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Sunday, July 4, 1976
Pg 14 & 15
The Good Samaritan Center north of Albert Lea is on the site of the village of Bancroft, which started in 1856.
William S. Freeb0rn, namesake of the county, was among a group of speculators who picked the village site with the hopes it would become the county seat. It was reported that Bancroft, in fact, was named the county seat in the legislative bill organizing the county, although the clause was later repealed.
The promoters attempted to attract community growth by describing the village in glowing details. One of those who became interested was David Blakely, a newspaperman from the East who met a representative of the St. Paul Land C0. who was in Chicago to purchase printing equipment.
Blakely came in 1857 and was surprised. All he found was a shanty and a Sawmill. He turned out the "Bancroft Pioneer" for a few months and quit. He later became editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
During its heyday, Bancroft was comprised of a sawmill, store, saloon, newspaper office, post office, hotel and blacksmith shop, They village prospered for a brief period but by 1860 the county seat had been established in Albert Lea and several of Bancroft's buildings were moved to the village of Itasca. The remaining structures gradually disappeared.
Thirty years later, in 1890, Bancroft was resurrected when a creamery was built on the south side of Bancroft Creek. The township hall was built north of the creamery and next to it, on the west side, was a grocery store.
The new village of Bancroft continued until 1965.
There are still many people in Freeborn County who remember the village of Bath at a crossroad north of Albert Lea. The village, started in 1857, existed until 1963.
On the southeast corner of the crossroad, the tall, white steeple of St. Aiden's Catholic Church, built in 1857, could be seen rising above the evergreens, which surrounded the church and cemetery.
Across the road to the north, was the Foresters Hall, used for community gatherings and meetings. On the northwest corner a creamery was built in 1891. Nearby was a combination country store and post office. Also in the vicinity was the District 103 schoolhouse built in 1876.
The first past Office at Bath was located in a section of Bath Township in 1876 at the home of L. P. Carlson. Later the office was transferred to the home of James St John, who owned the property where the creamery and store were located. The post office was closed in 1907.
The creamery was originally called the "North Star" and was later changed to "Poplar Grove. M. H. Graham was the first butter maker. In the fall of the first year the creamery operated, a feed mill also went into business.
The creamery shut down in 1957 and later the store folded but both buildings may still be seen on the west side of the road. The school building is gone and the church was destroyed about 1958. The cemetery remains.
The village of Clover, also known as Clover Valley, was formed in 1890 after a newly organized creamery association chose the site to bui1d a modern separator creamery.
Also in 1890, a two story wooden store was built and operated by William P. Pickle. He also became the postmaster and handled the mail at his store. The post office was initially known as Adair but was later changed to Clover, because of the resemblance of Aidair to Adrian.
The village in Pickerel Lake Township ceased to exist after 1915 when the creamery stopped operation. The creamery building was used as a machine shed until it blew down in 1962.
The store building was moved to Conger where it was rebuilt and used as a home. There were two other buildings at the site, a butter maker's home and barn for farmers’ horses.
The Clover storekeeper, Pete Flesch, is said to have promoted a July 4th celebration among a grove of cottonwood trees in the village. There was a large crowd, a lot of beer was drunk and people danced.