The Mankato free press., 1902-06-30

There is now in the possession of
one of 0tfr citizens thin book, about
eight by twelve inches in size, which
contains record covering period of
about eight months, from August
81, 1857 to April 30, 1853, of an associ-
alton of citizens comprising nearly
the whole population of Mankato.
In order to understand the object of
this association it must be borne in
mind that at this time two rival
townsite companies laid claim to the
townsite of Mankato, the "old COM
pany'' and the ''new company" as
they were then popularity designated.
Between these two companies stood
the settlers, who had squatted on the
town lots, had built houses on them,
and were occupying them without
title. They had conceived the idea
that when the title passed from the
United States, it should go not to a
company formed for speculation, but
to the actual settlers and improvers of
the land.
Therefore we find that on August
81, 1867, quoting now from the record,
"A meeting of the settlers residing in
the townsite of Mankato in Blue Earth
Co.. M. T., was held in the school
house in said town, in the evening
of the above date, for the purpose of
taking into consideration proper meas
ures for securing their homes. I" The
school house here mentioned was the
log school house on Broad street where
the Union school house now stands.
Ephraim Cole was chairman at this
meeting. He lived in a shanty on
block 13, and laid out that portion of
said block which is called "Cole's
subdivision. W G. Milligan was
secretary. He may have been a good
secretary, but he spelled worse than
Chaucer. A committee was appointed
to draft articles of association and
another to draw up a memorial to the
Secretary of the Interior, asking him
to instruct the district judge to enter
the townsite in trust for the occu-
pants. This committee consisted of
Branson, Milligan, Lomery, Liam
oureaux2) johnson and Century.
This last name suppose to be intend
ed for Guenther.
After this, meetings were held for
while almost every day. On Septem-
ber 8 committees were appointed to
confer with the new company for
the purpose of ascertaining their in
tentions. To gather information re-
specting conflicting titles conveyed by
members of the old company and to
take the names of all bona fde settlers
on the townsite. 1t was to be mu-
tual cooperative consolidation of all
who claimed lots by virtue of actual
occupancy. On September they
adopted a constitution, no copy of
which appears, but it was considered
SO important that it was written in
both English and German. They fixed
upon the name "Mankato Settlers
Association" and elected as officers
A. D. Seward, president; Samuel
Kitchin, vice president W. g. Milli-
gan, secretary and Leo. Lamm, treas
urer. The president then appointed
permanent committees, finance COM
mittee consisting of W. R. Mcmahon,
Jacob Pfaff and F. M. Cunning. AL
so a vigilant committee, duties not
specified, but may be imagined. The
"vigilants'' were D. 81, Tyner, J. A.
Willard and Messrs. Milnor, Hoerr
and Noyes.
Questions of finance and of the cur
rency had begun to agitate the people.
The desperate condition of paper
money in those days is shown by the
following record. It was resolved
"that the treasurer be instructed to
exchange all the bank notes in his pos
session belonging to the association,
for specie, and henceforth not to re-
ceive any money for the association
except gold or silver. -
To the minds of those settlers it ap-
peared that the most ''proper measure
for securing their homes" lay in the
making of survey and map of the
townsite. The old company had caus-
ed map to be made by E. D. Bruner.
The new company as the rival OF
the old one was about doing the same
thing by its surveyor, A. D. Nc.
Sweeny. A map had been made in
I1S52 by Simeon P. Folsom, and had
Ieven been Autographed. but as it GOV.
cred an immense scope of country,
much more than the law allowed to be
entered as a townsite, IL was abandon
ed and Burners map took it's place
Everitt also, the surveyor who ran the
lsection lines, had been employed tc
make map, but by some strange
fatality he had got the points of com
pass SO mixed that his boundary linel
ran diagonally instead of square NORTH
, and south, east and west. Each Of th'
other contesting claimants had now 1T
map. held out for acceptance by th'
government. So our settlers must alst
have their map, and the land decided
according to it ''for the use and bene
J 6t of the occupants thereof" In al
} these maps the streets and blocks oc
lcupied the same positions but receiv