USA > South Dakota > Jerauld County > A history of Jerauld county, South Dakota > Part 19
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39
The Republican district senatorial convention was held in the Hop- kins house at Waterbury on Sept. 12th and Mr. Huntley was nominated unanimously.
Two days previously. Sept. 10, the Democrats had held a county con- vention at Wessington Springs at which Jefferson Sickler, of Harmony township, was nominated for the legislature and J. R. Francis for county judge. No candidate for state senator was named.
At a meeting of the county commissioners on July 13th the county was redistricted for the election of members of the board, as follows :
Ist District-Alpena, Franklin, Blaine and Dale.
2nd District-Chery, Wessington Springs, Viola, Anina and Media. 3rd District-The west six townships.
A convention for the nomination of a commissioner for the 3rd dis-
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trict was held at Waterbury Sept. 2Ist and Mr. Henry Herring of Crow township made the nominee.
As in all former elections, the W. C. T. U. organizations of the county kept careful watch over the temperance sentiment. The constitutional convention had submitted to the people of the new state the matter of voting prohibition into the constitution. At the head of the county organ- ization was Mrs. E. V. Miles, of Wessington Springs township, a lady of strong executive ability, and with her were Mrs. Nettie C. Hall, Mrs. J. M. Spears, Mrs. T. L. Blank, Mrs. F. T. Tofflemier, and several others, all determined, earnest women, who knew no such thing as fatigue in their efforts to hold Jerauld county in the temperance column. But be- hind them all, guiding, counseling, working, was Mrs. A. B. Smart, the founder of the Pioneer W. C. T. U.
Old Unions were reorganized and other temperance societies formed. Meetings were held everywhere that an audience could be gathered.
At Alpena a lodge of I. O. G. T. was formed May 3rd with John Teasdale, chief templar, Mrs. N. J. Dunham, vice-templar, Rev. H. H. Underwood, chaplain, L. F. Schaefer, recording secretary, Ray Barber. financial secretary, Maggie Worrall, treasurer. The lodge had 21 mem- bers.
Demorest Medal contests were held at which children spoke temper- ance pieces.
The election occured on the first day of October, with the following results :
For the Constitution, 895.
Against the Consitution, 17.
For Prohibition, 598.
Against Prohibition, 315.
For Minority representation, 282.
Against Minority representation, 586.
Mitchell for capital, 54.
Huron for capital, 290. Pierre for capital, 588.
Sioux Falls for capital,
Watertown for capital, 3.
Wessington Springs for capital, 2.
Chamberlain for capital, 5.
State Senator-S. F. Huntley, 785.
Representative-V. I. Converse, 500; J. Sickler, 427.
County Judge-A. I. Churchill.
County Commissioner-H. Herring.
On Nov. 2nd, 1889, at 3:40 p. m. at the city of Washington, Presi- dent Harrison attached his name to the proclamation declaring South Dakota a member of the Union of States.
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PART THREE.
Chapter 1.
The first event in the county, after statehood, was a farmers institute on Nov. 4th, 1889, held under the auspices of the farmers' alliance.
On Nov. IIth N. J. Dunham was appointed clerk of courts for Jer- auld county.
At the instance of Commissioner Sickler the board on the 30th of November, vacated the highway on the section line between sections 4 and 5 in Harmony township.
HARD TIMES.
Those who have followed this history so far will have noticed that the people who took the lead in pushing agricultural civilization out into the great plains of the northwest had prospered in five years as much as those who settled Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska and the other states farther east, had in twenty. The railroads in advance of the settlers had relieved the settlers of Dakota of many of the hardships that had been endured by the pioneers of the other states. The one natural hardship was the want of fuel. But the prairies were covered with grass, and this cut, dried and twisted made a fuel that would keep people as warm here as it did the pioneers in Iowa or Kansas. In all other respects the Da- kota settler had conditions far more comfortable. Their homes were warm; markets nearer; schools in every township, as many as were needed ; and the people had plenty to eat and to wear. Less than $100 had been spent by the county, in the year ending June 30th, 1889, in caring for the very poor, and but $193.64 had been required to afford temporary relief to the sufferers from the cyclone of fire that swept the county April 2nd. The climate was dry and healthy and sickness rare. A more contented people never dwelt in a new country than inhabited the Dakota prairies during the 80s.
On the IIth of November the county commissioners asked the C. M. & St. P. Ry. Co. to rebate the freight on coal brought by that line to
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deserving and needy settlers. Not a single person entered his name in that class.
About the same time a news item was going the rounds of the Euro- pean press and being copied in the papers of the eastern states, which read as follows :
"Threatened Famine in Dakota."
"The failure of the harvest in Dakota is complete. A special telegram reports 20,000 persons are in danger of starvation. The St. Paul Cham- ber of Commerce is organizing for relief. A committee of examination reports that the distress is appalling. No food is to be obtained at any price, and no money wherewith to purchase, if there were any."
Yet, the statistics for that year (1889) are as folows:
Acreage.
Yield in bu.
Wheat
4,609.717
44.009.092
Oats
. 1,122,402
21.369.708
Corn
814,677 22,832.073
Barley
255,969
4.455-777
Rye .
17.754 301.107
Potatoes
45,656
4,038.262
Flax
403.314
3.288.115
The True Republican commenting on the above item said under date of Nov. 29th, 1889 :
"It is false. Let us unite in refuting it. Write to your friends and give them the situation as it is. The truth will not harm us, but these exaggerated reports are doing incalculable injury."
During several weeks prior to the appearance of the above items in the local paper, Roth Bros., local merchants, had been advertising in the same journal the following household supplies for sale :
12 lbs. granulated sugar, $1.00,
22 lbs. prunes, $1.00.
17 lbs. evaporated apples, $1.00.
20 lbs. choice white fish, $1.00.
32 bars good soap, $1.00.
I sack Baker's flour, $1.05.
10 lbs. choice bacon, $1.00.
12 lbs. sugar cured shoulders, $1.00.
16 yards good shirting, $1.00.
On December 4th occurred an event that changed materially the con- dition of affairs in Jerauld county, just as similar events changed con.di- tions in other counties of the state.
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On the afternoon of that day Gov. A. C. Mellette accompanied by Mr. Doane Robinson, present state historian, arrived in Wessington Springs, after a drive through Franklin, Blaine and Viola townships. These gentle- men were unaccustomed to life on a claim in the true sense of the term. The smell of hay fuel was to them extremely offensive. In fact, hay burned as fuel in South Dakota created just as great a stink as did that in Iowa and Kansas. There was nothing poisonous about it and people using it did not notice the offensive odor. But to the governor it seemed nothing less than horrible. In homes where the settler burned other fuel common at that time the condition did not seem so bad-to the nose- but was more shocking to the eye.
Immediately after his arrival in town the governor asked for a meet- ing with the leading citizens. In the evening all who had heard of the request assembled in the office of the register of deeds at the court house.
All were surprised and astonished at the governor's tale of destitu- tion, but when, on closer questioning it was found that the principal need was better fuel, and that coal could be obtained without freight charges, it was concluded to organize and see what was needed and what could be done. A county relief committee was formed with A M. Mathias, chairman ; C. W. McDonald, secretary; and Mrs. J. M. Spears, treasurer. The township committee was:
Alpena-Mrs. J. R. Milliken. Dale-O. G. Woodruff. Chery -- C. W. Hill. Harmony-I. N. Rich. Marlar-Wm. Orr. Franklin-Mrs. J. W. Harden.
Wessington Springs-Mrs. J. M. Spears. Media-Chas. Hanson.
Pleasant-J. E. Sullivan. Crow-E. S. Waterbury. Blaine-C. C. Wright. Viola-J. N. Smith. Anina-V. I. Converse. Crow Lake-S. H. Melcher.
Logan-H. A. Frick.
This committee at once made a thorough canvas of the whole county and found. no destitution and but few who cared to accept the coal. In all of the county only 94 tons of coal were requested. The county com- missioners then asked the C. M. & St. P. Ry. to ship in two hundred tons of coal free for the people of Jerauld county, but the company refused,
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saying they could not afford to carry any more coal to Dakota free of freight.
And so the year 1889 drew on to its close, a few politicians and mis- guided philantropists soliciting charity that was not needed, and the people getting along very comfortably, still burning such fuel as the prairies afforded. There was no suffering.
While the events above mentioned were occurring in official and philanthropic circles a Dale township farmer, of German birth, was busy doing a work that was of more beneficial influence to Jerauld county and the James River Valley, than anything done by all the politicians of the state. Daniel Schmidt was risking his all in putting down the first artesian well in the county. The well was completed in the latter part of December, and a flow of fifty-two gallons a minute secured.
A mile north of Schmidt's farm John Teasdale had erected a feed mill for grinding feed, corn meal and Graham flour, and there many of the settlers had their grists of corn and wheat ground.
On the northwest quarter of section 29, in Media twsp. Wm. Brodkorb began grinding grain for the people of that vicinity and continued the work for several years. In 1892 Mr. Brodkorb ground over 3,000 bushels. The nearest flouring mill was at Woonsocket, 27 miles away.
In the latter part of December, 1889, Blank & Blank purchased the Waterbury Messenger of O. P. Hull and united it with their Herald office at Wessington Springs.
On Christmas eve, festivities at the Grieve school house, in Harmony township, attracted a good attendance, and the next evening a dance at the court house hall in Wessington Springs was attended by 50 couples.
Chapter 2.
It is an old and true saying that a well man can be made ill unto death by being constantly told that he is sick.
The treasurer's report made to the county commissioners during the second week in January, 1890, showed that the amount expended by the county for relief of the poor between the first day of October, and the 3Ist day of December, 1889, had been but eight dollars,-less than had been expended in the same length of time during all the previous his- tory of the county.
The committee appointed at the time of the visit of Gov. Mellette, Dec. 4th, 1889, had been met with a general denial of the need of charity.
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In many instances the committee actually became solicitors, begging peo- ple who were abundantly able to care for themselves to accept of the proffered aid. Up to the first of February not a pound of donated stuff had reached Jerauld county from outside its borders. In the forepart of January a mercantile firm at Wessington Springs had donated 100 sacks of flour to the relief committee for distribution. By the 20th of February only 30 of them had been taken.
In February it had become generally known that Gov. Mellette had gone east to solicit aid for the needy people of the state. Hard times became the general topic of conversation, and the people of Marlar town- ship appointed a committee of four to go east and solicit aid for their community. The committee was composed of J. C. Longland, Wm. Orr, Wm. Rainy, and Mrs. Tillman Hunt. In February four carloads of feed, fuel and provisions had arrived at St. Lawrence for that township, and later another carload was received. Then people began to go out on their own behalf. In one township three farmers made up a purse of one hundred dollars and sent one of their number to Iowa to solicit aid which was divided among those three.
Through the urging of the committe three hundred families had ap- plied for aid in one form or another, by the first of March. It was a matter of common knowledge that not to exceed fifty of these families were in need of help and they the county was abundantly able to care for.
In March supplies began to arrive in large quantities and by the Ist of April the county jail was filled with the stores sent by the benevolent people of Iowa, who had read the exaggerated stories of the needs of the people.
Gov. Mellette returned from his eastern trip the forepart of March, in time to attend the G. A. R. encampment at Sioux Falls. There he met Gen. Alger, of Michigan, who had promised to give $500, if he found, on personal investigation, that-the reported destitution actually existed. Before leaving the state he refused to make the donation, declaring that the conditions did not justify it. United States Senator Pettigrew de- nounced the expedition of the governor, in unmeasured terms, as un- called for and unwise. Many others endeavored to correct the impres- sion that had gone abroad that the Dakotas were indeed a part of the great American Desert.
In February, 1890, the Sioux City Journal, speaking of the reported conditions in South Dakota, said: "South Dakota has made incompar- ably more rapid progress during the past ten years as a territory than Iowa did during the first ten years of its history as a state. The people of South Dakota have not suffered more from storms, drought and failure of crops than the people of Iowa did at the corresponding period of their
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history-not nearly so much. The people of South Dakota have ac- cumulated more wealth and at a vastly more rapid rate than did the people of Iowa during the early stages of their settlement. The people of South Dakota have actually taken more value out of their soil than the people of Iowa were able to do.
It is doubtless true that many have gone to South Dakota who went unwisely, who might have done better elsewhere and who ought never to have tried their fortunes in the new northwest. Precisely the same thing happened in Iowa. Improvident, thriftless, weak, or otherwise unquali- fied men always rush off to new regions and when they fail, they return to curse the country for their own fault. Iowa would never have pros- pered if it had been judged by this standard. And it is no more true as applied to South Dakota now than it would have been as applied to Iowa then."
Albeit the state of South Dakota had produced more wealth per capita than any other state in the union in 1889 as shown by the official report, yet the story of starvation spread. In January the Bankers Asso- ciation, in session at Huron, voted to raise $10,000 for the needy of the state, but continued the rate of interest at from 3 to 10 per cent a month.
Of the great quantity of donated clothing sent to Jerauld county dur- ing February and March, 1890, many packages were never used, but years afterwards were thrown out upon the prairie.
In February the attention of the County Commissioners was called to the necessity for seed grain. Each member was made a committee to investigate the matter in the district in which he lived. At the meeting March 5th the board resolved to furnish seed grain to those who were actually destitute and had no available means to obtain the same; the amount to be furnished not to exceed 30 bushels of wheat, 30 bushels of oats and four bushels of corn to any one person.
After this order was made many who had seed to sell refused to sell except to the county. Thus many were forced to apply to the county for seed who would otherwise have been able to obtain it on their own security. The result was that by the middle of April the county board had issued warrants for seed grain to the amount of $2,313.27, nearly all of which was furnished by Jerauld county farmers. Each person who obtained seed from the county gave his note with one other person as securtity, payable Oct. Ist. Every note was paid before the county re- deemed the warrants.
Gov. Mellette received contributions to the amount of $35,666.46. Out of this Jerauld county received five carloads of corn for feed and $335-35 in money, April 20th.
Aside from the talk of hard times as already related affairs in the county went on about as susual.
2II
On January 6th Henry Herring qualified as a member of the board, and John Grant was made chairman.
Sept. Ist the board levied the tax for 1890, at 6 mils for the county general fund, I mill for the sinking fund and 2 mills for the bridge fund. The state tax that year was 2 mills for general fund and four-tenths of a mill for the bond interest fund.
About the middle of November, Henry Herring resigned his position as county commissioner and with his family removed to the new state of Washington.
The C. M. & St. P. Ry. tax for 1889 amounted to $132.44, of which the first half was paid in March, 1890.
The county spelling contest was held March 8th and was won by Harmony township with a class composed of the following pupils: Mary Huntley ,Rena Butterfield, Anna Titus and H. L. Pfaff. The oral con- test was won by May Hobert of Pleasant township.
The county Sunday School convention was held Sept. 3rd.
The teachers' institute for the county was held Sept. 22nd with Prof. Clark M. Young, of 'Tyndall, conductor, and S. F. Huntley, assistant.
The lecture course which had been planned during the latter part of 1889, opened on the 27th of January with a lecture by Col. Copeland, subject, "Snobs and Snobbery." The last of the five lectures in the course was on March 7th. These lectures were attended by large audiences com- posed mainly of farmers and their families, some of whom came 20 miles, driving home in the night after the entertainment.
On April 4th the ladies of the M. E. Church at Wessington Springs disbanded their missionary society and reorganized under the name of The M. E. Ladies' Aid Society, with Mrs. E. J. Campbell, Prest. ; Mrs. Elizabeth Tofflemier, Vice Prest .; Mrs. L. A. Stephens, Secretary ; and Mrs. Emma Chapman, Treasurer.
At the instance of Mr. Blosser, of the True Republican, a horse show was held at Wessington Springs, May 3rd at which II fine stallions were exhibited. The sweepstake rosette was awarded to F. S. Coggshall's imported English shire, "J. B. Sensation."
Some farmers of Dale and Wessington Springs townships organized a company March 22nd to buy a thorobred stallion. S. H. Albert and L. F. Russell were commissioned to buy the animal. They visited several points in Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota, and returned with a splendid Clydesdale horse named "Up to time."
May 3rd a baseball club was organized at Wessington Springs for the season. Among the players were M. M. Flint, Capt., Will and Al
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Zink, Jas. Osborne, F. G. Vessey, Nate Spears, Myron Pratt and K. W. Blanchard. A similar organization was perfected at Alpena and also at Waterbury. In the latter nine were Joe Collier, Capt., Oscar and John Hudson, Clell Titus, John Holzer, Tom Bishop, Herb Baker, Harry Rex and Geo. Backus. In the Alpena club were Sam H. May, Jeff Hillis, Bert Manwaring, Fred Phillips, L. W. Castleman and enough more to fill out the nine. During the summer many hotly contested games were played, witnessed by crowds gathered from all parts of the county. At these contests hard times and all else but the sport of the day were for- gotten.
On the 4th of July Wessington Springs celebrated. It seemed that every man, woman and child was present. Two great attractions were the ball game between Alpena and Wessington Springs clubs, and the beef killing by a band of Crow Creek Indians, although there was much favorable mention of a speech delivered by W. B. Sterling, of Huron.
Great interest was manifested in the west part of the county in a series of Sunday school institutes held in Pleasant township.
At Alpena the race track commenced the year before was completed and on the 23rd of July the first racing meet was held there. Horses were entered by Ray Barber, Owen Ferguson, John Chamberlain, besides many from other parts of the state. Centerville, Aberdeen, Groton, Mil- ler. Rhee Heights, Pierre, White Lake and Springfield were all repre- sented by horses at the Alpena races in 1890.
Chapter 3.
While the market prices in 1890 were a little better than in the pre- ceding year, yet they were so low as to materially effect activity in busi- ness matters. In Sioux City hogs were $3.62, cattle (stockers), $2.65 to $3.15. In Chicago the price of wheat was $1.00, oats 48c, corn 50c, butter 9c to I7c, and eggs 16c.
In February Mr. Herring, a merchant at Waterbury took to Woon- socket 4000 pounds of dairy butter that he had taken in at his store.
April Ist O. P. Hull, a merchant of Waterbury, closed a deal by which he became proprietor of the Roth Bros. store at Wessington Springs. As a result of this move Mr. Louis Roth took charge of the store at Alpena, and Theo. Roth opened a store at West Superior, Wis.
In September F. B. Phillips purchased a half interest in Grant Mc- Lean's hardware store at Alpena.
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Mr. and Mrs. E. G. Kinsman.
Jefferson Sickler.
F. T. Tofflemier.
Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Eddy.
WVm. Webber.
D. F. Moulton.
IV. F. Yeggc.
C. W. England.
Mrs. F. T. Tofflemicr.
J. N. Smith.
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July Ist G. N. Price retired from all the mail routes in Jerauld county and a change was made in driver on nearly all the lines. H. D. Howell of Woonsocket, took the Woonsocket line. George Vanous, the Crow Lake Line, David Glen the Waterbury line, while E. U. Cummings took the lines from Miller to Mt. Vernon.
In June 1890 the county was again visited by hot winds and crops of small grain badly damaged. The hot winds are often confused with the idea of a drouth, but in fact there was rain in both 1889 and 1890 enough to have matured splendid crops. The damage was owing by a few days of hot wind each year, just at the time when the grain was forming.
The Woodburn building in Wessington Springs, which was built where the First National Bank building now stands, was completed by the forepart of July and Albert & Vessey took possession with their stock. This firm had purchased the mercantile stock of J. H. Vessey in the latter part of April.
On April 23rd Hinds & Anderson of Woonsocket established a branch meat market in Wessington Springs, but a few weeks later sold the shop to F. E. Caldwell of Sioux Falls.
Mrs. J. M. Spears began work on the addition, 20x46, to her hotel on March 28th, S. Marlenee doing the work. When the building was completed Mrs. Spears named the building "The Willard," and on the south side of the office she planted a rose bush which she named "The Willard Rose." Both the hotel and bush are still thriving.
Morse & La Pont dissolved partnership March 22nd, Mr. Morse con- tinuing the hardware business and La Pont retiring because of failing health.
In April Mrs. Weddle opened a millinery shop on the south side of Main street, which she conducted during the summer.
In March Wi. Kline began business as a blacksmith in what was known as the Woodburn shop and a few weeks later F. L. Wood moved to Wessington Springs from Crow Lake and began blacksmithing in a shop owned by E. L. Smith.
In September another change was made in the old Roth Bros. store. O. P. Hull selling the stock to George and E. E. Burger.
For the convenience of themselves and the publie Albert & Vessey put in a set of scales on the west side of the street oposite the Woodburn building. This was done in November.
In the spring of 1890 a board of trade was organized in Wessington Springs that was of great benefit in keeping up the business interest of the village. The officers of this association were C. W. Lanc, Prest. : J. H. Woodburn, V. Prest .: E. C. Nordyke, Sec .: R. S. Vessey. Trcas.
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The executive committee were C. H. Stephens, A. M. Mathias, B. B. Blosser, W. N. Hill and P. R. Barrett . One of the first projects that engaged the attention of the board was the establishment of a creamery. On Dec. 10, 1890, arrangements were completed with Mr. J. C. Longland to open such an institution in the spring of 1891.
On January 8th, 1890, Alpena petitioned the board of county commis- sioners for permission to incorporate. The petition was granted subject to an election to be held on the 29th of April. The territory to be em- braced within the proposed incorporation is described as follows: Be- ginning at the southeast corner of Section 11-108-63, running thence north along the section line to the northeast corner of the SE quarter of Sec. 2, thence west to the northwest corner of the SE quarter of Sec. 3. thence south to the southwest corner of the SE quarter of Sec. 10, thence east to the place of beginning. At the election the people of the territory described voted to incorporate and at the election for municipal officers. Isaac Pearce, Richard Davenport, and L. N. Loomis were made village trustees, Ray Barber, clerk; Davids Thumb, assessor ; D. S. Manwaring, treasurer ; David Orwig, marshall; and W. W. Huxtable, justice.
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