some forty acres of corn. Mr. Murphy had a large herd of cattle, which he had purchased in Illinois. This stock frequently visited Mr. Burlingham's corn-field, and damaged the growing grain to such an extent that it was not worth harvesting. Mr. Bur- lingham sued Mr. Murphy, the owner of the stock that had destroyed his crop, for its value. Mr. Murphy contended that, as Mr. Burlingham's corn-field was not fenced, he could not be held responsible for the damage his stock had inflicted on it. The judge decided that Mr. Murphy must pay for the loss of the corn ; that in the absence of statute law, in regard to fences, a person could plant corn or other grain, without fencing it, and if it was destroyed by a neighbor's stock the owner of the stock would have to pay the damage.
The first conviction in the district court was against P. Gorman, of Eden Prairie, who was found guilty of an assault on the person of Samuel Mitchell, a farmer of that township. If I remember correctly, because of its being the first convic- tion, and not a very serious offense, the sentence against Mr. Gorman was suspended.
During the session the new court-house, which I had built the previous year, was destroyed by fire, which was the first store destroyed by fire in Minneapolis.
A HASTY BUT HAPPY MARRIAGE IN THE EARLY DAYS.
Some of the jurymen, from remote parts of the county, who attended the session of the court, were desirous of obtaining wives before their return home. One of them, John Mann, who had a valuable claim on the banks of the Minnesota river, just below Chaska, had been a soldier at Fort Snelling. He was a thrifty man, and was born in Germany. He went to St. Paul, one Sunday, to find out if there were any German girls coming into the country. He fortunately happened on the levee during the landing of a down-river boat that con- tained many German families who were seeking new homes in the territory. In watching them land, John espied a comely, healthy-looking girl in a group of women. "There,"
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he said to an acquaintance who accompanied him to see the approaching steamer land, "is my wife." He immediately introduced himself to the parents of the girl, and to the girl. He was thirty years old, had a good farm, and a comfortable house ; had cows and oxen, and a reasonable amount of money. He had in fact everything to make him comfortable except a wife. He wanted the girl before him for that. He prosecuted his suit with much earnestness. Fortunately a member of a prominent German family, who had resided in St. Paul for several years, made his appearance on the landing in the nick of time, who knew the parents of the girl in the fatherland, and knew John in this country equally well, and he assured the surprised immigrants that John was all that he represented himself to be, and that the parents who secured him for a son-in-law would never regret it. The result was, that early on Monday morning John appeared in court with his new wife. He was readily excused from further service on the jury. He immediately proceeded to his farm, and from that eventful morning that he saw his wife land in St. Paul to this day, he never regretted his hasty marriage. He and his wife are among the most respected pioneers of Carver county. They have prospered, and John believes in short courtships.
Congress passed, during the last days of March, a bill pro- viding for a United States land-office in Minneapolis. Upon. its approval by the President, that personage appointed R. P. Russell receiver, and M. L. Olds register. Both appointments were popular. Mr. Olds was a son of Dr. Olds, so long a member of congress from Ohio. His son was a lawyer of much promise. On retiring from the land-office he became a divinity student, and at the time of his death, a few years since, he held a high trust in the Episcopal church. Like most of the early clergymen of that church in the territory, Rev. Dr. Olds was a great worker.
Messrs. Geo. E. Huy and R. P. Russell had erected a large frame building at the corner of Eight avenue south and Washington avenue for the accommodation of the new land- office. This was the most commodious and expensive building that had been erected in Minneapolis up to that time. In addition to numerous offices, it contained large halls.
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CHAPTER XXXIII.
SURVEY OF THE VILLAGE IN EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FOUR.
When I think it was only thirty-five years ago that I decided to survey a portion of my ferry-farm at the Falls of St. Anthony into village building-lots, the transformations I have witnessed seem like a fairy tale, a magic vision. From the virgin prairie to a solid city of two hundred thousand persons, teeming with life, full of energy, ambition and hope, this marvelous western development bids fair to rival oriental splendor.
Finding it impossible to withstand the constant importuni- ties for building-lots on the ferry-farm, and to prevent the lower portions of the town from taking the lead in various enterprises that were near at hand, I determined to survey a portion of the farm into building-lots ; consequently I secured the services of Chas. W. Christmas to survey and plat over one hundred acres into village lots. I determined at first to make the streets eighty feet wide, the avenues one hundred feet wide, the lots to contain as near as might be a quarter of an acre of land each, the blocks to consist of ten lots each, making two and a half acres to each block. As no one expected at that time that much of the land back of the first plateau would ever be used for any other than agricultural purposes, after consulting with all the claimants up and down the river immediately adjoining my land, we concluded there should be one avenue laid out running parallel with the river, which should be the basis for laying out the town ; that the name of this avenue should be Washington. This decision with regard to laying out the principal avenue in such a manner as to run parallel with the river as the foundation for laying out all the
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other land into streets, avenues, lots and blocks, was a great error, an error that, had my foresight been as good as my present sight, would never have occurred. What I should have done, was to have paid no attention to the windings of the river, but ran the streets directly east and west, and the avenues directly north and south. As all the land subse- quently laid out and platted in Minneapolis had for a starting- point my first survey, it made me responsible for all time for this unfortunate early mistake. Pretty as the city is, it would have presented a far better appearance had the points of compass been followed rather than the windings of the river. The only city I had lived in, previous to coming to Minnesota, was New Orleans, and I admired the English part so much more than the old French portion of it, that I decided to follow, as far as practicable, the former in laying out and platting Minneapolis proper. Most, if not all the cities on the banks of the Mississippi and its tributaries, at this time, had the principal part of the business confined to pretty near the steamboat landings. The idea was general that the stores and shops would be close to the banks of the river ; and so they were at first ; none could be prevailed upon to invest very far back from the river. No one ever supposed at that time that Minneapolis would expand into a city of more than fifty or sixty thousand inhabitants, and many looked upon my platting the streets and avenues so wide as a great waste of land ; and on some accounts I am rather inclined to think it would have been preferable to have reduced the width of the avenues and streets about twenty feet ; especially when we take into account the great cost of paving, and other nec- essary expense in keeping them in repair.
NAMING THE STREETS AND AVENUES.
In naming the avenues I commenced with Hennepin, calling it after the discoverer of the Falls ; then Nicollet, after the French explorer ; then Minnetonka, from the lake by that name. All the other avenues, except Second avenue south, were named after the territories, Oregon, Utah, California, Kansas, Nebraska, and so on. Second avenue south I named after my wife, calling it Helen, in honor of the first woman who permanently resided on the west bank of the Falls. The streets were numbered the same as they are to-day. The city
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council changed the names of the avenues, thus blotting out my many old land-marks ; but probably it is much more con- venient to say "First avenue south," instead of Minnetonka avenue, the old name I had given to it. I directed Mr. Christmas to survey an alley through each block. The sur- vey was completed May 1st, 1854. Several lots were imme- diately disposed of-I should say rather given away, provided the recipient would build a house thereon not to cost less than three hundred dollars. As no deeds would be lawful, none were given ; neither were memoranda or articles of agreement signed. I trusted them, and they trusted me, and when the proper time came, they received deeds for their land. So it was with all others who had obtained and settled on lots belonging to preemptors, before the land was entered.
The first lot selected on the ferry-farm claim, after it was laid out and platted, was by Isaac I. Lewis. It was the present site of Harlow W. Gale's market-house, corner of Hennepin avenue and First street. Mr. Lewis erected a large dwelling and store on it, and in company with Mr. Bickford opened the largest stock of goods, outside of Fort Snelling, in Hennepin county. E. H. Davie and John Califf followed Mr. Lewis. They also selected a lot on Hennepin avenue, built on it, and opened a hardware- and stove-store, which was the first one in the county. Levi Brown, from Maine, established a black- smith shop on the site of the present Northwestern bank building. This was the first blacksmith shop in Minneapolis, . but not in Hennepin county ; there was one at the Minnetonka mills a year before ; and Victor Chatel had for years been the Indian blacksmith at Oak Grove mission, now Bloomington.
James F. Bradley, from New England, opened a large carriage factory at Murphy's ferry in the lower town. This was the first carriage factory in Hennepin county. Hoyt and Van Nest brought into Minneapolis an extensive livery and established stables on Third street near Third avenue south. This was the first livery-stable in Hennepin county.
Geo. E. Huy, from the Minneapolis mill company, opened a large lumber-yard between the river and Washington avenue on Eighth avenue south. This was the first lumber-yard in Minneapolis. Geo. M. Bertram, president of the Excelsior colony, moved into Minneapolis and opened an extensive
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merchant-tailoring establishment over Mr. Lewis' store. This was the first tailor-shop in Minneapolis. Z. M. Brown moved. over from St. Anthony and, at the lower ferry, started the first tin-shop in Minneapolis. Mrs. A. Morrison accompanied her husband, Adam Morrison, out from New York, and. opened the first millinery shop in Minneapolis. She selected Cataract, now Sixth avenue south, as her place of business. A few weeks later, Miss Bertram, from New York city, estab- lished a ladies' dress-making house at Mr. Hoag's.
A. K. Hartwell came over from St. Anthony and opened an insurance office, the first of the kind in the county. John M. Anderson, so long in the express business in this city, came out from New York and brought with him a choice assortment of books and stationery, which he offered for sale in the Craft's building, the first store of the kind in the county.
John Morrison, also from New York, came out with Mr. Anderson, and opened the first gun- and locksmith-shop in the county, on Cataract street. Wm. G. Murphy opened the first harness- and saddle-shop in the city, on Hennepin avenue.
Messrs. Geo. N. Propper and Carlos Wilcox opened, in the government land-office building, a loan and land agency, the first in the city.
Our postoffice at this time (spring of 1854) was in a store that the postmaster, Dr. H. Fletcher, had built near the bank of the river, on what is now High street.
In addition to the improvements already mentioned, but later in the season, W. D. Babbitt moved up from Illinois and opened a large stock of goods for sale in a portion of the Craft's building. Samuel Hidden, a merchant from New- Hampshire, established a business on Nicollet avenue, near First street, which was for years known as the Boston store. About the same time Warren Sampson, from Michigan, secured a lot on Hennepin avenue joining Messrs. Davie and Califf, and opened a dry-goods store. In the meantime Messrs. John Jackins, and his brother-in-law, E. B. Wright, built on the corner of Nicollet avenue and First street south, a large brick block, the first brick store erected in Minneapolis, and the second brick building, the first being the Bushnell house, erected by Anson Northrup. Both buildings were put up under the supervision of D. M. Coolbaugh, a master-builder.
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Another livery-stable was opened by Isaac W. De Kay, on Third street, and another blacksmith shop in the rear of Isaac I. Lewis' store, by Erastus Jordan. This shop was built on the site of the stables and barnyard of the ferry-farm. Here the first wheat, aside from that on the government and Indian farms, raised in the county, was stacked and threshed with the old-fashioned flail, under the direction of Eben Howe. This was before the days of threshing-machines in the territory, and for that matter, there was not wheat enough raised to pay for the importation of threshing-machines. Mr. Howe's winter's work was concentrated on those wheat stacks.
On the 25th of April, Arthur, eldest son of my neighbor Calvin A Tuttle, died at the early age of six years. He was a child of unusual promise.
The season was very forward, and the weather warm ; on the 20th the mercury reached ninety-two in the shade.
Dr. A. E. Ames and the Minneapolis delegation, who spent the winter at the national capital, in the interest of the settlers on the reservation, returned April 22d. They brought encour- aging reports in regard to the preemption law being extended to the settlers on those lands.
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