The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1907-08-21
A call from Michael FLAG of
CharlestoWn one daY last week led

to some interesting "reminiscences
i from that gentleman about the de-
velopment of the south side of Red
wood county. While Redwood Falls
appears to have led the south side
in point Of first settlement, the
record, is that with the building of
therailroad west from New Ulm to
Burnstown (Springfeld) and beyond,
settlement followed gradually along
the line of that road. Mr.. FLAG
arrived in the early seventies, but
was preceded by number of earlier
pioneers. Of these Chas. Porter
was the first, having taken a home
stead in what is now Charlestown as
early as July 18th, 1864, the same
year Col. McPhail and party settled
at Redwood Falls. It was Mr.. Por-
ter who gave his name to the town
ship. In November of 1868, Geo.
L. and John Wagner. William Goehr-
ing and Gottlieb Jacobs arrived and
became citizens of the same town
ship.
When Mr.. FLAG took possession
of the claim which he still occupies,
the nearest settlement was Burns
town, with a single country store
and two section houses. La.er a
switch and station was put in on the
] line of the new railroad at Charles
Porter's place, and here Praxel &
Schandera put in their first store in
this county. The Station was called
Cottonwood crossing and was as we
understand, in section 20 of Charles
town. Charlestown postoffice was
established there in 1873 with A. A..
Praxel as postmaster. The legisla-
ture having decreed that stations
should be put in on the railroad not
more than ten miles apart, new
switches were put in at the present
sites Of Sanborn and Lamberton
soon after the above date. Praxel
& Schandera moved their stock to
Lamberton in 1874, but C. R. Knee
land preceded them in the erection
of the first building in the town.
Mr.. FLAG states that he was in
strumental in putting in the switch
at the present site of Sanborn, hav-
ing secured from the railroad COM
pany the assistance of a section boss
from Tracy to see that the work
was properly done. The present
town of Sanborn was not started
until 1880, when Simon Dotson was
made postmaster and it was Father
Dotson who took a leading part in
having the town plated the follow
ing year and getting things to boom,
Mr.. Dotson being the wheat buyer
Of the town at that time. From
another source we learn that Chris
tina VanSchaack, sister of former
county auditor VanShaack, taught
the first school in Charlestown in
1873, the school house being located
on section 80.
Mr.. FLAG says that no Redwood
county citizen of today can form
much of a conception Of the hard
times that followed the first grass
hopper invasion Of 1875, Owing to
the hoppers and year of blighted
grain which followed them, the
farmers in his section realized scarce.
| " enough from their crops for five
years in succession to keep them in
bread. Mr.. Flaig was blacksmith
by trade and picked up enough in
that and various ways to keep his
/ family alive until better times came,
but the recollection of his reyerses
is still painful to him. He came all
the way to Redwood Falls to ioin
the Masonic lodge here by demit
and received little aid and comfort
from his brethren in that connection
at one time. Mr.. FLAG recalled the
Redwood men he knew in the early
days, but with the exception of F.
Y. Hotchkiss, John Thomas and An