A. B. Damon came from Maine to Princeton in 1853 and made the first claim on the town site.
C. H. Chadbourne was born at Lexington, Massachusetts. At the age of sixteen he embarked in a seafaring life in which he continued nine years. Mr. Chadbourne, wishing to abandon his seafaring ways, and to put himself beyond danger of resuming them, came to the centre of the continent and located on a farm near Princeton in 1856. He has since followed farming continuously. His farm consists of 900 acres under cultivation, 500 of which is devoted to tame grass and pasturage, on which he feeds 150 head of blooded stock. He has a large dairy which nets him $1,200 annually. He was a member of the state legislatures of 1874-5 and was seven years county commissioner of Sherburne county. Mr. Chadbourne was married in 1852 to Deborah Crowell. They have three sons and two daughters.
CHAPTER XII.
CHISAGO COUNTY.
LOCATION—SURFACE—SCENERY.
Chisago county, located on the west bank of the St. Croix river, between the counties of Pine on the north and Washington on the south, the St. Croix river on the east and the counties of Isanti and Anoka on the west, presents an agreeable variety of surface, upland and generally undulating, covered with hard and soft wood timber, well watered by lakes and streams. Its principal streams are the St. Croix and its tributaries, Rush and Sunrise rivers and Goose creek, and its principal lakes are Chisago, Sunrise, Green, Rush, and Goose lakes. Its lake scenery is unsurpassed in beauty. The county takes the name of its largest and most beautiful lake. In its original, or rather aboriginal, form it was Ki-chi-sago, from two Chippewa words meaning "kichi," large, and "saga," fair or lovely. For euphonic considerations the first syllable was dropped.
CHISAGO LAKE.
This lake is conspicuous for its size, the clearness of its waters, its winding shore and islands, its bays, peninsulas, capes, and promontories. It has fully fifty miles of meandering shore line. Its shores and islands are well timbered with maple and other hard woods. It has no waste swamps, or marsh borders. When the writer first came to Taylor's Falls, this beautiful lake was unknown to fame. No one had seen it or could point out its location. Indians brought fish and maple sugar from a lake which they called Ki-chi-sago Sagi-a-gan, or "large and lovely lake." This lake, they said, abounded with "kego," fish.