The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-06-26
HISTORY OF THE NORTHEAST
PART OF BLUE EARTH COUNTY
PapeRea dby Ia GA
ettes'Gath

=
art, supervisors, Scion Webster, town
clerk
Capt. Dane came to Minnesota in 1858
( and from him l learned the following
facts: In the spring election of 1859 of
jamestown the following officers were
elected:-Tim Sullivan, chairman; John
Cummins and G. \. Berrie, supervisors,
Scion Webster, clerk. The next Deem
Der, 1859, those who lived in what is now
, LeRay township No. los, Range % west,
got up petition to the county commits
sioners of Blue Earth county to organize
: a town and name it Lake. jerome
| Dane, George A. Berrie and William
Cole were sent with the petition to the
county commissioners. 1t was first or
ganized as Lake, then Tivoli and finally
LeRay named by William Cole after a
| town in New York The commissioners
! appointed Capt. j. Dane as special JUS
, tice of the peace to swear in the new
town officers. The commissioners order
! ed a special election in January, 1850,
and the following persons voted at that
election: Geo. Bennett, William Morris,
Jerome Dane, \. c. Johnson, Gates, Alvin
Reynolds. John Cummins, jerome Weth-
! Douglas. James Douglas.
Scheoff. Fisher, Robt Haislip, a. VI
man, w. D. Cole, Stewart Sen, NJ. Stew
art, NJ ID. Mcnamara, John Serrim,
! Chas. Wagner, G. a. Berrie, j. l.. Bur
CESS, John Small, Joseph Gilfillen, c. Dav-
Wis. Geo. Raymond, Albert Turner, Isaac
| Turner, Frank Mills, James Turner, ST.,
and John Uric, a total of thirty one.
| The following officers We're elected as
| the first officers of LeRay.-W. ID. Cole,
| chairman: John Cummins and G. a. Ber-
RE, supervisors; a. c. Johnson, town
clerk; Jerome Dane, treasurer and JUS
tice of the peace; j. L. Burgess, justice
Of the peace; Geo. Bennett, Isaac Turner,
constables. The election was held in
William D. Coles house on the farm now
owned by Nicholas Frederick. The reg
ular election was held in April, 1850, and
the same officers were reelected. The
election of 1861 was held in Scheof's
house in section Is. The farm is now
owned by George Romack. The follow
ing officers were elected. Jerome Dane,
chairman; John Cummins and John Wag-
ner supervisors; a. c. Johnson, town
clerk; William Morris, justice of the
peace; George Bennett and Isaac Turner,
constables.
These We're stirring times. History
was not only being made in Blue Earth
county but all over the United States.
Fort Sumpter was fired on the 18th of
April. The president called for volun-
teers the 18th of April. The grand old
man who stood on this platform last
year, Gov Ramsey, was in Washington
and Immediately offered the president a
regiment of Minnesota boys to fight for
our flag and the Union. jerome Dane
had qualified as chairman of the town
but being an old Mexican soldier he was
soon busy drilling the boys and forgot
all about his town office.
In 1870 the Winona & st. Peter rail
road, now known as the Northwestern
railroad, was surveyed through LeRay,
Mankato and Lime townships. 1t came
into LeRay section 20, near a sawmill
owned by man named Smith and the
railroad company located station there
and named it Smiths Mill. The railroad
runs through the town of LeRay passing
into Mankato township through section
Is near Eagle Lake. Some time before
a German farmer by the name of George
A. Berrie living near there had petitioned
the United States government for post
office to be named Spier after town in
Germany where he came from. The pc
, tition was granted. Soon after parties
living there asked to have it changed to
Eagle Lake and when the railroad came
through the company laid out town
there and called it Eagle Lake and this
name it has always borne.
Political.
At the town election held at the
Woods school house, district No. GO,
April 3, 1867, fifty-one votes were polled
and the following town officers were
elected: NJ. d. Mcnamara, chairman;
George A. Berrie and Amsa Taber, super
visors; Ira B. Reynolds, town clerk and
Justice of the peace; G. w. Burgess, as
SCISSOR. The minutes of this town meet
ing are the first recorded minutes that
have been preserved and very good rec
ord has been kept since. There was no
political dissension at this election and
there never has been at any town meet
ing in LeRay since. To find the po-
litical complexion of the town we have
to look at the minutes of the general
fall election so / will give them of the
election held at Eagle Lake November
6, 1900, just thirty three years after the
election mentioned above. The poll list
shows that there were 3O6 voters in the