The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1931-10-22
Instructive
Talk by State
Tr. Schnahl
Gave Interesting Resume of
Early Day Stearns
County History
COUNTY SEAT FIGHTS
Towns of Old Stearns Long
Since Passed Out of
Existence Named
COUNTY SEAT FIGHTS

The address of State Treasurer
Julius Schmahl at the Oxford thea
tire Wednesday afternoon in connec
ton with the Fall Festival festivi
ties was particularly illuminating
disclosure of Minnesota, more par.
ticularly of Stearns county and
Sank Centre.
He called attention to the fact
that had not Thomas Jefferson OF
any Of his successors completed
the purchase of that vast strip OF
territory west of the Mississippi
river this community would belong
to France.
Stearns county derived its name
in a peculiar manner. THO legisla-
ture Of 1855, on Feb. 20 to be exact,
passed bill the text of which
named this county Stevens" in
honor Of a pioneer who had left
his impress upon the Northwest.
In those days all bills were trans
scribed in long hand. In some un-
accountable manner the recording
clerk Transcribed the bill to read
"Stearns" instead of Stevens. The
name was left to stand. Stevens
was later honored when the county
of which is the county seat, organ
lied. The first commissioners of
Stearns county were:
David Wood, John Ferschweiler
and John L. Wilson. The first
meeting at Wilson's house, st.
Cloud, April 9, at which Charles
Ketcham was elected auditor, Rob-
ert Blake, treasurer, w. w. Smith,
Probate Judge, L B. Hammond,
Sheriff.
The first license to dispense in
toxicating liquor in the county was
issued to Anton Edlebrock, of st.
Cloud. There was no license fee.
At the meeting Of the County
Board held Jan. s, 1859 it was
voted for the Commissioners to be-
gin their daily labors at TOO A. M.
They refused to vote the members
any mileage.
Mr.. Schmahl recounted how the
grasshoppers had ravaged the
county in 1856, 1857, 1873 and 1877.
At a meeting of the Commission
-ars- held July Is, 1856 it was de-
cided to erect a court house at a
cost not to exceed 5000 To pay
for this bonds were issued bearing
interest at the rate Of II per cent
per annum. It took 10 years to
complete the payment of the struc-
ture. In 1850 the total valuation
of Stearns county was 1881, 1893. At
this time the valuations is in excess
Of 100000.
Something the average present
day resident Of western Stearns
does not know is that in 1872 the
Minnesota legislature passed a law
establishing FRANKLIN" county
with Sank Centre as the county
seat. This bill divided Stearns
county east and west and took in
the southern row of townships of
Todd county. When the question
was submitted to the voters it fail
ed of passage. st. Cloud rode
along as the countys seat of Gov
eminent until 1913 when Albany
put up a hard fight to have the
county seat moved nearer the CEN
tire of the county. More than so
per cent of the voters Of the coun-
ty signed a petition asking for the
Commissioners to call an election.
Editorial note)-The clever st.
Cloud politicians were too crafty
for the innocents in charge of the
Albany campaign. Remonstrance
petitions were circulated with the
result that enough names were re-
moved from original petition to kill
the effectiveness Of the first one.
The feeling against st. Cloud was
countrywide and had it been posi-
BILE for another petition to have
been circulated st. Cloud would
have lost the Court House. AS
soon as the Albany deal was out of
the way movement was started to
build the present Court House. At
the session of the legislature fol-
lowing State Senator J. D. Sullivan
engineered a special bill through
both houses permitting the county
to build a Court House without
submitting the question of bond
issue to a vote of the people. The
present fine Court House has re-
suited.
Mr.. Schmahl called attention to
towns in Stearns county well known
in the early days having long since
passed out of existence. Most Of
them are not even remembered by
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