"A History of Western Murray County" by Robt. B. Forrest, Pages 100-122, Murray Co., MN Published 1947 ========================================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Robert B. Forrest III ========================================================================= Note: Use your "Find and Replace" option under "Edit" to search this file. Where there is noted (Picture) there is a picture or darwing that you can view. The file name (ex: 004.jpg) can be found on the TOC in the description box next to the file you are viewing. Just click on the picture file name or you can view the book in HTML format at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/murray/history/home.htm where the pictures are placed within the book. Special thanks go to Robert B, Forrest for sharing his Grandfather's works. Be sure to read: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mn/murray/history/western/preface3.txt ================================================================================ Early W. Murray Co. MN Hist., pages 112-122 OLDEST HOUSE IN MURRAY COUNTY The oldest house in Murray County, the house that has been occupied continuously since the day the logs were put in place eighty-one years ago is on the farm now owned and occupied by John J. Harmsen and farnily. The log house (it was larger than the log and sod cabin of the early days) was built out of the best logs available in Bear Lake timber by John H. Low in 1866. There was more than one room in the house and the logs are still in a perfect state of preservation. They have long since been covered with siding and no one would suspect that the fine home today is built of logs. The old house came in mighty handy for the stork. In the late fall of 1880 the William Foster family of Winona County was driving through in a covered wagon to the sod house just across the line in Pipestone county which Mr. Foster had built in the summer months. lt was October 24 when they came to the John Low place and asked to stay all night. During the night the stork came and left a boy who is now Bill Foster of Lake Wilson. The weather was bad: snowy and cold, and John Low, with the friendly spirit of the pioneer, said to Mr. Foster, "You go on, the family is not able to travel." Foster went on and Mrs. Foster and children stayed at the Low home until spring. That's hospitality. The old place has seen many changes. lt was built on the prairie just outside of the woods as a safety or protective measure against Indian attacks. While the Indians had made no hostile advances since 1862 there were always that dread and fear and always those folks who loved to spread rumors. Indians from the Dakotas came to the lake in good sized numbers and John told us of getting up in the morning and seeing fifty tepees standing between the house and the lake. The farm yard and the small pasture were fenced with all wooden fences. Logs were split into three inch thick posts. With a small adze, good sized holes, three in each post, were made. After they were put in the ground, saplings -112- were thrust into the hole from both sides. No nails or wire were used in the construction of the fence. There is only one place that antedates the Low home in Murray County. That is the Koch cabin at Teepotah. This place was built in 1861 but was in a state of decay for many years and was kept more as a relic than for dwelling purposes. =========================================== WOMEN CLEANED UP THE TOWN IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS The women took it on themselves in the old days to clean up the towns and villages, not in a moral sense but by keeping the sidewalks clean. Every woman wore long skirts and when we say long, we mean just that. No righteous woman would ever think of going down the village streets unless the hem of her skirt swept the dust from the streets and wooden sidewalks. Some were even so timid that they sewed heavy iron washers in the hem of the skirt to keep it down. Everything was left to the imagination. One fellow told the writer that he never knew his wife had ankles until they were married. There has been a noticeable change in recent years. =========================================== IN THE DAYS WHEN WE WERE CAVE DWELLERS Through some queer freak of nature the western part of the county was in the tornado belt in the 1890's. Tornadoes would hit this section sometimes three or four times a year. Fortunately they were small, but they were powerful enough to level big barns, churches, etc., scattering the debris for miles. They generally came from the southwest and when the sky got that greenish grey tint, we all hustled to the "cyclone" cellars. For we were cave dwellers; nearly every farmer had one close by the house. These caves, or cellars, were five to six feet deep and covered with sod or had just a plain dirt roof, level with the top of the ground. Most of the cellars had two doors, and we'd all bustle to the caves and pull the doors behind us. There were little ventilators in the roof so there was no danger of suffocation. We stayed there until the storm passed. A change in the "cyclone" weather saw the caves being used for root houses; now they are only a memory. -113- (Picture 114a.jpg) The "Bull Ditchers"; the first ditching outfit to make this section. They were here in 1900 (Picture 114b.jpg) Ditching machine pulled by a cable round a capstan in 1905 -114- About that time, which evidently was our storm period, came the lightning rod man. He generally followed in the wake of a storm with his helper and big spools of copper wire. Many a farm house was wired and they did a lot of good, mentally. They too have passed on, and now one seldom sees a rodded house. Some of the old rod men were "sharpers." You would sign up an order for wiring and after the job was done you found out you had a signed note for four times as much and it had been cashed at the local bank. ======================================== EARLY DITCHING When the weather pendulum swung downwards about fifty years ago and water once more covered the sloughs and low places, the farmer turned to some kind of method of getting rid of the water. There were no tilers at that time so the water stood on the land until a bull ditching outfit came through this section in 1900. This ditching outfit was nothing but a big plow, pulled by twenty yoke of oxen. The outfit ditched the slough north of the platted portion of Lake Wilson, and when at work was a real show for the youngsters until the parents happened to hear the outfit at work. The bull punchers or whackers were gaunt, hairy fellows with whips almost as long as a cane fishpole and they could make the snapper crack like a rifle shot. Besides being picturesque they were the world's champions, when it came to using oaths. They were the most colorful bunch of swearers ever heard in this section and there were members of the home guard, that had advanced beyond the amateur class. When the going got tough the bull whackers would run up and down the line of oxen flicking tufts of hair and skin from the hide of the oxen with their powerful whips. Skillful guys those whackers were; they could snap a fly from the oxen when they were thirty feet away and never touch the hide. This type of ditch soon filled up and ten years later another outfit came through. This one had a bigger and better plow. It was operated by a huge cable which was wound around a big capstan by four teams of horses. It moved slowly and in the end gave but little relief; dirt, weeds, etc. clogging the ditch. -115- WHEN MURRAY COUNTY TOWNS THAT NEVER EXISTED Voted In the early days, that is back in 1857, Minnesota was a seething mass of land hungry men that were filled with the same aim; to get a home for themselves and families. The settlement of new states always attracted a lot of speculators, some good and some bad. The main one that worked in this section was the Dakota Land Company. Not only did they try to control legislatures here but in what was to be South Dakota. They also tried to take over all the attractive town sites and planned on controlling the politics as well. Minnesota attracted a lot of able, brilliant men and some that were just the opposite. Some of these men got into the legislature, good and bad alike. With the encouragement of the Dakota company a large section of the southwestern part of the state was divided or rather established into counties. One of the members was William Pitt Murray, and this county was named by him. That was in 1857. Mr. Murray had the good fortune at the next legislature to have that body set aside for him a section of land at the south side of Lake Shetek. He planned to build a beautiful town which was named "Cornwall City," but was later changed to "Canwell City." A depression in the east put an end to the speculation in western lands and the towns of "Canwell City" at Lake Shetek and "Oasis" at Bear Lakes were supposed to be dead. Both of these places, however, were to secure a place of fame in the coming election. Politics were never as hot in Minnesota as they were in 1857. The fight for governor and territorial delegate was bitter, and it was very evident that the men back of the scheme were for Sibley for governor and Kingsbury for territorial representative. The election at which the State Constitution was adopted and the first State officers were chosen, was held throughout the territory on October 13, 1857. Returns, endorsed as correct by the register of Brown County, credited Murray county with 75 votes for Henry H. Sibley as Governor and 59 votes for W. W. Kingsbury for territorial delegate to Congress. During the election fraud battle which followed, schedules were certified -116- from the southwestern counties for the census which was taken to determine the size of Minnesota's representation in Congress. The signer of the schedules was the same man who had reported the election returns. Ninety-one people living in sixteen dwellings were listed as inhabitants of "Cornwall City," Murray county. Not long afterwards the purported vote from the southwestern counties for Governor was thrown out by a special board, but the vote for territorial delegate was duly canvassed. The election having been settled, nothing further was heard of the mythical 91 inhabitants and 75 voters in "Canwell City." Years ago while in New Ulm, Fred W. Johnson, the historian, showed the writer a crude letter written in pen and ink in 1857 containing the results of the fictitious election at "Oasis" at Bear Lake, and if we remember rightly, the entire 30 votes of "Oasis" were cast for Sibley and Kingsbury. The town of "Oasis" like the town of "Canwell City" never existed. Not one white person lived here in 1857. They were clever and capable crooks, those men who devised this scheme, and they went the limit doctoring the project almost to a reality. They even built up a census of Canwell City. Here it is from a copy of the returns as certified by the United States Marshal. Census of Inhabitants of Cornwall City in the County of Murray, Territory of Minnesota, enumerated by me this 27 day of October, A. D., 1857. N. R. Brown, Ass't. Marshal. * ** Name Age Sex Color Birthplace *** **** Occup. 1 1 Parker K. Anderson 35 M * N. Carolina 1 * Blacksmith Lewis Howe 24 M * Mass. 1 * Laborer Orson Rodgers 27 M * Ohio 1 * Laborer 2 2 Wm. L. Lawrance 29 M * Vermont 1 * Farmer Patrick Coulder 24 M * Ireland 1 Laborer James Northrup 31 M * Main 1 Carpenter 3 3 Frederick Warndrof 33 M * Germany 1 Farmer Caroline Warndrof 28 F * Germany Frederick Warndrof 8 M * Ohio Martha Warndrof 5 F * Ohio John Warndrof 3 M * Ohio Mary Warndrof 12-Sep F * Iowa Jacob Warndrof 19 M * Germany Farmer 4 4 Robert Kickenhaus 36 M * Germany 1 Farmer -117- Peter Loftus 26 M * Germany 1 Laborer Abraham Smith 24 M * Pennsylvania 1 Laborer 5 5 Wm. S. Sowren 44 M * New Jersey 1 Farmer Patience Sowren 39 F * Kentucky Powers Sowren 22 M * Ohio 1 Farmer Rebecka Sowren 19 F * Michigan Ruth Sowren 16 F * Michigan Luther Sowren 11 M John W. Sowren 8 M * Illinois Robert Sowren 6 M * Illinois Sarah Sowren 4 F * Illinois Timothy Sowren 1 M * Iowa 6 6 Robert Conway 29 M * New York 1 Farmer James Buckner 24 M * Vermont 1 Laborer James Conway 26 M * New York 1 Farmer Riges Knox 27 M * Main 1 Laborer 7 7 Charles W. Lawrance 34 M * Vermont 1 Farmer Moses Moran 56 M * Upper Canada 1 Baker Cantwell Cobb 22 M * Maryland 1 Shoemaker Roger Knox 34 M * Main 1 Teamster 8 8 Thomas Carter 28 M * Pennsylvania 1 Farmer Lydia Ann Carter 23 F * Ohio Lafayette Carter 5 M * Indiana Mary Ann Carter 2 F * Indiana Martha Jane Carter 1/12 F * Minn. Horace Carter 18 M * Penn. Farmer Robert Johnson 27 M * Kentucky 1 Laborer 9 9 Wm. Huffman 36 M * Delaware Merchant Louisa Huffman 24 F * Delaware Robert Huffman 8 M * Delaware Emiley Huffman 6 F * D. of C. Lena J. Huffman 4 F * D. of C. Richard Hoffman 12-Jun M * Minn. E. Pierce 22 M * Delaware 1 Clerk 10 10 Silas W. Kent 27 M * Ohio 1 Wgn. mkr. Wm. S. Rogers 23 M * Ohio 1 Wgn. mkr. 11 11 Lewis S. Mires 32 M * New York 1 Hotel Kpr. Nancy Mires 29 F * Indiana Malinda Mires 10 F * Indiana Rose Ann Mires 7 F * Indiana Lydia Jane Mires 5 F * Iowa Adolphus John Mires 2 M * Iowa Catherine Pulewruff 19 F * Germany Christine Revustein 27 F * Bavaria Alexandria Cartner 27 M * Nova Scotia 1 1 Plasterer Mortimer Wagner 28 M * New York 1 Physician L. James Parness 29 M * Kentucky 1 Grocer S. K. Butters 30 M * Vermont 1 Saddler Joseph Hyde 22 M * Main 1 Laborer -118- John Kasall 25 M * New York 1 Carpenter Wm. Newcomb 24 M * Rhode Island 1 Joiner Horace Ostend 27 M * Mass. 1 Laborer Reuben Woodruff 24 M * Conn. 1 Laborer Robert Weston 30 M * Ohio 1 Carpenter J. W. Smith 23 M * Indiana 1 Bricklayer 12 12 Abraham Heins 34 M * Virginia 1 Miller Randolph Heins 22 M * Virginia 1 Sawyer John Rowe 26 M * Penn. 1 Millwright Mark Hammond 30 M * New York 1 Sawyer Mariah Hammond 27 F * New York James Wm. Hammond 3 M * New York Elizabeth Hammond 12-Oct F * Indiana Kenneth McLam 24 M * Ireland 1 Laborer Jones Ricker 24 M * Ohio 1 Laborer Frederick Spoo 28 M * Germany 1 Laborer 13 13 John Snider 29 M * Penn. 1 Farmer Rodolph Rouse 32 M * Penn. 1 Farmer 14 14 Michael McBride 27 M * Ireland 1 Farmer 15 15 K. S. Stubbens 24 M * Michigan 1 Farmer Haskall Stubbens 30 M * Michigan 1 Farmer Peter Knister 26 M * Germany 1 Laborer Abraham Knister 33 M * Germany 1 Laborer 16 16 Frederick Randolph 23 M * Germany 1 Farmer Katherine Randolph 1 F * Germany Frederick Randolph 52 M * Atlantic Peter Karl 52 M * Germany 1 Laborer Abraham Karl 26 M * Germany 1 Laborer. No. of Inhabitants 91 No. of Dwellings, 16 Territory of Minnesota County of Ramsey N. R. Brown being duly sworn deposes and says that he took the census of Murray county, M. T., and made the returns thereof and the same are correct and according to the instructions and the oath. (SEAL) Subscribed and sworn to before me the 19th day of Nov. 1857. Samuel S. Selby, Notary Public M. T. I hereby certify that I have carefully examined and compared the returns of the census of Murray county, M. T., and that the same are correct. St. Paul, Nov. 20, 1857. William D. Gere, U. S. Marshal for Minn. * Dwellings numbered in order of visitation. **Families in order of visitation. *** Voters; Native. **** Voters; Naturalized. -119- "LOST TIMBER" Just when this stand of woods in one of the ravines on the north side of the Chanarambie valley received its name is not known, but it must have been several hundred years ago. This stand of timber, just northwest of Chandler, starts on the fringes of Chanarambie township and is well below the level of the surrounding plateau. As the sides slope sharply, with only a short growth of grass, it helped protect the woods from the prairie fires. The woods are not visible until the traveler gets right on top of them. The Sioux Indian name for the woods was "tchannarambe" meaning "Hidden Woods." The first map of this section which was made by a man named Keating in 1822 mentions "Coteau Des Prairies" and the "Hidden Woods." The voyageurs translated the Indian name to "Bois Cache." No mention of the Hidden Woods seems to have appeared in the maps of the sixties and the early settlers in western Murray County were fortunate in stumbling onto the grove. Several log cabins in western Leeds township were built of logs taken from the grove and many a load of firewood from this ravine helped to keep the settlers warm in the early seventies. Both the township and the creek derive their names from the Indian name. Ever since the coming of the white settlers in the seventies these woods have been a favorite picnic spot. A local legend has it that Jesse James and his brother, Frank, fleeing from the ill fated raid on a bank at Northfield, Minnesota, on Sept. 7th, 1876, escaped from the posse and fled westward, changing horses or rather taking them from the farmers, as they came west. They took a trail far from the railroads. They were with the bunch at the Madelia fight. The late Mrs. M. E. Lang, then a young girl, was herding cows along the southwest shores of Lake Shetek, when the James brothers rode up and asked her about the country and Lost Timber. They are alleged to have stayed several days at Lost Timber resting up, and one dark night made a dash for the Iowa line and from Iowa to their home in Missouri. -120- MUSKRAT DIS NOT TEMPT EARLY SETTLERS One of the odd features of the settlers was that no matter how hungry they were for meat they would never eat the flesh of the muskrat. This was true only of the Scandinavian settlers. The Americans, especially those of a second pioneer generation, enjoyed the muskrat meat. It was the cleanest animal on the prairie. Stewing or roasting was the favorite method for cooking. When J. E. Wilson was here in 1882, making final purchase of land, etc., he struck the H. C. Stanley farm at noon. The Stanley place was a mile south of town, where the substation now stands. It was nothing but a big slough, nevertheless it was land and that's what folks came west for. The Stanleys asked Mr. Wilson and Mr. Bragdon, who was with Wilson, to dinner. There was stewed meat and potatoes for dinner. Mr. Wilson was an ardent church member and was highly pleased when asked to say grace. During the meal he commented highly on the food. After they had started home, Mr. Bragdon asked Mr. Wilson, "Did you know what kind of meat that was? That was stewed muskrat." And Mr. Wilson said in a pathetic and subdued tone, "And I said grace over a muskrat." While muskrat under the name of marsh rabbit is a staple article of food in Delaware and other eastern states the "wee beasties" as the Scotch called them were never popular in this section. =========================================== Oxen were used in western Murray county from the late sixties until 1891. Some oxen were driven single with a wooden yoke shaped like a horse collar. Some farmers had their oxen shod, and along towards the late "80's" they were driven with bridle and bit, but most of the drivers used "Haw" and ''Gee." -121- [BLANK PAGE] -122-