Willmar tribune., 1911-07-05
ORIGIN OF GEOGR 3 D + APHICAI lIiijiil "a. a
NAMES IN KANDlYOHI COUNTY

tA1vU11Uu1 VVUN11
mar was named for Leon Willmar.
a Dutch stock. holder in the original
St. Paul & Pacific Railroad. Har-
rison was 50 named by the promoter
Of the townsite, Mr.. J. D. Harris.
Burbank was named for Henry c..
Burbank, an early merchant and
stage-line owner Of st. Cloud. What
led to the designation Of St. Johns
is one Of the mysteries Of local his
tory. The map Of 1860 shows a
small dot named St. Johns on the
lake that now bears the name, but
who designated it in the first in
stance is not known. It is possible
that the mapwriter made mistake
and located too far to the west the
old st. Johns townsite, which was
superseded BY Harrison on Diamond
Lake. New London was so named
by Louis Larson, who fifty years
ago this summer pushed on from the
home cabin on Nest Lake up thru
the thickets Of hazel bush and prick
ly ash and explored the Crow Val
ley, locating a homestead at the rap
ids where he built the grist mill,
which at one time was patronized
, by settlers as far away as the Min
nesota River. He named the town
site New London from similarity
which he fancied that place bore to
New London in Waupaca County,
Wis.
Besides the two Lake Lillians,
four other townships in the county
derive their names from lakes with
in their borders. Lake Elizabeth
was named for the wife of Judge A.
c. Smith, the first receiver at the
Forest City land office. Lake An
drew was Sc named by Andrew Holes
and William Cortledge who explored
the country in 1857 and cut that
name into the bark Of a cottonwood
tree on the shore Of the lake. Nor
way Lake was named by Andrew and
Even Railson as they were floating
on raft during their first summer
there in 1858. G4een Lake was Civ
en- its name by E. T. Woodcock from
the green tint of it's waters.
The origin Of the names of the re-
naming townships is as follows
Roseville was named by the settlers
in 1866 when they effected their
town organization, the name being
suggested by the profusion of wild
roses that bloomed on the prairies.
Roseland has a similar origin, the
name being the common designation
for flower garden in both the
Swedish and Dutch languages. A
number Of the Dutch settlers, how
ever, came from Roseland, suburb
of Chicago. Colfax was named for
Vice-President Schuyler Colfax in
1871, the name being suggested by
Mr.. G. S. Geer. Arctander was nam
ed for Atty. J. W. Arctander in
1879. In return for this honor, Mr..
Arctander contributed a sum of
money to assist in building the town
hall which stands in the center of
the township. Mamre was given it's
name by the first settlers of the
Town, John Rodman, a devout Chris
tian, from the biblical reference to
the promised land in the days Of the
Patriarch Abraham. Dovre receives
it's name from the two hills which
may be seen far beyond the borders
Of the town and which the early
Norwegian settlers fancied bore a
resemblance to the Dovre Fjallo in
Norway. . ...ss
The petition for the formation of
a new township organization in 1877
and now on file at the Courthouse
is very simple instrument. It reads
as follows: "These are the sigma
lures Of those who desire that the
new town shall be named Fahlun.' y
OF the seventeen signers, eleven hail
ed from Dalarne, Sweden, and the
City of Fahlun is the metropolis of
that province. /. -. Il II
| S. S. Edwards named the town
ship in his own honor. He was ac-
tive in securing a town organization
in 1871. He left the designation Of
the name blank while circulating the
petition and filed in the name before