The emigrant aid journal of Minnesota. [volume] (Nininger City, Minn. Terr. [i.e. Minn.]) 1856-1858, 1858-03-31
The City Of Nlmlnger-ItS Rise, Progress AND
PROSPECTS,.

The City Of Ninlnser-Its Rise. Progress and
Prospects,.
Nininger is situated on the west bank OF the Mississir.
pi 25 miles below St. Pau. by water, and II miles by
land, tferrying at Niningcr }
Those who visit Mining ger now and recollcct the up
pearance of the landscape " hen they paused 10 admire
it eigh teen months ago will surely exe'aim, truth Is
stra, = r than iction.' Were not for the indelible i'm
pres .oa made on their minds by the rare beauty Of the
was 1" same spot, they could scarcely believe that i'll so
shor 4 lcriod u thriving town OF seven hundred inhabi-
tant i. aid 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
rcvulsion almost unparalleled, and while other places
were stationary or retrogradlng.
The natural advantages at the spot as a site tor a
large city are such as could not long have been over
looked. A party Of shrewd business men determined to
turn these natural advantages to account, and went to
work in the right way. They sold building lots at cost
price to parties who 6ouna themselves by corena"t to put
up ! certain amount Of Improvements within two years,
or forfeit the lots. They gave due publicity to the pro-
ject, and as every lot sold at cost price would within
TWO years call forth u stipulated amount OF improve.
ments, the certainly of the town getting a good start
was beyond 4 doubt. TIL his stipulated Improvements
,ers put up, no man acho bought at cost price could get
legally perfect Tilt Deed for has lots. Some lots were
reserved by the proprietors, and sold at high prices with.
out an Improvement clause. The Deeds for these are
perfect.
1t is also the mos, accessible point to the vast tracts
Of land of unsurpassed richness in the beautiful valleys
Of the Cannon, Ncrmillion and Straight rivers. The
distance to the dourishing towns back ofus is as follows
Cannon Falls 16 miles, Lewiston %, Waterford ~,
Mortified %, Faribault IS, Rosemount 10, Lakeville
20, Shieldsville 80 miles.
The location of Niningcr is an admirable one for a
distributing river town, and the settlers in the fertile
valleys Of the Vermilli and Cannon rivers, and the
No%&nuo q rovo district cnnOrafu10to each other on the
advent of Il river town at the precise point best suited
for their wants. We have already two Saw. mills and q
Sash, Door and Blind Factory. All the machinery for
a first rate new Grist mill is on the spot, and the mill
will soon be doing the farmers some service. There are
Carpenters, Pl~asterers, Blacksmiths, Wheelrights and
Shoemakers. Grocery and Dry Good stores, Stove and
Tip-ware and Hat, Cap, and Shoe stores. The Nininger
Lime is in high reputc. The clay for ~Brickmaking ia
6rstrate, and two of our citizens intend making Bricks
next spring. The building stone is excellent. There is
abundance OF timber tor trewood near at hand, anu We
learn that coal has been found about twenty miles SOUTH
west. We have Schools and a Lyceum, and divine SER
vice every Sabbath by %clergymen of the leading demon
nations. Here the Em;grant Aid Journal Is publish
ed. There are favorable opportunities for parties to
commence business. A wholesale Grocery and Provis-
ion store a Foundry and Machine shop; an Agricul-
| tural Implement Mandatory u General Hardware
store q merchant Tailor; an Apothecary; a Book
/! seller and Stationer ; a Hair Dresser a saddler;
. Gunsnith, and a Forwarding and Commission estab-
lishment are required, and many other businesses could
| be established here with reasonable probability of sue
cess. During the season of navigation steam packets
pass the town daily. Building lots can be bought on
easy terms, so 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 Mimi
ger.
W doubt If there is another place in the whole coun-
try where the rsyulsion of trade last year has been felt
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, its effect on the
spirits and hopes of the people was hardly perceived.
They have kept busy-usefully employed-and enjoyed
themselves heartily, but temporarily. A regular weekly
room in fremont Hall-the second one was started be-
cause the attendance was too large to ALLOW many to en-
| 10Y it all they desired. Both of them close precisely
at IL o'clock. It may be mentioned to the credit of
our town, and especially to their managers, that no
indulgence in ~spirituous liquors has taken place on any
occasion of public ~festivity, there has, consequently,
been no disturbance or riotous proceedings through all
the winter.
The past OF a town is often an index of its future,
particularly where that past has depended on internal
force and not on fortuitous circumstances. Where,
however, a town has grown because it has been borne
up by the general advance of the country, and has had
no rivals to contend against, no argument is furnished
for its future success when arrayed against Gctiye and
energetic rivals. In the history of Nininger it must be
observed that il has attained its present position in the
face Of the opposition Of the then most prosperous town
in Minnesota. Its strength has thus been thoroughly
tested. It has also been effected by the worst possible
condition Of monetary affairs, during the late crisis. 1t
must therefore be borne in mind that our past career
has not been one Of easy ard natural growth. We pave
had to fight our way against al kinds of obstacles, and
whatever We have achieved. IS been by perseverance
and determination.
our future than the mere rec tx Of these facts. Such q
crisis as that of 1857 is not sgain expected to occur in
the next twenty years. The opposition we at first ep'
c~ountered is every day growing less.
Now let us examine what resources we have for the
future.
In the first place, we anticipate fairly and reasonably,
a proper share Of that growth which it is hoped the
coming spring will bring to the whole of the great West:
In the next place, one material fact which initiated
greatly against us in the past, will during the coming
spring be ~obyiated, viz the opposition heretofore ex-
perienced from the steamboats. This will be removed
in two ways first, by the fact that Nininger is now
made an advertised point at which the mail boats mast
leave the mail,-and it is the determination of many Of
our citizens to take legal measures against the mail con
tractors if they fail to perform their duty secondly
our Town Council contemplate at once extending the
levee to 'Bassett's Landing, which will at once remove
ali possible objections on the part Of the steamboats, te
landing here, for it Is . we'll known fact that for seven
years past 8 Bassett's Landing has held q high reputa
ton among steamboat captains as q landing PlIace,' and
that too, long before a town was thought Of here.
In the third place, the emigrapt who visits our town
during the coming year, will find our citizens busy y
making various ornamental and useful improvements
ne viii see the work on the levee going on he will SEE
various streets being graded he vii see board walk
being built around some Of the main blocks, and be vii
see that all these works distribute among the citizens
large amount of money, which must rebound to th'
prosperity of the whole place.
In the next place, q careful examination Of the i'm
provement clauses contained in the deeds of thoss wiz
bought under the covenant set forth above, will convinc.
any one that a large amount Of benefit will be derived
to the town from that source alone. Between two ant
three hundred thousand dollars worth of improvement
are to be made under those covenants. Whether thes
have to be made at once, or in proportionate parts dur
ing the coming one or two years, they will nevertheless
ID materially to the growth of the town.
= In the next place, although the great depression ii
monev affairs has made all railroad projects q matter o
uncertainty and doubt, and although it has fallen will