Fifty Years In The Northwest Part 59

BUCHANAN,

Located on the north sh.o.r.e, was surveyed in October, 1856; proprietor, W. G. Cowell.

ST. LOUIS FALLS

Was surveyed in 1857, by C. E. Clark; Thos. H. Hogan, attorney for proprietors.

FREMONT ISLAND.

A peculiar feature of St. Louis bay has been the formation of floating islands, possibly the result of the collection of driftwood and other debris at the mouth of St. Louis river. The rafts thus formed in time became consolidated by the deposition of earthy materials, leaves, twigs and vegetable matter, and are covered with a rank growth of vegetation, at first shrubby, but at last arboreous. The roots of the shrubs and trees interlace, and hold the material of the raft more tightly together. These island rafts are sometimes loosened and float into the bay, and are driven about by the winds from one side of the bay to the other.

One of these islands, supposed to be stationary, known as Fremont island, was surveyed and platted in 1856, by C. P. Heustis and Chas.

A. Post. On the completion of the ca.n.a.l it broke loose from its moorings, floated away and disappeared, in all probability going to pieces in the rough waters of the lake.

TOWER,

Located on the southern sh.o.r.e of Vermillion lake, was surveyed Aug. 4, 1884. The proprietors are the Minnesota Iron Company, of which Charlemagne Tower is president. The iron mines located in this vicinity are amongst the richest on the continent. Attention was first called to the Vermillion by the reported discovery of gold. Machinery for crushing and smelting was transported thither, but the thousands who rushed to the reputed gold field expecting to become suddenly rich, returned disappointed and disheartened. Attention had long before been called to the fact that there were rich iron mines in the district, but the circ.u.mstances were unfavorable for their development. They were in a remote position and accessible only by a journey of several days through woods and swamps. These mines could be reached and developed only by state aid, which was given in the shape of a grant of swamp lands, to be applied to building a railway from the lake to the mines. This grant having been obtained, Mr. Tower and other capitalists at once invested their millions in the mines, purchasing some 8,000 acres of land, covering the larger portion of the iron deposits in the district, embracing the present site of the village of Tower. A railroad sixty-eight miles in length was constructed from Tower to Two Harbors, a point twenty-seven miles north of Duluth. This road was completed in the spring of 1884, and the first shipment was made July 3d of that year, the total shipments for the year being 62,124 tons. The shipments for 1885 were 225,484 tons, and for 1886, 304,000 tons. Over $3,000,000 was paid to laborers in the Tower mines in 1887.

COL. GEORGE E. STONE, of Duluth, is deserving of praise for his foresight and energy in opening the Tower mines. Mr. Stone labored with untiring zeal after the land grant to aid in building the road was given until the road was built and the mines opened.

GEORGE R. STUNTZ is well known as the government surveyor of the Lake Superior region, whose work covers thousands of miles of North Wisconsin lands, lying along the southern sh.o.r.e of the lake, and who has accurately mapped the meanderings of the influent streams, the bays and s.h.a.ggy projecting sh.o.r.es of the great "Unsalted Sea." There is no better topographical authority than Mr. Stuntz, and no one better posted as to the location and value of the Northern Wisconsin areas and the Vermillion mines.

Having early made Superior City and Duluth his home, and for nearly forty years having been identified with the interests of the West Superior country, he is an oft-quoted authority. Many of his published articles contain most valuable information concerning the feasibility of connecting St. Croix and Superior waters. His a.s.sertions concerning the mineral wealth of the lake country, made before the development of the mines, have since been verified. Mr. Stuntz is a typical, sensible frontiersman, of American birth, aged about seventy years.

CHARLES HINMAN GRAVES, a native of Springfield, Ma.s.sachusetts, born in 1839, received a liberal education, and in 1861 enlisted as a private in the Fortieth Ma.s.sachusetts Volunteers, but was promoted step by step to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was severely wounded at the battle of Gettysburg. In 1865 he was commissioned as a colonel in the regular army, but resigned in 1870, and located at Duluth. From 1873 to 1876 he was a member of the state senate. He has held several public positions in Duluth, and stands deservedly high as a citizen.

He has labored zealously and efficiently for the prosperity of Duluth.

OZRO P. STEARNS was born Jan. 13, 1831, at De Kalb, Lawrence county, New York. In his youth he was dependent upon his own resources. He graduated at Michigan University in 1858, after which he visited California, tried mining for a short time, and returning graduated in the law department of Michigan University. In 1860 he came to Rochester, Minnesota, and opened a law office. In 1862 he enlisted in Company F, Ninth Minnesota Volunteers, of which he was commissioned first lieutenant, but in 1864 was promoted to the colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth United States Infantry (colored). He served through many battles and campaigns, and was mustered out at the close of the war.

In January, 1866, he returned to Rochester; in 1867 was appointed register in bankruptcy for Southern Minnesota; in January, 1871, he was elected to the United States senate for a short term to fill the vacancy caused by the death of D. S. Norton. In 1872 he removed to Duluth, and in 1874 was appointed judge of the Eleventh Judicial district, to which office he was elected in the fall of the same year, which position, by re-election, he still holds. Judge Stearns was married in February, 1863, to Sarah Burger, of Detroit, Michigan.

LAKE COUNTY.

This county lies on the north sh.o.r.e of Lake Superior, between the counties of Cook and St. Louis, extending northward to the British line. The whole region is abrupt, broken into hills and valleys, and rich in silver, iron and other metals.

The great Vermillion iron mines of St. Louis county find an outlet through this county by the Duluth & Iron Range railroad, which finds a lake station at Two Harbors. The road was built from Two Harbors to Vermillion lake in 1885, from Two Harbors to Duluth in 1887. The entire road and extensive mines were sold in June, 1887, for $8,000,000, to Porter and others, who are now extending the road from Vermillion lake eastward to Thunder Bay and Port Arthur. It is already completed to Ely, a distance of twenty miles.

Emigration during the years 1886-7 to this county has been very extensive. The two counties, Lake and Cook, have many features in common. They are similar in geological formation, produce the same metals in the same generous abundance, and being in the same lat.i.tude, and bordering upon the same lake, differ in no wise in climate and but little in productions. Large quant.i.ties of pine timber may be found in these counties, and saw mills are located along the lake sh.o.r.e where an accessible harbor can be found. There are several harbors between Duluth and Thunder Bay that might be improved by the government, greatly to the advantage of the country.

The silver mines of Isle Royal and along the national boundary are extensive, and yield rich returns to the companies working them.

TWO HARBORS,

A flourishing village located on the sh.o.r.e of Lake Superior, takes its name from two small harbors bearing that name. The Vermillion Iron Company have built extensive piers into the lake to facilitate the shipping of ores. They have large shops for railroad purposes, with an electric light plant. The company employ about two hundred men. Two Harbors is the county seat of Lake county.

COOK COUNTY.

Grand Marais is the county seat of Cook county. It is a round, land-locked harbor. It has a lighthouse, and the government has built a breakwater four hundred feet long, thus making it a harbor of refuge, so that boats can lie with safety in any storm. Grand Marais is one hundred and ten miles from Duluth, on the north sh.o.r.e of Lake Superior. It is the best harbor that Minnesota has except Duluth. It is thirty miles south of the international boundary line, and forty-five miles northeast of the line by Lake Superior. It is the natural outlet for the mineral deposits north. There are large quant.i.ties of iron ore within thirty-five miles of the harbor. A railroad line has been run, and men are now at work on the iron deposits with a view of shipping the ore from Grand Marais to points where it is wanted for smelting purposes.

Grand Marais was in early days one of the Northwest Fur Company's trading posts, but of late years has been used as a fishing station.

Streets in the town are now being laid out, and from present indications Cook county, with its pine lands, iron ore and other mineral resources, will be one of the most thriving counties in the State, with Grand Marais as not only a harbor of refuge, but one of the competing ports for the shipment of iron ore.

H. Mayhew, to whom we are indebted for items of interest concerning Cook county, is the oldest resident of Grand Marais, and one of the town proprietors.

CHAPTER XIX.

HENNEPIN COUNTY.

Hennepin county was organized March 6, 1852. Prior to the organization of Minnesota Territory it was in Clayton county, Iowa. At the organization of the Territory, in 1849, it was included in Dakota county, and so remained until set off in 1852. Hon. Bradley B. Meeker held the first court within the present limits of the county, at the old government mill, in 1849. Taylor Dudley was clerk of court, Franklin Steele, foreman of grand jury. The first board of commissioners were Alex. Moore, chairman, John Jackins and Joseph Dean. The first election was held Oct. 21, 1852, at the house of Col.

John H. Stevens, on the west side. The county is a rich agricultural region, abounding with beautiful lakes, of which Minnetonka is the largest and finest. The county is bounded on the north by the Mississippi river and Wright county, on the east by the Mississippi river and Ramsey county, on the south by the Minnesota river and Carver county, on the west by Wright and Carver counties. It is subdivided into the following towns: Bloomington, Brooklyn, Champlin, Crystal Lake, Corcoran, Dayton, Eden Prairie, Excelsior, Greenwood, Ha.s.son, Independence, Maple Grove, Medina, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Minnetrista, Osseo, Plymouth, Richfield, and St. Anthony.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FORT SNELLING, ON LINE OF C., M. & ST. P. RY.]

FORT SNELLING.

Fort Snelling owes its origin to the encroachments of British traders on our northern frontier. As early as 1805 Lieut. Zebulen Montgomery Pike, United States Army, was sent with a detachment of troops to explore the Upper Mississippi river to expel British traders who might be found encroaching upon our territory, and to secure by treaty a military reservation. Sept. 21, 1805, he encamped on Pike island, at the junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers, and, being pleased with the situation, forthwith made a treaty with chiefs of the Sioux nation to include all that tract of land lying from below the confluence of the two rivers, up the Mississippi, including the falls of St. Anthony, nine miles in width on each side of the river. The price paid was $2,000. The reserve thus purchased was not used for military purposes until 1819, when a detachment of the Fifth United States Infantry, commanded by Lieut. Col. Henry Leavenworth, was sent to occupy the reservation and build a fort. The building of the fort, with its various stone and wooden buildings, was the work of years.

The site of the fort was selected in 1820, by Col. Josiah Snelling, who named it Fort St. Anthony, but at the suggestion of Gen. Winfield Scott, in 1824 the name was changed to Fort Snelling as a worthy compliment to its founder and builder. Notwithstanding the treaty made by Col. Pike in 1805, the Indian claim to the reservation was not extinguished until the treaty of 1837, ratified by the senate in 1838.

In 1836, before the extinction of the Indian t.i.tle, many settlers located on the reservation on the left bank of the Mississippi. These were forcibly removed by the United States government in 1840, under the act of March 3, 1807, an act to prevent settlements being made on ceded lands until duly authorized by law. The reservation was reduced from time to time, portions being sold. In 1857 Franklin Steele purchased the entire reservation, with the exception of two small tracts, including the fort itself, for the sum of $90,000, to be paid in three yearly installments. The first payments were actually made, the troops were withdrawn, and Mr. Steele a.s.sumed possession. Default having been made in the two remaining payments, the government resumed possession of a small portion of the reservation and fort in 1861. The year following, by act of Congress, the reservation was reduced. In 1870 it was permanently reduced to 1,531.20 acres. A suit at law between Mr. Steele and the United States government was compromised by releasing him from further payments and granting him a large tract of land lying along the right bank of the Mississippi, north of the fort, with a portion of Pike's island.

Maj. Plympton and other officers of the fort, in company with Franklin Steele, made the first land claim, by permit of the government, at East St. Anthony, in 1838. They built a shanty and hired a Frenchman to occupy it. Steele bought out the interests of the officers a.s.sociated with him and in 1848 secured a t.i.tle from the United States. The first saw mill built on this claim was commenced by Mr.

Steele, in conjunction with Boston parties in 1847, but was not completed until the following year.

The next land claim on the river was made further up, by R. P. Russell and S. J. Findley. This was sold to Bottineau and afterward pa.s.sed to other parties. The land claim adjoining Steele's, below, was purchased of a Frenchman by C. A. Tuttle in 1848. This claim is now partially occupied by the State University. W. Henry Cheever made a claim south of Tuttle's, on which, in 1849, he built a hotel and a huge wooden tower or observatory, nearly one hundred feet in height, over the entrance to which was a rhyming couplet:

"Pay your dime And climb."

Franklin Steele, before completing his mill and dam, became sole owner of the water power on the east side of the river. During the periods following the property has often changed owners, and sometimes the change has resulted in unprofitable litigation. James J. Hill, in later years, has become the owner of most of the water power of Nicollet and Hennepin islands and of the east sh.o.r.e, and is making valuable improvements.

ST. ANTHONY FALLS.

St. Anthony Falls was platted as a village in 1849, and was included in Ramsey county until 1856. In 1861 the legislature established satisfactory boundaries, annexing part of town 29, range 24, to Hennepin county.

Among the first settlers of the Falls was Ard G.o.dfrey. The first white child born here was a son of C. A. Tuttle, millwright. The Luther Patch family, consisting of four sons and two daughters, was the first resident American family at the Falls. Mr. Patch's sons were Edward, Wallace, Gibson, and Lewis; the daughters, Marion, who became the wife of R. P. Russell, the first marriage at the Falls, Oct. 3, 1848, and Cora, who became the wife of Joseph Marshall. An earlier marriage was celebrated at Fort Snelling May 27, 1835, that of Lieut. Edmund A.

Ogden and Eliza Edna Loomis; Rev. Thos. S. Williamson officiating.

This was the first marriage north of Prairie du Chien. The first store was opened by R. P. Russell in 1847, the second, in 1849, by Joseph Marshall. We find Jacob Fisher, of Stillwater, here in 1847, building the dam from Nicollet island to the east sh.o.r.e. Among the operators of the mill who have been prominent citizens of St. Anthony Falls are Sumner W. Farnham, John Rollins, Caleb W. Dorr, John McDonald, and Robert W. c.u.mmings. Some of these men brought their families here. The building of the mill was somewhat delayed by the sinking in the Erie ca.n.a.l of the boats containing the machinery, hardware, etc. Standing pine to be used in the mill was purchased of Hole-in-the-Day, a Chippewa chief, cut and floated down from Sauk Rapids to the Falls.

Some timber was also brought from Rum river, the first cut on that stream, except for government use. At the land sale in 1848, Mr.

Steele secured all the land above Tuttle's to the north limits of the city. Amongst the settlers in 1848 were the Getch.e.l.ls, Smiths, Rogers'

and Huse. In 1849, at the organization of the territory of Minnesota, a number of others arrived, among them Judge B. B. Meeker, Dr. John H.