The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-11-01
e JUICE FROM RAPDAk
DAM At LAKE CRYSTAL
From Mondays Daily.

H. Z. DIOWuy SSilSTdI IldudS6T Ol
the Consumers Power company, gave
two newspaper men one of the most
enjoyable auto trips Of the season
Saturday afternoon, taking them
from ManKato to the Rapidan dam,
over the new state road from Man.
kato the Minneopa fails, from there
to Bixby's ford and thence to Lake
Crystal and back home. This is the
season of the year when such trip
is the most acceptable; nature is at
her best and the scenery through
this country was gorgeous beyond
description
The purpose of the trip was to
look over the road work that has re-
Gently been done in this section OF
Blue Earth county. Just across the
Blue Earth river west of the city is
Halls hill, once ragged incline of
limestone, but now there is a per.
fectly smooth road, leading to the
top of the hill. A little farther on is
the new turnpiking being done on
the state road under the direction of
the road expert Michael O'Brien. 1t
has been graveled and built up in
the center, packed down and smooth
ed off, and in short time will be
almost as smooth as paved street.
The next hill on which the improve.
ments are most noticeable is South
Bend hill. This consists of two long
steep hills and the limestone strata
used to make a sort of rough stair
way, much to the discomfort of auto
mobilists. There are no evidences
now that this was ever anything
but the smoothest kind of a gravel
road. Pigeon Hill, a little farther
on, is an "S'' shaped incline, with
cliffs on either side. Its surface was
Of sand and clay and great bitches
washed out after every rain, making
the hill almost unsurmountable. The
ruts have now been filled, tile has
been laid to carry off the water, the
surface graveled, and now there is
smooth winding road up the hill.
Off to Rapidan.
From Pigeon hill the party journ.
eyed on to Rapidan dam, where Mr.
Brown showed his new fence to keep
reckless drivers from plunging into
the sixty feet of water on the south
side of the dam or over a hundred
and fifty foot precipice on the north
side. The fence leads down the hill
at the west end of the bridge, and
IS constructed of cement posts, set
six feet apart and connected by two
half inch wrought iron chains, whose
breaking strain is 10000 pounds. The
posts are seven feet long and are
set in the ground three and one-half
feet. They are eighteen inches square
at the bottom and twelve inches at
the top. They are reinforced by four
seven eighths inch steel rods and
weigh about eighteen hundred pounds
each. If any one should have any
difficulty in making the turn around
the hill down to the bridge, he would
have still more difficulty in going
through this massive fence and over
the precipice into the river. The ca.
bleS between the posts are all exactly
the same, so as to give the fence the
highest possible degree of sym.
metry Mr. Brown personally SUI
perintended the construction of his
high dive preventer, and it is alb
solutely correct and complete in
every detail. The cost of the fence
was $275, Of which the consumer
Power company paid one fourth, the
township of Rapidan one fourth and
Blue Earth county the remaining one
hall.
New Road to Garden City.
The next object of interest was
the new road across Bixby's ford.
from Garden City to Rapidan. This
road makes the distance between
the two towns and from Garden
City to Mankato shorter by over a
mile. Many years ago there was a
road leading across the river at this
place and at the ford village called
Lowell was started. A mill was built.
but the town never fourished and
for fifty years there has been nothing
to show the presence of the villag
1t was difficult to ford at this place
and could only be negotiated when
the water was at the very lowest
ebb. The old Rapidan bridge has
now been moved to this place, and
work on the road is now well under
way. On the west side of here the
bridge now spans the river, the road
had to be cut on the side of the hill
for a considerable distance and a
few rods farther four foot concrete
culvert is being put in. On the op-
poslte side of the culvert the roaG
leads up very steep but short hill,
and this is being worked down and
gotten into shape. The culvert IL
cast around collapsible steel shell
and when it is done will carry all the
water off the road into the river.
Bert Bixby, son of A. Bixby, an old
settler who lives near by, is super
intending this piece of work, and
only hundred dollars of actual
money, coming from the county, will
be spent. The township furnishes the
cement for the culvert, and the work
is being done by the farmers of the
township in payment of their taxes.
When it is finished this road will
not only be the shortest but the best
road from Garden City to Rapidan
and will be turnpiked and graveled
in the regular manner.
Lights on at Lake Crystal.
After leaving Bixby's ford the next
stop was at the power station just
outside the limits of Lake Crystal.
This is merely small tower, to
which $4,000 volts are conveyed from
the Rapidan power station and re.
duced to 1900 and then to ITO volts
and 220 by means of large transform.
ers, to suit the needs of the village of
Lake. Crystal. 1t is also in a position
to furnish Juice" for Madelia and the
surrounding towns. Saturday night
was the first night that the con.
sumerS' Power cOmDany furnished