At the organization of Minnesota Territory three counties were created, of which Benton was one. Its eastern boundary followed the course of Rum river from its mouth to its junction with the west branch and thence a line due north to the Mississippi river. The boundary line upon the west followed the windings of the Mississippi down to its junction with Rum river, making a county large and irregular in outline, extending from north to south about one hundred miles, and about forty at its widest point from east to west. The formation of new counties since that time has left it with less than eleven townships lying east of the Mississippi river and bounded on the north by Morrison, on the east by Mille Lacs, and on the south by Sherburne counties. The soil is diversified. There is black sandy loam in the plains and a black vegetable mould in the timber, with clay subsoils. It is a fair agricultural district, having groves of pine and hardwood in the east and natural meadows, prairies and oak openings in the central and western portions. It is well watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries, Elk, Little Rock and Platte rivers. It has some fine lakes, of which Mayhew, Briggs and Little Rock are the largest. A granite formation underlies most of this county and crops out in many places, furnishing valuable quarries. The granite is plain and variegated and is being worked and shipped extensively. Near the village of Watab there is a rich upheaval. The St. Paul custom house is made of the Watab granite.

The Northern Pacific railway passes through this county parallel with the channel of the Mississippi river. The Manitoba, St. Cloud & Hinckley branch passes through the southern tier of towns. The organized towns are Alberta, Gilmanton, Glendorado, Granite Lodge, Maywood, Minden, Sauk Rapids, St. George, and Watab. The villages are East St. Cloud, Foley, Oak Grove, Rice's, and Watab.

The first settlers were Philip Beaupre, in 1844; David Gilman, in 1848; Jeremiah Russell, Wm. H. Wood, James Beatty, Ellis Kling, Wm. Smith, and J. C. Mayhew, in 1849. Sauk Rapids was made the county seat, then Watab, then Sauk Rapids.

The first board of officers, qualified Jan. 7, 1850, were: Commissioners, Wm. A. Aitkin, chairman; Joseph Brown and James Beatty; assessors, Truman A. Warren and Reuben M. Richardson; attorney, W. D. Phillips. The voting precincts were at Sauk Rapids, Swan River and Crow Wing. The judges of election were: For Sauk Rapids, J. Russell, Wm. Sturgis and Curtis Bellows; for Swan River, Philip Beaupre, James Green and Duncan Stewart; for Crow Wing, Allen Morrison, Wm. Morrison and Sylvester Stateler. The first election was held at Pierre Bottineau's house, now in Sherburne county. George Egbert and Thomas Holmes were judges of election.

The first court in the county was held Nov. 11, 1850; Bradley B. Meeker, presiding. David Gilman was the first sheriff, John C. Hawley the second. The first deed recorded was from James Hitchins to Wm. F. Coblett. It bore date of Oct. 21, 1850. Taylor Dudley was register of deeds. The land conveyed was a tract lying at the foot of Sauk Rapids, being a land claim of one hundred and sixty acres, purchased from Calvin Potter.

SAUK RAPIDS.

The site of the village of Sauk Rapids was judiciously chosen. It slopes gently to the river's east bank, giving a pleasant frontage to the rapids. Philip Beaupre came here first in 1844. His son, William P., was the first white child here, born May 24, 1852. Geo. O. Sweet was the second, born Aug. 22, 1852. Several Indian traders located here and at Watab. Following Mr. Beaupre came T. A. Holmes, James Beatty, J. Russell, Calvin Potter, James Hitchins, Curtis Bellows, and Charles Webb. The first plat of Sauk Rapids was made and recorded in 1854. The proprietors were J. Russell, G. M. Sweet and S. Van Nest. The surveyor was C. B. Chapman.

The village was incorporated in 1881. The commissioners appointed under the general act to effect the organization were Alphonso J. Demenles, Erasmus Cross, B. K. Knowlton. A wagon bridge built across the Mississippi at this point cost $25,000. It was greatly damaged by a storm, and partially destroyed by the cyclone of 1886.

The dam across the Mississippi at Sauk Rapids was built in 1870 at a cost of $140,000. The east wing is owned by the Commodore Davidson estate; the west, by the Sauk Rapids Manufacturing Company.

The rapids are formed by the eruption of granite ledges across the channel of the river. A flour mill built here with a capacity of three hundred barrels per day was totally destroyed by the cyclone of April 16, 1886, which was one of the most destructive on record. The estimated loss in Sauk Rapids was $300,000, of which $108,000 was made up by voluntary contributions from St. Paul, Minneapolis and other portions of the State.

The public buildings, including the court house, school buildings and several churches, were destroyed, together with many fine stores and dwellings.

Since the cyclone the village has been handsomely rebuilt. A new court house has replaced the old one at a cost of $6,000, a new school house has been built at a cost of $12,000—a model building with rooms for five departments. There are five new church buildings, an Episcopal, Congregational, Methodist and two Lutheran.

WATAB.

Watab appears to have been a noted Indian trading post from 1844 to 1855. Asa White, D. Gilman, C. W. Borup, N. Myrick, Gen. Lowry, and others were located, or had stations here. Watab was for a short time the county seat of Benton county. A bridge was once built across the Mississippi here, but it has disappeared. The village site was surveyed and platted, and a post office established in 1853. P. Lamb was postmaster. A steam saw mill was erected here, but was afterward removed. The first improved farm in Benton county was located in the vicinity. David Gilman, Benjamin Bright and George Goodhue were early settlers.

Philip Beaupre was born in Lower Canada, in 1823. As his name indicates, he is of French descent. He received a French education. He came West in 1841; entered the employ of the fur company in 1843, and located at Sauk Rapids in 1844. When he arrived there were no white inhabitants, save Indian traders, on the Mississippi north of St. Anthony. Mr. Beaupre built a log house in 1851, and was continuously engaged in trade until succeeded by his sons. He assisted in forming the county, town and village organizations, filling many offices of trust and honor. In 1880 he served as judge of the probate court, and since as collector of customs at Pembina. In 1851 he was married to Teresa de Noyes, of St. Louis, and has a family of seven sons and six daughters, all residing in Benton county.

David Gilman.—Hon. David Gilman, of Watab, was born April 29, 1812, at Saratoga, New York. He was left fatherless at the age of six months, and his mother subsequently placed him in the family of a neighbor to be brought up and cared for until the age of twenty-one. As he grew older he was not pleased with this arrangement, and at the age of fourteen left his home to adventure for himself. His opportunities for securing an education were limited. In 1836 he came to Michigan. In 1844 he married Nancy W. Lamb, of Woodstock, Vermont. In 1848 he came to Watab, Minnesota, and made him a permanent home, making himself a useful, influential and public spirited citizen, filling many positions of trust in his town, county and state governments. Amongst the offices filled by him were those of deputy United States marshal, member of the second territorial legislature, and of the constitutional convention. He was postmaster at Watab from the establishment of the office in 1849 until 1885, when he died, greatly lamented by his friends and honored by all who knew him. Mrs. Gilman and four children survive him.

James Beatty was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, April 27, 1816. When fourteen years of age he went to Cass county, Michigan. He farmed for the Winnebago Indians near Fort Atkinson, Iowa, for several years, and coming to Minnesota in 1848 located at Sauk Rapids, which he made his permanent home. He has been engaged as Indian trader, hotel keeper, merchant and farmer. He was a member of the Minnesota territorial legislatures of 1851, 1853 and 1854. He was married to Eliza Foscet, of New York, in 1854. They have three children living.

Ellis Kling was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, Oct. 15, 1824. He was brought up as a farmer, and has made farming his occupation through life. He came to Sauk Rapids in 1851. In 1854 he was married to Lucy Lewis, of Belle Prairie. They have five sons and one daughter.

George W. Benedict.—Mr. Benedict was born at Rochester, New York, in 1827. He served an apprenticeship to a printer in Canada for five years. In 1851 he was married to Anna Cronk, a native of Prince Edward county, Canada. For four years he published the Tecumseh (Mich.) Herald and in 1854, having removed to Sauk Rapids, established the Frontiersman for Jeremiah Russell. This paper he conducted for three years. He then conducted the New Era for one year. In 1868 he established the Sauk Rapids Sentinel, which he conducted four years, when he started the Alexandria Post and also became a member of a company that published the St. Cloud Press, with which he was connected one year. In 1872 he re-established the Sauk Rapids Sentinel, which he sold to W. L. Nieman, but repurchased after the cyclone of 1886. Mr. Benedict was in the United States revenue service ten years, and served as a member of the state senate one term.

J. Q. A. Wood was born in Chichester, New Hampshire, in 1815. He graduated at Union College, New York, in 1843; studied law with President Franklin Pierce; was admitted to practice in 1846, and made his home at Sauk Rapids in 1854, which has been his home ever since, with the exception of some years spent in Kentucky as editor of the Southern Kentucky Shield. This paper was suppressed in 1862. Returning to Sauk Rapids in 1864, he engaged in the practice of law, in which he has since continued. During this period he served eleven years as county attorney, and also a term as probate judge. Mr. Wood was seriously injured in the great cyclone, having been buried in the debris of the court house, from which, with great difficulty, he extricated himself. Mr. Wood is a poetical writer of some reputation, many of his productions having been received with great favor. Among them we may mention "Father is Growing Old, John," "Ode to New Hampshire," and "The Wine of Cyprus." He has one son, a resident of Dakota, and one daughter, the wife of D. C. Roberts of West Superior.

William H. Wood was born in London, New Hampshire, Feb. 2, 1817. When he was fourteen years of age his father removed to Tecumseh, Michigan. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1839 and afterward took a course in Union College, New York, graduating in 1843. He then returned to Tecumseh, Michigan, where he studied law with Judge Stacy. In 1845 he was admitted to the bar in Lenawee county, Michigan. During the presidential campaign of the year following he edited a paper in Kentucky, the Rough and Ready, advocating the claims of Gen. Taylor for the presidency. In 1848 he located in Greensburg, Kentucky, and in 1849 was married to a lady of refinement, known to the literary world under the nom de plume of "Minnie Mary Lee." In 1849 he removed to Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. He was there editor of the pioneer paper, the Frontiersman. He afterward owned, and with his gifted wife edited, the New Era, in which he was an ardent supporter of Mr. Lincoln for the presidency in 1860. Meanwhile he practiced his profession and held the office of county attorney for many years. When the land office was established at Sauk Rapids he was appointed receiver and served a number of years. He was a member of the first state legislature. In 1869 he was elected president of the New Athens College, Greensburg, Kentucky, and served a short time, when he contracted the disease that afterward terminated his earthly career. Mr. Wood was a man of more than ordinary ability, an eloquent speaker, a fluent and gifted writer, whose influence will long be felt. He left a widow and three children.

Mrs. W. H. Wood has been a liberal contributor to magazines and the author of several volumes, of which a list is here appended: "The Heart of Myrrha Lake;" "Into the Light of Catholicity;" "Hubert's Wife;" "The Brown House at Duffield;" "Strayed from the Fold;" "Three Times Three; or, Basil, Beatrice, Ethel;" "Story of Annette;" "Hazel Green's Rival."

A. de Lacy Wood, son of Mrs. W. H. Wood, edits the Two Harbor Iron Post, in Lake county.

P. H. Wood, second son of Mrs. W. H. Wood, edits the Sauk Rapids Free Press.

Rev. Sherman Hall was born in Weathersfield, Vermont; was educated at Exeter Academy, Dartmouth College and Andover Theological Seminary. He was married to Betsey Parker in 1831, and ordained the same year as a missionary to the Chippewa Indians at La Pointe. With them he remained until 1854, when he transferred his residence to Sauk Rapids and organized a Congregational church, of which he continued pastor until his death, Sept. 1, 1859. Mr. Hall made a translation of parts of the Bible into the Ojibway tongue. He was greatly beloved amongst his people for his firm, christian demeanor and publicly recognized as a man of integrity and sound judgment. He served the people of Benton county as judge of probate court and county superintendent of schools.

Jeremiah Russell was born in Eaton, Madison county, New York, Feb. 2, 1809. He received a common school and academic education, and learned to set type in the office of the Chautauqua Gazette. He subsequently taught school and worked for awhile in printing offices. Removing to Palmyra, he clerked in a store several years. In 1835 he came to Michigan, and thence to the Lake Superior country, where he superintended a copper mine for a couple of years, at Left Hand river, near the head of the lake. In 1837 he came to Fort Snelling, and in 1839 accompanied Frank Steele and others to St. Croix Falls, and engaged in building a saw mill. In 1840 he went to Pokegama mission as government farmer and blacksmith. About 1842, at the closing up of the Pokegama mission in consequence of Indian disturbances, he purchased the old Connor trading post and farm. In 1843, with Elam Greely, he went down the St. Croix and up the Mississippi and Rum rivers in a birch canoe, exploring for pine timber. They found Rum river blockaded at one place a distance of three-quarters of a mile, with drifts or rafts of trees, consolidated and held together by the roots of grasses and water willows, the accumulations apparently of ages. Around this raft they made a portage, and ascended a tributary of Rum river to its source, thence down the Kanabec or Snake river to Pokegama. In 1848 Mr. Russell came to Crow Wing, Minnesota, as agent for Borup & Oakes, Indian traders and fur dealers. In the autumn of 1849 he established himself at a point two miles above Sauk Rapids, and opened up a farm of one hundred and thirty acres. At the end of four years he moved down the river and made a land claim on the west side, including the water power of Sauk Rapids. He owned an interest also in the water power on the east side. In 1854 he was one of the company that surveyed and platted the village of Sauk Rapids. He established the pioneer newspaper, the Sauk Rapids Frontiersman.

Mr. Russell for several years held the office of county auditor and treasurer, and in 1849 was elected to the territorial legislature. His name appears in the list of members, but he was present only at the opening sessions, and voted for but a single measure. He had told his constituents before his election that he would not serve. At this time he was Democratic in politics but in later life voted the Republican ticket. Mr. Russell possessed a warm, generous nature, combined with integrity of character, which gained for him the love and esteem of his many friends. Ever ready to extend a willing hand to those in need, and, as far as lay in his power, to assist those in distress, he will ever be remembered with kindly feelings by all who knew him. Though exposed to all the temptations and vicissitudes of an early settler's life, coming in contact with all kinds of social conditions, he never departed from the path of christian rectitude, and those with whom he came in contact will ever remember him for his kind heartedness and gentlemanly bearing.

Sept. 20, 1843, he was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Oakes (daughter of the late Chas. H. Oakes), who survives him. Seven children were born unto them, but only three are now alive. These are Mrs. W. L. Nieman, Miss Julia A. and Mr. J. A. Russell. Mr. Russell died at his home in Sauk Rapids in 1885.

Edward Oscar Hamlin was born at Bethany, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, June 12, 1828. He received his preparatory education at his native place; entered Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, in 1848, and graduated in 1858, third in his class, and in three years received the degree of A.M. He read law first at Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, with Hon. Geo. W. Woodward (afterward one of the judges of the supreme court of Pennsylvania); at Honesdale, Pennsylvania, later with Earl Wheeler, Esq., and was admitted to the bar Sept. 7, 1852. After practicing for two years at Honesdale, he decided to go West, and in 1855 settled in Sauk Rapids. He was admitted to practice in the territorial courts, and in 1856 was admitted to practice by the supreme court. Judge Hamlin was elected the first mayor of the city of St. Cloud. He was nominated by the Democratic party for governor, and subsequently for judge of the supreme court. He was also, in 1860, appointed by Gov. Ramsey "a regent of the University of the State of Minnesota," and was subsequently an efficient and zealous member of the state board of normal instruction.

Soon after the outbreak of the Rebellion, in 1861, Gov. Ramsey tendered him the commission of major of the Seventh Regiment, Minnesota Volunteers, but his eyesight being defective, he was obliged to decline it. In 1864 Judge Hamlin was chosen by the Democratic party as one of the delegates to the Democratic national convention. He was appointed as one of the committee on platform, and openly denounced, with three others, the platform before it was adopted, because it declared the war for the Union a failure. Judge Hamlin was a war Democrat, and hung out the stars and stripes over his residence in Sauk Rapids, the first one in that town to do so. In 1873, being an only child and yielding to the solicitations of his parents, Judge Hamlin returned to his native county and opened an office in Honesdale. After a short residence there he removed to Bethany, which has since been his home. He continued the practice of his profession in Honesdale until June, 1885, when failing health compelled him to retire.

Judge Hamlin has been twice married. His first wife was Mary A., daughter of Judge Eldred, who for a quarter of a century graced the bench of Pennsylvania. She died at St. Cloud, Sept. 27, 1868. In October, 1870, Judge Hamlin married Ella F., daughter of E. B. Strong, Esq., for years clerk of the district court of Stearns county.

MORRISON COUNTY.

Morrison county is somewhat irregular in outline. It is bounded on the north by Crow Wing and Cass, on the east by Mille Lacs, on the south by Benton and Stearns, on the west by Stearns and Todd counties. The portion east of the Mississippi originally belonged to Benton county, and the portion on the west side to Todd county. It contains 1,139 square miles. The eastern part is well covered with pine and hardwood forests. The west and central portions consist of oak openings and brush prairies. The groves are interspersed with poplar. The surface is generally level, but is well drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries, mostly small streams. It has some fine lakes in the northern and central parts. The soil is well adapted to farming. A granite range, an extension of the range of Sauk Rapids and St. Cloud, passes through the county.

William Nicholson was probably the first settler in this county. He first came to Swan River in 1847, in company with ten other men. They forded the Mississippi near the mouth of Swan river, made a raft and floated down the river a few miles, where they abandoned it on account of low water, and returned south, whence they came. The next summer Nicholson returned with twenty-two men, crossed the river at the same place, and cut a road through to the Winnebago agency at Long Prairie. Returning the same year to the crossing, he found Wm. Aiken had made a claim and was building a hotel and store on the east bank of the river. Mr. Nicholson remained some years in the vicinity, but is now a resident of Little Falls. Wm. Aiken permanently located at Swan River in 1848, one year after Nicholson's arrival at that point. He died in 1851, aged about sixty-five years. He had two Indian wives. They quarreled and fought savagely at the funeral as to which was entitled to the position of chief mourner, wife number one coming off victorious. James Green made a squatter's claim in 1848, and built a saw mill on the east side of the Mississippi by the island at the falls. Wm. Knowles located at the mouth of Rabbit river in 1849. John Stillwell came to Swan River in 1849. He was a carpenter and worked at his trade until 1866, when he went into the hotel business. He now resides at Little Falls. He and Nicholson are the only old settlers of Swan River remaining in the county.

At the organization of the county in 1856, Little Falls, located on the Mississippi a short distance above Swan River, became the county seat. The year before and the two years following were years of wild speculation. The chief ambition of the speculators was to found a city. During these years twenty-four village or town plats were recorded in the office of the register of deeds in Morrison. Not all, however, were located within the bounds of the county, some being platted on unsurveyed government lands. Of these towns, the only one remaining, or of note, is Fergus Falls, Otter Tail county, platted by a company from Little Falls. Of the towns located in Morrison county, every one vanished except Little Falls, though Swan River, Belle Prairie and Granite City kept up an appearance of prosperity for a time.

The early history of Morrison county is enlivened by many thrilling incidents of Indian warfare, chiefly of contests between the Sioux and Chippewas. The Sioux had claimed the territory from time immemorial, but over a hundred years ago the Chippewas had driven them westward across the Mississippi and were in possession of the soil. The tribal hostility of the two races continued to manifest itself in predatory and retaliatory raids, and from these the early settlers were often sufferers.

Nathan Richardson, the historian of Morrison county, an authority to whom we are greatly indebted, says that the country was acknowledged to be Chippewa ground before and during the settlement by the whites, but that the Sioux made frequent raids through the counties in parties of from five to twenty-five, their principal object being to possess themselves of Chippewa scalps. The Chippewas retaliated by pursuing the Sioux into their own prescribed limits. Mr. Richardson avers that the Chippewas were seldom known to treat the white settlers uncivilly, while the Sioux would kill stock to supply their wants, for which the settlers were left without compensation from Indians or government.

The Winnebagoes were for some years located within the bounds of Todd and Morrison counties. In 1848 Gen. Fletcher removed them from Fort Atkinson, Iowa, to Long Prairie, west side of the Mississippi; but although the agency was located at Long Prairie, the Indians occupied the Swan River valley within the present limits of Morrison and Todd counties for a period of seven years, where they engaged partly in hunting and partly in farming, having about two hundred acres under cultivation, when they became dissatisfied and were removed to the Blue Earth country.

When the Winnebago Indians were brought to Long Prairie and the Swan River valley, in 1848, the government built Fort Ripley on the west bank of the Mississippi, about twenty miles above the mouth of Swan river. The government still owns the fort and reservation around it, and keeps a garrison there. Fort Ripley, however, has other associations than those connected with the Winnebagoes. It was necessary to place a force here during the Indian outbreak in 1862, the object being to overawe and hold in check the Chippewas, who were more than suspected of an intention to make common cause with the Sioux in their warfare against the whites. There the Seventh Regiment, Minnesota Volunteers, had its headquarters for a time.

Morrison county was named in honor of Hon. Allen W. Morrison, who came to Minnesota some time in the '20s, and was prominent in the early history of the Territory. It was organized April 18, 1856, by the election of the following county officers: Commissioners, Wm. Trask, Elliott J. Kidder and W. W. Stebbins; register of deeds and clerk of board of commissioners, Nathan Richardson; judge of probate, James Fergus; sheriff, Jonathan Pugh; district attorney, W. B. Fairbanks; assessors, W. B. Tuttle and John Fry.

The first term of court was held May 15, 1856; Judge Moses Sherburne, presiding. The first deed recorded was dated June 19, 1854, conveying from William Shelafoo to Louis Robair the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter, and lots 3, 4 and 5 of section 30, township 40, range 32.

Morrison county is subdivided into the following towns: Agram, Belle Prairie, Buckman, Bellevue, Culdrum, Elmdale, Green Prairie, Little Falls, Morrill, Motley, Parker, Pierz, Pike Creek, Ripley, Swan River, and Two Rivers.

LITTLE FALLS VILLAGE,

The county seat of Morrison county, is located on the east bank of the Mississippi river, in sections 7, 8, 18 and 19 of township 40, range 32. It derives its name from a rapid in the Mississippi river, formed by the extension across the river of the slate stone ledges of the St. Louis. The site is a prairie, sloping gently to the water's edge. The first survey was made in 1855, by S. M. Putnam. The village grew rapidly from the first, and in 1857 the best lots were selling for $1,000 each. Previous to 1855 the only houses in the place were two cabins, a frame building in which E. J. Kidder lived, and a school house. Two hotels were built that year, one by Joseph Batters, the other by W. B. Fairbanks and Nathan Richardson.

The first settlers were the Kidders, Fairbanks, Batters, Richardson, James Green, William Sturgis, William Butler, and O. A. Churchill. James Green came as early as 1848, and took a squatter's claim on the east bank, including the water power, and built a saw mill, but soon after died, and the property passed into the hands of H. M. Rice and Capt. Todd, who in 1850 sold their right to Wm. Sturgis. In 1852 John M. Kidder pre-empted the mill power, transferring it to the Little Falls Company, consisting of Wm. Sturgis and Calvin Tuttle, organized in 1854 for the improvement of the falls. This company purchased about 1,000 acres of adjoining land from the government, and in 1855 merged into a stock company with a capital of $100,000, of which the original company retained one-half, the remaining half being converted into cash. The stock rose in value at one time two hundred and fifty per cent.

The company built a new dam and mills, but the revenue did not keep the property in good condition after the expenditures. These valuable improvements, including the dam and mills, were all swept away by high water in 1860; the firm became bankrupt, and the valuable power became nearly worthless and entirely useless, until 1887, when a new company, known as the Little Falls Water Power Company, was formed with a paid up capital of $600,000, which is distributed among eastern and western capitalists. The company is now constructing very extensive works, the power of which will have a head, or fall, of twenty feet, thus making it the largest water power, next to Minneapolis, to be found in the whole Northwest. The dam, now about completed, has cost about $200,000.

So thoroughly convinced are the people of Morrison county of the great future before it, that, by a majority of over 2 to 1, they voted a subscription of $100,000 in 5 per cent bonds as a bonus to be delivered to the company upon the completion of the work. The village of Little Falls also entered into a contract with the company, agreeing to pay annually a sum of money equal to the taxes imposed upon that corporation, and also to exempt from taxation any manufactory using the water power for a period of five years. The improvements under process of construction consist, first, of a dam across the entire river, resting, however, against the head of Mill island; second, a canal on the west side, starting from a point opposite the head of Mill island, and extending 1,000 feet down stream. This canal is 80 feet wide and 13 feet deep, is lined with a retaining wall, and provided with head gates at the upper end and with a waste way at the lower end; third, a wheel house, races, and, if found desirable, a wire rope tower for transmitting power to Mill island and to the east shore. Basing the rental of this power on that of the water power at Lowell, Massachusetts, it would be worth $150,000 per annum. The officers of the company are W. H. Breyfogle, of Louisville, Kentucky, president; M. M. Williams, of Little Falls, secretary and treasurer.

Little Falls was incorporated as a village in 1880, Louis Houde president of the board. The improvement of the water power has given a strong impulse to the prosperity of the village. It numbers now amongst its public buildings a court house, school house having rooms for six grades, two Catholic churches, one Congregational, one Episcopal and one Methodist church. In Belle Prairie, four miles distant, there is also a Catholic church, school and a nunnery.

A bridge, built at a cost of $24,000, crosses the Mississippi at this point. The bridge is 400 feet in length. The Little Falls & Dakota railroad, a branch of the Northern Pacific, is finished from Little Falls to Morris in Stevens county, a distance of 85 miles. In addition to the mills connected with the water power there is also a steam saw mill.

ROYALTON VILLAGE

Is located in an oak grove on the Northern Pacific railroad, twenty miles above Sauk Rapids, and ten below Little Falls near the south line of Morrison county. It includes some lands in Benton county. Platte river flows through the village and furnishes a water power of 8 feet head, improved by a dam, supplying a flour mill which has a capacity of 250 barrels per day, and a saw mill with a capacity of 40,000 feet. There is 65 feet fall on the Platte within five miles of Royalton below, and 45 feet above the village, yet unimproved. James Hill, of Baldwin, St. Croix county, Wisconsin, with Putney and Nobles erected the flour mill, John D. Logan, the proprietor, having donated the water power and grounds for manufacturing purposes. Mr. Logan has a steam saw mill with a capacity of 30,000 feet per day. The Platte is spanned by an iron bridge. The village has, in addition to its mills, a weekly newspaper, a large elevator, a good graded school with six departments, and three churches, Episcopal, Presbyterian and Methodist. It was surveyed and platted in 1879 by John D. Logan, and incorporated in 1887. The first officers were: President, J. D. Logan; recorder, John Holmes; trustees. J. C. Wakefield, J. C. Higgins, R. Lambert; treasurer, G. E. Putney; justices, Robert Brown, Wm. Jones; constables, Wm. Roller, C. O. Brannen.

Peter Roy, a mixed blood of French and Chippewa parentage, was born in Rainy Lake, in 1829. He was educated at La Pointe, Wisconsin. At the age of twenty-one he came to the agency at Long lake, where he served as interpreter until 1853, when he was elected to the territorial legislature. He opened a farm at Belle Prairie in 1855; became a member of the state legislatures of 1860 and 1862. In 1866 he removed to Little Falls, where he resided until his death, in 1883. He was a man of large frame and of generous impulses, liberal and open-handed, even to his own pecuniary disadvantage.

Wm. Sturgis came to this county from Big Meadow, Sherburne county, Minnesota, in 1850, and located at Little Falls, where he put a ferry across the Mississippi. He also laid out a town and built a saw and grist mill at the mouth of Little Elk river. He was a member of the territorial council from Crow Wing and Sauk Rapids precincts in 1849 and 1851; of the territorial house in 1856, and of the constitutional convention, Democratic wing, in 1857. Some years later he removed, first to Montana, and then to Sturgis, Michigan.

James Fergus was born in the parish of Glassford, Lanarkshire, Scotland, Oct. 8, 1813. His parents were well-to-do farmers, and gave him a good education along with excellent moral and religious training. In his youth he was noted for his thoroughness in whatever work he undertook, and his fondness for good books. At the age of nineteen years he came to America to improve his fortunes, locating first in Canada, where he spent three years, and learned the trade of a millwright. Becoming involved in some political troubles just before the outbreak of the Papineau Rebellion, he left Canada for the United States, and spent a couple of years in Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and at Chicago and Buffalo Grove, Illinois, going thence to Iowa, and thence to Moline, Illinois, where he found employment in the machine shops and foundries of Buford, Sears & Wheelock. In 1854 he removed to Little Falls, and in company with C. A. Tuttle built a dam across the Mississippi and platted the village. He subsequently owned the site of Fergus Falls, now a thriving city, that has done well in assuming his name. In 1862 he drove his own team from Little Falls to Bannock, then in Idaho, now in Montana Territory. He became prominent in territorial affairs; was influential in the organization of the new county of Madison, and held many positions of trust and responsibility. He was the commissioner appointed for Madison county, served two terms in the Montana legislature, and was a member of the constitutional convention of 1887. At one time he lived in Lewis and Clark counties; he now resides in Meagher county, near Fort Maginnis, where he is engaged in stock raising.

His main characteristics are an aptitude for mechanical enterprises, a sturdy independence of thought, a strict integrity of purpose, and an ardent love of study and good books. He is a typical pioneer, and in the mellow light of his declining days has the respect and love of his contemporaries to a remarkable degree. He is the first president of the Montana Pioneer Association, a position which he worthily fills.

Mr. Fergus was married March 16, 1845, to Parnelia Dillin, of Jefferson county, New York. Mrs. Fergus died Oct. 6, 1887. He has one son and three daughters, the latter married and living in Montana.

Nathan Richardson was born in Wayne county, New York, in 1829. He was raised on a farm, educated at Romeo, Michigan, and came to Little Falls in 1855. He served as register of deeds for Morrison county eight years, and was postmaster eleven years. He also served as county surveyor and county attorney, having been admitted to the bar in 1877. He was notary public twenty-five years. He was a representative in the Minnesota legislatures of 1867, 1872 and 1878. During his first term in the house he represented nineteen counties, nearly one-half the territory of the State. He served as judge of probate two terms. Mr. Richardson has prepared, by order of the board of county commissioners, and published in the local papers, a complete and valuable history of Morrison county, to which we are greatly indebted. He was married to Mary A. Roof in 1857, and has a family of three sons and two daughters.

Moses La Fond, a Canadian Frenchman, came to Morrison county in 1855, and located at Little Falls, where he commenced as a teamster for the Little Falls Manufacturing Company. He found more lucrative employment, became a butcher, then a merchant, then a legislator, having been elected a representative in the legislature of 1874.

O. A. Churchill.—Orlando A. Churchill was born in Windsor county, Vermont, in 1825. He came to Illinois in 1843, and to Little Falls in 1855, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. He was elected to the legislature of 1858, but did not serve, as no session of the legislature was held that year. He served several years as auditor of Morrison county. He removed to St. Paul a few years ago, and later to California, but is now again a resident of Little Falls.

John M. Kidder made a claim of government land on the east side of the Mississippi, on the site of Little Falls. He died in 1855, before the land was entered, and the claim was purchased by Wm. Sturgis, a son-in-law of Mr. Kidder, and by him sold to the Little Falls Company. Elliott J., a son of John M. Kidder, is still a resident of Little Falls.

Warren Kobe located at Royalton in 1880 and built an elevator, store and first class hotel. Mr. Kobe is a public spirited citizen and has expended much in improving the town.

Ola K. Black, of Norwegian birth, was one of the first settlers.

Ira W. Bouch came from Buchanan county, Iowa, in 1880, and opened the first store in Royalton.

Robert Russell, living on a farm near the village, came from Scotland to America in 1850 and settled here in 1853. Mr. Russell died in July, 1862; Mrs. Russell died in 1876. Three sons and five daughters survive them.

Peter A. Green, a farmer, pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres in 1854, a part of which is surveyed into town lots. He built the second building on the town site. Mr. Green was born in 1817, in Green county, New York, where he married. He died January, 1884. His widow and two sons survive him.

Rodolphus D. Kinney was the first settler on the town site of Royalton, in 1854, erected the first house and was the first postmaster, in 1856. Mr. Kinney gave the name of Royalton to the post office, the name being that of his birthplace, in the state of Vermont. He was born in 1828; had good educational advantages in youth and attended Fairmount Theological Seminary in Cincinnati; was an associate of the early Presbyterian missions and was the first school teacher in Morrison county, in 1851 and 1852, at Belle Prairie. He was married in St. Paul in 1852. His eldest son, Jonathan, was born in 1853. One daughter lives in Alabama and his youngest son is a physician at Royalton.

John D. Logan came to Minnesota from Philadelphia in 1855 and located in Hastings; served during the war in Company G. First Minnesota Regular Volunteers. In 1879 he came to Royalton and devoted himself to the development of the water power and the building up of the village. He has a wife and three children.

CROW WING COUNTY.

The county of Crow Wing was organized in 1857. Prior to this period it was included in Benton and other counties. It now includes eleven whole and eight fractional townships in townships 43 to 47, ranges 28 to 31, inclusive. The Mississippi river bounds it on the west and northwest, Aitkin county on the east and Morrison on the south. Its soil ranges from a light sandy to a dark loam, with clay subsoil, and the timber includes the pines and the hardwoods common to the latitude. There are also fine meadows and burr oak openings. It is watered by the tributaries of the Mississippi and its surface is dotted with lakes. It is well adapted to stock raising and agriculture.

C. H. Beaulieu appears to have been the first white man to locate within its boundaries. He established a trading post as early as 1837, near the mouth of Crow Wing river. His successors in trade were Allen Morrison and Donald McDonald. Philip Beaupre was here in 1844. When Fort Ripley was built S. B. Olmstead, with his family, built a house and improved a farm opposite the fort on the east bank of the Mississippi. Mr. Olmstead came from Prairie du Chien in 1849. While residing here he served as a member of the second, fifth and sixth territorial legislatures, and in 1854 was elected president of the council. After living here several years, he removed to Texas, and died there some years ago. Mr. Olmstead kept a hotel and managed to secure most of the hay, beef and wood contracts for the fort. Henry M. Rice had a trading post at one time at Crow Wing village, about eight miles above the fort. John H. Fairbanks ran a ferry at the village. Other settlers were Wallace Bean, Henry Whipple, F. M. Campbell, W. B. Wakefield, Ed. Lyndes, Albert Fuller, Thomas Cathcart, Daniel S. Mooers, S. C. Abbe, and members of the Beaulieu family. James A. Parish was the first justice of the peace. John McGillis, who lived at Crow Wing in 1853, was the second and served about fifteen years. In 1856 the first farm was opened on government land, not far from Crow Wing village, by Wallace Bean. The second farm was taken by David McArthur, a Canadian, originally from Scotland. George Van Valkenburg opened a blacksmith shop at Crow Wing in 1856, lived there two years and was then employed as government blacksmith by the Indian department, and served as such for twelve years. Crow Wing county was organized in 1857, with the following board of officers: County auditor, C. H. Beaulieu; register of deeds, F. M. Campbell; county treasurer, Robert Fairbanks; county commissioners, J. H. Fairbanks, Allen Morrison, S. B. Olmstead; judge of probate court, Dennis Shaff. The county organization took effect Jan. 1, 1858. The county was attached for judicial purposes, first to Ramsey, and then to Morrison county. F. W. Peake came to Crow Wing in 1858, and opened a trading post, and was afterward one of the mercantile firm of Peake & Wakefield. Rev. E. S. Peake, an Episcopal clergyman, came to Crow Wing about the same time, built a church and remained as rector till the breaking out of the war, when he accepted the chaplaincy of a Wisconsin regiment. After the war he removed to California, and carried on a mission a few years, but later returned to Minnesota and is now stationed at Detroit. Rev. Francis Pierz, a Catholic priest, officiated at Crow Wing and Belle Prairie until 1870, when he returned to his home in Austria.

The first district court was held at Crow Wing in 1871, J. M. McKelvey officiating as judge, Chas. Beaulieu as clerk of court, and Wm. Wood as sheriff.

Soon after the county organization was abandoned, to be reresumed in 1870 by legislative enactment. The county officers at the organization were: Commissioners, Wallace Bean, Henry Whipple and F. W. Peake; treasurer, E. B. Snyder; auditor, J. W. Campbell; clerk of court, Chas. H. Beaulieu; sheriff, Wm. Wood.

MURDERERS LYNCHED.

In 1871, Ellen, daughter of David McArthur, living near Crow Wing village, was murdered by Indians. The murderers were arrested and placed in jail at Brainerd, from which they were taken by a mob and hanged.

BRAINERD

Is situated on the east bank of the Mississippi, and is a prosperous city. The settlement commenced with the opening of the Northern Pacific railroad. This road has a branch from Brainerd to St. Paul. The railroad company have made Brainerd headquarters for repairing shops; have expended large amounts in improvements, and employ in their business here nearly 1,000 men. The first through train arrived at Brainerd March 11, 1871.

In 1870 several claims were made for purposes of speculation, and afterward sold to Mrs. Hester Gilman, of St. Cloud, and other parties, but the greater part of the city site was purchased of the government in 1870, by Hester Gilman and Thomas H. Campbell. The Lake Superior & Puget Sound Company, organized under the laws of Maine, and duly authorized by the laws of Minnesota, purchased Gilman's and Campbell's claims and made the original survey and plat of the town on Sept 25, 1871. The name, Brainerd, was given to the new town in honor of Mrs. Brainerd Swift, wife of the first president of the Northern Pacific road. In 1883 a new survey was made by Heinze Brothers. The site was a handsome plain, originally covered with prince pine trees, many of which were left standing as ornamental trees.

Among the first settlers we find the names of Charles Darby, E. H. Bly, L. P. White, W. P. Spalding, W. W. Hartley, Stuart Seely, F. W. Peake, S. W. Taylor, E. B. Lynde, John Bishop, T. C. Barnes, and John Martin. The first permanent dwelling, a log house, was built by Charles Darby, the next was built by Stuart Seely, and the third by L. P. White. E. H. Bly built the first store. The Headquarters Hotel, subsequently destroyed by fire, was built in 1871. Many of the buildings of ancient Crow Wing were moved to Brainerd. The Leland House was built in 1871-2; the Merchants in 1879. The post office was established in 1871, with S. W. Thayer as postmaster. The county seat was removed to this place in 1871, and a court house and jail built by L. P. White, at an expense of $971.60. The first marriage, that of Joseph Gronden and Miss Darby, occurred in 1870. A city charter was obtained Jan. 11, 1873. The following were the first officers: Mayor, Eber H. Bly; aldermen, L. P. White, M. Tuttle, W. S. Heathcote, Wm. Murphy, T. X. Goulett; president of the council, L. P. White.

Brainerd has a court house, built at a cost of $45,000, and school buildings worth $45,000. The Northern Pacific depot and shops were built at a cost of $500,000, and the Northern Pacific sanitarium at a cost of $35,000. The sanitarium is a hospital for the sick or disabled employes of the entire line of road, and is supported by monthly installments from the employes. Dr. Beger is superintendent. Brainerd has one steam saw mill with a capacity of 12,000,000 feet per annum, another with a capacity of 3,000,000 feet, and many fine business blocks and tasteful residences. It has also electric lights, water works, and street cars, and is making rapid progress as a city.

In 1886 a charter was obtained by Charles F. Kindred & Co. to build a dam across the Mississippi. The dam has been completed at a cost of $125,000. It has a head of 20 feet, with sufficient flow to secure 25,000 horse power, and a boomage overflowing 3,000 acres, forming a reservoir 12 miles in length, with side lakes, the whole capable of holding 1,000,000,000 feet of logs. The whole city machinery, including electric lights, water works, street cars, and Northern Pacific railroad shops, will be attached to this water power. Crow Wing county contributed $50,000 in bonds to the building of this dam. Brainerd has an opera house, and is well supplied with churches, the Catholics, Presbyterians, Baptists, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Methodists having organizations and buildings.

L. P. White was born in Vermont in 1811. He was self educated. He was married in Vermont, came to Chicago in 1858, and engaged in railroading until arriving at Brainerd, in 1870, where he built the first frame house. His wife was the first white woman resident of the city. Since locating at Brainerd, Mr. White has been the acting agent of the Lake Superior & Puget Sound Company, which has laid out all the town sites from Northern Pacific Junction to Moorhead with the exception of Detroit.

Allen Morrison was one of a family of twelve, seven boys and five girls. His father was born in Scotland, but emigrated to Canada, where he died in 1812. Two of the boys were in the English Navy, and killed at the battle of Trafalgar, in Egypt. William Morrison, a brother of Allen, and several years his senior, was among the early explorers of Northern Minnesota, having visited the Territory as early as 1800, and was one of the party who discovered Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi river. Allen's first visit to this region was in 1820, when he came to Fond du Lac, as a trader in what was then known as the "Northern Outfit." For several years he was associated with his brother William in the Fond du Lac department, during which time he was stationed at Sandy Lake, Leech Lake, Red Lake, Mille Lacs, and Crow Wing, and when the Indians were removed to White Earth, went there also, and remained until his death. In 1826 he was married to Miss Charlotte Chaboullier, who died at Crow Wing in the fall of 1872. She was a daughter of a member of the old Northwestern Fur Company, who was a trader on the Saskatchewan, and died in Canada in 1812. Mr. Morrison was the father of eleven children. Caroline, now in Brainerd, was married to Chris. Grandelmyer in April, 1864. Rachel resides with her sister, Mrs. Grandelmyer. John J. and Allen, at White Earth; Mary, the eldest, now Mrs. J. R. Sloan, at St. Cloud; and Louisa, now Mrs. John Bromley, at Northern Pacific Junction. Mr. Morrison died on the twenty-eighth of November, 1878, and was buried at White Earth, in the historic valley where he had passed so many eventful years. His name, however, will not perish, nor his virtues be forgotten. In the first territorial legislature he represented the district embracing the voting precincts of Sauk Rapids and Crow Wing, and when the present county of Morrison was set off, the legislature named it in honor of this esteemed veteran pioneer.

Charles F. Kindred, an active, enterprising citizen of Brainerd, is doing for his adopted city all that one man can do. Mr. Kindred, for many years after his arrival in Minnesota, was a trusted agent of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, and while in their employ acquired a thorough knowledge of the resources of North Minnesota, which he uses to the best interest of the section in which he has made his home. He is at present superintending the building of the Kindred dam.