Fifty Years In The Northwest

In 1820 the military authorities at Fort Snelling had erected a stone mill for sawing their own lumber and grinding the grain shipped from St. Louis. They also built a log house and cultivated a few acres of adjacent ground. This mill, run by the water of the falls, was located a short distance below. This was the first utilization of the water power. The mill, which has long since disappeared, was located on the present site of Sidle, Fletcher & Holmes' flouring mill. In 1854 one saw mill, the first in Minneapolis aside from the old government mill, was located just below the falls. It had a capacity of 1,500,000 feet per annum and besides manufactured great quantities of shingles. It was under the direction of C. King. A steam saw mill was built at the mouth of Bassett's creek, above the falls, in 1856, and another the following year, half a mile further up the river. Thus began the great lumber business of Minneapolis, in 1857 there being three mills with an aggregate capacity of 75,000,000 feet per annum.

The attitude of the government with regard to the lands reserved about the Fort, the act of 1839, driving off those who had settled upon them and destroying their property, and the uncertainty with regard to the tenure of land claims, acted as an effectual bar to further improvement until ten years later, when Hon. Robert Smith, member of Congress from Alton district, Illinois, and Col. John H. Stevens, the pioneer of Minneapolis, each obtained permits from the secretary of war and the officers of the Fort to occupy one hundred and sixty acres of the reservation. Smith's location included the stone mill, which he agreed to use in grinding Fort Snelling grain. Mr. Smith engaged C. A. Tuttle to operate the mill and hold the claim. Mr. Tuttle was to have an interest for his labor. This interest he afterward sold to Smith, who, when the government relinquished the reservation, transferred his claim to Anson Northrup and others, who were organized into an association for the entry of land. Soon as the entries were completed the land passed into the hands of the Minneapolis Water Power Company, which proceeded at once to improve the water power.

Col. J. H. Stevens meanwhile located in person on his permit, and in 1849 built the first frame house in Minneapolis, on the ground now occupied by the union depot. J. B. Bassett purchased the fraction of land on the river above Stevens, Col. Emanuel Case the fraction above Bassett's, A. E. Ames the eighty where the court house stands, and Edwin Hedderly the fraction below the water power. Mr. Stevens made the first survey of village lots in the spring of 1854; Chas. W. Christmas, surveyor.

The Smith claim was surveyed by W. R. Marshall in the fall of 1854. In 1856 Atwater's addition was surveyed. Other additions were added from year to year as the growth of the city demanded. At the release of the reservation in 1855, the entire present site of the city was covered with claims.

The name Minneapolis, derived from an Indian word minne, meaning water, and a Greek word polis, meaning city, had been early applied to the new village, Chas. Hoag having first suggested the name. In March, 1853, the commissioners of Hennepin county adopted the name as that of a territorial precinct. A government land office had been established in 1854, of which M. L. Olds was register and R. P. Russell receiver. The first, newspaper, the Minneapolis Democrat, was established in 1854. During the same year the Masons and Odd Fellows organized lodges, the Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists organized societies, and public schools were established. In 1857 the court house, at a cost of $12,000, a school house, and several churches were erected.

The village of Minneapolis was organized in 1858. H. T. Welles was the first president. In 1867 Minneapolis obtained a city charter. Minneapolis and St. Anthony Falls were united under the same government, by act of legislature, approved Feb. 28, 1872, under the name of Minneapolis, St. Anthony Falls being recognized in the directory as East Minneapolis. The united cities elect in common a mayor and city council, but each is financially responsible as to contracts existing previous to the union, and each maintains its own schools.

We append a list of mayors of the two cities prior and subsequent to the union:

WATER VERSUS STEAM

Some wonder has been expressed that in the vicinity of one of the finest water powers on this continent there should be found so many saw mills run by steam. The question is partly an economical one, as owing to the heavy expenses entailed upon mill owners to prevent the retrogression of the falls, it may be cheaper for saw mill owners to use steam, especially as they can feed their furnaces with but little expense from the slabs and debris of their own lumber; but in this case a weightier reason may be found in the fact that the west side of the river has been occupied chiefly by flouring mills, and the saw mills are moved to less eligible localities, and find it more convenient and economical to use steam instead of water.

TERRIFIC EXPLOSION AT THE FLOUR MILLS

One of the most remarkable mill disasters of modern times occurred May 2, 1878, in the Washington A mill. About 7 P. M. the sound of a terrific explosion was heard and the city was shaken as by an earthquake. The mill in which it occurred was utterly demolished, as were also the Humboldt, the Zenith and the Palisade, while several others were badly wrecked. There were fourteen lives lost and the property destroyed amounted in value to over $1,000,000.

The cause of the explosion was at first not understood, but on thorough investigation was finally attributed to a mixture of exceedingly fine grain and flour dust with the air of the mills, in such proportion as to form a combustible mixture, which was accidentally ignited. The mills destroyed have since been replaced by better ones. The great Pilsbury A mill, which is perhaps beyond question the largest in the world, was begun in the following year. A canal was cut to supply it with power, and it was equipped with two Victor turbine water wheels of 1,450 horse power each and a 1,400 horse power engine; it was furnished with 400 pairs of rollers, 200 middlings purifiers, 20 run of stone, 200 bolting reels and other devices in keeping.

SUBURBAN RESORTS – LAKE MINNETONKA

This magnificent lake is 10 miles southwest of Minneapolis, and 20 miles from St. Paul. Its extreme length is about 18 miles, varying in width from 1 to 5 miles. Its water area is about 15,000 acres, and its shore line is estimated at nearly 300 miles. A glance at the map will show what a variety of scenery it must have, being so broken and irregular. Its banks and islands are covered with forest trees except at a few points where villages have been located, or where some farmer had, years ago, cleared himself a farm.

There are three villages on Minnetonka, viz.: Excelsior, Wayzata and Mound City. Excelsior was settled in 1852, by a colony from New York State, and named from the title adopted by the organization before leaving home. It was incorporated about 1879. It is located on a range of hills on the south shore of Lake Minnetonka, of which it has a commanding view. Its present population is about 850. It has two railways, the Minneapolis & St. Louis and the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba, and a motor line. It is distant 18 miles from Minneapolis. The oldest settlement on the lake is Wayzata, on the north shore of Lake Minnetonka, 10 miles from Minneapolis, via the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba railway, which passes through the village. The name Wayzata is a corruption of the Indian word Wy-ze-a-ta, meaning North Shore, or North Side. The village contains about 400 inhabitants, and commands considerable trade from the surrounding country.

There are several fine hotels upon the lake, equal if not superior to the famous hotels of eastern watering places. Prominent among these are the Hotel Lafayette, built at a cost of $200,000, the Lake Park Hotel and Excelsior House. Railways reach the lake at several points, and steamers make regular trips for tourists.

Minnehaha Falls, rendered famous in Longfellow's poems of Hiawatha, is located on Minnehaha creek, midway between Fort Snelling and St. Anthony Falls. It is deservedly a favored resort.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN MINNEAPOLIS COSTING $100,000 AND UPWARD

POST OFFICE STATISTICS FOR 1886

HISTORY OF THE POST OFFICE AT MINNEAPOLIS, MINN

Postmasters.

The bonded debt of the city is $3,319,000. The city can not create a debt nor issue bonds to a greater amount than five per cent of the assessed valuation of city property, and the charter prohibits a floating debt.

Eight bridges span the river at Minneapolis as crossings for the various railroads. The stone arch viaduct of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba cost $750,000. Municipal expenses, $2,542,714.

The following table gives the cut of lumber in Minneapolis for the last sixteen years:

WEST MINNEAPOLIS

West Minneapolis is located about eight miles from the court house, in sections 24 and 19 of township 27, range 24, and is not included within Minneapolis' city limits. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Louis, the Hastings & Dakota, and the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba railroads have stations here. It was surveyed in 1886, and organized shortly after. It has two threshing machine and other extensive manufactories. The Hennepin county poor farm is located near by.

Calvin A. Tuttle. – Mr. Tuttle was born in Holland, Connecticut, in 1811. He received an academic education, and remained with his parents until of age. He learned the trade of millwright with his father. In 1832 he went to Bangor, Maine, and worked at his trade until 1835, when he removed to Alton, Illinois. He came to St. Croix in 1838, and superintended the building of a mill. In 1841 he returned to Alton, where he was married to Charlotte Winkler. He lived in Davenport, Iowa, four years and one year at Chippewa Falls. In 1846 he removed to St. Anthony Falls, where he helped build the first saw mill. Here he worked eight years almost continuously at his trade. He purchased two hundred acres of land here, including university lands, which he sold for $3,500. He removed to West St. Anthony in 1852, to Robert Smith's government permit, and then ran the old government flouring mill, grinding only for the government. The grain, about 5,000 bushels annually, was brought from St. Louis. For holding Smith's permit, and grinding, he received one-eighth of the property. The government grinding was done for the privilege of making a claim on the government reservation. This claim, eighty acres in extent, located in what was then called West St. Anthony, now in the heart of Minneapolis, is worth millions of dollars. Mr. Tuttle sold his interest for $5,000. The old mill was built of stone, 30 x 30 feet, ground dimensions, two stories in height, with one run of stone. The mill was built in 1822. There was a farm near the mill, cultivated by soldiers. Mr. Tuttle returned to East St. Anthony in 1857, and removed to Minnetonka in 1858, where he lived five years. Thence he removed to Twin Rivers, Morrison county. He has a saw mill, farm and good home at Twin Rivers. In 1887 he returned to Minneapolis to spend the remainder of his days.

Cyrus Aldrich. – The subject of this memoir was born June 18, 1808, in Smithfield, Rhode Island. His father was Dexter Aldrich, and was engaged in shipping and merchandising. His mother's maiden name was Hannah White. She was a descendant of Peregrine White, the first male child born after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. He received such an education as could be obtained at the common schools until he was eighteen years of age, when he left home to engage for a few years in a seafaring life. This life not proving to his taste, he abandoned it and engaged in other pursuits. At the age of twenty-nine he emigrated to Illinois and located at Alton, where he took a contract on the Michigan and Erie canal. In 1841, or about four years later, he removed to Galena, Illinois, where he secured employment with the firm of Galbraith & Porter, and engaged in staging and mail contracts. In 1845 he was elected to the Illinois legislature. The same year he was married to Clara Heaton, of Indiana, who, with one son and one daughter, survives him. In 1847 he was elected register of deeds of Joe Daviess county; in 1849 was appointed receiver of the land office at Dixon, Illinois; and in 1852 ran for Congress on the Whig ticket against Long John Wentworth, but was defeated by a small majority. He removed to Minnesota in 1855, locating at Minneapolis, then but a small village. In 1857 he was elected a member of the Republican wing of the constitutional convention, where his ability for leadership soon brought him to the front. In 1858 he was nominated and elected representative to Congress, Minnesota having meanwhile become a state. In 1860 he was re-elected. This was a trying time, but Mr. Aldrich acquitted himself well, and was especially commended for his devotion to the interests of the soldiers. In 1862 he declined a re-election, but allowed his name to be used (though unsuccessfully) as a candidate for the senate. He did not, however, entirely withdraw from public affairs, but accepted an appointment from President Lincoln as a member of the indemnity committee to adjust claims of settlers who had suffered during the Indian outbreak of 1862. He also devoted much of his time and energy to the establishment of the Northern Pacific railway.

In 1865 he was elected to the Minnesota legislature. In 1867 he was appointed postmaster of Minneapolis, which position he held for four years. His long and busy life has been spent chiefly in public service. He had not quite reached the scriptural limit of human life, but it was evident that his iron constitution had been overtasked and that he needed rest. The retirement and rest came too late. His health gradually failed until Oct. 5, 1871, when he closed his eyes upon the scenes of earth. His funeral, conducted from the Universalist church, of which he was a member, was one of the largest ever held in the State. Citizens of all parties and classes, the masonic and other social and civil bodies combined in paying the last tribute of respect to one who for fifteen years had been the most active, best known and most respected of their number.

Alfred Elisha Ames, M.D., was born at Colchester, Vermont, Dec. 13, 1814. He was the oldest son of Billy and Phebe (Baker) Ames, whose ancestors were early colonists from England. Alfred E. commenced the study of medicine in 1832. He occasionally taught school and worked at his trade of brickmason. He also varied his labors by publishing an arithmetic. He came West in 1838, locating first at Springfield, Illinois; concluded his medical studies at Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1845. Before leaving Illinois he was elected to the state senate. In 1851 he came to St. Anthony Falls, made a claim, and entered into partnership with Dr. J. H. Murphy. In 1852 he served as surgeon at Fort Snelling, and in 1853 was elected to the territorial legislature as a member of the house. In 1854 he was elected probate judge; in 1857 member of the Democratic wing of the constitutional convention, and in 1860 became a member of the state normal board. During the remainder of his life he devoted himself to the practice of medicine, but also served the public in many positions of trust. He died Dec. 24, 1874. His wife and five children survive him.

Albert Alonzo Ames, son of Dr. A. E. and Martha (Pratt) Ames, was born at Garden Prairie, Illinois, Jan. 18, 1842. He received a high school education at Minneapolis, studied medicine at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and graduated February, 1862. In August, 1863, he enlisted in the Ninth Minnesota Volunteers, but shortly after was commissioned assistant surgeon of the Seventh Minnesota Volunteers. He served for awhile in the Indian campaigns. In the fall of 1863 the regiment was ordered South. In July, 1864, he was commissioned as surgeon of the Seventh regiment in place of Dr. L. B. Smith, killed at Tupelo. He was mustered out of service at the close of the war with an excellent record as a physician and surgeon. After the war he devoted himself to the practice of his profession and to public services in Minneapolis, excepting a period of six years spent in editorial life in California, first on the staff of the Daily Times, and later as managing editor of the Alta Californian. At the death of his father, in 1874, he returned to Minneapolis and resumed practice. He has filled the following positions of trust: 1867, member of the Minnesota legislature (house); 1875, member of the city council; 1876, mayor of Minneapolis; 1877, Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor (not elected); 1886, Democratic candidate for governor (not elected); 1886-87-88, again mayor of Minneapolis. Dr. Ames is a member of such prominent fraternities as the Masonic, Odd Fellows, Druids, Knights of Pythias, and Order of Elks.

Dr. Ames was married April 21, 1862, to Sarah, daughter of Capt. Richard Strout, of Minneapolis.

Jesse Ames was born in Vinalhaven, Maine, Feb. 4, 1808. From the age of fourteen till his retirement in 1861, Mr. Ames devoted himself to a seafaring life. At the age of twenty-three he was captain of a schooner, and afterward of different ships, brigs, barks or schooners, all of them in the mercantile trade. He made between twenty and thirty voyages to Europe, circumnavigated Cape Horn several times, and sailed twice round the globe. Few men have seen more of the world. His last voyage was from New Zealand to London, where he sold his ship, and, coming to America, found him a beautiful home in the North Star State. He is a resident of Northfield, and is, with his son John T., the owner of the well known flouring mills at that place. He was married Oct. 27, 1832, to Margaret Tolman, of Rockland, Maine. They have two sons, one of whom, John T., is a resident of Northfield. The other son, Adelbert A., won distinction during the Civil War, leaving the service with the brevet rank of major general. Since the war he has served as senator from Mississippi, and as governor of that state.

Cadwallader C. Washburn. – Hon. C. C. Washburn was a man of rare nobility of character and possessed of an acute and powerful mind. He used his great talents for the good of the country. He was a man of philanthropic impulses and great generosity, as the following munificent gifts to the public will attest:

First– To the state of Wisconsin, in 1876, an astronomical observatory, located on the university lands at Madison, in style of architecture and apparatus to carry into execution the design of the institution, equal, if not superior, to that of any like institution in the world.

Second– The donation of his "Edgewood Home," near Madison, Wisconsin, for educational purposes.

Third– The generously established school located on the shores of Lake Harriet, near Minneapolis, "The Washburn Home for Orphans," for the poor and unfortunate children of Minnesota.

Mr. Washburn was born in Livermore, Maine, April 22, 1818; lived at home until 1838, and devoted some time to obtaining a classical education. In 1838 and 1839 he taught school and clerked in Hallowell and Wiscassett, Maine. In the spring of 1839 he came West to Davenport, Iowa, and was employed a few months with David Dale Owen, on geological work. In 1840 and 1841 he studied law at Rock Island. Illinois. In 1842 he settled in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and was admitted to practice law at Lancaster, Grant county, in Judge Dunn's court. He continued in practice at Mineral Point; also engaged in real estate and dealing in land warrants, and in 1852 established the Bank of Mineral Point. Mr. Washburn was elected representative to the thirty-fourth, thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and fortieth congresses. In February, 1861, the house appointed a special committee of thirty-three members on the state of the Union. A majority of the committee reported an amendment to the constitution of the United States, making slavery perpetual. Mr. Washburn and others made a minority report against making slavery perpetual. On this report we subjoin his remarks: "If this Union must be dissolved, whether by peaceable process or through fire and blood or civil war, we shall have the consolation of knowing that when the conflict is over those who survive will be what they never have been – inhabitants of a free country." Mr. Washburn changed his residence to La Crosse in 1861. He received a colonel's commission to recruit a cavalry regiment that year, and subsequently was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. He was elected governor of Wisconsin in 1872. In 1876 he erected a large flour mill at Minneapolis, which burned in 1878. It was soon after rebuilt. In this mill he introduced the first Hungarian patent process for making flour used in America. Mr. Washburn died at Eureka Springs, Arkansas, May 14, 1882. His body was brought to Wisconsin and buried at La Crosse.

William Drew Washburn, the youngest of the Washburn brothers, was born at Livermore, Maine, Jan. 14, 1831. He worked upon his father's farm until twenty years of age; prepared himself for college by his own unaided efforts, entered Bowdoin College, and graduated in 1854. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1857, and in the same year came to Minneapolis as agent of the Minneapolis Mill Company, of which he became a partner. In 1861 President Lincoln appointed him surveyor general of Minnesota. During his term of office, which continued four years, he lived in St. Paul. On his return to Minneapolis he built a large saw mill and engaged extensively in the lumber trade. He was the chief mover in the Minneapolis & St. Louis and Minneapolis & Pacific railways. He has a large lumber and flour mill at Anoka, and with others erected the Palisade flour mill at Minneapolis. In 1878 he was elected representative to Congress from the Third district and re-elected in 1880. He has also served in the state legislature. He was a principal proprietor of the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic railway, and was elected president of the company in 1883. Mr. Washburn has been successful in his business ventures, has accumulated a handsome property, and been liberal in using his means in the interests of Minneapolis and the State. He is eminently practical in his business ideas and methods, and affable and prepossessing in his manners. He married Lizzie Muzzy, of Bangor, Maine, in 1850, and has two sons and two daughters living.

Joseph Clinton Whitney was born in Springfield, Vermont, April 14, 1818. In 1829 he removed with his parents to Lower Canada, where he remained till he was twenty years of age. He went to Oberlin, Ohio, 1840; graduated from the college in 1845, and from Union Theological Seminary in 1849. The same year he removed to Stillwater, where he organized the First Presbyterian church, of which he served as pastor until 1853, when he was called to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian church at Minneapolis, where he remained four years. He removed to Forest City, Meeker county, but returned to Minneapolis in 1860. In 1862 he enlisted in Company D, Sixth Minnesota Volunteers, and served three years. In 1865 President Lincoln appointed him quartermaster with the rank of captain. In 1866 he returned to Minneapolis and engaged in business. In 1867 he was elected state senator from the Fifth district. Mr. Whitney has been greatly interested in the cause of education. He was a principal mover in establishing the public schools of Minneapolis, of Bennett Seminary for Young Ladies, and of Macalester College. He is president of the board of Bennett Seminary, and is one of the members of the state normal board. He was married July 10, 1849, to Eliza Baird. They have three sons and two daughters.