New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1906-05-30
HISTORY OF BROWN. COUNTY

ill., 4 III - - GtSOvv " OOOUI u
Some Proceedings Of the First
Commissioners.
Records That Have Never Been
Given Publication.
Excerps From the Records OF the
Clerk Of the Board.
! There is a great deal Of interest in
the proceeding Of the early county
commissioners Of this county, and the
Review has had access to the records
OF the early commissioners and will
from time to time give some of the
proceedings of that body, if the two or
three men who composed it may be
called a body.
The first survey Of the county was
made in 1854 by NJ. M. Hayden. The
county was established and its boun-
diaries fixed by act of legislature
passed Feb. 20, 1866. It was an area
Of immense extent. Commencing at
the southeast corner Of town l01, range
80, west, its boundary proceeded along
the Iowa line to range 4S, and thence
south to the mouth Of the Big Sioux
river where Sioux City now stands)
then up the Missouri river to about the
mouth Of the Grand river, then due
east, in a line projected to the Mime
sofa river, which formed for some dis
tance the northeast boundary Of the
county.
| Feb. II, 1856, the legislature assem-
| bly, enacted ''that the county of Brown
is hereby declared to be an organized
county and entitled to all privileges
and immunities and subject to all LA
bilities of other organized counties Of
the territory
| The governor was empowered by
this act to appoint county officers to
serve until the following election; not
knowing the names Of the settlers he
handed Francis Baasen, who was then
in ST. Paul. the blank commissions
and ordered him to fill the office and
! report the names to him when he had
SO done. No record excists of the
names of these officers so appointed,
and their names have apparently been
forgotten.
On May 23d, 1857, there were formed
out of part of the territory contained
in Brown county, Martin, Jackson.
Mobiles, Rock, Pipestone, Murray anG
Cottonwood. In 1862 the boundaries
were again changed by the establish.
ment of Redwood county, which cut of
from Brown the present counties Of
Lyon, Lincoln, Yellow Medicine anC
Lac qui Parle all Of which were formed
| into Redwood county. The boundar.
les Of Brown county were then of less
extent than they are now, but in 1866
it was enlarged by the addition of four
townships. North Star, Burnstown
Stately and Ba shaw, the two former
being cut from Redwood and the two
latter from Cottonwood counties.
The first meeting of the county com
missioners, of which there is any rec.
ord in existence and from which the
following report is taken took place
in this city on Sept. 1, 1885, the com
missioners being Peyton Nichols, An
ton Klaus and A. Henle, and the rec
ord of the interesting parts of theil
meeting is as follows; it is given al
times verbatim and some of the trans
! lations as the clerk made them are
quite literal:
i Meeting of September 1st, A. D..
1856.
Present: Peyton Nichols. Antor
Klaus and A. Henle.
| No reading of the proceedings of tht
previous meeting in the absence of thu
clerk
The register of deeds having moved
from the county his Office was declared
VdCduG duO TTdlC1S a#bddS6n 4Qldll
mously appointed to ell his place
4 FIR. Baasen was then sworn in the Of
fee as clerk pro TEN of this meeting
$ Commissioner Klaus presented then ;
verbal report in regard to depred atior
. on school lands in this county ane
| Geo. Brown was fined one dollar fo1
trespass on the same.
i Francis Baasen then presented pc
tition Of many residents for a roal
= from New Ulm to intersect the Blue
( Earth county road leading to Mankato
4 Peyton Nichols and Francis Baaser
made affidavit that the legal notice.
] having been put up at three diferen
places along the line of the proposed
road. The Messrs. Peyton Nichols
/ and Jacob Brust were appointed com
missioners to lay out the same Will
the county surveyor.
!. The board then reconsideredt the yot
| of asst MEETING in regard to the aIec