Nobles County MN Archives History - Books .....Chapter VI The Grasshopper Scourge - 1876-1879 1908 ************************************************ 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 sdgenweb@yahoo.com October 1, 2006, 5:40 pm Book Title: An Illustrated History Of Nobles County CHAPTER VI. THE GRASSHOPPER SCOURGE (Continued)—1876-1879. The year 1876 opened auspiciously. Despite the forebodings of disaster from another grasshopper visitation, the people were in fine spirits. This was caused by the prospects of another railroad building into the county. Everybody was worked up over the matter, and the belief was almost unanimous that upon the coming of another railroad depended the future welfare of the county. The Southern Minnesota [1] was the name of the road that caused the flurry in Nobles county. It had a road completed and in operation as far west as Winnebago City and let it be known that the line would be extended to the west, provided sufficient money was raised as a bonus. Nobles county was asked to vote bonds to the amount of $40,000 as a subsidy to be paid subject to the condition that the road be completed to Worthington and in operation on or before September 1, 1877. It was also made known that the road would later be extended. Mass meetings and conventions were held to bring about the desired condition, and very little opposition to voting the bonds developed. The Worthington Advance of Jan. 13, 1876, said of the necessity of having the new road, and thereby voiced the sentiment of the people of Worthington, at least: The Southern Minnesota is Worthington's opportunity. If the road comes here, Worthington becomes from that day a railroad center and an important inland city. If it goes north of us, the railroad center for this section of country will be at the point of crossing the Sioux City road. [2] Worthington can better afford to pay the whole bonus herself than to let the road go north of us. About one-half the tax will fall upon Worthington in any event, for about that per cent of the realty on the tax list is in Worthington. . . . But of course Worthington will not .be asked to do this. The surrounding country will, if anything, be benefited more than the town, and will not hesitate to bear its share of the small burden necessary to secure the road. A petition was presented to the board of county commissioners on February 19, asking that the Nobles county law makers call an election to vote on the question of issuing bonds. [3] The same day the commissioners took favorable action, and called a special election for the village of Worthington to be held March 14. Provision was made for voting on the question in the townships on the same day, that being the date of the regular township elections. By a vote of 353 to 199 the bond issue was authorized. Following is the result by precincts: PRECINCTS For Bonds Against Bonds Worthington Village 108 2 Worthington Twp. 40 1 Lorain 23 Dewald 23 5 Olney 16 3 Hersey 7 35 Elk... 30 5 Summit Lake 16 2 Graham Lakes 1 36 Seward 41 Indian Lake 33 6 Bigelow 25 18 Ransom 21 10 Little Rock 10 25 Total 353 199 That was the end of the matter for the time being. The road was not extended until three years later, and then it barely touched Nobles county, passing through the northeastern corner of Graham Lakes township. The bonds for the subsidy voted were not issued. But the Southern Minnesota was not the only railroad that showed activity in 1876. Simultaneous with the agitation for the extension of that line, the people of Sioux Falls and vicinity were laying plans to have a road built into that prosperous community. In the fall of 1875 several public meetings were held in Sioux Falls, the object of which was to secure a road, either by building one with local capital or by inducing the Sioux City & St. Paul Railroad company to construct a branch from some point on its main line. The point favored was Sibley or some station in Iowa. The wants of the Dakota town were made known to the officials of the Sioux City & St. Paul road. President E. F. Drake responded as follows: St. Paul, Minn., Oct. 28, 1875. Sir: Your favor of the 21st duly received. Absence has prevented an earlier reply. It seems to me your proper line of road is from Worthington, or a point on our road at the state line. The great product of your country is to be wheat, and our route to Lake Superior is always to be the best route for it. Had the west escaped grasshoppers we would have long since taken up this project, but our stockholders have sunk in operating our road about as much as would be required to build to Sioux Falls. Foreign aid cannot be had until the state of Iowa, by some act of her legislature, can assure investors that they will be free from unfriendly legislation. I think, as matters now stand, our preference will be to build from some point in Minnesota. While we are not ready to begin to build, and would desire (in case we do) the cooperation of Sioux Falls, still we are not losing sight of the importance of the proposed route, and will give it every encouragement in our power. I am of the opinion that the road can only be built by local aid liberally voted. It will not be in my power to be with you at your meeting, but whatever may be its result, and whatever route you may determine on, I shall wish you success. Your people are entitled to a road out in some direction, and when you develop your plans and determine what you wish to do, I shall be glad to have further correspondence. Yours, E. F. DRAKE, Prest. The information contained in the letter did not prove entirely satisfactory to the progressive people of Sioux Falls; they wanted a road at once, and President Drake had stated that the company was not in position to build at once. They continued the agitation, determined to construct a road themselves if necessary, and an association was formed, composed mostly of people of Minnehaha county, Dakota territory. President Drake had given a hint as to the proper place from which to build, and late in December, 1875, the Dakota boomers met and designated Worthington as the eastern terminus of the proposed road. A preliminary survey of the country adjacent to Big Sioux river and Brown creek from Sioux Falls to the Minnesota line near Valley Springs was made. The surveyors reported a route favorable for construction as well as operating. The people of Minnehaha county very strongly urged the people of Rock and Nobles counties to unite with them in furthering the work. [4] But the people of Nobles county were at the time too much absorbed in the Southern Minnesota to be aroused in the interest of the Dakotans. During the month of January, 1876, the Sioux City ft St. Paul Railroad company decided to build the road. This action was taken because of the evident intention of the Southern Minnesota to invade the territory. The decision was reached, ostensibly, through the efforts of the Minnehaha county committee, who visited the officers of the railroad company and secured from them the promise to build the road. [5] The railroad company asked that the three counties through which the road was to run pay a bonus. The company was incorporated in March as the St. Paul & Dakota Railroad company [6] by President E. F. Drake and his associates of the Sioux City & St. Paul. The capital stock was $600,000, there being 6,000 shares of $100 each. As told in the incorporation act, the company proposed to build a branch road "from some point on the line of the Sioux City & St. Paul railroad, in Nobles county, state of Minnesota, to the west line of the state of Minnesota, in Rock county." The preliminary survey was started west from Worthington on March 31, the original lines being run on .the north side of Okabena lake. Later this course was abandoned in order to avoid the heavy grade that would have to be overcome in building directly out of Worthington. It was decided to leave the main line at a point about three miles southwest of Worthington known as the summit, later known as Sioux Falls Junction. Preparations were rushed, funds were secured, bonuses were voted in Minnehaha and Rock counties, and in May grading was begun. [7] The work of construction on the branch made business lively. Nearly every train brought workmen to Worthington, and the hotels there were filled to overflowing. The lumber yards, blacksmith shops and hardware stores also did a good business. It was the first time in several years that ready money had circulated in the county. The track was completed to the present site of Adrian in August, and October 2 the track had been laid to the crossing of Rock river at Luverne, and the first regular train was run over the line. [8] The stage line between Worthington and Luverne was discontinued. The village of Adrian was founded, and at once became an important trading point. [9] A station named Miller, in honor of ex-Governor Stephen Miller, was established at the point where Rushmore now stands. The postoffice of Hebbard was moved to Adrian, and that at Dewald was discontinued. The road was extended from Luverne to Sioux Falls in the summer of 1878. The grasshoppers again brought destruction to the crops in 1876. The deposit and hatch was confined mainly to those townships which had been invaded the year before. The pests began to hatch, and late in May commenced their ravages. They were quite thick in Graham Lakes, Hersey, Seward, Elk and Worthington townships, and there were a few in Indian Lake, Dewald and Summit Lake. For a time they ate quite ravenously; then during the first week in June they appeared to become inactive. They scattered through the prairie grass, became apparently demoralized, and appeared to have lost their appetites. As usual, the three northeastern townships were the most severely hurt, and the other portions of the county were not damaged to any great extent by the early operations of the pests. About the middle of June the young hoppers recovered their appetites and returned to the charge. The local hatch was not considered numerous enough to do any extensive damage, and the great-east anxiety was the fear of another invasion. The Advance of June 22 said: In this county the damage is still slight. We hear from Seward that nearly all the grain there is destroyed. Our Hersey correspondent writes that in that town the injury is not great. Mr. Ames, of this township [Worthington], thinks his crops are half taken. Mr. Fulweiler, of Bigelow, has lost a good portion of his grain. The invading hosts appeared July 8, dropped down upon the county, ate a few days, and disappeared. Then on July 22 they came in countless numbers. The country was invaded again! They extended as far east as Martin county, south to Sibley, west to Yankton, and north an indefinite distance. They remained until July 29, when they nearly all migrated. Oats, barley, corn, vegetables, and all crops except wheat, were almost entirely destroyed in all parts of the county. For some reason the wheat was not so seriously damaged, the loss in that crop being no greater than it had been during the previous year. [10] There was no disguising the fact that Nobles county had met another damaging setback. The people were discouraged, and some left the country. The hoppers had again deposited their eggs, and there seemed no prospects that the country would ever be free from them. [11] The majority of the settlers remained, determined to fight to a successful end or meet utter failure in the attempt. The result of the invasion of 1876 was to change the tactics. Instead of staking all on grain farming, many now turned to stockraising. During the winter following the invasion, it was again necessary to extend relief. Early in January the county commissioners began issuing supplies to relieve actual suffering. Captain E. S. Mills distributed at Bigelow and Worthington, A. C. Robinson at Worthington and A. O. Conde at Hersey. This county aid was given only to bridge over the time until supplies could be received from the state, after an appropriation had been made by the legislature. The Minnesota law-making body appropriated $100,000 to be used in bounties to pay for the destruction of grasshoppers and their eggs, $75,000 to furnish seed grain, and another sum as a common relief fund. A rule was established in Nobles county that parties desiring relief should apply to the township supervisors and make their statement, no affidavit being required. These statements were then sent to the state authorities, and supplies were sent direct to the needy parties, thus dispensing with the need of a county distributing committee. During the days that the grasshoppers were feasting on Nobles county grain came the last Indian scare. It seems hardly creditable that such an event could take place so late as 1876, when the whole surrounding country had become quite thickly settled, but such is the fact, and those who lived in the northern part of the county at the time will never forget it. Needless to say, there were no Indians within a long distance of Nobles county, and no hostiles within several hundred miles. But it was only a short time after the fearful Custer massacre in Montana, and the rumor that Indians were on the way to wipe out the settlements of southwestern Minnesota came to credulous ears. It was on the morning of July 12, 1876, before daylight, that some settlers from the north hurriedly rode into Worthington and reported that the Indians were coming. It was stated that a band of 500 was camped on one of the lakes of Murray county. The scare spread through the southern part of Murray and the northern part of Nobles counties, and the evil done to nervous woman and children (and some men) was great. Soon after the arrival of the first refugees people began to pour into Worthington from the country to the north. They had been aroused from their slumbers by the startling announcement that the Indians were coming, had driven all night, and were in a high state of nervous excitement. The roads through Elk and Seward townships were lined with wagons, the occupants of which were all bound for the county seat. Arrived there, they camped on the public square. The same evening some of the settlers returned to their homes when it became evident there was no truth in the rumor. Others waited for more substantial proof than had been obtained. The scare had originated with a boy named Hemphill, in southern Murray county. He had been sent out to rate hay, but not being of a very enterprising nature, he conceived a plan, to escape the work. He rushed to the house, crying that the Indians had attacked him. A man named Hamptqn, who was preparing to leave the country, spread the alarm, and within a short time a full fledged Indian scare was on. A scouting party was at once organized at Worthington by Lieutenant R. B. Plotts, made up of the following gentlemen: Geo. Brant, Prof. R. F. Humiston, A. P. Miller, Will Bushnell, Chas. Covey, Captain Aiken Miner and Alex Dickey. [12] They scoured the country to the north looking for Indians or Indian signs. They found nothing but a lot of scared people. After the return Lieutenants Plotts made the the following report of the expedition. Gentlemen of the Council of the Village of Worthington: Agreeable to instructions, I have the honor to report the following facts gathered by our party while scouting the country on Wednesday, July 12, and Thursday, 13th. After leaving Worthington we proceeded north of the lake Shetek road, accompanied by a considerable party in wagons and on horseback. The whole party proceeded as far as Jack creek, where we found the first occupied house, but no news from occupants of Indians. We next stopped at the house of Mr. Alexander, on the north edge of the county, where some men were gathered who had just returned from a scout around the country a number of miles, and who had been unable to find anything. They informed us that they thought the whole thing had originated with a boy named Hemphill, of that neighborhood, and followed by the reports of a man named Hampton a few miles further north and in Murray county. The whole party then proceeded to the bank of Seven Mile lake, unhitched, fed our teams and lunched, after which it was decided, in consultation, that Prof. Humiston and his immediate party, with two of the horsemen, should return with the news as gathered. The remainder of the party then proceeded north till we came to the house of Mr. King, town of Bondin, Murray county. Here is quite a large settlement, and most of the men were at Mr. K.'s house, which contained the only woman in the township. Here we found that it was unnecessary to proceed any further north, as a man had just arrived from lake Shetek a short time before our arrival, and he reported everything quiet north of this immediate neighborhood. Scouts also came in from the surrounding country while we were there, and all reported that no Indians or signs of Indians could be found anywhere. The report of Hampton, following the report of the boy Hemphill has caused the whole of the trouble, and no small amount of damage to us as a people. Having thus traced the alarm to its fountain head, Messrs. Clark, Shirley and Chase returned to town from this place, and our guide and interpreter, Mr. Brant, accompanied by two men from Bondin on horses, and two of my own neighbors from Elk, pushed out west to Lone Tree or Badger lake, where we spent the night at the house of Mr. Anderson. This place is close to the Beaver Creek settlement, which knew nothing of Indians, and were pursuing the even tenor of their ways, unalarmed by Indian scares. From Badger lake we pushed west across the country to Cora Belle lake, one of the old camping grounds of the Indians, and here we found no trails fresh, or new camps, neither of them having been used at least since last May or June. From Cora Belle we pushed across to that trail leading across Sunken Timber, as that is the only place anyone can cross without going way north or coming in south by Luverne. Before getting there we met a man just from it, who had not been more than one hour's time away, and he informed us that he had seen nothing of any Indians, nor had heard of any until seeing us. In conclusion, I would add that should I ever be so unfortunate as to have another such duty as this to perform, I should certainly like to have in my party such men as accompanied me through, and especially such a one as our interpreter, Mr. Brant. And now, trusting this report may allay the fears of all our people throughout this country, I beg to remain, Very truly your servant, R. B. PLOTTS, Late in Charge of Scouting Party. Had it not been for the terrible grasshopper scourge there can be no doubt that the whole of Nobles county would have been rapidly settled during the first half of -the seventies. A big settlement had been made in the eastern half of the county because of the proximity to the railroad and because of the activities of the National colony, and a few had pushed out to the fertile lands in the western portion. If the hard times had not come there is no reason to doubt that a railroad would have been built through the west end and that that portion of the county would have been as thickly settled as the east. . But immigration had ceased when the scourge came, with the result that the extreme western and the whole of the northwestern part of the county was left with a very small population. From 1873 to 1877 no new townships were organized. At the close of the former year 14 of Nobles county's minor divisions had been granted local government; the other six were unorganized, and had but small population. When the branch road was built during the summer and fall of 1876, resulting in the founding of Adrian village, the lands along the new road were settled to a considerable extent. In township 102-43 was located part of the new village, and there also was the greatest farming settlement in any of the unorganized townships. A petition praying for the organization of that township was presented to the board of county commissioners Jan. 24, 1877. It was signed by Thos. H. Childs, G. E. Otis, J. C. Ludlow, O. Klock, R. Washburn, Horace Westbrook, H. M. Moffatt, David W. Hovey, Isaac Emerson, Matthew Emerson, Nils Elias, Thron Gunderen, Henry Myices, Ira E. Crosby, J. V. Bartow, Wm, Wigham, John Ellsworth, Geo. L. Ellsworth, John Nesh, A. R. Calkins, M. J. Klock, Peter Doltsmark, S. K. Hovey, L. C. Long, J. W. Yost, John Misemas, F. W. Ellsworth. The board took favorable action February 6, and named the township Westside, the name being given because of its geographical location. The organization was perfected Feb. 24, when the first town meeting was held at the Childs' hotel in Adrian. Twenty-three votes were cast at this initial election of Westside township. Thomas Childs and J. A. Ellsworth were judges of election, and Ira Crosby was clerk. The following officers were elected: Chairman, J. A. Ellsworth; supervisors, John Wiseman and Isaac Emerson; clerk, L. C. Long; treasurer, Ira E. Crosby; assessor, J. V. Bartow; justices of the peace, T. H. Childs and R. Simmons; constables, Geo. L. Ellsworth and Thomas Baltuff. Another election for the selection of township officers was held March 13, 1877, when eighteen votes were cast and the following officers were elected: Chairman, Ira E. Crosby; supervisors, John Wiseman and A. R. Harris; clerk, L. C. Long; treasurer, P. Voigtlaender; assessor, J. V. Bartow; justices of the peace, J. A. Ellsworth and T. H. Childs; constables, Geo. L. Ellsworth and Geo. Slade. Nobles county's first court house was erected in 1877. It was put up at that time in order to secure title to the block of land which had been donated by the railroad company with the provision that a county building should be erected thereon within a certain time. The building put up was intended to serve as a temporary affair, but the building was destined to be used as a court house—with some modifications — for eighteen years. The question of its construction was first officially discussed by the board of county commissioners on Feb. 6, 1877, when Commissioner A. C. Robinson was instructed to prepare plans.18 The plans submitted were accepted March 20, and the auditor was authorized to advertise for sealed proposals to furnish material and erect the building, which should be completed by June 28. Several bids were submitted, and the contract was let to Thurber & Chandler (B. F. Thurber and S. E. Chandler) on a bid of $1124. [14] The building was completed and accepted by the commissioners June 20, and on June 27 the county officers took up their quarters in the court house. The annual dread of grasshopper visitation was again felt in the spring and summer of 1877—and this time the settlers were agreeably disappointed. The season was admirably adapted to two ends: the best possible development of small grain, and the worst possible development of the locusts. The cool, rainy weather of the spring and early summer seemed to have been sent on purpose to give wheat and other small grain a rapid and healthy growth, and at the same time give the grasshoppers a slow and feeble development. After the young grasshoppers hatched, here and there a field was somewhat damaged by them, but the people knew that unless raided again by the invading hordes there could not be universal destruction. And the invaders did not come. July 26 the Worthington Advance said: "The deeper we get into the magnificent harvest of 1877, the more we realize that this is our year of Jubilee." Yet conditions were not so rosy as one might imagine. The several years of grasshopper invasion had discouraged the farmers of Nobles county to such an extent that each year saw less and less grain sown. The spring of 1877 witnessed the planting of a very limited acreage, and the big yield per acre did not result in the bountiful times that would have come had the farmers sown as in former years. The state of affairs in Nobles county is described by a gentleman who visited it that fall. In November he wrote: "The country around Worthington, as well as for a long distance before reaching there along the line of the St. Paul & Sioux City road, gives evidence of the sad effects of the grasshopper plague in the thousands of acres of land that have once been broken and perhaps a crop or two taken from it, and the owners have left it to grow up to weeds, not daring to risk the chances of harvesting their crops. Nothing so forcibly brings to the mind of the visitor the reality of the grasshopper scourge as the sight of these desolate, weed-grown-fields, with occasionally a-deserted home standing cheerless and lone in the midst of the broad prairie." The legislature of 1878 passed another appropriation bill (approved February 13) providing for furnishing seed grain. The Nobles county officials' received $1,686.50 of this appropriation in cash, purchased the grain, and made the distribution. There were 91 farmers who made application for grain. They had prepared 3,344 acres of land and desired 2,274 bushels of wheat and 1,169 bushels of oats. [15] The population of the county in 1877 according to an estimate made by the Minnesota commissioner of statistics was 1,596. This was undoubtedly an underestimate. The population was nearer 3,000. By far the most important event of the year 1877, and one of the greatest moment in the county's history, was the founding of the Adrian Catholic colony and its beginning of operations in the western part of the county. It was to the west end what the temperance National colony had been to the east end five or six years earlier. The saving of the 1877 crop was largely responsible for several leading Catholics selecting western Nobles county as the place in which to plant a colony. It was in the first few days of September, 1877, that Bishop John Ireland, of St. Paul; Father C. J. Knauf, of Jordan; and Father A. Plut, of Shakopee, arrived in Nobles county to look over the country with a possible view to selecting it as the place to establish their followers. These gentlemen were pleased with, the location, and immediately decided that they had found the place which they sought. Bishop Ireland and the railroad company entered into a contract, whereby the former was given the exclusive sale of the railroad lands in Grand Prairie, Little Rock, Westside, Olney, Lismore and Larkin townships, [16] under the following plan: When a member of the colony selected his land a permit was to be isued [sic] by Father Knauf, who at once took up his residence at Adrian and became local manager of the company and the resident priest. The settler was then to take his permit to the railroad company, which was to issue a contract for the sale of the land. The people who composed the colony were principally German and Irish Catholics from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and other central states. Before the close of September several of the colonists arrived and contracted for land, and by October 5 Father Knauf had issued permits for the purchase of 1,780 acres of land. Before the year was over this had been largely increased. The Worthington Advance of Oct. 4, said: "The influx of people into this section of country reminds us of the first year of our settlement here. The hotels are full nearly every night." Only a few of these arrivals located permanently that winter. They came, secured their permits, and then returned to their former homes to make preparations for moving on in the early spring. To the Adrian colony, to northwestern Nobles county, to eastern Nobles county, to the Sioux Falls country, to all parts of Minnesota, the settlers flocked in the spring of 1878. It was believed that the grasshopper days were past, and once more the new country was the goal for thousands of immigrants. They came by railroad and in the primitive prairie schooner. During one day in April 32 heavily loaded covered wagons reached Worthington. The new settlers thus arriving had their families with them and were ready to commence operations on their farms. Of the rush to the once more promised land Mr. T. McCleary in March wrote to the Mankato Review: I came to Luverne on Friday, March 1. All the way from Mankato the cars were crowded with people bound for the west. Many of them were young men seeking land at Worthington. The hotel was full, four of us sleeping in one room. The great cry seems to be for land, land, and the crowds are pushing to Sioux Falls and vicinity. One cannot have much idea of the magnitude of this prairie country without a trip over it. What a population it can support, and how it invites the starving multitude that hang about the cities, to come and make themselves independent. The grasshopper days were not yet over. Late in the season they appeared in small numbers and did some little damage in parts of the county, but the destruction they wrought was as nothing compared with that of the early days. A partial crop failure also resulted from natural causes, and after harvest, times were not so prosperous as they had promised to be in the spring. One more township was organized that year. In the fall a majority of the legal voters of that township which later became Willmont signed a petition asking for organization and suggesting a name for the same. The name suggested was. not satisfactory to some of the settlers, and a petition of remonstrance, signed by 18 voters, was presented, asking that the county commissioners do not name the town as suggested, but that they select the name. One faction wanted the township named Willumet, the other Lamont. When the commissioners, on November 22, provided for the organization, they named the township Willmont, [17] a combination of parts of the names suggested by the two factions. The first town meeting was held at the residence of William Moody Dec. 12, 1878. Two new railroads touched Nobles county in 1879, both passing through the extreme northeastern corner. One of these was the Southern Minnesota (now the Milwaukee), the proposed extension of which caused so much stir in 1876. The line of the road was definitely located in the spring, and contracts for its construction were immediately let. The Sioux City & St. Paul road again resented the proposed encroachment on what it considered its own territory. To head off the Southern Minnesota that road hurridly made a survey for a branch line from Heron Lake to Pipestone, paralleling the survey of the other road. Then began a lively race in construction. Side by side the construction crews of the two roads worked. At •times violence was narrowly averted between the workmen, so bitter had become the strife between the two companies. It was admitted that it was a cut-throat policy to continue the work of building the parallel roads, but neither would give in. Late in May a conference was held at St. Paul between representatives of the Milwaukee and Sioux City & St. Paul interests, when an attempt was made to come to an understanding and to reconcile differences. The conference served only to make matters worse, and the work of construction on both roads was rushed to completion. Not only did they run their roads side by side; they laid out their towns almost within a stone's throw of each other. Two of these were in Nobles county, about a mile apart, Airlie (Kinbrae) was laid out on the Southern Minnesota; Warren (Dundee) was built on the Pipestone branch of the Sioux City & St. Paul. The grasshoppers reappeared in the summer of 1879 and ate their last Nobles county grain. They were not present in great numbers, but they remained several weeks. A few farmers lost whole fields, but the destruction was not general. The only crop damaged to any considerable extent was wheat, and the hoppers were generous enough to divide that with the farmers. About the middle of July they departed, never to appear again. The great grasshopper scourge was a thing of the past. The townships of Afton (Bloom) and Leota were organized in the spring of this last grasshopper year, both coming into existence at the same time. An abortive attempt had been made to organize township 104-41 (Bloom) during the summer of 1878. The measure was defeated that year largely because of the inability of the settlers to agree upon a name. From the spring of 1878 until the township was organized the following year, petitions and remonstrances were poured in upon tne county commissioners, urging the selection of one name or protesting against the bestowal of some other. A meeting was held at the residence of Peter Bloom, May 31, 1878, when a petition was drawn up and signed; asking the county commissioners to grant township government and name it North Center. This at once brought forth a protest from those residents who were not in favor of the name, and on June 3 they presented a remonstrance to the county board. [18] The commissioners, evidently concluding that they would wait until harmony should be restored, took no actions on the petitions. The contest for the choosing of the name resulted in the formation of two factions, one favorable to the name North Center, the other to Hamberg. Early in the year 1879 the "Hambergers" became active and circulated a petition. This was followed on January 30 by a remonstrance from the "North Centers." [19] The opposition came to the front with another petition March 15, demanding the selection of Hamberg. [20] Three days later a compromise was reached, all joining in a petition asking that the township be named Afton. This was signed by Geo. W. Cale, Geo. B. Fellows, Peter Krier, John Krier, Sr., Valentine Krier, S. C. Christenson, John Krier, Casper Bloom, John Bloom, Peter Bloom, Lemuel Eby, Geo. Gage, Stephen Naylor, John H. Hall and G. C. Fellows. The commissioners took favorable action the same day, named the township Afton, and selected April 5 as the date, and the home of Caspar Bloom as the place, for holding the first town meeting. The new township was destined to have trouble in the matter of a name. March 31 State Auditor O. P. Whitcomb wrote to the Nobles county officials, stating that Afton was inadmissable because of the fact that a township in Washington county had been so named several years before. This put the selection of the name up to the commissioners, who on April 8 named the township Bloom, in honor of Peter Bloom and family. [21] The commissioners had troubles of their own in making the selection. As the Blooms were the first settlers it was decided that the township should be named in their honor, and the names Bloomberg, Bloomville, etc. were suggested. County Auditor James Walker advocated the dropping of the "bergs," "villes," etc., and suggested the name Bloom. The commissioners accepted the hint. Fred Bloom, who was a relative of the Blooms of the new township, but who was himself a resident of Seward, was a member of the county board at the time. The petition for the organization of Leota township, was filed February 11 and was signed by F. A. Stevens, H. N. Holbrook, Edward Gray, J. L. Bellows, Hiram W. Fordney, John Lay, C. P. Vargason, Warren Clark, August Joseph Knips, James Hackett, G. Knips, N. L. Bellows, T. H. Pay, A. J. Rice, H. J. Barber. The township was created March 18, and the commissioners named April 5 as the date for holding the first town meeting. It was held at the home of Gerhard Knips. The name was suggested by W. G. Barnard, one of the township's earliest settlers. It is the only township, village or physical feature in Nobles county named in honor of an Indian. Leota was an Indian maiden who figured in a story of Indian adventure. There was a general feeling of dullness in the eastern part of the county during 1879, caused by the partial crop failure. In the central and western portions events were taking place that bode well for the future, and quiet but steady progress was made in those portions during the season. A basis was laid for a large influx of sturdy settlers. In the central part of the county Messrs. I. N. Seney and S. M. Rushmore had the year before founded the village of Rushmore at Miller station. In the summer of 1879 they broke out several thousand acres of prairie land and induced quite a number of settlers from New York and other eastern states to locate in the vicinity. They cut up the railroad lands there into small farms and sold them to settlers of limited means. In the vicinity of Adrian the progress was more marked. Bishop Ireland, the head of the Adrian colony, visited the east and was successful in forming a stock company, the object of which was to purchase the railroad lands in the west end. The company purchased outright all the lands still owned by the railroad in Grand Prairie, little Rock, Leota and the still unorganized Lismore townships. Instead of inviting settlers to come onto these land in their raw state the colony managers decided to improve them. On each of fifty quarter sections thirty acres of breaking was done and preparations were made for erecting fifty farm houses on the lands. This was not done until the following spring, however. This activity made times lively in the Adrian country. The fact that at least fifty families were expected to arrive in the spring tended to create an optimistic feeling regarding the future. ENDNOTES [1] A company formed by Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul interests. The road is now a branch of that system. [2] In the light of present conditions, this prediction is amusing. The Southern Minnesota did build north of Worthington; the point of crossing with the Sioux City road is at Prairie Junction, or Miloma; and anyone who has spent his time there waiting for trains will corroborate the statement that it is not a metropolis. [3] The petition was signed by Daniel Shell, H. W. Kimball. H. J. Grant, L. E. Kimball, Otis Bigelow, C. P. Hewitt, R. F. Baker, Geo. O. Moore, H. Davis, S. A. Davis, E. C. Hill, A. M. Smith, Elihu Smith, C. B. Loveless, C. T. Pope, B. N. Carrier, T. C. Bell, A. P. Miller, M. B. Soule, J. P. Moulton, W. S. Stockdale, R. D. Barber, H J. Ludlow, C. Z. Sutton, M. Grinager, L. B. Bennett, Daniel Rohrer, J. A. Town, C. Johnson and I. N. Sater. [4] "Valley Springs, Dec. 27, 1875. "A. P. Miller. Dear Sir: ... Of course it is idle for this county to attempt the enterprise unless the Nobles and Rock county people will unite with them. By solicitation of the committee appointed to forward the project, I write to ascertain if we may expect prompt action on the part of your people. . . . I am confident that if Nobles and Rock counties will act with as much effect as our own people, and as promptly, we can before the next harvest show a line three-fourths of the entire distance graded and ready for the ties. Of course this can only be done by the most active work in organization and in subsequent prosecution of the work. "I hope and trust that you will, with such others of your people as should enlist in the work, extend to us the hand of greeting in the most liberal manner, and aid in binding our little commmunities [sic] together with bands of iron at the earliest day practicable. I very much wish a personal interview with you and your people, and will, if you desire, undertake to come to Worthington with some two or three of our Sioux Falls friends if by so doing we may reasonably hope to secure active cooperation. . . "Very truly yours, "M. S. WOOD, "Chairman Com. Sioux Falls R. R. Co." [5] Editor Advance: Permit me through the medium of your very excellent paper to state to your people that as a result of a visit of the Minnehaha railroad committee we have the pleasure to state that our interview with the president, and several of the directors of the St. Paul & Sioux City railroad was of a highly satisfactory character. "Briefly, let me say that as a result we bring with us a written proposition bearing the signature of President Drake, which we regard as highly reasonable, and we may say, liberal, which, by prompt acceptance and action on the part of Nobles, Rock and Minnehaha counties, promises to give us a railroad to Luverne in time to move the crops of this year, and final completion to Sioux Falls before the close of the year 1877. . . . M. S. Wood, Chairman." [6] The name was changed to Worthington & Sioux Falls Railroad company in July, 1876. [7] "LeMars, April 3, 1876. "A. P. Miller, Esq. Dear Sir: Upon condition that we secure the stipulated bonus in Rock county we have secured every dollar of the sum required to complete our branch road from your place to Luverne by or before the first day of October next, and if the bonus be voted it will be so completed. Col. Drake, Col. Merriam and Horace Thompson, Esq., telegraph from New York that the money is ready so soon as the bonus is voted; and General Bishop writes that if the vote be favorable, he will immediately thereafter finally locate the road, and will commence its construction so soon as the frost is out of the ground, and will cheerfully furnish employment for all the men and their teams in your county and Rock that are desirous to labor. . . . —S. Miller, Agent." [8] The train consisted of one coach and a caboose, and carried a party of visiting railroad officials. Peter Becker was conductor; Frank Swandollar, engineer; Matt Dulan fireman. John McMillan was roadmaster in charge of the branch line when it began operations. [9] For the early history of Adrian see chapter 17. [10] "They [the grasshoppers] will of course harvest the wheat next unless farmers can get in ahead of them and cut their wheat. There is a bare possibility that the wheat crop, in the main, will escape, and we are sure of our cattle and other live stock. Really we shall be grateful if they do not eat the shirts off our backs. Our hope is that a friendly tornado or a three days' blizzard will come and blow them away. How long!— "Worthington Advance, July 27, 1876. [11] There was really very little that the settlers could do to destroy or check the pests, although many schemes were tried. Nothing availed against the invpding hordes, but in the case of the young hoppers' the farmers waged a more or less successful war by the use of tar. A sort of drag, made of sheet iron and wood, would have tar spread over it and would then be dragged over the ground.. The young hoppers would be caught in the tar and destroyed, but if there was an invasion all the work would be for naught. [12] Some of the scouts were mounted, others went in buggies, and a few of them were prepared to meet Indians. Those with Prof. Humiston were armed with parasols, high collars and kid gloves. [13] A. O. Conde moved that A. C. Robinson be and is hereby instructed to prepare a plan and estimate the cost of a temporary building for county offices and report the same at the next meeting of the board."—Commissioners' Journal, Feb. 6, 1877. [14] The bids submitted were as follows: Thurber & Chandler, $1124; Edwin Humiston, $1330; G. Anderson, $1100. C. B. Langdon offered to sell the Farmers hotel or as much as might be needed and move it to county grounds for $800. J. H. Johnson offered to sell the building then in use for county purposes for $1,000. [15] Report of County Commissioners to State Auditor, March 5, 1878. [16] The two last named had not then been named or organized. [17] For the naming of the village of Wilmont and the change in the spelling of the original word see chapter 19. [18] To the Honorable County Commissioners of Nobles County: "We, the undersigned, do offer a remonstrance against the action of a certain meeting held at the residence of Peter Bloom, on the southwest quarter of section 22 in this town, on the 31st day of May, said meeting being called for the purpose of naming said town and signing petition, to your honorable body for permission to organize. "Charge 1st. That there were no notices posted in the town giving due notice of the meeting. "Charge 2nd. That deceptive language was used at said meeting to induce certain persons to sign petition who had already signed one. "And as there is the town of Center in Murray county we are opposed to the name of North Center as a name for the town. "[Signed] G. Larchinger, Daniel Larchinger, Thos. J. Lynch, William Sanger, Paul Sanger, Jacob Sanger, Ernest Sanger, Stephen Naylor, Lemuel Eby, Aaron Eby." [19] To the Honorable Board of Commissioners of the County of Nobles and State of Minnesota: "We, the undersigned, citizens of the township 104, range 41, in the county and state above named, would respectfully remonstrate with your honorable body to a certain petition that is said to be presented to you, requesting that you name the said town Hamberg, and for the purpose of convincing you of the wishes of the people, we, a majority of the actual residents of said township, do respectfully pray that you will name said township North Center. "Dated January 30, 1879. "Signed: Geo. B. Fellows, Guy C. Fellows, S. C. Chrestenson, Charles Chrestenson, Levi H. Baxter, Byron Gage, V. Krier, John Krier, Sr., Nicholas Bertrand, John Krier, Jr., J. O. Bathen, Thomas Murrey, Peter Krier." [20] To the Honorable County Commissioners of Nobles County, in the State of Minnesota: "We, the undersigned legal voters, being desirous of organizing said town, petition your honorable body for permission to do so, and that it be known as the town of Hamberg, being bounded as follows: . . . "Signed Caspar Bloom, Thomas J. Lynch, Horace G. Norman, Aaron S. Eby, Geo. W. Cale, William E. Norman, Peter Bloom, Lemuel Eby, Peter Krier, Casper Bloom, carpenter; J. O. Bathen, John Krier, Jr., John Bloom, Stephen Naylor. "Petition filed March 15, 1879." [21] Peter Bloom and three sons, Casper, Peter, Jr., and John, located on section 22 in 1874, and were the first settlers in the township. Additional Comments: Additional Comments: Extracted from: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY MINNESOTA BY ARTHUR P. ROSE NORTHERN HISTORY PUBLISHING COMPANY WORTHINGTON, MINNESOTA PUBLISHERS 1908 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mn/nobles/history/1908/anillust/chapterv11gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mnfiles/ File size: 47.2 Kb