History of Goodhue Co Minnesota, 1909
Transcribed by Janice Rice
|
FLORENCE TOWNSHIP FLORENCE TOWNSHIP. Florence constitutes all of township 112, range 13, lying in Goodhue county. A portion of Wacoota bounds it on the north, Lake Pepin forms its northeastern border for a distance of many miles. Central Point also lies to the east. At the south is Wabasha county, and on the west is Hay Creek. The township was organized under the general act of 1858, with its present boundaries. It was named in honor of Florence Graham, daughter of Judge Chris. Graham, of Red Wing. The surface is broken and hilly, with deep valleys running westward from Lake Pepin. In sections 3 and 8 there is considerable peat, and it is probable that this deposit in various parts of the township is much more plentiful than is generally sup- posed. The soil is fertile, well watered by Wells' creek, which, with its many tributaries, has a general course from west to east. The farmers of the township pay particular attention to stock raising and dairying, and have achieved some remarkable results along these lines. The early history is identical with that of Frontenac, and reaches hack to the middle of the seventeenth century.
FRONTENAC, rich in historic traditions, and decorated by the hand of Nature in her most lavish mood, dates its settlement back to the beginning of the eighteenth century, when the sandy point directly opposite Maiden Rock was the scene of much French activity. It is situated in the northeastern part of the town of Florence, on beautiful terraces rising from the level of Lake Pepin. Above the village rises the towering peak of Point No-Point, so called from the fact that the winding of the lake is such that the approaching traveler from down the river, after sighting the point from six or seven miles away, gets apparently no nearer to it until he reaches Frontenac and finds himself a1 its very base. Maiden Rock, opposite Point an Sable, has the common Indian tradition of the maiden who, forbidden to marry her lover, leaped to her death from its precipitous height. The story, told in a breezy manner in a newspaper some years ago. is perhaps more interesting reading than the same story related in more dignified language. The story alluded to is as follows: "A Dakotah maiden, Wenona, camped at the foot of the rock with her family once upon a time, as they say in the fairy tales. Wenona was a very beautiful maiden. Maidens who are heroines of romantic tales are always beautiful, no matter what their color may be. Of course "Wenona had lovers. There was a rich old chief who had polecat skins without number, and ponies and whatever else in the way of personal possessions that made an Indian a desirable suitor in those days. To be sure, he was old, but that did not matter — in the eyes of Wenona 's parents. Wenona herself had given her young heart and love to a brave and handsome warrior named Chaska, who, however, being young, had not yet had time to accumulate polecat skins, and so on. He was therefore not at all desirable in the eyes of the parents, as is often the ease with poor young lovers and prudent old folks. The maiden's parents argued that love is an illusion, and that wealth, represented by polecats or any other commodity, is a very substantial fact, which is a very foolish thing for a maiden to ignore. So these cruel parents forbade their daughter to see the young brave any more and insisted that she marry the rich old chief with the pelts. They thought that settled the question ; but a few evenings later there came floating down from the summit of the Rock, nearly a hundred feet higher, the death song of the heart-broken and faithful Wenona. When it was finished the maid leaped out and fell, a bruised and broken corpse, on the jagged rocks below, almost at the feet of her heartless parents." James Wells, the Indian trader, and others accquainted with Indian character and ways, were asked some fifty years ago what they thought of this tradition, but all agreed that it was unlike the Indian, and that the Indians themselves put little faith in the story. Moreover, Chaska and Wenona are names signifying simply the oldest born son and daughter, respectively, and occurred in every Dakota family. Modern Frontenac had a beginning in the late forties of the nineteenth century, when the old Indian trader, James Wells, more familiarly known as "Bully" Wells. Wells sold his building in 1854 to Everett Westervelt, and removed to Fairbault, afterward meeting with a tragic fate at the hands of the Sioux during the frontier outbreak of 1862. In October of that year Israel Garrard and Louis Garrard spent some time along the shores of Lake Pepin, and greatly prepossessed with the historic associations and beautiful scenery, concluded to secure an interest along the lake shore. Dr. L. H. Garrard went to Europe, where he remained two years, While General Israel Garrard, afterward one of the county's most distinguished citizens, remained at the trading post with Everett Westervelt. In 1857, when the half-breed scrip was. issued, Frontenac was purchased by Mr. Westervelt and Israel Garrard and divided into quarter interests, Mr. Westervelt owning one, L. H. Garrard one, Israel Garrard one, and Kennet Garrard, then in the United States army, the other quarter. General Garrard established what was practically a baronial estate at Frontenac, naming it St. Hubert's lodge. For ages to come, the village of Frontenac, on the lake side, will be inseparably connected with the names of General Israel, Dr. L. H., General Kenner and Colonel Jeptha Garrard, and with that of General McLean, the mother of the Garrards having married his father, Judge McLean. Among the guests at St. Hubert's have been such celebrities as General Charles King, the popular novelist, and Joseph Jefferson, the great actor, as well as innumerable army officers of national note. Frontenac at the present time is a popular summer resort. The Frontenac Inn occupies a point projecting into the lake, consisting of several acres of ground. About this hotel are cottages in picturesque positions, and in the neighborhood are croquet and tennis lawns, boat houses, bathing houses and stables. There are fine opportunities for boating, fishing and hunting, which have won for the place a national prominence. There are charming drives to the fine points of view on the surrounding bluffs on good roads. The drive along the lake shore, six miles to Lake City, affords many a delightful prospect. An Episcopalian chapel offers opportunities for Sabbath worship. Near by is the Villa Maria school for girls, conducted by the Ursuline sisters. General Israel Garrard, for nearly half a century the patriarchal sage and patron of Frontenac, was probably a man of wider and more distinguished fame than anyone else who has resided in this county. Of him it has well been said: "General Garrard was beloved by all who knew him, for his kindly and courtly manner toward all — for he was a peer among the finished gentlemen of his age — and by many he was regarded with a love that could but spring from hearts that had been soothed in times of tribulation and distress by his more than generous sympathy and substantial assistance. The extent of his benevolence, touching the needs of scores of the distressed in this region and elsewhere, will never be fully known. For. though his liberality to all who were in distress is known to have been munificent and far-reaching, he was one who never permitted his loving kindness to be noised about." Israel Garrard was born in Lexington. Ky., October 22, 1825, the oldest son of Jeptha D. Garrard and Sarah Bella Ludlow, his wife. He was descended on the paternal side from James Garrard, one of the earliest settlers and governors of Kentucky, and on the maternal side from Israel Ludlow, one of the original proprietors of the townsite of Cincinnati. As a boy Israel Garrard was a pupil of Ormsby M. Mitchell, afterward attending Cary's Academy and also Bethany College in "West Virginia. He read law with Judge Swayne. at Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from the Harvard law school, at Cambridge. Mass. At the age of twenty-nine, in company with Dr. Louis H. Garrard, General Garrard came into the wilds of Minnesota on a hunting trip. For several weeks he camped on the shores of Lake Pepin, and being impressed with its beauties, determined to make the spot his future borne. He took up a tract of land several hundred acres in extent, running for over seven miles along the shore, and over half as far hack from the water. This land was in the famous half-breed tract, and Colonel Garrard obtained it from the old Jean Baptiste Faribault, paying for the half-breed scrip to the old French-Indian, on the spot where the city of Faribault now stands. The original hunting trip was made in the fall of 1854, and the purchase was confirmed in 1857. After the hunting trip in 1854 Dr. Garrard went to Europe for two years, while General Garrard remained at Frontenac with Everett Westervelt. the successor of James Wells, the Indian trader. In 1857, when the half-breed scrip was issued and the purchase of Frontenac was made, the Garrard tract was divided into quarters, Everett Westervelt owning one, Dr. Garrard one, Israel Garrard one, and Kenner Garrard, then in the army, another. General Garrard at once started the establishment of St. Hubert's lodge. The lodge, now owned by his son, is a quaint mansion, built after the style of the old southern houses of ante- bellum days. A stag's head with a cross between the antlers is the coat of arms of the residence, after the patron of hunters. St. Hubert, who, having as a roysterer dared to desecrate Good Friday by a riotous hunt, was stopped by a spirit stag with a crucifix on his forehead, after which the knight, awe-struck dropped on his knees in the forest, surrounded by his retainers, and devoted his life to the cause of religion, the wild hunters becoming monks, and Hubert their abbot, the castle being converted into a monastery. Albert Durer, the father of etching, long ago portrayed the scene, and a heleotype of the etching, from the Gray collection at Harvard, occupies a. place of honor in the library of the Garrard mansion. Around St. Hubert's lodge at Frontenac were gradually erected small cottages, in which were domiciled the working people of the estate. These were brought from Cincinnati by General Garrard and were, almost without exception, Germans. When the Rebellion broke out, General Garrard, faithful to the Union, hurried south. He raised a troop of cavalry at Cincinnati, equipped it at his own expense and then presented it to the governor of Ohio. Of this regiment, the Seventh Ohio Cavalry, he was the colonel, having had some previous experience during the siege of Cincinnati, on the staff of Major McDowell, commanding the organization of city and state forces. After the mustering in of his regiment, until the close of the war, he was absent from the field but eight days, and then his command was in camp recruiting. He commanded a brigade much of the time, and after the capture of Stoneman on the Macon raid before Atlanta he commanded what remained of the division. June 21. 1865, he was promoted to brigadier general by brevet, and on July 4 of the same year he was mustered out. On taking leave of his regiment he was presented with a cavalry standard, on which was embroidered the following epitome of his service: "Carter Raid, Dutton Hill, Monticello, West's Gap, Nuffmgton Island, Cumberland Gap, Blue Springs, Blountville, Rogersville Morristown, Cheek's Cross Roads. Bean Station, Dandridge, Massy Creek, Fair Garden. Synthiana, Atlanta, Duck River, Nashville, Plantersville, Selma and Columbus." On the plate on the staff is an inscription expressing the regiment's confidence in him as a leader and its respect for him as a patriot and gentleman. At the close of the war the general returned to Frontenac, and with occasional trips to the East, spent the remainder of his life on his estate. He loved books and was a great reader. His generosity was proverbial among the people of southern Minnesota. He was a member of no church, but contributed to all. He almost supported the little Episeopalian chapel, and the Lutherans found him a willing contributor. He gave the Ursuline sisters 100 acres of land on which to build their convent, and there are few rooms in the building that do not contain some article presented by him. The general was a most hospitable man and entertained many well known people at St. Hubert's lodge. General Charles King was a frequent guest, and several of his popular novels were written while at St. Huberl "s. General King was so impressed by the beauty of Frontenac that he made the cottages and hotel the scene of several stories. Joseph Jefferson made St. Hubert's his headquarters for many a fishing excursion, and the army officers always found the latch string hanging outward. General Garrard was very fond of military men. his active service having given him an interest in them which was shared by his two brothers. General Kenner Garrard and Colonel Jeptha Garrard. The former was a West Point graduate, and the latter, like his brother Israel, presented a troop of cavalry to his governor. Israel Garrard was married in May. 1856, to Catherine Wood, the oldest daughter of George Wood, a distinguished New York lawyer To this union were born two children, George Wood Garrard and Margaret Hills Garrard. The general died September 21. 1901. as the result of injuries received while extinguishing a fire caused by an overturned lamp. He is laid to rest in the family cemetery, the spot being one which he and his wife selected many years ago. In his death the county lost a distinguished citizen, hundreds lost a warm friend, and his generation lost a most kindly and noble soul. Mrs. Garrard died January 12, 1867. George Wood Garrard, son of General Israel Garrard, was born in Peekskill, X. Y.. August 20, 1863. He was educated at Morgan Park Military Academy. Chicago 111., and supplemented this training with extensive travels in Europe and the Orient. Like his father, he has been a collector, and the Garrard mansion now contains many relics and works of art which he has added to the family heirlooms. His collection of Japanese curios is particularly interesting. Mr. Garrard has devoted his life to managing the Garrard estates, and at the present time is manager and owner of the Frontenac Stone Company, mentioned else- where. He was married in 1889, October 31, to Virginia Colden Hoffman, daughter of Lindley Murray Hoffman, a prominent New York broker, and his wife, Margaret Mott. To Mr. and Mrs. George Wood Garrard have been born three daughters, Beulah Murray, Evelyn Stuart and Catherine Wood, all at home.
GOODHUE TOWNSHIP. Goodhue comprises township No. 111, range 15, and was originally a part of Belvidere, the combined township having been known as Elmira, York and Belvidere, successively, the latter name being retained by the half included in section 14 to the present day. Goodhue is bounded on the north by Featherstone, on the east by Belvidere, on the south by Zumbrota and on the West by Belle Creek. In the western part there is an outrunning of Trenton limestone, making a high table land. The remainder of the township is lower, with broad valleys and some ridges. There are no big streams, and the soil throughout the township is of good quality and well adapted for the usual crops. The first settlement in the township was in 1854, when Francis Yergens and John Mann came in and staked out claims, built cabins and started to establish their homes in the wilderness. The succeeding year these two were followed by David Hickock, John Ingerbretson, Harry Danielson, Oliver Knutson and Knut Knutson. David Hickock and John Mann opened their houses for the accommodation of travelers. Peter Easterly came in 1856 and finding that Hickock and Mann each had more business than they could attend to, opened another hotel, which also had its full share of business for many years. Some time Later Hickock and Mann both abandoned the business, and for a considerable period Easterly kept the only public house in the place. The first birth in Goodhue was in 1855, when a child was born to Mrs. Francis Yergens. which was christened Henry. The wife of Daniel Hickock died in 1856, this being the first death in the township. The Rev. Jabez Brooks officiated at this service, and the sermon he preached on the occasion was the first religious observance of a public nature in the town. The first school was taught by Georgiette Easterly in the summer of 1857. In 1858 H. H. Oleson opened a blacksmith shop, which was the only one in the township until 1868, when a man named Mutz built a shop near Easterly's hotel. In the spring of 1867 the Goodhue Seed Association was organized for the purpose of receiving the advantages of a combination which would pro- cure seeds and other articles at wholesale instead of retail prices. The officers of the association were: President. Samuel Parker; secretary, Harrison Lowater; treasurer, T. M. Lowater. In the earlier days church services were held at the homes of the settlers; sometimes in charge of a clergyman, lint more often conducted by some of the pioneers themselves. An early church was the German Lutheran church, organized in the spring of 1868 by the Rev. Christian Bender. At that time it had but seven members: A. Seeback, Gotlieb Seeback, R. Haas, Charles Semke. William Betcher, Herman Kempe and Peter Tipke. A church was built the same year at a cost of $500. Rev. Mr. Bender preached the dedicatory service the last Sunday in August. Later a new church, 36x50. was erected at a cost of about $2,500. At a meeting held at the home of Peter Easterly. April 5, 1859, of the voters of that part of Belvidere lying in section 15, the matter of a separate township was favorably acted upon and the following officers were elected tentatively: Supervisors, P. Easterly (chairman). Ezra Bennett. Sylvester Cranson; town clerk, John Stowe ; collector, F. Cranson; assessor, Sylvester Cranson ; overseer of the -poor, H. B. Patterson. At the same meeting it was voted to call the new town Goodhue, after the county. A petition was prepared and this having been granted, September 13, 1859, township 111, range 14, was constituted a separate body, with the proviso that the name be either Lime or Goodhue. For a short time the township was known as Lime. J. Going, then county clerk, appointed in 1859 the following pro- visional officers: Supervisors, Charles H. McIntire (chairman), L. C. Burke, H. B. Patterson ; town clerk, John Stowe ; justices, Samuel Parker, Sylvester Cranson ; constables, H. Olson and S. W. Carney ; assessor, George Spicer ; collector, F. Cranson ; overseer of roads, John Gleason ; overseer of the poor, H. Danielson. The following year a regular board was elected. The name Goodhue, which from the beginning had been the choice of the people, became the official title in January, 1860. Among the early chairmen of the township were Charles H. Mclntire, T. M. Lowater, Samuel Parker, A. A. Anderson, David Purdy, F. Tether, J. Finney, W. H. H. Bruce, E. Kolbe. The early clerks were: L. C. Burke, S. S. Gibson, Isaac Gallagher, Lewis Johnson and John McHugh.
Situated almost in the very center of the county of the same name we find the village of Goodhue, a place of 500 souls, who in a sense regard themselves as farmers, in view of the fact that as you look out upon the country in any direction the eye beholds farms, beautiful farms, consisting of 160 up to 400 acres, studded with tine houses and large barns, a source of great comfort and convenience to the landlords who have selected agriculture as their occupation. When the Duluth. Red Wing & Southern railroad from Red Wing to Zumbrota was in course of construction during the year 1888 it was then that the village of Goodhue came into existence, at first consisting of the railroad camps which were here located during the building of several miles of the road up and down the line, the road being completed in the spring and early summer of 1889. When there was no longer any use for the railroad camps at this place and the tents and so forth had all been removed, there was still a mission for the little burg to perform, and from that time the place has always been regarded as an important trading point, keeping pace with the demands of a large and wealthy agricultural community, which borders on every side, until now there are fifteen stores of various kinds. to say nothing of the numerous business houses, including tin 1 newspaper office of the "Goodhue Enterprise." The country tributary to Goodhue on the north, south, east and west, some years before this village "was known, and before the farmers had taken up diversified farming to a great degree, wheat raising being their principal avocation, had much to do in the making of Goodhue county responsible for Red Wing's reputation of being the greatest inland wheat market in the world, which at first sounds boastful, however, is true, the city of Red Wing at that time receiving more wheat from farmers' wagons than any other place in the world. While very much of this wheat was necessarily brought from territory as far away as Owatonna, ox teams usually making the long '"caravans" that brought in the bread stuff which was shipped from this (then) small place to the eastern markets. Therefore it is not hard for the reader to place a value upon the section of country around us which then figured so prominently in making Red Wing's great grain market and which today borders on this village and whose farmers in the main market their grain at one of the three elevators here found and who buy their goods in the town which affords so good a market place. In addition to the elevators, the village for a number of years boasted of a fine, up-to-date 250-barrel flouring mill, which, according to the way of misfortune, however, about a year ago was burned to the ground. It is almost necessary that a point of this kind have a mill, and today there is talk of one. though not so large as the old one, being founded by the Farmers' Co-operating Company. The business men of Goodhue generally have made good, and their reputation, from a financial point of view, is an enviable one although it is not possible for one in a place no larger than this to accumulate the money that can be done in cities, yet Here are many features surrounding this particular place that spell fascination to the person looking for a good place in which to locate, the death rate, in the first place, being the smallest of any place in the country, good schools, adequate fire protection, a supply of the most beautiful city water that was ever drawn into a glass, and those who believe that the religious sects have much to do with the advancement to any place here have the opportunity of attending the Methodist, Catholic, or English Lutheran church, while only a short way east of the village there are found German Lutheran churches and parochial schools. The village of Goodhue was incorporated at a special election held April 26, 1897: President, P. D. Kelly; councilmen, O. Parker, F. Holtz. C. L. Parkin; recorder, C. E. Rucker. The fire department was organized in 1898. Fire protection at present is furnished by water system from tank on a high elevation in the southwestern part of town, known as Cranson Heights. This tank was put up in 1901 capacity 80,000 gallons. The former protection was furnished by chemical system. Goodhue is noted for its supply of excellent pure water. The village marshal is William A. O'Reilly. The present village officers are : President, H. M. Scovell ; councilmen, D. C. Bell, Joe H. Majerus and Louis N. Schinnert; recorder, A. E. Adler. The leading business men are : First National Bank, with H. M. Scovell, president, and C. A. Arpke, cashier. Goodhue County Telephone Company — Pardiu & Meyer, proprietors. Hardware and machinery — Nelson & Johnson, proprietors. Goodhue Hardware and Implement Company — Lally & McNamara, proprietors. Clothing and men's furnishing goods — Adler, Schacht & Co., proprietors; A. E. Adler, manager. Jewelry, watches, etc., with pianos — H. H. Buck, proprietor. General merchandise — J. N. Banitt, proprietor; J. H. Quast. Goodhue Co-operative Company — C. Rueker, manager; John Meyer, proprietor. Goodhue Cash Store — O. E. Kyllo, manager. Drugs, medicine, etc. — Howard & Co., G. AV. Robinson, manager. Newspaper — Goodhue "Enterprise," D. C. Pierce, publisher and proprietor. Meat market — Heaney Bros. Hotels — Merchants. Mrs. Frank P. Ahern, proprietor; the Goodhue Hotel. J. P. Ahern, proprietor. Lumber — North Star Lumber Company. John McHugh. manager. Millinery -Mrs. J. S. Davis, proprietor. Cigar factory — Hoist & Vieths, proprietors. Harness shop — F. W. Prahl, proprietor. Furniture and undertaking — Zorn & Co.. proprietors. Restaurant and confections — L. X. Schinnert. proprietor. |
