WASHINGTON COUNTY—CONTINUED.
CITY OF STILLWATER.
The organization of the territory of Minnesota in 1849 naturally gave a new impetus to settlement, and marked an era in the progress of the settlements already made. None profited more by the new order of things than did Stillwater. The future metropolis of the St. Croix valley, though yet unorganized even as a village, and governed by town and county law, in 1850 presented a scene of unwonted activity. Out of nearly a hundred arrivals we find the names of John C, Gardiner, Samuel M. Register, H. C. Van Voorhees, John N. Ahl, Ralph Wheeler, Dr. E. G. Pugsley, Dr. Morey, dentist, and Theodore E. Parker, a lawyer. This year was rendered notable by the establishment of a livery stable, by Holcomb & Johnson, a new store by Burkelo & Mower, a bakery by R. Hersey, by the building of the second saw mill by Sawyer & Heaton, by the commencement of Remmick's brewery, by the advent of Antonio Brothers' circus, and the occurrence of a remarkable freshet, on which occasion the steamer Lamartine, taking advantage of the high water, made a pleasure excursion up the river, and over the shallows at the mouth of Apple river and a short distance up that stream. Morton Wilkinson and Michael Ames were amongst the excursionists, and, looking out from the steamboat upon the broad, deep expanse of the swollen river, congratulated their fellow passengers upon the discovery of a hitherto unknown navigable stream, tributary to the majestic St. Croix. The Swiss Bell Ringers were on board, and added greatly to the pleasure of the occasion by their weird and peculiar music. The Lamartine, on returning to Stillwater, found the shores and levees submerged, and passing over them landed her passengers directly from the boat upon the floor of the Minnesota House, on the southwest corner of Chestnut and Main. The water was four or five feet deep in the street before the hotel. The streets in the lower part of the city have since been raised several feet, so that a flood of the same dimensions would not overflow them as it did then. There has, however, in the memory of the oldest inhabitant, been no other flood equal to that of 1850.
Allusion has been made in the history of Stillwater town to the diversion of the waters of McKusick's lake by a new outlet to the river. This device, so beneficial to the city of Stillwater in other respects, came near resulting in disaster. The old outlet of the lake had been obstructed by a dam, while the waters were conducted by a new outlet down a deep ravine and confined to their channel by dikes consisting of a mixture of clay, sand and gravel. This extended to within six hundred feet of the mill on the lake shore. On May 14, 1852, during a terrible storm, the dam at the new outlet gave way and a tremendous body of water, carrying with it the debris of dikes and dams, rushed tumultuously down the ravine, covering the low shores of the lake beneath, and depositing a new geological stratum of drift over a surface of at least six acres to an average depth of about ten feet. It was wittily said at the time that such an extraordinary movement in real estate had never before been known; but, although a downward movement, that seemed very much like ruin to all concerned, especially to the mill, the machinery of which was completely buried, it nevertheless heralded a rise in prices. Quagmires were filled, unsightly obstructions buried or swept away and a fine plateau for buildings was formed along the lake.
The dam was replaced and greatly strengthened, and the water was conducted through pipes and hydrants to the city. Occasionally, for years afterward, the diggers of cellars or cisterns in the buried region would unearth interesting antediluvian relics. Three barrels of pork were exhumed from the cellar of McKusick's store, and found in a good state of preservation. Some years later remains of a far more ancient character were also unearthed near the corner of Third and Myrtle streets. The tusk of a mastodon was brought up from a depth of thirty-six feet below the surface.
CITY GOVERNMENT.
Stillwater was incorporated as a city in 1854. The following officers were elected on the first Monday in April of that year: Mayor, John McKusiek; recorder, C. D. Gilfillan; treasurer, W. H. Mower; Councilmen, J. C. York, J. N. Masterman, C. Carli. We append a list of mayors from 1854 to the present time: John McKusick, 1854; John Fisher, 1855; Wm. Willim, 1856-66-67; Albert Stinson, 1857; A. B. Gorgas, 1858; T. M. Fullerton, 1859; Mahlon Black, 1860-61; F. R. Delano, 1862; David Bronson, 1863-64; Wm. Grover, 1865; C. J. Butler, 1868; Wm. Holcombe, 1869-70; Wm. McKusick, 1871-72; A. K. Doe, 1873; Wm. G. Bronson, 1874-75-76; E. W. Durant, 1877; John S. Proctor, 1878-79-80; Samuel Mathews, 1881-82-83-84; Hollis R. Murdock, 1885; Isaac Staples, 1886; George M. Seymour, 1887-88.
CITY MARSHALS.
The following is a complete list of city marshals since 1854: Jonathan E. McKusick, 1854; John Parker, 1855; John Cilly, 1856; Dennis Sullivan, 1557; Robert Hasty, 1858; Thomas Sinclair, 1859; Duncan Chisholm, 1860-61-62-63; John Shortall, 1864-65; John May, 1866, six months; P. E. Keefe, 1867; John May, 1868, six months; John Shortall, 1869; H. McIntyre, 1870; Duncan Chisholm, 1871; John Lyons, 1872-3, eighteen months; Mathew Shortall, 1873, and continuously to the present time. Mr. Shortall's long term of office proves him an effective and popular officer. F. L. McKusick is police court officer. He is a veteran of the police force and has acquitted himself to the satisfaction of the people of Stillwater.
THE POST OFFICE,
Established in 1845, was located first at the corner of Main and Chestnut streets. The first postmaster was Elam Greely. His successors were John McKusick, John S. Proctor, Harley D. Curtis, Mahlon Black, Abraham Van Voorhes, H. D. Cutler, E. J. Butts, and —— McCarthy. During 1845 a citizens' mail was brought from Point Douglas. Its regularity depended somewhat on the season. During the winter it was brought some times as infrequently as once a month. In 1846 a government line was established from Point Douglas, and the mail was brought with greater regularity. In 1848 a mail coach line was established between Stillwater and St. Paul. The year following a weekly mail was established. The rapid increase of settlements on the Upper Mississippi created a demand for more frequent mails; consequently from 1850 to the completion of the railroad leading into Stillwater, a daily mail was brought into Stillwater during the summer by steamboats, and by the Wisconsin overland route during the winter.
RAPID GROWTH.
As an evidence of the growth of the city we append post office statistics of salaries, expenses and income for the year 1885:
| RECEIPTS. | ||
| Sales of postage stamps, envelopes, newspaper wrappers, postal cards, etc. | $12,693 34 | |
| Box rent received | 2,166 25 | |
| ————— | ||
| Total | $14,859 59 | |
| EXPENSES. | ||
| Postmaster's salary | $2,400 00 | |
| Expenses for rent, fuel, lights, clerk hire, etc. | 3,300 00 | $5,700 00 |
| ————— | ||
| Net income | $9,159 59 | |
| MONEY ORDER BUSINESS. | ||
| Received for domestic orders | $30,305 62 | |
| Received for fees on same | 131 50 | |
| Received for international orders | 1,518 81 | |
| Received for fees on same | 24 95 | |
| ————— | ||
| $31,980 88 | ||
| Money orders paid | $24,140 88 | |
| Certificates of deposit | 7,840 00 | $31,980 88 |
| REGISTRY BUSINESS. | ||
| Domestic and foreign letters and packages registered | 1,621 | |
| Registered matter in transit | 2,327 | |
| —— | ||
| Total pieces handled | 3,948 | |
| Number of pouches dispatched daily | 24 | |
| Number of pouches dispatched semi-weekly | 2 | |
| Number of pouches received daily | 24 | |
| Number of pouches received semi-weekly | 2 | |
HOTELS.
The following hotels were built in Stillwater prior to 1850:
Northrup House, built by Anson Northrup, northwest corner Main street and Nelson alley, 1844.
Stillwater House, built by Anson Northrup, lot 2, Main street, 1845.
Minnesota House, built by Elam Greeley, southwest corner Main and Myrtle, 1846.
Lake House, built by John W. Brewster, east side of Main street between Nelson and Chestnut, 1849.
Of the hotels built subsequently to 1850, the most popular and well known is the Sawyer House, on the northwest corner of Chestnut and Third streets. It was built in 1857, by Henry Sawyer, opened by G. E. B. Whitcher, and kept in succession by J. and A. Lowell, Isaac Staples, A. Lowell and A. K. Doe. The other hotels built during this period were the Liberty House, by John N. Ahl, 1856; Farmers Home, 1867; Williams House, 1870; Wexio Hotel, 1870; the Keystone House, 1872; the Mansion House, 1872; Central House, 1879; Elliott's Hotel, 1883.
CITY BANKS.
To Christopher Carli is due the honor of conducting the first banking operations in Stillwater. In 1855 he issued and redeemed fractional currency. Darling, Caswell & Scheffer, Jan. 27, 1857, opened a private banking house, and from 1859 to 1865 operated it as a state bank, when it was changed into the
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
of Stillwater. The capital stock was $50,000. The first officers were: Charles Scheffer, president; O. R. Ellis, cashier. The officers in 1886 were: Louis Hospes, president; C. N. Nelson, vice president; F. M. Prince, cashier. The capital stock is $250,000. The gross amount of debits and credits during the year closing June 3, 1886, were $20,000,000. We append the annual report of 1886:
LUMBERMAN'S NATIONAL BANK,
Organized Jan. 10, 1871. Capital stock, $150,000. First officers: Isaac Staples, president; H. W. Cannon, cashier. In 1886 the bank had in capital stock $250,000 and a surplus of $50,000. The present officers are: President, Isaac Staples; vice president, R. F. Hersey; board of directors, Isaac Staples, R. F. Hersey, E. S. Edgerton, David Tozer, E. W. Durant, David Bronson, J. McKusick, Matt Clark, Wm. G. Bronson, E. L. Hersey, R. S. Davis.
STILLWATER SAVINGS BANK,
Organized Jan. 10, 1873, under an act of the legislature of 1867, with the following board of trustees: Isaac Staples, president; David Bronson, Dwight M. Sabin, Lewis E. Torinus, Wm. Willim, I. E. Staples, and H. W. Cannon.
ST. CROIX LUMBERMEN'S BOARD OF TRADE
Was incorporated March 8, 1867. The first officers were: President, David Cover; vice president, Louis Hospes; secretary, E. W. Durant; treasurer, David Bronson, Jr.; surveyor, Ivory E. McKusick.
STILLWATER BOARD OF TRADE.
The board was organized in January, 1871. The first officers were: President, David Bronson; vice president, C. J. Butler; secretary, D. W. Armstrong; treasurer, C. N. Nelson; board of directors, John McKusick, Isaac Staples, J. E. Schlenk, J. O'Shaughnessy, M. Moffatt, E. W. Durant, J. N. Castle, B. G. Merry, G. M. Seymour, L. E. Torinus.
STILLWATER WATER COMPANY.
The site of the city abounds in beautiful springs. Charles Hathaway, while excavating on his lot near Third street, struck a large vein capable of supplying 1,000 barrels per day. He constructed a reservoir with an elevation of about fifty feet above the street, and from this source supplies the city with water for sprinkling streets and other purposes.
The Stillwater Water Company was organized April 15, 1880, with a capital stock of $100,000, and commenced at once the work of improvement. This company has never yet declared a dividend, having applied all its surplus earnings upon improvements. They have now 8 1/2 miles of water mains, 88 hydrants and about 260 taps. The water supply is obtained from Lake McKusick, which is supplied from Brown's creek. The lake is 155 feet above the business portion of the city and is about a mile distant from the same. The water is pumped into a reservoir on the highest spot of ground in the city, which is 110 feet above the lake. The system is similar to that of St. Paul, the city being supplied in part by gravitation, and in part by direct pressure. The elevation of the reservoir results in a saving to the city in the matter of fire engines, etc. Any fire in the business part of the city can be extinguished with the use of hose alone. One fire engine answers the purposes of the city. The first board of officers were: President, Edward Durant; vice president, R. F. Hersey; secretary and treasurer, H. W. Cannon.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
Futile efforts had been made as early as 1859 for the organization of a fire department. In 1872 a fire company of sixty was organized and an engine worth $7,500 was purchased. The first officers of the company were: Chief engineer, David Bronson; first assistant, B. G. Merry; second assistant, H. P. West; engineer, C. C. Johnson; secretary; N. T. Lee; treasurer, Fayette Marsh.
THE ST. CROIX HOOK AND LADDER COMPANY
Was organized in 1872, by the election of the following officers: Foreman, Charles McMillan; assistant, D. B. Loomis; secretary and treasurer, A. K. Doe. The company has received awards of honor for meritorious performance of duty.
STILLWATER GASLIGHT COMPANY.
This company was organized May 12, 1874, with a capital stock of $25,000 and the exclusive right to the sale and manufacture of gas for a period of forty years. Their buildings are located on Third street. The first officers were: President, Isaac Staples; manager, H. W. Cannon; board of directors, John McKusick, D. M. Sabin, Isaac Staples, David Bronson, L. E. Torinus, H. W. Cannon, C. H. Nash.
TELEGRAPH OFFICE.
In 1863 a telegraph office was located in Stillwater by a A. C. Lull, and a line extended to St. Paul. The office is on Main street between Chestnut and Myrtle.
THE NATIONAL BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY
Established a line from Stillwater to St. Paul in January, 1880. It has a branch to Marine.
UNION ELEVATOR COMPANY
Built an elevator near the Stillwater & White Bear depot in 1870-71. It has a capacity of 300,000 bushels. The officers are: President, Louis Huspes; secretary and treasurer, H. W. Cannon.
EXPRESS COMPANIES.
The first office was established by the Northwestern Express Company, in 1855; Short, Proctor & Co. were agents. This company was succeeded in 1858 by the American, and in 1869 the United States also established an office here.
THE STILLWATER BRIDGE.
A charter was obtained from the legislature in 1875 to build a bridge across Lake St. Croix, from Stillwater to Houlton. The bridge was completed the ensuing year at a cost of $24,000. It is 1,500 feet long, and is furnished with a pontoon draw 300 feet in length, operated by an engine.
LUMBERING INTERESTS.
Stillwater is the metropolis of the lumbering interests of the St. Croix valley, and is indebted to them chiefly for its welfare. These are considered separately in other parts of this history. The local interests are centred chiefly in mills and manufactories, of themselves an important element in the prosperity of the city. The principal proprietors of the saw mills since the first settlement of Stillwater have been McKusick & Co., Sawyer & Heaton, McHale. & Co., Schulenberg & Co., Hersey, Staples & Co., Hersey, Bean & Brown, Isaac Staples, Seymour, Sabin & Co., Herschey Lumbering Company and Turnbull Lumbering Company.
FLOURING MILLS.
In 1872 J. H. Townshend and W. F. Cahill erected a flouring mill on Third street. It was run by water brought from McKusick creek, the motive power being an overshot wheel forty-five feet in diameter. In 1880 D. M. Sabin became interested in the firm. The capacity of the mill was increased from fifty to three hundred barrels per day. A Corliss engine and other improvements were added, and the mill was run on the Hungarian roller system. The firm name was changed to Townshend & Co.
The St. Croix flouring mill was built in 1877, on Upper Main street, near the lake, by Isaac Staples. Its dimensions were 40 × 50 feet. Its capacity was two hundred and fifty barrels per day. It was removed to make way for the buildings of the Car Company.
The Stillwater Flour Mill Company was organized under state laws in 1878, and mills were erected on the lower levee, 50 × 70 feet, ground plan, and five stories high. These mills were run on the Hungarian roller system. The cost was $100,000. Their capacity is four hundred barrels per day. The motive power is a Corliss engine of one hundred and seventy-five horse power. The principal owners are R. F. Hersey, Smith Ellison, D. M. Sabin and L. Hospes.
MANUFACTORIES.
Swain's machine shop, D. M. Swain, proprietor, was established in 1873, on Third street between Myrtle and Chestnut. Geo. Swain established a foundry on Third street in 1874. His manufactures consist chiefly of engines, mill machinery and farm utensils. The St. Croix Iron Works, Door, Sash and Blind Factory, established originally as a machine shop in 1865, on the river bank, near the Chicago & Omaha round house, has been owned by various parties. A foundry was added in 1874, and in 1878 Isaac Staples added a sash and blind factory.
CARRIAGE MANUFACTORIES.
Richard Daw established the Novelty Carriage Works in 1875, one door east of the Sawyer House.
D. J. Sullivan established the Stillwater Carriage Works in 1878, one door east of the Sawyer House, but afterward removed to a better location on Second street.
Wm. Miller erected the Pioneer Carriage Manufactory in 1866, on Main street.
Albert Saeker in 1872 established a wagon shop on Second street between Myrtle and Chestnut.
Frederick Steinacker commenced the manufacture of brick in 1859, in a yard located in Ramsey & Carter's addition, but afterward removed to the lower end of Sunfish lake.
It is claimed that Herman Tepass' brewery is the outgrowth of the first in the county, if not in the State, a still having been located at the corner of Third and Chestnut streets in 1851. The present site is on Lower Main street. Joseph Wolff's brewery is located on the corner of Main and Nelson streets, and was established in 1868.
Heitman & Becker established a bakery in 1879. Messrs. Muller Brothers established a boat factory in 1873. A vinegar factory was commenced by Ciopac & Tuor in 1875, and is continued by the latter. Of the several livery stables in Stillwater the first was established by C. A. Bromley in 1853.
The Stillwater Building Association, organized under the laws of the State, March 23, 1887, has done much for the prosperity of the city, affording as it does to persons of limited capital an opportunity of building suitable homes and business houses. Private enterprise has done much in the erection of substantial blocks for business purposes. Henry Sawyer, in 1856, built the first stone block in the city. It is located on Main street. Other fine blocks were built by McComb, Eldridge, Bernheimer, Elam Greely, Wm. Holcombe, Schlenk, L. E. Torinus, Hersey & Staples, McKusick, and others. Many of these blocks are fireproof and built of stone, and are fine specimens of architecture, convenient and commodious.
CHURCH SOCIETIES AND BUILDINGS.
Stillwater has sixteen church organizations and fifteen buildings, the latter having a total valuation of $315,000.
The Ascension church (Episcopal) originated in the labors of Rev. E. A. Greenleaf, in 1846. The corner stone of the first building was laid in 1851. Rev. Joseph A. Russell was the first rector. In 1873 the corner stone of the present edifice was laid by Bishop Welles of Wisconsin. This building cost $10,000, and was burned in 1886 and rebuilt in 1887.
The First Presbyterian church grew out of the missionary labors of Rev. W. T. Boutwell, in 1847 and 1848. The church was organized in 1849; Rev. J. S. Whitney, pastor. The first building was erected in 1851, and the second, the armory, in 1857. The present edifice, located on the corner of Myrtle and Third, was built in 1884, at a cost of $22,000, and the total value of building and ground is $30,000.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Dates its beginning from a society formed by Rev. James Harrington in 1850. It was organized regularly in 1853 by Rev. T. M. Fullerton. The first house of worship was a small frame on Myrtle street, between Second and Third streets. It was enlarged and improved in 1862. The present edifice on Third street near Myrtle, with the parsonage adjoining, cost about $4,200. The church has a membership of two hundred.
ST. MICHAEL'S (CATHOLIC) CHURCH
Was organized in 1853, the first services being held by Rev. Father Peyragrosse, a missionary. The first edifice was built on Fourth and Mulberry streets, and Rev. Father Fisher was the first clergyman in charge. The building was enlarged and improved in 1857. The present commodious edifice was commenced in 1872 and dedicated in 1875. The church property, including the school parish buildings and cemetery of twelve acres in South Stillwater, is worth $130,000. There are now two resident clergymen, Revs. Murphy and Gaughan.
ST. MARY'S (CATHOLIC) CHURCH,
Rev. P. Alphonse Krusle, pastor, was organized in 1865, and owns a church building on Fifth street, near Pine, valued at $25,000. The total value of church and parish buildings, and of the six lots on which they are located, amounts to $55,000.
THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH
Society was incorporated June 6, 1868, and the first preaching was by Rev. E. A. Hodsdon, of St. Anthony. The edifice is on Third street South; cost about $15,000.
SWEDISH LUTHERAN.
The society was organized in 1871; the church building was erected in 1882-83, at a cost of $15,000. The pastor is Rev. A. F. Tornell.
THE FIRST GERMAN LUTHERAN
Church was organized in 1871. The church building and parsonage are on Third street, near Olive, and are valued at $4,500. The pastor is Rev. J. J. Weiss.
THE NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN
Society uses the German Lutheran church buildings, corner of Olive and Fourth streets.
THE GERMAN METHODIST
Congregation worships in a frame building, corner of Linden and Everett streets.
THE SALEM GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH
Was formed by the withdrawal of a part of the members of the First German Lutheran church for separate worship. The Swedish church and school, on the corner of Olive and Fourth streets, were purchased for $2,150. To this a parsonage was added at a cost of $2,150. Rev. L. F. Frey is the pastor.
THE DANISH LUTHERAN CHURCH
Has a cosy frame edifice on Laurel, between Williams and Owen, but is not holding services at present. The edifice cost $7,000 and the membership is one hundred and fifty.
SWEDISH CONGREGATIONAL.
The Swedish Congregational church occupies a frame building on Fourth street, between Hickory and Elm streets, which cost $2,000 and has sixty members.
THE ST. JOSEPH'S (CATHOLIC) CHURCH
Was organized by the present pastor, Rev. Father E. Roe, in 1882, with seventeen members, which has since been increased to eighty families. A frame edifice was erected in 1884, with a seating capacity of four hundred, costing about $8,000, corner of Olive and Greely streets. The church property consists of the edifice and the priest's house, and cost $11,000.
THE SWEDISH METHODIST CHURCH
Was organized in 1880 by Rev. C. S. Carlander. The church building is located on Myrtle and Fourth streets, and cost $2,000.
THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION
Has a membership of seventy-five and a frame building erected in 1872 at a cost of $1,200.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
The court house and other public buildings of the city are creditable specimens of architecture, rooms convenient and well adapted to the purposes of their construction. The present court house building is the third erected. Its cost, including that of the jail buildings, the wall around them and other improvements, has been something over $75,000. The city hall, at the corner of Myrtle and Third streets, is a substantial and convenient building. It contains also room for the city officers. The public school buildings have kept pace with the growth of the city. In the summer of 1887 the city erected a high school building at a cost of $60,000. The engine house is a good building, centrally located. An elegant union depot was built in 1887, of brown stone from the Apostle islands, at a cost of $30,000.
The Opera House.—The opera house occupies the site of the old Lake House, on Main street between Nelson and Chestnut streets. It was commenced in 1880 and finished in 1881, under the supervision of L. W. Eldred, architect. Its size is 90×120 feet, ground plan, and four stories in height, or seventy-one feet from lower floor to cornice. The style of architecture is a blending of the Queen Anne, Victoria and Gothic. The entrance to the upper part of the building is by a stairway twelve feet wide, in a lofty, ornamental turret. The auditorium is 64×120 feet, and beautifully and elaborately finished and furnished, and is capable of seating over 1,200 persons. It is well lighted, being supplied with 130 gas jets, warmed by steam, and well ventilated. The stage is 39×64 feet, complete in all its appointments, and supplied with all the necessary stage scenery, wings, border bridge, balcony, interior and other decorations. The ceiling of the auditorium is superbly frescoed and the cornice is adorned with medallions of Shakespeare, Haydn, Schiller, Goethe, Dickens, Handel, Scott, Longfellow, Mozart, Tennyson, and Beethoven. The parts of the building not occupied for stage purposes are appropriated to halls, offices and stores.
SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS.
I. O. O. F.—Lodge No. 1, organized June, 1849; Stillwater Lodge, No. 51, organized January, 1876.
Masonic.—St. John's Lodge No. 1, organized 1849; Washington, Royal Arch Chapter, No. 17, organized March, 1868; Bayard Commandery, K. T., No. 11, organized March, 1878.
Knights of Pythias.—Stillwater Lodge, No. 7, organized November, 1872.
A. O. U. W.—St. Croix Lodge, No. 11, organized July, 1876.
Sons of Herman.—Stillwater Lodge, No. 3, organized January, 1876; Concordia Lodge, No. 19, organized January, 1881.
Temperance Societies.—I. O. G. T. Lodge of Stillwater, organized in 1859; L'Etoile du Nord Lodge, No. 57, organized May, 1866; Temple of Honor, No. 10, organized September, 1876; Father Matthew Temperance Society, organized November, 1872.
Miscellaneous.—St. Ann's Society, organized November, 1866; St. Vincent de Paul Conference, organized October, 1870; St. Joseph Benevolent Society, organized November, 1879; Y. M. C. A., organized in 1878; Washington County Bible Society, organized in 1851; Northwestern Benefit Society, No. 1, organized in 1879; Subordinate Union Penn Equitable Association, No. 165, organized in 1880; Stillwater City Hospital, organized March, 1880; Stillwater Mannerchoir, organized in 1875; the Stillwater Turnverein, organized in 1859; G. A. R., Stillwater Post, No. 13, organized March, 1868.
CEMETERIES.
The first burial ground was selected in 1846. Ten years later, by a survey of the city, these grounds were included in what is now known as block 3. These grounds were used until the organization of the Fairview Cemetery Association in 1867, when the bodies were removed to the new cemetery in the burial ground in South Stillwater. Fairview cemetery is beautifully located on undulating or hilly ground and is adorned with shrubbery and made attractive by the hand of art. Its location is within the city limits, near the corner of Orleans and Fourth streets.
WASHINGTON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
An attempt was made at organization in 1856, but it proved premature. The present society was organized in February, 1871, at Cottage Grove, and incorporated the same year. The first board of officers consisted of J. W. Furber, president; J. S. Norris, vice president; T. Elwell, secretary, and James Middleton, treasurer. In 1873 the fair grounds were established near Stillwater, under the joint control of the Agricultural Society and the Driving Park Association. In 1875 the fair grounds were established at Lake Elmo. But one fair had been held there when a cyclone struck the grounds and swept away all the improvements. The society again effected an arrangement by which their fairs were held on the grounds near Stillwater.
MINNESOTA STATE PRISON.
At the organization of Minnesota Territory Congress appropriated $5,000 for a territorial prison. The legislature expended the money thus appropriated in building a prison at Stillwater. The site was located by a commission appointed by the legislature in 1849, consisting of John McKusick, E. A. C. Hatch and Lewis Robert. The commission was also authorized to locate the Territorial University and select a site in St. Paul for the capitol. Their task was not completed until the ensuing year. Their selection of a location for the university and of a site for the capitol were satisfactory, but it was generally conceded that the site for the prison was badly chosen. The ground, nine acres, was mostly quagmire, and was, moreover, crowded in a ravine between high bluffs. However, it was convenient to the lake and steamboat landing, and was well watered with pure spring water.
In 1851 Jesse Taylor, F. R. Delano, Martin Mower, J. E. McKusick, and Jacob Fisher entered into contract with the commissioners, under the firm name of Jesse Taylor & Co., to build one stone wing of the prison building, to be inclosed with a stone wall. The dimensions of the wing were 30 × 40 feet and three stories high. In 1853 an addition was built, and Francis R. Delano was appointed warden. Until 1858 the expenditure of the public money used in building and other expenses was under the control of the warden. Under state rule the warden was relieved of this burden of responsibility. The legislature had provided that prisoners might be received in the penitentiary not yet convicted of crime, on condition that their board should be defrayed by the counties from which they were sent. When this expense was not promptly met by the counties the prisoners thus held were set at liberty. The Washington county grand jury investigated the matter and memorialized the ensuing legislature, which effected a change in the laws regarding such commitments. Wings were added to the prison, walls were built, shops and other accessories added from year to year, and appropriations were made from time to time. In 1870 an appropriation of $74,000 was made for extending the building. Outside companies were permitted to build shops and manufactories within the prison limits that they might avail themselves of convict labor.
The following are the wardens who have served since the prison was built: Territorial, F. R. Delano; state government: Francis O. J. Smith, appointed March 4, 1858; Henry N. Setzer, Aug. 4, 1858; John S. Proctor, Jan. 1, 1860; Joshua L. Taylor, Feb. 16, 1868; A. C. Webber, March 16, 1870; Henry A. Jackman, Oct. 10, 1870; John A. Reid, Aug. 3, 1874; H. G. Stordock, 1887.
The following table shows the number of convicts each year up to the present time:
| 1853 | 0 |
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1855 | 8 |
| 1856 | 1 |
| 1857 | 0 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1839 | 5 |
| 1860 | 16 |
| 1861 | 12 |
| 1862 | 7 |
| 1963 | 8 |
| 1864 | 7 |
| 1865 | 11 |
| 1866 | 29 |
| 1867 | 36 |
| 1868 | 31 |
| 1869 | 47 |
| 1870 | 39 |
| 1871 | 60 |
| 1872 | 59 |
| 1873 | 64 |
| 1875 | 93 |
| 1876 | 90 |
| 1877 | 145 |
| 1878 | 218 |
| 1879 | 254 |
| 1880 | 254 |
| 1881 | 247 |
| 1882 | 279 |
| 1883 | 301 |
| 1884 | 356 |
| 1885 | 395 |
| 1886, Mar. 31 | 416 |
The prison on the whole has been well and humanely managed. There have been occasional outbreaks, easily suppressed, or cases of individual insubordination, two or three with fatal results to the insubordinates.
The prison buildings have been several times visited by damaging and disastrous fires. The most serious were in 1884. The first occurred January 8th, by which the large workshop and machinery owned by the State and the Northwestern Car Company were destroyed. The second occurred January 26th, and destroyed the main prison buildings, including the cells, from which the prisoners were rescued with the greatest difficulty. One perished of suffocation. On this occasion guards, prison officials and some of the convicts displayed heroism worthy of the highest commendation. The convicts on the whole behaved well. Mr. Reid, the warden of the prison, behaved with great coolness and decision, and so averted what might have been a fearful disaster.
FIRES.
Stillwater has suffered occasionally from fires. The first house burned was the McKusick boarding house, in 1846. The Northrup hotel was burned in 1847. In 1866 a fire occurred on the west side of Main street, between Myrtle and Chestnut, in which twelve buildings were burned, principally frame structures. In 1872 the Lake House and four adjacent buildings were burned. The Schulenburg mill was burned in 1878. Two great fires occurred in the penitentiary in 1884. The Episcopal church building and the mills of Hersey & Bean were burned in 1887. Numerous smaller fires occurred at intervals, but owing to the efficiency of the fire companies they were easily suppressed.
BONDS AND INDEBTEDNESS.
Up to 1886 the bonded indebtedness of the city has aggregated the sum of $345,000. The bonds were issued at various times for railway and levee improvements, city bridge, city buildings, water works and current funds. The interest on these bonds has always been promptly met, and the expenditures for improvements have been more than repaid to the taxpayers by the increased valuation of property within the city limits.
Issac Staples, son of Rev. Winslow Staples, was born in Topsham, Maine, Sept. 25, 1816. At eighteen years of age he bought his time of his father for three hundred and sixty dollars. He found employment on the Penobscot river at lumbering for two years, when he engaged in selling goods at Old Town, but soon after went into the lumbering business with S.F. Hersey. In 1849 Mr. Staples was appointed agent for the Penobscot Indians living at Old Town, twelve miles above Bangor, on the Penobscot. In October, 1853, Mr. Staples came to Minnesota for the purpose of purchasing pine lands, and located at Stillwater, moving his family here in 1854. Mr. Staples represented a wealthy company, composed of himself, S. F. Hersey and some Massachusetts men, who furnished all the money needed to buy pine land or make any other investments deemed advisable. They, through the agency of Mr. Staples, purchased immense quantities of pine timber. They built a large saw mill in Stillwater, and dealt in any and all branches of business considered remunerative. The advent of Isaac Staples in Stillwater gave to the city new life. Mr. Staples was indefatigable in his labors, full of vigor and in prime health. His ambition was unlimited, his judgment good. Backed up by a successful lumbering experience in Maine, and with money sufficient to meet all necessary calls, he was financially progressive and prosperous. In after years Messrs. Staples & Hersey purchased the entire interest of the firm of Hersey, Staples & Co. Subsequently the firm changed to Hersey & Staples and Hersey, Staples & Bean, and finally a division of property was agreed upon. Since the division Mr. Staples has been just as extensively engaged in the name of Isaac Staples in doing business as at any period in his past life.
In 1887 Mr. Staples purchased the property of the Cushing Company, located at St. Croix and Taylor's Falls, for $50,000. This property has long been in litigation and consequently has been unimproved. The advent of Mr. Staples, as proprietor, opens a new era in the history of the two villages at the head of navigation on the St. Croix.
In addition to his lumbering and real estate interests, Mr. Staples has also engaged in farming and stock raising on an extensive scale. He owns one farm of six hundred and forty acres within the limits of Stillwater. This farm is well stocked and supplied with stores, barns, shops and other buildings. It is used as a stork farm, and as a headquarters for supplying his lumbering camps.
Mr. Staples has another farm located on the line of the Minneapolis, Soo & Atlantic railway, eleven miles northwest of Stillwater, known as the Maple Island farm, which contains 1,400 acres of land, inclosed and supplied with barns, farm houses and other buildings. There are fine wells and lakes and some well stocked fish ponds. He owns a flouring mill on this farm.
Mr. Staples has a third farm at Bronson, Kanabec county, containing 2,000 acres of land, well under cultivation. Ann river flows through this farm, and is supplied with a dam to facilitate the driving of logs into Fish lake. The farm is also made a fitting-out place for the lumbering camps. These three farms are valued at $250,000.
Mr. Staples has lived an unusually busy life, and has been unusually successful. Though past the ordinary limit of human life, he is still active, and will probably continue to plan and work as long as he lives. He is happiest when most busily employed. His mind is of the active type. He is restless, alert, far-seeing, systematic, and persistent. Without these qualities he never could have achieved the success that has crowned his career. He has been twice married; first in 1839, to Miss Caroline B. Rogers, of Old Town, Maine, by whom he had one child, who is still living. Mrs. Staples died in 1810. He was again married, Jan, 31, 1841, to Miss Olivia J. Pettengill, of Old Town, Maine, by whom he has had eight children,—four sons and four daughters,—four of whom are living.
Samuel F. Hersey, of the late firm of Hersey, Staples & Co., was born in Sumner, Maine, in 1812. At an early day he became a citizen of Bangor, Maine, and wisely invested in pine timber lands on the Penobscot waters, when lands were cheap. Their true value was not appreciated by many. The business interests of the county had not been developed and lumber dealing was not profitable. The increase in value on his investments made him a wealthy man. He was a banker, merchant and lumberman. His investments always yielded a rich return. His associates and townsmen often elected him to posts of honor and trust. In 1842-57-65-67 and 69 he was in the Maine state legislature. When he died, Feb. 3. 1875, he was serving his second term (four years) as representative in Congress, from the Bangor or Fourth district of Maine. He died at his home in Bangor. Both houses of Congress paid fitting tributes to his high business, social and christian standing, and his worth as a legislator and statesman.
Mr. Hersey was not a citizen of Minnesota, but as early as 1851 became a member of the firm of Hersey, Staples & Co., of Stillwater, and interested himself greatly in Minnesota and Stillwater enterprises. Amongst other things he aided in building two railroads, and gave liberally for the erection of the Universalist church and to its library. He was thrice married, and left a family of four sons, the children of his second wife.
Roscoe F. Hersey, the oldest son, was born July 18, 1841, in Milford, Maine; was educated at the graded school in Bangor, and clerked in his father's store until 1862, when he volunteered as a soldier in Company A, Eighteenth Maine Infantry. He was appointed second lieutenant and rose to the rank of captain in 1863, but on May 19, 1864, was severely wounded at the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, was confined in the hospital nine months, and discharged with the brevet rank of colonel.
Col. Hersey spent two years in New Orleans, engaged in the shipping and commission business, and in the spring of 1867 came to Stillwater and thence to Lake City, where he had charge of the lumber and mercantile business of Hersey, Staples & Co. in that city for five years. In 1872 he returned to Stillwater, entered the firm of Hersey, Brown & Bean, dealers in lands, lumber and merchandise. In 1877 he was elected state senator and served one term. He has held many responsible positions. He married Eva C. Wardwell, of Bangor, Maine, Jan. 4, 1864. They have one son, Clinton, an enterprising, public spirited man, inheriting much of his father's will power.
Dudley H. Hersey, the second son, was born in Bangor, Dec. 25, 1847. He was educated at Westbrook Seminary, Maine, and came to Stillwater at an early age in the employ of his father. In 1872 he became one of the firm of Hersey, Bean & Brown. Mr. Hersey was married to Estella Wardwell, of Bangor, Maine, in 1870. They have one son, Samuel F.
Eugene M. Hersey, the third son, was born in Bangor, Maine, May 6, 1850. He was educated at the high school in Bangor. With his brother he has been interested in milling and lumbering operations. He was married in 1876.
Edward L. Hersey, the youngest son, was born in Bangor, Maine, April 29, 1852; graduated at Westbrook Seminary in 1871, and was married to Mary L. Merrill, of Chicago, in 1877.
JACOB BEAN.
Jacob Bean was born in Upper Stillwater, Maine, in 1837. In that centre of the lumbering interests he early and easily took to lumbering, and pursued the business continuously until 1863, when he came to Stillwater, where he became an active member of the firm of Hersey, Staples & Bean, and of Hersey, Bean & Brown.
Charles Bean was born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, in 1827; removed to Orono, Maine, in 1835; followed lumbering on the Penobscot river for a few years. He came to Stillwater in 1863, and some years later sent for his aged parents, giving them a home until their death. In 1865 he became one of the firm of Hersey, Staples & Bean, dealers in pine land. He is at present with his oldest son in California, where both are interested in real estate and irrigation enterprises. Mr. Bean has been twice married and has a family of eight children. The oldest daughter married Jerry Brown, now deceased. Mr. Bean moved to California in 1887.
Rudolph Lehmicke was born in Prussia in 1822. He learned the trade of cabinet and organ making; came to America in 1849, and to Stillwater in 1854, working at his trade until 1858. He served one year as justice of the peace, and having studied law was admitted to practice in 1859. In the fall of 1859 he was elected county auditor and served until 1874. He was elected judge of the probate court, in which position he continued until 1881. He has served as inspector of the prison, superintendent of public schools, and member of the board of education. Judge Lehmicke was married in 1853, in Coldwater, Michigan, to Jane Tackeberry. They have a family of five sons and two daughters.
Hollis R. Murdock was born in Governeur, New York, Aug. 15, 1832. He graduated at Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1854, came to Stillwater in 1855, and was admitted to the practice of law in 1856, since which time he has been in continuous practice. He has held many offices of trust. Has been judge of the probate court and member of the legislature from Washington county, and director of a bank and railroad company. Mr. Murdock was married to Sarah A. Rice, Nov. 3, 1857.
George M. Seymour was born in Onondaga county, New York, March 26, 1829. Part of his early life he spent on a farm, but later he learned the carpenter's trade and became a builder and contractor. While in Syracuse he engaged for some years in the manufacture of lumber and staves, and later, of salt. He was married to Anna B. Kingsley in 1851. In 1858 he came to Stillwater, and in 1861 was awarded the prison contract, and engaged in making cooperage. He was one of the founders of the firms of Seymour, Webster & Co. and Seymour, Sabin & Co. (the Northwestern Car Company). He was sheriff of Washington county for two years.
Frank A. Seymour, only son of George M., was cashier of the First National Bank of Stillwater for four years, and subsequently cashier of the Merchants Bank, St. Paul.
Marion O., only daughter of George M. Seymour, graduated from Mount Holyoke Seminary in 1880.
LOUIS HOSPES
Louis Hospes, for many years identified with the Schulenberg-Boeckeler Lumber Company, and father of A. C. Hospes, surveyor general of logs and lumber, E. L. Hospes of the Schulenberg-Boeckeler Company, and Otto G. Hospes of the hardware firm of A. C. Hospes & Co., died April 9, 1888. The deceased was born in the landgravate of Hesse-Cassel, Germany, Feb. 8, 1809, and attended school in the city of Witzenhausen until he was sixteen years old. He then became a farmer, which avocation he followed for four years. He then entered the University of Gottingen, where he made a special study of the theory and practice of agriculture and of veterinary medicine and surgery. Retiring from the university, for two years he took charge of the farms on some large estates. In 1832 he sailed from Bremen for America, arriving at New York on September 4th of that year. Leaving that city on the eleventh of the same month, he arrived in St. Louis on October 18th. From that city he went to St. Charles county, where he engaged in agriculture and other pursuits until 1840. During his residence there he married Elvira Wurdeman, who survives him. In 1840 he removed to Green county, Southwest Missouri, where he made his home for the next six years among the Ozark mountains, where he and two brothers engaged in the distilling business. In 1848 Mr. Hospes went to St. Louis and entered the employ of Schulenberg & Boeckeler, where he remained until Oct. 21, 1854, when he came to Stillwater to take charge of the business of his employers here. In 1856 he became a partner in the concern, and continued so until 1874, when the firm reorganized as the Schulenberg-Boeckeler Lumber Company. When he retired, his son, E. L. Hospes, succeeded to his interest, which he now holds. In 1871 Mr. Hospes visited Europe with his family, spending a year abroad. In 1862, with his associates, he organized the First National Bank of Stillwater, of which he has been president for twenty years. His life in this city has been that of an active, energetic and generally successful business man, and though conservative in his business operations has always been ready to lend a helping hand to any deserving or practical business enterprise. He was marked for that fixed and reliable character which made his name a tower of strength to any enterprise with which he was connected, and his integrity, extending to little things, became proverbial. Besides the sons named he left two daughters, Mrs. H. E. Mann, of Milwaukee, and Mrs. J. Schlenk, of St. Paul.
David Tozer was born in Miramachi, New Brunswick, in 1823. His early opportunities for obtaining an education were somewhat limited, and he obtained only three months' schooling. He came to Stillwater in 1856 and engaged in lumbering, working by the month for five years, and afterward independently or in partnership with his brother Albert, and in the firm of Sauntry & Tozer, cutting and rafting lumber. He was married in Canada, in 1867, to Margaret McKay. Mr. Tozer has been an industrious and successful man.
David Bronson was born in Anson, Maine, in 1834. He clerked in Boston from 1850 to 1855, when he came to Stillwater, where he has since been engaged in selling goods, lumbering and manufacturing. He was married in 1861 to Ianthe Davis.
John Maloy is of Irish descent. He was born in Ireland, and emigrated to New Brunswick. He came to Stillwater with his family in 1853, and engaged in lumbering. His family consisted of nine sons and three daughters. The daughters are married. Four of the sons are living; two of them. Patrick and William, in Oregon, and the others, James and Robert, in Stillwater.
Mrs. Susannah Tepass, nee Burkhart, was born in Germany, Aug. 10, 1824. Her parents emigrated to America in 1847 and settled in Freeport, Illinois, where she was married, in 1849, to N. Kimmick, and the same year came to Stillwater. Mr. Kimmick died in 1857. In 1860 she was married to Frank Aiple. Mr. Aiple died Nov. 10, 1868. Dec. 9, 1869, she was married to her present husband, Herman Tepass. Her children are Mary, Herman and Frank Aiple.
William E. Thorne came to Stillwater in 1853. He has been an attentive and successful merchant, a polite and honorable gentleman, and a good citizen.
Edmund J. Butts was born in Delaware county, New York, in 1832; graduated at the Albany Normal School in 1853, and taught school awhile during his minority, and some years after studied law (in 1861), and was admitted to practice in Broome county, New York. In 1862 he enlisted in a New York regiment and served his full time of enlistment. In 1864 he was appointed clerk in the third auditor's office, Washington, which position he resigned in 1865 and came to Stillwater to practice his profession. He served some time as justice of the peace, and for ten years as judge of probate in Washington county. He was collector of internal revenue one year, and was eight years postmaster in Stillwater, completing his term of service in 1886. Mr. Butts was married to Augusta Miller in 1856. Mrs. Butts died in 1869, leaving one son and one daughter. Mr. Butts married Ida Ellsworth in 1878. They have one son and two daughters. His oldest son is in the military school at West Point.
A. B. Easton was born at Mesopotamia, Trumbull county, Ohio, March 1, 1828. His parents were natives of Massachusetts, tracing their lineage to the Pilgrim Fathers. At the age of fourteen years he was clerk in a store, but at the wish of his parents, left the store and attended school, finishing his studies by a course at the high school. Soon after he again assumed the position of clerk, in which he continued two years, when, in 1855, he took charge of his father's hotel. Two years subsequently he came to Stillwater, beginning work as a compositor for the Stillwater Messenger, A. J. Van Voorhes, proprietor. During the absence of the proprietor Mr. Easton was manager. Finally, in 1863, he and A. B. Stickney rented the paper, which they operated one year, then carried it on alone until 1865. During this time Mr. Van Voorhes had been filling the position of quartermaster, and on his return made Mr. Easton foreman, where he continued until 1868. The St. Paul Dispatch had just been established, and he was connected with the interests of this paper until his return to Stillwater in 1869. Aug. 6, 1870, he issued the first number of the Stillwater Gazette. His son William E. was taken as a partner in 1876. Mr. Easton and son have through their ability and industry made the Gazette a readable, reliable and popular paper. Mr. Easton was married to Julia Burke, Oct. 14, 1849. They have four sons and three daughters.
Edwin A. Folsom was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, June 30, 1833. He spent most of his youth with his parents in Bangor, Maine, where he was educated in the common schools. In 1856 he came to Stillwater and for six years was book-keeper for Hersey, Staples & Co. In 1862 he enlisted in Company C, Eighth Minnesota Volunteers, and was commissioned as captain. He left the service at the close of the war with the rank of brevet colonel. Returning to Stillwater, he served six years as county treasurer, and has since been engaged in lumbering and selling goods under the firm name of Bronson & Folsom. He was married Oct. 12, 1872, to Frances E. Staples.
John B. H. Mitchell.—The ancestors of Mr. Mitchell were Revolutionary patriots, originally Scotch covenanters, who settled in North Carolina, but who in after years freed their slaves and came to the Northern States. Mr. Mitchell was born Nov. 26, 1820, in Monroe county, Kentucky. His education was obtained chiefly in the printing office of H. H. Houghton, of Galena, Illinois. He came to St. Paul in 1852, and was employed two years in the Pioneer printing office. In 1854, in company with T. M. Newson and others, he published the St. Paul Daily Times. In 1855 he located on a farm near South Stillwater. During the early part of the Civil War he was in Nashville, Tennessee, and reported proceedings of secession conventions to northern papers. In 1863 he was elected a member of the Minnesota legislature. Mr. Mitchell has filled other offices of trust. He was married in 1850 to Mariana B. Fiske, a daughter of David Fiske, of Baytown.
Joseph Schupp was born in Baden, Germany, in 1831; received a college and general business education and came to America in 1852, locating first at Buffalo, New York, and thence at Toledo, Ohio, whence he removed to Stillwater in 1858, and engaged in the mercantile business. Commencing moderately, he extended his operations and now owns several buildings and blocks, and conducts a heavy wholesale trade. He was married in 1855 to Mary Fuller, of Toledo, Ohio. They have three sons living, Joseph A., Thomas O. A. and Frank.
Clifford A. Bennett was born in Portage county, Ohio, Sept. 7, 1841. He received a common school and collegiate education. He attended Hiram College during the time that President James A. Garfield presided over it. April 24, 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Twenty-third Ohio Volunteers. He was subsequently promoted to the staff of Gen. W. D. Hazen and served until mustered out at the close of the war. He came to Illinois in 1865, read law and was admitted to practice in 1867; came to Stillwater in 1868, and for ten years was in the office of the surveyor general. In 1878 he was elected clerk of court.
Samuel Mathews was born in New Brunswick, July 7, 1832. His opportunities for schooling were limited, and he is practically self educated. He came to Stillwater in October, 1856, since which time he has been engaged in lumbering, dealing in pine lands and in the mercantile business. He is a member of the firm of Mathews & Jourdain, and has been quite successful in his business undertakings. Mr. Mathews has been called upon to fill many positions of trust. He has served over twenty-five years as manager, receiving and disbursing agent of the Stillwater fire department. He served four years as mayor of Stillwater, was county commissioner for twelve years, and for many years director in the First National Bank of Stillwater. He was married to Elisabeth Foley in 1867. Their children are Samuel, Thomas, James, Mollie, Adie, Stella, and May.
John and James Mathews, brothers of Samuel, came to Stillwater in 1856, and are active, enterprising business men and good citizens. Their business is farming and lumbering.
Peter Jourdain is a native of Canada. He came to Stillwater about the year 1856, and successfully engaged in lumbering. He is a member of the firm of Mathews & Jourdain, a firm engaged in dealing in logs and in manufacturing them into lumber. Mr. Jourdain has a family.
James Rooney was born in New Richmond, Canada East, in 1829. He remained in Canada until 1850, when he removed to Maine, coming thence to Stillwater in 1854. He engaged in lumbering, working at first by the month, and gradually acquiring means and influence for independent work. He is well situated, has a happy home and prosperous business. He was married to Elisabeth McGuire, of Stillwater, in 1863. They have five children.
James N. Castle is a native of Sheffield, Sheffield county, province of Quebec. He received a common school education; read law four years and was admitted to practice. He came to Minnesota in 1862, and taught school part of the time at Afton until 1865, when he was elected county attorney of Washington county. Mr. Castle served as state senator in the eleventh, twelfth, twenty-first, twenty-second, twenty-third and twenty-fourth legislatures of Minnesota. He settled in Stillwater in 1866.
Abraham L. Gallespie was born at Shiloh, Randolph county, Illinois, in 1836. He came to Osceola, Polk county, Wisconsin, in 1850. In 1859 he moved to Stillwater, since which time, with the exception of a year spent in Colorado, and two years in the army as a member of Company D, Second Wisconsin Cavalry, he has followed the business of lumbering and dealing in logs. He has filled the position of alderman in Stillwater. He was married to Adelia F. Wilson, of Osceola, in 1860.
John C. Gardiner came to Stillwater in 1850, from Washington county, Maine. He was born Jan. 5, 1822. On coming to Stillwater he located on a homestead near the city, and followed farming and lumbering for some years. In 1873 he was appointed prison guard, which position he held until a recent date. In 1845 he was married to Mary R. Jackman, in Maine. They have two sons living, Frederic and Albert L. Mrs. Gardiner died in August, 1887.
V. C. Seward was born July 10, 1845, at Laketon, Wabash county, Indiana. He came to Mankato at the age of ten, served an apprenticeship at printing in the office of the Mankato Independent, subsequently attended the Western Reserve College, Ohio; and then became editor of the Cleveland (Ohio) Leader. He returned to Minnesota in 1869, and founded the Redwood Falls Mail. In 1872 he came to Stillwater and purchased the Stillwater Messenger in company with S. S. Taylor. He has had entire control continuously since, and has been successful in its management. He was married to Lily M. Lumbard, at Shakopee, Minnesota, in 1873.
Ralph Wheeler, one of Stillwater's early citizens, commenced piloting an the St. Croix in 1850, and has been continuously engaged in the piloting, steamboating, log and lumber business since. He is one of the original proprietors of the opera house. He was born in Chautauqua county, New York, in 1829. W. H. H. Wheeler, brother of Ralph, has long been a prominent citizen of Stillwater. He married Lura, daughter of Daniel Mears, of Osceola.
Edward Scott Brown, of the firm of Hersey, Bean & Brown, was born Feb. 9, 1830, at Orono, Maine. He received a good education in the common schools and at Foxcroft Academy. He learned the trade of millwright, and in 1852 went to Puget Sound, Washington Territory, via Panama and San Francisco, and was employed two years in building mills. He returned to Orono in 1854, and in 1855 came to St. Anthony, Minnesota, and engaged in the manufacturing and millwright business. He came to Stillwater in 1873, entered the firm of Hersey, Bean & Brown, and in 1883 was appointed receiver of the Northwestern Car Works. Mr. Brown represented his district in the state senate of 1876.
William Lowell was born in Concord, Maine, April 26, 1807. Mr. Lowell was raised on a farm, but followed lumbering after he was twenty-one years old, with the Coburns on the Kennebec river, and afterward took a vessel around Cape Horn to San Francisco, California, with a cargo of manufactured lumber, consisting of ready made houses. He returned in 1850 by the overland route. Two years later he came to Taylor's Falls, but in 1853 settled in Stillwater, where he engaged in lumbering as a partner of S. M. Sawyer. He made a fine farm in Sterling, Polk county, Wisconsin, and lived upon it three years. He was interested in locating pine lands in company with the Colburns of Maine, on the St. Croix waters. He was a member of the Minnesota legislature in 1870. He was married in Concord, Maine, in 1836, to Rhoda Heald. She died in 1842, leaving two daughters. In 1856 he was married to Mrs. Elisabeth Rich, sister of Isaac Staples. Mr. Lowell died in Stillwater, July 15, 1873, leaving a widow and four children.
Albert Lowell was born at Concord, Maine, July 10, 1819. He was married Feb. 5, 1850, to Miss Abby Reed, at Kendall's Mills, Maine. From this union there were four children, of whom three are living, Elmore, Charles G. and Ernest. Mr. Lowell spent his early days in farming on the banks of the Kennebec river. In 1854 he came to Stillwater and settled on a farm near Lily lake, a portion of which farm is now used as a driving park. May 19, 1863, he took charge of the noted Sawyer House in Stillwater, which he afterward purchased. Himself, Mrs. Lowell and their son Elmore have by their invariable courtesy and close attention to business made this hotel one of the most popular in the State. They sold and left the hotel, December, 1887.
Nelson Holmes Van Voorhes, eldest son of Abraham Van Voorhes, settled in Ohio and became a respected and useful citizen, at one time representing his district in Congress.
Andrew Jackson Van Voorhes, the second son, born June 30, 1824, came to Stillwater in 1855, and in 1856 founded the Stillwater Messenger and conducted it until 1868, excepting two years which he spent in the army during the Civil War. He was a member of the Minnesota legislature in 1859-60, and served as clerk of the Minnesota supreme court for one year. From 1863 to 1865 he served as quartermaster in the army, with the rank of captain. He died in Stillwater in 1873.
Henry Clay Van Voorhes, the youngest son, was born in Athens, Ohio, in 1839, and came with his father to Stillwater in 1850. During the war he was a member of Company B, First Minnesota Volunteers, for about eighteen months, when he was discharged for disabilities. He afterward returned to the field with his brother, Capt. A. J. Van Voorhes, but was not on active duty. At the close of the war he returned to Stillwater, which has since been his home. He was married at Arcola, Feb. 9, 1868, to Emily Mower, daughter of John E. and Gracia Mower. In 1887 he went to Alaska.
Louisa, eldest daughter of Abraham Van Voorhes, was married to C. A. Bromley. She died in 18—. Maria, the youngest daughter, was married to D. H. Cutler, of Stillwater.
C. A. Bromley was born in Plattsburg, New York, Oct. 31, 1829. He came to Minnesota in 1851. He erected a fine livery and sale stable on Chestnut street in 1863. Mr. Bromley served in the war of the Rebellion as captain of Company B, First Minnesota, and afterward of Company I, Sixth Minnesota Volunteers. He was married to Louisa Van Voorhes, who died some years ago. He was married a second time, to a Miss King.
Charles J. Butler was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1822. He was educated at the Western University of Pennsylvania. He removed to St. Louis in 1839, where he remained for ten years. He was married to Margaret E. Lansing, of Madison, Wisconsin, in May, 1846. The following July he went as paymaster's clerk, under his father, Maj. John B. Butler, to Mexico, in the Chihuahua expedition, commanded by Gen. John E. Wool. Returning to St. Louis, he engaged in the wholesale grocery business until the spring of 1849, when he disposed of his stock and went to California, where he engaged in mining operations. In August, 1851, he came to Marine as book-keeper for Judd, Walker & Co., remaining with them until he was appointed secretary of the St. Croix Boom Company, which position he held until 1875. In 1856 he removed to Stillwater. In 1857 he was elected delegate to the constitutional convention. He served one term as mayor of Stillwater. In 1862 he served as first lieutenant under David Bronson as captain, and with S. J. R. McMillan as second lieutenant, in the Chengwatana expedition sent from Stillwater to prevent the Chippewas from rising and joining in the Sioux insurrection. He purchased the Nelson warehouse, and, with Capt. Isaac Gray as partner, engaged in the towboat business until 1878. Of late years Mr. Butler has been engaged in business ventures in Western Minnesota, but he still retains his residence at Stillwater. Mr. Butler has always been a lover of field sports and his prowess as a sportsman is well remembered by his old friends. He has four children—two sons and two daughters.
Levi E. Thompson was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, May 5, 1829; educated at Troy Wesleyan Seminary, New York; commenced studying law at the age of fourteen; was admitted to practice by the supreme court at the age of twenty, and, coming to Stillwater in 1852, commenced practice, having associated with him at various times T. E. Parker, Allen Dawson and John Vanderburgh. He was married, October, 1856, to Martha G. Harris, daughter of Albert Harris, an early settler of Stillwater. Mr. Thompson died Nov. 8, 1887.
George Davis was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, Sept. 22, 1832. He received a good school and academic education. He removed to St. Louis in 1852, and to Stillwater in 1853, where he served some years as a mercantile clerk, then as deputy sheriff, then ten years as sheriff of Washington county. He also served as clerk of the district court, and in 1876 as county auditor. In 1865 he was married to Georgiana Stanchfield, of Stillwater. Mr. Davis died in 1879 and Mrs. Davis in 1882, leaving five children.
Wm. Monroe McCluer was born Sept. 6, 1831, in Franklinville, New York. He graduated from Temple Hill Academy, Geneseo, New York, in 1850; studied law in Moscow, New York; graduated at the State and National Law School at Poughkeepsie in 1854, and, removing to Stillwater the same year, engaged in the practice of his profession, in which he has been eminently successful. In November, 1881, he was appointed additional judge for the First district, an office created by the legislature at its special session. Judge McCluer served one term in the house of representatives. He was married to Helen A. Jencks, of Waterford, Saratoga county, New York, Sept. 27, 1858. They have one son, Charles M., practicing law in Stillwater.
John Nicholas Ahl was born at Strasburg on the Rhine, Oct. 7, 1807. After seven years' study he was graduated as a physician at Strasburg Medical College in 1839. He emigrated to America and located in Galena, Illinois, in 1843, where he practiced medicine some years. He was married in 1846 to Lucretia Hartman. In 1850 he removed to Stillwater. In 1852 he built the Washington Hotel (afterward changed to Liberty House), on south Main street. He practiced medicine and followed lumbering and hotel keeping in Stillwater until his death, which occurred in 1878.
Samuel M. Register is a native of Dover, Delaware. He is of French descent, and some of his ancestors took part in the Revolutionary War. He was born in 1827, and came to Stillwater in 1850, where he engaged actively in business, dealing in lumber and pine lands, piloting, steamboating and farming. He was at one time a member of the city council, and a representative in the territorial legislature of 1854-5. He was married to Minerva Causlin in 1856.
J. A. Johnson was born near the city of Wexio, Sweden, April 24, 1842. In 1854 he emigrated with his parents to the United States, arriving at Marine Mills, Washington county, Minnesota late in the fall of that year. He remained at Marine and Stillwater till 1858, attending school a large portion of the time. In the fall of that year he went to school at Dubuque, Iowa. After completing the course of study he learned the trade of locomotive engineer, which occupation he followed till 1866, being in the employ of the United States government the last years of the war, in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. After the close of the war, in 1865, he returned north as far as St. Louis, Missouri, where he married Miss Agnes A. Coler, of that city. He has 5 children, 3 boys and 2 girls. His health having been impaired in the government service, he returned to Marine in 1866, where he remained till Jan. 1, 1874. In the fall of 1873 he was elected to the office of sheriff of Washington county, which position he held for six years, and has been twice re-elected without opposition. Retiring from the sheriff's office in 1880, he removed to Fargo, Dakota, and engaged in the sale of agricultural implements, in which business he has remained up to the present time.
During his residence in the city of Fargo he has held various offices, such as alderman, member of the board of education, etc. In the fall of 1884 he was nominated for the territorial senate and received a majority of 1,133 votes in Cass county, and 835 out of a total of 1,669 in the city of Fargo. In the spring of 1885 he was elected mayor of Fargo by over 300 majority, after one of the most hotly contested campaigns in the political history of the city. In 1886 he declined a re-election. While sheriff of Washington county he devoted his leisure moments to the study of law, and was admitted to practice in all the courts of Minnesota. Although not in active practice his knowledge of law has been of great value to him in the business in which he has been engaged since that time.
Gold T. Curtis was born in Morrisville, New York, Aug. 16, 1821. At the age of eighteen he graduated at Hamilton College, New York, and entered upon the study of law with Judge Morrill, Chenango county, New York. He commenced practicing law at Belleville, New York, in 1850. During the same year he was married to Abigail Anderson, a descendant of Gen. John Stark, of Revolutionary fame, and of the Protestant branch of the royal house of the Stuarts, some of whom came from Scotland to America in 1742. Mrs. Curtis is a lineal descendant of the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots. Mr. Curtis removed to Stillwater in 1854 and entered upon a lucrative law practice. He was elected a member of the Minnesota constitutional convention. In 1857 he was also nominated for the position of district judge, but was defeated by S. J. R. McMillan. He was much respected and held some offices of trust in the city and county. At the breaking out of the Rebellion he enlisted in Company I, Fifth Minnesota, and was promoted to the captaincy of the company, but his health failed and he died in St. Louis July 24, 1862. His remains were brought to Stillwater and interred with military and masonic honors, Aug. 2, 1862.
Harley D. Curtis, a native of New York and a brother of Gold T. Curtis, came to Stillwater in 1851. He held the positions of postmaster and justice of the peace.
Francis Roach Delano.—The ancestors of Mr. Delano came to America in 1621, and were active participants in the stirring scenes and controversies preceding the Revolution. Francis Roach, after whom Mr. Delano was named, was the owner of the ship Dartmouth, one of the vessels out of which the tea was cast into Boston harbor, on the memorable occasion of the Tea Party of 1774. Notwithstanding the affair of the tea, the family, who were ardent patriots, have preserved as a precious relic some of the tea rescued from the general destruction.
Mr. Delano is one of sixteen children in his father's family. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Nov. 20, 1823; received a common school and academic education, and was employed in a machine shop some years. At the age of twenty he was employed in an engineering corps and served two years. He was for two years superintendent of the Boston & Worcester railroad. In 1844 he came to St. Louis, Missouri, and was variously employed until 1848, when he removed to Minnesota and was engaged for a year in St. Anthony (now Minneapolis), in running the government mill. The mill had been leased for five years. Mr. Smith fulfilled the contract, and Mr. Delano, being released from it, came to Stillwater in 1851 and entered into contract with Jesse Taylor, Martin Mower, Jonathan E. McKusick, and Jacob Fisher, under the firm name of Jesse Taylor & Co., to build the territorial prison. Mr. Delano was appointed first warden, March, 1853, and served until 1858. He was intrusted with the expenditure of public moneys from territorial authorities, in caring for and improving the prison. When the state government was organized he was released. He was afterward a member of the firm of Delano, McKusick & Co., sawing and selling lumber. J. E. McKusick and Robert Simpson were members of this firm. Mr. Delano moved to St. Paul in 1862, and was afterward engaged in railroad employment. In 1862 he was commissioned colonel to take command of five companies during the Indian outbreak. The command was stationed at Chengwatana, Pine county. He died February, 1887. He was married Oct. 11, 1846, to Calista Ann Cavander, who, with two sons, survives him.
Henry W. Cannon was born in Delhi, New York, Sept. 25, 1852. He was educated at Delaware Literary Institute. He came to St. Paul in 1870, and in 1871 to Stillwater, where he accepted the position of cashier of the Stillwater Lumberman's Bank. In 1882 he was appointed by President Arthur United States bank comptroller. He was removed by President Cleveland. He is now a resident of New York City, and is engaged in banking.
Dwight M. Sabin was born at Marseilles, La Salle county, Illinois, April 25, 1843. The ill health of the father, who was an extensive land owner and stock raiser, necessitated a removal to the seaside in Connecticut in 1856. In consequence of the continued ill health of the father and his death in 1864, young Dwight was deprived of the thorough education to which he aspired, and, being the oldest son, found the cares and responsibilities of managing his father's business thrown upon his shoulders while he was yet a boy. In 1867 he removed with his mother and younger brother to Minnesota, the year following to Stillwater, where he engaged in business with the firm of Seymour, Sabin & Co. This firm contracted for the convict labor in the state prison, and engaged in the manufacture of doors, sash, blinds and cooperage. The business in 1874 was extended and made to include the manufacture of agricultural implements, including also a machine, boiler shop and foundry, until it is now one of the most extensive establishments in the country.
Mr. Sabin is also interested in other manufactures, among them the C. N. Nelson Lumber Company and the Duluth Iron Company. In 1882 Mr. Sabin was the prime organizer of the Northwestern Car Company, with a capital of $5,000,000. The company was to receive a bonus from the city of Stillwater of $100,000 in bonds, on certain conditions. The company purchased the interests of Seymour, Sabin & Co., thereby coming into possession of their immense manufactories, including those managed under the prison contracts, and elected Mr. Sabin president, and was making rapid progress toward the completion of its plans, when, owing to the stringency of the financial world, it was compelled to make an assignment.
While Mr. Sabin has been busy with the management of his vast manufacturing establishments, he has been no less active and conspicuous as a public spirited citizen, ever taking a great interest in the affairs of his adopted city, of the State and country at large, and his talents and efficiency have been recognized by his fellow citizens, who elected him to the state senate in 1871-72-73, and to the house of representatives in 1878 and 1881. He has several times been a delegate to the National Republican convention, and was chairman of the convention at which James G. Blaine was nominated for the presidency. He was elected to the United States senate in 1883 as the successor of Hon. Wm. Windom.