CROW WING COUNTY
The county of Crow Wing was organized in 1857. Prior to this period it was included in Benton and other counties. It now includes eleven whole and eight fractional townships in townships 43 to 47, ranges 28 to 31, inclusive. The Mississippi river bounds it on the west and northwest, Aitkin county on the east and Morrison on the south. Its soil ranges from a light sandy to a dark loam, with clay subsoil, and the timber includes the pines and the hardwoods common to the latitude. There are also fine meadows and burr oak openings. It is watered by the tributaries of the Mississippi and its surface is dotted with lakes. It is well adapted to stock raising and agriculture.
C. H. Beaulieu appears to have been the first white man to locate within its boundaries. He established a trading post as early as 1837, near the mouth of Crow Wing river. His successors in trade were Allen Morrison and Donald McDonald. Philip Beaupre was here in 1844. When Fort Ripley was built S. B. Olmstead, with his family, built a house and improved a farm opposite the fort on the east bank of the Mississippi. Mr. Olmstead came from Prairie du Chien in 1849. While residing here he served as a member of the second, fifth and sixth territorial legislatures, and in 1854 was elected president of the council. After living here several years, he removed to Texas, and died there some years ago. Mr. Olmstead kept a hotel and managed to secure most of the hay, beef and wood contracts for the fort. Henry M. Rice had a trading post at one time at Crow Wing village, about eight miles above the fort. John H. Fairbanks ran a ferry at the village. Other settlers were Wallace Bean, Henry Whipple, F. M. Campbell, W. B. Wakefield, Ed. Lyndes, Albert Fuller, Thomas Cathcart, Daniel S. Mooers, S. C. Abbe, and members of the Beaulieu family. James A. Parish was the first justice of the peace. John McGillis, who lived at Crow Wing in 1853, was the second and served about fifteen years. In 1856 the first farm was opened on government land, not far from Crow Wing village, by Wallace Bean. The second farm was taken by David McArthur, a Canadian, originally from Scotland. George Van Valkenburg opened a blacksmith shop at Crow Wing in 1856, lived there two years and was then employed as government blacksmith by the Indian department, and served as such for twelve years. Crow Wing county was organized in 1857, with the following board of officers: County auditor, C. H. Beaulieu; register of deeds, F. M. Campbell; county treasurer, Robert Fairbanks; county commissioners, J. H. Fairbanks, Allen Morrison, S. B. Olmstead; judge of probate court, Dennis Shaff. The county organization took effect Jan. 1, 1858. The county was attached for judicial purposes, first to Ramsey, and then to Morrison county. F. W. Peake came to Crow Wing in 1858, and opened a trading post, and was afterward one of the mercantile firm of Peake & Wakefield. Rev. E. S. Peake, an Episcopal clergyman, came to Crow Wing about the same time, built a church and remained as rector till the breaking out of the war, when he accepted the chaplaincy of a Wisconsin regiment. After the war he removed to California, and carried on a mission a few years, but later returned to Minnesota and is now stationed at Detroit. Rev. Francis Pierz, a Catholic priest, officiated at Crow Wing and Belle Prairie until 1870, when he returned to his home in Austria.
The first district court was held at Crow Wing in 1871, J. M. McKelvey officiating as judge, Chas. Beaulieu as clerk of court, and Wm. Wood as sheriff.
Soon after the county organization was abandoned, to be reresumed in 1870 by legislative enactment. The county officers at the organization were: Commissioners, Wallace Bean, Henry Whipple and F. W. Peake; treasurer, E. B. Snyder; auditor, J. W. Campbell; clerk of court, Chas. H. Beaulieu; sheriff, Wm. Wood.
MURDERERS LYNCHED
In 1871, Ellen, daughter of David McArthur, living near Crow Wing village, was murdered by Indians. The murderers were arrested and placed in jail at Brainerd, from which they were taken by a mob and hanged.
BRAINERD
Is situated on the east bank of the Mississippi, and is a prosperous city. The settlement commenced with the opening of the Northern Pacific railroad. This road has a branch from Brainerd to St. Paul. The railroad company have made Brainerd headquarters for repairing shops; have expended large amounts in improvements, and employ in their business here nearly 1,000 men. The first through train arrived at Brainerd March 11, 1871.
In 1870 several claims were made for purposes of speculation, and afterward sold to Mrs. Hester Gilman, of St. Cloud, and other parties, but the greater part of the city site was purchased of the government in 1870, by Hester Gilman and Thomas H. Campbell. The Lake Superior & Puget Sound Company, organized under the laws of Maine, and duly authorized by the laws of Minnesota, purchased Gilman's and Campbell's claims and made the original survey and plat of the town on Sept 25, 1871. The name, Brainerd, was given to the new town in honor of Mrs. Brainerd Swift, wife of the first president of the Northern Pacific road. In 1883 a new survey was made by Heinze Brothers. The site was a handsome plain, originally covered with prince pine trees, many of which were left standing as ornamental trees.
Among the first settlers we find the names of Charles Darby, E. H. Bly, L. P. White, W. P. Spalding, W. W. Hartley, Stuart Seely, F. W. Peake, S. W. Taylor, E. B. Lynde, John Bishop, T. C. Barnes, and John Martin. The first permanent dwelling, a log house, was built by Charles Darby, the next was built by Stuart Seely, and the third by L. P. White. E. H. Bly built the first store. The Headquarters Hotel, subsequently destroyed by fire, was built in 1871. Many of the buildings of ancient Crow Wing were moved to Brainerd. The Leland House was built in 1871-2; the Merchants in 1879. The post office was established in 1871, with S. W. Thayer as postmaster. The county seat was removed to this place in 1871, and a court house and jail built by L. P. White, at an expense of $971.60. The first marriage, that of Joseph Gronden and Miss Darby, occurred in 1870. A city charter was obtained Jan. 11, 1873. The following were the first officers: Mayor, Eber H. Bly; aldermen, L. P. White, M. Tuttle, W. S. Heathcote, Wm. Murphy, T. X. Goulett; president of the council, L. P. White.
Brainerd has a court house, built at a cost of $45,000, and school buildings worth $45,000. The Northern Pacific depot and shops were built at a cost of $500,000, and the Northern Pacific sanitarium at a cost of $35,000. The sanitarium is a hospital for the sick or disabled employes of the entire line of road, and is supported by monthly installments from the employes. Dr. Beger is superintendent. Brainerd has one steam saw mill with a capacity of 12,000,000 feet per annum, another with a capacity of 3,000,000 feet, and many fine business blocks and tasteful residences. It has also electric lights, water works, and street cars, and is making rapid progress as a city.
In 1886 a charter was obtained by Charles F. Kindred & Co. to build a dam across the Mississippi. The dam has been completed at a cost of $125,000. It has a head of 20 feet, with sufficient flow to secure 25,000 horse power, and a boomage overflowing 3,000 acres, forming a reservoir 12 miles in length, with side lakes, the whole capable of holding 1,000,000,000 feet of logs. The whole city machinery, including electric lights, water works, street cars, and Northern Pacific railroad shops, will be attached to this water power. Crow Wing county contributed $50,000 in bonds to the building of this dam. Brainerd has an opera house, and is well supplied with churches, the Catholics, Presbyterians, Baptists, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Methodists having organizations and buildings.
L. P. White was born in Vermont in 1811. He was self educated. He was married in Vermont, came to Chicago in 1858, and engaged in railroading until arriving at Brainerd, in 1870, where he built the first frame house. His wife was the first white woman resident of the city. Since locating at Brainerd, Mr. White has been the acting agent of the Lake Superior & Puget Sound Company, which has laid out all the town sites from Northern Pacific Junction to Moorhead with the exception of Detroit.
Allen Morrison was one of a family of twelve, seven boys and five girls. His father was born in Scotland, but emigrated to Canada, where he died in 1812. Two of the boys were in the English Navy, and killed at the battle of Trafalgar, in Egypt. William Morrison, a brother of Allen, and several years his senior, was among the early explorers of Northern Minnesota, having visited the Territory as early as 1800, and was one of the party who discovered Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi river. Allen's first visit to this region was in 1820, when he came to Fond du Lac, as a trader in what was then known as the "Northern Outfit." For several years he was associated with his brother William in the Fond du Lac department, during which time he was stationed at Sandy Lake, Leech Lake, Red Lake, Mille Lacs, and Crow Wing, and when the Indians were removed to White Earth, went there also, and remained until his death. In 1826 he was married to Miss Charlotte Chaboullier, who died at Crow Wing in the fall of 1872. She was a daughter of a member of the old Northwestern Fur Company, who was a trader on the Saskatchewan, and died in Canada in 1812. Mr. Morrison was the father of eleven children. Caroline, now in Brainerd, was married to Chris. Grandelmyer in April, 1864. Rachel resides with her sister, Mrs. Grandelmyer. John J. and Allen, at White Earth; Mary, the eldest, now Mrs. J. R. Sloan, at St. Cloud; and Louisa, now Mrs. John Bromley, at Northern Pacific Junction. Mr. Morrison died on the twenty-eighth of November, 1878, and was buried at White Earth, in the historic valley where he had passed so many eventful years. His name, however, will not perish, nor his virtues be forgotten. In the first territorial legislature he represented the district embracing the voting precincts of Sauk Rapids and Crow Wing, and when the present county of Morrison was set off, the legislature named it in honor of this esteemed veteran pioneer.
Charles F. Kindred, an active, enterprising citizen of Brainerd, is doing for his adopted city all that one man can do. Mr. Kindred, for many years after his arrival in Minnesota, was a trusted agent of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, and while in their employ acquired a thorough knowledge of the resources of North Minnesota, which he uses to the best interest of the section in which he has made his home. He is at present superintending the building of the Kindred dam.
CHAPTER XVIII.
AITKIN COUNTY
This county consists of an oblong section, six towns in width, lying between Mille Lacs and Kanabec counties on the south, and Itasca on the north. It is a heavily timbered region, upon which the lumberman has drawn for hundreds of millions of feet of lumber, with but little apparent diminution in the quantity of the supply. The whole surface is dotted with lakes and variegated with natural meadows. The southern portion of the county affords good farming lands. Mille Lacs, in the southern part of the county, is the largest lake, and settlements have already been made along its shores. Sandy lake is second in size. It lies on the great portage route from Winnipeg, by way of St. Louis river to Lake Superior, and has been a noted point on that route for two hundred years. The missions of the Jesuits, and later, of the Presbyterians and Methodists, had been located here and abandoned. The fur trader and the Indian trader have made their headquarters here. Sandy lake has become historic. The county contains about one hundred and three townships, which are drained chiefly by the Mississippi and its tributaries. The Mississippi is navigable from Aitkin to Pokegama falls, a distance of over one hundred miles.
Aitkin county was created May 23, 1857, but was not organized until July 30, 1872. The first officers chosen were: County commissioners, Nathaniel Tibbetts, chairman; Wm. Hallstrom, Wm. Wade; treasurer, Geo. Clapp; register of deeds, Wm. Hallstrom; auditor, W. E. Crowell; sheriff, James W. Tibbetts. That part of the county including the village of Aitkin was organized into a town in 1873; N. Tibbetts, chairman. The Northern Pacific railroad passes through six townships of this county, namely: townships 27 and 28, range 22 to 27, inclusive. While the road was in process of building in 1870, Nathaniel Tibbetts made a claim where the village of Aitkin now stands, and built the first house, a hotel known as the Ojibway House, and the next spring built the Aitkin House. He moved his family here in 1471. He was appointed the first postmaster at the organization of the county. The county and village of Aitkin were named after Wm. A. Aitkin, who was a prominent trader on the Upper Mississippi for a number of years.
AITKIN VILLAGE
Aitkin was made the county seat at the organization of the county. It is pleasantly situated on the west branch of Ripple creek, near the east branch of the Mississippi. It is now a prosperous and thriving village with heavy mercantile establishments, two first class hotels, a good school house, and pleasant homes. One newspaper, the Aitkin Age, is published here. Warren Potter, Richard Mills, William Wade and George Jenkins are early citizens. In 1873 Capt. Houghton built a steamer, called the Pokegama, to run from Aitkin to Pokegama Falls. This steamer was burned in 1878. Capt. Houghton replaced it with a new boat called the City of Aitkin, which still plies the Mississippi river between the points named.
Pokegama Falls is a headquarters for lumbermen and a place for general trade.
Wm. A. Aitken. – The date and place of Mr. Aitkin's nativity are not positively known. He came to the Chippewa country when a boy of fifteen, as servant to a trader named John Drew, and in time became a successful and well known trader. He died at Sandy Lake in 1851. His life, in common with that of the early traders, was adventurous. He witnessed many stirring scenes, among them the battle of Stillwater Ravine, in 1839. Although raised among the Indians, and continually on the frontier, he was noted for his urbanity and geniality, and is well spoken of by the early explorers.
Alfred Aitkin, son of the foregoing, was killed by a Chippewa Indian at Cass lake in 1836. He had stolen the wife of the Indian, and refusing to return her to the enraged husband, was shot by him. The murderer was arrested, taken to Prairie du Chien for trial, tried before Judge Drum's court and acquitted.
Nathaniel Tibbetts was born in New Sharon, Maine, March 21, 1824. While a mere boy he moved to Piscataquis county, and in 1845 came to Plover, Wisconsin, and two years later to Stillwater, Minnesota. He engaged in lumbering until 1850, when he moved to St. Anthony, and soon afterward made a claim at the mouth of Elk river, then in Benton county, where he remained until the Civil War, when he enlisted in Company A, Eighth Minnesota, of which company he was commissioned first lieutenant, and was afterward appointed regimental quartermaster. He was mustered out with his regiment at the close of the war, when he returned to his home at Elk River, and resumed his old business of lumbering. In 1870 he was engaged in the preliminary survey of the Northern Pacific railroad, and located the same year at Aitkin, of which village he was the pioneer, building the first house and barn, keeping the first hotel and serving as the first postmaster. He served four years as county commissioner. He has also served as register of deeds and sheriff. Ten years after his location at Aitkin he removed to Morrison county, where he now resides. His health is somewhat impaired from the exposure and fatigue of army life.
CARLTON COUNTY
Carlton county lies between St. Louis county on the north, Pine on the south, Douglas county, Wisconsin, on the east and Aitkin on the west, and contains twenty-four townships. It is abundantly watered by the St. Louis river and its many tributaries on the northeast, by the tributaries of the Nemadji and Kettle rivers on the south. It is well timbered with pine and hardwoods. The St. Louis river affords one of the finest water powers in the Northwest. The rapids of this stream extend from the falls at Cloquet to Fond du Lac, a distance of twelve miles. The channel is rocky, the rocks being of a trappean or slaty formation, not easily worn by the water, and capable of furnishing good foundations for dams and mills. The first settlers were A. K. Lovejoy, Cephas Bradley, Joseph Meyers, Sexton Lyons, and some others. Mr. Lovejoy died at Thomson, Feb. 11, 1888, aged sixty-three years, leaving a wife. They had been the parents of twenty-four children, twelve pairs of twins. The county was named in honor of R. B. Carlton, who was a representative in the first state legislature. Mr. Carlton died at Fond du Lac, Sept. 10, 1863.
The county was organized in 1858, and the county seat located at Twin Lakes, but changed by act of legislature to Thomson. It is subdivided into five towns, Knife Falls, Mahtowa, Moose Lake, Thomson, and Twin Lakes. It has a well defined slate stone range running from northeast to southwest. The same range crops out at Little Falls, Morrison county.
THOMSON
The village of Thomson, the county seat of Carlton county, is located on the St. Louis river. The Northern Pacific railroad crosses at this point. A. M. Miller erected a steam saw mill here in 1873. The mill has a capacity of 100,000 feet per day, and has been a profitable enterprise. A. K. Lovejoy operates a saw mill six miles northwest, which has a capacity of 35,000 feet. The village of Thomson has a good graded school with two departments.
CLOQUET,
Located on the St. Louis river, was surveyed and platted in 1871. In 1878 Charles D. Harwood erected a steam saw mill at this point with a capacity of 50,000 feet. This was the beginning of a thriving manufacturing village. In 1883 the Knife Falls Lumber Company rebuilt the Harwood mill, increasing its capacity to 180,000 feet per day. In 1884 the property was transferred to Renwick, Crossett & Co. James Paine, McNair and others built a water power saw mill in 1880, with a capacity of 100,000 feet per day. The C. N. Nelson Company, in 1880, built two steam saw mills with a capacity of 350,000 feet per day. A post office was established in 1879; C. D. Harwood, postmaster. The village was platted and incorporated in 1882; William P. Allen was the first president of the council. It has two newspapers, the Pine Knot Journal, established by Ed. Gottry and J. H. Page in 1884, and the Industrial Vidette, established in 1887. It contains three church organizations with good buildings, the Catholic, Methodist and Presbyterian.
MOOSE LAKE STATION,
On the St. Paul & Duluth railroad, is surrounded by a good farming country, and is a pretty, prosperous village. It has a post office, about sixty dwellings and a saw mill.
BARNUM STATION,
On the line of the same road, contains a post office, a saw mill with a capacity of about 50,000 feet daily, a few fine residences, with fine farms adjoining.
MAHTOWA STATION,
On the same road, has a saw mill and about twenty dwellings. An extensive stock farm is located here.
NORTH PACIFIC JUNCTION
Is situated on the St. Louis river, at the junction of the St. Paul & Duluth and Northern Pacific railroads. There are about one hundred buildings here including a large saw mill built by Paine & Co., having a capacity of 10,000,000 feet per annum; one school house, one church, and hotels, stores, shops and dwellings. The village was organized in 1881; Cephas Bradley, president.
Francis Asbury Watkins is a native of the state of New Hampshire. He was born in 1853; came to Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1866, to North Pacific Junction in 1881; was married to Anna Wicks, of Pine City, Minnesota, in 1882, and was admitted to practice law in 1883. He is a graduate of Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin. He has served as auditor of Carlton county four years.