Brown County MN Archives History - Books .....Organization Of Brown County Chapter VI 1916 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 November 19, 2014, 1:52 am Book Title: History Of Brown County, See Below Chapter VI ORGANIZATION OF BROWN COUNTY Brown county was named in honor of Joseph Renshaw Brown, who was one of Minnesota's most prominent pioneers. He was a drummer boy with the first detachment of troops for Ft. Snelling. He became a trader with the Sioux Indians, and as settlers Began to come in, a speculator in lands and townsites. He Was publisher of the Minnesota Pioneer for some time, was an inventor and held many territorial offices. The county was created on February 20, 1855, with the county seat as New Ulm, which has never been changed. It is in southwestern Minnesota, sixty miles from the Twin Cities. It contains six hundred and sixteen square miles, or three hundred and ninety-four thousand, seven hundred and twenty acres, of which almost seven thousand are coveted by water by the presence of its numerous lakes. Brown county is bounded on the north by Redwood, Renville and Nicollet counties; on the east by Nicollet and Blue Earth counties; on the south by Watonwan and Cottonwood counties, and on the west by Cottonwood and Redwood counties. This county has seen many boundary line changes. It was once very extensive, then even smaller than its present size. At first, when created by act of the Territorial Legislature in 1855 it had a large scope of country within its borders. It commenced at the southeast corner of township 101, range 30 west, its boundary proceeded along the Iowa line to range 48, and thence south to the mouth of the Big Sioux river, where now stands Sioux City, Iowa, thence up the Missouri river to about the mouth of Grand river, then due east, in a line projected to the Minnesota river, which formed its northeast boundary. This immense region had been set from Blue Earth county and was still attached to it for judicial purposes. On February 11, 1856, the Legislature enacted "that the county of Brown is hereby declared to be an organized county and entitled to all privileges and immunities, and subjected to all liabilities of other organized counties of this territory." The governor was empowered by this act to appoint county officers to serve until the following election. Being unacquainted with the names of the settlers within the bounds of the county, the governor handed the blank commissions for such officials to Francis Baasen, who was then in St. Paul, to fill in the names of some proper persons to hold the first offices and to report the names to him when he had done so, but the archives of the county and state do not have such list of names at this date, and no one remembers who they were. A RADICAL CHANGE IN BOUNDARY. On May 23, 1857, there were formed out of the territory of what was then known as Brown county, Martin, Jackson, Nobles, Rock, Pipestone, Murray and Cottonwood counties. In 1862 the bounds were again changed by the establishment of Redwood county, which cut off from Brown the present counties of Lyon, Lincoln, Yellow Medicine and Lac qui Parle, all of which at that date were formed into Redwood county. This change made Brown county much less in extent than its present area, and its bounds were described as follow: "Beginning at the southwest corner of township 108, between ranges 29 and 30, thence west to the town line between ranges 33 and 34, thence north to the Minnesota river, thence down said river to a point between ranges 29 and 30, thence south to the place of beginning." ITS PRESENT BOUNDS SET. In 1864 the county was enlarged by the addition of four townships. These were North Star, Burnstown, Stately and Bashaw, the two former being cut from Redwood county, the two latter from Cottonwood county. The earliest record of a county commissioners' meeting in Brown county was at New Ulm, September 1, 1856. The commissioners were Peyton, Nichols, Anton Kaus and A. Henle, at which meeting, the former register of deeds having removed from the county, Francis Baasen was appointed in his stead. It was at this meeting that the first precincts were established. There were five in number and were constituted as follow: First precinct, all the surveyed township south of township 110, range 30; second precinct, all that part of Brown county included in township 110, range 30; third precinct, all the surveyed townships in range 31, included in Brown county; fourth precinct, all that part of the unsurveyed land included in the Redwood or Lower Sioux Agency; fifth precinct, all the unsurveyed land in the Yellow Medicine Agency. RELIEF FROM BIRD PESTS. During the first years of their settlement the farmers in this county were subjected to great losses by reason of the damages done by immense flocks of blackbirds, so that on February 23, 1857, a petition, numerously signed, was presented to the board of county commissioners. The board, not wanting to act in such a matter without first consulting the people, took no action in the matter of relief from that source of crop destruction. The following April pressure was again brought to bear on the board and their stand in the matter was reconsidered. It was then resolved "that, whereas, William Pfaender had promised to furnish the poison, the board concluded to use it three times in the season; first, from May 10 to May 15; second, from and during wheat harvest; third, in the month of October, the money expended for which experiments to be recovered by the county treasurer." Again, in 1859, the board had to again come to the relief of the community, so great were the ravages of these blackbird pests. In accordance with a petition received praying for help, it was determined to give to each farmer of the county who had part of his land under cultivation one bottle of strychnine, and the clerk was ordered to procure for that purpose three hundred bottles of poison, and the day was fixed for its distribution. These heroic measures were effective only for a time, and in succeeding years rewards were offered for the killing of blackbirds at the rate of forty cents per hundred birds. A war of extermination was raged, and after a few years they entirely disappeared. In 1875 the county commissioners allowed two dollars and a half a bushel for all grasshoppers killed and brought to the court house to be viewed by the officials. Up to July 12, that year, the county had paid for eight hundred bushels of the winged pests. FIRST FERRY LICENSE GRANTED. The first ferry license was granted for a ferry across the Minnesota river at the point where "the Mankato and Ft. Ridgely road shall cross said river," and "for a ferry across the Minnesota river from the foot of Center street in the town of New Ulm, at such a point as will be selected by the grantee not more than a mile above or below said point." These licenses were both granted on May 12, 1857. In 1872 the commissioners' records show the ferry was still one of the necessities in Brown county, for they granted a ferry license to Charles H. Nixon for five years, from July, 1872, and fixed the maximum charges as follow: Double team, twenty-five cents; single team, fifteen cents; horse and rider, ten cents; footmen, five cents; stock, per head, five cents, but if more than five head at one time, one cent each head, except hogs, which were always to be five cents each. CARING FOR THE POOR. Brown county has ever been liberal in the support of its unfortunate poor. In 1870 the commissioners purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres (the old Tuttle farm) in Stark township, in the south half of the southeast quarter and the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 9, township 109, range 32. For this land the county paid fifteen hundred dollars. This place was used for the keeping of the pauper element of the county, so far as practicable, until 1907, when a change took place and the poor farm was relocated in Cottonwood and a building erected costing eighteen thousand dollars. It is along the Cottonwood river, in the south part of town, in township 110, range 30 west. There are at present (1916) eleven inmates. On February 5, 1858, contracts were let for the purpose of having the bridge over the Cottonwood river constructed, to Julius Schramm for the carpenter work, for the sum of $1,250; to Joseph Reinhard, for furnishing and delivering all the timber at five and one-half cents per running foot; to Charles Lauer for drawing the timber, and to J. Berndt and J. Victor for constructing the piers. Jacob Brust was afterwards placed in charge of the work of construction. In 1859 the commissioners took a determined stand against the detestable and criminal practice of furnishing liquor to the Indians. Under date of September 15, of that year, a reward was offered of twenty-five dollars to any person who would furnish proof of violations of the law prohibiting the sale of spirits to the Indians as would lead to their conviction. The officers at the agencies and at Ft. Ridgely were also notified that the people of Brown county were determined to carry out the provisions of a law entitled "An act to extend the laws of the state over all the Indian tribes within the boundaries of the state, and to confine them to their own lands." To make this thoroughly understood it was ordered published in the New Ulm Pioneer, the only newspaper in the county at that time. COMMISSIONER DISTRICTS ESTABLISHED. In June, 1860, the board divided Brown county into three commissioner districts, as follow: First, consisting of the township of New Ulm; second, consisting of the townships of Madelia, Linden, Cottonwood and Leavenworth; third, the townships of Milford, Redwood and Yellow Medicine. On January 1, 1861, the board assembled according to section 2, of the act to provide fro county organization and government. There were then seventeen townships organized in the county. At that date the register of deeds was William Pfaender; Charles Roos, sheriff; E. St. Julien Cox, attorney; Mr. Brockmann, surveyor; J. W. Young,, chairman of the board of commissioners. On January 7, 1862, the board cut down the territory embraced in New Ulm civil township, leaving only the incorporated town of New Ulm within a township by itself, and attaching the old territory to adjoining townships, same as it is today. But this had to be ratified by an election by the voters of the township, which was done that fall. This brings the transcript of commissioners' records up to the Civil War period, so far as any important enactments were concerned. COUNTY BUILDINGS. Not until the fall of 1858 had there been any action taken to provide for county buildings. In November, that year, three plans for a jail were submitted to the commissioners: J. Berndt produced two, the cost of erecting the first plan was to be five hundred and eighty dollars; of the second, three hundred dollars. J. Pfenninger handed in a plan and an estimate of cost at about four hundred dollars. On motion, it was resolved to accept the first plan of J. Berndt. No contract, however, was entered into until the next autumn. In March, 1859, it was resolved to authorize the chairman to "issue a proclamation about the building of a county jail as resolved by the board in November." Soon after a contract was entered into and the jail ordered built, the same being accepted as a jail, September 11, as being constructed according to contract. This jail was a log building situated in German Park and was the only county building of any kind until the fall of 1865, when a brick building was provided, at a cost of four thousand dollars, in which the county officers were kept until the present structure was provided. Another jail, however, seemed necessary for the county in 1872, so the commissioners ordered one erected and the same cost almost ten thousand dollars, but this was a combined court house and jail. Prior to that time the various county officers held their offices at different places in the town, in leased rooms. The court house and jail just mentioned stood on the east side of the present court house. The present court house was erected in 1889 at a cost of thirty-five thousand dollars, ten thousand dollars of which had to be raised by the people of New Ulm, as the citizens at Sleepy Eye wanted the county seat removed to that place, and offered to be liberal in the matter of making the change not cost the taxpayers much. Bonds were then issued to pay for the remainder needed for the present court house. The present jail and sheriff's house, just to the west of the court house, was erected in 1915-16, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. This is among the handsomest jail buildings in southern Minnesota, and is modern in every particular. These two public buildings are indeed a creditable monument to the wisdom and good sense of the people of the county. When first erected the court house was upon a hill with high banks sloping off on either side, and was hard of access. The banks were then protected by high stone retaining walls, and twenty-odd steps had to be descended upon going from the pavement to the court house door. In 1913 this huge bank was all leveled to grade, or nearly so, and now the park-like appearance of the square is indeed beautiful. COUNTY FINANCES. The history of finances in Brown county has been varied in its character, owing to the seasons of "good" and "hard" times. In 1857 the whole amount of taxes in the county was $2,296.19, of which $830.42 was paid. The county borrowed money, at the rate of two per cent, per month, to meet the expenses until money could be raised by taxation. The rate of taxation, however, was not fixed high enough to raise a sufficient amount to meet liabilities, for on September 4, 1861, it was reported by the auditor that the indebtedness of the county was five thousand dollars. The rate of taxation was then increased and the auditor instructed to exchange county bonds not issued, for those outstanding, then due. Authority was also given him to issue county bonds due in five years, bearing interest at the rate of seven per cent. In 1862 the special tax was fifteen cents on a dollar, and property destroyed by the Indians was exempted from tax for that year. The next few years were marked by a slight improvement in finances, and in 1872 a condition of soundness was attained, and ever since has been maintained. Other bonds had to be issued many years since for the building of bridges, etc., but all have been met and no taxpayer has been really burdened by reason of high taxes. In 1880 the books of the county showed that the assessed valuation of property then was $3,240,500. The bonds issued up to that date had all been paid off, except seven or eight hundred dollars. In 1881 the total receipts of the county from all sources was $14,137, and after meeting all expenses there was left in the treasury about five hundred and seventy dollars. The auditor's books for the year ending January 1, 1916, show the following concerning the finances of Brown county for the year 1915: ABSTRACT OF TAX LIST. For state revenue, etc. $ 38,803.16 For state school 16,429.13 For state teacher's pensions 667.85 For interest and principal state loans 18,035.01 For county purposes............. 83,331.97 For city and village purposes 47,963.74 For township purposes 47,651.15 For school purposes 90,849.76 Total $343,881.77 VALUATION OF REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY. Real estate $11,652,070 Personal property (less the one hundred dollars exemption) 1,714,944 Money and credits 1,137,190 Total $14,504,204 RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS. The total amount of taxes and money received from licenses in the county in 1915, from the various cities, villages and townships was as follows: New Ulm $16,901.18 Sleepy Eye 12,684.40 Springfield 6,395.72 Comfrey 2,160.96 Hanska 1,187.38 Evan 439.79 Cobden 47.54 Albin 2,014.22 Bashaw 2,991.35 Bumstown 3,069.39 Cottonwood 2,141.07 Eden 3,481.77 Home 4,045.82 Lake Hanska 4,137.66 Leavenworth 5,376.33 Linden 7.076.41 Milford 2,889.03 Mulligan 3,683.21 North Star 3,106.90 Prairieville 1,000.93 Sigel 2,871.37 Stark 3,099.76 Stately Total $94,366.90 The above was paid out in the ordinary channels to and by the various township treasurers and the county treasurer for running expenses of the county. A refund of only fifty-nine dollars and seventy-six cents was reported as having to be paid back by the treasurer on over-assessed property. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY MINNESOTA ITS PEOPLE, INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS L. A. FRITSCHE. M. D. Editor With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families VOLUME I B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY, Inc. Indianapolis, Indiana File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mn/brown/history/1916/historyo/organiza48gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mnfiles/ File size: 18.7 Kb