Lake County Heritage
Lake County is very picturesque—taking its name from the beautiful lakes. It has a chain of lakes which intersect the county from the western boundary nearly to the McCook Co. on the southeast, finding an outlet through Skunk Creek, and finally blends with the water of the Big Sioux a short distance above Sioux Falls.
The lakes vary in dimension from one mile in width and six miles in length to small bodies covering a few acres. All are fed by springs. Depth of lakes varies from 8 to 30 feet. Eight to 10 feet being average. There is a great variety and unlimited abundance of fresh water fish.
The first occupancy of white settlers dates back to 1870. The county was organized in 1873.
It is 24 miles square and contains 359,680 acres in its 16 townships. The population in 1880 was 2,657; 1890 – 7,508; 1900 – 9,137. The largest population was in 1940 – 12,412. The population in 1975 according to the Lake County Auditor’s office is 11,456.
The first Normal School in South Dakota was located at Madison in 1881. The first building was built on the campus in 1883 at a cost of $15,000. It was occupied for eight weeks and then destroyed by fire on February 4, 1887. The first Chautauqua of a permanent nature in the state was built in Lake Country in 1890 on the north shore of Lake Madison. For several decades it brought famous lecturers from all over the United States to the citizens of Lake Country and nearby areas.
The first school in Lake Country was erected in 1973 on the south bank of Lake Madison. Miss Fannie Baker was the first teacher.
The first marriage was George Runyon and Dollie Jenks in 1872.
The first bank was the Citizens National and was established in the Spring of 1881. It was founded by Smith and Trow. In 1884 it was reorganized as Citizens National Bank of Madison. The First National was established in 1883 by F.D. Fitts. Then the Madison State Bank was founded by Chas. B. Kennedy.
This is a statement of the railroad business of the Chicago Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad for the year ending August 1, 1892. They had shipped east 838 cars of grain (mostly flax and wheat), 191 cars of livestock, besides small lots and 23 cars of flour and received 624 cars of merchandise. The tickets sold to passengers was over 3,000.
During the latter part of February, 1861, Congress passed a bill for the organization of the Territory of Dakota and on the 2nd of March the bill was approved by James Buchanan, President of the United States.
In June of that year the territorial officers arrived at Yankton and arranged for the first election which was held September 16, 1861. The first legislature convened on March 17, 1862 and designated the boundary lines of Yankton, Clay, Hutchinson, Cole (now Union), Lincoln, Minnehaha, Brookings, and Duel counties. Several of the townships which are now in Lake Country, Chester, Franklin, Orland, Herman, Lakeview and Wentworth, were a part of Minnehaha Country as originally established. The name was given on account of the numerous lakes within its area.
Just what happened previous to the year 1869 may never be known, for it was in September and October of that year when the government surveyors marked off the four southeast townships, Franklin, Wentworth, Chester and Lakeview, which were a part of Minnehaha County.
Before this time some white trappers had sought mink and muskrat on the shores of the lakes, but no white man’s handiwork was found in evidence.
The year 1870 was the beginning of colonization for the county. It was on June 14th of that year that a group of men arrived at Sioux Falls and listening to C.K. Howard, who operated trading posts at Flandreau and Medary, became interested in this section.
Three of the men, William Lee, John M. Walker and Joseph Mason, had come from Winneconne, Wisconsin, driving through with a horse team and a mule. While enroute near Spirit Lake, Iowa, they met four other team travelers, Herman Luce, William H. Luce, J. Clemens and Edward Millits who came from Fillmore County, Minnesota and with whom they journeyed along the Jackson to Sioux Falls.
The following morning William Lee (grandfather of Bandmaster Bill Ireland), Herman Luce and Joseph Mason, with one of the teams, started on their home hunting expedition and the rest waited for them in Sioux Falls.
They went up the Sioux Valley to Flandreau trading post and on to Medary, 10 miles south of where Brookings now stands. At that point, and old trapper interested them by telling of the beauty of what was then known as the “skunk” lakes; the name given by Indians to the chain of lakes in what is now Lake County.
Next morning they drove southwesterly, bound for the “promised land” and toward evening their wagon trundled down the south slope of the hill and their eyes feasted on the clear sparkling waters of the beautiful lake. The party camped for the night upon land which later became the Chautauqua grounds.
They were delighted with this lake and next morning sought and found the lake to the west. An agreement was made that Mr. Lee should locate his party on the shore of the first lake visited and that the Luce party should locate on the other. Then Herman Luce decreed that hereafter this body of water should be called “Herman”. Therefore, June 17 and 18, 1970 were the days which determined the future of this county.
When they returned to Sioux Falls their companions were so pleased that the whole party prepared to return to the land of the lakes. Herman Luce and his son, William, selected timber lands on the east side of Lake Herman and assumed “squatter rights”, the only thing they could do since the lands had not been surveyed. Jabe Clemens and Edward Millits did not like the prospect and abandoned the country. The Luce’s planted rutabaga seeds after plowing three acres and then returned to Minnesota.
The three wooded points on the south shore of Lake Madison were selected by the Messrs. Lee, Walker and Mason for their homes. Mason’s selection was farthest east. On the night of June 21 the whole party from Sioux Falls arrived at and camped on the south shore of Brant Lake.
All that summer Lee, Walker and Mason worked, breaking a small patch of land on each homestead. They erected a log house for Mr. Mason and harvested some hay for their stock in winter; but mainly their work was in building a log mansion for the Lee family. This was 14 by 20 feet; a story and a half high. It was crowned with a sod roof. Mr. Walker had had some experience in lime burning and tested some of the lime rocks on the prairie, finding that good lime could be made from them and burnt a small kiln of lime which was used to chink the intersticed between the logs in the house. Some was hauled to Sioux Falls where it was sold for 75 cents per bushel.
A month later a man by the name of Henry Miller, with an ox team, came with a small load of boards and established himself at the east end of the lake, just north of the outlet in the timber. His shanty was 12 by 12 feet and he built a hay stable for his oxen.
During the fall, Miller assisted by John Walker, burned a small kiln of lime and hauled it to Sioux Falls. Two years later Miller sold his improvement to W. Dean and moved southwest into the Vermillion hills.
The Lee log house was the first permanent habitation in Lake County. Mason, Lee and Walker went to Vermillion after having made their improvements on their lands to make their filings. Mason found that the land he had chosen, being a school section was not subject to entry so he gave up the idea and remained in Vermillion where next spring he was drowned in the Missouri River.
Both Lee and Walker helped some of the Vermillion Settlers with their work while they were in that vicinity. One of Lee’s horses died and he traded the other for a toke of cattle. With these he drove to Sioux City, to meet and greet the rest of his family who had come by train to that place. The next arrivals included Mrs. Sara Lee and son, Arthur, one year old; Mrs. Janet Walker, mother, and two brothers, Charles and Robert Walker, both quite small.
They drove to the Sioux River Valley with their plodding ox team and wagon loaded with human freight and household effects and arrived in Canton on October 10. They stayed there for ten days and started October 20, 1870 to their log home, which had been built for them. They, Mr. Lee returned to Sioux City to bring the rest of the household goods while John Walker remained to sponsor the first family settlement in this county. He came back in about ten days with furniture and some cooking supplies.
For many who came in after years, this log house afforded shelter while its comforts were shared with the occupants.
At that time there was an abundance of fine game such as antelope, ducks and wild geese and very fine fish so that meat was obtainable at all times. The rutabaga crop scattered on the old Indian camping ground by the Luce’s was not forgotten and was a welcome addition to the diet.
During the summer, a neighbor of the Lees and Walkers came also from Winnebago County, Wisconsin, and settled near Vermillion. With them came Thomas Walker who helped drive their stock of cattle. Mrs. Janet Walker owned two cows and a calf which were driven through with the herd and became the pioneers of their kind in Lake County.
In the Spring they planted garden seeds, potatoes, corn, peas and other vegetables.
On June 27, Mr. Lee had a birthday anniversary and remembers that their menu for dinner included new potatoes and string beans.
There was sorrow too. The first day of April was fresh and balmy and the ice at the edge of the lake melted a little. Little Arthur trying to follow the older men toppled over in the water and was strangled before discovered. This was the first death, in 1871.
In July of this year the township lines of the west half of the northeast quarter of the county were surveyed. Lee and Walker built a log house at Lake Herman for Herman Luce and early in October, his son, William, and family came to live there. This house still stands at the entrance of Lake Herman State Park. Next spring William Luce built a log house of his own.
With the advent of William Luce, came also the family of John T. Hare who settled on the north shore of Lake Madison, selecting a claim which is still in the family. A temporary resident was taken up in the shanty vacated by Henry Miller, but during the fall and winter Mr. Hare and the boys got out the logs with which to build a larger home of their own. The girls of the family married. One became Mrs. Huntimer, another Mrs. Carrie Lord, another Mrs. Peter Klumpner and still another Mrs. Alex Fader.
At the close of March, 1872 the first child was born in the county, a son to Mr. and Mrs. William Luce, who was called Herman for his grandfather. A baby was born to the Lee family on June 17th of that year.
After two years, Herman Luce returned and brought his family. He also brought a Mr. Abbott, his brother-in-law and Ann Luce, his daughter. Still others came and settled at Lake Herman. They were Austin E. Demick and family, Charles A. Demick and family, Henry Whipple and family, David Holton and family and Mr. P. Rice.
On the north shore of Lake Madison, where the Johnson farm is now, a Mr. Putnam located and remained for a couple of years; when he sold his claim to Lars Johnson, married Anne Luce and moved away. Farther to the east on the north side of the lake Mrs. C. Wakefield Fader, Alex Fader and Peter Klumpner settled and built houses while William Dean came a bought the Henry Miller improvements and filed upon the land.
Eugene Hewhall took the land now known as Gill’s Point or Gill’s Grove (Wentworth Park).
The settlement at the west end of the lake and south of it was augmented by the addition of John Hall and family and Mary Lee. Both ladies were sisters of William Lee. Mr. Hale filed on the land now comprising the Lakeview Home and Mary Lee the quarter to the south of it.
Early in the year, William Baxter filed on the land where the old town of Madison was afterward platted. The title was acquired by using scrip which had been issued by the U.S. Government to the state of Virginia and assigned by proper authorities to William Baxter. This man was an employee of William Van Eps of Sioux Falls and sold his land to Mr. Van Eps.
In October of this year the townships of Herman and Farmington were entered on by R.S. Alexander, a surveyor from Dell Rapids, and the work of subdividing these townships was begun and completed. The party camped in the timber at Lake Herman, where it has been asserted there were plenty of mosquitos at that time. John Walker dragged the surveyor’s chain over the townships and Chas. Demick assisted in meandering the lines about the lake.
A count at that time shows that at the close of the year there were 14 families and six who were unmarried people, in all about 50 persons. It may be remembered that up to the close of 1872 the people about Lake Herman and those about Skunk Lake (Lake Madison) were in Minnehaha County and so remained until 1873 when Lake County was given its present boundary lines.
In February a girl was born to the family of Charles Demick and they named her Susie. She is claimed to be the first girl born in Lake County. Charles Luce, born in the log cabin in 1872, was the second child born in the county.
Early in the Spring of 1873 William J. Baker and family located on land which later became part of the Chautauqua Grounds and built a few rods west of the old hotel, a log house one story high and large enough for a family. It had only one room but it was subdivided with curtains. Later in the year, Chas, Thomas and son, John, came and took land just south of Brant Lake as did also Jacob Barnett and family, all related to the Bakers. Other additions to the western part of the Lake Madison country were D.B. Hollingsworth and father, John Gilchrist and family, Jon Webb, who took a claim just west of the Poor Farm and John Batchelder, who filed on land south of where the present town of Madison is. He also acquired a half interest in the land bought by Van Eps for the townsite a little later on. During the summer of this year the elder, Mr. Hollingsworth, preached the first sermon heard in the county and the services were held in the Lee log house. Thus began the religious life of the new colony.
Later in the fall the names of Rock Brown, Parden Wakefield, John Patterson, and the families of James and John Law were added to the increasing list of settlers. The Laws came in Octobers.
In August Myron Church, a carpenter, came from Sibley, Iowa, with three teams conveying lumber goods which were used to build and start the first store upon the proposed site for the new town of Madison. The building put up was 18 by 24 feet in size and a story and a half high with a square front and large windows. Brooks and Styles, real estate men of Sibley owned the building and the goods were owned by Charles Wright and his father-in-law, John Webb, who had taken claims west of this location. Mr. Wright was in charge of the store and he and his wife lived upstairs. During the summer John Walker and John Hale built log houses and there was an addition to the Lee house.
During the fall of this year, Governor Burbank of Yankton appointed Herman Luce, John Hare and Joseph Dupuis as County Commissioners. Dupuis couldn’t qualify. Hare and Luce qualified. They elected W.C. Snodgrass as secretary protem. He was here on a hunting expedition and stayed at the Luce house.
The town site called Wicklow at the east end of Lake Madison had been platted during the summer by John F. Dowling of Yankton who had succeeded to the right of Joseph Dupuis, who made the original entry. This land was at the outlet of Lake Madison adjoining the fine grove of trees there. It was intended that this place should have been selected as the site for the county seat but when the seat of Dupuis as contested the plan was abandoned. None of the proposed sites showed any signs of having been platted except Wicklow.
The first business of the County Commissioners was the selection of a county seat and land owned by Van Eps. The old town of Madison was selected. The County Commissioners appointed the following officers to serve until the first county election: William F. Baker, Register of Deeds; William Lee, Sheriff; William Luce, Treasurer; John Hale, Coroner; John M. Walker, Surveyor; Herman Luce, States Attorney. At the next meeting Austin Demick was appointed to fill the vacancy in the board caused by the non-qualification of Dupuis. Two voting precincts were established at the east and west halves of the county. The county was also divided into two districts for school purposes but there was no school in the county.
Near the close of the year, Nathaniel Hall came and settled near Lake Herman and on December 14th Mrs. George H. Waskey with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Austin Gill, came and settled near the east end of Lake Madison.
In January, 1874 the timber lots at Lake Herman were platted and this was done so as to sell settlers a sufficient tract of timber for fuel purposes.
On March 13, 1874 J.A. Trow, in company with John F. Dowling, in a democrat wagon, behind a team of ponies, came down the slope at the east end of Lake Madison to the staked plain called Wicklow, just beyond which the curling smoke from many tepees indicated the near presence of red men. Dowling stayed with the Indians that night and Trow went on to the house of William Lee. On the way he met James and John Law.
The first election ever held in Lake County was in October, 1874. The total number of votes cast was 43. The first elected officers were: H.N. Luce, Representative; J.P Kidder, Delegate to Congress; C.W. Wright, Register of Deeds; A.E. Demick, William Lee and H.N. Luce, County Commissioners; W.H. Luce, Judge of Probate; C.A. Demick, Sheriff; Justice Clark, Attorney; H.H. Law, Superintendent of Schools; Justin Clark, Coroner; J.H. Law, Surveyor; A.E. Demick, E.R. Newhall and William Dean, Justices; and H.S. Ellis, Henry Hare and C. Huntley, Constables.
During the summer of 1874, W. Baker hauled lumber from Worthington, Minnesota to build a frame house and barn. In the old log house vacated by the family, the first school ever taught in the county began in the fall with Fannie Baker as teacher. The pupils were the Baker children and Roberts and Charles Walker who lived on the south side of the lake with Mr. and Mrs. Lee. The school was not supported by public funds.
1875 was a grasshopper year and immigration from the neighboring states was at a stand-still. John Law was among those who left. William Prince came to fill his place and bought the improvements he had made on his place the year before. Lake did not have as much grasshopper damage as some counties.
In October, 1875 W. Lee bought the store property of Brocks and Styles and the goods of Wright and Webb. Soon after Mr. Wright moved back to Sibley, Iowa. On the 17th of November, death came to Willie Lee. Again, afflicting sorrow fell upon the pioneer family.
The first school in the old town of Madison began in November, 1875 under the auspices of Jas. H. Law, County Superintendent, and it was conducted in the upper story of the store building.
In 1876 the Lee family moved from their log house into town. Although the town plat had not yet been recorded. It was on April 17, 1876 that the plat was recorded. In that month, George Cooley bought an interest in the stock of goods in the store and in August P.H. Harth bought the entire stock. An addition was built on the east side of the store where Mr. Harth operated until the following spring. The room which he vacated served from that time on as part of the hotel, which was started in the spring by William Lee. A kitchen was erected in the rear of the store.
Detlief Schnack came in the spring and bought the Jesse Baker farm south of town, built a good frame house, and in June the family came. Other settlers who came in the early part of 1876 were Mr. and Mrs. Alex Fader, Peter Klumpner, C.F. Packard, Frank Gloyd, Harrison H. Wentworth and Chas. Nicholson; helping form the Milwaukee Colony. Later in the fall, Dan Pickard, G.G. Wentworth and Henry Eaton came to the colony. There were 50 voters in the fall election. Lars Sunde was among the newcomers this year, coming originally from Norway. Late in the fall, Phillip Zimmerman and Henry Gill came and secured claims but returned to Milwaukee. Mr. Zimmerman bought the claim occupied by Wm. A. Dean, who in turn had bought the rights of Henry Miller. Zimmerman had been the first engineer to take a steam ship around the cape horn after the discovery of gold in California.
In the fall of 1876 the people of the old town of Madison undertook to build a frame schoolhouse and it was completed in early winter. It was dedicated with a reception and dance, many people coming from Dell Rapids and Sioux Falls. Joseph S. Smith was teacher for the winter term.
Early in the spring of 1877 the family of Thomas Costlow, including Grafton and Lizzie Anderson and a younger brother, came to town. Mr. Costlow was a shoemaker. P.H. Harth built a store and also a post office.
Phillip Zimmerman and Henry Gill brought their families, also Frank McCreedy and a son, Willard Packard. Later in the fall, William Packard and George Wright joined the Milwaukee Colony. Other arrivals in the county were Richard Lawless, Frank Keller, William Tobin and Thos. Atkinson.
Alexander McKay came from Jackson, Minnesota, built a large store and carried on a general merchandise business.
The Presbyterian Society was formed in the fall with quite a large membership, having Rev. George LaClere as their pastor.
J.A. Trow came and was employed to teach the winter school with about forty scholars and the only school in the county. Pupils came from all points on the prairie.
This was the last of the grasshopper years. Fall and winter were very find and some settlers did plowing up to Christmas.
In the early spring of 1878, the year of the big migration into Dakota Territory, two school masters came to the Lee hotel. One was Charles Lester and the other Jessie Farrington. Lester took a claim about a mile north of the present town of Madison and Farrington upon land once owned by Milton Schrepel, and now by Dr. Belatti.
During April many prairie schooners made their appearance bringing some of the early pioneers. Included were W.F. Smith and F.L. Soper who formed a law partnership and land location business. F.W. Dyer moved to town that year and built a store opposite the hotel with a hardware store downstairs and living quarters upstairs.
Lewis Gibbs was stage driver from Madison to Sioux Falls and during the fall established the first saloon.
In October there was a convention to nominate candidates for the fall election. The meeting was called at the schoolhouse but it was not large enough so they moved outdoors. James Preston was named Chairman with J.A. Trow, secretary. There was no paper for ballots so an imaginary line was drawn and the voters stood on one side or the other depending on their vote for candidates. In the fall of 1878 James Law built a frame store building with E. and O.T. Fuller as contractors. They had come to old Madison during the summer. In September, 1878, a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. John Walker, probably the first girl of Lake Madison Colony.
In the meanwhile, the Wentworth or Milwaukee Colony had grown; new arrivals being the Wentworth brothers, the Eaton brothers, the Bergstresser’s and others. Reinaldo Wentworth had a class in vocal music in the winter at the school, alternating nights with J.A. Trow who conducted a penmanship class.
The settlement on Battle Creek took place during the summer in the L.T. Crow community.
During the winter months of 1878-1879 two men came to the old town to establish a newspaper, the first one in the county. They were Joseph H. Zane and Frank Fifield. They did not print their first issue until Spring. W.F. Smith succeeded Fifield in March, 1880. May, 1880 Smith sold to Zane. W.H. Jones became sole proprietor in December, 1880. The Lake County Leader was established in June, 1979 at Herman, six miles west of old Madison by F.C. Stowe who brought it to New Madison in November, 1880. This was called the Madison Sentinel which was in recent years merged with the Madison Leader.
In the early part of 1879 Dr. Alonzo E. Clough came as the first physician and continued in practice in both old and new Madison until his death.
In 1879 the town of Wentworth was established. When the Milwaukee road came that far in 1880, George Beck established a lumber yard for the John Paul Lumber Company; this being the first lumber yard in the county and the firs time settlers could get lumber without driving to Sioux Falls or Luverne, Minnesota.
Other additions to the old town of Madison during 1879 were James W. Davidson and sister; Peter Hanson, blacksmith and Benjamin Craig, who built and owned the first and only residence which was used exclusively as such. O.E. Batchelder came during the autumn and built a building where he operated the first billiard and pool room in the county. Davidson built a store and operated it until he moved to the new town, where he became the first merchance. His store stood where Dr. Braskamp now has his office.
A book published in 1892 gives the names of the post offices in that year as: Brant Lake, Chester, Delmage, Egge, Franklin, Gilman, Orland, Prairie Queen, Ramona, Towles, Wentworth, Wicklow and Winfred. For additional post offices, most of them discontinued after a short time, see Winifred Christenson’s Master thesis on “Places & Names in Lake County” on Page 8.
Lake Herman was named for Herman Luce, one of the three first settlers in Lake County who “squatted” on land adjoining the lake.
The log house near the entrance of the park was the second cabin built in Lake County in 1871 by William Lee and John Walker for the Luce family. The other cabin was built at Lake Madison the previous year by the same men. The first white child (boy) born in Lake County was to the William Luce family in March, 1872 and was given the name of Herman in honor of his grandfather, who named the lake. His grandfather was a member of the Territorial Legislature. The log cabin built for the Luce family was also the U.S. Land Office, with Herman Luce in charge.
Mrs. Luce’s brother, a Mr. Abbot, was an early trapper and had a long trap line in the slough around the lake. One morning in 1877 he went to examine his traps west and north of the lake when a blizzard struck. He started for home in the storm but lost his way, passed the lake and traveled southeast until he finally fell in the deep snow of Buffalo slough (near Chester). The second year after a fire swept the country for miles southeast of Lake Herman, burning the grass off Buffalo slough and during the time before the grass grew again, some land seekers found the skeleton of a man in the slough. Luce was notified and identified the remains as that of his wife’s brother, by a tin pail that he carried which held bait for his traps and also by a knife found by the skeleton. His remains are interred just west of the log house by the lake (a spot now properly marked). Mrs. Luce’s mother, Mrs. Abbot died soon after and her’s is the second grave there. In the Spring of 1881, during house cleaning, Mrs. Luce’s clothing caught fire and she was so badly burned that she died. This is the third grave. At the time when Madison moved to its present site, there was no cemetery so when 8-year-old Mary Luce died she was buried there. This accounts for the four graves which were discovered when the park was being laid out and the plot surrounded by a log fence and marked with boulders.
A little more than 100 acres of land, purchased in 1974 had been developed into the Lake Herman State Park.
THE LARRINGTON FAMILY LEAVE MINNESOTA TO ESTABLISH A NEW HOME IN SOUTH DAKOTA
Mr. and Mrs. William Larrington and family, parents of Mrs. J.E. Boyd of Herman Township, started from Spring Valley, Minnesota in two covered wagons for South Dakota to make their home in the year 1880. They had four horses, four cattle, and a few chickens. The girls walked barefooted and drove cattle behind the wagons.
One evening as they were on their way, they came to a schoolhouse. They never locked the schoolhouses then so they stopped there for the night. They slept on the floor in the schoolhouse. The children left their gum on one of the desks in the schoolhouse. They felt very bad about it even though it was only white wax gum. The girls stopped to pick flowers now and then. Their parents thought that the children were following them, so they didn’t watch to see whether they were coming. They came to a corner and one road went one way and another road went the other way. Their father and mother turned one way and the children didn’t know which way they had gone. So they stayed at the corner and soon their parents came back to get them. They were very frightened as they thought they might never see their parents again. After that they stayed closely behind the wagon.
A little calf was born on the trip. They named him Benny. He became a great favorite or pet with the children.
On the trip they had bread, butter and cookies to eat. They got rather tired of these same things to eat all of the time.
On June 15, 1880 they arrived in Lake County, South Dakota. They saw tall grass growing here at that time.
For a time they lived at the home of Mr. J.W. Boyd Sr. in Herman Township, but they later moved to the farm where William Graeses’ now live. They built a sod house over a dugout. The roof was made of logs and was covered with grass and hay. There was no floor in the house, it was just ground.
The now got so heavy on the roof one night, which their father had to brace pitch-forks upon the table, to keep the roof from caving in.
On October 14, 1880 a great blizzard raged. It kept up for three days and three nights. During the blizzard, the cattle got lost and wandered over to where the Thomas Walsh family now live, about a mile south. They found little holes in the snow where the cattle had been breathing. They had to dig them out. They kept the little calf, Benny, and the rest of the cattle in the house the remainder of the winter. One cow got stuck in the snow bank and couldn’t get into the house and froze. It was the only milk cow. They had no milk, cream nor butter for the rest of the winter. They had no barns for the cattle but had one for the horses.
Food and fuel kept getting less and their supply was soon exhausted.
Mrs. Larrington fixed the last bit of flour into a baking of bread. A neighbor came and said that she had used her last baking of bread. Mrs. Larrington said she had biscuits with corn meal in them which she would divide with her. So she gave half of them to the old woman who lived at the lake. That was the last bread they had until May. They ground wheat in a coffee mill to help substitute for the flour.
They often sat at the table with just potatoes and milk to eat. Corn meal mush and beans were their most common foods. It seemed as if they had beans for every meal and they grew tired of them. They also had fish which they caught at the lake by using spears on the ice. They packed them in the snowbanks. They didn’t have to worry about them because there were no dogs to dig them out. They boiled the fish and ate them with a little salt. They had no butter nor lard to fry them in.
There was a little store at Lake Herman where sugar, flour, tea and coffee could be bought. There was no railroad closer than Sioux Falls.
They had no neighbors except the John Boyd family and a family or two at Lake Herman.
There were no children or babies in the neighborhood for four or five years after the first settlers came. Vernon Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Smith, who lived where the Thomas Walsh farm in Herman Township now is, was one of the first babies born in the neighborhood. Mrs. Larrington acted as doctor and nurse. Everyone was happy because they thought it was wonderful to have a baby in the neighborhood.
In May, 1881 the first railroad came up from Sioux Falls to old Madison, which was near the Chautauqua Grounds. Mr. Larrington was working in the field when he heard the train whistle. He stopped work and rove in a wagon to town to buy some supplies. When he came home with a sack of flour, they were all happy. Mrs. Larrington stirred up flour and water and added some baking powder and baked it on top of the stove.
It was in the fall of 1877 that a company of Swiss colonists located temporarily at Stillwater, Minnesota and sent representatives to Dakota to “spy out” the promised land, all of which led to the settlement of Badus township in the northern part of Lake County. These people reared among the rugged mountains and narrow valleys of central Switzerland, came seeking free homes and a chance to grow up with a new land. Lake Badus, a beautiful body of water which covers nearly a section in the township, naturally attracted them. The first claims were located around its shores. The Badus settlement soon became the religious, commercial and social center for miles around and the Swiss continued a happy, contented and prosperous people.
Such a good report of the lands was taken back to Stillwater then in the fall of 1877 ten men filed on claims around the lake which they called Lake Badus from their old home. In April, 1878 Joseph Burkler and family, Chris Fazendin, Anthony Tuor and Jacob Tuor were sent by the colonists to build houses for their families. Many built sod houses as lumber had to be hauled from Luverne, Minnesota. Mrs. Burkler was the first woman in the settlement and for the first year the only woman. In the fall of 1878 Joseph Muggli, who was instrumental in organizing the colony, J. Tenner and William Tuor came out to build houses for their families. The settlers on the ground plowed at least five acres on each claim for spring planting.
The colony had been duly incorporated to make settlement improvements, build a church, a school and a colony house. Each male member, 21 years of age, was allowed to file two claims, a homestead and tree claim. As far as possible, land was taken touching the lake shore and completely surrounding it. During 1878 lumber was hauled from Luverne and a few frame houses built. In March, 1879 the following families came: Joseph Muggli (grandfather of Dr. J.A. Muggly), Wm. Giosse, Jacob Palli, Julius Janet, Anthony Tuor, Joe Bass, Joseph DeCurtins, C.A. Cajacob, and a few months later J.A. Rensch, J. Tner, Anthony Wolf and Their families. Joe Jacomet came as a single man. In 1880 the colony was increased by the arrival of Nicholas Schnell, Joe Schnell, Jacob Deragish, Matt Fazendin, Jacob Tuor and arrival of Nicholas Schnell, Joe Schnell, Jacob Deragish, Matt Fazendin, Jacob Tuor and later, Plazi, John and Joe DeRunds. Also, J.C. Cassutt, and Joe, Chris and Matt Rensch.
With the coming of settlers in the spring of 1879, improvements began in earnest. Being a deeply religious people and valuing the importance of education, one of the first buildings in the settlement was a schoolhouse. The lumber was purchased in Stillwater and shipped to Volga, at that time the nearest railway point. The schoolhouse was also used temporarily as a church and the first mass was held on May 20, 1880. It was held in the new school by Father Brogan of Sioux Falls. He made periodical visits to the settlement on his regular circuit until 1881 when Father Flynn came to Madison and became the regular priest in charge of Badus. Miss Theresa Schnell was the first teacher for many years. The school was maintained in this settlement with the county supplying the teachers and the school built and furnished by the Badus corporation.
The colony house was another improvement made in the summer of 1878. This building was also erected at the expense of the settlement. It furnished room for small store, a place for amusement, and temporary lodging house for new colonists. It was in this building that Joseph Muggli opened the settlement store which he managed for two years under contract with the corporation. He was also the first postmaster of Badus, receiving his commission from Washington on May 15, 1879. At first only tri-weekly mail was received by stage, but in 1880 the service was made daily and the stages covered Sioux Falls, Madison, Volga, Prairie Queen, Badus and Watertown and intervening points. Anthony Tuor succeeded Muggli as postmaster. The colony house was burned down in 1884 and never rebuilt.
In 1884 the present church building was erected and is still in use.
A threatening prairie fire swept up from the south on October 6, 1879. It came so suddenly that there was no time to prepare for safety. Everything was in danger. The women and children were rushed into the lake for safety while the men battled the flames. The sod houses were saved but the frame buildings and hay supply were burned up clean. As twisted hay was the only fuel, it was difficult to get enough fuel to cook a meal.
The first death was that of Jacob Berther who died in August, 1884. Martin Berther of Madison was his son. The first child born in the settlement was Christina Burkler (Mrs. Casper DeRungs). J.C. Cassutt was the first blacksmith and his shop was an important center to keep the farming tools in repair.
Lars Johnson and his sons, including J.A. Johnson, long time Madison merchant, came to Lake County in 1873 to look over the country and the next year to settle on the hill just east of the present Chautauqua Ground. The Johnson’s had moved to Winneshick County from Norway a few years previously.
J.A. Johnson and John Patterson took a team and light wagon and started on an exploring trip to Dakota, going a distance of about 350 miles. They reached the north shore of Lake Madison and it seemed an ideal place for a home. At that time, John Hare was living on the north shore of the lake; the Lee’s and Walker’s on the south side. D.B. Hollingsworth came also in 1873 and settled north of the lake.
In 1874 Mr. Johnson, with all member of his family, including his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lars Johnson, his sister Jane (Mrs. Olaf Berg), Mr. and Mrs. Martin Olson and brothers, Martin, Lou, Dolph and Charles, all in covered wagons, began the long journey to Dakota, arriving in the summer of 1874. They proceeded to build sod houses and barns for the stock which they brought with them. Each family had a team of oxen, in addition to horses. With the four oxen harnessed together they proceeded to break up the virgin prairie and get it ready for the next year’s planting. About 50 acres were broken on the Johnson place the first year.
Wheat was the main crop of the Johnson’s, as of most early settlers in Dakota. For about 20 years it remained the main crop. Now less than 2 percent of the grain grown here is wheat.
Other neighbors of the Johnson’s, in addition to the Hares and Hollingsworth’s, were J.B. Johnson, Lars Sunde, Norris Fox, Torkel Hanson and the Schriner’s.
Most of the settlers lived in sod houses for some time after first settling. Later the railroad brought lumber within hauling distance.
The winter of 1880 was a very hard one. They had to haul flour from the trading center in Dell Rapids, taking their own wheat to be ground into flour. Cattle were killed for meat, but the fish in the lake proved to be an excellent source of food and there was an abundance of wild game, duck and prairie chickens.
J.A. Johnson moved into Madison in 1885 and bought out a stock of goods owned by a Mr. Selland. His brother Lou Johnson later helped him in the store.
The first school in the neighborhood where the Johnson’s lived, was located just across the road from where the Johnson house still stands, and was taught by Miss Fannie Baker.
The first Lutheran services in the county were held at Mrs. Johnson’s farm and the congregation took its name from this location: The Lake Madison Lutheran Congregation. This became a full church in 1878, but had held services at the Johnson farm for several years previously. This was the parent church from which the Prairie Queen and Lake Park Churches were formed. Both have recently been merged with other Lutheran groups.
On the 25th of September, 1879 a caravan of covered wagons, drawn by ox and horses drove west from Flandreau, crossing the Vermillion hills in western Lake County, and camped four miles southeast of Winfred near what is now known as the McLeod School. The families of Wm. H. Williams, J.B. Jones and Wm. M. Williams established the first homes in the Winfred territory. Sod houses were immediately built and preparations made for the winter, which was very mild. This was fortunate since there was only hay for fuel. The spring and summer of 1880 proved very dry with no water closer than the Vermillion River.
The first school was built just across the road from the present McLeod School with Elijah Hines as teacher, at a salary of $25 a month. The term was for four months a year. The nearest railroad was Flandreau or Sioux Falls, from where everything had to be hauled. In October, 1880 the great blizzard struck this country and everything was blocked for many weeks.
The railroad reached Winfred during the year 1881, when the town was started on the Sam Leigh homestead, with the townsite owned by a Mr. Thaxter, who named the town Winfred in honor of his daughter.
The Union Church neighborhood was started in 1882 with the Charles, Jim Lewis, Thos. William’s, Stewart’s, Hillman’s and Gough’s making up the first pioneers who established this first church with Rev. R.W. Jones as first pastor.
A.Allen was the first merchant in Winfred and was also postmaster and depot agent. George McDonald operated the first dray line. E.S. Dobson was the first barber and also ran a confectionery store. S.V. Mckell had the first hardware. John W. Chapin started business as manager for the John Paul Lumber Company. REV. R.E.. Mattock, who preached on Sunday and stood over his anvil on weekdays, was the first blacksmith. The Wright brothers had the first bank. They also owned the LaBell Ranch.
Charles E. Rice states that Sam Stillman and he were the first settlers west of the Vermillion River, coming here from Whitewater, Wisconsin, in the spring of 1878. Later Elijah Hines filed on land adjoining Winfred on the south. In the fall of that year Francis Rice and Mr. and Mrs. O.E. Denel took up land near Winfred.
Charles Rice helped to build the railroad into Madison and at one time did his trading at Herman. These people were all from Whitewater, Wisconsin. Mr. Denel had brought his cattle from Minnesota and lost many of them in the winter of the big snow storms—1880-81.
Frank Thaxter, a Madison banker, bought the land on which the townsite of Winfred is located. He bought the land from Sam Lee after the Milwaukee had located its line and the town was platted in 1882.
Among the pioneer businessmen were Ab Allen, store and post office; J.E. Patton, first newspaper; Cameron and Murdock McGillivray, who opened a general store and later sold it to Deuel and Rice; Gus Markel and Miles McLeod, who put up a hardware store; and Jesse Farrington who established a store and sold to C.H. Morse.
The LaBelle Horse Ranch Company was organized by George Wright and Ed Bradbury. They acquired 1000 acres of land four miles north of Winfred on the Vermillion and built large horse barns and carried on an extensive horse ranch company. Settlers included the families of Pond, St. Bonnet, Gifford, Thompson, Henry and John Boys, Price, Williams, Owens, Erickson, Laird, Keegan, McLeod, McGillivray’s, Dr. Jenks, McDonald, Tuttle, Homes, Seidel, Kaiser, Oliver, V.R. Wadden, John Gregor and Laughlin.
No history of Lake County could be complete without mention of Phillip Zimmerman, who first came out from Milwaukee in 1876 to view the Dakota country, of which he had heard. He later brought his family out to occupy the home which he had built for them on a beautiful site overlooking the lake at the east end of Lake Madison. This is where his daughter, Miss Lillie, lived for many years.
He led a colony of well-educated, well-to-do Germans from Milwaukee to this new country. This was no covered wagon train of emigrants. These people all came from homes of culture and sufficient means and shipped out by rail their household goods, including the Zimmerman’s handsome rosewood piano and other fine furniture and materials for their homes, and such luxuries as they had at home in those days. Mr. Zimmerman brought the fine furniture which is still in use, the interior furnishings and hardware for his house, as well as the lumber for the frame and the house was constructed as it stands today. This lovely home has always s been one of the show places of Lake County and is surrounded by grounds which are park-like in their arrangement. He set out beds and borders of shrubs and plants, put in evergreens and other trees with great care and thought for the future. The Zimmerman’s were probably the only family which came to Dakota at that time which brought its own houseplants. He also brought his own fine blooded cattle for his new farm. The location had already been taken but it was the one spot he wanted for his own and was able to purchase it from the owner. The lumber and supplies for the new home were shipped from Milwaukee to Luverne and thence overland. It was only a month later that the railroad came into Sioux Falls.
Among the Milwaukee residents who learned of Dakota through Mr. Zimmerman and followed his leadership were the Gills, the J.B. Johnson’s, Clouder’s, Rosenow’s, Bergstresser’s, Glatz family, Flaettlis, Packard’s, Fred Zimmerman’s and others, all of who established homes in the vicinity.
A splendid school was established near their home. No sod shanty or log school with rough benches, but a fine schoolhouse with the latest school equipment of the day. Everything was painted, varnished and new. The first teacher was J.W. Bennett and Mrs. L.M. Tolles was the second.
The hard winter of 1880 and 1881 were the most serious experiences of this pioneer colony. There was no lack of meat for fine fish could be caught through the ice. The Zimmerman’s had a sufficient supply of sugar and flour to last them through the winter, but neighbors, not so provident, borrowed their flour until their supply was exhausted and they were forced to grind the wheat in the coffee mill.
Mr. Zimmerman was a brilliant and well-educated man and was a great power in the early intellectual life of the young community. Being called upon for lectures and to lead discussions was not uncommon to Mr. Zimmerman. He was a world traveler. He had a splendid library which he brought with him from his old home and was ever a great reader and student. He was also a trained scientist and because he had a barometer and could foretell the weather accurately he was fortunate enough never to lose any of his fine stock in the severe storms which hit the Dakota.
At the Zimmerman home is an interesting case in which a number of mounted birds are to be seen (some of these are now in the Lake County History Museum). Among these is a pelican which was wounded and lived for several months on the lake, a swan which was also injured in passage and alighted on the lake for refuge and a magpie. Swans are birds of passage over this country. In this case, is the big mariner’s lobe, which Mr. Zimmerman used when he was a ship’s engineer in 1850, and many articles from every corner of the world. Among the prized possessions of the family is a letter written to Mr. Zimmerman by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Thomas Loner was an early pioneer in the Prairie Queen neighborhood; having filed on his homestead in 1878. He brought the first threshing rig into the county in 1879, hauling it overland from Canby, Minnesota. The threshing jobs were so scattered that he threshed in three counties before the season was over.
In recalling the October blizzard of 1880, his threshing rig was caught on the Dick Querness farm, and the storm was so bad that he could not get to the sod barn to feed his horses for three days. However, they came through all right. During that winter he was “baching” in his shanty and a neighbor was doing his baking, when the flour ran out. He came to Madison on snowshoes and had to stay overnight. Next morning he bought from Daly and Fitzgerald a 50 pound sack of flour, some meat, sugar, coffee and other groceries to carry back. The load was too heavy to carry so he made a sled of the snowshoes and pulled it after him. Leaving Madison at 10 a.m. he trudged along and reached home 16 ½ miles away by dark.
Mr. Loner was an old time fiddler and with Henry Crow and Claude Gilman in his orchestra, he played for many dances all over the county in the early years.
S.A. Ayers filed on his homestead just west of Junius early in 1878 and was the first to file in Winfred township. He was a member of Bill Lee’s threshing crew when the October blizzard of 1880 struck and shut down the threshing business on the Meriam farm west of Madison.
In order to secure trees for his tree claim, he, in company with a neighbor, started to drive west to the Missouri River, turned south at Forestburg and reached the Missouri at Springfield where they secured a quantity of small cottonwoods and elms which he set out in the fall and which later developed into one of the finest groves on the highway.
After the railroad went through, the first mail was received at Russell post office, near the site of Junius.
He had raised a good crop of wheat in the year 1880 and took some of it to Luverne, Minnesota, for grinding, bringing back a quantity of four that lasted all through that very hard winter.
Mr. Ayers was a member of the State Legislature in the early days of statehood.
Mike Cosgrove came into the territory in May, 1880, driving from Flandreau to old Madison on the lake. He took over the claim his father had filed on in Orland. He recalls that in 1880-81 he worked for George Waskey, Sr., an old Black Hills freighter, who had opened a three-quarter section farm over the line in Franklin township. Waskey had 300 acres in wheat and averaged 35 bushels to the acre. He stored and held his grain and was able to furnish his neighbors with seed grain.
When the heavy snows of January came and sod barns were buried, it was sometimes necessary to feed the stock by poking hay and straw through the roof, and every three days the barn door was shoveled clear to take the horses and cows out for water. The gullies were level full of snow and the landscape appeared level with a cover of two or more feet of snow. When the breakup came the whole prairie was a vast lake and the gullies running rivers. All a farmer had to do for a mess of fish was to take a pitchfork to a running stream and fork out all the buffalo fish 18 inches long he could carry home. The fish ran up from Buffalo Creek, Minnehaha County.
The first schoolhouse in Orland was built on the Agrim Nelson farm and Mary Dickey was the teacher. William O’Connell was a later teacher and Mr. Cosgrove, himself, taught for ten winters in Orland. He was teaching when the blizzard of 1888 struck. After it had abated he started for his boarding place, the John Coffey home. On the way to Wooley’s lake he came upon a herd of cattle frozen stiff by the lake where they had come for water. A hundred head of cattle perished.
While the settlers were shut in most of the winters, they did not neglect social opportunities and house parties; spelling school and dances were the order when weather permitted and everyone attended for miles around.
Mrs. D.B. Hollingsworth recalled interesting incidents of early life in this section. Deloss B. and Ira Hollingsworth, Harley and Lyman Thompson, brothers of Mrs. Hollingsworth and Wess Brown made up a caravan of five yoke and oxen and drove up from Spencer, Iowa, in the spring of 1873, filing on land northeast of Lake Madison. In June of that year, Benjamin Hollingsworth, father of D.B. and Ira, a Baptist minister, preached the first sermon delivered in Lake County, in the grove on Bill Lee’s place, about a mile east of what is now the Lakeview Nursing Home and was formerly the Poor Farm. The entire populations of seven families, about 35 people, were there. That was one time that all the people in Lake County attended Church at the same time and at the same place.
They moved their families here the next year. The first hog that Mr. Hollingsworth had here was bought with four bushels of oats. She had had nothing but hay for a long time and was so weak that she had to be held up to eat for weeks.
She told of one quarter section of land a mile west of Wentworth that was sold for the breaking of six acres on another quarter.
During the blizzard of 1879, Mrs. Hollingsworth had left her week’s wash on the grass since the day was so fine. There were 42 turkeys roosting on the roofs of the buildings. In the morning the terrible blizzard was raging and it was intensely cold. After the blizzard one turkey was found in a shock of corn. The rest had perished. She did not find all of her clothes until the next spring.
Lyman Thompson, looking for his cattle in the drifts located them by pipes of frost about 8 inches long formed by the breath of the steers which were buried under the drifts.
It was in March 1878 that Mr. and Mrs. C.B. Kennedy came to Dakota territory, coming 90 miles from the end of the railroad. Mr. Kennedy, a cultured and ambitious easterner, secured a homestead and timber claim of 320 acres and it was on this land that the present town of Madison was established. At that time there were only nine families in the county and these were located on the shores of the two lakes. No white person lived west of the lakes at that time. Deep Indian and buffalo trails led from every direction to the spring of water in what is now Park Lake in Memorial Park. It was this spring of water that led Mr. Kennedy to homestead that particular tract of land and the fact, too, that the claim was only a half mile from the center of the county and at the junction of two valleys. He felt such a location would be sought by railroads when they would come.
Putting up a temporary house, Kennedy then broke the prairie land with a four ox team and later built a small frame house. This house was moved from its location in 1947 and Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Kaiser now occupy this site.
In 1880 a survey was made for an extension of the Milwaukee railroad to near the center of Lake County; the survey crossing Mr. Kennedy’s farm. Dr. William Lowe, then a lad of 18, assisted with this survey.
Kennedy persuaded the rival towns of Herman and Madison to join in a new location on the railroad line and after some stormy negotiations the new town was platted and made the county seat. The present town was platted July, 1880 by William Van Eps, P.J. Harth, O.E. Batchelder and William Lee. Three of these men have avenues named for them.
J.W. Davidson was the first to open a store. The first railroad train reached here January 12, 1881 and the town was incorporated May 1, 1881. The new town grew rapidly and in 1881 had a population of 600.
There were two newspapers, the Sentinel and the Leader, the first being moved from old Madison and the latter from old Herman.
In 1881 there were five church organizations; the Presbyterian society which had been organized at old Madison in 1877, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist society and a large Catholic organization.
A new school building costing $4,000 (the old Washington or “Green” school was completed in November 1881.
In that year too, a Territorial Normal School was established at Madison. The Lake County Agricultural Association held its third annual fair September 29-30, 1881 at the 50 acre grounds east of the city. Officers and directors were G.P. Borland, P.H. Harth, F.C. Stowe, David Mullen, J.M. Preston and Phillip Zimmerman.
W.J. Maloy was the first station agent of the Milwaukee road. Town officials in 1881 included A.E. Clough, William Lee, E.W. Dyer, J.M Preston, E.W. Harth, Elmer Sheridan, D.T. Schott. Board of Education members were Alex Mackay, A.E. Fuller, J.W. Davidson and J.M. Preston.
August Proehl had the first furniture store at the corner where Bob’s Café now stands. There were two hotels, the Madison House owned by J.D. Andrew and the Commercial House owned by J.J. Cramey.
There were two lumber yards with Henry Gulstine agent for one and Wesley Hill for the other. Mrs. A.E. Clough, first business woman in Lake County, had moved her millinery store from old Madison and Jennie Jones also had a millinery store.
Dr. A.E. Clough and Dr. S.M. Jenks were the first physicians in the new town. P.H. Harth was the first postmaster with J.M. Preston as assistant. Four saloons served the town.
The census of 1880 gave Lake County 2657, of whom 1520 were men. Of the citizens, 640 were foreign born and all were white.
A city organization was completed in 1885 with J.A. Trow as mayor.
Dr. and Mrs. A.E. Clough came to Dakota in 1878 locating in the old town of Madison. The doctor had been persuaded to locate in the new community where he was the only physician to live out his entire lie of service in one community. He came upon graduating from medical school at Keokuk, coming overland in a covered wagon where he not only practiced medicine, but operated a drugstore and ministered to sick and injured in the whole territory west to the James River, often being gone for days at a time.
Mrs. Clough had been a milliner before her marriage. Since there were no stores she helped the pioneer women remodel their old hats and make over their dresses. A little later she sent for a supply of millinery. It came by stage from Sioux Falls and she opened a little store. Women came from long distances to buy hats and secure new fashion ideas and the store was a popular center for women of the pioneer days. When the town was moved to its new location she brought her store supplies to Madison She also had a supply of corsets, handkerchiefs and notions. Her first store was at the present location of the State Café.
Families came from the east in covered wagons and only strict necessities were brought with them. Hence the need for sewing machines was soon apparent and Mrs. Clough put in a line of these. A.J. Cornelyson, whom Mrs. Clough had known in the east, was in Madison during the long winter of 1880-81 and assisted Mrs. Clough in selling and delivering the machines which were a great boon to the pioneer women. She kept the store for about 10 years and then retired; but in 1902 she opened the Madison Hospital, having moved the old Madison House from its former location where the Odd Fellows block now stands to a site on South Josephine; two doors south of West Center Baptist Church.
Wentworth, which lies eight miles east of Madison, was the first railroad town in Lake County. When the Milwaukee railroad was extended west from Flandreau it was the first railroad to enter the county. Wentworth, the eastern most settlement, became the first railroad center. Immediately the John Paul Lumber Company put in a stock of lumber with George Beck in charge.
C.H. Weiss kept the first store, his store being located in a dugout on his claim just west of town in 1880-81. Later when the town was platted he built a store building in town. George Weight also put in a store the same spring.
Pioneer settlers of the town came largely from the members of the Milwaukee settlement located between the town and Lake Madison. Earlier settlers included Nal, George and Harris Wentworth and their sister, Mrs. Ellsworth, and the town was named for this family. The Milwaukee settlement was made up of a number of families who came from Milwaukee in 1878 including Phillip and Fred Zimmerman, Rudolph Clauder, Henry Gill, J.B. Johnson, George Wright, Charles Glatz and the Wentworth’s. Other settlers whose filing date back to 1877-78 include Jacob Bergstresser and sons, Fred, Charles, Jake and Joe, C.C. Rosenow and family, John Glattlie and Dan Ginder, Issac DeMerssman, Dave and Mike Rutger, Alex Fader, Mrs. Sam Power and sons, Charles, Joe, Illiam and Allen and John Patterson.
North of town were Joe Know, Dave Leighton, Henry and Tim Woldt, John and Charles Heyer and Fred Patterson, all coming in 1878. South of town were Lyman Thompson, Ed Baldwin, William Packard, Levi and Dan Packard and Henry Doer.
Settling on Round Lake in 1874 were Nathan Wakefield and son.
One of the first schools in the county was located at Wentworth. To this tiny school came all the children from the farms roundabout. The school was also the site of the first Sunday School in the eastern part of the county with services held before any clergy men came to the village. In charge were George Beck and Mrs. C.C. Rosenow.
First teacher in the first school was Nal Wentworth on whose farm the townsite of Wentworth was located. Following him as teachers were Henry Eaton, Mrs. Woodworth, Will O’Clough, and Carey Smith.
Dr. T.Y. Stevenson and his brother Dr. R.R. Stevenson came to Wentworth to establish their practice in 1882 but later moved to Sioux Falls. Dr. Smith was a pioneer semi-retired doctor in the new community. He was the grandfather of Perle Bond.
A.Harms was a pioneer merchant. His father always known as “granpa” Harms was the first music teacher in the county, having had his musical education in Europe.
Two churches were established in the village each having a small frame structure. The Presbyterian society and the Episcopal Church each built houses of worship but the latter group sold to the Lutherans who used it for a parochial school.
There was an early post office which moved several times in Franklin and Chester. It was named for Chester township. The post office was established in 1886. It was discontinued in 1904. The early residents recall when Charles Glatz, post master at Huxley in Franklin, moved to Madison in 1888. The post office moved to the home of Joe Owens who called it the Chester Post Office. When Joe Owens moved, the Chester Post Office moved to the Linzmeier farm in Franklin township. Next it moved to the Henry Dilly home in Chester. Later to the Spawn store on Brandt Lake. Then to Chester.
Chester town was platted in 1905 by the S.D. Central Railroad. It was first planned to call the town Krummville for Louis Krumm, the owner of the land it was built on. Chester, however, was named for the township.
Saranac in Chester township was a fly-by-night town built in 1905-1906 one mile west of Chester on cut off of Milwaukee Railroad. It was built to compete with Chester. It died with the Railroad. It was called Kill Chester for obvious reasons.
Franklin township was probably named after B. Franklin. There is no proof of this.
The post office in Clarno was established in 1989 in the Old Clarno Store. It was operated by Nels P. Johnson in the east part of the township for which the store and post office were named. Before this time the residents went for mail to Ramsey in McCook County. Later it was operated by Alma Johnson; daughter of Nels. The post office was discontinued in 1904. Then it was located in the southwest part of the county. The township was organized in 1888 and at that time named Clarno.
Neil McCullom lived near the store and wanted the township named “Caledonia” after a place in Wisconsin. Caledonia is the ancient name for Scotland. However, most wanted a shorter name so it was changed from Caledonia to Clarno. McCullom, in disgust, went home and named his dog Clarno.
Herman township is located 7 miles west of Madison on the Milwaukee Railroad. It was named by the station agent for his son. Herman township was platted as Poelke in 1903 and named Junius in 1904.
Russell and Midway Poelke, in turn, all located in almost the same place.
The first store in the town of Junius was the Carl Nunemaker store. Mr. Kohoman built the first house in Junius. The first post office in Junius was where the William Johnson family now live.
It will be of interest to pinpoint some of the original homesteaders of Orland township. The Andri Neshiem’s came in 1877 from Minnesota. They came in an ox drawn wagon to settle a few miles east of the present Orland Store. Not too much is known about them, but there are some old graves in the St. Peter Cemetery bearing that name.
Mike Cosgrove homesteaded where Will Reiners now lives. The Erick Olson family homesteaded one mile north of the St. Peter Church. They were the parents of thirteen children, some old enough to take out homesteads of their own. The first white child born in this community was their son Martinius Olson. He was born August 27, 1879.
The October storm of 1880-81 brought many hardships to this family. The Olson’s had a mill and ground their own flour. Many neighbors also brought their grain to the Olson’s to be ground. They were known as the “Olson’s whose wheat bin was never empty”. Mrs. Olson wintered her hens in the basement of their home. Their early cackle made a pleasant morning greeting.
One of the early settlers was C.M. Johnson. It is thought that he immigrated from Sweden. He homesteaded one mile south and one mile east of the St. Peter Church.
The Agrim Nelson’s were one of the first families. They homesteaded 1 ½ miles east of the Orland store.
Ole Erickson homesteaded the farm where the St. Peter Church now stands. Iver and Ole Erickson helped to move the “Madison House” with a team of oxen one dark night from old Madison to new Madison.
Christian Strom was also one of the early settlers of Orland. Pete Cosgrove (brother of Mike) homesteaded what is now the August Winter home to the southeast of Orland store. Bess Nytroe homesteaded across from St. Peter Church to the east. He married one of the Christian Strom daughters. Halvor Krogstad homesteaded to the west of C.M. Johnson. Other early homesteaders were Halvor Lee, Ed Byrnes and Henry Venner.
Some of the better known homesteaders to the north of the township were Daniel O’Connell, Lawrence O’Connell, Matt O’Connell, Annie O’Connell, Charley Knapp, Charley Morgan, Ira Dobson, Henry Madison, Pete McLaughlin, George McQuillian, Charley O’Neil, Dan McBaines, Cornelious Terwilliger, Erick Moltaire, John Mullaney, Bernard McDonald, John Maloy, William Graves, George E. Dolphin, Jacob Geiger, Mary Nunnemaker, Arthur Petheram, William R. Hall, Chandler Shirley, Swan Nelson, Chris Sandberg, Mr. Tidbloom, Thomas Atkinson and Peter Bjorkland.
The first established mailman was Swan Nelson. He hauled mail from Madison to the Ramsey store post office, which was a trading center for the community. He also delivered mail to Chandler Shirley’s, as this too was a post office. The post office was later moved to the Venner’s which was near the center Orland.
Mr. and Mrs. George Beck were among the earliest settlers in Wentworth, coming from Flandreau; and two years before that from Wauzeka, Wisconsin. Mr. Beck established the first lumber yard in the county for the John Paul Lumber Company, and sold much of the lumber for the early day’s homes of the county. Mrs. Beck was one of the first women to attend the University of Wisconsin. He father, James McMillan, had been a professor of astronomy in the University of Edinburgh before coming to the United States.
At the time the Beck’s came to Wentworth, C.H. Weiss had a general store and a Mr. Widen managed a branch store for P.H. Harth of Madison. A family by the name of Robinson kept an eating house and the Birdsell’s established a small hotel. Charles Smith came to Wentworth and developed a fancy stock farm. He also managed the elevator for the Hyde Company for many years. The lumber yard was the only business house north of the railroad tracks and the Smith’s built a little later across the road from the yard. Miss Frances Smith came out to keep house for her brother and for his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Smith who spent their declining years in this pioneer village.
The railroad station at Wentworth, for many years, had the distinction of having the only woman depot agent, Miss Margaret S. Heehan. She lived in the rooms over the station with her mother. She later went to Ramona.
Dr. A.E. Clough of Madison ministered to the earliest of the pioneers. Later Dr. T.Y. and R.R. Stevenson located in the village.
During the hard winter of 1880-81 the inhabitants were forced to use make shifts for food. Grain was ground in a coffee mill. A few families hauled flour on a handsled from Madison. One family, that of Rev. Weeden, a retired Methodist minister who lived some distance in the country, was forced to burn all of their furniture to cook food; and remained in bed to keep from freezing, except at meal times. The Milwaukee road permitted settlers to take alternate ties on the railroad for fuel during that hard season. Rock candy was used for sweetening the coffee and sorghum and molasses for cooking. Barrels of salt pork, of which there was a supply, furnished meat. Game was available. There were many antelope and where there was no closed season on prairie chicken, geese and ducks.
The DeMerssman’s came to Wentworth in 1880 and took over the hotel after a few weeks from the Birdsell’s.
Adolph Harms and his father also came quite early and Mr. Harms operated a store later taking in Robert Zimmerman as partner.
Col. S.N. Fader was one of the outstanding pioneer characters. He lived on a farm just outside the village to the east. He had done service in the Civil War and had made a compact with a buddy that neither would cut his hair until they should meet again. The Colonel with his long locks, was a figure not to be forgotten. He was big and imposing in figure, with long flowing hair. He was well-known everywhere. Finally Colonel Fader found a trace of his buddy, went to Canada to see him, and after that he cut his long hair. The Fader family was one of the fine families of the community. Mrs. Carl Kaske, the former Amber Fader, was a daughter.
The Rosenow family also figured largely in the community although they lived several miles from town. They were leaders I religious life of the town and Mrs. Rosenow was Sunday School teacher for many years. George Beck was superintendent.
Ab Wright came to Wentworth in the early years suffering from tuberculosis. He was brought on a stretcher but lived and slept out of doors until his malady was cured.
In the early days the depot was the club room for the men and the coming of the train was a real event. Here the men would gather to wait for the train to come in and would transact business, tell stories and help with each other’s problems.
Milwaukee Lake (the big slough) was a mecca for the hunters who came from the east since wild game flocked to its shores. When it became dry, wonderful crops of hay were harvested from it.
There was no butcher shop in Wentworth for many years and the butcher wagon from Madison made trips to town twice a week with fresh meat. There was, of course, no ice and food had to be kept cool either in the basement or hung in a well, the most popular way for milk and butter.
After a few years, several more pioneers moved into Wentworth. The Wasters family started a livery barn. The Powers family, including the mother and sons Charles, Joe, Sam, Bill and Adam came. Charles had been a teacher in Minnehaha County. He was elevator operator in Wentworth. Mrs. Rudolph is his daughter. Joe Power served in the legislature. Mrs. Rubie McAllister was a daughter of Alan Power.
Others moving into town were Peter Klumpner, Robert Zimmerman, John Hare and his daughters, Evan and Cleva. Dr. T.Y. Stevenson married Emma Lord, a young woman who had established a candy store in the town. Dr. Gage, a dentist, had an office for a few years.
We feel our ghost town in Lake County is unique, as it is a composite of many ghost towns.
Prairie Village had no fake fronts, jus the plain unvarnished (sometimes unpainted) truth that turn of the century prairie towns were simple, utilitarian, but unique. They represent the work of a hardy, thrifty culture. Frills weren’t important, but function was. We find that main street’s buildings not only housed businesses, but usually provided the owner with a place to live in back or upstairs.
It is this adherence to original buildings, period furniture, and prairie town layout, plus the serene setting that make Prairie Village unique.
What we have at Prairie Village is the result of area citizen’s concern for authentically preserving our past.
It started in 1961, thirteen miles north of Madison, with three gas tractors, one threshing machine, and a desire to prevent the removal of antiques from the area. The Prairie Historical Society was formed. Today the society owns 140 acres on the shores of beautiful Lake Herman. The purchase of the land, as well as the beginning restoration, was made possible by contributions from interested citizens. There are over 100 gas tractors, 10 large steam traction engines, 9 threshing machines and dozens of model steam and gas engines to add interest to the village.
The village has over 40 restored buildings furnished with original items of 1890 era, all supplied by Prairie Village’s friends. More buildings are waiting to be moved in the near future.
Special attractions include the 1893 steam carrousel, a steam popcorn wagon, steam locomotive, and a functioning summer theatre in the opera house. This is the building where Lawrence Welk started his career. Prairie Village is a ghost town over the winter months, but in the spring, it too, blossoms out.
School children are welcome and are encouraged to come and visit. They are admitted free when they attend as a class group, if they are accompanied by an adult for every 6 children. They must be well chaperoned.
A special “Thank You” to each and every one who contributed information for this History.
This History has been compiled by the Lake County Extension Heritage Committee for the 1976 Bicentennial. They include: Mrs. Craig Williams, Madison; Mrs. Alvin Budde, Madison; and Mrs. Charles Myers, Madison.