Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1880-07-16
WRITTEN INss1S76 BY ORDER OF THE
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND
PUBLISHED IN THE TRANSCRIPT IN THE
SAME YEAR REVISED AND BROUGHT
DOWN 70 THE PRESENT TINE. z4@:
BY NATHAN RICHARDSON.

ilne 70 be constructed was TO start at OniiW1t-
er and run via. of ST. Paul and Grow Wing to
the Red river of the North, which line passed
up on the east side of the Mississippi river
through this county, and survey Of the line
W as made in that year from S.. Paul as far as
Grow Wing, by the Minnesota & Pacific rail-
road company, who first undertook to construct
this line of road. The companies that were
at that time and undertook to
build their roads on the credit of the State, un
der the five million loan that was voted by the
Territory of Minnesota at that time to aid in
the construction of railroads in the Territory,
suspended their work and disorganized, hcav-
lily in debt, on account of The State railroad
bonds that they were receiving for building or
grading the roads having greatly deprecated
in value, after having graded about seventy
miles. The grant, as first made, gave six Sec
tions of land to the mile. Afterwards, in 1864,
the grant was increased to ten sections to the
mile, taking every odd section for ten miles on
each side of the line Of the road, and reserv-
ing the odd sections in the next ten miles to
make the deficiency where the odd section OF
land had previously been sold. BY this res
ervation nearly all the odd sections in Morri-
son county were set apart and held to fill the
railroad grant. After the Minnesota &; Pa
cifc railroad company had thus failed and for
feited all their right is to this grant, the legis:
Iature of the State of Minnesota, by an ar-
proved March 10, 1862, turned this grant of
land over TO the st. Paul 4 Pacific company.
This company, after considerable delay, COM
pleted this line of road from St. Paul up the
Mississippi as far as Sau k Rapids, where it
stopped for several years. Finally, On the
completion of the Norhe,n Pacific to Brain
cld from the head of Lake Superior, in 1871,
this company made an offolt to connect the
li1e fr' M ISauk Rapids with the Northern Pa
cific at Braincrd, distance of G01 miles, and
continued the work on it until 1872, when the
grading was nearly completed and about three
miles of track laid south from Brainerd. On
the failure of J.. Cock d Co., of New York,
the work suddenly stopped, and was never re-
sumed by that c ompany, although they made
frequent prctcntions that they were about to
finish it, and got their time extended by max
ing strong promises. After repeated failures
on their part to carry out their agreements to
build the road, the State Legislature, by an act
approved March !, 1877, declared the right of
the St. Paul Pacific Railroad company to
build This line of railroad from Sank Rapids
to Brainerd forfeited, together with the land
grant which had been appropriated to aid its
construction. In the same act the conditions
on which any other company might build the
road and have the land grant and emoluments
thereof were plainly set forth. Prominent
among TIE provisions of that act was ene in
which many of the poor settlers of Morrison
county were vitality interested, which provid-
ed that those persons who had settled upon
any of the lands of said grant and actually re-
sided upon them at the time of the passage of
the bill, on March first, 1877, should have the
right to enter them under the homestead or
the presumption laws. On May End, 1877.
the Western Railroad Company of Minnesota,
company which had been formed for this
especial purpose, notified the Governor of the
State that they desi,ed to construct the line OF
railroad from Sauk Rapids to B Braineri, and il
allowed to do so, would do it on the terms
named in the act of March I, 1877. On the
Governors accepting their propositions: that
company proceeded to construct this line Of
railroad in earnest, and completed it in the
month of November of that year. The road
from the time of its completion has been Of
great advantage to the people of this county
Under the aforesaid provisions made for the
benefit of actual settlers on any of the lands
in said grant, 225 claims were filed with the
Governor, 1853 of which were allowed, and
those WHO FOR any cause were not entitled tc
enter the lands they claimed, and had i'm.
proved them, were allowed to purchase them
of the company at the government price
although they would sell for much large,
sum, which shows disposition on the part Of
thr railroad company to deal very fairly with
the settlers, who think generally appreciate
their kindness. Nearly all'of such claims are
in this county. The Northern Pacific rail
road, which was constructed from the head O.
Lake Superior westward across the State
forming n junction at Brainerd with this lint
running up the Mississippi, was constructed
west Of the Mississippi river in 1872, and
crossed a point of Morrison county that ex
tends up north on the west side of Gro W Wing
river, the distance run over in this county be-
ing but about three -fourths of q mile, OF
which the railroad company builta station
called Motley. Quite a nice town sprang W
there, Of which we will hereafter make furthe
mention. On the'railroad running up on tn,
east side Of the Mississippi, the company ba
erected three stations in the county, named a
follows: Royalton, near the south line
| Little Falls, at the county seat; and Bell
| Prairie, FIVE miles north Of Little Falls
| While the railroad facilities we now have ar,
of very great yaluo to the county, they pale in
to insignifcance when compared with the ben
e6ts that we can justly hope to receive by th
Econstruction of the projected Little Falls 4
Dakota railroad, line Of road leading from
Little Falls westward via. Sauk Centre, Glen
wood and Morris to Browns Valley on tn
| western boundary of the State. Although thi
line Of road has for many years been looked
upon BY men of good foresight and sount
financial views as q very important and feast
ble one to construct, no steps were taken look
;nu fo ifr cnnsf rucki IN >, 80 III Tho 1o0is