Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-01-04

short time and returned to the east.
The other comers in }s79Sera Paddock
steves. NJ. Thornton and j. a. Palmer
who settled in 1856.
In the spring of 1850 the n,amber Of
settlers were further increased by the
coming of the Solbergs. who settled
east of the Springs, Ezra and William
Hill. followed later in the season by |
Hudson and Bromwell Horsley, Chas.
Cherry, Charley Williams and G. W..
Hill who settled in 1885, the latter
buying the claim of Paddock Steves.
July 4th, 1880 was celebrated by the
settlers with a picnic which was parti-
cipated in by fifty Of the residents,
there being four others in the neigh
borhocd who did not attend.
The first religious services at the
Hills We're conducted by the Rev. M. E /
Chaplin who preacheg in MI. Barrett's
house on the 9th Of May, 1880. and Or
ganized a Sunday School after the
preaching service; which was regular
ly kept up until October of that year
with Ogden Barrett now of Sioux Falls
as superintendent. Nothing more was
done with the Sunday School until the
fall of 1881 when it was recognized
with II. Blowers as superintendent and
Mrs. S. Barrett as assistant. and has
held regular sessions from that time to
this.
While in one sense the colonists
around the Springs were prospering
during this year. they yet had some un-.
pleasant experiences in regard to par
ties visiting them between dark and
daylight with no just conception of the
rights of meum ct teum; in the Fail of
1879 p. II. Barrett lost two pigs; in
March 1880 Il COW was taken belonging
to q Mr.. Hewitt; on the 5th of May
two horses We're stolen from =. r. Bar
rett, the shanties of Steves and Pal
mer We're robbed, Palmer's being torn
down. Stephen Smith settled near the
big spring in 1903 -65 in the summer of
1880 and missed colt very maccount-
ably. During the winter of lSSO-1 C..
w. Hill losta q Durham between one
and two years old. In the fall of this
year the houses of Messrs. McCarter.
Strong and fucker were burned. to-
gether with their contents, Except such
portions of the latter as were carried
Off while the parties themselves We're
absent from home.
The year 1881 brought an additional
number of settlers. j. W. Thomas To-
cating east of the Springs in May of
that year. J. e. Campbell. ". +. and
W. j. Smart, Alden Brown ard \. b..
Smart located the latter part of Nav:
Mrs Riddle filed on her clain, in June
and took up her residence in the fall:
Mr.. Geo. Wallace bought the Nichol-
son claim in June; G. W. +. Osgood
and d. w. Shryock came in August
Ii. Blowers, r. S. and W. /. Bateman
and Will Crawford came in Septem-
bsf, all settling near The Springs. II.
A. Miller, Henry and Albert Lauder
and A. kirkman settled In LIS IS.
Mrs. DR.. n. G. Weems came in Feb
ruary 'S2, and during the early spring
months f. L. Toflemre. G. ID. Brown,
II. j. Wallace, c. w. Mcdonald. j. Scott
B. F. Wiley, John Chapman, Geo. r.
Bateman and c. 7. Hall settled in the
immediate neighborhood Of the Springs
Since the early spring of 's2 the
growth of the community has been
healthy, the people making their homes
here being of the best class of eastern
people, coming because they find here
all the essentials for making their res
idence pleasant.
The First NJ. f. Church of Wessing-
ton Springs was organized March Both,
'S2 ami articles Of incorporation adopt
ed April Sth. AS the fifst Quarterly
meeting of last year it was decided to
build q house of worship 26 40 feet
| Oh the ground, IA feet studding on the
sides and small belfry. Mr.. r. s.
Bateman V IL selected to obtain the ne
cessary subscriptions for the enter
prise; through his persistence and the
liberalily of friends at home and in
the East Il sufficient amount was raised
to Justify the erection of the building.
| BY the time the materja! was on the
ground the Building Committee was
practically reduced to r.. S. Buteman
and G. W. Mcdonald who engaged H.
L. Define to snperintend the erection
of the building and we now have near
/ " completed as neat a church as can be
! found in the northwest seated with
chairs and warmed with two heaters
which make the building comfortable
in the coolest weather.
! THE COUNTRY WEST.--t'ROW LAKE.
TIE fir5tactual settler in this town
ship was Albert Allyn who built the