from the legislature that another town bore the same name, the board
changed the name to Woodbury, a name given in honor of Judge Woodbury,
of New Hampshire, a particular friend of Mr. Colby, at that time
chairman of the board. The fraction containing the painted rock was
set off by order of the board of county commissioners, meeting at
Stillwater in 1861, and added to Newport. It is said that this act did
not meet with the hearty approval of the citizens of the town.
The town was originally timbered with various species of oak. The
surface is undulating, and in the western part there are abrupt hills
or bluffs. It is a fine agricultural town, well watered with creeks,
springs and small lakes.
The first settlers were the McHatties, Middletons, Robert Cummings,
John Towner, and Joseph Cooper. The first marriage was that of John
McHattie and Jane Middleton, Jan. 15, 1847. The first child born was
Sarah Middleton, afterward the wife of Anthony Fritz, of Newport. The
first death was that of Sarah Middleton, May 4, 1849. The first
traveled road in the town was from Stillwater to St. Paul via
Bissell's Mound. The first post office was established in 1850, at
Oakdale, in the northern part of the town; G. Hartoung, postmaster.
The first school was taught in 1855 by Miss A. F. Colby. The German
Methodist church was organized in 1855; Rev. Jacob Young, pastor. The
church and parsonage are built of stone. The Salem Evangelical
Lutheran church was organized in 1865; Rev. J. W. Huffman, pastor.
JACOB FOLSTROM.--The history of Jacob Folstrom reads like a romance.
He was born in Sweden June 25, 1793, and when he was nine years of age
left home as cabin boy on a steamer commanded by his uncle. The
steamer was wrecked on the coast of England. He escaped with his uncle
to London, and there lost sight of him. What was his uncle's fate he
never knew. He understood nothing of the English language, and
applied to the Swedish consul for aid. Lord Selkirk was then raising a
company of men to go to his settlement on Red river, British America,
and Selkirk, who could speak Swedish, spoke kindly to the friendless
lad, and offered to take him with him to the New World. He, not
knowing what else to do, consented to go. After his arrival he found
employment with the Hudson Bay Company for a time, and subsequently
came down to the Fort Snelling reservation. When the settlers were
driven from the reservation in 1839; he made a farm in what is now
Woodbury, Washington county. At Lake Superior, in 1823, he had been
married to Margaret Burgo, a woman of fine mind. With her limited
educational privileges, very few of any age or race can be found her
equal. Mr. and Mrs. Folstrom were both consistent Christians, and
members of the Methodist church for many years. He lived a stirring,
adventurous life, and, during his service as mail carrier between
Prairie du Chien and Fort Snelling, he had many hairbreadth escapes
from hostile Indians. He died in July, 1859. His wife survived him
till Feb. 6, 1880.
ALEXANDER MCHATTIE.--At the age of sixteen Mr. McHattie left his home
and worked as a teamster and farmer for about five years; and in 1833
came from Scotland, his native country, to America. He lived a couple
of years in Vermont, a short time in New York, Ohio and Indiana. In
1839 he came to Galena, Illinois, and migrated thence in the same year
to St. Croix Falls. He also made a short stay at Gray Cloud island;
was in Prescott in 1840; in 1841 made a home in Afton, and in 1845 at
Woodbury. He married Margaret Middleton in 1848.
JOHN MCHATTIE.--John, the oldest brother of Alexander McHattie, came
from Scotland to this country in 1833, and settled in Woodbury in
1841. He was married in 1846 to Jane Middleton.
THE MIDDLETON FAMILY.--James Middleton, Sr., with his wife, three
sons, William, Samuel, and James, and five daughters, came to this
country from Ireland. William, the oldest, inspired by filial duty,
came first, it being his ambition to secure for his parents a home on
American soil. He was not of age when, in 1838, he left Ireland, full
of hope and enthusiasm for his project. He found his way to St. Louis
in 1842, and came thence with Hungerford & Livingston to St. Croix
Falls. He remained with them two years and then, removing further
south, made a claim on unsurveyed government land in what is now the
town of Woodbury. During the succeeding year, 1845, he and his brother
Samuel worked for John McKusick, and by diligence and self denial
succeeded in earning enough to pay the passage of his father and his
family to the United States, and to bring them to their claim on the
prairie. It was a joyful day when the parents arrived, and since then
the united family have their home at and near the selected homestead,
a model family in their unity of purpose and affectionate regard for
each other. William visited California. He died at his home in 1855.
Samuel enlisted and did gallant service in the Union Army during the
late Civil War as a member of Company E, Tenth Minnesota Volunteers,
and died in the hospital at Memphis, Feb. 29, 1865. James, a younger
brother, was born in 1833. He made a claim near that of his brother,
and is prominent in the community, in which he lives. He was
sergeant-at-arms in the legislature, a member of the house in 1876,
and served five years in Washington county as county commissioner. Mr.
Middleton removed to St. Paul in 1880, where he now resides. The
father died in 1854, the mother in 1876.
NEWINGTON GILBERT was born in Onondaga county, New York, Feb. 17,
1815. Mr. Gilbert settled in Woodbury in 1851. In company with Mr.
Buswell he built the North Star flouring mill in 1860. He operated
this mill eleven years. Mr. Gilbert was a member of the Democratic
wing of the constitutional convention in 1857. He was married to
Celestia Bangs in 1860. They have two children.
EBENEZER AYERS was born in Herkimer county, New York. His early life
was devoted to hard labor, still such was his zeal for study and the
acquisition of general knowledge, that he managed to acquire a very
respectable and thorough education. In 1856 he came with his parents
to Fort Wayne. He commenced teaching school soon after and taught
eight years. In 1844 he removed to Shelby county, Kentucky. He was
married in 1846 to Lucy Connelly, of Shelby county. He removed to
Buffalo, New York, in 1850, and sold goods until the spring of 1854,
when he located in Woodbury and engaged in farming. He was a man of
energy, and possessed of great will power. He took a deep interest in
town and county affairs, and served as town clerk in Woodbury eleven
years. He was a representative in the Minnesota state legislature in
1867 and 1872, and while in that capacity proved himself a ready
debater. He had natural ability as an organizer. He was an active
member of the Greenback party, and was rigidly opposed to monopolies.
He died in 1883.
CHAPTER XV.
WASHINGTON COUNTY--CONTINUED.
CITY OF STILLWATER.
The organization of the territory of Minnesota in 1849 naturally gave
a new impetus to settlement, and marked an era in the progress of the
settlements already made. None profited more by the new order of
things than did Stillwater. The future metropolis of the St. Croix
valley, though yet unorganized even as a village, and governed by town
and county law, in 1850 presented a scene of unwonted activity. Out of
nearly a hundred arrivals we find the names of John C, Gardiner,
Samuel M. Register, H. C. Van Voorhees, John N. Ahl, Ralph Wheeler,
Dr. E. G. Pugsley, Dr. Morey, dentist, and Theodore E. Parker, a
lawyer. This year was rendered notable by the establishment of a
livery stable, by Holcomb & Johnson, a new store by Burkelo & Mower, a
bakery by R. Hersey, by the building of the second saw mill by Sawyer
& Heaton, by the commencement of Remmick's brewery, by the advent of
Antonio Brothers' circus, and the occurrence of a remarkable freshet,
on which occasion the steamer Lamartine, taking advantage of the high
water, made a pleasure excursion up the river, and over the shallows
at the mouth of Apple river and a short distance up that stream.
Morton Wilkinson and Michael Ames were amongst the excursionists, and,
looking out from the steamboat upon the broad, deep expanse of the
swollen river, congratulated their fellow passengers upon the
discovery of a hitherto unknown navigable stream, tributary to the
majestic St. Croix. The Swiss Bell Ringers were on board, and added
greatly to the pleasure of the occasion by their weird and peculiar
music. The Lamartine, on returning to Stillwater, found the shores
and levees submerged, and passing over them landed her passengers
directly from the boat upon the floor of the Minnesota House, on the
southwest corner of Chestnut and Main. The water was four or five feet
deep in the street before the hotel. The streets in the lower part of
the city have since been raised several feet, so that a flood of the
same dimensions would not overflow them as it did then. There has,
however, in the memory of the oldest inhabitant, been no other flood
equal to that of 1850.
Allusion has been made in the history of Stillwater town to the
diversion of the waters of McKusick's lake by a new outlet to the
river. This device, so beneficial to the city of Stillwater in other
respects, came near resulting in disaster. The old outlet of the lake
had been obstructed by a dam, while the waters were conducted by a new
outlet down a deep ravine and confined to their channel by dikes
consisting of a mixture of clay, sand and gravel. This extended to
within six hundred feet of the mill on the lake shore. On May 14,
1852, during a terrible storm, the dam at the new outlet gave way and
a tremendous body of water, carrying with it the debris of dikes and
dams, rushed tumultuously down the ravine, covering the low shores of
the lake beneath, and depositing a new geological stratum of drift
over a surface of at least six acres to an average depth of about ten
feet. It was wittily said at the time that such an extraordinary
movement in real estate had never before been known; but, although a
downward movement, that seemed very much like ruin to all concerned,
especially to the mill, the machinery of which was completely buried,
it nevertheless heralded a rise in prices. Quagmires were filled,
unsightly obstructions buried or swept away and a fine plateau for
buildings was formed along the lake.
The dam was replaced and greatly strengthened, and the water was
conducted through pipes and hydrants to the city. Occasionally, for
years afterward, the diggers of cellars or cisterns in the buried
region would unearth interesting antediluvian relics. Three barrels of
pork were exhumed from the cellar of McKusick's store, and found in a
good state of preservation. Some years later remains of a far more
ancient character were also unearthed near the corner of Third and
Myrtle streets. The tusk of a mastodon was brought up from a depth of
thirty-six feet below the surface.
CITY GOVERNMENT.
Stillwater was incorporated as a city in 1854. The following officers
were elected on the first Monday in April of that year: Mayor, John
McKusiek; recorder, C. D. Gilfillan; treasurer, W. H. Mower;
Councilmen, J. C. York, J. N. Masterman, C. Carli. We append a list of
mayors from 1854 to the present time: John McKusick, 1854; John
Fisher, 1855; Wm. Willim, 1856-66-67; Albert Stinson, 1857; A. B.
Gorgas, 1858; T. M. Fullerton, 1859; Mahlon Black, 1860-61; F. R.
Delano, 1862; David Bronson, 1863-64; Wm. Grover, 1865; C. J. Butler,
1868; Wm. Holcombe, 1869-70; Wm. McKusick, 1871-72; A. K. Doe, 1873;
Wm. G. Bronson, 1874-75-76; E. W. Durant, 1877; John S. Proctor,
1878-79-80; Samuel Mathews, 1881-82-83-84; Hollis R. Murdock, 1885;
Isaac Staples, 1886; George M. Seymour, 1887-88.
CITY MARSHALS.
The following is a complete list of city marshals since 1854: Jonathan
E. McKusick, 1854; John Parker, 1855; John Cilly, 1856; Dennis
Sullivan, 1557; Robert Hasty, 1858; Thomas Sinclair, 1859; Duncan
Chisholm, 1860-61-62-63; John Shortall, 1864-65; John May, 1866, six
months; P. E. Keefe, 1867; John May, 1868, six months; John Shortall,
1869; H. McIntyre, 1870; Duncan Chisholm, 1871; John Lyons, 1872-3,
eighteen months; Mathew Shortall, 1873, and continuously to the
present time. Mr. Shortall's long term of office proves him an
effective and popular officer. F. L. McKusick is police court officer.
He is a veteran of the police force and has acquitted himself to the
satisfaction of the people of Stillwater.
THE POST OFFICE,
Established in 1845, was located first at the corner of Main and
Chestnut streets. The first postmaster was Elam Greely. His successors
were John McKusick, John S. Proctor, Harley D. Curtis, Mahlon Black,
Abraham Van Voorhes, H. D. Cutler, E. J. Butts, and ---- McCarthy.
During 1845 a citizens' mail was brought from Point Douglas. Its
regularity depended somewhat on the season. During the winter it was
brought some times as infrequently as once a month. In 1846 a
government line was established from Point Douglas, and the mail was
brought with greater regularity. In 1848 a mail coach line was
established between Stillwater and St. Paul. The year following a
weekly mail was established. The rapid increase of settlements on the
Upper Mississippi created a demand for more frequent mails;
consequently from 1850 to the completion of the railroad leading into
Stillwater, a daily mail was brought into Stillwater during the summer
by steamboats, and by the Wisconsin overland route during the winter.
RAPID GROWTH.
As an evidence of the growth of the city we append post office
statistics of salaries, expenses and income for the year 1885:
RECEIPTS.
Sales of postage stamps, envelopes,
newspaper wrappers, postal cards, etc. $12,693 34
Box rent received 2,166 25
-----------
Total $14,859 59
EXPENSES.
Postmaster's salary $2,400 00
Expenses for rent, fuel, lights, clerk
hire, etc. 3,300 00 $5,700 00
----------
Net income $9,159 59
MONEY ORDER BUSINESS.
Received for domestic orders $30,305 62
Received for fees on same 131 50
Received for international orders 1,518 81
Received for fees on same 24 95
----------
$31,980 88
Money orders paid $24,140 88
Certificates of deposit 7,840 00 $31,980 88
REGISTRY BUSINESS.
Domestic and foreign letters and packages registered 1,621
Registered matter in transit 2,327
-----
Total pieces handled 3,948
Number of pouches dispatched daily 24
Number of pouches dispatched semi-weekly 2
Number of pouches received daily 24
Number of pouches received semi-weekly 2
HOTELS.
The following hotels were built in Stillwater prior to 1850:
Northrup House, built by Anson Northrup, northwest corner
Main street and Nelson alley, 1844.
Stillwater House, built by Anson Northrup, lot 2, Main
street, 1845.
Minnesota House, built by Elam Greeley, southwest corner
Main and Myrtle, 1846.
Lake House, built by John W. Brewster, east side of Main
street between Nelson and Chestnut, 1849.
Of the hotels built subsequently to 1850, the most popular and well
known is the Sawyer House, on the northwest corner of Chestnut and
Third streets. It was built in 1857, by Henry Sawyer, opened by G. E.
B. Whitcher, and kept in succession by J. and A. Lowell, Isaac
Staples, A. Lowell and A. K. Doe. The other hotels built during this
period were the Liberty House, by John N. Ahl, 1856; Farmers Home,
1867; Williams House, 1870; Wexio Hotel, 1870; the Keystone House,
1872; the Mansion House, 1872; Central House, 1879; Elliott's Hotel,
1883.
CITY BANKS.
To Christopher Carli is due the honor of conducting the first banking
operations in Stillwater. In 1855 he issued and redeemed fractional
currency. Darling, Caswell & Scheffer, Jan. 27, 1857, opened a private
banking house, and from 1859 to 1865 operated it as a state bank, when
it was changed into the
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
of Stillwater. The capital stock was $50,000. The first officers were:
Charles Scheffer, president; O. R. Ellis, cashier. The officers in
1886 were: Louis Hospes, president; C. N. Nelson, vice president; F.
M. Prince, cashier. The capital stock is $250,000. The gross amount of
debits and credits during the year closing June 3, 1886, were
$20,000,000. We append the annual report of 1886:
RESOURCES.
Loans and discounts $727,286 70
Overdrafts 1,745 82
United States bonds to secure circulation 50,000 00
Due from approved reserve agents $30,999 72
Due from other national banks 4,266 85
Due from state banks and bankers 3,491 48 38,758 05
Real estate, furniture and fixtures 12,000 00
Current expenses and taxes paid 11,108 56
Premiums paid 9,000 00
Checks and other cash items 1,662 91
Bills of other banks 1,295 00
Fractional paper currency, nickels and pennies 77 07
Specie 33,392 00
Legal tender notes 17,440 00 53,866 98
Redemption fund with United States treasurer
(five per cent of circulation) 2,250 00
-----------
Total $906,016 11
LIABILITIES.
Capital stock paid in $250,000 00
Surplus fund 60,000 00
Undivided profits 25,617 60
National bank notes outstanding 45,000 00
Dividends unpaid 20 00
Individual deposits subject to check $236,095 72
Demand certificates of deposit 6,305 93
Time certificates of deposit 224,223 41
Cashier's checks outstanding 679 95
Due to other national banks 3,507 67
Due to state banks and bankers 5,266 78 476,079 46
Notes and bills rediscounted 49,299 05
----------
Total $906,016 11
LUMBERMAN'S NATIONAL BANK,
Organized Jan. 10, 1871. Capital stock, $150,000. First officers:
Isaac Staples, president; H. W. Cannon, cashier. In 1886 the bank had
in capital stock $250,000 and a surplus of $50,000. The present
officers are: President, Isaac Staples; vice president, R. F. Hersey;
board of directors, Isaac Staples, R. F. Hersey, E. S. Edgerton, David
Tozer, E. W. Durant, David Bronson, J. McKusick, Matt Clark, Wm. G.
Bronson, E. L. Hersey, R. S. Davis.
STILLWATER SAVINGS BANK,
Organized Jan. 10, 1873, under an act of the legislature of 1867, with
the following board of trustees: Isaac Staples, president; David
Bronson, Dwight M. Sabin, Lewis E. Torinus, Wm. Willim, I. E. Staples,
and H. W. Cannon.
ST. CROIX LUMBERMEN'S BOARD OF TRADE
Was incorporated March 8, 1867. The first officers were: President,
David Cover; vice president, Louis Hospes; secretary, E. W. Durant;
treasurer, David Bronson, Jr.; surveyor, Ivory E. McKusick.
STILLWATER BOARD OF TRADE.
The board was organized in January, 1871. The first officers were:
President, David Bronson; vice president, C. J. Butler; secretary, D.
W. Armstrong; treasurer, C. N. Nelson; board of directors, John
McKusick, Isaac Staples, J. E. Schlenk, J. O'Shaughnessy, M. Moffatt,
E. W. Durant, J. N. Castle, B. G. Merry, G. M. Seymour, L. E. Torinus.
STILLWATER WATER COMPANY.
The site of the city abounds in beautiful springs. Charles Hathaway,
while excavating on his lot near Third street, struck a large vein
capable of supplying 1,000 barrels per day. He constructed a reservoir
with an elevation of about fifty feet above the street, and from this
source supplies the city with water for sprinkling streets and other
purposes.
The Stillwater Water Company was organized April 15, 1880, with a
capital stock of $100,000, and commenced at once the work of
improvement. This company has never yet declared a dividend, having
applied all its surplus earnings upon improvements. They have now 8
1/2 miles of water mains, 88 hydrants and about 260 taps. The water
supply is obtained from Lake McKusick, which is supplied from Brown's
creek. The lake is 155 feet above the business portion of the city and
is about a mile distant from the same. The water is pumped into a
reservoir on the highest spot of ground in the city, which is 110 feet
above the lake. The system is similar to that of St. Paul, the city
being supplied in part by gravitation, and in part by direct pressure.
The elevation of the reservoir results in a saving to the city in the
matter of fire engines, etc. Any fire in the business part of the city
can be extinguished with the use of hose alone. One fire engine
answers the purposes of the city. The first board of officers were:
President, Edward Durant; vice president, R. F. Hersey; secretary and
treasurer, H. W. Cannon.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
Futile efforts had been made as early as 1859 for the organization of
a fire department. In 1872 a fire company of sixty was organized and
an engine worth $7,500 was purchased. The first officers of the
company were: Chief engineer, David Bronson; first assistant, B. G.
Merry; second assistant, H. P. West; engineer, C. C. Johnson;
secretary; N. T. Lee; treasurer, Fayette Marsh.
THE ST. CROIX HOOK AND LADDER COMPANY
Was organized in 1872, by the election of the following officers:
Foreman, Charles McMillan; assistant, D. B. Loomis; secretary and
treasurer, A. K. Doe. The company has received awards of honor for
meritorious performance of duty.
STILLWATER GASLIGHT COMPANY.
This company was organized May 12, 1874, with a capital stock of
$25,000 and the exclusive right to the sale and manufacture of gas for
a period of forty years. Their buildings are located on Third street.
The first officers were: President, Isaac Staples; manager, H. W.
Cannon; board of directors, John McKusick, D. M. Sabin, Isaac Staples,
David Bronson, L. E. Torinus, H. W. Cannon, C. H. Nash.
TELEGRAPH OFFICE.
In 1863 a telegraph office was located in Stillwater by a A. C. Lull,
and a line extended to St. Paul. The office is on Main street between
Chestnut and Myrtle.
THE NATIONAL BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY
Established a line from Stillwater to St. Paul in January, 1880. It
has a branch to Marine.
UNION ELEVATOR COMPANY
Built an elevator near the Stillwater & White Bear depot in 1870-71.
It has a capacity of 300,000 bushels. The officers are: President,
Louis Huspes; secretary and treasurer, H. W. Cannon.
EXPRESS COMPANIES.
The first office was established by the Northwestern Express Company,
in 1855; Short, Proctor & Co. were agents. This company was succeeded
in 1858 by the American, and in 1869 the United States also
established an office here.
THE STILLWATER BRIDGE.
A charter was obtained from the legislature in 1875 to build a bridge
across Lake St. Croix, from Stillwater to Houlton. The bridge was
completed the ensuing year at a cost of $24,000. It is 1,500 feet
long, and is furnished with a pontoon draw 300 feet in length,
operated by an engine.
LUMBERING INTERESTS.
Stillwater is the metropolis of the lumbering interests of the St.
Croix valley, and is indebted to them chiefly for its welfare. These
are considered separately in other parts of this history. The local
interests are centred chiefly in mills and manufactories, of
themselves an important element in the prosperity of the city. The
principal proprietors of the saw mills since the first settlement of
Stillwater have been McKusick & Co., Sawyer & Heaton, McHale. & Co.,
Schulenberg & Co., Hersey, Staples & Co., Hersey, Bean & Brown, Isaac
Staples, Seymour, Sabin & Co., Herschey Lumbering Company and Turnbull
Lumbering Company.
FLOURING MILLS.
In 1872 J. H. Townshend and W. F. Cahill erected a flouring mill on
Third street. It was run by water brought from McKusick creek, the
motive power being an overshot wheel forty-five feet in diameter. In
1880 D. M. Sabin became interested in the firm. The capacity of the
mill was increased from fifty to three hundred barrels per day. A
Corliss engine and other improvements were added, and the mill was run
on the Hungarian roller system. The firm name was changed to Townshend
& Co.
The St. Croix flouring mill was built in 1877, on Upper Main street,
near the lake, by Isaac Staples. Its dimensions were 40 × 50 feet. Its
capacity was two hundred and fifty barrels per day. It was removed to
make way for the buildings of the Car Company.
The Stillwater Flour Mill Company was organized under state laws in
1878, and mills were erected on the lower levee, 50 × 70 feet, ground
plan, and five stories high. These mills were run on the Hungarian
roller system. The cost was $100,000. Their capacity is four hundred
barrels per day. The motive power is a Corliss engine of one hundred
and seventy-five horse power. The principal owners are R. F. Hersey,
Smith Ellison, D. M. Sabin and L. Hospes.
MANUFACTORIES.
Swain's machine shop, D. M. Swain, proprietor, was established in
1873, on Third street between Myrtle and Chestnut. Geo. Swain
established a foundry on Third street in 1874. His manufactures
consist chiefly of engines, mill machinery and farm utensils. The St.
Croix Iron Works, Door, Sash and Blind Factory, established originally
as a machine shop in 1865, on the river bank, near the Chicago & Omaha
round house, has been owned by various parties. A foundry was added in
1874, and in 1878 Isaac Staples added a sash and blind factory.
CARRIAGE MANUFACTORIES.
Richard Daw established the Novelty Carriage Works in 1875, one door
east of the Sawyer House.
D. J. Sullivan established the Stillwater Carriage Works in 1878, one
door east of the Sawyer House, but afterward removed to a better
location on Second street.
Wm. Miller erected the Pioneer Carriage Manufactory in 1866, on Main
street.
Albert Saeker in 1872 established a wagon shop on Second street
between Myrtle and Chestnut.
Frederick Steinacker commenced the manufacture of brick in 1859, in a
yard located in Ramsey & Carter's addition, but afterward removed to
the lower end of Sunfish lake.
It is claimed that Herman Tepass' brewery is the outgrowth of the
first in the county, if not in the State, a still having been located
at the corner of Third and Chestnut streets in 1851. The present site
is on Lower Main street. Joseph Wolff's brewery is located on the
corner of Main and Nelson streets, and was established in 1868.
Heitman & Becker established a bakery in 1879. Messrs. Muller Brothers
established a boat factory in 1873. A vinegar factory was commenced by
Ciopac & Tuor in 1875, and is continued by the latter. Of the several
livery stables in Stillwater the first was established by C. A.
Bromley in 1853.
The Stillwater Building Association, organized under the laws of the
State, March 23, 1887, has done much for the prosperity of the city,
affording as it does to persons of limited capital an opportunity of
building suitable homes and business houses. Private enterprise has
done much in the erection of substantial blocks for business purposes.
Henry Sawyer, in 1856, built the first stone block in the city. It is
located on Main street. Other fine blocks were built by McComb,
Eldridge, Bernheimer, Elam Greely, Wm. Holcombe, Schlenk, L. E.
Torinus, Hersey & Staples, McKusick, and others. Many of these blocks
are fireproof and built of stone, and are fine specimens of
architecture, convenient and commodious.
CHURCH SOCIETIES AND BUILDINGS.
Stillwater has sixteen church organizations and fifteen buildings, the
latter having a total valuation of $315,000.
The Ascension church (Episcopal) originated in the labors of Rev. E.
A. Greenleaf, in 1846. The corner stone of the first building was laid
in 1851. Rev. Joseph A. Russell was the first rector. In 1873 the
corner stone of the present edifice was laid by Bishop Welles of
Wisconsin. This building cost $10,000, and was burned in 1886 and
rebuilt in 1887.
The First Presbyterian church grew out of the missionary labors of
Rev. W. T. Boutwell, in 1847 and 1848. The church was organized in
1849; Rev. J. S. Whitney, pastor. The first building was erected in
1851, and the second, the armory, in 1857. The present edifice,
located on the corner of Myrtle and Third, was built in 1884, at a
cost of $22,000, and the total value of building and ground is
$30,000.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Dates its beginning from a society formed by Rev. James Harrington in
1850. It was organized regularly in 1853 by Rev. T. M. Fullerton. The
first house of worship was a small frame on Myrtle street, between
Second and Third streets. It was enlarged and improved in 1862. The
present edifice on Third street near Myrtle, with the parsonage
adjoining, cost about $4,200. The church has a membership of two
hundred.
ST. MICHAEL'S (CATHOLIC) CHURCH
Was organized in 1853, the first services being held by Rev. Father
Peyragrosse, a missionary. The first edifice was built on Fourth and
Mulberry streets, and Rev. Father Fisher was the first clergyman in
charge. The building was enlarged and improved in 1857. The present
commodious edifice was commenced in 1872 and dedicated in 1875. The
church property, including the school parish buildings and cemetery of
twelve acres in South Stillwater, is worth $130,000. There are now two
resident clergymen, Revs. Murphy and Gaughan.
ST. MARY'S (CATHOLIC) CHURCH,
Rev. P. Alphonse Krusle, pastor, was organized in 1865, and owns a
church building on Fifth street, near Pine, valued at $25,000. The
total value of church and parish buildings, and of the six lots on
which they are located, amounts to $55,000.
THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH
Society was incorporated June 6, 1868, and the first preaching was by
Rev. E. A. Hodsdon, of St. Anthony. The edifice is on Third street
South; cost about $15,000.
SWEDISH LUTHERAN.
The society was organized in 1871; the church building was erected in
1882-83, at a cost of $15,000. The pastor is Rev. A. F. Tornell.
THE FIRST GERMAN LUTHERAN
Church was organized in 1871. The church building and parsonage are on
Third street, near Olive, and are valued at $4,500. The pastor is Rev.
J. J. Weiss.
THE NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN
Society uses the German Lutheran church buildings, corner of Olive and
Fourth streets.
THE GERMAN METHODIST
Congregation worships in a frame building, corner of Linden and
Everett streets.
THE SALEM GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH
Was formed by the withdrawal of a part of the members of the First
German Lutheran church for separate worship. The Swedish church and
school, on the corner of Olive and Fourth streets, were purchased for
$2,150. To this a parsonage was added at a cost of $2,150. Rev. L. F.
Frey is the pastor.
THE DANISH LUTHERAN CHURCH
Has a cosy frame edifice on Laurel, between Williams and Owen, but is
not holding services at present. The edifice cost $7,000 and the
membership is one hundred and fifty.
SWEDISH CONGREGATIONAL.
The Swedish Congregational church occupies a frame building on Fourth
street, between Hickory and Elm streets, which cost $2,000 and has
sixty members.
THE ST. JOSEPH'S (CATHOLIC) CHURCH
Was organized by the present pastor, Rev. Father E. Roe, in 1882, with
seventeen members, which has since been increased to eighty families.
A frame edifice was erected in 1884, with a seating capacity of four
hundred, costing about $8,000, corner of Olive and Greely streets. The
church property consists of the edifice and the priest's house, and
cost $11,000.
THE SWEDISH METHODIST CHURCH
Was organized in 1880 by Rev. C. S. Carlander. The church building is
located on Myrtle and Fourth streets, and cost $2,000.
THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION
Has a membership of seventy-five and a frame building erected in 1872
at a cost of $1,200.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
The court house and other public buildings of the city are creditable
specimens of architecture, rooms convenient and well adapted to the
purposes of their construction. The present court house building is
the third erected. Its cost, including that of the jail buildings, the
wall around them and other improvements, has been something over
$75,000. The city hall, at the corner of Myrtle and Third streets, is
a substantial and convenient building. It contains also room for the
city officers. The public school buildings have kept pace with the
growth of the city. In the summer of 1887 the city erected a high
school building at a cost of $60,000. The engine house is a good
building, centrally located. An elegant union depot was built in 1887,
of brown stone from the Apostle islands, at a cost of $30,000.
THE OPERA HOUSE.--The opera house occupies the site of the old Lake
House, on Main street between Nelson and Chestnut streets. It was
commenced in 1880 and finished in 1881, under the supervision of L.
W. Eldred, architect. Its size is 90×120 feet, ground plan, and four
stories in height, or seventy-one feet from lower floor to cornice.
The style of architecture is a blending of the Queen Anne, Victoria
and Gothic. The entrance to the upper part of the building is by a
stairway twelve feet wide, in a lofty, ornamental turret. The
auditorium is 64×120 feet, and beautifully and elaborately finished
and furnished, and is capable of seating over 1,200 persons. It is
well lighted, being supplied with 130 gas jets, warmed by steam, and
well ventilated. The stage is 39×64 feet, complete in all its
appointments, and supplied with all the necessary stage scenery,
wings, border bridge, balcony, interior and other decorations. The
ceiling of the auditorium is superbly frescoed and the cornice is
adorned with medallions of Shakespeare, Haydn, Schiller, Goethe,
Dickens, Handel, Scott, Longfellow, Mozart, Tennyson, and Beethoven.
The parts of the building not occupied for stage purposes are
appropriated to halls, offices and stores.
SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS.
I. O. O. F.--Lodge No. 1, organized June, 1849; Stillwater Lodge, No.
51, organized January, 1876.
Masonic.--St. John's Lodge No. 1, organized 1849; Washington, Royal
Arch Chapter, No. 17, organized March, 1868; Bayard Commandery, K. T.,
No. 11, organized March, 1878.
Knights of Pythias.--Stillwater Lodge, No. 7, organized November,
1872.
A. O. U. W.--St. Croix Lodge, No. 11, organized July, 1876.
Sons of Herman.--Stillwater Lodge, No. 3, organized January, 1876;
Concordia Lodge, No. 19, organized January, 1881.
Temperance Societies.--I. O. G. T. Lodge of Stillwater, organized in
1859; L'Etoile du Nord Lodge, No. 57, organized May, 1866; Temple of
Honor, No. 10, organized September, 1876; Father Matthew Temperance
Society, organized November, 1872.
Miscellaneous.--St. Ann's Society, organized November, 1866; St.
Vincent de Paul Conference, organized October, 1870; St. Joseph
Benevolent Society, organized November, 1879; Y. M. C. A., organized
in 1878; Washington County Bible Society, organized in 1851;
Northwestern Benefit Society, No. 1, organized in 1879; Subordinate
Union Penn Equitable Association, No. 165, organized in 1880;
Stillwater City Hospital, organized March, 1880; Stillwater
Mannerchoir, organized in 1875; the Stillwater Turnverein, organized
in 1859; G. A. R., Stillwater Post, No. 13, organized March, 1868.
CEMETERIES.
The first burial ground was selected in 1846. Ten years later, by a
survey of the city, these grounds were included in what is now known
as block 3. These grounds were used until the organization of the
Fairview Cemetery Association in 1867, when the bodies were removed to
the new cemetery in the burial ground in South Stillwater. Fairview
cemetery is beautifully located on undulating or hilly ground and is
adorned with shrubbery and made attractive by the hand of art. Its
location is within the city limits, near the corner of Orleans and
Fourth streets.
WASHINGTON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
An attempt was made at organization in 1856, but it proved premature.
The present society was organized in February, 1871, at Cottage Grove,
and incorporated the same year. The first board of officers consisted
of J. W. Furber, president; J. S. Norris, vice president; T. Elwell,
secretary, and James Middleton, treasurer. In 1873 the fair grounds
were established near Stillwater, under the joint control of the
Agricultural Society and the Driving Park Association. In 1875 the
fair grounds were established at Lake Elmo. But one fair had been held
there when a cyclone struck the grounds and swept away all the
improvements. The society again effected an arrangement by which their
fairs were held on the grounds near Stillwater.
MINNESOTA STATE PRISON.
At the organization of Minnesota Territory Congress appropriated
$5,000 for a territorial prison. The legislature expended the money
thus appropriated in building a prison at Stillwater. The site was
located by a commission appointed by the legislature in 1849,
consisting of John McKusick, E. A. C. Hatch and Lewis Robert. The
commission was also authorized to locate the Territorial University
and select a site in St. Paul for the capitol. Their task was not
completed until the ensuing year. Their selection of a location for
the university and of a site for the capitol were satisfactory, but it
was generally conceded that the site for the prison was badly chosen.
The ground, nine acres, was mostly quagmire, and was, moreover,
crowded in a ravine between high bluffs. However, it was convenient to
the lake and steamboat landing, and was well watered with pure spring
water.
In 1851 Jesse Taylor, F. R. Delano, Martin Mower, J. E. McKusick, and
Jacob Fisher entered into contract with the commissioners, under the
firm name of Jesse Taylor & Co., to build one stone wing of the prison
building, to be inclosed with a stone wall. The dimensions of the wing
were 30 × 40 feet and three stories high. In 1853 an addition was
built, and Francis R. Delano was appointed warden. Until 1858 the
expenditure of the public money used in building and other expenses
was under the control of the warden. Under state rule the warden was
relieved of this burden of responsibility. The legislature had
provided that prisoners might be received in the penitentiary not yet
convicted of crime, on condition that their board should be defrayed
by the counties from which they were sent. When this expense was not
promptly met by the counties the prisoners thus held were set at
liberty. The Washington county grand jury investigated the matter and
memorialized the ensuing legislature, which effected a change in the
laws regarding such commitments. Wings were added to the prison, walls
were built, shops and other accessories added from year to year, and
appropriations were made from time to time. In 1870 an appropriation
of $74,000 was made for extending the building. Outside companies were
permitted to build shops and manufactories within the prison limits
that they might avail themselves of convict labor.
The following are the wardens who have served since the prison was
built: Territorial, F. R. Delano; state government: Francis O. J.
Smith, appointed March 4, 1858; Henry N. Setzer, Aug. 4, 1858; John S.
Proctor, Jan. 1, 1860; Joshua L. Taylor, Feb. 16, 1868; A. C. Webber,
March 16, 1870; Henry A. Jackman, Oct. 10, 1870; John A. Reid, Aug. 3,
1874; H. G. Stordock, 1887.
The following table shows the number of convicts each year up to the
present time:
1853 0
1854 2
1855 8
1856 1
1857 0
1858 2
1839 5
1860 16
1861 12
1862 7
1963 8
1864 7
1865 11
1866 29
1867 36
1868 31
1869 47
1870 39
1871 60
1872 59
1873 64
1875 93
1876 90
1877 145
1878 218
1879 254
1880 254
1881 247
1882 279
1883 301
1884 356
1885 395
1886, Mar. 31 416
The prison on the whole has been well and humanely managed. There have
been occasional outbreaks, easily suppressed, or cases of individual
insubordination, two or three with fatal results to the
insubordinates.
The prison buildings have been several times visited by damaging and
disastrous fires. The most serious were in 1884. The first occurred
January 8th, by which the large workshop and machinery owned by the
State and the Northwestern Car Company were destroyed. The second
occurred January 26th, and destroyed the main prison buildings,
including the cells, from which the prisoners were rescued with the
greatest difficulty. One perished of suffocation. On this occasion
guards, prison officials and some of the convicts displayed heroism
worthy of the highest commendation. The convicts on the whole behaved
well. Mr. Reid, the warden of the prison, behaved with great coolness
and decision, and so averted what might have been a fearful disaster.
FIRES.
Stillwater has suffered occasionally from fires. The first house
burned was the McKusick boarding house, in 1846. The Northrup hotel
was burned in 1847. In 1866 a fire occurred on the west side of Main
street, between Myrtle and Chestnut, in which twelve buildings were
burned, principally frame structures. In 1872 the Lake House and four
adjacent buildings were burned. The Schulenburg mill was burned in
1878. Two great fires occurred in the penitentiary in 1884. The
Episcopal church building and the mills of Hersey & Bean were burned
in 1887. Numerous smaller fires occurred at intervals, but owing to
the efficiency of the fire companies they were easily suppressed.
BONDS AND INDEBTEDNESS.
Up to 1886 the bonded indebtedness of the city has aggregated the sum
of $345,000. The bonds were issued at various times for railway and
levee improvements, city bridge, city buildings, water works and
current funds. The interest on these bonds has always been promptly
met, and the expenditures for improvements have been more than repaid
to the taxpayers by the increased valuation of property within the
city limits.
ISSAC STAPLES, son of Rev. Winslow Staples, was born in Topsham,
Maine, Sept. 25, 1816. At eighteen years of age he bought his time of
his father for three hundred and sixty dollars. He found employment on
the Penobscot river at lumbering for two years, when he engaged in
selling goods at Old Town, but soon after went into the lumbering
business with S.F. Hersey. In 1849 Mr. Staples was appointed agent for
the Penobscot Indians living at Old Town, twelve miles above Bangor,
on the Penobscot. In October, 1853, Mr. Staples came to Minnesota for
the purpose of purchasing pine lands, and located at Stillwater,
moving his family here in 1854. Mr. Staples represented a wealthy
company, composed of himself, S. F. Hersey and some Massachusetts men,
who furnished all the money needed to buy pine land or make any other
investments deemed advisable. They, through the agency of Mr. Staples,
purchased immense quantities of pine timber. They built a large saw
mill in Stillwater, and dealt in any and all branches of business
considered remunerative. The advent of Isaac Staples in Stillwater
gave to the city new life. Mr. Staples was indefatigable in his
labors, full of vigor and in prime health. His ambition was unlimited,
his judgment good. Backed up by a successful lumbering experience in
Maine, and with money sufficient to meet all necessary calls, he was
financially progressive and prosperous. In after years Messrs. Staples
& Hersey purchased the entire interest of the firm of Hersey, Staples
& Co. Subsequently the firm changed to Hersey & Staples and Hersey,
Staples & Bean, and finally a division of property was agreed upon.
Since the division Mr. Staples has been just as extensively engaged in
the name of Isaac Staples in doing business as at any period in his
past life.
In 1887 Mr. Staples purchased the property of the Cushing Company,
located at St. Croix and Taylor's Falls, for $50,000. This property
has long been in litigation and consequently has been unimproved. The
advent of Mr. Staples, as proprietor, opens a new era in the history
of the two villages at the head of navigation on the St. Croix.
In addition to his lumbering and real estate interests, Mr. Staples
has also engaged in farming and stock raising on an extensive scale.
He owns one farm of six hundred and forty acres within the limits of
Stillwater. This farm is well stocked and supplied with stores, barns,
shops and other buildings. It is used as a stork farm, and as a
headquarters for supplying his lumbering camps.
Mr. Staples has another farm located on the line of the Minneapolis,
Soo & Atlantic railway, eleven miles northwest of Stillwater, known as
the Maple Island farm, which contains 1,400 acres of land, inclosed
and supplied with barns, farm houses and other buildings. There are
fine wells and lakes and some well stocked fish ponds. He owns a
flouring mill on this farm.
Mr. Staples has a third farm at Bronson, Kanabec county, containing
2,000 acres of land, well under cultivation. Ann river flows through
this farm, and is supplied with a dam to facilitate the driving of
logs into Fish lake. The farm is also made a fitting-out place for the
lumbering camps. These three farms are valued at $250,000.
Mr. Staples has lived an unusually busy life, and has been unusually
successful. Though past the ordinary limit of human life, he is still
active, and will probably continue to plan and work as long as he
lives. He is happiest when most busily employed. His mind is of the
active type. He is restless, alert, far-seeing, systematic, and
persistent. Without these qualities he never could have achieved the
success that has crowned his career. He has been twice married; first
in 1839, to Miss Caroline B. Rogers, of Old Town, Maine, by whom he
had one child, who is still living. Mrs. Staples died in 1810. He was
again married, Jan, 31, 1841, to Miss Olivia J. Pettengill, of Old
Town, Maine, by whom he has had eight children,--four sons and four
daughters,--four of whom are living.
SAMUEL F. HERSEY, of the late firm of Hersey, Staples & Co., was born
in Sumner, Maine, in 1812. At an early day he became a citizen of
Bangor, Maine, and wisely invested in pine timber lands on the
Penobscot waters, when lands were cheap. Their true value was not
appreciated by many. The business interests of the county had not been
developed and lumber dealing was not profitable. The increase in value
on his investments made him a wealthy man. He was a banker, merchant
and lumberman. His investments always yielded a rich return. His
associates and townsmen often elected him to posts of honor and trust.
In 1842-57-65-67 and 69 he was in the Maine state legislature. When he
died, Feb. 3. 1875, he was serving his second term (four years) as
representative in Congress, from the Bangor or Fourth district of
Maine. He died at his home in Bangor. Both houses of Congress paid
fitting tributes to his high business, social and christian standing,
and his worth as a legislator and statesman.
Mr. Hersey was not a citizen of Minnesota, but as early as 1851 became
a member of the firm of Hersey, Staples & Co., of Stillwater, and
interested himself greatly in Minnesota and Stillwater enterprises.
Amongst other things he aided in building two railroads, and gave
liberally for the erection of the Universalist church and to its
library. He was thrice married, and left a family of four sons, the
children of his second wife.
ROSCOE F. HERSEY, the oldest son, was born July 18, 1841, in Milford,
Maine; was educated at the graded school in Bangor, and clerked in his
father's store until 1862, when he volunteered as a soldier in Company
A, Eighteenth Maine Infantry. He was appointed second lieutenant and
rose to the rank of captain in 1863, but on May 19, 1864, was severely
wounded at the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, was confined in
the hospital nine months, and discharged with the brevet rank of
colonel.
Col. Hersey spent two years in New Orleans, engaged in the shipping
and commission business, and in the spring of 1867 came to Stillwater
and thence to Lake City, where he had charge of the lumber and
mercantile business of Hersey, Staples & Co. in that city for five
years. In 1872 he returned to Stillwater, entered the firm of Hersey,
Brown & Bean, dealers in lands, lumber and merchandise. In 1877 he was
elected state senator and served one term. He has held many
responsible positions. He married Eva C. Wardwell, of Bangor, Maine,
Jan. 4, 1864. They have one son, Clinton, an enterprising, public
spirited man, inheriting much of his father's will power.
DUDLEY H. HERSEY, the second son, was born in Bangor, Dec. 25, 1847.
He was educated at Westbrook Seminary, Maine, and came to Stillwater
at an early age in the employ of his father. In 1872 he became one of
the firm of Hersey, Bean & Brown. Mr. Hersey was married to Estella
Wardwell, of Bangor, Maine, in 1870. They have one son, Samuel F.
EUGENE M. HERSEY, the third son, was born in Bangor, Maine, May 6,
1850. He was educated at the high school in Bangor. With his brother
he has been interested in milling and lumbering operations. He was
married in 1876.
EDWARD L. HERSEY, the youngest son, was born in Bangor, Maine, April
29, 1852; graduated at Westbrook Seminary in 1871, and was married to
Mary L. Merrill, of Chicago, in 1877.
[Illustration: JACOB BEAN.]
JACOB BEAN was born in Upper Stillwater, Maine, in 1837. In that
centre of the lumbering interests he early and easily took to
lumbering, and pursued the business continuously until 1863, when he
came to Stillwater, where he became an active member of the firm of
Hersey, Staples & Bean, and of Hersey, Bean & Brown.
CHARLES BEAN was born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, in 1827; removed to
Orono, Maine, in 1835; followed lumbering on the Penobscot river for
a few years. He came to Stillwater in 1863, and some years later sent
for his aged parents, giving them a home until their death. In 1865 he
became one of the firm of Hersey, Staples & Bean, dealers in pine
land. He is at present with his oldest son in California, where both
are interested in real estate and irrigation enterprises. Mr. Bean has
been twice married and has a family of eight children. The oldest
daughter married Jerry Brown, now deceased. Mr. Bean moved to
California in 1887.
RUDOLPH LEHMICKE was born in Prussia in 1822. He learned the trade of
cabinet and organ making; came to America in 1849, and to Stillwater
in 1854, working at his trade until 1858. He served one year as
justice of the peace, and having studied law was admitted to practice
in 1859. In the fall of 1859 he was elected county auditor and served
until 1874. He was elected judge of the probate court, in which
position he continued until 1881. He has served as inspector of the
prison, superintendent of public schools, and member of the board of
education. Judge Lehmicke was married in 1853, in Coldwater, Michigan,
to Jane Tackeberry. They have a family of five sons and two daughters.
HOLLIS R. MURDOCK was born in Governeur, New York, Aug. 15, 1832. He
graduated at Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1854, came to
Stillwater in 1855, and was admitted to the practice of law in 1856,
since which time he has been in continuous practice. He has held many
offices of trust. Has been judge of the probate court and member of
the legislature from Washington county, and director of a bank and
railroad company. Mr. Murdock was married to Sarah A. Rice, Nov. 3,
1857.
GEORGE M. SEYMOUR was born in Onondaga county, New York, March 26,
1829. Part of his early life he spent on a farm, but later he learned
the carpenter's trade and became a builder and contractor. While in
Syracuse he engaged for some years in the manufacture of lumber and
staves, and later, of salt. He was married to Anna B. Kingsley in
1851. In 1858 he came to Stillwater, and in 1861 was awarded the
prison contract, and engaged in making cooperage. He was one of the
founders of the firms of Seymour, Webster & Co. and Seymour, Sabin &
Co. (the Northwestern Car Company). He was sheriff of Washington
county for two years.
FRANK A. SEYMOUR, only son of George M., was cashier of the First
National Bank of Stillwater for four years, and subsequently cashier
of the Merchants Bank, St. Paul.
MARION O., only daughter of George M. Seymour, graduated from Mount
Holyoke Seminary in 1880.
[Illustration: LOUIS HOSPES]
LOUIS HOSPES, for many years identified with the Schulenberg-Boeckeler
Lumber Company, and father of A. C. Hospes, surveyor general of logs
and lumber, E. L. Hospes of the Schulenberg-Boeckeler Company, and
Otto G. Hospes of the hardware firm of A. C. Hospes & Co., died April
9, 1888. The deceased was born in the landgravate of Hesse-Cassel,
Germany, Feb. 8, 1809, and attended school in the city of Witzenhausen
until he was sixteen years old. He then became a farmer, which
avocation he followed for four years. He then entered the University
of Gottingen, where he made a special study of the theory and practice
of agriculture and of veterinary medicine and surgery. Retiring from
the university, for two years he took charge of the farms on some
large estates. In 1832 he sailed from Bremen for America, arriving at
New York on September 4th of that year. Leaving that city on the
eleventh of the same month, he arrived in St. Louis on October 18th.
From that city he went to St. Charles county, where he engaged in
agriculture and other pursuits until 1840. During his residence there
he married Elvira Wurdeman, who survives him. In 1840 he removed to
Green county, Southwest Missouri, where he made his home for the next
six years among the Ozark mountains, where he and two brothers engaged
in the distilling business. In 1848 Mr. Hospes went to St. Louis and
entered the employ of Schulenberg & Boeckeler, where he remained until
Oct. 21, 1854, when he came to Stillwater to take charge of the
business of his employers here. In 1856 he became a partner in the
concern, and continued so until 1874, when the firm reorganized as the
Schulenberg-Boeckeler Lumber Company. When he retired, his son, E. L.
Hospes, succeeded to his interest, which he now holds. In 1871 Mr.
Hospes visited Europe with his family, spending a year abroad. In
1862, with his associates, he organized the First National Bank of
Stillwater, of which he has been president for twenty years. His life
in this city has been that of an active, energetic and generally
successful business man, and though conservative in his business
operations has always been ready to lend a helping hand to any
deserving or practical business enterprise. He was marked for that
fixed and reliable character which made his name a tower of strength
to any enterprise with which he was connected, and his integrity,
extending to little things, became proverbial. Besides the sons named
he left two daughters, Mrs. H. E. Mann, of Milwaukee, and Mrs. J.
Schlenk, of St. Paul.
DAVID TOZER was born in Miramachi, New Brunswick, in 1823. His early
opportunities for obtaining an education were somewhat limited, and he
obtained only three months' schooling. He came to Stillwater in 1856
and engaged in lumbering, working by the month for five years, and
afterward independently or in partnership with his brother Albert, and
in the firm of Sauntry & Tozer, cutting and rafting lumber. He was
married in Canada, in 1867, to Margaret McKay. Mr. Tozer has been an
industrious and successful man.
DAVID BRONSON was born in Anson, Maine, in 1834. He clerked in Boston
from 1850 to 1855, when he came to Stillwater, where he has since been
engaged in selling goods, lumbering and manufacturing. He was married
in 1861 to Ianthe Davis.
JOHN MALOY is of Irish descent. He was born in Ireland, and emigrated
to New Brunswick. He came to Stillwater with his family in 1853, and
engaged in lumbering. His family consisted of nine sons and three
daughters. The daughters are married. Four of the sons are living; two
of them. Patrick and William, in Oregon, and the others, James and
Robert, in Stillwater.
MRS. SUSANNAH TEPASS, _nee_ Burkhart, was born in Germany, Aug. 10,
1824. Her parents emigrated to America in 1847 and settled in
Freeport, Illinois, where she was married, in 1849, to N. Kimmick, and
the same year came to Stillwater. Mr. Kimmick died in 1857. In 1860
she was married to Frank Aiple. Mr. Aiple died Nov. 10, 1868. Dec. 9,
1869, she was married to her present husband, Herman Tepass. Her
children are Mary, Herman and Frank Aiple.
WILLIAM E. THORNE came to Stillwater in 1853. He has been an attentive
and successful merchant, a polite and honorable gentleman, and a good
citizen.
EDWARD J. BUTTS was born in Delaware county, New York, in 1832;
graduated at the Albany Normal School in 1853, and taught school
awhile during his minority, and some years after studied law (in
1861), and was admitted to practice in Broome county, New York. In
1862 he enlisted in a New York regiment and served his full time of
enlistment. In 1864 he was appointed clerk in the third auditor's
office, Washington, which position he resigned in 1865 and came to
Stillwater to practice his profession. He served some time as justice
of the peace, and for ten years as judge of probate in Washington
county. He was collector of internal revenue one year, and was eight
years postmaster in Stillwater, completing his term of service in
1886. Mr. Butts was married to Augusta Miller in 1856. Mrs. Butts
died in 1869, leaving one son and one daughter. Mr. Butts married Ida
Ellsworth in 1878. They have one son and two daughters. His oldest son
is in the military school at West Point.
A. B. EASTON was born at Mesopotamia, Trumbull county, Ohio, March 1,
1828. His parents were natives of Massachusetts, tracing their lineage
to the Pilgrim Fathers. At the age of fourteen years he was clerk in a
store, but at the wish of his parents, left the store and attended
school, finishing his studies by a course at the high school. Soon
after he again assumed the position of clerk, in which he continued
two years, when, in 1855, he took charge of his father's hotel. Two
years subsequently he came to Stillwater, beginning work as a
compositor for the Stillwater _Messenger_, A. J. Van Voorhes,
proprietor. During the absence of the proprietor Mr. Easton was
manager. Finally, in 1863, he and A. B. Stickney rented the paper,
which they operated one year, then carried it on alone until 1865.
During this time Mr. Van Voorhes had been filling the position of
quartermaster, and on his return made Mr. Easton foreman, where he
continued until 1868. The St. Paul _Dispatch_ had just been
established, and he was connected with the interests of this paper
until his return to Stillwater in 1869. Aug. 6, 1870, he issued the
first number of the Stillwater _Gazette_. His son William E. was taken
as a partner in 1876. Mr. Easton and son have through their ability
and industry made the _Gazette_ a readable, reliable and popular
paper. Mr. Easton was married to Julia Burke, Oct. 14, 1849. They have
four sons and three daughters.
EDWIN A. FOLSOM was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, June 30, 1833. He
spent most of his youth with his parents in Bangor, Maine, where he
was educated in the common schools. In 1856 he came to Stillwater and
for six years was book-keeper for Hersey, Staples & Co. In 1862 he
enlisted in Company C, Eighth Minnesota Volunteers, and was
commissioned as captain. He left the service at the close of the war
with the rank of brevet colonel. Returning to Stillwater, he served
six years as county treasurer, and has since been engaged in lumbering
and selling goods under the firm name of Bronson & Folsom. He was
married Oct. 12, 1872, to Frances E. Staples.
JOHN B. H. MITCHELL.--The ancestors of Mr. Mitchell were Revolutionary
patriots, originally Scotch covenanters, who settled in North
Carolina, but who in after years freed their slaves and came to the
Northern States. Mr. Mitchell was born Nov. 26, 1820, in Monroe
county, Kentucky. His education was obtained chiefly in the printing
office of H. H. Houghton, of Galena, Illinois. He came to St. Paul in
1852, and was employed two years in the _Pioneer_ printing office. In
1854, in company with T. M. Newson and others, he published the St.
Paul _Daily Times_. In 1855 he located on a farm near South
Stillwater. During the early part of the Civil War he was in
Nashville, Tennessee, and reported proceedings of secession
conventions to northern papers. In 1863 he was elected a member of the
Minnesota legislature. Mr. Mitchell has filled other offices of trust.
He was married in 1850 to Mariana B. Fiske, a daughter of David Fiske,
of Baytown.
JOSEPH SCHUPP was born in Baden, Germany, in 1831; received a college
and general business education and came to America in 1852, locating
first at Buffalo, New York, and thence at Toledo, Ohio, whence he
removed to Stillwater in 1858, and engaged in the mercantile business.
Commencing moderately, he extended his operations and now owns several
buildings and blocks, and conducts a heavy wholesale trade. He was
married in 1855 to Mary Fuller, of Toledo, Ohio. They have three sons
living, Joseph A., Thomas O. A. and Frank.
CLIFFORD A. BENNETT was born in Portage county, Ohio, Sept. 7, 1841. He
received a common school and collegiate education. He attended Hiram
College during the time that President James A. Garfield presided over
it. April 24, 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Twenty-third Ohio
Volunteers. He was subsequently promoted to the staff of Gen. W. D.
Hazen and served until mustered out at the close of the war. He came
to Illinois in 1865, read law and was admitted to practice in 1867;
came to Stillwater in 1868, and for ten years was in the office of the
surveyor general. In 1878 he was elected clerk of court.
SAMUEL MATHEWS was born in New Brunswick, July 7, 1832. His
opportunities for schooling were limited, and he is practically self
educated. He came to Stillwater in October, 1856, since which time he
has been engaged in lumbering, dealing in pine lands and in the
mercantile business. He is a member of the firm of Mathews & Jourdain,
and has been quite successful in his business undertakings. Mr.
Mathews has been called upon to fill many positions of trust. He has
served over twenty-five years as manager, receiving and disbursing
agent of the Stillwater fire department. He served four years as mayor
of Stillwater, was county commissioner for twelve years, and for many
years director in the First National Bank of Stillwater. He was
married to Elisabeth Foley in 1867. Their children are Samuel, Thomas,
James, Mollie, Adie, Stella, and May.
JOHN AND JAMES MATHEWS, brothers of Samuel, came to Stillwater in
1856, and are active, enterprising business men and good citizens.
Their business is farming and lumbering.
PETER JOURDAIN is a native of Canada. He came to Stillwater about the
year 1856, and successfully engaged in lumbering. He is a member of
the firm of Mathews & Jourdain, a firm engaged in dealing in logs and
in manufacturing them into lumber. Mr. Jourdain has a family.
JAMES ROONEY was born in New Richmond, Canada East, in 1829. He
remained in Canada until 1850, when he removed to Maine, coming thence
to Stillwater in 1854. He engaged in lumbering, working at first by
the month, and gradually acquiring means and influence for independent
work. He is well situated, has a happy home and prosperous business.
He was married to Elisabeth McGuire, of Stillwater, in 1863. They have
five children.
JAMES N. CASTLE is a native of Sheffield, Sheffield county, province
of Quebec. He received a common school education; read law four years
and was admitted to practice. He came to Minnesota in 1862, and taught
school part of the time at Afton until 1865, when he was elected
county attorney of Washington county. Mr. Castle served as state
senator in the eleventh, twelfth, twenty-first, twenty-second,
twenty-third and twenty-fourth legislatures of Minnesota. He settled
in Stillwater in 1866.
ABRAHAM L. GALLESPIE was born at Shiloh, Randolph county, Illinois, in
1836. He came to Osceola, Polk county, Wisconsin, in 1850. In 1859 he
moved to Stillwater, since which time, with the exception of a year
spent in Colorado, and two years in the army as a member of Company D,
Second Wisconsin Cavalry, he has followed the business of lumbering
and dealing in logs. He has filled the position of alderman in
Stillwater. He was married to Adelia F. Wilson, of Osceola, in 1860.
JOHN C. GARDINER came to Stillwater in 1850, from Washington county,
Maine. He was born Jan. 5, 1822. On coming to Stillwater he located
on a homestead near the city, and followed farming and lumbering for
some years. In 1873 he was appointed prison guard, which position he
held until a recent date. In 1845 he was married to Mary R. Jackman,
in Maine. They have two sons living, Frederic and Albert L. Mrs.
Gardiner died in August, 1887.
V. C. SEWARD was born July 10, 1845, at Laketon, Wabash county,
Indiana. He came to Mankato at the age of ten, served an
apprenticeship at printing in the office of the Mankato _Independent_,
subsequently attended the Western Reserve College, Ohio; and then
became editor of the Cleveland (Ohio) _Leader_. He returned to
Minnesota in 1869, and founded the Redwood Falls _Mail_. In 1872 he
came to Stillwater and purchased the Stillwater _Messenger_ in company
with S. S. Taylor. He has had entire control continuously since, and
has been successful in its management. He was married to Lily M.
Lumbard, at Shakopee, Minnesota, in 1873.
RALPH WHEELER, one of Stillwater's early citizens, commenced piloting
an the St. Croix in 1850, and has been continuously engaged in the
piloting, steamboating, log and lumber business since. He is one of
the original proprietors of the opera house. He was born in Chautauqua
county, New York, in 1829. W. H. H. Wheeler, brother of Ralph, has
long been a prominent citizen of Stillwater. He married Lura, daughter
of Daniel Mears, of Osceola.
EDWARD SCOTT BROWN, of the firm of Hersey, Bean & Brown, was born Feb.
9, 1830, at Orono, Maine. He received a good education in the common
schools and at Foxcroft Academy. He learned the trade of millwright,
and in 1852 went to Puget Sound, Washington Territory, via Panama and
San Francisco, and was employed two years in building mills. He
returned to Orono in 1854, and in 1855 came to St. Anthony, Minnesota,
and engaged in the manufacturing and millwright business. He came to
Stillwater in 1873, entered the firm of Hersey, Bean & Brown, and in
1883 was appointed receiver of the Northwestern Car Works. Mr. Brown
represented his district in the state senate of 1876.
WILLIAM LOWELL was born in Concord, Maine, April 26, 1807. Mr. Lowell
was raised on a farm, but followed lumbering after he was twenty-one
years old, with the Coburns on the Kennebec river, and afterward took
a vessel around Cape Horn to San Francisco, California, with a cargo
of manufactured lumber, consisting of ready made houses. He returned
in 1850 by the overland route. Two years later he came to Taylor's
Falls, but in 1853 settled in Stillwater, where he engaged in
lumbering as a partner of S. M. Sawyer. He made a fine farm in
Sterling, Polk county, Wisconsin, and lived upon it three years. He
was interested in locating pine lands in company with the Colburns of
Maine, on the St. Croix waters. He was a member of the Minnesota
legislature in 1870. He was married in Concord, Maine, in 1836, to
Rhoda Heald. She died in 1842, leaving two daughters. In 1856 he was
married to Mrs. Elisabeth Rich, sister of Isaac Staples. Mr. Lowell
died in Stillwater, July 15, 1873, leaving a widow and four children.
ALBERT LOWELL was born at Concord, Maine, July 10, 1819. He was
married Feb. 5, 1850, to Miss Abby Reed, at Kendall's Mills, Maine.
From this union there were four children, of whom three are living,
Elmore, Charles G. and Ernest. Mr. Lowell spent his early days in
farming on the banks of the Kennebec river. In 1854 he came to
Stillwater and settled on a farm near Lily lake, a portion of which
farm is now used as a driving park. May 19, 1863, he took charge of
the noted Sawyer House in Stillwater, which he afterward purchased.
Himself, Mrs. Lowell and their son Elmore have by their invariable
courtesy and close attention to business made this hotel one of the
most popular in the State. They sold and left the hotel, December,
1887.
NELSON HOLMES VAN VOORHES, eldest son of Abraham Van Voorhes, settled
in Ohio and became a respected and useful citizen, at one time
representing his district in Congress.
ANDREW JACKSON VAN VOORHES, the second son, born June 30, 1824, came
to Stillwater in 1855, and in 1856 founded the Stillwater _Messenger_
and conducted it until 1868, excepting two years which he spent in the
army during the Civil War. He was a member of the Minnesota
legislature in 1859-60, and served as clerk of the Minnesota supreme
court for one year. From 1863 to 1865 he served as quartermaster in
the army, with the rank of captain. He died in Stillwater in 1873.
HENRY CLAY VAN VOORHES, the youngest son, was born in Athens, Ohio, in
1839, and came with his father to Stillwater in 1850. During the war
he was a member of Company B, First Minnesota Volunteers, for about
eighteen months, when he was discharged for disabilities. He afterward
returned to the field with his brother, Capt. A. J. Van Voorhes, but
was not on active duty. At the close of the war he returned to
Stillwater, which has since been his home. He was married at Arcola,
Feb. 9, 1868, to Emily Mower, daughter of John E. and Gracia Mower. In
1887 he went to Alaska.
LOUISA, eldest daughter of Abraham Van Voorhes, was married to C. A.
Bromley. She died in 18--. Maria, the youngest daughter, was married
to D. H. Cutler, of Stillwater.
C. A. BROMLEY was born in Plattsburg, New York, Oct. 31, 1829. He came
to Minnesota in 1851. He erected a fine livery and sale stable on
Chestnut street in 1863. Mr. Bromley served in the war of the
Rebellion as captain of Company B, First Minnesota, and afterward of
Company I, Sixth Minnesota Volunteers. He was married to Louisa Van
Voorhes, who died some years ago. He was married a second time, to a
Miss King.
CHARLES J. BUTLER was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1822.
He was educated at the Western University of Pennsylvania. He removed
to St. Louis in 1839, where he remained for ten years. He was married
to Margaret E. Lansing, of Madison, Wisconsin, in May, 1846. The
following July he went as paymaster's clerk, under his father, Maj.
John B. Butler, to Mexico, in the Chihuahua expedition, commanded by
Gen. John E. Wool. Returning to St. Louis, he engaged in the wholesale
grocery business until the spring of 1849, when he disposed of his
stock and went to California, where he engaged in mining operations.
In August, 1851, he came to Marine as book-keeper for Judd, Walker &
Co., remaining with them until he was appointed secretary of the St.
Croix Boom Company, which position he held until 1875. In 1856 he
removed to Stillwater. In 1857 he was elected delegate to the
constitutional convention. He served one term as mayor of Stillwater.
In 1862 he served as first lieutenant under David Bronson as captain,
and with S. J. R. McMillan as second lieutenant, in the Chengwatana
expedition sent from Stillwater to prevent the Chippewas from rising
and joining in the Sioux insurrection. He purchased the Nelson
warehouse, and, with Capt. Isaac Gray as partner, engaged in the
towboat business until 1878. Of late years Mr. Butler has been engaged
in business ventures in Western Minnesota, but he still retains his
residence at Stillwater. Mr. Butler has always been a lover of field
sports and his prowess as a sportsman is well remembered by his old
friends. He has four children--two sons and two daughters.
LEVI E. THOMPSON was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, May 5,
1829; educated at Troy Wesleyan Seminary, New York; commenced studying
law at the age of fourteen; was admitted to practice by the supreme
court at the age of twenty, and, coming to Stillwater in 1852,
commenced practice, having associated with him at various times T. E.
Parker, Allen Dawson and John Vanderburgh. He was married, October,
1856, to Martha G. Harris, daughter of Albert Harris, an early settler
of Stillwater. Mr. Thompson died Nov. 8, 1887.
GEORGE DAVIS was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, Sept. 22, 1832. He
received a good school and academic education. He removed to St. Louis
in 1852, and to Stillwater in 1853, where he served some years as a
mercantile clerk, then as deputy sheriff, then ten years as sheriff of
Washington county. He also served as clerk of the district court, and
in 1876 as county auditor. In 1865 he was married to Georgiana
Stanchfield, of Stillwater. Mr. Davis died in 1879 and Mrs. Davis in
1882, leaving five children.
WM. MONROE MCCLUER was born Sept. 6, 1831, in Franklinville, New York.
He graduated from Temple Hill Academy, Geneseo, New York, in 1850;
studied law in Moscow, New York; graduated at the State and National
Law School at Poughkeepsie in 1854, and, removing to Stillwater the
same year, engaged in the practice of his profession, in which he has
been eminently successful. In November, 1881, he was appointed
additional judge for the First district, an office created by the
legislature at its special session. Judge McCluer served one term in
the house of representatives. He was married to Helen A. Jencks, of
Waterford, Saratoga county, New York, Sept. 27, 1858. They have one
son, Charles M., practicing law in Stillwater.
JOHN NICHOLAS AHL was born at Strasburg on the Rhine, Oct. 7, 1807.
After seven years' study he was graduated as a physician at Strasburg
Medical College in 1839. He emigrated to America and located in
Galena, Illinois, in 1843, where he practiced medicine some years. He
was married in 1846 to Lucretia Hartman. In 1850 he removed to
Stillwater. In 1852 he built the Washington Hotel (afterward changed
to Liberty House), on south Main street. He practiced medicine and
followed lumbering and hotel keeping in Stillwater until his death,
which occurred in 1878.
SAMUEL M. REGISTER is a native of Dover, Delaware. He is of French
descent, and some of his ancestors took part in the Revolutionary War.
He was born in 1827, and came to Stillwater in 1850, where he engaged
actively in business, dealing in lumber and pine lands, piloting,
steamboating and farming. He was at one time a member of the city
council, and a representative in the territorial legislature of
1854-5. He was married to Minerva Causlin in 1856.
J. A. JOHNSON was born near the city of Wexio, Sweden, April 24, 1842.
In 1854 he emigrated with his parents to the United States, arriving
at Marine Mills, Washington county, Minnesota late in the fall of that
year. He remained at Marine and Stillwater till 1858, attending school
a large portion of the time. In the fall of that year he went to
school at Dubuque, Iowa. After completing the course of study he
learned the trade of locomotive engineer, which occupation he followed
till 1866, being in the employ of the United States government the
last years of the war, in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. After the
close of the war, in 1865, he returned north as far as St. Louis,
Missouri, where he married Miss Agnes A. Coler, of that city. He has 5
children, 3 boys and 2 girls. His health having been impaired in the
government service, he returned to Marine in 1866, where he remained
till Jan. 1, 1874. In the fall of 1873 he was elected to the office of
sheriff of Washington county, which position he held for six years,
and has been twice re-elected without opposition. Retiring from the
sheriff's office in 1880, he removed to Fargo, Dakota, and engaged in
the sale of agricultural implements, in which business he has remained
up to the present time.
During his residence in the city of Fargo he has held various offices,
such as alderman, member of the board of education, etc. In the fall
of 1884 he was nominated for the territorial senate and received a
majority of 1,133 votes in Cass county, and 835 out of a total of
1,669 in the city of Fargo. In the spring of 1885 he was elected
mayor of Fargo by over 300 majority, after one of the most hotly
contested campaigns in the political history of the city. In 1886 he
declined a re-election. While sheriff of Washington county he devoted
his leisure moments to the study of law, and was admitted to practice
in all the courts of Minnesota. Although not in active practice his
knowledge of law has been of great value to him in the business in
which he has been engaged since that time.
GOLD T. CURTIS was born in Morrisville, New York, Aug. 16, 1821. At
the age of eighteen he graduated at Hamilton College, New York, and
entered upon the study of law with Judge Morrill, Chenango county, New
York. He commenced practicing law at Belleville, New York, in 1850.
During the same year he was married to Abigail Anderson, a descendant
of Gen. John Stark, of Revolutionary fame, and of the Protestant
branch of the royal house of the Stuarts, some of whom came from
Scotland to America in 1742. Mrs. Curtis is a lineal descendant of the
unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots. Mr. Curtis removed to Stillwater in
1854 and entered upon a lucrative law practice. He was elected a
member of the Minnesota constitutional convention. In 1857 he was also
nominated for the position of district judge, but was defeated by S.
J. R. McMillan. He was much respected and held some offices of trust
in the city and county. At the breaking out of the Rebellion he
enlisted in Company I, Fifth Minnesota, and was promoted to the
captaincy of the company, but his health failed and he died in St.
Louis July 24, 1862. His remains were brought to Stillwater and
interred with military and masonic honors, Aug. 2, 1862.
HARLEY D. CURTIS, a native of New York and a brother of Gold T.
Curtis, came to Stillwater in 1851. He held the positions of
postmaster and justice of the peace.
FRANCIS ROACH DELANO.--The ancestors of Mr. Delano came to America in
1621, and were active participants in the stirring scenes and
controversies preceding the Revolution. Francis Roach, after whom Mr.
Delano was named, was the owner of the ship Dartmouth, one of the
vessels out of which the tea was cast into Boston harbor, on the
memorable occasion of the Tea Party of 1774. Notwithstanding the
affair of the tea, the family, who were ardent patriots, have
preserved as a precious relic some of the tea rescued from the general
destruction.
Mr. Delano is one of sixteen children in his father's family. He was
born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Nov. 20, 1823; received a common
school and academic education, and was employed in a machine shop some
years. At the age of twenty he was employed in an engineering corps
and served two years. He was for two years superintendent of the
Boston & Worcester railroad. In 1844 he came to St. Louis, Missouri,
and was variously employed until 1848, when he removed to Minnesota
and was engaged for a year in St. Anthony (now Minneapolis), in
running the government mill. The mill had been leased for five years.
Mr. Smith fulfilled the contract, and Mr. Delano, being released from
it, came to Stillwater in 1851 and entered into contract with Jesse
Taylor, Martin Mower, Jonathan E. McKusick, and Jacob Fisher, under
the firm name of Jesse Taylor & Co., to build the territorial prison.
Mr. Delano was appointed first warden, March, 1853, and served until
1858. He was intrusted with the expenditure of public moneys from
territorial authorities, in caring for and improving the prison. When
the state government was organized he was released. He was afterward a
member of the firm of Delano, McKusick & Co., sawing and selling
lumber. J. E. McKusick and Robert Simpson were members of this firm.
Mr. Delano moved to St. Paul in 1862, and was afterward engaged in
railroad employment. In 1862 he was commissioned colonel to take
command of five companies during the Indian outbreak. The command was
stationed at Chengwatana, Pine county. He died February, 1887. He was
married Oct. 11, 1846, to Calista Ann Cavander, who, with two sons,
survives him.
HENRY W. CANNON was born in Delhi, New York, Sept. 25, 1852. He was
educated at Delaware Literary Institute. He came to St. Paul in 1870,
and in 1871 to Stillwater, where he accepted the position of cashier
of the Stillwater Lumberman's Bank. In 1882 he was appointed by
President Arthur United States bank comptroller. He was removed by
President Cleveland. He is now a resident of New York City, and is
engaged in banking.
DWIGHT M. SABIN was born at Marseilles, La Salle county, Illinois,
April 25, 1843. The ill health of the father, who was an extensive
land owner and stock raiser, necessitated a removal to the seaside in
Connecticut in 1856. In consequence of the continued ill health of
the father and his death in 1864, young Dwight was deprived of the
thorough education to which he aspired, and, being the oldest son,
found the cares and responsibilities of managing his father's business
thrown upon his shoulders while he was yet a boy. In 1867 he removed
with his mother and younger brother to Minnesota, the year following
to Stillwater, where he engaged in business with the firm of Seymour,
Sabin & Co. This firm contracted for the convict labor in the state
prison, and engaged in the manufacture of doors, sash, blinds and
cooperage. The business in 1874 was extended and made to include the
manufacture of agricultural implements, including also a machine,
boiler shop and foundry, until it is now one of the most extensive
establishments in the country.
Mr. Sabin is also interested in other manufactures, among them the C.
N. Nelson Lumber Company and the Duluth Iron Company. In 1882 Mr.
Sabin was the prime organizer of the Northwestern Car Company, with a
capital of $5,000,000. The company was to receive a bonus from the
city of Stillwater of $100,000 in bonds, on certain conditions. The
company purchased the interests of Seymour, Sabin & Co., thereby
coming into possession of their immense manufactories, including those
managed under the prison contracts, and elected Mr. Sabin president,
and was making rapid progress toward the completion of its plans,
when, owing to the stringency of the financial world, it was compelled
to make an assignment.
While Mr. Sabin has been busy with the management of his vast
manufacturing establishments, he has been no less active and
conspicuous as a public spirited citizen, ever taking a great interest
in the affairs of his adopted city, of the State and country at large,
and his talents and efficiency have been recognized by his fellow
citizens, who elected him to the state senate in 1871-72-73, and to
the house of representatives in 1878 and 1881. He has several times
been a delegate to the National Republican convention, and was
chairman of the convention at which James G. Blaine was nominated for
the presidency. He was elected to the United States senate in 1883 as
the successor of Hon. Wm. Windom.
CHAPTER XVI.
STEARNS, ANOKA AND SHERBURNE COUNTIES.
STEARNS COUNTY.
Stearns county derived its name from Hon. Charles T. Stearns, a
prominent citizen of St. Cloud, a representative of the precinct of
St. Anthony Falls in the fifth and sixth territorial councils.
It is bounded on the north by Todd and Morrison counties, on the east
by Benton, Sherburne and Wright counties, the Mississippi forming the
dividing line against Benton and Sherburne, and Clearwater against
Wright county, on the south by Kandiyohi and Mecker, and on the west
by Pope county. It contains an area equal to thirty-six townships. It
is a fine agricultural county and is well watered by the tributaries
of the Mississippi, the principal of which is Sauk river. It has also
an abundance of small lakes. Its oldest settlement and principal city
is St. Cloud, and among its most flourishing villages are Sauk Centre,
Fair Haven, Clearwater, Melrose, St. Joseph, Albany, Paynesville,
Richmond, and Cold Springs.
The county was organized in 1855, under the legislative act of that
year. Gov. Willis A. Gorman appointed the following commissioners:
David T. Wood, John Ferschniller and John L. Wilson. They held their
first meeting at the house of John L. Wilson, April 9, 1855. J. L.
Wilson acted as chairman. The board appointed the following county
officers: Charles Ketchum, clerk; Robert B. Blake, treasurer; L. B.
Hammond, sheriff; N. N. Smith, judge of probate; R. B. Blake,
surveyor; and John Harry Weltshimer, assessor. The board established
three precincts, viz.: St. Augusta, St. Cloud and Tamarack. The judges
of election for St. Augusta were John M. Feble, John G. Lodenbeck and
Anton Emholt; for St. Cloud, Joseph Demil, L. B. Hammond and Battise
Arsenan; for Tamarack, Henry Foster, Louis Amel and John Smith.
License was granted to Joseph P. Wilson, George F. Brott, L. B.
Hammond, and O. Carter to run a ferry across the Mississippi river.
April 30, 1855, Farmington precinct was established. John M. Lindeman,
Jacob C. Staples and D. T. Wood were judges of election. July 5, 1855,
the first rate of taxation was fixed for the county at one per cent.
The first license to sell spirituous liquors was granted to Anton
Edelbrock. The first order issued was to pay for county books, $31.86,
to John L. Wilson. Ordered that Washington avenue and St. Augusta
street be adopted as county roads. Aug. 27, 1855, it was ordered that
Chippewa Agency precinct (now in Crow Wing county) be and remain as it
was when a part of Benton county, and J. D. Crittenden, Truman Warren
and D. B. Herriman were appointed judges of election. It was ordered
that Long Prairie precinct (now in Todd county) remain as it was when
a part of Benton county, and Anson Northrup, Lewis Stone and Harman
Becker were appointed judges of election. On Jan. 6, 1856, a new board
of commissioners qualified, consisting of Anton Edelbrock, chairman,
Reuben M. Richardson, and M. J. Orth. H. C. Waite was appointed
prosecuting attorney. The county was organized for judicial purposes
in 1855, and the counties of Crow Wing and Todd were attached. The
first term of court was held June 25, 1855; Hon. Moses Sherburne,
presiding, Taylor Dudley, clerk, and Joseph Edelbrock, sheriff. The
writer is indebted to the efficient clerk of court of 1887, A. L.
Cramb, for collecting data, as the old records are quite
unintelligible.
Judge E. O. Hamlin held the first term of court under the state
organization. At the session of the commissioners in July, 1856, the
first bonds of the county were ordered for building a court house,
amounting to $7,000, at twelve per cent interest for eight years. The
bonds were offered in New York City by an agent. These bonds were
lost, and only two of them were recovered. At the session of the
commissioners for August, the donation of John L. Wilson of four
blocks of ground, containing eight acres, for court house purposes,
was accepted. Three-fourths of the ground was sold by the county, and
the funds received from the sale, together with $6,000 in bonds issued
in 1857, and other bonds issued later, were used in erecting the
court house.
ST. CLOUD.
The eastern side of the Mississippi river was the first settled. As
early as 1848 David Gilman had located at a point now called Watab.
During the ensuing year, Jeremiah Russell, Philip Beaupre and James
Beatty were keeping trading posts at Sauk Rapids. In 1849 J. Q. A. and
W. H. Wood, brothers, located there. In 1854 the Rapids had become
quite a point with its Indian trading posts, its stores and its United
States land office. Among the early residents were many subsequently
identified with the interests of St. Cloud. In the spring of 1854 John
L. Wilson crossed the river at the point now known as the upper
landing, then covered with a dense growth of trees and underbrush. On
the adjoining prairie, a Norwegian, Ole Burgerson by name, had staked
out a claim and put up a shanty. Mr. Wilson purchased his interest and
in June of the same year erected a frame dwelling (still standing)
near the railroad bridge. Nicholas Lake put up a blacksmith shop near
by. During this year James Hitchins put up a small log dwelling for
Gen. S. B. Lowry, who platted the township of Acadia, now Lowry's
addition to St. Cloud. A post office was established here through his
influence. The same year Brott & Co. laid out St. Cloud city. The
earliest claimants of the town site, owning claims fronting on the
river, were S. B. Lowry, Ole Burgerson, Martin Woolley, and Michael
Zoms. John L. Wilson having purchased the claim of Ole Burgerson,
platted the village of St. Cloud, and this was the first recorded of
any of the St. Cloud plats. The village of St. Cloud made but little
progress until 1856, when a hotel known as the Stearns House, now used
in connection with the normal school, was built, a ferry established
and other improvements made. A notable incident connected with this
ferry is the fact that the Rev. Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, now president
of St. John's University, then a lad of thirteen years of age, was
ferryman, he being the son of the proprietor of the ferry. The craft
was swung back and forth like a pendulum, by the current acting
against its keel, being fastened by a long rope some distance up the
river. It was not therefore beyond the ability of so youthful a
ferryman to manage. The post office, established first at Acadia,
became the St. Cloud post office and Joseph Edelbrock was appointed
postmaster. He was reappointed by President Cleveland to the same
position in 1886. The first newspaper in St. Cloud was the _Visitor_,
established in 1857, by the gifted and somewhat erratic journalist and
reformer, Jane Grey Swisshelm. This paper had but a brief and troubled
career--the advanced views and dictatorial style of its publisher and
editor proving somewhat distasteful to the community at large. Mrs.
Swisshelm, who had already won a national reputation, went to
Washington, became a contributor to the New York _Tribune_, and had
thereafter a somewhat variable, and upon the whole brilliant, career
as a lecturer, editor and reformer. She was amongst the strongest,
though not the most radical, of the advocates of woman's rights. She
was not a woman suffragist, but directed her efforts chiefly toward
establishing the legal identity of married women. She was also very
pronounced in her anti-slavery views.
The first records of the organization of St. Cloud as a village have
been lost. It was reorganized by legislative enactment in 1862, and
the following were the first officers: Mayor, Judge L. A. Evans;
councilmen, H. C. Burbank, John W. Tenvoorde, Joseph Broker and Barney
Overbeck; clerk, A. B. Curry.
St. Cloud was organized as a city in 1868, under the following
officers: Mayor, Judge E. O. Hamlin; aldermen, L. A. Evans, president;
Peter Smith, Thomas Smith, T. C. Alden, Leander Gorton, T. R. Bennett,
O. Tenny, C. Bridgman, Andrew Fritz, L. R. Roberts, Lewis Clarke, H.
C. Burbank; clerk, N. F. Barnes. The city government has been
judiciously managed. The United States land office, established first
at Sauk Rapids in 1853, was removed to St. Cloud in May, 1858. The
first receiver was W. H. Wood. His successors have been S. B. Hayes,
C. A. Gilman, W. B. Mitchell, H. G. Burbank, Ole Peterson, and C. F.
McDonald, the present incumbent. The first register was George W.
Sweet. His successors have been W. A. Caruthers, T. C. McClure, H. C.
Waite, H. L. Gordon, J. A. Brower, and D. H. Freeman.
The city has paid for various improvements as follows: City water
works on the Holly system, $25,000; city bridge over the Mississippi,
500 feet in length, $12,000; to the Manitoba railroad in real estate
and bonds, $100,000; in cash, $27,000; gas works, $10,000. The fire
department is well equipped. An electric light plant has been
established. Considerable money and work have been expended in
dredging Lake George, a beautiful lake about fifty-five acres in
extent, lying in the heart of the city, and surrounding it with parks.
Street cars have been introduced and altogether the city has made most
commendable advancement in all those things that pertain to beauty and
comfort.
Not less rapid and substantial are its advances in commerce and
manufactures. Before the completion of the railway it had regular
communication by water with all river points, and since its facilities
for transportation have made it the peer of any inland city of its
size in the State. The railroads of St. Cloud are the Manitoba with
its various branches and the Northern Pacific, the latter passing
through East St. Cloud. Among the improvements of which its citizens
are justly proud we may mention the St. Cloud dam, constructed in
1886, at a cost of $200,000. The city gave $100,000 for this
improvement. The dam has for its foundation the underlying granite of
this section. It is intended as a permanent structure and must conduce
largely to the growth and prosperity of the city. The dam has 10 feet
head of water and furnishes 1,500 horse power. A flour mill with a
capacity of 300 barrels per day is run by the water power. The
Phoenix Iron Works, established at a cost of $175,000, give
employment to 100 men. Bridgman's steam saw mill has a capacity of
about 40,000 feet of lumber per day.
St. Cloud is backed by a rich agricultural and timbered district. In
the vicinity are valuable quarries of jasper, and of gray and red
granite. Two granite polishing works, operated by steam, are located
near the city. These quarries stretch away to the northeast, through
the counties of Benton, Morrison, Mille Lacs and Kanabec. They give
employment to 1,000 men. The Manitoba Railroad Company has purchased
recently about 400 acres of land, on which to build extensive shops
and stock yards, calculated to give employment, when completed, to
1,000 men. The principal hotels are the Grand Central and the West
House.
The first bank in St. Cloud was established by Waite & McClure in
1859. This bank, a private institution, was the beginning of the
banking system in St. Cloud. It is now operated by N. P. Clarke. The
First National Bank was organized as a private bank in 1867, with a
capital stock of $25,000; James A. Bell, president; Joseph G. Smith,
cashier. It was reorganized as a state bank in 1879, with a capital
stock of $50,000. In 1886 it was reorganized as a national bank. The
first board of officers have served continuously to date. The business
of the bank amounts to over $300,000. The German American National
Bank was organized in 1883; Chas. A. Hull, president; Edgar Hull,
cashier; capital stock $50,000. The business (in 1886) amounts to
$250,000. The present board of officers are: F. E. Searle, president;
John Cooper, vice president; F. M. Morgan, cashier.
St. Cloud has many fine buildings. The court house cost $40,000, and
four school buildings an aggregate of $75,000. The bishop's cathedral
cost $40,000, and the Catholic church $30,000. The Episcopalians,
Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalists, and Lutherans
have organizations and good church buildings. The normal school
buildings located here cost $100,000. St. Cloud University is a
flourishing institution. St. John's University, although located in
the adjoining town of St. Joseph, has been identified more or less
with the interests of St. Cloud, and deserves mention in its history.
It was originally located two miles south of St. Cloud, but was
subsequently removed to a point northwest, a mile distant from the
thriving village of Collegeville.
The university owes its existence to the zeal, energy and self
devotion of the Benedictine Fathers, a colony of whom came to America
in 1846. This colony settled first in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, but
in 1856, at the invitation of Bishop Cretin, came to Minnesota, where,
the year following, they commenced their educational work on the banks
of the Mississippi near St. Cloud. The school was commenced as a
seminary, but in 1869 the state legislature granted authority to
confer degrees, and in 1883 formally changed the name from St. John's
Seminary to St. John's University. The buildings are ample and
commodious, and located pleasantly on the banks of a beautiful lake.
The faculty consists of Rt. Rev. Alexius Edelbrock and twenty-two
professors. In 1885 St. Benedict's Hospital was erected at a cost of
about $15,000. It is under the supervision of the Benedictine Nuns.
The state reformatory was located at East St. Cloud in 1887.
LA SAUK,
Formerly St. Joe, adjoining St. Cloud on the north, had a saw and
flour mill erected in 1855. These mills were burned in 1886, and
rebuilt in 1887. Amongst the early settlers were J. H. Lineman in
1854, J. A. Upham and George Rieder in 1855.
PETER SCHAELER, a farmer, a native of Germany, came to America in
1850, and to St. Joseph in 1856. John, his only son, retains the old
homestead, and was in 1883 engaged in the insurance business in St.
Cloud.
JOHN L. WILSON was born in Columbia, Washington county, Maine, in
1820. He came to Minnesota in 1851, locating at St. Anthony, but in
the following year removed to Sauk Rapids and in 1854 to St. Cloud.
The first deed on record in Stearns county was from John L. Wilson to
L. C. Kenna, and bears date of 1855. In 1855 he was married to Harriet
N. Corbett. They have three children living.
CHARLES T. STEARNS, from whom the county took its name, has been for
many years a resident of Louisiana, and is a wealthy planter.
HENRY G. FILLMORE, a nephew of President Fillmore, was born in the
state of New York in the '20s, and came to Watab in 1848. He has lived
in St. Cloud many years.
NATHANIEL GETCHELL was born in Washington county, Maine, in 1828. He
came to St. Anthony in 1852, and to Stearns county in 1855.
JAMES KEOUGH came from Ireland to America in 1850, and directly to
Watab. He settled in St. Cloud in 1854, was married in 1855, and has a
large family.
LOREN W. COLLINS was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Aug. 22, 1839. He
received a common school education; came to Hastings, Minnesota, some
time prior to the Rebellion, studied law with Smith & Crosby and was
admitted to practice, but in August, 1862, entered the service of his
country in Company F, Seventh Minnesota Volunteers, of which company
he was commissioned second lieutenant, and a year later first
lieutenant. He was discharged with his regiment at the close of the
war, and returned to his law practice. In 1866 he removed to St. Cloud
and practiced law. He served as county attorney a number of years; was
a member of the Minnesota house of representatives in 1881-83; was
appointed judge of the Seventh Judicial district April 8, 1883, and
elected to that office in 1884. Nov. 12, 1887, he was appointed to
fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Berry, an appointment
that gives general satisfaction, Judge Collins having won an enviable
reputation as a jurist and as a man.
HENRY C. WAITE was born in Albany county, New York, in 1830; graduated
at Union College, Schenectady, New York; was admitted to practice law
in 1852, and the same year came to Iowa. A year later he removed to
Wisconsin, and located at Madison, where he practiced law two years.
In May, 1855, he came to St. Cloud, where he has since continuously
resided. The first ten years of his residence in St. Cloud he devoted
to the practice of his profession, after which he devoted his time to
farming and milling.
Mr. Waite was a member of the constitutional convention in 1857. He
also served several terms in the senate and house. During President
Lincoln's administration he served as register of the land office. He
was married to Maria D. Clark in 1860. He has two sons.
GEN. S. B. LOWRY was the son of the devoted and zealous missionary,
Rev. David Lowry, who labored among the Winnebagoes in Northern Iowa
in the '30s and '40s. He located first at Brockway, ten miles above
St. Cloud, and established a trading post, but in 1853 removed to St.
Cloud, where he surveyed and platted the village of Acadia, afterward
known as "Lowry's addition." He made St. Cloud his home until his
death, which occurred in 1861.
ANTHONY EDELBROCK was the first resident of St. Cloud. His oldest son
was the first child born there. This son died in infancy. His second
son became the abbot of St. John's University. Mr. Edelbrock is now a
resident of Missouri.
JOSEPH EDELBROCK was born in Westphalia, Prussia, in 1826. He learned
the trade of a carpenter, came to America in 1847, and lived in
Chicago until 1855, when he came to St. Cloud and engaged in
mercantile pursuits. He is the oldest merchant continuously in
business in the city. He served as sheriff two years and as register
of deeds four years. He was married in Chicago in 1852, and has six
children living. A daughter, the second child born in St. Cloud, is
the wife of Peter E. Kaiser.
JOHN RENGEL, made a claim here in 1855. He has been and still is a
prosperous citizen. He has a family of ten children.
LOUIS A. EVANS was born near Philadelphia, Nov. 2, 1822. His
forefathers came to America with William Penn and bought of him a
township of land, on which still reside many of his descendants. His
father served as a soldier in the war of 1812. Louis was educated at
the graded schools in Philadelphia; was apprenticed to a piano maker,
and worked at his trade at Cincinnati, Ohio, Clinton, Mississippi, and
New Orleans until 1856, when he came to St. Cloud, where he still
resides. During his residence he has served as postmaster, judge of
probate, clerk of the district court, editor of the St. Cloud _Times_,
mayor of St. Cloud, and president of the council and member of the
house and senate of the state legislature. He was married to Elisabeth
W. Libby in 1871.
AMBROSE FREEMAN.--We have no datum as to when Mr. Freeman came to St.
Cloud, but it was probably prior to 1860. He was a stonemason, and
while working on a cellar wall heard the report of the Sioux uprising
and massacre (in 1862), and, dropping his tools, hurried off to
satisfy himself as to the truth of the reports, called a meeting of
citizens, and organized a company of twenty-five volunteers to assist
in caring for the wounded and burying the dead. On his return he was
commissioned captain of the Northern Rangers and marched with his
command to the relief of Forest City and Fort Abercrombie. He was with
Gen. Sibley's command in 1863, and while riding over the prairie was
shot with an arrow by an Indian, and expired instantly.
NATHAN F. BARNES has lived a somewhat eventful life. He was born at
Portland, Maine, June 26, 1817; received an academic education; served
as a midshipman in the navy from 1834 to 1839, visiting many parts of
the globe. In 1840 he commenced the study of law, was admitted to
practice in 1843 and practiced awhile at Conway, New Hampshire, where
in 1844 he was married. In 1850 he was appointed mail agent on the
Isthmus route to California, served six years, and then located in
California. Two years later, in 1858, he removed to Alexandria,
Minnesota. During the Sioux massacre he and Andreas Darling were the
only persons remaining in the neighborhood who escaped being killed.
In 1865 he came to St. Cloud, where he has been an active and
prominent citizen. He served many years as city clerk and city
justice and was elected to the house of the state legislature in 1875.
He was influential in securing the location of the normal school in
St. Cloud. One son, Percival S., died in the Saulsbury prison during
the Civil War. He has one son and one daughter living.
NEHEMIAH P. CLARK was born in Worcester county, Massachusetts, April
8, 1836. In his youth he attended school in Kentucky and at seventeen
years of age was clerking in a store at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. In
1856 he came to St. Cloud and engaged actively in business, selling
goods, farming, staging, lumbering, and dealing in pine lands. He has
a farm in Le Sauk of 2,000 acres, a creamery, a cheese factory, and
one of the largest and best herds of cattle, horses, hogs and sheep in
the State. For office and official honors he has no taste. He served,
however, as president of the State Agricultural Society in 1886.
OSCAR E. GARRISON was born at Fort Ann, New York, in 1825, and was
early thrown upon his own resources. He came to Minnesota in 1850, and
built the first house on the shores of Lake Minnetonka where Wayzata
is now located. In 1850 he surveyed and platted the village of
Wayzata. In 1860 he came to St. Cloud. He made a land claim in Polk
county in 1862 and narrowly escaped being murdered by the Sioux at
their uprising. His house and property were destroyed. While hiding
with his wife and four-year-old son, Indians passed within twenty feet
of him. After a perilous night journey, during which he came almost
within touching distance of sleeping Indians, he arrived safely at
Sauk Centre.
THE GILMAN FAMILY.--The Gilman family of which Charles A. is a
descendant came to America from Hingham, England, with the Folsoms, in
1638, and are the founders of the town of Hingham, Massachusetts. The
Gilmans were renowned for their loyalty to the colonies, and later to
the state and national government.
CHARLES A. GILMAN was born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, Feb. 9, 1833.
His youth was spent at home, where he received a common school and
academic education, the latter at Gilmanton Academy. He taught school
during the winters. In 1855 he came to Sauk Rapids, Benton county,
where he engaged in farming and real estate business; he also filled
the offices of auditor and register of deeds. In 1861 he removed to
St. Cloud, having been appointed register of the United States land
office for that place. He served seven years as register and receiver.
He studied law, and was admitted to practice in 1876. Mr. Gilman has
lived a busy life, and besides his real estate, law, surveying and
exploring business, he has taken a conspicuous position in the
politics of his State, having served as state senator in the years
1868-69, and as representative from 1875 to 1879. In 1878-79 he served
as speaker of the house. From 1881 to 1884 he was lieutenant governor
of the State. He was elected to the legislature several times as a
Republican, when the district was strongly Democratic, a high
compliment to his ability and integrity. He was married to Hester
Cronk, at Sauk Rapids, Jan. 1, 1857. They have six children living. He
has lived at St. Cloud since 1861, where he has a delightful home.
Of St. Cloud citizens not elsewhere mentioned in this work, and who
have been prominent in advancing its interests, are Charles Bridgman,
Henry G. Mitchell and son, C. F. McDonald, Lewis Clark, Alonzo F.
Cramb, C. F. Davis, Levi S. Geer, Josiah G. Hayward, David L. Kiehle,
A. Montgomery, Overbeck brothers, John H. Owen, and John Cooper. St.
Cloud has furnished three able jurists for the supreme bench in this
district, E. O. Hamlin, J. M. McKelvy and L. W. Collins.
ANOKA COUNTY.
Anoka county was organized in 1857, the nucleus or first settlement
being a small village on the Mississippi, at the month of Rum river,
named Anoka, from a Chippewa word meaning work or labor. The county
has a fine location on the east bank of the Mississippi. Its
boundaries on the north are Isanti county, on the east Chisago and
Washington counties, on the south Ramsey county, and on the west
Sherburne county and the Mississippi river. Rum river flows in a
southeasterly direction through the county, and by this river, its
tributaries and those of the Mississippi and St. Croix, the county is
well watered and drained. The valleys of these streams furnish many
fine natural meadows. The soil is a black sandy loam with clay
subsoil. Townships 31, 32 and 33, range 22, are drained by the
tributaries of the St. Croix. Originally consisting of oak openings,
natural meadows and tamarack swamps, interspersed with small lakes,
with excellent roads, school houses, churches and town organizations,
the county is well settled and has many fine farms under a high state
of cultivation. Its proximity to the pineries of Rum river and to the
markets of Minneapolis and St. Paul makes it a desirable location for
the lumbermen and farmers.
The county is subdivided into the following townships: Anoka, Bethel,
Blaine, Burns, Centreville, Columbus, Fridley, Grow, Ham Lake,
Linwood, Oak Grove, Ramsey, and St. Francis. The Northern Pacific and
St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba railroads traverse this county near
its western boundary, following the course of the Mississippi river.
Outside of Anoka the first settlement in the county was within the
bounds of the present town of Ramsey. Nathan Shumway, Cornelius Pitman
and Daniel Hawthorne settled there in 1850.
The first county commissioners were appointed by the governor. They
were E. C. H. Davis, J. P. Austin and Silas O. Lum. They met June 30,
1857, and appointed the following officers: Sheriff, James C. Frost;
treasurer, James M. McGlauflin; coroner, Joseph C. Varney; assessors,
Daniel Robbins, S. L. Guice, Francis Peeler. The first deed on record
in the county bears date of June 30, 1857. It conveys the northwest
quarter of section 26, township 33, range 24, from Nathaniel S. Davis
to Mary S. Small, for a consideration of five hundred dollars. There
is, however, a transcript of a deed from Ramsey county bearing
original date of Sept. 11, 1849, conveying the north half of the
northwest quarter of section 35, township 31, range 24, from Abel
Bloodgood, of Minnesota Territory, to Henry M. Rice, for a
consideration of two hundred dollars. The first town plat, that of
Anoka, bears date of July 5, 1854.
ANOKA.
This town lies on the east shore of the Mississippi and includes part
of fractional township 31, range 24. It is watered by Rum river, which
traverses the northwestern part, and by Coon creek in the eastern
part. The town originally was chiefly prairie. Its early history is
included in that of Anoka county.
ANOKA CITY.
The county seat of Anoka county is located on the Mississippi at the
mouth of Rum river and dates its settlement to the year 1847, when
Thomas Holmes located on the east bank of the river, and built the
first log house for a trading post. Aaron Betts, in the employ of
Holmes, brought his family with him, the first family in the town. In
the winter of 1847-48 Holmes sold out to Simeon P. Folsom, whose
family was the second in the town. Mr. Folsom raised the first crop in
the township. In September, 1848, Mr. Folsom removed to Sherburne
county, selling out his claim to Louis Roberts. In the winter of the
same year Wm. Dahl took possession for Mr. Roberts. In the spring of
1849 Antoine Roberts, brother of Louis, came from Prairie du Chien,
took possession of the home, and lived there some years, when he was
killed by an Indian. When the land on which the improvements were made
was brought into market Louis Roberts entered it.
In 1851 Anton Guion entered a quarter section of land on the west
side. He immediately sold his claim to Henry M. Rice, who bought it
with the intention of platting it as a town site. His brother, Orrin
Rice, occupied it and made improvements. Rum river has a fall of five
feet, which is fully utilized at Anoka.
In 1851 Geo. W. Branch took up a claim on the west side, and built a
house near what is now the corner of Main and Ferry streets. This was
the first frame house in Anoka, which, from this time forward, grew
almost imperceptibly into a village, till in 1855 the census showed
nearly 300 inhabitants. In 1860 the population was 602, and in 1886,
5,000. Anoka was incorporated as a city in 1878, with the following
board of officers: Mayor, G. W. Church; aldermen, D. C. Dunham, D. H.
Lane, L. G. Browning, A. Davis, H. N. Seelye, and J. H. Pierce;
treasurer, H. E. Lepper; justices of the peace, W. W. Fitch and E. S.
Teller; constables, George Geddes and Norman McLean. At that time the
city was divided into two wards, the First including the east side,
and the Second the west side, of Rum river. In 1881 the west side was
changed to the First ward, and the east side became the Second and
Third wards.
In 1853 Ed. I. Shaw built and opened the first store. It was on the
west side, and the building still stands, and is known as the Schuler
building. It is now the hospital: Caleb and W. H. Woodbury erected a
saw mill on the east side. It was subsequently owned by Woodbury, Shaw
& Farnham. During the same year a bridge was built across Rum river by
the government; Orrin Rice, contractor. The first flour will was
finished in 1855. It was burned ten days after with $5,000 worth of
wheat and corn a total loss, as there was no insurance. It was owned
by A. P. Lane, Caleb and Henry Woodbury. The mill was rebuilt by Caleb
Woodbury and Wm. L. Barnes. In 1855 H. L. Ticknor erected and opened
the first store on the east side. Rev. Royal Twitchell preached the
first sermon and taught the first school. The first mill was utilized
on Sundays as a church.
The Congregationalists organized the first church in Anoka in 1855,
and erected a church building in 1857. The Baptists and Catholics
organized in 1856, the Methodists and Episcopalians in 1860, the
Universalists in 1867, the Swedish Lutherans in 1870, the Adventists
in 1880, and the Free Methodists in 1882. The Masons organized a lodge
in 1866, the Knights of Pythias in 1872, the United Workmen in 1877,
the Patrons of Husbandry in 1874, and the Odd Fellows in 1882.
Anoka has suffered from time to time by fires. A flour mill, two saw
mills, half a dozen hotels, and a large number of stores have been
burned at different times, and twice the business part of the city has
been destroyed. Aug. 16, 1884, the entire business portion of the
city, including 60 business blocks and the Washburn mills, was
consumed. The loss amounted to $750,000, on which there was an
insurance of $316,000. The burnt district has since been handsomely
rebuilt, and the Washburn flour mill has been replaced with a superior
building, five stories high, 60 × 180, ground plan, and rising to the
height of 112 feet. This is one of the finest mills in the State.
The court house is valued at $35,000, the city hall at $12,000, and
four school buildings at $75,000. The bridge across the Mississippi, a
fine structure, 700 feet long, was built at a cost of $100,000. Street
cars have been introduced on some of the streets. The principal
manufactories are the Lincoln flouring mill, with a capacity of seven
hundred bushels per day, owned by the Washburn Mill Company; four saw
mills belonging to the Washburn Mill Company, with a capacity of
50,000,000 feet per year; the Anoka Sash and Door Factory, one of the
most thriving industries in the city, Jonas Morell, manager; a starch
factory, a boot and shoe company, with a capital of $30,000, recently
organized. Other industries are well represented; the whole giving
employment to over 1,000 men.
The First National Bank of Anoka was organized as a private banking
institution in 1872. It became a state bank in 1882, with a capital
stock of $25,000, and a national bank in 1883, with a paid up capital
of $50,000. The officers are: President, H. L. Ticknor; cashier, B. F.
Pratt. The Anoka National Bank was organized in 1883, with a paid up
capital of $100,000. The officers are: President, W. D. Washburn; vice
president, C. C. Crane; cashier. C. S. Guderian.
BETHEL
Includes township 33 and the twelve south sections of township 34,
range 23. Its surface is partially prairie land, and is dotted with
small lakes. The first settlers were Quakers, with the exception of
Rice, Price, O. Evans and Robert Minard, who came in 1855. Bethel post
office is located at what is known as Bethel Corners. The town was
organized in 1858. The first supervisors were O. Evans, W. Dickens and
R. Price.
BLAINE,
Named in honor of James G. Blaine, embraces township 31, range 23. It
was originally included in Anoka, but was set off and organized in
1877. The first supervisors were Moses Ripley, George Tisdale and
Richard de Long. The records have not been kept with sufficient
accuracy to enable us to determine who were the first settlers. It
appears, however, that the first comers abandoned their claims. Green
Chambers is the first settler recorded. He came in 1865.
BURNS
Includes township 33, range 25, and is in the northwestern part of the
county. The soil is clay loam, and in the western part are many lakes.
Of these Twin lakes are ninety feet in depth. The first settler was
John Derigan, who was also one of the first settlers of Elk River
township, in Sherburne county. The town was organized in 1869. The
supervisors were John D. Keen, John A. Mussey and W. D. Le Clair. A
German Lutheran church was built in 1878.
CENTREVILLE