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1917 History
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1917 History
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The subordinate civic
division known as the township doubtless had its origin in the old
Teutonic "mark," though it was transplanted to this country from
England. Says Fiske: "About 871 A. D. King Alfred instituted a small
territorial subdivision nearest in character to and probably containing
the germ of the American township."
The "small territorial subdivision" of King Alfred was called the
"tunscipe." It was the political unit of popular expression, which took
the form of mass convention or assembly called the "tun moot." The
chief executive of the tunscipe was the "tun reeve," who, with the
parish priest and four lay delegates, represented the tunscipe in the
shire meeting.
In the settlement of New England, the colonies were at first governed
by a general court, which also had legislative powers. The court was
composed of the governor and a small council, generally made up of the
most influential citizens. In March, 1635, the General Court of
Massachusetts passed the following ordinance relating to local
government in certain districts:
"Whereas, particular towns have many things that concern only
themselves, and the ordering of their own affairs and disposing of
business in their own town, therefore, the freemen of every town, or a
majority of them, shall have power to dispose of their own lands and
woods, and all appurtenances of said towns; to grant lots, and to make
such orders as may concern the well ordering of their own towns, not
repugnant to the laws and orders established by the General Court.
"Said freemen, or a majority of them, shall also have power to choose
their own particular officers, such as constables, petty magistrates,
surveyors for the highways, and may impose fines for violation of rules
established by the freemen of the town - provided that such fines shall
in no single case exceed twenty shillings."
That was the beginning of the township system in the United States.
Connecticut followed Massachusetts with a similar provision regarding
local self-government, and from New England the system was carried to
the new states of the Middle West. In the southern colonies the county
was made the principal political united for the government of local
affairs. Eight counties were organized in Virginia in 1634 and the
system spread to other colonies, except in South Carolina the units
corresponding to counties are called districts and in Louisiana they
are known as parishes. The Illinos country was made a county of
Virginia after Gen. George Rogers Clark's campaign of 1778.
The first provision for the establishment of civil townships northwest
of the Ohio River was made by Governor St. Clair and the judges of the
Northwest Territory in 1790. The term "civil township" is here used to
distinguish it from the Congressional township of the official
Government survey. The latter is always six miles square (except in
certain cases of fractional townships), while the civil township varies
in size and shape, and is marked by a local government. Even yet in New
England the township is of more importance in the settlement of local
questions of a political character, or the administration of local
affairs, than is the county. The town meetings are still held regularly
and through them most of the business of the local government is
transacted. Every proposition to expend a considerable sum of money,
for any public purpose whatever, is first submitted to the people at a
town meeting. In the South the township is little more than a name, all
the local business being transacted by the county authorities.
Throughout the great Middle West there is a well-balanced combination
of the two systems, the schools and roads being usually in charge of
the township officials, while business that affects more than one civil
township is controlled by the county. In nearly every state in
the Mississippi Valley it is the custom to submit to the people at a
general or special election the question of issuing bonds for township
purposes, and this custom is a relic of the old town meeting system.
Township government was first established in Iowa while the state was a
part of Michigan Territory. The Legislature of that territory in
September, 1834, created the Township of Julien, which included the
entire County of Dubuque - that is, all that part of Iowa lying north
of
a line drawn due west from the foot of Rock Island. Emmet County was
therefore a part of Julien Township, Dubuque County. South of the line
was Des Moines County, which was erected into Flint Hill Township. When
Iowa was made a part of Wisconsin by the act of April 20, 1836, the
first Legislature of that territory set about amending the laws and the
act of December 6, 1836, provided that "Each county within this
territory now organized, or that may be hereafter organized, shall
constitute one township for the purpose of carrying into effect the
provisions of the amended laws."
The act of Congress organizing the Territory of Iowa, approved by
President Van Buren on June 12, 1838, contained a provision that all
town ship officers should be elected by the people. In his message of Novem ber 12, 1838, to the first Legislature that
was ever convened in Iowa, Gov. Robert Lucas said: "The subject of
providing by law for the organization of townships and the election
of township officers, and defining their powers and duties, I consider
to be of the first importance and almost indispensable in the local
organization of the Government. Without proper
township regulations it will be extremely difficult, if not impracticable to establish a regular school system. In most of the
states, where a common school system has been established by law, the
trustees of townships are important agents in executing the provisions
of its laws."
On January 10, 1840, Governor Lucas approved the act providing for
township organization. Under this act the question of forming a new
township was to be submitted to the voters residing within the
territory it was proposed to include in said township, and if a
majority of the votes were in favor of the proposition the township
should be organized. With some supplementary legislation, this system
remained in force until after the admission of the state in 1846. Most
of the counties created by the act of January 15, 1851, were declared
to be a single township until the local authorities saw fit to make
more.
When the office of county judge was abolished the township system
assumed greater importance in Iowa than ever before. The act became
effective on July 4, 1860, and required the voters of each township in
a county to elect one supervisor at the next general election, the
supervisors so elected to take office on January 1, 1861, and the
board of supervisors was to perform all the duties formerly performed
by the county judge. In 1862 the supervisors were given power to create
new townships, and it was under this authority that the twelve civil
townships of Emmet County were called into existence.
Each civil township in Emmet County corresponds to a congressional
township and is therefore six miles square, except those forming the
northern tier, where the congressional townships are fractional, so far
as Emmet County is concerned, and contained only thirty square miles.
The twelve townships are: Armstrong Grove, Center, Denmark, Ells
worth, Emmet, Estherville, High Lake, Iowa Lake, Jack Creek, Lincoln,
Swan Lake and Twelve Mile Lake. Eight of these townships - Armstrong
Grove, Center, Ellsworth, Emmet, Estherville, High Lake, Iowa Lake,
Swan Lake and Twelve Mile Lake - were organized prior to the burning of
the courthouse in the fall of 1876, and the date of their
erection and organization cannot be learned on account of the
destruction of the supervisors' records.
This township is the middle one of the eastern tier and includes
Township 99, Range 31, of the Government survey. It is bounded on the
north by the Township of Iowa Lake; on the east by Kossuth County; on
the south by Denmark Township, and on the west by Swan Lake Township.
The east fork of the Des Moines River flows diagonally across the
township from northwest to southeast, and the southwest corner is
watered by the Black Cat Creek. The surface is generally level or
gently rolling, except along the streams, where it is more broken, and
the·soil is usually fertile. Some of the finest farms in the
county are in this township.
In March, 1856, a man named Armstrong made his way up the Des Moines
River from Fort Dodge looking for a location. In the grove on Section
36, Township 99, Range 31, he selected 160 acres for his claim. No
white men were living near, and worn out by his journey he became
lonesome, homesick and discouraged and as soon as the weather settled
in the spring he returned to Mitchell County. The place hwere he
selected his claim is still known as Armstrong's Grove and when the
township was organized the name was conferred upon it. The first
permanent settlement in that part of the county was made in 1864,
when George Demmon settled in Section 36, near the place where the
man Armstrong located eight years before, and Daniel W. Perry took a
claim in Section 25 adjoining on the north. They were soon followed by
James Thompson, Samuel Thoburn (a Scotchman), John Carroll and the
Parson, Dundas and Campbell families, most of whom settled along the
Des Moines in the eastern part of the township. Edward Donovan, another
early settler, located a claim on the Black Cat Creek, not far from the
present village of Halfa. David Weir came in the fall of 1869 and
bought George Demmon's farm in Section 36.
Settlement was slow for a time, but in the early '70s there were
several families located in the township. In 1871 C. B. Mathews, W.
Orcut
and the Hurlbuts came from Racine, Wisconsin; William Jordan, from
Jackson County, Iowa; Peter Conlan, Stephen Murphy, Patrick Harrity,
Matthew McCormick and a few others from Minnesota. The next year
the population was augmented by the arrival of David Canfield, who came
from Illinois; Cornelius Canon and his father, James, settled on
Section 12, a little northeast of the present town of Armstrong; Henry
Brooks and S. B. and John Churchill came from Mitchell County, Iowa.
James Canon and John Churchill were veterans of the War of 1812. The
latter died about 1878. His daughter, Ann Eliza, afterward became the
nineteenth wife of Brigham Young, the Mormon prophet.
About three-fourths of a mile east of the town of Armstrong was
formerly a pond of about sixty acres which was called "Lake Weller,"
for Miss Eliza Weller, who homesteaded the quarter section upon which
it was located.
The first marriage in the township was that of John Dundas and Jane
Gibbons. The first death was that of Mrs. James Thompson. Her coffin
was made by Daniel W. Perry. The first school was taught by Miss Hannah
Hawks in the winter of 1866-67. She was succeeded by Mrs. Jennie
Cummings, a "comely widow," who at the close of her term became the
wife of Stephen Demmon, their wedding being the second in the township.
In the summer of 1868 a school house was built by Daniel W.
Perry and D. L. Bemis, of Estherville, at a cost of about seven hundred
dollars, and Miss Emma Jillett taught the first term of school in the
new building.
The Albert Lea & Estherville division of the Rock Island Railway
system passed through the central portion of the township from east to
west, and the Jewell & Sanborn division of the Chicago &
Northwestern crosses the southwest corner. Armstrong on the former and
Halfa on the latter are the railroad stations. The two railway lines
afford good shipping facilities to all parts of the township.
In 1910 the population, including the incorporated town of Armstrong,
was 1,038, and in 1915 the assessed valuation of the property,
including that in the consolidated school district of Halfa, was
$435,236.
This ownship was erected by the board of supervisors prior to the
burning of the court-house in the fall of 1876, and the destruction of
the records renders it impossible to give the exact date of its
establishment. It embraces Congressional Township 99, Range 33, and has
an area of thirty-six square miles, nearly all of which is capable of
being cultivated. Brown Creek, a tributary of the Des Moines River,
flows in a south westerly direction across the northwest corner, and
the Des Moines River touches the southwest corner. The western
part of Swan Lake extends into this township in the southeastern part,
and about a mile west of it is Ryan Lake. The township was so
named from its central location. It is bounded on the north by
Ellsworth Township; on the east by Swan Lake; on the south by High
Lake, and on the west by the Township of Estherville.
On January 10, 1878, upon petition of the citizens living in the
eastern tier of sections of Center Township, those sections - 1, 12, 13,
24, 25 and 36 - were detached from Center and attached to Swan Lake by the board of
supervisors. The next day the board reconsidered the
order, which was then rescinded, and Center was restored to its
original boundaries.
Among the early settlers of Center were James, Eli
and R. E. Bunt, Jeremiah Clark, the Lingenfelter, Moulton, West and
Cousins families, some of whom, or their descendants, still live in
Emmet County. During the Civil war and the Indian
troubles on the frontier very few settlers came to the
county and most of those above named located their claims between 1864 and 1869.
In 1892 the Albert Lea & Estherville division of the Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific Railroad was built through the township, which
stimu lated its development. The western boundary is only one mile
from the Estherville city limits and the village of Gruver is a station
on the railroad, one and a half miles west of the eastern boundary,
so that the people of the township have ample shipping facilities for
the products of their farms.
The population in 1910 was 532, and in 1915 the property was valued for
tax purposes at $431,865. During the school year of 1915-16 ten
teachers were employed in the public schools.
Denmark Township
occupies the southeast corner of the county and
embraces Congressional Township 98, Range 31. The surface is generally
rolling and is drained by the Black Cat Creek, which flows in a
southeasterly direction across the township. Several ditches have been
constructed, using the Black Cat Creek as an outlet, which makes
Denmark one of the best drained townships in the county. On the north
this
township is bounded by Armstrong Grove; on the east by Kossuth County;
on the south by Palo Alto County, and on the west by the Township of
Jack Creek.
Prior to September 3, 1883, Denmark was a part of Armstrong Grove
Township, but the minutes of the board of supervisors for that date
contain the following entry: "The petition of H. Jensen and eleven
others, resident electors of Township 98, Range 31, said territory
being now a part of the civil township of Armstrong Grove, asking that
said t.ownship No. 98 of Range No. 31 be set off as a civil township by
itself to be known as Denmark Township, was taken up and on motion the
prayer of said petition was granted."
At the same time the board ordered that the voting place at the general
election of October 9, 1883, should be at the house of C.
L. Lund, and S. D. Bunt, Paul P. Bogh and Peter Schultz were
appointed judges of said election.
The first settlers were James Thompson and S. B. Bunt, who entered land
in 1872, though the township was then a part of Armstrong Grove and
both are mentioned as early settlers of that township. A few months
before the organization a number of families came from Denmark and
located in the southeastern part of Emmet County. Among them were Hans
Jensen, whose name headed the petition for the erection of the
township, Morten, James and John N. Petersen, A. N. Gaarde, Lauritz
Lauritsen,. Paul P. Bogh, Lars Hansen, Nels Nielsen and John
Hendricksen. It was from these Danish families that the township
derived it,s
name.
In January, 1884, the first election for township officers was held
at the house of C. L. Lund. Morten Peterson, William Nelsen and Lauritz
Lauritsen were elected trustees; Neiss Bonnicksen, clerk; S. D. Bunt,
justice of the peace; Paul P. Bogh, road supervisor.
When the first settlements were made in the township the town of Algona
was the nearest trading point. In 1882 the Chicago & Northwestern
Railroad was extended north from Algona and the village of Bancroft was
started. It was not much of a town, but the general store there kept
most of the goods needed by the early settlers and brought the
opportunity to obtain supplies much nearer to the people of what is now
Denmark Township. The first postoffice was established in 1885, with
John Larsen as postmaster. It was located on his farm, about two miles
east of the present village of Ringsted. William Grey carried the mail
from Seneca for about a year, after which Morten Petersen was the mail
carrier for four years.
John H. Thompson, a son of James Thompson, was the first white child
born in the township. The first school house was built in 1884. There
are now seven school buildings, and during the school year of 1915-16
ten teachers were employed. In 1910 the population was 907 and in 1915
the assessed value of the property was $448,598, which was the second
highest valuation in the county.
This is one of the fractional townships of the northern tier. It
includes all that part of Congressional Township 100, Range 33, lying
in Emmet County; is five miles in extent from north to south and six
miles from east to west, having an area of thirty square miles. Birge
Lake lies on the eastern border and is drained by Soldier Creek,
a tributary of the east fork of the Des Moines River. Grass Lake, in
the north western portion, is drained by Brown Creek, and another
small stream flows in a southeasterly direction through the central
part, so that the township is well watered. Ellsworth is bounded on the
north by the State of Minnesota; on the east by Lincoln Township; on
the south by Center, and on the west by the Township of Emmet.
Not much was done toward the settlement of this township until
after
the close of the Civil war. One of the pioneers was Capt. Lyman S.
Williams, who located in what is now Ellsworth in 1867, and whose
widow now lives at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A sketch of Captain
Williams is given in Chapter VI. About a year after Captain Williams
came the Mattson family, several members of which became prominent in
the affairs of Emmet County. Lois Mattson became the wife of Charles W.
Dillman and removed to Blue Earth, Minnesota. S. A. Prosser was
also an early settler in this township.
Ellsworth Township is one of those erected prior to the destruction of
the court-house by fire, and the records pertaining to its creation and
organization are lost. In its industrial and educational development it
has kept pace with the other townships of the county. There are seven
public schools buildings, and during the school year of 1915-16 twelve
teachers were employed. The population in 1910 was 481, and the
assessed valuation of property in 1915 was $323,195. Huntington, a
station of the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad, near the northwest
corner, is the only village and postoffice in the township.
In the northwest corner of the county lies the Township of Emmet. It
embraces that part of Congressional Township 100, Range 34, lying in
Iowa and has an area of thirty square miles. On the
north it is bounded by the State of Minnesota; on the east by Ellsworth
Township; on the south by Estherville Township, and on the west by
Dickinson County. The west fork of the Des Moines
River enters the township from Minnesota about three-fourths of a mile
east of the northwest corner and flows in a southeasterly direction
into Estherville Township. Along the river there are
some bluffs, but the greater part of the township is fertile, tillable
land.
Emmet Township derives its name from the county. It was created prior
to 1876 and the records of its erection and organization were lost in
the court-house fire of that year.
To Emmet Township belongs the distinction of being the site of the
first settlement made in the county. As narrated in one of the
preceding chapters, Jesse Coverdale, George C. Granger, William
Granger, Henry and Adolphus Jenkins and D. W. Hoyt located claims in
this township in the summer of 1856. The neighborhood where they
settled was near the Des Moines River, in a tract of timber afterward
known as "Emmet Grove" sometimes called "Granger's Grove." Here
the first postoffice was established under the name of Emmet, with
George C. Granger as the
first postmaster. Mr. Granger was also the first merchant in the
county. Jesse Coverdale served as second lieutenant of Company A,
Northern Border Brigade, at the time of the Civil war, and was
afterward elected one of the county board of supervisors, in which
capacity
he served for one term of three years.
The Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad runs through the southeastern
portion, but there is no station within the township limits.
Estherville, which is only one mile from the southern boundary, and
Huntington, in the northwest corner of Ellsworth Township, are the most
convenient trading and shipping points.
There are five public schools in the township and during the school
year of 1915-16 six teachers were employed. The population in
1910 was 375 and in 1915 the property was assessed for taxation at
$284,120.
This is the middle township of the western tier and includes
Congressional Township 99, Range 34. Its area is therefore thirty-six
square
miles and it is bounded as follows: On the north by Emmet Township; on
the east by Center; on the south by Twelve Mile Lake, and on the west
by Dickinson County. The west fork of the Des Moines River crosses the
northern boundary near the northwest corner of Section 2 and from that
point it flows almost south for a distance of two miles, when it turns
more to the southeast and crosses the eastern boundary about two miles
north of the southeast corner. Along the west side of the river are the
largest hills in the county. East of the Des Moines the surface is a
rolling plain, which is also the character of the surface in the
western portion, near the Dickinson County line. On the western
border, in Section 18, is a small body of water called Four Mile Lake.
Its outlet falls into the Des Moines at Estherville.
Estherville was one of the first civil townships to be established
in
Emmet County, and takes its name from the county seat, which is
situated within its limits. As in the case of all the early townships,
the
records relating to the erection and organization of Estherville were
destroyed by the burning of the court-house in October, 1876, and the
exact date of its establishment cannot be ascertained.
Among the first settlers in this township were Robert E. Ridley and his
wife, A. H. Ridley, and the Graves family, the former coming from the
State of Maine in the spring of 1857, and the Graves family from
Winneshiek County, Iowa, a little later. Robert E. Ridley, the pioneer
settler of the township, is still living in Estherville. Most of the
history of this township centers about the county seat and is told in
connection with the City of Estherville in another chapter.
No other township in the county is as well provided with transportation
facilities. The Chicago & Sioux Falls division of the great
Rock Island Railway system and the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad
both pass through Estherville, and a branch of the former runs from
Estherville to Albert Lea, Minnesota, where it connects with a main
line running between. Minneapolis and Des Moines.
In 1910 the population, exclusive of the City of Estherville, was
454. Outside of the city there are four public schools that in the
school year of 1915-16 employed four teachers. In 1915 the
assessed valuation of the property, not including that within the city,
was $449,306, or nearly one thousand dollars for each man, woman and
child living in the rural districts.
High Lake Township, which takes its name from a lake situated within
its borders, is one of the southern tier. It includes Congressional
Township 98, Range 33, and has an area of thirty-six square miles,
about two of which are water - High and Mud lakes. The west fork of the
Des Moines River flows southwardly through the western part and is the
only stream in the township. The boundaries of the township are formed
as follow: Center Township on the north; Jack Creek Township on the
east; Palo Alto County on the south, and the Township of Twelve Mile
Lake on the west.
The first settler in what is now High Lake Township was John
Rourke, a
native of the Emerald Isle, who located a claim at Island Grove in
August, 1856. His wife was the first white woman to become an
inhabitant of Emmet County, and their son Peter, who was born on
January 4, 1857, was the first white child born in the county. Other
early settlers here were James Maher and the Conlans, mentioned
in a former chapter. Still another early settler was Alfred Nicholson,
a well educated Irishman, who was a somewhat noted character in the
early history of the county on account of his eccentricities, one of
which was his fondness for whisky. He was a great reader and was
well informed on a multitude of subjects, about which he could
converse intelligently, even when under the influence of liquor.
The civil Township of High Lake was established before the courthouse
fire, so frequently referred to in connection with the history of the
several townships of the county, and the date of its erection and
organization is therefore lost.
Fairly good transportation facilities are provided by the Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific Railroad, which runs along the western
border, west of the Des Moines River. Wallingford, in the west side of
Section 7, is a station on this road and the only village in the
township. People living east of the Des Moines, in the southern part of the township,
find more convenient railroad accommodations at Graettinger, the next
station south of Wallingford, just across the line in Palo Alto
County.
According to the last report of the county superintendent of schools,
there are nine school buildings in High Lake, in which ten teachers
were employed during the school year of 1915-16. The population in 1910
was 615, and the valuation of property in 1915, as shown by the county
auditor's abstract, was $415,480.
This township is situated in the northeast corner of the county and
embraces Congressional Township 100, Range 31, or that portion of it
lying south of the state line. It is bounded on the north by the State
of Minnesota; on the east by Kossuth County; on the south by Armstrong
Grove Township, and on the west by the Township of Lincoln. From north
to south it is five miles in extent, and from east to west six miles,
giving it an area of thirty square miles. The surface is an elevated
plain, the only watercourse being the east fork of the Des Moines
River, which just touches the southwest corner. Considerable
ditching has been done in this township.
When first created, which was some time before the courthouse fire.
this township was named Fairview and included also the present township
of Lincoln. Subsequently the name was changed to Iowa Lake, after
the beautiful body of water that lies in the extreme northeast corner
of the county, extending into Minnesota.
In the fall of 1857 J. R. Hopkins and a man named Gill took up claims
in sections 11 and 12, Township 100, Range 31, near the south end of
Iowa Lake. These two men were the first settlers in
that part of the county. Iowa Lake is one of the two
townships of Emmet County that is not touched by a railroad. Dolliver
on the west and Armstrong on the south are the most convenient railroad
stations and shipping points.
In 1910 the population of the township was 337, and in 1915 the
assessed valuation of the property was $268,502. During the school year of 1915-16 there were five public schools in
operation and a new school house was built in the summer of 1916.
The Township of Jack Creek is located in the southern tier and embraces
Congressional Township 98, Range 32, having an area of thirty-six
square miles, the greater portion of which is prairie with an exceedingly fertile soil. It is bounded on the north by Swan Lake
Township; on the east by Denmark; on the south by Palo Alto County,
and on the
west by High Lake Township. It takes its name from a small stream
flowing in a southerly direction through the central part, but which
has been converted into a drainage ditch known in the county records as
No.17.
The first settlers in this part of the county were Scandinavians, among
whom were B. R. Knudson, Ole Aanonson and Nels Iverson, who were
instrumental in having the township organized. The minutes of the board
of supervisors for June 8, 1883, contain the following entry: "The
petition of B. R. Knudson and others to have Township 98, Range 32, set
off as a civil township to be known as Jack Creek was taken up and on
motion was granted. Ayes, Christopher, Jenkins and Richmond; nays,
Allen and Jarvis."
On September 3, 1883, the board ordered the election of October 9,
1883, to be held at the B. R. Knudson schoolhouse, and appointed B. R.
Knudson, Ole Aanonson and Nels Iverson judges of the election. No
returns of the first election for township officers are obtainable.
Jack Creek has no railroad. Maple Hill on the north, Ringsted on the
east, Wallingford on the west and Graettinger in Palo Alto County are
the most convenient railroad stations.
The first school house was that known as the Knudson schoolhouse,
where the first election in the township was held. During the
school year of 1915-16 there were seven public schools in operation,
employing nine teachers. The school in the northeast corner of the
township has been abolished by the formation of the consolidated school
district of Halfa, but in the summer of 1916 a new school building was
erected at Hoprig, a little hamlet in the southern part of the township.
In 1910 the population of Jack Creek was 396, and in 1915 the assessed valuation of the property was $358,593.
Lincoln Township, situated in the northern tier, embraces
fractional
Township 100, Range 33. It is bounded on the north by the State of
Minnesota; on the east by Iowa Lake Township; on the south by Swan
Lake, and on the west by the Township of Ellsworth. The township is
well watered; the east fork of the Des Moines River, which rises in
Lake Okamanpadu near the northeast corner, flowing southward through
the eastern portion, and Soldier Creek, the outlet of Birge Lake,
flowing in a southeasterly direction through the central part. The
latter stream has two or three small tributaries which contribute
to the natural drainage of the township.
In the fall of 1864 W. H. Brown settled near the shore of Lake
Okamanpadu (or Tuttle Lake) and was the first man to enter land in what
is now Lincoln Township. Other early settlers were J. P. and
Patrick Bagan, Fred Moltzen, Frederick Schultz and the Persons family,
most of whom located their claims along the east branch of the Des
Moines River or in the grove about Lake Okamanpadu. For several
years this township formed a part of Iowa Lake Township. On
January 10, 1878, W. H. Brown presented a petition to the board of
supervisors asking that the township be detached from Iowa Lake and
annexed to Swan Lake, but the board refused to grant the petition and
the township remained a part of Iowa Lake for nine years longer
before any further action was taken. On June 6, 1887, the following
petition was presented to the board of supervisors:
"The undersigned, your petitioners, respectfully state that they
are
residents and legal voters of Township 100, Range 32, in Emmet County,
Iowa; that said township is now a part of the civil township of Iowa
Lake; that there are now within the limits of said Congressional
township ten or more legal voters; whereas your petitioners pray your
honorable body that a new civil township be formed and created out of
the
territory embraced in said Congressional township, to be known and
designated as the Township of Bagan, and that your honorable body
make the necessary and proper orders for the creation of said township."
This petition was signed by Patrick Bagan, C. F. Persons, W. W.
Persons, W. Rosenburg, Fred Allatzon, L. F. Persons, Fred Schultz, E.
W. Persons, J. P. Bagan and H. C. Wilson. The board, after considering
the petition, issued the order for the erection of the new township,
but changed the name to Lincoln, in honor of Abraham Lincoln, the
sixteenth President of the United States.
On September 6, 1887, the board designated the house of John Bagan as
the place of holding the first election in the new township, and
appointed John Bagan, Patrick Bagan and Fred Moltzen judges and Fred
Schultz clerk to conduct said election, which was the general election
of October 11, 1887. At that election the following township officers
were chosen: M. M. Vallian, Fred Moltzen and P. Schultz, trustees; John
Bagan, clerk; J. P. Bagan, assessor; C. F. Persons, justice of the
peace; Patrick Bagan, road supervisor.
In 1899 the Jewell & Sanborn division of the Chicago &
Northwestern Railway system was built through Emmet County and passes
through
Lincoln Township. Near the center of the township was established
the station of Dolliver, giving the people of Lincoln a shipping point
for the products of their farms.
The several public schools of the township have been consolidated
into
one district and a fine public school building erected at Dolliver.
Seven teachers were employed during the school year of 1915-16.
In 1910 the population, including the village of Dolliver, was 396, and
in
1915 the assessed va\uation of the property was $336,764.
Swan Lake is one of the two central townships and includes
Congressional Township 99, Range 32. It was erected as a civil township
some time previous to the burning of the county records, and was named
after the body of water in the southwestern part and extending 1nto
Center Township. The surface is undulating prairie. Soldier Creek and
the east fork of the Des Moines River touch the northeast corner and
the Black Cat Creek touches the southeast corner. Several ditches have
been constructed in different parts of the township and Swan Lake is
now one of the most productive agricultural districts of the county. It
is bounded on the north by Lincoln Township; on the east by Armstrong
Grove; on the south by Jack Creek, and on the west by the Town of
Center. Its area is thirty-six square miles.
Among the pioneers of this township were T. O. Burd, Joseph Lee,
whose son, N. J. Lee, is now one of the judges of the District Court in
the Fourteenth Judicial District, and the Lerdall family. During the
Indian troubles in Minnesota in 1862-63, a number of families fled from
that state· and sought refuge in Emmet County. Some of them
located in what is now Swan Lake Township and became permanent
settlers.
Through the central part of the township, running east ani west, is the
Estherville & Albert Lea division of the Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific Railway system, and the Jewell & Sanborn division of the
Chicago & Northwestern crosses the northeast corner. Maple Hill on
the former and Gridley on the latter are the railroad stations in the
township. About a mile and a half west of the western boundary is the
station of Gruver, on the Rock Island line. The two railroads provide
better transportation and shipping facilities than is usually found in
rural communities.
Only two townships in the county - Emmet and Iowa Lake - reported
a smaller population than Swan Lake in 1910, when it was 382. While it
then stood tenth in population, in 1915 it was sixth in
valuation of property. Including the consolidated school district of
Swan Lake, the property of the township was appraised at $400,652.
This township occupies the southwest corner of the county. On the
north
it is bounded by Estherville Township; on the east by High Lake
Township; on the south by Palo Alto County, and on the west by the
County of Dickinson. It embraces Congressional Township 98, Range 34,
and has an area of thirty-six square miles. The only watercourse
in the township, as shown on the map, are the outlet of Twelve Mile
Lake, which flows westwardly into Dickinson County, and a small
tributary of the Des Moines River in the southeastern part.
In 1860 a number of Norwegians came to Emmet County and settled along
the Des Moines Valley south of Estherville. Among them were the
Thorsons, Paulsons and Petersons, some of whom located in what is now
Twelve Mile Lake Township, where they or their descendants are still
living. According to the best authority obtainable, when the
first civil townships were created in Emmet County, the present
township of High Lake and Twelve Mile Lake were included in "Peterson
Township," so named from one of the prominent Norwegian pioneers. When
Peterson Township was divided, the western portion of it was named
Twelve Mile Lake, for the lake in sections 20 and 21, which was then
supposed. to be twelve miles from Estherville, though in reality the
distance is only about eight miles.
The Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad was built through this
township in 1898-99 and the town of Raleigh near the northern boundary
was
laid out. It is the only village and postoffice in the township, but
the town of Wallingford, just across the border in High Lake Township,
is a convenient trading and shipping point for those living in the
eastern portion.
According to the latest report of the county superintendent of schools,
there are nine schoolhouses in the township and during the school year
of 1915-16 there were nine teachers employed. In 1910 the population
was 449, and in 1915 the property was valued for taxation at $337,034.
