Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1915-12-16

the west side Of the lake. 1t is
said that the name was first sug
gest~d to the Indians from the
fact that at the point where the
home of Fred A. Hodge now
stands there was ancieutly a
beautiful grove of tall pines,
which was the first thing the ex-
plorer would notice as his canoe
came up the "Kanabec River.
which is another Indian name
which should have been preserved
and would have sounded much
better than the present name
| Snakc) into the beautiful Cross
Lake. The late Isaac Staples Of
Saltwater, once told the writer
that when he first came up the
river the grove was still standing.
but it is safe to say Though this is
conjecture) that the next time he
saw the trees they were in boom
with Isaac Staples log-mark on
them.
Chengwatana--a frontier rally
ing point for Indians, "squaw-
men, half breeds, trappers and
the hodge-podge which makes up
the advance gnard of civilization
existed as an outpost. It was a
min~ling of civilization and bar
barisn; a running together of the
two currents of humanity. one
tending toward the white man $
ideals and the other flowing back
ward to the abort CINE. Like many
others such settlement" it ex-
listed before the time Of written
history. No one seems TO know it's
beginning The earliest writer's
speak o." Chengwatana" as being
m existence and the early settlers
who remained here speak of it as
h"lng an old settlement when
they came. Before the 'Govern
ment Road was put through
Duane Porter. George Goodwin,
Emil, GustaVe and Adolph Munich
had settled there and the Munich
BROTHERS had built a store and
Eben"zer Aver kept a hotel There
was also a dam. Chengwatara
would not be Chengwatana
without a dam. 1t appears that
there hes been dam In )inr" near
the outlet Of Cross Lake since the
time to which the memory Of
man runneth not to the con
trary, and it may be that much
Of the development of this section
IS due to the energy aroused in
daming and damning the Chenp-
watana dam
AS early as 1852 there was an
effort made to get rid of the name
"Chengwatana when Walker.
Judd 4 Co, surveyed and plated
4 village called Alhambra. " but
the Moorish name seems to have
been too much of a burden for the
embryonic city planted among the
Indians and French half breeds
The exact location of ALEXANDRIA is
now merely a matter of coniec-
ture. The settlement retained
he name of Chengwatana. and AS
stated above, the first location of
the county seat was there. But
thengWatana was run down by
the ears. When the Lake Supr
Tor 4 Mississippi Railroad was
built through the present site Of
Pine City. the engine bell tolled
the death-knell of Chengwatana.
1t is said that way bacl; in the
iortI"s a man by thesname Of
Kirkland from Q~incv. Illinois.
being struck by the beauties Of
Cross Lake and the splendid site
which this village now occupies,
tried to establish settlement
here. | can Well understand how
the scene attracted this man. for
my first view of Cross Lake was
on a beautiful June morning in
1854. and | then thought | had
never beheld such an attractive
spot. The Indian troubles drove
hf. kirkland away and it was not
until the Iron horse" had be-
come a common sight to the In
dian and the squaw-man that
permanent settlement was made
on the present site of Pine CITY.
| When first came to Pine CITY.
the village was just passing from
the decadent lumber town TO the
embryonie farming community,
| The Burrows & Munich stave mill
had been hnilt. had furnished a
fruitful source of fees for LAWYERS,
and went up i'll flames before the
lawsuits We're ended The two
Person mills had been built and
one burned; the old mill stood in
the west part of town with doors
and windows boarded ND, the
smoke stack rusting. the team
ways falling down and the logs
which ShauiH haya haap ,,,,,uf,