USA > Minnesota > Redwood County > The history of Redwood County, Minnesota, Volume I > Part 20
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Until June 26 Governor Ramsey and family had been guests of Hon. H. H. Sibley, at Mendota. On the afternoon of that day they arrived at St. Paul in a birch-bark canoe and became per- manent residents at the capital. On July 1 a land office was established at Stillwater, and A. Van Vorhees, after a few weeks, became the registrar.
On July 7 a proclamation was issued, dividing the territory into seven council districts, and ordering an election to be held on the first day of August, for one delegate to represent the peo- ple in the House of Representatives of the United States, for nine councillors and eighteen representatives, to constitute the Legislative Assembly of Minnesota. Renville county was in- cluded in the seventh district.
Original Counties. The first territorial legislature assembled September 3, 1849, and adjourned November 1. By an act ap- proved October 27, 1849, the territory was divided into nine counties : Washington, Ramsey, Benton, Itasca, Wabashaw, Dakotah, Wahnahta, Mahkahto and Pembina. Only the coun- ties of Washington, Ramsey and Benton were fully organized for all county purposes. The others were organized only for the purpose of the appointment of justices of the peace, constables and such other judicial and ministerial offices as might be specially provided for. They were entitled to any number of justices of the peace and constables, not exceeding six, to be appointed by the governor, their term of office was to be two
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years unless sooner removed by the governor, and they were made conservators of the peace.
Wabashaw. Wabashaw county, as "erected" by the act of October 27, 1849, comprised practically all of the southern part of the present state of Minnesota. Its northern boundary was the parallel running through a point on the Mississippi opposite the mouth of the St. Croix, and a point a trifle north of the mouth of the Yellow Medicine river; the southern boundary was the Iowa line; its eastern, the Mississippi; and its western the Missouri; and it also included the big peninsula between the Missouri and the Big Sioux rivers, and all of what is at present southeastern South Dakota. This embraced the present Red- wood county.
Itasca and Wabashaw were attached to Washington county, the three counties being constituted the Second judicial district, with Hon. David Cooper on the bench.
Dakotah. Dakotah county was also "erected" by the act of October 27, 1849. Its eastern boundary was the Mississippi, its northern boundary was a line drawn due west from the mouth of the Clearwater river, its southern boundary was a line drawn due west from a point on the Mississippi opposite the mouth of the St. Croix, while the western boundary was the Missouri river. Dakotah county did not at that time include Redwood county.
The legislature of 1851, by Chapter I of the Revised Statutes, passed January 1, divided the territory into Benton, Dakota, Itasca, Cass, Pembina, Ramsey, Washington, Chisago and Waba- shaw counties and defines their borders.
Dakota (the final "h" having been dropped) county was made to consist of all that part of the territory west of the Mississippi river and lying west of a line drawn due south from Medicine Bottle's village at the Pine Bend of the Mississippi river (between the present cities of South St. Paul and Hastings) and south of a line beginning at the mouth of the Crow river (emptying into the Mississippi between Hennepin and Wright counties), and up that river and the north branch thereof to its source, and thence due west to the Missouri river. Under this revision, Dakota county embraced all of the present Redwood county. Dakota county was attached to Ramsey county for judicial purposes.
Blue Earth. By an act passed March 5, 1853 (Hennepin county having been established March 6, 1852), the legislature organized the counties of Dakota, Goodhue, Wabasha, Fillmore, Scott, Le Sueur, Rice, Blue Earth, Sibley, Nicollet and Pierce. All the land south of the Minnesota not included in the other counties was created as Blue Earth county. The eastern line of Blue Earth county was practically the line between Ranges 22
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and 23, crossing what are now Freeborn and Waseca counties. The northern boundary was the Minnesota river and an irregular line coinciding somewhat loosely with the present southern boundary of Le Sueur county. The southern and western bound- aries were the southern and western boundaries of the territory. Thus Blue Earth county then included what is now the western part of Freeborn and Waseca counties and possibly small por- tions of what is now Le Sueur county, as all of what are now Redwood, Lac qui Parle, Yellow Medicine, Lincoln, Pipestone, Rock, Lyon, Murray, Nobles, Cottonwood, Jackson, Watowan, Brown, Martin, Blue Earth and Faribault counties, as well as land to the westward outside of the present state. Under this act, Blue Earth was constituted a fully organized county.
Brown. February 20, 1855, the legislature passed an act de- fining the boundaries of the following counties : Olmsted, Dodge, Mower, Freeborn, Blue Earth, Faribault, Steele, Rice, Dakota, Scott, Le Sueur, Nicollet, Sibley, Carver, Renville, Davis, Wright, Stearns, Brown, Goodhue, Newton, Benton, Wabasha, Fillmore, Hennepin, Pierce, St. Louis and Todd. Brown county, as con- stituted by this act, had for its eastern boundary the line be- tween Ranges 29 and 30, from the Minnesota river to the Iowa boundary. Its northern boundary was the Minnesota river, its southern and western boundaries the southern and western boundaries of the territory. . The western line of Blue Earth county was located as at present. The western line of Fari- bault county was six miles further west than at present. Brown county as constituted by this act included the present Redwood county. February 11, 1856, Brown county was declared a fully organized county, with the county seat at New Ulm.
Renville. When Renville county was created February 20, 1855, it did not take in any of the present Redwood county. How- ever, by an act approved March 8, 1860, an entirely new Ren- ville county was proposed. The act read as follows:
"Section 1. That the upper and lower Sioux reservations as defined by the government survey made by 'Sevan & Hutton,' except so much thereof as lies east of Range thirty-four (34) and south of the Minnesota river, be and the same are hereby at- tached to and become a part of the county of Renville.
"Section 2. At the general election it shall be competent, for the legal voters in the said county of Renville to elect all he county officers, justices of the peace and constables, as : . county may be entitled to by law, which officers shall qua y and enter upon the duties of their office at the time, and in he manner prescribed by law.
"Section 3. It shall be the duty of the first board of county commissioners which shall be elected in pursuance of this act, as soon after said board shall have been elected and qualified
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according to law, as the said board or a majority thereof shall determine, to locate the county seat of said county to all intents and purposes until otherwise provided by law.
"Section 4. The county of Renville is hereby attached to the county of Nicollet, for judicial purposes, until the county officers of said county shall have been elected and qualified as contemplated by this act.
"Section 5. That from and after the election and qualifica- tion of the county officers of Renville county as aforesaid the said county shall be included in the Sixth judicial district.
"Section 6. The change in the county lines of Renville county as provided for in section one of this act shall be submitted to the electors of the counties affected by said change at the next general election for their approval or rejection.
"Section 7. This act shall take effect from and after its adoption."
Shortly after this, Renville county was organized, the county seat established at Beaver Falls, and a set of officers is believed to have been elected. The organization was swept away by the massacre.
The upper and lower reservations consisted of a strip of land twenty miles in width, ten miles on each side of the Minnesota river extending from the mouth of the Little Rock (Mud) creek in the western part of Nicollet county to the south end of Lake Traverse, thus taking in a small part of what is now South Da- kota. Renville county as constituted by the act of 1860 took in all this strip except that part of it which is now included in Brown county. That part of Redwood county lying in what was originally the reservation strip, was therefore by this act, tenta- tively included in Renville county. The remainder continued for the time being as a part of Brown county.
Redwood. Redwood county was established by act of the legislature approved February 6, 1862. At that time Brown county was established with the present boundaries of that county with the exception of Townships 108 and 109, Ranges 34 and 35. Section 2 provided that all parts of the old Brown county not included in the new Brown county should constitute Redwood county.
By this act, Redwood county consisted, tentatively, of a large tr'+ . bounded on the east by the range line between Ranges 33 bis234, from the Township line between Townships 108 and 109. Oililthe south it was bounded by the Township line between Toftnships 108 and 109 from the Range line between Ranges 33 and 34 westward to the state line. On the west the boundary was the state line running from the Township line between Townships 108 and 109 north to Big Stone lake. The other boundary was the Minnesota river. As created at that time,
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consequently Redwood county contained all of the. present coun- ties of Lac qui Parle, Yellow Medicine, Lincoln, Lyon and Red- wood counties, and Township 109, Ranges 34 and 35 in what is now Brown county.
Previous to the presidential election of 1864 the pioneers of Redwood Falls petitioned Governor Miller for the establishment of an election district, in pursuance of which the governor set off the whole created county, then including the present county with Lyon, Lincoln, Yellow Medicine and Lac qui Parle coun- ties, and two townships in Brown county as such district. The election of 1864 was held at the house of J. S. G. Honner inside the stockade; the election board being O. C. Martin, T. W. Cas- ter and Ed. McCormick. In reference to the election, Col. Mc- Phail says: "We cast 65 votes, all straight Republican ; no intim- idation, no bull-dozing." The 65 votes is somewhat prob- lematical, as the roster does not show that number of perma- nent settlers at that time.
It was under the authority of this act that the people of all unorganized areas in the county continued to vote in Redwood Falls for fifteen years or more after the county was in full opera- tion.
Not only did the people of the county hold a presidential election in the fall of 1864, but they likewise elected county officers, an act which later had to be legalized, for, though the county had previously been created, its creation had not been confirmed, and no election of county officers had been ordered.
As approved by an act of the legislature (Chapter LXX), March 4, 1864, the line between Sections 35 and- 36, from the Township line between 107 and 108, northward to the Minne- sota river, was constituted the west boundary of Brown county, subject to the approval of the voters. This would have given to Brown county, the townships now in Redwood county, lying east of a line drawn north and south through Redwood Falls. The proposition, however, never went into effect.
February 23, 1865, the legislature (Laws of 1865, Chapter 71), passed "An act to change and define the boundary lines of Redwood county and adjoining counties, and to organize Red- wood county." It established the boundary lines of Cotton- wood and Brown counties as at present, subject to the approval of the voters. The boundary lines of Redwood connty were also established, subject to the approval of the voters as follows:
"Beginning at the intersection of the middle line of the Minnesota river and the range line between Ranges 33 and 34; thence in a northwestwardly direction on the middle line of the main channel of the Minnesota river to the western boundary of the state of Minnesota; thence in a southerly direction on the western boundary of the state to the Township line between
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Townships 108 and 109; thence east on said line to the Range line between Ranges 35 and 36; thence north on said line to the Townsliip line between Townships 109 and 110; thence east on said line to the Range line between Ranges 33 and 34; thence north on said line to the place of beginning."
By this act the lines between Redwood county, and Brown and Cottonwood counties were established as at present. Red- wood county also took in all the present counties of Lyon, Lin- coln, Yellow Medicine and Lac qui Parle counties.
Section 7 read: "The county of Redwood is hereby de- clared an organized county, and the county seat thereof tem- porarily located at Redwood Falls; the last election of county officers for Redwood county held at the election precinct of Red- wood Falls is hereby confirmed and ratified; and said officers until their successors are elected and qualified, shall have full power and authority to do and perform all the acts and duties of their respective offices within the limits of Redwood county as defined in section one of this act which the officers of other organized counties can do and perform within their respective counties."
The first regular election was held in November, 1865, and the location of the county seat at Redwood Falls confirmed, as well as a set of officers elected.
This legislative act of February 23, 1865, having been duly ratified by popular vote, the boundaries thereof were the legal boundaries of Redwood county at the time of the passage of the General Statutes of 1866, Chapter 8, by Section 55 of which Townships 109-34 and 109-35 were transferred from Brown to Redwood counties. But this change in the lines of the counties was not submitted to popular vote, as required by the Constitu- tion, Art. II, Section 1, in the case of organized counties, and consequently the Section 55 in question never became a law and the boundaries remained as established by the act of 1865.
But acting under the authority of the Revised Statutes of 1866, and without waiting for a popular vote, the county com- missioners of Redwood county notified the people of Township 109, Ranges 34 and 35, on September 8, 1869, that they were a part of Redwood county. A bill for expenses during the time when the two townships were so considered was afterward pre- sented to Brown county. Another attempt was later made to include these two townships in Redwood county.
By an act approved March 6, 1871, the people of Brown, Cot- tonwood and Redwood counties were authorized to vote on the subject of detaching Township 108, Ranges 34 and 35 from Brown and attaching it to Cottonwood; and detaching Township 109, Ranges 34 and 35 from Brown and attaching same to Red- wood. Redwood county voted in favor of the proposition in
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November, 1871. But the proposition was defeated by the vote in Brown county. According to the New Ulm Plaindealer for November 17, 1871, the vote in that county was 307 votes for the proposition, and 748 against it.
Lyon county was created March 2, 1869. It then included Lincoln county. Lac qui Parle and Yellow Medicine counties were created March 6, 1871. Yellow Medicine continued to be attached to Redwood county for judicial purposes only, until February 25, 1874.
Chapter 175, Special Laws of 1872, passed February 27, 1872, provided that "All taxes hitherto assessed on real or personal property within the limits of Yellow Medicine county before the boundaries thereto were established by Chapter 98 of the Gen- eral Laws of 1871 and now delinquent or which may hereafter become delinquent, shall be paid to the treasurer of that coun- ty." Redwood county refused to make this payment and suit was brought. The act was declared illegal, on the ground that the delinquent taxes were due to Redwood county because the expenses of the period for which the taxes were delinquent had been incurred in behalf of the part set off as Yellow Medicine as much as in behalf of the part which was retained in Redwood county. The delinquent taxes were subsequently collected by the officials of Yellow Medicine county and turned over to Red- wood county.
McPhail county as approved by an act of the legislature March 1, 1866, took in a tract bounded on the north by the Minnesota river, on the west by the Dakota boundary, on the south by the present southern boundary of Lyon and Lincoln county, and on the east by the Range line between Ranges 39 and 40, from the Township line between Townships 108 and 109, north to the Minnesota river. This county was never organized and Redwood continued as before.
Authority and References. Session Laws and Revised Stat- utes, of the Territory and State of Minnesota, 1849-1915.
History of Renville County, Minnesota, by Franklin Curtiss- Wedge.
The Legislative Manual of Minnesota, 1915.
The New Ulm Plaindealer, November 17, 1871.
Court Records of Redwood County in the Custody of the Redwood County Clerk of Court.
History of Lyon County, Minnesota, by Arthur P. Rose.
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HISTORY OF REDWOOD COUNTY
CHAPTER XVI.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND THEIR MEETINGS.
The affairs of Redwood county have been prudently admin- istered, and the spirit of the commissioners, while ever mindful of the fact that the tendency of every agricultural community is in favor of the lowest tax rate, has nevertheless been one of progress and improvement.
The pioneer period from the organization of the county in 1865 to and including 1872, was one of organization, wherein the commissioners were confronted with the task of laying the foun- dation of the future business of the county. Everything was new and untried in a new country. Until late in 1867 there was no real estate to tax. Funds were scarce, the people were poor. For the first few years the expenses were much greater than the receipts.
During this period, the commissioners perfected the organ- ization of the county, established the first townships, ordered the first roads and bridges, designated official printers, organized school districts, purchased supplies for the county officials, divided the county into commissioner districts, appointing various offices, attended to miscellaneous matters, and met the financial problems as best they could. At the beginning of this period Redwood county, for which the commissioners must ad- minister, extended to the state line. Lyon, including Lincoln county, was cut off March 2, 1869, while Lac qui Parle and Yel- low Medicine were cut off March 6, 1871.
The problem of the boundary line between Brown and Red- wood counties came up during this period. February 23, 1865, the legislature had passed an act to change and define the boundaries of Redwood county. That act described the line be- tween Brown and Redwood counties, as it is at present con- stituted, and the line was ratified by the voters. But the com- pilers of the Revised Statutes of 1866 ignored the act of 1865 and gave the boundaries as described by the previous act of 1862. This would include in Redwood county, Township 109, Ranges 34 and 35, now in Brown county. September 8, 1869, the commissioners notified the people of those two townships that under the Revised Statutes they were a part of Redwood county. Some money was expended by the county in those two townships, for which Brown county was afterward charged. It was finally decided that the two townships were not a part of Redwood county, the provisions of the revision not having been passed upon by the voters. A vote was taken, November 17, 1871, by the people of both counties on the question of whether
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the two townships should be detached from Brown and placed in Redwood, and the proposition was defeated. The anxiety of the people of Redwood county to secure these two townships is explained by the fact that the region in dispute was then sup- posed to contain coal and iron.
For the most part this period was one of prosperity on the part of the people, though the hard winter and late spring of 1867 left many of the people destitute, and Governor Marshall was appealed to for seed and clothing. Secretary of State Hans Mattson and Major M. E. Powell, of Redwood Falls, made a per- sonal canvass of the situation in this county. The commissioners met the problem, and pledged the faith of the county in return for necessary supplies.
1865. The first meeting of the board of county commissioners was held at the auditor's office at Redwood Falls, April 19. On motion of J. S. G. Honner, O. C. Martin was elected chairman. The bonds of Jacob Tippery as county treasurer, and of J. H. Thompson as sheriff, were accepted. The board then adjourned until 1 o'clock. In the afternoon E. E. Jeffries was appointed auditor pro tem in place of T. W. Caster, who was absent. The county was divided into three commissioner districts, No. 3 be- ing created first, then No. 2 and then No. 1. An unnumbered school district was created. Colonel Sam McPhail was appointed county road supervisor and James W. Harkness was appointed assessor. The legislative grant for a state road from New Ulm, via Redwood Falls and Yellow Medicine to Whetstone river, was accepted. The license fee to sell liquor was placed at $25. Col. McPhail was authorized to procure supplies for the use of the county officials. Those present at this meeting were. O. C. Mar- tin and J. S. G. Honner, supervisors ; J. R. Thompson, sheriff ; and E. E. Jeffries, auditor pro tem. September 5, the board met but at once adjourned. September 12, Edward March was appointed district school examiner for the county, O. C. Martin was author- ized to secure a suitable room for the county offices, it was voted to levy a tax of 21/2 mills for school purposes, 6 mills for state purposes and 3 mills for county purposes. It was decided to borrow money from Colonel McPhail by issuing him county orders at 12 per cent discount. At this meeting Martin, Honner and Caster were present. At the meeting held October 14, Samuel M. Thompson, Charles Folsom and John McMillan, Sr., were appointed judges of the election to be held at the house of J. S. G. Honner in Redwood Falls. The whole county was con- stituted an election precinct. December 23 routine business was transacted. The county auditor's salary was fixed at $50 a year.
1866. The first meeting of the board of county commission- ers was held January 2, with O. C. Martin and Hugh Curry, com- missioners, and Edward March, auditor, present. O. C. Martin
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was appointed chairman. April 20, the commissioners made a report of the financial condition of the county. The receipts were shown to be $110.76 of which $75 had been received for three liquor licenses, and $35.76 from the general tax fund of 1865. The expenses were $333.44 and consisted entirely of bills for fees, salaries, and supplies. It was shown that county orders to the amount of $106.75 had been taken in and cancelled. A bill for $126.75 and outstanding orders of $99.94 constituted the total indebtedness. The remainder of the meeting was devoted to school, road and license matters. School district No. 1, as organ- ized, took in the territory surrounding Redwood Falls. District No. 2 lay to the eastward and took in the territory surrounding the Lower agency. The first road declared a public highway ran east from Redwood Falls on the township line to the ferry at the Lower agency, a branch of it extending northward to the Minne- sota river along the east line of section 34, in what is now Honnor township. The sawmill road in Redwood Falls was declared a public highway, and a road was ordered laid out from the village, to intersect the old military road in the direction of the Yellow Medicine agency. September 4, John Winter, who lived near the place where military road crossed the Yellow Medicine, put in his appearance as a member of the county board, this being the first time that a third member had sat. Road Petition No. 1 was received, and the township of Yellow Medicine was created. Sep- tember 5, road and school matters were considered, and Edward March was appointed county superintendent of public instruc- tion. The following tax levy was made: state, 6 mills; county, 3 mills; school, 2 mills. School district No. 3 was organized. Liquor licenses were also granted. The county auditor and the county attorney were each voted an annual salary of $100.
1867. The first meeting was held January 1, in the auditor's office with O. C. Martin, Hugh Curry, and Isaac Willey commis- sioners, and Edward March, auditor, present. O. C. Martin was elected chairman. It was decided to strike the name of John Winter from the minutes of September 4, 1866. Roads and bridge matters were considered and bills ordered paid. The first cor- oner's jury in the county, consisting of Dr. D. L. Hitchcock, C. P. Griswold, S. M. Thompson, J. W. Harkness, Hugh Curry, and Carl Holtz, were ordered paid for investigating the case of a man found dead on Rice creek. April 6, the financial report of the county was rendered. The receipts amounted to $55.48. Of this, $55 had been received for liquor licenses, and only forty-eight cents taxes had been paid. Taxes remaining unpaid amounted to $135.74. The general tax fund amounted to $63.857 and $63.479 remained still unpaid. The entire special county tax of $72.36 still remained unpaid. The total expenditures for the year were $511.24. This left an indebtedness of $455.76, which
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