Clearwater Village Excerpts from:Farnham's History of Wright Co., MN ========================================================================= 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: Rebecca B Frank ========================================================================= Clearwater Village excerpts from: Mitchell, William Bell, History of Stearns County, Minnesota. Volume II. Chicago: H.C. Cooper, Jr. and Co. 1915. Page 1275 - 1276 CLEARWATER VILLAGE Clearwater village is situated partly in Stearns and partly in Wright counties, lying between the Clearwater and Lynden townships. While its history properly belongs in that of Wright county, it is the trading center of Lynden, and many retired residents of Stearns county live there. A portion of the site was claimed in 1855 by Asa White, Alonzo T. Benton, and others, and named El Dorado. During Mr. White's absence that season the land was claimed by Simon Stevens, Horace Webster, and John Farwell, and platted in the spring of 1856 as Clearwater by J. H. Talbott and Simon Stevens. This let to difficulties but he matter was afterward adjusted in a friendly manner. The place soon became a popular center, and was thronged with pioneers looking for homes in Stearns and Wright Counties. A blacksmith shop was opened by Stevens, Webster & Farwell, in 1855. They soon sold to _______Allen, and he in 1856 to George Fuller. Dr. J. D. Wheelock started the practice of his profession here in 1855, and continued to be the village physician for many years. The first white woman to arrive was Mrs Abigail P. Camp, who afterward became Mrs. Thomas C. Porter. She reached here in August 1855, as housekeeper for the townie company. Mrs. J. D. Wheelock, who came that fall, was the second white woman to reside in Clearwater. A post-office was also established in 1855 and the first religious services held. The first hotel was built in 1855 by Stevens, Webster & Farwell, Mrs. A. P. Camp being the landlady. In the spring of 1856 they sold the furniture and rented the house to ______ Allen, the blacksmith. In 1857, Frank Morrison built the Morrison House, which was open for several decades thereafter, and was at one time the largest and best hotel in the county. The religious services held in December , 1855, were conducted at the residence of ____Dow, near the village, by the Rev. Mr. Creighton, of Monticello. In 1857, Rev. Mr. Chamberlain, an Episcopal clergyman, conducted services in the first hotel erected. Later religious meetings were held in a two-story building, the lower story of which was used for a store, and the upper part for a school and public gatherings of various sorts. The ferry, so long in operation at this point, was first established in 1856 by Stevens, Talbott & Co. The first store was opened in 1856 by Seth Gibbs, and Newell Whiting in a building on the river bank near the ferry. The following spring W. T. Rigby opened another store. A third was opened in 1858 by S. A. Heard, and O. S. Lock soon followed with a fourth. Samuel Whiting came to Clearwater in 1857 and started a general store in 1861. It lived to be for many years the oldest store int the county. In 1876 he put up what was then considered the best store building in the county. J. E. Fuller came to Clearwater in 1857 and started a general store in 1865. Major W. w. Webster came to Clearwater in May, 1857, and opened a general store in 1868. L. C. Johnson established a store of the same nature in 1875. Philip Schwab, an early druggist of Rockford, went to Minneapolis in 1867 and in 1868 came to Clearwater and opened a drug and grocery sore. In 1873 he eliminated the drugs. Mr. Schwab was a valuable citizen, loaned money extensively, and invested in many of the village enterprises. J. H. Davis was another early druggist. In 1871 he sold out to S. M. Philips, who, with a partner, E. P. Crossman, for awhile and then alone, continued the business for several years. The first school was taught, by A. C. Powers in the winter of 1856-57. The old building first used as a store served as the first school house. Miss Harvey, afterward the wife of Horatio Houlton, of Elk River, Sherburne county, was the second teacher. The first school building in the place was erected in 1860. It was afterward used as a Catholic church. From 1866 to 1882, Clear Lake, across the river from Clearwater, was the only railroad egress form the village. But when the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba came through in January, 1882 a station was established here. A stockade was built at Clearwater village during the Indian uprising, and the settlers from the timbered region found shelter therein. Squads of soldiers were located in the town at different times, and for the most part the prairie farms were cultivated. But from the southern part of the township many settler departed never to return. In 1856, the Burbank stage company were running their stages from St. Paul to the Red River of the North by way of St. Cloud, as well as hauling supplies over this route. They found that by making a road from Clearwater to Cold Spring it would save twelve to fifteen miles of travel over the sandy road from Clearwater to St. Cloud. The saving of this distance was a big item to the company, with their heavy traffic. They made a proposition to the townie owners of Clearwater, offering to make a good road from that place to Cold Spring, through the rich and fertile towns of Fair Haven, Maine Prairie and Luxemburg, providing that, in return, they were to have sufficient land for their barns, stables and warehouses. They intended to make this place a base of operations. The boats could bring up their supplies of navigation, whereas, it was only during the high water that the boats could reach St. Cloud. The road to Cold Spring would run through a very fertile country, now fast settling up, and soon immense quantities of wheat, corn, and oats would be hauled to Clearwater and sold to be shipped by boat to St. Anthony, and the money for the grain would be spent in the town for supplies that would be brought up by water at a rate cheaper than it could be hauled by team, as the case was at St. Cloud. Consequently, the farmers could get better prices at Clearwater for their supplies. Then, again, the immense trains of Red River carts that made annual trips to St. Cloud and St. Paul would come by way of Cold Spring to Clearwater, and as they could sent their goods down on the boat and get their supplies up from St. Paul cheaper than they could to go with their trains, this town would become the terminal point of these trains. This alone would be a big item. This, together with the vast fertile country to the southwest with unlimited quantities of the various kids of hardwood for lumber and manufacturing purposes, and together with a splendid water power, capable of running two flouring mills and a saw mill, would naturally point out this place as having all that was needed of natural advantages to make in the near future a large and flourishing city. But, the townie owners, like many others in the early days, were short sighted, and replied to the Burbank company's proposition that their lots were for sale, but not to give away. The result was that the road to Cold Spring was never opened, and the company continued to go by way of St. Cloud.