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Full text of "An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota"

JOSEPH NICOLAS NICOLLET 

Who Explored Southwestern Minnesota in 1838 and Was One of the 
First White Men to Visit Lyon County. 



AN 



ILLUSTRATED HISTORY 



OF 



LYON COUNTY 



M I NNESOTA 



By Arthur P Rose 

MEMBER OF THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

Author of the Histories of 
NOBLES, JACKSON, ROCK AND 
PIPESTONE COUNTIES, ETC. 



1 > > > 

' ■ * 
* it 



Northern History Publishing Company 

M arshall, Minnesota 

Publishers 

1912 



THE *rw YORK 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 

633282 

tlTOK LtMUk »wfc 



FOREWORD 



WHE white man's history of Lyon county dates back to no great an- 
tiquity, but that will be overcome in the course of time. Of priceless 
value are local histories of communities of the eastern states written 
contemporaneous with their early settlement; future generations will place a 
higher value on this work than the people of the present. 

While the history of the county covers only a period of time represented by 
a span of years accorded a long-lived man, the events which have occurred 
should be recorded while there are yet living some who took part in the history- 
making. It is for this purpose that this volume is put forth. It is the only 
complete history of Lyon county ever published, and the material for its com- 
pilation has been secured almost wholly from original sources. 

The author has consulted and quoted from the writings of Hon. Warren 
Upham, secretary of the Minnesota Historical Society, from C. F. Case's History 
of Lyori County, from the History of the Minnesota Valley, from the publications 
of the Minnesota Geological Survey, from Minnesota in the Civil and Indian 
Wars, and from other books of reference. The files of the local newspapers 
have been of inestimable value in supplying authentic data, especially the files 
of those pioneer journals, the Prairie Schooner, Marshall Messenger and News- 
Messenger, kindly loaned by C. C. Whitney, of Marshall. Without them much 
of historical importance must have remained unrecorded. Scores of pioneer 
residents have interested themselves in the work to the extent of devoting time 
to the detailing of early day events. 

For the purpose of revising and suggesting improvements Messrs. C. F. Case 
and H. P. Sanden and Dr. H. M. Workman reviewed the manuscript before it 
was put to press. Those gentlemen read the historical part of the volume, 
made a number of corrections, and indorsed the work as an impartial, com- 
prehensive and substantially accurate record of events from the earliest days 
to the present time. 

In the work of gathering the data the author has been ably assisted by 
Messrs. P. D. Moore, J P Xclsqri^and William Larkin. 

Probably no historical vo»x waVeyes put to press which entirely satisfied 
its author. There are so many pitfalls in" the path of him who seeks to record 
the events of the past; the dnwnun mind is so prone to err in recalling names 
and dates of a former day ; S v it happens that the writer, compiling his story 
from data of which only-a* pavtr can 'be'-. verified, knows that there must be errors, 
albeit he may have exercised the greatest care. With no apologies, but with 
this brief explanation and the realization that the work is not perfect, this 
History of Lyon County is put forth. 

ARTHUR P. ROSE. 

Marshall, Minnesota, August, 1912. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



ABORIGINAL DAYS 1700-1866. 

Pre-Historic Times — The Earth in the Making Early Inhabitants — The Indians — Origin 
of the Sioux — Their Tribal Divisions- The Sis>itons — Indian Life in Lyon County — 
Early Explorers — LeSueur in Southwestern Minnesota — Carver — Long — Featherston- 




Trading Post — Aaron Myers Locates on the Cottonwood — The Nobles Road Built— 
Headquarters Buildings Erected — Trappers' Operations — The Saratoga Townsite— 
Murder of John Renniker — Lyon County Depopulated — Sioux Massacre — Butchery at 
Lake Shetek — Peace Established — Impermanent Settlers — Half-Breeds' Claims. ...... 25 

CHAPTER II. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT— 1867-1869. 

The First Settlers — Muzzy — Goodell — Castor — Other Arrivals — County Surveyed — Lynd 

Settlement — Life on the Frontier — Arrivals of 1868 — The Cottonwood Settlement — 

First Postoffice — Taylor's Store — Ticknor's Hotel — Gristmill — Frontier Experiences — 

' The Lake Marshall Settlement — C. H. Whitney and Party — Pioneer Homes — Log and 

Sod Shanties — Life Described by a Pioneer 41 



CHAPTER III. 

COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION— 1869-1883. 

Lyon County as French Territory — Sold to Spain — Resold to France — Bought by United 
States — Included in Louisiana, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa Territories — 
"No-Man's Land'' — Minnesota Territory — County Formations — Act Creating Lyon 
County — The Name — Organization — Lynd Named County Seat — Meeting Places of 
County Board — Organization of Townships — First Town Meetings — First Officers- 
Homesteaders — First Births, Marriages, Deaths, Etc. — Selecting the Names — Lake 
Marshall — Lynd — Lyons — Fairview — Nordland — Grand view — Lucas — Eidsvold — Mon- 
roe — Amiret — Westerheim — Vallers — Custer — Clifton — Stanley — Sodus — Rock Lake — 
Island Lake — Shelburne — Coon Creek. 47 



CHAPTER IV. 

EARLY' SETTLEMENT (Continued)— 1870-1873. 

Census of 1870— Arrivals That Year— Marshall Postoffice Established— Dr. Whitney's Store 
—Indian Scare — Militia Company Formed — Newcomers in 1871 — Rev. Ellis' Store- 
Upper and Lower Lynd — First Church Building — Early Schools — Winona & St. Petti 
Railroad Built — Land Grant — Immigrants Pour In — And Stake Claims— Crop Sta- 
tistics for 1872 — Loss by Fire and Hail — Hard Winter — Blizzard of January. 1873 
Eight Persons Perish in Lyon County — Experiences in the Storm — Train Service 
Begun — Early Tax Payers — Lincoln County Formed — Marshall Becomes County Seat 
— Vote by Precincts 65 



viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE GRASSHOPPER SCOURGE— 1873-1876. 

Calamitous Days — First Grasshopper Invasion — Damage in Saratoga and Lynd Settle- 
ments — Depositing the Eggs — Relief Measures — Mass Meetings — Destitution — Dis- 
tributing Food and Clothing — Free Seed Grain — Acreage of 1874 — Myriads of Hoppers 
—Almost Total Crop Destruction — A Terrible Blow — Fair Association Organized — 
First Fair — An Indian Scare — Fugitives Reach Lynd — Messrs. Gibbs and Pierce Perish 
in Blizzard — Government Distributes Rations and Clothing — Hoppers in 1875 — Fighting 
the Pests — Damage by Blight — Census of 1875 — First District Court — Invasion of 1876 
—Another Damaging Setback — "Grasshopper Congress" —Day of Prayer for Deliver- 
ance — End of the Scourge 75 

CHAPTER VI. 

RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD— 1877-1881. 

New Era Begins — Bumper Crop of 1877 — A Time of Jubilee — Rush of Homeseekers— The 
Icelandic Colony — Boom of 1878 — The Trail of the Prairie Schooner — Last of Govern- 
ment Land Taken — Crop Failure — Old Settlers Organize Society — Dakota Central 
Railroad Built — Bishop Ireland's Colony — Crop Statistics, 1879 — Another Blizzard 
Victim — Harvest of 1880 — Population That Year — -The Land Office — The Long Winter 
— October Blizzard — Samuel Kile Loses Life — Story of the Winter — Railroad Blockade 
—Death of Ole Norton — Famine — Out of Fuel — Burning Lumber — Snow Fences 
Appropriated — Floods — "Overland" by Boat — First Belgian and Holland Settlers 
Arrive — Railroad Rumors 87 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE AGE OF PROSPERITY— 1882-1912. 

Promise of Better Times — Crop of 1882 — Big Immigration — More Victims of the Storm 
King — French and Belgian Settlers Arrive — Proposed Duluth Railroad — Fight Over 
Bonds- — Bounteous Times — Census of 1885 — Blizzard of 1888 — The Stalled Train- 
Adventures in the Storm — Willmar & Sioux Falls (Great Northern) Railroad — The 
Bond Issue — New Villages — Death-Dealing Cyclone — Population in 1890 — Court House 
History — Campaigns for New Building — Bonds Voted — Destroyed by Fire — Rebuilt — 
'Cyclone and Hail Storms — Panic of 1893 — Crop Failure — Hard Times — Census Figures 
—Return of Good Times — Jail Erected — More Railroad Building — Hail Storm of 1903 
—Census of 1910— Crop Damage in 191 1 99 

CHAPTER VIII. 
POLITICAL— 1869-1912. 

First Officers Named by Governor Marshall — Delays in Organizing — First Election Precincts 
and Judges — Seventy-Eight Voters — Result of First Election — Commissioner Districts 
—Early Day Salaries — Legislative Roster — Republicans in Control — Part Played by 
"Peoples" Party — Congressional Roster — A Contest for Treasurer — Roster of District 
Judges — Democrats Enter Local Field — The Independents — Farmers Alliance Fur- 
nishes Opposition — Succeeded by Peoples Party- — Free Silver Issue — Primary Election 
Law — Gains in Voting Strength — Detailed Results of Elections — Summary 113 

CHAPTER IX. 

MARSHALL— 1872-1912. 

Location — Natural Beauty — Known as the Big Bend — Homesteaders File on Site — Their 
Sod Shanties — The Postoffice — Campaign for a Railway Station — First Buildings — 
The Pioneer. Merchats — Selecting the Name — The Hotel Accident — Townsite Platted 
-Additions— Progress in 1872— W. M. Todd's First Visit— Part Played by C. H. 
Whitney — Postoffice History — Activities in 1873 — Early Directory — First Tax Payers 
—One Year Old — Made County Seat — In Hopper Days — Incorporation — Becomes a 
( it v — License Question — Roster of Officers — Boom of 1878 — Directory That Year— 
In 1884— Later' History— Fires 129 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. ix 

CHAPTER X. 

M A.RSH A LL'S I NSTITUTIONS. 

The Schools First Teachers and Pupils The Octagonal Building — Independent District 
Roster Boards of Education— Superintendents— High School Graduates — New 
Building— St. Joseph's Convent The Churches— First Services — Church in a Saloon- 
Congregational— Methodist — Baptist ( atholic — German Lutheran — Evangelical Asso- 
ciation- Episcopal— Icelandic Lutheran — Presbyterian — Norwegian Lutheran — The 
Lodges — Masonic — Grand Army — Workmen — Woodmen — Royal Arcanum — Maccabees 
—Foresters — Modern Brotherhood— Yeomen— Defunct < >rders — The Carnegie Library 
—Fire Department — Pioneer Fire Fighters — The Banks — Bank of Marshall — Lyon 
County National — First National — Marshall State — Municipal Plant — Telephone Com- 
pany Tile ( lompany 14:! 

CHAPTER XI. 

TRACY— 1875-1912. 

Location Summit Postoffice — Townsite Platted — Additions — First Business Houses 
Known as Shetek Station — Postoffice History — First Year's Progress — Directory of 
1875— During Grasshopper Days — Activities in 1879 — Becomes a Railroad Center 
Incorporation — Becomes a City — License Question — Roster of Officers — Boom of 1883 
— A Division Point— Business Houses in 1884 — Census — The Second City in South- 
western Minnesota— The Fire of 1891 — The Losses — Later History — The Schools — 
Teachers- Members of the Board — High School Graduates — School Buildings — 
Churches — Presbyterian — Methodist — Norwegian Lutheran — Catholic — German Luth- 
eran—Swedish Lutheran — United Norwegian Lutheran — Episcopal — The Lodges- 
Library — Fin- Department — Bank-— Tile ( Company 161 

CHAPTER XII. 

MINNEOTA— 1875-1912. 

Lyon's Third City — Nordland Postoffice — Frick's Store — "Yellow Medicine Crossing"- 
Founding the Village — First Business Men — Postoffice History — Townsite Platted 
Additions — Name Changed to Minneota — History of the Change — Advancement in 
1878 — Village Incorporation — Voting on License Question — Village Officers — Directory 
of 1884 — Census Figures — Schools — High School Graduates — The Churches — Norwegian 
Lutheran — Catholic — Icelandic Lutheran — Baptist — Evangelical Lutheran — Lodges 
Library — Fire Department — Banks — First National — Farmers and Merchants 177 

CHAPTER XIII. 

COTTON WOOD— 1 888- 1 9 1 2 . 

Descriptive — First Mention — Selecting the Site — Platted by Schutz & Tyler — Additions- 
Sale of First Lots — First Buildings Erected — Pioneer Merchants — Postoffice History 
Rapid Growth — Directory of 1889 — Incorporation — Voting Under Local Option Law 
Roster of Village Officers — Fire — Gains in Population — Schools — Graduates — Churches 
— Norwegian Lutheran — Presbyterian — English Lutheran — Lodges — Fire Department 
— Banks — First National — Cottonwood State -Fire Insurance Company I s - 1 

CHAPTER XIV. 

BALATON AND RUSSELL— 1879-1912. 

Balaton — Its Location— David Bell Establishes Store — Townsite Platted Addition- 
Station Opened — The Postoffice and Postmasters — Early Business Houses Directory 
of 1884 — Fire of 1S92 — Incorporated — License Question- Officers- Lire of 1908 
School — First Pupils — Churches — Lodges — Banks — Fire Insurance Company- Russell 
—Where It Is — The Name — Platted — Ephraim Skyhawk the Pioneer Merchant 
Postoffice — Later History — Incorporation — Contests Over Saloons — Local Officers 
Fire — School — Churches — Lodges — Bank 19!' 



x TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XV. 

GHENT AND TAUNTON— 1878-1912. 

Ghent — Grandview Postoffice — Ray Founds Pioneer Store — Grandview Platted — Catholic 
^ Colony Stimulates the Village — Renamed Ghent — Early Business Houses — Incorpora- 
tion — Village Officials — Gains in Population — School — Catholic Church — Lodges — Fire 
Department — First State Bank — Taunton — As Siding No. 4 — Lonesome Postoffice— 
First Business Houses — Platted — Growth in 1S9S — Incorporated — Roster of Officer - 
School — Churches — Fire Department — State Bank of Taunton 211 

CHAPTER XVI. 
LYND, FLORENCE, GARVIN, AMIRET, GREEN VALLEY, ETC. 

Lynd — The Oldest Village — Upper Lynd — Lower Lynd — Modern Lynd — Made County Sent 
—And Loses It — An Old Church — Florence — Its Founding and History — Garvin — Its 
History as Siding No. 7 — Terry and Seefield — Pioneer Merchants — Amiret — Founded 
as Saratoga — Later Named Coburg — The Postoffice — Early Business Enterprises — A 
Deserted Village — Later History — Green Valley — First Business Men — Dudley 
Burchard — Heckman — Camden, A Town That Was — Rock Lake — Sham Lake — Plan 
Avon — Ceresco — Hildrethsburg— Island Lake — Brenner — Leo 219 

CHAPTER XVII. 

DESCRIPTIVE. 

Location of County — Boundaries — Area — Topographical Features — The Coteau des Prairie- 
— Geological Formations — Elevations of Townships — Soil — How It Was Formed— 
Analyses — Timber — Scarcity of Waste Land — Climate — Drainage Systems — The 
Streams — Lakes — Products — Resources — Development — Transportation Facilities — 
Wagon Roads — Telephone lines — Mail Delivery Routes- Land Values — Compared 
With Other Countries ' 233 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
THE PRESS. 

Papers Now Published — The Defunct Journals — Founding the Pioneer Paper — The Prairie 
Schooner — J. C. Ervin — Messenger — News — Consolidation as News-Messenger — Lyon 
County Leader — The Reporter — Tracy Gazette — Trumpet — Headlight — Republican- 
Herald — Minneota Prospect — Mascot — Vinland — Cottonwood Leader — Current — Gazette 
—Balaton Journal — Eagle — Times — Bystander — Leader — Press — Tribune — Press-Trib- 
une — Russell Review — Anchor — Garvin Leader 239 

CHAPTER XIX. 

REMINISCENT. 

Prairie Fires — Terrors of the Prairie — Methods of Fighting — Interrupt a Funeral — Death of 
Mrs. Fellon — Game in Early Days — Early Courts of Justice — Brief Marriage Ceremony 
—Coining the Word "Blizzard" — "The Long Winter" — Locomotive Scares the Natives 
—Pioneer Minister — Rev. Ellis' Peculiarities — Railroad Strike — Riot Narrowly Averted 
— County in Straitened Circumstances — "Stands Off" Creditors — Signs of the Times — 
Illustrations of Early Day Conditions 247 

CHAPTER XX. 

Biographical History 255 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Joseph Nicolas Nicollet Frontispiece 

Nicollet's .Map.. 32 

Minnesota Territory 18 

Tracy School Building 68 

Sod Shanty 68 

Map of Lyon County, 1874 80 

A Pioneer Cabin 96 

Oldest Building in Lynd Township 114 

A Landmark — Kiel's Hotel 114 

A Pioneer's Log Cabin 124 

Early Day Farm Home 124 

Marshall Street Scenes 134 

Marshall's Churches 146 

Marshall's Institutions 154 

Tracy Scenes L60 

The Great Tracy Fire 166 

Tracy's Churches 170 

Minneota Scenes 182 

Cottonwood Scenes 192 

Balaton Scenes 202 

Russell Scenes. 206 

Ghent Scenes 214 

Florence Scenes 220 

( larvin Scenes 224 

Amiret Scenes 228 

Lyon County Lakes 236 

Plowing Scene 250 

Trappers and Their Catch. 250 

Charles C. Whitney 254 

Mr. and Mrs. Reese Davis 274 

Thomas E. Davis 294 

Lyon County Officers. ■ 312 

Minneota Catholic Church, Pastor and Offi- 
cers 344 

Anton E. Anderson 360 

Mr. and Mrs. Christian E. Etrheim 378 

Homes of D. S. Burt 392 

Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Mathews 406 

T. M. Thomas' Drug Store 422 

S. Sanderson and Family 422 

Home of Nels Anderson 438 

Mr. and Mrs. John Hartzell 438 

Mr. and Mrs. Aime Vanhee 452 

Ole K. Furgeson 452 



Hugh L. Edwards and Family. 466 

Mr. and Mrs. Knute E. Ronning 466 

Christ K. Melby. 480 

Harry J. Tillemans. 480 

L. ^Thompson 480 

August Princen 4S0 

Charles Foulon 494 

Dr. E. F. St. Denis 494 

Edward Schreiber 494 

Abel D. Schaeffer 494 

Dr. F. D. Gray 506 

The Marshall Hospital 506 

R. B. Daniel... 506 

H. M. Clark 506 

Philip P. Ahern 522 

(lus Knudson 522 

St. Gilbertson 522 

G. B. Bjornson -. 522 

Evan M. Jones 536 

Frank D. Pinckney 536 

Charles W. Cady 536 

Dr. E. L. Hall 536 

Ole Ophiem 54,S 

J. S. Bartlett 548 

Rev. L. E. Sjolinder and Family 548 

N. J. Robinson 548 

Dr. L. E. Ijams 560 

O. A. Krook 560 

D. L. Kennedy 560 

Frank Case 560 

Joseph V. Mathews 572 

Dr. J. B. Robertson. 572 

Victor J. LaVoy 572 

Peter H. Bly 572 

Hans P. Sanden 584 

Henrv H. Benson 584 

Mr. and Mrs. Oliver A. Killius 584 

F. T. Shaeffer 584 

Home of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver A. Killius.. . . 596 

Old Home of Henry Patneaude 596 

Home of H. P. Sanden 596 

Standard Lumber Company 596 

Bridge Over the Redwood 606 



HISTORICAL INDEX 



Amiret township, 56. 

Amiret village, 56, 226-228. 

Apportionments — commissioner districts, 114, 

116, 118; congressional, 116; legislative, 115, 

116. 
Area, 233. 

Assessments, early, 80, 111. 
Automobile, first in Tracy, 254. 

Balaton, 199-205; banks, 204; churches, 202; 
caily directory of, 200; fires, 200, 202; first 
business houses in, 199; incorporation of, 200; 
insurance company, 204; license question, 201; 
lodges, 203; officers, 201; platting, 199; popu- 
lation of, 199, 200, 201; postoffice, 200; 
school, 202. 

Hanks (see village headings). 

Big Bend, 45, 130. 

Births, first — in county, 42, 59; in townships 
(see township headings). 

Blan Avon, 232. 

Blizzard, derivation of word, 251. 

Blizzards, 45, 69-71, 81, 91, 92-97, 99. 102-104. 

Blockades, railroad, 80, 93-97, 09. 135. 

Bonds — for court house, 108, 109; for indebted- 
ness, 89; for municipal improvements (see 
village headings); for railroads, 9<S, 101, 105; 
for schools (see village headings). 

Boundaries — of Lyon county, 49, 73, 233; of 
Minnesota Territory, 48. 

Breaking, early, 38, 40. 

Brenner postoffice, 232. 

Buildings, pioneer, 34, 35, 36, 38, 41, 45. 

Burchard, 230. 



( lamden, 231. 

Canton township, 54. 

Catholic colony, 91, 97, 100, 183, 184, 212. 

Census— of county, 65, 83, 91, 102, 107, 111, 

112; of farmers in 1884, 51-63; of villages 

(see village headings). 
( 'eresco, 232. 
Church, the first, 67. 
Churches (see village headings). 
( lifton township, 58. 
Climate, 236. 
( loburg, 226, 227. 

Commissioner districts, 114, 116, 118. 
( ommissioners — chairmen of board of county, 

113; early meeting places of, 49, 50. 
Congressional history, 116. » 

Contests — for county seat, 74; for office, 117. 
Coon Creek township, 02. 
Coteau des Prairies, 30-32, 233-23,5. 



Cotlonwood, 189-197; banks, 196; churches, 194; 
early directory of, 191: fire, 193: lire depart- 
ment, 196; first business men of, 190; founding 
of, 190; incorporation of, 192; insurance 
company, 196; lieense question, 192; lodges, 
195; officers, 192, 193; platting of, 190; popu- 
lation of, 189, 192, 193; postoffice, 191; 
school, 193; selecting the site of, 189. 

Cottonwood lake. 189, 236. 

Cottonwood river, 29, 35, 30. 

County borrows money, 253. 

County formations, 48. 

County seat — removal of, 74, 
49, 220. 

Court, district, established. Si. 

Court houses, 74, 107-109. 

Crop failures, 75-85, 89, 97. 110. 

Crop statistics, ON, 78, SO. 88, 90, 

( luster township, 58. 

Cyclones, 100, 107, 109, 110. 



230. 



220; selecting the, 



100. 



Deaths— in blizzards, 69-71, SI, 82, 91, 93, 94, 
99, 100; in cyclone, 106; first in county, 43; 
first in townships (see township headings). 

Delaven township, 59. 

Descriptive, 233-238. 

Destitution — because of crop failure, 110; 
because of grasshoppers, 76, 77, 80, 85. 

Drainage, 236. 

Dudley, 229, 230. 

Edenview township, 58. 

Eidsvold township, 54. 

Elections — county (see political); village (see 

village headings). 
Elevations, 234. 
Exploration, 28-32. 



Fairs, county, 81, 111. 

Fair view township, 52. 

Field, the fenced, 35. 

Fire departments (see village headings). 

Fires (see village headings). 

Fires, prairie, 69, 247. 

Floods, 96, 97, 254. 

Florence, 222-224. 

Free seed grain, 69, 78, 82, 85. 



Came, 27, 33, 68, 00, 249. 
( iarden, first in county, 35. 
Garvin, 224-226. 
Geology, 25, 233-235. 



HISTORICAL [NDEX. 



xin 



Ghent, 211-215; as Grandview, 211, 212; hank, 
215; church, 214; fire department, 215; first 
business houses in, 211, 212; incorporation of, 
212. 213; lodges, 215; naming of, 212; officers, 
213; platting of, 211; population of, 211, 212. 
213; postoffice, 21 1; school, 213. 

Gold discovery, 25 I. 

( ioose lake, 2:17. 

Graduates of high schools (see village headings). 

( rrain, first raised, 44. 

Grandview postoffice, 211. 

Grandview township, 53. 

Grasshopper scourge, 75-85, 87, 88. 

Green Valley, 228-229. 

Hail storms. 09, 110, 111, 112. 
Half-breeds, 10, 41. 
Heckman, 230. 
Hildrethsburg, 232. 
Homesteaders, 50-63, 89. 
"Hopperdozers," 83. 

Icelandic colony, 88. 

Immigration, 68, 72. 88, 89, 91, (17. 99, 100. 

Incorporation (see village headings). 

Indians — in-Lyon county, 27, .SO, 130; origin of, 
25'; trails of, 27, 45, 130; treaties with, 33; 
tribal divisions of, 26; trouble with, 28, 31, 
37, 39; villages of, 26, 31 ; war between, 26. 

Indian scares, 66, 81. 

Island lake, 01. 237. 

Island Lake postoffice, 232. 

Island Lake township, 01. 

Jail, 111. 

Judges district court, 117. 

Judges, early election, 114, 115. 

Judicial districts, 84. 

Jurors, first, 84. 

Justice courts, early, 250. 

Kent, 224. 



Lady Shoe lake, 237. 
Lady Slipper lake, 237. 
LaFramboise, Joseph, 30, 31. 
Lake Marshall, 50, 130, 237. 
Lake Marshall township, 50. 
Lake of the Hills, 237. 
Lakes, 236, 237. 
Lake Sigel, 237. 
Lake Yankton, 237. 
Land grant, 68, 84. 
Land office, 91, 92. 
Land values, 75, 112, 238. 
Legislative history, 115, 116. 
Leo postoffice, 232. 
License (see village headings) 
Lincoln county created, 73. 
Lisbon township, 54. 
Livestock, first in county, 44. 
Lodges (see village headings). 
Lonesome postoffice, 210. 
Lone Tree lake, 236. 
Long lake, 237. 
Lucas township, 54. 
Lynd, James W., 34, 51. 



Lynd, Lower. 07, 74, 220. 

Lynd, Modern, 219-222. 

Lynd township, 51 . 

Lynd, Upper, 44, 40, 07, 147, 210, 220. 

Lynd voting precinct, 114. 

Lyon county — creation of, 49; enabling act for, 

49; naming of, 49; organization of, 49, 113; 

sovereignty of lands in, 47, 48. 
Lyons township, 51, 52. 

Madison township, 56. 

Markets, 238. 

Marriage ceremony, a brief, 250. 

Marriage, the first — in county, 44; in townships 
(see township headings). 

Marshall, 129-159; banks, 156, 157; churches, 
145-151; cyclones in, 109, 110; early direc- 
tories of, 133, 140; fire department, 155; fires 
in, 141; first buildings in, 66, 130; first busi- 
ness houses in, 131-134; first man on site of, 
129; first tax payers in, 72, 136; flood in, 
96, 97; homesteaders on land in, 00, 130; 
incorporation of, 137; library, 154; license 
question, 137; lodges, 151-154; made county 
seat, 74, 136; naming of, 131; officers, 137- 
139; platting of, 132, 133; population of, 
130, 137, 140, 141; postoffice, 65, 130, 135; 
railroad reaches, 68, 132; securing the station 
for, 131; schools, 143-145; threatened by 
prairie fire, 249. 

Marshall voting precinct, 114. 

Martin township, 60. 

Massacre at Lake Shetek, 39, 40. 

Militia company, 66. 

Mill, the Marshall, 158. 

Minister, a pioneer, 67, 252. 

Minneota, 177-188; as Nordland, 177-179; as 
Upper Yellow Medicine Crossing, 177; banks, 
187; churches, 183; early directories of, 178, 
181, 182; fire department, 187; first merchants 
of, 178; founding of, 178; incorporation of, 
180; license question, ISO; library, 187; 
lodges, 186; naming of, 179; officers, 180, 
181; platting of, 17S; population of, 177, 
180, 182; postoffice, 177, 178; schools, 182. 

Moe township, 54. 

Monroe township, 55. 

Mound Builders, 25. 

Mounds, 26, 27. 

Myers, Aaron, 34, 35, 37. 



Newspapers, 239-245. 
Nobles' Col. W. H, 35, 36. 
Nobles' spring, 35. 
Nobles' wagon road, 3,5, 36. 
Nordland township, 53. 
Nordland village, 177-179. 

Officers — county (see political): township (see 
township headings); village (see village head 
ings). 

Old Settlers Association, 90. 

Panic— of LS73, 76; of L893, lb). 
Petrified tree, 234. 
Political, 113-128. 

Population — of county (see census); oi villages 
(sec village headings). 



XIV 



HISTORICAL INDEX. 



Postoffices (see village headings). 
Postoffice, the first, 44, 45. 
Prairie fires, 69, 247. 
Prairie schooners, 89. 
Precincts, early voting, 114. 
Press, the, 239-245. 
Products, 237. 

Railroads — Dakota Central (Northwestern), 90; 
Duluth, Xorth Shore & Southwestern, 101; 
Minneapolis & St. Louis, 97, 98; Minnesota & 
Northern, 106; Sleepy Eye branch (North- 
western), 111; Willmar & Sioux Falls (Great 
Northern), 103-106; Winona & St. Peter 
(Northwestern), 67, 68, 89, 132, 254. 

Railroad strike, 90, 252. 

Redwood river, 30, 32, 236. 

Redwood station, 230. 

Relief measures, 69, 76-78, 82, 85. 

Religious services, first — in county, 42, 147; in 
townships (see township headings). 

Reminiscent, 247-254. 

Renniker, John, murder of, 37. 

Rivers. 236. 

Rock lake, 60, 237. 

Rock Lake postoffice, 231. 

Rock Lake township, 60. 

Rural free delivery routes, 237. 

Russell, 205-209; bank, 208; churches, 207; 
first business .men of. 205; incorporation of, 
206; license question, 206; lpdges, 20S; naming 
of, 205; officers, 207; platting of, 205; popu- 
lation of, • 205, 206, 207; postoffice, 205; 
-electing the site of, 205; school, 207. 

Salaries county officers, early. 1 14. 
Sandstone, 234. 
Saratoga precinct, 114. 
Saratoga Station, 226. 
Saratoga townsite, 36, 38. 
Sawmill, the first, 44. 
School districts, creation of, 67. 
School Grove lake, 237. 

Schools, the first — in townships (see township 
headings); in villages (see village headings). 
Seefield, 224. 

Settlement, early, 30, 34, 36, 38, 41-45, 65-74. 
Settler, the first, 42. 
Sham lake, 23, . 
Sham Lake postoffice, 232. 
Shelburne township, 61. 
Shetek Station, 162. 
Siding No. 4, 216. 
Siding No. 7, 224. 
Sod shanties, 45, 68. 
Sodus township, 60. 
Soil, 235. 



Stanley township, 59. 
St owe township, 62. 
Summit postoffice, 161, 162. 
Survey of county, 42. 
Swan lake, 237. 

Taunton, 215-218; as Siding No. 4, 216; bank, 
218; churches, 217; fire department, 21S; 
first business houses in, 216; incorporation of, 
216; officers, 217; platting of, 216; population 
of, 216, 217; postoffice, 216; school, 217. 

Taxes, payment of, extended, 76, 82. 

Tax payers of 1873, 72. 

Telephone, the first, 254. 

Terry, 221. 

Three-Mile creek, 42, 236. 

Timber, 27, 235. 

Topographv, 233-235. 

Townships, 50-63. 

Tracy, 161-175; as Shetek station, 162; banks, 
174; churches, 168; early directories of, 162, 
165; fire department, 173; fire of 1891, 166, 
167; first buildings in, 162; first business men 
of, 162; incorporation of, 163; library, 173; 
license question, 164; lodges, 171; made a 
railroad division, 165; naming of, 163; officers, 
164; platting of, 161, 162; population of, 161, 
163. 105, 107; postoffice, 161, 102; schools, 
167. 

Traders, 30, 34, 35. 

Trading posts. 30, 34; 

Trails, Indian, 27, 45, 130. 

Train, the first, 68, 72. 

Transportation facilities, 237. 

Trappers, 38. 

Treaties, 3:',. 

Tree claims, 50-63. 

Twin lakes, 237.. 

Upper Yellow Medicine precinct, 114. 
Upper Yellow Medicine township, 54. 
Upper Yellow Medicine Crossing, 177. 

Vallers township, 57. 

Yillages, Indian, 26, 31. 

Vineland postoffice, 191. 

Votes cast at county elections, 128. 

War between Indian tribes, 26. 
War, the Sioux, 34, 38-40. 
Well, the town, 251. 
Westerheim township, 56. 
Winter of 1880-81, 92-97. 251. 
Wood lake, 23/ . 

Yellow .Medicine river, 30, 32, 236. 



BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 



Page 

Aamodt, Charles 491 

Aamodt, < >lai 337 

Adair, Harvey H 557 

Adams, Frank A 293 

Adams, Howard 577 

Adams, S. H 298 

Addison, Harry W 460 

Addison, R. M 280 

Ahem, Garrett F 577 

Ahem, James J 501 

Ahem, Michael F '. 446 

Ahem, Philip P 52 1 

Ahem, William C 535 

Akester, Dr. Ward 497 

Alexander, Lee 469 

Alleckson, John 397 

Allen, Mannie G 597 

Almjeld, Peder J 547 

Ampe, Celeste 501 

Amundson, Alfred 49!) 

Amundson, Amund H 4_'() 

Amundson, Ferdinand 331 

Amundson, Gregar 273 

Amundson, Ole 300 

Andersen, Hans. 385 

Anderson, Adolph T 586 

Anderson, Andrew 447 

Anderson, Anton E. (Cottonwood) 360 

Anderson, Anton E. (Florence) 544 

Anderson, Charles R 514 

Anderson, Edward 329 

Anderson, E. W 569 

Anderson, Herman 476 

Anderson, John 359 

Anderson, John M.. 504 

Anderson, Lincoln L 442 

Anderson, Martinus 349 

Anderson, Nels (Eidsvold). 438 

Anderson, Nels (Coon Creek) 306 

Anderson, Oluf 331 

Anderson, Oscar J.. 606 

Anderson, Par. 562 

Anderson, Rasmus N 576 

Anderson, Sorn A 609 

Arndt, Herman J 366 

Arntson, Arthur E 605 

Askdal, Sigurdur M 519 

At wood, James Walter 425 

Aurandt, Maxwell J 325 

Avery, Levorit 259 

Baert, Gust M 443 

Bair, M. D . . 520 



Page 

Bakken, Knute < ) 340 

Baldwin, Ray D 399 

Baldwin, Thomas P 308 

Baldwin, William S.. 297 

Bamford, Charles F 578 

Bamford, George H 158 

Bamford, William ( ' 574 

Banks, Will 523 

Bartlett, Fred S 382 

Bartlett, James S 549 

Bates, Allen 324 

Beasley, William 434 

Bellingham, Charles C 269 

Benson, George 484 

Benson, Hall 309 

Benson, Hans 364 

Benson, Henry H 584 

Berg, CarlF.. 552 

Berg, John E 569 

Berg, Lars 598 

Berg, Peter M 529 

Berge, Ole.... 578 

Berry, William E 282 

Betourne, A. G 559 

Bigham, R. A 462 

Bills, Frank E 288 

Birkenmeyer, F. M 517 

Bjornson, Eyolfur 442 

Bjornson, Gunftar B 521 

Bladholm, Axal L 606 

Bladholm, John 606 

Blake, Charles E 517 

Blake, Major John Winslow 258 

Blake, Richard 276 

Blanchard, A 4(11 

Blanchard, Alvin L.. 316 

Blanchette, Albert L :!7<i 

Blanchette, .Steve. 358 

Blegen, Lauritz E 346 

Blomquist, John 183 

Bly, Peter H... 573 

Borson, Ben 578 

Bot, Henrv J 362 

Bot, John H 495 

Bot, Reinier J 441 

Bot, William II _ 463 

Brantner, John Franklin 101 

Bredeveien, Hans J 473 

Breen, John 401 

Breening, Charles ( ' 338 

Bremen, Walter < >. . 590 

Broughton, George K. 310 

Broughton, Knud A 264 

Broughton. < He A. 271 



XVI 



BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 



Page 

Brown, Fremont Sharpe 352 

Brull, William J 353 

Bruns, Henry 602 

Buckley, John 427 

Bue, Mathias 592 

Bugher, Isaac 594 

Bumford, Abner G 394 

Bumford, Richard R 348 

Burchard, James C 335 

Burckhardt, F. Charles 420 

Burckhardt, Henry 454 

Burckhardt, Henry J 368 

Burckhardt, John A 551 

Burckhardt, Oscar H 405 

Burlingame, Oscar A 539 

Burns, Wilhelm 442 

Burt, Edward V 392 

Busse, Frank 603 

Butler, Fred E 524 

Buysse, Frank 485 

Buysse, Mrs. Julianna 525 

( 'ady, ( Iharles W 535 

Cain, Henry J 428 

Caley, George B 467 

Caley, Harry E 580 

Carnine, William Dennis * » I 1 

Caron, Jasper A 596 

( 'axon, Leon 473 

Caron, Phil 532 

Carroll, William H... 539 

Carstens, E. H 386 

Carstens, Harrv E.. <>10 

Case, C. F.. . 303 

Case, Frank W 561 

Case, Fred H 575 

Casselman", Dr. Don. 499 

Castle, John R. 445 

Castle, John William 390 

Castle, Thomas I 160 

Catlin, Joseph H 323 

Chace, A. R 354 

Chamberlain, Archibald J 449 

Chamberlain, ( leorge H , .~>f > ( .l 

Cheney, Birney L 581 

Child, Fred E. 567 

Chittenden, A. C 319 

Chittenden, Walter R 511 

Christensen, Peter 598 

( hristenson, Andrew A 321 

Christenson, Henry. 384 

Christenson, James 353 

Claeys, Bernard F 380 

Clark, Horace M 507 

Clark, Milton S... 534 

( lark, Wallace W 607 

( lausen, Fred 613 

Clausen, Thomas 582 

Clay, Andrew. 433 

( lendenning, Forbes 582 

Clendenning, Margaret E 485 

Coil, William Jacob 6(H) 

Colby, Earl A 579 

Cole, Benton J 605 

Como, Henry 614 

Cook, Fred S ;...»... 448 

Cook, W. W 501 

Copeland, Fred W 505 



Page 

Craig, John L 305 

Culshaw, John B 348 

Culshaw, Thomas P 368 

( ulshaw, William 429 

Cummings, Robert 322 

Cupp, Christian 285 

Cutler, George B 539 

Dahl, Julius T 538 

Dahl, Ole S... 413 

Dahl, Peter T 312 

Dahlke, Emil 587 

Dale, A. C •. . 538 

Dalmann, G. A 341 

Dandurand, George 567 

Dane, Albert B. 586 

Daniel, Richard B. . 507 

Davis, Ellsworth E 367 

Davis, Reese 274 

Davis, Thomas E 294 

Debuf , Camil 527 

De Clerk, Edward 534 

De Keyser, Ernest 613 

De Kiere, John F. 474 

Dennin, Gustav A 502 

De Reu, Charles L 477 

De Sutter, ( 'amid F 357 

De Sutter, Emiel 419 

De Muck. Henry 604 

DeVos, John...." 554 

Dickerman, Eugene A.... 299 

Dierockx, Peter 407 

Dillberg, Swan A 139 

Dohertv, Thomas R 540 

Donaldson, Russell G 485 

Donnelly, Charles. 591 

Dove, Charles .",01 

Dovre, Olaf 286 

Dovre, Ole 379 

Doyle, James E 450 

Drake, Montgomery E 445 

Durrenburger, August 421 

Duns, Christian M 502 

Eastman, Warren S. 301 

Edwards, Edward 288 

Edwards, Hugh L 166 

Edwards, William H 499 

Edwards, William R 374 

Egan, James. 475 

Ehlers, William C 127 

Elbers, Peter. 333 

Elmer, Edward P 372 

Engels, Mrs. Ludovica H 4 11 

Engesser, John 579 

England, Justus 545 

English, Arch R 390 

English, Bert L 441 

Erickson, E. John : 398 

Erickson, Erick 613 

Erickson, Nels 602 

Erickson, Sigurdur B 543 

Eriksrud, Nelder. 557 

Etrheim, Christian E 378 

Etrheim, Eilef E 386 

Evans, David H 295 

Evans, Ellsworth 277 



BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 



xvii 



Page 

Fifield, George F U2 

Finch, AInion Henry 577 

Finnegan, John F 460 

Finnell, Jesse E 551 

Finseth, Halvor E 510 

Fischer, Kasper 352 

Fitch, George Arthur lis 

Fjelstad, Eggert E :;ss 

Fiinn, John B 602 

Forbes, A. ( Ion Ion 492 

Forbes, Samuel J 375 

Ford, .Michael B 380 

Ford, Patrick 369 

Foster, Elmer E 107 

Foster, Lester F 309 

Foulon, Charles. 494 

Frahm, Claus 557 

Fraser, Dr. ('. B 444 

Freese, Arthur 327 

Freese, Henry 288 

Freese, Lawrence H 32] 

P'rench, Palmer () 382 

Froehlich, John William 595 

Froland, Peder 500 

Drake. Paul ■ 589 

Fuller, Emery ( ! 563 

Fuller, Frank E. 615 

Fulton, H. P 432 

Furgeson, Adolph 373 

Furgeson, Henry K 283 

Furgeson, Lars ( >scar 571 

Furgeson, Mrs. Helene. 452 

Galbraith, Samuel W 270 

Garrow, Arthur 594 

Geiwitz, George 512 

Gibbs, Cassius M 530 

Giese, Paul W 365 

Gieseke, William F 410 

Gifford, Elbridge 575 

Gifford, George B 377 

Gilbertson, Sturlaugur 522 

Gilpin, J. Delbert 563 

(iislason, Ami B 302 

Gislason, Bjorn B 328 

Gislason, John B 285 

Gits, Ed 345 

Gits, Francis 318 

Gits, Paul 412 

Glotfelter, William H 301 

Goltz, Gottlieb C 308 

Goltz, Gustav J 297 

Goodell, Charles E 256 

Goodmund, Sigfinn 303 

Goodrich, Charles W... 290 

Goodrich, CM 272 

Goodrich, Wallace A 489 

Goodwin, Joshua 287 

Gorseth, M. 369 

Gorseth, Ole Olson 373 

Grannan, Michael E : 472 

( hay, Dr. F. D 506 

Greeley, Solomon '. 440 

Green, Andrew E 403 

Green, Emil 492 

Gregg, Dren C 256 

Gregg, W. R 335 

Grieve, James 351 



1 'age 

Griffith, John I) 480 

< rriffith, John J 266 

( rrotta, Maurice 5 I I 

Guelsow, Fred J 133 

Gullerud, Rev. Olaf 519 

Haack, William F 469 

Hahn, Matthew D 509 

Hall, Dr. Earl L 536 

Hall, James H 427 

Hall, James, Sr 358 

Hall, William 444 

Halvorson, Samuel 268 

Hamilton, Frank 568 

Hamm, E. M 267 

Hansen, George A 458 

Hansen, Peter 426 

Hanson, Christine 514 

Hanson, Henry 400 

Hanson, James M 568 

Hanson, N. W r 487 

Harden, Mrs. Annette 525 

Harden, Myron W 363 

Harris, Mrs. James A 347 

Hartzell, John 438 

Hasbargen, Dan 467 

Hatlestad, Ole H 264 

Hattlestad, Andrew Henry 355 

Havens, Jasper L 278 

Heagle, William E 431 

Eeairet, Andrew E 451 

Healv, Edwin W 273 

Healy, Fred M 384 

Heine, Henry C 403 

Helgeson, Helge K 369 

Helgeson, Louis 319 

Helgeson, Ole 270 

Hellickson, Anton A 314 

Hellikson, Andrew 292 

Helium, Albert J 391 

Hendrickson, Ira W 608 

Hennen, James J 463 

Hennen, Leo 429 

Hennen, Mathew 515 

Henrichs, Byron G 546 

Henrichs, Herman 558 

Henrichs, William C 355 

Herron, Wilson 538 

Heymans, Anton 383 

Hill, Sherman 493 

Hofman, Hector 599 

Homer, Philip 532 

Hognason, Snorri 346 

Hoidale, Dr. Andrew D 490 

Holden, Carl R 516 

Holden, John, Jr 586 

Holland, < >scar A 574 

Holley, Frank L 455 

Hollo', John 359 

Hommerberg, Anton 558 

Hook, Andrew 566 

Hook, Frank E 555 

Hook, George 579 

Houston, W. A t36 

Hovdesven, A. O : >'" 1 

Huisenfeldt, Cornelius 380 

Bughes, Griff 121 

Hughes, John H 350 



xvm 



BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 



Page 

Hulburt, John 570 

Humphrey, Kay C 468 

Ijams, Dr. L. E 561 

Illian, Charles A 503 

Inhofer, G. J 447 

James, Dr. W. D 424 

Jansen, Jacob J 366 

Jansen, Theodore ' 350 

Jerpbak, Peter H 394 

Johnson, Andrew 556 

Johnson, Christ 404 

Johnson, Elmer 592 

Johnson, George H 499 

Johnson, Haldor G 509 

Johnson, Jens B 265 

Johnson, John 317 

Johnson, John H. 528 

Johnson, Mrs. C. A 327 

Johnson, Xels P 503 

Johnson, Solomon 417 

Johnson, Thomas U 465 

Jones, Evan C, Sr 307 

Jones, Evan ('., Jr 414 

Jones, Evan M 536 

Jones, Hugh H 322 

Jones, Thomas C 597 

Jonsson, Rev. B. B 4f>0 

Josefson, Johann A .'Ill 

Josephson, Ami S 396 

Josephson, Herman 393 

Kaechele, Tony W 542 

Karlen, John A 475 

Keehl, Otto M 505 

Keller, Christian H 564 

Keller, Edwin K 603 

Kelly, Edward P 437 

Kelly, Peter F 591 

Kelson, Alfred 552 

Kelson, Andrew 504 

Kennedy, Duncan L 560 

Kiel, GuvH 513 

Kile, Arthur J 398. 

Kiley, Eugene B 425 

Killius, Oliver A 584 

Kinch, Arlow S 546 

King. D. M 506 

Kjorness, Knud E 283 

Klaith, Lorents 351 

Kleine, John E 556 

Knudson, John 537 

Knutson, -Gus 522 

Kolhei, Alexander. ■ 488 

Krook, Oscar A 560 

Krueger, Emil J 555 

Kvanbeck, Halvor K 376 

Laingen, Charles R 447 

Larson, Adolph B 512 

Larson, Fred 563 

Larson, George 559 

Larson, Knut *..... 417 

Larson, Ludvig E 326 

Larson, Martin C 336 

Larson, Niels F 330 



Page 

Larson, Olaus M 513 

Laudenslager, Charles A 439 

Laudenslager, John J 328 

Laughlin, James J 451 

La Voie, William 471 

LaVoj', Victor J 573 

Lawrence, J. A 518 

Leas, John H 395 

Leas, J. S 445 

LeBeau, George 1 387 

LeCuver, Edward 597 

Ledel, Gustav 291 

Lee, Ole 1 310 

Leitch, Henry 510 

Leknes, Berner 419 

Leland, Lewis B 324 

Lende, Tennes A 533 

Lerwick, L. M 514 

Liedtke, David 520 

Lien, Anton K 552 

Linden, Andrew P 497 

Lindholm, John 462 

Lindstrom, Carl 532 

Lindstrom, P. A 595 

Loe, Mrs. Jerdine 403 

Long, George 528 

Longtin. F. J 547 

Loranz, Anton 304 

Lord, .Alexander J. 519 

Lowe, George G 498 

Lucas. William L 581 

Lund, Bernt E 575 

Mack, Anton , 587 

Madden, George W 453 

Maertens, Edward 468 

Maertens, Hyppolit 377 

Maher, John 589 

Malzahn, Frederick W. E 568 

Marcotte, Edward 456 

Marcotte, Hector A 593 

Marks, Fred C 314 

-Marshall, Jacob C 599 

Masters, Mrs. Anna 280 

.Mathews, Joseph V 572 

Mathews, Marvin E 406 

Mat his. J. W 545 

Matthews, Henry A 408 

Mattson, John. 464 

Maxson, Edgar T 465 

Maxson, William E.. 481 

MeDaniel, Samuel 594 

McDonald, Lawrence 471 

McElvain. Joe R 515 

McGinn, Arthur J 140 

McGinn, James 334 

Mc( luigan, Patrick J 607 

McLaughlin, David L .• 424 

McMahon, Mrs. Katherine 533 

McNiven, James A 441 

Meehl, Henry 300 

Melby, Christ K 478 

Mcllenthin, Fred W 312 

Mellenthin, Mrs. Anna Louise 389 

Menard, Joel 530 

Menard, Prudent B 593 

Meyer, Edward 364 

Meyer, Merman P 343 



BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 



XIX 



Page 

Meyer, Rudolph A. T 54 1 

Michel, Ernest A 488 

Middleton, Charles II 338 

Mielke, .Mrs. Catherine 313 

Mihills, Donald R 568 

Miller, Charles. 411 

Miller, Earle S 339 

Miller. Edward 464 

Miller, Harry C 555 

Mitchell, James 260 

Mitchell, Joseph M 339 

Mitchell, I >smund X 531 

Mitchell, Robert A 207 

Moat. William 481 

Moffat t. ( leorge 474 

Mohn, Knute K 373 

Mohr, Henry G 541 

Mongeau, Archie S 553 

Monroe, John 277 

Monseth, Lars F 446 

Moore, A. M 402 

Moore, John W 459 

Moore, William A 564 

Moorse, Mathew J 570 

Morgan, Amos S 608 

Morgan, Henry D 293 

Mork, Chris 605 

Morse, Jerome 272 

Moss, Robert S 601 

Mouland, Toilet' T 455 

Mnllaney, William F 37!) 

Mullen, George A 565 

Mulvaney, Thomas 478 

Murphy/Thomas H • 611 

Murphy, William 575 

Murrison, Robert G 371 

Myran, Esten 600 

Myran, Mrs. ( Hava 276 

Neill, Robert M 402 

Nellis, Claud Dayton 604 

Nelson, Albin W 460 

Nelson, Andrew (Clifton) 483 

Nelson, Andrew (Marshall) 266 

Nelson, Chris 615 

Nelson, Gust 593 

Nelson, Hans P 588 

Nelson, Henry 333 

Nelson, Iver 304 

Nelson, John P. . . . 415 

Nelson, Joseph L 565 

Nelson, Nels 383 

Nelson, Peter C 526 

Nelson, Philip A 505 

Nelson, Thomas 289 

Nicholson, Stephen 459 

Nielsen, Fred 399 

Nordli, Carl 483 

Nylin, Knute ■. 544 

( )'( 'onnor, John 356 

< )dell, Spurgeon. 342 

( >estern, Orlando J 520 

Ofstad, Andrew 357 

Ofstad, Michael (i 423 

Oftedal, Hans L 443 

Olevson, Isaac N 558 

Olson, Andrew 593 



Pane 

< USOn, Mrs. Marie ( 1 :;]r> 

Olson, Oluf G... 497 

Olson, Peter H 392 

Opdahl, Iver 529 

Ophiem, Ole 548 

Ordlock, bars H 436 

Orsen, Nickolai. 457 

Orsen, Ole L 274 

I >ssen, George 563 

< Misman, Iver A :;7.~> 

( >verlee, George 603 

I >wens, John S.. 275 

Pagel, Charles F 426 

Painter, Horatio R 454 

Palmer, William C : . 533 

Paradis, Teles, Jr 498 

Paradis, Telesphore 4."t3 

Parker, Francis J 388 

Patneaude, Henry 596 

Pat t ridge, Henry J 367 

Pattridge, Otis L 367 

Paulson. Ole 511 

Pearcy, Walter 609 

Pedersen, Ole. 517 

Pederson, John (' 310 

Pehrson, Nels 431 

Peniston, William B 416 

Persons, Dr. C. E 313 

Peterson, Albert E '. 615 

Peterson, Anton till 

Peterson, August 503 

Peterson, Frank 61 >3 

Peterson, Hans 398 

Peterson, Jay P 349 

Peterson, Lewis C 320 

Peterson, Louis E 432 

Peterson, Martin 434 

Peterson, Marvin 583 

Peterson, Ole E 307 

Peterson, Ole S 323 

Peterson, Peter. 489 

Peterson, Peter A 523 

Phillips, Willianv E 571 

Pilotte, Lueien 610 

Pilotte, Peter 588 

Pinckney, Frank D 537 

Place, JohnM - 601 

Plantz, Charles E. 562 

Poison, Nels 012 

Porter, A. C 193 

Powers, Dr. Fred H 526 

Prairie, Levi 191 

Prechel, August C 610 

Price, Rees 260 

Price, Rufus H 259 

Princen, August 180 

Princen, Joseph 362 

Prouty, De Alton 113 

Purves, .< teorge W -ID 

Radke. Gustav.. 587 

Rasmussen, Anton 565 

Hea. Orvin J 330 

Reese, Boyd T 508 

Regnier, Ambrose A : > s ' 

Regnier, < reorge '■>' 

Regnier, John H 360 



**■ 



XX 



BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 



Page 

Regnier, Joseph E.. 486 

Regnier, Louis N 410 

Reinkc, Albert 518 

Rialson, Louis 291 

Rialson, Ole 317 

Rieh, Edwin S 595 

Richard, Charles C 337 

Rickert, Jacob A.. 457 

Ristow, Herman F 400 

Rivard, Ferdinand A ' . . . . 436 

Roberts, David R 316 

Robertson, Dr. J. B 572 

Robinson, N. J 548 

Rogan, James T 561 

Rogde, John C 361 

Running. Knute 466 

Ronning, Mrs. Erick. 280 

Ronning, Paul K 393 

Ronning, Peder Gilbert 351 

Rossland, A 377 

Rouse, Jacob 263 

Powell, Lewis L 321 

Rowland, Arthur H. .. 411 

Ruliffson, Donald II 566 

Ruliffson, F. W 430 

Punholt, Ole <> 298 

Rye, Anders E 302 

Rye, OleE 333 

.Salmon, Daniel F. .'.. 554 

Sampson, Rasmus B. 496 

Sanden, Andrew 271 

Sanden, Hans P 583 

Sanders, .Mrs. Angeline 392 

Sanderson. Dr. Anton G 405 

Sanderson, Dr. Edward T .'!4.'i 

Sanderson, Sander 422 

Sather, Iver O 162 

Savoie, Henry 600 

Schaefer, Abel D 195 

Schain, George A.. 547 

Scherf, Rev. Paul 590 

Schmitz, ( harles 516 

Schoel, William... 614 

Schouweiler, Michael W.. 588 

Schreiber, Edward 494 

Schroeder, August 551 

Schultz, William 439 

Schurz, Herman 550 

Scott, John 269 

Scott, Lewis E. 412 

Seals, Thomas D 279 

Searles, H. R 381 

Seiler, William. 570 

Seiter, H. Raymond 155 

Senden, Joseph M 449 

Seward, Virgil B 292 

Shaeffer, F. T 585 

Sharratt, Homer D 523 

Shaver, Edgar W 404 

Shepard, Cyrus P 371 

Shepard, Ernest S 312 

Shequen, William Grover 448 

Sheutzel, Herman 424 

Sickler, F. W % . . . 357 

Sigurdson, Christ E \ . . 526 

Simmons, Eugene 552 

Simmons, Wesley W 500 



Page 

Sjolinder, Rev. Laurent Erik 549 

Skaar, Knute 409 

Skogen, Carl ().... 338 

Skyhawk, Ephraim 299 

Slanev, Rev. J. H 609 

Slette, Ole P 374 

Slette, Peter P.. 407 

Smedsrud, Mrs. Nellie 484 

Smith, Dr. J. F 543 

Smith, Ernest 4/0 

Snapp, Charles M — 559 

Snidal, John 405 

Sommer, Victor 582 

Sorensen, Nels Christian 591 

Soucy, L. P ^ 510 

Spencer, John K 530 

Spong, Charles J 341 

Stankey, Herman C 456 

Starr, Frank E.. . 34S 

Starr, Herbert L 435 

Stassen, John. 004 

Stassen, Mike 471 

Stassen, Theodore :!97 

St. Denis, Dr. E. F 495 

Sterk, Ole IL... 435 

Stewart, Rev. William Joseph 344 

Stiefel, David 268 

St il well, Edwin C 475 

Storck, William G. 543 

Storlie, Halvor A 393 

Story, Burl... 443 

St rut hers. Robert Alton 488 

Sturgeon, John J.. 486 

Sullivan, M 322 

Supernatz, Joseph 388 

Swanson, Aldor B 418 

Swanson, Erick M 524 

Sween, Julius 599 

Swennes, Arne 329 

Swennes, Knute 345 

Swenson, Andrew J 315 

Swift, Homer R.. 47_' 

Swift, Lee 415 

Swonson, Carl R 425 

Tate. George A.... 320 

Tate, Harry A 457 

Taylor, Leon M 482 

Teerlinck, Julius 382 

Tegels, John 42:; 

Tehart, Christ 540 

Terry, Byron P 286 

Teufel, Henry A 608 

Thavis, Henry 527 

Thiel, Gustav 389 

Tholen, John. 550 

Thomas, Benjamin F 281 

Thomas, James J 289 

Thomas, Theodore M 422 

Thompson, L. T 479 

Thompson, Thore K 305 

Thorburn, William B 434 

Thordarson, Dr. Theodore 482 

Tibbit, Charles F 332 

Tiemessen, Francis J 014 

Tillemans, Harry J 479 

Tillemans, William P 433 

Tolzman, William 482 



BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 



xxi 



Topel, Charles H 45] 

I nun. Alvah I! 278 

Town, Lucius E.. 265 

Tracy, George I) 469 

Tram, Henry 1 566 

Tn.ut, Mrs. Mary 400 

Truax, Charles 295 

Trudeau, Adolph 576 

Tubbs, Vernon B •">'-'< 

Tweet. John C 284 

Twog I. William E.. 577 

Tychsen, Rev. Th 540 

Van Breasen, Ben F 176 

Vanden Berghe, Oscar 553 

Van Dusen, < leorge Albert. 450 

Van Dusen, Willard .1 342 

Vangheluwe, Peter. 528 

Vanhee, Aime 452 

Van Moer, Edmond 408 

Van Sadelhoff, William 613 

Vanstrom, Frederick W I s - 

Van Uden, Anton 590 

Van Uden, Herman A I < < 

Van Walleghem, Rev. Henry Victor 535 

Vergauwe, Victor 535 

Vergote, Gustave 190 

Verhaake, Joseph : j : >'> 

Vermeersch, Louis 504 

Volden, Hans... 430 

Yolk, Albert 513 

Voss, Henry 450 

Wahlquist, Otto "> s I 

Walquist, Joseph 614 

Walsh, Thomas F 17:: 

Wambeke, John 556 

Wat kins, William E 592 



Webb, Frank W. 344 

Webb, T. II :;s5 

Wedger, Charles F 386 

Weidauer, Alvin E 585 

Weidauer, Herman F. (Grandview) 612 

Weidauer, Herman F. (Lake Marshall} 170 

Weikle, Ferdinand K 332 

Weking, Otto 402 

Welsh, John W 574 

Wewetzer, Lewis A -Mil 

Whiting, Dr. Carl E 395 

Whiting, lvl win F.. 306 

Whitlatch, Grover ('.. 615 

Whitney. Charles C 255 

Whitney, Charles H 261 

Wiesner, J.N. 196 

Wignes, Ole J 282 

Wild, Albert 553 

Wilhelm, Urbane 391 

Willard, William I).. 580 

Willford, Bert 370 

Willtord, Cassius M 318 

Williams, James Von. 429 

Williams, Joseph B 541 

Williams, Roy W 325 

Willis. Robert E 389 

Wilson, John 542 

Wilson, John W 356 

Wimer, Cary J 325 

Wohlheter, Walter P 566 

Woodruff, Frank L 554 

Woodruff, Joseph C 540 

Workman, Dr. H. M 315 

Wreath, Albert 547 

Wright, Absalom Lloyd 409 

Zabel, Julius 5s:; 

Zvorak, John 478 



HISTORY OF 

Lyon County 

MINNESOTA 



CHAPTER I. 



A HOUIGINAL DAYS— 1 700-1 866. 



THK white man's history of Lyon 
county dates back to no great 
antiquity. Nevertheless, during 
millions of years many interesting things 
happened in the county — events which 
were not witnessed by mortal eye, 
events which the most vivid imagination 
cannot conceive. 

From a part of the seething, molten 
mass that composed the earth during 
the millions of years about which even 
the geologists hardly dare venture a 
guess Lyon county was formed and 
became a part of the earth's surface in 
the process of cooling. Thereafter it 
was successively covered with the waters 
of the sea, was raised from the depths 
to a great altitude, and was crushed 
back by the weight of the vast ice sheets 
during the Glacial Period. 

During those times Lyon county's 
topographical features were formed, 
many changes resulting before Nature 
had them fashioned to her liking. Soil 
was spread over the surface; ridges and 

'Traces of man's presence during this period have 
been found in the flood plain of the Mississippi river at 
Little Falls, Minnesota, and in other parts of the 
United States. Concerning the original peopling of 
North America, Warren Upham, A. M., D. Sc, in 
Minnesota in Three Centuries, says: 

"The original peopling of America appears to have 
taken place far longer ago by migration from North- 
eastern Asia during the early Quaternary or Ozarkian 
Epoch of general uplift of northern regions, which 
immediately preceded the Ice Age, and which con- 
tinued through the early and probably the greater part 
of that age. Then land undoubtedly extended across 
the area of Behring sea. 

"During Ozarkian time and the long early part of 
the Glacial Period, wandering tribes, migrating for 
better food supplies or to escape from enemies, could 



hills were formed by the action of the 
ice; depressions were left in which are 
now lakes; the waters from the melting 
ice sought avenues of escape and formed 
rivers and creeks; plant and animal life 
came into existence. 

When Lyon county was first inhab- 
ited by the human species is unknown. 
Even when the North American con- 
tinent was first peopled archaeologists 
can at best only guess. There has been 
discovered evidence that man lived upon 
the continent during the decline and 
closing days of the Ice Age, some 6000 
to 10,000 years ago, and probably had 
done so for a much longer period. 1 

When civilized man first came to the 
New World he found it peopled with a 
savage race which he called Indians. 
They had no knowledge of their own 
ancestry nor of any peoples who may 
have preceded them. Whether or not 
this race supplanted one of a higher 
civilization is a question upon which 
authorities disagree. 2 The only source's 

have crossed on land from Asia to Alaska and could 
have advanced south to Pategonia and Tierra del 
Fuego, occupying all the ground (excepting the ice- 
covered area) that is now, or was in pre-Columbian 
times, the home of the American race. It is not im- 
probable, too, that another line of very ancient migra- 
tion, in the same early Pleistocene or Quaternary 
time, passed from Western Europe by the Faroe 
islands, Iceland and Greenland, to our continent." 

-"It was formerly thought by many archaeologists, 
twenty-five to fifty years ago, thai the mounds of the 
Ohio and Mississippi valleys were built by a prehistoric 
people, distinct from the Indians and further advanced 
in agriculture and the arts of civilization. To that 
ancient people the name of Mound Builders was given , 
and it was supposed that they were driven southward 



26 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



of information concerning the early in- 
habitants are the implements of warfare 
and domestic use they made, found in 
burial places and elsewhere in the land. 
The Mississippi valley is prolific in 
mounds — the burial places of these 
ancient peoples,— many having been 
found and excavated in Minnesota. 

While we have little knowledge of the 
very early peoples who inhabited Minne- 
sota, from the middle of the seventeenth 
century, when white men first pene- 
trated to the Northwest, we can trace 
the history of the Indian tribes more or 
less accurately. At the coming of white 
men nearly the whole state was occupied 
by the Dakota, or Sioux, Indians. 3 
The only exception was in the extreme 
northern part, where the Kilistino (or 
Crees) and the Monsoni of the Algonquin 
tribes had their habitat. The Sioux, 
with whom alone Lyon county has to 
do, had their favorite hunting grounds 
on the prairies, and although they were 
usually domiciled in a portion of the 
timbered lands bordering the prairies 
they were strictly Indians of the prairie. 

About the middle of the eighteenth 
century the aggressive Ojibways, or 
Chippewas, made successful war on the 

into Mexico by incursions of the Indian tribes that 
were found in our country at the first coming of white 
men. This view, however, has been generally given 
up. The researches of Powell and other specialists, 
including Winchell and Brower in Minnesota, have 
well referred the building of the mounds to the ancestors 
of the present Indians." — Warren Upham in Minnesota 
in Three Centuries. 

s The Dakoian stock embraced many tribes and 
according to Indian tradition came from the Atlantic 
seaboard. Their original homes, according to the best 
authorities, were in the Carolinas, Virginia, and 
possibly portions of the Gulf coast. Into that region 
formerly the buffalo ranged. It is suggested that the 
quest for food probably led the Dakotas to follow the 
movements of that animal and thus in time to possess 
the country west of the Mississippi river. 

The migration, which occurred several centuries 
before the discovery of America, covered a great length 
of time and was by way of the Ohio valley, which was 
the home of the Dakotas at one time. Some authori- 
ties assert that the Dakotan stock built at least a part 
of the celebrated mounds of the Ohio valley, as well 
as those of Eastern Tennessee and West Virginia. 

The most important branches of the Dakotan stock 
that migrated to the West are given as follows 
(abridged) in The Aborigines of Minnesota, published 
by the Minnesota Historical Society in 1911: 

"Hidatsa. The Minitari or Gros Ventres of the 
Missouri valley. Probably the first of the expelled 
mound builders to reach Minnesota. 



Sioux and Crees, driving the Sioux to 
the south and the Crees to the north. 
Thenceforth until the white man sup- 
planted the red these two tribes occupied 
all the area of Minnesota, the Ojibways 
holding the northeastern wooded half 
and the Sioux its prairie half on the 
southwest . 

The Sioux nation was divided into 
several different tribes, each of which 
laid claim to certain tracts. The south- 
western part of Minnesota, including the 
present county of Lyon, was claimed by 
the Sissiton tribe. The location of the 
several bands inhabiting Southern Min- 
nesota in 1834 has been told by the 
missionary, S. W. Pond, who came to 
Minnesota that year. He has written: 

"The villages of the .M'dewakanton- 
wan were on the Minnesota and Mis- 
sissippi rivers, extending from Winona 
to Shakopee. Most of the Indians living 
on the Minnesota river above Shakopee 
were Warpetonwan. At Big Stone lake 
there were both Warpetonwan and 
Sissitonwan, and at Lake Traverse 
lhanktonwan [Yankton], Sissitonwan 
and Warpetonwan. Part of the War- 
pekute lived on Cannon river and part 
at Traverse des Sioux. There were 

"Crows, or Absaruka, or Upsarata. Still further up 
the Missouri river. 

"Mandan. On the Missouri river. 

"Sioux, or Dakota. Embraced San tee (Issanti), 
Sissiton, Wahpeton, Yankton, Yanktonai, Teton 
(embracing Brule, Sans Arcs, Blackfeet, Minneconjou, 
Two Kettles, the Ogallala and the Hunkpapa) and the 
Assiniboin, or Stone Sioux. 

"Winnebago. Originally in Central Wisconsin and 
Northwestern Illinois and later in Northern Minnesota 
and Iowa. 

"Omaha (Maha) and their kindred, Ponca, Osage, 
Kwapa and Kansa. Formerly of the Ohio and Wabash 
rivers. Later in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, 
sometimes extending their domains temporarily to 
Minnesota and the Black Hills. 

"Iowa (Dusty Heads). Included also the Otoe and 
the Missouri. Along the Mississippi river north of the 
Missouri, along the Des Moines river, and temporarily 
in Minnesota." 

The word Dakota, by which the Indians preferred to 
be designated, signifies allies, or joined together in 
friendly compact. But from the earliest days the 
nation has been more commonly referred to as Sioux, 
a word of Ojibway origin and bestowed by the French 
voyageurs. For centuries the Ojibways of the Lake 
Superior country waged war against the Dakotas and 
whenever they spoke of the latter they called them 
Nadowaysioux, which signifies enemies. The French- 
men nicknamed the Dakotas Sioux, a contraction of 
the Ojibway word. 



IIlSTOltV OP LYON COUNTY. 



27 



frequent intermarriages between these 
divisions of the Dakotas, and they were 
more or less intermingled at all their 
villages. Though the manners, lan- 
guage and dress of the different divisions 
were not all precisely alike, they were 
essentially one people." 

As has been mentioned before, the 
southwestern part of Minnesota was the 
country of the Sissiton branch of the 
Sioux nation from the time white men 
first visited it, The timber land along 
the Redwood river in Lyon county was 
a paradise for these Indians of the 
prairie and some of the band had their 
homes there; others frequented it on 
trapping and hunting expeditions and 
to gather the syrup from the maple trees. 

Parker I. Pierce, who passed through 
Lyon county in the early sixties and 
was quite well informed on Indian 
affairs, has given an interesting account 
of Indian life in Lyon county before the 
coming of white settlers. In the Lyon 
County Reporter of December 2G, 1896, 
he wrote: 

At Lynd there were about 1500 acres of 
timber (most of it having later been cut by 
the settlers), consisting of oak, bass and sugar 
maple. This timber was paradise for the 
Indians, furnishing shelter and fuel for winter 
and a feeding ground for their ponies. In the 
summer they would hunt and kill buffalo and 
dry the meat for winter. After the cold weather 
set in they devoted their time to trapping the 
fur-bearing animals, such as otter, mink and 
muskrats, which were abundant. In every 
slough one could count from three to forty 
houses or dens, which were made of rushes and 
varied in height. When there was to be high 
water in the spring they were built high, and 
when low water they were built low. That sign 
hardly ever failed. Now the rats have dis- 
appeared. The otter were not very plentiful, 
as the Indians kept them well trapped out. 
Their skins brought a fair price, probably two 
quarts of brown sugar. Wolves were very 
plentiful before the white trapper came among 
them. The Indian was so superstitious that he 
would not kill any; he said they were his Great 
Father's dogs. The same with a snake. 

As I said before, there were plenty of sugar 
maples and the Indian women made hundreds 
of pounds of sugar. In the spring the surplus 
would go to the Indian trader and shortly would 
be traded back to them for furs and robes. 



Each band of Indians had their allotment of 
trees. The troughs that were made to catch 
the sap remained under the trees until the 
following spring; then the same ones would go 
back to their camping ground. 

The Indians were happy and rich with ponies. 
Their burial places were the oaks that stood on 
the bluffs. The ones that died were wrapped 
in a blanket and put in the fork of a tree and 
left there until they crumbled to dust. The 
older settlers can recollect seeing the burial 
places in Lyons township, adjoining the town 
of Lynd. 

There is a mound the settlers call the knob, 
which is no doubt an ancient burial place. 
This knob looks as though the dirt had been 
carried and laid as systematically as for some 
observatory or look-out place; for one can 
stand there and see for miles in each direction. 
It once faced a lovely sheet of water which is 
now dry and is one of the best stock farms in 
the Northwest, owned and occupied by Mr. 
Ruliffson and sons. This mound has been nearly 
ruined by wolf hunters. There have been 
human bones found when digging for wolves. 
Years ago there was a hard-beaten trail leading 
to this mound from the timber, thence toward 
Wood lake, passing a very high peak where there 
was a large pile of rocks one could see for miles. 
No doubt this mound and peak have been used 
for look-outs, as the enemy, another tribe, was 
very troublesome. 

The history of Lyon county before 
the white race took possession must be 
left almost entirely to the imagination; 
there is little data from which to write 
it. If inanimate things could speak, 
what wild tales of Indian adventure 
could be poured forth! But inanimate 
things cannot speak and the animate 
aborigine is a notoriously worthless 
historian, so a very interesting part of 
the history of Lyon county must forever 
remain unrecorded. Only trifling bits 
of history, intermingled with a plethora 
of legend, are preserved of the days 
before the Caucasian race took pos- 
session. 

Let us, in imagery, take a look at the 
Lyon county of years gone by, when it 
was in primeval state, when it was as 
Nature had formed it. Its topography 
was practically the same as we find it to- 
day. There were the same broad, rolling 
prairies, stretching as far as the eye 
might reach, presenting in summer a 
perfect paradise of verdure, with its 



28 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



variegated hues of flowers and vegeta- 
tion; in winter a dreary and snow- 
mantled desert. The rivers and creeks 
flowed in the same courses as now; the 
lakes occupied the same banks as at the 
present day. But what a contrast! 

"Wild beasts and birds and wilder red 
men then reigned supreme. Vast herds 
of bison, elk and deer roamed the open 
prairies and reared their young in the 
more sheltered places along the streams. 
With that wonderful appreciation of the 
beautiful which Nature has made an 
instinct in the savage, the untutored ' 
Sioux selected the country as his hunting- 
ground and roamed it at will. Such 
was the Lyon county before the march 
of civilization brought the white man to 
supplant the red. 

Before introducing the first white man 
who set foot on the soil of Lyon county, 
let us review briefly the explorations 
that had been made in other parts of 
Minnesota. 

White men first penetrated the North- 
west country to the present state of 
Minnesota in the middle of the seven- 
teenth century (1655-56). In 1683 the 
first map on which physical features of 
Minnesota were pictured was published 
in connection with Father Hennepin's 
writings. The map is very A'ague and 
demonstrates that little was known of 
the Northwest country. Five years 
later, in 1688, J. B. Franquelin, a 
Canadian-French geographer, drafted 
for King Louis XVI. of France a more 
detailed map of North America, making 
use of information gathered by .loliet 
and Marquette, La Salle, Hennepin, 
DuLuth and others. Some of the prin- 
cipal streams and lakes are marked and 
more or less accurately located, among 
others the R. des Moingene (Des 
Moines), which rises not far from our 



territory. The data for a greater ^part 
of the map were doubtless secured from 
the Indians. 

A few French explorers, named above, 
had penetrated the present area of 
Minnesota, but none of them had ex- 
plored the southwestern portion. The 
first white man to visit the interior of 
Southern Minnesota was Le Sueur, who 
in 1700 ascended the Minnesota river to 
near the present site of Mankato. 

In 1699 Le Sueur received a com- 
mission from DTberville to visit and 
examine a copper mine which the 
former claimed to have learned of in 
the country of the Iowas. 4 In April, 
1700, with a company of about twenty- 
five persons he set out from the settle- 
ment on the lower Mississippi with a 
single shallop. On the nineteenth of 
September he reached the mouth of the 
Minnesota river and on the last day of 
that month, having reached the Blue 
Earth river, he built a fort in which he 
spent the winter. Fort L'Huillier, 
named for one of the chief collectors of 
the king of France, was a league up the 
Blue Earth river. A short distance 
from the fort the Frenchmen gathered 
large quantities of blue or green earth, 
which they believed to be copper ore. 
In the spring of 1701 Le Sueur with a 
part of his force descended the Missis- 
sippi with the "ore," 4000 pounds of 
which were sent to France. The garri- 
son which had been left at Fort L'Huil- 
lier, having received ill treatment at the 
hands of the Indians and having run 
short of provisions, in 1703 returned to 
civilization in charge of Derague. 

The data secured by Le Sueur were 
used in the preparation of a map of the 
Northwest country by William De L'isle. 
royal geographer of France, in 1703. 
Several of the larger and more important 



4 Le Sueur had first visited the upper Mississippi 
country in 16S3 with Perrot, in the interests of trade. 



He built a trading post at Isle Pelee, a few miles below 
Hastings, in 1695. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



20 



physical features of Southwestern Min- 
nesota were more or less accurately 
located. For the first time the Minne- 
sota river appeared upon a map, being 
labeled R. St. Pierre, or Mini-Sota. 
The Des Moines river also has a place 
on the map, being marked Des Moines, 
or le Moingona R., and its source was 
definitely located. There is nothing in 
the writings of Le Sueur, however, to 
lead to the belief that he extended his 
exploration to any country except along 
the Minnesota river and not much 
farther up that stream than the mouth 
of the Blue Earth. 

During the next sixty-six years after 
Le Sueur visited the Minnesota river 
country, no white man was in South- 
western Minnesota, so far as we know. 
Then, in November, 1766, Jonathan 
Carver ascended the Minnesota and 
spent seven months with the Indians at 
the mouth of the Cottonwood river, in the 
vicinity of the present city of New Ulm. 
He remained with the Indians until 
April, 1767, and learned their language. 5 

5 Of his trip to this point Carver wrote: 

"On the twenty-fifth [of November, 1766] I returned 
to my canoe, which I had left at the mouth of the river 
St. Pierre [Minnesota]; and here I parted with regret 
from my young friend, the prince of the Winnebagoes. 
The river being clear of ice by reason of its southern 
situation, I found nothing to obstruct my passage. 
On the twenty-eighth, being advanced about forty 
miles, I arrived at a small branch that fell into it from 
the north; to which, as it had no name that I could 
distinguish it by, I gave my own, and the reader will 
find it in the plan of my travels denominated Carver's 
river. About forty miles higher up I came to the 
forks of the Verd [Blue Earth] and Red Marble [Waton- 
wan] rivers, which join at some little distance before 
they enter the St. Pierre. 

"The river St. Pierre at its junction with the Mis- 
sissippi is about a hundred yards broad and continues 
that breadth nearly all the way I sailed upon it. It 
has a great depth of water and in some places runs 
very swiftly. About fifteen miles from its mouth are 
some rapids and much higher up are many others. 

"I proceeded up this river about 200 miles, to the 
country of the Nadowessies [Sioux] of the plains, 
which lies a little above the fork formed by the Verd 
and Red Marble rivers just mentioned, where a branch 
from the south [the Cottonwood] nearly joins the 
Messorie [Missouri] river." [The sources of the Cot- 
tonwood river are near those of Rock river, the latter 
being a tributary of the Missouri.] 

6 From information received from the Indians Carver 
made some wonderful deductions as to the physical 
features of the country. In his narrative of the trip 
he wrote: 

"By the accounts I received from the Indians I have 
reason to believe that the river St. Pierre [Minnesota] 
and the Messorie [Missouri], though they enter the 
Mississippi twelve hundred miles from each other, 
take their rise in the same neighborhood, and this 
within the space of a mile. The river St. Pierre's 



It is possible that Carver during this 
time may have visited the country 
which is now included within the bound- 
aries of Lyon county, for he hunted 
with the Indians over some of the great 
plains of Southwestern Minnesota which, 
"according to their [the Indians'] ac- 
count, are unbounded and probably 
terminate on the coast of the Pacific 
ocean."' 1 

Undoubtedly white men, engaged in 
trade with the natives or trapping and 
hunting for the fur companies or for 
themselves, visited that part of South- 
western Minnesota which is now desig- 
nated Lyon county in the early part of 
the nineteenth century. But such men 
left no records of their operations, and 
our information concerning the explora- 
tion of the country is obtained almost 
wholly from expeditions sent out by 
the government. 

An early visitor to Southwestern 
Minnesota was Major Stephen H. Long, 
who conducted a party of exploration, 
under direction of the secretary of war, 

northern branch [that is, the main river] rises from a 
number of lakes [Big Stone lake] near the Shining 
Mountains [the Coteau des Prairies] and it is from 
some of these also that a capital branch [Red River of 
the North] of the river Bourbon [Nelson river], which 
runs into Hudson's Bay, has its sources. ... I have 
learned that the four most capital rivers of North 
America, viz., the St. Lawrence, the Mississippi, the 
River Bourbon [Nelson] and the Oregon [Columbia], 
or River of the VVest, have their sources in the same 
neighborhood. The waters of the three former are 
within thirty miles of each other; the latter, however, 
is rather farther west. 

"This shows that these parts are the highest lands 
of North America; and it is an instance not to be 
paralleled on the other three-quarters of the globe, that 
four rivers of such magnitude should take their rise 
together and each, after running separate courses, 
discharge their waters into different oceans at the 
distance of 2000 miles from their source." 

Of the country through which he traveled Carver 
wrote : 

"The river St. Pierre, which runs through the terri- 
tory of the Nadowessies flows through a most delightful 
country, abounding with all the necessaries of life that 
grow spontaneously, and with a little cultivation it 
might be made to produce even the luxuries of life. 
Wild rice grows here in great abundance; and every 
part is filled with trees bending under their loads of 
fruit, such as plums, grapes and apples; the meadows 
are covered with hops and many sorts of vegetables; 
whilst the ground is stored with useful roots, with 
angelica, spikenard and ground nuts as large as hens' 
eggs At a little distance from the sides of the river 
are eminences from which you have views that cannot 
l,c exceeded by even the must beautiful of those I 
have already described Amidst these are delightful 
groves and such amazing quantities of maples thai 
they would produce sugar sufficient for any numbei 
of inhabitants." 



30 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



to the source of the Minnesota river and 
to Lake Winnipeg in 1823. In the party 
were several scientific gentlemen from 
Philadelphia, among them Professor 
William Keating of the University of 
Pennsylvania, who was the historian of 
the party. 

It was during the month of July, 
1823, that Major Long and party made 
the trip up the Minnesota river, traveling 
on the south side of the stream. Pro- 
fessor Keating mentions the Redwood 
river and states that the red pipestone 
was said to exist on its banks three 
days' journey from its mouth. Mention 
is made of Patterson's rapids, the Grand 
portage, the Pejehata Zeze Watapan 
(Yellow Medicine) river, Beaver rivulet 
(Lac qui Parle river) and other physical 
features. Interesting observations were 
recorded respecting the fauna and flora 
of the prairies. 

Another exploration of Southwestern 
Minnesota was made in the summer of 
1835 by G. W. Featherstonhaugh, an 
English gentleman. He bore the title 
United States geologist and was com- 
missioned by Colonel J. J. Abert, of the 
Bureau of Topographical Engineers. 
Featherstonhaugh proceeded up the 
Minnesota river for a considerable dis- 
tance and explored parts of the Coteau 
des Prairies, which he described at some 
length. His exact route is not known 
and it is possible he passed through 
Lyon county. 7 

A white man first established a home 
in Lyon county in 1835. He was 

'From Featherstonhaugh's expedition resulted two 
works, one entitled "Report of geological reconnoisance 
made in 1835 from the seat of government by the way 
of Green Bay and the Wisconsin Territory to the 
Coteau des Prairies, an elevated ridge dividing the 
Missouri from the St. Peter's [Minnesota] river," 
printed by order of the Senate in 1S36, and the other 
"A Canoe Voyage up the Minnay Sotar," published in 
London in 1847. 

s Most of the information concerning the operations 
of Joseph LaFramboise herein contained was obtained 
by Doane Robinson, now secretary »f the South 
Dakota Historical Society, in an interview _ with 
Joseph LaFramboise, Jr., in 1900. The latter re- 
membered well the time of the family's residence in 
Lyon county and the visit of George Catlin in 1S37. 



Joseph LaFramboise, a trader in the 
employ of the American Fur Company, 
and his post was in the Lyncl woods on 
the Redwood river. There for a period 
of two years he lived with his family, 
engaged in trade with the Indians. 

So early as 1826 Joseph LaFramboise 
was a trader, licensed by the Indian 
agent at the agency established at the 
mouth of the Minnesota river. In the 
late twenties he established a trading 
post on the headwaters of the Des 
Moines river, probably in Murray county, 
where in 1829 a son, Joseph LaFram- 
boise, Jr., was born. 8 In 1834 he moved 
the post to the "Great Oasis," at about 
the present location of Lowville, in 
Murray county, remained there one 
year, and in 1835 removed the post to 
the Lyncl woods. 

For two years LaFramboise and his 
family were residents of the future Lyon 
county, he acting as agent for the 
American Fur Company in bartering 
with the Indians. In 1837 he moved to 
the mouth of the Cottonwood river and 
the next year to a homestead in Ridgely 
township, Nicollet county, about eleven 
miles above the present site of New Ulm. 
LaFramboise died in 1856. 

It was in 1837, while LaFramboise 
was residing in Lyon county, that 
George Catlin, the famous traveler and 
Indian delineator, traversed the county 
on his way to visit the Pipestone 
quarries. 9 He organized the expedition 
at the falls of St. Anthony and was 
accompanied only by Robert Serril 

His mother was an Indian woman, the daughter of 
Walking Day. LaFramboise, Sr., was a much married 
man. His second and third wives were daughters of 
Sleepy Eye and his fourth was Jane Dickson, whom 
In married in 1845 at Traverse des Sioux. That 
marriage was the first performed in what is now 
Nicollet county. 

9 George Catlin made the trip from New York City, 
traveled 2400 miles, and devoted eight months' time, 
"traveling at considerable expense and for part of the 
way with much fatigue and exhaustion." He had 
planned to make the trip when at Fort Snelling in 
1835, but learning of the Featherstonhaugh expedition 
that year to the Coteau des Prairies, he postponed the 
trip two years. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



31 



Wood, "a young gentleman from Eng- 
land of fine taste and education/' and 
mi Indian guide, O-kup-kee by name. 

This little party traveled horseback 
and followed the usual route up the 
Minnesota on the south side. At Trav- 
erse des Sioux, near the present site of 
St. Peter, Mr. Catlin and his companion 
halted at the cabin of a trader, where 
they were threatened by a band of 
savages and warned not to persist in 
their determination to visit the quarries. 
They continued on their way, however, 
crossed to the north side of the river at 
Traverse des Sioux, proceeded in a 
westerly direction, and crossed the Min- 
nesota to the south bank near the mouth 
of the Waraju (Cottonwood), close to 
the present city of New Ulm. 

There Messrs. Catlin and Wood left 
the river and journeyed "a little north 
of west" for the Coteau des Prairies. 
They traveled through the present 
counties of Brown, Redwood and Lyon 
and passed several Indian villages, at 
several of which they were notified that 
they must go back; but, undaunted, 
they continued their journey. Catlin 
states in one place that he traveled one 
hundred miles or more from the mouth 
of the Cottonwood, and in another place 
"for a distance of one hundred and 
twenty or thirty miles" before reaching 
the base of the coteau, when he was still 
"forty or fifty miles from the Pipestone 
quarries." 10 He declared this part of 
the journey was over one of the most 
beautiful prairie countries in the world. 11 

Mr. Catlin came to the trading post 
of the American Fur Company in charge 

10 Most of Catlin's distances were overestimated. 
The distance from the mouth of the Cottonwood to the 
base of the coteau where he came upon it is only about 
seventy-two miles in a direct line; then he was about 
thirty-six miles from the quarries. 

lll 'This tract of country, as well as that along' the 
St. Peter's [Minnesota] river, is mostly covered with 
the richest soil and furnishes an abundance of good 
water, which feeds from a thousand living springs. 
For many miles we had the coteau in view in the 
distance before us, which looked like a blue cloud 
settling down in the horizon, and we were scarcely 



of Joseph La Framboise, whom he re- 
ferred to as an old friend, at the Lynd 
woods. From the trading post the 
intrepid travelers journeyed to the 
quarries, guided by their Indian. The 
explorer described the land along the 
route as a series of swells or terraces, 
gently rising one above the other. 
According to his account, there was not 
a tree or bush to be seen in any direction 
and the ground was covered with a 
green turf of grass five or six inches high. 

The next white men to penetrate 
Lyon county were a party of explorers 
in the government employ, who passed 
through in the summer of 1S3S. In the 
party were six men under command of 
Joseph Nicolas Nicollet, with John C. 
Fremont, later nominee of the Repub- 
lican party for president of the United 
States, second in command. 12 Among 
the others were Charles A. Geyer, the 
botanist of the expedition; J. Eugene 
Flandin and James Renville. -i { 

Nicollet and Fremont traveled from 
Washington to St. Louis and thence up 
the Mississippi river to H. H. Sibley's 
trading post, near the mouth of the 
Minnesota river. Thence they journeyed 
over the general route of travel up the 
south side of the Minnesota river, 
crossing at Traverse des Sioux. They 
proceeded west across the "ox-bow," 
stopping at Big Swan Jake in Nicollet 
county, and crossed the Minnesota again 
at the mouth of the Cottonwood. They 
proceeded up the valley of the Cotton- 
wood, on the north side of the river, to 
a point near the present site of Lam- 
berton, and then crossed to the south 

sensible of the fact when we had arrived at its base 
from the graceful and almost imperceptible swells with 
which it commences its elevation above the country 
around it." — North American Indians, by George 
Catlin. , . , , , -., j-4j 

i-From 1S36 to 1S43 Nicollet, most of the time 
assisted by Fremont, prosecuted :i geographical survey 
of the upper Mississippi country. He explored nearlj 
all portions of Minnesota and many other parts of the 
country theretofore unvisited. His operations in 
Southwestern Minnesota were (mite extensive. 



32 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



side of the river and struck across 
country to the west. They passed 
through the southeast corner of Lyon 
county, about where the city of Tracy 
now stands, and passed around the 
north end of Lake Shetek. Thence they 
proceeded southwestward, between Bear 
lakes, to the Pipestone quarries. 13 

After spending three clays at the 
Pipestone quarries, where is now situated 
the city of Pipestone, the Nicollet party 
visited and named Lake Benton (for 
Mr. Fremont's father-in-law. Senator 
Benton) and then proceeded westward 
into Dakota, visiting and naming Lakes 
Preston (for Senator Preston), Poinsett 
(for J. R. Poinsett, secretary of war). 
Abert, Thompson, Tetonkoha, Kam- 
peska and Hendricks. Before returhing 
to civilization Nicollet visited Big Stone 
lake and other places to the north. He 
returned to the falls of St. Anthony by 
way of Joseph Renville's camp on the 
Lac qui Parle. 

As a result of Nicollet's exploration 
several physical features of Lyon county 
and the immediate vicinity were given 
names and appeared on a map for the 
first time, all quite accurately located. 
Among them are St. Peter or Minisotah 
river (on which are shown Crooked 
rapids, Rock Bar rapids and Patterson's 
rapids), Tchanshayapi or Redwood R., 
Waraju [Cottonwood] R., Pejuta Zizi R. 
or Yellow Medicine R., L. Shetek 

13 On Nicollet's map, issued in 1843. his route to the 
quarries is indicated by a fine dotted line. This map 
at the time it was issued was the most complete and 
correct one of the upper Mississippi country. It 
covered all of Minnesota and Iowa, about one-half of 
Missouri, and much of the Dakotas, Wisconsin and 
Illinois. The author save names to many streams and 
lakes and gave the first representation of the striking 
topographical features of the western and northern 
parts of Minnesota. He located, by astronomical 
observations, the numerous streams and lakes and the 
main geographical features of the state, filling in by 
eye-sketching and by pacing the intermediate objects. 

Other explorers had visited and described the Coteau 
des Prairies, but Nicollet was the first one to define its 
boundaries on a map. He described the region west 
of the Mississippi as containing several plateaus, or 
elevated prairies, which marked the limits of the 
various river basins. The most remarkable of these, 
he declared, was the Plateau du Coteau ties Prairies 
(plateau of prairie heights), a name bestowed by the 
earlier French explorers, and Coteau du Grand Bois 



(designated as the head of the Moin- 
gonan [Des Moines] river), L. Benton 
and Red Pipestone Quarry. On his 
map the country along the Minnesota 
river is labeled Warpeton country and 
that further south Sissiton country. 

The next recorded visit of white men 
was in 1844, when an expedition in 
charge of Captain J. Allen came up the 
Des Moines river, operating chiefly to 
chart that and other streams. He 
passed through Jackson, Cottonwood 
and Murray counties and came to Lake 
Shetek, which he decided was the source 
of the Des Moines river. He gave that 
body of water the name Lake of the 
Oaks and described it as remarkable for 
a singular arrangement of the penin- 
sulas running into it from all sides and 
for a heavy growth of timber that 
covered the peninsulas and the borders 
of the lake. 

With Lake Shetek as temporary head- 
quarters, Captain Allen extended his 
explorations in several directions. He 
proceeded due north from the lake and 
crossed the Cottonwood and later the 
Redwood near the present site of 
Marshall. When thirty-seven miles 
north of Lake Shetek he turned east 
and crossed the Redwood again near the 
site of Redwood Falls. From the mouth 
of the Redwood he explored the south 
shore of the Minnesota river several 
miles up and down and returned to 

(wooded heights). Nicollet described the Coteau des 
Prairies as a vast plain, elevated 1916 feet above the 
level of the ocean and 890 feet above Big Stone lake, 
lying between latitudes forty-three and fortv-six 
degrees, extending from northwest to southeast for a 
distance of 200 miles, its width varying from fifteen 
to forty miles. On the map he located it as extending 
from a point a short distance northwest of Lake 
Traverse in a southeasterly direction into Iowa, in- 
cluding the western part of Lyon county. 

Of the country through which he passed on his way 
to the quarries Nicollet wrote: 

"Whatever people may fix their abode in this region 
must necessarily become agriculturists and shepherds, 
drawing all their resources from the soil. They must 
not only raise the usual agricultural products for 
feeding, as is now but too generally done in some parts 
of the West, but they will have to turn their attention 
to other rural occupations, such as tending sheep for 
their wool, which would greatly add to their resources, 
as well as finally bring about a more extended applica- 
tion of the industrial arts among them." 










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HISTORY OF LYON COl.'NTY. 



33 



Lake Shetek. 14 The expedition then 
set out for t lie west and went down the 
Big Sioux river to its month. 

From events so far recorded it can be 
seen that up to the middle of the nine- 
teenth century the general knowledge 
of the country comprising Southwestern 
Minnesota was extremely Hunted. For 
a decade after Captain Allen passed 
through Lyon county in 1S44 there are 
no records of the visits of other white 
men, although undoubtedly some of the 
traders who had headquarters on the 
Minnesota river trod its soil occasionally. 

Excepting what these nomadic people 
of the Indian country knew, we find 
that when Minnesota Territory was 
created in 1849 the southwestern portion 
was a veritable terra incognita. 15 In 
fact, all the land west of the Mississippi 
river was still in undisputed ownership 
of the Sioux bands, and white men 
(excepting the licensed traders) had no 
rights whatever in the country. But 
the tide of immigration to the West had 
set in and settlers were clamoring for 
admission to the rich lands west of the 
river. In time the legal barrier was 
removed. 16 

In the spring of 1851 President 
Fillmore, at the solicitation of residents 
of Minnesota Territory, directed that 
a treaty with the Sioux be made and 

14 "From Lizard creek of the Des Moines to the 
source of the Des Moines, and thence east to the St. 
Peter's, is a range for elk and common deer, but 
principally elk. W r e saw a great many of the elk on 
our route and killed many of them ; they were some- 
times seen in droves of hundreds, but were always 
difficult to approach and very difficult to overtake in 
chase, except with a fleet horse and over good ground. 
No dependence could be placed in this country for the 
subsistence of troops marching through it." — Captain 
Allen's Report. 

15 " Westward of the Mississippi river the country 
was unexplored and virgin. There were wide expanses 
of wild and trackless prairie, never traversed by a 
white man, which are now the highly developed coun- 
ties of Southern and Southwestern Minnesota, with 
their fine and flourishing cities and towns and the other 
institutions that make for a state's eminence and 
greatness. Catlin had passed from Little Rock to the 
Pipestone quarry; Nicollet and his surveying party- 
had gone over the same route and had traveled along 
the Minnesota. Sibley and Fremont had chased elk 
over the prairies in what are now Steele, Dodge, 
Freeborn and Mower counties; the Missouri cattle 
drovers had led their herds to Fort Snelling and up to 



named as commissioners to conduct the 
negotiations Governor Alexander Ram- 
sey, ex-officio commissioner for Minne- 
sota, and Luke Lea, the national com- 
missioner of Indian affairs. These 
commissioners completed a treaty with 
the Sissiton and Wahpaton bands — the 
upper bands, as they were usually 
called — at Traverse des Sioux (near the 
present site of St. Peter) during the 
latter part of July, 1851. Immediately 
thereafter the commissioners proceeded 
to Mendota (near St. Paul), where they 
were successful in making a treat} - with 
the AVahpakoota and M'daywakanton 
bands. 

The treaties were ratified, with im- 
portant amendments, by Congress in 
1852. The amended articles were signed 
by the Indians in September, 1852, and 
in February of the next year President 
Fillmore proclaimed the treaties in 
force. By this important proceeding 
the future Lyon county passed from 
the ownership of the Sioux to the United 
States. By the two treaties there were 
transferred about 30,000,000 acres from 
8000 Indians, the greater portion of the 
land lying in Minnesota. 17 The price 
paid was about twelve and one-half 
cents per acre. 

After the lands were ceded settlers 
poured into the country west of the 

the Red River regions, but in all, not fifty white men 
had passed over the tract of territory now comprising 
Southern and Southwestern Minnesota when the 
territory was admitted in 1849." — Return I. Holcombe 
in Minnesota in Three Centuries. 

18 In 1841 a treaty was negotiated by J. B. Doty, 
governor of Wisconsin, in councils held at Traverse des 
Sioux, Mendota and Wabasha, by the terms of which 
the Sioux were to cede about, 25,000,000 acres of hind, 
but the treaty was not confirmed by the Senate. 

17 The territory ceded by the Indians was declared 
to be: "All their lands in the state of Iowa and also 
all their lands in the territory of Minnesota lying easl 
of the following line, to-wit: Beginning at the junction 
of the Buffalo river with the Red River of the North 
[about twelve miles north of Moorhead, in Clay county]: 
thence along the western bank of said Red River of the 
North to the mouth of the Sioux Wood river; thence 
along the western bank of said Sioux Wood river to 
Lake Traverse; thence along the western shore of said 
lake to the southern extremity 1 hereof; thence in :i 
direct line to the junction of Kampeska lake with the 
Tchan-ka-sna-du-ta, or Sioux river; thence along I In- 
western bank of said river to its point of intersection 



34 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



Mississippi river and settlements were 
founded at numerous places in the 
eastern part of the territory. But for 
'some years they did not extend so far 
west as Lyon county, and until after 
the Sioux War the territory that com- 
prises the county was largely the same 
virgin country it had always been. 

During the year 1855 white people for 
the first time resided in Lyon county, 
if we except Joseph LaFramboise, who 
for a short time had a trading post 
within its boundaries. In the year 
mentioned James W. Lynd established 
a trading post in the Lynd woods on the 
Redwood, and Aaron Myers and family 
located on the Cottonwood, in the 
present township of Amiret. 

It was during the month of May, 
1855, 18 that James W. Lynd established 
his trading post on the Redwood. The 
original site was on land which when 
surveyed was found to be the northwest 
quarter of the northeast quarter of 
section 5, Lyons township, — land which 
later was taken as a homestead by 
Charles E. Goodell. The groves along 
the Redwood had always been a favorite 
camping ground of the Indians and the 
site was a model one for barter with the 
natives. The fur trade was a profitable 
one and Mr. Lynd is said to have 
carried on a successful business, trading 
sugar, blankets, calico, tobacco, ammu- 
nition and possibly whisky for pelts of 

with the northern line of the state of Iowa; including 
all islands in said rivers and lakes." 

Excluded from this territory were two reservations. 
That for the upper Sioux was a tract of land twenty 
miles wide, straddling the Minnesota river from Lake 
Traverse to the Yellow Medicine river. The reserva- 
tion for the lower bands was of the same width and 
extended from the upper reserve down to the neigh- 
borhood of New Ulm. There were disputes regarding 
these reservations until Congress in 1863 annulled all 
treaty obligations toward the Sioux and the Indians 
were removed beyond the limits of the state. 

IS C. H. Whitney is the authority for giving this date 
as the time of the establishment of the post. He 
obtained the information from the half-breed LeMars 
and an old Indian, Shoto John by name. 

loWhen Mr. Goodell took his claim in the late sixties 
he found the remains of a burned buildkig on the site 
of the old post. In 1880, while plowing for a garden 
a short distance north of this place, he unearthed a tub 
full of tools, consisting of several handsaws, an augur, 



the numerous fur-bearing animals. 
During a part of the time he employed 
in the store a half-breed, John Moore. 

According to the best information 
available, the post was conducted at the 
original location on section 5 two years 
and was destroyed by fire. 19 It was 
then moved down the river a short 
distance to the northeast quarter of 
section 33, Lynd township, only a stone's 
throw from the present village of Lynd. 
It was on land which later became 
known. as the Wright place. There he 
built a log cabin, in which he conducted 
his business some time longer and which 
in the late sixties was used by the 
settlers for various purposes. It is 
unknown how long Mr. Lynd operated 
the post in Lyon county. He moved to 
the Lower Agency on the Minnesota 
river, about six miles below Redwood 
Falls, and there established a store. 20 

The others w r ho ventured far from the 
limits of civilization and founded a home 
in Lyon county in 1855 were Aaron 
Myers and family. That year he and 
his wife and children 21 made permanent 
settlement on what is now the north- 
west quarter of section 31, Amiret 
township. Myers located there for the 
purpose of trapping and trading with 
the Indians, and his home was there 
two years and six months. Mr. Myers 
has told of his residence there: 22 

"I was born in Herkimer county, 

chisels, hoes, a handax, flatiron, a teacup and saucer. 
The tub had entirely rotted away, only the impression 
being left by which to determine what it had been. 
Most of the tools were destroyed by rust. 

20 James W. Lynd was quite a prominent man in the 
affairs of the frontier country and served as a member 
of the State Senate in 1861. He was one of the first 
victims of the Sioux massacre, having met his death 
at the store of Nathan Myrick at the Lower Agency. 
Others killed with him were Andrew J. Myrick and 
(I. \V. Divoll. 

21 Mrs. Myers' maiden name was Walkup and she 
was born in Vermont January 31, 1826. She died as 
a result of exposure during the Sioux massacre. The 
children of the family were as follows: Louisa, born 
May 20, 1850; Arthur J., born November 20, 1851; 
Olive E., born July 24, 1854; Fred B., born May 25, 
1857, died in 1864; Addie J., born May 12, 1861. 

"Interview by Doane Robinson in February, 1900. 
At that time Mr. Myers resided near Garretson, South 
Dakota. He died there in March, 1905. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY 



35 



New York, .June 8, 1825. I moved 
from Polk county, Wisconsin, to the 
piece of land now known as the Robin- 
son farm'-' 3 on the Cottonwood river, 
four miles above the present village of 
Amiret, Lyon county. Minnesota, where 
with my wife and five children I lived 
for more than two years. We planted 
some corn and a garden, but in the 
main we depended on trapping and 
trade with the Indians. At first every- 
thing went well with us and our relations 
with the Indians were pleasant.'' 

Mr. Myers was known among the 
Indians as Siha Sisrinna (Small Feet). 
He was also called Doctor because he 
successfully treated several of the In- 
dians who. had sore eyes and also took 
care of those who were sick or injured. 
He became well-known among the 
natives who frequented the vicinity. 24 

During 1S56 and 1857 a wagon road 
was constructed across southern Lyon 
county, being a part of the road between 
Fort Ridgely ami the Missouri river, 
known as the "Fort Ridgely and South 
Pass Road." It was constructed by 
the United States government under 
direction of Albert H. Campbell, who 
bore the title of "General Superintend- 
ent Pacific Wagon Roads," but the field 
work was in charge of Colonel William 
H. Nobles. 25 ^ 

23 The home of Mr. Myers was not on the George 
Robinson farm. W hen the pioneer revisited the scene 
in later years he recognized his old home on the Grover 
place, now the property of L. F. O'Brien. The 
original house is still standing. 

24 Much of the information concerning the early 
settlement of Saratoga (as the point later was known) 
is obtained from Dr. H. M. Workman, of Tracy, who 
secured it from Mr. Myers and others. I have also 
made use of data secured from Mr. Myers by Doane 
Robinson, now secretary of the South Dakota Histor- 
ical Society. 

"Colonel William H. Nobles was born in 1816. He 
constructed the first wagon road in Minnesota and 
became noted as the discoverer of the pass in the Rocky 
mountains which shortened the emigrant route to the 
Pacific side some 500 miles, and through which the 
Union Pacific railroad now passes. A Minnesota 
county is named in his honor. In 1S61 he was president 
of the Minnesota Old Settlers' Association. 

-The course of the road as described by Albert H. 
Campbell in his report to the secretary of the Interior 
February 19, 1S59, was as follows: 

"... This road was completed only as far as the 
Missouri river, 2.54 miles, some time in the fall of 1857, 



The road entered Lyon county close 

to the line that separates Monroe and 
Amiret townships and crossed the Cot- 
ton wood on section 31, Amiret town- 
ship, and section 36, Sodus township. 
Thence it continued westward, crossed 
the Redwood river near the present site 
of Russell, and passed close to Lake 
Benton. From the lake it extended to 
the Missouri river. 26 The road was in- 
tended as a highway for emigrant trains 
to the Pacific coast, but the eastern end 
of the road, at least, was never so used. 

What particularly interests the people 
of Lyon county is the fact that Colonel 
Nobles had a permanent camp at the 
crossing of the Cottonwood, spent one 
or two winters there with his men, 
erected a house, stables and corral, and 
there built the finest bridge on the road. 
At the camp was a spring of water, 
which later became known as Nobles' 
Spring, while across the river was a 
fenced field, in which it is believed the 
roadmakers raised a garden. The. 
bridge had a substantial set of abut- 
ments and the stable had a stone foun- 
dation laid in mortar. The ruins of the 
Nobles camp were in existence many 
years after the county was settled. 

The following account of the building 
of the road and the activities in Lyon 
county is taken from the report of 

in consequence of the insufficiency of the appropria- 
tion and of alleged Indian hostilities. The general 
location of this road is as follows: Beginning at the 
ferry on the Minnesota river, which is 150 feet wide at 
this place, opposite Fort Ridgely. The general course 
of the road is southwesterly, passing through a marshy 
region a few miles south of Limping Devil's lake to the 
north fork of the Cottonwood, a distance of about 
seventeen miles, thence to the Cottonwood river, over 
a rolling country, with lakes and marshes, about one 
and one-half miles below the mouth of Plum creek, 
distance about nineteen miles. From this point the 
road continues across Plum creek and three good 
watering places to the crossing of Cottonwood at Big 
Wood, about eighteen and one-half miles. Thence the 
road continues to Hole-in-the-Mountain, near Lake 
Benton, a distance of about thirty-two miles, passing 
through a region abounding in lakes and an abundance 
of wood, water and grass. From Lake Benton the 
road passes for the most part over a high prairie to the 
Big Sioux river, about twenty-three and one-half miles. 
. . . This road, as far as built, is remarkably direct 
and is believed, from the description of the country 
through which it passes, to be the best location which 
could have been made, securing a plentiful supply of 
water, grass and timber." 



36 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY 



Colonel William H. Nobles, dated Jan- 
uary 18, 1S58. "upon the Fort Ridgely 
and South Pass Wagon Road, con- 
structed under the direction of the 
Department of the Interior, 1856-57- 
58 ':- 7 

... I have to report that I have located 
and built a good wagon road from Fort Ridgely 
to the Missouri river, in latitude 43 degrees, 47 
minutes, between Bijou hill and Fort "Look- 
out." 

The road has been selected and made with a 
view to accommodate the emigrant, by having 
it pass through a good country and in the 
vicinity of wood and water; and also, with these 
valuable considerations always in sight, I have 
been able to complete the road in almost a 
direct line from Fort Ridgely to the terminus 
on the Missouri river. . . The rivers on the 
road to be crossed are North Branch of the 
Cottonwood river, Cottonwood river (twice), 
Redwood river, Medary creek, Big Sioux river, 
Perrine creek, Riviere du Jacques or James 
river, besides a number of small creeks. 

On the Cottonwood river I have constructed 
a rough bridge adapted to the present travel, 
but it is important that this river should be well 
bridged at both of the crossings. The rapid 
flow of emigration to this section of country also 
demands that the bridges be immediately con- 
structed. 

... At this time most alarming accounts 
had been received from the Yellow Medicine, 
and messengers were going through the country 
preparing the frontiers in anticipation of a 
general Indian war. . . . 

In view of these difficulties I returned to my 
former camp on the Cottonwood river and 
employed my men bridging that stream and 
repairing wagons, harness, etc. . . . 

I have erected on the Cottonwood river a 
substantial log house, with store-room, etc., 
and have placed the stock and property in 
charge of a small number of men. I have also 
erected good stables for the protection of the 
animals, cut and secured hay sufficient, I think, 
to keep them through an ordinary winter. 

During a part of the time of the 
residence of the Myers family in Lyon 
county, a trapper, Charles Hammer by 
name — but commonly called "Swede 

- ; Secured through the kindness of Hon. Warren 
Upham, secretary of the Minnesota Historical Society. 

2S The Dakota Land Company also laid out towns at 
Flandreau, Medary, Sioux Falls and other points on 
the Big Sioux river, far out in the Indian country, and 
planned big for the colonization of the frontier. It 
seems strange, indeed, that any company of sane men 
would attempt to found a town in such a country as 
Lyon county was in 1S57, but the act was not more 
out of the ordinary than many that were proposed. 

The fifties were remarkable ones in Minnesota 
Territory by reason of the immense tide of immigration 
and the consequent activity in real estate operations. 
The fever of real estate speculation attacked all classes. 
Enormous and rapid profits were made by speculators 



Charley" —made his home there and 
operated in the vicinity. Mr. Myers 
described him as a good-natured fellow. 
but did not know whence he came or 
what later became of him. 

J. H. Ingalls is another who estab- 
lished a home in the same vicinity 
during the time Mr. Myers resided there. 
With four children (his wife was dead) 
he located on the Cottonwood a little 
above Mr. Myers' home, also on section 
31, Amiret township, and near the 
Nobles stables. But little is known of 
Ingalls' life in Lyon county and it is 
known that he remained only a short 
time. He married again and with his 
wife and two daughters, aged twelve 
and fourteen years, met death in the 
massacre of 1862. Two other children. 
bo3^s, were taken prisoners. 

While the Myers family was living in 
this out-of-the-way place, in the spring 
of 1857, the Dakota Land Company 
located a townsite, named Saratoga, on 
section 1, Custer, near the Myers home. 28 
A house was erected on the townsite 
and John Renniker, an employe, was 
left in charge. He has been described 
as a plain, honest Pennsylvania Dutch- 
man. The sole inhabitant of Saratoga 
determined to turn a penny to his own 
account and sold whisky to the Indians, 
in consequence of which he soon lost 
his position. Thereafter Saratoga was 
deserted and Renniker made his home 
with Mr. Myers, by whom he was em- 
ployed. 

Mr. Myers made a trip to the Sioux 

who had the foresight and courage to venture. Elab- 
orate schemes for big ventures were planned; nothing 
was done in a niggardly manner; frenzied finance 
reigned supreme. 

Railroad rumors filled the air and "paper" roads 
covered the territory from one end to the other, most 
of them backed by bonuses granted by the Legislature. 
Townsite companies were organized and extensively 
operated. Townsites were indiscriminately planted on 
the frontier and the Legislature was prevailed upon to 
establish wagon roads leading to them, to pass acts 
declaring them incorporated villages, and to declare 
them the county seats of counties created for the 
purpose — counties in which lived not a human being. 

Such were the conditions when Saratoga was 
founded. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



37 



river country in the spring of 1857 with 
a party of the Dakota Land Company, 
I nit soon returned home. Upon his 
return he sent Renniker with his oxen 
and wagon to New Ulm for supplies. 
Contrary to his employer's expressed 
instructions, Renniker bought a ten- 
gallon cask of whisky and started home. 
John Campbell, a notorious half-breed, 
had witnessed the purchase and with a 
party of seven Sioux warriors followed 
and overtook the unfortunate man near 
the present village of Walnut Grove. 
Renniker was murdered and the goods 
taken by Campbell and the Indians. 29 

Renniker's death became known and 
"Swede Charley," accompanied by Hoel 
Parmelee, one of the settlers at Lake 
Shetek, set" out to hud the body. They 
secured the assistance of Andrew Koch, 
who lived in the vicinity, and found the 
murdered man near Nobles' crossing of 
the Cottonwood, on or near section 19, 
township 109, range 38. The body was 
brought to Saratoga and buried on the 
ridge north of Mr. Myers' house. 

After the murder Mr. Myers feared to 
have his family exposed to Indian attack 
and moved to the Lake Shetek settle- 
ment, which had in the meantime been 
established. There he and his family 
resided until the massacre of 1862, when 
they barely escaped with their lives. 

In the late fifties when settlers pushed 
out to the Lake Shetek country they 
came over the Nobles road to near 
Walnut Grove and then switched off 
and proceeded to the lake by way of 
Lake Sigel. This route was said to 
have been taken because water was 

29 John Campbell was lynched in Mankato in 1865 
for the alleged murder of the Jewett family. He and 
Mr. Jewett had served in the same company in the 
army and after the war Campbell had located near 
LeSueur, while Jewett, who was known to have about 
$300 in cash, had returned to his home on a farm near 
Mankato. Soon after, so it was believed, Campbell 
and five Indians went to the Jewett home and mur- 
dered the whole family with the exception of a baby 
and Mr. Jewett's father, who had been left for dead. 

Campbell was taken into custody and his life was 
brought to a close by being suspended from a tree 



more easily obtained. In 1861 a road 
was laid out between New Ulm and 
Sioux falls by "a lawyer, a cross-eyed 
man from Dubuque — called 'Old Steve' 

and Hoel Parmelee," 30 which made a 
shorter route between the two settle- 
ments than over the Nobles trail by way 
of Saratoga. The trail crossed the lower 
end of Lake Shetek ami did not touch 
Lyon county. 

Lyon county was left destitute of 
white inhabitants after the departure of 
Messrs. Lynd and Myers and remained 
so until several years after the Sioux 
War. During these years white men 
had established homes almost to the 
border of the county, but none had had 
the hardihood to venture quite so far 
from the more populous communities. 

Mankato and New Ulm had grown 
into thriving little villages and the 
country adjacent to them had become 
settled. Farther up the Minnesota were 
Fort Ridgely and the two Indian 
agencies, at wmich resided many white 
people. To the south, Jackson county 
had attained a population of two or 
three hundred people, a small colony 
had been established in the Graham 
Lakes country of Nobles county, and 
just over the Lyon county line, on Lake 
Shetek, there was a thriving little settle- 
ment. Even farther west, on the Big 
Sioux river, colonies had been planted 
and were striving to hold the land. On 
Lake Benton in after years were found 
ruins of the homes of people who had 
lived there before the massacre, but 
nothing is known of them or their fate. 31 

Thus we have knowledge that people 

growing not far from where the Normal School now 
stands. It is said that a posse pursued the Indians, 
overtook them in Lyon county or nearby, and shot 
down the five accomplices. 

30 The information originated with Hoel Parmelee , 
who settled at Lake Shetek about 1855, and wis 
secured by Dr. H. M. Workman. 

31 A writer in the Lake Benton News of January 27, 
1881, said: "There is evidence that the country 
around Lake Benton had early settlers. A gentleman 
who settled at Lake Benton in March, 1MM.I, has said 



38 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY 



were living on all sides of the future 
Lyon county prior to the outbreak of 
the Sioux War. But from the time of 
the departure of the traders, Lynd and 
Myers, until after the Sioux were driven 
from the country we have no record of 
the permanent occupation of Lyon 
county by white men. 

But, while the county was not occu- 
pied permanently during this period, 
we know that at least a few trappers 
operated here. Three such were Luther 
C. Ives, George Lamb and Charles 
Fesenden. 32 The men spent the winter 
of 1860-61 on Lake Shetek and the next 
winter lived in Indian tepees at Saratoga. 
Mr. Lamb was killed in the massacre of 
August, 1862, near New Ulm and Mr. 
Ives took part in the defense of that 
city. 

Another man who claimed to have 
trapped extensively in Lyon county 
during this period was T. J. Bowers. 
According to his story he employed a 
number of trappers and had his head- 
quarters in the vicinity of Saratoga, 
where he lived in a dug-out. He made 
the statement that at the time of the 
massacre he was a scout in the govern- 
ment employ, and that he spent the 
night of August 20, 1862— the date of 
the Lake Shetek massacre — in the Myers 
cabin at Saratoga. 33 

It is possible that temporary settle- 
ment may have been made at another 
point in Lyon county before the Sioux 
War. On sections 32 and 29, Lake 

that when he arrived there were only two other settlers 
in the vicinity — William Taylor and Charles Shindle. 
He reported that there were several vacant houses 
scattered around the lake — six of them — partly burned. 
There were also several large pieces of breaking done. 
On one place there were a large number of rails and 
posts split in the timber and logs cut but not split. 
The writer asked several of the Indians about this, 
but they knew nothing. His opinion was that they 
fell victims to the 1862 massacre. The writer found 
the skeletons of two persons about where the Lake 
Benton depot now stands." 

32 The data for this paragraph were obtained from a 
personal interview with Mr. Ives, who now lives in 
South Dakota. % 

"Mr. Bowers was in Tracy June 9, 1893, and in 
company with Dr. H. M. Workman, Earle Miller and 
Niel Currie he drove out to the scenes of his early 



Marshall township, the settlers of 1870 
found one or two pieces of land which 
had been broken many years before. 
The furrows had grown over to grass 
and stood as solid as the unbroken 
prairie. Those who made the discovery 
estimated that the breaking must have 
been done before the massacre. 

Whoever may have resided in the 
county previously had departed before 
the Indian outbreak of August, 1862, 
and Lyon county was destitute of in- 
habitants when the outbreak occurred. 

Fortunate was it for Lyon county 
that settlements were not located within 
its boundaries when the terrible Sioux 
massacre came upon the exposed frontier 
in the awful days of August, 1862. For 
the fair soil of Southwestern Minnesota 
was crimsoned with the blood of many 
innocent men, women and children. 
Fiendish atrocity, blood-curdling cruelty 
and red-handed murder ran riot. The 
murder-crazed redskins plied the rifle 
and tomahawk until not less than eight 
hundred victims had paid the penalty 
for trying to extend the limits of civili- 
zation. The massacre was the most 
stupendous one in the annals of Indian 
warfare, and only for the fact that it 
contained no settlers did Lyon county 
escape the awful calamity. 

The valley of the Minnesota river was 
drenched with blood. In the present 
counties of Brown, Nicollet, Redwood, 
Renville and Yellow Medicine men, 
women and children were butchered by 

activities. Of this trip and the evidence that Mr 
Bowers had operated there as maintained. Dr. Work- 
man has written: 

"He [Bowers] said he would like to drive out to 
Saratoga and look that country over once more. 
That he had been there in an early day cannot be 
questioned. We went to the Nobles spring, stable 
and bridge, and from there he pointed up the river to 
Jim Morgan's place and said: 'I was there last in 
1864 and never returned — left in January.' .... 
We drove over and a short way up the river, and about 
seventy-five feet from it, on the banks of a small 
creek, we found the dug-out as described. It was west 
of George Robinson's and south of the fenced field. 
Robinson and Morgan had never seen it. . . . He 
claimed that he had left in the dug-out several hundred 
traps and that he employed fourteen men to trap 
We dug out the place, but found nothing." 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



39 



the hundreds. At other exposed points 
in Southwestern Minnesota the redskins 
fell upon the settlers and enacted lesser 
tragedies — lesser only because their vic- 
tims were not so numerous. At Wood 
lake, only a few miles from the Lyon 
county line, was fought the deciding 
battle of the war. At Lake Shetek, 
just beyond the southern boundary of 
Lyon county, occurred one of the famous 
butcheries of the massacre, participated 
in by Indians who had their homes on 
the Redwood river in Lyon county. 

In the settlement at Lake Shetek at 
the time of the massacre were about 
fifty persons, consisting of the following 
named men and their families: John 
Eastlick, Charles Hatch. Phineas B. 
Hurd, 34 John Wright, William J. Duley, 
H. W. Smith, Aaron Myers, 35 William 
Everett, 36 Thomas Ireland, Andrew 
Koch; and the following named single 
men: William Jones, 37 Edgar Bentle} r , 
*John Voigt, E. G. Koch, John F. Burns 
and Daniel Burns. 38 

On the twentieth of August about 
twenty Sioux came to the lake and 
ruthlessly murdered a number of the 
settlers, wounded many more, and took 
some into captivity. They were headed 
by White Lodge, chief of one of the 
upper bands, and accompanying them 
were Grizzly Bear (also known as Lean 
Bear) and others from the Lynd woods. 39 
These Indians were acquainted with the 
Lake Shetek settlers and in the past had 
been shown many kindnesses by them. 
Their attack was the basest treachery. 

The first home visited was that of 
Phineas B. Hurd, who was absent at the 
time. Ten of the Indians entered the 
house and while Mrs. Hurd prepared 
breakfast talked and smoked their pipes. 
E. G. Voigt, the hired man. picked up 

34 Was absent at the time of the massacre 
35 Had formerly lived in Lyon county. 
36 Later became a resident of Marshall. 
87 Was absent at the time of the massacre. 



the baby when it awoke and cried and 
walked out in the yard with it. No 
sooner had he left the house than an 
Indian deliberately shot him dead near 
the door. Mrs. Hurd was amazed at the 
deed, for these Indians had always been 
kindly treated and had often fed at her 
table. She ran to the assistance of the 
fallen man and her baby, but a mis- 
creant intercepted and she was ordered 
to leave at once and go to the settle- 
ments across the prairie. She was even 
refused the privilege of dressing her 
naked children and was compelled to 
commence her wandering over the track- 
less prairie, without food and practically 
without raiment for herself and children. 

The next place visited was the home 
of Andrew Koch. Mr. Koch was shot, 
the house was plundered, and Mrs. Koch 
taken prisoner by White Lodge. She 
was with the Indians ten days and was 
finally rescued at Camp Release. 

Some of the settlers fled to the settle- 
ments when the attack on the others 
became known, while others gathered at 
the house of John Wright and prepared 
it for defense. For some reason they 
abandoned the house to seek protection 
in a slough. The Indians at once com- 
menced firing on the retreating party 
and the whites returned the fire as they 
fled. Those wounded in the flight to 
the slough were Charles Hatch, William 
Everett, John Eastlick, Mrs. Eastlick. 
Mrs. Everett and several children. 

Upon receiving the Indians' promise 
that they would not be harmed, the 
women and children left the protection 
of the slough and went to the savages. 
No sooner were they out than Mrs. 
Everett, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Ireland and 
several of the children were killed. 
Mrs. Eastlick was shot and left for dead 

38 The Burns brothers lived alone on a claim at 
Walnut Grove, some distance from the lake. 

3 ' J Amone the Indians participating were old Pawn. 
Chaska, Tizzie Tonka, Titonah Che Che (Bad Ox) and 

White Owl. 



40 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



but she finally made her escape with 
two of her children. Mrs. Julia A. 
Wright, Mrs. William J. Duley and four 
of their children were taken captive and 
some of them were ransomed at Fort 
Pierre. All other settlers made their 
escape, many of them after innumerable 
hardships. The Burns brothers were 
not attacked. 40 

Southwestern Minnesota had received 
a setback from which it took many years 
to recover. After the inauguration of 
the fiendish warfare the frontier line 
receded eastward and the greater part 
of Southwestern Minnesota was again in 
the midst of the hostile Indian country. 
Steps were taken to defend the exposed 
settlements, to conquer the redskins and 
drive them back. 

The Civil War was in progress and 
most of the able-bodied men were in the 
South, fighting for the Union. It there- 
fore required some time to muster troops 
and place them in advantageous posi- 
tions to cope with the wily red foe. 
But after some delay the Indians were 
driven back, soldiers were placed all 
through the western country, and the 
prairies were patrolled by companies 
detailed for the service. The expedi- 
tions against the hostile Sioux resulted 
in Lyon county being occasionally visited 
by military parties. 

The savages were in time subdued, 
but for a number of years settlers on The 
extreme frontier lived in a state of con- 
stant anxiety, not knowing at what time 
the scenes of 1862 might be repeated. 
When peace was established on the 

40 Dr. H. M. Workman has prepared the following 
list of people who were residents (or had been just 
prior to the outbreak) of the Lake Shetek settlement 
at the time of the massacre and the fate of each: 

Killed — John Voigt, Andrew Koch, Sophia Ireland, 
Sarah Jane Ireland, Julianne Ireland, John Eastlick, 
Frederick Eastlick, Giles Eastlick, William J. Duley, 
Jr., Bell Duley, Emma Duley, Mrs. Sophia Smith, 
Mariah Everett, Willie Everett, Charley Everett. 

Taken Captive and Later Rescued — Mariah Koch, 
Rosannah Ireland, Ellen Ireland, Fsanklin Eastlick, 
two Duley children. Mrs. William J. Duley, Mrs. Julia 
Wright, Dora Wright, George Wright, Abillian Everett. 

Present but Escaped — Aaron Myers, Mrs. Aaron 



border, settlement again commenced — 
destined this time to be permanent — 
and the frontier line moved westward 
rapidly. 

In 1S64 two brothers, Moore by name, 
came from Eastern Minnesota and 
braved the dangers of locating in prox- 
imity to the Indians. They located on 
the southwest quarter of section 8, 
Lake Marshall township, and broke some 
land. But they soon became alarmed for 
their safety and ^deserted their claims. 

In 1865 or 1866 Denman Greeman 
located on the Myers place at Saratoga, 
but within a short time moved to the 
Lake Shetek settlement and became a 
permanent resident. 

A few half-breeds made pretense of 
holding claims along the Redwood in 
Lyon county after the massacre. Alex- 
ander and Joseph LaFramboise, Jr., 
sons of the first white man to settle in 
the count}', had claims in Lynd town- 
ship, which they sold to A. W. Muzzy 
and E. B. Langdon in 1867. Thomas 
Robinson, a French half-breed, had a 
claim on section27, Lynd.whichhe sold to 
Ralph Holland in the spring of 1868. John 
Mooers, a half-breed son of Hazen Mooers, 
sold a claim on section 34, Lynd, to 
Arthur Ransom at the same time. 

Lyon county remained destitute of 
white population until 1867. That year 
a few pushed out to the Redwood river 
country, selected claims, and established 
permanent homes. At last the country 
which had been the home of the abor- 
igine for countless ages was possessed 
by the whites. 

Myers. Louisa Myers, Arthur Myers, Olive Myers, 
Fred B. Myers, Addie J. Myers, Almiona Hurd, William 
Henry Hurd, Baby Hurd, Thomas Ireland, Lavina 
Eastlick, Merton Eastlick, Johnnie Eastlick, William 
J. Duley, II. Watson Smith, William Everett, Charles 
Hatch, Edgar Bentley, Charles Ziercke and family, 
Frank Labache, Rhodes, Dan Burns, John Burns. 

Absent — Phineas B. Hurd, William Jones, E. G. 
Koch, J. G. Wright, Sam Jacques, Wesson Lake 
Macabee. 

Had Moved Away — Albino Griswold, Hoel Parmelee, 
Sam Brown, Hank Brown, Lamb, Bassett, J. H. 
Ingalls. 



CHAPTER II. 



EARLY SETTLEMENT— 1867-1869. 



THERE is always something con- 
nected with the settlement of a 
new country that interests, and 
so it is with Lyon county. Often, how- 
ever, there is a tendency on the part of 
the chronicler of local history to paint, 
polish and varnish the stories of the 
early days, so that sometimes those who 
were the principal actors in the drama 
enacted fail to recognize themselves or 
their part in the play. It is my inten- 
tion to steer clear of this fault and avoid 
fiction in dealing with the early day 
events, and to rely solely upon the facts 
to make the narrative interesting. 

After the close of the Civil War and 
the subjugation of the Indians, there 
was a great tide of immigration to the 
western country. To all parts of the 
upper Mississippi valley came the home- 
seekers, who spread out over the rich 
lands of Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas and 
Nebraska. Most of the emigrants were 
from the eastern and central states, 
where timber was abundant, and their 
first choice was always wooded land 
along the streams. So it came about 
that the first settlement in Lyon county 
was made in the timber tract along the 
Redwood river in the townships of Lynd 
and Lyons. 

Permanent settlement in Lyon count v 



began in 1867. The year before, how- 
ever, a few men had visited that part 
of Redwood county which later was set 
off as Lyon for the purpose of spying 
out the land and selecting claims. 

A. W. Muzzy made a trip to the 
Lynd woods in 1866 and there found 
several families of half-breeds occupying 
claims by squatters' rights. He selected 
a claim held by LaFrambdise on section 
33, Lynd, bargained for the purchase of* 
the same, and made arrangements with 
the half-breed to hold the claim until 
his return. This LaFramboise did, liv- 
ing in the log cabin formerly occupied 
by James Lynd as his trading post. 1 

In 1866 also came Charles E. Goodell 
and his cousin, Will Stone. They spent 
some time hunting, trapping and cutting 
timber, they having conceived the idea 
of cutting logs in the Lynd woods and 
floating them down the river during 
high water to a mill at Redwood Falls. 
They soon abandoned the scheme. Mr. 
Goodell determined to make his home 
in, the county and selected as a claim 
the northeast quarter of section 5, 
Lyons township, the site of the first 
Lynd trading post. He came back 
again in 1867, but did not locate per- 
manently until January, 1868. 



1 Article by Mrs. C. F. Wright dated February L'.'l, 
1874. 



42 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNT V 



The first settler to make a permanent 
home in the county was T. W. Castor, 
who located on the extreme eastern 
border of the county in the spring of 
1867. Part of his claim was on section 
34, Stanley township, and the rest was 
over the line in Redwood county. He 
built a house on the claim and resided 
there several years. It is said that he 
hauled his supplies from Redwood Fall;; 
during the winter on a handsled drawn 
by a Newfoundland dog. To T. W. 
and Mary Castor, on September 12, 
1867, the first white child in Lyon 
county was born. His name was Hugh 
Wilson Castor and he died of diphtheria 
in Iowa. 2 

During the month of June, 1867, A. 
W. Muzzy, who had selected his claim 
the previous year, came to take posses- 
sion and he was accompanied by E. B. 
Langdon. Both dated their permanent 
residence in Lyon county from that 
time. Their families came in Septem- 
ber. 3 During the fall months of 1867 
there also joined the little settlement in 
the Lynd woods and became established 
residents the following: L. W. Langdon 
and family (including a nephew, Emer- 
son Hull), Luman Ticknor and his wife 
and step-daughter, Elizabeth Taylor; 
M. Y. Davidson and family, Mrs. C. F. 
Wright and son, D. M. Taylor and E. E. 

2 T. W. Castor was a graduate of Oberlin College. 
He was a man of positive temperament, peculiar in his 
views, independent in his thinking. He was a scout 
under General Sibley during the Indian War and at 
one time served as deputy register of deeds of Olmsted 
county. Mr. Castor was a pioneer of Redwood Falls 
but remained only a short time. He settled in Lyon 
county with the intention of raising stock and was the 
county's pioneer stock man. The first winter of his 
stay he had only one cow, and from that he increased 
until he had cjuite a herd. Mr. Castor was a member 
of the Board of County Commissioners in 1874. In 
the late seventies he moved to Pottawattamie county, 
Iowa. 

1 3 A. W. Muzzy was untiring in his efforts to induce 
immigration to the vicinity. He wrote articles 
descriptive of the country to newspapers in the East 
and West and enlisted the attention and co-operation 
of many leading men of Minnesota. His settlement in 
the county was due to his desire to found a Methodist 
colony. He and his son-in-law, Rev. C. F. Wright. 
planned to establish a large church and school for the 
education of the Indians. The scheme proved to be a 
visionary one, but it resulted in giving to Lyon county 
many desirable citizens. 



Taylor. All of these located in the 
woods in Lynd township and all spent 
the following winter in their new homes. 

Others came during the year to view 
the new land and some selected claims 
with the intention of returning the next 
year, but the ones mentioned were the 
only one- who may properly be termed 
settlers of 1867. 4 When the first set- 
tlers arrived Lyon county had not been 
divided into townships or sections, but 
during the months of July, August, 
September and October Surveyors R. H. 
L. Jewett and George G. Howe and 
their assistants ran the lines. s There- 
after the settlers could select their 
claims intelligently, although it was 
some time later when the plats were 
placed on record and filings could be 
made at the land office. 

The first arrivals to the Lynd settle- 
ment were religiously inclined and on 
September 26, 1867, the first religious 
services in the county were held, partici- 
pated in by A. W. Muzzy, his daughter, 
Sophia, wife of Rev. C. F. Wright of the 
Methodist church, and L. Langdon and 
family. 6 

The Lynd settlement was decidedly 
on the frontier. To the north the near- 
est neighbors were on 'the Minnesota 
river, to the east only a few settlers were 
to be found until the Minnesota river 

'Among those who visited the region in search of 
land in 1867 were Lambert Marcyes and his son, 
Hiram R. Marcyes. They met some of the party that 
had preceded them and inquired where good land 
could be found, supplied with timber and water. The 
new arrivals were informed that several belts of timber 
had been seen at a distance, which were supposed to 
be along creeks or bordering the several lakes nearby, 
and that quite a forest was known to exist on a creek 
about three miles to the northwest, to which the 
Marcyes took their way. On returning at night one 
of the many questions asked was where they had been 
during the day. They replied, "over to that three- 
mile creek," and ever since the stream has borne the 
name Three-Mile creek. 

•The townships of Lucas, Vallers and Westerheim 
hid been surveyed in August and September, 1859, by 
Mahlon Black, but the surveyor neglected to make 
proper mounds and the stakes were mostly destroyed 
by prairie fires. The township of Custer was surveyed 
in 1867 by Shaw & Taylor and Eidsvold the same year 
by David Watson. 

6 See history of the Methodist church of Marshall. 
chapter 10. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



43 



was reached) to the south (excepting a 

few settlers on Lake Shetek) it was 
many long miles to the nearest white 
homes, while to the west all was unin- 
habited country. 7 The making of homes 
in the frontier land was not accom- 
plished without many difficulties and 
carried with it sacrifices and most of the 
comforts that make life endurable for 
him who has had the savage educated 
out of him. The only visitors were the 
Indians and half-breeds, who were still 
in the vicinity in small numbers. The 
prairies were unbroken by roads or 
groves, and the winter storms and 
summer prairie fires chased the elk and 
antelope without hindrance. 

But the human habit of adaptability 
to environment and the hope of future 
competence from the fertile farms to be 
secured under the homestead law carried 
the pioneers through the dark days. 
Wild game furnished a part of the bill 
of fare and the timber furnished fuel 
and material for the homes. The houses 
were of logs, the roofs of shakes split 
from oak trees, the floors of rough plank 
hewn from the timber. 

In 1868 the population of Lyon 
county was increased. To Lynd town- 
ship came Levi 8. Kiel, who has ever 
since had his home in the county; James 
Cummins, A. R. Cummins and George 
Cummins, who became prominent in the 
early affairs of the county; Lambert 
Marcyes, George Marcyes and Hiram 
Marcyes, who became well-known resi- 
dents; A. D. Morgan, who became the 
county's first store keeper and post- 
master; Jacob Rouse, who still resides 
in the county; Ralph Holland and 
Arthur Ransom, who purchased claims 
from half-breeds; Rev. C. F. Wright, 
who was the first minister; Andrew 



Nelson, who has ever since lived in 
Lyon county; Mrs. Bowers, a daughter 
of A. AY. Muzzy, who came in April and 
died of consumption on April 20, one 
week after hen - arrival, hers being the 
first death in the county; John Clark, 
Henry B. Nichols and possibly others. 

Charles E. Goodell returned to his 
claim in Lyons township in January, 
1868, and during that year C. H. 
Hildreth, Luther Hildreth and W. S. 
Adams located in the same precinct, all 
taking claims along the Redwood river. 

To the timber tract along the Cotton- 
wood river, in the present townships of 
Custer and Amiret, also came a few 
settlers in 1868. Charles Grover, La- 
fayette Grover and Clark Goodrich 
settled in Amiret, and H. C. Masters, 
John Avery, Horace Randall, Walter S. 
Clayson, Edward Horton and G. S. 
Robinson took claims in Custer. These 
settlements were all made in the vicinity 
of the old townsite of Saratoga and for 
several years the community bore that 
name. 

Nearly all these arrivals of 1868 
brought families and builded themselves 
homes. Until after 1868 the population 
of Lyon county was confined to two 
settlements (excepting the T. W. Castor 
family): the one on the Redwood river 
occupying the timber lands in Lynd and 
Lyons townships, and the other on the 
Cottonwood in Custer and Amiret town- 
ships. Of these the Lynd settlement 
was the larger and for several years 
dominated the affairs of the county. 

Several important events occurred in 
the Lynd community during 1868 that 
tended to establish the permanency of 
the settlement and to make for the con- 
venience of those who had cast their 
fortunes on the frontier. One was the 



7 The first white settlers in Nobles countv arrived county were no whiles until is, 4; the firsl settlement 
July 4, 1867; only two families had their homes in in the county of Lincoln was made in 1868. 
Rock county during the winter of 1867-68; in Pipestone 



u 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



establishment of a postoffice in June 
with D. M. Taylor as postmaster. It 
was located on section 34, Lynd town- 
ship, — the site of what later became 
known as Lower Lyncl. A weekly mail 
was received by way of Redwood Falls. 8 
Mr. Taylor also put in a small stock of 
groceries and other goods — in a room 
said to have been almost large enough 
for a bed room — and conducted a store 
for a short time. 

The same season Luman Ticknor 
opened a hotel for the convenience of 
the few people who visited the settle- 
ment. 9 In the summer of 1868 Jacob 
Rouse and James Cummins dammed 
the Redwood river at the point which 
later became known as Upper Lynd and 
put in a small sawmill, which proved to 
be quite a convenience to the settlers. 
It was changed to a gristmill in 1872. 
The same year C. H. Hildreth com- 
menced building a mill at a point on the 
Redwood about two miles below the 
present village of Russell, but the place 
was destroyed by fire the same fall and 
the project was abandoned. 10 

While a few conveniences had been 
established in the settlement, they fell 
far short of meeting the demands. 
The sawmill was not in operation until 
1869 and before that time it was the 



custom to haul logs to Redwood Falls, 
fifty miles distant, have them sawed, 
and then haul the lumber back, several 
settlers generally making the trip to- 
gether. Excepting the little store of 
Mr. Taylor, Redwood Falls was the 
nearest trading point. That village had 
only two stores, run on the trading post 
style, and they catered but little to the 
white trade. 11 The nearest flouring 
mill was at New Ulm and there a part 
of the trading was done. 

There were a few additions in 1869 
and others came to the county, took 
claims, made improvements, and pre- 
pared to make permanent settlement 
the following spring. To the Saratoga 
settlement, in Amiret township, came 
James Mitchell; to the township of 
Vallers, which had not before had a 
settler, came Johannes Anderson; to 
Lyons came W. C. Adams; to Lake 
Marshall, L. W. Langdon and E. B. 
Langdon; to Lynd, T. T. Pierce, H. L. 
Pierce, George W. Pierce, Parker I. 
Pierce, Warren S. Eastman, T. S. East- 
man and V. Eastman. Besides those 
mentioned, C. H. Whitney, C. H. Upton 
and E. G. Bascoinb took claims in Lake 
Marshall, 0. A. Hawes and R. Water- 
man in Lynd, and Moses Fifield and 
Mendell Fifield in Lyons. All made 



s The first mail brought to the office was carried by 
William Jackson, the first white male child born in St. 
Paul. He sold the contract to one Castle, of Yellow 
Medicine, and the latter in turn to Peter Ortt, of 
Redwood Falls. H. J. Tripp carried the mail for Ortt 
for a time and later secured the contract. The Lynd 
postoffice was under the management of D. M. Taylor 
four years. <. 

9 "The travel through Lynd at that time couldn't 
have been very large or regular. Bands of Flandreau 
Indians camped in the woods occasionally and a few 
travelers from Redwood Falls now and then stopped 
there on the way to settlements beyond. Between 
Lynd and Pcdwood P'alls there was but one house." — 
Case's History of Lyon County. 

10 The first marriage in the county occurred October 
17, 1868, when Ida Marie Hildreth, at the age of 
fifteen years, became the wife of Henry B. Nichols. 
The second marriage was that of W. H. Langdon and 
Zilpha Cummins, which was'also in 1868. 

The first Fourth of July celebration was held in 1868 
at A. W. Muzzy's home. 

Luman Ticknor plowed the first ground for crop in 
the spring of 1868. W. C. Adams and Arthur Ransom 



sowed the first grain and the latter operated the first 
fanning mill. The first wheat was raised by A. R. 
Cummins in 1869. The first horses in the county were 
owned by E. B. Langdon, first mules by M. V. David- 
son, first chickens and turkeys by L. W. Langdon, 
first hogs by Luman Ticknor, and first dog by James 
Cummins. 

A. R. Cummins made the first barrels that were in 
the county; James Cummins made the first chair; 
George Cummins and Charles E. Goodell split the first 
rails; T. T. Pierce and son burnt the first brick, a kiln 
of 40,000, brought in the first blacksmith's tools, and 
set out the first grove. 

^"Perhaps you would like to know how people got 
along with no railroad nearer than Mankato, although 
boats were running to New Ulm when the water was 
high enough. We did a greater part of our trading at 
Redwood Falls, distant fifty miles, and no place to put 
up until we got to Mr. Castor's, twenty-five miles. If 
we had any blacksmithing to be done, it had to be 
taken to Redwood Falls. I have known our towns- 
man, A. D. Morgan, to walk that fifty miles in one day, 
with a plow lay on his back, and return the next day. 
Charles Goodell has done as well." — Correspondent in 
Marshall Messenger, June 30, 1881. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY 



45 



slight improvements in 1869 and re- 
turned to remain the following year. 12 
Prior to this time the only claims 
taken had been in the timber; now 
selections were made on the prairie 
tracts and some at quite a distance from 
the older settlements of Lynd and 
Saratoga. 

I can close this chapter no more 
fittingly than by reproducing an article 
written by Mrs. Fellows, of Lynd, and 
read before the old settlers' gathering 
in February, 1885. It gives a very true 
idea of conditions in 1869: 

The time I first saw Lyon county, in the dark 
days of 1869, there were about a dozen in our 
settlement, scattered along the Redwood river 
in the timber. Another settlement, nearly as 
large as ours., was on the Cottonwood river, and 
another at Lake Benton. These constituted the 
entire population of our county. What was 
then one county has been divided into two, 
Lyon and Lincoln. 

The settlers lived in small, low, miserable log 
houses; indeed, some of them were originally 
Indian tepees, remodeled to suit the emergency. 
Some were without floors, except the solid earth 
with a covering of prairie grass; after it became 
dry and broken it was raked off and fresh grass 
cut and spread down. Of course, the floors 
needed no sweeping, and that was something 
saved, as there was a chance to economize in 
brooms. Economy, rigid economy, was the 
rule. 

A roof made of shingles was almost unknown. 
The houses were roofed, some with hay, some 
with earth, but the prevailing fashion was a 
shake roof. I fancy only the initiated have seen 
or heard of the shake roof. It consisted of flat, 
clumsy pieces of wood, all sizes and widths, and, 

12 The coming of these men had much to do with the 
future growth of Lyon county. On the first day of 
May, 1S69, the following named ten men set out from 
Olmsted county, Minnesota, in search of new homes: 
C. H. Whitney, C. H. Upton, E. G. Bascomb, T. S. 
Eastman, V. Eastman, W. S. Eastman, O. A. Hawes, 
R. Waterman, Moses Fifield and Mendell Fifield. 
They traveled with four covered wagons and had 
besides a saddle horse. They spent several weeks 
viewing the country around St. Cloud, Benson and 
Hutchinson, and not liking the looks of the country 
turned to the southwest. They arrived in St. Peter 
and there Abner Tibbets, register of the United States 
land office, advised them to go to the country which is 
now Lyon county. 

. The party made the trip by way of Redwood Falls 
and arrived at the Lynd settlement on June 9, where 
they were welcomed by A. W. Muzzy. The next day 
was spent in rest at D. M. Taylor's store. On the 
eleventh three parties were formed to visit as many 
different parts of the surrounding country: one to the 
Rock Lake country, one to the head of Three-Mile 
creek, west of Lynd, and the third down the Redwood. 
The next day other prospecting trips were made. 

C. H. Whitney went out on a scout and covered the 
north part of the county. He followed an Indian 
trail down the Redwood to the point called by the 



as nearly as I can remember, about three feet 
long, split and shaped and smoothed with a 
broad-ax, overlapping each other shingle- 
fashion, serving as a mere covering, keeping out 
the sun, but affording little protection. The 
wind and snow and rain and flies and mosquitoes 
and gnats and all other nice things had full 
liberty to come and go at will. And of all these 
things there was no lack. 

In those days there were blizzards, too, real 
genuine blizzards. The winds were not tem- 
pered to the shorn lamb, not by a good deal. 
After a blizzard what a picture our houses 
presented ! Floors, beds, everything, were fanci- 
fully covered — decorations enough to have 
satisfied the most esthetic admirer of Oscar 
Wilde. Here and there and everywhere were 
festoons and wreaths and garlands and every 
imaginary thing of "the snow, the beautiful 
snow," filling the house, above and below. We 
didn't enjoy it a bit, however. With the mer- 
cury frolicking among the lower twenties, the 
poetry of our natures was entirely frozen out. 
Even a board to make a door or case a window 
was of inestimable value. Flooring, not the 
best quality by a number of grades, sold for 
$50 per thousand. 

Thanks are due a Maine Yankee for intro- 
ducing an improvement in our architecture. 
Sod houses made an appearance, and they were 
much better, being more economical. Here we 
lived, deprived of every luxury and most of the 
comforts and necessaries of life, trying to be 
happy and keep homesickness away, which 
would occasionally trouble us notwithstanding 
all efforts to prevent it. 

We were, so to speak, at the jumping-off 
place, as another leap would have landed us 
among the savages. We depended wholly upon 
Redwood Falls for everything we had, and that 
a poor trading place, indeed. A spool of 
thread, a sheet of note paper, a pound of tea or 
sugar, had to be hauled fifty miles. One of our 
great blessings was our postoffice with a weekly 
mail. By the way, the first postoffice in this 
county was a gigantic affair! It required but 
one box, fastened with a huge padlock, to pre- 
vent mail robbery. 

Indians the Big Bend — the present site of the city of 
Marshall. There he struck the Lac qui Parle trail 
and followed it to about where Minneota is now 
situated. Thence he proceeded east until he came to 
another trail between Minnesota Falls and the Big 
Bend, followed that trail to the Big Bend, and then 
struck across country to Lake Marshall.' At that 
point he found another Indian trail leading to the 
Cottonwood river and Lake Shetek. 

After resting at Lynd on the thirteenth and can- 
vassing the situation, all members of the party decided 
to take claims and made their selections in Lake 
Marshall, Lynd and Lyons townships. The fourteenth 
was spent in breaking land on their claims, some of 
the party also breaking on the northwest quarter of 
section 4, Lake Marshall township, to hold the claim 
for Mrs. Ursula Stone, a soldier's widow and the son- 
in-law of C. H. Upton. 

The entire party set out on June 15 for the return 
home and made their filings :it the land office on June 
18. The Eastmans returned in the fall, erected a log 
cabin, and spent the winter in their new home; the 
others spent the winter in their old homes and all 
returned in 1S70. Mr. Whitney did "missionary" 
work in Wisconsin that winter and as a result the 
population of Lyon county was added to in 1S70. 



CHAPTER III 



COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION— 1869-1883. 



HAD a person been horn in the 
territory now embraced within 
the boundaries of Lyon county 
in the year 1800 and lived in the place 
of his birth until seventy years of age, 
he would have lived successively under 
the governments of Spain, France and 
the United States; would have been a 
resident successively of the territories of 
Louisiana, Missouri, Michigan, Wiscon- 
sin, Iowa and Minnesota and of the state 
of Minnesota; and at one time and 
another would have been under the 
jurisdiction of the counties of AVauba- 
shaw, Blue Earth, Brown, Redwood and 
Lyon in Minnesota. In other words, 
• Lyon county has formed a part of those 
countries, territories and counties since 
first the flight of years began. 

This mythical native of Lyon county 
would also have been decidedly under 
the jurisdiction of the Sioux Indians 
until a man grown, for white men had 
only nominal claim to the territory until 
the land was ceded to the United States 
by treaty in 1851. Before taking up the 
story of the creation of Lyon county, I 
shall here break into the chronological 
order of events long enough to trace 
this matter of sovereignty. 

Our county formed a small part of 
the New World possessions claimed by 
France by right of discovery and ex- 



ploration. In 1763, humbled by wars 
in Europe and America, France was 
forced to relinquish her province known 
as Louisiana, and all her possessions 
west of the Mississippi river were ceded 
to Spain in that year. Amid the 
exigencies of European wars Spain, in 
the year 1800, ceded Louisiana back to 
France, which was then under the rule 
of Napoleon Bonaparte. On April 30, 
1803, negotiations were completed for 
the purchase of Louisiana by the 
United States for fifteen million dollars. 
On that date the future Lyon county 
became a part of the United States. 

Soon after the United States secured 
possession, in 1805, that part of the 
mammoth territory of Louisiana which 
had been called Upper Louisiana was 
organized into Missouri Territory, and 
had our county then had inhabitants 
they would have been under the govern- 
ment of Missouri. Missouri was ad- 
mitted as a state in 1820, and for several 
years thereafter the country beyond its 
northern boundaries, comprising what is 
now Iowa and all of Minnesota west of 
the Mississippi river, was without organ- 
ized government. Hut in 1834 Congress 
attached this great expanse of territory 
to Michigan Territory. Two years later 
Wisconsin Territory was formed, com- 
prising all of Michigan west of Lake 



48 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



Michigan, and for the next two years 
we were a part of that territory. 

Congress did a lot of enacting and 
boundary changing before it got Lyon 
county where it belonged. We became 
a part of Iowa Territory when it was 
created in 1838, because we were in- 
cluded in "all that part of the [then] 
present Territory of Wisconsin which 
lies west of the Mississippi river and 
west of a line drawn due north from the 
headwaters or sources of the Mississippi 
to the territorial line." Lyon county 
was a part of Iowa Territory until Iowa 
became a state in 1846. During that 
time settlers began to locate in portions 
of what later became Minnesota, and 
they were put under the jurisdiction of 
Clayton county, Iowa. 1 By the ad- 
mission of Iowa to t he Union the 
country west of the Mississippi became 
a "no man's land"; it was a part of no 
territory or state. That condition ex- 
isted until Minnesota Territory was 
created in 1849. 

When the first Legislature convened 
after the organization of Minnesota 
Territory in 1849 it divided Minnesota 
into nine counties, named as follows: 
Washington. Ramsey. Benton, Itaska, 
Pembina, Mahkahto, Wahnahia, Dahko- 
tah and Waubashaw. 2 The last named 
occupied all of Southern Minnesota, ex- 
tended from the Mississippi river to the 
Missouri river, and its northern bound- 
ary was an east and west line that passed 
about through the center of the present 
Yellow Medicine county. 

The future Lyon county remained a 
part of Waubashaw county until March 
5, 1853, when there was a readjustment 
and Blue Earth count v came into exist- 



ence. The boundaries of the latter were 
described as follows: "So much of the 
territory lying south of the Minnesota 
river as remains of Waubashaw and 
Dahkotah counties undivided by this 
act." As the boundaries of the two 
older counties as defined by the act were 
very indefinite, it is impossible to state 
exactly what the dimensions of Blue 
Earth county were. It is known, how- 
ever, that it included all of Southwestern 
Minnesota and extended into the present 
state of South Dakota. 

For two years the unknown Lyon 
county country remained a part of Blue 
Earth county, and then came another 
change. By an act approved February 
20. 1855, the county of Blue Earth was 
reduced to its present boundaries. Fari- 
bault county was created with the boun- 
daries it now has (except that it ex- 
tended one township farther west than 
now), and the new county of Brown 
came into existence. Brown county in- 
cluded all of Minnesota south of the 
Minnesota river and west of a line 
drawn south from the western boundary 
of the present day Blue Earth county. 
It also included a vast stretch of country 
in what is now South Dakota but that 
was taken off when Minnesota's bound- 
aries were made as at present consti- 
tuted upon admission to the Union in 
1858. 

The next change we have to record 
affecting Lyon county 3 was made in 
1865, when Redwood county was formed, 
embracing (besides two townships in the 
present Brown county) the present 
counties of Redwood, Lyon, Lincoln, 
Yellow Medicine and Lac qui Parle. 
Redwood count v was so constituted 



1 Henry H. Sibley, who lived at Mendota, was a 
justice of the peace of that county. The county seat 
was two hundred fifty miles distant, and his juris- 
diction extended over a region of country % "as large as 
the Empire of France." 

2 The boundaries of these counties are shown on the 
accompanying map. 



3 By act of March 23, 18.57, there were severed from 
Brown county the following: Martin, Jackson, Cot- 
tonwood, Nobles, Murray, Rock and Pipestone, besides 
some in the South Dakota territory. 



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V MIA"-** " I ' H§ O ^^ t 1, 






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o 



MINNESOTA TERRITORY 

From a .Map Published in 1850. The Nine Original Counties of the Territory Are Shown. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



4!) 



until the present Lyon and Lincoln 
count it's were formed into Lyon county 
in 1869. i 

There was only a handful of residents 
in the proposed county in the early 
days of 1S(> ( .), but they were an ambi- 
tious lot. They maintained that they 
had brought the star of empire west 
with them and that they ought to have 
the handling of its destinies. They 
asked the Legislature to take the neces- 
sary action to set off the western part of 
Redwood county into a new political 
division. 

The bill for the creation of Lyon 
county, embracing the present counties 
of Lyon and Lincoln, was introduced by 
Senator Charles T. Brown, passed the 
Legislature, - and was approved by Gov- 
ernor William R. Marshall on March 2, 
1869. 5 It provided that the act should 
not become operative, however, until it 
had been approved by a majority vote 
of the electors of Redwood county at 
the general election of November, 1869. 
The vote was favorable and Lyon county 
was ready to take up the burdens of 
organization. The county was named 
in honor of General Nathaniel Lyon, of 

i. 

the United States army, who met death 
at the battle of Springfield in June, 1861. 
Very soon after the act became 
operative as a result of the election, 
Governor Marshall appointed a few 

4 Redwood county lost Yellow Medicine and Lac qui 
Parle by act of March 6, 1871. 

s The act reads as follows: 

"An act to define the boundary lines of Lyon conn I y 
and attach the same to Redwood county for judicial 
purposes. 

"Section 1. The boundary line of Lyon county is 
hereby established and hereafter shall be as follows: 
Beginning at the southeast corner of township one 
hundred and nine (109), range forty (40), thence due 
north to the northeast corner of township one hundred 
and thirteen (113), range forty (40), west of the fifth 
principal meridian, thence west to the boundary line 
of the state of Minnesota, thence south on the boundary 
line of the state to the township line between townships 
one hundred and eight (10S) and one hundred and 
nine (109), thence east on said township line to the 
place of beginning. 

"Sec. 2. At the time of giving notice of the next 
general election, it shall lie the duty of the officers of 
the county of Redwood, as required by law, to give 
notice of such election, to give notice in like manner 
that at said election a vote will be taken on the question 



county officers and vested them with 
power to begin county government. It 
was proposed to organize in December, 
1869, but owing to the absence of two 
of the commissioners it had to lie post- 
poned, and the machinery of county 
government was not set in motion until 
August 12, 1870. 6 At that time the 
first meeting of the Board of County 
Commissioners was held at the home of 
Luman Ticknor, in Upper Lynd. 

The first act of the board was the 
selection of a county scat, the first entry 
in the journal reading as follows: 

State of Minnesota, County of Lyon — ss. 
Be it known that at a session of the Board of 
County Commissioners of Lyon county, held at 
the house of L. Ticknor, in said county, on the 
twelfth day of August, 1870, the seat of said 
county was settled and established on the 
southeast quarter of section thirty-three (33) 
in township one hundred and eleven (111) of 
range forty-two (42). [Signed] A. W. Muzzy, 
Leva S. Kiel, County Commissioners. Attest: 
E. Lamb, Auditor. 

For nearly tw r o years Upper Lynd 
was the seat of government of Lyon 
county. Then, although no official ac- 
tion was taken to that effect, the 
county business was transacted at Lower 
Lynd. That remained the seat of gov- 
ernment until it was moved to Marshall 
in January, 1874, as the result of the 
election of November, 1873.' 

At the time of the organization of the 
county the population was small and 

of changing the boundary lines of Redwood county in 
accordance with the provisions of this act. At said 
election the voters of said county of Redwood in favor 
ot the change proposed by this act shall have distinctly 
written or printed or partly written or printed on their 
ballots, 'For change of boundary lines of Redwood 
county in favor of Lyon county,' and returns thereof 
shall be made to the same office by the judges of 
election of the several townships ami by the auditor 
of said Redwood county as upon votes for state 
officers. 

"Sec. 3. The county of Lyon is hereby attached For 
judicial purposes to the county of Redwood. 

"Sec. 4. The foregoing provisions of this act shall 
lake effect and be in force from and after the ratifica- 
tion and adoption of the proposed change by •' majority 
of the voters of Redwood county. 

"Sec. ,5. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with 
this act are hereby repealed. 

"Approved March 2, L869." 

"For a more detailed account of the organization 
see chapter 8. 

"The meeting places of the Board of County Com- 



50 



HISTOKY OF LYON COUNTY. 



the law-making body did not see fit to 
provide for township government at 
once. Instead, the county was divided 
into five election precincts, in each of 
which were justices of the peace and 
constables, appointed by the County 
Board. These local officers officiated 
until the first township was organized 
early in 1872. The last township did 
not begin local government until 1883. 
The several townships were officially 
created in the following order, but the 
organization in all cases did not imme- 
diately follow: Lake Marshall, Lynd, 
Lyons, Fairview, Nordland, Grandview, 
Lucas, Eidsvold, Monroe, Amiret, West- 
erheim, Vallers, Custer, Clifton, Stanley, 
Sodus, Rock Lake, Island Lake, Shel- 
burne and Coon Creek. 

LAKE MARSHALL. 

Although other parts of the county 
were settled earlier, there had been 
rapid settlement in Lake Marshall town- 
ship in 1870 and 1871, and that was the 
first political division to be granted 
township government. The Board of 
County Commissioners passed the neces- 
sary resolution on January 2, 1872, and 
on March 8 the organization was per- 
fected. The first town meeting was 
held at the home of C. H. Whitney on 
the 'southeast quarter of section 4, 
where later was built the city of Marshall. 

The first officers of the precinct, 
chosen at the time of the first town 

missioners prior to the removal to Marshall, as recorded 
in the commissioners' journal, were as follows: 

August 12, 1870 — House of L. Ticknor. 

October 8, 1870— Lynd. 

October 14, 1S70 — Wright school house. 

January 3, 1871 — House of E. Lamb. 

.March 15 and April 7, 1871— Store of G. W. Whitney. 

May 16, 1871— Store of G. W. Whitney, adjourned 
to the church. 

September 19, 1871 — Lynd. 

January 2, 1872 — Log school house near Lynd post- 
office. 

.March 29 and April 30, 1872— Hall of Smith & Ellis 
at Lynd. 

June 1, 1872, to May 9, 1873— Kiel &>Morgan's hall. 

June 17, 1873— Kiel's hotel. 

September 24, 1873 — Lvnd. 

January 20, 1874— Office of J. W. Blake, Marshall. 



meeting, were as follows: Oren Drake, 
chairman; C. T. Bellingham and Noble 
Cuyle, supervisor,;; C. H. Whitney, 
clerk; O. A. Drake, treasurer; S. M. 
Taylor, assessor; W. H. Langdon and 
C. H. Whitney, justices of the peace; 
C. H. Upton and O. A. Drake, con- 
stables. 

Lake Marshall township was named 
after the lake of the same name, and the 
lake was named in honor of Governor 
William K. Marshall. 8 

Following is a list of those who re- 
ceived title to government lands in Lake 
Marshall township, under the homestead 
and timber culture acts, and the number 
of the section (in parentheses) on which 
the claim was located: 9 

James Armstrong (6), John M. Burke (36), 
Andrew J. Ham (22), Joanna Ham (22), William 
G. Hunter (12), Lorenzo D. Lewis (28), Marietta 
Martin (14). Milo B. Morse (4-fi), Alex S. Nobles 
(32), C. H. Richardson (28), Ursula S. Stone (4), 
J. B. Smith (18), Joseph Sanders (8), M. F. 
Templeton (24), John F. Wyman (10), George 
B. Wilmarth (32), Charles M. Wilcox (26), 
George B. Watkins (34), Alfred Loveless (20), 
Joseph K. Johnson (2), Aaron F. Templeton 
(24), Josiah Clark (32), Charles L. S. Bellingham 
(20), Salmon Webster (10), Charles M. Temple- 
ton (24), Henry F. Hoyt (2), Heirs M. R, 
Templeton (24), George R. Welch (10), George 
G. Orr (30), Andrew Erickson (14), Samuel 
Benjamin (30), Asahel A. Hunter (14), James 
Andrew (6), Moses D. Skillings (24), William M. 
Pierce (2), Charles H. Upton (4), Frank Y. 
Hoffstott (10), Samuel W. Orr (30), Orson A. 
Drake (30), Oren Drake (30), Jabez W. Pike 
(2), Frank A. Lamphere (22), Daniel Minnick 
(18), William C. French (18), Peter Van Zant 
(20), Robert Minnick (32), Allen O. Underbill 
(28), Steward Groesbeck (28), Seth W. Taylor 
(28), Christian Wunderlich (20), Peter F. Wise 
(34), Edward Jones (34), Charles H. White (22), 
Milton C. Niles (28), Charles M. Baction (28), 

*The first birth in Lake Marshall township was that 
of Mary Langdon, daughter of Henry and Zilpha 
Langdon, who was born in June, 1870; the second 
birth was that of Fannie Whitney, daughter of ('. U. 
and Mary Whitney, and occurred November 24, 1870. 
The first marriage was that of Oren Drake and Mis. 
U. S. Stone and was performed September 4, 1S72, by 
Rev. Ransom Wait. The first death was that of a 
daughter of James Armstrong; she died of scarlet fever 
October 5, 1871. 

9 As taken from the records in the office of the 
register of deeds. The names in this list and those of 
the other townships include only those who had home- 
stead and timber claims, and only the names of those 
appear who received title to the lands. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



51 



William Cashman (18), William H. Loveless 
(20), Eugene B. Langdon (8). 10 

LYND. 

Lynd township, named in honor of 
James W. Lynd, the trader who in an 
early day had a post within the town- 
ship, was declared an organized town- 
ship by the Board of County Commis- 
sioners on September 4, 1872. Officers 
were not selected at that time, however, 
and the organization was not perfected 
until a year later. The first officers of 
the precinct were appointed by the 
County Board on January 9, 1873, and 
were as follows: Jacob Rouse, chair- 
man; A. K. Cummins and John E. 
St arks, supervisors; N. Davis, clerk; 
George E. Cummins, treasurer. 11 

Titles to government land w%re grant- 
ed in Lynd township as follows: 

George M. Boston (19), E." W. Barton (8), 
Lewis E. Bates (4), M. V. Davidson (33), O. C. 
Gregg (30), Cornelius Hall (33), Oscar A. Hawes 
(12), Clark S. Johnson (10), Levi S. Kiel (28), 
Edgar Langdon (32), George W. Marcyes (27), 
Hiram A. Marcyes (14), Hiram R. Marcyes (23), 
George Pierce (34), Arthur Ransom (34), David 
Steifel (28), John E. Starks (4), A. C. Tucker 
(18), Melville A. Tucker (18), Daniel M. Taylor 
(34), Hiram G. Ward (30), Horace M. Workman 
(4), J W. Williams (8), George W. Herrick (18), 
Robert M. Addison (24), Vernon M. Smith (32), 
Eleazer Farnham (2), Philemon C. Farnham (2), 

10 Farmers who resided in Lake Marshall Township in 
1884, according to G. F. Case's History of Lyon County, 
were as follows: J. W. Pike, Henry F. Hoyt, J. K. 
Johnson, George Cook, J. B. Drew, W. Hyde, R. 
Spates, R. F. Webster, James Andrew, George Link, 

B. Link, J. Ward, Henry Freese, J. Anderson, Noble 
Cuyle, T. King, J. Scott, J. W. Blake, J. S. Dewey, 
S. Webster, T. Walker, W. Wirt, W. G. Hunter, 

C. H. Richardson, O. M. Fuller, A. Erickson, P. 
Quiglev, John Berry, Daniel Minnick, W. Cashman, 
J. Smith, B. J. Heagle, M. Pettibone, C. T. Bellingham, 
Charles Bellingham, Andrew Ham, ('. Skillings, ('. M. 
Templeton, A. F. Templeton, J. M. Burke, C. H. White, 
L. D. Lewis, M. C. Niles, George Orr, J. Clark, F. S. 
Wetherbee, E. Brotherton, John Middleton and G. R. 
Wat kins. 

i l The first child born in Lynd township was a 
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Ransom, born in 
November, 1868; the second child was Harry Lynd 
Cummins, son of George E. Cummins, born in 1869. 
The first death was that of Mrs. Bowers, which occurred 
April 20, 1868. The first marriage, that of W. H. 
Langdon to Zilpha Cummins, was performed in 1868 
by Rev C. F. Wright; the second was that of A. W. 
M'cGandy to Charlotte Buell in 1871. The first school, 
supported by subscription, was taught in Lynd s 
trading post building in the spring of 186!) by l.ydia 
Cummins. The first church services were held in 
September, 1867, and the first church was organized 
in 1868. 



Peter W. Mullany (14), Leslie A. Gregg (30), 
A. L. Randall (24), James E. Leonard (10), 
Charles M. Shilliam (32), Charles G. Pearson 
(10), John N. Johnson (10), Lydia J. Pierce (34), 
Hiram Fellows (20), Christian Nelson (14), 
Warren S. Eastman (12), Josephus Myers (4), 
Harriet Perrin (26), Mary Jane Lasure (6), 
Edward Fezler (28), Orla B. Nash (14), Mark 
Christensen (14), Dewitt C. Pierce (28), James 
Cummins (22), George E. Cummins (22), George 
A. Wunderlich (20) Hugh Smith (26), James M. 
Lockey (8), Jennie M. Rathmell (18), Jon 
Anderson (10), Colon Acheson (14), Heirs Oren 
Gregg (30), Allen D. Morgan (22), Charles 
Meloin (24), Letta Hute (24), Otto Weking (6), 
Horace N. Smith (26), Stephen B. Green (20), 
James A. Harris (8), Alva P. Wells (8). 12 



LVONS. 

The next town created was Lyons, 13 
which doubtless derived its name from 
the same source as that of the county, 
namely, General Nathaniel Lyon. It 
was officially declared an organized 
township on March 18, 1873, and given 
the name it still bears. At the first 
town election, held April 1, 1873, the 
following first officers were chosen: 
Gordon Watson, chairman; C. L. Van 
Fleet and J. C. Buell, supervisors; 
Henry Mussler, clerk; C. A. Wright, 
treasurer; Charles Hildreth, assessor; 
J. W. Hoagland and Edmund Lamb, 
justices of the peace; Charles E. Goodell 
and Amasa Crosby, constables. 11 Land 

'-The following named farmers resided in Lynd 
township in 1884: J. Goodwin, P. B. Fezler, ('. 
Farnham, P. C. Farnham, J. Peterson, Josephus Myers, 
R Spates, F. Peterson, W. Williams, James Lockey, 
A. P. Wells, C. S. Foster, A. Mellenthin, F. Mellenthin, 
C. Morton, Jon Anderson, Larribee A- Sons, William 
Acheson, Otto Anderson, Charles Pearson, O. A. Hawes. 
W. S. Eastman, I. V. Eastman, Andrew Nelson, Colon 
Acheson, Christian Nelson, Orla Nash, W. Wunderlich. 
Peter Mullany, H. Rolph, Philip Snyder, A. C. Tucker, 
H. Rathmell, H. Tucker, George A. Wunderlich, L. I'.. 
Fellows, Alex Burr, W. Sykes, B. Syfces, .lames Cum- 
mins, ,L. Marcyes, George Link, B. F. Link, A. I.. 
Randall, B. Heath, C. E. Rice, L. Oilman. Z. 0. 
Titus, H. Smith, W. L. Watson, ('. E. Hid-. Levi S. 
Kiel, S. Van Alstine, A. R. Cummins, 1>. ('. Pierce, 
J Drvden, C. M. Damuth, O. Gregg, 0. C. Gregg, 
H. G. Ward, L. A. Gregg, Charles Shilliam, W. 11. 
Langdon, V. M. Smith, Jacob Rouse and Mrs. Pierce, 

uOn October 22, 1S72, Lake Benton township, 

comprising a tract of territory in the southeast part of 
the present Lincoln COUnty, was created by the County 

Board. 

1 'The first child born in Lyons township was Fred 

Adams, born in L870. The first school was taught by 

Florence Downie in 1873. Religious services wen- 
first held in the township by Rev. Ransom Wait ..a 
November I). 1870, and the first church society was 

formed in September, 1873, 



52 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



titles were granted to the following in 
Lyons township: 

W. C. Adams (5), James Burnes (26), Moses 
G. Fifield (10), Joseph Fifield (10), A. A. Fifield 
(10), Edward P. Gage (22), James T. Moon (34), 
Hugh William Neil (26), John D. Soper (22), 
George H. Thurston (24), C. L. Van Fleet (32), 
Roland Weeks (28), Charles A. Wright (12), 
William Whitson (22), Mahlon S. Faucett (24), 
Ransom Wait (14), Thomas S. Downie (12), 
Charles W. Hicks (2), John L. Jones (28), Evan 
L. Jones (34), Albert C. Dresser (28), James F. 
Hoagland (22), Richard R. Roberts (20), Fred 
C. Hicks (12), William M. Riddell (26), Elisha 
Foster (30), Walter Carlaw (32), Leander P. 
Knapp (30), Mary L. Gould (14), Isaac Harvey 
(20), Richard Tuper (24), Dennis Leary (6), 
Charles S. Riley (14), Sophia Hicks (2), John J. 
Hicks (2), Gordon Watson (2), Jeremiah Van 
Schaick (30), James M. Millard (26), Ludwig 
Mitzner (34), Dennis N. Fellon (18), Lois E. 
Coleman (10), Almond C. Dann (20), Charles E. 
Goodell (14), Reuben Beazlev (6), Louis Crane 
(4), Martha M. Day (6), Samuel W. Galbraith 
(28), William Nelson Jones (18), Henry Mussler 
(20), Thomas A. Graham (34), August Rienke 
(18), Mauley M. Curtis (12), Evan C. Jones (8), 
Ephraim Skyhawk (18), Warren Erwin Austin 
(24), Charles V. Hicks (2), Heirs Edward C. 
Bot (6), Elisha B. Downie (12), Henry L. Pierce 
(4), Henry Schaeffer (34), Anthonv Megandv 
(4), Edmund Lamb (4), Orla B. *Xash (22), 
( hvcn M. Owens (8), Martin V. Davidson (4), 
Luman Ticknor (8), Lars P. Bergman (18). 15 



FAIR VIEW. 

Fairview and Lyons townships may 
be classed as twins, for they were 
granted the rights of township govern- 
ment on the same day and perfected 
their organizations on the same day. 
The beautiful prairie township of Fair- 
view was appropriately named. In the 
early days, with naught to interrupt the 
view, it was a fair sight to look upon. 
There was spread out a landscape of 
loveliness, and any other name for the 

15 The following farmers lived in Lyons township in 
1884: B. F. Bates, C. V. Hicks, J. J. Hicks, Gordon 
Watson, Y\ . C. Adams, H. L. Pierce, C. E. Bice, Mrs. 
Day, Dennis Leary, Reuben Beasley, Joseph Fifield 
M. G. Fifield, F. R. Lindsey, E. B. Do'wnie, F. (' Hicks' 
T. S. Downm. M. M. Curtis, Charles E. Goodell, J M' 
Millard, Ransom Wait, C. S. Riley, D. N. Fellon 
R. Roberts, A. C. Dann, I. N. Harvey, R. 1). Soper] 
1). Soper, J. W. Hoagland, J. F. Hoagland, James 
Murison, J. Ingram, G. H. Thurston, James Burns 
W. N. Riddell, Robert Riddell, S. W. Galbraith, L. 
Jones, C. E. Dresser, C. C. Wagner, D. T. Fellon, 
Jeremiah Van Schaick, L. P. Knapp, Walter Carlaw] 
C. L. Van Fleet, T. A. Graham, Ludwig Mitzner. 
E. L. Jones, E. Schmitz, J. Mitzner and Mr. Teufel. 

16 The first child born in Fairview was Walter 
Reynolds, son of William and Maria Reynolds, who 



township would have been a misnomer. 
Fairview township was created March 
18, 1873, and the first town meeting was 
held at the home of John W. Elliott, on 
section 34, on the first day of April of 
the same year. At that time the follow- 
ing officers were chosen: Harmon Love- 
lace, chairman; John W. Elliott and 
G. M. Johnson, supervisors; John Bu- 
chanan, clerk; Owen Marron, treasurer; 
B. G. Emery, assessor; Harmon Love- 
lace and John Buchanan, justices of the 
peace; W. S: Pieynolds and A. Williams. 
constables. 16 

The government issued patents to 
land in Fairview township to the follow- 
ing- 
Miner Atherton (32), Romain ('. Beech (6), 
Charles A. Edwards (26), B. C. Emery (14). 
I. P. Farriagton (26), John L. Gee (6), Daniel 
P. Hance (24), Reuben Henshaw (22), Anne 
Hanlon (10), Besnasel Hanlon (10), John Hanlon 
(18), Harmon Lovelace (20), David H. Neely 
(4), William S. Reynolds (34), George Spaulding 
(28), John Shull (4), Luman Ticknor (30), 
Daniel F. Weymouth (2), Alvin Fort (12), 
William D. Lovelace (24), Thomas Lindsay (12), 
Polk Williams (8), Frank Constant (22), Jasper 
W. Dickey (20), Seth Johnson (30), Edward C. 
Pierce (28), John A. Brown (22), Cornelius 
Meehan (10), Daniel Thomas (30), David D. 
Forbes (14), Martha Meacham (8), E. Alfred 
Edwards (4), George L. D. Weymouth (2), 
William C. Robinson (10), Harvey G. Howard 
(20), George M. Robinson (10), Richard Blake 
(18), John Cummings (26), Richard Yates (28), 
Margaret JTanlon (18), Walter Wakeman (20), 
Maudavill Potter (28), Marcellus F. Murphy (4), 
Martin V. Davidson (24), John H. Buchanan 
(32), Daniel M. Taylor (30), Allen Smith (6), 
Eben B. Jewett (32), Hamilton Smith (18), 
John W. Elliott (34), Zenas Rank (24), Isaac 
Lindsey (14), Lewis Lavake (14), Delia M. 
Wasson (22), Frank D. Wasson (22), Eliza 
Wasson (22), Heirs Charles Weymouth (2), 
Homer Robinson (20), George F. LeBeau (6). 17 

was born April 2, 1871. Walter Woodruff and Julia 
Lovelace were the first in the township to marry. The 
first death was that of Mary Gibbs, mother of Henry 
Gibbs; she died in December, 1871, at the age of ninety 
years. School was first taught in the township by 
Ada Kennedy in 1S<4; the first school room was a 
granary belonging to Thomas Lindsay. The first 
religious services were conducted by Rev. George 
Spaulding at his home in 1S73. 

17 The following were heads of families residing in 
Fairview in 1884: D. Alexander, D. F. Weymouth 
M. P. Jewett. Cox Brothers, H. Edwards, R ('" Beech 
J. L. Gee, C. L. Wiley, Philip Rue, A. Paul, Neill 
Oren Marron, Martha Meacham, A. Hanlon, Besnasel 
Hanlon, G. M. Robinson, W. ('. Robinson. Rev. 
Graves, O. F. Walter, Isaac Lindsev, Alex Forbes, 
D. D. Forbes, Whitney & Keith, F. J. Parker, John 



HISTORY OP LYON COUNTY. 



53 



NORDLAND. 

Almost without exception, the town- 
ship of NTordland was settled by Nor- 
wegians and they bestowed upon it the 
name of a province in their native land. 
Nordland township was created by the 
Board of County Commissioners May 9, 
1873, and soon thereafter the first town 
meeting was held at the home of T. H. 
Horn on section 14. 

The initial officers of Nordland were 
as follows: Ole O. Groff, chairman; 
Ole 0. Rear and Nils Anderson, super- 
visors; Frederick Holritz, clerk; A. O. 
Strand, treasurer; T. O. Loftsgaarden, 
assessor; J. O. Fangen and Frederick 
Holritz, justices of the peace; Thrond 
Helverson and W. K. Hovden, con- 
stables. 

The following became owners of land 
in Nordland by virtue of the homestead 
and timber culture acts: 

Charles Anderson (18), Fred Holritz (10), 
Andrew Halversen (28), Christopher K. Iverson 
(20), Tobias Iverson (30), Lars J. Jerpbak (18), 
Erick Knudson (22), Nels B. Nelson (8), Gunder 
Olson (8), Robert Quiggle (2), Mary Tollef (26), 
Halvor A. Verse (12), William K. Hovden (2), 
Niels Gregersen (30), Arent Larsen (12), Niels 
N. Myre (14), Ole Olsen (12), Samuel Hansen 
(20), John Larsen (34), Theodore Halve rson 
(28), Halvor Olsen Skogen (26), Ole O. Barisnens 
(24), Ole Sieverson (14), Osten Anderson Rye 
(34), Gregar Amundsen (22), Simon Sivertson 
(4), John Johnson Hoff (4), Lewis B. Leland 
(28), Christian Johnsen (8), Ole Shelrud (24), 
Ole O. Nordbv (22), Seaver G. Dalen (6), Ole O. 
Skaar (18), Sever L. Teigland (10), Nels Hal- 
verson (28), Tobias Iverson (30), Syvert A. 
Hazleberg (30), Sturlaugur Gilbertson (8), Ole 
O. Rear (12), John Josephson (4), Martin 
Bradison (32), Ole A. Lien (28), John O'Brien 
(4), Josef Jonssen(30), Thor Rye (8), Ole Ledel 

Hanlon, M. Hanlon, Hamilton Smith, J. A. Hunter, 
Richard Blake, J. \\ . Dickey, H. G. Howard, Kinney, 
W. P. Thayer, L. K. Thayer, J. A. Brown, Reuben 
Henshaw, F. D. Wasson, W. U. Lovelace, D. T. Hance, 
John Cummings, James Lawrence, E. C. Pierce, M. 
Potter, Rev. George Spaulding, A. C. Forbes, A. 
Baldwin, Seth Johnson, Daniel Thomas, Luman 
Ticknor, E. B. Jewett, E. A. Edwards, .Mrs. Coleman, 
J. W. Elliott, W. S. Reynolds and E. O. Barnard. 

18 During the next ten years after its organization 
the growth of Nordland was slow and in 1SS4 the only 
heads of families living in the precinct were Haiver 
Olson, J. B. Johnson, Thomas Olson, W. K. Hovden, 
Robert Culshaw, John Ohnn, Sven Jeremiasrn, John 
J. Hoff, S. Severtson, John Josephson, B. <'. Gatzke, 
S «',. Dalen, Sturlauger Gilbertson, Nels Nelson, Chris 
Johnson, Teeta Tolff, A. Strand, Sever Tergland, B. 



(24), Paul B. Gatzke (6), Thidemap Jensen (24), 
Leif Stenerson (30), John B. Johnson (32), 
Torjus H. Flom (14), Frank Ramberg (24), 
Halvor H. Bakken (26), Peter Larson (26), 
Gilbert T. Larsen (24), Heirs Benjamin Johnsen 
(32), John McClusky (20), Peter Johan Jennen 
(14), Robert Hanson (10), Benjamin Johnson 
(32), Gregar Stenerson (24), John Gillund (22), 
Frank Dobrinski (6), Thomas Olson (2), Andreas 
J. Olsen (10), Brede Bredeson (32), Sven H. 
Jeremiasen (4), Thomas McClusky (10), Tollef 
Olson Festad (10). 18 



GRANDVIEW. 

The topographical features supplied 
the name for Grandview, the name being- 
selected when the township was created 
July 21, 1873. On September 23 of the 
same year the County Board authorized 
a change in name to Warrington, but 
the change was not made. 

The township was organized in Au- 
gust, 1873, when the first town meeting 
was held at the home of Jacob Thomas. 
The first officers, selected at that time, 
were as follows: T. J. Barber, chair- 
man; S. B. Green and J. M. Collins, 
supervisors; A. L. Baldwin, clerk; J. M. 
English, treasurer; George Chamberlain, 
assessor; Orlando McQuestion and H. B. 
Loomis, justices of the peace; (!. A. 
Wirt and C. P. Cotterell, constables. 1 '* 

Government land patents were grant- 
ed to the following in Grandview: 

Henry W. Burlingame (4), Frank D. Baldwin 
(26), Edward Goodman (10), Charles E. Goodell 
(34), James P. Greenslitt (4), Stephen B. Green 
(22), J. A. Goodrich (12), Alexander Graham 
(14), Harrison A. Irish (14), Charles J. Morse 
(24), Martin M. Marshall (28), William Markell 
(10), John S. Pears (24), Janet Robertson (24), 
Wells I. Smith (20), J. M. Vaughn (8), George A. 
Wirt (22), Generius Johnson (6), Christian Lee 

Verpe, Ole Rear, Ole Groff, Arne Larson, < He Bji 
N. T. Dahl, T. H. Flom, A. Larson, Nels Myre, Ole 
Severson, Charles Anderson, Lars Jerpbak, Asian Haug, 
Ole Stear, Samuel Sanson, Frederick Bolritz, Ole 
Myrick, K. Melby, Ole Nordbv, J. G. Gillund, Gregar 
Amundsen, Thideman Jens -n, (i. Stenerson, Ole Ladel, 
F. Rumberg, Ole S. Kgelud, Nels Ealverson, Andrew 
Balverson, Albert Halverson, Louis Lsland, S. Lndei 
son, T. Tobias, M. Bredeson, li. Johnson, Ole Boi 
L. Kst and J<ilui Larson. 

"Lilly McQuestion, the firsi child born in Grand 
view was born December 16, L871, the daughter o 
Orlando McQuestion. The firsi death was a child ol 
Joseph Chamberlain. The firsi school was taught by 
Sarah Constant in L876. The first religious services 
were conducted by Rev. W. S. W illiams. 



54 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



(18), Alberto L. Baldwin (22). Selden Coleman 
(26), William T. Maxson (20-28), Charles P. 
Cotterell (22), Bergit S. Jacobson (6), Ransom 
F. Lathe (28), John G. Cook (34), William L. 
Goodrich (12), Ambrose Amundson (8). Jacob 
Thomas (22). Anthon J. Ledel (30), Orlando 
McQuestion (34), John O. Ranum (30), Rufus F. 
Southworth (2), Hugh Chalmers (2), Lewis 
Story (32), Johan Christ Xielson (30), Thomas 
J. Barber (22), Amasa A. Farmer (20), Georgi- 
anna M. Collins (14), John R. Phelps (32), John 
Shelrud (30), Harrison B. Loomis (4), Fannie 
M. Collins (10), Flovd H. Deland (2), Leo 
DeCock (8), Miles W. Fuller (32), Martin 
Ellefson (6), Lewis E. Bates (28), Charles 
DeVos (4), Edward A. Deland (12), Edward 
Fezler (28), Camille Claeys (8), Sigfred Ledel 
(18), Franklin H. Goodrich (12), James S. 
Rauger (30), Ole Ingebretson Rot am (6), 
William Bot (14). Anders H. Opdahl (6), Chester 
Andrews (26), -James M. English (26), William 
J. Brull (34), Edwin M. English (24), George W. 
Carpenter (24). 20 



LUC VS. 

The northeast corner township was 
officially designated an organized town- 
ship July 21, 1873, under the name of 
Canton, and it was more than a year 
later when the name Lucas was bestowed 
upon it. 21 The organization was per- 
fected August 5, 1873. 

The first officers of the township were 
as follows: .lames Wardrop, chairman: 
O. H. Dahl and John Moe, supervisor:-: 
R. H. Price, clerk: N. T. Dahl. treasurer 
and assessor; T. S. Norgaard and P. H. 
Dahl, justices of the peace; R. J. Ben- 

20 There were living in Grandview the following in 
1884: Victor LeBeau, Hugh Chalmers, F. H. Deland, 
J. Cavanaugh, H. B. Loomis, Theodore Carron, C. 
Foulon, G. Verghote, John Ford, Martin Ellefson, 
G. A. Aal, B. Jacobson, Ole Rotam, Ambrose Amund- 
son, J. M. Vaughn, R. L. Greenslitt. H. Maartens, Leo 
DeCock, David VanHee, H. Princen, B. F. Jellison, 
F. H. Goodrich, E. A. Deland, A. Paradis, W. S. 
Goodrich, Alexander Graham, Georgianna Collins, 
C. Messine, A. VanHee. S. VanHee, Christian Lee, 
Sigfred Ledel, J. Regnier, J. Lambert, A. A. Farmer, 
W. T. Maxson, L. E. Bates, Isaac Regnier, Charles 
Cotterell, S. B. Green, T. I. Barber, Jacob Thomas, 
A. L. Baldwin, J. M. English, G. W. Carpenter, E. 
Lord, Frank Baldwin. S. Coleman, J. Butson, Peter 
Schmitz, C. Schmitz, F. Laythe, John Shelrud, John 
Nielson, A. J. Ladle, J. O. Ranum, J. Lambert, M. W, 
Fuller, Lewis Story, A. Pennston, William Goodell. 
J. G. Cook and Orlando McQuestion. 

-'Ruling- of state auditors forbade two townships 
in the state to have the same name, and as a conse- 
quence the people of a new township frequently had 
to change the name. The people of Lucas were 
especially unfortunate in choosing a name that had not 
before been selected. The name Lisbon was selected 
in place of Canton on March 17, 1874. and that in turn 
was changed to Moe on May 21, 1874. Lucas was 



jamin and George Anderson, consta- 
bles. 22 

The following were settler- of Lucas 
who received their land from the govern- 
ment : 

George Anderson (8), Otto Anderson 2 
Squire J. Carr (24). Robert Cummings (32), 
Peter H. Dahl (4). P. A. Eitland (18), James 
Galbraith (30), Ann Lines (24), Lewis B. 
Nichols 20), George Russell (34), William H. 
Slater (4), Robert Chalmers (30), John McLen- 
nan (32), Thomas Bell (12), Joseph Gray (28), 
Peder Eliason (10), Christopher IVterson (22), 
' John Boniman (30), John H. Mielke (22), James 
Wardrop (12), Christ H. Dahl (S). Josiah 
Durham (2), Rufus H. Price (2), Gabriel Ander- 
son (6). Torjus S. Norgaard I ti. Edward T. 
Tonnessen Hamre (10-8), Hans P. Dahl (6 
Allend Christianson (10), Endre Endreson (8), 
Clinton J. Price (14), Carl Kartowietz (26), 
James C. Townsend (MO). Frederick Strohschaen 
(12), John Krog (22), Ole H. Batlestad (18), 
Daniel R. Burdctt (20), Charles S. Lovelace (20 . 
Toilet" o. Legvold (Ki(. William Stewart (32), 
James Ouickshank (34), John Johnsen Nesdal 
(14). Wilhelm Weinkauf (24), her Nelson (2), 
Mikkle Nelson (6), Thomas Chalmers (32 
Neils Neilson (6), Siverl <>. Barsted (20), 
Christian Rusl (34). " 

EIDSVOLD. 

Nineteen residents of the northwest 
corner township petitioned for township 
government and the County Hoard took 
the requested action September 2. 1873. 
The township was created and organ- 
ized with the name Upper Yellow Medi- 
cine, but the name was later changed to 
Eidsvold. 

chosen October 11, 1S74. and as no Other township had 
:i prior ri till t the name \va> permanently established. 

22 Thc first child born in Lucas was Albert Erwin, 
born February 27. 1872. The first death was a son 
of John Krog, who died in the winter of 1873. The 
first marriage was that of D. R. Burdette to Alice M. 
Price and occurred July 16, 1873. The first school 
was taught by Ella Williams in 1873 in a small building 
erected by R. H. Price on section 2. The first religious 
services were conducted by Rev. Joseph Williams, of 
the United Brethren Society. 

23 In 1884 the residents of Lucas township were as 
follows: R. H. Price, Iver Nelson, At. Nelson, E. S. 
Reishus, Aarrestad Brothers, L. P. Aaberg, Gabriel 
Anderson, J. A. H. Dahl, N. Rosvold, M . Rosvold, 
J. H. Anderson, C. H. Dahl. A. Bars tad, A. Anderson. 
Mr. Conrad. Peder Eliason, E. T. Hamre, Allend 
Christianson, Frederick Strohschaen, James Wardrop, 
Thomas Bell, J. Johnson, A. Miro, A. Slette, J. Medboe, 
O. O. Reinholt, O. H. Hattlestad, M. T. Ness, H. J. 
Meilke, John Krog, J. A. Smith, Christopher Peterson, 
J. C. Lines, J. J. Hunziker, C. Kartowitz, F. G. Stroh- 
schaen, Jr., J. McDonald, J. C. Gray, James Galbraith, 
John Boniman, Robert Chalmers. J. ('. Townsend, 
John D. Smith, Robert Cummings, William Stewart, 
John McLellan, Thomas Chalmers. James Cruickshank, 
James Robertson, George Russell and P. Schlemmer. 



HISTORY OP LYON COUNTY 



.).> 



The in' t ti»u ii meeting was held Sep 
tember 20, 1873, and the following were 
chos en t he fin t offh era: II. T. < Oakland, 
chairman; Nels Torgerson and A. 
Amundson, supervisor : John Coleman, 
clerk; Swend Peterson, treasurer; 0. B. 
Ringham, • e or; H. D, Frink, jus t ice 
of the peace; <> I! Esping and G. 
Amundson, constal le ;. a ' 

The following homesteaders and tree 
claim claimants received title to real 
(•• late in Eidsvold: 

Ambrose Amundsen (34), Lewis Anderson 
28 William Brockway (20), John A. Coleman 
28) W. M. Coleman (26), Swend Peterson .:<: 
Ole Pederson (24), Ole B. Ringham (26), Jakob 
Steinmetz (22-12-18), William P. Tenney (18), 
Harvey D. Frink (26), John M. Hall (8), Knud 
Olson (10), Knud 0. Dovre (34), Freeborn \ 
Welch (18), William Mohr (30), Francis I; 
Adams I I), Aaron Conger (6), Kmit A. Rye (22 . 
Knud Helgeson (2), Amend Amendson (24 
Knud K. Gigstad (34), George II. Welch (18 . 
Hugh Bowden (12). Edwin E. Ramberg ■ ; 
Neils Torgeson (34), Charles Overland (14), 
John Olson Kaas (22), Knut S. Kraubek (14), 
Barnel Vosberg (6), Filing Knudson llaugen 
(12), Walter P. Ruggles (1). Knnd Knudtson 
(10), Ole A. Swennes (2), Parmer Crampton (8 . 
Norman Webster (8), Bergven J. Hoff (32 
Lewis 1*. Johnson (10), Isaac Olson (24), Thor- 
vald Rye (12), [gnacy Gawareski (30), < He II. 

Esping (12), Patrick Malone (14), .John McCor- 

jnick (20), Betsey .1. Wallin (22), Knud Kjorness 
(2 J). Lawrence McDonald (28), Jens Alickson 
(32), Joseph Alickson (32), Kazimien Surdzinski 
(30), Hugh McNamara (4), Nels Anderson (10), 
Ellen Salmon (28), Maria Olson (32), Carrie E. 
Fodness (2), Engebret K. Kjorness (24), James 
W. Williams (20), Syvert Hanson (22), Heirs 
Frank Hinkley (8), Andrew Budniakowski (30), 
John S. Kosmalski (20), Gottlieb Kerlein (30), 
Reuben H. Clark (4). 25 



Mi INROK 

The county law-making body sel apart 
the soul heai i corner towns hip for or- 
ganization on January 5, 1874, and 
named it Monroe. 28 Some time later 
the firsl town meeting was hold ;i t the 
tore nf II. X. Joy in Tracy, officers 
weir selected, and .Monroe township was 
fully organized. 2 ' 

Land patents were granted by the 
government to the following named 
persons in .Monroe township: 

Reese Davis (8), Smith S. Fuller (S), Edward 
Glynn (6), Alden ('. Levitt (12), William H. 
Morgan (20), A. Peterson (20), Philip Peregrine 
(6), Rees Price (18), Ole Rialson (22), E. L. 
st.nr (24), Henry II. Welch (26), David Bumford 
(30), Charles S. Grover (6), William V. Taylor 
(6), John M. Chapin (24), Andrew Christensen 
(28), Edwin W. Healy (26), Ole Olson Suae (20), 
Wyatt Moulton (18), Anne Amandsen (32), 
Ole Helgeson Brevig (28), Elias Jones (10), 
Ole Johnson (26), Hugh R. Hughes (18), James 
R. Mullins (12), EUas Rialson (22), Gunerins 
Olson (30), Evan D. Evans C30), Charles Vau 
Dusen (4), Walter A. Sutherland (2), Hans T. 
Larson ( 10), Ingeborg Trulson (32), John Schultz 
(24), William Shand (14), Kittel C. Haugen (28), 
Charles W. Northrup (4), William F. Randall 
(4), Amand Erlandson (22), Thomas Devine 
(12), Amasa A. Farmer (12), Frederick Johnson 
(12), Emerson W. Ladd (2), Ole Amundson (20), 
Heirs Elias Olson (34), Ellef Anderson (34), 
Jacob F. Durst (8), Mary E. Bass (6), Adolph 
Gilbertson (14), Rasmus H. Lawrence (10), 
Hans Amendsen (32), Levi Montgomery (26), 
Benjamin R. Bass (6), William S. Moses (24), 
Truis Knudsen (32), John F. Knowles (34), 
John L. Craig (14), Solomon Evans (30), 
George White (18), Wilbur F. Nelson (2), 
Levi Bailey (4), Martin Larson (10), Guilbert 



-'Twin girl.s. born to Mr. and Mrs. Swend Peterson 
in 1871, were the first births in Eidsvold. A daughter 
of ( >le Pederson, who died in 1872, was the first to die 
in the precinct. The first marriage was that of J. J. 
Wallin to Annie Olson and occurred October 24, 1874. 
The first public school was taught by O. H. Dahl in 
the railroad section house. Rev. J. Berg conducted 
the first religious services in the same building. 

25 The following were engaged in farming in Eidsvold 
township in 1884: O. A. Swennes, Knud Helgeson, 
K. Kodness, F. McMahon, W. P. Ruggles, F. R. Adams, 
Aaron Conger, Barnet Vosburg, J. Ahern, E. Hinkley, 
. L. P. Johnson, K. Knudson, K. O. Bakken, Torger 
Stene, Thor Rye, Hugh Bowden, E. Rnutson, Ole H. 
Esping, E. Severson, H. T. Oakland, K. Tvambeek, 
Patrick Malone, F. N. Welch, B. Agners, John McCor- 
mick, J. E. Kaas, J. Pennington, C. Hanson, Knut Rye, 
H. Rye, B. Wallin, K. E. Kjorness, E. K. Kjorness, 
Amend Amendson, Isaac Olson, G. Thompson, O. B. 
Ringham, H. H. Boe, J. Wilhelms, W. Salmon, Lewis 
Anderson, Lawrence McDonald, Henry Carstens, A. 
Katke, William Mohr, E. O'Brien, Nels Torgerson, 
K. O. Dovre and Ole Feste. 



26 The name was suggested by Louis and Ole Rialson, 
early settlers of the township who came from Green 
county, Wisconsin, the county seat of which was 
Monroe. The residents of the new township selected 
that name by ballot over Chelsea, another name that 
had been proposed. The Board of County Com- 
missioners on January 6, 1874, directed the county 
auditor to send to the state authorities the name 
Starr, in case the name Monroe was rejected. 

27 The first birth in Monroe township was that of a 
daughter of Rees Price; the second was that of George 
White, a son of Mr. and Mrs. George White, born June 
17, 1872; the child died September 10 of the same 
year, his death being the first in the precinct. Stella 
Cleveland taught the first school in the township in 
1875. Religious services were first conducted in 1873 
by Rev. Ransom Wait at the home of E. L. Starr. 
The first religious organization, a Congregational 
Sunday School, was formed in June, 1874, at the home 
of J. M. Wardell. The first church organization was 
that of the Presbyterian, formed in the fall of 1874; 
its church building, the first in the township, was 
erected in the spring of 1875. 



56 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



Larson (10), Segrid Amundson (20), Ole Ander- 
son (28). 28 

AMIRET. 

The township which is now designated 
Amiret dates its existence from March 
17. 1S74. when the County Board, upon 
the petition of Horace N. Randall and 
others, authorized its citizens to organ- 
ize. For several years the precinct bore 
the name Madison, but in 1879, by 
legislative act. its name was changed to 
Amiret, to correspond with the name of 
the village within its boundaries. 29 
The first town meeting was held at the 
store of William Coburn April 7. 1874. 
S. S. Truax, J. H. Williams and H. N. 
Randall were judges of the election then 
held and William Coburn was clerk. 

The first officers chosen were as fol- 
lows: James Mitchell, Jr., chairman; 
Lafayette Grover and David Hawks, 
supervisors; William Coburn, clerk: S. S. 
Truax, treasurer; J. H. Williams, assess- 
or; John Taylor, justice of the peace; 
Luther Mason, constable. 30 

To the following early settlers of 
Amiret township government land titles 
were granted: 

Henry Borchert (30), William Doxie (6), 
Charles Donaldson (22), George W. Donaldson 
(22), Simeon S. Goodrich (12), Philo Hall (14), 
Isaiah D. Hetric (24), David Hawks (14). 
William Harrison (32), James Hopkins (30), 
Beers Johnson (30), Eliza A. Kennedy (34), 
Jacob Kline (28), N. Leavitt (26), Jane Mitchell 

--The fanning population of Monroe township in 
lss4 was composed of the following: C. Reggie, 
E. W. Ladd, J. Jones, Jessup & Walsh, C. \Y. Van 
Dusen. \Y. Northrup, James Thomson, J. W. Tyson, 
Philip Peregrine, B. R. Bass, E. W. Glvnn, I. Grover, 
J. Glynn, J. F. Durst, J. P. Davis, Rees Davis, R. H. 
Lawrence, Martin Larsen, Gulbrand Larsen, Elias 
Jones, T. Larson, Nevius Brothers, J. R. Mullen, J. B. 
Mullen, J. B. Deal, J. L. Craig, J. C. Tweet, R. Cava- 
naugh, N. H. Starr, C. Muediking, Wyatt Moulton, 
H. R. Hughes, Rees Price, W. H. Morgan, Ole Amund- 
son, Ole Olsen, Charles C. Warren, A. Erlandson, Louis 
Rialson. S. D. Peterson, T. Lewis, Ole Liaison. W. S. 
Moses, W. Henning, J. Moline, J. S. Wilniarth, H. H. 
Titus. Levi Montgomery, Ole Johnson, J. J. Randall, 
('. Christianson, Ole Anderson, Ole Helgeson, Andrew 
Christensen, Mrs. R. Sessions, E. D. Evans, G. O. 
Miller, A. Amendsen, H. Amundson, J. Jacobson, 
H. .Moline, Ellef Anderson, J. Retz, Schmitz. 

- 9 The village was named in honor of Amiretta Sykes, 
wife of M. I . Sykes, vice president of the Chicago ifc 
Northwestern Railroad Company and also of the 
Winona & St. Peter Railroad Company. 



(30), Luther Mason (20), Saira H. Preston (26), 
J. C. Plumseth (28), Charles P. Silloway (22), 
O. W. Walsh (34), Hamilton Drake (28), 
Merritt Shaw (18), James Mitchell (30), Peter 
McKeever (30), Frederick A. Woodruff (2), 
Joseph Connelly (30), Valentine O. Cove}' (10), 
James W. Drew (4), Jasper L. Havens (24), 
Don D. Harding (28), Calvin Maydole (18), 
Franklin G. Cahow (12), Luvina Devens (10), 
Ariel H. Wellman (26), William Coburn (10), 
Oliver P. Ball (4), Joseph Fredenburg (2), 
Alfred Nichols (20), George Beck (18), Daniel 
Warn (24), Nelson Johnson (18), John W. 
Taylor (14), Joseph B. Shepard (4), George W. 
Smith (8), James Struthers (8), Joseph Shake 
(6), Horace N. Randall (14-2), Henry C. May- 
dole (6), Isaac C. Seeley (8), Benjamin R. Bass 
(6), James D. Bevier (24), Sidnev N. Lund (24), 
John B. Martin (24), Ambrose N. Smith (18), 
Jacob Devens (4), James Mitchell, Jr. (4), 
Ephraim Skyhawk (2), Abraham V. Brown (10), 
John Sherman (12), Eugene E. Harding (20), 
Homer C. Swift (8), Emery J. York (26), 
Lewis F. Rowell (10), Thomas Johnson (24), 
Charles Mason (20), Burton A. Drake (6), 
Perrv D. Gross (20), Charles F. Whipple (28), 
Andrew Purves (18), John D. Owens (32), 
Alexander Kennedy (12), Joel H. Harris (32), 
Louis Michel (6), Gardner F. Harding (34). 31 



WESTERHEIM. 

Nearly all the early day settlers of 
Westerheim township were Norwegians 
and when the time came to organize the 
township they gave it a Norwegian 
name — Westerheim, meaning western 
home. The petition for the creation of 
the township was presented to the 
county authorities February 24, 1876, 
and was signed by J. R. Blanchard, 
A. A. Lee and others. Action on the 
petition was deferred, but on April 19, 

30 The first birth in Amiret township was a daughter 
born to Mr. and Mrs. William Coburn in 1S73. The 
first death occurred in 1872 and w r as a daughter of 
Luther Mason. The first marriage was that of J. A. 
Hunter and Miss C. A. Mitchell and was performed 
June 3, 1875. The first school was taught in 1873 by 
Mrs. Warnick in a board shanty on section 31. The 
first religious services were conducted in 1872 by Rev. 
J. Reese, and the first church, Congregational, was 
built in 1873. 

31 The settlers of Amiret township in 1884 were 
F. S. Woodruff, Joseph Fredenburg, Ephraim Skyhawk, 
Jacob Devens, O. P. Ball, J. W. Drew, H. ('. Maydole, 
Joseph Shake, C. H. Dudrey, James Struthers, H. C. 
Swift, John Curray, A. Nichols, V. O. Covey, W. 
Blackman, P. Devens, John Sherman, J. M. Taylor, 
J. Frost, H. X. Randall, S. F. Rowell, H. Curray 
C. R. Maydole, D. Tucker, J. W. Nichols, B. Nichols, 
James T. Hernan, H. D. Shepherd, T. R. Mathews, 
J. M. Mitchell, J. York, A. D. Lord, G. Harding, 
Hamilton Drake, James Mitchell, P. Ford, C. S. 
Grover, L. D. Grover, William Harrison, G. F. Harding 
and O. W. Walsh. 



HISTORY OF LYOX Coi.'NTY. 



57 



1876, the necessary action was taken 
and the township named. 

The town meeting to effecj an organi- 
zation was held at the home of Peter 
Johnson May 9, L876, when the follow- 
ing were chosen firsl officers: llalvor 
Nyland, chairman; 0. J. Moe and Hans 
Samuelson, supervisors; O. L. Orsen, 
clerk; Andrew Lee, treasurer; Thorbjon 
Huso, assessor; John [lstad and H. P. 
Johnson, justices of the peace; Rasmus 
Hanson and T. H. Opdahl, constats 

Titles to lands in Westerheim were 
granted by the government to the 
following: 

Halvor Aadson (30), Thorbjon Aadson (30), 
R. W. Cavenaugh (22), Mary M. Oliver (8), 
George L. Richardson (34), Johan Olsen Stensrud 
(14), Oscar Thompson (20), S. Hognason (4), 
Jonathan Peterson (4), William Marshall (26), 
Rasmus Hanson (32), Knut Knutson (30), 
Knud T. Thompson (2), Ole Thompson (2), 
SigbjornSigurdson (2),( iudmumler Jonsson (14), 
Elling J. Oxaas (4), Hans Samuelson (12), 
Gunnlaugur Petursson (14), Sander Knudson 
(28), Oluf S. Orson (8), Christopher Christianson 
(24), Ostander Warren (26), Alexander D. Hill 
(26), John Ilstad (30), Hans P. Johnson (20), 
Knud J. Hall (2), Ole L. Orsen (18), Thronel 
H. Opdahl (6), Thorlak Peterson (10), Andrew 
Hellikson (10), Josef Josefsson (8), Knud A. 
Broughton (12), Byrneld L. Leland (20), 
Andus H. Opdahl (34), Ole J. Leland (20), 
Henrik Samuelson (12), John C. Rogde (28), 
Knud Knudson Floe (18), Oliver J. Moe (18), 
Sigmundi Jonathason (10), Vincentius Engels 
(26), Joseph Kenna (22), Magnus M. Strom (6), 
John Kiley (30), Patrick McGinn (28), Francis 
Buysse (34), Bjorn Gislason (10), Elbert F. 
Claflin (28), Carolina Van de Wolstyne (34), 
Henry Van Altvorst (4), Ole Jacobson Moe (18), 
Edward Cassidy (22), Knudt E.. Fodness (6), 
Magnild Orson (18). 33 

VALLERS. 

Vallers township received settlers in 
an early day, and so early as 1873 

32 Westerheim's first birth was a daughter born to 
Mr. and Mrs. John Ilstad in 1874. In June, 1S74, the 
first marriage, a double one, was celebrated — H. A. 
Nyland to Inger Olson and T. A. Huso to Carrie Olson. 
The bride of H. A. Nyland died in September of the 
same year, the death being the first one in the precinct. 
The first school was taught by Knud Fodness in 1877. 

"The residents of Westerheim in 1884 were K. J. 
Hall, S. Sigurdson, Ole Thompson, K. T. Thompson, 
C. Johnson, E. J. Oxaas, John Peterson, S. Hognason, 
Mary Oliver, Oluf Orson, Josef Josefsson, Andrew 
Hellikson, S. Jonathason, Bjorn Gislason, K. A. 
Broughton, Hans Samuelson, Henry Samuelson, John 
Stensrud, E. Fjeldstad, G. Jonsson, G. Petursson, E. 
Bjornson, Walter Walsh, Lars Orson, Ole L. Orsen, 



attempts to bring about local govern- 
ment Were made. One or two elections 
were held to that end, but for some 

reason the government was not per- 
fected. The Comity Board passed the 
necessary enabling act September 21, 
1876, and named the precinct Vallers. 34 

The township began local government 
October 7, 1S76, when the first town 
meeting was held at the home of Ole O. 
Brenna. The officers elected at that 
time were as follows: S. W. Laythe, 
chairman; John Anderson and M. K. 
Snortum, supervisors; Ole O. Brenna, 
Jr., clerk; Ole O. Brenna, Sr., assessor; 
Ole O. Brenna, Jr., justice of the 
peace. 35 

There was considerable University 
land in Vallers and as a result the list 
of those who obtained land titles from 
the government is not so large as in 
most of the other towns. The list is as 
follows: 

Johannes Anderson (6), Norman L. Jones (32), 
Michel Knudson (4), Johan Olsen (4), Ole O. 
Prestegaren (2), Ole Olsen Brenna (4), Nathan 
B. Langdon (34), Ole Anderson (6), Andrew O. 
Anderson (6), Horace C. Bemis (34), Knudt 
Swenson (22), Christian O. Hovde (20), Harvey 
W. Throop (26), J. L. Robinson (26), Casper 
Holter (18), William H. H. Hay ward (30), 
Alexander McNaughton (26), Ole J. Ulland (8), 
Ole Lende (22), Jacob Harpster (32), Olaus 
Hanson (20), Gulik Olsen (2), Louise McMasters 
(34), Lena A. Cliffgard (18), Mary Orson (28), 
Hans A. Solberg (26), August Dieken (32), 
Ole O. Brenna, Jr. (8), Charles A. Butler (28), 
John Discher (28), Severt H. Thorness (28), 
Michael Norton (22), Ole Anderson (6), Ole E. 
Borthus (30), Rasmus J. J. Haaskjold (20), 
Edward E. Ackerman (28), Sven Knudsen Thon 
(20), Martin J. Osnes (18), Einar L. Oftedal 
(26), Ferdinand Wambeke (30), John S. Thon 
(22), Carl G. Anderson (18), Daniel P. Shoe- 

O. J. Moe, B. L. Leland, H. P. Johnson, O. I. Leland, 
E Cassidy, W. Sanden, Alex DeWitt, Chris Johnson, 
William Marshall, J. C. Rogde, F. DeReu, H. A. 
Nyland, Rasmus Hanson, Ole O. Skogen, John Ilstad, 
A. DeZutter, Andrew Lee, D. Van de Norstyne, 
Andrew Opdahl and Van Halsbeck. 

3 4 It is said that Ole O. Brenna, an early settler, was 
responsible for naming the town. His desire was to 
name it Valla, a Norwegian word meaning valley, but 
because of incorrect spelling in the petition or illegi- 
bility the county commissioners made the name read 
Vallers. 

35 John Anderson, born in 1872, was the first child 
born in Vallers. The first death was that of Ole J. 



58 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



maker (34), Andreas S. Malde (2), Thorstein 
Thorseinson (8). 36 



CUSTER. 

Although one of the first settlements 
of Lyon county was located in Custer, 
the township was not "ranted local 
-government until 1876. The County 
Board declared the Township organized 
September 21. 1876, and named it 
Custer. 37 The first town meeting was 
held October 14 and the following were 
elected first officers: L. D. Lewis, 
chairman; W. H. Hughes and William 
Shand, supervisors; B. F. Thomas, clerk 
and treasurer. 38 

The greater part of the early settlers 
of Custer township were Welsh. The 
government granted land titles to the 
following: 

John Avery (10), Milton Cairn (2), Edward 
H. Cutts (26), Jeremiah Evans (14), David E. 
Evans (2), Knute Johnson (1), Ogen Johnson 
(1), Richard Morgan (2), Joseph Wagner (2), 
William W. Harrison (10), Benjamin F. Thomas 
(4). Simon Delong (2), Lafayette Alden (4), 
David E. Griffith (12), George F. Glotfelter (18), 
Andrew Johnson (28), Hugh H. Williams (24 1, 
Nekolai Nilson (28), Edward R. Jones (6), 
Benjamin T. Kirby (6), John T. Bickell (6), 
Andrew A. Xilson (6), William J. Crawford (20), 
John L. Harris (24), Carl Whittmutz, Sr. (20), 
Carl Whittmutz, Jr. (20), Abner G. Bumford 
(22), Richard H. Hughes (12), William Parker 
(30), J. Helleson (28), Peter Fedde (18), Joseph 
Rees (12), Hendrick Peterson (34), Hans M. 
Anderson (8), Solomon Evans (24), James 
Morgan (12), Hugh R. Hughes (14), John E. 
Hughes (14), Tolloff Nelson (34), John P. Jones 
(28), William H. Davy (6), Robert R. Owens 
(26), Thomas L. Harris (24), Andrew Booth (4), 
John S. Owens (26), Frank L. Whiting (32), 

Engen, who died in August. 1877. The first marriage 
ceremony was performed December 23, 1877, and 
united Ole O. Brenna, Jr., to Anna Olson. The first 
school, a private one, was taught by J. L. Robinson in 
1879; the first public school was conducted by Lavina 
Day in 1880 and a school house was built that year. 
Rev. Knud Thorstenson, a Lutheran minister, preached 
the first services in 1877 at the home of Ole O. Brenna. 

3 »According to a list prepared by C. F. Case for his 
History of Lyon County, the following wen- 1 he only 
heads of families living in Wallers in 1884: G. O. 
Aaniat, H. Olson, A. S. .Malde. E. Varpnes, .Michel 
Knudson, Ole O. Brenna, Sr., Andrew O. Anderson, 
John Anderson, Ole Anderson, O. A. Anderson, T. 
Thorsteinson, O. J. I'lland. OlecO. Brenna, Jr., E. S. 
Roti. .1. Roti, I. Olsen, M. J. » >-ne>, O. II. Miller, 
C. O. Hovde, S. K. Thon, R. J. J. Haaskjold, Knudt 
Swenson, Ole Lende, H. A. Solberg, H. W. Throop, 
A. Baldwin, J. L. Robinson. S. II. Thorsness, Ole E. 
Borthus, Mike O'Toole, N. L. Jones, N.,M. Fisk and 
Cox Brothers. 



Lewis P. Jones (2), Landy Soward (32), Hans 
Jacobson (34), Clemet Helleson (34), Daniel 
Willford (22), Knud K. Olsen (22), Andrew 
Green (24), Charles W. Candee (30), Joel A. 
Tucker (30), Lars Nilson (32), James Elliott (18), 
Willard Gifford (18), Heirs David D. Jones (18), 
Benjamin Thomas, Sr. (4), Henry C. Masters 
(10), Torger P. Lien (32), John Whittmus (20), 
Lewis Soward (22), John H. Jones (8), James 
Steele (22), David Morgan (2), Owen R. Owens 
(26), Bengt Swenson (6), Margaret Jones (10), 
Charles A. Anderson (8), Annie S. Cutts (20), 
Sarah M. Randall (11), William Jackson (30). 39 



CLIFTOX. 

The next township we have to con- 
sider in the order of their creation is 
Clifton, which first was entitled to a 
place on the map September 21, 1876. 
At that time the County Board desig- 
nated the new division Edenview, but a 
short time later the name was changed 
to Clifton. Christopher Dillman, a pio- 
neer of the precinct, suggested the 
name. 

The first election to choose officers 
was held at the school house of district 
No. 28 on October 7, 1876, when the 
following were chosen: A. J. Waite, 
chairman; G. P. Ladenburg and Christo- 
pher Dillman. supervisors; II. D. Barnes, 
clerk; C. A. Cook, treasurer; J. A. 
Dillman. assessor; C>. W. Mossman and 
John M. Linn, justices of the peace; 
H. J. Newhouse and W. B. Franklin, 
constables. 40 

The following named persons were 
early settlers of the township and 

37 When plans were first laid for the organization of 
the precinct, in the early summer of 1876, the residents 
proposed to name it Reno, in honor of the general then 
taking a prominent part in the Indian campaign. 
Before the organization was made, however, General 
Custer and his forces had been massacred on the Little 
Big Horn and some blame for that disastrous event 
was attached to General Reno. When the petition 
was presented it asked for the name Custer, in honor 
of the massacred leader of the white forces. 

3S The first school in Custer township was taught by 
Jane Mitchell in INTO in a log school house on section 
2. Rev. Riley, a Methodist minister, conducted the 
first religious services in 1870. The first church 
society, Presbyterian, was organized in 1871 by Rev. 
Joseph Rees and the first church was erected in 1 s; ; 

39 Permanent residents of Custer in 1884 were (',. S. 
Robinson, C. M. Goodrich, David Morgan, E. H. Cutts, 
Simon Delong, B. F. Thomas, B. B. Thomas. Lafayette 
Alden, Andrew Booth, C. A. Anderson, John Avery, 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



59 



secured lands through the homestead 
ami timber culture acts: 

Moses Barnes (6), Joseph C. Brown (34-24), 
Charles A. Cook (6), John F. Constant (18), 
Aaron M. Dudley (32), Walter Dunn (12), 
William B. Franklin (34), John Haghes (30), 
Henry G. Mead (8), Tenbroeck Stout (26), 
Mathew Wilson (4), Charles Marks (2), George 
W. Selover (24), 1). A. Keves (22), Seymour S. 
Sloan (10-4-30), Oliver B. Brown (34), Silas B. 
Wheeler (6), Herman J. Newhouse (8), Newton 
C. Truax (4), Fred Hawkins (28), John M. Linn 
(18), W. S. Rader (34), Botlolf Knudson (6), 
Alfred Mead (10), Winfield W. Mossman (12), 
Louis Stein (30), George Metselder (4), Marcus 
C. Humphrey (14), George W. Mossman (12), 
Jacob Dillman (20), William H. Dillev (24), 
August Adler (10-6), Charles Gary (10), Mary 
Truax (18), Frederick Shake (32-28), Christo- 
pher Dillman (20), James B. Brown (30), 
Benaiah A. Grubb (6), Joseph Pierard (22), 
George Ladenburg (18), Abbott J. Waite (18), 
Edward C. Kieffe (32), August Minneseng (26), 
George W. W. Shaw (22), Dewitt C. Ackcrman 
(10), John W. Blake (30), George C. Dillman 
(20), Julius Freiheit (26), John B. Fairbank 
(14), Edwin S. Reishus (28), James Strange (4), 
William A. . Titus (14), William Castle (26), 
John P. Louis (2), Peter A. Norton (2), Robert 
M. Hassinger (12), George M. Cauffman (34), 
Daniel Kennedy (20). 41 



STANLEY. 

Stanley township has the distinction 
of having been the first in Lyon county 
to boast a permanent white settler, 
T. W. Castor and family having located 
there in 1867. It was settled in the 
early days largely by Scotchmen. A 
petition was presented for the organi- 
zation of the precinct in July, 1873, but 
the Board of County Commissioners de- 

Margaret Jones, W. W. Harrison, James Morgan, 
Joseph Rees, R. H. Hughes, D. C. Griffiths, J. H. 
Cutler, W. H. Hughes, William Shand, J. H. Hughes, 
Peter Fedde, W. W. Gifford, D. D. Jones, James 
Elliott, George I. Glotfelter, Carl Whittmutz, St., 
Carl Whittmutz, Jr., J. W. Whittmutz, James Steele, 
Daniel Willford, K. K. Olson, Lewis Soward, A. G. 
Bumford, T. L. Harris, J. L. Harris, H. H. Williams, 
S. Evans, L. B. Woolfolk, R. R. Owens, O. R. Owens, 
J. S. Owens, E. H. Cutts, J. P. Jones, M. Nelson, John 
Swenson, William Parker, C. W. Candee, Landy 
Soward, Hendrick Peterson, Hans Jacobson, Clemet 
Helleson and Tolloff Nelson. 

40 The first birth in Clifton was that of Laura M. 
Cook, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Cook, born 
October 24, 1872. The first death was that of a child 
of W. B. Franklin, in December, 1878. The first 
school was taught by Ida Mead in 1876. The first 
sermon was preached by Rev. H. C. Simmons, Congre- 
gationalism in 1875, and the first church was organized 
in 1880. 

41 The settlers of Clifton in 1884 were Charles Marks, 
C. J. Spong, William Marks, H. C. Meehl, George 



ferred action, and it was several years 
later when the desired action was taken. 

Stanley was one of four townships 
created on September 21, 1876. At 
that time it was named Delaven, but 
the name was rejected by the state 
auditor, and Stanley was conferred upon 
it December 23, 1876. It was ordered 
that the first town meeting be held on 
October 14, 1876, but the result of the 
election — if one was held — is not known. 
At the election in March, 1877, the 
following officers were chosen: F. B. 
Patterson, chairman; Colin McNiven 
and James dairy, supervisors; D. T. 
Ludwig, clerk; Oliver Patterson, treas- 
urer; Charles Kennedy, assessor; Duncan 
McKinlay and Edward Wilson, justices 
of the peace; Lester Garry and Mr. 
King, constables. 42 

Homesteads and tree claims were 

secured by the following in Stanley 

township: 

Albert Caufman (20), William A. Crooker (28), 
Daniel Monroe (12), William Monroe (2), Ole O. 
Myrvick (20), Duncan McKinlay (4), Thomas 
McKinlay (4), Frank B. Patterson (28), James 
White (2), Peter Brooks (22), James W. Young 
(14), Oliver Patterson (28), David N. Mason 
(34), Charles Kennedy (30), John Russell (10), 
Charles H. Currie (14), Charles E. Higby (32), 
Newton D. Wasson (20), Elizabeth Bosler (14), 
William F. Neill (8), James Garry (10), Mary J. 
Sprague (32), Henry Sprague (32), James F. n. 
Gibb (8-6), Colin McNiven (12), Robert Monroe 
(6), James Dick (8), James McKinlay (4), 
Julia N. Knox (18), Hannah C. Knox (18), 
Fred Beltz (22), George A. Camp (22), George 
Bissett (26), George Hussack (10), Samuel C. 

Metselder, B. Snyder, C. Rock, C. A. Cook, R. D. 
Barnes, B. A. Grubb, H. J. Newhouse, P. I. Truax, 
Henry Mead, August Adler, C. M. Gary, D. C. Acker- 
man, F. H. Fligge, Alfred Mead, B. Hassinger, W. 
Mossman, F. Rowley, \I. C. Humphrey, F. Bedbury, 
G. P. Ladenburg, J. M. Linn, J. Flemming, J. A. 
Dillman, Christopher Dillman, George Dillman, G. W. 
Shaw, D. A. Keys, Joseph Pierard, W. H. Dilly, G. W. 
Selover, J. Durkey, August Minneseng, Julius Freiheit, 
Fred Hawkins, L. Nichols, J. B. Brown, Frederick 
Shake, E. C. Knieff, J. C. Brown and W. S. Rader. 

4 -The first child born in Stanley township was also 
the first child born in Lyon county. He was Hugh \Y . 
Castor, son of T. W. and Marv Castor, and was bora 
September 13, 1867. The first death was that oi 
Charles Knox and occurred in November. L876. The 
first marriage — Daniel Monroe to Harriet White - 
occurred November 12, 1S74. The first school was 
taught in 1875 at the home of James White by Ann 
Monroe; the first school house was built in 1880. The 
first sermon was preached July 13, 1873. at the home 
of C. H. Currie, by Rev. E. Wilson, Methodist. 



60 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY 



Knox (28), George Michie (6), Edward Wilson 
(24), John A. Little (24), Frederick D. McLeod 
(12), Philip Kennedy (26), David H. Tickner 
(28), Charles A. Knox (20), T. Wilson Castor 
(13-24), Robert Heilman (18), Burl Story (32), 
Lester. Garry (10), George Marron (20), Martin 
Christensen (24), Nelson F. Frary (26), Robert 
W. Dick (4), Jane Glashan (6), Peter White 
(10), William W. Rich (30). 43 



SODUS. 

The township which is now designated 
Sodus was created by the Board of 
County Commissioners October 9, 1876, 
and named Martin. The name was re- 
jected by the state auditor because a 
township in Rock county bore that 
name, and on December 13, 1876, the 
name Sodus was bestowed by the County 
Board. The new name had been se- 
lected by ballot by the voters of the 
new town. 

The first town meeting was held at 
the home of Nathan Warn on October 
27, 1876, when the following were 
selected first officers: Elezer Hall, chair- 
man; Carage Fisher and Daniel Warn, 
supervisors; W. H. Chaffee, clerk; G. 
Sykes, treasurer; Nathan Warn and 
J. H. Clark, justices of the peace; Oscar 
W. Pangburn and W. G. Williams, con- 
stables. 44 

The government granted titles to land 
to early day residents of Sodus as fol- 
lows : 

J. C. Bateman (12), Alex Doig (34), Elezer 
Hall (24), Robert Marshall (30), William Neill 
(30), Knude Olson (30), William Shepard (32), 
Ephraim Warn (22), Albert Wienke (26;, 
Henry J. Young (24), Thomas F. Watson (8), 
Sylvester A. Horton (20), Levi Craig (14), 

43 Farmers residing in Stanley township in 1884 
were J. McFagen, James White, William Monroe, John 
Garry, W. Stewart, Thomas McKinlay, Duncan 
McKinlay, George Michie, Jane Glashen, G. Lowe, 
J. F. Gibb, W. T. Neill, James Dick, James Garry, 
John Russell, R. Cavanaugh, John Noble, C. H. Currie, 
T. Savage, E. Basler, W. Warnke, H. Wenholz, Mrs. 
G. Palmer, Mrs. Heskett, Julia N. Knox, H. G. Heil- 
man, Robert Heilman, Newton Wasson, H. Lovelace, 

C. A. Knox, George Camp, Fred Beltz, Mrs. W. Wilson, 
Philip Kennedy, George Bissett, H. D. Tickner, S. S. 
Knox, C. E. Patterson, William W. Rich, T. D. Ludwig, 
Charles Kennedy, Charles Higby, H. J. Sprague and 

D. N. Mason. 

44 Mr. and Mrs. Henry Cuyle, who were the first 
settlers of the precinct, were the parents of the first 
child born in Sodus. The first death was that of 
Tollef Olson in September, 187.3, and his funeral, 



David Davis (34), William R, Griffiths (34), 
Thomas J. Hicks (6), William Marshall (20), 
William G. Williams (28), Thomas Edwards (34), 
Daniel W. Shilliam (18), Carlos E. Marsh (18), 
George J. Cook (26), David E. Clark (8), Konrad 
Lorenz (26), Tollef Olson (28), Anton Lorenz 
(26), Carage Fisher (4), Andrew Purves (12), 
Jacob D. Eastman (10), Henry Ford (30), 
Wilhelm Langhorst (14), Harrison Barnes (6), 
A. J. Estee (10), Enos Warn (22), Martin Lee 
(28), Arnold R. Chace (14), Adelia Berry (2), 
Nicholas Minns (6), Edward J. Roberts (34), 
William H. Chaffee (4), John B. Northrup (32), 
William H. Estee (14), Manlv M. Curtiss (IS), 
Hugh Neill (20), Robert Neill (30), John H. 
Clark (4), William Bolander (24), Lucy A. 
Swain (28), William Berry (2), William N. 
Shequen (32), August F. T. Giske (10), Orville 
Pangburn (4), Henrv Van Schaick (18), Archi- 
bald Downie (18), Heirs Samuel Whitten (12), 
Charles E. Caley (6), Ezra Warn (22), John C. 
Taylor (22), Freeborn L. Austin (10), Oscar VY. 
Pangburn (12), John Ritchie (2), Mathud Steel 
(2), Dana P. Sawyar (20), Heirs Olof Anderson 
(32), John J. Olsen (32), John Vogtman (14), 
Reuben Johnson (8), William Neill (30). 45 



ROCK LAKE. 

Rock Lake township derives its name 
from the beautiful little body of water 
of the same name that lies within its 
boundaries. The lake was so named by 
the early settlers on account of the 
character of its banks, which in some 
places are walled up with boulders. 

The township was created October 9, 
1876. The first town meeting was held 
October 26 at the school house in 
district No. 18 (now district No. 60). 
The following were the first officers: 
William Livingston, chairman; William 
H. Hamm and James Abernathy, super- 
visors; A. N. Daniels, clerk; G. W. 
Linderman, treasurer; J. F. Crunch, 
assessor; J. A. Van Fleet and Lucius 

conducted by Rev. Joseph Rees, was the first religious 
service in the township. Miss Frances Mason taught 
the first school in 1877 in a private house. 

45 The 1884 residents of Sodus were Mathud Steel, 
William Berry, J. McCudden, John Ritchie, Carage 
Fisher, W. H. Chaffee, Orville Pangburn, John Clark, 
Mr. Maxson, Harrison Barnes, C. E. Caley, Mr. Gray, 
Nicholas Minus, T. J. Hicks, D. E. Clark, E. Clark, 
A. R. Johnson, T. F. Watson, Henry Estee, C E. 
Marsh, D. W. Shilliam, W. L. Thurston, Hugh Neill, 
Nathan Warn, J. C. Taylor, D. Warn, William Hull, 
A. R ; Chace, J. Scott, B. Ford, George J. Cook, Albert 
Wienke, Konrad Lorenz, Anton Lorenz, J. N. Lawshe, 
W. G. Williams, Robert Neill, William Neill, Robert 
Marshall, Henry Ford, A. Anderson, William Shequen, 
A. C. Forbes, Thomas Edwards, John Griffiths, William 
Griffiths and N. Davis. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



61 



Town, justices of the peace; E. I!. Weeks 

and Archie Mc\al>l>. constables. 48 

Land titles were granted to the fol- 
lowing' named early settlers of Rock 

Lake township: 

Carl Gustaf Bengts (32), James F. Crunch (6), 
Edgar W. Gifford (24), John \Y. Lester (30), 
William Livingston (30), Lucius Nichols (20), 
C. L. Osborn (8), Orville E. Persons (6), S. S. S. 
Spink (24), P. E. Terry (IS), R. E. Town (22), 
John M. Johnson (32), Chester H. Bullock (10), 
Archie McNabb (14), Alvah S. Town (22), 
Emily A. Glotfelter (14), George Carlaw (6), 
George W. Root (12), Reuben \Y. Taylor (18), 
Clark Town (28), Henry L. Gifford (26), Emery 
Hamm (10), Elbert M. Hamm (34), O. S. 
Carlisle (12), Johann Gatz (2), ( >lof O. Lof (34), 
Donald Mclnnes (28), Marvin S. Odekirk (2), 
William H. Hamm (24), Lucius Town (22), 
Edson R. Weeks (18), James Abernathy (8), 
Nils Truedsson (32), Julius A. Town (22), 
George B. Gifford (14), Thomas L. Terry i20), 
Patrick Russell (30), James B. Gibbons (12), 
Nathaniel Terry (28), John McKay (4), John K. 
Penhale (2(5), 'Heirs Hiram C. Howard (28), 
George W. Linderman (8), Joseph Ciesielski (4), 
William H. Trotter (24), John A. Van Fleet (4), 
Theodor J. Skaug (30), A. Hilmer Anderson (18), 
Margery J. Browned (24), Absalom L. Wright 
(20), Frederick Lachman (2). 47 

ISLAND LAKE. 

Within the borders of Island Lake 
township are a number of lakes. One 
of these is called Island lake, from the 
fact that in it is an island, about two 
and one-half acres in extent, covered 
with a growth of natural timber. The 
lake furnished the name for the town- 
ship. 

Island Lake township was set apart 
for organization September 20, 1878, 

46 A son of Archie McNabb was the first child born 
in Rock Lake township. The first death was that of 
George A. Glotfelter on June 21, 18,78. C. M. Eichler 
and Cora Hamm were the first couple married in the 
precinct; they were married in October, 1879, by 
O. E. Persons, justice of the peace. The first school 
was taught by Miss Katie Glenn in 1876. The first 
sermon was preached by Rev. Joseph Rees in the fall 
of 1873. 

47 In 1884 the following had homes in Rock Lake 
township: Frederick Lachman, J. Golts, T. Luedke, 
G. Golts, M. S. Fawcett, J. A. Van Fleet, Mrs. Crouch, 
George Carlaw, O. E. Persons, James Abernethy, G. W. 
Linderman, J. O'Garee, G. W. Rowe, George W. Root, 
M. Randall, O. S. Carlisle, J. W. Wolverton, Archie 
McNabb, C. A. Glotfelter, E. R. Weeks, R. W. Taylor, 
S. Flint, T. L. Terry, O. E. Merriman, Lucius Town, 
Mrs. McErlain, A. S. Town, Nils Truedsson, E. W. 
Gifford, Mrs. W. H. Trotter, William Hamm, J. H. 
Moore, H. L. Gifford, A. W. Bean, Clark Town, H. C. 
Howard, Nathaniel Terry, Patrick Russell, T. J. 
Skaug, J. M. Johnson, C. G. Bengts, O. O. Lof, E. M. 
Hamm and J. P. Davis. 



but the town was not organized until 
the following March. The first officers 
were: Robert Gardner, chairman; La- 
fayette Grow and George George, super- 
visors; J. R. King, clerk and assessor; 
D. A. Kennedy, treasurer; J. H. Sykes, 
constable. 48 

To government land in the township 
of Island Lake the following were 
granted title: 

J. C. Beach (34), Charles J. Falk (34), John 
R. King (34), Lafayette Grow (6), Daniel W. 
Kennedy (26), Gunder Gunderson (4), Daniel 
1). Sanning (14), August T. Muhl (2), Heirs 
Samuel M. Van Buren (22), Albert Pochardt 
(32), August Polesky (22). Thomas H. Russell 
(26), John H. Sykes (22), John Fowlds (32), 
Kittle Folkvanson (4), Charles Bohlman (22), 
Halvor Olson Kaas (4), Robert Gardner (28), 
Sarah E. Wyant (28), Johan Albrecht (20), 
Enon Rolph (12), Mary E. Cornish (12), George 
George (24), Ole Willman (18), Richard W. 
Phillips (14), Henry K. Furgeson (10), Johan 
Hjalmar Petterson (26), James M. McDonald 
(18), Henry Nelson (8), Moses N. Roberts (8), 
Jacob Wilson (10), Edward H. Barnes (24), 
Peter Furgeson (4), Isaac Robinson (2), Duncan 
A. Kennedy (28), Jens P. Christensen (12), 
Edwin O. Baker (10), Presley Fuel (28), Carl 
Pochart (24), Asa R. Snow (6), Peder Jacobsen 
(2), John Olson Estol (2), Herbert R. Welsford 
(30), August Kalson (8), Homer Sparks (14), 
Valgedor Johnson (18), Martin Furgeson (10), 
Ole Furgeson (2), Henri Kerzmann (20), Edgar 
F. Tibbits (6), Theodor Jacobsen (8), Milton R, 
Beach (34), Owen Morris (20), Jes Paulsen (12), 
Elizabeth S. Prosser (2), Richard Phillips (14), 
Gottfried Steller (26), Charles F. Tibbits (8), 
Anders Anderson (18), John Hellvig (32). 49 



SHELBURNE. 

Shelburne township was not settled 
rapidly in the early days, due princi- 

4S The first children born in Island Lake township 
were a child born to the first wife of John R. King in 
1871 and Ethel Hodgkins. The first marriage was that 
of John R. King to Elizabeth Milner on December 24, 
1878. The first school was taught by Ada Kennedy 
in 1879. The first religious services were conducted 
at the home of John R. King by a Rev. Dewey from 
Chicago. 

49 There were living in Island Lake township in 188 I 
the following: August Muhl, John Olson, Peder 
Jacobsen, Ole Furgeson, John Wilson, Peter Furgeson, 
K. Furgeson, Halvor Olson, G. Rue, B. Knutson, 
E. F. Tibbits, Lafayette Grow, A. R. Snow, C. F. 
Tibbits, Theodor Jacobsen, M. W. Roberts, Henry 
Nelsen, Martin Furgeson, H. K. Furgeson, Jacob 
Wilson, Jes Paulsen, Mary Cornish, Enon Rolph, 
J. P. Christensen, George " Boston, R. W. Phillips, 
John Lanning, Richard Phillips, Homer Sparks, ('. 
Willman, M. McDonald, John Albright, Owen Morris, 
Charles Bohlman, John Dyke, W. Van Buren, Paul 
Polasky, Carl Pochart, E. H. Barnes, George George, 
J. H. Petterson, T. H. Russell, D. W. Kennedy, l>. A. 
Kennedy, Robert Gardner, S. Freese, John Fowlds, 
Albert Pochart, J. C. Beach, C. J. Falk and J. R. King 



62 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



pally to its distance from railroad 
points, and its organization was con- 
siderably delayed. The County Board 
took the necessary action to make it an 
organized township on August 19, 1879. 
and the first town meeting was held at 
the home of C. P. McCann on September 
6 of the same year. 

The first officers of Shelburne town- 
ship were as follows: C. P. McCann. 
chairman; D. A. Aurandt and W. F. 
Randall, supervisors; W. N. Olin, clerk; 
Erick Peterson, treasurer; F. W. How- 
aid, assessor; E. F. Dickson and H. P. 
Sanden, justices of the peace; C. P. 
Howard and Andrew Gilbertson, con- 
stables. 50 

The following is a complete list of all 
persons who received patents to lands 
in Shelburne township under the home- 
stead and timber culture acts: 

John M. Burke (16), Charles B. Fellows (24), 
D. F. Kelley (2), David Alexander Aurandt (26), 
Erick Peterson (26), Allen Spink (2), Nelson R. 
Crouch (14), Charles M. Eichler (2), William 
Shafer (14), Hendrik Jorgenson (30), Cornelius 
Pederson Myran (20), Winslow N. Olin (14), 
Lyman E. Fellows (24), Even Anderson (30), 
Clarence E. Dean (4), Clement McCann (22), 
Peder Anderson (20), Hans P. Sanden (20), 
Pat McGinnis (34), John Pederson Myran (18), 
Frederick W. Howard (22), Nils A. Hommer- 
burg (26), Andrew Peterson (32), Edwin F. 
Dickson (24), Andreas G. Hungerud (6), John 
Murphy (14), Ragnhild Olson (2), Christopher 
Johnson (20), Paul K. Ronning (32), N. Lilya- 
quest Johnson (34), Heirs Sigre Johansen 
Gorseth (26), Ole Kjelson (6), William Shaw 
(18), Charles E. Carlson (30), Carl F. Olson 
Green (32), Frans Wilhelm Ceder (32), Bore 
Larsen (4), Ralph Hatten (22), Peter Johnson 
(34). 51 

COON CREEK. 

The last township to take up the 
burdens of township government was 

s0 Peter Ronning, son of Mr. and Mrs. Erick Ronning, 
born June 27, 1873, was the first child born in Shel- 
burne. The first school was taught by Miss Sadie 
Bartlett in 1881. The first religious services were 
conducted in the fall of 1876 by Rev. Egland, a Nor- 
wegian Lutheran minister. 

51 The farmers of Shelburne township in 1S84 were 
Allen Spink, John Olson, C. E. Dean, W. F. Randall, 
P. Simenson, Ole Kjelson, A. G. Hungerud, W. H. 
Shafer, W. N. Olin, John Murphy, E. K. Ronning, 
J. P. Myran, H. P. Sanden, Cornelius Peterson Myran, 
Filer Anderson, Christopher Johnson, C. P. McCann, 
P, McDowell, Ralph Hatton, E. F. Dickson, C. B. 



Coon Creek. Its settlement in the early 
days was slow, principally on account 
of so much of its territory being taken 
up by school and University lands, as 
well as railroad lands. Its settlement 
was meager until the early eighties, but 
it has now developed into one of the 
most densely populated farming town- 
ships of the county. 

The people of the township presented 
a petition to the Board of County Com- 
missioners January 4. 1882, asking for 
the creation of the township with the 
name of Garfield, in honor of the 
martyred president. The commissioners 
took action on the matter, but as one 
township in the state already bore the 
name Garfield, the commissioners be- 
stowed upon it the name of Stowe. 
Provision was made for holding the fir>T 
town meeting at the home of Louis 
Larson on March 7. but for some reason 
the people neglected the matter and 
Stowe township was never organized. 

The matter of the organization of the 
township was again taken up July 17, 
1883, when the commissioners named 
the precinct Coon Creek 52 and desig- 
nated the home of William Lamon as 
the place and August 4, 1883, as the 
date for holding the first town meeting. 

Following is a list of the first officers 
of Coon Creek township: Frank P. 
Willard, chairman; C. A. Johnson and 
John E. Johnson, supervisors; G. O. 
Rask, clerk; Louis Larson, treasurer; 
William Lamon and Christian Cupp, 
justices of the peace; J. F. Mungerson, 
constable. 53 

Fellows, Erick Peterson, N. A. Hommerburg, Sigrid 
Gorseth, D. A. Aurandt, Hendrik Jorgenson, E. A. 
Blegen, M. L. Blegen, E. K. Ronning, I. L. Blegen, 
Pat McGinnis, X. Lilaquest and J. Limblum. 

52 The township was named from the creek, and 
there is also a Dead Coon lake just over the boundary 
line in Lincoln county. It is said that the latter was 
named by a corps of surveyors in the early days, they 
having found a dead coon on the bank of the lake. 

i3 The first child born in Coon Creek township was 
William Sharrett, son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Sharrett, 
born at the home of D. S. Burt in 1870. The first 



lllsTnliV OF LYON COUNTY. 



.;:; 



The only titles to homestead and 

timber claims in Coon Creek township 

wore granted to the following: 

Mattic E. Brown (30), Dallas S. Burt (24), 
Benry B. Bodgekins (22), Charles A. Johnson 
(2), William Shaw (30), Frederick Ehde (24), 
Gustaf Rask (8), Peter Lehnertz (6), christian 
Cupp (6), Samuel Johnson (22), Suis Suison (18), 
John Johnson (18), William B. Milner (8), 

death, thai of a baby of Mr. and Mrs. Burt, occurred 
in November, 1876. The firs! marriage occurred 
November 28, L877, the contracting parties being 
Thomas Milner and Ella Knapp. The first Bermon 
was preached by Rev. Ransom Wail in 1875. 

6*The farming population of Coon Creek township 
in issi, one year after its organization, consisted of 



William Lamon (20), Johann Siemer 
William McCarthy (12), William P. Rogers (2), 
Beirs Amelia Lichte (12), Edward Lichte (12), 
David S. Phillips (22), Arthur A. Joy (20), 
Rasmus C. Rakteirrud (18), Augusta Schellin 
(12), William Milner (10), John F. Mungerson 
(2), William Joy (20), James B. Laurie (4), 
Berbert Sykes (20), Louis Larson (18), Bans 
Gilbertson (6), John J. McDonald (30), Nils 
Anderson (2), Frederick Welsand (8). 54 

the following: .1. F. Mungerson, 15. F. Bement, Nils 
Aii.lci-.~on. t\ A. John-. .a, \Y. M. Rice, F. Porter, 
Johann Siemer, 1'. Senerty, Christian Cupp, M. .Milner, 
Gustaf Rask, W. W. Eferrick, F. Willard, A. Johnson, 
William McCarthy, John Cleland, Louis Larson, John 
Johnson, \ \ Joy, T. -low William Lamon, .1. Fuller, 
I.. Hildreth, II. H. Hodgekins, D. S. Hurt, Frederick 
Ihde, R. Taylor and .1. .1. McDonald. 



CHAPTER IV. 



EARLY SETTLEMENT (Continued)— 1870-1873. 



WHEN Lyon County was organ- 
ized in the summer of 1870 the 
only portions settled to any 
extent were along the Redwood river in 
the townships of Lyons, Lynd and Lake 
Marshall, and along the Cottonwood 
river in the townships of Custer and 
Amiret. There were a few families in 
the northern part of the county, and a 
few of the other townships boasted 
a family or two. When the federal 
census of 1870 was taken, about the 
time the county was organized, the total 
number of men, women and children 
residing in the present counties of Lyon 
and Lincoln was 268 — about as many as 
now reside in the village of Russell! 1 

There were a number of new comers 
during 1870. Those who had come in a 
party the year before and taken claims 
returned and brought a few others with 
them, arriving Ju e 1. The permanent 
settlers thus acquired were C. H. Whit- 
ney, C. H. Upton, PI G. Bascomb, 
O. A. Hawes, R. Waterman, Moses 
Fifield and Mendell Fifield, who had 
been out the year before; Dr. G. W. 
Whitney, Z. O. Titus and John N. 

l Lyon county was not recognized as a separate 
division by the census takers of 1870, but was included 
in Redwood county. Lynd precinct, which probably 
included the settled portions of Lyon and Lincoln 
counties, was listed as containing 268 persons. Of 
these, 235 were native born (including two Indians) 
and 33 were of foreign birth. The population of 
Redwood county in 1870 was 1829, divided as follows: 
Lac qui Parle, 307; Lynd, 268; Redwood Falls, 691;- 



Johnson, who came with them and 
settled in Lynd; and John Snyder and 
William Ramsey, who took homes near 
Lake Benton. All these built sod shan- 
ties and most of them had families with 
them. 

Among the other arrivals of 1N70 were 
A. C. Tucker and M. A. Tucker, who 
located in Lynd; George R. Welch, who 
became a resident of Lake Marshall 
township; William S. Reynolds and 
Joseph Carter, who became the first 
settlers of Fairview; Daniel Monroe, 
who settled in Stanley; Frederick Hol- 
ritz, the first settler in the township of 
Nordland; Rev. Williams and John II. 
King, who were the first to make homes 
in Island Lake; and D. S. Burt, the fir.-i 
settler of Coon Creek. 

In the fall of 1870 a postoffice named 
Marshall was established at the home of 
C. H. Whitney on section 4. Lake 
Marshall township, and that gentleman 
served as postmaster until the village 
of Marshall was founded. 

Another event of the year was the 
establishment of a store by Dr. G. Y\ . 
Whitney. He opened it in September 

Sheridan, 111; Sherman, 67; Yellow Medicine, 385. 
It is apparenl that the precincts of Redwood Falls 
Sheridan and Sherman were in the presenl Redwood 
county, that Lac qui Parle included tin- settled portions 
of the county which now bears that name, thai Yellow 
Medicine precinct included the settled portions - 
present county bearing the same name, and that Lynd 
precinct included the presenl counties <>t Lyon and 
Lincoln. 



66 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



in the old log building on section 33, 
Lynd, the building that had served as 
James W. Lynd's trading post in the 
early days and in which later Luman 
Ticknor conducted a hotel. Later Dr. 
"Whitney erected a store building in 
Lower Lynd and conducted the store 
there. Later still the Whitney store 
passed into the hands of Z. O. Titus 
and John N. Johnson. 

In 1870 also came the first Indian 
scare. It was rumored that the Indians 
living to the west threatened to make a 
raid on the settlement at Lynd and 
excitement ran high. On May 24 a 
meeting of the settlers was held at the 
home of Luman Ticknor, of which C. F. 
"Wright was chairman and T. T. Pierce 
secretary. At the meeting it was the 
opinion that danger threatened and a 
militia company was formed, the mem- 
bers signing a paper which read: "We, 
the undersigned, agree to enlist in a 
company of state militia for the defense 
of our settlement and state." The fol- 
lowing officers were elected: James 
Cummins, captain; M. V. Davidson, first 
lieutenant; C. E. Goodell, second lieu- 
tenant; A. D. Morgan, orderly sergeant; 
C. E. Taylor, sergeant; W. Herrick, A. 
McGandy, P. Ki-ltz and W. Kiel, cor- 
porals. The captain was instructed to 
send to the adjutant general for arms 
and ammunition and to request that the 
Spencer rifle and one hundred rounds of 
cartridges to each man be sent. 

Ha-Ka, a trusted Indian, was in the 

-The Marshall News-Messenger published the fol- 
lowing interview with G. M. Durst in 1910: 

"He [Mr. Durst] recalls that he and the late Charles 
Bellingham and the latter's father immigrated to Lyon 
county together, from Fillmore county. They came 
with an ox team and camped on the present site of 
Marshall on the night of May 25, 1871. There were 
then but two settlers on the ground which was later 
to be built up into a modern little city — C. H. Whitney 
and C. H. Upton. They located in the summer of 
1869 on the southeast and northeast quarters of section 
4 and built sod houses on the east side of the river. 
With the Bellingham-Durst party also came another 
ox team from Fillmore county with two young men, 
Charles Bastion and Calvin Shipton. . . . 

"Two or three, days after their arrival the Belling- 
hams and Durst took their homesteads three miles 



settlement and promised to notify the 
settlers in case of danger. The scare 
soon died out and the organization of 
the militia company was not perfected. 

Among the arrivals to Lyon county in 
1871 were the following: G. M. Durst, 
C. T. Bellingham, Charles Bellingham, 
Milo Morse, Oren Drake, Mrs. U. S. 
Stone, Josiah Clark, Charles Bastion, 
Calvin Shipton, Charles Van Fleet and 
the Bean Brothers to Lake Marshall 
township; 2 0. C. Gregg, L. A. Gregg, 
Christian Nelson, P. I. Pierce and G. W. 
Pierce to Lynd; Ransom Wait, M. S. 
Fawcett and O. S. Carlisle to Lyons; 
John W. Elliott, Reuben Henshaw, 
Henry Gibbs and Richard Gates to 
Fairview; O. M. McQuestion to Grand- 
view; A. O. Strand to Nordland; Nils 
Torgerson, Swend Peterson and Ole 
Esping to Eidsvold; Halvor A. Nyland 
and Thorbjin Aadson to Westerheim; 
William H. Slater, R. H. Price, Allend 
Christianson, Peter Oliason, E. T. 
Hamre, Hans Dahl and James Wardrop 
to Lucas; Lafayette Grow and Mr. Fort 
to Island Lake; J. R. Burgett, H. H. 
Hodgkins and F. T. Burt to Coon Creek; 
E. *K. Ronning, C. P. Myran and 
Christopher Johnson to Shelburne; A. 
McNabb and George H. Thurston to 
Rock Lake; Henry Cuyle to Sodus; 
S. S. Truax to Amiret; David Stafford, 
E. W. Healy, George White and Rees 
Price to Monroe. 

The Lynd settlement continued to be 
the social, political and business center 

south from Marshall, on section 20, Lake Marshall 
township. A few days later Josiah Clark, the Bean 
boys and Charley Van Fleet put in an appearance, 
and about the same time Milo Morse, Mrs. U. S. Stone 
and Oren Drake. Morse and Mrs. Stone had filed on 
the southwest and northwest cjuarters of section 4. 

"Milo Morse had a 'bee' that summer and Mr. Durst 
remembers that he was one of the party who helped 
at the 'bee' to put up the first sod shanty on the 
original site of Marshall, which was laid out in the 
center of section 4. The sod shanties of Messrs. 
Whitney and Upton were on the other side of the 
river, just outside the first plat, though part of the 
Whitney land was in the original plat and was all 
subsequently included in the village. The Morse sod 
house was east of the river, between Main Street ami 
the Northwestern tracks." 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



67 



of the county. It was still the most 
Thickly settled part and in it were the 
county's capital, the only business 
houses, and the only place that could 
by any stretch of the imagination be 
termed a village. 

One of the important events of 1871 
was the establishment, at Upper Lynd, 
of the county's second store by Rev. 
W. T. Ellis. The store was quite a 
pretentious affair, considering its dis- 
tance from the railroad and the sparsely 
settled country from which it drew 
trade. It was later moved to Lower 
Lynd, some two miles down the river. 3 

Although the population of the county 
was still very small, the year 1871 wit- 
nessed the founding of two villages in 
the Lynd settlement, about two miles 
apart — Upper Lynd, on the south side 
of the Redwood river, on the southeast 
quarter of section 33, about one and 
one-half miles above the present village 
of Lynd; and Lower Lynd, also on the 
Redwood river, about one-half mile- 
northwest of the modern village of 
Lynd. 

The village of Upper Lynd had been 
started earlier by A. W. Muzzy, already 
had a hotel and postoffice, was the 
county seat, and for a time had boasted 
a store. The plat of Lynd — commonly 
referred to as Upper Lynd — was platted 
by William T. Ellis and George C. Smith 
in the fall of 1871, the site having been 
surveyed by T. G. Morrill on August 22. 

3 "The older citizens of the county will remember 
Ellis as a character. Governed mostly by impulse, he 
was always ready to preach a sermon, run horses for 
the whisky, conduct a Sunday School, or beat his best 
friend in a trade. While here he was an energetic, 
fervid, effervescent citizen who did considerable to 
build up the church and secular interests of Lynd and 
develop its latent possibilities. He opened a store at 
Lynd and bought goods for it sufficient to stock 
several such settlements. His goods had to be brought 
in by team from New Ulm and were caught in a heavy 
rainstorm on the way. It is said the dried apples 
swelled so that all the other goods in that load were 
shoved overboard. His load of codfish, bought at ton 
rates, probably on time, had to be spread over the 
hills of Lynd to dry till the air of that settlement, it 
is claimed, reached the Flandreau Indians and seventy 
bucks went on the warpath, thinking they smelled the 
camp of another tribe." — Case's History of Lyon 
County. 



After a short career the village suc- 
cumbed to its more prosperous rival 
down the river, lost the county seat, 
postoffice and store, and in time became 
good farming land. Lower Lynd was 
laid out in June, 1871, by A. R. Cummins 
and A. D. Morgan. Levi S. Kiel and 
A. D. Morgan built a hotel on the site 
and the latter opened a store. After 
the fall of its up-river rival Lower Lynd 
became the leading town of Lyon 
county. ' 

The first church building in the 
county was erected by the Methodists 
early in 1871. It was located on M. V. 
Davidson's claim, the northeast quarter 
of section 33, Lynd. The building was 
of logs, had a shake roof, and the floor 
was of earth. Rev. C. F. Wright 
preached the first sermon in the building. 

Although a school, supported by sub- 
scription, had been conducted so early 
as 1869, school districts were not organ- 
ized or public schools conducted until 
1871. Districts No. 1 and 2 were 
created by the Board of County Com- 
missioners on March 15, 1871. The 
former included sections 20 to 29, in- 
clusive, and 32 to 36, inclusive, in the 
township of Lynd; the latter included 
all of Lyons and Rock Lake townships. 5 

An event of the greatest importance 
to Lyon county at the time and bearing 
directly on its whole future history was 
the building, in 1872, of the Winona & 
St. Peter railroad — now a branch of the 

4 For a more complete history of these villages the 
reader is referred to chapter 16. 

5 Other early day school districts were as follows: 

No. 3 (created April 4, 1871) — Amiret, Sodus, Custer 
and Monroe townships. 

No. 4 (created May 16, 1S71) — The eight northern 
townships of Lyon county. 

No. 5 (created May 16, 1S71) — The six southern 
townships of Lincoln county. 

No. 6 (created January 2. 1872) — In Lincoln county. 

No. 7 (created January 2, 1872)— The southern half 
of Lake Marshall township. 

No. 8 (created January 2, 1872)— The northern halt 
of Lake Marshall township and the southern tier of 
townships of Fairview township. 

No. 9 (created June 1, 1S72)— Ten and one-hall 
sections in northeastern Lynd and northwestern Lake 
Marshall townships. 



68 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



Northwestern system. To aid in the 
construction of the road the government 
gave to the company the odd-numbered 
sections of land for a distance of twenty 
miles on each side of its line, so that 
one-half the lands of Lyon county were 
withdrawn from homestead entry and 
passed into the possession of the railroad 
company. 6 

The line was run diagonally across 
the county from southeast to northwest. 
The rails were laid into the county in 
1872, a construction train reached the 
site of Marshall on October 12, but the 
line was not operated until the spring 
of 1873. 

The building of the railroad had a 
wonderful effect upon the settlement of 
Lyon county. A country into which a 
railroad is building is not destined long 
to remain a frontier region and during 
the whole of the year 1872 immigrants 
poured in and took claims in every 
precinct. 7 Sod shanties and little frame 
shacks dotted the prairies in theretofore 
unsettled portions. 8 The village of Mar- 
shall was founded and rapidly grew into 
the most populous and important center 
of the county. 

Because there was this big immigra- 
tion and the whole order of things was 
changed, it must not be imagined that 
the country was developed in a day. 

"This land grant undoubtedly brought the railroad 
several years sooner than would have been the case 
otherwise and for the time being aided materially in 
the settlement of the county. But a little later, when 
all the government lands had been filed upon and 
settlers were passing through the county to locate 
upon the free lands in Dakota, it was found that the 
grant was a decided drawback to the settlement of the 
county. For several years the railroad lands were not 
placed on the market; when they were they sold for 
from six to fifteen dollars per acre. 

7 Among the arrivals of 1872 were Jacob A. H. Dahl, 
John Krog, Ole O. Brenna, Michael Knudson, A. 
Malde. Knud O. Dovre, T. O. Loftsgaarden, Ole O. 
Myrvik, Lars J. Jerpbak, Sam Hanson, Charles Ander- 
son, Sven H. Jeremiassen, Nils N. Myre, T. I. Trana, 
Nels Gregerson, Ole O. Nordby, T. J. Barber, Selden 
Coleman, James Butson, L. E. Bates, Jacob Thomas, 
James M. English, A. L. Baldwin, J. A. Brown, H. G. 
Howard, Thomas Lindsay, Frank D. Wasson, Duncan 
McKinlay, S. B. Wheeler, J. A. Dillman, R. D. Barnes, 
C. A. Cook, G. P. Ladenburg, C. H. Richardson, 
Joseph Sanders, John Ward, S. Webster, W. M. Todd, 
J. W. Blake, S. V. Groesbeck, J. A. Hunter, J. K. 
Johnson, Mathew Steele, W. G. Hunter, Andrew 



Almost without exception the early 
settlers of the county were poor in this 
world's goods; they came to secure free 
land and build themselves homos in the 
new country. Most of the arrivals of 
1872 came too late in the season to 
break their lands and put in a crop, and 
consequently there was not a large 
harvest. 

Only 676 acres of land — a little more 
than one section — were planted to crop 
in 1872 in the whole territory now 
embraced in the counties of Lyon and 
Lincoln. Of these 342 acres were in 
wheat, 98 in oats, 167 in corn, 6 in 
barley, 13 in buckwheat, 45 in potatoes 
and 5 in beans. From this acreage were 
produced 6690 bushels of wheat, 38S9 
of oats, 5274 of corn, 165 of barley. 3651 
of potatoes, and 88 of beans. There 
were also put up 2574 tons of wild hay. 
The dairy products consisted of 7166 
pounds of butter and 4850 pounds of 
cheese. There were less than 500 head 
of cattle and only ninety sheep in the 
county in 1872, according to the assess- 
ors' figures. 

Except for the fact that the prairies 
became dotted with tin 1 homes of 
settlers, it was largely the same virgin 
territory it had always been. The game 
lover found himself in a paradise. 
Birds abounded. There were ducks, 

Hamm, Joshua Goodwin, E. B. Jewett, Walter Wake- 
man, J. W. Williams, W. 'Coleman, D. P. Billings, 
Stanley Addison, J. A. Coleman, Andrew Barrett, 
Thomas McNeil, W. M. Pierce, L. B. Nichols, Lyman 
Turner, N. Wilkins, C. Mehan, Daniel Farquhar, 
B. F. Link, George Link, H. P. Sanden, J. W. Hoag- 
land, M. M. Hoagland, Samuel W. Galbraith, Edson 
Weeks, Orval Persons, Noble Cuyle, H. Drake, J. L. 
Craig, Louis Rialson, Ole Rialson, E. L. Starr, Edward 
Glynn, Ole Andersen, Ole Helgeson, Andrew Chris- 
tensen, Kittle Christopherson, David Morgan, William 
H. Hamm, Emery Hamm, G. W. Linderman, C. 
Osborn, J. W. Lester, J. A. Van Fleet, J. T. Crouch, 
A. S. Town, Lucius Town, Lina Bishop, Loliff Olson, 
Henry G. Mead, Hugh Neill, William .Will, David 
Clark, H. O. Clark, John H. Clark, George R. Wat kins 
and S. L. Wait. 

8 Sod houses were easily built and were the prevailing 
style of architecture in the days when lumber was 
scarce and money more so. They were comfortable if 
properly built. Some of them had floors and others 
did not. The roof was usually constructed of poles 
and brush, covered with dirt and sod; some of them 
shed rain and some did not. 




TRACY PUBLIC SCHOOL 




TYPICAL SOD SHANTY 
In Such Houses as This Hundreds of Lyon County Residents Had Their Homes. 



HISTORY OF LYON rol'NTY. 



li!) 



wild geese, brant, curlew and prairie 
chickens. Occasionally glimpses were 
caught of some of the big game that 
formerly roamed the prairies in vast 
numbers. The summer was fine. The 
days and nights were frequently glorified 
l>y electrical storms of terrific and 
ineffable grandeur. At night the set- 
tlers often sat until midnight watching 
the frolic of sheet-lightning playing over 
miles of cloud banks, vividly suggesting 
the possible glories of another world. 
Vegetation grew rank. The newcomers 
rode along the river bottoms or on the 
ed^es of sloughs through seas of wild 
bluejoint grass up to the horses' hacks. 

It was the experience of a life time, 
this breaking up the virgin lands and 
building a community from the ground 
up, and many were the probable and 
improbable stories told of those days. 
Letters went back to the old homes in 
the East, telling how the homesteaders 
planted corn with an ax and caught 
fish with a pitchfork, and how the piano 
was set up in the shanty and the library 
stacked up under the bed. 

During the season the county was 
visited by disastrous prairie fires and 
hail storms, and as a result aid for those 
who met with loss was furnished by the 
state. For the relief of those in strait- 
ened circumstances in Lyon county by 
reason of fire losses, $100 was distrib- 
uted. To supply seed grain the state 
authorities also sent to the county 
$808.25, all of which was reported dis- 
tributed by the Board of County Com- 
missioners on March 19, 1873. 

The winter following the year of rapid 
settlement — the winter of 1872-73 — 
must go down in history as a most 
severe one. It brought the most terrible 
blizzard in the county's history, before 
or since, in which the settlers received 
their first experience of real hardships. 



Winter began November 12. The 
day had been line, but toward nightfall 
those who knew the Northwest saw in- 
dications of a blizzard. At dark a gale 
from the northwest struck the houses 
with a whack as distinct as if it had 
been a board in the hands of Old Boreas. 
One of the famous northern blizzards 
was on. and there was a series of storms 
until the afternoon of the third daw 
Thenceforth it was winter. Snow fell to 
a great depth, probably not less than 
two feet, but it was so blown about and 
drifted by the wind that in some places 
there were drifts of twenty feet or more. 

From the time winter so set in there 
was little let-up in the severity of the 
weather. One storm followed another, 
and when not storming the weather was 
cold and severe, while the deep snows, 
almost constantly drifting, made travel 
difficult and sometimes dangerous. Dur- 
ing that long winter the inhabitants of 
this part of the state were practically 
shut out from the world. For weeks 
at a time there were no mails. Many 
people were inconvenienced for want of 
necessary food, fuel and clothing. The 
sufferings and horrors of that long and 
dreadful winter will never be effaced 
from the memories of those wdio ex- 
perienced them. 

The ill-fated year 1873 began with the 
most violent storm in the history of 
the state from the time of its first 
settlement to the present date. For 
three days, beginning January 7, the 
blizzard raged, extending over the whole 
Northwest. The temperature was from 
eighteen to forty degrees below zero 
during the whole period of the storm. 
The air was filled with snow as fine as 
flour. Through every crevice, keyhole 
and nailhole the fine snow penetrated, 
puffing into the houses like steam. 
Seventy human lives were lost in the 



70 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



storm in Minnesota, and eight of this 
number were people who resided in 
Lyon county as then constituted. 

The forenoon of Tuesday, January 7, 
was mild and pleasant; the sky was clear 
and there was no wind. It seemed as 
though a "January thaw" was imminent. 
The pleasant weather had induced many 
farmers to go to the woods for a supply 
of fuel or with their families to the 
neighbors to visit! 

About eleven o'clock a. change was 
apparent. The sky lost its crystal clear- 
ness and became a trifle hazy. Just 
about noon a white wall was seen bear- 
ing down from the northwest. The 
front of the storm was distinct and 
almost as clearly defined as a great 
sheet. In a few minutes a gale, moving 
at the rate of thirty or forty miles an 
hour, was sweeping the country; a full- 
fledged blizzard had supplanted the 
bright sunshine in a few minutes. The 
air was so completely filled with hying 
snow that it was impossible to see 
objects a short distance away. 

One who witnessed the storm said: 
"The air was filled with whirling frost, 
fine as flour, so thick that it was im- 
possible to see into it more than a rod 
or so, and no idea of direction could be 
kept. The snow would blow right 
through ordinary clothing, and it was 
impossible to face the wind because of 
intense cold." Another declared that 
there were twenty-four different currents 
of air to the cubic foot, each traveling 
in a different direction and each moving 
with the velocity of electricity. 

All Tuesday night. Wednesday and 
Wednesday night the storm raged with 
unabated fury. Not until Thursday 
was there any let-up, and not until 
Friday was the storm over. Very few 
who were in places of safety when the 
storm struck braved the dangers of get- 



ting anywhere else. The hotel at Mar- 
shall was filled with people as securely 
fastened within -doors as though they 
had been in jail, and at Kiel's hotel in 
Lynd were other wayfarers awaiting the 
opportunity to get home. Besides those 
who perished, several Lyon county 
residents were caught on the prairie in 
the storm, and some were obliged to 
spend two or three days in deserted 
claim shanties or hay stacks. 

Three of those who perished in the 
storm were residents of that part of the 
county which a year later was organized 
into Lincoln county. They were Wil- 
liam Taylor, who had settled at Lake 
Benton in 1868; James Robinson and a 
Mr. Fl.ersold. 

William Taylor had started from Lake 
Benton to mill at Redwood Falls with a 
load of grain. The storm came upon 
him when he had reached a point about 
where the village of Russell now stands. 
There he unhitched his team, overturned 
the sleigh box, and spent the night and 
part of the next day. Realizing that he 
must freeze if he remained where he was. 
Mr. Taylor turned loose one of the 
horses and, mounting the other, set out 
in an attempt to find a place of safety. 

After the storm a searching party 
found the trail of the unfortunate man. 
The horse he had ridden was found on 
the Redwood river in Lyons township, 
from which place Mr. Taylor had trav- 
eled afoot with the storm in a south- 
easterly direction about forty miles. 
The searching party lost the trail about 
twenty miles from where he had left the 
Redwood. At one place he passed 
within ten feet of a claim shanty and 
at another he passed between a shanty 
and a hay stack, but owing to the dense 
snow, and possibly to the fact that at 
that time he was blinded, he passed 
them by. The body was found the 



IIISTOKY OK LYON COUNTY. 



71 



following winter by settlers from near 
Worthington at a point in northern 
Nobles county not far from the present 
village of FnUla. 

Three others that met death in the 
storm were members of the Fox family. 
The family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. 
Fox, their six year old daughter and a 
nephew, a young man. They were on 
their way home to Lynd township from 
Redwood Falls, where they had been 
visiting, and became lost in the storm 
at a point on the east side of the Red- 
wood river, not far from the site of the 
Catholic church of Marshall. 

Becoming lost and not knowing where 

they were, the unfortunate people un- 
hitched the oxen and overturned tin 1 
wagon box to fix a shelter. It was of 
little value, however, and the family 
were soon drifted over with the snow. 
When the storm abated, on Saturday, 
the family was found. The young man 
and the little girl were dead and Mr. Fox 
was so severely frozen that he died on 
Monday. Mrs. Fox recovered. 

The other deaths in Lyon county 
occurred not far from where Tracy is 
now situated. The victims were Asle 
Olson, who lived near Lake Sigel, and a 
man whose surname cannot be recalled 
hut whose given name was Knute, who 
lived just over the line in Murray 
county. The men were returning from 
Lake Shetek with a load of wood when 
they lost their way ami perished. 
When the storm subsided Olson's body 
was found a half mile from his home. 
The body of the other man was not 
found until March. It was discovered 
only a short distance south of Tracy, 
near the old fair grounds. 

0. C. Gregg was one of those who had 
experience with the awful storm. In a 
speech delivered before the Old Settlers 
Society in February, 1885, he said: 



On the morning of the seventh the wind 
completely lulled and ominous quiel prevailed. 

The speaker, in his tenderfooted innocence, 

thought winter had broken up. Without an 
overcoal he started down the river to visit 
Uncle Mareyes. While chatting there, all of a 
sudden came a wind from the northwest with 
a wailing sound such as he had never heard 
before— that terrible roar that precedes a genuine 
blizzard, but then new to him. Alarmed, 
fearful of some disturbance of the elements, he 
started home, accepting an overcoat from his 
host. He had hardly got started before the 
blizzard struck. A dense volume or sheet of 
blinding snow came upon him, crowded with 
terrible pressure by the northwest wind. 

On reaching the timber he could barely see 
from tree to tree, so fiercely was the snow driven 
through the woods. As he merged from the 
timber to traverse the few rods to Kiel's hotel, 
he could not see his hand placed two feet from 
his eyes, but he managed to reach the house 
and gain entrance, where he found other way- 
farers. 

He never before knew what a storm was. 
Here for three days and three nights they were 
compelled to remain, during which time two 
others joined their number, each at different 
times gaining the door and falling into the room 
nearly exhausted. At these times it required 
the united force of two or three men to close 
the door against the storm. 

W. P. Durst, then a boy seventeen 
years old living in Lake Marshall town- 
ship, and his twelve year old brother 
were also caught in the storm and barely 
escaped with their lives. On the day 
of the great blizzard they had gone to 
the Lynd woods with an ox team for a 
load of fuel. They had secured their 
load and started home when the storm 
came upon them. The older boy placed 
his brother on the south side of the load 
and cautioned him to keep a hand con- 
stantly on the wood. He then took his 
place at the head of the team and 
literally felt his way through the blind- 
ing storm for six miles, arriving at last 
at the cabin of the Bellinghams. The 
smaller boy's toes were frozen, but he 
recovered. 

Despite the ushering in of the year 
1873 with the terrible January storm, 
the year opened auspiciously. The new 
railroad thawed out and regular train 
service was established to Marshall in 



72 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



April. 9 During the year the road was 
extended to Lake Kampeska and the 
transient population thus brought in 
made times lively. For two years train 
service was not maintained west of 
Marshall, except that every Saturday an 
engine and caboose made the trip to the 
western end of the line to hold the land 
grant . 

With the opening of the railroad came 
hundreds of new settlers, and the settle- 

»The first train to run within the limits of Lyon 
county on a regular schedule left New Ulm at nine 
o'clock in the morning of April 14, made the run ot 
eighty miles in seven hours, and arrived on time at 
Marshall at four o'clock in the afternoon. H. B. Gary 
wa< conductor and Robert McConnell engineer. I he 
train was made up of engine No. 26, a baggage car. 
coach, and twentv-five freight cars. John Ward, 
Marshall's first station agent, was on the platform to 
receive the first train. 

lOThose who were assessed for personal property in 
1S73 were as follows: 

Lake Marshall— J. T. Bellingham, C. T. Bellingham, 
\ W Bean Samuel Benjamin, Charles Bellingham, 
Robert Bellingham, John W. Blake, David P. Billings, 
W C Bennett, J. Bagley, L. H. Cannon, Josiah Clark, 
Samuel Corliss, W. M. Coleman, John A. Coleman, 
Noble Cuyle, William Clemmens, Orson Drake, Michael 
Durst M. V. Davidson, C. A. DeGraff, Everett & Co., 
Jennie Gates, J. C. Garnhart, J. Y. Hoffstot, A. J. 
Hamm H F. Hovt, J. A. Hunter, W . A. Johnson, 
J K Johnson, W. R. Loveless, Alfred Loveless, E. B. 
Langdon, W. II. Langdon, L. W. Langdon Langdon 
& Laythe, R. Monroe, M. B. Morse, C. F. Metcalf, M. 
Melon, L. B. Nichols, George E. Nichols, G. W . Payne, 
Alexander Sanders, Joseph Sanders, James Smith, 
S N Taylor, W. M. Todd, Turner & Loope, H. J. Tripp, 
A O Underhill, C. H. Upton, Peter \:m Zant, G. R. 
Welch, M. E. Wilcox, C. H. Whitney, E. Woodbury, 
S Webster, J. P. W T atson, William Johnson & Co., 
J.' W. Wilson. 

Lvnd— L. E. Bates, E. M. Barton, J. G. Bryan, 
E. P. Carlton, G. E. Cummins, W. A. Chapman, A. R. 
Cummins, James Cummins, L. H. Dunn, N. Davis, 
J V. Eastman, T. S. Eastman, E. Fezler, O. C. Gregg, 
Oscar Hawes, J. N. Johnson, C. S. Johnson, J. K. 
Kyes L S. Kiel, James M. Lockey, G. W. Link, 
A. D.' Morgan, L. Marcyes, C. Nelson, Andrew Nelson, 
T* T Pierce A. Ransom, Jacob Rouse, J^ E. Starks, 
Smith & Ellis, A. C. Tucker, Z. O. Titus, Samuel Van 
<Ustyne. William Van Buren, J. W. F. Williams, 
H. G. W r ard, R. Waterman, H. R. Marcyes. 

I vons— William C. Adams, Frank Bills, Mrs. M. L. 
Buel John E. Buel, A. Crossley, Scott Carlisle, Thomas 
Downie, E. B. Downie, A. C. Dam, M. A. Fifield, 
S W" Galbraith, C. E. Goodell, G. A. Gill, F. C. Hicks, 
J W Hoagland, Charles Hildreth, G. W. Hicks, L. C. 
Hildreth, J. N. Harvey, L. P. Knapp, E. Lamb, A. W 
Magandv, H. Mussler, Hugh Neill, William Neill, 
Owen Owens, Mrs. B. Roberts, Henry Shafer, R. 
Tuper, C. L. Van Fleet, Roland Weeks, R. Wait, 
G. Watson, C. A. Wright, William Witson. 

Fairview — C. C. Beach, Norton Billings, John 
Brown, Tvler Carpenter, C. A. Edward, J. W. Elliott, 
B C Emery, Benona Gibbs, H. P. Gibbs, John Hanlon, 
Reuben Henshaw, H. G. Howard, Seth Johnson, 
Cornish Johnson. Harmon Lovelace, Thomas Lindsay, 
Owen Marron, W. S. Reynolds, George Spaulding. 
Lurnan Ticknor. William Robinson, Zenas Rank, 
Abraham Williams, Frank Wasson. 

\ordland — Neils Anderson, Ole Anderson, A. Chris- 
topherson, S. Esperbrick, C. Endrusen, C. K. Eiversen, 
T H Flom, O. O. Groff, W. K. Hovden, Gunder 
Hanson, J. H. Hyglen, A. Halvorsen, J. B. Johnson, 
B Johnson, A. Johnson, S. Jeremiahson, C. H. Lee, 
T O Loftsgarden, X. H. Myre, A. L. Marken, N. B. 
Nielson Ole Olson, Halvor Olson, 01« O. Rear, A. O. 



ments of Lyon county were indeed in a 
nourishing condition. That the country 
was developing rapidly is shown by the 
fact that in 1873 there were 393 personal 
property assessments, a considerable 
larger number than there had been in- 
habitants three years before. 10 

The iron horse brought many of the 
comforts of life — neighbors, markets, 
and other adjuncts of civilization. The 
hardships of pioneer life seemed passing 

>trand, A. P. Strand, Jard Stenersen, Leif Stenersen, 
K. Tolefson, J. O. Tanjen, T. Helgosen, Ole Ledell. 

Lake Benton (southern Lincoln county) — A. Ander- 
son, N. F. Berry, Edgar Bentley, ('. H. Briffett, James 
Brfffett, James Cooley, C. W. Cooley, Hans Grand. 
James Gillman, Benjamin Hadley, J. A. Hutetron-. 
S. G. Janes, A. G. Leach, Thomas Lemon, John Moore, 
W. M. Ross, Alexander Ross, F. M. Randall, Thomas 
Robinson, John Snyder, W r illiam Taylor. 

First Precinct (Custer, Monroe, Amiret and Sodus) — 
Ole Anderson, Ole Amenson, John Avery, Ole Arnud- 
son, O. H. Brevig, Patrick Curtin, C. Christopherson, 
A. Christensen, William Coburn, G. W. Donaldson, 
H. Drake, Rees Davis, Theodore Dickenson, J. H. 
Eastman, David Griffith, Lafayette Grover, C. S. 
Grover, W. Hanison, Eleazer Hall, E. Hall, Thomas 
M. Harris, R. H. Hughes, Ole Johnson, Johnson, Ole 
Johnson, Margaret Johnson, John S. Jones, Ogan 
Johnson, Triston Knudson, Neamiah Leavett, James 
Mitchell, Jr., James Mitchell, L. S. Mason, L. Mason 
Charles Mason, James Morgan, S. E. Morgan, W. H 
Morgan, Nelson, Tolef Olson, Saulerious Olyn, Cornelius 
Olson, Robert Owens, Jacob Plymouth, A. Purves, 
Rees Price, H. Randall, Ole Rialson, Lewis Rialson, 
Horace Randall, Joseph Reese, G. S. Robinson, E. L. 
Starr, Martin See, D. Stafford, Landy Soward, William 
Shand, William Taylor, K. Trielson, S. S. Truax, B. B. 
Thomas, B. F. Thomas, George White. Knos Warn, 
S. E. Wallace, H. H. Williams, J. H. Williams, A. H. 
Well man. 

Second Precinct (Stanley, Lucas, Vallers and 
Clifton) — R. D. Barnes, Moses Barnes, C. A. Cook, 
F. Dillman, G. P. Ladenburgh, H. Newhouse, M. 
Wilson, P. J. Truax, Reuben Beasley, T. W. Castor, 
C. T. Taylor, James White, Ansen Anderson, J. R. 
Benjamin, Thomas Bell, Allend Christian, .1. Durham, 
J. P. Brod, J. C. Lines, Antoine Meron, R. W. Price, 
Chris Peterson, Nels Rosvold, Michael Rosvold, F. 
Strosham^ E. T. Thompson, James Wardrop, John 
Anderson, Knudt Anderson, Ole O. Brandon, Ole 
Olson, John O.Stensrud, M. K. Snartum. 

Third Precinct (Grandview, Westerheim and Eids- 
vold) — Halvor Aadson, T. Aadson, Lewis Anderson, 
H. Burlingame, James Budson, T. J. Barber, A. L. 
Baldwin, C. Chamberlhv G. W r . Carpenter, F. M. 
Collins, J. G. Cook, A. H. Chamberlin, Ole Esping, 
J. M. English, G. O. Gilbertson, Nels Hanson, John 
Ilstad, H. A. Irish, G. Johnson, Knud Knudson, 
Andrew Lee, George Lee, H. B. Loomis, O. McQuestion, 
William Markell, Isaac Olson, Nels Syverson. 

Fourth Precinct (Rock Lake, Shelburne, Coon Creek 
and Island Lake) — John A. Van Fleet, Orville Persons, 
Cyrus L. Osborne, G. W. Linderman, Chester Bullock, 
Emery Hamm, Edson W'eeks, J. T. Crouch, Lucius 
Town, J. and R. Town, J. W r . Lester, William Living- 
ston, Lyman Fellows, Dallas T. Burt, H. H. Hodgkins, 
J. R. Burgett, W. T. Ellis, Joseph Williams, John 
McKay, William Hamm. 

Fifth Precinct (northern Lincoln county) — Frank 
Apfield, Frank Applebee, A. Anderson, Henrv Bagley, 
James Collins, John Dall, Daniel Dennison, D. Daniel- 
son, Or. Gunderson, Hans Johnson, Jacob Jacobson, 
John Jacobson, John Kelley, Anton Martinson, 
Thomas Mackey. John Nelson, Daniel Omley, Orsman 
Oleson, M. S. Phillips, William Ramsey, Like Randall, 
Ole A. Rige, Benjamin Sampson, Helner Simpson, Ole 
Severson, Off. Shedland, Caw Telfson, Elias Van 
Eaton, M. L. Wood, Henry Worden. 



HISTORY OF LYON COl'NTY. 



73 



away and hopes of a prosperous future 
budded and bloomed under the stimulus 
of t he growing boom. 

With the new order of things came 
two important changes in Lyon county: 
the creation of Lincoln county from the 
fifteen western townships and the re- 
moval of the county seat from Lynd to 
Marshall. The settlement of western 
Lyon county had been quite rapid and 
the people there demanded a county of 
their own. Marshall, the only railroad 
town in the county, became ambitious 
and demanded the county seat. 

It is doubtful if either of these 
changes, singly, would have been au- 
thorized by vote of the people, but, 
together, they were put through without 
great difficulty. The electors of the 
future Lincoln county agreed to vote 
for Marshall for the county seat if the 
people of Marshall and vicinity would 
vote for the new county, and vice versa. 
The coalition was a strong one and the 
returns show that each party fulfilled 
its promises. 

The bill for the creation of Lincoln 
county passed the Legislature in the 
spring of 1873. According to its pro- 
visions the fifteen western townships of 
Lyon county were set off and formed 
into Lincoln county, the county seat of 
which should be Marshfield, but the act 
should not become operative unless a 
majority of the voters of the whole of 

"Vallers and Westerheim. r 

12 Eidsvold. 

"Stanley and Clifton. 

14 Included also Island Lake and Coon Creek. 

1 'Monroe, Custer, Amiret and Sodus. 

16 Rock Lake and Shelburne. 

17 Composed of two townships in southern Lincoln 
county. 

18 Composed of the northern tier of townships of 
Lincoln county. 

19 Composed of ten townships in central and southern 
Lincoln county. 

20 Thirty-nine votes of this total were worded 
"Against Division of County" instead of "Against 
Lincoln County." 



Lyon county should ratify the act al 
the general election in November, 1873. 
Considering the importance of the ques- 
tion, the campaign was not an excep- 
tionally hard fought one. Those favor- 
ing the creation of the new county won 
at the polls by a vote of 254 to 214. 
The vote by precincts was as follows: 



PRECINCTS 



Canton (Lucas) 

Northeast I Ustrict 11 

Upper Yellow Medicine 12 

Nordland 

( rrandview 

Fairview 

East Precinct l3 

Marshall (Lake Marshall) 

Lynd" 

Lyons 

Saratoga 15 

South District 16 

Lake Benton 17 

Yellow Bluff 18 

Marshfield 19 

Total 



For 

Lincoln 
County 



20 



18 

26 

18 

112 

(i 

6 

14 

1 

15 

18 



Against 
Lincoln 
( lounty 



18 

38 

3 

1 

1 
46 
27 
52 
10 

2 
15 



254 



214 20 



On December 5, 1873, Governor 
Horace Austin issued a proclamation 
declaring the county of Lincoln formed 21 
and on that date Lyon county was 
reduced to its present area. 22 

The bill providing for the removal of 
the county seat from Lynd to Marshall 
passed the Legislature March 6, 1873. 
It too provided that the voters must 

21 The first meeting of the Board of County Com- 
missioners of Lincoln county was held at the home of 
M. S. Phillips in Marshfield in January, 1874, the 
commissioners being N. F. Berry, A. C. Burdick and 
Henry Bagley. They appointed the following first 
officers: Charles Marsh, auditor; John Jones, treas- 
urer and superintendent of schools; William Ross, 
sheriff; M. L. Wood, register of deeds; John Snyder, 
judge of probate; A. C. Leach, county attorney; M. S. 
Phillips, clerk of court; James Berry, court com- 
missioner; John Cooley, coroner; Mr. Taylor, surveyor; 
Ole Swenson and J. W. Lawton, justices of the peace; 
Benjamin Sampson and Frank Applebee, constables. 

22 In 1877 a petition was circulated in the northern 
part of Lincoln county and quite liberally signed, 
asking that Lincoln county be annexed to Lyon 
county, but the opposition defeated the prayer ot the 
petitioners. The following spring a scheme was 
devised for the formation of a new county, composed 
of parts of Yellow Medicine, Lincoln and Lyon, with 
Canby as the county seat, but was abandoned. 



HISTORY OF LYOX COUNTY. 



ratify the act at the general election in 
November, 1873, before it should be put 
in force. The people of the Lynd 
settlement fought for the honor of 
holding the seat of government, but 
they were overwhelmed. The Lincoln 
county country voted almost solidly for 
Marshall, as did the people in the 
vicinity of Marshall and in the country 
to the north of that village. 

Many votes were won for Marshall on 
the promise that a tract of land should 
be given for county purposes and that 
there would be furnished, free of cost, 
for a period of ten years, buildings for 
county offices and court purposes. 23 
The Prairie Schooner, published at 
Marshall, on October 25, 1873, said: 
"When any one tells you that the 
people of Marshall are in favor of 
building county buildings at the county 
expense, brand it as a lie. Marshall 
proposes to furnish all buildings neces- 
sary and suitable for county purposes 
just as long as the county sees fit to 
occupy the same, and the county will 
not be taxed one cent for buildings if 
the county seat is moved to this place." 

23 A legal document, dated October 28, 1873, made 
the promise binding and was in the following words: 

'"Received a bond running to the county of Lyon, 
signed by John W. Blake, Charles H. Whitney, D. 
Wilcox, J. Bagley, W. Wakeman, Coleman & Company, 
M. E. Wilcox, R. J. Monroe, L. B. Nichols, J. W. 
Williams and S. Webster, properly acknowledged, 
conditioned in the penal sum of 82000, to furnish to 
said Lyon county offices or buildings for county 



At the election Marshall won over 
Lynd by a vote of 397 to 101, the vote 
by precincts being as follows: 



PRECINCTS 



Canton (Lucas) 

Northeast District 

Upper Yellow Medicine . . 

Nordland 

Grandview 

Fairview 

East Precinct 

Marshall (Lake Marshall) 

Lynd 

Lyons 

Saratoga 

South District 

Lake Benton 

Yellow Bluff 

Marshfield 

Total 



For 
Removal 



21 

16 
18 
17 
20 
27 
18 
115 
14 
27 
54 

8 
16 

9 
17 



397 



Against 
Removal 



21 
1 



1 
38 
14 
18 

1 
1 
6 



101 



By proclamation of Governor Horace 
Austin, dated December 5, 1873, Mar- 
shall was declared to be the county seat 
of Lyon county. The county commis- 
sioners met for the first time in the new 
seat of government January 24, 1874, 
and the county officers began conducting 
business there soon after. 

officers, county commissioners and district court for 
the period of ten years, and the bond of J. W. Blake, 
properly executed, conditioned in the penal sum of 
S1000, to deed said county certain described lots in 
the village of Marshall for county purposes, both 
bonds conditional upon the removal of the county seat 
to Marshall, and request that the county commissioners 
will accept the same on behalf of said county." 



CHAPTER V. 



THE GRASSHOPPER SCOURGE— 1873-1876. 



NOW come the dark days of Lyon 
county's history— the grasshop- 
per days. For several years, 
beginning with 1873, grasshoppers, or 

Rocky .Mountain locusts, swept down 
upon the country in countless millions, 
devouring 'the crops and bringing dis- 
aster to nearly every resident. The 
people of Lyon county, in common with 
those of all Southwestern Minnesota, 
suffered as few pioneers of any country 
ever suffered. Adversity followed ad- 
versity. The frowns of fortune over- 
whelmed those who had come with such 
high hopes the preceding years and cast 
them into the slough of despond. The 
picture could hardly be painted too 
dark. 

The country became bankrupt. Im- 
migration ceased; migration began. All 
who could mortgaged their property 
and many left the county. Some got 
into such straitened circumstances that 
they were literally without the means to 
pay their railway fare out of the county. 
It was impossible to make a living from 
the farm, and many sought work during 
the summer seasons in their old homes 
in the East; others attempted to earn a 
livelihood by trapping. In time land 
became valueless; it could not be sold 

'The acreage sown to grain in 1873 was 1983, nearly 
three times as large as that of the year before. Of the 
total acreage, 1139 were in wheat, 330 in oats, 319 in 



or mortgaged. After the first or second 
year eastern capitalists refused to con- 
sider loans in the grasshopper infested 
country. 

Prosperous as Lyon county is today, 
one can imagine the suffering a series of 
almost total crop failures would bring. 
Picture, then, a settlement of some two 
thousand people with practically no 
means — people who had come because 
they were poor and because they be- 
lieved the new country offered oppor- 
tunities for securing a home and a 
competence — devastated by a scourge 
which took away the only means of 
earning a living. Such were the con- 
ditions in the times about which we are 
now to tell. 

The people who had come the pre- 
ceding year set to work with a will to 
break out the prairie land, and great 
were the expectations for the crop of 
1873, the first crop of any size planted 
in the county. L The grain grew beauti- 
fully during the spring months; the 
faith in the soil was justified. Every- 
body was enthusiastic over the prospects. 
Then came the plague. 

The grasshoppers first made their 
appearance in Lyon county about the 
seventeenth of June, 1873, and the 

corn, 54 in barley, 36 in buckwheat, 85 in potatoes, 
10 in beans, 2 in sorghum, and 8 in other products. 



76 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



county was not entirely free from them 
during' the remainder of the season. 
Their arrival was first made known by 
the appearance of the sky; the sun 
seemed to have lost some of its bril- 
liance, as though darkened by clouds of 
fine specks floating high in the air. 
Some believed that the specks were the 
fluff from cottonwood seeds. They kept 
increasing in number, and after awhile 
a few scattering ones began falling to 
the earth, where they were found to be 
grasshoppers, or Rocky Mountain lo- 
custs — forerunners of an army that 
devastated this part of the country and 
resulted in the retardation of its settle- 
ment for many years. 2 

The invading hordes feasted upon the 
growing grain and gardens and did 
great damage. In the Saratoga settle- 
ment along the Cottonwood in south- 
eastern Lyon county they were particu- 
larly voracious and left practically no 
grain. Along the Redwood, also, they 
brought destruction to crops, but there 
were some parts of the county that were 
riot visited. 3 Most of the grasshoppers 
left after a few weeks, but enough were 
left and deposited their eggs during the 
months of August and September to 
make certain that the county would be 
infested the next year. 4 The harvest. 
of course, was light, but good yields 
were reported in the few communities 
that had not been visited. 

In addition to the grasshopper dev- 

; The grasshoppers were first noticed by a small party 
of picnickers at Watson's grove in Lynd township. 
Their attention was attracted by the sudden clouding 
of the sun on a clear, bright day. There appeared to 
be a great cloud that was described as resembling a 
sheet of dull silver. For some time the cloud moved 
about in circular form and gradually neared the 
earth. As it came closer its animation was observed 
and before long the whole cloud settled upon the earth. 

These first arrivals did not extend farther north 
than the Lynd settlement and many residents were 
skeptical of the stories told of the invasion. A party 
of -Marshall people was deputized to investigate and 
went up to the Lynd settlement. When they reached 
the Redwood river at the place then known as the 
Muzzy flat their progress was stopped. The horses 
refused to approach the usual fording place, and there 
before them, covering a space twenty rods wide and 
for a considerable distance along the bank, the locusts 
were piled up two inches deep, a moving, undulating 



astation, the panic which held the 
country in its grip in 1S73 added to the 
hard times which followed. The loss of 
crops left many families in destitute 
circumstances, and there was some 
suffering during the next winter. 

The state authorities took prompt 
action to relieve the suffering in the 
frontier counties. Petitions from the 
stricken districts were poured into the 
Legislature, asking appropriations for 
relief. Realizing the gravity of the 
situation, the Minnesota law-making 
body, late in January, 1874, appro- 
priated $5000 for the relief of the desti- 
tute and enacted a law extending the 
time of payment of personal property 
taxes until November 1 in the counties 
of Jackson, Cottonwood, Murray, Nobles, 
Rock. Watonwan, Lyon and Lac qui 
Parle. 5 

Lyon county did not receive much 
benefit from the state aid, owing largely 
to local pride. In accordance with the 
custom of pioneer ' journals to report 
nothing that would tend to retard 
settlement, the local newspaper reported 
fair crops. A perusal of the files of 
the Prairie Schooner for 1873 discloses 
not a word of the grasshopper visitation 
of that year. Many people of the 
county denied the existence of destitu- 
tion and denounced those who sent out 
requests for aid. 

For the purpose of ascertaining the 
condition of the people of the county a 

mass of animation. The insects had there piled up by 
the million and where they covered stumps and brush 
they gave the appearance of being several feet deep. 

3 The damage to crops in 1873 in Minnesota was 
officially estimated at S3, 034,000. 

4 Eggs were deposited preferably in solid ground 
and to a depth of from one-half to one inch. The tail 
of the female grasshopper is a hard, bony, cone-shaped 
substance, and this was easily bored into the solid 
ground and the eggs deposited. 

6 "The bill postponing the collection of taxes on 
personal property in Lyon and several other south- 
western counties passed the Legislature a little too 
late to benefit many taxpayers of this county, as most 
of them paid all taxes against them prior to the first 
of this month, to prevent extra cost." — Prairie 
Schooner, February 19, 18/ 4. 



HISTORY OF LYOX COl'NTY. 



77 



mass meeting was held at Marshall on 
the lasi day of January, 1874. 8 It was 
the sense of that meeting that there 
were no persons in Lyon county in 
actual want and a resolution was passed 
denouncing the reports that had been 
sent out to that effect. Another reso- 
lution was passed to the effect that 
Lyon county would be able to take care 
of any case of destitution that might 
arise, without outside aid. The com- 
mittee that reported the resolution was 
composed of J. W. Blake. Jacob House, 
J. G. Bryan. 0. C. Gregg and J. II. 
Buchanan. The meeting ascertained, 
however, that some families had moved 
in from the grasshopper devastated 
districts who would probably want seed 
grain in the spring, and the governor 
and Legislature were petitioned to make 
a just distribution of funds for free 
seed grain when it was needed. 

The people of southern Lyon county 
took exception to these optimistic reso- 
lutions of the Marshall meeting. On 
February 17 a mass meeting attended 
by two hundred people was held at 
Saratoga station. The opinion of those 
people was that there were many people 
in the southern part of the county that 
needed substantial aid at once, that 
much would be needed before another 
crop could be raised, that they were at 
that moment in pressing need of bread, 
meat and clothing, and would be later 
of seed grain. Committees were ap- 
pointed to canvass the community and 
report to the Board of County Com- 
missioners. 

Before the matter was taken up by 
the county officials, in February a 
subscription paper was circulated and 

8 "\Ve, the undersigned, do hereby request that a 
meeting of the citizens of the county be held at Con- 
gregational Hall in Marshall at two o'clock p. m. 
Saturday, January 31, for the purpose of more defi- 
nitely ascertaining whether there are any destitute 
persons in Lyon county, and if so, whether there are 
any more than can be provided for by the county. 
A general attendance is requested, particularly of 



$92 raised for relict'. A disbursement 
committee on February 17 reported thai 
*.'!7.l>2 of this amount had been dis- 
tributed among the needy, mostly in 
the Saratoga country. 

The county was without funds to take 
care of the needy and it was obliged to 
pledge its faith to one of the Marshall 
merchant- to raise by taxation and pay 
back the sum of 1100 and interest 
advanced in supplies. The following 
resolution — a forceful reminder of the 
dark days of Lyon county's history— 
was passed by the Board of County 
Commissioners February 24, 1874: 

Resolved that the faith of the county is 
hereby pledged to William Everett & Company 
to levy a special tax and to pay them one 
hundred and seventeen dollars and have the 
same placed upon the next roll and collected 
with the other county taxes in consideration that 
they shall advance to the county one hundred 
dollars for the relief of the destitute of the 
county, provided that the said William Everett 
& Company shall furnish provisions upon the 
requisition of the commissioners to the amount 
not more than one hundred dollars and if less 
than said amount, pro rata. 

The following resolution passed relative to 
disbursing aid to the destitute: Resolved 

First. That the applicant shall be a resident 
of this county. 

Second. That there shall be no tea, coffee, 
sugar, spirits, molasses or fruits furnished. 

Third. No person shall be furnished who has 
more stock than one team and one cow. 

Fourth. No exception to the above save in 
case of sickness. 

Fifth. The circumstances of the applicant 
must be set forth in an affidavit before aid is 
given. 

Sixth. This aid shall be disbursed by William 
Everett & Company upon the order of James 
Mitchell, Jr., A. D. Morgan and W. M. Pierce, 
relief commissioners. 

The people of Lyon county were 
finally forced to admit that they must 
have state aid and made application for 
a portion of the $5000 appropriated. 
S. S. Truax, of the Saratoga settlement, 
received $250 from the governor early 

those who may have knowledge of any destitution in 
any part of the county. (Signed): J W. Blake, 
S Webster, Wilbur Coleman, Stanley Addison, C. H. 
Whitney, C. W. Andrews, G. E. Nichols, M. V. David- 
son S V. Groesbeck, E. B. Jewett, M. E. Wilcox, 
J A. Coleman, W. M. Todd, L. B. Nichols, J. P. 
Watson, W. Wakeman, J. W. Williams." 



78 



HISTORY OF LYOX COUNTY. 



in March and distributed it among the 
needy. 

It was early learned that many 
farmers would not have grain for seeding 
purposes in the spring of 1874, and the 
Legislature in February appropriated 
$25,000 for supplying the want. Lyon 
county's share, 1128 bushels, was re- 
ceived in March and the distribution 
was completed early in April. The com- 
mittee that had charge of this work was 
composed of S. S. Truax, Jacob Rouse 
and J. W. Blake. The demand for the 
grain was so great that each applicant 
received only a part of the grain asked 
for. 7 The grain, all wheat, was dis- 
tributed to the farmers of the county as 
follows: Lake Marshall, 102 bushels; 
Lynd, 102; Lyons, 102; Saratoga (Mon- 
roe, Custer, Sodus and Amiret), 318; 
Rock Lake, 30; East Precinct (Stanley 
and Clifton), 30; Canton (Lucas), 78; 
Northeast Precinct (Vallers and West- 
erheim), 42; Upper Yellow Medicine 
(Eidsvold), 66; Nordland, 96; Grand- 
view, 96; Fairview, 66. 

If there had been a belief that the 
grasshopj>er scourge was to be only a 
temporary blight on the prospects of 
Lyon county, it was rudely dispelled. 
The visitation of 1873 was as nothing 
compared with what followed. The 
story of the years to follow is one of 
heartrending misery. From Manitoba 
to Texas the grasshoppers brought deso- 
lation and suffering in 1874, the visita- 
tion being general along the whole 
frontier. Especially destructive were 

T '"We do not know the number of applications from 
different parts of the state for seed wheat, nor the 
extent of the territory to be supplied, nor the rules 
governing the distribution, but it appears to us that 
this county should have at least three times the 
amount of seed wheat that has been apportioned." — 
Prairie Schooner, March 19, 1874. 

s The wheat acreage in 1874 by precincts was as 
follows: Nordland, 236; Lake Marshall, 323 H; 
109-41 (Custer), 433 34; Upper Yellow Medicine 
(Eidsvold), 141 J>2! Lyons, 457 H; Canton (Lucas), 
516 y>\ Fairview, 456; Lynd, 546; 111-40 (Clifton), 
112; Madison (Amiret), 282^; 110-43 and 111-43 
(Island Lake and Coon Creek), 69 14; 112-40, 113-41 



they in Southwestern Minnesota and in 
Kansas and Nebraska. 

A large acreage was sown in Lyon 
county in the spring of 1874, there 
being 4245 acres sown to wheat alone. 8 
Then came anxious days. The grass- 
hopper eggs which had been deposited 
the year before began to hatch during 
the early days of May. 9 While the pests 
had been considered numerous the year 
before, there were now more than ten 
times as many. The appetites of the 
youngsters were good, and they began 
their ravages as soon as the first tender 
blades of grain appeared. Whole fields 
were stripped entirely bare in those parts 
of the county where the hoppers were 
most numerous, notably along the Cot- 
tonwood in the Saratoga country and 
along the Redwood in the Lynd country. 

Had the ravages of the native hoppers 
been the only damage, the county could 
have borne the infliction, for there were 
portions in which little or no damage 
was done. During the closing days of 
June most of the Lyon county hatch 
departed. Several days were spent in 
swarming and collecting, and then they 
rose in vast clouds, filling the air as far 
as the eye could reach, and sailed away 
to discover new worlds to conquer. 
During this period, each day from ten 
o'clock in the morning until three in 
the afternoon, the air was filled with the 
winged emigrants. With their depar- 
ture it was hoped the ravages of the year 
were at an end, but it was not to be. 

During the early days of July came 

and 113-42 (Stanley, Vallers and Westerheim), 299; 
109-42 (Rock Lake), 122; 110-41 (Sodus), 250. 

9 The process of hatching was interesting. In each 
nest, a half inch or more below fhe surface of the 
ground, invariably laid in hard earth, were from 
twenty to fifty eggs. When the sun warmed tin- 
ground sufficiently to hatch the eggs, the pithy cover- 
ing of the nest popped off and a squirming mass of 
little yellow hoppers poured out. Each was encased 
in a sort of shell or skin, which it immediately began 
to pull off. Then, after taking a moment's view of 
the world, each little hopper hopped away in .search 
of something to eat. At birth they were about a 
quarter of an inch long and had no wings, but these 
developed rapidly. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



79 



an invasion of "foreign" hoppers from 
the southern counties, which math' it 
evident that the county was not to 
escape with the damage done by the 
native pests. They appeared in cloud- 
like formations, drifting with the wind. 
sometimes entirely disappearing, and 
again returning with a change of wind. 
While the depredations before had been 
committed only where the hatch had 
been, the invaders now attacked fields 
in parts of the county theretofore un- 
molested and some fields were literally 
eaten hare to the roots. Still the 
damage was not total, and before the 
middle of July the army had almost 
entirely disappeared. 

At this time, when it was hoped the 
pests had departed for good, the Prairie 
Schooner estimated the damage: 

First. From Coburg [Amiret], along and near 
the Cottonwood river, to the southern boundary 
of the county and west to Lake Yankton, in- 
formation received indicates that on an average 
two-thirds of the wheat and oats sown have 
been destroyed anil much injury done to corn 
and potatoes. 

Second. A strip of country about three miles 
wide and extending from Lake Marshall on the 
east to the Redwood river on the west, including 
Upper Lynd, will average about half a crop of 
wheat and oats. 

Third. The balance of the county, including 
principally that portion lying northeast of the 
railroad as far down as Lake Marshall and 
northwest of the Redwood river, will average 
at least seven-eighths of a crop. 

Taking the whole county together, we believe 
there will be from two-thirds to three-fourths as 
much wheat and oats and seven-eighths as much 
corn and potatoes as there would have been had 
we not been visited by the grasshopper plague. 
. . . Some farms in the county have been 
totally stripped of everything in the shape of 
crops; and on the other hand there are many 
farms which promise abundant yield of every 
kind of crop, not having been damaged to the 
least extent by grasshoppers. 

Before the paper which contained this 

estimate was put to press (July 16) the 

editor of the Prairie Schooner penned 

this qualification: 

Later — It is of no use to estimate crops 
before harvest. Yesterday clouds of grass- 
hoppers were passing over from north to south, 
and as we go to press word has come that they 
have made a descent on the Yellow Medicine 



and. ;ii Rock Lake, sections heretofore un- 
touched. 

The invasion of July 1.") was the 
worst <>f the season and resulted in 
almost total annihilation of crops in the 
Rock Lake and Yellow Medicine coun- 
tries communities which had escaped 
before. Before they departed those 
pails of the county were literally alive 
with the voracious insects. And what 
havoc they wrought! So thick was the 
air with the flying pests that at times 
the sun was obscured. They appeared 
to the people below like a vast cloud, 
sweeping sometimes in one direction, 
sometimes in another — always with the 
wind. Imt never traveling far to the 
west or northwest. 

At evening when they came down near 
the earth, the noise they made was like 
a roaring wind. Those that alighted on 
the prairies seemed to know where the 
grain fields and gardens were and 
gathered in them from all directions. 
Every cornstalk Lent to the earth with 
their weight. The noise they made 
eating could be heard from quite a 
distance and resembled that which 
might have been made by hundreds of 
hogs turned into the fields. In fact, 
such was the destruction that within a 
few hours after they came down whole 
fields of corn ami small grain were as 
completely harvested as though they 
had been cut with a reaper and hauled 
away. It was a discouraging sight. 

After gorging themselves with the 
crops, the grasshoppers sometimes piled 
up in the fields and along the roads to a 
depth of one or two feet. Horses could 
hardly be driven through them. Stories 
have been told of railway trains lie- 
coming blockaded by the pests so as to 
be unable to move until the insects were 
shoveled from the track. 

The last invasion was not of long 
duration, although grasshoppers in di- 



80 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



minished numbers remained until August. 
Fortunately, they departed without de- 
positing their eggs in Lyon county, 
although eggs were left in counties to 
the east of Lyon. 

The greatest damage was to small 
grain. Many fields were entirely de- 
stroyed and yielded nothing to the acre. 
The wheat that was threshed — according 
to a thresher who operated in all parts 
of the county — averaged nine and one- 
half bushels per acre and oats nineteen 
bushels. Gardens were almost entirely 
destroyed; corn and potatoes, which 
constituted only a small part of the 
acreage, were a fair crop. 10 

This second successive crop failure 
was a terrible blow. A great many who 
had not been hard pressed by the con- 
ditions in 1873 were now reduced to the 
common level; their savings had been 
spent and they had no income. Those 
who were not compelled to live on 
charity were compelled to practise most 
rigid economy. Hay furnished the fuel; 
potatoes, pumpkins and squashes — a 
few vegetables left by the hoppers — ■ 
supplied the bulk of the food. Meat 
was not on the bill of fare, except for 
those who could use a gun and bag the 
prairie chickens and ducks that were in 
great abundance. In this manner a 
number of the settlers were obliged to 
pass the winter. They bore their trials 
more cheerfully than might have been 
expected and made preparations to try 
their luck again next year. 

The question naturally arises: Why 
did the people of Lyon county stay in a 
country in which the grasshoppers 
wrought such damage? It is doubtful 
if many would have remained could 
they have looked ahead and foreseen 
what they still had to go through, for 

!0 According to the report of the commissioner of 
statistics, the loss of the several crops in twenty-eight 
counties of Minnesota in 1S74 was as follows: Wheat, 



this was not the end of the scourge by 
any means. A few discouraged ones 
did depart for their former homes. All 
who could went away each summer to 
work in the harvest fields of more 
fortunate communities and earn enough 
to supply their absolute needs. 

The majority stayed with their claims 
and weathered the storms of adversity. 
Hope was abundant that each year's 
visitation would be the last. The fer- 
tility of the soil had been demonstrated, 
and it was known that once the country 
was free from the pests, it would become 
one of the richest spots in the West. 
The settlers had invested all their 
accumulations of former years in im- 
provements, and to desert the country 
meant that they must go as paupers. 

Before continuing the account of the 
grasshopper scourge, let us consider a 
few other items that occurred in 1874 
which throw a light on conditions of 
that day. 

The one railroad in the county was 
not in operation from February 16 to 
April 8, due to snow blockades and the 
fact that its operation would not be a 
paying investment. Again the next 
winter the line was not operated regu- 
larly and for ten weeks prior to April 
13, 1875, not a train was run in the 
county. 

The assessment for 1874 shows that 
the value of personal property was 
$120,384, divided among 525 residents. 
There were in the county 495 horses, 
2690 cattle, 31 mules, 336 sheep and 
356 wagons and buggies. 

Despite the fact that the grasshoppers 
were doing most of the harvesting, a 
fair association was organized during 
this period and a county fair held. 
The first meeting to bring about organi- 

2,646,802 bushels; oats, 1,816,733 bushels; corn, 
738,415 bushels; barley, 58,962 bushels; potatoes, 
221,454 bushels; flax seed, 52,833 bushels. 



SHAM IAKC PO* 

ty MUli Luke 
.nil .,...11 






»' if 

i.:..!,-si a.. 



B«4 




AN EARLY DAY MAP 
Lyon County As It Appeared in 1874, From a Map Published in a State Atlas That Year. 



HISTORY <>F LYON COUNTY. 



81 



zation was held in December, \s7'.\, in 
a little room that had been partitioned 
off from the old company store building 
in .Marshall. The preliminary steps were 
taken at that time and on .January 31, 
1S7I, the Lyon County Agricultural 
Society was organized. The first officers 
were as follows: .1. <!. Bryan, president; 
C. H. Whitney, secretary; E. B. Jewett, 
treasurer; S. Webster, .1. II. Buchanan. 
O. C. Gregg, R. D. Harm's, (I. Watson, 
('. H. Bullock, .lames Morgan, R. II. 
Price. F. R. Holritz. John [lstad, Ole ( >. 
Brenna and T. J. Barber, vice presidents; 
J. W. Blake. T. W. Castor, (I. S. Robin- 
son, J. W. Hoagland and Jacob Rouse, 
executive committee. 

The first fair was held at .Marshall in 
October, 1N74. and was declared to be 
asuccess, several hundred people being in 
attendance. There were many exhibits, 
although the premiums were not liberal. ' ' 

In the summer of 187-4 came an 
Indian scare that created some little 
excitement in western Lyon county 
the result, doubtless, of a practical joke. 

On Saturday, July 18, three Norwe- 
gian families who lived on the Sioux 
river near Medary arrived in the Lake 
Benton settlement, driving their flocks 
and herds with them. They brought 
the alarming intelligence that Fort 
Wadsworth, Dakota, had been captured 
by Indians, who had massacred two 
hundred whites; that the village of 
Flandreau was in flames, that the people 
of Medary and Flandreau and elsewhere 
along the Sioux were fleeing the country, 
and that the redskins were on their way 
to Lake Benton, where they expected 
to arrive the next night. 

"Those who received premiums at the first county 
fair were C. H. Bullock, D. P. Billings, Charles Belling- 
ham, J. W. Dickey, S. Webster, B. C. Emery, A. 
Emmerson, J. M. Lockey, C. H. Whitney, Norton 
Billings, Seth Johnson, Ben Johnson, J. G. Bryan, 
E. Jewett, C. Jewett, H. C. Simmons, J. W. Blake, 
C. A. Edwards, Alfred Edwards, H. P. Gibbs, G. A. 
Gill, William Robinson, Z. O. Titus, A. Barrett, G. 
Watson, J. Bagley, Nathan Davis, C. Kennedy, M. B. 
Morse, O. A. Drake, J. W. Hoagland, William Living- 



The report created consternation in 
the isolated settlement on Lake Benton. 
The news flew from house to house and 
there was great commotion. Sonic of 
the settlers gathered at the place where 
now the village of Lake Benton is 
situated and held a council of war. 
The majority favored investigating the 
report before deserting their homes, but 
six families hastily packed a icw things, 
set out in hasty retreat for the east, 
alarmed all the people along the route, 
and reached Lynd before their fears 
were calmed. 

Another council was held at Marsh- 
field, where it was decided to investigate 
the rumor. John Snyder and William 
Taylor rode to Flandreau, twenty-five 
miles distant, and found all quiet along 
the Sioux. Upon their return the 
alarmed people declared the war over. 
Within a few days those who had so 
precipitously fled returned to their 
homes. 

The winter of 1874-75 was a severe 
one, punctuated with numerous bliz- 
zards. The lives of two Lyon county 
people were sacrificed to the winter 
storms that season. 

One of the victims was Henry Gibbs, 
a resident of Fairview township. He 
and his wife had spent the day visiting 
at a neighbor's and in the evening 
started home with their ox team. One 
of the dreaded prairie storms suddenly 
came upon them and they lost their way 
and drifted with the storm until their 
wagon broke down in a slough in 
Stanley township. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs arranged a wind- 
break with the wagon box and prepared 

ston, A. E. Watkins, J. H. Buchanan, Owen Marron, 
Henry Schaffer, L. Ticknor, H. Lovelace, H. J. Tripp, 
Blake Watson, Coleman & Company, B. A. Grubb, 
A. W. Bean, J. W. Williams, Pierce & Wakeman, 
Prairie Schooner, Mrs. C. A. Edwards, Mrs. E. B. 
Jewett, Mrs. D. P. Billings, Mrs. J. Bagley, Mrs. H. C. 
Simmons, Mrs. H. P. Gibbs, Mrs. A. W. Bean, Mrs. 
H. Lovelace, Mrs. C. Kennedy, Mrs. Seth Johnson, 
Mrs. Z. O. Titus, Mrs. G. A. Gill, Miss Bryan, Miss 
Kate Watson, Mrs. Clemens and Mrs. Mott. 



82 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



themselves as best they might to spend 
the night. For two nights and one day 
the storm raged as only the blizzards 
of the Northwest could in those days, 
and the unfortunate people were im- 
prisoned in their illy prepared refuge 
during all of that time. When the 
weather had sufficiently cleared to see, 
Mr. Gibbs made his way to a house and 
sent aid to his wife. He was so badly 
frozen that he died soon afterward. 
Mis. Gibbs was rescued from her perilous 
plight and recovered, although one of 
her feet had to be partially amputated. 

The other victim was Thomas T. 
Pierce, of Lynd township, who met 
death in the storm of January 8, 1875. 
Mr. Pierce, who was an elderly man, 
had started from the home of a neighbor 
the day before the storm for his camp. 
He did not arrive at his destination and 
searching parties were immediately or- 
ganized. It was more than two weeks 
later when his dead body was found on 
the shore of Dead Coon lake. He was 
frozen stiff and was lying on his face. 
Air. Pierce had traveled many long miles 
in the storm, a part of the way through 
a section of the county almost wholly 
uninhabited. 

Although the losses occasioned by the 
grasshoppers in 1874 were greater than 
the year before, there had been also a 
much larger acreage sown and consid- 
erable grain had been saved and mar- 
keted. There were not many cases of 
destitution in the county during the 
winter of 1874-75 12 and no aid was 
requested from the state for* their relief. 
The United States government in a 
small way granted aid to those who re- 

12 "I have heard of only three or four cases of desti- 
tution in Lyon county this winter, though there may 
be more." — G. M. Durst in Prairie Schooner, February 
19, 1875. 

13 The act was passed March 1, 1875, and provided 
for the extension of time of payment of personal 
property taxes to November 1 in the counties of 
.Martin, Jackson, Nobles, Rock, Murray, Cottonwood, 
Watonwan, Renville, Lyon and parts of Blue Earth, 
Faribault and Broun. In order to secure the exten- 



quested it. In March, 1875, H. Pauld- 
ing, assistant surgeon of the United 
States army, superintended the distri- 
bution of army clothing and rations to 
those who applied in the counties of 
Lyon and Lincoln. Again the Legis- 
lature granted an extension of time for 
the payment of taxes in some of the 
devastated counties and, of course, 
Lyon county was among the number. 13 

Notwithstanding the terrible experi- 
ences of the two preceding years, the 
farmers determined to put in a crop in 
1875. The ground had been prepared, 
but the farmers were without seed grain 
and without the means to purchase it. 14 
The Legislature came to their rescue 
with an appropriation of $75,000, the 
act providing for the distribution of 
seed grain to that amount, with certain 
provisions for its repayment. The 
money market was constricted and the 
state was not able to secure the cash to 
purchase more than $50,000 worth of 
grain. 

The distribution was conducted under 
the supervision of a State Board of 
Commissioners and a local board was 
named in each county. Lyon county's 
share was $1500, all furnished in wheat. 
The Lyon county committee of distri- 
bution was composed of W. M. Pierce. 
James Mitchell and H. T. Oakland, and 
each precinct had a committee to de- 
termine who should be supplied. With 
the seed received from the state and 
that which was in the county, there 
was enough to seed a large part of the 
prepared land in Lyon county. 

Days of anxiety followed the appear- 
ance of the grain above the ground. 

sion it was necessary for the residents to give proof 
that they were unable to pay their taxes because of 
loss of crop in 1874 from grasshoppers or hail. 

14 "I have been on a tour of three or four days 
among the farmers of this county and find from act u.i 1 
observation that there are a great many who will be 
unable to seed their land unless they get aid from 
some source." — Samuel Carroll in Prairie Schooner, 
November 5, 1874. 



HISTORY OF LYOX COl'NTY. 



83 



Would the grasshopper scourge .main 

come with its ruin and desolation? As 
the season advanced the people with 
deep concern scanned the skies for the 
appearance of t heir old enemy. As eggs 
had not been deposited in Lyon county 
the preceding season, there were no 
young hoppers, and the only apprehen- 
sion was an invasion by the "foreigners." 

The county was practically free from 
the pests until early July, although 
before that time they were reported 
active in other parts of Southwestern 
Minnesota. The settlers kept track of 
the movements of the grasshoppers as 
they would have those of an invading 
army of soldiers. They knew that only 
by chance would they escape. They 
felt as though the sword of Damocles 
were suspended over them, ready to fall 
at any moment. 

The damage done in Lyon county in 
1875 was by the Minnesota valley 
hatch. The army was not so numerous 
as the year before, nor did the pests eat 
so ravenously as formerly. They ap- 
peared to be a degenerate breed and 
many died after depositing their eggs. 
The farmers waged war on the enemy 
by the use of fire, tar and other legalized 
instruments. 15 

In individual cases the loss of crops 
was quite severe, but generally in Lyon 
county the damage was slight and a big 

ls There was really very little that the settlers could 
do to destroy or cheek the pests, although many 
schemes were tried. Nothing availed against the 
invading hordes, but in the case of the native hoppers 
the farmers waged a more or less successful war by the 
use of tar. "Hopperdozers," a sort of drag made of 
sheet iron and wood, would be covered with tar and 
dragged over the ground. The young hoppers would 
be caught in the tar and destroyed. Another scheme 
was to prevent prairie fires during the fall months, 
conserving the grass until the hoppers had hatched in 
the spring. Then on a given day the country would 
be burned over and the pests destroyed. Ditches 
would be dug and the hoppers driven into them and 
burned; scoop nets were used, but little headway 
could be made with them. In some of the counties 
bounties were paid for their capture. In seven such 
counties 58,019 bushels were captured, upon which 
bounties aggregating $76,788.42 were paid; still no 
diminution was noticed in the damage done 

16 The Prairie Schooner, which even in the darkest 
hours gave glowing accounts of conditions, fairly 



percentage of the crop was harvested. 16 

But the dangers of the season were not 
yet over. During the entire week be- 
ginning August 31 there was a continual 
downpour of rain, which did much 
damage to grain in stack and shock. 
Blight injured some of the wheat, and 
instead of grading No. 1 it was second 
and third grades. 

Conditions dining the winter of 1875- 
76 were so much better than they had 
been during the two other winters of 
the scourge that aid from outside was 
not needed, and the county was able to 
supply its own seed for the next crop. 

The census of 1875 gave Lyon county 
a population of 2543. Of this number 
71 1 were men over twenty-one years old 
and 863 were children between the ages 
of five and twenty-one years. The 
population by precincts was as follows: 17 

Eidsvold 99 

Fairview 175 

Grandview 150 

Lake Marshall 397 

Lucas 116 

Lynd 225 

Lyons 152 

Madison (Amiret) 158 

Monroe 181 

Nordland 208 

Custer 18 166 

Clifton 52 

Stanley 83 

Sodus H4 

Vallers and Westerheim 104 

Rock Lake and Shelburne 92 

Coon Creek and Island Lake 71 

Total 2543 

bubbled over when describing conditions in 1875. 
The following item from the paper of August 13 of that 
year is not in reality a truthful portrayal of the state 
of affairs: 

"We hear it reported down East that we are all 
eaten out by grasshoppers around Marshall this year. 
Such stories are at the opposite extreme of the fact, 
for we are harvesting the biggest crop ever harvested 
in this county. . . . We can lose half a crop here and 
then beat their best crops. Thirty bushels to the acre 
for wheat will be a very common crop around Marshall 
this season, and we have fields of oats that stand 
seven or eight feet high, so thick that a reaper can 
hardly run through them. . . . We have not a hopper 
more than we want for chicken feed around here and 
are happy in the brilliant prospects." 

17 The population of nearby counties in 1875 was as 
follows: Lac qui Parle, 1428; Yellow Medicine, 24S4; 
Redwood, 2982; Cottonwood, 2870; Murray, 1329; 
Pipestone, 4. 

1? Only the ten first named were organized townships 
and had been named. 



84 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



Lyon and Lincoln counties, which 
before had been attached to Redwood 
county for judicial purposes, were sepa- 
rated from the mother county by act 
of the Legislature of 1875. The first 
district court was held at Marshall June 
13, 1876. 19 

Another event of 1876 was the placing 
on the market of the railroad lands. In 
August the company opened an office 
at Marshall and the first of the granted 
lands passed to private ownership that 
year. These were sold for one-fifth 
down and the balance in payments at 
seven per cent interest. 

Grasshoppers brought destruction to 
crops again in 1876. During May the 
destroying agents hatched out in those 
portions of the county where eggs had 
been deposited the year before, notably 
in the Rock Lake district and around 
the newly founded village of Tracy. 
Late in May south winds brought in a 
few full grown hoppers, but they re- 
mained only a short time. 

During the entire month of June the 
young hoppers continued their depre- 
dations in the southern part of the 
county. A correspondent from Tracy 
on June 23 said: "The grasshoppers 
have destroyed most of the grain and 
our trade is principally butter and pro- 
duce." A resident of Rock Lake wrote 
at the same time: "The hoppers are 
doing all the mischief they can." The 
other parts of the county suffered little 
damage in the early part of the season. 
Then was repeated the experience of 
former years. 

Vast clouds of the pests swooped 
down upon the county early in July and 
for several days feasted on the crops. 

,9 The jurors who served at the first term of court in 
Lyon county were as follows: 

Grand Jurors — J. B. Greenslitt, G. E. CummiDs, 

B. F. Link, L. S. Kiel, H. G. Howard, O. Marron, 
W. L. Watson. Gustave Jaoobson, N. Warn, Zenas 
Rank, G. W. Linderman, E. B. Downie, H. D. Frink, 

C. H. Richardson, H. Mussler, I. P. Farrington, Olof 
Pehrson, M. M. Marshall, J. W. Blake, 'W. M. Todd, 
John N. Johnson, O. A. Drake. 



They were of a roving disposition and 
did not remain in any one location any 
great length of time. The Marshall 
Messenger, which had succeeded the 
Prairie Schooner, told of the invasion 
in its issue of July 7. 1876: 

The grasshoppers have been on a bender for 
the last few days. While looking toward the 
sun in the middle of the day the sight presents 
the appearance of a million swarms of bees. 
They are lighting and flying all the time. There 
is not a farmer in this vicinity who can predict 
what his prospects are for a harvest this fall. 
They are coming down in many places, but are 
very unsettled in their conclusions about 
location. 

Again, on Thursday. July 20, came 
the agents of destruction in countless 
numbers and attacked the fields in all 
parts of the county. They remained all 
day Friday, feasting, and on the follow- 
ing day all departed for the south. 
Oats, barley, corn, vegetables, ami all 
crops except wheat were almost wholly 
destroyed: wheat, the big crop, by some 
strange turn of fate, was only a partial 
loss. The grain that was left was 
quickly cut and put out of the way of 
danger. 

The last invasion of the year came on 
Sunday morning, August 6, out of the 
northwest. The grasshoppers, with ex- 
cellent appetites, covered about two 
townships, remained a few days, and 
flew away with the wind, most of them 
to the northwest. Wheat was then in 
the shock and proved dry eating, so the 
invaders attacked the corn fields and 
made a clean sweep of the crop in the 
territory invaded. Only a few eggs 
were deposited during the season, but 
the ground was peppered with them in 
a belt extending from Martin county 
north to Kandiyohi county. 

Petit Jurors — Fred Gley, Jacob Rouse, S. E. Morgan, 
J. Lawrence. W. H. Cook, A. Ransom. D. Monroe, 
P. Kiltz, R. M. Addison, C. A. Cook, A. Williams, 
A. Lee, S. Van Alstine, William Rich. A. Bates, J. 
Owens, N. Webster, S. Johnson, J. Sanders, J. M. 
English, H. H. Welch, R. H. Price, A. R. Cummins, 
T. S. Downie. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY 



85 



There was no disguising the fact that 
Lyon county had met another damaging 
setback. Many who had fought the 
scourge so long gave up and quit trying 
to raise crops; some left the county. 
The prospects were indeed discouraging. 
The grasshoppers had again deposited 
their eggs in neighboring counties, and 
there seemed little prospect that the 
country would ever be free from them. 
Many did not give up, however, but 
determined to fight to a successful end 
or meet utter failure in the attempt. 
The Messenger on March 2, 1877, said: 
"Our farmers are making ready, with 
the clear grit that has become chronic 
during the grasshopper afflictions, to 
sow all they can get seed for." 

The Legislature of 1877 took measures 
to care for the devastated counties. 
One hundred thousand dollars were 
appropriated to be used in bounties to 
pay for the destruction of grasshoppers 
and their eggs, $75,000 to furnish seed 
grain, 20 and another sum for a relief 
fund. Some Lyon county farmers were 
able to purchase seed, and grain so 
shipped in came without transportation 
charges by the railroad company. Lyon 

20 The law provided for the repayment of this money 
by those receiving the grain; in case it was not paid 
back the county was bound to make payment to the 
state. Applicants were obliged to furnish affidavits 



county's share of the appropriation for 
seed was $3840.90, the applicants being 
given their choice of wheat, corn or 
peas. There were 177 applications, so 
that each received an average of $21.70 
wort h of grain. 

A "grasshopper congress" was held at 
.Marshall March 13, 1877, and was 
largely attended. Means of contending 
with the common enemy were discussed 
and plans were laid for burning the 
prairies on a given day. In accordance 
with a proclamation of Governor John 
S. Pillsbury, Thursday, April 26, 1877, 
was set aside as a day for fasting and 
prayer, and on that day religious 
services were held throughout the state 
and deliverance from the scourge was 
asked. 

Whether or not these means assisted 
in the deliverance is not certain, but 
certain it is that the grasshopper 
scourge, so far as Lyon county was con- 
cerned, ended in 1876. Thereafter for 
two or three years the pests in small 
numbers visited the county but did 
practically no harm. Grasshoppers had 
struck terror to the hearts of Lyon 
county people for the last time. 

as to their condition, and the county coinmissioners 
acted as a board to determine the worthiness of the 
applicants. 



CHAPTER VI. 



RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD— 1877-1881. 



HENCEFORTH the story of Lyon 
county is one of advancement. 
The calamitous days are past. 
No longer do the grasshoppers threaten 
the very existence of the settlement; no 
longer is it found necessary to solicit aid 
for the relief of the inhabitants. The 
days of such adversity have become 
only a memory. It must not be under- 
stood that this change was wrought in 
a day, for it was not. Trials and tribu- 
lations were yet to assail those who had 
borne so much and so long, but times 
were on the mend, and the year 1877 
ushered in the reconstruction era. 
People began anew the work of progress 
that had been interrupted when the 
grasshoppers came and placed a mort- 
gage on the county in the summer of 
1873. 

In some respects the people of Lyon 
county were in better condition than 
they had been before the scourge. Most 
of those who had filed upon government 
land in the early seventies now had 
title to their homes — and land began 
to have a value. A few had not met 
with great losses during the terrible 
scourge and were already in position to 

1 "The frequent rains we are having this spring 
increases our prospects for a good wheat crop. It 
seems now as if we might slip through this year into 
prosperous times again. Our only fear of grasshoppers 
is from flying ones, and any other part of the country 
is as much in the way of that as we are. We have a 
large acreage of crops and with a good harvest will be 
happy once more." — Marshall Messenger, May IS, 1877. 



begin the forward march. Many others, 
however, found it necessary to free 
themselves from debt before the effect 
of the more prosperous times became 
apparent. 

The annual dread of grasshopper 
visitation was again felt in the summer 
of 1877, and this time the settlers were 
agreeably disappointed. The season was 
admirably adapted to two ends: the 
best possible development of small grain 
and the worst possible development of 
the locusts. The cool, rainy weather of 
the spring and early summer seemed to 
have been sent on purpose to give 
wheat and other small grain a rapid 
and healthy growth and at the same 
time give the grasshoppers a slow and 
feeble development. 1 

A few of the pests hatched out on the 
sunny slopes in May, but they were so 
few in number and so unlike their 
voracious ancestors that no damage 
resulted. 2 The local press reported in 
the latter part of June that there had 
not been reported a single field of grain 
in Lyon county perceptibly injured by 
grasshoppers. About the middle of July 
they were seen on the wing, and occa- 

2 Contributing largely to (he unexpected good 
fortune was a little red parasite, which destroyed the 
grasshopper eggs in the nests in the fall and early 
spring months. Later the parasites attacked the 
young hoppers, loading down their frail wings and 
carcasses until it was almost impossible for them to 
fly. Bushels of the pests died before they developed 
sufficiently to'do damage. 



88 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



sionally a few came down, but the 
damage they did was practically nothing. 

As the season advanced it became 
evident that unless the grasshoppers 
came Lyon county would produce an 
enormous crop. 3 The grasshoppers did 
not come and by the middle of August 
the harvest was completed — the first 
crop in years had been saved. It was 
an enormous one, yields of forty bushels 
of wheat per acre being frequently re- 
ported. During the fall months — up to 
January 1 — there were shipped from the 
Marshall station 309 cars, containing 
109,007 bushels of wheat. The grain 
was all number one and brought good 
prices. 

It was % a time of jubilee! Every 
resident seemed imbued with new life. 
When the golden grain came pouring in, 
business men began increasing their 
stocks; farmers began improving their 
farms and putting their lands in readi- 
ness for the next crop; Lyon county was 
again inhabited by people who thought 
life worth living. 

For the first time since the coming of 

3 "The grain crop here is simply immense and our 
farmers who were able to seed their farms last spring 
have a pretty sure prospect of comfort and plenty 
ahead." — Messenger, July 2!!, 1877. 

4 The following items from the columns of the 
Marshall Messenger give an idea of the immigration 
in the fall of 1877: 

"Land hunters arrive on every train. Business has 
just begun in. this locality, all because the grasshopper 
danger is past." — August 24. 

"The town is full of strangers these days — land 
hunters mostly. The fame of our fertile prairies has 
spread over the land." — September 28. 

"Everything seems to indicate a big rush of immi- 
gration next spring. Even now, not far from the heels 
of winter, there is a respectable rush of a very desirable 
class of homeseekers distributing themselves from this 
point over the whole county. Nearly all who visit 
us remain as settlers." — October 12. 

"Approaching cold weather does not seem to per- 
ceptibly check the rush of land hunters to this part of 
the state. Every train is filled with men anxious for 
a few acres of our rich prairie land. The railroad 
company is selling considerable more land than it 
expected to, and our vacant sections are fast filling 
up with actual settlers. This makes us feel well and 
will greatly help county revenues soon." — November 
23. 

6 The people of the United States have but little 
acquaintance with the natives of Iceland, the little 
island in the Arctic circle. They are found in only a 
few places in America, and one of the two principal 
colonies of the United States is that in northwestern 
Lyon county, overlapping into Lincoln and Yellow 
Medicine counties, with Minneota as the central point. 
The other American colonies are at Pembina, North 



the grasshoppers/ immigrants arrived in 
Lyon county in 1877. They 'began 
arriving as soon as it became evident 
that the crop was safe and that the 
county could produce something besides 
the flying pests. Many came prepared 
to build on their lands, and the lumber 
yards were unable to replace their stocks 
fast enough to meet the demand. 
Nearly all the government lands had 
been filed upon by this time and the 
newcomers turned to the railroad lands, 
which had been placed on the market 
the year before. 4 

Among the immigrants of 1877 were 
fifty Icelanders, who arrived in August 
direct from their northern homes and 
located in northwestern Lyon county. 
A few of this nationality had settled in 
the ■ vicinity a year or two before, the 
first having been Gunlauger Peterson, 
who came in 1875. Others joined the 
colony later, giving to Lyon county a 
very desirable class of citizens. 5 

On March 5, 1877, a lull was passed 
by the Legislature authorizing Lyon 
county to issue bonds not to exceed 

Dakota, and at New Iceland, near Winnipeg, in 
Manitoba. 

In the early seventies Icelanders founded settle- 
ments in the Muskoko district of Ontario and in Nova 
Scotia." These were only temporary abiding places, 
the Northmen moving in 1875 to the western shore of 
Lake Winnipeg. There they founded New Iceland, 
now the largest settlement in the New World. Win- 
nipeg is the center of Icelandic wealth and culture in 
America. Several thousand reside there permanently 
and most of the emigrants from Iceland go there 
before scattering to the farming districts. 

The colony in Lyon county was founded, as described 
in the text, in 1877. There were two hundred arrivals 
from Iceland to the settlement about Minneota in 
1879, and others came later. The Icelandic settle- 
ment now comprises about one thousand people. 

Rev. Pall Thorinksson led a party of colonists from 
Manitoba in 1879 and located them in Pembina 
county, North Dakota, where they grew in numbers 
and wealth until now they form the next largest 
Icelandic colony in the New World. 

Of the Lyon county Icelanders the Marshall News- 
Messenger of May 24, 1904, said: 

"The colony in this section of Minnesota has flour- 
ished, though, in a measure, through affiliation with 
other nationalities, the semblance of colonization has 
been lost. One noticeable characteristic of the 
Icelanders is their appreciation of the public school 
system of their adopted country and their thirst for 
knowledge and English education. During several 
years past the graduating classes of the Marshall High 
School have included students of Icelandic birth and 
descent, and most of these have continued their 
education at the University of Minnesota, at normal 
schools, and other institutions, and subsequently 
engaged in the professions.'' 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



89 



$10,000 for the purpose of paying the 
county indebtedness. During the grass- 
hopper days the county, as well as the 
people living in it, had run behind 
financially and county orders were a 
slow sale at sixty cents on the dollar.''' 
Another event of the year 1877 was the 
establishment of train service on the 
Winona & St. Peter railroad between 
Marshall and the state line, giving the 
newly founded village of Minneota and 
the people of northwestern Lyon county 
benefits theretofore denied. 

The abundant crop harvested in 1877 
and the belief that the grasshopper days 
were a thing of the past were elements 
that brought a boom in 1878. To all 
parts of Southwestern Minnesota and 
many parts of Dakota Territory the 
settlers flocked that spring. Before the 
wagon roads became passable the settlers 
came by train, the great rush beginning 
early in February. 7 Five hotels in 
Marshall were unable to take care of the 
crowds of land hungry men, and still 
they poured in. 

About the middle of April the new- 
comers began to arrive in the well- 
remembered ''prairie schooners," or can- 
vas-covered wagons, and these continued 
to arrive in great and undiminished 
numbers until about the first of June. 
Twenty, forty, sixty, per day they came, 
in many cases accompanied by droves 
of cattle, horses and sheep, household 
goods and farming implements. 8 Not 
all of these stopped in Lyon county, but 
a great many did. 

8 "The county was organized about four years too 
soon and before it was able to support a county 
government. In an early time we were unfortunate in 
having many floating criminals brought in by the 
building of the railroad, and the effectual prosecution 
has put an end to crime but left us in debt. The 
railroad owns half the land of the county and has 
never paid a tax, the state owns about a tenth and 
pays no taxes, and the United States owns three- 
tenths, untaxable. There is little personal property 
to tax, and one-tenth of the land here can only pay 
current expenses." — Messenger, March 2.3, 1S77. 

7 The local paper on February 15 reported the 
arrival of about one hundred immigrants during the 
preceding week. One month later it declared the 
rush not only continued but increased. On March 22 



As a general thing the newcomers 
were a well-to-do class. The first ones 
secured homesteads, but late in April it 
was announced at the land office that 
there was not a piece of government 
land in Lyon county that had not been 
filed on; there were a few pieces that 
had been abandoned, but they were 
not very desirable. Thereafter the ar- 
rivals purchased railroad lands and im- 
proved farms that the grasshopper 
sufferers had placed on the market. 

A great amount of hind was broken 
out 9 and nc-\v buildings made their 
appearance in all parts of the county. 
To make these improvements the new 
residents swamped the local lumber 
dealers with orders. Day after day 
lumber-laden wagon trains could be 
seen wending their way across the 
prairies from the villages of Tracy, 
Marshall and Minneota to the new-found 
homes. The implement dealers also 
reaped a harvest supplying machinery 
to the new residents. 

It is a pity that we cannot record a 
continuation of prosperous times, for 
the people of Lyon county were certainly 
entitled to the smiles of fortune. Two 
weeks of excessive hot weather in the 
first half of July, followed by a week of 
excessive rains, brought a crop failure. 
Wheat, which, was still the big crop, 
was damaged most and because of its 
quality brought a low price;' 10 corn, oats 
and vegetables fared better. Close times 
financially again prevailed. 

The Lyon County Old Settlers Asso- 

it stated that two full passenger coaches of immigrants 
were brought to the county daily by the railroad. 

H "Look out almost any time and you will see streak- 
of white across our green prairies. They are strings 
of emigrant schooners come West to gain homes and an 
independent future for their families. Still there is 
room for more." — Messenger, May 3, 1S7S. 

B "You can travel north, south, east and west, ami 
everywhere you go breaking teams are hard at work 
turning over our ri( h soil. It is impossible to estimate 
the number of acres that ire being broken, but it will 
be immense." — Messenger, May 31, ISTs. 

10 "There is no longer much doubt that the wheat 
crop has been injured nearly or quite one-half. Ten 
to fifteen bushels per acre will be a good crop this 
year." — Messenger, August 2. 1878. 



90 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



ciation was organized September 30, 
1878, those instrumental in the organi- 
zation being J. W. Blake, C. H. Whitney, 
S. H. Mott, H. J. Tripp. Stanley Addi- 
son. W. M. Todd, S. Webster and C. L. 
Van Fleet, The first officers of the 
association were as follows: A. R. 
Cummins, president; C. L. Van Fleet, 
secretary; N. Cuyle, treasurer; Stanley 
Addison and C. H. Whitney, executive 
committee; J. W. Blake, orator; J. N. 
Johnson, historian: General Pierce, story 
teller. 

Early in the season of 1879 prospects 



for a big crop were flattering. Over 
36,000 acres of land were sown, and fine 
weather in the spring months promised 
a bountiful harvest. But the crop was 
light. Wheat was blighted and the 
average yield was less than ten bushels 
per acre; corn, oats and barley did 
better. There were marketed in the 
county during the year 285,950 bushels 
of wheat. 

The acreage sown to the different 
grains in 1879 and the personal property 
assessments of each precinct were as 
follows-: 



TOWNSHIPS 


Wheat 


Oats 


Corn 


Barley 


Total 
Acres 


Personal 
Property 


Amiret 


895 T 
1013 * 
1158 • 
1216 ' 

2687 
946 
950 I 

1812 r 

570! » 
1240 
200! t 
1873 ! 

05S ' 
1116 " 
1624 

571 ~ 
1221 ) 

620 


240 
316 
288 
236 
499 
178 
210 
403 
1130 
175 
393 
282 
203 
279 
280 
626 
420 

90 


205 
168 
134 

90 
149 
122 

62 
182 
216 

90 
275 
112 

59 
222 
142 

21 
100 

30 


80 
50 
74 

156 
53 

125 
15 
48 
50 

21 
10 
30 
14 
31 
2 


1463 
1586 
1718 
1551 
3529 
1323 
1248 
2469 
7210 
1573 
2813 
2291 

966 
1662 
2092 

765 
1758 

740 


$12,489 
14,653 
9,290 
24,681 
15,391 
12,965 
74,130 
14,726 
19,347 

30,677 

14,217 

10,846 

11,797 

9,141 

5,985 

1,468 

759 


Clifton 

Custer 

Eidsvold 


Fairview 


Grandview 


Lake Marshall 




Lynd 

Lyons 


Monroe 

Nordland 

Rock Lake 


Sodus . 


Stanley 


Yallers 


AYesterheim 


Island Lake, Shelburne 
and Coon Creek 


Total 


27,377 


6248 


2379 


659 


36,457 


$282,551 





Lyon county's second railroad, the 
branch of the Chicago & Northwestern 
west from Tracy, was built in 1879. 
This resulted in the founding of Balaton 
—and later of Garvin — and the rapid 
settlement and development of southern 
Lyon county. 

The first rumor of the building of the 
new line came in January, when it was 
said the Northwestern would construct 
the road in an effort to "head off" the 
Southern Minnesota (Milwaukee), which 



was being extended through the south- 
western part of the state. At that time 
orders were issued for shipping to Tracy 
large quantities of railroad building 
material. Surveyors ran the line of the 
road in March and April. 

Contracts were let in May and early 
in June construction was begun. It was 
intended to have the road ready for 
operation by the first of August, but a 
.strike and the desertion of many of the 
workmen to the harvest fields delayed 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



ill 



matters and regular trains were not put 
in operation until September 29. 

The construction of the railroad made 
times lively and there was a large 
increase in population. During the year 
1879 emigrant cars to the number of 
420 were unloaded at the various rail- 
way stations of Lyon county. Among 
the arrivals of the year were a number 
of Irish Catholics — the first of Bishop 
Ireland's colony — who settled in the 
vicinity of Minneota. 11 

Another life was sacrificed to the 
winter storms in Lyon county on 
December 16, 1879. The victim was 
Trule Knutson, who lived three and 
one-half miles southwest of Tracy. He 
had been assisting Ole Johnson move a 
house from the shore of Lake Sigel to 
Tracy and at sundown he started for his 
home, walking and driving a yoke of 
oxen. He was caught in the storm, 
lost his way. and perished. His body 
was not found for several days. 

Lyon county harvested an excellent 
crop in 1880, as did all portions of 
Southwestern Minnesota, and more No. 1 
wheat was raised than had ever been 
the case before. The county again 
became known as the "Land of Promise." 
The farmers were not to realize to the 
fullest extent the fruits of the bountiful 
harvest. Frequent and heavy rains in 
August made it impossible to finish 
stacking until about the middle of 
September, and threshing had hardly 
commenced when the memorable winter 
set in, preventing further operations. 
The next spring weather conditions were 

HAn association of Irish Catholics was formed in 
Chicago in the spring of 1879, with a capital stock of 
$100,000. The object was the colonization on western 
farms of people of that nationality who resided in 
eastern cities. Bishop Ireland had charge of the 
Minnesota and Dakota divisions and he at once made 
arrangements to plant one of his colonies in Lyon 
county. . 

The railroad lands of Eidsvold, Nordland, Grand- 
view, Westerheim and Wallers townships were reserved 
and later purchased. In the two first named the 
Irish colonists were located, and a little later Catholics 
of other nationalities were brought to the other town- 
ships. 



no better, and a large part of the 1880 
crop was not threshed until the next 
summer. It was impossible to market 
the grain that had been threshed because 
of impassable roads and the railroad 
blockade. 

The federal census of 1880 gave Lyon 
county a population of 6257, an increase 
in five years of 3714 people, or 246 per 
cent. Of the fourteen counties com- 
prising Southwestern Minnesota, only 
Brown had a greater population. 12 The 
population was divided as to sex, 
nationality and color as follows: Males, 
3381; females, 2876; native born, 4558; 
foreign born, 1699; white, 6255; colored, 
2. By precincts the population was as 
follows: 

Amiret 282 

Clifton 204 

Coon Creek 106 

Custer 293 

Eidsvold 378 

Fairview 287 

Grandview 267 

Island Lake 177 

Lake Marshall 265 

Lucas 226 

Lynd 308 

Lyons 226 

Monroe 281 

Nordland 343 

Rock Lake 248 

Hhelburne 140 

Sodus 213 

Stanley 188 

Vallers 146 

Westerheim 283 

Marshall 961 

Minneota 1 13 

Tracy 322 

Total 6257 

Before 1880 homesteaders of Lyon 
county were obliged to make the trip 
to. Redwood Falls (to New Ulm prior 
to 1872) to make proof on their claims. 

The first colonists located near Minneota and were 
under the spiritual charge of Father M. J. Hanley. 
The new arrivals were, as a rule, unskilled m farming 
pursuits and were not successful, and many engaged 
in other enterprises. In the early eighties there were 
great additions to Bishop Inland- colony and it 
became an important factor in the history and develop- 
ment of Lyon county. 

i'-The population of nearby counties in 1880 was as 
follows: Lac qui Parle, 4907; Yellow Medicine, 5884; 
Redwood, 5375; Murray. 3604; Pipestone, 2092; 
Lincoln, 2954. 



92 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



With the rapid settlement of the country 
to the west, most of the business of the 
Redwood Falls land office came from 
Lyon and Lincoln counties, and an 
office was opened at Tracy on May 22, 
1880. It was located there nine years. 
The offices at Benson, Tracy, Redwood 
halls and Worthington 13 were consoli- 
dated February 28, 1889, and moved to 
Marshall, where the land office was 
located until July 1, 1903. Then there 
was a merger of the Marshall and St. 
Cloud offices and Lyon county lost the 
office. 14 

One of the dates from which time is 
reckoned in Lyon county is the winter 
of 1880-81 — the season of Siberian 
frigidity. There have been worse storms 
than any that occurred that winter; for 
short periods of time there has been 
colder weather. But there never was a 
winter to compare with this one in 
duration, continued severity, depth of 
snow, and damage to property. 

Blizzard followed blizzard. The rail- 
roads were blockaded for weeks and 
months at a time. Fuel and food were 
nearly exhausted. People burned green 
wood, fences, lumber, hay and grain 
and went without lights. In some places 
there was suffering for lack of food. 
Roads remained unbroken all winter and 
the farmers obtained their supplies from 
the villages- by means of handsleds. 
Two lives were lost in Lyon county in 
the storms of that winter and several 
others were so badly frozen that ampu- 
tation of limbs was necessary; many 

13 The Redwood Falls office was established in July, 
1872, with Colonel B. F. Smith as register and Major 
W. H. Kelley as receiver. The Worthington office was 
the successor of the Brownsville office, established on 
the Mississippi river in 1854. It was moved to Chat- 
field in 1856, to Winnebago City in 1861, to Jackson 
in 1869, and to Worthington in 1874. Upon the 
removal from Worthington in 1889 C. P. Shepard was 
register and August Peterson receiver. 

14 The first officers at Tracy were George W. Warner, 
register, and John Lind, receiver, the latter being 
succeeded after several years' service by P. K. Weiser. 
Messrs. Warner and Weiser were in charge when the 
office was moved to Marshall in 1889. »L. M. Lange 
succeeded George W. Warner as register November 1, 
18S9, and C. P. Shepard succeeded the latter February 



others became lost in the storms and 
had thrilling experiences. The long, 
cold, boisterous, blizzardous, wearisome 
winter will never be forgotten by those 
who were then living in Lyon county. 

Before the farmers had fairly started 
their fall work, while the grass was yet 
green and the insect world active, winter 
set in. Toward evening on Friday, 
October 15, the wind, which had been 
blowing from the north all day, brought 
with it an occasional flake of snow. 
'When darkness came the wind and 
snow increased, and before midnight the 
elements were thoroughly aroused. 
Throughout the night the storm steadily 
increased, and when morning came its 
fury was such as had seldom been wit- 
nessed in the middle "of the severest 
winters. Saturday forenoon the wind 
continued to blow with terrific violence, 
driving before it the rapidly falling snow 
with such force that few dared to 
venture out of doors. All day the 
blizzard raged, not calming down until 
nightfall. Saturday night the raging 
elements ceased their tempestuous frolic. 
Sunday the weather was calm, but cold 
and wintry. The fall of snow was great 
and the violent winds piled it in great 
mounds. 15 

The streets of Marshall, Tracy and 
Minneota were packed full, the banks 
in many places on the north side rising 
'almost level with the second story 
windows and completely covering from, 
sight some of the smaller buildings. 
The business houses in all three villages 

16, 1894, and served until the removal. P. K. Weiser 
was succeeded as receiver August 1, 1SS9, by E. P. 
Freeman, he by M. E. Mathews in January, 1894, and 
George M. Laing took the office February 7, 1898. 
Mr. Laing died June 17, 1898, and C. F. Case served 
from July, 1898, until the removal from Marshall, tj.*-i 

16 "Although this country has gained something of 
celebrity in the blizzard business, the oldest inhabitants 
were as much astonished as anybody at such a storm 
in October as we caught last Saturday and Sunday. 
This storm was unprecedented. Nobody knows how 
much snow fell, as it was gathered in drifts from 
nothing to thirty feet deep. It would pass for a 
first-class blizzard, and the loss to the county by it 
will foot up several thousand dollars." — Messenger, 
October 22, 1880. 



HISTORY OF LYON OOl'NTY. 



93 



were for the most part closed and the 
towns resembled Icelandic hamlets. The 
snow which fell in this initial storm did 
not entirely disappear until the following 
May. 

So badly drifted was the snow that 
the railroad was completely blockaded, 
and from Friday, the fifteenth, until 
Saturday, the twenty-second, no trains 
were able to get through, although Large 
forces of men were at work clearing the 
track. Even this short blockade re- 
sulted in a shortage of fuel. In the 
country damage because of the storm 
was great. It was the first and only 
blizzard experienced in the county in 
October, and, of course, the farmers 
were unprepared for it. The loss of 
stock throughout the county was con- 
siderable, many hogs and sheep, par- 
ticularly, having been frozen to death. 

The only death resulting in this 
October blizzard in the vicinity was that 
of Samuel Kile. He was with a thresh- 
ing crew at Tom Brown's place north of 
Minneota. On the morning of the six- 
teenth he and others started for the 
barn to do the chores, and on the way 
to the barn Kile's hat was blown off. 
Despite the protests, of the other men, 
he started in pursuit of the hat in the 
raging blizzard. That was the last seen 
of the man alive. 

When it became apparent that Kile 
was lost, the men shouted and rang bells 
to guide him to safety and a diligent 
search was made. During the next 
three weeks searching parties scoured 
the entire neighborhood, dragged the 
Yellow Medicine river, and made every 
effort to locate the body. In the first 
part of November the body was found 
embedded in a snow drift, sixty rods 
northwest of the barn; his hat was found 

^Samuel Kite was a son of George and Barbara Kile, 
who lived over the line in Lincoln eounty. During the 
fall of 1880 he was employed with a threshing crew 
operating north of Minneota and was so employed 
when he met his death. Samuel Kile was a strong 



one and one-half miles southeast from 
t he place. 18 

There were several cases of severe 
freezing and many adventures in this 
remarkable storm. A Swede living near 
( 'eresco was lost while going from his 
house to the barn and for three days 
wandered over the prairie. He was 
found thirty miles from home with both 
feet frozen. A son of Levi Craig, who 
lived near Amiret, had an exciting 
experience in the storm. He had gone 
to a neighbor's to get some matches and 
on the way home became lost. He 
came upon a wheat stack and, burrowing 
his way into' it, remained there until 
Sunday morning. He reached home 
severely frozen. 

For a short time after the initial storm 
the weather was calm but wintry. 
About the middle of November storms 
began to rage again, and wintry blasts 
continued from that time until late in 
April. For weeks at a time the people 
of Lyon county were absolutely isolated. 
They spent long weeks of weary waiting 
in the midst of the dreariest, gloomiest 
and most discouraging surroundings- 
waiting for the raising of the blockade 
and the arrival of the necessaries of life, 
of which they were deprived. Because 
of the fuel and provision famine which 
ensued there was considerable suffering 
in parts of the county. Severe cold 
weather began November 16 and during 
the remainder of the month the ther- 
mometer frequently registered sub-zero. 

Following is the story of the winter. 
told in brief chronological order, from 
the beginning of December until the 
breakup in the spring: 

DECEMBER. 

2-3. Zero weather. 

voung man and weighed about ISO pounds. At the 
time of his death he was eighteen years, eight months 

and eighteen days of age. lie was a brother ol Arthui 
J. Kile, who for many years has I ..■en a resident ol 
Minneota. 



94 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY 



4. Snow falling and drifting. Last train and 
mail for five days. 

5-9. Below zero weather. Railroad block- 
ade raised on the ninth. 

10-15. Milder weather. 

23. Last freight train of the winter arrived. 

25. Ten days' railroad blockade begun. 17 
25-31. Extremely cold weather — thirty and 

thirty-five below zero — and blizzardy. 

26. Ole Norton lost in blizzard and so 
severely frozen that he died later. 18 

JANUARY. 

4. First train in ten days arrived. Big mail 
receipts. 

5. Another train ran. 

6. Railroad blockaded 

8. Snow-fighting train got over the line. 

10. Road cleared and first mail received 
since January 5. No freight trains. 

12. Twenty-four hour blizzard raged. One 
week railway blockade begun. 

19. Last train from the east for three months 
arrived. 

20. Train ran from Marshall to Watertown 
in the morning and returned to Tracy in the 
evening — the last train over the line until April 

17 "We haven't seen business more nearly at a 
standstill for sonie years than it was here several days 
this week. We suppose it is necessary to state that 
we have had no eastern trains this week. Just when 
we will have one again is a matter still under dis- 
cussion."— Messenger, December 31, 1880. 

ls 01e Norton was thirty-two years old and lived 
alone in Vallers township. On theeveningof December 
26 he started out to go to the home of his brother, 
Michael Norton, a little over one-half mile away. The 
thermometer registered ten degrees below zero and the 
wind was blowing hard. 

.Mr. Norton passed a hay stack about thirty rods 
from his house and thereafter found it difficult to 
determine the directions. He continued on his way 
but soon became completely lost. After wandering 
about on the prairie two hours he again came to the 
same stack, but believed it to be another about two 
miles distant. He could see a few rods away the dim 
outline of what he took to be a house, and made an 
effort to reach it, but he could make little headway 
against the wind and returned to the stack. By this 
time his feet were freezing and to keep up the circula- 
tion of blood he began running around the hay stack. 

Failing to get relief, Mr. Norton dug a hole in the 
stack, with the intention of seeking shelter therein. 
Progress was painfully slow, as his hands were be- 
numbed and he had lost one of his gloves. He suc- 
ceeded in making an opening only large enough for 
his legs, which he hoped to keep from freezing. The 
unfortunate man remained at the hay stack until 
daylight and then with great difficulty made his way 
to his house, which he found was only a few rods away. 
With greater difficulty he succeeded in building a fire. 

Mr. Norton's cap was frozen to his head, but after 
awhile it thawed out enough to be removed. He got 
one of his boots off and found his feet were frozen 
solid. Becoming alarmed at his condition and not 
daring to remain alone while thawing out, Norton 
hobbled to his brother's house with one foot bare. 
There he was taken care of and hopes were entertained 
that his feet might be saved. Both feet were ampu- 
tated below the knee on January 9 by Doctors Andrews 
and Farnsworth and Mr. Norton died on the twelfth. 
His experience in the storm was given by him sub- 
stantially as recorded above. 

""During the past week Marshall has given a 
limited supply of fuel to the towns above and entirely 
exhausted her own supply. The former blockade was 
not broken long enough to get any freight through 
from the east and none of any consequence has arrived 
since the Christmas blockade. The last cordwood has 
been sold and the last of small coal has been sold. 
There is a plentiful supply of large hard coal in town, 



19. Storm from the north. Fuel supply run- ^ 
ning short. 19 

21. Blizzard raging. 

22. Still storming. 

24. Railroad entirely covered with drifts, in 
places thirty or forty feet deep. Railroad has 
sublet the contract for carrying the mail between 
Sleepy Eye and "Watertown, and mail from the 
west received. 

26. Blizzard from the north. 

27. Fuel famine at Minneota reported. 20 

30. Heavy snow storm at night . 

31. Blizzard. 

FEBRUARY. 

1. Fuel nearly gone at Marshall. 21 

2. A little coal turned over to the dealer by 
Mr. Burchard, of Marshall, and sold in small 
lots. 

3. Last overland mail for many days re- 
ceived. At evening began one of the worst 
storms of the winter, coming from the south- 
east. Lasted until the seventh. 22 

7. Mild weather and thaw after the storm 
subsided. Froze at night and crusted all the 
drift-. 

8. Fuel famine serious. Breaking roads to 
( lamden woods. 23 

which for use in cooking or parlor stoves requires to 
be broken up."— News, January 21, 1881. 

\. M. Chadburn, of Minneota, was in town 
yesterday and says the people of that town are suffering 
greatly from cold, that there has been neither wood 
nor coal there for a long time. He states that women 
and children ami many of tin' men are compelled to 
lie in bed during the night and day in order to keep 
from freezing. Mr. Chadburn came down t<> see if he 
could secure any fuel, and finding a small quantity of 
coal and Mime green wood, he says t lie citizens will at 
once come here for a supply."— News, January 28, 
L881. 

-'The only dry wood mi sale at thai time were a 
few cords that were hauled in from the Youmania 
farm and sold at $10 or 811 per cord, and the supply 
was soon exhausted. What little hard coal there was 
sold for $13.75 per ton. 

--"From Thursday nighl of last week [February 3] 
until Monday morning of this [February 7], this 
locality was visited by the heaviest and worst -now 
storm the oldest inhabitant, much as he hates to admit 
it, ever saw here. . . . On this occasion we had both 
snow and wind in uncommon quantities. Instead of 
coming from the northwest, as most of our winter 
storms do, this one came from the southeast. While 
not very cold for a winter storm, the severe wind and 
drifting snow made it impossible most of the time to 
do anything out of doors, and nearly all business was 
at a standstill. When it cleared off the roads were in 
the worst possible condition. Drifts on top of drifts 
so perfectly impeded travel that during Monday very 
few teams ventured out, although the snow was soft 
and melting." — Messenger, February 11. 1881. 

23 "Tuesday morning [February S] the citizens were 
notified to assemble at the land office to take action 
toward breaking out the roads leading to town from 
the settlers' farms. It was resolved that the first duty 
was to open the road to the Camden timber land-, 
ten miles distant, as many families were destitute of 
fuel. Rev. Liscomb stated that the wood-chopping 
party, which started in the morning, had progressed 
only two miles and returned to dinner, but hail gone 
out again. The resolution was followed by immediate 
action, and half an hour later three or four teams and 
thirty or forty men were on the road to Camden. 
They reached the morning party about five miles out, 
where they had been met by a Camden party led by 
V. M. Smith, with a -mall load of flour from the mill. 
The entire party returned to town, announcing an 
open road to the timber land and the probability of a 
supply of wood the following day. 

"An adjourned meeting was held at the land office in 



HISTORY OF LYON col NTY. 



95 



9. Roads broken from Marshall to Ceresco, 
Amirel and other points. Farmers reported 
burning bay. 

1 1 . Severe blizzard from I be north. 

12. Blizzard all day. Measures for relief of 
destitute taken in Marshall. ' ' 

I l. Suffering reported at Minneota for lack 
of fuel and provisions. Burning railroad fence 
posts 

L9. 1. aJies of Marshall raised money for 
supplies for the destitute. 

22. Hard snow storm, the only one of any 
consequence for nearly a week. People of 
Grandview burning snow fences. 88 

24. Snow and south wind. 

•_'.">. Blizzard from the south. 

26. Blizzard from the northwesl 

28 Mail received. Oats used for fuel. 27 

MARCH. 

1-:;. Mild weather. 

I. Fierce blizzard all day. 

the evening. There was considerable discussion as Bo 
the opening of roads to other towns ami nut upon the 

prairies to the settlers. It was saiil that Settlers were 

..mi of fuel ami provisions and it was quite impossible 
For them to break the roads ami get to town. Rev. 
Liscomb favored opening roads to the hay ami straw 
stacks near town, as horses ami cattle wen- suffering 
for food. It was finally agreed that gangs of men 

and teams should operate Wednesday on tin' roads to 
the northeast, north and BOUthwest, and the following 

morning work was begun. It was decided that on 
Thursday a combined effort should lie made to 

tin- road' south to Tracy, it being reported that the 

towns above and below were opening connecting mads. 

in order to get the mail ami freight on tin- railroad." 
— News, February 11, 1881. 

"February 12 a meeting was held in Marshall to 
devise means of relief for those who were suffering for 
lack of fuel or provisions because of the blockades and 
severe weather. It was the general opinion that relief 
should come from the county commissioners and a 
committee was appointed to look into the matter of 
destitute persons. 

""People at Minneota have received permission 
from the railroad company to dig up and burn all the 
fence posts, and Station Agent Davidson is having a 
perplexing time in their distribution. Only Coats' 
store has been open for three weeks past, because there 
has been no fuel to warm the stores. As yet only a 
few cases of actual suffering for want of provisions 
have come to light and these have been attended to. 
About a dozen teams went to the Camden timber 
Monday morning [February 14] and that night suc- 
ceeded in bringing to town about eight cords of wood. 
It was tedious work and few teams could haul more 
than half a cord. Some who started with more had 
to leave part of it on the road. On Tuesday some 
fifteen teams went to the woods and brought in about 
ten cords. The wood sells here at $7.00 per cord."- 
News, February 18, 1881. 

26 "While we in Grandview have been poorly off for 
fuel, our supply long since being exhausted, we have 
kept from suffering by the aid of the snow fences along 
the line of the railroad, and these are well-nigh ex- 
hausted; but we live as all our neighbors do, in hope. 
We ha've heard of no cases of suffering for want of 
worldly goods and but little sickness." — Grandview 
Correspondent, February 25, 1881. 

27 "Mr. Humphrey and others east of here are 
burning oats for fuel and say that a bushel a day 
supplies a stove. This makes a cheap fuel." — Mes- 
senger, March 4, 1881. 

2S "Marshall came very near getting out of kerosene 
oil some three weeks ago and our enterprising grocer 
of the Twin Cash Stores, Mr. Waldron, sent W. A. 
Crooker and his mules down to Mankato after a load. 
This was about the only team that would try to make 
the trip, and bets were made that he wouldn't be back 
here to celebrate the Fourth of July. But it is never 



Sup- 



Rain, hail and snow storm began at 



."). Beginning si\ days of Hue weather, 
ply of kerosene received at, Marshall. 28 

lb Roads open Wet ween most of the settle- 
ments. Deep snows reported in Custer town- 
ship. 211 

ID. 
night. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

17. 

24. 



Heavy snowfall. 



Blizzard all day. 
( lontinued blizzard. 
Fair weather. 
Blizzard began at noon. 
Snow drifting. 

.Second load of express matter since 
December arrived overland from Sleepy F.ye. 

Marshall people attack snow fences. 80 

:!(). Attempt made to open the railroad. 31 
31. Severest blizzard of the winter raged. 32 

APRIL. 

1-7. Spring weather. Shovelers working on 
snow drifts between Tracy and Marshall. 33 
6. Heavy mail overland from the east. 

safe to bel on what Crooker and his mules can accom- 
plish, and last Saturday [March 5] they hove in sight 
over the hill. The band instantly turned out with a 
long rope, to which were attached nearly a hundred 
boys, to help haul him into harbor. Having hitched 
on and got the Twin Cash proprietor on board, they 
refused to let go and made a grand street parade, 
thus giving glory to the event and a good advertise- 
ment to tin. 'twin Cash Stores. We have plenty of oil 
here now and can give our neighbors some if needed. 
Crooker made the trip in about twelve days, but had 
to stop two days at Lake Marshall on account of a 
blizzard. Mr. Waldron very generously paid him $14 
more than agreed on to make up for the unexpected 
bad weather and other delays." — Messenger, March 11, 
1881. 

'-" J "Most of the farmers are busy digging snow. 
Some have tunnels ten feet deep and forty feet long 
leading to their stables. We have seen a number of 
our neighbors going to mill with handsleds. Coal oil 
is very precious and the burning of tallow candles is 
considered a luxury. Mail is out of the question, 
which makes it very disagreeable for those who have 
distant sweethearts'. Most of us are burning green 
wood, which is very hard on our patience." — Custer 
Correspondent, March 11, 1881. 

30 "Parties out of dry wood have lately been tearing 
down all the snow fences up this way for fuel. Green 
wood is plenty here yet, but high because of bad 
roads." — Messenger, March 25, 1881. 

""Superintendent Sanborn arrived here Wednesday 
[March 30] and proceeded to tear up things to heat the 
engine that has been stored here for several weeks and 
began work on the road between here and Tracy. As 
the company is now at work at both ends of the 
blockade and in the middle, we can hope to connect 
with the outside world in a few weeks. Later— This 
item was a little too previous. A slight change in the 
weather has delayed things some." — Messenger, April 
1, 1881. 

""Wednesday evening [March 30] damp snow began 
to fall in this vicinity, with a constantly increasing 
wind, and by midnight the storm had assumed the 
title of blizzard. Thursday morning dawned upon the 
blizzard in full bloom and the old prophecy of March 
coming in like a lamb, sure to go out like a lion, was 
fully verified, for certainly no storm of the winter was 
more severe than that of the last day of March. "- 
News, April 1, 1S81. 

""Since the last blizzard, March 31, the weather has 
been putting on the air of spring, and the work of 
opening the railroad has rapidly progressed. \ olun- 
teer companies turned out here for two or three days, 
and the railroad company has since been hiring all the 
men they could get to shovel snow. The coal shed 
and other things that could be spared were chopped 
up for fuel to feed the engine that has been wintered 
here, and as long as that holds out fair progress will be 
made. The cuts are everywhere filled full, and the 



96 



HISTORY OF LTOX COUNTY 



7. Mail for the east sent out by way of 
Granite Falls. Marshall people burning lum- 
ber. 34 Began snowing at two o'clock. 

8. Northeast blizzard and heavy snowfall. 

11. Snowing. 

12. North wind drifts snow. 

13. Zero weather. 

16. First night since early in November that 
ice did not form. 

18. Railroad opened to Tracy and first train 
in three months — lacking two days — arrived. 

19. Railroad opened to Marshall and freight 
train arrived at eleven o'clock in morning, 
bringing car load of wood. Two passenger 
trains also arrived, bringing first mail in two . 
weeks. These were the first trains from the 
east to reach Marshall in exactly three months. 

20. Railroad opened to Minneota, but no 
trains run. 35 

21. Floods washed out track and bridges 
and traffic on the railroad (after twenty-four 
hours' operation) was suspended until Maj r 3. 

The long winter of 1880-81 was over, 
but its results were not over, and after 
trains had been operated in Lyon county 
one day, the blockade was again in 
force by reason of floods and washouts, 
and no trains were run in the county 
until -May 3. 

The torrents of water from'the melting 
snow overfilled the banks of the rivers, 
inundated the low lands, and carried 
away bridges and railroad tracks. Six 
bridges on the line of the Northwestern 

snow is almost as hard as ice in some places. As there 
is no snow plow here every foot of the cuts has to be 
shoveled out by hand. The work will therefore be 
slow and Tracy will not be reached before next week 
probably. At the Sleepy Eye end the drifts are much 
worse than here, and although as large a force as they 
can get is employed, their progress west is not rapid. 
If the road is open by the last of next week our largest 
expectations will be realized." — Messenger, April 8, 
lvsl. 

'••"Considerable lumber is being burned here now, 
other fuel being scarce and high. Mr. Sullivan has 
been selling lumber for fuel at first cpst." — News, 
April 8, 1881. 

36 A Minneota citizen, writing to the Marshall News 
of April 25, 1881, told of conditions at that point 
during the winter, as follows: 

". . . That although we have passed so far a very 
unpleasant winter and have suffered great incon- 
veniences, there has been no loss of life or property in 
consequence of the severity of the weather. Our 
village has not known what it is to enjoy the luxuries 
of a good wood pile or well-fillecf coal bins during 
nearly the entire winter. 

"Farmers about Minneota have fared worse than the 
people in town, in not having wood or coal, but better 
in having plenty of hay and straw to feed and burn. 
... A great many farmers have stables so located as 
to be completely covered over with snow. A large 
number have an opening only at the top and the 
farmers go down into their stables by means of a 
ladder, tin- animals being completi ly confined in a snow- 
prison. We have heard of no instances of farmers 
having been out of fuel. ... At one time there were 
three families that had nearly exhausted their supply 
of provisions 'luring a stormy spell, but they were 



between Sleepy Eye and Watertown 

were carried away and there were a 
dozen place- where the track was 
washed out. 

The melting snow,- began to cover the 
lower surface.; on April 20, but the over- 
flow of the stream- did not take place 
until the twenty-second. Floodtide was 
reached Sunday evening, April 24. and 
on the following day the waters began 
to recede. On the twenty-eighth the 
streams were so reduced as to be nearly 
within their banks again. 

The losses in different parts of the 
county were considerable. The dam 
of the Redwood at the Camden mill was 
swept away, as was also one in Lyons 
township. The" streets of Marshall were 
traveled in boats, and trips by boat 
were made from that village to points 
on the Minnesota river, part of the way 
over the inundated prairies. The bridges 
over the Redwood at Marshall were 
wrecked and several thousand feet of 
lumber ami several small buildings were 
carried away. The loss in the village 
was estimated at $5000. 36 

soon supplied again and have suffered no incon- 
veniences since. 

"Then- has been no attempt to keep open the roads 
for teams I xcept along the railroad track. Snowshoes 
and handsleds on wide runners have taken the place 
of horse- and sleighs in this vicinity. On Tuesday of 
this week four men on snowshoes hauled a corpse on 
a handsled a distance of about ten miles to the burying 
ground of this place tor interment. The corpse had 
been kept two or three weeks buried in a, snowbank 
awaiting an opportunity for burial. Pleasant daj 9 
during the pasl two months have been signaled in town 
by hundreds of feet of snowshoes. All seem to have 
fallen in with the Scandinavian idea of going to town 
on snowshoes and taking their goods home on hand- 
sleds or packing them on their backs. 

"The stores of our town have suffered but little 
inconvenience as yet for supplies of provisions; at 
least they continue to serve their customers' as usual." 

36 The Marshall News of April 29, 1881, told of the 
flood in the village as follows: 

"The Second Street bridge, leading to the railroad, 
was not high or wide enough to carry off the surplus 
water. Almost a- soon as the area between the street 
and Nichols' stable was filled, the water burst over the 
street, from between the bridge and the corner of the 
Merchants Exchange, cutting off communication for 
teams and pedestrians. At the same time .Main Street 
at the lower bridge had been overflowed, cutting off 
communication in that direction. Early in the day 
water backed up between the railroad bridge and Main 
Street, soon cutting across the street and making a 
broad, deep and rapid current past the Bagley House, 
Watson's residence, and across to the bend of the 
river. This outburst relieved the main channel and 
saved the entire main street and its business blocks 
from inundation. 




A PIONEER HOME 

Log Cabin Erected on Section 4, Custer Township, in 1870, by Zibe Furgeson, 
and Purchased the Following Year by Benjamin B. Thomas. The 
Engraving is Made From a Painting. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



97 



The work of repairing the railroad 
and raising the blockade was put under 
way as soon as the waters permitted. 
The reconstruction crew, working from 
the east, reached Tracy May 1. ami on 
the afternoon of tin- third Marshall was 
reached. The same evening a well- 
Loaded freight train broughl supplies to 
the several villages along the line and 
the next day passenger, mail and freight 
service were established. Train service 
on the branch west from Tracy was 
begun about the same time. 

The long blockade was broken and 

the people of Lyon county were again 

able to purchase the necessities of life. 

The Marshall News of April li said: 

Every -tore in town hung out its banner 
labeled "sugar** this week. The town lias been 
without it for a week or two, along with many 
other things. Towns west of us have been 
much more destitute, very nearly approaching 
suffering in some cases. The docile coffeemill 
has furnished all the hour and meal of many 
families. 

A gentleman living at Minneota wrote 

at the time of the arrival of the first 

train : 

We have just received our first freight since 
January. The arrival of the train with the 
bridge carpenters was the signal for the citizens 
to turn out and run to the depot. The railroad 
company sent in a freight train right away after 
the work train. A joyful smile overspread the 
countenances of our citizens when they heard 
that Coats had some sugar on the train, and 
what a rush there was by the sweet -toothed 
members of our community! 

Most of the 1880 grain crop was 

"The street afforded a rapid watercourse from the 
News office, past the Bagley House, to the end of the 
street, and from the Merchants .Exchange the water 
reached to the hill beyond the bridge. The passage 
of the water past the Bagley House and Watson's 
place to the river left the business part of town entirely 
surrounded by water and accessible only by boats. 
On Saturday [April 23] the high walks west of the News 
office and barber shop were carried away, leaving the 
Bagley House, Gary's building, Wetherbee's store, the 
marble works and Mrs. Farnsworth's building each 
surrounded by rapid currents of water, through which 
it was difficult to navigate boats. Temporary bridges 
were constructed on Monday to reach these points. 
All of the cellars on the south side of the street were 
flooded and stables and cattle buildings generally were 
abandoned. 

"Previous to the thaw between forty and fifty boats 
had been constructed, and on Friday every boat and 
every apology for one were brought into requisition 
to ferry people to and from their homes and business 
places. A regular ferry was established between the 
.Merchants Exchange and the bridge as long as the 



threshed and marketed in the spring 
and summer following, and some of it 
was of good quality. Owing to the 
Hoods, the late season ami blight, the 
\\ heal crop of lssi was a failure. The 
local papers reported it as a half crop 
and estimated the yield at ten bushels 
per acre. Some of the other crops were 
fail- and there was a good market for 
all produce. 

In April, 1881, came the first Belgians 

and Hollanders to the Catholic colony 
of northwestern Lyon county. With 
these first arrivals, about seventy-five 
in number, came Father Cornelius, who 
did much toward the rapid settlement 
of the county. The new arrivals, who 
settled for the most part in Grandview 
township and the village of Client, were 
attracted by the advertising matter of 
the Catholic society and the report of 
one of their number who visited the 
county in 1SS0. 37 

The matter of the building of the 
Minneapolis & St. Louis railroad through 
Lyon county was a live issue in 1881. 
Surveys were made in the summer and 
bonds to aid in its construction were 
voted in several precincts of Redwood 
county. Late in September the railroad 
authorities submitted a proposition, by 
the terms of which they agreed to build 
through Lyon county provided the right 
of way was given and about $30,000 in 

bridge remained, and afterwards from the Exchange 
to the opposite shore. The water at this point formed 
a double current in the regular channel of the river 
and past the corner of the hotel, running at a speed of 
about a dozen miles an hour and making it difficult 
and dangerous to cross, and not a few narrow escapes 
from disaster occurred." 

37 In 1880 Angelus Van Hee and his son, Aime Van 
Hee, came from Belgium to locate a home for a colony 
in the New World. They came upon the request of 
Bishop Ireland and were accompanied by Peter Van 
Hee, of Liverpool, England. Angelus Van Hee and 
his son visited many parts of the country and found 
no place they liked better than Lyon county. They 
bought land on section 17, Grandview township, made 
some improvements thereon, and than returned to 
Belgium and reported favorably on the country. 

As a result of this visit, the colony came in 1881, 
and there were many additions during several suc- 
ceeding years. Among those who purchased farms in 
1881 were David Van Hee, Mrs. Modest Van Bee, 

Messrs. De Hutter, Vandewoestyne, Decock, Vei 

and Foulon. 



98 



HISTOEY OF LYON COUNTY. 



bonds were voted to aid in the con- 
struction. 

The people of Lyon county were 
eager to secure the road and at once 
made arrangements to vote the bonds. 
It was arranged that township bonds 



should be issued and not all the town- 
ships were asked to contribute. Fol- 
lowing is the list of townships that 
voted on the bond issue, the date of the 
election, the amount of bonds asked, 
and the result : 



PRECINCTS 



Lake Marshall 

Clifton 

Fairview , 

Lynd 

Island Lake . . 
Grand view 

Stanley 

Nordland 38 . . . 
Lvons 



Date 



Amount 



Oct. 18 
Oct. 21 
Oct. 25 
Oct, 29 
Nov. 8 
Nov. 12 
Dec. 31 
Dec. 31 
Mch. 21 



$13,900 
1,800 
3,800 
4,200 
1,200 
2,400 
1,800 
1,200 
2,400 



For 
Bonds 



Against 
Bonds 



176 
21 
18 
28 
18 
24 
11 

28 



2 


•5 

6 

1 

18 

21 

19 



Although enough bonds were voted, posed road had passed into other hands 

the road was not built, and in May, and that the line would not be con- 

1882, it was announced that the pro- structed through Lyon county. 

3S Voted against the bonds. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE AGE OF IMi< >SPEK ITY— 1882-1912. 



FACTS supplying the context of 
preceding chapters lead to the 
conclusion that the people of 
Lyon county had passed through many 
years of hardships and bitter dis- 
appointments before a permanent con- 
dition of prosperity was readied. This 
long period of travail was punctuated 
by an occasional year that promised 
better times. In the earliest days the 
settlers contended with obstacles in- 
cident to the settlement of any new- 
country, being far from railroads, mar- 
kets, schools, churches, and the many 
institutions that in our present day 
civilization are considered necessary to 
the enjoyment of life. 

The community had hardly emerged 
from its frontier state when the grass- 
hopper scourge came with its terrifying 
inflictions, and the county received a 
setback which took years to overcome. 
Following the departure of the plague 
came several years devoted to the pay- 
ment of debts contracted during the 
dark days and making a new start. 
During this reconstruction period were 
several years of partial crop failures 
because of weather conditions, and the 
age of prosperity did not begin until the 
year 1882. 

An excellent crop of small grain was 
produced in 1882, the first crop in 



several years that was secured and 
marketed without some discouraging 
feature. The result was a rise in the 
value of Lyon county farming lands and 
an influx of new settlers, who came to 
share in the prosperous times. During 
the fall months every train from the 
east brought landseekers, most of whom 
invested in railroad lands and remained 
as permanent settlers. "With no effort 
to force a boom," said the Marshall News 
in August, "one has fairly started. 
The railroad land office is daily dis- 
posing of land in the county and much 
deeded property is changing hands." 

The following winter was another 
severe one. For thirty-four days prior 
to March 4 the railroad was blockaded 
so completely that not a train ran in the 
county. Another of the death-dealing 
winter storms occurred February 15 
and 16, 1883, in which two more lives 
were added to the list of those sacrificed 
to the Storm King. 

During the afternoon of the fifteenth 
the weather was calm and foggy. At a 
quarter after nine in the evening was 
heard the roaring, rumbling sound that 
gives warning of the approach of all 
storms entitled to the name blizzard. 
At half past nine it struck, moving with 
a velocity of thirty-five miles an hour. 
The blizzard raged until half past seven 



\j ^ f> c b ■ - 



100 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



the next evening, the thermometer 
during this time registering six to eight 
degrees below zero. 

Luther C. Hildreth, thirty-five years 
of age, an early settler of Lyon county, 
lost his life in the terrible storm. He 
had been chopping wood at D. S. Burt 's 
place, on the northwest quarter of 
section 24, Coon Creek township, a mile 
and a half from his own home, which 
was on the southeast quarter of section 
22, of the same precinct. At eleven 
o'clock on the night of the storm Mr. 
Hildreth started for home and within a 
short time was lost. As subsequently 
learned by tracing his tracks, he passed 
quite near his own house and continued 
west to Lone Tree lake. Then he turned 
east, came to the Redwood river, and 
followed up its channel two miles. 
While in the river bed Mr. Hildreth 
endeavored to dig a hole in the snow, 
but failed and lost his mittens there. 

Still clinging to the ax he carried, Mr. 
Hildreth left the river and proceeded in 
a meandering course to within a short 
distance of Balaton. The last half mile 
was made on his hands and knees part 
of the way, the tracks showing that he 
staggered when walking. The body was 
found on the eighteenth. He was lying 
on his back with his legs doubled under. 

The other death was that of Annie 
Cain, nineteen years of age, who lived 
with her parents near Amiret. On the 
day the storm began she was visiting at 
the home of F. A. Woodruff and early in 
the evening started home. She became 
lost in the fog before the blizzard started 
and when the storm came up she 
battled with it for some time, but 

'The French colony came as a result of the reports 
of the county made by Messrs. Letourneau and Regnier, 
who came in the summer of 1882. After visiting 
many parts of Southwestern Minnesota, they decided 
to locate in the Ghent neighborhood. Their repre- 
sentations were responsible for the arrivals of 1883. 
Among the first of the French settlers were Messrs. 
Paradis and sons, Suprenant-Lord, Xord Paradis, 
Antony Paradis, Suprenant-Prairie. Metty, Carron, 
Lebeau, Padnaud, Duchene, Nevell and Emilien 
Suprenant. 



finally succumbed. Mis:; Cain traveled 
six miles and sank down to her death 
about two hundred rods north of the 
house of Andrew Jackson. At one time 
in her travels she passed within thirty 
rods of that home. The young lady was 
thought to have remained at Wood- 
ruff's, and the fact that she had been 
lost in the storm was not known for two 
days. Her body was found on the 
eighteenth. 

The year 1883 witnessed a large 
immigration to Lyon county. In March 
came a colony of fifty French settlers 
from Kankakee county, Illinois, who 
settled in the Ghent neighborhood. 
They came in a train of thirty-seven 
cars and brought farming implements 
and stock with them. 1 There were also 
many arrivals from Belgium and Hol- 
land, who came as a result of a trip to 
the old country by Father Cornelius in 
January, 1883. 2 

Many new farm houses were erected 
during the year, the villages increased 
in population, and the country took on 
an air of prosperity. Good crops were 
the rule and nearly a million bushels of 
grain were harvested. The acreage sown 
to the several cereals, the total yield 
and the average yield per acre for 1883 
were as follows: 



GRAIN 


Acres 
Sown 


Total 
Yield 


Average 
Yield 


Wheat 

Corn 

Oats 

Barley 


26,307 
3,541 

13,110 
2,210 


437,371 
20,820 

402,188 
46,130 


16.51 

5.86 

36.77 

20.87 


Total 


45,168 


906,509 





-Among these arrivals from the old country were 
Father Y. Devos, who became pastor at Ghent ; Messrs. 
J. Lambert, Princen, Schreibers, Haerts, Maertens, 
Depuydt, Messine, Dieken, Sandy, Clayes, Peters, 
Van den Bogaerde, Crombez, Bauruans. Delmeule, 
Hendrick, Riviere, DeReu. Van den Abeele, Van 
Prundel, Vrnkenlen, Engels, Dobbeldere, Blauwette, 
Browers and Maenhoudt. 



IIIstoKY OF LYON COUNTY. 



101 



Early in I 88 I came I be promise of a 

new railroad for Lyon county. It was 
to be built by a company styled the 

Duluth, North Shore & Southwestern, 
of which Herman E. Long was president 
and Louis H. Greiser was secretary. 
The "proposition." which was the in- 
evitable forerunner of railroad building 
in the early days, was submitted to the 
people of Lyon county at a mass 
meeting held at Marshall on January 2l>. 
The company desired a bonus of county 
bonds to the amount of $40,000, to be 
delivered in case the road was com- 
pleted to Marshall not later than 
September 1, 1885. 

Most of the people of Lyon county 
were enthusiastically in favor of bonding 
for the road, which was to traverse the 
county in a general north and south 
direction, and at another meeting on 
January 30 petitions for calling a special 
election to vote on the bonds were 
signed. The people of Marshall, par- 
ticularly, were active in canvassing the 
county for signatures to the petition 
and within a short time petitions favor- 
ing the calling of the election were 
presented to the county authorities 
from every township, each signed by 
at least two local officers and twelve 
other freeholders. The requested action 
was taken by the Board of County Com- 
missioners and a special election called 
for February 23. 

Tracy was not on the line of the 
proposed road and. the people of that 
village were opposed to the granting of 
bonds. A lively campaign in opposition 
ensued, participated in largely by the 
Chicago cv. Northwestern interests. John 
Lind, later governor of Minnesota, was 
at the time a resident of Tracy and took 
a prominent part in the campaign 
against the bond issue, particularly to 
keep the matter from coming to a vote. 
An injunction, forbidding the county 



auditor to poi I and publish the notices 
of election, was "ranted by Judge 
Webber, of the district court. When 
the injunction papers were served, how- 
ever, the notices had been posted and 
the call for the election had been turned 
over to the printers. The election was 
held in all precincts except Monroe, 
Eidsvold and Nordland, the election 
officers of those precincts refusing to 
open the polls upon advice of those 
opposing the bonds. 

To carry the election it was necessary 
not only that a majority of the electors 
voting should favor the issue, but also 
that a majority (if the townships should 
record a favorable vote. The bonds were 
carried by a vote of 724 to 156, and 
thirteen of the seventeen townships 
voting gave majorities in favor. The 
vote by precincts was as follows: 



PRECINCTS 


For 
Bonds 


Against 
Bonds 


Amiret 


15 
36 
15 

2 

48 

46 

39 

58 

27 

72 

51 

208 

15 

20 

38 

25 

6 

3 


3 



42 

6 


1 




36 
3 

16 
5 

15 

29 


Clifton 


Coon Creek 

Custer 


Fairview 

Grandview 

Island Lake 

Lake Marshall 

Lucas 

Lynd 

Lyons 

Marshall 

Rock Lake 


Shelburne 

Sodus 

Stanley 

Vallers 

Westerheim 


Total 


724 


156 





After the election the people of Tracy 
again appealed to the court and secured 
a temporary restraining order, forbid- 
ding the county authorities to deliver 
the bonds and the railroad officials from 
applying for them. In district court on 
May 29 Judge Webber made the in- 



102 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



junction permanent. 3 Before this action 
was taken, however, it became known 
that the railroad would not be built. 
It failed for lack of capital. 

The years 1884 and 1885 were among 
the most prosperous in Lyon county's 
early history. Excellent crops were 
raised and there was a big immigration. 
Landseekers came to the county in large 
numbers and indications of prosperity 
were apparent on all sides. New farms 
were opened, neat frame houses replaced 
the sod shanties of pioneer days, and 
real estate values increased. 4 

Exclusive wheat farming was given 
up and much flax and hay were raised. 
Farmers turned their attention also to 
stock raising and dairying more than 
formerly. The farmers were at last 
firmly upon their feet, and the high road 
to wealth was open. The recovery from 
the grasshopper scourge was at last 
complete. 

The population of Lyon county in 

1885 was 7978, an increase of 1721 in 

five years. By precincts the population 

was as follows: 

Amiret 406 

Clifton 190 

Coon Creek 102 

Custer 308 

Eidsvold* 622 

Fairview 253 

Grand view 430 

Island Lake 240 

Lake Marshall 205 

Lucas 244 

Lynd 376 

Lyons 243 

Marshall 986 

Monroe 290 

Nordland 417 

Rock Lake 329 

Shelburne." 196 

Sodus 246 

Stanley 186 

Tracy* 1210 

Vallers 167 

Westerheim 432 

Total 7978 

3 The case was entitled: Gilbert H. Jessup, David 
H. Evans, Henry Pattridge, Nathan Beach and John 
Lind vs. James Lawrence as county auditor, Herman 
E. Long and Louis H. CJreiser. % 

4 "The amount of railroad land sold about this place 



The year 1886 was not a particularly 
fruitful one. There was very little 
movement in real estate and times were 
dull. In the country some improve- 
ments were made, but in comparison 
with the two or three preceding years, 
the twelve-month was an uneventful 
one. 

The next year a splendid record in 
agricultural development was made. 
The acreage of crops was increased, 
many acres of prairie land were broken, 
many new farms were opened, a great 
amount of building was done, and the 
number of livestock greatly increased 
and the breed improved. 

In the history of the Northwest there 
have been a few winter storms of such 
unnatural severity that they stand out 
as events of historical importance. The 
most severe of these awful storms was 
undoubtedly the blizzard of January 7, 
8 and 9, 1873, an account of which has 
been given. Ranking second was the 
terrible blizzard of January 12, 1888, 
when over two hundred people lost their 
lives in different sections of the North- 
west. By a miraculous turn of fate, 
none of these was in Lyon county, 
although man}' were caught in the 
storm and some were severely frozen. 

The conditions essential to such a 
disastrous storm as this proved to be 
had been filled by the weather dining 
the week previous. On January 5 a 
storm of sleet had frozen on the surface 
of the deep snow to an icy smoothness. 
The day before the storm the intense 
cold weather that had prevailed mod- 
erated, the wind shifted to the south- 
west, and there was a heavy snowfall, 
which continued until the blizzard 
started the next day. 

and Tracy this year exceeds by far the amount sold 
any previous year, and what i> better, it is sold to 
men who will occupy and till it." — News-Messenger, 
July 17, 1885. 

'Including Minneota village. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



lo:5 



On Thursday morning, the twelfth, 
the weather was mild and by noon it 
was thawing. A damp snow was falling 
and there was scarcely any wind. At 
a little before four o'clock in the after- 
noon what little wind there was subsided 
and there was a dead calm. At five 
minutes past four o'clock came the 
storm, with absolutely no warning. 8 It 
has been described as coming "as 
quickly as one could look to the win- 
dow." In a moment a howling, shriek- 
ing blizzard was raging with blinding 
fury, rendering it hazardous to under- 
take a journey of even a few blocks in 
town and making it equivalent to almost 
certain death to be caught away from 
shelter on the prairie. 

The terrors of the storm were aug- 
mented by a rapidly falling mercury, 
which soon reached the region of the 
thirties and rendered infinitely small the 
chance that any unfortunate being could 
survive who might be exposed to its 
perils. The storm rapidly increased in 
fury and continued unabated until eight 
o'clock Friday morning; then it lost 
much of its violence but continued until 

6 The coming of the storm was heralded in advance 
by telegraph in some places, but most of the people of 
Lyon county had no warning. It struck Gary, South 
Dakota, at 3:55, Canby at 4:00, and Marshall at 4:05. 
It has been estimated that the storm traveled at the 
rate of over one hundred miles an hour. 

7 The most thrilling experiences of the storm came 
to the fifty or more passengers on the east-bound 
Northwestern train, which for nearly six days was 
stalled in a cut one mile west of the siding then known 
as Kent, now the village of Garvin. The train was 
making its regular run from Huron to Tracy, due at 
the latter place about seven o'clock on Wednesday 
evening, the eleventh. There was a southwest wind 
and a light fall of snow during the day, with increasing 
wind toward evening. A snow-plow was running- 
ahead, and the train following as the plow reached the 
station ahead. At Lake Benton the wind had so 
increased that a freight train was abandoned, its 
engine added to the passenger train, with its caboose 
in the rear, and the train ran on double-headed. At 
Balaton the passenger started east, on arrival of the 
plow at Tracy. When between four and five miles 
from Balaton, near Kent, the train became stalled in 
a long cut. This was at ten o'clock in the evening. 

The engines, being unable to pull the train out, 
loosened from it and from each other and for two 
hours the trainmen made desperate efforts to break 
out of the cut. This was finally accomplished, but 
at about the same time a south blizzard of great force 
struck, whirled and piled the snow up in every direc- 
tion, and filled the track between the engines and the 
cars faster than the trainmen could remove it. Finding 
all efforts to connect with the cars hopeless, and water 
and fuel fast being reduced, with the storm increasing, 



Saturday night. Not until Tuesday did 
the conditions of the weather and roads 
permit many snow-bound people to 
reach their homes. 

The storm came at a time when many 
were exposed to it. The mildness of 
the temperature that characterized the 
early part of the day resulted in farmers, 
who had long been weather-bound, going 
to the towns to trade, and a number of 
them were returning home; it came at 
an hour when schools all over the 
county were being dismissed, and child- 
ren were obliged to make their way 
home in the storm; it came also at the 
time of day when many farmers were in 
the habit of driving their stock to water, 
and they and their herds became lost 
in its blinding fury. A great many 
head of stock were frozen to death. 

A number of Lyon county people had 
narrow escapes from death. A few were 
obliged to spend the night in snowdrifts 
and haystacks, and there were several 
severe cases of freezing. In the vicinity 
of Garvin a whole train load of people 
was imperiled. 7 

Lyon county's third railroad, the 

both engines at midnight pulled out and made the run 
to Tracy, arriving safely. 

Then commenced in earnest the long siege of the 
passengers. Fortunately, there was a good supply of 
coal in the ears, enough for nearly two days' use. 
The besieged train comprised the mail and express 
cars, smoking and passenger coaches and caboose. 
There were between fifty and sixty passengers, enough 
to make crowded coaches when sleeping accommoda- 
tions were provided. But little sleep was had that 
night. The storm increased in fury and no passenger 
ventured outside, even while the trainmen were making 
efforts to release the train. Thursday morning broke 
upon a doleful appearing set of snow-bound passengers. 
With two or three cranky exceptions, the passengers 
were' cheerful. The storm showed no abatement 
until ten o'clock, when it gradually lessened in force 
until noon. 

The telegraph from Tracy made known at Balaton 
the fact that the train was stalled. The section men 
at the last named place loaded handsleds with pro- 
visions, hauled them out to the train, and a cold meal 
was eaten. During the afternoon a telegram was 
received at Balaton announcing the approaching 
blizzard. Realizing the dangers to which the people 
on the train would be subjected in one of the dreaded 
winter storms, the people of Balaton sent out seven 
teams hauling sleds to bring in the passengers. 

Twenty-three persons were hastily loaded into the 
sleds and at three o'clock the start for Balaton was 
made. The rest of the passengers remained on the 
train. When the party in the sleds had proceeded 
about half way to Balaton and were still about two 
• and one-half miles from the village, the memorable 
blizzard struck. At the time they were about twenty 
rods from the railroad track. The ladies were turned 



104 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



Great Northern, was built in 1888. Its 
construction gave the county excellent 
railroad facilities, all except three of its 
twenty townships being then traversed. 
The preliminary steps toward the 
building of the road were taken in the 
spring of 1886. The Will mar & Sioux 
Falls Railroad Company was organized 
March 3, 1886, by residents of South- 

with their backs to the storm and covered with wraps 
and robes. In a moment the road was obscured from 
view. The men dismounted and bending to the 
ground sought for the road, knowing that to get out 
of it was most dangerous. It was found and a council 
of drivers and male passengers was held. 

1 1 was decided to keep the teams close together and 
make a break from the road to the railroad and keep 
close to it for the remaining two miles to town. 
Although only twenty rods away, it required a full 
twenty minutes to reach the railroad, which was 
struck at a point recognized as Ham's crossing. Some 
of the drivers gave the lines to the passengers and 
walked, encouraging their restless and confused horses, 
leading them and breaking drifts in front. In this 
manner slow and tedious progress was made toward 
the village by the little caravan. 

The roaring blizzard, the dense atmosphere, the 
cutting, freezing, damp snow, the fast falling tem- 
perature, the anxiety of the drivers and the uneasiness 
of the horses all combined to create anxiety in the 
minds of the party. To add to the evils, one of the 
loads was overturned, two or three of the party lost 
their heads, and one man became partially deranged, 
crying and howling, and in his wildness pulling the 
robes and wraps from ladies in front of him, saying 
1 hat he had but a few minutes to live and that he 
must get warm before he died. The people from the 
overturned sled attempted to walk, but with one 
exception soon found places in other vehicles. The 
exception, in fur coat and silk hat, stumbled through 
the snow, and, becoming exhausted, sank upon the 
roadside to die. He was seen by occupants of the 
last sled, who stopped and pulled him into their 
sleigh. His ears and face were frozen terribly. 

At half past six, after a ride of three and one-half 
hours — two and a half hours in the blizzard — the last 
load reached the village and put up at its one hotel. 
Citizens were at their doors discharging guns and the 
school bell was incessantly clanging its alarm to guide 
the storm-bound procession into the village, but these 
sounds could not be heard beyond the village in the 
direction of the travelers. Everything possible was 
done for the relief of the passengers, nearly all of whom 
had frozen faces and chilled limbs. 

Some of the trainmen started to walk to Tracy from 
the stalled train Thursday afternoon and were caught 
in the storm. They sought shelter in a grove and 
later found their way to a farm house. The next day 
they succeeded in reaching Tracy. 

Those who remained on the train also had their 
troubles. A few of the passengers did a lot of grum- 
bling, made no effort to take care of themselves, and 
made life miserable for everybody. Three nights 
were spent on the stalled train. Saturday the railroad 
officials at Tracy secured teams and sent a relief party, 
which brought off the imprisoned passengers. It took 
all day to drive from Tracy to the train and most of 
the next day to make the return trip. The baggage- 
man, L. S. Tyler, remained on the train until it was 
released on Tuesday. That day Dr. H. M. Workman 
headed a party which brought to Tracy in sleds those 
of the passengers who had made the trip to Balaton. 
Other adventures were reported in different parts 
of the county, among others the following: 

Arthur Heath left Marshall a few minutes before the 
storm struck with a load of manure to haul a short 
distance beyond the village. He heard the approach 
of the storm and, turning, saw it coming. He jumped 
off the load, unhitched the team, and turned them 
toward the barn, but the horses would not face the 
storm. He then went with them with the storm and 
fortunately brought up at the building at the fair 
grounds. He got his team inside, and his dog, which 



western Minnesota, acting as agents for 
the Manitoba road, of which James .1. 
Hill was the presiding genius. 8 The 
officers and directors chosen at the time 
of organization were J. M. Spicer, of 
Willmar, president; D. E. Sweet, of 
Pipestone, vice president: C. C. Good- 
now, of Pipestone, secretary; C. B. 
Tyler, of Marshall, treasurer; .1. G. 

had followed, also came within. Hatch had little 
clothing on, and. getting cold, he commenced to 
tramp around the building. His feet became cold and 
he took the blankets from his horses, wrapped his dog 
in them, and lay down with his feet next to the do'g. 
Alternately walking and warming his feet in that way, 
he passed the long night. In the morning it was still 
cold and blizzarding and he did not dare to try to gel 
home in his condition. The man was missed Thursday 
evening, but it was out of the question to attempt to 
find him in such a storm. The next morning a res- 
cuing party found him. His hands and feet were 
badly frozen, but with care he came out all right. 

Josiah Clark's two sons were a mile and a half from 
home with four horses and were given up as lost by 
their father, but they pulled through, found the house, 
and the horses follovt « - < 1 them in. 

Hans Peterson, of Coon Creek township, anil his 
fourteen-year-old son, Jay P. Peterson, now a resident 
of Russell, came near losing their lives. They had 
just finished watering their herd of horses in the 
Redwood river when the howling blizzard struck them 
The horses were blinded by the whirling avalanche of 

snow and all except one blind mare thai with the 
storm to the southeast. The Peterson home was to 
the east and the man and boy finally succeeded in 
reaching the barn, bringing with them the blind marc. 
In order that they might not become lost in going 
from the barn to the house, one stayed at the barn 
and hallooed until the other made his way to tin- 
house; then the one at the house by his voice directed 
the other. 

They had hardly entered the building when a 
rushing, pounding noise was heard outside, as if a 
hurricane threatened the destruction of the premises. 
Upon rushing out they discovered, to their amazement , 
the whole herd of horses within the open space about 
the house, they having plunged headlong into it from 
the summits of the encircling drifts. The animals 
were totally blind, the entire front of their heads beintr 
blocked with solid ice. They were rounded up and 
with great difficulty got into the barn. It is the 
opinion of Mr. Peterson that the horses heard the 
shouts of the men at the house and blindly made their 
way against the storm to where instinct told them 
lay safety. 

M. S. Fawcett and his son, who lived near Balaton, 
lost a herd of cattle and only through good fortune 
succeeded in getting to safety themselves. The 
blizzard came upon them while they were driving the 
stock to water, only a short distance from the house. 
In an unsuccessful attempt to get the cattle back to 
the barn, they became lost. They finally came upon 
a hedge fence that led them to the barn. 

James Harris and his son in Grandview had a close 
call while watering their stock. The stock turned and 
went with the storm. The boy was on a horse, without 
saddle, bridle or halter, and it was with the greatest 
difficulty that the father overtook and got the boy 
off the horse and then found his way home. 

In Lvnd township Messrs. Oilman and Gooder were 
out with their stock. Gooder became lost and sought 
shelter in a straw stack. By the merest accident Mr. 
Oilman ran across him and rescued him in a freezing 
condition. Each lost their stock. 

Hans Solberg was with his team after hay. When 
the storm struck he unhitched the team, fastened the 
horses to the wagon, and after a great struggle reached 
home. His'ears and hands were frozen. 

8 The formal transfer of the Willmar & Sioux Falls 
to the Manitoba Company was made in September, 
1887, before the line was constructed, and after 
January, 1890, the road was designated Great Northern. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



105 



Schutz, of Marshall; 11. T. Carson, of 
Sioux Falls.' 

The information was given out that 
Mr. Hill was the promoter of the new 
road and that a proposition for the 
issua ce of bonds as a bonus would 
soon be submitted. A preliminary sur- 
vey of the road, which was to run from 
Willmar to Sioux Falls, was begun in 
April, 1886, and the next month sur- 
veyors, working from the south, began 
working on the line in Lyon county. 
Then activities for the year ceased. 

Early in the spring of 1887 surveyors 
again operated in the county, and it 
became evident that the road would be 
built. The promoters asked for town- 
ship bonds of all townships except 
Westerheim, Eidsvold, Nordland, Rock 
Lake, Custer, Monroe and Ainiret. to 
the value of $35,200, in consideration 
of which they would have the line com- 
pleted by January 1. 1888. The elec- 
tion notices were posted by committees 
from Marshall, which was the seat of 
the greatest interest in the campaign, 
and the first election was held in 
Stanley and bonds carried. Before the 
other elections were held the railroad 
authorities stopped proceedings for the 
purpose of presenting a new proposition. 

This was to the effect that as it would 
be impossible to have the road in 
operation when promised, an extension 
of time was asked to October 1, 1888, 
in consideration of which a slight re- 
duction in the amount of bonds asked 
would be made. Considerable feeling 
was aroused because of the delay, but 

9 The Willmar & Sioux Falls Railroad Company was 
incorporated with a capital stock of $2, 000, 000 by 
J. M. Spicer and G. H. Perkins, of Willmar; Gorham 
Powers, of Granite Falls; C. B. Tyler and J. G. Schutz, 
of Marshall; C. C. Goodnow and D. E. Sweet, of 
Pipestone; E. A. Sherman and H. T. Carson, of Sioux 
Falls. 

10 Bonds carried. 

u As a matter of fact only a part of the bonds 
voted ever passed into the hands of the railroad 
company. The Marshall News-Messenger of October 
23, 1903, said; 

"The village of Marshall bonds are the only bonds 



new election notices were posted ami 
the elections were held. Under the 

new terms the several precincts were 
asked to vote $31,600, but it was 

thought probable that at least one 
township would vote against the bonds, 
and the railroad officers let it be known 
thai they would be satisfied with 
$30,000. 

The elections were held in May and 
June. The amount of bonds asked of 
each precinct and the result of the vote 
were as follows: 



PRECINCTS 


Bonds 

Asked 


For 

Bonds 


Against 
Bonds 


Lucas 

Vallers 

Grandview. . . . 

Fairview 

Clifton 

Lake Marshall 
.Marshall 

Lynd 10 

Island Lake... 
( '(inn Creek... . 

Lyons 

Sodus 

Shelburne 


si 71 in 
900 
2000 
2400 
1400 
3400 

11 II MX) 

3400 
900 

1000 
1500 

1000 
1400 


20 
16 
44 

28 

27 

33 

203 

36 

22 
36 
30 
13 


16 
25 

48 
3 
1 


o 
ti 


12 
25 
19 


Total 


$31,600 







The failure to vote bonds in Grand- 
view, Vallers and Shelburne resulted in 
raising only $27,300, or $2700 short of 
the sum demanded. To make up the 
deficiency the village of Marshall, on 
April 17, 1888, voted $3000 additional 
bonds, nominally to furnish depot 
grounds ami right of way in Marshall. 
The bonds were carried by a vote of 
128 to 10. X1 

The roadbed of the Willmar & Sioux 

ever issued and turned over to the railroad company. 
The towns of Lynd and Lyons issued their bonds but 
forbade their delivery to the railroad company until 
a like amount of stock value of the road was delivered 
to said towns in exchange for the bonds, meanwhile 
placing the bonds in trust with C. B. Tyler, who has 
retained their custody during the past fifteen years. 
None of the other towns issued the bonds they hadtso 
freely voted, and presumably for the same reason that 
the Lynd and Lyons bonds were held in escrow. . . . 
It is a singular fact that neither the old Willmar & 
Sioux Falls Company, the Great Northern Company, 
nor any party having a claim to the bonds have ever 
demanded the same during the fifteen yeurs that they 
have been held in escrow." 



106 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



Falls railroad was graded dining the 
summer and fall of 1887, not being com- 
pleted until early in December. The 
track was laid in August, 1SSS, Marshall 
being reached on the twenty-first of 
that month. Trains were operated 
north from Marshall on September 11, 
and between that village and Pipestone 
early in October. The work of con- 
struction was somewhat delayed in the 
vicinity of Camden because of the large 
number of bridges necessary to build 
there. 

The construction of the railroad had 
a wholesome effect on Lyon county. 
The villages of Cottonwood, Green 
Valley, Lynd. Russell and Florence were 
founded as a result. The northeastern 
and southwestern portions of the county, 
which before had not been thickly 
settled, were rapidly filled with settlers. 
Adding to the prevailing active times, 
one of the best crops of years was 
harvested in 1888. 

Another railroad that was projected 
in 1888 was the Minnesota & Northern, 
which proposed to build a line from the 
south through Tracy and thence to the 
north. In July Tracy and Monroe 
township voted bonds to aid in its con- 
struction, but the company failed to 
build because of lack of capital. 

On .Inly 22. 1890. a cyclone visited 
Lyon county and left a trail of death, 
ruined crops and wrecked homes in a 
narrow strip of country in Eidsvold, 
Westerheim and Grandview townships. 
The cyclone formed at about twenty 
minutes before six o'clock at a point 
about seven miles north of Minneota. 
The cloud formation is said to have been 
one of the most singular spectacles ever 
witnessed. The clouds concentrated in 
such a manner as to form the distinct 
Midlines of a human head, of mammoth 
proportions, with the wind , apparently 
issuing from the open mouth. 



The twisting formation started upon, 
its travels in an easterly direction and 
continued in that direction about one- 
half mile. Its width varied from two 
to ten rods. It suddenly took a turn 
to the south and ran a furious race to 
within three-quarters of a mile of 
Minneota; then, after seeming to rest 
for a second, it took a southeasterly 
course with more fury than ever. 

Throughout its course in Eidsvold 
township the cyclone scattered grass. 
grain and dirt in the air, but struck no 
buildings. On the northwest quarter of 
section 20, Westerheim, the large barn 
of B. L. Leland was struck. The roof 
and two sides were torn out, but the 
house, in which was the family, eight 
rods distant, was not damaged. 

The next place attacked was the 
home of Felix DeReu, on the southwest 
quarter of section 28, Westerheim, and 
here the storm commenced its deadly 
work. In the house were Mrs. DeReu 
and four children — Cyriel, Bertha, Julius 
and a baby. The house was struck with 
such terrific force that it was smashed 
into fragments, and beneath the ruins 
were buried the DeReu family. The 
mother had gathered the children and 
with the baby in her arms had started 
for the cellar when the storm broke. 

Cyriel, the eldest child, was so badly 
injured that he died the following 
morning; Mrs. DeReu's limb was broken 
just above the ankle; Julius sustained a 
broken leg; and Bertha was so badly 
injured that for a time her life was 
despaired of. The other child, although 
carried a distance of over two hundred 
yards, was uninjured. Mr. DeReu was 
buried in the ruins of the granary and 
badly bruised but not seriously hurt. 
All the buildings on the place were 
leveled to the ground in almost an 
instant and scattered over the prairie; 
not a single thing that goes to make up 



HISTORY OF LYON (OI'XTY. 



107 



a farmer's home was left whole. Even 
the farm machinery thai stood on the 
premises was broken up and scattered 

broadcast over the fields in six-inch 
pieces. 

The cyclone continued its southeast- 
erly course and struck with awful vio- 
lence at the home of Andrew Opdahl, 
on the southwest quarter of section 34, 
Westerheim. The house, barn and gran- 
ary were whirled through the air and 
scattered over the prairie, not a board 
or timber being left in its original size. 
Mrs. Opdahl and her child were taken 
up by the storm and dashed back to 
earth. Both were badly bruised and 
cut but not seriously injured. Mr. 
Opdahl was returning from Ghent and 
saw the -wrecking of his home. Two 
horses were lifted bodily, carried several 
rods, and deposited in a neighbor's 
field. 

A little farther on its course the 
cyclone passed within a few rods of 
Thomas Carron's house, and then seemed 
to lift. A parting puff removed the 
chimney from a blacksmith shop in 
Ghent and then the twister vanished. 

The census of 1890 showed a popula- 
tion of 9501 in Lyon county, an increase 
of 1523 in five years. 12 Great progress 
was made in material advancement 
during 1890 and the following year. 
The News-Messenger of November 20, 
1891, described conditions: "A season 
of healthf ulness, a crop of remarkable 
bounteousness, "a year of unparalleled 
growth for Marshall and Lyon county, 
enormous trade at all stores, unprece- 
dented payments of mortgages and old 
debts, and most promising prospects 
for the future." 

Lyon county's court house was built 
in 1891, after many years' effort. Upon 

J2 By precincts the population in 1890 was as follows: 
Amiret, 294; Clifton, 245; Coon Creek, 258; Custer, 
321; Eidsvold, 413; Fairview, 266; Grandview, 443; 
Island Lake, 300; Lake Marshall, 233; Lucas, 466; 



the removal of the county seat to Mar- 
shall early in hX74, in accordance with 
their promise, the townsite owners, 
Messrs. Stewart, .Jenkins, Ward and 
Blake, donated the block of ground 
upon which the building now stands. 
At the same time the free use of the 
office of .). W. Blake was given for the 
transaction of county business ami for 
a time that was the Lyon county court 
house. Apparently it was not in use 
long, for on October 15, 1875, we find 
this complaint in the Marshall Messen- 
ger: "Just now, it seems, we are out 
of court house room, and our offices can 
be found lying around in cheap corners 
most anywhere." 

The first official action toward the 
construction of a court house was taken 
by the Board of County Commissioners 
in July, 1874, when the following reso- 
lution was passed: 

"Resolved that there be a special tax 
of one mill on the dollar, payable in 
money only, levied on the taxable 
property of Lyon county for the year 
1874, and for eight succeeding years, 
for the purpose of building a court house 
in said county." 

It was also provided that the money 
so raised should be loaned on Lyon 
county real estate, all loans to be made 
payable March 1, 1883. The times were 
such, however, that sentiment was 
against the levying of this tax, and on 
October, 1875, the action was rescinded 
and $68.83 in the court house fund was 
transferred to another fund. 

The first county building, erected on 
the court house square, was put up in 
June, 1876. Its dimensions were 18x24 
feet and it was twelve feet high. Joshua 
Goodwin was the contractor. This little 
building was occupied until the new 

Lynd, 380; Lyons, 344; Marshall, 1203; Minneota, 
325; Monroe, 252; Nordland, 357; Rock Lake, 395; 
Shelburne, 275; Sodus, 280; Stanley, 198; Tracy, 1400; 
Vallers, 397; Westerheim, 456. 



108 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



court house was erected. It was sold 
December 7. 1892, for $281. 

Early in 1881 an effort was made to 
build a court house and jail. A bill 
ed the Legislature and was approved 
March 7. which authorized the issuance 
of bonds, not to exceed $15,000. for the 
purposes, but it was not to become 
operative until it had been ratified by a 
vote <>f the electors. Sentiment was 
still against the expenditure and the 
question was not submitted to the 
voters. 

In December of the same year the 
commissioners purchased of George 
Nichols for $1500 a building on Main 
Street, which for the next nine years 
was used for court purposes. 13 It was 
sold in July, 1891, for $2500. 

Not until 1889 did the court house 
question again become a live issue. 
Then Representative A. C. Forbes in- 
troduced a bill which provided for the 
repeal of the 1881 measure (authorizing 
a bond issue of $15,000) and for author- 
ity to issue bonds to the amount of 
$51 ).()()(). There were several restrictive 
provisions: the bonds were not to be 
is; wed unless the act was ratified by 
majority vote at a special election, and 
the election was not to be called unless 
a petition (naming the amount of bonds 
to be voted for), signed by at least five 
resident freeholders who were legal 
voters in each voting precinct in the 
count\- was filed. If the bond issue 
were defeated at one election, another 
might be called to vote on the same 
question. 

The bill was passed and approved by 
Governor Merriam, but not without 
Opposition. An indignation meeting was 
held in Tracy and a committee of f hree 

Those who advocate the building of a court house 
think this purchase .-in unwise one, bu1 those m favor 
of delaying the court house building until we know 
what we want think the purchase of » the Nichols 
Building an economical and safe investment. . . . 
The lower (Ktrt of the building makes a good court 



was sent to St. Paul to protest against 
the signing of the bill. Remonstrances 
were liberally signed in parts of the 
county and forwarded to St. Paul. It 
soon became known that the people of 
the county generally were opposed to 
the expenditure of so great a sum. and 
as in former cases the matter was not 
voted on. 

The final struggle for the court house 
came in 1891. Prosperous times were 
then enjoyed and there was a surplus of 
$18,000 in the county treasury. The 
matter was taken up early in the year 
by the farmers alliance organizations, 
which at the time were powerful in the 
county. They passed resolutions in 
favor of the erection of a building to 
cost in the neighborhood of $25,000, 
but were opposed to the expenditure of 
$50,000, as the former bill provided. 

A bill was introduced in the Legisla- 
ture by Representative C. H. White 
providing for the erection of a court 
house at a cost of not more than $25,000. 
The County Board was authorized to 
use the funds on hand and to issue bonds 
for the balance. Again the question 
was to be submitted to the people and 
the county auditor was directed to call 
a special election. 

Again the people of Tracy and those 
parts of the county opposed to the 
measure raised a protest and threatened 
to bring on a county scat contest. An 
offer was made to build and donate to 
the county a court house at Tracy, 
providing the county seat should be 
moved to that village. The bill passed 
the Lower House under suspension of 
the fules, and a delegation from Tracy 
made an effort to have it reconsidered. 
but was unsuccessful. A fight was then 

room, and above there are two good jury rooms. 
This building will furnish ample accommodation for 
court business tin so mi years to come and can be let 
for other purposes between terms if desired." — 
Marshall Messenger, December 15, 1881. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



KC) 



made before committees of the Senate 

and for two weeks the bill was one of 
the principal topics of discussion at the 
capitol. The court house adherents 
were successful; the bill passed the. 
Senate in March and was approved by 
t he governor. 

The election to decide the question 
was held on Saturday. May 9, 1891, and 
was the fiercest fought battle of ballots 
ever witnessed in Lyon county. It was 
in a measure a sectional fight, with 
Marshall and adjoining territory on one. 
side and Tracy and adjoining territory 
on the other. The result was 939 votes 
in favor of building the court house and 
862 against. The several precincts voted 
as follows: 



PRECINCTS 



Marshall 

Tracy 

Minneota 

Amiret 

Clifton 

Coon Creek . . . 

Custer 

Eidsvold 

Fairview 

Grandview 
Island Lake . . 
Lake Marshall 

Lucas 

Lynd 

Lyons 

Monroe 

Nordland 
Rock Lake . . . 

Shelburne 

Sodus 

Stanley 

Vallers 

Westerheim. . 

Total 



For 
Building 



350 



33 

4 

50 

21 



3 

54 

49 

10 

60 

50 

55 

28 



5 

20 

17 

20 

41 

47 

22 



Against 
Building 





305 

32 

56 


12 
69 
45 

1 
14 
30 


23 

8 
14 
66 
49 
62 

9 
31 



5 
31 



939 



862 



There was a big celebration by the 
people of Marshall on election night, and 
Monday there was a bigger celebration 
in honor of the victory, in which people 
from many parts of the county partici- 
pated. The committee under whose 
direction the campaign for the court 



house was waged was composed of 
A. C. Chittenden. V. B. Seward. M. 
Sullivan, C. F. Johnson, A. R. Chace, 
Olof Pehrson, R. M. Addison and F. E. 
Persons. 

There was no delay in the construc- 
tion of the building. On May 19 Frank 
Thayer, of Mankato, was employed as 
architect and superintendent of con- 
struction. The contract was let June 
11, 1891, to D. D. Smith, of Minneapolis, 
on a bid of $22,290, increased later by 
$700 by reason of changes in plans. 
Other contracts were let for vaults, etc., 
in the sum of $1058. Work of excava- 
tion for the court house was begun 
early in July, the corner stone was laid 
under the auspices of the Masonic order 
September 3, and the structure was com- 
pleted and was to have been dedicated 
January 15, 1892. 

Early in the morning of January 8 
the new building was discovered to be 
on fire and within a few hours only the 
walls of the building were standing. 
The sum of $14,622 was secured in 
insurance. A contract for rebuilding 
the court house was let in March, 1892, 
to J. D. Carroll, of St. Paul, on a bid of 
$13,893, and the building was accepted 
by the Board of County Commissioners 
on November 14. 

There were prospects for an enormous 
crop in 1892 and a continuation of 
prosperous times, but the march of 
progress was interrupted by a series of 
storms which brought destruction to a 
big part of the crop. 

Early in the morning of August 5, 
1892, a tornado did some damage in 
Marshall, demolishing a residence, bring- 
ing a $1500 damage to the court house 
in course of construction, and twisting 
barns and overturning several small 
buildings. The loss was about $2500. 
The next disaster of the season came 
August 8, when a wind and hail storm, 



110 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



within the space of ten minutes, brought 
damage in Lyon county to the amount of 
nearly a half million dollars. The 
amounf of hail and the size of the 
stones were without precedent. In Mar- 
shall the storm took the same course as 
the one of three days before. Several 
buildings were wrecked, including the 
Icelandic church, one or two residences, 
and several barns. The damage in the 
village was only $3000 or $4000. 

The storm was from five to eight miles 
wide and extended across the central 
part of the county from west to east. 
The townships of Island Lake, Lynd 
and Lake Marshall were completely 
covered, although in rare instances here 
and there a quarter section escaped with 
little damage through a freak in the 
elements' course. The loss in those 
townships was nearly total. About 
three-fourths of Nordland township was 
covered, as were also the two southern 
tiers of sections in Grandview and 
Fairview, the eastern and central parts 
of Clifton, and the north tiers of sections 
of Sodus and Lyons. It was estimated 
that one-sixth of the county's grain crop 
was lost. The acreage of grain de- 
stroyed was placed at 39,280 and the 
money loss $471,360. 

On August 13 a heavy wind storm, 
general over the county, brought another 
loss. The grain still standing was 
pounded down, so that much of it was 
absolutely worthless. 

The memorable panic of 1893 and a 
lew years of stringent times followed; 
the decade of development was rudely 
interrupted. There was a period of 
partial crop failures and low prices and 
the count} passed through a time of 
depression. Several firms failed and 
business was paralyzed. The preceding 
years of plenty had induced many to 
enlarge their holdings. Farmers had 
purchased more lands, increased their 



stock, erected new buildings, largely on 
credit, and on them fell a heavy hand. 

On July 5, 1893, came a most de- 
structive hail storm, which, however, 
brought loss to only a small part of the 
county, in the extreme southwestern 
corner. The damage in Lincoln and 
Murray counties was great, and in the 
southern half of Shelburne township all 
exposed plant life was destroyed. The 
fields were left blackened and only the 
roots of the crops were left. 

Another hail storm visited parts of 
the county on August 19, 1893, and 
brought some loss. The principal dam- 
age was done in the southern and 
western portions. Most of the small 
grain was in shock or stack and escaped 
injury, but late flax and corn were 
badly damaged. 

When winter approached the effects 
of the times were apparent. The Mar- 
shall News-Messenger of December 8, 
1893, told of conditions: 

The first whisperings of destitution in our 
midst are being heard, and the low murmuring* 
will soon increase to emphatic demands upon the 
charitably inclined. The conditions point to a 
winter of suffering among the poor. . . . 

There are today in our midst a half dozen 
families, large in numbers, who are in want of 
food, fuel and clothing, and in the tributary 
territory there are scores of such families; their 
numbers here and around us will increase as 
cold weather continues. Many may easily be 
found and others will not make their wants 
known until after much suffering and the danger 
line is reached. In the country are men, at the 
head of large families, strong in physique and 
proud in spirit, who have never known poverty 
or needed aid, who today are penniless, without 
supplies for their families, feed for their stock, 
or even seed for the next crop. In most cases 
the fault is not theirs, but their condition follows 
storm-swept fields, an unremunerative market, 
and collections pressed by the necessity of 
creditors, demanding the last bushel of grain 
and last head of stock. In other cases unwise 
methods have proven quite disastrous that 
under ordinary circumstances might have 
proved fairly profitable. Others are destitute 
owing to their own improvidence and shiftless- 
ness, and in some cases to dissipation. 

Adding to the severity of the times, 
in 1894 came the first Lyon county crop 
failure since grasshopper days. The 



HISTORY OF LYON COIXTY. 



Ill 



calamity was caused by drought. Hani 
times in the midst of plenty summarized 
the record for 1895. No previous year 
was more richly blessed by t he generosity 
of Nature, and yet the cry of hard times 
was more frequently heard than in 
either of the two preceding years. The 
harvest was of unusual bounty and 
under normal conditions would have 
placed the people of Lyon county in 
comfortable circumstances, but the 
prices for grain were hardly sufficient 
to pay for threshing and hauling to 
market. The assessed valuation of the 
county in 1895 had increased to over 
four million dollars. 11 The population 
that year was 12.42."), an increase of 
2024 in five years. 15 

The lean years of the hard times 
period following the panic of 1893 con- 
tinued until 1897. Then abundant 
crops, aided by better conditions in the 
country at large, brought a change in 
the status. During the years 1897 to 
1902, inclusive, excellent crops were the 
rule and hundreds of new settlers came 
to share in the bounteous times. Land 
values jumped several hundred per cent. 
It was a time of unprecedented pros- 
perity. 

The Lyon county jail and sheriff's 
residence was built in 1899 and 1900. 
The contract was let June 19, 1899, to 
Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing 
Company, on a bid of $10,575. The 
building was completed and accepted by 
the County Board March 6, 1900. The 
total cost was $11,797.88. 

Another increase in population was 

1J The assessed valuation for the decade before had 
been as follows: 1S86, $2,074,248; 1887, .82,210,371; 
1888, $2,453,092; 1889, $2,532,340; 1890, $2,723,722; 
1891, $2,844,436; 1892, $3,687,465; 1893, $3,899,005; 
1894, $4,001,781; 1895, $4,028,091. 

15 By precincts the population in 1895 was as follows: 
Amiret, 360; Balaton, 222; Clifton, 311; Coon Creek, 
415; Cottonwood, 303; Custer, 387; Eidsvold, 504; 
Fairview, 373; Grandview, 471; Island Lake, 360; 
Lake Marshall, 328; Lucas, 399; Lvnd, 429; Lyons, 
476; Marshall, 1744; Minneota, 512; Monroe, 386; 
Nordland, 440; Rock Lake, 335; Shelburne, 366; 



made known by the census of 1900. 
That year the population was 14,591, or 

2166 more than it had been in ISO.")." 1 

Lyon county's last railroad, the branch 
of the Northwestern from Evan to 
Marshall, was built during 1901 and 
1902. For the purpose of building this 
road, the Minnesota Western Railroad 
Company was formed in July, 1901. 
grading for the new line was commenced 
in August, and late in the fall the grade 
was completed. Tracklaying was begun 
the next spring and was completed to 
the junction near Marshall on July 11, 
1902. Train service was begun August 
13. 

The year 1903 brought an interrup- 
tion to the series of big crop productions. 
This was caused by excessive rainfall 
and the most destructive hail storm in 
the county's history, excepting the one 
of 1892. The hail storm came on the 
morning of July 1. Its width was two 
to four miles and it extended south- 
easterly from the northwest corner of 
Island Lake township. The principal 
damage Avas in the townships of Island 
Lake, Lynd, Lake Marshall, Sodus, 
Clifton and Amiret. In the path of the 
storm the loss was almost complete. 
The storm proved to be only a tem- 
porary check to the forward movement. 

A county fair association was organ- 
ized in 1904. Grounds were purchased 
near Marshall for $6000, buildings were 
erected, and since that date fairs have 
regularly been held. 

The census of 1905 gave Lyon county 
a population of 16,171, an increase of 

Sodus, 350; Stanley, 271; Tracy, 16S7; Vallers, 502; 
Westerheim, 494. 

16 The population by precincts in 1900 was as follows: 
Amiret, 407; Balaton, 209; Clifton, 365; Coon Creek, 
672; Cottonwood, 549: Custer, 467; Eidsvold, 581; 
Fairview, 406; Ghent, 119; Grandview, 427; Island 
Lake, 384; Lake Marshall, 377; Lucas, 461; Lynd, 488; 
Lyons, 469; Marshall, 2088; Minneota, . 77 ; Monroe, 
387; Nordland, 458; Rock Lake, 404; Shelburne, 469; 
Sodus, 376; Stanley, 360; Tracy, 1911; Vallers, 479; 
Westerheim, 501. 



112 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



1580 over the enumeration of 1900. 17 
The last few years of Lyon county's 
history have, indeed, been prosperous 
ones. It has developed into one of the 
richest agricultural counties in the state 
of Minnesota. Bountiful crops and good 
prices have been the rule. 18 Land 
values at the present writing (1912) are 
the highest they have ever been, several 
transfers having been made at $100 pe# 
acre. 

In 1910 the population of Lyon 
county was 15,722, divided among the 
several precincts as follows : 

.\miret 444 

Balaton 364 

Clifton 395 

Coon Creek 525 

17 By precincts the population in 1905 was as follows 
Amiret, 438; Balaton, 350; Clifton, 426; Coon Creek 
542; Cottonwood, 883; Custer, 414; Eidsvold, 448 
Fairview, 467; Garvin, 107; Ghent, 193; Grandview 
459; Island Lake, 399; Lake Marshall, 413; Lucas, 475 
Lynd, 562; Lyons, 445; Marshall, 2243; Minneota, 954 
Monroe, 402; Nordland, 429; Rock Lake, 413; Russell 
275; Shelburne, 460; Sodus, 379; Stanley, 419; Taunton 
196; Tracv, 2015; Vallers, 481; Westerheim, 484. 



Cottonwood 770 

Custer 617 

Eidsvold 472 

Fairview 410 

Ghent 210 

Grandview 468 

Island Lake 374 

Lake Marshall 415 

Lucas 462 

Lynd ". . 568 

Lyons 451 

Marshall 2152 

Minneota 819 

Monroe 471 

Nordland 460 

Rock Lake 402 

Russell 262 

Shelburne 432 

Sodus 358 

Stanley 396 

Taunton 205 

Tracy 1876 

Vallers 449 

Westerheim 495 

Total 15,722 

1S A severe wind, rain and hail storm brought loss to 
crops in a small portion of the county June 20, 1908. 
The damage was confined to small tracts north of 
Minneota and east of Marshall. In parts of the county 
some damage to small grain was brought by hot winds 
in the summer of 1911, but the loss was not great. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



POLITICAL — 1 869-1 912. 



BEFORE taking up the political 
history of Lyon county, let us 
resume briefly the story of events 
that led to its organization. Lyon 
county, it will be remembered, had in 
turn formed parts of the counties of 
Waubashaw, Blue Earth, Brown and 
Redwood, and not until the Legislature 
passed an enabling act in 1869 was Lyon 
county entitled to a place on the map 
of Minnesota as a political division of 
itself, and then it embraced also the 
territory now known as Lincoln county. 
When Lyon county was created it was 
very sparsely settled, and in the thirty- 
five townships comprising its area was 
a mere handful of residents; a year 
later, when the first election was held, 
the population was less than 300 and 
the voters numbered only seventy-eight. 
Difficulties were encountered in effect- 
ing the organization of the county after 
it had been created. In December, 
1869, Governor William R. Marshall 
named A. W. Muzzy, E. R. Horton and 
Daniel Williams commissioners, Edmund 
Lamb auditor, and Charles Hildreth 
sheriff, and vested them with authority 
to set in motion the machinery of 



county government. Circumstances pre- 
vented an immediate carrying into 
effect of these plans. Mr. Horton was 
absent from the county at the time of 
his appointment and did not return. 
Mr. Williams departed soon after the 
appointment and remained for a pro- 
tracted visit. These absences reduced 
the Board of County Commissioners to 
one member and, of course, it was out 
of the question for the remaining 
member to act as the County Board. 

The residents of the new county were 
anxious for organization, particularly 
that they might participate in the 
election of 1870, and in the summer of 
that year Horace Austin, who had 
become governor of Minnesota, ap- 
. pointed Levi S. Kiel to serve as one of 
the commissioners. 

The organization was perfected on the 
twelfth day of August, 1870, when two 
members of the board, A. W. Muzzy and 
Levi S. Kiel, met at the home of Luman 
Ticknor in Upper Lynd. At that time 
Messrs. Muzzy and Kiel took the oaths 
of office, as did also Edmund Lamb as 
county auditor. Mr. Muzzy was chosen 
chairman of the board. 1 These were 



Chairmen of the Board of County Commissioners 
have been as follows: A. W. Muzzy, 1870; Timothy 
S. Eastman, 1871-72; M. L. Wood, 1873; .James 
Mitchell, Jr., 1874-75-77-79-80-82; Gordon Watson, 
1876; H. T. Oakland, 1878; M. C. Humphrey, 1881; 
E. L. Starr, 1883; V. M. Smith, 1884; John Noble, 



1891-92-04-10; J. J. Hartigan, 1893; Ole J. Wignes, 
1894-00; Ole F. Norwood, 1S95; Robert Heilman, 
1896; T. P. Baldwin, 1897; John A". Hunter, 1898-01; 
D. S. Phillips, 1899; C. W. Candee, 1902-03; Levi S. 
Kiel, 1905; C. K. Melby, 1906; John N. Jones, 1907; 
J. M. Wardell, 1908-12; T. K. Thompson, 1909; 



1885-86; Hugh Neill, 1887-88-89-90; O. H. Hatlestad, C. E. Etrheim, 1911; James McGinn, 1912 



114 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



the only officers Lyon county had until 
the officers elected on November 8, 
1870, qualified on January 3, 1871. 

At a meeting of the County Board on 
October 8, 1870, the county was divided 
into five election precincts, polling 
places were designated, and judges of 
election were appointed for the ap- 
proaching election, as follows: 

Saratoga (embracing the present townships of 
Monroe, Custer, Sodus and Amiret) — Polling 
place, house of George Robinson; judges, Joseph 
W agner, James Mitchell, Clarence Avery. 

Marshall (embracing present townships of 
Stanley, Fairview, Lake Marshall and Clifton) — 
Polling place, house of C. H. Upton; judges, 
C. H. Upton, Joseph Carter, L. Langdon. 

Upper Yellow Medicine (embracing present 
townships of Lucas, Vallers, Westerheim, Eids- 
vold and Alta Vista) — Polling place and judges 
not named. 

Lynd (embracing present townships of Grand- 
view, Nordland, Island Lake, Lynd, Lyons, 
Coon Creek, Shelburne and Rock Lake) — ■ 
Polling place, house of Luman Ticknor; judges, 
A. W. Muzzy, A. R. Cummins, Luman Ticknor. 2 

Lake Benton (embracing all of the present 
county of Lincoln except Alta Vista township) — 
Polling place, house of William Taylor; judges, 
William Taylor, Daniel Williams, John Bir- 
mingham. 3 

At the election polls were not opened 
in all the precincts, but there was voting 
in at least Marshall and Lynd precincts 
—in the former at the sod shanty of 
C. H. Whitney and in the latter at an 
old claim shanty. 4 Seventy-eight votes 
were polled in Lyon county at the first 
election, held on November 8, 1870, and 
the following officers were elected: 

-The election judges of Lynd were on October 21 , 
L870, changed to E. Lamb, T. T. Pierce and M. V. 
Davidson. 

3 The first local officers for these precincts were 
named by the County Board and were as follows: 
Saratoga, Ziba Furguson and George Robinson (suc- 
ceeded by James Mitchell, Jr.), justices; Clarence 
Avery and William Taylor, constables; Marshall, 
(. H. Whitney, justice; William S. Reynolds, con- 
stable; Upper Yellow Medicine, Frank Nelson and Mr 
Morse, justices; Lynd, Hiram Marcyes, justice; Lake 
Benton, George Ross and Mr. Bentley, justices. 

*A writer in the Marshall Messenger in after years 
told of the first election in Lyon county: "What a 
tussel we had when we held our election. We held it 
in an old claim shanty built by half-breeds years ago 
bul finding it too small to hold all of us we went out 
doors, the noisiest crowd that was ever out of prison. 
\\ c voted as we wished, writing our own tickets." 

5 0. C. Gregg was appointed deputy auditor June 10 
18(2, and had charge of the office after that date. 

'Resigned August 20, 1872, and Walter Wakeman 
appointed. * 



George E. Keyes, 5 auditor. 

A. R. Cummins, treasurer. 

James Cummins, sheriff. 

W. H. Langdon, register of deeds. 

A. W. Muzzy, judge of probate. 

W. M. Pierce, 6 county attorney. 

A. D. Morgan, clerk of court. 

James Mitchell, Sr., court commis-' 
sioner. 

Joseph Wagner, 7 commissioner first 
district. 8 

Timothy S. Eastman, commissioner 
second district. 

Daniel Williams, commissioner third 
district, 10 

Office holding was not so much in 
style in pioneer days as in later years 
and there was not unseemly scramble 
for the honor of holding office. In fact, 
a number of those elected did not take 
kindly to the unsolicited honor and only 
after much persuasion consented to 
qualify. Party politics did not enter 
into the question of selecting local 
officers and no conventions were held. 
As there were no regularly selected 
nominees, there were no ballots, each 
voter casting a ballot of his own manu- 
facture for his own candidates. 

For several years the emoluments 
were not great, The salary of the 
county auditor was $100 per year; the 
superintendent of schools drew the 

^Resigned May 6, 1871, and on that date Horace 
Randall was appointed. The latter did not qualify 
and on May 16, 1871, George Robinson received the 
appointment. 

s The_ Board of County Commissioners on October 
14, 1870, had divided the county into commissioner 
districts as follows: No. 1, the two eastern tiers of 
townships; No. 2, the present townships of Wester- 
heim, Grandview, Lynd, Lyons and Rock Lake; 
No. 3, all of the present Lincoln county and the 
western tier of townships of Lyon county as at present 
constituted. This apportionment was in force until 
after the creation of Lincoln county. 

"Removed from the county and on September 4, 
1871, was succeeded by Ira Scott. 

10 In the early days of the county's history the 
office of superintendent of schools was an appointive 
one. The first superintendent was C. F. Wright, who 
was appointed October 18, 1S70. He was succeeded 
March 5, 1871, by G. W. Whitney, and that gentleman 
in August, 1871, by Ransom Wait, who served until 
March 17, 1874. After that date until the office 
became an elective one, G. M. Durst held the office by 
appointment. 




2s 
3 



■ r'^ji «-~t=^>^ 









AN OLD-TIMER 
The Oldest Building in Lynd, Typical of Pioneer Days in Lyon County. 



,. 











LYON COUNTY LANDMARK 



Kiel's Hotel was Erected in Old Lynd When That Place was the County Seat. The 
Building was Used for Court House Purposes for a Time. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



L15 



princely salary of $20 annually; the 
county attorney received $25 each year 
for his services for .some time after 
county organization but his salary was 
raised to $50 in 1873 and to $100 in 
1875. So late as 1875 the County Board 
estimated the expense for salaries for 
the coming year at only SI 200. 

During the first dozen years of the 
political history of Lyon county elections 
were held every year, although the terms 
of office were two years, and only a few 
officials were selected in the odd- 
numbered years. In 1871 James Mitch- 
ell, Jr., was elected commissioner 
from the first district, M. L. Wood from 
the third, and Timothy S. Eastman 
continued to represent the second. 
Charles L. Van Fleet was elected sur- 
veyor and M. Taylor coroner. 11 

The election of 1872 brought an 
almost entire change in the personnel of 
county officers. The following were 

u The judges of election in 1S71 were as follows: 
Saratoga, Benjamin Thomas, James Mitchell and 
Richard Hughes; Marshall, Mr. Johnson, W. H. 
Langdon and C. H. Upton; Lynd, D. M. Taylor, 
G. E. Cummins and Sylvester Fry; Lake Benton, 
William Marsh, William Ross and William Taylor; 
Upper Yellow Medicine, Berent Thompson, Ole 
Syverson and Anton Maartesen. 

12 Resigned May 21, 1874, and was succeeded by 
S. Webster. 

13 John Snyder resided in that part of the county 
which is now Lincoln county, and when the new 
political division was organized in December, 1873, 
the office of judge of probate became vacant. Gover- 
nor Horace Austin appointed W. M. Pierce to the 
vacancy in December, 1873. 

I4 The constitution of the state of Minnesota, adopted 
in 1857, provided that the counties of Nicollet and 
Brown (in the latter was included the present Lyon 
county) should form the seventeenth legislative 
district, entitled to one senator and three represen- 
tatives. This apportionment was in force until 1860. 
VJnder it the district was represented as follows: 

1857-58 — Senate, Thomas Cowan; House, Ephraim 
Pierce, Albert Tuttle, Frederick Rehfeld. 

1859-60 — Senate, Thomas Cowan; House, John 
Armstrong, Frederick Rehfeld, W. Pfaender. 

By the legislative apportionment of 1860, the 
counties of Faribault, Jackson, Cottonwood, Nobles, 
Pipestone, Rock and that part of Brown county west 
of range thirty-four (including Lyon county) were 
made to form the twentieth district, entitled to one 
senator and one representative. The district was so 
constituted until 1866 and was represented by the 
following legislators: 

1861 — Senate, Guy K. Cleveland; House, A. Strecker. 

1862 — Senate, Guy K. Cleveland; House, B. O. 
Kempfer. 

1863— Senate, D. G. Shillock; House, J. B. Wake- 
field. 

1864— Senate, D. G. Shillock; House, J. A. Latimer. 

1865 — Senate, D. G. Shillock; House, J. A. Kiester. 

1866— Senate, D. G. Shillock; House, J. B. Wake- 
field. 



elected: (). C. Gregg, auditor; Jacob 
Rouse, treasurer; .lames Cummins, 12 
sheriff; Z. (). Titus, register of deeds; 
John Snyder, 13 judge of probate; Walter 
Wakeman, county attorney; Charles L. 
Van Fleet, surveyor; A. D. Morgan, 
commissioner second district. James 
Mitchell, Jr., and M. L. Wood continued 
on the board, representing the first and 
third districts. 

While there was opportunity to vote 
for only a few officers in 1873, the cam- 
paigns for and against the removal of 
the county seat and the creation of 
Lincoln county made the election an 
exciting one and 502 ballots were cast 
in the county as then constituted. 
Following was the result : 

Governor — C. K. Davis (rep), 389; 
Ara Barton (dem), 100; Samuel Mayall, 
5. 

Representative 14 — Z. B. Clark (rep), 

In 1866 the future Lyon county, as a part of Redwood 
county, formed a part of the nineteenth district, the 
(■(unities comprising the district being Nicollet, Brown, 
Sibley, Redwood, Renville, Pierce and Davis. The 
district, which was so constituted until 1871, was 
represented as follows: 

1867 — Senate, Adam Buck; House, Charles T. 
Brown, D. G. Shillock. 

1868 — Senate, Charles T. Brown; House, John 
Rudolph, Adam Buck. 

1869 — Senate, Charles T. Brown; House, John 
Rudolph, J. C. Stoever. 

1870 — Senate, William Pfaender; House, William L. 
Couplin, P. H. Swift. 

1871 — Senate, William Pfaender; House, William L. 
Couplin, J. S. G. Honner. 

The apportionment of 1871 put Redwood, Brown 
and Lyon counties in the thirty-seventh district, 
entitled to one senator and two representatives. 
That was the alignment for ten years. The district's 
representatives were as follows: 

1872 — Senate, William Pfaender; House, O. S. 
Reishus, Henry Weyhe. 

1873 — Senate, J. S. G. Honner; House, J. W. Blake, 
C. C. Brandt. 

1874 — Senate, J. S. G. Honner; House, Z. B. Clark, 
Charles Hansing. 

1875 — Senate, J. W. Blake; House, H. S. Berg, 
Knud H. Helling. 

1876 — Senate, J. W. Blake; House, P. F. Jacobson, 
William Skinner. 

1877 — Senate, S. A. Hall; House, David Worst, 
E. P. Bertrand. 

1S78 — Senate, S. A. Hall; House, J. W. Williams, 
C. C. Brandt. 

1879 — Senate, K. H. Helling; House, Gorham 
Powers, J. P. Bertrand. 

1881 — Senate, S. D. Peterson; House, J. C. Zeiske, 
G. W. Braley. 

Since 18S1 Lyon, Lincoln and Yellow Medicine 
counties have comprised one district and have Keen 
represented by one senator and two members of the 
House. Until 1897 the district was No. 16; since thai 
date it has been No. 17. The representatives have 
been as follows: 



116 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



243; Bishop Gordon (peo), 165; O. S. 
Reishus, 83. 

Commissioner Third District 15 — N. T. 
Berry, LI; I. D. Briffit, 13; N. F. Berry, 
s." ; 

Considerable opposition to the local 
Republican ticket developed in 1874 
and a "Peoples" ticket was placed in 
nomination. The convention which 
placed it in nomination declared it was 
non-partisan and it was made up of 
Democrats and dissatisfied Republicans. 
The contest following was a spirited one 
and the new party elected auditor, 
treasurer and court commissioner. The 
vote of Lyon county proper was 453 in 
1874. The result in figures: 

Congressman 17 — H. B. Strait (rep), 
398; E. St. Julian Cox (dem), 49. 

Senator— J. W. Blake (rep), 274; 
J. S. G. Honner (peo), 169; John 
Sigler, 2. 

Representative — H. S. Berg (rep), 
445; Falk, 3. 

Auditor— S. S. Truax (rep), 205; 
O. C. Gregg (peo), 248. 

Treasurer — Jacob Rouse (rep), 223; 
J. W. Williams (peo), 229. 

Sheriff— S. Webster (rep), 252; H. J. 
Tripp, 197. 

1883— Senate, J. W. Blake; House, C. M. Morse, 
John Swenson . 

1885 — Senate, J. W. Blake; House, C. M. Morse, 
Thomas McMillan. 

1887 — Senate, Ole O. Lende; House, J. Nobles, 
J. Hanson. 

1889 — Senate, Ole O. Lende; House, A. C. Forbes, 
A. J. Crane. 

1891— Senate, Orrin Mott; House, C. H. White, 
O. C. Wilson. 

1893— Senate, Orrin Mott; House, Ole O. Lende, 
Levi S Tyler. 

1895 Senate, E. S. Reishus; House, Frank W. Nash, 
George E. Olds. 

1897 Senate, E. S. Reishus; House, George E. Olds, 
J. 11. Manchester. 

1899- Senate, Louis H. Schellbach; House, John G. 
Sehutz, Charles \Y. Stites. 

I in H Same as 1S99. 

190.; Senate, .lohn G. Sehutz; House, G. Erickson, 
II. \\ . Ruliffson. 

1905 Senate, John G. Sehutz; House, G. Erickson, 
Marcus Lauritsen. 

1907 Senate, Virgil B. Seward; House, Harry M. 
Hanson, ('. K . Melby. 

1909 Senate, Virgil B. Seward; House, J. N. 
Johnson. ( '. K. Melby. 

1911 Senate. O. A. Lende; House, Edwin F. 
Whiting, J. N. Johnson. 

1 When Lincoln county was withdrawn it became 
necessary to change the commissioner districts of 



Register of Deeds — S. V. Groesbeck 
(rep), 193; George M. Durst (peo), 149; 
William Clemmens (ind), 96. 

Judge of Probate — E. B. Jewett (rep), 
264; James Mitchell, Sr. (peo), 180. 

Attorney — Walter Wakeman' (rep), 
210; Lyman Turner (peo), 197. 

Clerk of Court— Ole H. Dahl (rep), 
325; Fred Holritz (peo), 92. 

Court Commissioner — C. A. Edwards 
(rep), 149; J. N. Johnson 18 (peo), 175. 

Coroner— D. M. Taylor 19 (rep), 199; 
T. W. Castor (peo), 127. 

Surveyor — C. L. Van Fleet (rep-peo), 
360. 

Commissioner First District — James 
Mitchell, Jr. (rep), 97; John J. Jones, 18. 

Commissioner Third District — H. T. 
Oakland (rep), 96; T. W. Castor (peo), 
25. 

A small vote was cast in 1875, with 
the following results: 

Governor — John S. Pillsbury (rep), 
188; D. L. Buell (dem), 50. 

Representative — P. F. Jacobson (rep), 
69; John N. Johnson (ind), 149. 

Commissioner Second District — W. M. 
Pierce (rep), 73; G. Watson (peo), 81. 

Six hundred six votes were cast at 
the presidential election of 1876, when 

Lyon county and this was done early in 1874, the 
districts being as follows: No. 1, the townships of 
Monroe, Custer, Rock Lake, Shelburne, Amiret and 
Sodus; No. 2, the townships of Lyons, Coon Creek, 
Island Lake, Lynd. Lake Marshall and Clifton; No. 3, 
the townships of Stanley, Fairview, Grandview, 
Nordland, Eidsvold, Westerheim, Vallers and Lucas. 
This apportionment was in force until the county was 
given five districts in 1880. 

16 No one too*k office under this election and on 
March 17, 1874, T. W. Castor was appointed commis- 
sioner from the third district, replacing M. L. Wood. 

l7 From 1872 to 1901 Lyon county formed a part of 
the second congressional district; since that time it 
has been in the seventh district, the other counties of 
the district being Big Stone, Chippewa, Grant, Kandi- 
yohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Pope, Redwood, Renville, 
Stevens, Swift, Traverse and Yellow Medicine. Con- 
gressmen who have represented Lyon county since 
1872 have been as follows: H. B. Strait, March 4, 
1873, to March 4, 1883; J. B. Wakefield, March 4, 1883, 
to March 4, 1887; John Lind, March 4, 1887, to March 
4. 1893; James T. McCleary, March 4, 1893, to 1901; 
Frank M. Eddy, 1901 to March 4, 1903; A. J. Volstead, 
March 4, 1903, to March 4, 1913. 

1S C. H. Whitney became'eourt commissioner Janu- 
ary 4, 1876. 

"Mr. Taylor did not qualify and on July 31, 1876, 
W. M. Todd received the appointment. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



117 



the county was again found to be 
strongly Republican. The "Peoples" 

party was again in the held with a 
county ticket, but with one exception 
all Republicans were chosen for county 
officers. The vote in detail: 

President — Rutherford B.Hayes (rep). 
520; Samuel J. Tilden (dem), 73; 
Cooper, 13. 

Congressman — H. B. Strait (rep), 521 ; 
E. T. Wilder (dem), 73; Ignatius Don- 
nelly, 9. 

Senator— S. A. Hall (rep), 512; S. A. 
George, 76. 

Representative — W. (!. Braley (rep), 
308; David Worst, 236. 

Auditor — O. C. Gregg (rep), 465; 
Fred Holritz (peo), 138. 

Treasurer — J. H. Williams (rep), 134; 
J. W. Williams-" (peo), 460. 

Sheriff — John Hunter (rep), 487; John 
N. Johnson (peo), 101). 

Register of Deeds — C. L. Van Fleet 
(rep), 407; Zenas Rank (peo), 154; 
B. A. Grubb (ind), 32. 

Judge of Probate — D. F. Weymouth 
(rep), 485; E. B. Jewett (peo), 107. 

Attorney — D. F. Weymouth (rep and 
peo), 588. 

Court Commissioner — E. Lamb 21 (rep), 
472; W. M. Pierce (peo), 100. 

Coroner — J. A. Coleman (rep), 497; 
P. B. Fezler (peo), 96. 

Surveyor — C. L. Van Fleet (rep), 446; 
George Link, 149. 

Commissioner Third District — H. T. 
Oakland (rep), 200; H. W. Burlingame 
(peo), 21. 

The election oT 1877 resulted as fol- 
lows : 



20 Mr. Williams was elected to the Legislature in 1877 
while serving his term as county treasurer and when 
he qualified as a member of the Legislature he left the 
county office in charge of a deputy. The Board of 
County Commissioners declared the office vacant and 
on January 22, 1878, appointed R. M. Addison to the 
vacancy. Mr. Williams refused to surrender the 
office, the appointee was unable to secure possession, 
and the former treasurer drew salaries as a member of 
the Legislature and as county treasurer until the end 
of the term. 



Governor— John S. Pillsbury (rep), 
374; William L. Banning (dem), 25. 

Judge District Court '---Alfred Wallin 
(rep), 294; E. St. Julian Cox (peo), 104. 

Representative — J. (1. Bryan (rep), 
221; James W. Williams (peo), 169. 

Superintendent of Schools — G. M. 
Durst (rep), 362. 

Court Commissioner — C. H. Richard- 
son (rep), 390. 

Commissioner First District — James 
Mitchell, Jr. (rep), 67. 

Six hundred ninety-eight was the 
highest number of votes polled for the 
nominees of any one office at the 
election of 1878. Again the opposition 
to the regular Republican ticket was 
represented, but the showing against 
the only organized party in the county 
wits poor and all Republican nominees 
were elected by large majorities. The 
vote follows: 

Congressman — H. B. Strait (rep), 506; 
Henry Poehler (dem), 186. 

Senator — K. H. Helling (rep), 576; 
E. Birum (dem), 117. 

Representative — GorhamPowers (rep) , 
605; H. S. Berg (dem), 91. 

Auditor— O. C. Gregg (rep), 502; Ole 
Quam (peo), 195. 

Treasurer — G. A. Jacobson (rep), 681. 

Sheriff— J. A. Hunter (rep), 576; 
N. Warn (peo), 114. 

Register of Deeds — W. M. Coleman 
(rep), 547; James Ward (peo), 143. 

Judge of Probate — D. F. Weymouth 
(rep), 564; B. A. Grubb (peo), 134. 

Attorney — A. C. Forbes (rep), 561; 
C. Andrews (peo), 116. 

"Mr. Lamb did not qualify. W. M. Pierce was 
appointed court commissioner March 6, 1877, and 
qualified at that time. 

'--Judges of the ninth judicial district and th.ir 
dates of service have been as follows: M. G. Hanscome, 
March 11, 1870, to January 1. 1S77; E. St. Julian Cox, 
January 1, 1877, to March 22, 1882; H. D. Baldwin. 
April 4, 1882, to January 3, 1883; B. F. Webber. 
January 3, 1883, to November 15, 1906; I. M. Olsen, 
November 15, 1906, to January. 1913. 



118 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



Clerk of Court C E. Patterson (rep). 
150; •). W. Williams (peo), 239. 

Coroner J. W. Andrews (rep), 551; 
S. V. Groesbeck (peo), 142. 

Surveyor II. L. Coats (rep), 498; 
G. W. lank (pro). 114. 

Commissioner Second District — G. 
Watson (rep), 148; G. W. Link (peo), 
165. 

There was no opposition to the Re- 
publican nominees in 1879 and the 
result was as follows: 

Governor — John .S. Pillsbury (rep), 
421; Edmund Rice (dem), 100; W. W. 
Satterlee, 15. 

Superintendent of Schools — G. M. 
Durst (rep), 462. 

Court Commissioner — C. H. Richard- 
son (rep), 426. 

Commissioner Third District — H. T. 
Oakland (rep), 138. 

For the first time in the county's 
history, in 1880 the Democrats as a 
party decided to enter the field of local 
politics and placed a ticket in the field. 
Without exception the Republicans 
were successful, although the Democratic 
nominee for representative carried the 
county. Lyon county had made rapid 
strides during the few years previous 
and the total vote now reached 1336. 
The vote in detail: 

President — James A. Garfield (rep), 
1141 : W. S. Hancock (dem), 195. 

Congressman — H. B. Strait (rep), 
1103; Henry Poehler (dem), 227. 

Senator — S. D. Peterson (rep-dem), 
1 J 39. 

Representative — G. W. Braley (rep), 
578; Ener Birum (dem), 748. 

Auditor— O. C. Gregg (rep), 1145; 
M. B. Drew (dem), 190. 

Treasurer — G. A. Jacobson (rep), 
105S: .1. W. Williams (dem), 264. 

"Resigned in January ,\ 1882, and J. W. Blake 
appointed. Jlt h~,-._. »- c-t- » 

-U.yon county had now become entitled to five 

commissioners and on September :;u, lssil, the several 



Sheriff— J. A. Hunter (rep), 1063; 
David Gamble (dem), 266. 

Register of Deeds — A. X. Daniels 
(rep), 932; J. J. Hartigan (dem), 396. 

Judge of Probate — D. F. Weymouth 
(rep-dem), 1324. 

Attorney— A. C. Forbes (rep). 1020; 
Charles W. Main (clem), 296. 

Coroner — S. V. Groesbeck (rep-dem), 
1245. 

Surveyor — Y. M. Smith 23 (rep-dem), 
1252. 

Commissioner First District 24 — Jona- 
than Owen (rep), 255; G. W. Link 
(dem), 74. 

Commissioner Second District — M. C. 
Humphrey. Jr. (rep), 220: James Law- 
rence (dem), 11. 

Commissioner Third District — Fred 
Holritz (rep), elected; S. R. Kentner. 

Commissioner Fourth District — James 
Mitchell, Jr. (rep), 154; Joshua J. Coyle 
(dem), 26. 

Commissioner Fifth District — E. L. 
Starr (rep), 222; G. S. Robinson (dem), 
85. 

The election of 1881 resulted as fol- 
lows : 

Governor — L. F. Hubbard (rep), 481; 
R. W. Johnson (dem), 79; I. C. Stearns 
(pro), 41. 

Superintendent of Schools — G. M. 
Durst (rep), 562. 

Commissioner First District — A'. M. 
Smith (rep), 100. 

Eleven hundred eighteen votes were 
cast in 1882. A "Peoples" ticket was 
again in the field and there were several 
independent candidates. The contest 
was a sharp one and with one exception 
the Republican ticket was elected. The 
vote as canvassed: 

Congressman — J. B. Wakefield (rep), 
1088. 

district* were formed as follows: No. 1. Lynd and 
Lake Marshall; No. 2, Lucas. Stanley, Clifton. Fairview 
and Grand view; No. 3, Nordland, Eidsvold, Wester- 
heim and Vallers; No. 4, Amiret, Sodus, Lyons, Coon 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



119 



Judge Districl Court 25 B. F. Webber 
(rep), 870; M G. Hanscome (ind), 247. 

Senator .1. W. Blake (rep), 973. 

Representatives JohnSwenson (rep), 
1110; C. W. Morse (rep), 732; Ira S. 
Field (ind), 380. 

Auditor — James Lawrence (rep), 107") : 
M. M. Curtis (peo), 34. 

Treasurer — X. W. L. Jager (rep), 410: 
J. W. Williams (peo), 141; R. M. 
Addison (ind), 556. 

Sheriff— J. F. Remore (rep), 1044; 
Levi Montgomery (peo), 01. 

Register of Deeds— R. R. Bumford 
(rep), 987; Fred Holritz (peo), 127. 

Judge of Probate — F. S. Brown (rep), 
633; D. F. Weymouth (peo), 481. 

Attorney — A. C. Forbes (rep), 695; 
C. W. Main (peo). 21; M. E. Mathews 
(ind), 387. 

Clerk of Court— C. E. Patterson (rep), 
1079; Timothy Stout (peo), 39. 

Court Commissioner — Daniel Wilcox 
(rep), 1115. 

Coroner — J. W. Andrews 26 (rep), 1075; 
John S. Renninger, 29. 

Surveyor — D. Ward Kennedy (rep), 
1112. 

Commissioner Second District — John 
A. Noble (rep) defeated R. D. Barnes 
(peo). 

Commissioner Third District — Ole L. 
Orsen (rep) defeated Thomas Hanson 
(peo). 

The year 1883 was the last in which 
elections were held in odd-numbered 
years and the officers chosen at that 
time served until after the election of 
1886. There was not much interest in 
the election and no opposition to the 
Republican ticket. A small vote was 
polled and the result was as follows: 

Governor — L. F. Hubbard (rep), 567; 

Creek and Island Lake; No. 5, Monroe, Custer, Rock 
Lake and Shelburne. 

25 E. St. Julian Cox, the preceding incumbent, had 
been impeached and removed from office. H. D. 
Baldwin had been appointed to the office and served 
a short time before this election. 



A. Bierman (dem), 14'.); Charles E. Boll 
(pro), 32. 

Superintendent of Schools Leslie A. 
Gregg (rep), 734. 

Coroner — C. F. Persons (rep), 740. 

Surveyor J. W. Blake 27 (rep). 710. 

Commissioner Fourth District — Hugh 
Neil! (rep). 07. 

Commissioner Fifth District — George 
Carlaw (rep), 283. 

Only the Republican party was in the 
field of local politics in 1884 but there 
were several independent candidates 
and a lively contest resulted. The total 
vote was 1608 and was divided as fol- 
lows : 

President — James G. Blaine (rep), 
1223; Grover Cleveland (dem), 242; 
John P. St. John (pro), 99. 

Congressman — J. B. Wakefield (rep), 
1265; J. J. Thornton (dem), 230; 
William Copp (pro), 96. 

Representatives — C. M. Morse (rep), 
755; Gustav Erickson (rep), 786; C. F. 
Case (ind), 810; Thomas McMillan (ind), 
800. 

Auditor — James Lawrence (rep), 1604. 

Treasurer — George Little (rep), 963; 
R. M. Addison (ind), 632. 

Sheriff— J. F. Remore (rep), 1507; 
P. B. Fezler (pro), 86. 

Register of Deeds — R. R. Bumford 
(rep), 1592. 

Attorney — A. C. Forbes (rep), 767; 
V. B. Seward (ind), 822. 

Judge of Probate — F. S. Brown (rep), 
1312; D. F. Weymouth (ind), 254. 

Coroner — C. E. Persons (rep), 1596. 

Commissioner First District — Andrew 
J. Ham (rep), 253. 

The Democrats placed a partial ticket 
in the field in 1886 but were unsuccessful 
in electing any of the nominees, although 

2«Resigned October 3, 1883, and C. E. Persons 
appointed. 

27Resigned and on December 16, 1SS4, Leslie A. 
Gregg appointed. 



120 



HLSTOKY OF LYON COUNTY. 



they polled nearly 600 votes. The 
highest vote east for any one office was 
1528. The vote for candidates was as 
follows: 

Governor— A. R. McGill (rep), 1109; 
A. A. Ames (dem), 332; James E. Child 
(pro),. 84. 

Congressman — John Lind (rep), 1053; 
A. H. Bullis (dem), 411; George J. Day 
(pro), 60. 

Senator— Ole O. Lende (rep), 1483. 

Representatives — John Hanson (rep), 
1321; John Noble (rep), 1500; Gustav 
Erickson, 159. 

Auditor — James Lawrence (rep), 989; 
John S. Renninger (dem), 538. 

Treasurer — George Little (rep), 1516. 

Sheriff— J. F. Remore (rep), 1494. 

Register of Deeds — R. R. Bumford 
(rep), 932; M. E. Wilcox (dem), 596. 

Judge of Probate — F. 8. Brown (rep), 
1496. 

Attorney — A. C. Forbes (rep), 944; 
Charles W . Main (dem), 572. 

Clerk of Court— E. S.. Reishus (rep). 
1422. 

Court Commissioner — Daniel Wilcox 
(rep). 1517. 

Coroner— C. E. Persons (rep), 1238; 
S. E. Sanderson (dem), 287. 

Surveyor — J. W. Blake (rep), 1500. 

Superintendent of Schools — L. A. 
Gregg 28 (rep), 1166; T. H. Webb (dem), 
366. 

Commissioner First District — W. W. 
Rich- ft (rep), 215. 

Commissioner Second District — Ole L. 
Or.cn (rep), 82; Fred Holritz. 67; John 
O'Brien, 7(i. 

Commissioner Third District -Robert 
Gardner (rep), 148; J. W. Hoagland, 
126; W. W. Maleroy, 11. 

Commissioner Fourth District — Hugh 
Xeill (rep), 254; F. S. Wetherbee, 65: 
J. W. William-. 7<i. 

^Resigned November 22, 1888, and W. H. Edwards, 
the superintendent-elect, completed the shori un- 
expired term. 



Commissioner Fifth District — E. L. 
Starr (rep), 271; H. B. Swartwood, 89. 

The Republicans, Democrats and Pro- 
hibitionists named county tickets for 
the election of 1888 and the campaign 
was quite spirited, although the domi- 
nant party was uniformly successful. 
The total vote was 1826 — the largest 
yet cast in the county — and was divided 
as follows: 

President — Benjamin Harrison (rep), 
1138; Grover Cleveland (dem), 475; 
Clinton B. Fisk (pro), 207. 

Governor — William R. Merriam (rep), 
1098; Eugene M. Wilson (dem), 485; 
Hugh Harrison (pro), 235. 

Congressman — John Lind (rep), 1152; 
Morton S. Wilkinson (dem), 473; D. W. 
Edwards (pro). 188. 

Judge District Court — B. F. Webber 
(rep), 1818. 

Representatives — A. C. Forbes (rep), 
1065; A. J. Crane (rep), 1087; Wakeman 
(pro), 217. 

Auditor — Thomas P. Baldwin (rep), 
1009; Louis Larson (pro), 789. 

Treasurer — George Little (rep), 1168; 
George C. ManteU (dem), 316; A. R. 
Thompson (pro), 331. 

Sheriff— J. F. Remore (rep), 1256; 
S. B. Green (dem), 343; W. G. Hunter 
(pro), 210. 

Register of Deeds — James B. Gibbons 
(rep), 1022; Philip Letournau (dem), 
661; K. E. Kjorness (pro), 113. 

Judge of Probate — F. S. Brown (rep), 
1234; M. E. Mathews (dem), 374: J. W. 
Series (pro), 198. 

Attorney — V. B. Seward (dem-rep), 
1511. 

Superintendent of Schools — W. R. 
Edwards (rep), 1305; Mrs. L. F. Ferro 
(pro), 303. 

Court Commissioner — D. F. Wey- 



J9 Resigned in January, 1888, and Frank D. 
chosen by the appointing board. 



ID 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY 



121 



mouth (rep), I 153; J. V. Mallory (dem), 
l.'.S; S. B. Wheeler (pro), 204. 

Coroner C. E. Persons I rep), 1 1 50; 
.1. S. Renninger (dem), 468; B. C. 
Emery (pro), 199. 

Surveyor— J. W. Blake (rep), 11:5."); 
George V. Link (dem), 475; Richard 
Morgan (pro), 211. 

Commissioner First District — O. H. 
Hatlestad (rep), 196; John C. Lines 
(dem), 84; (I. ML Robinson (pro). 22. 

Commissioner Third District -J. H. 
Cutler (rep), 140; Robert Gardner 30 
(pro), 1!)!). 

Commissioner Fifth District .James 
.1. Hartigan (rep), 344; 0. .1. Rea (dem), 
54; .1. P. Davis (pro), 39. 

The election of 1890 brought a radical 
change in Lyon county politics, caused 
by the entrance of the farmers alliance. 
Before that date the Republican party 
had met but slight opposition, contend- 
ing occasionally with a "Peoples" ticket 
or independent candidates. Now the 
Alliance party, rapidly gaining strength, 
put a complete ticket in the field and 
gave real opposition to the dominant 
party. The campaign preceding the 
election was bitter and one of the most 
hotly contested in the history of the 
county. The Alliance carried the county 
for their nominees for governor, con- 
gressman and the representatives (wdio 
had been indorsed by the Republicans) 
and elected superintendent of schools 
and two commissioners. An independ- 
ent carried the county for senator and 
the other county offices went to the 
Republicans. The total vote was 1795. 
The result as canvassed: 

Covernor — William R. Merriam (rep), 
605; Thomas J. Wilson (dem), 404; 
Sidney M. Owen (all), 714; J. P. Pinkham 
(pro), 66. 

30 Resigned January 7, 1S90, because of removal 
from the district, and on January 20 S. O. Herrick 
named as his successor. 



Congressman John Lind (rep), 829; 
•lames H. Baker (all), 877. 

Senator Mans Lavesson (rep), 438; 
Orrin Mott (all). 165; H. M. Burchard 
(ind), 769. 

Representatives C. 11. White (all- 
rep), 1760; O. C. Wilson (all-rep), 1764. 

Auditor — Thomas P. Baldwin (rep), 
10S0; .lames F. Gibb (all), 696. 

Treasurer- George Little (rep), 1073; 
II. B. Loomis (all), 709. 

Sheriff— J. F. Remore (rep), 1159; 
K. E. Kjorness (all), 606. 

Register of Deeds — J. B. Gibbons 
(rep), 1059; Webb (all), 709. 

Judge of Probate — F. 8. Brown (rep), 
1115; Perry Newton (all), 669. 

Attorney — V. B. Seward (rep), 1036; 
H. A. Baker (all), 730. 

Clerk of Court^E. S. Reishus (rep), 
1125; I). F. Wasson (all), 637. 

Superintendent of Schools — W. R. 
Edwards (rep), 950; S. L. Wait (all), 
1064. 

Court Commissioner — E. B. Jewett 
(rep), 1033; M. E. Wilcox (all), 740. 

Coroner — C. E. Persons (rep), 1104. 

Surveyor— J. W. Blake (rep), 983; 
George W. Link (all), 741. 

Commissioner Second District — Oliver 
T. Moe (rep), 84; O. J. Wignes (all), 119. 

Commissioner Third District — Robert 
Riddell (rep), 152; S. O. Herrick (all), 
169. 

Commissioner Fourth District — Hugh 
Neill (rep), 325; J. W. Pike (all), 111. 

The Peoples Party succeeded the 
Alliance forces in 1892 and by combining 
with the Democrats elected three county 
officers. The total vote was 2256 and 
the result follows: 

President — Benjamin Harrison (rep), 
1069; Grover Cleveland (dem), 584 31 ; 

■■"Fusion was effected cm some of the Democratic 
and Peoples Party presidential electors in Minnesota 
and those electors received 7.50 votes in Lyon county. 



122 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



James B. Weaver (pp), 358; Silas Bid- 
well (pro). 271. 

Governor — Knute Nelson (rep), 1009; 
1). W. Lawler (dem), 514; Ignatius 
Donnelly (pp), 319; William J. Dean 
(pro), 257. 

Congressman — James T. MeCleary 
(rep), 981; W. S. Hammond (dem), 452: 
L. C. Long (pp), 353; E. H. Bronson 
(pro), 282. 

Representatives- L. S. Tyler (rep), 
1011 ; Ole Lende (rep), 806; James Gibb 
(pp-dem), 699; O. C. Wilson fpp-dem), 
611; A. R. Chace (pro), 326; A. L. 
Foster (pro), 210. 

Auditor— Ole Kelson (rep), 730; C. H. 
White (pp-dem), 601; A. L. Baldwin 
(pro). 329; T. B. Baldwin (ind), 465. 

Treasurer — Robert Riddell (rep), 454; 
S. Odell (pp-dem). 600; Seth Johnson 
(pro), 281; George Little (ind), 833. 

Sheriff— J. F. Remore (rep), 1327; 
G. A. Dalmann -(pp-dem). 527; W. G. 
Hunter (pro), 301. 

Register of Deeds — J. B. Gibbons 
(rep), 978; A. O. Anderson (pp-dem), 
787; E. I. Leland (pro), 390". 

Judge of Probate — O. E. Maxson 
(rep). 970; C. W. Main (pp-dem), 891; 
A. P. Whitney (pro), 277. 

Attorney — F. S. Brown (rep), 962; 
M. F. Mathews 32 (pp-dem), 964; T. M. 
Quart on (pro), 250. 

Superintendent of Schools — D. C. 
Pierce (rep), 750; S. L. Wait (pp-dem), 
945; J. F. Durst (pro), 628. 

Coroner — C. E. Persons (pp-dem-rep), 
1466; C. M. Ferro (pro), 436. 

Surveyor -O. H. Sterk (pp-dem), 
1017; L. S. Teigland (pro), 597. 

Commissioner First District — O. H. 

II at lest ad (rep). 209; Robert Heilman 
(pp-dem). 218. 

Commissioner Third District— James 

"Resigned September 24. 1894, and' no successor 
appointed. 



Murrison (rep), 188; J. J. Thomas (pp- 
dem), 108; S. O. Herrick (ind), 113. 

Commissioner Fifth District — J. J. 
Hartigan 33 (rep), 226; W. S. Moses (pp- 
dem), 69; Louis Rialson (pro), 126. 

In 1894 fusion was effected on only 
a few of the offices and there were four 
partial tickets in the field. The Repub- 
licans were generally successful, al- 
though the opposition carried the county 
for one representative and elected the 
county attorney and clerk of court. 
The vote was 2721 and the several 
candidates received votes as follows: 

Governor — Knute Nelson (rep), 1272; 
George L. Becker (dem), 166; S. M. 
Owen (pp), 1052; Hans S. Hilleboe 
(pro), 149. 

Congressman — James T. MeCleary 
(rep), 1318; James H. Baker (dem), 206; 
L. C. Long (pp), 893; H. S. Kellom 
(pro), 161. 

Senator — Charles ('. Whitney (rep), 
1181; F. S. Reishus (pp), 1127; 1). H. 
Evans (pro), 301 . 

Representatives— F. W. Nash (rep). 
1294; George E. Olds (rep), 835; 1). T. 
Jones (pp), 907; L. I. Leland (pp). 7S6; 
M. F. Woodard (pro), 201. 

Judge District Court — B. F. Webber 
(non-partisan), 1816. 

Auditor — Ole Kelson (rep), 1407; C. 
H. AVhite (pp), 952; C. D. Brimmer 
(pro), 166. 

Treasurer— Eli S. Frick (rep), 1300; 
Ephraim Skyhawk (dem), 316; D. S. 
Phillips (pp). 930. 

Sheriff — Andrew A. Christensen (rep), 
1024; J. P. Peirard (dem), 449; O. J. 
Wignes (pp), 874; James Morgan (pro), 
289. 

Register of Deeds — S. N. Harrington 
(rep), 1245; John Michie (dem). 03: E. 
T. Mathews (pp). 1033; L. S. Teigland 
(pro). 243. 



"Died November 24, 1894, 
chosen to complete the term. 



and Ole F. Norwood 



HISTORY OF LYON COLXTY. 



123 



Judge of Probate 0. E. Maxson(rep), 
1362; ('. \Y. -Main (dem-pp), I L59. 

Attorney — F. S. Brown (rep), 1196; 
V. B. Seward (pp-dem), 1249; T. M. 
Quarton (pro). 143. 

Clerk of Court— 0. H. Hatlestad (rep), 
1113; S. Odell (pp), 1272; J. F. Durst 
(pro), 207. 

Superintendent of Schools — J. P. 
Byrne (rep-pro), 1551; Mrs. T. H. Webb 
(dem), 185; S. L. Wait (pp), 1100. 

Coroner — C. E. Persons (rep). 1642; 
C. M. Ferro (pro), 527. 

Surveyor— 0. H. Sterk (rep), 2035. 

Commissioner Second District — J. B. 
Johnson (rep), 143; C. P. Kenyon (dem), 
. 85; K. S. Kvanbek (pp), 108; Ole L. 
Orsen (pro), 51. 

Commissioner Fourth District — T. J'. 
Baldwin (rep), 412; M. C. Kiel (pp), 191. 

In 1896 the free silver issue gained 
many adherents in Lyon county. AVil- 
liam Jennings Bryan, the Democratic 
standard bearer, received a large vote 
and John Lind carried the county for 
*governor. The Peoples Party had a 
county ticket in the field and its nomi- 
nees received large votes, several being 
elected. The total vote was 3066. The 
result in detail: 

President — William McKinley (rep). 
1623; W. J. Bryan ( dem-pp j, 1351; 
John M. Palmer (nat dem), 25; Levering 
(pro), 67. 

Governor— David M. Clough (rep), 

' 1384; John Lind (dem-pp), 1560; William 

J. Dean (pro), 56; A. A. Ames (ind), 3. 

Congressman — James T. McCleary 
(rep), 1554; Frank A. Day (dem-pp), 
1386; Richard Price (pro), 62. 

Representatives — J. H. Manchester 
(rep), 1561; George E. Olds (rep), 1235; 
John T. Mooney (pp), 1329; David T. 
Jones (pp), 1181. 

"Died September 19, 1.898, and Charles H. Kelson, 
a son, was appointed to complete the short unexpired 
term. 



Auditor— Ole Kelson 1 " (rep), 1617; 
(). F. Norwood (pp), 1411. 

Treasurer— Eli S. Frick (rep), 1623; 
Hubert M. Gray (pp), 1377. 

Sheriff — Andrew A. Christensen (rep), 
1866; H. M. Dwyre (pp), 1187. 

Register of Deeds — S. N. Harrington 
(rep), 1605; Arne Anderson (pp), 142(>. 

Judge of Probate — O. E. Maxson 
(rep), 1625; C. M. Gislason (pp), 1386. 

Attorney — F. S. Brown (rep), 1621; 
C. W. Main (pp), 1414. 

Superintendent of. Schools — J. P. 
Byrne (rep), 1637; Mrs. Dell W. Forbes 
(pp). 2046. 

Coroner — C. E. Persons (rep), 1697; 
S. Iv Sanderson (pp), 1271. 

Surveyor— O. H. Sterk (pp), 2015. 

Commissioner First District — Erik 
Roti (rep), 279; Robert Heilman 3 "' (pp), 
310. 

Commissioner Third District — James 
Murrison (rep), 302; D. S. Phillips (pp), 
331. 

Commissioner Fifth District — J. A. 
Hunter (rep), 318; George P. Erb (pp), 
279. 

Again in 1898 the Democratic-Peoples 
Party candidate for governor carried the 
county, as also did one of that party's 
nominees for the Legislature. On the 
county ticket the Peoples Party, which 
was the only one in opposition to the 
Republican, elected clerk of court and 
superintendent of schools, while an inde- 
pendent was chosen one of the com- 
missioners. There was a falling off in 
the vote, only 2285 being cast. The 
result : 

Governor — William H. Eustis (rep), 
976; John Lind (dem-pp), 1141; George 
W. Higgins (pro), 62; L. C. Long (middle 
road populist), 32; William B. Ham- 
mond (soc lab), 3. 

"Resigned January 31, 1899, and was succeeded by 
Horace G. Hoffman. 



124 



HISTORY OF LYOX COUNTY. 



Congressman — James T. McCleary 
(rep), L092; D. H. Evans (pp-dem), 
L061; T. P. Grout (pro), 65. 

Senator — Louis H. Shellbach (rep), 
1123; E. S. Reishus (pp), 1040. 

liepret entatives — John (1. Schutz 
(rep), 1165; Charles \Y. Stites (rep), S54; 
John S. Mooney (pp), 903; Chr. Christ - 
ianson (pp), 834. 

Auditor — Thomas McKinley (rep), 
1181; 0. F. Norwood (pp), 1031. 

Treasurer— Eli S. Frick (rep), 1180; 
Hubert M. Gray (pp), 994. 

Sheriff — Andrew A. Christensen (rep), 
1877. 

Register of Deeds — S. N. Harrington 
(rep), 1214; Martin Furgeson (pp), 972. 

Judge of Probate — L. M. Lange (rep), 
1304; S. L. Wait (pp), 878. 

Attorney — F. S. Brown (rep), 1150; 
M. E. Mathews (pp), 1079. 

Clerk of Court — E. 1. Leland (rep), 
934; S. Odell (pp), 1306. 

Superintendent of Schools — Mrs.Addie 
M. Whiting (rep), 1066; Mrs. Dell W. 
Forbes (pp), 1752. 

Coroner — C. E. Persons (rep), 1740. 

Surveyor — W. A. Hawkins (rep), 1222; 
O. H. Sterk (pp), 1031. 

Commissioner Second District — P. O. 
French (rep), 81; K. S. Kvanbeck (pp), 
121; Ole J. Wignes (ind), 127. 

Commissioner Fourth District — T. P. 
Baldwin (rep), 322; C. H. White (pp), 
209. 

The Republicans made almost a clean 
sweep in 1900, carrying the county for 
all national, state, congressional and 
legislative nominees and electing all the 
county officers except superintendent of 
schools. The number of ballots cast 
was 3033 and the vote in detail was as 
follows: 

President — William McKinley (rep), 
1844-; W. J. Bryan (dem-pp), 879; John 

'■Died November 2, 1903. John N. Jones succeeded 
to the office. 



G. Woolley (pro), 111; E. Y. Debs (soc 
clem), 16; Malloney (soc lab), 4. 

Governor — Samuel R. Van Sant (rep), 
1466; John Find (dem-pp), 1308: Bernt 

B. Haugen (pro), 66; S. M. Fairchild 
(middle road populist), 17; Thomas H. 
Lucas (soc clem), 4; Edward Kriz (soc 
lab), 3. 

Congressman — James T. McCleary 
(rep), 1601; M. E. Mathews (dem-pp), 
1211; S. D. Works (pro), 86. 

Judge District Court — B. F. Webber 
(non partisan), 2019. 

Representatives — John G. Schutz 
(rep), 1690; Charles W. Stites (rep), 
1505; D. H. Evans (pp), 1122; Chr. 
Christianson (pp), 903. 

Auditor — Thomas McKinley (rep), 
1962; J. T. Hanson (pp), 1071. 

Treasurer— A. H. Dunton (rep), 1588; 
Charles Catlin (pp), 1220. 

Sheriff — Andrew A. Christensen (rep),' 
2013; Ole J. Wignes (pp), 855. 

Register of Deeds — S. N. Harrington 
(rep), 1787; Martin Furgeson (pp), 1064. 

Judge of Probate — L. M. Lange (rep), 
2336. 

Attorney — E. C. Patterson (rep), 1480; 

C. W. Main (dem-pp), 1400. 
Superintendent of Schools — Mrs. Dell 

W. Forbes (pp), 2236. 

Court Commissioner — Walter Wake- 
man (rep), 2227. 

Coroner — C. E. Persons (rep), 2265. 

Surveyor — W. A. Hawkins (rep), 2303. 

Commissioner First District — O. H. 
Hatlestad (rep), 301; Horace G. Hoff- 
man (pp), 240. 

Commissioner Third District — C. W. 
Candee 36 (rep), 382; D. S. Phillips (pp), 
223. 

Commissioner Fifth District — J. A. 
Hunter (rep), 333; A. R. Endersbee 
(PP), 218. 

The primary election law went into 




HOME OF A PIONEER 

Home of Captain Langdon at the Old Watermill in the Once Flourishing 

Village of Camden. 




EARLY DAY FARM HOME 
Erected by Griff Hughes on Section 9, Custer Township, in the Fall of 1SS9. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



125 



effed in 1902, and since thai time party 
nominations have been made by direct 
vote of the people instead of the old 

style county conventions. This has re- 
sulted in revolutionizing county politics. 
Lyon county being normally strongly 
Republican, the principal campaign is 
now made for the Republican nomina- 
tion and there are seldom contests for 
county office at the general election. 

The first primary election in Lyon 
county was held September 16, 1902, 
and there were contests only among the 
Republicans. The result of the ballot- 
ing where more than one sought the 
office was as follows: 

Congressman — M. J. Dowling, 1041; 
A. J. Volstead, 620; E. T. Young, 163. 

Senator— John G. Schutz, 1151; C. YY. 
Stites, 67s! 

Representatives — J. H. Catlin, 695; 
Gustav Erickson, 819; A. H. Mahler, 
387; H. W. Ruliffson, 1078. 

Register of Deeds — J. W. Andrews, 
477; 8. N. Harrington, 1268. 

Attorney — Thomas E. Davis, 1035; 
E. C. Patterson, 771. 

Clerk of Court— G. B. Bjornson, 910; 
A. G. Bumford, 913. 

Commissioner Second District — C. K. 
Melby, 192; Ole L. Orsen, 96. 

The result of the general election of 
1902, at which 2494 ballots were cast, 
Avas as follows: 

Governor — Samuel R. Van Sant (rep), 
1784; Leonard A. Rosing (dem), 534; 
Thomas J. Meighen (pp), 69; Charles 
Scanlon (pro), 91 ; J. E. Nash, 3; Thomas 
Van Lear (soc lab), 11. 

Congressman — A. J. Volstead (rep), 
1871; August O. Forsberg (pp), 373; 
Knut Johnson (pro), 145. 

Senator— John G. Schutz (rep), 1925. 

Representatives — H. W. Ruliffson 



(rep), 1741; Gustav Erickson (rep), 
1544; John .1. Mooney (pp). 495. 

Auditor — Thomas McKinley (rep), 
2161. 

Treasurer — A. H. Dunton (rep), 2055. 

Sheriff — Andrew A. Christensen (rep), 
2226. 

Register of Deeds — S. N. Harrington :i7 
(rep), 2172. 

Judge of Probate — L. M. Lange 38 
(rep), 2103. 

Attorney — Thomas E. Davis (rep), 
1469; E. B. Johnson (hid), 1025. 

Clerk of Court — A. G. Bumford (rep), 
2115. 

Superintendent of Schools — H. R. 
Painter (rep), 1263; Mrs. Dell W. 
Forbes (non partisan), 1973. 

Surveyor — W. A. Hawkins (rep), 
2056. 

Commissioner Second District — C. K. 
Melby (rep), 240; O. J. Wignes (ind), 
171. 

Commissioner Fourth District — Levi 
S. Kiel (rep), 523. 

The contests in the Republican pri- 
mary election of 1904 were decided as 
follows : 

Representatives — Gustav Erickson, 
883; Marcus Lauritsen, 689; John Mc- 
Kenzie, 843; H. W. Ruliffson, 995. 

Treasurer— C. J. Berdan, 847; A. H. 
Dunton, 1054. 

Sheriff — Andrew A. Christensen, 1251; 
H. O. Clark, 694. 

Judge of Probate — E. C. Patterson, 
937; Walter Wakeman, 935. 

Commissioner Third District — J. N. 
Jones, 215; L. E. Peterson, 179. 

At the 1904 general election 3134 
ballots were cast, the largest number in 
the history of the county, before or 
since. For president Theodore Roose- 
velt received a record breaking majority 



37 Died September 12, 1903. M. E. Drake received 
the appointment and completed the term. 



38 Resip:ni'd and was succeeded by E 
June 1, 1903. 



C. Patterson 



126 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



over Alton B. Parker. The vote for the 
several nominees was as follows: 

President — Theodore Roosevelt (rep), 
2394; Alton B. Parker (dem), 331; 
Thomas Watson (pp), 52; Swallow (pro), 
107: E. V. Debs (pub own), 50. 

Governor — Robert C. Dunn (rep), 



Lauritsen, 753; Ole Ostensoe, 186; V. B. 
Seward, 1800. 

Representatives — H. M. Hanson, 1350: 
I. L. Kolhei, 964; C. K. Melby, 1476. 

Auditor — Thomas McKinley, 782; 
Ernest S. Shepard, 2019. 

Treasurer — A. H. Dunton, 544; J. H. 



Hi58; John A. Johnson (dem), 1268; Dahl, 707; Elmer E. Foster, 498; R. M. 
Charles W. Dorsett (pro), 82; J. E. Nash Neill, 1089; F. S. Purdy, 81. 
(pub own), 15; A. W. M. Anderson (soc 
lab), 14. 

Congressman — A. J. Volstead (rep), 
2611. 

R epresentatives — Marcus Lauritsen 
(rep), 2285; Gustav Erickson (rep), 
2317. 



Sheriff — Andrew A. Christensen, 1407; 
M. E. Grannan, 1527. 

Register of Deeds— M. E. Drake, 2010; 
George D. Fitch, 669. 

Judge of Probate — Walter Wakeman, 
1381; O. F. Woodard, 1432.. 

Clerk of Court— C. J. -Berdan, 596; 



Auditor— Thomas McKinley (rep), A. G. Bumford, 1515; Frank C. Whitney, 

2704. 737. 

Treasurer— A. H. Dunton (rep), 2691. Surveyor— W. A. Hawkins, 1059; O. 

Sheriff — Andrew A. Christensen (rep), H. Sterk, 1562. 

2751 . Commissioner Second District — Ole E. 

Register of Deeds— M. E. Drake (rep), Rye, 203; T. K. Thompson, 224. 



2656. 

Judge of Probate — E. C. Patterson 
(rep), 2449. 

Attorney — Thomas E. Davis (rep), 
1460; Bjorn B. Gislason (ind), 1674. 

Superintendent of Schools — Mrs. Dell 
W. Forbes (non partisan), 2580. 

Coroner — J. B. Robertson (rep), 2250. 

Surveyor — W. A. Hawkins (rep), 
2440. 

Commissioner First District — O. H. 
Hatlestad (rep), 504. 

Commissioner Third District — John N. 
Jones (rep), 382; S. W. Galbraith (ind), 
240. 

Commissioner Fifth District — J. M. 
Wardell (rep), 488. 

There were many candidates for the 
Republican nominations in L906 and 
the results were as follows: 

Judge District Court — L. G. Davis, 
506; Joseph A. Eckstein, 519; I. M. 
Olsen, 1)40; B. F. Webber, 320. 

Senator Robert Faulds, 103; Marcus 



At the 1906 general election 2293 
votes were polled and the results were 
as follows: 

Governor — A. L. Cole (rep), 815; 
John A. Johnson (dem), 1288; Charles 
W. Dorsett (pro), 112; O. E. Lofthus 
(pub own), 19. 

Judge District Court— I. M. Olsen 
(rep), 954; Albert Steinhauser (dem), 
100; M. E. Mathews (non partisan), 
1181. 

Congressman — A. J. Volstead (rep), 
1840. 

Senator — V. B. Seward (rep), 1798. 

Representatives — H. M. Hanson (rep), 
1536; C. K. Melby (rep), 1452. 

Auditor — Ernest S. Shepard (rep), 
1956. 

Treasurer— R. M. Neill (rep), 1909. 

Sheriff — M. E. Grannan (rep), 1607. 
Register of Deeds — M. E. Drake (rep), 
1*907. 

Judge of Probate — O. F. Woodard 

(rep), 1S58. 



HISTORY OF I, VOX COUNTY. 



127 



Attorney X. J. Robinson (rep), 1849. 

Clerk of. Court— A. G. Bumford (rep), 
1910. 

Superintendent of Schools — II. R. 
Painter (rep), 1(122; .Mrs. Dell W. Forbes 
(non partisan). 1512. 

Coroner — J. B. Robertson (rep), 17(>7. 

Surveyor — O. H. Sterk (rep). 1817. 

Commissioner Second District T. K. 
Thompson (rep), 300. 

Commissioner Fourth District -Levi 
S. Kiel (rep), 430. 

Only a few contested for the Repub- 
lican nominations in 1908 and the 
results were 1 as follows: 

Representatives — John X. Johnson, 
1169; C. K. Melby, 1100; Thomas 
Stringer, 640. 

Judge of Probate — John E. Regan, 
596; O. V. Woodard, 1274. 

Commissioner First District — O. H. 
Hatlestad, 166; Ludwig E. Larson, 153. 

Commissioner Third District — Clans 
G. Johnson, 81; Evan M. Jones, 139; 
John X. Jones, 132; George A. Tate, 151. 

Commissioner Fifth District — H. J. 
Cain. 131; J. M. Wardell, 203. 

The general election of 1908 brought 
forth 2987 voters. The vote in detail: 

President— W. H. Taft (rep). 1618; 
W. J. Bryan (dem), 1043; Eugene W. 
Chafin (pro), 146; E. V. Debs (pub own), 
46; Thomas L. Hisgen (independence), 1. 

Governor — Jacob F. Jacobson (rep), 
1530; John A. Johnson (dem), 1209; 
George D. Haggard (pro), 106; Beecher 
Moore (pub own), 19; William W. Allen 
(independence), 3. 

Congressman — A. J. Volstead (rep), 
2054. 

Represent at ives- 
(rep), 1424; C. K. 



John N. Johnson 
Melby (rep), 1589; 

W. C. Gaugh (pro), 583; Alfred Soder- 

lind (ind), 915. 

; '.Mr. Wardell resigned in the spring of 1912 on 
account of ill health and died a few weeks later. 
H. F. Seiter was chosen to complete the term. 



Auditor Ernest S. Shepard (rep), 
2280. 

Treasurer P. M. Neil] (rep), 2236. 

Sheriff— M. E. Grannan (rep). 2157. 

Register of Deeds M. E. Drake (rep), 
2254. 

Judge of Probate— O. F. Woodard 
(rep), 22S3. 

Attorney X..I. Robinson (rep), 2152. 

Superintendent of Schools — H. R. 
Painter (rep). 2229. 

Coroner — J. B. Robertson (rep), 2043. 

Surveyor -0. II. Sterk (rep), 2163. 

Commissioner hirst District — O. H. 
Hatlestad (rep). 285; Peter T. Dahl 
(ind), 252. 

Commissioner Third District — George 
A. Tate (rep), 302; C. E. Etrheim (dem), 
396. 

Commissioner Fifth District — J. M. 
Wardell 39 (rep), 392. 

The results of the Republican primary 
election of 1910 for the offices sought by 
more than one candidate were as fol- 
lows: 

Senator— Olai A. Lende, 1351; V. B. 
Seward, 1273. 

Representatives — J. H. Catlin, 1044; 
Edwin F. Whiting, 1419. 

Sheriff— M. E. Grannan, 1390; R. A. 
Mitchell, 1161. 

Register of Deeds — Boyd Champlain, 
947; M. E. Drake, 1513. 

Judge of Probate — John Michie, 774; 
O. F. Woodard, 1709. 

Superintendent of Schools — Lucy A. 
Mercer, 794; H. R, Painter, 1878. 

Surveyor — J. D. Lanoue, 616; O. H. 
Sterk, 1662. 

Commissioner Fourth District — E. E. 
Davis, 312; Levi S. Kiel, 255; S. W. Or, 
110. 

At the last general election before the 
publication of this volume— that of 



128 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



1910— the total vote cast was 2507. 40 
The vote was divided among the several 
nominees as follows: 

( rovernor — A. 0. Eberhart (rep), 1158; 
James Gray (dem), 1091; J. F. Heiberg 
(pro), 90; George E. Barrett (pub own), 
24; C. W. Brandborg (soc lab), 33. 

Congressman — A. J. Volstead (rep), 
1844. 

Senator — Olai A. Lende (rep), 1867. 

Representative — Edwin F. Whiting 
(rep), 1745; Cain (ind), 311. 

Auditor — Ernest 8. Shepard (rep), 
1944. 

Treasurer— R. M. Neill (rep), 1983. 

Sheriff— M. E. Grannan (rep), 1266; 
John Munroe (dem), 1192. 

Register of Deeds — M. E. Drake (rep), 
1945. 

Judge of Probate — O. F. Woodard 
(rep), 1929. 

Attorney— James H. Hall (rep), 1220; 
James Von Williams (dem), 1178. 

Clerk of Court — A. G. Bumford (rep), 
1953. 

Superintendent of Schools — H. R. 
Painter (rep), 1942. 

Coroner— J. B. Robertson (rep), 1839. 

Surveyor— O. H. Sterk (rep), 1911. 

Commissioner Second District — T. K. 
Thompson (rep), 167; James McGinn 
(dem), 176. 

Commissioner Fourth District — E. E. 
Davis (rep), 398; Levi S. Kiel (ind), 267. 

And now the political history of Lyon 
county is brought to a close. It covers 
a period from the time in 1870 when the 
first official took the oath of office— 
when there were less than one hundred 
voters in the count}- — up to and in- 
cluding the last general election before 
the publication of this volume. A brief 

40 The vote of the county at the first election, in 
IN<(), was is, and m 1873, while the present Lincoln 
county was included in it, it was .502. The total vote 
cast a1 each election since that time was* as follows' 
L874, 453; 187.".. 238; 1876, 606; 1877, 399; 1878, 698'; 



summary of conditions during this time 
may not be out of place. 

The county has always been normally 
Republican and in the early days was 
overwhelmingly so. Although the party 
of Jefferson polled fair sized votes at 
several elections, it has never carried 
the county for the national ticket; at 
three elections it carried the county for 
its nominees for governor. 

During the entire early history of the 
county, the Republican was the" only 
party maintaining an organization. But 
during that time there was a strong 
independent movement, kept alive by 
one faction of the Republican party and 
the Democrats, which opposed the Re- 
publican organization and on several 
occasions gained partial control of county 
politics. With the later settlement of 
the county came the organization of 
the Democratic party, and since that 
time it has been a factor in county 
politics, although always as a minority 
party. Since primary election days it 
has participated in local politics only 
to a limited extent. 

In the free silver days of the nineties 
the Alliance, succeeded after one cam- 
paign by the Peoples Party, came into 
existence, carried the county for gover- 
nor and congressman at one election, 
and became a power in local politics. 
Fusion between the Peoples Party and 
Democrats was accomplished and for 
some time the combined forces furnished 
opposition to the dominant party. 

The Prohibitionists have never been 
strong in Lyon county. In a few cam- 
paigns they placed nominees for county 
offices in the field. Socialists and other 
minor parties have little or no strength 
in the count v. 




30.33; 1902, 2494; 1904, 3134; 1906, 2293; 1908,' 2987-' 
1910, 2.507. 



CHAPTER IX. 



MARSHALL- -1872-1912. 



MARSHALL, the capital of Lyon 
county, is the largesl and old- 
est existing town in the county. 
It is located at the Big Lend of the 
Redwood river, and its elevation above 
sea level is 1174 feet. It is a station 
on the Chicago & Northwestern railroad 
and the Great Northern railroad. Other- 
wise described, Marshall is on section 4, 
Lake Marshall township, and the busi- 
ness center of the city is only three 
miles, in a direct line, from the geo- 
graphical center of the county. 

The population of Marshall in 1910 
was 2152, but there has been an in- 
crease since that time and a census 
today would show a population of about 
2500. It is one of the progressive and 
prosperous towns of Southwestern Min- 
nesota. All lines of business that are 
to be found in the towns of agricultural 
communities of the upper Mississippi 
valley are represented. It is noted for 
its beautiful homes, schools, churches 
and social organizations, and in these 
respects it is the peer of any city of its 
size in the state. 

Considered in its natural state, the 
location of Marshall is one of unusual 
beauty; Southwestern Minnesota has 
not a more lovely spot. Through the 
eastern part of the city flows the Red- 
wood river, skirted by a growth of 
natural timber, which forms a series of 



pretty little parks. In its natural state 
and with the embellishments added by 
the hands of man, Marshall ranks as one 
of the prettiest little cities in a state 
distinguished for its pretty towns. 
Especially is one charmed with its 
loveliness in summer. Then the broad 
avenues and parks are clothed in bright- 
est green; trees are everywhere. 

One can hardly realize that less than 
a half century ago this spot was an 
uncharted wilderness, practically un- 
known to white men; yet such is the 
case. Time was when the dusky red 
man pitched his tepee where now 
Marshall's churches are located; vast 
herds of bison inhabited the surrounding 
country and made their wallows, per- 
haps, where now our courts are held; 
timid deer browsed where at present 
the pupil studies his natural history; 
elk in countless numbers roamed the 
adjacent prairies and saw their antlers 
reflected in the clear waters of the 
Redwood as they bent down to drink. 

When the first white man set foot on 
the site of the city is not known. Pos- 
sibly he was some adventurous trapper 
who had pushed out beyond his asso- 
ciates to locate new grounds in which 
to ply his trade, and, having come to 
the Redwood river, proceeded up the 
stream to the point where was later 
founded the city. Maybe Joseph La 



L30 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



Framboise in the thirties or James W. 
Lynd in the fifties, in their operations 
in Lyon county, visited the Big Bend 
of the Redwood and were the first to 
stand upon the site. Possibly the first 
was a member of one of the exploring 
parties that visited Southwestern Min- 
nesota in an early day. 

History records that wherever the 
North American Indians were in the 
habit of gathering for purposes of 
residence, council, worship or barter, 
those spots have invariably been selected 
by white men on which to locate their 
centers of population. There is scarce 
an instance to the contrary, and. 
indeed, it would have been remarkable 
had a city not been founded where 
Marshall now stands. For the Big Bend 
of the Redwood was a well-known spot 
to the aborigines; there they were wont 
to gather and make their camps while 
on the warpath or hunt, and it came to 
be a popular assembling ground. Trails 
extended from it in four directions: 
northward to the Lac qui Parle country; 
southward, past Lake Marshall, to the 
Cottonwood river country and Lake 
Shetek; southwestward, up the Red- 
wood river, to the Lynd woods and the 
famous Pipestone quarries; northeast- 
ward, down the Redwood, to the 
present site of Redwood Falls and the 
Minnesota river. 

The land on which Marshall was later 
built (section 4, Lake Marshall town- 
ship) was without a claimant until the 
summer of 1S69. At that time C. H. 
Whitney and C. H. Upton, accompanied 
by others, came to the county and 
located claims thereon, Mi'. Whitney 
taking the southeast quarter and Mr. 
Upton the northeast quarter. They 

'The proximity oi Lake Marshal] doubtless suggested 

l lie name of the postoffiee to Mr. Whitney. The lake 
was named in honor of Governor William I!. Marshall. 
The village was not named after Lake Marshall or in 
honor of Governor Marshall, but after this postoffice. 



broke a little land on each of those 
claims and also on the northwest quarter 
of the same section, which was reserved 
as the claim of Mrs. Ursula Stone, 
mother-in-law of Mr. Upton and a 
soldier's widow. These gentlemen de- 
parted from their claims on June L">. 
and on the eighteenth made their filings 
in the land office at New Ulm. 

Messrs. Whitney and Upton returned 
on June 1, 1870. Mr. Whitney built a 
sod shanty on his claim — the first build- 
ing erected in Marshall, though not the 
first in the village as originally platted 
—and Mr. Upton put up a sod shanty 
on his claim, both being on the east side 
of the river and not in the original 
platted portion, but in additions later 
made. Although there was no prospect 
of the founding of a village at the time, 
Mr. Whitney, on October 17. 1870, 
secured the establishment of a post- 
office, which was located on his claim 
and of which he became postmaster. 
The office was named Marshall 1 and was 
operated as a country postoffice until 
the village was founded. 

During 1870 a number of settlers 
located in the vicinity of the village-to- 
be and the Marshall postoffice became 
a sort of social center for those living in 
the neighborhood. Late in May, 1871, 
Mrs. Ursula Stone and Milo Morse 
arrived and selected as their claims the 
remaining land on section 4, Mr. Morse 
filing on the southwest quarter and Mrs. 
Stone on the northwest quarter. In 
June Mr. Morse, assisted by his neigh- 
bors, built a sod shanty at a point on 
his claim which is about where the 
Van Dusen elevator now stands, close 
to the Northwestern tracks. 2 

Not until early in 1872 was there 



2 "I helped to build the first house on the original 
townsite of Marshall, in June, 1871. It was a sod 
house. The original homesteader, Milo Morse, held a 
'bee' and the Bellinghams, At Bean, myself and others 
attended."— G. M. Durst. 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



i.n 



thought of a village at the Big Bend. 
Then came rumors of the proposed ex- 
tension of the Winona & St. Peter rail- 
road through Lyon county, and a little 
later came the surveyors who selected 
the route. The people at the Big Bend 
early put in a claim for a station on the 
proposed road, hut their claim was 
opposed by the settlers at the point 
where the road would cross Three-Mile 
creek, close to the present village of 
Ghent. For a time the choice was in 
doubt, but the settlers at the Hia; Bend 
were triumphant, largely through the 
exertions of (\ II. Whitney. He made 
a trip to the land office at Redwood 
Falls, secured data concerning the land 
filings in the two neighborhoods, and 
presented the matter to the railroad 
authorities in such light that t hex- 
promised the Lyon county station should 
he at the point where the road would 
cross the Redwood river. 

It was not long after the selection of 
the .site was made 1 before there were 
signs of a village. The first building 
erected, excepting the sod houses hefore 
mentioned, was put up in June, 1872. 
It was a little frame building erected by 
the railroad company for the use of its 
engineers and stood where the Lawrence 
furniture store is now. The second 
building was put up about the same 
time and stood in the middle of Third 
Street, facing Main, in front of the site 
now occupied by the Lyon County 
National Bank. Its dimensions were 
13x16 feet, with a lean-to, and the 
lumber it contained was hauled from 



New 11 in. The builders were William 
Everett, R. M. Addison and Charles A. 
DeGraff (the latter the head of the 
contracting firm which built the rail- 
road), who formed the firm of Willi; 



am 



• 



Everett A: Company for the purpose of 
engaging in business in the proposed 
town. A large slock of goods was 
carried and the firm did an enormous 
business from the start, most of the 
patrons being employes doing construc- 
tion work. 3 

At a time when the only buildings 
on the site were the engineers' office, the 
Everett stoic building and the sod 
shanties of the homesteaders, and hefore 
it was platted, in .Inly. 1872, Marshall 
was named. The momentous event 
occurred at a supper served a party of 
railroad officials by Mrs. C. H. Whitney 
in the engineers' office. 1 There were 
present Vice President and Treasurer 
Sykes, General Manager Howe, General 
Superintendent Stewart, Attorney Gen- 
eral Smith, Chief Engineer W. G. Ward, 
Assistant Engineer J. W. Blake, Con- 
tractor DeGraff and his son, Charles 
DeGraff. 

During the meal the naming of the 
station was discussed and the following 
names were proposed, all in honor of 
some member of the party: Ward City. 
Howeville, DeGraffton, Stewartville and 
Blake City. No agreement was reached 
and W. G. Ward suggested that their 
hostess, Mrs. Whitney, name the station 
and the others assented. Having heard 
the- discussion, Mrs. Whitney realized 
that the selection of one of the names 



3 The sales at this store the day it opened were 
$2200, and they frequently were $2000 to $2,500 per 
day. R. M. Addison and S. H. Mott succeeded to the 
business some time after the railroad came and a 
little later Mr. Addison became sole proprietor. 

4 "One day in July, 1S72, Engineer John W. Blake 
dashed into the 'village' upon a sweat-dripping pony 
which he had ridden from Lamberton, starting at 
leu-thirty in the forenoon and arriving here at four- 
thirty in the afternoon. He stated to C. H. Whitney 
that the engineers and railroad officers had come to 
Lamberton by train and were then on their way by 



teams to Marshall and must have supper when they 
arrived. Mrs. Whitney levied upon whatever the 
country afforded and prepared the repast in her house, 
and upon the arrival of the party it was conveyed to 
the engineers' office, and there occurred the first public 
repast held in this place. Major Blake says it was a 
meal lit for princes, and the wonder of all was that 
such an extensive array of viands could have been 
collected and prepared upon such short notice and 
upon the open prairie. A large number of people 
came with the party, but only the 'high joints' sat 
down to the repast in the office." — News-Messenger, 
September 16, 18S7. 



132 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



proposed might prove embarrassing, 
and she selected the name Marshall, 
after the postoffice conducted by her 
husband. The name was instantly ac- 
cepted by the officials. With a libation 
of water" sprinkled upon the ground, 
General Smith baptized the new town, 
accompanying the ceremony with a 
speech in which he urged upon Marshall's 
foster parents the duty of using their 
influence in the cause of temperance 
within its limits. The party remained 
in Marshall over night and then con- 
tinued their journey to Lake Kampeska. 

Hut little progress was made in the 
building line before the railroad reached 
the town. Early in September Jesse 
Bagley built a little structure where the 
Watson hardware store now stands and 
used it as a boarding shanty. In Sep- 
tember also Captain Herrick and Major 
Filkins set up a large tent (to the rear 
of the site of John Schneider's store) 
and conducted a saloon, which was 
liberally patronized by the railroad 
workers. In this tent while it was so 
employe) 1, the first religious services in 
Marshall were conducted by Rev. E. H. 
Alden. 

October was a busy month in the new 
town. It witnessed the arrival of the 
railroad on the twelfth, the opening of 

5 A little more than a week after the hotel was opened, 
on October 20, an accident occurred which is well 
remembered by all who were present and is chronicled 
as an event in the history of Marshall. W. M. Todd, 
in correspondence to a Winona paper at the time of 
the accident, wrote of it as follows: 

"Inside this hotel last Tuesday evening occurred 
ccident that is well worthy of notice, even in a 
metropolitan paper, and that published at a great 
distance away. The train from the east that evening 
was loaded with passengers and it contained all the 
railroad men employed by the company at this place. 
All took a bee-line for the hotel and demanded rest 
and refreshments. Charlie's eyes bulged out when he 
surveyed the multitude, but he yelled, 'Come in and 
we will do the best we can.' In went the throng, 
and as there was not room enough elsewhere, it pressed 
into the dining room. Supper being ready, all who 
Could surrounded the table and the rest stood up 
anywhere they could find room. 

"The room was already full and commenced to pack 
when the weight caused the floor to break, and down 
went table, dishes, chairs, trunks, satchels, men, 
women, children, babies and all in one promiscuous 
mass into the cellar below. The authoi of this de- 
scription was -ittiiiir on a broom handle, play-horse- 
fashion, waiting for his turn at the coffee and boiled 



a hotel on the same date, and the 
platting of the village on the twenty- 
second. 

The hotel was erected by C. H. 
Whitney and was a substantial structure. 
It was located where the present Atlantic- 
Hotel stands, was 35x40 feet and two 
stories high. Mr. Whitney had decided 
to build just one month before the hotel 
was opened to the public. On the 
twelfth of September he left for Winona 
to purchase the lumber. The stock was 
billed to "the end of the line," which 
proved to lie near the present village of 
Amiret, and was hauled from that point 
by team. The structure was rushed to 
completion and was opened October 12, 
the day the first train was run to the 
town. Supper was provided for 27o 
men that evening. 5 

For the purpose of platting the 
Marshall townsite a partnership was 
formed by J. H. Stewart, superintendent 
of the Winona & St. Peter Railroad 
Company; J. H. Jenkins, assistant super- 
intendent; W. G. Ward, chief engineer; 
J. W. Blake, assistant engineer; and 
C. H. Whitney. They purchased the 
southwest quarter of section 4 from Milo 
Morse and the south half of the north- 
west quarter from Mrs. Stone and laid 
out the town on portions of those tracts 

beef, having taken a big dose of quinine and whisky 
to scare off a threatening ague chill, and as he saw- 
everything begin to go down, he sprang across the 
'bloody chasm' and landed in the kitchen. When he 
looked back into the dark cellar and saw the shadowy 
forms of the struggling victims trying to extricate 
themselves and heard the shrieks of the sex which 
caused the downfall of man once before, he was, to 
say the least, sorry he had invested. In the dining 
room and office w r ere nearly two hundred persons, and 
as the lower floor of the whole house except the kitchen 
went down, the most of this number went down with it. 
"Digging out the ruins, human and otherwise, began 
with a vengeance. It was found that no one was hurt 
in going dow r n, but some were bruised in being 'snaked 
out.' A Miss Smith, manager of the dining room, 
who was under a trunk, was slightly injured. The 
fellow who lifts himself by his boot-straps was there 
and tried to pull her from under the trunk while 
bracing his feet on the top of it. Many complained 
the next morning of bruised shins, particularly 'Deacon' 
Knowles, the clerk, who jumped clear over a table to 
rescue a bull-dog. Another evidence, of the way 
things are done here is the fact that this cellar was 
cleaned out and a new floor laid before four o'clock the 
next morninir, and upwards of three hundred persons 
breakfasted there." 



HISTOKY OF LYON COl'XTY. 



V.M 



and of the southeast quarter, which was 
the property of Mr. Whitney. 

The site was surveyed by James A. 
Craik. The certificate of the plat was 

made October 22 by William G. Ward, 
Ella C. Ward, Joseph II. Jenkins, 
Augusta M. Jenkins, James II. Stewart, 
Lucy J. Stewart, Florence E. Blake, all 
by John W. Blake, their attorney in 
fact, and by John W. Blake, Charles H. 
Whitney and Mary A. Whitney, per- 
sonally. The certificate was acknowl- 
edged before William Langdon, register 
of deeds, and was filed in his office 
October 22, 1 872. 

The original plat consists of twenty- 
four blocks, mostly on the west side of 
the river. The streets running north- 
east and- southwest were named Easl 
Third, East Second, West First. West 
Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth. 
Those running northwest and southeast 
were named Marshall, Redwood, Lyon 
and Main. 6 

After the townsite was platted, al- 
though winter was close at hand, a 
number of buildings were put up and a 
few business enterprises started. Colonel 

8 Additions to Marshall have been platted as follows: 

Blake's, by John W. Blake, April 9, 1877 ; surveyed 
by C. L. Van Fleet. 

Addition A, by John Ward, June 7, 1877; surveyed 
by C. L. Van Fleet. 

Railroad, by Winona & St. Peter Railroad Company, 
February 5, 1879; surveyed by Arthur Jacobi. 

Stewart & Jenkins', by J. H. Jenkins and J. H. 
Stewart, September 23, 1886; surveyed by J. H. 
Jenkins. 

Howard's, by Ellen Howard, April 26, 1887; sur- 
veyed by J. W. Blake. 

Eastman's, by J. D. Eastman, March 31, 1900; 
surveyed by W. A. Hawkins. 

Riverside, by Marshall Land & Improvement Com- 
pany, August 23, 1900; surveyed by W. A. Hawkins. 

7 W. M. Todd wrote a reminiscent article of early 
days in Marshall for the News-Messenger of August 21, 
1903. He told of his arrival and of conditions as he 
found them in October, 1872, as follows: 

". . . One sunny morning in October, 1872, I left 
New Ulm on a construction train destined for 'Redwood 
Crossing,' as it was then called. The name Marshall 
had not at that time been heard of. [Mr. Todd was 
mistaken. The name had been selected some time 
before, although the village had not yet been platted.] 
. . . Reaching 'Cottonwood Crossing' (Amiret), which 
was as near as the track was laid, I stayed over night 
with the Mitchell family. . . . 

"I left the Mitchell hostelry next morning with John 
Snyder, who had been to 'the crossing' for a load of 
lumber to take to Lake Benton. The load was so 
heavy and the roads so rough that we walked most of 
the way and reached what was to be known as Marshall 
about dark That night I slept in a tent occupied by 



Samuel MePhail opened a law office, 
erecting a little structure on the site of 
the Lyric Theater thai was later used 
as a claim shack, lb M. Addison and 
II. J. Tripp, who carried the mail 
between Redwood Falls and Lynd, 
formed a partnership and engaged in the 
implement business on the lot to the 
real' of the present Addison Block. 
David I'. Hillings came to the village 
and opened a general store. John A. 
Coleman elected a store building near 
the present Lyon County National Bank 
Building and engaged in business. Dr. 
S. Y. Groesbeck and J. W. Blake erected 
residences, the first in the village, and 
the former later engaged in the drug 
business. 

A Congregational church society was 
organized and a building in which to 
hold services was begun. Daniel Far- 
quher opened a blacksmith shop in a 
little building he erected near the Main 
Street bridge. W. M. Todd arrived in 
October and engaged in the lumber 
business, erecting a little office building 
in the rear of the present Youmans 
yards. 7 Among others who located in 

the crew of John Watson, which was building the 
railroad bridge across Redwood river. . . . 

"Though thirty-one — almost thirty- two — years have 
elapsed, the impression given by the scene as I emerged 
from the tent next morning is still vivid. ... In every 
direction was a seemingly endless expanse of undu- 
lating prairie, green with a verdure which a hand of 
man had never disturbed, utterly houseless and 
without trees, excepting those which marked the 
course of the river. . . . 

"After a simple but substantial breakfast with the 
bridge crew, I set out 'to see the town.' There were 
just two buildings: one a little structure occupied by 
surveyors as headquarters, the other a cheap building 
occupied by Everett & Company as a supply store for 
the construction men. Captain Herrick, of Gary, 
South Dakota, also had a tent on the bank of the 
river in which he kept a small stock of goods. His 
goods were called by different names, but they were all 
poured from the same jug. 

"Farther up what I was told was a street a little 
frame building had just been started. Approaching it, 
I found a man sitting on a timber smoking a cigar. 
His face was smooth, his hair was thin but long, and 
his countenance indicated that his mind was hard at 
work. I introduced myself, and he informed me that 
his name was Charles H. Whitney and that the building 
being erected was to be a hotel. I told him I had cut 
loose from the effete East and was looking for a location 
in the West, where I might shake the ague, which had 
so long been shaking me, and grow up with the country. 
Whitney saw at once that his reply was expected to 
be in the nature of advice, and I never knew a man to 
make a greater effort to rise to the dignity and respon- 
sibilities of his task. 

"He pointed in every direction to the oceans of 



134 



HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 



Marshall in 1872 were J. W. Blake, who 
.sold town lots; J. G. Ward, who became 
the first station agent; Walter Wakeman 

and W. M. Pierce, who were attorneys: 
('. II. Richardson, Stanley Addison. 
Andrew Barrett. Thomas McNeil, L. B. 
Nichols. Lyman Turner. X. Wilkins and 
C. Mehan. 

The following letter written in Mar- 
shall October 26, 1872, and published in 
the Winona Republican gives an idea of 
conditions in the little village at that 
time: 

.Most everyone has heard of a little railroad 
station and embryo city just dug up away off 
somewhere in the West by the name of Marshall, 
but few know where it is located, except that it 
is accessible by the Winona & St. Peter railroad. 
It is situated "eighty miles west from New Ulm, 
forty miles from Redwood Falls, forty-five miles 
from the Dakota line, twenty-five miles from 
Lake Benton, and eight miles from Lynd, the 
last mentioned being the illustrious seat of 
Lyon county. 

"Although* this little town is in its infancy, I 
venture the assertion that no one who has 
never visited it can conceive with any approach 
to facts the activity and interest with which 
business is impelled. In the morning a few 

untitled land, which he maintained was as fertile as it 
was fair: he looked a few years into the future and 
drew a picture of solid townships of No. 1 wheat and 
herds of sheep and cattle; prophetically he saw about 
him a thriving city with paved streets, palatial resi- 
dences and metropolitan stores; he could hear the 
rumbling of ponderous machinery in the manufacturing 
plants and see the towering chimneys emitting copious 
volumes of smoke, which formed black mountains 
against the sky; he could see glistening church spires 
and hear the babbling of myriads of children at play 
about the different school buildings; he could see 
processions of wagons reaching from the city miles 
into the country, all loaded with grain and hay and 
fruit and stock, and he waved his hat majestically as 
he described the movements of the boats which would 
carry the products down the Redwood river to the 
waiting markets of the East. It was a picture no 
artist could paint. 

"I tried to put my imagination in sympathy with 
his. I tried to see the processions of wagons, but as 
there was not a house or a hoof between us and the 
tar distant horizon, the wagons refused to appear. I 
also tried hard to see the big steamers floating down 
the Redwood, but there was no place in sight where I 
could not have jumped across the stream, and my 
imagination would not work right with such contra- 
dictory surroundings. 

"When Mr. \\ hitney was in the midst of his eloquent 
peroration he was interrupted by a tall man riding a 
pony and carrying a gun. The visitor was introduced 
to me as Major Blake. The major dismounted and 
after a cordial greeting asked me where I hailed from, 
what business 1 was going to undertake, and if I had 
selected a lot. While we three were talking another 
man approached us. lie was tall and straight and 
wore a cape about his shoulders. He had a stately 
Step, wore his hair long, and had a Vermontish coun- 
tenance. His name wa9 Walter Wakeman. . . . 

"I left tin- place that afternoon for Winona, riding 
to 'Cottonwood Crossing' with Mr. Underwood, who 
was head clerk for Bridge-builder Watson. I ordered 
my lumber and returned as soon as the cars were 
running and began to do business. The night of my 



loads of lumber are hauled to a certain spot and 
immediately begin the creaking of saws and 
clanging of hammers, continued until silenced 
by the darkness of night, when a little shanty, 
16x24 feet, or smaller, is so nearly completed as 
to allow men to lodge therein the same night. 
A family will arrive in town on the evening train 
and next morning charter an ox team and 
lumber wagon, and after loading in the live 
stock, start out on the prairie to find a piece of 
government land on which to squat and by night 
they will find their land and arrange to file 
upon the same and next morning return with a 
carpenter to build the house. 

There are at present in process of erection 
here one hardware store, one grocery and dry 
goods store, one boarding house, one livery 
stable and a Congregational church. The latter 
will be only a temporary, two-story building, 
the upper story of which will be used for religious 
purposes, and the ground floor will be used for 
school purposes. 

The railroad company is building, all at the 
same time, a depot, a turn-table, an engine 
house and warehouse. All these buildings, with 
the dwelling houses being erected, give employ- 
ment to a great number of men and cause a 
great deal of commotion and excitement. 

Nearly every nation on the globe is represented 
here, and when the representatives talk at once 
in their native tongue they make the most con- 
glomerated gabble you ever heard. 

Next comes our hotel, which was begun a 
little more than three weeks ago. Of course, it 
is not completed, yet it manages in some 
mysterious way to lodge the modest number of 

return was the night on which the floor of the hotel 
dining room fell in [October 20]. . . . My first customer 
was Levi Kiel and my second old man Waterman, tin- 
two coming about the same time. I remembered this 
because I had never seen a foot of lumber measured, 
and my ignorance was decidedly embarrassing. Mr. 
Kiel, who wasn't so fresh, showed me how to pro- 
ceed. . . . 

"About this time the permanent population em- 
braced, besides those already mentioned, Charley 
Richardson, Stanley Addison, Dr. Groesbeck, the 
Hunters. General Pierce, and perhaps a few others 
whom I do not now remember. ... 1 engaged 
Walter Dunn, a husky young man from Rochester, 
to he