Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1884-10-22
AUSTIN.
Situated In the Very Centre of a
Fertile Agricultural Region.
The queen City Of the Lower
Tier" One of the Finest in
Minnesota,

The "Queen City Of the Lower
Tier" One of the Finest in
Minnesota,
When it Was Built, It's Railroads,
Public Buildings and Other
Natural Advantages.
From st. Paul Globe, Oct 10. 1854.
| have known great deal of this
queen city Of the lower tier for the
past seven years, and when | say that |
admire it for its many attractive features
| but echo what everyone feels who visits
it or becomes acquainted with its people.
There have been times in its history when
on some leading questions of public in
terest, but for one like a people who
are quick to resent real or fancicd
wrong and who strike fire like flint
when they are attacked. 1t is among
such people that one finds firm, staunch
friends, those who will stand by him in
the time of need, and while there may
not always have been perfect harmony
and unity among the citizens of Austin,
there certainly is to-day, and the rapid
| strides she is making in progress and adj
vancement indicates a unanimity. Of
sentiment and feeling upon all public is
sues and a hand joining hand in all works
of public improvement which foreshadow
| for this community a state Of continued
| prosperity.
Whenever the train in which am a
| passenger pulls into the Austin depot, [
am always thinking
Fair Auburn, loveliest village of the plain,'
and am continually changing it to Aus
tin, which may say, although not OK
actly in accordance with poetic license,
makes a very pleasant and appropriate
rendition of Goldsmiths beautiful poem.
1t certainly is the loveliest village Cor
rather city, of the southern plain Of our
state, and it is no wonder that those early
projectors of the place knew in a mo-
ment when they arrived upon it's site and
saw the grand September sun rise over
its landscape, that they had found the
place of which they were in search. 1t is
no wonder that though driven away by
the rigors of an unusually hard winter in
this then isolated region, with the first
blush of spring they returned again to
make their homes and carve out their
future destiny on a spot so favored of
| nature.
1t is often said that nature never builds
a town. Very true. And yet there arc
certain choice locations all over this and
every other country where nature has
blended so many advantages and united
so many attractive features thai with the
settlement and development of the ad-
jaccnt country, towns and cities spring
up as If by magic, and attain such de-
gree of wealth, population and CONNER
cial Importance as would have been i'm
possible upon less favored locations.
Who is there that will pretend to say
that St. Paul, Chicago, Boston or New
York could have been built and have at
tanned their present grand commercial
supremacy had they en- Dyed less favor
able location. So it is with Austin,
IT'S LOCATION HAS BUILT 1T.
Years ago when Minnesota was yet a
territory, unsurveyed and uninhabited
save by a few wandering trappers and
fur dealers and the ever to be remember
ed Sioux, the northern line of Iowa was
supposed to tie the borderland of habi
table country, and invisible signs were
posted aloEg 43d degree, 80 minutes He
who enters here leaves hope behind, such
a cold, bleak, sterile, uninhabitable re-
gion of country was it deemed to be. Of
course, we Mlnnesotians OF the present
day, rolling along in our palace railway
coaches, past fields of the most wonder
full productiveness and through grand
and populous cities and bustling thriving
towns, can scarcely comprehend this feel
ing which was SO generally shared at that
pioneers began to enter this dreaded
region, and found it to be land literally
flowing with milk and honey, only wait
ing for the magic touch of civilization to
transform it into the most desirable, pro-
ductive and wealthy agricultural section
upon the continent, the problem of the
location of cities and towns was one of
the first things to be considered.
Coming from the south and crossing
the Iowa line for twelve miles the early
settlers followed up the valley of the
Red Cedar till the splendid water power
and beautiful location struck them with
such force that at once they foresaw its
future destiny and Austin had begin
ming. Whether they also foresaw its
strategic position as regards the rich az
ricultural region surrounding it. and re-
allied what a center for that section it
was destined to become, is not known.
The beauty of the situation, and the
grand water power, were doubtless the
primary causes of its location, and time,
and the hand of man, has wrought out
the rest. The particular point at which
Austin is located is on the north line of
township 102, north, of range IS west,
and it has become the county seat of its
county as well as its natural business
center.
| MOWER COUNTY.
The third from the eastern line of the
state in the southern tier of counties
Mower is composed Of twenty congress-
iOnal townships, five east and west and
four north and south. 1t has an area of
7OS square miles or 453, 100 acres, and in
point Of fertility or productiveness has
no equal in this state or any other. The
settlement in this county began N the
year 1856, and It's population in 1880, as
shown by the tenth United States census,
was 16, 799, =.
TOPOGRAPHY.
The surface of the country in Mower
county is that of an undulating prairie,
we'll drained by clear, swift running
streams and containing quite al amount
of native timber. There are few lakes of
any consequence in the county, and none
of those sloughs or marshes which are so
common to many portions of the south
ern part of the state. It is all, strictly
speaking, agricultural territory, and the
only wonder is that a single acre should
remain at this day uncultiyated The
Red Cedar river traverses the western
tier of townships from north to south
through the county and has ten tribu-
tarles which are Invaluable for stock
water.
| Upon the Cedar, besides the water
power at Austin city, there are number
of other valuable powers all along the
stream, six of them occurring within the
township in which the city is located.
In the northeast portion of the county,
the Root river has its origin, while the
Iowa. another quite important water
course, also rises within the county limits.