USA > Minnesota > Faribault County > The history of Faribault County, Minnesota : from its first settlement to the close of the year 1879 : the story of the pioneers > Part 50
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Merry Chrismas! the holiday of all Christian nations, limited to no sect, or class, the property of no one people, it is observed uni- versally, wherever the name of Christ is known. As Christ lived and died and reigneth for all, so is Christmas for all, and it needs no proclamation of president or emperor to command its observance, or give notice of its coming. All the world knows when it comes, and from the gray-haired sire to the little child, is looked forward to with joyful hopes and pleasant anticipations. The writer cannot resist the impulse to say something more of this day, for the bene- fit, especially, of our younger readers. What means this day which brings such general rejoicing? Let us go back through the mists of nearly nineteen hundred years, and to the sacred soil of old Judea. We stand here in the quiet, starry night, surrounded by the shepherds, watching their flocks. Busy life is stilled. A holy peace reigneth here, and we are alone with God and nature.
"Wonderful night! Wonderful night! Angels and shining immortals Thronging thine ebony portals, Fling out their banners of light."
Look upward! behold! the wonderous radiant being! the Angel of the Lord is here. Hear the voice of the Heavenly messenger, as he speaks: "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
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For unto yon is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which Is Christ the Lord." Luke li: 8, 9, 10, 11.
"Hark! A burst of Heavenly music, From a band of Seraphs bright, Suddenly to earth descending, In the calm and silent night, To these shepherds of Judea, Watching in the earliest dawn Lo! they bring the joyful tidings, Jesus, Prince of Peace is born."
"Ah! listen to the grand angelic choral, as they praise God saying:"
""'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"-Luke ii: 13-15.
The foretold by the prophets of old, The desire of the nations- The light of the world, The world's Redeemer, has come!
By angel messengers was announced to the world, This greatest event of time or eternity.
And now down to us, through all the Christian centuries, has come the annual commemoration of the nativity, or birth of Jesus, the Messiah, the Prophet, Priest and King, the mighty Lord of All, and floating down to us, too, through the long gone centuries, come the triumphant songs of the angel choirs that sang together for joy, at our Savior's birth, filling earth and heaven with their mnelo- dies, repeated on earth, re-echoed in heaven, at every annual com- memoration. How appropriate that this day should be celebrated with religious and domestic festivities, merry -making and general geniality, the healing of old feuds, the forgiveness of the past and the re-estab- lishment of friendships and love among all, for this day more than all others awakens all the highest religious sentiments and the purest domestic affections. For He who was born to-day, brought to us all that which makes life valuable in all its relations, and revealed to us immortality. And the man or women must indeed be bankrupt in faith and hope and love, or grown sordid, or bigoted, or soured with the world, who cannot appreciate and celebrate Christmas. Yet it is true, that certain religious bodies have, in the past. made but little of this day, commemorative of one of the greatest historical facts of the Christian religion, which they profess. and the old puritan forefathers, at one time, made it an offense, punish- able with fine, to observe Christmas, even by ceasing to work on that day. See here! "Whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas, or the like, either by forbearing labor, feasting, or any other way * shall pay for every such of- fense, five shillings, as a fine, to the county." 1659, M. S. records, vol. 4, part first, page 336 General Court. But better views have long prevailed, and Christinas is coming to be generally observed
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FARIBAULT COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
by all religious bodies, in the spirit, and according to its time-hon- ored customs.
And the growing love of our people, old and young, for this great festival, is evident, not only in its general observance, but in the happy anticipations and conduct of all. For weeks before the day we may see in the stores crowds of town and country folk, with cheerful faces, full of mysterious meaning, who are buying every- thing of art and taste and beauty, as Christmas gifts, to make the young happy, and to attest the love for friends and kindred. The purse strings, often so tightly drawn and knotted, come open now, and even the miser takes something from his savings to make some- one happy. Even the cynic, the ascetic, the sceptic, and that other great man, who from his high intellectual eminence, is wont to look down with contempt upon Christian teachings and customs gener- ally, as vain myths and superstitions, even these grow more genial, and offer a tribute on Christmas.
So let it ever be. Christ was the best gift the world has ever re- ceived, so let the Christmas gift commemorate it.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who- soever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." John iii: 16.
The primitive Christians celebrated this day "with great joy and triumph, the labors of life were suspended, the churches were crowded with joyful worshippers who sang their jubilant hymns and anthems, and it was their practice to adorn their churches with flowers, boughs, and garlands of evergreens," and such has been the custom in some branches of the church, through all the centuries to this day. Religious services at the place of holding public wor- ship, and the Christmas dinner, are now the great features of the day. For Christmas is a feast day in the church's calendar. Roast geese, plum puddings, and mince pies, are the proper, leading and historic dishes of Christmas, as turkey. pumpkin pie and baked beans are of Thanksgiving. Merry Christmas! Often called the children's festival, what day so dear to the heart of childhood as this? Ah, we are all children again on this happy day. Let us touch old mem- ories:
" "Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care In hope that St. Nicholas soon would be there."
And St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus, came too, from somewhere, perhaps from the far off regions of ether, noiselessly down the chimney, as tradition says, with his loads of gifts, and filled the stockings.
Then, when can we ever forget the home and church decorations, or the family Christmas tree, or the great evergreen tree in the
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church on Christmas eve, or the Sunday school, which has now so long aud so properly been one of the great features of this festival? What a wonderful tree. with its lights and ornaments and generous presents
"The Christmas tree is a bonnie tree, Strong and straight and brave to see, Each branch and shoot from crown to root, Is clustered thick with rarest fruit, Such fruit as never on any shore, Was known to grow on a tree before."
Hark! how the voices burst forth, in the joyous carol.
"Gather around the Christmas tree, Every bough bears a burden now. They are gifts of love for us we trow, For Christ is born his love to show And give good gifts to men below."
Aud let us not forget, on this day, greatest of all in its geniality and beneficence, the poor. the sick. the friendless. They, too, must be made to rejoice in the abundant charity and kindly sympathy of friend and neighbor. Let the waifs, the orphans, the homeless be hunted up. and made to share our abundance. And this must become the distinctive feature of this day. As we revere Him, who was the friend of the poor, and taught us that we must love our neighbors, as ourselves. that it is better to give than to receive, so must we on this glad day remember the poor, the needy. and the outcast. Merry Christmas! With what curious customs it has been kept through the centuries by the various nations. The queer songs, the gleefnl carols and the great feasts, in the old baronial halls of Europe-the Christmas legends, the decorations, the holly- boughs and berries and the mistletoe, the Christmas flowers, the Yule logs and cheerful hearths, when the great fires "went roaring up the chimney wide," all rise in visions before us, and we hear again the sweet music of Christmas bells and chimes, but we cannot write of them here.
As one after another of the human systems of philosophy from Hermes Thismegistus, to our own day, which have sought, on the basis of mere reason and natural law, to provide for man's moral. government. improvement and elevation: fail, it becomes evident that Jesus Christ, the Christ life and Christ teachings afford the only assurance and hope of man's true progress and permanent hap. piness on earth, and this is the only power to unlock for him the gates of heaven. The world, indeed, has no influence, or power, even in its highest forms of civilization, nor in any of its systems of philosophy, or its mere human systems of education, to produce the Christian life. That life is the fruit of grace. And none can come to the true knowledge of God, His will and His ways, but
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FARIBAULT COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
through this life and grace, as found, and found only, in Jesus the Christ. The whole record of our race but shows the truth of the Scripture, that "other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. iii, 2), and if this fails, all fails, ah! then indeed!
"The pillared firmament is rottenness, And earth's base built on stubble."
Well indeed, may we ever celebrate our Lord's nativity, and sing with the poet:
"While the angels wake the chorus, So let ransomed men reply, Chanting the celestial anthem, Glory be to God on high."
And now to every reader, may you ever have a merry Christ- mas and a happy New Year.
WINTER APPROACHES.
The first snow of the season fell on the tenth of December, and was followed by some cold weather which inaugurated the winter of 1879-80.
"When all aloud the wind doth blow, And coughing drowns the parson's saw, And birds sit brooding in the snow."
COUP D'OEIL.
Could we, in this year of grace, 1879, ascend to some sufficiently elevated station, on a bright summer day in August, and from thence cast a hasty glance over our county, what a beautiful scene would be spread out before as. First, perhaps, we should observe certain dark blue lines and curves, which indicate the native timber, bor- dering the many streams and the many crystal lakes, shimmering in the sunlight, like mirrors. And we should see over the wide reach- ing prairies innumerable groves and lines of forest trees which were not here when we first saw these fertile lands. And what are those dark straight lines which cross the field of view-one passing from east to west, another from north to south, and still another across the northeast corner of the county? Ah! These are rail- roads, and the long trains passing over them, indicate their business of travel and traffic. And see, scattered over the county the large tracts of cultivated lands, aggregating nearly one hundred thousand acres, divided into nearly thirteen hundred farms, on which you notice the many substantial farm-houses, barns and other structures, which tell of the prosperous home-life of their owners. Scanning this wide field closer, we observe certain distinctly marked points, and these are the villages of the county-the marts of trade and centers of population in this good year, Blue Earth City, Winne-
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bago City, Minnesota Lake, Wells, Delavan, Easton and Huntley- and each of these places is located on a railroad, and each sur- rounded by a beautiful, populous and fertile, tributary territory. But see! there is another kind of points, which indicate something else, and these are the United States post-offices located in the county; Alton, Banks, Blue Earth City, Brush Creek, Clayton, Cor- net. Delavan, Easton, Elmore, Emerald, Ewald, Grapeland, Home- dahl, Huntley, Minnesota Lake, Pilot Grove, Walnut Lake, Wells, and Winnebago City. And we observe, also, certain neat structures, very similar to each other, all over the county, and these are seventy - seven, or more, substantial district school houses. And we also see many buildings of a larger kind, with spires pointing always up- ward, and these are the many churches erected to the worship of God. And we see here too, grazing quietly, on the green grasses of this wide area, innumerable herds, large and small. of milch cows and other cattle, and horses and sheep, and wenotice hundreds of people busy at work in the fields and about the farm houses. And see those wide lines, stretching across the county in every direction. These are the public high ways, and you observe that they are well worked and well bridged, and upon them, going to and fro, are many people, traveling on business, or pleasure, droves of cattle, hogs and sheep, and the white covered wagons of the immigrants coming in to locate among us, or passing through, to more distant localities. How vastly changed is all this scene, from what it was, when we first beheld this region, a quarter of a century ago! And it is in- deed a goodly land.
A NEW ERA.
The year 1879 marked the beginning of a new era in the condi- tion of the whole country-a period of returning prosperity and progress.
For nearly ten years the country was passing through the most unparalleled depression in every branch of industry, as has been more fully detailed in some of the preceding years of this his- tory, but with the incoming of 1879 a new and better day dawned upon the country, and everywhere was heard the happy exclama- tion "the good times have come." And the evidences that such was the fact, were numerous, palpable and cheerful. This year saw every- where the revival of long stagnant business. On the first day of January, 1879, specie payment was resumed by the government, in pursuance of the act of congress passed several years before, fixing that day for resumption. That great event, looked forward to with great hopes by many and with fear by others, took place without causing the least excitement in the business world. Indeed resump- tion had practically taken effect some months before, as greenbacks
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FARIBAULT COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
were at par long before the day arrived. Our currency became ex- changeable, at par, in the markets of the world, with the money of the world. This event was the starting point in the financial and business revival. Money perfectly safe, became plenty, and sought investment. The furnace, the forge and the foundery went again to work, and the workers in iron and steel found their busi- ness recovering so rapidly from its long and great depression, that they were unable to supply the demand. Railroad building, which makes the great demand for iron, began with wonderful energy, and more miles of railroad were built in the United States, in this year, than in any year since 1873, the number of miles being 3,7383, and more would have been built, could the iron, which ran up to an enor- mous price, have been had. Over four hundred miles of railroad were built this year, in Minnesota. Some twenty of which were built in this county.
Turning to commercial interests, it was said that on one bright day in June of this year, more steamers gathered in New York har- bor than had ever before been seen in that great mart of commerce. Our foreign trade had been, for several years, increasing, until now our exports far exceeded our imports, leaving a large balance of trade in our favor, causing the shipment to this country, of many millions of dollars in gold, to balance accounts.
Our cotton factories all went to work again, running on full time, and our manufactures of all kinds were sent abroad more than ever before. All these awakened industries created a demand for la- bor, which rapidly increased, and mauy thousands of working men, skilled and common laborers, who had for some years been out of employment, and had been reduced to great destitution, went to work again, on full time and full pay.
The mines of precious metals, too, increased in their products. The Miner's Journal said, that during this year, American mines produced $80.000,000, and this great yield mainly stayed at home.
As a result of all these favoring causes, the wholesale and retail trade of merchants also greatly revived. The demand for all kinds of manufactured goods increased rapidly, and millions of dollars' worth of goods, long stored in warehouses, were brought out and sold at good figures. But this is not all, nor the best of this summary of revived industries. In this happy year, that great industry which lies at the bottom of all real national prosperity, agriculture, was also highly favored in abundant harvests and fair prices throughout the nation. A number of years of bad harvests in Europe made a demand for a large share of our agricultural and other food products. Many millions of bushels of our surplus wheat, millions of pounds of beef, pork, hams, bacon, butter, cheese and tallow, were exported to foreign countries, the value of which
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returned to us in gold, with which to build railroads, and inaugurate other great enterprises, which added to the general prosperity. This prosperity of the agricultural interests was the chief element in the general prosperity of the country, making the revival of business in many other lines possible. But many causes, however, which cannot be named here, contributed to bring about this new era.
Locally, our county shared in the general revival. A new spirit of enterprise and hopefulness was infused into the hearts and lives of the people. The hard years of scarcity of money, grasshoppers, short crops, small prices, scemed to have gone by, and all looked upon the future with great cheerfulness and confidence, and they were not disappointed. New lands were broken up. the trade of our merchants greatly extended; payments became prompt, wheat and other products brought fair prices, two new railroad markets were established in the county, to the great convenience of large districts of country. A competing line of road was secured, many new structures were erected in the county, mechanics of all kinds found plenty of work, and money was plenty, and could be had on long or short time, at ten per cent. and even less. The better days. so long hoped for, had come, with an outlook for the future of the best assurances. And, notwithstanding the steady, sure, substan- tial, even rapid progress of our county, a progress manifest in each succeeding year, which the writer has had the pleasure of record- ing in these pages, made in face of many discouragements, it is, nevertheless, a most grateful task to him, to close this volume of our history with the record of a year of such activities, prosperity and bright prospects for the future as this, the last. And now-
"The long day's task is done, And we must sleep."
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FARIBAULT COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
PART SECOND.
Brief Descriptive and Historical Sketches of the Several Townships in Faribault County, Minnesota.
"Rise too, ye shapes and shadows of the past, Rise from your long forgotten graves at last. Let us behold your faces." * * * -Longfellow.
PREFATORY REMARKS.
In Part First of this work we have treated of those matters which pertain to the history of the county generally, and as a county. But the county is divided into twenty sub-divisions, and each of these has its own local history, which could not be advantageously in- cluded in the general history of the county; yet the history of these several localities, or sub-divisions, is a part of the history of the county, and this work would be far from complete should it be omit- ted, and it is proper, therefore, now to enter upon the history of the several townships which constitutes Part Second, of this work. These sketches contain an account of the first settlement, or- ganization, names of early settlers and interesting events, of each township, from its first organization to the close of 1879.
Attention may here be called to the fact, that a valuable part of this history consists in the lists of names here given, of all the in- habitants of the several towns, as they appear on the rolls of the national census, taken in June, 1860. And these are they, who are entitled to the honorable designation of "old settlers," and whose names should go down to posterity as those who laid the foundations of our county, and changed the wilderness into the happy abode of free and enlightened people. And this record shall be their patent of nobility, to which their descendants, for generations, may refer with pride. And it is just as honorable a beginning, to boast of, as that of those who began their family history with Hugh Capet, in France, or with the coming in with William the Conqueror, in Eng- land, or at the landing of the Pilgrims, from the Mayflower, on the desolate shores of New England. Often the brave, self-sacrificing
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men and women who spent their lives amid the hardships of pioneer life, receive not the credit that is due their, industry, foresight and achievements, and are forgotten, while some subsequent, ambitious and unscrupulous individuals, seeking to magnify their own impor- tance, rob the early settlers of their just honors. While great care has been taken to have every name, date, and statement correct, yet some errors may exist, but if any, the mistakes are few and of but little importance. Much of the information contained in these pages was obtained from the old settlers themselves, and from the records of the several towns.
A brief biographical notice is given of the first settler of each town, and of the person after whom the town was named, where such was the fact, and of a few others who bore some special relation to the town, or to some important event or office, but no extended notice could be given to other early settlers, just as worthy, in many respects, as it would render the work too voluminous. But the great majority of the early settlers, and many of later date, will find their names, at least, mentioned somewhere in these pages. Prior to the organization of township government, the whole county was divided into election precinets, each of which comprised a num- ber of towns. Judges of election, justices of the peace and consta- bles were elected or appointed in the several precincts. By the act approved August 13th, 1858, known as the township organization act. it was, among other provisions, enacted "That the governor is hereby authorized and required to appoint three persons to act as commissioners in each of the organized counties of this State, who shall be residents thereof, to divide such counties into towns, under the provisions of this act."
The governor, accordingly, appointed Andrew C. Dunn, James S. Latimer and R. P. Jenness such commissioners, who, for con- venience in this history, have been designated special commission- ers. They met at Winnebago City on the twenty-seventh day of September, 1858, and proceeded to the performance of their duties. The result of their action is embodied in the following report made to the register of deeds, October 1st, 1858.
"To the Register of Deeds of the County of Faribault, State of Minnesota:
Sın :- The undersigoed commissioners appointed by his excellency, the gov- ernor of the State of Minnesota, to divide the county of Faribault into towns, in pursuance of the act of the legislature of the State of Minnesota, entitled an act to provide for towoship organization, approved August 13th, A. D. 1858, do, In conformity to the said act, make this their report. The commissioners have taken and adopted for the boundarles of the towns, the government surveyors' stakes, and have divided the county as follows, and with the following names:
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FARIBAULT COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
TOWNSHIP.
RANGE.
NAME.
One hundred and one.
. Twenty-four.
Lake
One hundred and one.
. Twenty-five
Seely
One hundred and one.
. Twenty-six Campbell
One hundred and one . Twenty-seven Dobson
One hundred and one.
. Twenty-eight Pilot Grove
One hundred and two
. Twenty-four . Foster
One hundred and two
. Twenty-five .. Brush Creek
One hundred and two
.Twenty-six.
Emerald
One hundred and two
.Twenty-seven . Blue Earth City
One hundred and two
.Twenty-eight Johnson
One hundred and three
Twenty-four Cobb
One hundred and three
.Twenty-five.
Walnut Lake
One hundred and three
. Twenty-six Barber
One hundred and three.
. Twenty-seven. Prescott
One hundred and three.
.Twenty-eight. . Verona
One hundred and four.
Twenty-four. Douglass
One hundred and four
. Twenty-five. Marples
One hundred and four
. Twenty-six
.Lura
One hundred and four
. Twenty-seven. Guthrie
One hundred and four
Twenty-eight. Winnebago City
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