The history of Mower County, Minnesota : illustrated, Part 50

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago : H. C. Cooper, Jr. & Co.
Number of Pages: 1246

USA > Minnesota > Mower County > The history of Mower County, Minnesota : illustrated > Part 50

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WALTHAM CEMETERY.

Waltham cemetery was organized under the laws of the state December 17, 1867. It is located on the southwest corner of section 22 and the northwest corner of section 27, and contains one acre. The ground was purchased by the town and presented to the association for cemetery purposes.

WALTHAM VILLAGE.

Waltham village was started on section 9 in 1885, when the road now known as the Chicago Great Western came through. The land upon which the village is located was originally a part of the farm of Moses Boliou. In October, 1885, the village was in a thriving condition. The railroad had put in several side tracks and had erected a station and a coal house. There was a lumber yard here and Turner & Bellamy and Parsons & Co.

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HISTORY OF MOWER COUNTY

each had a grain warehouse. On the east side of the principal street was a row of new buildings. S. A. Dodge had a black- smith shop; G. L. Peck opened a hardware store; John Steen and John Stephin each had general stores. There was also a saloon. The public school stood a few rods east of these buildings. The village was platted September 8, 1885, in section 9, township 101, range 17, by the Minnesota Loan & Debenture Company, C. J. C. Ball, president ; Robert C. Wright, secretary.

MODERN WALTHAM. (By L. S. Chapman.)

Waltham is one of the prosperous and thriving villages of Mower county. It is surrounded by as good farming land as any in the county. A large amount of grain and stock is mar- keted annually, and farmers are well-to-do and prosperous. Land sells as high as $100 an acre and will go much higher in the near future.

The present village was started in 1885, when the railroad came through, and the early merchants were: M. Boliou, lumber and coal; J. A. Stephan, general merchant and postmaster; John Steen, general merchant; G. L. Peck, hardware; George Ziemer, furniture; S. A. Dodge, blacksmith.

M. Boliou sold to George Ziemer, who in turn sold to J. C. Brainard & Co., they to the Northwest Lumber Company, and they to the present owners, Hayes-Lucas Lumber & Coal Com- pany, who are doing a thriving business at the present time. C. · E. Kingsley is manager.

G. L. Peek, the hardware merchant, was succeeded by George HI. Boliou, and George H. Boliou by C. C. Erickson, who had purchased the John Steen general store and now uses both places for hardware and machinery.

George Ziemer still continues furniture and undertaking, drugs, etc. John Steen, having sold to C. C. Erickson, conducted a store in Blooming Prairie a few years and later retired to his large farm just east of Blooming Prairie.

S. A. Dodge was succeeded as blacksmith by M. E. Went- worth, of Mantorville, who continued in business until March, 1898, when he sold to F. J. Hill and returned to Mantorville, where he now resides. P. Raupach put in a large blacksmith shop about that time also. Mr. Hill continued in the business a few years, after which his shop was burned and not rebuilt. Mr. Raupach had his business until early in 1910, when E. Peter- son, of Austin, put in a large shop. Mr. Raupach continued in

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HISTORY OF MOWER COUNTY

business until the fall of 1910, when he burned out and went to Anoka, where he now resides.

Waltham has prospered until now. Ithastwolargegeneralstores ; one physician ; one bank ; one shoe shop; one livery ; one creamery ; stock buyer; one carpenter shop; one hardware and machinery store ; one furniture, undertaking and drug store; one lumber and coal yard; two elevators; a flour mill with a capacity of seventy- five barrels daily; two saloons; farm machinery dealer; black- smithery; meat market and paint shop. It also has a Methodist Episcopal church. The entire mileage is supplied with cement sidewalks.

Schools. In 1900 the school building just east of town was taken down, a two-room building was erected on the northeast corner of the village and a semi-graded school established with two teachers in charge. It is considered one of the best schools in the state, having won more prizes than any one school in the state and county contests of its class. The present officers are : J. A. Stephan, director; G. R. Nichols, clerk; L. S. Chapman, treasurer. Miss F. Buek is principal and Miss G. Glover is in charge of the primary department.

Physicians. In June, 1903, Dr. F. W. Schultz, a young physi- cian, a graduate of our state university and of Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, Md., established an office on Main street and for five years had a large and prosperous practice. In December, 1909, he left for Evelith, Minn., for the winter and the next spring went to Germany for a year and is now stationed at Minneapolis. He was succeeded by Dr. H. R. Baker, of Evelith, Minn., who is equally well educated and successful phy- sician at the present time, being a graduate of the Minnesota University and a Chicago medical school and for several years hospital physician in northern Minnesota.

Waltham Creamery. In the year 1885 a cheese factory was established under the co-operation plan, with A. L. Gardner as cheese maker. This factory flourished for four years and was then changed to a creamery under the same management, having the distinction of being second largest in the state at that time, its territory extending to Brownsdale on the south, Blooming Prairie on the west, Dodge county on the north and Sargent on the east. Present management : H. L. Anderson, president ; George Ziemer, secretary; C. Faber, treasurer. The creamery is doing a fine business.

Methodist Church. About the year 1892 the Methodist con- ference erected a church here and on dedication day the people raised by subscription enough money to put the church clear of debt, several donating $100 each. While the membership is small,

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they have always had services regularly. The present pastor is Rev. E. H. Bedford, who is a very able man.

Mayville is a little station on the Chicago Great Western road. It has a cheese company and a nearby Lutheran church. A postoffice is also located at this point.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

RACINE TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE.

Lcation and Area-Early Settlement-Organization-Religious- Hamilton Village-Racine Village-Edited by A. F. Stiles.

Raeine is the northeast corner town of Mower county. It is bounded on the north by Olmsted county, east by Fillmore county, south by Frankford township, and west by Pleasant Valley. The soil is a rich, dark loam, underlaid with a clay subsoil. The sur- faee is rolling, and the scenery diversified by occasional natural groves.

Bear Creek cuts across the southeast corner of the town. There are other streams in the town that arise from the beautiful springs, which are numerous.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

It seems that the first settlement within the present limits of Mower county, was made in what is now Raeine township, by Jacob McQuillan. The story of the settlement of the MeQuillans in 1852 is told elsewhere. In April, 1853, Thomas Cory, a native of Massachusetts, settled on the MeQuillan place, and there enter- tained travelers two years, after which he settled in Fillmore county. He is now dead. His son Henry, former sheriff, still lives in the state. Adam Zedecker, a son-in-law of MeQuillan, came with him. Ile first made a elaim in Fillmore county, but afterward traded places with MeQuillan. In 1855 he sold to William Campfield, and returned to Fillmore county. Campfield was a native of Pennsylvania. He lived here about six years, then went to Kansas, later to Iowa. It is said that G. I. Covell came in 1854 also. He settled on the northwest quarter of see- tion 8. In 1855 he went to Frankford, then the county seat, and paid the first personal tax in Mower county. Joseph Robb, Zede- kiah Tomlinson, and J. D. Gregory, all natives of Pennsylvania, eame here April 15, 1855. Robb and Gregory both made claims,

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which they sold soon after to C. J. Feleh, and moved to Fillmore county. Robert Campfield came that year, and stayed until 1873, when he removed to Kansas, and settled in Ellsworth county. Others that came in 1855 were Benjamin Campfield, John R. Campfield, and C. J. Felch. Benjamin Campfield was a native of Pennsylvania. He preempted land in both Fillmore and Mower counties. He lived at Hamilton a few years. He is dead. John R. Campfield, also a native of Pennsylvania, first set- tled in Fillmore county. In 1858 he moved to section 25 of Racine township. Felch was a native of York state. He settled on the southwest quarter of section 1.

In 1856 the following named came: William Harper, John W. Harper, Lewis Skyhawk, William Trend, Loren Dutton, Jona- than Stewart, Zara Frisbee. John W. Harper was a native of York state. He settled on section 27, where he lived some years, then sold and moved to section 33. He is now dead. William Harper preempted the northwest quarter of section 34. In Octo- ber, 1858, he sold and moved to Frankford and settled on the northeast quarter of section 12 of that township. Skyhawk set- tled on section 27, where he died in 1866. The Duttons were natives of Pennsylvania and came in the spring of the year. Loren preempted the northwest quarter of section 7. The follow- ing spring William preempted forty acres in section 7. Stewart was a native of York state. He preempted the southwest of sec- tion 27. Frisbee settled on section 19. During the war of the rebellion he answered his country's call. He was taken prisoner and died in Andersonville prison.

In 1857, William Chreviston, John Burton, William Dutton, L. G. Odeil and John R. Vail came. The former settled in sec- tion 28. In 1865, he sold and moved to Hamilton. Odell remained a resident of the town about ten years, when he removed to Fill- more county. Vail was a native of Canada; he settled in section 17.

Among others who might be mentioned as early settlers are : H. S. Bailey, John Martin, T. J. Lake, J. R. Dayton, Eli Leonard, O. B. Morse, E. Kenyon, W. F. Harris, George L. Grannis, Mathew Russell, Roswell E. Stewart, George D. Knox, John Schroeder, Frank Pew and William Vannatta.

ORGANIZATION.

This township was organized in 1858. It comprises congres- sional township 104 north, range 14 west, with the exception of the northern tier of sections. The northern tier of sections of township 103, range 14, are included in this township, making it a town of thirty-six sections. The first meeting for the election of

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officers was held at the Methodist church at Hamilton, May 11, 1858. Charles J. Felch was elected moderator ; H. S. Bailey, John Martin and C. J. Feleh, judges of election ; Thomas I. Lake and J. R. Dayton, clerks of election. The officers elected for the year ensuing were: Supervisors, C. J. Felch (chairman), Eli Leonard and William Campfield ; town clerk, O. B. Morse; assessor, Jona- than Stewart; treasurer, John Martin; justices of the peace, II. S. Bailey and Loren Dutton; overseer of poor, E. Kenyon.

RELIGIOUS.

Racine Center Methodist Episcopal Church. This denomina- tion erected a church in 1874. The trustees were T. P. Lyman, D. Eastman, R. E. Stewart, E. Stagg, James F. Carson. The con- tract for building was awarded to R. E. Stewart. The church was dedicated June 6, 1874, Rev. R. Forbes, of Kasson, officiating. The class was organized the year previous, and formerly met for worship in the school house at Raeine Centre. The following named were early pastors: Rev. A. Folansbee, under whose pas- torate the church was built; Rev. Charles Matthews, W. H. Bar- kelow, T. R. Hall, E. W. Young, Noah Lathrop.

The Evangelical Association. This is the name under which the German Church Society was organized about 1866. It was incorporated under the above name about 1873. In 1878 a sub- stantial church edifice was erected in the northeast corner of. seetion 33.

Free Will Baptist Church. There was a Free Will Baptist church organized at Hamilton in 1858, with eight members. Jona- than Stewart was the first deacon; Elder Reeves, from Pleasant Grove, Olmsted county, was the first pastor. Meetings were held once in two weeks, and well kept up with more or less regularity, until 1882.

NORWEGIAN SETTLEMENT.

(By F. H. Reed.)

The population of Racine township is nearly one-third Nor- wegian. In 1854 a party of about nine families came from Dane county, Wisconsin, and settled on seetions 4, 5 and 6, township 103, and sections 32 and 33, township 104, this portion of the town being covered with natural grove timber and lying adjacent to Bear creek. Among those who came in this company were Nelse Severson, Ole Simonson Jobraaten, Guliek Dalen, Hans Anderson, Jonas Nelson, Holiver Olson, Ole Syvrud, Amond John- son and Andrew Leybeek. On arrival in the locality the settlers at first formed a camp together. Ole Simonson Jobraaten being a blacksmith, was given first choice of land. IIe ehose the south-

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east quarter of section 5, township 103, it being covered with oak timber, from which Ole burned coal to use in the forge. For long years he served the settlement as blacksmith. Ole Syvrud was an ingenious man, a gunsmith. Soon after their arrival Syv- rnd killed a bear, hence the name Bear creek. After making tem- porary homes for themselves, the settlers turned their attention to the building of a schoolhouse, which site was located near the southwest corner of the southeast quarter of section 5. Here in the log schoolhouse, long known as district 36, the children who are now the men and women of the settlement, received their education. The sons and daughters here learned the common English language and religious instruction was also given. On Sundays the building served as church for a number of years. The descendants of these settlers have always played an impor- tant part in making Racine the leading agricultural town in the county. Under the head of Frankford township, more is said of the settlement.

HAMILTON VILLAGE.

This village was platted, partly in Mower and partly in Fill- more counties, and started out with good prospects. A store was started, and business began in earnest. In 1857 and 1858 a sem- inary was started here with T. J. Lake as teacher. The business .of the village is now across the line in Fillmore county.

RACINE VILLAGE.

Racine is a village on the Chicago, Great Western railroad, on the southwest quarter of section 26. It has an intelligent and progressive population of some two hundred people, and supports a fine Cooperative creamery. a hotel and several comfortable resi- dences There is a depot, two elevators, one warehouse, two general stores, one hardware store, a drug store, a meat market, a blacksmith and general repair shop, and a feed mill. The vil- lage was platted October 3, 1890. The Winona and Southwestern railroad was built through Racine township in the summer and fall of 1890. J. B. Foley was the first telegraph operator located here. He had his office in a box car for some time, until the present depot was built. S. H. Sleeper erected the first dwelling in the village, in the fall of 1890. F. E. Gahringer moved a store building from Hamilton to Racine in the carly winter of 1891. Robert Eichhorn and his brother, Ed. Eichhorn, rented the build- ing and put in a stock of general merchandise. Robert Eichhorn was appointed postmaster and opened an office in the same build- ing. Later he ereeted a building of his own on the south side of Main street. During the winter of 1891, Silas Utzinger erected

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a handsome store, and Silas Utzinger and Charles Burkhart started in the hardware business. This business is now operated by Christian and Lewis H. Schwarz. Eli Leonard started a lum- ber yard and built an office on the west side of the railroad tracks in the spring of 1901, and there did business until he sold to James A. Smith, of Osage, lowa, at which time the yard was moved to its present location. The Olson brothers, Ole, Andrew and Knudt, built a small blacksmith shop, where they did some repairing, blacksmith work and the like, for about a year. II. C. Christofferson came to Racine from High Forest, built a good resi- denee and blacksmith shop, and commenced business in 1892. He is still in business here. In the summer of 1892, S. J. Sanborn erected a store building just cast of the hardware store and rented it to M. W. Moulsted, of Spring Valley, for a general store. Mr. Sanborn enlarged the building, making it a double store, and continued in business for himself until he sold to F. E. Miland, the present owner, who is enjoying a large and successful business. A. F. Stiles purchased a lot on the north side of Main street in May, 1901. A. W. Brown, son of William Brown, formed a partnership with A. F. Stiles in the firm of Stiles & Brown, and did a good business in general merchandise, drugs, hotel, etc., until May, 1902, when by mutual consent the firm dissolved and A. F. Stiles built on the south side of Main street, where he now does a large business. A. W. Brown continued at the old stand for a few years. In its twenty-one years of existence the growth of the village has been steady and satisfactory, and the com- munity has a prosperous future.

Village School. The village of Racine has a semi-graded school with three teachers. The early history of this sehool has not been preserved. S. Utzinger, who has investigated the mat- ter, writes as follows: "1 find minutes of a regular school meet- ing held March 27, 1869, and from then on every year, but no record previous to that. I find the school register for 1868. The schoolhouse at that time was about three-quarters of a mile east of where it now stands. I find the record of a special meeting held January 20, 1875. At this meeting it was decided to move the school building to the present location. In later years the schoolhouse has been repaired and enlarged. Martha M. Mead is given as teacher in 1868 and Sally B. Gove in 1869, but 1 do not think that these were the first teachers as the district was prob- ably organized previous to that date."

High Forest village was platted at the head waters of the Root river in township 104, range 14, April 23, 1856, by John Robinson.

SARGEANT LANDMARK.

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CHAPTER XXXVII.

SARGEANT TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE.

Location and Area-Early Settlement-Organization-Early Ho- tel and Store-St. John's Church-Sargeant Village.

This is one of the northern tier of towns in Mower county. Its limits are those of congressional township 104 north, range 15 west of the fifth principal meridian. It is bounded on the north by Dodge county, east by Pleasant Valley, south by Dexter and west by Waltham. The surface is rolling, the soil a somewhat heavy loam, being mixed in some places with clays and is in all parts quite productive. The land is an open prairie, except along the banks of Root river, and its principal affluent, which are skirted with a flourishing growth of timber. Root river, entering the town in section 35, flows in a general northerly direction till it reaches section 12, through which it takes an easterly course into Pleasant Valley. The town receives its name from H. N. Sar- geant, an early settler.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

In 1860 John Butler, from Wisconsin, settled on the southeast quarter of section 11, which had been pre-empted by his brother Fred a few years before. Here he built a house and fenced the land. Soldiers were now wanted, hosts of them, to defend their country's flag. Butler enlisted and went to the war. Its perils he survived, but never came back to this town. An Englishman named William Langton settled on the northeast quarter of sec- tion 13 in the year 1863. Two years later he sold his place and moved to Rochester, where he died. His widow is still living in that city. Henry N. Sargeant, a native of Canada, having come across the border to seek a new home in the States, arrived here some time in the year 1865. He found a desirable location in the southeast quarter of section 11 and there built him a house. Samuel King settled in Sargeant township in 1869 on section 13. There were thirty acres broken and a log house and granary on the place, which constituted the improvements. He improved 200 acres of the land and weather boarded and painted the house, built a good granary and lived there until 1875, when he pur- chased a half section in 23 and 26 and moved there. Lieutenant Nelson A. Sumner came to Mower county in 1871 and built a house on the northwest quarter of section 35, town of Sargeant.

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Ilis brother, Warner A., had laid a land warrant on this land in 1857.

In 1872 or in 1873 Hans Peterson, C. W. Oswald, Nils Chris- tianson, P. Johnson, O. C. Osbern and G. Thorson came here. Oswald was a German. He settled on the southwest quarter of section 11, selling out in 1882 and moving to Rochester. Chris- tianson was a Dane. He settled on the southwest quarter of section 22, but sold in 1880 and went to Big Stone county. Peter- son, also a Dane, settled in the northeast quarter of section 16. He stayed there until 1882, in which year he sold his place and removed to Marshall. Thorson, a native of Norway, settled on the southwest quarter of section 35 and lived there until 1884. In the year 1874 Peter Nilson and his son Nils Peterson, natives of Denmark, took possession of the lands on sections 8 and 16. During the same year Thor Johnson, Gjernes, his son, Nils T. Gjernes and Philip Johnson, all natives of Norway, came here. The first named settled on the northeast quarter of section 11.

C. R. Koplin, George Biersdorfer, William Prudahl and others started a German settlement in the southwest quarter of the town in 1876-77, and C. L. Swartz located farther north. The failure of the wheat crop in 1878 had a disastrous effect on the settle- ment. Some of them moved away and others changed their inten- tion of coming.

ORGANIZATION.

The township of Sargeant was organized September 16, 1873; previous to that time the west half of its territory had been at- tached to Waltham and the east half to Pleasant Valley town- ship. The first town meeting was held at the house of H. N. Sar- geant. Mr. Sargeant was chosen moderator and James Lowry clerk of the meeting. The following were elected officers to serve until March, 1874: Chairman, Samuel King; supervisors, P. C. Olson and P. Johnson; clerk, H. N. Sargeant; treasurer, P. C. Olson ; justices of the peace, L. King and Nels Christianson; con- stables, L. King and Hans Peterson; assessor, C. W. Oswald.

EARLY HOTEL AND STORE.

A house for the entertainment of travelers is said to have been built at an early day in the history of the settlement on the northeast quarter of section 35 by a man named Seckley (word of doubtful spelling). The property soon passed into the hands of one Dilarzon Ketchum, who, finding the business not a paying one, was glad, in his turn, to find a purchaser. Henry Bagley, who bought out Mr. Ketchum, kept the hotel open but a year, when he removed to Udolpho township. Not long after the house was closed it was burned down.

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In the spring of 1865 a man named William Pitcher put up a shanty on section 26, in which he kept for sale a small stock of goods. With so few settlers in the neighborhood, it is evident that trade could not have been very brisk. The store was closed at the end of the summer and Pitcher left the township.

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH. (By Rev. C. A. Affeldt.)

Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Church, U. A. C. In 1877 Adolf Zander, Carl Zander, August Wietstock and F. Weiss came from Goodhue county to reside on their newly acquired posses- sion in Mower county. These attended services at Trinity church at Waltham until the following year. That year a divine con- nected with the Iowa Synod made occasional visits and held serv- ices at the homes of C. and A. Zander, respectively. In 1879 Henry Kerchner, F. Ladwig, William Prodahl and several others of Goodhue county arrived with their families. Rev. Achilles, con- nected with the Lutheran Minnesota Synod, took charge of the missionary work, conducting services in schoolhouse of District No. 114, northeast quarter of section 32, Sargeant township. In 1879 Rev. W. V. Schenk, of Rochester, Minn., was given charge. Hard times compelling many families to leave, services were dis- continued for a period. In the early eighties the pastor of a Lutheran church in Dexter township (Seebach's church) again held occasional meetings until 1885, in which year Rev. J. C. H. Martin, of Trinity church, Waltham, took charge of the field and held regular services, also after being transferred to Pleasant Valley church. In 1898 Rev. Herman Meyer, of Waltham, was invested with the pastorate. That event marks the beginning of a new period. In October a meeting was held at A. Zander's for the purpose of effecting an organization, which also took place. Present were A. Zander, C. R. Kopplin, F. Lange, F. Augustin, H. Kerchner, August Wietstock, Julius Henning, Walter Pieper. Hans Augustine, of Hay Creek, Goodhue county, donated thrce acres of land in northeast quarter section 31, Sargeant township, a site for church and cemetery. October 6, 1900, Rev. C. A. Affeldt, of Trinity church, Waltham, was installed by Rev. A. Dubberstein. In January, 1901, after being incorporated, the congregation decided to erect a church on its site. This was done during the summer. It is a frame structure, 32x42 feet, with additional altar niche and 80-foot steeple, in which a bell is hung, cost $2,500. In December, 1906, the first parochial school was opened in charge of Rev. W. F. Lange, formerly of Hay Creek, Minn., but now retired from active ministry. This con- gregation has a promising future. Present membership: 144

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The history of Mower County, Minnesota : illustrated, Part 50

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Chicago : H. C. Cooper, Jr. & Co. Number of Pages: 1246

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago : H. C. Cooper, Jr. & Co.
Number of Pages: 1246