USA > Minnesota > Redwood County > The history of Redwood County, Minnesota, Volume I > Part 62
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The new building was erected in 1884 and cost $2,000. An addition to the house was built in 1889, making it large enough to house all grades from one to eight. In 1905 the building was damaged by fire and the agitation for a new building commenced immediately. During the year of 1906 the new building was erected on a five-acre tract at the south end of Sixth street, the
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cornerstone laying taking place on May 23, 1906. The building was ready for occupancy at the beginning of the school year in September of the same year. The cost was $17,750 and contained rooms for grades, high school and large auditorium. High school work commenced in 1906, but the full, complete high school course was not taken up until 1912. Domestic science and manual train- ing were added and space provided for them in 1915. The inde- pendent school district of Walnut Grove now employs a principal, two high school teachers and four grade teachers.
Occupying one block square in the heart of the town, the vil- lage park is surrounded by tall, stately trees. Arrangements are being made to lay out walks, with flower beds, and to otherwise beautify this already attractive spot.
WANDA
The railroad came through Willow Lake township in 1899, and the present site of Wanda was selected as the location of a future village. Mathias Eichten then owned the land, but was not living here, his residence in Section 28, Willow Lake, the pres- ent site of the Catholic church, being then occupied by a renter.
In the fall the elevators, the depot and the lumber yards were opened. The elevators were owned by the Western Elevator Co. (now owned by Albert Spaulding) and by Bingham Brothers (now owned by the Wanda Elevator Co.). The lumber yards were owned by C. M. Youmans & Co. (now owned by J. H. Queal & Co), J. H. Queal & Co., and Eichten Brothers.
The winter presented a scene of busy activity in the village. Mat. Jennings erected a general store on lot 16, block 3. Eichten Bros. erected a hardware store on lot 18, block 2. Paul Doepke opened a hotel and saloon on lot 15, block 3. In a barn in the rear of the store lived a carpenter who was helping to erect the different buildings. John Drees erected a saloon on lot 13, block 3. Herman Wenzel opened a blacksmith shop.
The spring of 1900 opened most auspiciously for the new vil- lage. Many dwellings were erected, and the business of the hamlet increased. In 1901 Spaulding Brothers built an elevator.
In 1902 the business activities of the village as given in the Northwestern Gazetteer were as follows: Bauermeister, F. H., furniture; Becker, F. C., harnessmaker; Beack, John, meats; Dederichs, Mathew, livery; Doepke, Paul, hotel and saloon; Dooner, Edward J., farm implements; Dreis, John, saloon; Eichten Bros., hardware and lumber; Fitch, A., barber; Gebhard & Roth, farm implements; Jenniges, M., & Son, general store; Pfiffer, V. F., railway, express and telegraph agent; Queal, J. H. & Co., lumber; Schneider, A. S., general store; Wanda Creamery Co .; Wenzel, Herman, blacksmith.
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The growth of the village was rapid, and when the Gazetteer of 1904 was issued Wanda was a flourishing settlement, with Lutheran and Catholic congregations, three elevators, a hotel, a creamery, and with excellent railroad, express, telephone, tele- graph and mail service.
The following business activities are shown in the business directory of that year: Alt & Altermatt (Edw. Alt and Geo. Altermatt), general store; Becker, Frederick C., harnessmaker; Bingham & Sons (H. C. Olson, agent), grain elevator; Black, John, meats; Callahan, Paul A., cashier State Bank of Wanda, real estate and loans; Commercial Hotel, Christ Leuther, proprietor; Dede- richs, Mathew, livery ; Doepke, Paul, saloon; Dooner, Edward J., farm implements ; Eichten Bros. (Valentine P. and Mathias) hard- ware and lumber; Fitch, Amsden, barber; Gebhard & Roth, farm implements; Holznagel, Louis, blacksmith; Larson, Andrew, gen- eral store; Laux, Nicholas, saloon; Leuther, Christ, proprietor Commercial Hotel; Marwick & Sonysen (James Marwick and Christ N. Sonysen), general store, furniture and undertaking; Ohlson, Henry C., general store and hardware; Pfiffer, Victor F., railway, express and telegraph agent; Queal, J. H. & Co. (Geo. W. Dubois, agent), lumber; Schmechel, John, saloon; Schmechel, John & Son, agricultural implements; Spalding Bros. (Albert Spalding, agent), grain elevator; State Bank of Wanda (capital $10,000; M. Jennings, president; Paul A. Callaghan, cashier), col- lections a specialty ; Wanda Creamery Co., Mathias Jenniges, sec- retary (three miles west) ; Western Elevator Co. (F. Blowdow, agent.
Wanda was surveyed for the Western Town Lot Company on Sept. 26, 1899, by J. C. W. Kline. The plat was filed for record on Oct. 20, 1899. The village was located in the southeast frac- tional one-quarter of section 19, in town 110, range 36. The plat consisted of six blocks, each containing ten lots, except blocks three and four, which extended as far east as the railroad track. All the streets are seventy feet wide, except Main and Oak streets, which are eighty feet wide, and all the alleys are twenty feet wide. The north and south streets beginning at the west are: Pine, Elm, Oak and Railroad, which last named runs in a north- west and southeasterly direction. The east and west streets be- ginning at the north are: North, Main and South streets.
The plat of blocks 8 and 9, addition to Wanda, was filed Nov. 22, 1901. The land was owned by the Western Town Lot Co. The plat of block 7, addition to Wanda, was filed June 29, 1901, by the Western Town Lot Co. The plat of block 10, and outlots A, B, C and D, addition to Wanda, was filed Nov. 29, 1912, by the Western Town Lot Co.
On Feb. 16, 1901, the citizens of the hamlet desiring to incor- porate, a census was taken, and after ascertaining that the village
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contained 178 people, the petition was duly drawn up and pre- sented to the county board.
The signers were Paul Doepke, Mathias Eichten, Louis Sand- berg, V. F. Pfeiffer, A. Spalding, O. C. Mueller, E. J. Duron, Peter Drees, Val. P. Eichten, M. Dooner, C. C. Bigelow, Alfred Balk, F. E. Wright, Henry Schrander, M. Jenninges, A. Schmechel, H. Kuent, M. J. Eichten, A. A. Schneider, H. C. Ohlsen, F. H. Bauer- meister, F. Bloedow, Dick Balk, Herman Wenzel, Fred C. Becker, A. L. Bigelow, Math. Drees, John Drees, Lee Mohler, Edward Dooner, E. J. Dooner and Ed. Toban.
The petition was granted, and an election ordered held in Eichten's Hall, April 10, 1901, in charge of Math. Jenniges, Math. Eichten and Paul Doepke. Of the thirty-four votes cast, every one was in favor of the incorporation. The village as incor- porated included parts of sections 19, 20, 28, 29 and 30.
An election of officers was duly held, resulting as follows: President, Mathias Eichten; council, Math. Jenniges; H. C. Ohl- sen and M. Dooner; recorder, F. Bauermeister.
At the election held March 11, 1902, M. J. Eichten, O. C. Mueller and Nick. Jenniges presided as judges. The officers elected were: President, J. A. Johnson ; trustees, Math. Jenniges, M. Dooner and Albert Spaulding; treasurer, Paul Doepke; re- corder, F. H. Bauermeister; justices, Math. Jenniges and F. H. Bauermeister ; constable, Math. Dederichs and Nick. Jenniges.
The present officers are: President, Christ Leuther ; trustees, Albert Spaulding, F. X. Schlumperger and Math. Dedrichs; re- corder, Paul Doepke; treasurer, P. J. Borte; justice of the peace, Math. Gorres; constable, Nick. Jenniges.
The village of Wanda, with its brick school, its brick Catholic church and parsonage, its sightly German Evangelical Lutheran church, its towering water-tank, its pretty grove, its neat busi- ness streets, its bank, and other thriving commercial buildings, presents a striking appearance.
The children of Wanda village originally went to school in a one-room schoolhouse in section 20, Willow Lake township. In 1900 a two-room schoolhouse was built in the village at a cost of $2,400. The building is now remodelled into a sixten-room resi- dence. In 1912 the present large brick schoolhouse was erected.
St. Mathias Roman Catholic church, originally a frame struc- ture, was erected in 1905, and was burned the same year. In 1906 it was replaced with the present imposing brick building. The priest's home, also a brick, was built in 1912.
The German Lutheran Evangelical church, a frame structure, was erected in 1902, and the minister's residence in 1911.
The burning of the Catholic church in 1905, and of Spauld- ing's elevator in 1908, are the only important fires that the village
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has suffered. The fire department, with a fire house, and excel- lent apparatus, is a volunteer one, the chief being Paul Doepke.
The waterworks, with the pumping station and tower, were installed in the fall of 1913. Electric lights will be installed on the streets, and in the stores and residences, in the fall of 1916, the power being secured from Lamberton. The village has no park, but Spaulding's beautiful grove adds to the appearance of the city, and furnishes an ideal place for outings and picnics.
There are two fraternities, the Catholic Order of Foresters and the St. Peter Society, both connected with St. Mathias church.
ABANDONED VILLAGES.
Cottonwood Crossing, an abandoned hamlet in Lamberton township, and Riverside, an abandoned river village in Honner township, are mentioned elsewhere, in connection with the his- tories of Lamberton and North Redwood.
Paxton was projected when the Sleepy Eye-Redwood branch of the Chicago & North Western was constructed in 1878. A vil- lage was laid out, the Cale brothers opened a small store, and S. F. Cale was appointed postmaster. After the store was dis- continued Harvey Moore kept the postoffice at his house not far away.
The original plat of Paxton was filed April 18, 1879. This land was owned by Albert Keep, and surveyed by Arthur Jacobi on July 28, 1878. It was located in the west half of section 26, town 112, range 35. It contained four whole blocks and three fractional ones. The streets ran northwest and southeast, and northeast and southwest. The northwest and southeast streets were: Turrell, 100 feet wide, and Harriet, 80 feet wide. The northeast and southwest streets were: First, Second, Third and Fourth, all 80 feet wide.
Authorship and Authority. The material for this chapter has been prepared under the supervision of A. J. White, who, with the editor, made a personal tour of the county, studying local conditions in the villages, and interviewing leading citizens, as well as searching local records. The records of the plats were transcribed from the county records by Miss Lillian Jensen and others. The business directories from the Northwestern Gazet- teers were transcribed by Miss Evelyn Bolin. The records of the incorporations were transcribed by Miss Lillian Jensen, from the county records, with the exception of the incorporations of Redwood Falls, Walnut Grove and Lamberton which are taken from the general laws of the state. Information regarding the early days of Lamberton, Walnut Grove and Redwood Falls, as well as of Riverside and Cottonwood Crossing, has been gleaned from the History of the Minnesota Valley published in 1882. The population figures are from State and Federal census returns.
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Information regarding Seaforth has been furnished by John Longbottom and W. A. Hauck. Information concerning San- born has been furnished by Mrs. A. D. McRae, H. E. Kent and John T. Yaeger. Information concerning the early days of Delhi has been furnished by J. L. Borg. The article concerning Belview is by A. O. Gimmestad. The other articles have been edited as follows: Lamberton, A. J. Praxel; Lncan, Anton Kramer; Mil- roy, William Duncan, Jr., Frank Taplin and M. W. Johnson; Wabasso, E. G. Weldon; Vesta, Harvey Harris; Clements, Otto Gerstmann; Wanda, Paul Doepke. Much of the information con- cerning these places was also furnished by the gentlemen who edited the articles. Chris Nielsen has furnished information con- cerning the early days of Revere. S. F. Scott, as well as Mr. Harris, was consulted in the preparation of the Vesta article. Village clerks in the various villages have placed their records at the disposal of the editor.
Acknowledgment. Charles W. Howe, now of Redwood Falls, has been engaged for some time in preparing historical and "boosting" booklets, in connection with the Commercial clubs of various villages. To his "Redwood County Directory," his "Forty Wonderful Years" (Morgan) and "A Half Century of Progress" (Walnut Grove), all published in 1916, the editors owe considerable of the information contained in this chapter. The manuscript of Mr. Howe's forthcoming work on Lamberton has also been consulted. Mr. Howe's booklets are carefully and thoroughly prepared, and well printed, and are a decided credit to the villages, the story of whose history and progress he thus preserves.
References. Plats of Redwood county townsites, in the cus- tody of the register of deeds of Redwood county.
Records of the incorporations of Redwood county villages, found in the miscellaneous records in the custody of the register of deeds of Redwood county.
Records of the county commissioners of Redwood county, in the custody of the auditor of Redwood county.
"The Northwestern Gazetteer," published bi-annually by R. L. Polk & Co., 1876-1916.
"History of the Minnesota Valley," published in 1882.
Records of the individual villages in the custody of the village clerks.
General laws of the State of Minnesota, 1875; special laws of the State of Minnesota, 1876 and 1879.
Census reports of the State of Minnesota, for 1885, 1895 and 1905.
Census reports of the United States, for 1880, 1890, 1900 and 1910.
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CHAPTER XXXVI. OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION.
(By N. W. Cobleigh.)
There has never been an Old Settlers' Association in Red- wood county embracing the whole county. The meetings of the Renville County Association have, however, been well attended by the Redwood county pioneers who settled along the Minnesota river. In the southeastern part of Redwood county there has been a flourishing Old Settlers' Association.
This association was organized at the home of Christopher Whelan, in Sundown township, November 26, 1886. It came into being with twenty-six charter members, the number of mem- bers being later increased to seventy-six. The constitution and by-laws adopted contained the following: Preamble-A record of the early settlement of a community being a convenient ref- erence, it becomes necessary in order to obtain the same and to further the interests of the community for the people to take united action in accomplishing their object. Therefore, the un- dersigned agree to form an association and be governed in their fundamental action by the following constitution : Article I. The title and name of this society shall be The Old Settlers' Associa- tion of Willow Lake, Sundown and Adjoining Towns. Article II. Any person, male or female, may become a member of this society (if the date of their settlement in the community be previ- ous to the year 1880) by subscribing their names to the constitu- tion and the payment of the sum of ten cents. Article III. The officers of this society shall be a president, two vice presidents, a secretary and treasurer, said officers to constitute an executive committee. The officers shall be elected annually by ballot and shall hold their respective offices until others are elected and consent to act. Article IV provided that the annual meeting of the society should be held on the last Thursday in November of each year, when the annual election of officers should take place; also that every member of the society should be entitled to vote at said election; that the secretary and treasurer should present their annual reports at the same; that special meetings of the society might be called by the president, or in case of his absence or inability, by one of the vice presidents; and that notice of the annual meeting should be inserted in at least one of the weekly papers of Redwood county. Articles V and VI defined the duties of the secretary and treasurer. Article VII provided for the appointment from time to time of such sub- committees as might be deemed necessary. Article VIII defined
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the powers and duties of the executive committee; and a proviso for the amendment of the constitution by a two-thirds vote was contained in Article IX. It was also provided that no person serving as a member of either the executive or any sub-committee should receive any salary or pay for his services. The constitu- tion was prepared by a committee of three, consisting of Dr. Hitchcock, Ira Sanford and W. F. Swetlan, acting with the secretary, N. W. Cobleigh. It was moved and carried that the picnic for the year 1886 be held at Ira Sanford's, the 19th of June, and the annual meeting be held at Ernest Wandrey's the following Thanksgiving. A committee of five was elected as a committee of arrangements to provide the necessary material for entertainment, the members composing it being Paul Wandrey (chairman), C. Whelan, Louis Whelan, W. Sanford and E. Thorn- ton. A picnic was held in June of each year henceforth, these picnics being largely attended from all parts of the county, the attendance sometimes reaching 1,000 persons. Prior to 1890 no vehicles except lumber wagons were seen at these picnics, and some ox teams appeared. The county was sparsely settled and these occasions affording an opportunity for the settlers to get acquainted with their distant neighbors, were looked forward to with a great deal of interest.
The following is a list of officers from the dates of organiza- tion to the present time. Officers at date of organization, 1886: President, Christopher Whelan; vice presidents, Ernest Wandrey and Phillip Matter; secretary, N. W. Cobleigh; treasurer, P. O. Callaghan. 1887-President, E. Wandrey ; vice presidents, Cris. Whelan, Sr., and F. Swetlan; secretary, N. W. Cobleigh; treas- urer, P. O. Callaghan. 1888-President, Chris. Whelan; vice presidents, W. F. Swetlan and A. Tonak; secretary, N. W. Cob- leigh ; treasurer, P. O. Callaghan. 1889-President, C. Whelan; vice presidents, Jacob Lawrence and P. Deneen; secretary, N. W. Cobleigh ; treasurer, P. O. Callaghan. The same officers were re- elected until 1896. 1896-President, Chris. Whelan; vice presi- dent, J. Lawrence; secretary, P. O. Callaghan; treasurer, M. Whelan ; librarian, Josie Callaghan. 1897-The same officers were elected. 1898-President, Jacob Lawrence; vice president, C. W. Whelan; secretary, P. O. Callaghan ; treasurer, M. H. Whelan. In the years 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904 and 1905 the same as above officers were elected. 1906-President, John T. Hajem; vice president, Martin Bredvole; secretary, J. J. Ryan ; treasurer, Paul A. Callaghan. Since the above date the same officers have served.
The following list gives the names of those who have signed the membership roll, with date and place of nativity and date of settlement, in consecutive order: C. W. Whelan, 1820, Can- ada; 1873 (died June 13, 1898). Philip Matter, 1838, France;
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1871. Ernest Wandrey, 1819, Germany; 1872. P. O. Callaghan, 1847, Ireland; 1872. J. J. Winegarden, 1836, -; 1872. Frank Swetlan, 1848, New York ; J. B. Moore, 1850, Ohio; 1867. George Potter, 1865, Wisconsin; 1869. J. M. Baker, 1837, Ohio; 1878. Chris. Whelan, Jr., 1860, Canada; 1873. Paul S. Wandrey, 1861, Minnesota ; 1877 (died November 4, 1897). Thos. McGuire, 1854, Canada ; 1872 (died November 11, 1913). Charles A. Scott, 1822, Vermont; 1867. S. J. Bentley, 1827, New York; 1875. L. P. Whelan, 1862, Canada; 1873. A. B. Hubbard, 1834, New York; 1872. Frank Wohlfard, 1846, Illinois; 1872. E. J. Winright, 1850, Missouri; 1880. Thomas Moore, 1849, Indiana (died 1907) ; 1871. J. P. Weed, 1823, New York; 1872. D. J. Sheffield, 1833, New York; 1871 (died 1916). F. A. Kinman, 1854, Illinois ; 1871. John Dooner, 1859, Canada; 1873. F. Murry, 1846, Ireland; 1874 (died August, 1902). Ira Sanford, 1830, New York; 1871. H. H. Tompkins, 1823, Wisconsin; 1872. M. H. Gamble, 1844, Wiscon- sin ; 1872. N. Johnson, 1844, New York; 1874. Louis Matter, 1855, Minnesota ; 1875 (died July 11, 1891). Henry Evans, 1831, England; 1872. George Evans, 1858, Indiana; 1872. N. W. Cob- leigh, 1850, Mississippi; 1879. Patrick Deneen, 1835, Ireland ; 1872. Jacob Wegal, 1856, New York; 1872. Jas. Dickson, 1845, Scotland (died December, 1914) ; 1872. M. Bredvold, 1849, Nor- way; 1871. H. C. Warnke, 1857, Germany; 1879. J. J. Ray, 1844, Canada; 1878. J. Lawrence, 1845, Norway; 1871. Peter Gorres, 1835, Germany ; 1878. Thomas McCormick, -, Ireland ; 1862 (died December 12, 1907). M. J. McCormick, 1860, Iowa; 1862. W. P. Cutting, 1823, England; -. C. Peterson, 1848, Denmark; 1872. J. S. Johnson, 1845, Denmark; 1872. Lars Tor- ston, 1819, Norway; 1871. Ole C. Oleson, 1849, Denmark; 1872. John T. Hojem, 1858, Norway ; 1871. R. Jensen, 1842, Denmark ; 1874. Peter Jorgenson, 1854, Denmark; 1875. Jacob Bredvold, 1841, Norway; 1875. Lars Bredvold, 1809, Norway; 1872. J. P. Meyer, 1830, Denmark ; 1874. W. C. Meyer, 1864, Denmark ; 1874. Henry Kagel, 1847, Germany; 1872. L. L. Bredvold, 1854, Nor- way; 1871. William Schultz, 1854, Germany; 1882. O. A. Fox, 1862, Canada; 1873. Theo. Jensen, 1843, Denmark ; 1872. H. G. Nelson, 1845, Denmark; 1875. Nels Madason, 1843, Denmark ; 1880. Peter Larson, 1847, Denmark; 1877. Jos. Seifert, 1858, Germany; 1882. W. H. Fox, 1815, New Brunswick; 1862. Au- gust Tonak, 1844, Germany; 1872. James John, 1840, Germany ; 1885. Daniel Burns, 1836, New Hampshire; 1859. J. H. Gard- ner, 1838, Denmark; 1871. P. O. Clements, 1847, Sweden; 1871. Holmer Johnson, 1849, Sweden; 1884. J. O. Rude, 1860, Iowa; 1870. M. Duley, 1853, India; 1876. Leo Altermatt, 1850, Wis- consin; 1873. G. E. Bentley, 1862, Michigan; 1871. M. H. Whe- lan, 1866, Canada ; 1873. W. Sanford, 1859, Minnesota; 1871.
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CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE REDWOOD HOLSTEIN FARM.
One of the important features in the development of Redwood county agriculture has been the Redwood Holstein Farm. It was the activities of Richard W. Sears and William H. Gold, the own- ers of this project, that first turned in this direction the atten- tion of the Iowa and Illinois farmers, and started the influx of these desirable citizens to Redwood county. The coming of the experienced farmers from older parts of the country has brought about a rapid rise in land values in the past few years, and has also brought to the county a distinct advance in educational, agricultural and social life.
In speaking of the genesis of this movement, Mr. Sears him- self has said: "Being a native of Minnesota, and having in my younger days resided in Redwood county, I gradually began, later in life, to invest in Redwood county lands.
"These purchases began on a basis of about $10.00 an acre and gradually from year to year I made purchases at advancing prices, and at the present time (1914) these Redwood county land hold- ings would be valued conservatively at from $65.00 to $100.00 an acre.
"For years Redwood county was one of the great wheat-pro- ducing counties of the northwest and these lands were largely given over to the raising of wheat. The method of handling was such that I, as owner, would share in the erop with the renter, commonly on the basis that I, as owner, would furnish the seed and receive one-half of the gross proceeds of the wheat and other grains, the renter receiving the other one-half.
"For years the land in the county was turned over to the raising of grain, principally wheat, later gradually the more pro- gressive farmers began to turn their attention to diversified farming and the number of cows in the county rapidly increased. Creameries sprang up here and there, part of the acreage for- merly devoted to wheat was put in corn, hay and grains for feed, and as this evolution from the wheat-growing to the rather diver- sified farming developed, the lands rapidly increased in value, the county increased in wealth, bank balances in the different banks began to swell in volume, existing mortgages were paid off or renewed at much more favorable rates. The old straw sheds for cattle and horses gave way to large modern barns, good houses, outbuildings, wire fencing, a higher and higher state of cultivation and this work of a higher development is still ag- gressively going on.
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"It was about this time that William H. Gold of Redwood Falls, of Minnesota, approached me concerning the purchase of a mortgage on a certain farm near one of mine, when I volun- teered the remark that in my judgment it was too big a loan, and that he (Mr. Gold) was placing too high a per acre value on the property. I stated to Mr. Gold that I would be very glad to sell my land at a slightly lower price per acre than the land in question had by Mr. Gold been valued, whereupon Mr. Gold stated, 'If you will allow me to direct the management of these farms of yours and will subscribe to my method of transforming them into diversified farming, and will co-operate with me in developing a breeding farm for dairy purposes that will make money for us, it will not only develop but will further enhance every acre of your land and will stimulate the value of every- body's land in this territory. Do this, and while I won't agree to buy every acre of your land outright at the price you name, but I will be glad to buy one-half interest at your own price, as you have suggested.' The deal was closed immediately and Mr. Gold became a one-half owner in all my Redwood county lands and immediately he began the work of converting the vari- ous farms into a diversified class of farming, especially encour- aging the dairy end. Mr. Gold contended that in dairying, as then conducted in Redwod county, there were a large percentage of cows that did not yield returns sufficient to pay their board; that a poor cow consumed as much food as a good one, and re- quired as much labor and care as the good cow and the annual yield of the one might be but a fraction of that of the other. This condition in Redwod county, he contended, as in all other coun- ties, would have to be corrected before any great measure of profit could come out of farming these lands, before we would have a right to claim from $100.00 to $150.00 values for our lands, be- fore we could show a profit of 4 per cent to 6 per cent per annum on a $200.00 per acre value.
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