Jerauld County, SD History .....Chap 3,4; Part Two 
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Chapter 3.

   On the second day of the session at the instance of Mr. Fisher, J. F. Ford 
was appointed clerk of the board to serve until such time as a register of deeds 
should be appointed, the law at that time making that officer ex-officio clerk 
for the county commissioners.

   On the same day the commissioners gave the first order for county supplies. 
It was an order to Perkins Bros., of Sioux City, for blank books to the amount 
of $282.00, or at such sum as any other "legitimate house would furnish them," 
and for four seals at $4.00 each; all to be paid for with county warrants, 
payable when there should be a sufficient surplus of money in the county 
treasury. The warrants were taken at par.

   During this second day's session a letter from E. S. Waterbury was read and 
placed on file, expressing concurrence and asking that the portion of Buffalo 
county annexed to Jerauld by the last legislature be recognized in the 
organization of Jerauld county.

   November 10, 1883, F. T. Tofflemier, J. O. Gray and Henry Herring were 
appointed justices of the peace and James Paddock, L. W. Castleman and B. F. 
Wiley were appointed constables.

   The board flushed the appointment of judicial officers for the new county, 
except probate judge, on the 10th day of November, 1883, by giving J. M. Spears 
the office of sheriff.

   The board took up the subject of bridges on the 2nd day of the session, and 
authorized Commissioner Fisher to construct a bridge on the line between 
sections 14 and 23 in 107—64. at a cost to the county not to exceed $100.

   The board closed its first session by dividing the county into three 
commissioner districts as follows:
    
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   District No. 1—All that part of the county lying east of the Firesteel Creek.

   District No. 2—All that part of the county lying between the Firesteel Creek 
and the town line between 108—65 and 108—66.

   District No. 3—The balance of the county.

   Board adjourned to meet January 7th, 1884.

   The second meeting of the board was held on the evening of the 17th of 
November, 1883, when Mr. Melcher and Mr. Smart chanced to meet in the office of 
Dunham & Ingham, publishers of the Jerauld County News, in what was then known 
as the Applegate building, later as the Woodburn Hotel, but now as the old 
Carlton House. Mr. Smart acted as both chairman and clerk at that meeting.

   Nothing of importance was done that evening but the next day Mr. Fisher being 
present a meeting was held in the office of McDonald & Bateman with Mr. Ford as 
clerk. At this meeting Mr. Smart was authorized to construct a bridge to cost 
not to exceed $75 across the gulch on the line between sections 17 and 18—107—
64. The board numbered the bridges to be built as follows:

   No. 1—Across the Firesteel between sections 14 and 23—107—64. 
   No. 2—Across the gulch between 17 and 18—107—64. 
   No. 3—On line between sections 20 and 21—107—64.
   No. 4—On line between sections 28 and 29—107—67. 
   No. 5—On line between sections 32 and 33—107—67.

   Commissioner Melcher was authorized to construct bridges No. 3. 4 and 5 at a 
cost of not to exceed $400 to the county.

   A petition was read from the people of Buffalo county and the western part of 
Jerauld county asking for the appointment of a probate judge from the western 
part of the county.

   At the meeting on the 8th of January, 1884, the first bill against the county 
was presented by W. J. Williams. It was $15.00 for hauling the lumber and making 
approaches for the bridge, authorized on the 10th of November to be built across 
the Firesteel Creek. Warrant No. 3 was afterward issued for this account.

   At the adjourned meeting on the 7th day of January. 1884, the board adopted 
the proceeding of the meeting held on the i7th of November and made the minutes 
of that meeting a part of the record.

Chapter 4.

   With organization came a multiplicity of matters, great and small, to vex the 
minds of the county commissioners, and arouse the good, or ill will of people 
interested, according to the success or failure of their wishes. The offices 
were to be filled and for each of several positions there were numerous 
applicants. The county seat must be located temporarily, and for this there were 
two candidates. Wessington Spring and Templeton. Then in the former place there 
were several parties, each wanting the county building located on their 
particular piece of property.

   The Wessington Springs Townsite company, through one of their number, Mr. D. 
A. Scott, now of Sioux Falls, went before the board and offered office rooms for 
county officers free of rent for one year, if the commissioners would locate the 
county seat temporarily at Wessington Springs, and making the further offer that 
if that place should be made the permanent location they would then give a block 
of lots for county buildings and supply the buildings with water.

   J. N. Cross of Templeton, sent in an offer of "the use of two spacious rooms, 
provided with stoves, for six years, and two blocks of lots to be selected by 
the county commissioners," if the county capital should be located on his farm, 
the NE quarter of section 7—107—65 (Media). In the spring and summer of 1883 Mr. 
Cross had erected a large two story grout building, and it was in this structure 
that he offered the rooms. On January 11th Mr. Cross increased his offer to 
"every third block to be platted on the N half of the NE quarter of section 7—
107—65, one-half to be delivered for immediate use and the balance when the 
county seat should be permanently located on that tract. The offer was never 
accepted, and inasmuch as the large grout building tumbled to a heap of ruins 
three years later it was probably wise to reject it.

   The matter was made more complicated, and the inducements of the various 
offers somewhat lessened, by various propositions from other parties, some with 
objects to be gained and some without. Among the latter was one from McDonald & 
Bateman, publishers of the Wessington Springs Herald and proprietors of the 
Jerauld County Bank, offering "the use of their printing office and banking 
rooms" in the building later used by C. W. England for a confectionary and 
tobacco store and now by Earl Howthorne as living rooms in connection with his 
restaurant, for use of the clerk of the district court and the county 
commissioners free of rent, and furnish lights and fuel for one year. As Mr. 
McDonald had secured the office he desired, and Mr. Bateman was not a candidate 
for anything, it is difficult to see any private gain for them in the acceptance 
of their offer.

   J. F. Ford, a candidate for register of deeds, "offered the county 
commissioners the use of his office, rent free, for one year." His office was 
about one-half of the building in which Hermson's barber shop is now located. 
The commissioners availed themselves of this offer for a few days and held their 
meetings in Mr. Ford's office until February 19th, 1884, but without indicating 
at the time of acceptance who would be their choice for register of deeds.

   O. V. Harris, another candidate for that office, offered to perform the 
duties of register of deeds for the year 1884, for no other compensation than 
that for recording instruments and furnish rent, lights, fuel and stationery for 
the county.

   Commissioner Smart now submitted a proposition on the location of the county 
seat, which was "to furnish land and material for court house to be built of 
granite, sandstone and limestone, if court house was located on the SE quarter 
of SE quarter of section 12—107—65.

   On the 3rd day of this session the board fixed the amount of the official 
bonds of county officers as follows:

Register of Deeds, $1,000.
Probate Judge, $1.000.
Treasurer, $4,000.
Sheriff. $2,000.
County Superintendent, $1,000.
Coroner, $1,000.
Justices, $500.

   On January 10th the board took up the subject of school townships, numbering 
them and defining their boundaries. This duty seems to have perplexed and 
bothered the commissioners as much as any other matter that occupied their 
attention. The territorial law required school townships to correspond with 
congressional townships except in case where natural obstacles rendered such a 
course impracticable. The Firesteel Creek was looked upon by the board as such 
an obstable. Yet this does not account for all of the actions of the board in 
creating school townships.

   School township No. 1 was made to comprise congressional township No. 108, N 
range 63 W., 5th P. M.

   No. 2—Township 108—64 and the east half of 108—65.
   No. 3—The west half of 108—65 and all of 108—66.
   No. 4—All of 108—67 and all of 107—67.
   No. 5—All of 107—66.
   No. 6—All of 107—65 and five tiers of sections off the west side of 107—64.
   No. 7—One tier of sections off the east side of 107—64 and all of 107—63.
   No. 8—All of 106—63 and one tier of sections off the east side of 106—64.
   No. 9—All of 106—65 and all of 106—64 lying west of No. 8.
   No. 10—All of 106—66.
   No. 11—All of 106—67.

   The next day, January 11th, the county seat matter again came up. George R. 
Bateman and Hiram Blowers, who owned a tract of land north and east of the town, 
offered the county forty acres, if the court house should be located on the 
property, and all the stone needed to be delivered within one mile of the 
building. This offer was filed with the others and entered in the minutes of the 
meeting.

   At the meeting on January 1I2th the subject of appointing an official county 
paper came up. There were then five newspapers in the county: The Buffalo County 
Herald, published at Sulphur Spring; The News, published at Waterbury; the 
Wessington Springs Herald, and the Jerauld County News, published at Wessington 
Springs and the Journal, published at Alpena.

   McDonald & Bateman, publishers of the Herald, at Wessington Springs, offered 
to publish the minutes of the board meetings without cost to the county, if 
their paper should be made the official paper. The offer was accepted.

   Saturday afternoon, January 12th, the county seat problem was again brought 
forward, this time in a definite proposition. Commissioner Fisher voted for 
Wessington Springs and Commissioner Melcher for Templeton, the name given to the 
postoffice located on Mr. Cross' farm, before mentioned. The vote being a tie 
the chairman declined to vote on the question until Monday, that course being in 
accordance with the law of the territory and now, also, of the state. There was 
no doubt as to how Mr. Smart would vote, so when in Monday's session he voted 
with Mr. Fisher for Wessington Springs, no one was surprised or disappointed.

   January 14th, 1884, was a day that has never been surpassed in the history of 
the county in political interest. The board had announced that on that day they 
would listen to representations, from the different candidates for the various 
positions to be filled by appointment. The candidates were on hand—all in person 
and some with attorney, also —and the day was given up to speech making, or 
essay readings as the reasons why this one or that one should be appointed were 
laid before the board. No one but the commissioners then knew that the members 
of the board had held a secret meeting a few evenings previously in the 
northwest corner room on the second floor of Tarbell's hotel, in which they had 
agreed upon the candidates that should be appointed.



Additional Comments:
From "A History of Jerauld County; From the Earliest Settlement to January 15,
1909" by N. J. Dunham

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