The emigrant aid journal of Minnesota. [volume] (Nininger City, Minn. Terr. [i.e. Minn.]) 1856-1858, 1858-04-28
4 he city Of Nlnlu9er-lix Rise, Progress aand
R~ruNOeCtN. --1t# @-

NlOlDQer Is situated on Tue west Cnnk Q tHe MISSlSs1F'
pi rs miles below st. Pau. by water, and IL miles by
land, f~ferrying ut Nininyer J !
Those who visit Min n ger now and recollect the ap-
pesrauce Of the landscape ten they paused to admire
it ii sht"en months ag" will 'urely exc!aam, trut IS
,,ra,.. er than felton, Were not for the indelibie i'm
PRESTON made on their minds by the rare beauty cf the
location aud its prominen, landmarks assuring them 1t
was the same spot, they conld scarcely beh. W ttSt i" + o
short a period a thriving town Of seven hundred inhati-
tants c.u d arise, where on their previous visit they could
only discern two lonely dwellings. Part of this aston.
ishing progress, be it noted, has been realized during a
revulsion almost unparalleled, and while other places
were stationary or rctS"grad'ng.
The natural advantag' S Of tho spot as a site for a
large city are such as could not long have been over.
looked A party Of shrewd usiness ~ n determined to
turn these natural advantages to account, and went t"
work in the right way. They sold building lots at cost
up Il certain amount Of improvements within two years.
or forfeit the lots They gave due publicity to the pro-
iect, and as every lot sold at cost pr'ce would within
;wo years call forth IL stipulated amount Ct improve.
ments, the certainly of the town getting a good start
WAS beyond a doubt. TNh his ~St;pui,et Improvements
w~ye PIT up, no mar rho b"~yh' at cost prirr eu"N get"
Ley,Hy p~yt:et Tuhe Dred far his Tots. Some lots were
reserved by the proprietors, and sold at high prices with.
out an improvement clause. The Deeds tor these are
perfect.
1t il also the most accessible point to the vast tracts
Of land of unsurp u.s. ed richness in the beautiful VALE Us
Of The Cannon, EermiIlion and Straight rivers. The
distance t., the & mr;>hing towns back Of us il Il. foil VS.
cannon Falls Is miles, lewiston ~, Waterford -,
Mortified 80, Fariba,.lt IS, Rpsemount 10, Lakcville
~, Shielisv,lle 30 miles.
The location of Niuingcr is an admirable one for a
distributing river town, and the settlers in the fertile
valleys If the Vermillion and Cannon rivers, and the
Cottage Grove district, congratulate each other on the
advent Of L river town at the precise point best suited
for their wants. We have already two Saw mills and a
Sash, Door au Blind Factory. All the machinery for
q first rata new CriSt mill Is M the SpOt. and the mill
will soon be doing the farmers some service. There are
Carp .nters, plaSterers, B;ackSmiths, Whcelrights and
Shoemakers Grocery aud Dry Good stores. Stove and
Tin ware and Hat, Cap, and Shoe st'res. The Nininger
Lime is in high rtpute. On the additions &c the town
there il first rate clay for Brickmakins, and any COM
petent party commeucin. that business here snon should
succeed we'll The bu lling stone is excellent. There
is abundance of timber for trewnod near at hand and We
learn that coal has been found about twenty miles south
west. We have Schools and u Lyceum, and divine ser
vice every Sabbath BY %ciergymen OF the leadiny dell M
in atoms. Here the Em;yr""' Al" J"ur"al is publish
ed. There are favorable opportunities for parties to
commence business. A wholesale Grocery aud Provis-
ion store a Foundry and Machine shop; an Agricul-
tural Implement Manu- actory a e. neral HARDWARE
store a merchant Tail"r; an Apsthecary; a Bunk
seller and Stationer Il Hair Dresser ; "a saddler;
a Gunsmith, and Il Forwarding and Commission estab-
lishm"nt are required, and many other businesses could
be established here with reasonable probability Of >uc-
cess. During the season of navigation steam packets
pass the town daily building lots can be b"usht IN
easy terms, 50 that persons of moderate means can get
along with less capital than is required to settle at many
places where there is less work going on than at MINI
ger.
W. doubt if there is anoth.r place in the whole coun-
try where the revulsion OK trade last year has been fell
SO lightly as in this town. If it did interfere with the
prosperity Of the town somewhat, and stopped the pro.
gress of certain classes Of business, it's effect ON the
spirits AMI hopes Of the people was hardly perceived
They have kept busy-usetully employed-an1 enjoyed
themselves heartily. but temporarily a regular weekly
dance has been kept up two evenings, in The fne large
room in Trem mt Ha.l-the sec"ud one was started be-
cause the attendance was too large to allow many to q"
jy it all they desired. Both Of them close precisely
ut IL o'clock. 1t may be mentioned t. the credit Of
our town, and especially to their managers, that u"
indulgence in >pirltuous liquors has taken place on any
occasion Of pubic festivity, there has, consequently.
been no disturbance or rictous proceedings through all
the winter.
The past of a town is ,ften an inlex of its future.
particularly where thai >ast has depended on internal
force and not on fortult"rs circumstances. Where,
however, q town has grown because it has been born.
up by the general advance Of the country, and has had
q, rivals to contend against. no argument is furnished
for its future succe y when arrayed against active and
energetic rivals. In the history Of Nininger it must b.
observed that it has attained its present position in the
face of the opposition Of the then 'uost prosperous t"wh
in Minnesota Its strength has thus h. en- thoroughly
rested. 1t has also been effected by the worst po<sib.
con liti"n Of m,n 'tAry affairs, during the late crisis. II
mus: Their ,fore be borne in mind that our past careeI
has not been one Of easy IN natural gr with. We hav.
had t" fight our way agains III kinds of obstacles, and
whatever We have a<hieval has been by perseverance,
and determination.
What better pledge can wc offer the new conner. fn
our future than the merc &C ii Of these facts. Such y
crisis as that Of 1855. is lot aeain expected to occur j"
the next twenty years. The opposition we at FIRST en-
countered is every day growing less.
Now let US examine what resources VIC have for tn.
future.
III the fIst PLACE, we anticipate fairly and reasonably.
u proper share Of that growth which it is hoped the
coming spring will bring to the whole If the great West
In the next place, one material fact which initiated
greatly against US in the past, will during the coming
spring be obviated, viz the opposition heretofore ex
prrienced from the steamboats,. This will be removes
in two ways FIRST, by the fact that Nininger is now
made an advertised point at which the mail boats mpM
leave the mai, ia it is the deteyuiaatien Of many OF
our citizens to take legal measures against the mail c'n
tractors If they fail to perform their duty secondly |
our Town Council contemplate at once extending tht
levee to Bas*ett's Landing. which will at once rep"vr
all possible OBJ, ctions on The part Of the STEAMBOATS, tot
landing here, for it is a we'll known fact that for seven
years past B.ssett's Landing hes held a high repnta. |
tion among steamboat captains rs q landing place, and
that too, long before a town was thought of here.
In the third place, the emier"nt nho visits our town
during the c"giing year, will fnd our ci'izens busy iu
making various ornamental and use III improven" ut
He will zee the work on the levee going on be- will q. {
various streets being graded he will see bmrd walks
being built around some Of the main blocks, aad he viii !
see that all these works distribute among the citizens u
large amount Of M ney, which must rebound to the
prosperity Of the whole place a
In the next place, a careful examination Of the i'm
provement clauses contained in the deeds of those who
bought under the covenant set forth above, will convince
any one that z large amount OF benefit will be derived
I'll the town from. that source alone. Between two and
three hundred thousand dollars worth of improvement
are to be made under those covenants. Whether these
have to be made at once, or in proportionate parts dur.
ing the coming one or two years, they will nevertheless
.di materially to the growth of the town. 36i
: In the next place, aith 'ueh the great depression in
money aft .irs has made all railroad pfij@cts a matter #
uncertainty and ddubt, and although il has fallen with
particular weight upon oar own railroad enterprise,
nevertheless Ne still hope that with the return Of better
times, the Niuinger and st. Peter Railroad Stock mac,