The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1906-12-05
FORTY YEARS AGO.
Excerpts Taken From St. Paul Papers
Of Forty Years Ago.

/
Pen pictures of Minneapolis in the
summer of 1852 An old settler gives
us the following interesting remin-
iscence of the site of our growing
sister city as it was fourteen years
ago: Where Minneapolis now stands
there were at that time two good
houses, two good claim shanties and
the old government house and mill.
The occupants of these were Col.
John H. Stevens, near where now
rests the end of the beautiful sus-
pension bridge; John Jackins, claim
shanty, about five squares back of
Col. Stevens house; DR.. A. E. Ames',
a claim house, just in the rear of
where now stands the court house;
Mr. Miller, small shanty near the
lower landing, and Mr.. Calvin Tut
tie, who occupied the old govern
ment house near the mill.
We first crossed the river at this
point in batteaux under the care
of our old veteran friend and pioneer
Capt. John Taper, who then ran a
ferry a few yards below where the
suspension bridge now stands. At
this period of our existence we had
no name or local habitation," and
it was about two years afterwards
that the citizens met to decide on
one. All Saints was the first name.
and we even went by the name of
St. Albion before Minneapolis was
decided upon.
In our early history our town site
was known as the old Fort Smelling
reservation, and no one was allowed
to settle thereon without permission
from commanding officer at the fort.
Those who presumed to put up
shanties without permission had
them pulled down by the soldiers.
DR.. A. E. Ames went to Washing
ton and spent the winter of 1856 and
80 to get the land in market to the
actual settlers. He brought back
the papers with him in the spring of
1856, which were obtained thru the
influence of the lamented Hon. Ste
phen A. Douglas and Hon. Henry
M. Rice. At one time it was thot
the land was to be sold to the high
est bidder and the settlers armed
themselves and went to the land
office intending to make short work
with any speculatar who shon't. dare
to overbid an actual settler. The
sale was postponed to avoid trouble,
and soon after the land was entered
by presumption.
Gov. William R. Marshall surveyed
and laid out the town plat. There
was then not much demand for
corner lots, many of them being
given to any one who would build
house on them. With this induce
ment considerable number of small
houses were built. Everything must
have beginning and this was our
sister city's start in life. The fnan-
cial crash of 1857 and the long and
bloody war which followed in 1861,
in a great measure stopped progress
everywhere. The Indian war also
kept many who intended making
their homes in our state from COM
ing to Minnesota. St. Anthony in
1852 was a neat little village of
several hundred inhabitants and al
ready boosted of a lively little news
paper, the St. Anthony Express.
**
We are indebted to Mr.. R. A.
Lanpher, late clerk of the adju-
tant generals office, for an abstract
of the records of that office, show
ing the nationalities of all our Min
nesota volunteers whose birth place
could be ascertained. Mr.. Lanpher
spent several months in compiling
these statistics which are valuable
and intesesting The entire number
of volunteers from this state has
been reported as 21,321. Of these
Al per cent. were of foreign birth,
Germany leading with 2,O36 to her
credit, Ireland 1,O29, Canada 998,
Norway 1926, England 554, and
Sweden 532. New York leads the
native born with 1870, and Ohio
comes second with l ,345 enlistments.
1t is interesting to note that of the
entire total only 1873 were born in
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