Jesse H. Soule has been a prominent and enterprising citizen of Grant since 1854. He was born at Avon, Franklin county, Maine, in 1823. Mr. Soule came to Grant when there were but six families in the town, and pre-empted one hundred and fifty acres of land, where he made him a pleasant and attractive home. He has held many positions of trust, having been elected town clerk, which office he held twenty-two years, justice of the peace, assessor, superintendent of schools and county commissioner. He represented his district in the house of the sixth state legislature in 1864. Mr. Soule has been married three times. His first wife left one daughter, his second wife two sons, twins, Osmar and Winfield; his third wife, who still lives, Rachel Michener, to whom he was married in 1871, has three children, Alice, Olive and Reuel.
Albion Masterman and William Rutherford, the first settlers of Grant township, are mentioned among the biographies of the chapter on Stillwater.
LAKELAND.
This town includes the south half of fractional township 29, range 20, and comprises about 65,920 acres. The surface is quite diversified, ranging from undulating prairie land to hills. Before settlement there were prairies and oak openings. The soil is productive and is well cultivated.
The first settlers were French, who located along the lake shore in 1838-39. These early settlers raised the first crops, but were gardeners rather than farmers, and were transient. The first American settler was Henry W. Crosby, who came in 1842, and located on the site of the present village of Lakeland. George Clark, a young man, came with him and made a claim near the ferry, but was drowned not long afterward. This was the first death in the town of which we have any mention. The first marriage was that of Wm. Oliver and Mrs. Mary Davis, a sister of Joseph Haskell, in 1848; the next was that of A. B. Green to Eliza M. Oliver, Oct. 1, 1851.
A ferry was established in 1848. Moses Perrin built a hotel and saw mill the ensuing year, and platted the village of Lakeland. Another mill was built by Ballard & Reynolds. In 1857 Stearns, Watson & Co. built an extensive saw mill at a cost of $45,000. This mill changed hands many times, finally passing into the hands of C. N. Nelson, who enlarged it to a capacity of 20,000,000 feet per annum, a $50,000 investment. The St. Paul & Milwaukee railroad traverses this town near and parallel to the lake shore. The town contributed $5,000 in ten per cent bonds to the building of the road, for which they received an equal amount of railroad stock. The St. Paul & Omaha railroad crosses the lake and a part of the northeastern part of the township of Lakeland. The railroad bridge has its western terminus in Lakeland, a short distance above the village. Lakeland was organized as a town Oct. 20, 1858. The first board of supervisors consisted of Charles A. Oliver, Elias Megean and A. D. Kingsley.
LAKELAND VILLAGE,
Situated on the lake shore, nearly opposite Hudson, Wisconsin, was platted in 1849 by Moses Perrin. A school was taught in 1852 by Harriet E. Newell. A post office was established in 1854; Freeman C. Tyler was the first postmaster. Lakeland has the following benevolent and social societies: Masons, Golden Rule Lodge, No. 65, organized in 1867; Temple of Honor, organized 1877; the Independent Order of Good Templars, No. 200, organized in 1876. It has a Baptist and Congregational church.
Henry W. Crosby was born in Albany, New York, in 1819. He spent his youth in Buffalo. In 1840 he came to St. Croix Falls, and in 1842 to the banks of Lake St. Croix, and located on the site of the village of Lakeland where he resided ten years. During the ensuing thirteen years he followed his trade as machinist at various places, besides serving three years as a volunteer in the Eighth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. He was married in Cottage Grove in 1845, to Hannah Waterhouse. He has four sons.
Reuben H. Sanderson.—Mr. Sanderson was born in Genesee county, New York, in 1831. He received a common school education and studied one year in Brockport Collegiate Institute. He came to Lakeland in 1855, and followed the business of a house carpenter. Mr. Sanderson has filled many town offices, and was a member of the Democratic wing of the state constitutional convention in 1857.