The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1898-05-19
THE REDWOOD GAZETTE.
BY AIKEN E. SCHMAHL.
THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1898.
REDWOOD COUNTY.
Events of the County From the
Date of its Organization.
BY O. b. TURRELL.

fThe following is the commencement
of a history of Redwood county being
prepared by the author for the Mime
sofa State Historical society. The EN-
tire history will be run in this paper OIL
the installment plan, and will be stereo
typed and placed in book form, wher
completed. Non-subscribers residing
in the county should subscribe at once
with the view of having all of the pa
pers containing the articles.-Ed.)
The organic act creating Redwood
county was passed by the Legislature
of 1866, prior to which time the terri
tory organized as Redwood formed {
part of Brown county, all of the exten
sive territory having originally been {
part of Blue Earth county. The act is
as follows: "Beginning in the centre
of the channel of the Minnesota river
on the line between ranges 80 and "a
west of the fifth meridian, then south
on said range line between towns 1Oe
and 100, thence west on said township
line to the western boundary of the
State; thence north along said bound
airy line to Big Stone Lake, thence fol.
lowing the main channel of the Min.
nesota river to the place of beginning
The aboye boundaries are not those OF
Redwood county at present; the coun-
ties of Lyon, Lincoln, Yellow Medi-
cine and Lac qui Parle having been
formed from the territory originally
included in the act, leaving the twenty
six townships which now form the
county.
In the organization O; most counties
in the State, the fact of prior owner.
ship and occupation by Indian tribes
is taken for granted, but in the case OF
Redwood part of the territory CON-
prising which had already been occu-
pied by farms, with houses. plowed
lands in crop, and fairly developed
agricultural industry, it is necessary to
revert to previous conditions in order
to get a full understanding of it's
history.
In 1856 to 1858 the government, un-
der the influence of those who believed
the Indian should be given the oppor-
tunity to become citizens and that the
true policy for the management of the
wards Of the nation was through the
adoption of habits Of industry, which
should lead to self support and indie
pendence, inaugurated the policy Of
building houses, breaking up land and
furnishing teams, implements, seed
and such other supplies as are neces-
sary to enable the Indians to have a
fixed home and adopt the habits of
civilization. Among the reservations
set apart for this purpose was the
Sioux Indian Reservation on the west
bank of the Minnesota river, strip of
an average width of ten miles and ex-
tending from short distance above
New Ulm to Big Stone Lake.
There we're over 5000 Indians on
the reservation at the time of the out
break in 1862, known as the "Annuity
Sioux Indians" divided between the
upper agencies at Lac qui Parle and
Yellow Medicine and the Lower Sioux
Agency, in what is now the town of
Sherman in Redwood county. There
was superintendent at each agency
and thorough system of farming had
been established prior to the outbreak
which gave promise at an early day
to make the Indians both self respect
ing and independent. At the Lower
Agency the government buildings and
the trading posts Of Messrs. Roberts
Forbes and Myrick formed quite vii
lage and in the vicinity about 800 acres
of land had been broken up, comfort
able brick houses built, and altogether
the outlook was promising for the sue
cess of the effort to lift the rec
man to higher plane of existence
"The hopes of the philanthropist ane
Christian beat high, they believed tn
day was not far distant when it coul(
be said that the Sioux Indian, as
race, not only could be civilized, bu
here we're whole tribes who we're civ
ilized and had abandoned the chas