The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1913-12-02
Sec. ]. A. SChnahI
Gives History of
Early Companies
Writes Interesting History of First
County and City Corporations
Formed Here
Describes Discovery of Coal, Early
Traffic on The Minnesota and
{ Fair Association
Many Members Past Away; Some
Still Living in Redwood Falls
and Vicinity
by julius A. Schmahl.)

The transcribing of $4,000 names of
corporations, business, social and reli-
gious, from the old, Anticipated sys-
tenn of index reception books, to that
of the new card system, whereby the
history of a single corporation can
always be found on a single card, rath.
er than scattered through series OF
pages in a series of books, which has
been going on in the Office of the sec
retary of state, under the direction of
the writer, for six months past, and
which will require another six months
TO finish, brings forth historical mem
cries to those who are engaged in the
work, and particularly to me as |
engaged in the work of checking up
the pages before they are turned over
TO the machine, so far as they relate
0 some Redwood Falls and Redwood
county corporations.
The First Corporation
AS far back as 1864 rumors were
waited over the western prairies that
there was coal in abundance to be
found along the Redwood river, near
Redwood Falls. These rumors, picked
up and repeated to others, found their
way through the hunter, trapper and
explorer, down the Minnesota valley,
through New Ulm and st. Peter to
s. Haui, and as they became more
more current, they caused an in
sation, with the result that on
2Sth, 1864, there gathered in
the offices of childhood st. Paul,
nber of men, who afterwards
famous in the political annals
ne history of the state. There was
1enry H. Sibley, territorial governor
nd Indian fighter, John S. Prince, for
rs connected with the political and
lncial history of Ramsey county;
nklin Steele, at that time residing
7ort Smelling, but whose name later
anne identified with the commercial
d political growth of Minneapolis
Hennepin county; Charles NJ.
likes, at one time president of the
,rthern Pacific railroad company;
enry III. Eanes, financier and pro-
otor; Henry NJ. Rice, representative
I'd senator in congress, whose statue
wv adorns the hall of fame; Charles
Flandrau, jurist, statesman and
ldian pacifier; D. A. Schillock, Henry
ehnke and John C. Rudolph, three
Ames that honor New Ulm and Brown
ougty, and those two divisions have
IGNORED them.
Redwood Coal Company
They gathered to, and did, form a
body corporate for the purpose of en-
gaging in mining, transporting and
selling coal in the state of Minnesota.
The corporation was named the Red
wood Coal Company, and the place
of business was fixed at st. Paul, with
Ramsey and Redwood counties as the
places of actual operation. The cap
ital stock was given at so, 800, divided
into 30 shares of $50 each.
Every person whose name is af-
fixed to the articles, as recorded in
this department, has been called to
the world beyond. But when the
rumors of coal discovery reached
ST. Paul, and it was generally felt
that coal could not be found elsewhere
in the state, the gentlemen fully rea-
lized the importance of rich, pos
sible find, and formed the corpora
ton. 1
Along the ranks of the Redwood
river, either !. or adjacent to what |
is now known ls the Peabody farm,
there was dis .oyered by an early |
hunter, an quito opping of what after
wards proved Il be Ignite. This COM
pany, organized ut that time, made a
careful Investigation after it filed its |
articles, and the Investigators reported |
that there was nothing there that |
would prove of any value.
For a period of % years the rumor
was kept asleep. The generation which |
had given currency to it had prac-