Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-08-03

.-.s:s--seI
Rhetorical Address Delivered by Il. u
Brown, Esq, At Brownsville, Mtn.
.essxgs nrsota, July I, 1876.
That you may better understand this
n,rativeof settlement, 1shAvs diydcd 4 !
lido three periods or dcsadea Tie hrs..|
CONS 1Iencing with the fiji settlement, and
extending to the year 1850. The next de.
cade will be from 1850 to 1870. The third
period from 1870 to the present time. !
shall speak of these periods in the order
in which they come. The first that shall
speak Of, will be some Of the facts which
led to the settlements Of this part ofstbe
Northwest, and of our carly settlement.
Among the many incidents I may men,
tien, will commercially calling your
attention to tho settlements made In the
West in the year 1858, by tile people Of
eastern states, whose attention was drawn
towards the fDtile plains of the western
states; particularly those Of. Minnesota
and Iowa. The few settlements which
had been made previous to this were sit
uatcd on the Mississippi and its tributaries.
A great portion of what is now the State
of Minnesota, previous to the year 1855,
was then unsettled, and traversed by 1ov-
ing tribes of Indians and few white
trappers and traders.
In the summer Of 1856 a reaction lax.
ing place in the gold prospects of Cali.
fornia caused large influx Of emigration
to the east Of there. They were in a great
measure thrown back on the Northv est.
ern States, and in the spring Of 1856 Iset
tiers commenced arriving in this STATE in
quite large numbers. All the boaA ram
ming on the Mississippi were crowded
with passengers, who were seeking homes
in the West. Large quantities Of land
were being taken up and entered by pre-
emptors and spectators at all tie princi-
pal land Offices through the State. At
that time but few railroads were built to
the west Of Chicago, and mcst Of the
travel was by the boat and stage lines.
In the fall of 1855 two Norwegian fam
allies settled near this village Their rude
huts were built of popple paes and COW
cred over with straw and turf One Of
their huts was situated near where the
Baptist Church now stands, and the other
was built on the banks of little stream
u short distance to the north Of here.
Early in the spring of 1856 John John
son and Moses Mapes settled in tie tim.
Der to the north of this village, and called
the town by the name of Red Rock, after
q somewhat conspicuous boulder Of a
! reddish cast, situated near their settlement.
This rock was supposed by scientists to
have been detached fragment of rock
from the high, mountainous region 10 the
northwest of us, and transported here, I'm.
bcdded in ice during the glacial period
Of the remote ages Of the past. After tic
ground had become somewhat settled *,
as to admit of travel, during the mont,
Of May, other settlers began to arrive
Among them were Mr.. Shook from In.
diana, Mr.. Stewart from Ohio, Mr. Tilon
from New Hampshire, the Mr.. BROWNS
from Connecticut, and Mr.. Woodward
from Vermont, whose honored remains
and those of his wife now rcpose on the
banks Of the little stream near by the spo,
that he had selected for his future home
There now began to be considerable tray
el passing through the town 10 re;:cl, tie
various places in the State to the west o1
us. To accommodate the travellers AM,
also the settlers here, many. Of whom
were as yet unproyidcd with perDanenl
homes Of their own, a hotsl WAS inpr !;
vised, built of logs and covered over Will
canvass. This hotel was kept by the Il
der Mr.. johnson, assisted by his wife ;,nd
daughter Eliza. Mr.. Johns m was gen
| tlcnan at that time far advanced in liz.
and Of an almost fabulous age; b,t he
was still hale and hearty. He, with his
wife have long since passed life's boun
Diary line and crossed to the sunny land
beyond. ii
| In the month Of June of this year q
steam saw.ml|l was put in operation and
small quantities Of lumber were n,anufac
turcd from the timber in the forests neal
by. This lumber was of great benefit tc
the settlers. and they used ne arly all that
was cut in the construction oftheir houses
and cabins that prudence had directed
them to provide to protect them and their.
against the furious storms Of approach
ing winter. Most Of the provisions and
other supplies aud ncccssaries 1T life
were drawn by teams from Iowa and thu
river settlements to the east and south u
US. In the fall Of 1866, Mr.. Armstrong
of High Forest, laid out what was then
and now IS called Brownsville Consid
cradle additions to the number of inllat
itants had from time to time BEEN made
during the summer and fall, and there
were now some fifty people who made
preparation and remained through tht
winter OF sc aud 81, the mention Of
whose names would be somewhat tedious
to introduce here; suffice it to say, they
were men and women who were true tc
themselves, true to one another, and are
those that make and rule States and Elm
pires.
The winter was spent In such sports
and pleasures of winter life as the sur
roundings would permit. Deer hunting
was INDUCED ln,to considerable extent
and quite 4 number were captured, whose
f1nc carcasses contributed much 10 exc
out the scanty stock of the settlers winter
provisions. Winter travel TO The east ol
us across the prairie was attended, will,
much danger and suffering, from TIE dis.
lance the settlements were apart and tho
severity Of the cold, especially WHEN &C.
companied by binding snow and wind.
John L. johnson and q young man lby the
name Of Davis came very near perishing