Fifty Years In The Northwest by William H. C. Folsom
1869. A plat of ten acres, beautifully situated in a natural grove
1378 words | Chapter 136
near the village, and on the line of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul
railroad, was donated to the association by John Holton. These grounds
have been improved, and adorned with tasteful cottages. The camp
meetings held during the summer are largely attended.
GRAY CLOUD CITY
Was platted in June, 1856, by J. R. Brown and Truman W. Smith, and
surveyed by J. Donald McCullom.
NEWPORT VILLAGE
Was platted May 2, 1857, by Joseph H. Huganin, R. C. Knox, Wm. and
James Fowler, and surveyed by B. Densmore.
JOHN HOLTON came to Red Rock in 1831, with the Methodist missionaries;
served some years as Indian farmer under Maj. Taliaferro, Indian
agent, and afterward settled on a farm just above the mission ground.
He donated ten acres of this farm to the Methodists for camp meeting
grounds. Mr. Holton died in 1884, leaving two children, Mrs. Ford and
Mrs. Winters.
JOHN A. FORD was born in Utica, New York, in 1811. He learned the
trade of edge tool and rifle making, and in 1834 came West with his
father, locating a land claim where Chicago now stands. In 1841 the
son came to Red Rock and erected a store building in which he sold
goods for twelve years. Subsequently he engaged in farming. With the
exception of the traders Mr. Ford was the first merchant in Washington
county. Mr. Ford was a representative in the second territorial
legislature. He was married to May Holton in 1843. Their children are
Franklin and Willis. Franklin, the eldest son, was married to Addie
Witherspoon in 1870, and resides in Newport.
DANIEL HOPKINS, a native of New Hampshire, came West at an early age.
He was a gunsmith by trade. He located in Green Bay in 1836, and
removed to Prairie du Chien in 1838, where he built a stone shop with
a large double window over his workbench and overlooking a spot where
he kept his money buried. A large mullein growing over it sufficiently
indicated that his treasure was still undisturbed. Growing somewhat
doubtful of the security of his hoard, he removed and placed a
thousand dollars in a stone quarry as a safer place of deposit.
Unexpectedly to him, the quarry was reopened and a well placed blast
scattered the old gentleman's treasure to the four winds. He recovered
but a portion of it. In 1844 he left Prairie du Chien and came to Red
Rock. He was three years associated with John A. Ford in selling
goods, after which, in 1848, he removed to St. Paul, where he opened a
store. He died in 1852, aged sixty-five years.
WILLIAM R. BROWN was born in Urbana, Ohio, in 1816. He spent his
boyhood at home on a farm and served as an apprentice to a carpenter
in Mt. Carmel, Illinois. In April, 1848, he came to Red Rock mission
in company with Rev. B. T. Kavanaugh, Charles Cavalier and Julia
Bosnell. He lived upon a farm until 1854, when he sold out and removed
to St. Paul, where he dealt in real estate. During the Rebellion he
served three years in Company C, Sixth Minnesota Volunteers. He was
married in 1841 to Martha Neuman. He died Nov. 25, 1874.
WILLIAM FOWLER settled in Newport in 1852 and has become a prominent
farmer and successful stockman. His farm, which originally cost him
$2,500, he sold in 1887 for $80,000. He was for two years president of
the Minnesota Agricultural Society, and five years of the Dairymen's
Association. He was a member of the house of representatives in 1872.
During the war he served as lieutenant in the Eighth Minnesota
Volunteers.
OAKDALE.
Oakdale includes township 29, range 21. Originally it was covered with
white, black and burr oak timber; the surface is rolling, and the soil
well adapted to the cultivation of wheat. It is well watered and has
numerous lakes, among which Lake Elmo is favorably known as a summer
resort.
Oakdale was organized as a town November, 1858. The first supervisors
were E. C. Gray, John Bershen and E. L. Morse. The clerk was W.
Armstrong.
The first settler was B. B. Cyphers, who kept a hotel or stopping
place on Sun Fish lake in 1848. The year following John Morgan built a
more commodious house a mile and a half west on the stage road, and
this was afterward known as the "Half-way House," it being nearly
midway between St. Paul and Stillwater. At this well known station the
pioneer stages of Willoughby & Powers changed horses at noon, and the
passengers took dinner. In 1855 the property passed into the hands of
E. C. Gray. The Malones, Lohmans, Grays, Day, Stevens, and Gardiner
located here in the '50s.
The first post office established was in 1857, in the south part of
the town, in section 35. Arthur Stephens was for ten years postmaster.
The office was called Oakdale, and was discontinued and another
established at the Half-way House, and called Lohmanville post office.
In 1873 it was transferred to the Oakdale station on the railroad. It
was discontinued in 1876, and re-established at Bass Lake station,
where it has since remained but is now known as the Lake Elmo post
office.
The St. Paul & Stillwater railroad passes through this town from east
to west. It has three stations, Lake Elmo, Oakdale and Midvale.
The churches of Oakdale are the St. John's Lutheran and the Church of
the Holy Angels. These churches have fine buildings and good
congregations. The buildings are located on the line of the old stage
road, and have spacious burial grounds attached.
Lake Elmo is the only village in the town. It is handsomely located on
Lake Elmo. The company that platted the village has expended over
$65,000 on improvements. The hotel is an elegant and spacious
building, and a favorite resort for summer tourists. The lake was
originally known as Bass lake, and the station was known as Bass Lake
station. In 1879 the lake and station were rechristened Elmo, a name
certainly more musical and charming than the original, and inferior
only to the aboriginal name, which ought to have been retained.
E. C. GRAY came originally from Pennsylvania, and located in Oakdale
in 1855, having purchased the Half-way House of John Morgan. He died
in 1874, leaving a large family of children. Two of his sons, M. P.
and W. H., remain on the family homestead. Others are in St. Paul. All
are known as men of good business ability.
ARTHUR STEPHENS was born in Scotland in 1830. He came to America in
1839, lived awhile in Illinois, learned the trade of a mason and
plasterer, came to St. Paul in 1849, worked at his trade until 1854,
when he removed to Oakdale, where, with the exception of six years'
residence at Stillwater, he has since lived. Mr. Stephens served as
postmaster ten years, as county commissioner three years, and has
filled town offices. He was married to Marie Payden in 1852. Their
children are Harris S., Arthur, Elizabeth and Emma.
ONEKA.
The town comprises township 31, range 21. It was organized as a town
in 1880. A. J. Soule was the first moderator, George Walker the first
clerk and treasurer. The eastern and southern portions are
diversified, being quite rugged and uneven. The western part is quite
level, and was originally timbered with burr oak and poplars. The town
abounds with lakes. Bald Eagle lies partly in the town; Oneka; Rice,
Egg, Eagle, Horseshoe, and others are within the town. Small springs
and rivulets abound. A tamarack swamp, varying in width from a few
rods to a half mile, traverses the town from north to south, forming a
natural barrier between the eastern and western divisions. The
principal lake is Oneka, located in sections 9 and 16. Rice lake has
been celebrated as the resort of Indians from Mendota, who camped here
annually to gather wild rice for the St. Paul and Minneapolis markets.
The first settlers were Fayette Tainter and John Chester, young men
who came together in 1850 for the purpose of locating claims and
baling hay. They carried on a stock farm for five years. The next
settlers, Lewis Sempler and his son-in-law, Joseph Freeman, came in
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