The emigrant aid journal of Minnesota. [volume] (Nininger City, Minn. Terr. [i.e. Minn.]) 1856-1858, 1858-03-24
IA city Of Ninlnger-Its Rise, Pr0greas and
RrON00ClN.

The City Of Ninluger-Its Rise, Pr0greas and
Prospects,.
Nininger is situated on the west bank Of the Mississip.
pi % miles below St. Paul by water, and II miles by
land, {ferrying at Nininger.)
Those who visit Nininger now and recoNect the up.
pearance of the landscape when they paused to admire
it eighteen months ago will surely exclaim, 8 truth ia
stranger than fiction Were it not for the indeliblo i'm
preston made on their minds by the rare beauty Of the
location and its prominent landmarks assuring them 1t
was tho same spot, they could scarcely believe that in 50
short y period a thriving town Of seven hundred inhabi-
tants could arise, where on their previous visit they could
only discern two lonely dwellings. Part Of this aston
fishing progress, be it noted, has been realized during .
almost unparalleled, and while other places
were stationary or retrogradiug.
The natural advantages of the spot a. a site for =
large city are such az 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 bonmd themselves BY covenant to put
up 4 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 q stipulated amount of improve.
ments, the certainly of the town getting u good start
was beyond a doubt. TIL his stipulated improvements
wers put up, no man aho bought at cost price could geta
legally perfect Title Deed for his 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 most accessible point to the vast tracts
of land Of unsurpassed richness in the beautiful valleys
of the Cannon, Vermillion and Straight rivers. The
distance to the aourishing towns back of is as follows
Falls l6 miles, Lewiston -, Waterford p,
Mortified %, Faribault 50, Roscmount 10, Lakeville
20, Shieldsville so miles.
The location of Niningcr is an admirable one for .
river town, and the settlers in the fertile
valleys of the Vermillion and Cannon rivers, and the
Cottage Grove district, congratulate each other on the
advent of a 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, Plasterers, B~lacksniths, Wheelrights and
Shoemakers. Grocery and Dry Good stores, Stove and
Tin-warc and Hat, Cap, and Shoe stores. The Nininger
Lime is in high repute. The clay for Brickmaking is
6rstrate, and two of our citizens intend making Bricks
next spring. The building stone is excellent. There is
abundance of timber for 6rewood near at hand, and 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,yrant 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 a General Hardware
seller and Stationer a Hair Dresser ; a saddler
a Gunsmith, and a Forwarding and Commission sstab-
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.
We doubt if there is another place in the whole coun-
try where the revulsion 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
dance has been kept up two evenings, in the fine large
room in fremont Hall-the second one was started be-
cause the attendance was too large to allow many to en-
Joy it all they desired. Both Of them close precisely
at II o'clock. 1t 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 r;otous 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 1t 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 active and
energetic rivals. In the history of Nininger it must be
ODSeEVcu lila IL udS ATTAINED us present pOSlClO0 ID the
face of the opposition of the then most prosperous town
in Minnesota. Its strength has thus been thoroughly
tested. 1t 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 and natural growth. We have
had to fight our way against all kinds of obstacles, and
whatever We have achieved has been by perseverance
and determination.
What better pledge can We offer the newcomer for
our future than the mere recital of these facts. Such a
crisis as that of 1857 is not again expected to occur in
the next twenty years. The opposition We at first en-
countered is every day growing less.
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 obviated, 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 must
leave the maitland 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 fBassett's Landing, which will at once remove
all possible objections on the part of the steamboats, to
landing here, for it is a we'll known fact that for seven
years past Bassett's Landing has held a high reputa,
ton among steamboat captains as a landing place, and
that too, long before a town was thought of here.
In the third place, the ~emigrant who visits our town
during the coming year, will find our citizens busy in
making various ornamental and useful improvements.
He will see the work on the lesee going on he will see
various streets being graded he will see board walks
being built around some of the main blocks, and he will
see that all these works distribute among the citizens a
large amount Of money, which must rebound to the
prosperity Of the whole place.
In the next place, a careful examination of the im-
provcment clauses contained in the deeds of those who
bought under the covenant set forth above, will convince
any one that a large amount Of benefit will be derived
to 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
q In the next place, although the great depression in
money affairs has made all railroad projects a matter Of
uncartaintu md 4 o,h4 and al4ho,,ah 4 hma Eallon nil