The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1926-02-25

The Herald this week begins the
publication of fifteen OF the pest
essays prepared by the students Oh
the Sank Centre High School deal
ing with the early history OF mime,
sofa. The first three will be entered
in a state wide contest and an Will
eventually be filed in the archives OF
the Minnesota Historical Society.
They are mighty interesting reading
and all Herald readers are urged to
follow this series closely. 1t is ex-
pected that it will take about II
weeks to complete the series:
q
First Prize Winner)
The Beginning of My Community
Around the upper waters OF the
Mississippi, there is region OF many
lakes. So numerous are they and so
interlaced by clear and murmurlng
brooks that to one in a balloon they
would appear like a necklace OF
silver filaments gracefully thrown
upon the bosom of the earth. Sur
rounded by forests of pine, birch, ana
maple, the marshes were luXurlant
with wild rice; the shores were once
freuuented by the fox, the bear, and
the beaver; it was a region peculiarly
ADAPTED for a secure and happy nome
for tribe of North American saw
ages.
Since then this wonderful region
has grown amazingly. In the .glor.
ious North Star State, the land OF
ten thousand lakes known all over the
world. in the center of the Nations
PLAYGROUND, lies the beautiful little
city of Sank Centre. Go east, go
west, go north, go south, over our
winding well-built highways and view
the scenery throughout the state
none can rival the picturesque seen
cry that greets the travellers eye as
he enters the country surrounding
Sank Centre. Mother Nature has
been generously lavish in her gifts
to US. Sank Centre, situated on one
of the most beautiful of the ten
thousand lakes which are filled with
a wide variety of fish, invites the
bait-throwers from all over the ma
ton. The surrounding country is
the huntsmen's paradise. The agri-
cultural region is the heart of the
dairying industry of the state, and
here is located one of the largest
butter producing centers OF the ma
ton.
The building of this little center
started in 1856. Prior to this, this
region was the stage upon which the
actors, the red and white men, battled
for the rights CT their race. Other
men in search for something better
and goaded on by the spirit of adven-
ture settled here. This band of hon
est, God-fearing men and women re-
allied that reward came not by wan
dering and adventure, but by hard
work and self-sacrifces.
About 1854. an old artist from
some eastern city, accompanied by
his daughter, settled on the bank of
Lake Kandotta, about four miles from
the present site of Sank Centre. He
laid out a town there and lived amid
the wild and beautiful scenery which
his poetic soul almost worshipped, I'M
til driven out by the savages in
1862.
Every development is interesting
always-that of town, institute or
come about? Who was its founder?
These are interesting questions. Sank
Centre, the very name of our town,
means much to it's people. The ety.
mology of this Indian word is not
very clear. 1t seems to be mixture
of form. 1t is thought to have grown
out of the word, "Osage," meaning
"Sauk" from their tribe of Indians.
Or it may have arisen from their
confederated tribe, "The Sacs and
Foxes" These Indians were driven
from their original home on the Of
iowa river in Canada by the mighty
Iroquis and came on to Minnesota
by the Mississippi river. The word
"Sauk" then means beauty, satisfac-
tion, contentment, and prosperity !;
and "center" means the very center
or heart of these attributes.
Into this beautiful center in the
early ifties came adventurous men,
among them was Alexander Moore !;
and he with six others drew up the
first plat for townsite as early as
1855, to be known as "Sauk Centre
TOWNSHIP" Little was done for a
year or two, but progress was made,
q GOWH was ldlu Oul, vi
founding properly executed; and
Alexander Moore became the father
of Sank Centre. The first home was
a dug-out in the bluff by the river.
1t was lined with posts and was used
generally as shack.
In June of the following year the
erection of dam across Sank river
was begun by Moore and Jacques.
Endowed with an unusual constitu-
ton and unexcelled energy, Moore
was capable of undertaking things
the average man would hesitate to
approach. During the erection of
the dam he took a leading part in all
of the manual labor. He never per-
mitted a man to lead him in this
work; and on various occasions, after
working up to his waist in water all
day, he would saddle his horse and
ride all night to St. Cloud, secure
supplies, and be back on the job at
the dam at the following day. When
the ice broke up in 1853, the whole
scheme met its Waterloo for the time
being by the carrying away of the
partially constructed dam. These
early settlers, however, possessed in
domitable spirit; and the dam was
rebuilt in 1860 with small saw