The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1892-12-29

press upon place and individual
alike. In some instances it is his
province to destroy, in others to
build up; in some places his trail
is marked by decay, while in others
prosperity and development follow
in his footsteps. The changes Of
a fourth Of a century are often so
striking as to appear almost magi-
cal in results, and in no section Of
country, perhaps, has the lapse Of
years dealt more kindly and boun-
tifully than IN southwestern Min
nesota, From the primitive state
to very garden Of prosperity, so
to speak, has been but a single
stride OH the road to development.
Yesterday a wilderness, with the
quiet stiffness Of solitary nature,
to-day, busy, bustling world,
where the humming wheels Of in
dustry fill the air with music, and
and where cities, and villages, and
fruitful farms greet the eye of the
passing traveller, as he whirls rap
idly by on tracks ofsteel. Few can
fully realize the transformation of
the past, as applied to this partic-
ular region of country, except those
who have witnessed the changing
process from day to day, and from
year to year. These uninhabited
prairies, of score of years ago,
are to-day peopled with thousands
Of inhabitants, traversed with a net
work of railways, and thickly dot
ted with fourishing cities and
towns To write the history of the
numerous cities and villages Of this
portion of Minnesota, it would be
necessary to write the history OF
the entire country by which they
are surrounded, SO closely identi-
fed has been the growth and de-
velopment of one with the other.
Thus, to write of WoRTH1NGToN
of its progress and advancement,
would be an almost impossible task
without including an account Of the
fostering elements embodied in its
splendid surroundings. The towns
and cities Of a prairie country
are necessarily the outgrowth OF
agricultural development, and the
the village Of Worthington is no
exception to the general rule. It is
true that it has also enjoyed the
prestige resultant from being early
designated as the seat of justice fo1
the county in which it is located
but this fact would have been o1
little consequence in itself alone
The early settlement of the county
and the development of its natural
resources made the presence of &
town that should afford market
conveniences a matter of necessity
But the past of Mobiles county and
Worthington contains little of i'm
portance for our present purpose
save, perhaps, as a basis for com.
parison. It is the present and the
future with which we shall deal, as
being Of greater interest to the
reader of this paper, as we'll as those
who are interested in the material
growth and advancement of both
the town and surrounding country
What is the
~ORT1INGTON
of to-day? is question that may
be asked by these who are stran
gers to town and country. This is
the "main question" and the one
that we shall try to answer in tht
following paragraphs.
In this connection, for the bene
fit of any chance, distant reader w
will state briefly the location of th,
town. Mobiles county, of which
Worthington is the capital, is stu
ated in the southernmost tier o
Minnesota counties, with the Stat,
Of Iowa as its southern boundary
and with only one county, Rock
separating it from South Dakot
on the west. Worthington is stu