The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1900-06-22

Blue Earth and south of the LeSueur, and
finding all very good. they returned full of
enthusiasm to St. Paul, leaving Williams,
| James, and Goodrich to guard their new
| possessions.
| Messrs. Johnson and Hinckley returned
in March to the new town, which had now
been very appropriately christened MAN
kato," the Indian name of the Blue Earth.
| About April 23d, the steamer Tiger ar
rived with supplies for the new town, and
during the spring made two other trips to
it, while during July and August, the
| These boats brought not only the much
needed supplies, but also a large number
of claim hunters, and all the land between
Mankato and Kasota marked out into 100
acres tracts and taken by claimants and a
claim association formed, of which Mr..
| Johnson was secretary.
In May party of six Germans, COM
prising Philip Krummel, Jacob Guenther,
Windheiner and four others, started up
| the Minnesota from st Paul to Mankato
| in a sail boat. Near Shakopee the sail
catching in an overhanging branch capsized
| the boat, and Windheimer was drowned
and about all the tools and baggage lost.
This Windheimer was the stepfather of
Louis and Chas. Graf. Krummel Guenth-
er and the two other survivors reftted the
boat and finally reached Mankato before
| the end of May. The other survivor also
reached Mankato, but came by land, hav-
| ing had enough of the water route. In
| the latter part of May the townsite was
surveyed by S. P. Folsom, and new claim
shanty was built on block near the first
| Northwestern depot in which P K. John
son and the employees of the townsite com
| pany lived during the summer and winter
of 1852. Mrs. James Rablin, the first
| white woman in Mankato. doing the cook
| ing for them.
This year was held the first Fourth of
July celebration. with P. K. Johnson as or.
ator. Mounted on dry goods box he
read from an old statute book the Declara-
ton of Independence and supplemented the
same with appropriate remarks. all of
which was duly translated by Mr.. Good
rich to the vernacular, greatly to the edit
cation of the assembled multitude of genu-
inc Americans.
In the fall and winter of 1852, P. K.
Johnson built log house on lot block ID
and Henry Jackson one on lot S of the
same block, and on the arrival of their
families early next spring occupied the
same respectively. About December 1882
D. A. Robertson built a log store building
on lot block IS, and caused the same to
be occupied as an Indian store by Evans
Goodrich. In December, 1852, the COM
pany let the contract for large frame no
tel, on lot block IL, to L. H Winslow.
andihe sublet the same to Miner Mills,
who began getting out the frame work that
winter.
Besides those already mentioned, Noah
Armstrong, James Rablin, John Schraeder,
]. c. Hanna, H. Bergholtz, John Holland
and many others were at the settlement
more or less in 1852.
In February, 1853, Robert Wardlaw and
William Wood arrived at Mankato, having
made the journey on the river from Du-
buque in sleigh drawn by three horses.
Having brought some goods with him,
Wardlaw opened an Indian store in the
first claim shanty, which owing to the alb.
sence of its owner, Mr.. Burgholtz, was va
cant that winter. That made the third
store in town-those conducted by John
son and Goodrich being the other two. In
March 1853 Minard Mills brought his wife
NOW Mrs. Lulsdorff) to their new home.
anu D0Sdu tue SlOCllOu VI d lWO SlOIY
frame warehouse, on south end of the levee
where Young & Monson's store now stands.
With the first boat. Greek Slave, on April
9TH. came Mrs. P K. Johnson. and on sec
ond boat came Philip Krummel, having
married the widow of the unfortunate
Windheimer, arrived with his family and
settled in their cabin near Lamm's feed
store. About March or April, H. I. Full
L. 4 IL a., IL
two or three miles north of town. About
the middle of May came James Hanna,
George Maxheld. Basil Moreland, Joseph
Guenther and Henry Goodrich. Mr..
Hanna soon bought the warehouse Mr..
Mills was erecting and fitting it up for a
residence; he and Mr.. Maxheld moved
their families therein about the last of
May. Mr.. Moreland built that summer a
frame store building on lot e. block 6, in
which it is claimed the first term of court
was held in June of the following year.
About the first of June of this year, 1855
came George VanBrunt and T. d. War
len, followed by their families about the
18th June when also came Clement Kron,
and the family of Hoxie Rathburn, Mr.
Rathburn having come in April.
In June 1852, Henry McKenty. a real
estate man Oh 81. raul, naQ DOugnt OF TO-
shia B. and Henry S. Gump their claim
adjoining the TOWNSHIP on the north; in the
early spring of 1853 laid it out for rival
town under the name of Mankato city
In May fair size log building which
had been built here was fitted up and occu-
pied by Edwin Howe as hotel under the
name of "Mankato City Hotel" Josiah
Keene. also. opened blacksmith shop in
the same locality about the same time.
In addition to those already named, this
spring and summer witnessed the arrival
of DR.. J. T. Adams John E Harrison,
Marshal T. Comstock, James McMurtrie,
Joseph Guenther, Peter Frenzel, Michael
hoffman, John Q. Layton. John Hender-
son, and later in the fall, George w. Lay
George H. Marsh and many others, until
| by winter there were about 100 legal voters
| in the settlement. The fall of this year D.
C. Evans, General Matthews and Captain
Humbultson started South Bend.
On the 9th day of March the county of
| Blue Earth was organized by the legisla-
ture and James Hanna, ]. W. Babcock
and ]. S. Hinckley appointed as the first
board of comfy commissioners. and in
| n e al. Lo1I Gref