Then & Now: A History of Rice County, Faribault & Communities

. . ,·.

©Copyright 1976 by the
Rice County Bi-Centennial Commission

Preface & acknowledgetnents
A worthy project
People are people, and where they settled in the
mid-1800s when vast, spacious midwestern and
western states became the mecca for adventurous,
ambitious colonists; what they believed in, what they
said and what they did, all became a part of recorded
history.
Happenings, events, incidents, official records,
concerned people of a century ago and they concern
Rice County now because we are the inheritors of their
actions, projects and accomplishments.
That is the chief purpose of this Rice County
Bicentennial Book - to relate the story of their
projects, ambitions and achievements and compare it
to what is happening in the same county now.
This has been a great Bicentennial Year - the
official anniversary of 200 years of American
statehood.
The anniversary has been observed on a national
scale - a gigantic speechmaking, bell ringing,
patriotic celebration was held on the July 4 weekend at
Washington, Philadelphia and other cities.
Recognition also was given in Minnesota and other
states of the union and by the Rice County Bicentennial
Commission, official sponsor of this book, ''Then and
Now."
It is with a feeling of pride and dedication that this
book has been published. It has not been an easy taskthe
area includes all of Rice County, its two large
cities, four villages, 14 townships and a dozen
unincorporated communities - but it has been an
enjoyable assignment and a rewarding one due to the
excellent cooperation all of us have received from
interested people in all sections of the county.
We have endeavored to create and assemble a
book which will be attractive, readable, full of
accurate information, illustrated with pictures of
bygone and present days.
We are aware that there have been some omissions
and some iamilies and individuals probably have not
been recognized. But this has not been intentional. We
have tried to do the best job possible within the limited
time allowed us.
That this history book is faultless, we do not intend
to presume. It is probably not within the power of man
to arrange a work of this sort without mistakes of one
sort or another; that it will meet with the unqualified
approval of all, we dare not expect but we trust that the
merits of the history chronicled will overbalance any
shortcomings that may be observed.
The Rice County Bicentennial Commission and the
staff of this book are deeply appreciative of the
financial assistance and loyal cooperation given by the
Rice County Board of Commissioners, the Faribault
City Council, the Northfield Council and the village
councils and township boards which made this project
possible.
L. E. Swanberg, Editor
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tllen ~§Vow
Minnesota American Revolution
Bicentennial Commission
Lt. Gov. Rudy Perpich, Chairman
Lois Pollari, Executive Director
John Whalton, Director of Bicentennial
Applications
George L. Clark, chairman of the Rice County
Bicentennial Commission, sponsor of this
book.
Sen. Clarence Purfeerst
Rep. Robert
Vanasek
· Rep. Orville
Birnstihl
Legislative Cooperators
State Senator Clarence Purfeerst, Route 1,
Faribault, District 24
State Representative Robert Vanasek, New
Prague, District 24A
State Representative Orville Birnstihl, Faribault,
District 24B
Rice County Board of Commissioners
Martin Hachfeld, Cannon City, Chairman
Charles Miller, Northfield
Lawrence Valek, Webster
Daniel Minnick, Faribault
William Wells, Faribault
Ervin Boelke, administrator-auditor
Rice County Bicentennial Commission
George L. Clark, Faribault, chairman
M. E. Jarchow, Northfield, vice chairman
Mrs. John G. (Mary) Parker, Secretary
Gilbert Koester, Route 1, Northfield
Wayne Eddy, Northfield
Richard Nicoli, Lonsdale
Henry Albers, Route 3, Northfield
Ted J. Skluzacek, Route 4, Faribault
Edward Brown, Route 4, Faribault
Mrs. Walter Kroenke, Faribault
Mrs. Ann Schmidtke, Morristown (deceased)
Dawn Covert, Route 1, Faribault
Leonard Schulz, Route 1, Faribault
John Almendinger, Route 2, Faribault
Mrs. Walter Wetzel, Route 2, Faribault
Lester E. Swanberg, Faribault
Donald Remund, Morristown
Stanley Burmeister, Faribault
Calvin Kuhnau, Northfield
Mrs. Lester Bursik, Faribault
John J. Carroll, Faribault
Mrs. Winston Johnson, Faribault
Virgil R. Koberstein, Faribault
Robert Thorson, Faribault
Faribault City Council
Robert Larson,.Mayor
Arthur Hopke
Gary Kindseth
Paul Muellenmeister
Harlan Pettipiece
Eugene C. Wieneke, administrator
City of Faribault Bicentennial Commission
John Messerli, Chairman
Mrs. Robert Speckhals, Secretary
Dr. Asa Graham, Treasurer
Mrs. Kay Janky
Mrs. Bernice Duncan
Charles Turnbull
Douglas Olson
George Wickstrom
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City of Northfield Bicentennial Commission
Lee Fossum, Chairman
Peter Linstroth, Vice Chairman
Alma Gaardsmoe, Historian
Heritage Projects - Clifford Clark and Kirk
Jeffrey, Co-Chairmen; Historical Publication - Lynn
Carlin; Log Cabin Restoration- Charles E. DeMann II,
Al Houston; Scriver Building Acquisition and
Restoration- Fred Gonnerman, Maggie Lee, Mary Lou
Street, Larry Karbo; Bicentennial Minutes - Marston
Headley, Marjorie Neuhaus; Bicentennial Calendar -
Fred Gonnerman, George Soule, Marston Headley;
Historic Tape Recording- Marvin Festler.
Festival Events - Gary Flaa, Tom Blaisdell, Dale
Erickson, Co-Chairmen; Fourth of July Festival -
Committee; Defeat of Jesse James Days - Bernard
Hughes.
Horizon Projects - Marie Sathrum and Joan
Halverson, Co-Chairmen; Seminars ''The
Presidency" - Clifford Clark, Carleton College;
Symposia, Seminars, Performances on "Native
American Values" - St. Olaf College, David Wee;
Bicentennial Sculpture Project - Dixon Bond,
Margaret Bundgaard, Mac Gimse, Chris Hager;
Original Musical on Northfield History - Northfield
Arts Guild.
Lonsdale Bicentennial Committee
Mrs. James F. (Dorothy) Palma, Chairman
Richard Nicoli
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Vosejpka
Mr. and Mrs. Al Kaderlik
Mr. and Mrs. Robert'Pinc
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Sticha
Mrs. Elmer Vikla
David Vikla
Mr. and Mrs. Francis Novak
Mr. and Mrs. Francis Palma
Leonard Malecha
Donald Novak
Mrs. Roman Ceplecha
Reynold Sticha
Joseph Daleiden
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Daleiden
Mrs. Thomas Pumper
Mrs. Delores Roberts
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Valek
James F. Palma
Morristown Bicentennial Celebration Committee
Wayne Merritt, Chairman
Harold Kuball, Vice Chairman
Leona Ellingsworth, Secretary
James Senne, Treasurer
Committee Members, representing eight
organizations- Morristown Gun Club- Keith Remund,
Wayne Merritt; Morristown Jaycees - James Senne,
Brad Sammon; Morristown Commercial Club - Ivy
Hoffman, Mary Ann Churchill; Morristown
Community Club - Mrs. Kenneth Schmidtke, Martin
Wagner; American Legion Post - Harold Kuball,
Phillip Wegner; Legion Auxiliary - Darlene Spitzack,
Dorothy Walburn; Village of Morristown - Donald
Remund, Jack O'Rourke; Morristown Public Schools -
Frank H. Duncan.
Preface & acknowledgements
Finance Committee James Senne, Keith
Remund, Jack O'Rourke
Publicity Committee Ivy Hoffman, Leona
Ellingsworth, James Hermel
Nerstrand Bicentennial Committee
Barbara Sahl
Louise Flom
Barbara Haase
Grace Kispert
Paul Shelstad
Ronald Haase
Robert Larson
Jean Kolling
Staff of "Then and Now"
George L. Clark, Chairman of Rice County
Bicentennial Commission, Book Chairman
Mrs. Lester (Martina) Bursik, Librarian of
Buckham Memorial Library, Publisher
Lester E. Swanberg, Editor Emeritus, Faribault
Daily News, Editor
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the following persons for their
important specific contributions:
Research: Mrs. Lester (Martina) Bursik; Mrs.
Elmer (Dorothy) Deming; Robert L. Kaupa; Mrs.
Lawrence (Bernice) Knutson; Mrs. Aaron (Mildred)
Lenmark, all of Buckham Memorial Library Staff.
Miss Emily Mae Buth, Curator of Rice County
Historical Society.
Typing: Mrs. James (Le Ann) Dean, Buckham
Memorial Library Staff.
Robert Norman, Oskar Teisberg, Ralph Merrill,
Mrs. Charlotte Knoss, Mrs. Inez Sweet, Mrs. Mildred
Lieb, Mrs. Walter Lentz, Glenn Cramer, Mary Carey,
Mrs. Erich Krenz, Francis J. Lockwood, Mrs. Esther
McKellip, George L. Clark, Wesley Lauritsen, Douglas
Olson, Mrs. Eva Gallagher, Mrs. Louise Lick, Mrs.
Clem McCarthy, Charles Roehrick, Lyle Schreiber,
Miss Hannah Meyer, Mrs. Charles Robilliard, Miss
Laverna Saufferer, Mrs. Dorothy Meyer, Mrs. Clara
Nuetzman, Mrs. James J. Kolars, Mrs. Marge Neuhas,
John Almendinger, Mrs. Catherine Spartz, Craig
Keller, Donald Remund, Leona Ellingsworth, Ivy
Hoffman, Ronald Schwartz, Mrs. Alvin Kolars, Mrs.
Betty Polson, Frank Chappuis, Mrs. Donald O'Neil,
Mrs. Dorothy Palma, Mrs. Alvin Kolars, Mrs. Elmer
Vikla, Mrs. LeRoy Pumper, Lee Fossum, Charles
Carr, Bette Polson, Floyd Hammond, Paul
Muellenmeister, Mrs. Harriet Steppan, Esther Reinke,
Zita Kasper Taylor, Ira Harger Jr., Nerstrand
Centennial Book Committee, Mary Heggedal, Ozzie
Osmundson, Ambrosia Osmundson Ruble, Norma
Bohn, Wilmer Schmidtke, Shirlie Reed, Tom West, Art
Johnson, Louis Rud, Wilbert Meinke, Len Friedges,
Mrs. Harold Voesjpka, Mrs. Charles Daleiden, Mrs.
Leonard Daleiden, Mrs. Mary Landa, Edith Kampf,
Mrs. Harold Moser, Mrs. Edgar Mentz, Thomas
Vogelsberg, Carl Bartness, Thomas Gagnon and
Norton J ohn·son and members of the Faribault Daily
News Production staff.
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L. E. Swanberg (right) and other members of
the news staff of the Faribault Daily News,
circa 1934. Swanberg, who edited "Then &
Naw", has been with the Daily News for 48
years, as reporter, city editor, managing
editor, executive editor and editor emeritus.
He's still active, and works daily in his office
at the newspaper.
About the editor
L. E. Swanberg, the editor of this volume, has lived
in Rice County for a half-century.
He came to Faribault in 1926, after graduating with
honors from the University of Minnesota's College of
Education. He taught history, sociology and economics
at Faribault High School from 1926 to 1928.
In 1928- one day after the last class of the school
year at Faribault High School - Swanberg started
work as a reporter for the Faribault Daily News. He's
be~n with the ~aily ~ews ever since, as reporter, city
editor, managmg editor, executive editor and editor
emeritus, his current title.
. Ex~ept for those two early years of teaching,
JOurnalism has been Swanberg's life. It's a rare
veteran Minnesota newsp perman who doesn't know
"Swannie." He is a past president of the Minnesota
Associated Press, has been active in the Minnesota
Newspaper Association and is a member of the
Southern Minnesota Chapter of Society for
Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi.
He's always been active in local civic affairs. For
48 years he's been a member of the Faribault Lions
Club and Faribault Masonic Lodge No. 9 AF & AM. His
Lions Club involvement includes 46 years as secretary,
one year as president and several years in various
district cabinet posts.
He's been a member of the Rice County Free Fair
board for 38 years, and a member of that body's
executive committee. ·
He helped organize the Faribault Jaycees, and in
1933 received the Jaycees' coveted Gold Key award for
community service -the second Faribault resident to
get the award. Several years later he received the
Jaycee Scroll Award for outstanding service by a
person over 35 years old. He's the only Faribault
resident who's been awarded both the Gold Key and
Scroll by the local club.
Swanberg is a member of the Faribault Civic
Music Association, and once served as its president. He
is active on the publicity committee of the Faribault
Golden Age Club. For several years he was a member
of the vestry of the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour,
and is the author of a book about the historic Cathedral.
He was a member of the Boy Scout Troop 301
iv

Preface & acknowledgements
committee for 30 years, and served on the Wacouta
District Boy Scout Council. He has received the
Council's prestigious Silver Beaver award for service.
He's also a live master of ceremonies and song
leader at frequent Rice County social events.
Swanberg's journalistic desires first were whetted
in Worthington, Minn., where ie was born Jan. 25, 1903.
As a 14-year-old pressman-reporter for the
Worthington Glove, he reported births and deaths,
wrote about tea parties and made certain the Globe
went to press on time. After a year as the Globe's
"utility man" -at age 15 - his finger was smashed in
a press. The injury temporarily cost him his job, but it
didn't diminish his love for newspapers.
Swanberg graduated from Worthington High
School in 1921 and from the University of Minnesota in
1926.
At the University he was president of the
All-University Council, was chosen "representative
Minnesotan" among college and university students
and was an athletic team yell leader (before the advent
of female cheerleaders).
He was active on the University student newspaper
and yearbook staffs, and was a member of the Iron
Wedge honor society.
He graduated from the University's College of
Education, but after two years of teaching, he "felt like
a square peg in a round hole." He decided to try
journalism, and joined the Daily News.
He's been with the Faribault newspaper since that
time. Although semi-retired, he's in his Daily News
office every weekday, almost every Saturday and an
occasional Sunday. His knowledge of Rice County's
past - its people, places and events - is appreciated
by his Daily News colleagues, who rely on Swan bert as
the newspaper's ''historian-in-residence.''
Swanberg has looked at hundreds of pages of copy,
read hundreds of thousands of words and examined
scores of photographs in editing "Then & Now". But
his work would have been fruitless without the help of
the dozens of volunteers who did research, wrote
articles and provided photographs. Their efforts,
combined with Swanberg's expertise, make this book a
truly countywide Bicentennial project.
Mrs. Lester
(Martina) Bursik
publisher,
''Then and Now''
Book is her idea
Mrs. Lester (Martina) Bursik, librarian of the
Buckham Memorial Library, Faribault, is credited
with the idea of having a Rice County History Book as a
fitting project for the county Bicentennial
Commission's observance of the nation's 200th
birthday. As long as a year ago she interested county
and Faribault city officials in the project. She has
served as publisher of the book, ''Then and Now,'' and
has spent countless hours to assure fulfillment of her
idea.
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Table of contents
Chapter I
How It All Began - Rice County now 121 years old
- Early beginnings of Faribault and Rice County -
Pictures and stories of Henry M. Rice and General
James Shields - History of railroads in county
(Milwaukee, Rock Island, Dan Patch) - Interstate
Roads, County Roads - Jefferson Bus Lines, local bus
lines, telephone history, aviation history - County
park system, county landfill operation- First county
board - Mystery of Metropolisville - Pictures of old
county court house - Pictures of lake scenes - Story
of M. F. McGlinnen, Erin pioneer now 96- Pages 1 to
36.
Chapter II
Story of Faribault, its government and its people­
Individual pictures of city council members with story
on council achievements and future projects - History
of early Faribault government - History of Faribault
fire department and station (with pictures) - History
of post office - History of Faribault churches,
illustrated by pictures.- Pages 37 to 70.
Chapter III
Schools of Faribault, their founding and
development - Public, parochial, Whipple and state
schools - Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple, Mrs.
Cornelia Whipple - Special education stories, Joseph
Grebner, Mrs. Charles MacKenzie, Heinz Bruhl,
Wesley Lauritsen - illustrated by pictures. - Pages 71
to91.
Chapter IV
Faribault industries and business firms - They
make the city "tick" - Stories of two groups of
business firms, those established before 1920 and those
after that date to the present time- stories illustrated
by pictures. -Pages 93 to 134.
ChapterV
The people of Faribault and their way of life -
Organizations, hobbies, special interests, sports -
History of nursing homes and hospitals - Special
stories on individuals in the limelight- Those engaged
in professional life - Brief items about people, taken
from newspaper files - All illustrated by pictures. -
Pages 135 to 174.
Chapter VI
Rice County, Northfield and the county's villages
- Story of county board, its achievements and future
plans - City of Northfield, history and development­
History of Morristown, Morristown Township, Dundas,
Lonsdale, Nerstrand, Dennison and Veseli - All
illustrated by pictures.- Pages 175 to 242.
Chapter VII
Rural life influential in Rice County - Townships
welcome settlers in 1850s, same time as Faribault and
Northfield- Histories of Cannon City, Wells, Walcott
and Forest Townships - Illustrated by pictures. -
Pages 243 to 255.
Chapter VIII
More glimpses of Rice County rural life -
Histories of Warsaw, Erin, Shieldsville, Richland and
Wheeling Townships - Illustrated by pictures. -Pages
257 to279.
-Chapter IX
Farm life pays many dividends - Histories of
Wheatland, Webster, Bridgewater and Northfield
Townships- Illustrated by pictures. - Pages 281 to 302.
Chapter X
Wrapping it all up- Odds and ends of interest­
Brief sketches of individuals in the news- Obituaries
of prominent people- Illustrated by pictures.- Pages
303 to 346.

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Chapter I
How it all began
County now in 12lst year
Rice County, scenic, prosperous with fertile lands
and busy industries, is now in its 12lst year as a
governmental unit.
The county, named after Henry M. Rice, first U.S.
senator in congress from Minnesota, was established
officially in 1855 - three years before Minnesota
became a state - but actual steps toward officially
designating this county were begun two years before,
in 1853.
Thus it can be seen, in this 1976 U.S. Bicentennial
year, that Rice County ·has gained recognition
throughout the state as one of Minnesota's pioneer
counties, rich in agriculture, industrial and civic
resources.
This Bicentennial book will relate the factual, yet
dramatic story of the founding of each of Rice County's
two cities, four villages, 14 townships and
unincorporated communities.
The trials of the hardy, rugged pioneers who came
from eastern states and foreign lands to stake claims,
clear the land and raise crops on the fertile soil will be
described in this Bicentennial souvenir book.
Oldtime pictures of pioneer men and women, the
communities they settled and outstanding events
which happened are scattered through this book.
The county's 14 townships were all officially
organized at annual meetings, held in accordance with
an order from the Minnesota State Legislature on May
11, 1858, the date when Minnesota officially was
admitted into statehood.
Rice County, early day historical accounts disclosed
in 1853, took in about two-thirds of the present
platted city of Faribault, large portions of Morristown,
Warsaw and Walcott Townships and small portions of
Wells, Cannon City and Richland townships. It
included the four eastern townships in Waseca County
and all but the four western townships in Freeborn ·
County. It also took in practically all of Mower and
Steele counties, about one third of Dodge, a very small
portion of Fillmore and Goodhue and possibly a few
sections in Olmstead county.
So Rice County, in the early 1850's, actually
comprised a large share of southeastern Minnesota.
Boundary Lines Designated
An influential group of Faribault citizens had
definite ideas as to what the county's boundaries
should be. They prevailed upon the influence of Gen. H.
H. Sibley, who had been elected as a representative in
the State Legislature from the Faribault district, to
have the legislature enact a measure which designated
the boundary lines of the county in accordance with the
wishes of the Faribault group. The bill also empowered
the first county board to establish the county seat.
The new boundaries conformed to the present
boundary lines of Rice County with the exception of 12
sections in the northern part of Bridgewater and
Northfield townships, later taken from Greenvale,
Waterford and Sciota townships in Dakota County.
Thus the county proceeded to organize officially.
Governor William A. Gorman, early in 1855, appointed
a provisional list of commissioners who, it was said
were friendly to the Messers Sears who in 1854 had laid
out the village of Cannon City, three miles northeast of
Faribault. Cannon City was designated as the county
seat by the commissioners.
In the fall of 1855, however, the county proceeded
to organize by an election under the act that had
defined the county's boundaries.
There were three voting precincts, one at
Faribault, one at Cannon City and the other at
Morristown. Walter Morris, founder of the latter
village who at first had located in Faribault,
apparently held the balance of power.
Elected county officers in November, 1855 were:
Isaac Hammond, register of deeds; Charles Wood,
sheriff; Isaac Woodman, judge of probate; F. W.
Frink, Andrew Storer and George F. Pettit,
commissioners. Faribault was selected as the county
seat. The first elected commissioners held their initial
meeting on Jan. 7, 1856 in the office of Berry and
Batchelder attorneys.
When Minnesota was admitted to statehood in 1858,
Rice County began an era which continued but two
years, in which the county government was
administered by a board of supervisors composed of
chairmen of the various town boards. The first meeting
of this countywide township system board was held on
Sept. 14, 1858 in Faribault and was called to order by J.
A. Starks.
Commission Form Adopted
On Jan. 7, 1860, the last meeting of the township
county board was held and the county then adopted the
commission form of government, a system which still
prevails.
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Old court house and soldier statue, Faribault
In January, 1860 the county was divided into five
commissioner districts, each being entitled to one
representative on the county board. The boundaries of
the districts today are similar to the original ones
although there have been some changes.
The newly elected board met May 15, 1860, the
following commissioners representing the various
districts: J. H. Parker, G. H. Batchelder, S. Webster,
C. Clopson and William Thorp. J. H. Parker was
named chairman and G. H. Batchelder was appointed
to serve as county auditor until the next election, his
bond being set at $5,000. His salary was set at $400 per
annum. The only records state: "Nothing more of
importance came before the board and the balance of
the time was spent discussing the road and school
districts, together with routine business.''
The year 1826 is notable in the history of the City of
Faribault as the date of the coming of Alexander
Faribault to the site of the place which now bears his
name. Accompanied by his young wife, he established
his trading post at the junction of the Straight and
Cannon Rivers in what is now known as North
Faribault. The banks of the Straight River were chosen
for his first camping place.
Alexander Faribault was a lover of nature; and as
his eye swept over the unbounded prairie to the south,
the Big Woods and silver lakes to the west and to the
meeting of the Cannon and Straight (Owatonna)
Rivers, it was indeed to him a paradise; yet he knew
the white man and realized, with a sigh, its future and
destiny.
In reading about Alexander Faribault, the eldest
son of Jean Baptiste Faribault, we find a life
interwoven with the development of the Great
Northwest almost as closely as his father.
Born in 1806
Alexander was born June 22, 1806, at Prairie du
Chien, then within the Louisiana Purchase, and was
founder and principal proprietor of the city which
bears his name. Because of a modest and retiring
nature, much of his early life never will be known.
About the year 1820 we find him on the banks of St.
Peter (now Minnesota) River, and the following year
located permanently at Mendota, then in the territory
of Michigan, as a United States licensed trader, having
outposts throughout the territory.
It was at this time that he improved the
opportunity to cultivate his English studies through the
courtesy of the United States officers at Fort Snelling.
~ He was married Nov. 1 1825, to Mary Elizabeth
Graham, the daughter of Capt. Duncan Graham.
She was born July 15, 1805, and died April8, 1875 at
the age of 69 years, at Elizabeth, Ottertail County. He
became the father of ten children namely, George H.,
Agnes, Emely, Daniel, Catherine, Philip, Julia,
Nathalie, William Richard)and A. Leon. The spring
2

How it all began
following his marriage, while with voyageurs visiting
the outposts on the upper Minnesota River, an Indian
gave his life to rescue Faribault and his young wife and
companions.
During 1826 to 1829 Faribault traded on the Cannon
River, under a license from the American Fur
Company, successors of the Northwest Fur Company,
and established a post at Lake Sakatah, near the site of
the town of Waterville, and in 1831 he located at what is
now Morristown. The following year he moved to a
point between Wells and Cannon Lakes. The country
was then peopled by the Dakotas, who called what is
now known as Cannon Lake, Me-da-te-pe-tonka (Lake
of the Big Village.
In 1834 he influenced the Sioux to move to the site of
the present city of Faribault. They occupied all that
tract between and Fourteenth Streets on the west side
of Straight (Owatonna) River, and the plateau was
covered with the picturesque encampment of bark and
buffalo-skin tepees.
Log House Built
In 1835 he built a log house on the east side of the
Straight River, northeast of the Front Street bridge,
and several log houses on what later was known as the
Travis farm, on the road to Cannon City. This tract was
then covered with a dense growth of maple which
afforded an abundance of sugar. The frist regular
trading post was of logs, built the same year, midway
between the Straight River stone mills and the Front
Street bridge. These buildings were afterward
occupied by Peter Bush and family and as a
blacksmith shop and was later known as "Hotel Bush."
This humble building gave shelter to early settlers,
among them several of our most distinguished citizens.
In the winter of 1853 Faribault built a log house on
the southeast corner of what is now Third Street and
First Avenue east, while the first frame house in
Faribault and Rice County, surrounded by a stockade,
was being erected on the northwest corner of First
Avenue east and Division Street, which was completed
in 1853. The materials for this structure were hauled
from St. Paul and Hastings. The Rice County
,Historical Society, as a special project, has restored
this city's first frame house and it is annually visited
by out of town and local residents, tourists and
historians.
The early territorial settlers will recollect the
sturdy pioneers, Jim Mabon, Jean Cluckey, St. L'Ous,
Craidgie, St. J armont, Payne, Howard, Wilson,
Beaupre, McBeal, Louis Demara, Pierre La Point and
others who assisted the construction of these notable
and historic structures.
In 1851, Mr. Faribault was one of the official
interpreters at the St. Peter (Traverse-de-Sioux)
treaty when the Indians relinquished to the
government 45,000 square miles lying on the western .
side of the Mississippi. He also reported Little Crow's
speech at the second treaty of 1851 at Pilot Knob, near
Mendota.
He was a member of the legislature from the
Seventh District in 1851 and a witness, with General
Sibley and others, before the United States Court,
Alexander Faribault
concerning charges of fraud in Indian affairs. He was
among the first to offer inducements to Dr. Breck and
Bishop Whipple, to whom he gave ten acres of land for
their schools, contributing liberally in money and land
afterwards.
Mills Established
Straight River mills were commenced by Mr.
Faribault in 1858 and the Le Croix brothers came to
Faribault from Montreal to superintend the
construction, also that of the mill on Cannon River,
known as the "Polar Star Mill," together with the mill
on Straight River near Fourteenth Street.
As early as 1837 Mr. Faribault visited Washington
with Major Taliaferro, General Sibley and a delegation
of _Indians to conduct treaty negotiations
with the government. He was one of the memorialists
to congress in connection with the organization of the
Minnesota Territory, and a charter member of the
Minnesota Historical Society. With General Sibley he
was a principal stockholder in the Borup and Oakes
Bank and was associated with General Sibley and
William R. Marshall in organizing a bank in St. Paul in
1855. He was with General Sibley in the Sioux War of
1862 until the release of the white captives at Camp
Release, near the town of Montevideo, Minnesota and
was among the few fortunate ones who escaped alive at
the Battle of Birch Coulee.
Until 1852, Alexander Faribault maintained his
family home at Mendota, where also resided his father
and family at the stone house built by the latter in 1826,
I
3

Faribault, about 1874, looking east from old courthouse r oof befor e Third Street bridge UXJS built.
which is still standing.
He built the first Catholic Church in Faribault in ·
1855, for the Rev. George Keller- a frame structure
which was burned in 1855. He was a generous donor of
the site of the present church, and gave at a cost of
$3,000, the first bell for the Church of the Immaculate
Conception, the church which now stands on the site of
the church burned in 1857. This bell was destroyed
when the building was partially burned, June 30, 1903.
Mr. Faribault also is to be credited with many liberal
gifts to the St. Paul and Mendota churches.
In 1856 Mr. Faribault built his last home at
Faribault- his early camping ground on the Straight
River bluffs, now crowned with magnificent
institutions, overlooking the site of his pioneer trading
post. In 1873 he sold his home to the State of Minnesota
and the building is still being used by the Minnesota
Braille and Sight Saving School.
After a long and eventful life Alexander Faribault
passed away on Nov. 28, 1882 at Faribault, and was laid
to rest in Calvary Cemetery with his kindred and other
pioneer neighbors - that hilltop where once flashed
the red signal fire of "alarm" to the Big Village
braves.
1853 Settlement Date
Although this city's fifst trading post was
established by Alexander Farib

Disastrous Faribault fire which occurred on
June 18, 1878. Pictured is the building at
Central Avenue and Third Street NW, site
In tpe same season of the year came James Wells,
"Bully" Wells, as he was called, who opened a farm on
the Cannon bottoms, just above the city.
Pioneers Listed
A little party spent the winter of 1853 in the embryo
village, awaiting the opening of the spring which would
bring a new influx of settlers, and new supplies and
provisions. According to an article written by Luke
Hulett, shortly before his death, the residents of
Faribault in the winter of 1853 were: Alexander
Faribault and family; Luke Hulett and family; James
Wells and family; Frederick Faribault and family;
Edward J. Crump and wife; Peter Bush and family,
Mr. Sprague and wife; Mr. Springer and wife and the
following young unmarried people, Norbert Paquin,
Smith Johnson, Orlando Johnson, John Hulett, Hugh
McClelland, Mark Wells, A. McKenzie, Robert Smith
and Theodore Smith.
The spring and summer of 1854, according to the
same authority, brought the following accessions:
John Morris, who subsequently laid out Morristown,
Major Babcock, Truman Bass, Mr. Tripp who was the
first to settle on East Prairie, Dennis O'Brien, Mr.
Travis, J. R. Parshall and James and Henry Scott, who
built the first saw mill in the town. The Searses, father
and son, located in Cannon City in the fall of 1854 and
became formidable competitors for the county seat
designation. Judge Woodman came about this time and
now occupied by the Masonic building, which
UXLS destroyed by fire.
also William Dunn, who secured a claim east of Cannon
City. Mr. Drake and others settled near Northfield.
According to available records, Alexander
Faribault, Peter Bush and Luke Hulett should be
considered as the founders of the first settlement in
Rice County.
The history of the towns and villages of Rice
County begins at an early date. Faribault, Northfield,
Morristown and Cannon City were surveyed, platted
and recorded in the order named.
Town Plat Is Filed
Alexander Faribault, F. B. Sibley, John W. North
and Porter Nutting filed the plat of the town of
Faribault in the office of the register of deeds of
Dakota County, to which Rice County was then
attached for judicial purposes, Feb. 17, 1855. Previous
to this date, however, a preliminary survey had been
made and Walter Morris afterward owned the share
represented by John W. North.
In August, 1955, Mr. North, having disposed of his
interest in Faribault while searching for another
promising location, selected the site of the present city
of Northfield, and on March 7, 1856, filed the plat in
office of the register of deeds of Rice County, which
was then an office a little more than two months old.
A plat of Cannon City had been made almost as
early as that of Faribault, but owing to the fact that the
plat had been made without the usual formality of a
5

Faribault in 1890, looking west from Second St. on east side
preceding survey, it was thought best by the
proprietors, after a vain attempt to harmonize
conflicting interests caused by conflicting boundary
lines, to have a survey made. The plat of this survey
was not filed for record until the eleventh day of
November, 1856, but previous to that date it was a town
of sufficient force to give Faribault a lively race in a
contest for the location of the county seat.
On April 1, 1856, Mrs. Sarah Morris, mother of
Walter Morris, one of the first proprietors of the town
of Faribault, and widow of Jonathan Morris, one of the
first settlers of Morristown, filed and recorded the plat
of Morristown.
These were the first born towns of Rice County, but
speculators had dreams of more communities and
these were added to the list. Numerous additions were
surveyed and added to towns already recorded. The
new towns of Wheatland, Wedgewood, Warsaw,
Walcott, Shieldsville, Dundas, Millersburg,· East
Prairieville and Lake City were added to the list. Of
these some are still in existence and others are just a
memory.
Production Grows
While settlement in towns and villages continued to
grow, so did agricultural production. Official census
figures showed that in 1860 in Rice County 18,000 acres
were under cultivation in various fruits and grains with
a production of 260,000 bushels of wheat. By 1872, there
were 56,672 acres under cultivation and 548,000 bushels
of wheat produced.
Rice County's population also grew steadily. In
1855 the population was estimated as between 1,500 and
2,000; In 1860, 7,866; in 1865, 10,966; in 1870, 16,399 and in
1880, the official census report showed a county
population of 20,622.
As the figures indicate, settlement of Faribault
and other communities in the county steadily
increased. Schools and churches were established,
various organizations were formed, new business
firms and industries were established and agricultural
production increased.
Although settlement of the City of Faribault began
as early as 1853, Faribault was not incorporated as a ,
municipal government until 1872 when a new city
charter was adopted and the Hon. George W. Tower
was elected this city's first mayor. He was inaugurated
as mayor on April9, 1872 with pomp and ceremony.
Other city officers elected in 1872 included:
Aldermen: C.D. Ham, J.H. Harding, S.C. Dunham,
L.C. Ingram, J.H. Winter, T.H. Nutting, W.L. Turner
and H. E. Barron. Barron was elected president of the
board and Henry E. Some was appointed clerk.
Justices of the Peace named were: Joseph C. Mold,
O.F. Perkins, J.B. Quinn and J.F. Smallidge.
The mayor appointed and the council affirmed
officers as follows: Moses Cole, chief of police; James
Hunter and Charles Kiekenapp, policemen; Gordon E.
Cole, city attorney; R. H. L. Jewett, city surveyor;
William Dickinson, street commissioner; Henry
Dunham, assessor. Mr. Cole declined to accept the
attorneyship and J. C. Morrow was appointed. A. W.
McKinstry was appointed city printer.
Disastrous Fire
Historical records disclose that on June 18, 1878 one
of this community's worst fires occurred. Almost an
entire square was consumed including two banks and
10 stores. Losses were estimated at $125,000 and many
people suffered because of the conflagration.
6

1885 Faribault scene, old Rice cirunty CoUrthouse and old Central School, a block away.
Rice - versatile leader
Henry M. Rice, for whom Rice County was named,
was a distinguished man of public interest who was
born in 1816 in Vermont, came to Minnesota in 1839,
became a representative of Indian tribes and for more
than 20 years played an influential role in Minnesota
politics.
He served as delegate to congress when Minnesota
was a territory, was among the first 12 Regents of the
University of Minnesota and was one of the first two
U.S. Senators elected from Minnesota when it became
a state in 1858. The other was General James Shields,
also a Rice Countian, who held the distinction of being
the only person to serve in the U.S. Senate, from three
different states-Illinois, Missouri and Minnesota.
William Watts Folwell, eminent historian, former
president of the University of Minnesota, and author of
the book, "Minnesota, the North Star State," wrote this
about Rice:
"After Henry M. Rice came to Minnesota in 1839,
he was employed by the Chateaus of St. Louis, who took
over the business of the American Fur Company, to
manage their Winnebago and Chippewa trade from
Prairie Du Chien. In 1847 he became a partner in the
business and removed to Mendota, a place much too
strait for two such men as himself and Henry Hastings
Sibley, his arch political rival.
Made Many Friends
"Established in St. Paul, Mr. Rice threw himself
into every movement and enterprise projected for the
development of the town. He generously shared his
gains with the public. His personal qualities were such
that he could not help desiring public employment and
obtaining great success in it.
"His manners were so gracious and yet not
patronizing, that he made friends with all sorts and
conditions of men. He divided with an unerring instinct
the motives of men and parties and knew when and
how by appropriate suggestion to let them apparently
move themselves toward his desired ends.
"An early example of Mr. Rice's influence and
success may be found in a contract which he obtained
in 1850 for collecting vagrant Winnebagoes and
returning them to their reservations. The Winnebagoes
were a powerful Wisconsin tribe when the white man
came, and long after. The government persuaded them
to vacate first their mineral lands and later all their
lands in Wisconsin, and move to the so-called ''neutral
ground'' in Iowa. This was a strip of territory some
twenty miles wide, starting from the northeast corn~r
of Iowa and running south and west to the river.
"The generous presents and annuities required to
7

~en ~8/ow
Henry M. Rice (1817-1894)
U.S. Representative from Minnesota
Territory (1853-57), U.S. Senator from
Minnesota and the man for whom Rice
County was named.
effect the sale and removal were the ruin of the
Winnebagoes. They became idle, dissolute,
mischievous. The white settlers could not endure them,
and the Indians themselves tired of their confinement
to a narrow area.
"Accordingly in 1846 a treaty was effected for
exchange of the neutral ground for a reservation of
800,000 acres in Northern Minnesota. A tract lying
between the Watab and Long Prair,fe Rivers, west of
the Mississippi, was obtained from the Chippeways for
this purpose. But this plan did not work out, the
Winnebagoes were disgruntled and unwelcomed by
others and the tribe eventually disintegrated.
Elected Congressman
' ' Rice continued his fur trading, Indian
commissioner and political activities. Henry Sibley
served through the Thirty First and Thirty Second
Congresses with admirable efficiency, and Rice, a
Democrat, did not oppose him. Mr. Sibley was
permitted to return to private life at the close of his
second term and devote himself to closing up . his
relations with the American Fur Company, of which he
had remained the head. Mr. Rice was elected to
succeed him by a three-fourths majority vote over
Alexander Wilking, his Whig opponent.
"The Minnesota legislature met December 2, 1857,
and in joint convention, by a close vote of 59 to 49
decided to recognize Samuel Medary, formerly of
Ohio, as Governor. In his message he recognized the
body as a state legislature. Still there was doubt about
the legal status of the houses, and there was little
desire to undertake business which might turn out to be
illegitimate.
''The Republican members entered formal
protests against any legislation. There was, however,
one bit of business which the Democratic majority felt
could not be postponed and that was the election of two
United States Senators. That was virtually settled in
caucus. Henry M. Rice, as everybody expected, was
nominated without opposition. The second place, for
the short term, went, after several ballotings, to
General James Shields of Shieldsville, Rice County,
who was a newcomer and little known in Minnesota.
"He had served with distinction in the Mexican
War, filled many offices in his former State of Illinois,
and served a term in the Senate of the United States. It
was a bitter pill for such Democratic wheelhorses as
Sibley, Brown and Gorman to swallow. Franklin
Steele, one of the first University of Minnesota Regents
and a donor of Minneapolis real estate to the
University, never forgave Rice for failing, as he
claimed, to throw the election to him. Shields was
everybody's second choice and the expectation was
that his personal influence would procure many good
things for the state.''
Shields - triple senator
By CATHE RINE E. SPARTZ
General James Shields, who left his name on Rice
County in the early days, was one of the most colorful
men in all of American history. Usually remembered
as the only man ever to be a senator from three states,
he had a much more brilliant and exciting career than
that special achievement.
He was born the son of Charles and Katherine
McConnel Shields in County Tyrone, Ireland, in May
1806 or 1810 (there is some controversy over the exact
date) in County Tyrone, Ireland.
Education, even of the most rudimentary sort, was
impossible for hundreds of families in Ireland at that
time, but James was ambitious and lucky. He received
his education (and it was an excellent one) from those
of knowledge with whom he came in contact: old
veterans of the Napoleonic wars; a retired priest from
Maynooth College; an uncle, Patrick Shields, who had
taught in America, fought in the American Revolution
and in the War of 1812. And Patrick Shields, the soldier,
encouraged James to seek his fortune in America.
He left Ireland (some historians say at age 16)
sailing from Liverpool, destination Quebec, but during
a violent storm off the Scottish Coast the ship sank with
all hands lost except the captain of the ship, a sailor
8

How it all began
)
and James.
After an interval of teaching in Scotland and
adventure on the high seas, he landed in New York
Harbor, then settled in the old French town of
Kaskaskia, Illinois, where there was ample
opportunity to further his ambitions. He taught French
for a living while he studied law, then fought as a
lieutenant in the Black Hawk War. In 1832 he was
admitted to the bar.
Elected to Legislature
He was elected to the Illinois Legislature in 1836
where he served with a most remarkable group of men
such as Abraham Lincoln, Steven A. Douglas, Edward
D. Baker, John M. Palmer and Lyman Trumbull, all
later United States Senators.
"Shields," says Henry A. Castle in his biography of
the general, "easily took his place on terms of equality
in this distinguished company. His personal
appearance and manners were engaging. He was five
feet-nine inches tall, of fine figure and graceful
bearing. His voice was well modulated, his speech
frank, clear and resolute. He was prominent in debate
and influential in council. It was a critical time in the
affairs of Illinois, the inauguration of a policy of
extensive public improvements, in which the youthful
legislator bore a progressive part.''
Later as State Auditor he helped straighten out the
disordered finances of Illinois on the verge of
bankruptcy, and in 1842 he became Associate Justice of
the Supreme Court.
Abraham Lincoln as a lawyer, and other great
lawyers of Illinois and the nation appeared before that
tribunal.
Castle also had this to say: ''An eminent Minnesota
lawyer of a later generation has carefully studied the
decisions of Judge Shields as recorded in the Illinois
Supreme Court reports, and testifies that they bear
conclusive evidence of a legal erudition and
discrimination rare in that period." o
In July 1846 he was appointed Brigadier General of
Volunteers to serve in the Mexican War and was
assigned to the command of the Illinois regiments.
Space does not allow the recording of all his heroic
feats in the war. Suffice it to say for his gallantry at
Cerro· Gordo, where he was wounded twice, Shields
was brevetted Major General and was widely
acclaimed as a hero. The more serious of the wounds
was caused by a cannon grapeshot an inch and a third
in diameter entering Shields' right lung which then
passed out near his spine.
"Brigadier General Shields, a commander of
activity, zeal and talent, is, I fear, mortally woulded,"
was the message Winfield Scott dispatched to
Washington.
General's Life Saved
However, a pfisoner surgeon was allowed to
administer to the general. He drew a handkerchief
with the aid of a ramrod through the wound. Whether
his purpose was to clean the wound or to stop the flow
of blood, his act was credited with saving the general's
life.
Four months later he was in battle again, leading
the well-known charge . of the Palmettos of South
General James Shields
Carolina and the New York Volunteers· at Cherubusco.
It was his command, too, that led the advance troops
into Mexico City and planted the Stars and Stripes on
the halls of Montezumas.
As a result of Cherubusco the State of South
Carolina presented him with a diamond-hilted sword
costing $5,000, and for his services in the Mexican war
as a whole, Illinois responded with another sword at a
cost of $3,000. After the general's death in 1879 these
swords were purchased for $15,000 by an act of
Congress f~r the War Department.
After the war President Polk appointed him
governor of the Territory of Oregon. He resigned the
appointment and the state of Illinois elected him
United States Senator where he served six years with
some of the greatest: Daniel Webster, Henry Clay,
John Caldwell Calhoun, Thomas Hart Benton, Steven
A. Douglas, etc.
When the Whigs took over in Illinois Shields left for
St. Paul and then Faribault, where he became one of
the owners of the Faribault Townsite Compally and
was their agent and attorney.
Establishes Shieldsville
During this involvement, Shields drove out of town
about 10 miles to a little settlement situated on the
Dodd Road, a military highway between Fort Snelling
and Fort Ridgely. He bought 282.42 acres from a bois
brule by the name of Moses Latourelle and established
9

~en ~c;Now
the village of Shieldsville. He took steps to induce Irish
settlers to come to the vicinity, including the nearby
township of Erin. That area became known in the early
days as the General Shields Colony. By 1856 the town of
Shieldsville was well established and most of the better
government land taken.
The seventh Territorial Legislature of Minnesota
granted a charter, approved March 1, 1856 for a
railroad from the Iowa State line to follow the Straight
River valley and push through the "big woods" to
Minneapolis, a distance of one hundred miles.
General Shields, along with General H. H. Sibley of
Mendota, Franklin Steele of Fort Snelling, F. Pettitt,
Judge Alanson and B. Vaughan, was a commissioner
for opening subscriptions and making arrangements
for the permanent organization of. the Minneapolis
Cedar Valley Railroad. They secured stock
subscriptions to the amount of $200,000 and held a
meeting at the office of Shields & McCutchen in
Faribault on January 28th, 1856. However, it took an
act of Congress in 1862 to allow construction. The
railroad got as far as Rochester in 1864. It was linked to
Faribault by a stage route. By 1865 it became the
. Minnesota Railway Co. and had gotten as far as
Northfield.
Helped Faribault Grow
During the spring and summer of 1856 there were
few buildings in Faribault but largely through the
efforts of General Shields, by fall there were more than
250 units and the population had grown to 1,500.
Estimated improvements to the city that year
amounted to $100,000. According to Neill's History of
Rice County ''The residences of General Shields, J.
Cooper, N. Paquin, J. H. McClelland, F. Faribault,
Rev. L. Armsby, S. Barnard, Mr. Humphrey, H.
Riedell, J. Gibson, and Messrs. Decker, Alby, Lines,
Whipple, & Co., averaged about $2,000 each.''
General Shields, according to a few old timers still
around, resided for at least a short while in
Shieldsville, but he owned this imposing residence in
Faribault and lived in Rice County for probably three
years.
Shields returned to politics and before the state of
Minnesota was even recognized as such was elected
United States Senator along with Henry W. Rice. After
his term in office he returned to San Francisco, where
in 1861 he married Mary Ann Carr, the daughter of an
old friend.
The couple settled in Mazatlan, Mexico, where
Shields was involved in mining. When the Civil War
broke out, he sold out his interest in the mines and
offered his services to Lincoln.
On August 19, 1861, he was appointed Brigadier
General of Volunteers, and on March 7, he defeated
Stonewall Jackson, the only man ever to do so.
President Lincoln appointed him a major general but
the senate did not confirm the appointment and Shields
retired from the army on March 28, 1863, to return to
San Francisco where he was appointed a state railroad
commissioner. Finally his wife persuaded him to buy
an estate in Carrollton, Missouri.
Elected Senator Again
In 1874 the Democrats of Carrollton County
nominated him for the legislature. He was elected and
served two terms. In 1878 he was elected United States
Senator from Missouri to served out an unexpired
term. Later he served as state railroad commissioner
of Missouri.
He spent the remainder of his life on his farm and
on lecture tours. He died suddenly while on one of these
tours at Ottumwa, Iowa, June 1st, 1879 from the effects
of a wound he had received at Cerro Gordo.
He was buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in
Carrollton, Missouri, where in 1910 a statue was
erected to his memory. In 1893 his statue had been
placed by the state of Illinois in Statuary Hall in the
National Capitol. In 1914 Minnesota placed a statue of
the general in the rotunda of the State Capitol.
The Coat of Arms for the family name of Shields
bears the motto, "Omne Solum Forti Patria," which
translated means, "A brave man finds every land a
fatherland.''
It would appear to be a fitting motto for General
James Shields who was indeed a man at home in many
places.
First county board
The first Rice County Board appointed by
Territorial Governor Gorman on Jan. 2, 1855, one
hundred twenty one years ago, was composed of three
members, Halsey M. Matteson, Isaac N. Stater and­
Luke Hulett, all prominent names in early county
history.
At an election held in November of 1855, three new
members were elected, Frederick W. Frink, George F.
Pettit and Andrew Storer, equally prominent in the
county's development.
In the spring of 1856, the county was divided into 14
townships and the three man board was done away
with. The chairman of each township board became a
member of a new board to be known as the Rice County
Board of Supervisors. The board had its first meeting
on Sept. 14, 1856 and it was composed of the following
people: G. L. Carpenter, Webster, L. Barlow,
Richland, Daniel Bowe, Northfield, W. A. Pye,
Wheeling, Isaac Woodman, Walcott, J. A. Starks,
Cannon City, B. Lockerby, Bridgewater, Miles
Holister, Wheatland, Tom Kirk, Wells, E. F. Taylor,
Forest, Isaac Hammond, Morristown. J. Hagerty,
Shieldsville, John Conniff, Erin, G. W. Batchelder,
Warsaw.
The above type of Board of Supervisors continued
until Jan. 7, 1860 when it adjourned, never to meet
again. Sometime between Jan. 7, 1860 and May 15, 1860,
a new board was elected or appointed, which was
composed of five members. The new five man board
had its first meeting May 15, 1860 and was composed of
J. H. Parker, G. H. Batchelder, S. Webster, William
Thorp and C. Clopson. However, C. Clopson was not
present for the first meeting. At this meeting the board
10

How it all began
I
These are the members of the Rice County
Board of Commissioners in June 1940, 36
years ago. Left to right, front row: Stephen
Pittman, Morris town, fourth district; Charles
Zimmerman, Northfield, second district;
Fred W. Chester, Cannon City, first district;
Clem L. McCarthy, Faribault, then county
auditor. Top row: George L. Clark, Faribault,
then assistant county engineer; Emil
Machacek, Lonsdale, fifth district; Thomas
Donohue, Faribault, third district; Tom
Murphy, William H. Ziegler Co. All are
deceased except McCarthy and Clark.
established five commissioner districts Number 1, 2, 3,
4, 5.
lOOth Year Observed
On January 7, 1955, 100 years after the first three
man board convened, the five man Rice County Board
of Commissioners met with the following as members:
George Pofahl, Walcott, First District; Ernest
Schroeder, Bridgewater, Second District, board
chairman; John R. King, Faribault, Third District;
Archie Devitt, Shieldsville, Fourth District; Emil
Machacek, Lonsdale, Fif~h District.
On Jan. 5, 1976, the present county board of
Commissioners met. The board members included:
Martin Hachfeld, Cannon City. First District, board
chairman; Charles Miller, Northfield, Second District;
William Wells, Faribault, Third District; Daniel
Minnick, Faribault, Fourth District; Lawrence Valek,
Webster, Fifth District.
Boom town fades
Cannon City, one of Rice County's oldest
communities, back 121 years ago was a bustling
community with ambitious developers formulating
grandiose schemes to sell scores of lots and homesites
on the shores of Crystal Lake and to build the
community into a dazzling metropolis. Actual
construction of residences and commercial and service
building had begun.
The hopes of the ambitious developers went
sky-high in the spring of 1855 when the newly organized
county board designated Cannon City as the Rice
County seat. New settlers began arriving, more lots
were sold, town growth prospects seemed rosy. Within
six months the expansion balloon burst.
An election was held in November, 1855 and
Faribault, not Cannon City, was named county seat.
Residents of the new "boom town", as well as the
11

Hause of Dr. Jackson, corner Second St. and Second Ave. NW (early days)
developers, were not happy with the sudden change in
county seat designation. They were incensed.
Gradually, Cannon City's planned growth diminished.
Many settlers moved away.
Although the town failed in its bid for greatness, its
fame still lives on because of a widely read pioneer
days novel, "The Mystery of Metropolisville", written
by Edward Eggleston, an Indiana Methodist Church
leader who also wrote ''The Hoosier Schoolmaster''.
La Vern J. Rippley, writing in the "Golden
Nugget", published in Northfield, reviewed the
"Metropolis" book. He comments:
Similarities Recalled
"Nowhere in the novel does Eggleston specifically
equate Cannon City with Metropolisville but the
historical facts are only thinly veiled. For example, a
boating accident occurred on Crystal Lake at Cannon
City on July 4, 1857, taking the lives of four people. As
preparations for the funeral were made, it was
discovered that the regular minister was out of town so
a 20 year old man by the name of Edward Eggleston,
who had studied for the Methodist ministry,
volunteered his services. In the novel, only two persons
drowned and the incident does not happen on Crystal
Lake but on 'Diamond Lake'.''
Referring to the change in county seat designation
in 1855, Eggleston, in his novel, tells it this way: "If this
were history I should feel bound to tell of all the
maneuvers resorted to by Metropolisville to get the
county seat removed from Perri taut (Faribault).''
"A dedicated Cannon Citian, Eggleston wastes no
chance to slam Faribault, always, of course, in the
guise of Perritaut. 'I couldn't stand the climate at
Perritaut' and 'Perritaut was named for an old French
trader, who had made his fortune by selling goods to
the Indians on its site, and who had taken him an
Indian wife- it helped trade to wed an Indian- and
reared a family of children who were dusky! '
·''To be sure we never see the Cannon River in the
novel but who can doubt what Eggleston meant by 'The
Big Gun River' and when the fictional characters visit
Glenfield, it is obvious that in fact they were coming to
Northfield. Red Wing was called Red Owl by
Eggleston.''
Came Here for Health
"It was for the reasons of health that in the spring
of 1856, the 18-year-old Eggleston, convinced by
brochures and advertisements that Minnesota was the
healthiest state in the union, decided on Minnesota as a
last resort. Born in Virginia, Eggleston for some time
had lived in Vevay, Indiana, but the climate there had
gotten to him.
"His health was in a shambles, lungs
hemorrhaging, consumption eating its way through his
vital organs, he seemed destined for an early death. By
the end of the summer of 1856, Eggleston found his
health so dramatically improved by his stay in Cannon
City that he walked nearly 400 miles to Galesburg,
Illinois. He returned to Cannon City a year later and
was given new Methodist church assignments.
"Though published in 1873, Eggleston's book opens
as if it were yesterday. 'Metropolisville is nothing but a
memory now - the last time I saw the place the grass
grew green where once stood the City Hall, the corn
stalks waved their banners on the very site of the old
store - I ask pardon, of the Emporium of Jackson,
Jones and Co., and what had been the Square, flanked
by a white courthouse, not a Temple but a Barn of
Justice, had long s.ince fallen to base uses. The walls
which had echoed with forensic grandiloquence were
12

Barron House, early day Faribault hotel
now forced to hear only the bleating· of silly sheep. The
church, the school house and the city hotel had been
moved away boldly. The village grew, as hundreds of
other frontier villages had grown, in the flush times. It
died, as so many others died, of the financial crash
which was the inevitable sequel and retribution of
speculative madness.'''
History of railroads
Transportation, including railroads, bus lines and
county, state and interstate highways, has played a
vital role in the development of Rice County from its
beginning to the present time. The following articles
were written for this book by George L. Clark, for more
than 20 years Rice County Engineer until his
retirement in 1973 and now chairman of the Rice
County Bicentennial Commission.
MILWAUKEE ROAD
Byron Kilbourn and associates obtained a charter
in 1847 that granted them rights to build a railroad
between Milwaukee and Waukesha, Wisconsin; a
distance of 20 miles. Later the charter was amended so
that the railroad could be extended to the Mississippi
River.
On May 19, 1849, Kilbourn was elected president of
the new railroad and it was named the Milwaukee and
Waukesha Railroad Company. This was the beginning
of what is now known as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St.
Paul and Pacific Railroad, later the Milwaukee Road.
In 1850 the name was changed to Milwaukee and
Mississippi Railroad Company because their plans
were to build to the river.
The city of Milwaukee issued $100,000.00 in bonds to
get construction of the line between Milwaukee and
Waukesha started.
On Sept. 12, 1850, they laid the first rails and by
November had five miles completed. The twenty mile
section of railroad was completed in early 1851, and on
February 25, 1951, the first train operated over this
section of railroad. The above date, February 25, 1851,
is the date that the Chicago, Milwaukee and Pacific
Railroad operated its first train; now the Milwaukee
Road.
The railroad continued on west and on April 15,
1857, the first train entered the city of Prairie du Chien,
Wisconsin.
New company Organized
In 1860, the railroad went bankrupt and on January
18, 1861, the road was sold and a new company, with the
name Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien, was organized.
In 1863 the railroad was merged with another
railroad and on May 5, 1863, a new company was
formed and named the Milwaukee and St. Paul
Railroad: After several mergers, the railroad
construction was completed in 1867 to Minneapolis and
St. Paul.
In 1874 the name was changed again to Chicago,
Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway and later the Chicago,
Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and now
known as the Milwaukee Road.
The Minneapolis, Faribault and Cedar Valley
Railroad was incorporated in March, 1862, and
changed its name to Minnesota Central in 1864. This
13

l/len ~ cfNow
House of Alexander Faribault as it was when used for the Minnesota School for the Blind
(Drawing by Jeff LaRoche)
railroad's first track was built between Mendota and
Wescott, now known as Radio Center, in 1864 and from
Mendota to Minneapolis in 1865, and also between
Westcott and Faribault in 1864. The first train into
Faribault over the Minnesota Central was in
September of 1865. This road was built by Donald
Grant, a Faribault railroad contractor.
The Minnesota Central became a part of the
McGregor Western Railroad in 1867 and the McGregor
line also became a part of the Milwaukee and St. Paul
Railroad, now known as the Milwaukee Road, in 1867.
The first Milwaukee train to operate into Faribault
· was in August, 1867. Between 1905 and 1915 the
company operated three passenger trains per day in
each direction, plus one branch line trair ..;dCh way on
the Faribault-Wabasha branch line, which we will
discuss later.
Passenger Business Declines
Tom Murphy, Frank Baker, Steve Ames and Joe
Elm were the passenger train conductors which
operated trains through Faribault in the late 1920's and
1930's until mainline passenger service ended. Tom
Murphy was raised in Northfield, Frank Baker in
Waterford, Joe Elm in Dundas, and Steve Ames, not
known.
The passenger business began to decrease and the
company continued to take passenger trains out of
service. On June 30, 1952, the last passenger service
through Faribault came to an end.
The construction of a new grade between Faribault
and Cresco, Iowa was constructed in 1866 and 1867 by
Donald Grant, a Faribault railroad contractor. History
is not clear, but there are indications that the
Milwaukee started operating over the Faribault
Cresco section in late 1867 or early 1868.
The first branch line to be built in Rice County by
the Milwaukee was built in 1882 between Northfield and
Cannon Falls. This connected at Cannon Falls with a
branch which had been built a few years before, from
Red Wing to Cannon Falls. This line operated six days
a week, and the trains operated were mixed passenger
and freight, between Northfield and Red Wing. This
daily operation continued until April 1918 when the
service was reduced to three days a week: Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday. The line was abandoned in
December of 1918.
The line between Faribault and Zumbrota was
constructed in .1903 by Donald Grant, a Faribault
14

How it all began
railroad contractor. The line connected at Zumbrota
with the Milwaukee branch from Wabasha to
Zumbrota, which had been constructed by the
Minnesota Midland Railroad in 1877 and 1878; which
became a part of the Milwaukee in 1883.
One passenger train each way operated between
Faribault and Wabasha until November 14, 1926, when
full fledged passenger service on this line was
discontinued.
Portion Abandoned
The Zumbrota Falls to Wabasha portion of the line
was abandoned in May or June of 1934, and from
Zumbro Falls to Zumbrota a few years later.
After November 14, 1926, the company operated a
mixed train for some years but sometime in the 1940's
the mixed service was reduced, to a straight freight
line. The line now operates a three day a week service·
from Austin to Zumbrota. ·
The Milwaukee built a branch line between
Farmington and Mankato in 1903, which passed
through Webster and Lonsdale, located in Rice County,
which connected with a line, built in 1874, between
Mankato and Wells, Minnesota, by the predecessor
company, Central Railroad of Minnesota; later t.aken
over by the Milwaukee. · ·
Passenger and freight trains operated over the line ·
between Wells and Farmington via Lonsdale and
Webster until January 1, 1951 when all passenger
service was discontinued over this line. The freight
trains continued to operate, but during the past few
years the freights operate three or four times a week
on this line.
The Milwaukee Road probably operated the
greatest number of passenger trains over the entire
system in 1928. It can be said that during the
immediate post World War II years, the company
operated the greatest number of streamlined trains
and the fastest, in the history of the railroad.
DAN PATCH RAILROAD
The construction of the Dan Patch Railroad was
started prior to 1910 and the President M. W. Savage
had planned to build from Minneapolis through
Northfield and Faribault and thence on to Dubuque,
Iowa.
The railroad was named after a race horse, owned by
M. W. Savage, Dan Patch. M . . W. Savage, a
Minneapolis manufacturer and sportsman, was also
owner of the M. W. Savage Catalog House, a firm
similar to Montgomery Ward Co., only smaller. Mr.
Savage purchased Dan Patch a stallion and pacer,
from Dan Messner, the first owner, for $60,000.
The great Dan Patch broke a world record on
September 8, 1906, on the Minnesota State Fair
Grounds by pacing the mile in one minute and 55
seconds. The event took place at about 5 p.m. when
there was no wind and this record stood for many
years. After the record was set, Mr. Savage was
offered $180,000 for Dan Patch, which he turned down.
Mr. Savage continued to race Dan Patch for many
years and on July 11_, 1916, Dan Patch died. Mr.
Savage, who was not too well at the time his horse died,
died the next day, July 12, 1916, due to shock and poor
health.
Mr. Savage had visions of a Gas-Electric railroad
between Minneapolis and Dubuque, Iowa.
Built Amusement Park
Mr. Savage, while building his railroad to the
south, also constructed Antlers Park near Lakeville,
Minnesota, as an amusement park on Lake Marion.
Antlers Park was considered one of the outstanding
parks of its kind at that time.
Mr. Savage had visions of people coming from the
Minneapolis-St. Paul area and all along the line from
Dubuque, Iowa, to the park for outings.
The line was completed in 1910 between Minneapolis
and Northfield and the first passenger train operated
from Minneapolis to Antlers Park, which was along
one side of the park, on July 4, 1910. The first passenger
train to arrive in Northfield was on December 10, 1910.
Mr. Savage continued to build on south through
Dundas to Faribault but stopped further construction
of the new grade near the now Mike Karp farm
northwesterly of Faribault. The reason for not
continuing the construction operations was that the
Faribault City Council refused to allow the railroad a
right-of-way through the city and the end result was
that the road was never build from the present ending
near the Karp farm on south to Dubuque and no
trackage was ever laid south of Northfield, Minnesota.
Trackage rights were obtained from the Chicago
Great Western Railroad between Randolph and
Mankato, and in late 1910 eight passenger trains were
operating between Minneapolis, Northfield, Randolph
and Mankato.
The Dan Patch railroad built up several small
crossing stops along the way to pick up milk, poultry,
dressed veal, and some dressed hogs. One crossing
. stop south of Dundas was called "Clarks Crossing"
:near where I lived on a farm untill918.
Road Reorganized
After the death of Mr. Savage in 1916, the railroad
began to slip and in 1918, the road was reorganized and
given a new name, the Minneapolis-Northfield and
Southern.
The Minneapolis-Northfield and Southern stopped
operating trains over the Chicago Great Western to
Mankato in 1930. However, they still operated
passenger trains to Faribault until 1931, when
thereafter the road operated only to Northfield,
Minnesota.
The road continued to operate passenger trains on
the line for several years between Northfield and
Minneapolis, but toward the end, operated only two
passenger trains, one up in the morning and one back
in the evening. On April 30, 1942, the last passenger
train to operate, pulled into Northfield with only eight
passengers.
The M.N.S. built a connection in 1929, in Northfield,
with the Chicago Milwaukee and now is one of the most
profitable freight lines in the country and control is
held by the Pence Family of Minneapolis. The road
also connects with the Chicago Northwestern at
Randolph and is now a competitor to the Minnesota
Transfer line in the Twin Cities area.
15

Early days LeSueur House, corner 4th St. and Third Ave. NW
CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND AND PACIFIC
What is now the Rock Island System first came
under discussion in June, 1845.
By a special act of the Illinois Legislature, the
Rock Island and LaSalle Railroad company was
incorporated on February 27, 1847, but raising money
to build the line was difficult because people had little
faith in a railroad that merely connected two
waterways, the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.
However, the organizers decided to petition the
legislature to build all the way into Chicago rather than
just between Rock Island and LaSalle, Illinois. The
amended charter was approved by a special act of the
Illinois Legislature on February 7, 1851 and the name
changed to Chicago and Rock Island Railroad.
On October 1, 1851, the first spade of dirt was
turned on 22nd Street, the southern limits of Chicago,
and the official construction of the railroad began.
On October 10, 1852, a gaily painted little engine
called the Rocket, with six sparkling new yellow
coaches started the first passenger run of the road
between Joliet and Chicago, a distance of forty miles.
The trip took two hours. There was no turning facilities
at Joliet so the train had to back up all the way back to
Chicago.
During 1853-1862 the road continued to push further
westward.
On April 22, 1856, the first train operated between
Rock Island and Davenport and two weeks later, the
Effie Afton, a steamboat, hit the new bridge over the
Mississippi and burst into flames and destroyed the
draw portion of the railroad bridge. A historic action
was started · against the steamboat owners and
Abraham Lincoln was the attorney for the railroad.
Court litigation continued for several years and
Lincoln argued the case before the Supreme Court and
in 1862, an opinion was handed down in favor of the
railroad.
The line kept coming west and on July 9, 1886, the
name was changed to Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific
Railroad.
In 1885, the Rock Island purchased the majority of
the outstanding stock of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids,
and Northern Railroad.
Grant gets contract
The Burlington-Cedar Rapids awarded a contract
to Donald Grant, a Faribault railroad contractor, to
build the grade from someplace south of Faribault to
Comus, a junction point with the Chicago and
Milwaukee Railroad. The Burlington then continued to
operate over the Milwaukee to Rosemount and then on
its own line to South St. Paul, and on to St. Paul and
Minneapolis. The Straight was moved to the east and
all the area from the present post office in Faribault
was filled in. The Burlington Depot was opened in
January, 1902.
On June 1, 1902, the Burlington-Cedar Rapids and
Northern leased its property to the Rock Island for 999
years. The June 1, 1902 date would be the date of the
first Rock Island operated train through Faribault.
16

How it all began
The Rock Island operated eight passenger trains
through Faribault for many years, four south and four
north. It was then reduced to six trains per day as the
local, as it was called, because it would make stops
along the line, was removed from service.
About this time they put on six new type passenger
trains and removed the old steam engines, which were
replaced with diesel engines and streamlined stainless
steel coaches, sleepers, diners, and parlor cars and
called them the Rockets after the name of the road's
first passenger engine to operate October 10, 1852.
Passenger trains disband
The line _operated one fine train each day to
California and one to Minneapolis from California
known as the Mid-Continent Special. This was a real
high class passenger train. You could get on in
Faribault and never leave the car until you arrived in
California. Also, a "Twin Star Rocket" ran each way
between Minneapolis and Kansas City which were also
fine trains.
Also, a "Burlington Zephyr Rocket" ran each way
between Minneapolis and St. Louis, Mo., which were
fine trains.
The passenger business kept going down and the
last passenger train to operate through Faribault was
·the northbound Twin Star Rocket from Kansas City to
Minneapolis which made its last run on July 28, 1969.
Some freights still operate through Faribault and
the depot was closed shortly after the last passenger
went through July 28, 1969.
It just doesn't seem possible that all these fine
trains are gone, but they are, and perhaps, forever.
CHICAGO, GREAT WESTERN
The beginning of the Chicago Great Western
Railroad was the issuing of a charter on March 4, 1854
to the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad
Company. Nothing was done with the charter for thirty
years until a man by the name of A. B. Stickney
acquired it and started construction of a line from St.
Paul to Lyle, Minnesota in September of 1884 and was
completed in 1885 and put in service October 2, 1885.
On August 1, 1887, the Minnesota and Northwestern
opened their line between Chicago and the Twin Cities
and through train operations took place shortly
thereafter.
On December 8, 1887, the Chicago, St. Paul and
Kansas Railway purchased all the railway and
property of the shortlived Minnesota and Northwestern
Railroad.
On January 16, 1892, in a complex financial
maneuver, the Chicago Great Western Railway was
incorporated, and thus the beginning of the Chicago
Great Western Railroad and for serveral years was
known as the Map_le Leaf system due to the fact that a
map of the system looked like a maple leaf; due to the
fact other small railroads were taken over by the
Chicago Great Western.
Chrysler Was Superintendent
The superintendent of Motor Power for the Maple
Leaf system was a young man by the name of Walter
P. Chrysler. Chrysler was in charge of the railroad's
main shops at Oelwein, Iowa. In 1908, Walter P.
Chrysler attended Chicago Automobile Show, which
changed the future course of his life.
He saw a white Locomobile Automobile trimmed
with red; Chrysler bought the car for $5000.00 right on
the spot and became very interested in automobiles
from then on.
A few years later, Mr. Chrysler left the Chicago
and Great Western and went to work for the American
Locomotive Company and, in 1912, entered the
automobile industry with Buick and later formed the
Chrysler Corporation, which made Chrysler cars.
On September 1, 1909, the. railroad was sold at
foreclosure and conveyed to new ownership and the
Chicago Great Western name retained, but added
"Corn Belt Route."
Fancy Train Names
Many fine passenger trains were opera ted over the
main line through Nerstrand, Minnesota for a number
of years. The names of famous trains which operated
through Nerstrand were: The Great Western Limited,
The Corn Belt Special and two non-stop trains between
the Twin Cities and Rochester known as the ''Red
Bird," and the "Blue Bird," which made their run
between the Twin Cities and Rochester in three hours
and 25 minutes.
The Great Western profited little from World War
II and passenger business for the Great Western main
line started down hill and the last passenger train to
operate on the main line was through Nerstrand on
September 30, 1965.
On Apirl 27, 1967, the Interstate Commerce
Commission approved a merger of the Chicago Great
Western and the Chicago Northwestern and on July 1,
1968, the Northwestern took over the operation and the
Chicago Great Western Railroad became history.
Chicago Great Western Branch Line
Between Red Wing, Through Northfield
And Faribault and Mankato
When Minnesota was still a territory, the
Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pacific Railroad was
incorporated under a special act of the territory of
Minnesota on May 23, 1857. It appears to be the first
company havirig anything to do with the construction
of a railroad between Red Wing and Mankato, a little
later on.
Another company which had much to do in forming
the future Chicago Great Western was the Cannon
River Improvement Company, incorporated in the
State of Minnesota February 16, 1865. The purpose of
the Corporation was to construct canals, locks, dams,
and in a general way construct slack water navigation
from the Mississippi River via the Cannon River and ·
the lakes connected therewith; thence via Lake
Elysian to the Minnesota River near Mankato. The
plan was not practicable and no work was ever started.
After some study the company evidently concluded
that a railroad would be cheaper to build and better, so
on February 28, 1872, the Articles of Incorporation
were amended to read "and also to construct and
17

~en ~d:Jlow
Luke Hulett House, 7th St. and Lincoln Ave. (early days, still standing)
operate a railroad."
Franchises Consolidated
The Cannon River Improvement Company and the
Minnesota Central Railroad Company had been given
land grants and on March 10, 1983, the legislature
passed a special act providing for the consolidation of
the franchises and land grants of the two companies.
The consolidation was effected December 3, 1878 and
then the Minnesota Central built a line from Red Wirtg
through Northfield and Faribault to Waterville,
Minnesota, completed in 1882. The towns of Red Wing
donated $50,000 toward the construction of the line;
Cannon Falls, $10,000; Northfield, $10,000; Faribault,
$50,000 and Morristown, $10,000. After the line was built
the Minnesota Central had no money to buy equipment
and was operated from January 1, 1883 until June 30,
1884 as the Cannon Valley Division of the Minneapolis
and St. Louis Railway.
On August 14, 1883, the Minnesota Central name
was changed to the Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pacific
Railway Company and the line extended from
Waterville to Mankato and construction was completed
in 1887.
The company went into receivership and a new
company was incorporated under the source name and
sometime in 1892 leased the property to the Chicago
Great Western Railway Company.
The faribault Depot at first was located someplace
on or near 12th Street NW, but later a new depot was
built in downtown Faribault after a line was built to
downtown Faribault a point near the present location
of the Faribault Canning Company.
Chicago Northwestern Railroad
(Company now known as the Northwestern
Transportation Company)
On July 1, 1968, the Northwestern Transportation
Company started to operate freight trains between Red
Wing and Mankato, through Northfield, Dundas,
Faribault and Morristown on to Mankato and
connected at Mankato with another Northwestern line
from the Twin Cities to Winona. In about 1973 the line
between Faribault and Morristown was taken up; and
also between Waterville and Mankato was taken up.
The section of line between Morristown and
Waterville is still operated on a once in awhile basis, so
that the Morristown Creamery can get carload lots of
fertilizer transferred from the old Minneapolis and St.
Louis in Waterville, now owned by the Northwestern
Transportation Company, to Morristown.
In the winter of 1975 the line between Northfield
and Faribault could no longer be used; only as far as
Dundas, which is still used some by backing the train
from Northfield to Dundas, and then back to
Northfield.
18

How it all began
From trails to highways
By George L. Clark
Section A
No one knows who were the first people to live in
the area that is now Minnesota, but it is certain that
people have lived here for a long time, probably
thousands of years. Not long after the last great glacier
melted away northward, certain Stone Age hunters,
probably from Asia, found their way into what is now
Minnesota.
The early explorers of America and what is now
Minnesota and Rice County, had no roads to follow and
their maps were incorrect and based on guess work.
Therefore they usually decided to follow lakes and
rivers, using them as highways into unknown country.
In 1849, the year of its organization as a territory,
Minnesota was mainly a wilderness, a hunting grounds
for the Indians. Rice county was created by an act of
the Territorial Legislature on March 5, 1853. Rice
County was one of the earliest, best settled and
prominent counties of Minnesota.
The only semblance of any road in Rice County or
around Faribault was a rough trail worn by the carts of
Alexander Faribault in his fur trade with the Indians.
The first County Board of Rice County was a three
man board appointed by the Territorial Governor
Gorman, and consisted of three members. They were
appointed on January 2, 1885 and did meet, but there is
no record of what they may have done.
In November of 1855 a new three man board was
elected and held their first meeting January 7, 1865 in
the law office of Berry and Batchelder in Faribault.
The board's third item of business at this meeting was
a petition to designate a present road or trail as a
County Road. The board took no action on the petition
at their first meeting but would meet again on
February 9, 1856 and consider the petition for action.
On February 9th the Board designated the road as
described in the petition as a County Road. The action
the board took was the beginning of the Rice County
Road system and the first road to be designated as a
County Road in Rice County.
The Territorial Legislature authorized a road from
Read's Landing on the Mississippi River westerly
through the towns of Kenyon and Faribault to a point
on the Minnesota River opposite St. Peter. However,
there are not very good records that this road was
built.
Road Viewers Named
On February 11, 1856, the Rice County Board met
again and received another petition for a County Road.
About this time the county was experiencing an
increased land boom, which started in 1855, and along
with the boom Faribault and the County became a
headquarters for a floating population.
The County Board at the February 11th meeting
could see that more roads would be needed and
requested, so they appointed road viewers who would
in turn advise the board of future requests for
designations and damages to land used for roads. The
board also set up road districts and district road
supervisors.
In the spring of 1856, the county was divided into
townships who in turn were governed by a Township
Board. The township then began to lay out roads,
within the township, which were called Town Roads.
The year 1856 was the beginning of Town Roads in Rice
County.
The county continued to designate county roads,
but didn't, however, do much maintenance work, as
they didn't have the necessary funds. This kind of road
program continued until about 1864.
The Minneapolis and Cedar Valley Railroad had
been building south from Mendota for some time and
reached Faribault, through Northfield, in September
1865 and regular service was established in the middle
of October 1865. This was the first railroad to operate in
Rice County. Later, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St.
Paul Railroad secured control of the Minneapolis and
Cedar Valley Railroad.
Due to the railroad reaching Faribault, the County
Board, for the next twelve years, designated many
miles of county road and were forced to do some
maintenance on the roads, even though not very much.
First Map Published
About this time W. M. Lawrence of Dundas
published a county map of Rice County which was the
first published map of Rice County.
From 1865 to 1907, the County Board continued to
designate more county roads and maintain them the
best they could, which wasn't very good.
The County Board in January 1907, appointed one
of its members, John Finley, to be in charge of road
and bridge construction throughout the county. Mr.
Finley was to advise the board as to what was going on
in regard to county road work.
In 1908, the Dunn one-mill tax was enacted by the
legislature. This was a state tax on real estate and was
allocated back to each county on a formula basis. It
was to be used for county road and bridge construction.
In April of 1908, the County Board decided there
was just too much work for their one member who was
appointed to look after the county road work. The
County Board decided to appoint Surveyor C. A. Reed
as a kind of overseer over the county roads. This was
the first time in the history of the county road program
that someone who knew something about roads was put
in charge of the program. One July 8, 1908, the first
Road and Bridge Fund levy in the county was made by
the County Board in the amount of $8000.00.
By 1914, the Rice County Board was aware of the
fact that most of the railroads had been constructed
and that road construction would be starting in a big
!way, and they would no longer be able to handle the
work themselves and that professional help was an
absolute necessity. At the January 1915 meeting, the
County Board, composed of H. H. Helberg_, Willia
Ebel, J. N. Williams, Frank Wilkowske and Frank J.
Parkas, appointed R. W. Hosfield, who was an
engineer, the County Surveyor and County Ditch
Engineer, as Supervisor of County Roads. The
19
FAR\BP~ULT
ELEMENTARY PUBLIC SCHOOL
LIBRARY.

Rice County court house staff in early 1900s­
First row, left to right: Lucius A. Smith,
Charles Ebel, Charles Sayles, Frank
Wilkowske (Morristown), James McMahon,
James Trenda. Second row: James Flynn, Ed
Kelly, Judge A. B. Childress, John Milligan,
Frank Kaisersatt, Andrew Murphy, Bill
Geiger, H. H. Heberg, Walter N. Nutting,
Frank Parkos, William Edel (Northfield),
Peter F. Ruge, unknown, Ella Healy (Mrs.
Lucius A. Smith).
appointment of Mr. Hosfield was the beginning of the
Rice County Highway Department.
Engineers Named
The County Engineers, starting with Mr. Hosfield
and up to the present time are as follows:
R. W. Hosfield, Jan. 15, 1915 to Jan. 20, 1916
(Hosfield left in 1916 to become Steele County
Engineer); W. P. Chapman- Jan. 20, 1916 to April 6,
1920; P. L. Hogard- April6, 1920 to March 9, 1921; J. C.
McElheme- March 9, 1921 to Feb. 1, 1926; C. E. Stahl­
Feb. 1, 1926 to April 1, 1928; Russell Norton - April 1,
1928 to July 31, 1930; A. W. Bedell- July 31, 1930 to Sept.
8, 1930; C. W. Squires - Sept. 8, 1930 to Feb. 1, 1933;
Russell Norton - Feb, 1, 1933 to April 1, 1933; George
Thorne- April1, 1933 to July 16, 1935; C. E. Stahl- July
16, 1935 to Jan. 1, 1938; George L. Clark (acting
engineer)- Jan. 1, 1938 to May 1, 1938; A. R. Taubman­
May 1, 1938 to May 1, 1943; George L. Clark- May 1,
1938 to Dec. 31, 1973; Arthur Storhaug- Jan. 1, 1974 to
Many things took place during the following years,
but due to book space it cannot be put" in this history.
However, George L. Clark, retired County Engineer,
wrote a ''History of Rice County Roads and Highway
Department Under the Jurisdiction of the Rice County
Board between 1&55 and 1974" which is on file in the
Faribault and Northfield Public Libraries and also
with the Rice County Historical Society. This history
goes into detail in regard to county roads between 1855
and 1974. The County Board continued to designate
more roads over the years.
255.3 Miles System
In 1957, it was necessary to designate a new County
State Aid Highway System, due to legislative changes
in county highway laws. After several months of study,
the county engineer, George L. Clark, presented a
county State Aid System to the Board for the approval.
On August 7, 1957, the County Board adopted a
resolution designating a new County State Aid System
of Highways for Rice County as presented by the
Engineer. Members of the board at that time were:
Emil Machacek, Ervin Ackman, John King, Clarence
Albers, and Anton Helberg. The new system as
designated at that time contained 255.3 miles. Later the
mileage was increased due to some trunk highway
tumbacks to the county.
The County State Aid Highway System as of
January 1, 1976, contains 280.42 miles and is composed
of the following types of surfaces:
Concrete Surfaced - .65 miles; Bituminous
Surfaced - 199.84 miles; Gravel Surfaced - 79.93 miles
for a total of 280.42 miles. Bridges on the system - 38.
On December 5, 1957, the County Board designated
a new County Road system which included roads not
designated in the County State Aid System, which
contained 210.60 miles of road.
During the past years some changes were made in
the County Road system and, as of January 1, 1976,
there is 199.76 miles in the sy~tem and is composed of
the following types of surfaces: Bituminous surface -
25.23 miles; Gravel surface -174.53 miles; Bridges- 24.
The total county mileage, including both systems
is composed of 480 miles and 62 bridges.
The county constructed a new highway shop which
included the county engineer's office in 1975. It is
located on NW 20th Street. The engineer's office, which
was located in the Rice County Courthouse, and the
shop located in the old shop building on the Rice County
20

How it all began
fairgrounds, were both moved into the new highway
building in the latter part of 1975.
Section B.
The early roads in Minnesota were, for the most
part, county roads and township roads. There was
considerable agitation around the state and also in the
legislature, before 1900 that there should be a state
system of roads under control of the state. It was felt
that the county and townships should be feeders to a
state system, which, in turn, would make railroad
facilities more accessible for the movement of freight
throughout the state, especially to towns and rural
areas not located on a railroad.
After several attempts, a constitutional
amendment was adopted in 1898 which permitted the
legislature to set up a state system of roads. It appears
from the records that the legislature, for some or many
reasons, didn't warm up to the idea of a state system.
However, the legislature finally, in 1905, passed some
·legislation for setting up a State Highway Commission.
In 1917, a State Highway Department, with a single
commissioner as its head, was authorized and three
years later, in 1920, the "Babcock Amendment" was
adopted which launched the modern system of State
Trunk Highways in Minnesota. Charles M. Babcock
was appointed the first Commissioner of Highways in
Minnesota by the governor of Minnesota.
The amendment named specific designated routes
as "Constitutional Routes," written with a provision
which prohibited the legislature from adding
additional routes to the State Highway System until
after 75 per cent of the designated Constitutional routes
had been constructed and permanently improved.
The Constitutional ·Routes, as designated in the
amendment, which pass through Rice County are as
follows: Trunk Highway No. 1 from St. Paul through
Rosemount, Farmington, Northfield, Dundas,
Faribault, Owatonna and on south was established by
Commissioner order No. 1337 on May 25, 1921; later
the number was changed to No. 218 and then to No.3.
At the present time No. 3 runs only as far as Faribault.
The balance south has reverted back to the cities and
counties. This was due to the construction of Interstate
No. 35, north and south of Faribault. The portion of
trunk highway No. 3 between Faribault and the Steele
County line was reverted back to Rice County and this
section of road is now designated County State Aid
Highway No. 45.
TH 21 Established
Trunk Highway No. 21 between Faribault and
Montgomery was established by Commissioner order
No. 1479 on June 1, 1921.
Trunk Highway No. 60 from Faribault to Kenyon,
and on east, was established by Commissioner order
No. 1479 on June 1, 1921, and from Faribault west
through Morristown was established by Commissioner
order No. 1538 on June 20, 1921.
The following routes were authorized by the
legislature after 75 per cent or more of the
constitutional routes were improved. Trunk Highway
No. 19 from north of Red Wing through Northfield,
Lonsdale and on west was established by
Commissioner orders No. 8633 and No. 8664 on
December 28, 1933. Trunk highway No. 99 from a point
on Trunk Highway No. 21, northwesterly to Shieldsville
and thence on west was established by Commissioner
order No. 8654 on December 28, 1933. Trunk Highway
No. 165, known as Lyndale Avenue, from a point on
Trunk Highway No. 21, near the location of the present
Faribault Airport, thence north through Hazelwood
and Minneapolis, was established by Commissioner
order No. 8669 on December 28, 1933.
After I terstate No. 35 was built and open to
traffic, north of Faribault, all of former trunk highway
No. 165 was reverted back to Rice County and is now
County State Aid Highway No. 46.
Trunk Highway No. 246 from Northfield through
NerstraNd and thence east and southeast to the
junction' of Trunk Highway No. 56, north of Kenyon,
was established by Commissioner order No. 19513 on
June 20, 1949.
Interstate Road Designated
Interstate No. 35 from the north line to the south
line of Rice County, which is 25.14 miles in length, was
designated by sections, as described in the following
numbered Commissioner Orders:
Order No. 3115, dated 2-14-61; Order No. 29993,
dated 4-21-60; Order No. 30921, dated 1-5-61; Order No.
36922, dated 2-17-65; Order No. 32678, dated 4-24-62;
Order No. 32142, dated 11-2-61.
Orders No. 41025 and 41026, dated 5-4-67, which
established the center line location does not include the
Faribault by-pass, which was constructed last, and
open to traffic the latter part of 1975. The Faribault
by-pass orders are to be written in the near future.
All of the above described Trunk Highways have
been constructed and hard surfaced on parts of old
location and the balance on new locations, excep·t that
part of Trunk Highway No. 246, between Nerstrand and
Trunk Highway No. 56, which is still a gravel surface.
The viaduct over the Straight River and the
Chicago Rock Island and Chicago Northwestern
Railroad tracks, located on Trunk Highway No. 60 in
the city of Faribault, was constructed in 1937. The
Minnesota Department of Highways bridge engineer at
that time was M. J. Hoffmann, who became
Commissioner of Highways in 1938. George Flynn Sr.,
now retired and living in Farmington, was the Project
Engineer in charge of the construction of the viaduct.
Total mileage of designated Trunk Highways in Rice
County as of January 1, 1976, is 128.82 miles. The total
miles of Interstate Highway in Rice County as of
January 1, 1976, is 25.14 miles.
21

~en &-'

How it all began
cetits a ride every day of the week.
Eugene Wieneke, city administrator, disclosed
that although total figures have not yet been compiled,
there has been an increase in ridership since
December. The number of people riding the bus since
then has been going up slightly but steadily, Wieneke
said. At present, there are two buses in operation with
two full time bus drivers and four part time drivers.
Hotels and later the Faribault also, and then only at the
Brunswick until 1974, when they started using their
own depot on 4th Street, near the Milwaukee tracks.
Some of the buses in operation do not come by the
way of Northfield but come directly to Faribault from
Minneapolis over Interstate Highway No. 35, since I35
has been open to traffic.
Jefferson lines
In the early part of 1919 three men, Emery Bryant,
Theodore Ansell and Stanley Smith, started operating
a small bus line between Minneapolis, St. Paul and
Owatonna, through Faribault. However, it appears
that the service between the Twin Cities and Owatonna
by the way of Northfield, Dundas, and Faribault, was
first inaugurated in 1920, probably using the name
Jefferson Bus Company.
The company at that time operated three buses in
each direction and later expanded to as many as nine
in each direction. One of the early buses operated was
"The Round Top," assembled and fabricated in their
own shop by their body men. It carried 13 passengers.
In the early days the highways were not plowed
and buses had a snow plow mounted on the front of the
bus. They also carried three or four shovels on each
bus, and if the need be, the passengers would get out
and help shovel.
In 1922 a number of the small bus companies
operating at that time decided to merge and have only
one company. On July 24, 1922, a new bus company was
incorporated under the name of ''Jefferson Highway
Transportation Company." The incorporators were E.
L. Bryant, I.D. Ansell, N. L. Rogers, R. S. Dimmick,
Clifford Schultz and Harry W. Davis. The company
was incorporated under the laws of Delaware and the
corporation was authorized to do business in Minnesota
on Oct. 20, 1922.
Zelle Gains Control
On July 1, 1925, Edgar F. Zelle acquired all of the
Class C voting stock of the original holders of the stock,
which gave him control of the company. Mr. Zelle sold
off all the line operated by the Jefferson Company,
except the southern routes, which were: Twin Cities to
Rochester and Twin Cities to Northfield, Faribault,
Owatonna, and Albert Lea, Minnesota.
Mr. Zelle became president of the company in 1925,
and continued as president until1950.
In the late 1920's, the bus line was extended to
Mason City, Iowa, and later extended to Des Moines,
Iowa, and on to Kansas City, Missouri.
In 1968, final approval was secured from the
Interstate Commerce Commission to merge the
Jefferson Transportation Company and the Crown Bus
Company and is now called ''Jefferson Lines.''
When the line operated into Faribault in the early
years, their depot was at the Arlington and Brunswick
Aviation history
There was very little aviation around Faribault or
Rice County before the late 1920's. Jules Teske was one
of the early aviators around Faribault and may have
been the first one. Dale "Red" Jackson, who was
raised in Faribault, did a lot of flying around St. Louis,
Missouri, and other parts of the country and with
Forrest . O'Brien established a new world's plane
endurance record- 64 hours, 28 minutes, 30 seconds in
July, 1929. He was killed Jan. 6, 1932, in plane crash at
Miami, Fla.
There were no airports in the early days of aviation
in Rice County. The planes landed in farmers' hay
fields wherever the pilots could find landowners who
would allow it. However, they used to land out on a field
west of town, ·near the old location of Trunk Highway
60. Other places were on the Van Horn farm, located
west of the St. Lawrence Cemetery and on the Dr. P. A.
Smith farm about where the Control Data building now
stands, in the Faribault Industrial property.
About 1931, the Faribault American Legion Post
rented 80 acres from Mrs. Crossett. She, at that time,
operated the Blue Bird Inn, located along the east side
of the then, Trunk Highway No. 1, now County State
Aid Highway No. 45, south of Faribault. This was just
south of the present location of the Spitzack Farm
Service, Inc. The Blue Bird building stood about where
the present Spitzack home now stands.
The Legion never did any work to develop the field.
A few early aviators, however, did use it. In 1934, the
Legion gave up the field and Lawrence Merrill and Bill
Lawless did some flying there before the Legion gave it
up.
Flying Field Established
About this time Lawrence Merrill and Lloyd
Schreiber rented a piece of land from Mrs. Crossett
which had an east-west width of 1320 feet and a
north-south length of 2640 feet. They put in two
runways, built a hangar and thus established the first
flying field located near Faribault. They bought a used
plane and flew mostly for themselves, but did a little
commercial flying.
They had a few air shows and Max Conrad of
Winona, now known as the "Flying Grandfather"
aviator, used to stop in when the shows were held. They
continued to operate until1940, when the Faribault Sky
Club was organized.
The original club had about ten members, among
whom were: Henry Voegele, Fred Grothe, Gib Green,
23

~en ~t]Vow
George W. Batchelder House, E. Division Street (early days)
George Luedke, Ralph Temple, Stewart Shaft,
Lawrence Merrill, Lloyd Schreiber and James
Burmeister, Burmeister had a share in the club, but
never did any flying. The field instructor, at that time,
was Neil Sorenson who now lives in Minneapolis.
This field was used until the City of Faribault built
the present airport along the south side of Trunk
Highway No. 21, northwest of Faribault. The City of
Faribault bought the Henry Johnson farm property,
described as follows: the S E lf4 section 14, Wells
Township that lies South of the Shieldsville Road which
contained 90 acres more or less, on July 1, 1944. The
city developed the 90 acres into an airport in 1946 or
1947.
On April15, 1948, the city secured theSE 1f4 of S.W.
114 Section 14-TllON-R21W, 40 acres, from Cora Ryan
and others. The City made further improvements to
the airport and it now has a 3000x75 foot paved runway
and a 2600 x 200 foot sod runway.
There has been a number of hangars constructed
over the years and several local and out of town people
keep their planes there.
Air Festival Held
An Air Festival, reflecting increasing interest in
aviation, was held at the Faribault Municipal Airport
on August 19, 1954, attracting several thousand
persons.
Twenty-five planes flew in from the surrounding
area to participate in the first event of the day, a
breakfast flight event sponsored by the Junior
Chamber of Commerce.
Oldest pilot was 39 while the youngest flier was
22-year-old Ken Wyhre of Austin. Oldest plane was a
1946 Taylor Cub piloted by Fred Lockwood,
Minneapolis. The pilot traveling the greatest distance
was Barney Weber of St. Paul who also flew the
smallest plane, a Mooney Mite.
Feature of the Show was a new Navy helicopter
flown by Lt. Molder of the U.S. Naval Station,
Minneapolis. The plane was used in a Civil Defense
demonstration. A unique flight of progress was staged
with a 1941 model Waco and the new Beechcraft
Bonanza being used to show relative speeds of old and
new aircraft and changes in design. All speakers of the
day stressed the importance of the airport to civilian
and military needs.
The Faribault improved airport officially was
dedicated on July 26, 1959 with 500 fliers in 161 planes
and hundreds of local residents participating. State
Senator A. 0. Sundet of Faripault was the speaker at
the dedication ceremonies.
A novel Penny-a-Pound airlift was conducted from
1 to 8:30 p.m. Proceeds were to be used to furnish a
room at the new Rice County District One Hospital.
Fifteen planes gave rides affording passengers a
graphic birds-eye view of Faribault.
Improvements made at the airport include:
addition of 1,000 feet of hard surface runway;
installation of running lights; rotating beacon; lighted
wind sock; safer blacktop taxiways. All improvements
were approved by the Federal Aviation Agency. These
24

)
I
new improvements open the way to night flying in the
Faribault area.
Manager Is Named
Since October 1965, management of the Faribault
Airport has been in the hands of Gilmore J. P.
Lundquist, retired Air Force colonel.
Lundquist was welcomed to Faribault at a dinner
party held December 12 for some 60 Faribault area
pilots. As an Air Force colonel he was chief of photo
reconnaissance. He told his welcomers "We want to
stimulate flying here from the ground level, starting
with the boy."
When Lundquist arrived in Faribault, the airport
was a one man, two plane operation. Lundquist
expanded facilities and, in addition to managing the
airport for the City of Faribault, is also
owner-president of Eagle Aviation, Inc. Operation has
increased to an eight man, four plane business.
The city maintains two hangars, aT hangar and a
multiple hangar which can hold seven planes. There
are 22 private hangars. Many pesons having business
in Faribault arrive and leave at the airport.
Eagle Aviation, Inc., itself is a major business.
Lundquist has introduced flight training, an aircraft
maintenance shop and radio shop and aircraft sales.
The company has four planes available for a variety of
services including training, student pilots, charter
services, air ambulance and aerial photography.
Telephone history
By RONALD A. SCHWARTZ
According to an article in the Faribault
Republican on Wednesday, May 22, 1878, the first two
telephones in Rice County were installed in Faribault
on the previous Monday, May 20.
The paper reports that two telephones were
installed connecting the insurance office of Pratt and
Robinson with the telegraph office located in Crackers
Drug Store.
This was less than two years after Alexander
Graham Bell first successfully transmitted the human
voice over a wire.
On March 10, 1876, Bell uttered the now famous
words, "Come here Mr. Watson I want you."
A patent for the new device was issued and a public
demonstration held on May 10, 1876. The
demonstration did not receive much publicity and few
people outside of the Boston area were aware of the
existence of the telephone.
Installing two telephones in a community, such as
in Faribault, was common throughout Minnesota and
elsewhere in the early days of telephony. The new
instruments were used to connect offices with homes,
doctors' offices with drug stores, railroad depots with
hotels and livery stables with hotels and depots.
The interest established by connecting one
business with another or a business and a home
How it all began
eventually led to the establishment of a Central
switching office which made it possible to interconnect
telephone users.
Phones Described
The first two telephones in Rice County were
described in the Republican as a couple of black walnut
boxes, one with two bells on it, the other with a funnel
which served both as a "speaker and trumpet." There
was a knob on the box with the bells to signal the other
phone. The article states it was not necessary to speak
loudly but rather to speak distinctly.
The second pair of telephones were placed in
service in April of 1879. The Republican reports that
Judge Scrandrett erected a telephone line connecting
his office with that of the Judge of Probate. He then
stated prophetically, "It will prove quite a
convenience.''
Later that year, in September, a third pair of
phones was placed in service linking Loyhed's
Hardware Store with the Hazen Wind Mill Company.
It didn't take the citizens of Northfield and Dundas
long to see how advantageous the telephone would be in
their lives.
The Rice County Journal, a newspaper published
in Northfield, reported August 26, 1880, that a Mr.
Fryer had put in a telephone system linking the Ames
Mill with the Dundas Mill and the residences of Mr.
Ames of Northfield and Mr. Archibald of Dundas.
Early in 1881, the Journal reported that a pair of
telephones was in service linking the First National
Bank of Northfield and an un-named location in
Dundas.
Exchange telephone service was established in
Faribault in 1882 by the Northwestern Telephone
Exchange Company, forerunner of Northwestern Bell.
The Company's first central office was installed in
what was then known as the Theopold Building. Later
it was moved to the Deike Building, then to the Kaul
Building and from there to its present location.
Exchange Established
In November of 1883 a telephone exchange
operated by a Mr. J. B. Neal was placed in service to
serve 30 customers in Northfield and Dunda~. Among
the first customers was St. Olaf College. :~
In 1883, a long distance telephone line was
constructed linking Northfield, Dundas, and Faribault
with Minneapolis and St. Paul as well as Hastings, Red
Wing, Lake City, Wabasha, Winona, Farmington and
other points.
The advent of long distance service caused the
Faribault Republican to write, "If the telephone
system works well to distant points it will likely
become a popular means of communication, being
cheaper and quicker than the Telegraph.''
In 1893 the first Bell patent expired. This made it
possible for other companies to compete in providing
telephone service in many communities.
In 1897 the Northfield Telephone Company was
formed to compete with the Company formed by Mr.
Neal and took over that company in 1902. In turn, the
Northfield Telephone Company was purchased by the
Northwestern Telephone Exchange Company in 1904.
25

~en ~c?-low
Faribault Opera House, burned in 1928
The Tri-State Telephone and Telegraph Company also
provided service in Northfield but the exact date that
service was established is not known. However they
did operate at least one long distance station in
Northfield in 1904.
In 1905 the Rice Rural Telephone Company was
formed to operate in Faribault in competition with the
Northwestern Company.
Competing telephone companies did not
interconnect with each other. As a result, for a
customer to have complete telephone service it was
necessary to have service from both companies. This
meant two telephones sometimes side by side on the
wall, two directories and, of course, two telephone
bills.
Territory Divides
The problem of competition was solved in 1918. At
the urging of the public and Railroad and Warehouse
Commission, the Tri-State and the Northwestern
Company agreed to divide the territory they served.
The Northwestern Company was to serve Minneapolis
and the Northern portion of the state and the Tri-State
Company, St. Paul and southern Minnesota.
On January 1, 1921 the Northwestern Telephone
Exchange Company was merged with Iowa Telephone
Company and the Nebraska Telephone Company to
form Northwestern Bell Telephone Company. In 1942,
the Tri-State Company was merged with Northwestern
Bell.
From the two telephones installed in Faribault in
1878, the number of customers served by Northwestern
Bell in Rice County has increased to more than 12,000,
and the number of telephones in use to over 23,000.
In addition to Northwestern Bell, there are four
other independent telephone companies that provide
telephone service in Rice County. They serve the
communities of Kenyon, Lonsdale, Montgomery, and
Morristown.
Telephone war erupts
All was not quiet in the late 1870's and the early
1810's in Faribault after the new talking miracle - the
telephone - came to this community. In fact, there
was a Telephone War. The Faribault Republican of
August 8, 1883, had this to say:
''A small degree of excitement has existed during
the past week on account of conflict between certain
members of the City Common Council and the
Northwestern Bell Telephone Company. As was stated
last week the council had refused to grant a petition to
allow the erection of telephone poles on Main Street,
although they were willing to allow the use of all other
streets.
"The objection to using Main Street was that in
case of fire the wires would be in the way and would
hinder the use of ladders and other fire apparatus. As
most of the patrons of the telephone exchange are on
Main Street, the company was desirous of placing the
26

How it all began
}
poles where they would be most convenient to all
concerned.
''The objection on the part of the company to
placing them on Elm Street was that there are so many
trees along the street as to interfere with the wires.
Besides, it would be necessary to string a great many
wires over roofs of buildings, which is one thing that
businessmen object to and why they petitioned for
having the poles.
"W. G. Cox, who is in charge of the telephone
exchange, acting under authority of a resolution
passed by the Common Council in December, 1879,
proceeded on Saturday last to distribute the poles.
When Alderman Wachlin, wishing to enforce the action
of the council at its meeting last week, ordered Cox to
desist and the latter not complying, Wachlin called up
Chief of Police Delaney to arrest him.
"As he considered that Cox had as yet committed
no offense, the chief refused to arrest without a
warrant. The City Justice also refused to issue a
warrant without a complaint being filed by the City
Attorney. And the City Attorney, for the same reason,
perhaps, deeming the resolution of the Common
Council in December 1879 sufficient authority to
warrant the company in erecting the poles, did not file
a complaint.
"Meanwhile, Cox, being assured by legal advice,
was busy and while the council slept he had a force of
men at work, and on Sunday saw a line of poles along
the west side of Main Street.
''The resolution of 1879 is as follows: 'The Common
Council of the City of Faribault do resolve that
permission be granted the Northwestern Telephone
Company to erect poles and wires thereon in the streets
of the City of Faribault under the direction of the City
Council, provided that said City should at all times
have free use thereof for fire alarm and other
purposes.' Ayes - Cavanaugh, Crocker, Kaul,
Mortenson, Mullon and Spencer. Nayes- None.
''The opposing members of the council,
maintaining that the telephone company did not
consider the above resolution as of force or they would
have presented a petition subsequently, and in any
event the poles were to be erected under the direction
of the City Council, and that the company violated the
spirit of the resolution by getting the poles in opposition
to the wishes of the majority of the Council. It is
intimated that the end is not yet, and that the poles will
have to come down."
But succeeding issues of The Republican and other
local papers emphasized that into 1900 the poles were
still up. Later, in keeping with technical advances, the
poles eventually came down and the wires were strung
underground. So the Telephone War simmered out.
County parks developed
By GLENN D. CRAME R
Rice County Park & Recreation Supervisor
The Board of County Commissioners of Rice
County, Minnesota acted on July 10, 1962 to establish
the Rice County Planning Advisory Commission. The
planning commission aided in establishing the
eligibility of Rice County for certain federal and state
grants to acquire and develop areas for recreational
purposes.
In 1966 the Rice County Board of Commissioners
decided that there was a need for a Recreation & Parks
Committee. The Park Committee shall act as an
advisory group to the Rice County Board of
Commissioners. The Park Committee among other
things shall study and make recommendations on Rice
County Parks system, maintenance and use. Between
the years of 1966 to the present 1976 Rice County has
acquired 1100 acres of county park property, consisting
of six county parks and one bird sanctuary.
Albers Park consists of 7 acres and is located 11
miles north of Faribault, Minnesota. Albers Park was
purchased by Rice County in 1967. Albers Park has a
beautiful picnic pavilion and modern toilet facilities.
The park is used as a picnic area in the summer time
and a rest stop for snowmobilers in the winter time.
McCullough Park consists of 104 acres and is
located approximately two miles west of Shleldsville,
Minnesota. McCullough Park was purchased by Rice
County in 1968. The McCullough area will be developed
into a year around recreation facility for family
recreation, with summer picnic area, playground and
campground.
Heron Island is the bird sanctuary within the Rice
County Park system located on General Shields Lake,
The island was purchased by Rice County in 1969. This
island is especially significant because it is one of the
largest nesting areas for the Blue Heron in the upper
midwest and is one of the only breeding grounds for the
American Egret.
Shager Park is located on the southeast shore of
Cannon Lake. The park consists of seven acres and was
purchased by Rice County in 1968. The park has a
swimming beach which is heavily used during the
summer months; it also has a small picnic area and
primitive toilet facilities.
Falls Creek Park is located one mile east of the
Faribault City limits. The park consists of 61 acres and
was purchased by Rice County in 1970. Falls Creek is
mainly a wooded area with about 3000 feet of creek
frontage. The park has a natural camping area divided
by stone and sumac, limestone bluffs for fossil hunters
and wilderness area for a natural wildlife
habitat. Since Rice County purchased Falls Creek a
self -guided nature trail has been brushed which
includes 29 points of interest and a mile and a half of
trail. A primitive campground and a picnic area have
been established. A tree nursery was started consisting
of 4000 trees.
The Cannon River Wilderness Area consists of
27

CDVT!?Al .4v£/ F4RIBA!JL~ !rJ/1'/l(
Early day Faribault street scene
approximately 850 acres and is located midway
between Faribault and Northfield along the Cannon
River. The Wilderness Park was purchased by Rice
County in 1972. So far development in the Wilderness
Area has consisted of approximately 5 miles of hiking
and cross country ski trail. During the fall of 1975 a
primitive type toilet building and picnic pavilion was
constructed. A bridge across the Cannon River was
dedicated in September, 1976.
The final piece of ground the Rice County Park
system purchased is Hirdler Park. It is located on the
west side of Lake Mazaska in the Village of
Shieldsville. The park was purchased in 1974 and is
planned to serve as a lake access and picnic area.
County landfill
Prior to 1965 Rice County, like most counties in the
United States, was plagued with private and township
dumps plus roadside litter areas, according to Merton
Hoover, Rice County Sanitarian.
The most used area for dumping was owned and
operated by the City of Faribault and was near
completing the area that could be used for dumps
purpose.
In July 1965 a Special Use Permit was isssued by
the Rice County Planning & Zoning Commission to the
Northfield Disposal Service to operate a landfill in
Section 29 of Bridgewater township. The area to be
used was an abandoned gravel pit. In the early days of
landfills gravel holes were used as they are usually in
need of some kind of fill to remove a scar to the earth's
surface. This, however, is not good fill for gravel pits
due to moisture in garbage seeping into the water
strata.
By 1972 the area in the gravel pit had been filled to
normal grade and another landfill site needed to be
acquired. New Minnesota Pollution Control regulations
for landfills required that the country draw a plan
stating where and how solid waste was to be disposed
of in the entire county. A consulting firm was hired and
a plan for both pickup and disposal of solid waste was
drawn up.
A landfill site of 206 acres was purchased in
Bridgewater township, section 33. The consulting
engineer, through the cooperation of county officials,
determined the soil suitable and ground water and rock
formations would not be affected by leachates from
garbage and other solids.
The location of the landfill area determined that a
heavy tonnage road be built to the site. This was done
by the Rice County Highway Department.
The county then purchased an office building, built
a garage, fenced the office area and purchased
necessary equipment to operate a landfill and started
the operation in 1973.
Part of the plan for county service was a container
system for pickup of waste generated in the townships.
Containers of 8 to 10 yard capacity are stationed at
strategic points in each township, thereby shortening
the travel distance by township residents. The number
of containers and the frequency of pickup by a county
truck is governed by routes and need.
The present Rice County Solid Waste program is
estimated to last at least twenty years. In the
meantime programs are being studied in the area of
resource and energy recovery to make better use of
lands and provide energy by burning and generating
28

How it all began
}
electrical power or heat.
Progress and technology in the field of solid waste
generation and disposal will change at a more rapid
pace in the next few years than ever in the past.
Agents aid farmers
Rice County, recognized as one of Minnesota's top
producing agricultural areas, for more than 50 years
has been the recipient of highly valuable professional
agricultural, agri-business, home economics, 4-H and
economic advice provided by state and federal
extension services.
Records of the various county extension agents,
their assistants, home economists and 4-H agents who
have provided important advice and counseling
services to Rice County farmers, their sons and
daughters and the general public as well, have been
kept in this county since 1923. The list includes:
Agricultural Agents
A. A. McPheeters 1922-1924, Paul A. Johnson
1924-1926, Harry A. Haas 1926-1933, Otto J. Hill 1933
(emergency agent), Don Marti 1934-1945, Edward
Slettem 1946-1952, Warren F. Liebenstein 1951. Frances
Fruth 1944-45 War Food assistant; M. 0. Fruvag
1944-45 War Food assistant.
Home Economists
Gwendolyn Watts 1927-1932, Elaine Trygestad
1954-1956, Olive Ness 1956-1959, Mary Lu Luetke
1959-1961, Carolyn (Opjorden) Tande 1963-1967,
Kathleen (Lagerstrom) Ross 1967-1972, Carol Kelly
1972-1973, Yvonne Steinbring 1973-.
4-H Agents and Summer 4-H Assistants
Irma Reineke 1934, Elvira Weum 1934, Shirley
Emerson 1935, Marie Hoffmann 1936-1937, Aurelia
Haugerud 1938, Marie Hoffmann 1939, Edith LaBonte
1940-1941, Mildred Trottner 1942, Wilma Wiechmann
1943-1944, Belinda (Flom) Carlson 1945-1947,
Patricia Thurston 1948, Jeanne Gontarek 1949,
Rosemary Conzemius 1950-1953, Gwen Willmsen 1954,
Katherine Hawkins 1956, Milan Reed 1956, Arvy Larson
1958, Joanne Honken 1962.
Assistant County Agents
Gene Williams 1959-1963, John Stone 1964, John
Halvorson 1967, Marvin C. Lee 1967-1974, Michael
McCorvel1972, Arthur L. Madsen 1974-.
Rice is county of lakes
ROBERDS LAKE
Many an old timer can remember Roberds Lake as
THE Saturday night and Sunday afternoon spot of the
area. The old Brown and Bennett Hotel has been
replaced by the Roberds Lake resort store. An integral
part of Roberds Lake is Manley Park, now called the
Manley Park Association.
Manley Park was built about 1875 as a huge farm
estate by Sylvester Manley Pye, an English gentleman
and New York businessman. Pye bought the land
section by section and the estate eventually totaled 102
acres. After four generations, small portions of the
land were leased to people who built cottages along the
shore. These owners became known as the Manley
Park Association. The lake was named for William
Roberds, an original log cabin settler from North
Carolina who built a grist mill in the first lake
community (which eventually became Manley Park).
William Harkins, member of the Wells Township
Board, operates the popular Roberds Lake Resort and
Millstone Trailer Park. Carlyle Beaupre operates the
Shady Acres Resort on Roberds Lake and the Stump
Restaurant.
LAKE MAZASKA
Lake Mazaska is the only lake in Rice County
which borders on four townships: Wells, Forest, Erin
and Shieldsville. A colorful history of this
Irish-Catholic community tells of lake monsters,
driving a horse and cutter across the lake in winter
when roads were blocked, and pioneer families who
built up the village of Shieldsville. It is also rapidly
growing cottage-wise and has a number of resorts.
GENERAL SHIELDS LAKE
General Shields Lake, named for a Mexican war
hero, General James Shields, who was an original
proprietor of Faribault and the man who organized
"Shield's Colony" which is now Shieldsville, is split in
the middle by townships Erin and Shieldsville. The
lake is the origin of the Cannon River. Its island, in the
northwest corner, is known for its herons and
American egrets, wading birds that nest there in the
spring. Orwin Rustad has written several articles on
his studies of the birds there. The island is known as
Bird Island, Wood Island and Heron Island.
CANNON LAKE
Cannon Lake is not only Rice County's largest
. lake, but is rapidly becoming the most popular.
Resorts, places of entertainment, beaches, and over 50
year around residences make up the Cannon Lake
community. An old legend from the History of Rice
County text tells how the lake got its name.
CEDAR LAKE
Cedar Lake's historical past cannot be overlooked
today. Families of original pioneers still remain in the
homestead community, such as the LaCanne and the
LeMieux families. Dr. Harry E. Whitney, headmaster
at Shattuck for more than 50 years, owned the largest
island on Cedar Lake and used it for a summer school
camping grounds about 1917. (Mrs. G. R. Kingham is a
daughter of Dr. Whitney).
FRENCH LAKE
Rice County's deepest lake is French Lake. It has a
gay history of old summer homes owned by pioneer
Faribault families. In 1891 a group of 20 Faribault
29

Early day Dudley's and Kelly's Lake scene.
families decided to take advantage of the scenic lake's
facilities. They organized the French Lake Club,
bought a house, and agreed each family would use the
house for two weeks of the summer. Donald Grant,
prominent railroad contractor, built Scottish Heights,
a summer home, just before the French Lake Club was
organized. The huge house was built on four acres of
land overlooking the south shore. The house was sold in
1928 and burned shortly after that.
CIRCLE LAKE
Circle Lake, with its 98 acre island, is one of the
county's largest and one which can best illustrate the
effects of the times.
A long-time Circle Lake-Millersburg area resident
recalls hearing about the Dundas Archibald Mill which
had flowage rights on the lake. Located in Dundas on
the Cannon River, the mill could regulate its power by
adjusting the dam at Wolf Creek on Circle Lake
because of the connection with the river.
Today, the old timer said, two of the biggest
problems are the changing level of the water and
keeping fish in the lake.
''There are just a few planks in the dam now,'' he
said.
The island was at one time dense with maple trees,
but these were cut down by the island's owner at the
time, W. W. Grant. The island has also been a golf
course. Owned by Sherman and Coss, a realty
company from Minneapolis, it was part of a mainland
resort which had cabins, resorts and a pavilion.
In its prime time during the '20s, the resort hosted
many knickered golfers driving their high-wheeled
vehicles from all parts of the midwest.
During the depression, the resort quieted to
nothing but unpainted buildings with squeaking doors
and sagging roofs.
Today Circle Lake is still quiet mainly because of
the water level which seems to constantly change.
''Seeing a boat is an occasion now,'' said one man
who is building a permanent home near the lake.
KELLY DUDLEY
Kelly and Dudley Lakes, just off highway 21 -
named for Patrick Kelly, who settled here in 1863 and
Robert Dudley, in 1855 - are actually two small twin
lakes but are considered one. Miss Rose Shields stated
that the lakes at one time were separated and a
pontoon bridge was built enabling people to cross from
one to another. An island in the middle of one of the
lakes is now connected to the mainland and is being
divided into lots and sold. James Clarkin, veteran of
the Mexican War with General Shields, settled on a
farm north of Kelly in 1857.
30

How it all began
''We've had boats for nearly 80 years,'' said Harold
Brazil, whose family homesteaded there in 1864. He
now has about 160 acres including the lake shore.
"We've got two cabins now and places to add another
or two. The lake's mainly for fishing."
There are 196 acres to both lakes.
FOX
South of Union and Circle Lakes is Fox Lake.
Having a public access a few miles off old Highway 65.
it is stocked by the state department of conservation
and has several cottages.
RICE
Rice Lake is on the pasture of Leo and Tom
Murphy's farm near Kilkenny. The Murphys
homesteaded here in 1858. Leo Murphy seined the lake
for rough fish for 40 years and then turned over the task
to his son, Tom.
UNION LAKE
Union Lake is north of Circle, close to old highway
65. It has many cottages and an old dance pavilion
which belongs to Mrs. Emma Camp of Northfield.
My husband and I built the pavilion in 1924," Mrs.
Camp said. "We don't use it anymore."
Un.painted now, the building is on the hill behind
the two buildings near the highway. Faded red crepe
paper still drips from the aging rafters probably a
wedding dance decoration.
Camp Dean was at one time near this schoolhouse.
Owned by the Congregational Church of Northfield, it
was used mainly for church organizations. Its
buildings have been tom down.
Oldtimers Andrew Cleland and William Wyman,
who have lived near the lake most of their lives, have a
collection of Indian relics found while working in the
fields of the farms. Cleland has a couple of flat edged
rocks with smooth, rounded holes for mixing war paint.
He has collected a full little wooden box of arrowheads
and has some crude axe heads too.
Wyman who lived in Northfield said his father
homesteaded near Union Lake right after the Civil
War.
OTHER LAKES IN RICE COUNTY
Other lakes in the county are Cody and Phelps near
Wheatland, Sprague, Weinberger, Crystal, Wells, Mud
and Little Mud, Willing, Hunt, Malaga and Twin Lakes.
All but two of the county's lakes are located near
highway65.
Two families, pioneers in this community, are the
Healys and the Dudleys. Both Irish families, their
names are associated with General Shields Lake, near
Shieldsville. Sarah Dudley was the first white child to
be born in Erin Township and Mrs. John Healy was the
first school teacher there. The Healy home was
considered the "mansion of the community."
In their pasture was a dance pavilion where many
good times were had by the people of that community.
Pioneer women saluted
Anna Mallory Buckham died in 1935 at the age of 96
at the home of her nurse, Mrs. Howard Ulvenes. She
was the widow of Thomas Scott Buckham, who she
married on Nov. 28, 1868. She was identified with the
church (Congregational), social and civic life of
Faribault for many years. Following the death of her
husband, who had been Rice County Supt. of Schools,
Judge of the District Court, and Faribault's second
mayor, 1872, Mrs. Buckham expressed a desire to
bequeath some memorial to the city which would be
symbolic of Judge Buckham's distinguished career
and which would be of practical use to the residents of
Faribault.
A few months later Mrs. Buckham, in a letter to
the city council, made known her plans for a beautiful
memorial library to be located at the foot of Central
Avenue on a site in front of the Buckham home. She
purchased the Winkley property at a cost of $20,000 for
this purpose. Mrs. Buckham stipulated that she had
decided to erect a memorial library at a cost of
approximately $100,000 "that shall be a benefit and
pleasure to those now living here and those who shall
come after them. The only conditions for acceptance
were that the city accept the library as a memorial to
Thomas Scott Buckham and the assurance that this
memorial will be suitably and adequately
maintained."
The council quickly accepted the generous bequest
and work on the structure, designed by Mrs.
Buckham's nephew, Charles Buckham, distinguished
Vermont architect, was begun. The cornerstone was
laid Sept. 22, 1929, by Mrs. Buckham and the library
was dedicated on July 20, 1930, with another nephew,
Rev. John W. Buckham, D.D. of Berkeley, Calif.,
giving the address.
The beauty and design of the Buckham Memorial
Library proclaim Mrs. Buckham's vision and love for
the generations to come. .
Excerpts from a letter written by .Miss Carolyne
M. Murray, who died in 1949 (age 91), told that she and ·
her mother, Mrs. Thomas M. Murray, who had been
shopping in Northfield, heard a burst of shooting. As it
turned out, they were witnesses of the James-Younger
Bank Raid, Sept. 7, 1876. She recalled men o·n
horseback rode madly up and down the block by the
bank, shouting at people who quickly got out of sight. In
a few minutes the shooting ceased and the men on
horses rode hurriedly away. She and her mother
hastened to the bank comer from where they saw two
dead men and a dead horse. She wrote, "Tension
heightened because of fear that the bandits might
return any minute for revenge. In the meantime,
Henry Wheeler, who had taken a leading part in the
gun battle, and others immediately organized a posse
and started out in pursuit of the bandits, who, on
fasthorses, had already outdistanced them.''
Agnes Faribault Haskell (Mrs. Wallace) of
Faribault was born at Mendota, Minn., Nov. 11, 1858.
Her father, Frederick Faribault, was Alexander
31

~en 8? §Vow
Faribault's youngest brother. She was baptized in
Mendota but received her education at Bethlehem
Academy in Faribault. Her sister and she owned a pair
of fine sorrel ponies and many of the older generation
remembered them for their skill in riding. Some of you
might have heard of her daughter, Valerie (Mrs. O.C.
Olson) and Valerie's son, Norbert C., both of Faribault.
Miss Lillie Clara Berg from whose writing "Early
Pioneers and Indians,'' some of the material was
received, was born on a farm in Bridgewater
Township, Rice County, April 16, 1891. She graduated
from the State Normal School at Mankato and taught in
the elementary schools of Minnesota, Washington and
California until her retirement in 1946. Her
grandparents settled in Rice County, thus she had an
interest in tracing her family and others here.
Evangeline Whipple. Bishop Whipple had reached
the age of 74 years the fall of 1896 when he left on
unexplained business. His parishioners were all
surprised when he wired home in October that he had
just been married to Mrs. Evangeline Simpson of
Boston. She had been a widow, owner of a beautiful
estate worth a half-million dollars. She was charming
and friendly but much younger (35 years) than the
Bishop. People wondered if the marriage could be a
success.
Feelings gradually changed when she used some of
her money to enlarge the Bishop's house, providing
him with a big library facing the Cathedral. He filled it
with treasures he had received from many sources -
Indians, honorary degree hoods, books, pictures, etc.
Evangeline displayed her art treasures from Europe in
another room, of which the Bishop was proud. She
enlarged and beautified the entire house with her
wealth. Before they left for Florida in the winter,
Evangeline gave many gifts to those who needed them,
among which was a sleigh presented to the principal of
St. Mary's Hall.
They traveled to England to attend the 4th
Lambeth Conference in London. In her purple velvet
gown, she received almost as much attention as her
famous husband.
Together they visited the Indian homes and
mission schools. She was received kindly and with
honor. She donated $50 so one of the teachers could take
an Indian girl to a conference to show others how to
make delicate bobbin lace. They made lace bedspreads
at the mission schools for Mrs. Pierpont Morgan and
Mrs. Vanderbilt, receiving several hundred dollars for
each one.
On Sept. 16, 1901, Bishop Whipple died. Evangeline
had been his wife for five years. After spending the
winter in Florida, she returned to Faribault because
plans were underway to build a tower on the Cathedral
in memory of the Bishop. She found the loneliness of
the big house more than she could bear.
Receiving a call to come to France because of a
brother's illness, she closed the house, leaving Major
Milligan in charge, keeping the Bishop's rooms and
library exactly as he had left them. The house stood
empty for many years. Evangeline Whipple never
returned. She died in Europe. Her portrait hangs in
Saint Mary's Hall, also.
Grace E. McKinstry, daughter of A. W. McKinstry,
Editor of the Faribault Republican, came
to Faribault in 1865 as a child. She studied art in
America, France, Spain, and Holland and is listed in
"Who's Who in America, 1936" as one of America's
outstanding portrait painters and popular lecturer on
art and travel topics. The Travelers Club of Faribault
was founded by Miss McKinstry, who died in 1936.
There are water color and oil paintings painted by Miss
McKinstry in the gallery on the museum floor of
Buckham Memorial Library. There are portraits of
Mrs. Mattison (mother of Flora Mattison Sheffield,
owners of the flour mill which recently burned), Harry
Whitney, Headmaster of Shattuck from 1874-1926, A.
W. Stockton, and two unidentified Indians.
Miss McKinstry exhibited her art work in many
cities in the United States and Europe. She was
appointed as teacher of painting at Carleton College in
1887 and opened an art studio there in 1898. She was a
member on the governing board of the Minnesota Art
Association and recording secretary of the Minnesota
State Art Society in 1910-12.
She painted a great many portraits including one
of Governor Johnson of Minnesota and several staff
members at Carleton College. She received much
recognition for her work.
Miss Martha Watts was born Feb. 23, 1857 in
Vermont. She, with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert
Watts, one sister and two brothers, came to Rice
County in 1859, where they lived on a farm in Sec. 27,
Northfield township two miles from Dennison. She
taught in rural schools several years. One of her pupils
was Thomas Bunday, who passed away in Northfield in
1954 at the age of 90. Miss Watts also was deputy
secretary to a Register of Deeds in N.D. for four years.
Miss Watts recalled the days of the Sioux Massacre
when the New Ulm settlers passed their farm in
covered wagons, fleeing from the Indians.
Elsie Meyer Kiel (Mrs. A. L. Rustad) of Faribault
said regarding her grandmother Mrs. William T.
Meyer's account of pioneer life: "In the early days of
1855 before Faribault was settled, the Wheeling
township pioneer's nearest market was Hastings,
Minn. By ox team and lumber wagon, grain and other
produce were taken to that town. Grandmother and
Grandfather Meyer slept overnight in the wagon box.
The next morning flour, sugar, and other supplies were
purchased and the trip was made back to their farm.
After the Faribault trading post was established,
grandmother walked from the farm in Section 29, to
Faribault where she sold her eggs at 7 cents per dozen
and their butter for 11 cents per pound. Indians camped
in the densely wooded area but were friendly. They
knew Saturday was bread-baking day at
grandmother's and would walk right into the log cabin
and help themselves. To show their gratitude, though,
they brought her wild game in return. About the time of
the New Ulm Indian Massacre, Wheeling settlers were
much concerned about the Chippewas living around
but they proved to be friendly. However, the pioneers
never went to bed without bolting their cabin door
32

How it all began
securely and seeing that the old musket was near the
bed."
Mary Ripley Mott. Louise Mott, youngest daughter
of Rodney and Mary Mott, wrote a paper about her
parents for the Rice County Historical Society in which
she said: Mary Ripley was born in Marlboro,
Connecticut in 1825. Her father, a zealous missionary,
brought his family to Will County, Ill. where she met
Rodney Mott. She taught school for $2.00 per week and
"boarded around." She married Rodney Mott Aug. 17,
1852. They came to Faribault in covered wagons in 1856
because there was so much malaria and typhoid fever
in Crete, Ill., where they lost two children. Mrs. Mott
was in the Ladies Bible Class of the Congregational
Church, the teacher of which was Mrs. Henry Riedell.
Mr. Mott was the teacher of the Hulette and Faribault
children and then became the editor of the Rice County
Herald and later its owner when Fred Frink sold it. Mr.
and Mrs. Mott were intensely interested in public
affairs, ardent Republicans, out to stop slavery. Louise
says her mother was always busy, but not too busy to
read to the girls. She was never afraid of anything,
including Indians or floods which forced the Motts to
move their home to higher land several times when the
river overflowed its banks. She lived to be 99 years of
age.
Mr. Mott, in his Feb. 17, 1858 issue of the Faribault
Herald wrote under the heading "Common Schools"
about the following two woman teachers, Miss Mary
Fisk and Miss Parish: Seldom has our pen been
exercised to make a more pleasant and satisfactory
report than that which comes under the above head.
The money panic pouncing upon us at a time when the
district was considerably involved in consequence of
the purchase of a lot and the building of a first class
school house, etc. has made the duties of the trustees
arduous and thankless.
Sometime in November last, three teachers were
employed and a partial but imperfect system of
grading effected. Miss Mary Fisk taking charge of the
primary department in Crump's Hall, and Mr. Fish
and Miss Parish, each occupying a room in the school
house, superintending the higher departments. These
schools closed last week. We have visited them from
time to time and now propose to give others the benefit
of our observation.
Miss Fisk has had under her tuition in number
from 40 to 50 scholars, generally of the younger class.
The feature in this school most striking to a casual
observer has been the perfect system attending every
exercise; the best order uniformly prevailed and so
perfect was the teacher's self government that not a
word or gesture seemed to escape her without bearing
a §ignificance which the pupils readily understood. In
fact, we have no hesitation in pronouncing it for system
and good manners the model school.
Many of the scholars were backward for their age,
yet their reading, spelling, and mental arithmetic
recitations were full of interest, especially .... we were
pleased with their prompt recitations of passages of
scripture, common tables and their vocal music.
Miss Parish came among us last fall a stranger,
but her reputation as a teacher which she had
established in Vermont had preceded her. Of superior
education, clear and pointed in her explanations,
beloved of her school, were she but a little more
thorough in her government we could find no point to
criticize. Besides the tuition of about 50 pupils,
comprising her department of this school, Miss Parish
has superintended a class in algebra and one in
astronomy from the other department both of which
have made excellent improvement, considering the
number of classes she has heard, and the double
amount of labor performed, she has certainly achieved
great success.
We want to give no undue praise to these teachers,
and if we could not truthfully have spoken well of them
we should probably have said nothing. But it is
apparent to those who have visited our schools that
under many difficulties these teachers have done for us
this winter a noble work, and we should not withhold
that reward so dear to every teacher's heart and yet
the last to be conferred vis: appreciation.
Active nonogenerian
In addition to being an active nonogerian - he
celebrated his 96th birthday with members of his
family on June 10, 1976- John E. MCGillen, resident of
Faribault Manor and former Erin Township resident,
is a versatile individual of many talents and interests.
During his long life, McGillen who is still spry and
vividly recalls many standout events of his more than
nine decades of living has been a farmer, livestock
raiser, horse handler, co-op member and officer,
musician, baseball player and avid sports fan.
Born in New Zealand, the son of Patrick McGillen
and Margaret McMann McGillen, on June 10, 1880, he
has lived in this country most of his life. His parents
came to New Zealand, known then and now as ''the
land of opportunity" from Ireland. Settling in the
Christchurch community, they farmed and raised
20,000 sheep.
Then they decided to join the steady migration of
people of many lands to the United States, the
midwestern and western section of which were being
rapidly settled in the 1880's, 1890's and early 1900's.
While John was still a youngster they came to Rice
County, Minnesota and settled first with Patrick
McKenna who lived on the southeast corner of Lake
Mazaska in Shieldsville Township. Later the McGillens
moved to an Erin Township farm four miles east of
Montgomery, a farm on which John McGillen and his
wife, who died in 1932, lived for many years.
Helping to celebrate his 96th birthday were ·
McGillen's three sons, Edward of Kilkenny; Gregory
of Mankato and Kevin of Le Center and their wives;
two daughters, Mr. and Mrs. Chet Borozak (Phyllis) of
Fridley and Mr. and Mrs. John Oliver (Margaret) of
Robbinsdale; 13 grandchildren and three great-
33

Second Regiment, Minnesota National Guard camp at Faribault, June 24, 1888.
grandchildren.
Of his farming days, he has many memories -
primitive farming methods later giving way to
mechanized machinery, using oxen for farm work at
first, then horses and later tractors- becoming a firm
believer in agricultural co-operatives and serving as
president of the Montgomery Livestock Shipping
Association C(}-op for 40 years, prompting a
congratulatory letter for his contributions to the C(}-Op
movement from Lyle Lamphear, director of public
relations for the Central Livestock Association, South
St. Paul, and recalling zestfully the day many years
ago when he entered a prize team in the under 3400
pounds event of a Le Sueur County Fair horse pulling
contest and "stole the show" by capturing top honors.
McGillen also recalls, with a happy twinkle in his
eye, the days when the Foley-McGillen Orchestra (he
was a mandolin player) played for well-attended
dances at Franta's Hall, Montgomery. The band also
played for "400 Club" dances once a month. Members
of the popular musical ensemble were: Frank Kubat,
Martin Willaby, Bart Foley, William Foley, John
Murphy and McGillen. ·
The nonegerian's greatest memories, though, are
of his baseball days in the early 1900's. A catcher, he
played on Erin Township, Shieldsville and Kilkenny
teams. He remembers the stars who played on the
championship Fleckenstein Brewery baseball teams
which met all comers in successful style. He, too,
remembers pitcher McCleary who chalked up an
imposing five year record of 160 games as pitcher for
Lake Benton and Waseca, winning 149 of the games
and losing but 11.
He also has fond memories of George Barton and
Halsey Hall, Minneapolis sports writers, and followed
closely the baseball careers of Jimmy Pofahl, now of
Owatonna but formerly of Faribault who played for the
Washington Senators, and Hudson "Hockey" Mealey,
Faribault, of Southern Minnesota League and
University of Minnesota baseball fame. All these years
he has kept extensive batting, pitching and fielding
records of many diamond stars.
On his 96th birthday, versatile John McGillen
received many congratulations. He took it all in stride
like the true trooper he is.
183 die in wars
Hundreds of Rice County residents served their
country, for the past 115 years, in United States Wars,
including the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World
War I, World War II, Korean Conflict and the Vietnam
War.
During that service, 183 war veterans from this
county paid the supreme sacrifice by giving their lives
in four wars, Vietnam War, Korean Conflict, World
War II and World War I, according to figures supplied
by Charles Fleckenstein, Rice County Veterans
Service Officer. Figures were not available for
Spanish-American War and Civil War casualties.
34

How it all began
There were nine Gold Star Veterans from Rice
County in the Vietnam War; 13 in the Korean Conflict;
116 in World War II and 45 in World War I. The list of
Goid Star Veterans who died in the service of their
country includes:
VIETNAM WAR
Edward Francis Braunger, Faribault; Sgt. David
Gerald Bultman, Faribault; PFC Gary L. Burke,
Faribault; Capt. Michael D. Burmeister, Northfield;
Pvt. Thomas Dell Eastman, Kenyon; Major Robert F.
Grundman, Faribault; PFC William Hering,
Northfield; Kevin Patrick Shields, Faribault; SP 4
~raid F. Tracy, Dennison.
KOREAN CONFLICT
Roy Harold Bailey, Faribault; Cp. Donald Richard
Bremer, Faribault; · PFC Robert Barry, Faribault;
PFC Francis W. Coleman, Faribault; Fireman 2nd
Class John Charles Doyle, Faribault; Pvt. Edwin C.
Erickson, Northfield; Cpl. David W. Kaul, Faribault;
Pvt. Paul Lidstrand, Faribault; Sgt. Lawrence D.
Johnson, Faribault; Pvt. Harvey B. Mosher,
Faribault; PFC 1-c Harvey L. Pedersen, Faribault;
Sgt. Donald Ponto, Faribault; Cp. Robert E. Weber,
Faribault.
WORLD WAR II
PFC Edward Allen, Faribault; Lt. J .G. Elliott
Anderson, Northfield; Lt. Arthur Bestul, Dennison;
Pvt. Palmer Bollenbach, Owatonna; Pvt. Oliver
Boucher, Faribault; S1-c Evan Brekken, Dennison;
MM1-c Albert Bremer, San Diego, Calif; F1-c Theo.
Ceplecha, Lonsdale; Sgt. Dean Christensen,
Northfield; Sgt. Marlow Christenson, Faribault;
Pvt. Carson Cole, Faribault; S-Sgt. Raymond
Corbesia, Faribault; Sgt. John Cross, Faribault; Pvt.
Rudolph David, Kilkenny; Sgt. Harold Davidson,
Oelwein, Iowa; Lt. Carl J. Degen, Los Angeles, Calif.;
Pvt. Charles De Mott; S 1-c Robert De Wolf,
Northfield; Cpl. Walter Drevlow, Faribault; Lt.
Stanley Edwardson, Northfield; Pvt. Herbert
Ellerbusch, Faribault.
Pvt. Daniel K. Flom, Kenyon; Pvt. Edward Fuller,
Faribault; T-5 Philip Gannon, Northfield; Pvt.
Leonard Golden, Faribault; Pvt. Melvin Gordon,
Faribault; Pfc. Elmer Graves, Faribault; Lt. Robert
Graves, Minneapolis; Pfc. Elmer Grohman,
Faribault; Pvt. Warren Grunert, Northfield; Lt.
Donald Habein, Morristown.
Lt. Lyle Hanson, Northfield; Pvt. Berchard, Hanson,
Mankato; SK1-c Paul Haefemeyer, Faribault; Thomas
Russel Haugen, Dennison; Pvt. Bennett C. Hellam,
Minneapolis; T2-c Robert J. Hellam, Minneapolis;
Staff Sgt. Charles Patrick Henry; Pfc. William Hille,
Webster; Pfc Hubert Hostetter, Faribault; S-Sgt.
Alfred Howland, Faribault.
Pvt. Buddy Louis Hering, Faribault; Cpl. Frank
Hruza, Faribault; Capt. James K. Hunter, Northfield;
Pvt. Howard Jandro, Faribault; Seaman Martin
Jensen, Northfield; T-Sgt. Roy Johnson, Northfield;
T-Cpl. Noel E. Jones, Dundas; Lt. George E. Kaul,
Faribault; S-Sgt. Leonard Kern, Faribault; S-Sgt.
Raphael King, Faribault.
MM Carl Krauseman, Faribault; Pvt. Henry
Krause, Minneapolis; PFC Arthur Kreitz, Northfield;
AM James H. Krenske, Faribault; T-4 Vernard
Kuhlman, Faribault; PFC Warren Lambert,
Faribault; Pvt. Herman Lerdel; Lt. James Lippert,
Northfield; S-Sgt. Laverne Lowe, Northfield; Pvt. Olaf
Q. Lium.
Lt. Frank Manz, Northfield; PHM 1-c Clarence
Mathis, Faribault; Franklin Juel Madison, Faribault;
Cpl. Matthew McGuiness, Faribault; T -Sgt. Ralph
Miller, Faribault; Cpl. Francis Miller, Owatonna; S1-c
James Morris, Dundas; PFC Gordon Nelson,
Faribault; PFC Stanley Nelson, Faribault; PFC
Robert O'Brien, Faribault.
T-Sgt. Russell Olson, Faribault; PFC Jack
Ostrom, Faribault; Pvt. Clarence Overby, Little
Chicago; Pvt. Arthur Pagel, Kenyon; T -5 Arthur
Paquette, Faribault; PFC. Robert Peterson,
Faribault; Lt. Albert Peterson, Northfield; Cpl. Paul
Pickering, Minneapolis; Lt. Noel Pineur, Robbinsdale;
A-c Charles Popelka, Faribault.
Lt. Clyde Rasmussen, Minneapolis; Harlan E.
Rasmussen, Faribault; Capt. Luther Ranum,
Faribault; A-c Arnold Reed, Morristown; WAVE
Shirley Riach, Faribault; Sgt. Rodney Root,
Faribault; PFC Mark Rosenqvist, Nerstrand; PFC.
Leland R. Rowberg, Northfield; Cpl. Thomas Savage,
Dennison; Lt. Herman Sahli, Lonsdale.
A-S Jerome Schuck, Faribault; Matt Schmanske,
Medford; PFC. Bernard Shea, Faribault; WT1-c L. W.
Siemer, Faribault; Sgt. Charles Snell, Faribault; PFC.
Edward Sobrak, Faribault; Pvt. Arthur Steinberg,
Faribault; Lt. LeRoy Sullivan, Faribault; Pvt. Gerald
Titman, Faribault; Lt. James Tripp, Northfield; Lt.
Eugene Truax, Faribault.
Pvt. Earl Truman, Faribault; Lt. Edward Tuma,
Lonsdale; Lt. Erwin Tyler, Northfield; PFC George
Van Ryn, Faribault; Lt. Robert Viall, Northfield; Lt.
Forrest Von Ruden, Faribault; PFC. Clarence
Wanous, Medford; Ensign Vernon Wegner, Faribault;
Lt. Roger J. Weum, Kenyon; PFC John P. Weed.
Homer Howard Wilson, Faribault; Sgt. John Wolf,
Faribault; Pvt. Floyd Workman, Faribault; Pvt.
Douglas Workman, Faribault; PFC Dean C. Wood.
WORLD WAR I
Walter J. Albers, Northfield; William Ashley,
Dundas; Thomas Ausems, Faribault; Peter J. Braun,
Faribault; Guy Edson Bruce, Elysian; Wilber
Bultman, Kenyon; Samuel Cowden, Dundas; Roy
Collins, Faribault; Charles Cross, Faribault; Frank
Czaplewski, Winona.
Herman Dammeier, Faribault; Andrew DeMars,
Faribault; Arthur Drewitz, Faribault; Leo Ferstler,
Northfield; Theo Fornier, Northfield; Albert Fossum,
Lonsdale; Frank Gibney, Faribault; William Griffin,
Lonsdale; Herman Haefemeyer, Faribault; Arthur,
Hanson, Faribault.
Harry Hatfield, Faribault; Wilfred Jeno,
Lonsdale; Roy Keller, Faribault; Harold Kenny,
Faribault; Fred Larson, Faribault; Norman Larson,
Faribault; Louis Moreau, Faribault; Frank Novak,
New Prague; Edward Orcutt, Faribault; Edward
Olson, Faribault.
35

Herman Ottem, Faribault; Cyril O'Connell,
Faribault; L. C. Prentiss, Faribault; Frank St.
Anthony, Faribault; Harvey Schreiber, Faribault;
George Schuenke, Faribault; Daniel Schuette,
Morristown; George Sheeran, Faribault.
Louis Sherwin, Nerstrand; Henry Treka,
Montgomery; John Trenda, Webster; Edmund Varley,
Faribault; Theo Willing, Faribault; Herbert Zabel,
Northfield; Edward Zeamann, Faribault.
36

•
Chapter ll Story of Faribault
Council is busy
The Faribault City Council, in charge of
conducting the government of the City, is composed of
five members, all elected by the citizens of the city at
large- and not by wards.
Members of the Council include: Mayor Robert
Larson; Councilmen: Paul Muellenmeister, Gary
Kindseth, Harlan Petti piece and Arthur Hopke.
Two of the council members are· seeking
re-election- Larson and Kindseth. Petti piece has filed
for mayor. Muellenmeister and Hopke are holdover
members.
But two more council members will be chosen
during the 1976 Primary and General Elections. In
accordance with the new Faribault City Charter,
adopted by Faribault voters in a special election held
on Dec. 10, 1975, the council membership will be
increased by two, a total of seven, all elected at large.
Under provisions of the newly adopted charter, the
mayor and councilmen no longer have assignments as
commissioners of specific departments. These
departments are now under the supervision of a City
Administrator, Eugene Wieneke, who assumed his
duties~ upon appointment by the council, on Sept. 1
1974.
Wieneke, who is pleased by the cooperation he has
received from the .officials and citizens of Faribault,
has been in the city and county administrative business
for nearly 10 years, including eight in Galena, Ill., and
at Dunn County, Wisconsin.
Although the members of the present council have
expressed individual opinions during council meetings
on specific issues, differing from each other, it can be
said that, on the whole, the council is in total
agreement on two basic subjects - citizen
involvement in public affairs and the dire importance
of each agency, organization or group seeking
appropriations from the council to establish priorities
for their requests.
Councilman Paul Muellenmeister commented "In
this Spirit of 1976 year I offer a few words for the next
generation -If you wish to keep America great and
free, get involved in city, county, state and federal
government. Don't sit back and say 'let someone else
do it'."
The city council, in January 1976, passed an
ordinance which created a new city office- Director
of Public Safety. The office combines the duties of the
chief of police and the fire department chief, offices
which no longer exist. Chosen by the council to assume
this post is Ronald Drew, who formerly held a similar
post in New York State and Bethlehem, Pa.
Under provisions of the same ordinance, the office
of Director of General Services was created, including
accounting, bookkeeping and personnel ·duties
formerly carried out by the city recorder and city
treasurer, two offices which no longer exist. The new
post is held by Bruce Nelson. Purpose of these changes
was to improve administrative efficiency without
increasing the number of employes.
Much has been accomplished by the council during
the past two years. Now under construction - and
expected to be completed by February 1977 - is the
enlargement of local sewage plant facilities including
installation of a different type of sewage treatment. Of
the $4.3 million project cost, 75 per cent will be paid
through federal aid, 15 per cent through state aid and
10 per cent by the city.
Another major project has been more efficient
utilization of Municipal State Aid. Prior to adoption of
the project, this type of state aid was used on a
piece-meal basis. Under the new plan, half of the
county's overall annual share for 10 years is being used
for street improvements and the other half for
maintenance and payment of bonds.
Another commendable project has been
construction of curb and gutter, sidewalks and street
surfacing work on a special tax assessment basis with
Faribault taxpayers giving excellent cooperation.
What are the major projects facing the council in
the future? Wieneke sums them up as the following:
As soon as a studies report is received from the
state a major decision will have to be made by the
council on the future of the City of Faribault's Airport.
The council is faced with three decisions- merge with
the City of Owatonna Airport -leave the present local
airport as it is - or resolve to enlarge the ·present
Faribault Airport.
The City of Faribault will have to face up to the
need for construction of a major sanitary sewer along
the southern border of the city due to residential
development pressure.
Construction of a new Industrial Park, now
underway north of the city limits by a local private
developer, John Heselton, is under council supervision.
Recently, the city of Faribault received a $350,000
community development grant from HUD (Federal
Department of Housing and Urban Development) and
city planning is underway for the project. Faribault's ·
grant is the second largest from HUD in this area. Half
of the money will be used for construction of three
37

~en ~c:Now
First council met in 1872
Robert Larson
(Mayor)
Gary Kindseth
Arthur Hopke
Harlan Pettipiece
Paul Muellenmeister
Eugene Wieneke
short water and sanitary sewer lines in three small
locations in the city. The other half will be used for the
start of a city housing inspection program. The bulk of
this share of the money will be used for housing
rehabilitation.
So, under the city council direction, Faribault is
forging ahead, not standing still.
By LYLE SCHREIBER
(This history of the city of Faribault has been
compiled by reading the official minutes of the council
meetings. The routine matters of business, on which
any council must spend a great deal of time, have been
omitted. Also, some major items are omitted because
they will be covered in other chapters by other
writers.)
An act to legalize the act to authorize the
incorporation of the city of Faribault was approved
February 29, 1872. It provided for the first election to be
held on the first Tuesday of April in 1872. H. M.
Matteson, B. F. Straub and Ernst Fleckenstein were
designated as inspectors of elections and the board of
canvassers. The population of the city was given as
5,000, of which 1,000 were voters. There were 612 pupils
enrolled in the city schools.
The charter meeting was held in Central Hall with
a capacity audience. Dr. L. W. Dennison was elected
chairman. F. W. French, Esq. explained the charter.
Other prominent citizens who spoke were Luke Hulett,
Esq., the Honorable G. E. Skinner, the Honorable
Gordon E. Cole and R. A. Mott, Esq.
The first election was held on April2, 1872. Friends
of the charter rejoiced by firing salutes, and the
Faribault brass band played in honor of the event.
"The election under the new charter resulted in a
clean Republican sweep with the exception of one
justice, J. B. Quinn, Esq., who was personally quite
popular and whose Republican opponent refused to
run."
The total vote cast was 846. There were 555 votes
for the charter and 291 against. Officers elected were:
Mayor, George W. Tower; Recorder, H. P. Sime; and
Treasurer, James A. Winter.
A paragraph from the Mayor's address, given at
the first meeting of the Common Council on April 9,
1872, shows that politics has not changed a great deal:
"And now, Gentlemen of the Council, let me urge.
upon you the strictest economy in public expenditures
compatible with the public interests. Remembering
that we are trustees of the purse of our constituents, let
no unnecessary officers be appointed, no salaries paid
but for corresponding efficient services, no
improvements made at public expense merely for local
or personal ends; and above all, let us avoid debt as we
would a pestilence or famine.''
The newly elected council took its work seriously,
for their second meeting was held the next day. They
met 32 times from the first meeting in April through
the end of December.
Pound Master Appointed
One of the first items of business was the
appointment of Pound Master Reuben Rundell. Mr.
Rundell served for many years and his duties covered
all animals. He once had a bull in the pound which had
to be sold to pay for the pound fees. One of the first
ordinances pertains to cattle running at large. Public
opinion was about equally divided on this issue. At one
38

I
meeting a petition would be presented to have cattle
confined and at the next meeting a remonstrance
petition would be brought in for the cattle to run at
large.
At the July 8th meeting the pound master was
given a fee of fifty cents for each dog killed and buried.
At the June 20, 1881 meeting it was decided to require
licenses for dogs. The collection of the fee was on a
percentage basis with the pound keeper getting a
larger percentage as the number of licenses increased.
Horses were an important part of early Faribault.
In 1873 the first publicly maintained watering trough
was built. November 15, 1875 the council was
concerned about loose signs that were frightening
horses on bridges. December 13, 1880 a petition was
presented to allow the driving of sleighs and cutters on
Seventh Street at a speed exceeding ten miles per hour.
On August 1, 1911, 125 additional hitching posts were
purchased. Resolution 374 on June 27, 1910 prescribed
the areas where hitching posts and curb rings could be
installed. On September 12, 1916, the council authorized
a payment of $4.50 for buggy shafts broken when a
horse was frightened by a sprinkling wagon.
Horses were used by the fire department until1924
even though the first fire truck had been acquired in
1919. A by-product of the use of horses was that in
March 1917 it was advertised that manure was
available for fifty cents per load delivered.
Fires were an ever present danger in the new city.
Most of the buildings were of wood construction,
heated with woodburning stove or fireplaces. The city
did have a volunteer fire department, but they had only
buckets or a hand operated pump to work with. At the
November 23, 1872 meeting of the council a petition was
presented asking the council to investigate the
purchase of a steam fire engine. The report was
favorable, and on Debember 9th it was voted to buy a
steam engine for $5,000 and two hose carts for a total of
$7,750. With the salary of the Chief of Police at $50 per
month, it is quite evident $7,750 was a large amount of
money and is an indication of the seriousness of the fire
hazards.
Water Is Problem
The riew engine arrived in February of 1873 and
was put into service. To be useful, the new engine
required a good source of water, and without a water
system, this was a problem. The first solution was to
build platforms at the river's edge, but this could not
take care of the buildings farther from the river. A
series of huge cisterns were built throughout the
business district and these were filled with river water.
To add to the fire danger, many of the fires were
incendiary in origin. At the April 22, 1874 council
meeting, a reward of $250 was offered for the capture
of arsonists.
On March 17, 1882 a fire-started in the kitchen of
the Barron House. The volunteers started to fight the
fire but soon found that the water from the hoses has
become a mere trickle. Sand had been drawn into the
cylinder of the pump and so the Barron House was
destroyed. The engine was sold to Belle Plaine,
Minnesota in 1894 for $1,100.
The council had to deal with many subjects in
First Faribault House
Story of Faribault
addition to the more routine matters such as approving
the laying out of streets, building bridges, making
assessments for street sprinkling and other
housekeeping details. Incidentally, the cost for a
sidewalk (wood) for the width of one lot was $16.25.
By January 1876 the council felt that it should have
a regular meeting place, so a room was rented in the
Masonic Building for $150 per year.
When the county built the court house, the citizens
of Faribault decided there should be a clock in the
tower but the county officials were reluctant to spend
county money for a clock that would mostly be
beneficial to Faribault residents. On December 14, 1874
$500 was voted for a clock by the council. Provision was
made for someone to wind the clock and maintain
it. This position was continued for many years.
One hundred years ago the Common Council voted
to spend $400 for the Centennial observance if the
citizens would raise an equal or larger amount.
Bond Issues Popular
Bond issues were more popular a century ago than
they are now: November 3, 1874 $5,000 at 10 per cent
interest were sold to build the engine house and a
cistern; August 25, 1877 $8,000 for constructing the
Third Street bridge; and May 15, 1879 $50,000 for the
Minnesota Central Railroad. The later issue was
approved 410 to 111. A large issue was also sold when
the water system was bought by the city.
The city was growing so on October 17, 1881 the
Philadelphia plan of street numbering was adopted.
·This provided for odd numbers on the east and south
lines of the streets and even numbers on the north and
west sides. One number was provided for each
twenty-two feet of frontage and the house number was
determined by the location of the front door. On March
8, 1897 an ordinance was adopted which changed the
designation of avenues from tree names to numbers.
This was more practical but less picturesque.
At the June 11 meeting in 1894, a representative of
the Mutual Benefit Insurance Company offered to build
a city hall costing up to $30,000 if they could sell $700,000
39

~en~§Vow
worth of insurance. The offer was accepted by the
council. The building was constructed during the later
months of 1894 and 1895. At the April 13, 1896 council
meeting, Frank Little, the representative of the
insurance company, said that his company had spent
over $20,000 and asked for help in completing the
building as he had not sold as much insurance as he
hc.dhoped.
Before the building of the City Hall, the library had
been housed in the court house. On April30, 1896 R. A.
Mott and John R. Parshall, representing the Library
Association, offered to turn over their library
materials to the city. State law provided for a one mill
levy for the support of libraries. Support for the library
was voted at the election on April 12, 1897 by a vote of
547 to 222.
Gives New Library
In addition to the gift of the city hall building,
Faribault was fortunate in receiving $100,000 for a
library building and $20,000 for land to build it on from
Mrs. Anna Buckham as a memorial to her husband,
Thomas S. Buckham. The gift was announced at the
September 11, 1928 council meeting.
The summer of 1929 saw one of Faribault's sons
become world famous. Dale "Red" Jackson and his
partner, Forest O'Brien, set the world's record for
non-stop flying. They flew their plane for 420 hours 212
minutes without landing, or 173 hours and 37 minutes
longer than the previous record. Later this same
record was broken by Jackson and 0 'Brien. The
council sent a telegram of congratulations on July 23,
1929.
On two occasions the business of the council was
interrupted to listen to important news events. On June
22, 1937 the council recessed to listen to the returns of
the Louis-Braddock fight, and on December 9, 1941 it
recessed to hear Franklin D. Roosevelt's report to the
nation after Pearl Harbor.
The Board of Health was created by the council
December 1, 1881. One of the first actions by the board
was the providing of a Pest House where persons with
contagious diseases could be cared for. The board also
enforced quarantine regulations. In January 1890 a city
doctor was appointed. Dr. Seeley's salary was set at
$60 per year or fifty cents per call. This fee was to
include the cqst of any necessary medicine.
In 1899 Captain James Hunter approached the
council with an offer to sell Hunter's Hospital (now the
Evergreen Knoll) to the city.
The offer of the German Evangelical Deaconess
Society to build a hospital was presented to the council
October 24, 1907. This offer specified that the building
should not cost more than $35,000. The city was to
contribute $10,000. Beds would be provided for thirty
patients. Because of the contribution by the city, it was
agreed that people for whom the city was responsible
would be cared for at the rate of $1 per day. After
several years the hospital asked for an increase to $2.40
per day. This was refused. The $1 per day rate was still
·in effect in 1953 when the board of directors of the
hospital petitioned for an increase.
During the Spanish flu epidemic it was necessary
to provide additional hospital space, so Hunter's
Hospital was again used as an emergency hospital and
Resolution 708A was passed to pay the bills for those
unable to do so.
In 1912 the Visiting Nurse Association requested
the council to appropriate $75 to have a bathtub
installed in the basement of the City Hall for the use of
poor children.
At the second meeting of the Common Council on
April 10, 1872 two policemen were hired for a salary of
$40 per month. Later in the year one of the men was
designated as chief and his salary increased to $50 per
.month.
It may be difficult to think of Faribault as needing
an ordinance to prohibit Houses of Ill Fame, but the
council passed such an ordinance June 5, 1874.
Generally laws are passed to meet a need.
Prisoners not Coddled
The Common Council could not be accused of
coddling prisoners in the city lockup. In 1876 they
approved a diet of bread and water for prisoners and in
1896 provided a rock pile for tramps to earn their keep.
The broken up rocks went to the street department for
repairs. Action against law violators was swift. At the
February 18, 1874 council meeting a complaint was
registered against Wattles' Saloon in the Barron
House. It alleged that the saloon had become a "haunt
for little boys" and that gambling, smoking and the
serving of liquor to minors were allowed. A hearing
was held at which several boys were questioned under
oath by the cityattorney. The following day the council
met and revoked the license.
Control of saloon licenses seemed to be a major
function of the council. There was a large turnover of
ownership and each change had to be approved. Many
pages of the official minutes are devoted to these
actions. In 1917 Ordinance A47 was adopted, setting the
hours for opening and closing saloons and prohibiting
girls and women from entering saloons. In 1913
Ordinance A35 had been passed forbidding free lunches
in saloons.
With the advent of prohibition, law enforcement
problems changed but did not decrease. Now the police
had to see that the so-called "soft drink parlors" did
not do a little "bootlegging" on the side. One dealer
evolved a plan whereby liquor was kept in the
basement and if a reliable customer wanted something
stronger than pop, a bucket was let down through a
hole in the floor to get it. In time, the police interfered
and the dealer had to sell his business.
November 28, 1922 a delegation of ladies came to
·the council meeting to ask that Prohibition be
enforced, that matrons and chaperones be provided at
all public dances and that windows in places where soft
. drinks were sold be curtained and those curtains
drawn. The council's decision was not to require the
drawn curtains.
The council called for bids for a police car
November 27, 1928. Bids were received for a Buick,
Hupmobile, Chandler, Hudson, Oakland, Dodge,
Oldsmobile and Graham-Paige.
"Tiny" Retires in '56
On December 26, 1956 one of Faribault's dedicated
40

Story of Faribault
Alexander Faribault House on First Avenue
NE (near Division Street) as it looks today
after being restored by Rice County
policemen in the person of Lawrence F. Abelman
retired. "Tiny," he was over six feet tall, had almost
become a landmark. He was good natured and friendly
but his stature awed little boys and a word of
admonition from him carried weight. He was Faribault's
motorcycle patrolman for a number of
years having gained experience in riding a motorcycle
during World War I. On Saturday nights he would be
stationed at the Third or Fourth Street and Central
Avenue intersection operating a battery lighted
Stop-and-go sign. He once received a letter from
someone who had passed through town addressed to
"The Tall Cop in Faribault." On his retirement, the
council voted also to retire his badge- Badge No.1.
Progress in the form of the coming of the
automobile had its effect on city government. In
August 1907 Ordinance 150 set the speed limit on
Faribault streets at eight miles per hour. By 1910 it was
decided to pave Central Avenue from Division to Sixth
Street N.W.
Even before the automobile, street work, street
surveys and the sprinkling of streets took much of the
council's time. In 1914 $250 was appropriated to
experiment with using oil on the streets to control the
dust. April 27, 1915 Fred R. Kummer , Buick dealer,
appear ed r equesting permission to install an
underground gas tank at Fifth Street and Central
Historical Society. Home was built in 1853 and
was the first frame building in Faribault.
Avenue. The Buick Garage was located where the
Hotel Faribault is now.
The first motor . truck was purchased from the
Anderson Motor Company in May of 1919 for $782.96.
The first motorized fire truck was also purchased in
1919. By 1921 the council spent $62 to have streets
marked for parking.
In the fall of 1937 at the September 14 meeting, the
council discussed the desirability of purchasing the
Caron property for a park. On October 26 Councilman
Herbert H. Meyer moved that the Caron property be
purchased for $150 per acre. The motion passed
unanimously. On December 20 the council voted to buy
all of the property for $13,000 with a life lease to the
Carons for the residence. During this period no
objections to the action were brought fo the council. In
the election of April 1939 all of the council members
were defeated, mostly because of the park purchase. A
visit to Alexander Faribault Park on any evening or
weekend now is vindication for the council members
who did what they considered right but lost their jobs
fo~ doing so.
Before the days of organized charities, Faribault
proved its compassion by officially contributing to
areas that experienced disasters. In August 1883 the
Common Council voted $2,000 for the Rochester,
Minnesota tornado . victims, in April 1886 $500 for
41

~en ~§Vow
cyclone damage at Sauk Rapids and St. Cloud, and in
September 1894, $800 for survivors of the Hinckley fire.
The history of Faribault in this Bicentennial year
covers more than 125 years. To deal with it fully would
take many volumes and much additional research. The
preceding covers some incidents that seem to be
noteworthy, but is in no way an exhaustive treatment
of the history of Faribault and the activities of its
government.
Fire department
is Ill years old
By CHARLES ROEHRICK
Former Fire Chief
This is a "chronological" history of the Faribault
Fire Department with major improvements of
equipment, personnel changes, major fires and other
fire prevention advancements throughout the years.
During the 111 years the department has been in
existence, 18 persons - including 14 children - lost
their lives because of fires.
In 1864 the department consisted of four volunteer
companies, Excelsior Hook ' & Ladder Co., Straight
River Hose Co., Young America Hose Co. and the
Phoenix Hose Co. To call these companies into action a
steam whistle at the Hill's Furniture Factory would
blow notifying the people in town there was a fire. This
was used until about 1870 when a large bell was placed
in the tower at the fire hall. This was used until 1940
when it was removed for safety reasons and it was
stored in the basement of the fire hall untill967 when it
was placed in a special bu.ilt niche in the new fire
station on Second Street NW.
In February of 1870, a fire destroyed three business
places. This fire was fought by a bucket brigade;
Excelsior Hook & Ladder Co. using hooks to pull down
the building and keep the fire from spreading; ladders
which had arrived just two weeks before from Chicago
and the bucket brigade, no engines. Later, a pair of
wheels was procured by the bucket brigade. The men
manned the ropes and made a tour of the village,
stopping at every shop and store to seize buckets which
they hung upon their primitive truck and thus the first
extinguishing apparatus was secured.
The City Council, in the spring of 1870, purchased
land on Third Street Northwest between First and
Second A venue Northwest for a future fire hall. Two
major fires occurred that year, including November
22, the Hill's Furniture Factory, $25,000 loss and
November 28, the Seabury Hall, $20,000 loss.
January 1, 1873 the City Council reorganized the
fire department with a total of 123 members into four
companies - Engine Co. No. 1, 40 men; Excelsior
Hook & Ladder Co., 40 men; Niagara Hose Co., 20 men;
and the Straight River Hose Co. , 20 men. Chief
Engineer was C. P. Pike, 1st Assistant J. R. Parshall,
2nd Assistant H. P. Sime. On February 7, a steamer
engine arrived in Faribault after being on the road for
60 days. April 10, a major fire destroyed six business
places.
Fire Hall Built
In 1876 a new fire hall was built at the cost of $7,300.
Ground floor was the equipment floor and horse bam,
second floor was the firemen's hall and city offices and
in the basement was located a large cistern for the
storage of water to help fight fires. December 8, Bean's
Flour Mill burned, $25,000 loss.
The most disastrous fire that ever happened in
Faribault was on June 17, 1878. Almost the entire block
was destroyed, including two banks and ten stores, loss
$125,000. This block was between Central and First
A venues and Third Street and Second Street
Northwest.
January 11, 1882 H. P. Sime resigned as Chief of the
fire department. March 17, the Barron House Hotel
burned, $34,000 loss.
September 4, 1894 a new chemical engine was
purchased, this engine and the other chemical engine
were pulled to fires by horses. These horses were
owned by different men in town, they were also used to
pull the sprinkler wagons to sprinkle the streets and
when an alarm was sounded they would go to the
station and hook on to the chemical engines and go to
the fire. The City also owned some horses, they were
kept in the back part of the fire hall.
May 3, 1895 the Faribault Rattan Works burned,
$30,000 loss. August 15, the Far ibault Fire Department
Relief Association was organized for the firemen who
were sick or injured on duty. Chief was John H. Detert
and Joseph Brandis was Assistant Chief.
January 1998, the Young America Hose was
disbanded, 21 members. July 20, the old fire hall
located on First Avenue Northwest between Third and
Fourth Street Northwest was torn down.
In 1910, E. F. Kelley was appointed Fire Chief.
May 12, residence of E. H. Sperry was burned, with
Mrs. Kellogg, Mr. Sperry, two sons and one daughter
losing their lives. In 1918 C. W. Aberle was Fire Chief
and H. H. Aberle was Assistant Chief.
In April, 1919 Jack Duchene was appointed Fire
Chief, replacing C. W. Aberle. Department had four
paid men plus the Chief. August 4, City Council
purchased the first motorized chemical truck from the
American LaFrance Co. , arrived November 25.
On March 23, 1923 Sacred Heart Church burned,
$15,000 loss. November 27, City Council purchased a
Dodge truck from John Langer for $1,495, the firemen
helped John Langer build the truck body and tanks.
December 7, City Council approved $500.00 more to
finish the truck. Department had six paid men and
sleepers, they were men who were hired to sleep at
night at the fire hall.
Last Horses Sold
March 21, 1924 the last horses used by the
department were sold at an auction. June 12, City
Council looked at the new style pumpers. On August 5,
Saint Mary's Hall was struck by lightning, total loss
$100,000. August 12, bids were advertised for a pumper
42

Old Faribault fire station and horse drawn fire tvagons
and ladder truck. August 24, American LaFrance
Truck Co. was awarded the bid for a 750 gallon pumper
and a front wheel drive 65' wooden ladder aerial truck
to be delivered in 150 working days, cost for the
pumper was $14,784, ladder truck was $14,700 less
$1,500 for the old horse drawn ladder wagon. This 1924
wooden ladder aerial truck is still in the department.
On October 8, Marven Morgan was appointed Assistant
Chief.
January 31, 1925 Farmer's Merchants Bank
burned, $13,000 loss. Department had eight paid men
and five night sleepers. January 9, 1927 Vaux Canning
Factory burned, $37,500 loss; November 28, 1928
Bundy's Shoe Store burned, $26,000 loss, three men
injured; January 31, 1929 Grand Theatre burned, total
loss $200,000. April 10, Marven Morgan was appointed
Fire Chief.
In 1931 there were three major fires- February
25, Rice County Courthouse burned, total loss $100,000;
May 7, Brand's Nursery burned, $14,700 loss;
September 28, Mee's Studio burned, $19,000 loss.
In 1932 the department had four trucks - Dodge
Chemical, American LaFrance Chemical, 750 gallon
American LaFrance pumper and 65' American
LaFrance ladder. There were nine paid firemen plus
Chief Morgan and Assistant Chief Frank Boldt.
February 7, Emery Book Store burned, $19,720 loss;
August 7, Rice County Grandstand burned, total loss.
February 28, 1933 Sacred Heart School burned,
total loss; April 1, Daisy Woodcraft burned, $17,000
loss; January 27, 1936 Maison Ritz Bar burned, $15,000
loss; August 29, Hutchinson Dry Goods Store burned,
$44,000 loss. Department had nine paid men and two
part time men. January 18, 1937 Faribo Liquor Store,
Evans Cleaners and Schultz Restaurant burned,
$17,500 loss, all occupied the same building.
1938 Firemen began to fix toys for the needy
children, this was continued until 1967 when the
department moved into the new station. May 1,
department was changed to shifts of 24 hours on and 24
hours off to shorten the work week. There were six men
to each shift plus the Chief and Assistant Chief.
January 21, 1940 Jim & Joe Clothing Store burned,
$39,900 loss.
Fire Hall Criticized
August 8, 1941 Grand Jury criticized the condition
of the fire hall and demanded immediate action. 26
years later a new station was built. October 29, Rice
County Rural Cooperative Fire Protection Association
was organized, including Wells, Cannon City, Walcott
and Warsaw Townships.
May 23, 1942 City Council approved $4,000 to repair
the fire hall. Wooden floor was replaced with concrete
and steel rods were installed through the building to
hold it together. Bids were awarded to Paul Schroeder
and Benson Brown.
October 18, 1943 Shattuck School Clock Tower
burned, $150,000 loss. Four men -were injured- Chief
43

~en ~c!fiow
Ruins from disastrous Faribault fire June 17, 1878. Looking north on Central Avenue
Morgan, Fred Achilles, William Fihn, Charles
Roehrick- and a student from Shattuck.
March 12, 1944 Frank Boldt Assistant Chief died,
was with the department 39 years. December 31, Henry
Felix died, was the first paid truck driver in the
department in 1919.
May 1, 1945 Edward Behlke was appointed
Assistant Chief. May 16, Mrs. Edward Duchene and
seven children died in a house fire.
February 1946 City Council approved one more
fireman to fill in for the day off a month the Council
granted the firemen. April 7, Commander Elevator
burned,· $75,000 loss, one fireman injured. August 20,
Civil Service was approved for the fire department
personnel.
March 15, 1947 new 1,000 gallon Seagrave pumper
delivered to the department. It will replace 1919
American LaFrance Chemical truck, cost $13,077.
Pension fund was established for the firemen. June,
Edward Behlke was promoted to First Assistant Chief
and Lawrence Svien was promoted to Second Assistant
Chief. November 21, six members of the William
Brooks family were injured in house fire.
January 16, 1948 First Rural fire truck purchased
by the Rural Fire Association to protect four
townships, Cannon City, Wells, Warsaw and Walcott.
Cost $8,121.34. February 12, Rural truck made first fire
run.
January 23, 1953 K. & G. Manufacturing Co.
burned, $30,000 loss. March 3, new 1,000 gallon
American LaFrance pumper arrived, cost $17,481.36.
The money for this truck came from the tax refund on
cigarette and liquor from the state. This truck will
replace the 1924 750 gallon American LaFrance
pumper. October 18, State School Dairy Barn burned,
$200,000 loss. May 30, 1954 Sacred Heart Church
burned, $36,000 loss.
1955, firemen were granted two days a month off to
shorten work week. November 19, Stoeckel's Cities
Service Station burned, $50,000 loss. August 30, 1956
Fred Silvernagle and three children died in house fire.
September 23, 1958 the last of the wooden block
floor in the fire hall was replaced with concrete, this
section was the old horse barn.
City Proposal Defeated
January 14, 1962 Shamrock Bar burned, $40,000
loss. February 23, City Council purchased the Edgar
Mentz house for the future site for a proposed
Municipal Community Building. September 11, bond
issue was voted on and was defeated, 3,726 "no," 1,084
"yes," for the Municipal Community Building for the
Fire, Police and City offices. October 11, Daniel
Muchow daughter died in house fire.
January 12, 1963 Parker Auto Body Shop burned,
$10,000 loss. June 25, Marven Morgan notified the City
Council of retiring September 1, as Chief of Fire
Department, forty-one years in department, 34 as
Chief. August 24, new GMC fire truck, with a high
pressure pump, for the Rural Fire Association was
delivered, it replaced the 1948 Dodge truck, cost
$5, 784.95. October 24, City Council appointed Ervin
Venera Fire Chief effective November 1, 1963.
May 25, 1964 State School Haven Building burned,
$15,000 loss. December 23, City Council allowed the
position of two Captains to be created in the
department.
January 1, 1965 Charles Roehrick and Eugene
Gallagher were appointed Captains to fill the positions
44

Faribault fire scene, March 9, 1884. M. P.
Holman Saloon destroyed, A. W. Tenney Feed
created in department. February 9, . City Council
discussed plans for a new fire station. AprillO, Sacred
Heart Church burned, $50,000 loss. Owatonna Fire
Department was called for mutual aid. May 1, Charles
Roehrick was promoted to Assistant Chief to replace
Lawrence Svien who will retire May 30, Alva Hallanger
was promoted to Captain to replace Charles Roehrick.
February 8, 1966 City Engineer was authorized to
draw specifications for two new fire trucks. February
22, City Council met with architects for fire station.
February 24, architect was hired. March 2, Foldcraft
Factory burned, $30,000 loss. During the ensuing
months a number of meetings were held by the Council
and architect on the plans for the new fire station and
property was purchased for the location for the new
fire station. November 11, bids for two new fire trucks
were opened and on December 13 they were awarded to
the American LaFrance Truck Co. December 13,
Council approved plans for fire station. December 23,
Paul Gray was awarded general contract bid of
$152,500, Larson Electric $32,750 and Capital Plumbing
$73,784, total bid $258,998less cost of property.
January 24, 1967 bond issues for $430,000 were sold
for the new fire station. February 1, Assistant Chief
Edward Behlke retired, thirty years in department.
February 28, Captain Alva Hallanger promoted to
Assistant Chief and Donald Erickson was promoted to
Captain. March 28, authorized City Engineer to
process an order on construction of fire station. April1,
one day a week off was granted to the firemen to
shorten the work week and change to two shifts with
nine men to a shift. December 18, moved into new
station.
January 12, 1968 new 1250 gallon American
LaFrance pumper arrived, cost $37,250. April 1, new
85' steel ladder aerial American LaFrance arrived,
Store, damaged. North side of Third St. NW
between Central Avenue and First Avenue.
cost $51,900. April 20, open house was held at the new
fire station. May 25, Cook's Paint Store burned, $30,000
loss. August 27, old fire hall was sold to Rice County for
•· $3,000. October 8, Ervin Venero resigned as Chief due
. to health, effective November 1, 1968, seventeen years
with department.
Roehrick Named Chief
February 11, 1969 City Council appointed Charles
Roehrick Fire Chief effective February 16, 1969. March
.16, Donald Erickson promoted to Assistant Chief. May
11, Segar Grocery Store burned, $11,000 loss. July 8,
Dodge van was purchased for use as a rescue truck,
this will be the first rescue truck for the department,
cost $2,748. During the following months the firemen
built storage cabinets in the truck for first aid supplies
and rescue tools. November 21, rescue truck was put
into service.
November 25, City Council established through
streets on Second Street Northwest to Eighth A venue
Northwest and Second Avenue Northwest to
Fourteenth Street Northwest as emergency routes for
the fire department.
January 1, 1970 City Council granted holiday and
overtime pay for the firemen. March 10, City Council
approved the purchase of a slide and movie projector
for the department to use for public fire prevention
programs and training within the department. March
24, station wagon was purchased to be used for fire
inspection and fire prevention work. July 22, Lawrence
Svien, former Assistant Chief died, thirty six years
with department.
August 25, City Council adopted a fire prevention
code, Ordinance A389. November 1, Victor Moravec
and William Borwege were promoted to Captains.
November 6, Bliss Motors burned, $25,000 loss.
November 12, cornerstone and slide pole, used to get
45

~en E;?cfNow
Godfrey Fleckenstein Brewery taken from the bluff 10 days after 1891 fire.
1919 American La France Chemical Truck,
first motorized unit of Faribault Fire
Department. In front of truck are Buck Haupt
(in suit), Dan Savage, Ferdinand Behlke in
uniform, driver in uniform Jack Duchene,
Chief Carl Aberle (in suit), Frank Boldt on
running board, Henry Felix in uniform by
back wheel, Lard Alm (in suit), back man on
step, Hoger; front man, Alfred Taubman.
46

-"· . , I·
Dolly and Button, owned by J. Warmington,
and their fire rig, and local firemen, in front
DoLLY - ,..~
of the Faribault Fire Station in 1895.
from the second floor to the first floor when a fire
alarm was received, were removed from the old fire
hall and stored in new fire station.
February 23, 1971, City Council approved four
more firemen. March 1, four men were added to. the
department to shorten the working hours and to have
three shifts with six men and a Captain on each shift
for a 56 hour week, plus the Chief and Assistant Chief.
March 5, City Council passed ordinance banning open
burning in city. August 1, Sellner Manufacturing
burned, $80,000 loss. October 6, new cornerstone for the
new station was laid and also the 1876 cornerstone from
the old fire hall.
July 1, 1972, fire inspector was hired for the new
Fire Prevention Bureau to enforce Fire Code.
November 28, new fire district ordinance was passed,
dividing the city into three fire zones. November 28,
emergency telephone number "911" was brought
before the Council for a discussion by Manager Donald
Furlong, Northwestern Bell Telephone, and Chief
Roehrick to install the emergency number "911" for
the Fire, Police, Sheriff and Ambulance. December 22,
Country Club burned, $45,000 loss.
February 28, 1973, station wagon purchased for
Fire Inspector. April 1, Gerald Eul promoted to
Captain. July 4, Mr. Quick Restaurant burned, $32,000
loss.
"911' Number Adopted
March 2, 1974, Donald Erickson, Assistant Chief,
retired, 22 years with department. May 28, new rescue
truck bid awarded to Bliss Motors. June 9, Shattuck
School Ice Arena burned, $50,000 loss.
September 23, Emergency number "911" was put
into service for the Fire, Police, Sheriff and
Ambulance. October 28, old fire hall was demolished to
make way for the new Rice County Law Enforcement
Center. December 3, new rescue truck chassis arrived,
it will replace the 1970 Dodge van, because of the
increase of rescue service. The following months the
firemen drew the plans for the body to be installed on
the new chassis, after many hours of work the plans
were finalized, bid was awarded to the Truck Utilities
Co. to build the body. Cost, truck and body, $11,500.
February 16, 1975 City Council promoted Victor
Moravec from Captain to Assistant Chief to replace
Donald Erickson who retired March 2, 1974. April 2,
new rescue truck was put into service. This truck is
equipped with an electric winch, latest rescue
equipment, oxygen therapy equipment and radio
facilities to communicate with the ambulance and Rice
County Hospital. May 8, City Council appointed
Francis Herda Captain to replace Victor Moravec who
had been promoted to Assistant Chief.
June 7, City Council approved the purchase of
better safety equipment for the firemen including fresh
air masks, new style fire coats, not rubber, and new
style helmets. The old helmets have been used for 40
years.
June 19, King Mill and Warehouse office and three
garages were destroyed, $450,000 loss. Fought fire for
14 hours with help of the Owatonna and Northfield Fire
Departments. This historic mill was an old landmark
47

Ultra-modern new Faribault Fire Station,
Second Street and Second Avenue, with
unique hose tower and historic fire bell.
for many years in the western section of Faribault. It
was built in the early 1800s.
November 4, Chief Charles Roehrick notified the
City Council of retiring on January 2, 1976 as Chief of
Fire Department, 32 years with department.
The department now has the following equipment:
1924 American LaFrance 65' wooden ladder truck, 1947
1,000 gallon Seagrave pumper, 1953 1,000 gallon
American LaFrance pumper, 1963 GMC high pressure
pump, 1964 International tanker, 1,200 gallon - these
two trucks are owned by the Rural Fire Association-
1968 1,250 gallon American LaFrance pumper, 1968 85'
steel ladder aerial truck, 1970 Dodge van backup
rescue unit, 1973 station wagon for inspection work and
1975 Ford rescue truck. All these trucks are radio
equipped, except the 1924 ladder truck, and all carry
the latest fire fighting equipment. There are 23 paid
men now in the department.
New fire station functional
Faribault's modern municipal fire station, located
at 122 NW Second St. (in the City Hall block) on the site
of the Mrs. P. Theodore Olsson home which had been
acquired by the city through condemnation
proceedings, was declared ready for occupancy by the
Fire Department on Dec. 13, 1967. Moving day for
firemen was held Monday, Dec. 18, 1967.
The attractive, well-planned new building was
evaluated.as "very functional and effectively designed
for community fire protection." Representatives of
other fire departments in the state have visited the new
station and praised its design, equipment and
functional adaptability.
At a city council meeting held November 23, 1966,
the council, by a 4-1 split vote, authorized construction
of the proposed new fire station on the new site as soon
as possible. Councilmen Thomas Dillon, Richard
Ostrom, Lawrence Thompson and William Anderson
voted in favor of the project and Mayor Clarence Miller
voted "no."
On Jan. 24, 1967, at a special meeting, the city
council opened bids and awarded contracts for the
building. The Paul Gray Company, Faribault, was
awarded a general contract on a bid of $142,623.76. The
mechanical contract (plumbing and heating) was
awarded to Capital City Plumbing and Heating Co., St.
Paul, on a bid of $64,787.60. The electrical contract was
awarded to Larson-Roberts Electric Co., Faribault, on
a bid of $30,445.
Building Described
The building, of face brick and cast or natural
stone, is 90'x98' in size. Exterior doors and frames are
of hollow metal. Windows are of fixed steel and glazed
with gray glass, translucent in the dormitory,
transparent elsewhere.
The building is one story high in the apparatus
48

Story of Faribault
section and one story and a basement in the dormitory
section. A special feature is a niche in the building
which contains the historic bell used for years at the
old city fire station which was constructed in 1876 and
later torn down. Another unique feature of the station
is a 14'x8'x35' high inside hose drying and training
tower.
Architects who planned the attractive new building
are Raugland, Entriken, Domholt and King, Inc.,
Minneapolis.
General approval of the new, long-needed
structure was given by the general public and visitors
from throughout the state at an official Open House
held April 20, 1968. Firemen conducted guided tours.
Two new American La France fire trucks, a 1250 gallon
per minute pumper truck and an 18 foot aerial ladder
were on display.
The ''Minnesota Fire Chief, ' ' official publication of
the Minnesota Fire Chiefs Association, in its
March-April, 1968 issue, devoted several pages and
pictures to Faribault's new station. The Faribault Fire
Department now has a personnel of 23 men.
Faribault's 100-year-old fire station (built in
1876) which was razed to make room for the
new county-city Law Enforcement Center.
First post office here in 1853
By LYLE SCHREIBE R
The Continental Congress established postal
service for the North American Colonies by an act
passed on July 26, 1775, superceding, even before the
Revolution, the comparable service operated under the
British Crown.
The service was authorized in the Constitution in
the single sentence, "The Congress shall have power
... to establish post offices and post roads. The first
United States postal act was passed in 1789 and
Benjamin Franklin was appointed by George
Washington as the first Postmaster General. He had
been Deputy Postmaster General for the Colonies
under British rule so was well qualified for the position.
Postal service in Faribault started with the arrival
of the first mail in 1853. Just how this mail was
addressed or how it could reach Faribault, we do not
know because the city as such did not exist. The mail
probably came from St. Paul and was addressed to
some well known person in the area.
It was fitting that the first postmaster of Faribault
should have been Alexander Faribault. In 1854,
Edward J. Crump was appointed Faribault's deputy.
The post office was a log cabin located about where the
Hotel Faribault now stands. It didn't have to be a very
large building as some weeks the total mail for the city
was Luke Hulett's New York Tribune.
In 1855, Crump completed that famous Faribault
landmark, Crump's Hall. This building was to serve as
the first meeting place of many of the city's
organizations. It also served as the post office from the
time of its completion until the death of Mr. Crump in
1856.
At this time, mail was received weekly from a
route between St. Paul and Owatonna.
In 1855, the postal service made prepayment of
postage on mail mandatory. Prior to this
uncertainty of delivery made it customary to collect
the postage at the time of delivery. This method
encouraged some mailers to use prearranged codes on
the outside of the envelope so that the addressee could
get the message without paying for the letter.
Seal Is Sacred
From the very inception of the postal service,
Benjamin Franklin had insisted on the policy of the
freedom and sanctity of the mail. The seal on an
envelope was sacred and inviolable. No person
regardless of his rank or position could legally open a
letter addressed to another. This policy has continued
to the present. To further enhance the prestige of the
mails, the registry system was also started in 1855.
This meant that not only was the mail confidential, it
was safe.
After the death of Crump, a Mr. Young was
appointed acting postmaster. The office was moved to
the Moses Cole store building on the east side of First
Avenue east and south of Division Street. Young was
an unsatisfactory postmaster as he was too lazy to get
up from his chair to give out the mail. He was removed
49

~en~8'/ow
in 1857 and replaced by George S. Skinner.
Part of the pay of the postmaster was the rental of
space and equipment for the office. This meant that,
whenever there was a change in postmasters, there
would also be a change in the location of the office.
Often this was not convenient for the public.
With the appointment of George Skinner, the office
moved to the present location of the Hallmark store.
Daily mail service between Faribault and Hastings
was started, and service from St. Paul increased to
thrice weekly. Volume in 1857 was between 1800 and
2000 pieces per week.
The Faribault Herald for September 24, 1857 had
an article "Our Post Office". "At the request of a
number of our prominent citizens we glady give
expression to the full and entire satisfaction given by
Mr. Skinner and his clerk, Mr. Pettier, in the
management of the Post Office. Their arrangements
are excellent, and they have been faithful and
accommodating in the discharge of their duties. With
pleasure we become the organ of the community in
giving this evidence of our appreciation.'' Receipts for
letters alone in the first quarter of that year were $246.
This time, without changing postmasters, the
location of the office was changed to the east side of
Central Avenue about the present location of Karp's
Shoe Store. Mails to Hastings and the East were
received daily and dispatched three times weekly.
They were dispatched South daily via Owatonna.
Pony Express Begins
Though it had no application to local mail service,
it was in 1860 that the Pony Express was started. It
operated for only eighteen months, but during this time
traveled 650,000 miles and delivered 30,000 pieces of
mail.
From the first Pony Express notice: "Wanted:
young, skinny, wiry fellows not over 18. Must be expert
riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred.
Wages $25 per week.''
To its carrying of Lincoln's inaugural speech and
the news of the firing on Fort Sumter and the
declaration of war in 1861, the Pony Express was one of
the most colorful chapters in post office history.
Postmaster Skinner was replaced in 1861 by James
Gibson. Total receipts for the first quarter in 1861 were
$270.88. In 1862 for the same quarter receipts $331.07
and for 1863, $412.35. Pieces of mail handfed for the
first quarter vf 1862 were 8,083 and for the quarter in
1863, 10,242 pieces.
Postmaster Gibson advertised 47 letters as
undelivered. This was a customary procedure as some
people forgot to pick up their mail or, for various
reasons, did not want to receive it. A fee of two dollars
was charged when an advertisement letter was
delivered.
On June 5, 1861 the schedule of arrival and
departure of mail was published. Eastern mails
arrived on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and
departed on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Southern mail, via Owatonna, arrived daily, except
Sundays, at 5 p.m. and departed daily, except Sunday,
at4 a.m.
During the term of Mr. Gibson trail service was
established. However, the transport of the mail was
still difficult because of problems caused by the
weather. In 1865, because of bad storms, there was no
mail from the East for eleven days between January 20·
and 31. In May 1866, a flood in Wisconsin delayed the
trains so that no mail was received from there for two
weeks.
The following notice appeared in the weekly paper
December 4, 1867:
"We learn that the Milwaukee and St. Paul
Railway have determined to put a mail car from
McGregor, Iowa to St. Paul, Minnesota. The mail for
Minnesota will be distributed while the car is in
motion, this facilitating delivery and transmission of
mail matter." The "railroad post office" had been
inaugurated by the Postal Service on August 24, 1864.
City Delivery Started
On July 1, 1863 a few hundred postal carriers, not
yet wearing uniforms but with letter pouches slung
from their shoulders, set out to revolutionize city
delivery of mail in the 49 largest cities. Local post
offices were authorized to employ carriers only if their
revenues were sufficient to support such free service.
In Faribault, city delivery was to start January 1, 1892.
With thousands of men in the army wanting to send
money home to their families, there was a great need
for a means of doing this. The registered mail systems
could not meet the need because of the paper work that
it entailed. As a result, the looting of soldiers' mail
became a national scandal, .and the Money Order
system was created on November 1, 1864. In a notice
published in the Central Republican July 18, 1866 it was
noted that "money orders may be issued for any sum
not exceeding $50. The fee for an order not exceeding
$20 is 10 cents, over $20 the fee is 25 cents.
A mail route was established between Faribault
and Cannon City on November 13, 1867. The route
operated three times a week. The first railway post
office was started on the Milwaukee and St. Paul
Railway in December of 1867. Outgoing mail from
Faribault averaged 320 letters per day.
J. S. Fuller was appointed postmaster on May 19,
1869. The location of the office remained the same, but
the increase in business necessitated an enlargement
in the office. The building was extended twelve feet in
the rear and 200 new boxes were added. In May of 1871
a daily mail route was established between Waterville
and Faribault.
In 1872 charges of irregularities were brought
against Postmaster Fuller by a former clerk, F. A.
Robertson. These charges concerned the unauthorized
opening of mail by the postmaster and the improper
use of postal funds. The charges were not proven.
Eden N. Leavens succeeded J. S. Fuller as
postmaster on June 11, 1873. W. H. Howard was made
clerk and assistant postmaster. The following
appeared in the Republican in speaking of Mr.
Leavens:
"Mr. E.N. Leavens, our new postmaster, has
entered upon the discharge of his duties and nods to his
acquaintances through the official window with an
easy dignity and complacency that indicates
satisfaction and his belief that he has been put where
50

Crews at work on Aug. 1, 1911, at site for Faribault's Post Office
he will do the most good. May he live long and
prosper.''
Postal Card In Debut
On May 1, 1873 the postal card made its debut. The
first postal cards had imprinted on them a replica of a
one cent stamp. The uniqueness of the card was that
the customer paid only for the stamp and got the card
free. Postal cards became very popular.
With the increase in business, a new office was
needed. Special Agent W. W. Huntington stated the
terms he was authorized to offer, which provided for a
fireproof building of either brick or stone, 35 by 90 feet
on the ground floor and 15 feet in height, furnished with
a vault and $2,500 worth of fixtures including 1,000
number one call boxes, 200 number one Yale lock boxes
and 36 lock drawers. The building should have gas
fixtures and would preferably be on a corner. For this
the government would pay $600 annual rent.
Warren Allen offered to erect a building on the
comer of Elm (First Ave. NW) and Third Street for
$600. H. M. Matteson offered to build on the northeast
corner of Third and Willow (presently Depot Square).
J. H. Staley offered to build on the corner of Fourth and
Main (Central Ave.). Both of these bids were $550. H.
E. Barron offered the north room of the Barron House
for $100 per year. This offer was accepted in spite of a
petition from businessmen for a Third Street location.
The office was moved to the Barron House on April
16, 1877. In the new office 1,000 call boxes, 400 Number
one Yale lock boxes and 30 Number three lock drawers
were installed. The office also contained a fireproof
vault and was lighted with gas. The location at the
extreme end of the business section was unsatisfactory
to many. To answer some of the objections,
Postmaster Leavens erected two letter collection
boxes in the northern part of the business district. Mail
was collected from these boxes three times each day.
Unwise Decision
The decision to accept the Barron House bid,
though it was the lowest, proved to be unwise, not only
because of the location, but because the building was
not fireproof. On March 17, 1882 the Barron House was
destroyed by fire. The fire started in the kitchen about
noon. To fight the fire, water was pumped from the
river. Sand got into the pumping cylinder and soon the
firefighters had only a trickle of water coming from the
hoses. It was evident that the entire building was
doomed, so an organized effort was made to save the
mail and fixtures of the post office. This was
accomplished with little or no loss. The removal of the
post office to the S. P. Wall building on Third Street
between Main and Elm (now a parking lot) was so well
51

~en G?§Vow
conducted, that it was open to deliver mail that
evening. The vault was opened and everything was
found to be in good condition.
On July 1, 1882 Faribault became a second-class
office. On September 1 orders for changes in service
were received. Service to Shieldsville, Prague and
Wheatland was curtailed to once a week. Service from
Lester to Montgomery and from Lester by Angheim
and Wheatland to Montgomery was also cut to once per
week. The locations of Lester, Angheim and Wheatland
have disappeared.
On Saturday evening August 25, 1883 the post office
was moved from the Wall building to the stone building
of Main and Third owned by F. A. Theopold.
John R. Parshall was appointed to succeed
Leavens on June 1, 1885. Postal receipts for 1885 were
$9,543.65. 3,813 money orders were issued. On October
1, 1885 special delivery service was begun. The charge
was ten cents per letter.
Postmasterships were political appointments.
With a change of administration, E.N. Leavens was
again appointed postmaster October 1, 1889.
Business continued to increase so that, by 1881,
Faribault was eligible for city delivery service.
Citizens were requested to put numbers on their homes
and businesses. The Philadelphia plan of street
numbering had been adopted earlier by the Common
Council. Even numbers were on the north side of the
street and odd numbers on the south side of the street.
Each 22 feet of frontage was represented by one
number. Three letter carriers, Charles D. Pike, John J.
Van Sann and Peter M. Stone, were appointed for the
service which started on January 1, 1892.
Haven Is Postmaster
On January 15, 1884 Alfred E. Haven succeeded
Leavens as postmaster. Haven was the owner of the
Faribault Democrat and in 1876-78 had been county
superintendent of schools.
William Kaiser was appointed postmaster
February 15, 1899 from a field of nine candidates. The
Faribault Republican had this to report:
"At last William Kaiser has received the
appointment of postmL;:;ter fur 'Faribault and will
succeed Mr. Haven, who will have held the office, upon
his retirement, about a year and two months beyond
the time for which he was appointed. Mr. Haven has
been an efficient officer and gives way to the unwritten
law of politics.''
The Post Office Department, in 1899, requested
bids for a building and this time specified that, in
addition to the fixtures, heating and lighting be
furnished. The bid of Donald and A. J. Grant was
accepted and the office was moved on May 1, 1899 to
Central Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets. The
personnel of the office at this time were William
Kaiser, postmaster; E. N. Leavens, assistant
postmaster; Mrs. Nellie Bemis, money order clerk;
Samuel A. Metcalf, mailing clerk; Edwin J. F.
Kiekenapp, stamp clerk; E. J. Healy, Jr., John J. Van
Sann and Peter M. Stone, carriers. William P.
Townsend became a clerk August 3, 1899.
James W. Parshall became the first rural carrier
on June 4, 1900 at an annual salary of $400. The length
of the route was twenty-two miles and ran east through
Cannon City and Wheeling Townships. The population
served was about 500.
On September 1, 1899 an additional city carrier was
allowed and service was extended to the east side of
town. The Rural Free Delivery route had proved so
successful that on February 15, 1901 five additional
routes were authorized.
By the year 1900, post offices had been established
at Moland and Richland. Daily Star Route service was
maintained with those offices and the office at
Shieldsville.
The salary of rural carrier in 1900 was increased
from $400 to $500 per year. Routes averaged
twenty-five miles in length. Postage for delivery on a
rural route was two cents.
Gross receipts for the year 1901 were $18,210.00. On
October 15, 1901 the office at Richland was
discontinued. The schedule for the Moland Star Route
allowed five hours for the trip which was made by way
of Eklund.
School Postal Station
A postal station was authorized at the School for
the Feeble Minded on April 1, 1902. All of the services
offered at the main office were provided at the station.
This year also saw the installation of the first telephone
in the post office and an electric motor for the
cancelling machine. Pay records show that one carrier
was paid $13.33 for eight days work. The basic salary
was $600 per year.
The failure of the First National Bank occurred on
January 3, 1905. There were $1629.90 of postal funds on
deposit at the time. Postmaster Kaiser was held
responsible for the funds and made good the loss. The
failure of the bank caused several other local businesses
to fail and hurt business in general in the city.
Eden N. Leaven, who had served as postmaster for
sixteen years and as an assistant to Mr. Kaiser since
1899, was compelled to resign on July 1, 1909 because of
ill health. At the time of his resignation he was
82 years of age.
On February 12, 1910 the post office was again
visited by fire. The fire was discovered at 11:10 in the
evening. By the time the firemen arrived, the entire
back of the building was burning. After a two hour fight
the flames were subdued and clean up began.
Fortunately very little mail was damaged, but much of
it had gotten wet. The fire had started on Saturday
night so the postal employees had Sunday to dry out the
mail and clean up. The Sunday mail was delivered as
usual, but it took over a month to get the office back in
shape.
In 1908 Congressman C. R. Davis succeeded in
getting a bill passed by Congress appropriating $50,000
for a new building. The property was purchased for
$9,000. In 1910 an additional $20,000 was appropriated.
Ground for the new office was broken on July 24,
1911 and work progressed during the summer and fall
until October 26, 1911 when the cornerstone was laid.
The contractor for the building was William O'Neill
and Sons Company.
The cornerstone laying ceremonies began with a
52

Story of Faribault
This was the type of transportation used by
rural mail carriers when the Rural Free
Delivery Service started in 1901. The buggy
had a small stove inside.
dinner for visiting dignitaries at the Brunswick Hotel.
This was followed by a parade in which fraternal
organizations of the city, the Shattuck and St. James
Cadet Corps and the fire department took part.. The
day was cold, dark and gloomy. The cornerstone laying
ceremony was conducted by Faribault Lodge No.9 AF
& AM. The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of
Minnesota, Elmer A. Kling of Little Falls, was in
charge. The address was given by Congressman C. R.
Davis. After the ceremonies the guests were given a
tour of the city in automobiles which had been loaned
by leading citizens. In the evening a banquet was held
in the Gallagher-O'Neill Hall with 500 attending.
Speakers were James J. Dow and the Rev. F. L.
Palmer.
Parcel Post Service
Service from the new building was begun
December 15, 1912. On January 1, 1915 parcel post
service was begun by the Post Office Department. The
weight limit on parcels was eleven pounds. One pound
could be sent fifty -miles for five cents. Eleven pounds
to the eighth zone was $1.32. The eighth zone from
Faribault includes Alaska and Hawaii. With such
favorable rates the volume of parcel post grew rapidly.
The Faribault office had been designed before parcel
post was a part of the service, so from its beginning the
office was crowded. It took over fifty years to get the
building enlarged.
John Kasper was appointed postmaster in 1916 to
succeed Mr. Kaiser.
During World War I the Post Office Department
was faced with the task of providing mail service to the
men at training camps and later for the American
Expeditionary Forces. Provisions were made for
mailing of parcels at a rate of twelve cents per pound
with a maximum of twenty pounds. Mail from the
soldiers could be prepaid at domestic rates or letters
could be sent without postage and collected for from
the receiver. Magazines could be sent for one cent, not
to an individual, but to the AEF for delivery to men in
uniform.
May 15, 1918 marks the beginning of air mail
service. The first air mail rate was twenty-four cents
per ounce. This included ten cents for special delivery
service at the destination. Later the rate was reduced
to six cents and the special delivery was eliminated.
Regular postage at this time was two cents per ounce.
The two cent rate continued until the '30's when it was
increased to three cents for letters going to another
office and two cents for letters for local delivery.
October 1, 1935 was important to all postal
personnel because on that date the forty hour week
became law. This meant much rescheduling and, for
most employees, two full non-work days each week.
In 1936 postage meters for the payment of postage
were introduced. Use of meter impressions eliminated
the need for cancellation. For the mailer it meant time
saved and better control of postal funds.
Seed Firms Busy
During the thirties the Ideal Life Insurance
Company and the Farmer Seed and Nursery were the
big mailers in Faribault. Ideal Life notices were
mailed monthly. In spring the office reeked of onions
and oinion sets mailed by Farmer Seed. Other large
seasonal mailers were Andrews Nursery, the Brand
Peony Farms and Lehman Gardens.
In time the volume of these mailers became so
great that it was necessary to start making distribution
in the plant. As long as there was rail service, the
Farmer Seed and Nursery mail was loaded into a box
53

lilen ~§Vow
car spotted beside their building. This worked very
well with one exception. The railroad lost one of the
cars and didn't find it until more than a month later.
In 1924, with the change of administration from
Democrat to Republican, N. S. Erb was appointed
postmaster. He served until1934 when Mr. Kasper was
again appointed to the position.
A Civil Service examination for the substitute
clerk-carrier position was given in April1936. Over one
hundred and twenty people took the examination. The
beginning salary at that time was sixty-five cents per
hour.
World War II took several of the employees from
the Faribault office. Some of them worked in the Army
Postal System. The army postal service was better
organized then it had been for World War I. Among the
innovations was V-Mail. For this service a special form
was obtained at the post office on which the message
was written. This was sent to New York, San Francisco
or Seattle where it was opened and photographed on 16
mm film. The film was sent by air to points overseas
where the prints were made from the film These prints
were sent to the addressee. This system greatly
reduced the volume of the mail and resulted in faster
service.
With the war over, business returned to normal but
was constantly increasing. This meant that the
building was getting more crowded. Walter Brucher
had become postmaster in 1938 upon the death of John
Kasper. He started to work for an addition to the office.
Several times it seemed hopeful, but the building didn't
materialize.
Meanwhile, the department experimented with a
feeder air route serving Faribault. Air mail was
dispatched from the Owatonna airport to
Minneapolis-St. Paul or Omaha. This service started
October 26, 1949. The advantages did not warrant the
cost, so it was soon discontinued.
Zip Code Program
July 1, 1963 was a major landmark in the history of
the postal service, for it was on that day that the ZIP
code program was started. Received somewhat
skeptically at first, it has proved its worth. Because it
lends itself to mechanization, it has made it possible to
move today's mass of mail. It would be impossible to
do so without ZIP code.
Finally, in 1963, it was announced that the
Faribault post office was to be enlarged more than
double in size. Work was started in 1964 and continued
through the winter. Regular postal service was
continued while the building was being built.
Employees learned to wear heavy underwear and
jackets to work as canvas and plastic do not make
weatherproof walls.
September 24, 1965 the new half-million dollar
addition and renovated building was dedicated. As at
the cornerstone laying in 1911, the day was dark, cold
and gloomy. The Bethlehem Academy band played for
the occasion at which Walter "Bill" Hogan of the
Minneapolis Regional Office was the speaker. A
luncheon, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce,
was held at the Hotel Faribault. Tickets were $1.50 for
a menu of fish or ham with mashed potatoes, peas, jello
salad, rolls, coffee and chocolate cake topped with
whipped cream.
With the enlarged facilities, the Faribault Post
Office is now one of the finest in the state. Parcel post,
both incoming and outgoing, has greatly decreased in
volume. Gopher Shooters Supply is the largest year
round mailer and Andrews Nursery and Colonial
Hatcheries are the large seasonal mailers. Semi-truck
loads of nursery stock and baby chicks are dispatched
daily during the spring season.
Postmaster Walter Brucher died in the spring of
1968. Lyle J. Schreiber was appointed postmaster
October 4, 1968. He was the first career Faribault
postmaster, having been in the postal service for
thirty-one years before becoming postmaster. He
retired July 1, 1974 and was succeeded by Harold S.
Berg.
In preparing this history much credit is due to the
former postmaster William Kaiser who had written a
history in 1910 to be included in the. two volume History
of Rice and Steele Counties compiled by Frank
Curtis-Wedge and a History of Rice County by the Rev.
Edward D. Neill.
Faribault's mother of the year,
Adeline Heyer Ballenthin
ADELINE HEYER BALLENTHIN
(1972 Minnesota Mother of the Year)
"Concern for the welfare of her family and
dedication to the welfare of others has led Adeline
Heyer Ballenthin down many paths of life, both as an
influential leader or a commendable follower.''
So stated a letter written in behalf of the Owatonna
Hospital Auxiliary, co-sponsor with the Faribault
Welcome Wagon, in nominating Adeline Ballenthin for
1972 Minnesota Mother of the Year, a nomination
resulting in her selection by a state committee.
Adeline became Rice County's first State Mother,
selected for her contributions on a local, district and
state level in religious and civic activities and for her
homemaking talents and on the high character a~d
achievements of her four children.
They are: Kathleen, B.A; M.S; Valparaiso
University, Indiana, a teacher in Caracas, Venezuela,
S.A.; Richard, Master in Divinity, Concordia
Seminary, St. Louis, Mo.; now a pastor in Chatham,
Ontario, Canada; James, juris doctor, Phi Beta
Kappa, University of Minnesota, law partner of Rosen,
Kaplan and Ballenthin, St. Paul; John, graduate of the
Institute of Technology, Tau Beta Pi; University of
Minnesota and now working for his Doctorate in
Physics.
James and John were each National Merit
Scholarship Finalists and all four children were honor
graduates at the high school and college levels and are
54

Story of Faribault
active in church and extra-curricular activities.
Adeline was born May 21, 1918, in Faribault to Otto
and Elsa Lieder Heyer, the second oldest child and
oldest daughter of 14 children, 10 of whom are still
living. Her brother, Robert, was named National
Teacher of the Year in 1975.
Reared in the depth of the depression with the
family struggling to make ends meet, her father,
skilled in cabinetmaking and carpentry, was not above
taking any type of work to earn money to support his
growing family.
Class Valedictorian
After attending Trinity Lutheran School for eight
years, she graduated valedictorian of her class of 136
from Faribault High School in 1936. The school selected
her as the first recipient of the DAR "Good Citizenship
Award," and the "The Good Citizen" was the topic of
her valedictory address and this objective has been
striven for in the ensuing years. She was elected to the
Junior and Senior National Honor Society and to Quill
and Scroll, journalistic Nati~nal Honor Society.
Even though awarded several scholarships,
because of family need, she returned to high school to
enroll in business courses and at a time when jobs were
hard to come by, T. M. Power Wholesale Co. hired her
as their first bookkeeper and secretary, a position she
held until marriage in 1940 to Willi E. Ballenthin, who
had come in 1930 to Rice County from Pomerania,
Germany.
Full Circle Made
For the next 15 years they lived in Cambridge
where Willi was an engineer at the Cambridge State
Hospital. In 1955 the family moved to Owatonna where
Willi was chief engineer of the Owatonna State School,
and in 1969 they returned to Faribault where he
became the chief engineer of the Minnesota School for
the Deaf. Adeline had made full circle, returning to her
birthplace, to live out the remainder of her life.
From the time the children were born, Adeline
assumed presidencies, chairmanships and committee
posts of virtually every organization with worthy goals
of which she became a member and her husband
encouraged her to do this.
Mrs. Ballenthin, in the span of 36 years, lived with
her busy and cooperative family in three different
cities - Cambridge, Owatonna and Faribault -when
her husband assumed new power engineering
positions.
In all three cities and their counties - Isanti,
Steele and Rice - Mrs. Ballenthin became an admired
leader for her zeal, enthusiasm and unflagging work in
pushing beneficial projects for the Isanti County
Library, serving until 1955 as board chairman; for the
Isanti County Water Safety and Swimming Program;
for the Minnesota Federation of Women's Clubs; for
the Cambridge and Owatonna PT As; as a chairman for
six meetings on "Home and Family Life," conducted
by the Minnesota Council on Family Life; as organizer
and first president of the Owatonna City Hospital
Auxiliary; as District "F" president of the Minnesota
Hospital Association Auxiliary with an area spanning
22 counties, including Rice County; serving as the first
Mrs. Adeline Ballenthin
(Mother of the Year)
woman appointed to the Owatonna City Planning
Commission; for her leadership of many Faribault
organ ~zations.
Through the years, she has been a faithful and
active member of the Lutheran Church, Missouri
Synod, holding many offices and chairmanships and
last year became one of the first seven women in
Trinity Lutheran Church in Faribault to be taken into
voting membership.
A year after becoming State Mother, she assumed
the presidency of the Minnesota American Mother's
Committee, Inc., which annually conducts the search
for State Mothers, and became state Bicentennial
Biographical Project Chairman for the book ''Mothers
of Achievement in American History, 1776-1976" in
which Minnesota has 10 biographies included. This is
an endorsed project of the American Revolutionary
Bicentennial Committee and is partially funded by it.
Husband, Children Pay Tribute
Perhaps the greatest tribute of the Faribault born
daughter is that which comes from a husband who
shared his wife's interest and gave his support and
encouragement and that which comes from the
children as represented by the letter from Rev.
Richard Ballenthin supporting his mother's
nomination for 1972 Minnesota Mother of the Year.
"In thinking back, I knew that my mother gave a
great deal of time and effort for the good of the larger
community, but it impresses me that she did it in such
a way that our home life was never deprived," he
wrote. "In fact, my offhand impression is that she was
always home doing the things a fulltime mother would
be doing.
"Our lives were impressed in the most subtle way
by the values and feelings and nature of a mother who
has always put all of herself into everything she did.
"She rarely raised her voice but effectively she
raised us. Her moral and spiritual values were held
highly and instilled in us effectively. We grew up with a
strong faith in God, a vibrant concern for the greater
community, and a personal drive to develop our own
abilities to the absolute fullest.
"Our love and respect for our parents couldn't be
55

~en l!?cfNow
higher and a strong family built upon love and sharing
stands as the cornerstone in our own lives as the key to
the strength of ourselves as individuals and our
community and our nation."
"In this our Bicentennial year, we need a
reaffirmation of Christianity emphasizing the
importance of the family as the cornerstone of our
community, state and nation, instilling children with
Christian and moral values and their responsibilities
toward themselves and others.''
Girl Scouts active
According to a Faribault Daily News story in the
issue of Oct. 16, 1929, 200 Faribault girls on that date
were enrolled in scouting.
"This year," the item stated, "there are five active
troops of Girl Scouts, according to the local scouting
committee. The Congregational, Methodist and
Immaculate Conception Churches sponsor Girl Scout
troops while active organizations have been
established at the Minnesota Braille and Sight Saving
School and the Minnesota' School for the Deaf. One
Campfire Girls troop is active in Faribault, sponsored
by the local Episcopal Church (Cathedral of Our
Merciful Saviour). Among the members of the local
Camp Committee are Mrs. Henry Voegel and Mrs. E.
A. Gruss."
The Immaculate Conception Church Girl Scout
troop was organized in the spring of 1929. Troop
organizers included: Mrs. Henry Voegel, Mrs. E.A.
Gruss, Mrs. Zita Kasper Taylor and Mrs. Charles
MacKenzie Jr. Committee members active in Girl
Scout work for the troop were Miss Lillian Wall and
Mrs. John Winkley.
Sewage plant vital project
There was a city wide meeting held on October 18,
1954 to hear plans about the proposed sewage disposal
plant. "The State of Minnesota has ordered the city of
Faribault to construct an approved sewage treatment
plant as a health measure. The city cannot add to its
sanitary sewer system unless steps are taken to
comply with this order."
The foregoing quote was taken from a brochure
that went on to say that the city council considers the
construction of a sewage treatment plant an absolute
necessity and it proposes to construct such a plant.
Engineering for the project is in charge of the firm
of Toltz, King and Day of St. Paul. They described the
work needed:
Sewage and industrial wastes of the city of
Faribault are discharged to the Straight and Cannon
Rivers without treatment. The sewage from the
institutions of the state of Minnesota are discharged in
part of the city sewers and in part to an old obsolete
state sewage plant.
This sewage seriously pollutes the Straight and
Cannon Rivers. This project to be constructed jointly
by the city and state, contemplates connecting existing
sewer outlets at a common point on the east side of the
Straight River just below 14th Street. At this point, a
modern treatment plant will be constructed to treat
sewage adequately.
Sewage Treated
The treatment plant will screen and settle the
sewage, treat it further on trickling filters and provide
for chlorination to disinfect the sewage, prior to its
discharge to the river. The solids removed from the
sewage will be disgested and vaccum filtered for
ultimate disposal on land areas as a soil conditioner.
Industrial wastes from Faribault Canning
Company will be disposed of separately by land
irrigation at a site north of the city.
Total cost of the project is estimated at $1,250,000.
Of this amount 22 per cent will be paid by the state and
$375,000 will be available from the city. The amount
left, $875,000 will be financed by the city.
The council plans to finance the project under
provisions of Chapter 398 of the Laws of Minnesota,
1953. Under this law part of the cost will be assessed
against the benefited property. The Council has
decided the most equitable method of assessing is on a
parcel basis. Basic assessment will be $150 for each
parcel to be paid at $7.50 per year for 20 years, plus 4
per cent interest on unpaid installments. On unplatted
land the council proposes to establish a connection
charge of 150 dollars, so that wherever these acres are
platted that charge will be made for each sewer
connection. So owners of new platted property will pay
the same as present owners of platted property. A bid
of $909,003 for the construction of the sewage disposal
plant was approved by the City Council. Submitting the
low bid was Steenberg Construction Company of St.
Paul.
Ten Acre Site
Ground was broken on April 20, 1955 on a ten acre
site on the east side of the Straight River just below
14th Street for Faribault's Municipal Sewage disposal
plant.
As members of the city council, city officials and
representatives of the contracting and engineering
firms watched, Mayor Frank Duncan and John Dusek,
commissioner of water and sewer, turned shovelfuls of
dirt, officially launching work on the project which will
now get underway on a large scale.
Other city officials participating were:
Councilmen Phil McCarthy, William Korff, and Vince
Pluemer; City Engineer Ted Olsson, City Water Supt.
George LaRoche, City Recorder, Roland Kruger.
The project is to be completed by June 8, 1956 with
60 men on the crew. This site was purchased by the city
council in 1933 at a price of $3,000 from the late Dr. P.
A. Smith. It is ideal for the purpose for which it is to be
56

Faribault in 1874, looking north from old court house
used.
In 1934 a city election was held to determine
whether residents would approve the issuance of
bonds, contingent on a PWA grant for the construction
of a disposal plant. It was decisively defeated. Since
then several city councils have discussed the plant and
developed steps towards it eventual attainment.
Plant Being Enlarged
Consistent use of Faribault's Sewage Disposal
plant increased steadily. Fourteen years after the
plant began operation (1956) city officials became fully
aware of the need for plant expansion. On Sept. 13, 1970
an engineering agreement for a complete remodeling
and overall improvement project of the plant was
approved by the city council. It was estimated the
project would cost about $4,000,000.
Study of the project continued and on May 24, 1972
an application was submitted by the council to the US
Federal Government for federal fund assistance.
Bids for the improved and expanded plant were
opened on Jan. 8, 1975. On March 7, 1975 the
construction contract was awarded the Lysne
Construction Co., Blooming Prairie on a bid of
$3,436,000. The four top bids submitted each were
within $2,000 of each other. The completion date was
set for Oct. 1, 1977. Construction of the plant is now well
underway. The new addition will utilize newest
methods devised in the treatment of sewage.
The engineering firm of Ricke-Carroll-Muller
Associates, Hopkins, previously had been hired to
make detailed plans and studies. For its services the
firm was paid $220,000.
One of the features of the enlarged plant is that it
will have its own standby generator, valued at $120,000
so that in case of a NSP power failure, the plant could
continue operation. State and federal requirements
also stipulated that while the plant is being remodeled,
sewage waste cannot be further polluted.
Under the agreement with federal and state
officials 75 per cent of the total cost will be paid by the
federal government, 15 per cent by the state and the
rest by the City of Faribault.
Parks provide fun,
recreation, quietness
After the city acquired the Caron Farm in
Faribault's north side section for park purposes,
nothing was done for a few years because of World War
II. During that time the city built a new dam on the
north branch of the river. Paul Schroeder Company
constructed the dam on a cost plus basis. Later in Oct.
1945 a walkway was constructed across the dam.
May 1946: Most of the farm was rented to B. F.
Kaul for agricultural purposes; Hugh Vincent Feehan,
57

(/len ~§Vow
a landscape architect from Minneapolis, was
employed to make an overall plan of the park layout;
July 22, 1947: City Council awarded a bid to build and
repair a fish rearing pond in Slevin Park.
July 22, 1947: The City Council accepted a bid from
the Tuma Construction Company for grading
Alexander Faribault Park. The amount of the contract
being $10,336.50; Oct. 7, 1947: The City Council
accepted a bid of $8500 from the Faribault School
District for lands for an athletic field. This included all
lands within the perimeter of Memorial Drive;
March 23, 1948: The Baseball Association asked that
Bell Field be built and a grandstand be erected.
Aug. 12, 1948: Lighting Contract for Bell Field was
awarded to the Minnesota Valley Electric Company.
Nov. 1948: Bid let for grandstand to Kratochvil
Construction Co. for $28,978.64; Jan. 25, 1948: School
Board submits plans for bathhouse and swimming
pool; 1950: Paul Schroeder Construction Co.
constructed bath house.
At that time Faribault belonged to the Southern
Minnesota Baseball Association and continued to draw:
capacity crowds. Later the city erected bleachers at
both ends of the grandstand, this continued for a few
years and finally ended. After the Southern Minnesota
Baseball Association folded a new sport, softball
became popular.
The city converted most of a park area south of
Bell Field to several lighted softball diamonds.
In recent years the city has acquired a tract of land
on the South bank of the river. This area contains 20 to
30 acres of land. The city hopes to develop this in the
near future and is to be known as Alexander Park
South.
There are 15 city-owned parks within Faribault. In
addition, the recreation facilities at six private schools
and one public school-owned facility are available for
public use. Furthermore, the city has an agreement
with the School District for joint use of skating
facilities at four of the public schools. The Rice County
Fairgrounds are also located within the community.
While Faribault does not have a recreational
classification system as such the following
classifications were developed by city staff to
generally categorize existing facilities.
Play Lot: The smallest of the park units,
characterized by specialized facilities that serve a
concentrated or limited population.
Playfield: Somewhat larger area for intense
recreational activities such as field games, court
games, crafts, apparatus area, skating, and
neighborhood centers.
Community Park: Community parks encompass a
large area usually designed for community-wide social
and recreation functions. Community parks are noted
for activities such as picnicking, walking, swimming
and active games. Lighted areas for evening games
are typically provided. A portion of the area is left in
the natural open state.
Special Facility: An area providing specialized or
single purpose recreational activities such as golf
courses, swimming pools, picnic areas or arenas.
From the map it is evident that a number of areas
within the community are not being adequately served
by the existing park system. Notably, the area west of
Highway 65, the area east of the Straight River, and the
area south of Highway 60 between Highway 65 and the
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
tracks are all total'.y or severely lacking in. available
recreational facilities. Areas which are adequately
served by the existing park system are also hampered
however, on the basis of access. In many instances,
man-made and-or natural barriers restrict access to
park facilities. It should also be noted that three
city-owned parks are as yet undeveloped. In the case of
Alexander Park South and Slevin Park, once
developed, access will likewise be a problem.
Coordination and cooperation between city parks
and schools at the present time is somewhat limited.
With the exception of two schools which are located
adjacent to parks (Garfield school - Wapacuta Park
and Jefferson School-Jefferson Park), cooperation is
limited to joint use of warming house facilities at four
public schools.
Data on Faribault Parks
Rice County Fairgrounds-Second A venue and
20th Street_N. W ., Special Facility.
Alexander Faribault Park - Second Ave. N.W.
and Cannon River, Community Park.
Slevin Park - Second Ave. N.W. and Cannon
River, City.
White Sands-T.H. 65, Special Facility.
Alexander Park-South- Seventh Ave. and 12th St.
N.W.
McKinley School - Fourth Ave. and Ninth St.
N. W., Playfield.
McKinley Recreation Center - First Ave. and 12th
St. N.W., Special Facility.
Shattuck Golf Course - Shumway and Parshall,
Special Facility.
Lincoln Park - Lincoln and Seventh St. N.W.,
Playfield.
St. Lawrence School- Second Ave. & 8th St. N.W.,
Play Lot.
Sacred Heart School- Third Ave. and Seventh St.
N.W., Play Lot.
Central Park - Third Ave. and 5th St. N.W.,
Community Park.
Trinity Lutheran School- Sixth Ave. and Fourth
St. N. W., Play Lot.
Faribault Junior High School- Fourth Ave. and
Fifth St. N.W., Playfield.
Washington School, Shumway and T.H. 60,
Playfield.
Immaculate Conception School- Second Ave. and
First St. S. W., Play Lot.
Bethlehem Academy - Second Ave. and Second
St. S.W., Playfield.
Peace Park- Park Place and Division, Special
Facility.
Meder Park - Third Ave. N.E. and Division,
Special Facility.
Rye Park - Institute and Division, special
Facility.
Tepee Tonka Park - Third Ave. N.E. and
58

Story of Faribault
Faribault is noted for its many, well-kept
parks and playgrounds. The map shows the
designated numbers of the 27 parks and
playgrounds located in all sections of the city.
Division, community Park.
Conliffe Park - Conliffe and Prairie, Special
Facility.
Faribault Senior High School- Prairie and Third
St. S.W., Playfield.
Wapacuta Park- Second Ave. S.W. and Tower
Place, Community Park.
Hartman Park - Lind and Francis, Special
Facilty.
Jefferson Park- Ninth Ave. and Tenth St. S.W.,
Playfield
Southern Park- Westwood Drive, Playfield.
59

Buckham Memorial Library
Library idea born in 1856
Early in 1856 a Dr. L. W. Leighton located here and
opened his office, carrying a few staple drugs. In those
days there was little business for a doctor and Leighton
eked out his rather slender income with a circulating
library. There was a brisk demand for the few books he
was able to keep. He left the state in 1859.
Then an organization was formed known as the
Brotherhood of the Good Shepherd and a free reading
room was opened. About 1500 volumes were secured as
gifts from Faribault citizens. Later the Faribault
Library Association was formed and given a place in
the Commissioner's Room in the Courthouse. The
Faribault Public Library as a tax supported institution
dates from 1897.
In 1896 the library occupied rooms provided in the
new city building. Money was needed for books,
equipment, etc., and the energetic people of Faribault
held strawberry festivals, a minstrel show and kept a
box on the desk for contributions.
In 1897 the Library was taken over by the city and a
board of nine members was appointed: Thomas S.
Buckham, President and board members: J. J. Dow,
E. N. Leavens, B. B. Sheffield, R. A. Mott, H. C.
Theopold, A. D. Keyes, M. M. Shields, A. E. Haven.
The library continued to grow and its quarters
were being enlarged but soon its quarters became too
small.
Memorial Library Given
Mrs. Anna Buckham gave to the city of Faribault a
most generous gift - a library - in memory of her
husband. It is known as the Thomas Scott Buckham
Memorial Library. It was dedicated on July 20, 1930.
The architect was Charles Buckham of Vermont,
4 nephew of Judge and Mrs. Buckham.
5224 Blocks Used
The building is constructed of dolomite limestone
quarried near Kasota, Minn. To some it will be
interesting to note there were 5224 blocks used in the
structure. The cost of the building, lot and extras was
$239,000.
Because Judge Buckham was an avid Greek
scholar with a particular interest in the arts, Mrs.
Buckham chose Greece as a central theme for the
library.
The Greek window at the center of the main
reading room was designed and made by Charles
Connick of Boston. It uses the gods, heroes, poets and
60

Story of Faribault
philosophers to present the glory that was Greece.
On the walls of the upstairs reading room are four
panels which interpret the contribution of Greece
toward what is beautiful and permanent in the modern
world. The period pictured is that of the fourth century
B.C., the age of Pericles, when Greek culture reached
its height.
These Greek murals were painted by Artist Alfred
J. Hyslop, a former professor of art at Carlton College.
It is his intent that the colors remain intense and bright
through the years, which they have. They were hung in
1930.
On this floor is Judge Buckham's personal library.
Many volumes are in the Greek language.
The music room is a gift from the ''Friends of the
Library.''
On the third floor is the museum belonging to the
Rice County Historical Society.
The library has 50,000 volumes available to its
patrons, as well as eight newsp~pers, 125 periodicals,
recordings, 8mm and 16mm films. The library has
Faribault newspapers dating back to 1856 up to the
present time. 1856-1859 are on microfilm and from July
1950 to present.
-Librarians who have been in ~harge since the
organization of the library are, in the order of their
service:
Mrs. Cynthia G. Davis, Miss Sarah LeCrone, Miss
Julia Fink, Miss Mildred Methven, Miss Florence
Love, Miss Esther Reinke, Mrs. Mildred Lenmark
(acting librarian), Norwell Leitzke, Gerald Stading,
Mrs. Lester Bursik (Martina)
The present staff (1976) of the library includes:
Mrs. Dorothy Deming, Mrs. Florence Cates, Robert
Kaupa, Mrs. LeAnn Dean, Mrs. Jackie Jones, Nancy
Brandt and Joseph Charlton; Custodian is Otto
Sunvold.
Robert Norman, former superintendent of
Faribault Public Schools, is chairman of the library
board, Other members include: Alfred Crossley, vice
chairman; Miss Emily Mae Buth, secretary; Mrs. A.
M. Hanson, Mrs. Layton Hoysler, Mrs. Walter Lentz,
Dr. C. F. Robertshaw, Mrs. A.W. Nuetzman and
Arthur Hopke, city council representative on the
board.
Water fluoridated
Fluoridation of the city's water supply was
approved by the city council on December 9, 1952. The
council voted unanimously to go ahead with
fluoridation proposal which calls for addition of
fluoride to the city's water supply as a measure to
combat dental decay.
Speaking in favor of the proposal were: Frank
Duncan, Byron Berhow, Karl Reinke, Dr. E. E.
Luhring, Mrs. William Behlke, Dr. Robert Reed, and
Ed Silvis. Speaking in opposition were Marie Voegel
and Layton Hoysler.
New reserve center
The 1958 Memorial Day observance in Faribault
was highlighted by the dedication of the $238,000 new
Army Reserve Center in West Faribault. The center is
located near the intersection of Highway 60 and
Western Avenue. Work was started June 15, 1957. The
center houses the city's two reserve units, the 328
Ordnance Company and the 483rd Transportation
Company. The principal speaker was Brig. General
Briard P. Johnson, commanding general of the XIV
U.S. Army Corps, Reserve.
Deaf group formed
Faribault Division No. 101 of the National
Fraternal Society of the Deaf was organized on Dec. 6,
1924 with eleven charter members. Now it has more
·than 50 members.
The Society was founded in 1901 to provide life
insurance for deaf men as insurance companies then
thought that the deaf were poor risks and would not
issue them policies.
Now the Society has more than 12,000 members
and assets of more than $6,000,000.
The Society offers life insurance and sick and
accident insurance to deaf men and women. It also
promotes their social welfare.
Wesley Lauritsen, the only surviving charter,
member, is the 1976 president of the Faribault division.
Churches community · asset
Fourth Avenue
United Methodist Church
Five families, three couples and nine unmarried
men had stayed in Faribault through the winter of 1853.
Religious services - with no_ thought of creed or
denomination - were held in Crump's Hall, or in
homes, even out-of-doors.
In 1855, seven people met in the Faribault house
(more often called Nutting's Hotel) and organized the
class that became the First Methodist Church of
Faribault. Truman Nutting and his wife Mary; the
Reverend Mr. Morgan Noble and his wife; James M.
White (operated a shingle mill); Harvey T. Rawson
(kept a general store); and Edward J. Crump (the first
school teacher) - these were Faribault's original
Methodists. The Nuttings were hospitable people and
61

often kept the minister and his family in their hotel
when there was no way to pay a salary. Mr. Noble was
the first minister whose ordination was recorded in
Rice County- he was ordained in Peoria, Illinois and
transferred to this county.
By 1856, the still-small group decided to start
building a church on a lot that Truman Nutting had
secured as a gift from General Shields. 25x36 feet was
the size of the first church; there was no vestibule so
the double doors opened directly into the sanctuary. To
the left and right of the entrance was a wood stove. On
the platform was a chair, a table with a Bible on it and
a few chairs for the choir. Oil lamps hung from the
ceiling.
By 1860, there were 62 members with 55 in the
Sunday School. Value of property was $800. A twenty
foot addition to the rear in 1865 made the Little White
Church adequate for another ten years.
May 17, 1875 this news item appeared in "The
Faribault Republican": The old Methodist Church on
the corner of Third and Cherry Streets was purchased
by Hatch and Dibbold, Contractors, and moved back
sufficiently to have site clear for the new building. The
new edifice will be of wood veneered with brick.
Dedication of this structure was in 1877.
Years later, they were able to afford pews and
sidewalks and the church was debt-free. A fire in 1901
caused extensive damage, but repairs were made and
the building was used until1915. It was then, during the
ministry of Anthony J. Allen, that work was begun to
remove the old church - and a contract signed for the
building of the present sanctuary. The new building
was dedicated December 9, 1915. The German
Methodist Church across the street opened its doors to
the congregation during the months when it was
without a home, and the next milestone was the merger
of these two churches in 1924.
The records seem to give credit to the women's
organizations for the raising of $8,000.00 for the
installation of the Reuter Pipe Organ in 1923.
But to all members of the church must go credit for
its latest great achievement - the building of the
Educational Unit. Three well-planned finance
cr~sades, over a ten-year period, made possible the
building of this $190,000 facility. The cornerstone was
laid September 6, 1964 and the mortgage was burned
May 21, 1972. Once more, the church was debt-free.
The church, now known as the Fourth A venue
United Methodist Church of Faribault following action
by the General Conference in Dallas which united
Methodists and Evangelical United Brethren into one
effective denomination, has built three parsonages. In
1914, the lot south of the church was purchased and a
parsonage built. In 1928, the Harkins property on the
NW comer of Third Street and Fourth A venue was
purchased for a parsonage and on October 6, 1963,
Consecration and Open House was held at the new
ranch-style parsonage at 621 Olander Street in
Southern Heights. The Rev. Charles Nelson family
were its first residents.
Up to mid-1976 the pastor was Lewis F. Allin, who
came in 1969. He is a native of Hill City, a graduate
of the University of Minnesota with a degree in
Chemical Engineering, and of Drew Theological
Seminary, Madison N.J., with a Bachelor of Divinity
degree. He served during World War II as a
communications officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps,
with overseas duty in China, Burma, India and Europe.
After graduation from the U of M, Mr. Allin worked for
one year as a petroleum engineer in Venezuela before
entering the ministry. He served pastorates in Delano,
Rockford, Princeton, and South St. Paul before coming
to Faribault. Mrs. Allin (Joyce) is also a graduate of
the University of Minnesota. Present pastor is the Rev.
Rex Logan.
Congregational Church
The Congregational Church found a place in the
early history of Faribault, when, in the summer of
1855, regular services were conducted by various
ministers who happened to be in town. When no
clergyman was available, Dr. Charles Jewett,
remembered as an "apostle of temperance," led the
services.
On the third Sunday of May, 1856 a church was
formed. Thirty members made up the new
congregation. The first minister was the Reverend
Lauren Armsby who came here from New Hampshire.
He served until 1861 when he became chaplain of the
8th Minnesota Regiment in the Civil War.
The church building was bought in 1856 for $1,000.
It was dedicated on January 7, 1857. "It was the first
church edifice built and completed in Rice County and
was located on Third Street. Later, the building was
enlarged and sold to the Trinity Lutheran
Congregation, now First English.
In 1864 a Second Congregational Church was
provisionally organized; this was called Plymouth
Church and was formally organized on January 25, in
the year 1866. The cornerstone was laid in the building
on September 11, 1867. The church was built from stone
quarried near Faribault. The location was the comer,
or intersection of Maple and Third Streets where the
church still stands today.
The two churches merged in 1874, using the
Plymouth Church and adopting the name The
Congregational Church of Faribault.
The Rev. Rankin Shrewsbury is the pre sept
minister of the Congregational Church.
(Some of the above material quoted from bulletin
prepared for the Open House of the Historical Room.)
Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour
The Cathedral of Our Merciful Sa vi our was
established in June of 1862. It was the first church to be
built as a cathedral in the American Episcopal Church.
The Rt. Rev. Henry Benjamin Whipple D.D., LL.D.,
62

Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, First
("nt~-~dral in American Episcopal Church,
Sixth Street and Second Avenue NW, as it
looked when completed in 1868 (without
tower).
first bishop of Minnesota, built it as his own church.
In 1859 when Bishop Whipple came to Faribault he
found that the Rev. Lloyd Breck, D.D., and the Rev.
David P. Sanford had built a parish church, the Ch4rch
of the Good Shepherd, two blocks west of the present

t5en ~§Vow
''Brief Story of the Cathedral'' :
Practically no changes were made in the building
until 1902 when the tower was completed in Bishop
Whipple's memory, a year following his death. The
Chimes, which are played regularly, were given by the
s~cond Mrs. Whipple, the first Mrs. Whipple having
died some years before. The lectern was a memori~ll to
the first Mrs. Whipple, ''The sainted Cornelia.''
The Bishop's Cathedra or chair is in the sanctuary
just north of the altar. During the seventies, August,
1874, the Bishop was almost murdered while seated in
this chair during a Sunday morning service. The
would-be assassin was a disaffected and disturbed
seminary student who had previously been advised by
the bishop that he could not be ordained into the
ministry. While people in the church and choir stood
transfixed with horror, this student strode from the
back of the church, through the nave chancel with
pistol leveled. The only one who took action was Bishop
Whipple. He leaped over the altar rail, pinning the
man's arms to his side and rendering him helpless.
Peace Lutheran Church
Three hundred twenty-nine men, women and
children were released from Trinity Lutheran Church
on October 27, 1947, and on November 10 were
incorporated as Peace Lutheran Church of Faribault,
Minnesota. The first worship service for the new
congregation was held at Ephphatha Church for the
Deaf on November 23, 1947. During its months of
formation Peace congregation was ably served by
Pastor Herbert Burgdorf of Morristown, assisted by
retired Pastor Carl Albrecht.
The Rev. Lawrence Gallman was called to be the
con~re~ation's first resident pastor and was installed
on Aprilll, 1948. By summer of 1948, all transfers from
Trinity had been processed and the congregation
numbered 447 men, women and children.
Witness to the crucified Christ of Calvary was
given to the community as Peace congregation began
sponsoring a down-town Good Friday Service at the
Village Theater on April 15, 1949, and has done so ever
since that time. Faribault area pastors and the choirs
of Peace and Trinity congregations participated in this
annual remembrance of our Lord's death. During the
same year, Easter Sunrise services were begun.
Plans for permanent facilities for the church and
school were made as the congregation was formed.
The first unit of our present structure, the school, was
dedicated to the Glory of God on May 7, 1950. Besides
the class rooms, an assembly hall was also provided in
this building. The first worship service was held here
on the following Sunday - Mother's Day - May 14,
1950. That fall, a two manual Allen Electronic Organ
was purchased by the Ladies' Guild for the
beautification of our worship.
The need for larger worship facilities was
apparent even as the first unit was dedicated.
Authorization for the preparation of preliminary plans
for construction of the new church were begun in 1952
and were brought to completion with the Dedication
Octave December 14-21, 1958. The cost was $263,000.00.
Members and friends worshipped during the
Dedication Services around the themes that reminded
all of how a church is dedicated to God and what this
meant for the world, the community and the
individual.
All appointments in the church, including the altar,
pulpit, communion rail, lectern, and the credence table
(made of mild steel and white oak), the baptismal font,
baptismal lights, processional cross, processional
candle standards, candelabrum and hymn boards were
designed by Pastor L. Gallman and made by members
of Peace Church, Bernard Niner, Harold Kenow,
Edgar Kenow, James Kenow and Barney Kalow.
The church is quite distinct and in many ways
different. New and striking features have been
included in the construction of the church.
After a 22 year _ministry at Peace, Pastor
Lawrence Gallman retired in January 1970. Pastor
Ronald Michel came from Indiana and was installed as
our second pastor on August 2, 1970. After 10 months of
joyful beginnings, the congregation was saddened by
the sudden death of Pastor Michel on June 15, 1971.
Pastor Ruclare Pauling of Warrenville, Illinois, was
installed as the third pastor of Peace congregation on
October 17, 1971. He resigned from Peace congregation
on April 9, 1975. The congregation then was served by
vacancy pastors O.H. Cloeter and Edgar Eifert of
Trinity congregation, Faribault. On Aug. 29, 1976, the
Rev. Silvester Robeset of Hodgkins, Ill., was installed
as pastor.
A great part of God's activity in Peace
congregation over 29 years does not involve dates,
buildings, and great crowds of people. Much of it goes
unnoticed because it isn't publicized and involves only
a few people. It involves a pastor bringing a forgiving
or comforting work from God to persons troubJp£i .l- ::.. .•
sin, sickness, or the loss of a loved one. It is a teacher
glancing in love and concern to a child striving to learn
more of the love of Jesus. It is the individual Christian
living and speaking the Christian message to those
with whom he lives and works. The history of Peace
Lutheran Church has been written best by those who
have brought that word of Jesus written over our
church door to people:
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you
... Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid ... I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no
man cometh into the Father, but by Me.''
Trinity Lutheran Church
On January 1, 1970, Trinity Lutheran Church of
Faribault marked the 100th year of its existence. The
story of Trinity congregation of Faribault reaches
back to the time when Minnesota had not yet taken its
place among the states of the Union.
In the summer of 1856 the Reverend Ferdinand
64

Faribault in 1874, looking west from old courthouse
Sievers, mission director of the Missouri Synod,
surveyed the mission possibilities in Minnesota. In 1869
the Reverend Christian Krause moved to the city of
Faribault and by January 1, 1870, had gained sufficient
strength to organize a regular congregation. This
organization took place in the Metropolitan Hall on the
aforementioned New Years Day, 1870. That marks the
birthday of the Trinity congregation.
Reverend August Zip pel came next to Trinity. By
September 18, 1871 the group planned to build a church
that fall.
1874 brought the Rev. John Hertreck to Trinity.
Within a year's time he became the father of Trinity's
Christian Day. School. This combination
school-parsonage was built.
The cornerstone of Trinity's present church was
laid on September 2, 1900. The church was dedicated on
November 10, 1901.
The Reverend 0. H. Cloeter is presently serving
the congregation as head pastor.
First English Lutheran Church
The First English Lutheran Church on the corner
of Second Avenue and Second Street held its first
service in its new church on Christmas Day, 1931. It
was at that time, too, that the congregation approved
the name First English Lutheran church so all would
know that English was the preferred language.
With the pastorate of Arthur L. Rustad in 1933
expansion of the congregation's ministry without
regard to national heritage was begun. There was no
longer a Norwegian worship service. Today a vestage
of the Scandinavian heritage remains in the church
decor, the hymnals and the lutefisk suppers that are an
annual event.
During his 25 year pastorate, the Rev. Rustad
carried on an active ministry among young people and
adults and was active in many organizations and
official bodies of the American Lutheran Church.
The men who decided for the Christian ministry
when he was pastor were: David Lee, Harvey Grote,
David Carlbom, John Peterson and Richard Grow.
Under his leadership a new parsonage was built in 1937
(depression year) and in 1953 a new parish house,
involving a cost of $165,000 was constructed. Mortgage
burning took place in the year 1955.
For eight years he served as gratis editor of the
Messenger of the Lutheran Orient Mission and he
raised the money that enabled the church to start a
Christian Hospital in non-Christian Iran.
He found time, too to be active civically in many
different ways in Faribault. He was active in Faribault
American Legion Post 43 and served as post, district,
state and national Legion chaplain. Whe he resigned as
pastor in 1958 the parish had grown from 350 members
to more than 2,000.
In the spring of 1959 Gerhard H. Huggenvik
accepted the pastorate. In 1966, Donald T. Hanson was
installed as Senior Pastor.
When the congregation reached 2, 700 members it
65

~en ~8-/ow
was decided to divide the congregation. This was when
Our Savior's was established.
There was a new pastoral staff installed in the
seventies. Duane C. Hoven was installed in July, Paul
0. Monson, January 1971, and Hjalmar F. Hanson
installed in a vistation ministry in June 1971. Since that
time much effort has been spent on establishing a
youth ministry, a senior fellowship and a couples
fellowship.
''First English Lutheran has begun to show signs
of increasing concern to minister to the community.
Space has been provided for a daily class for pre-school
retarded children, young people from the Rice County
Activity Center have used the church for weekly
religious education classes, a variety of YMCA
programs have been held here. The Pastors have been
involved in leadership in civic and county
organizations with the church on a conference and
district level, and with Luther Theological Seminary in
St. Paul." ·
(Last paragraph quoted from church bulletin of
April1974).
Our Saviour's Lutheran Church
A service of groundbreaking took place on the site
of the new Our Savior's Lutheran Church on Prairie
Avenue South on July 27, 1969. The Rev. David R.
Vaaler, pastor of Our Savior's, conducted the service.
Present for the groundbreaking were members of the
new congregation. This new group, consisting of sixty
six families, transferred from the First English
Lutheran Church because of crowded conditions there.
Services were conducted in the Faribault Senior High
School until the church was completed. The first
services were held in the present building February 8,
1970.
Rev. Vaaler who serves Our Savior's Lutheran
church in Faribault is a native of Willmar. He came to
Faribault after having served parishes in' Houston and
Fort Worth, Texas, and most recently, Waukon, Iowa.
There are now 175 families in Our Savior's
congregation and 725 baptized members.
Bethel Lutheran Church
Bethel Lutheran ·Brethren church is a member of
the synod, The Lutheran Brethren Church of America.
The Reverend Joseph Aarhus, who was a pastor in
Kenyon, formerly came to Faribault to conduct
meetings. From these meetings grew the present
Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church.
Twelve pastors have served the church in
Faribault, from Reverend Aarhus, the first pastor, to
Reverend Dale R. Hanson, the present pastor.
Charter members of the congregation were Mr.
and Mrs. Lloyd Orcutt and Audrey, Mr. and Mrs.
Albert Simonson, Mable Simonson, Vernon Simonson,
and Mr. and Mrs. Morris Simonson.
In April of 1949 the cornerstone was laid for a new
church at Lincoln Avenue and Northwest Sixth Street.
In July the building was dedicated.
An addition was added on the same location in the
. year 1967. The ground breaking ceremony was held on
July 30, 1967. The first service was held in it on April 7,
1968.
The present elder board consists of: Hilmar
Albrecht, vice chairman, Howard Barrett, Henry
Evert, Harvey Zicafoose, chairman.
Those serving on the trustee board are: Sidney
Jenson, Clarence Kloster, Wayne Neuhaus, chairman.
Officers of the church include: Ebert Bauer,
treasurer, Mrs. Edward King, secretary, and Mrs.
Ebert Bauer, Sunday School Superintendent.
First Baptist Church
The earliest record referring to Baptist work in
Faribault is found in Frink's Short History of
Faribault: "In 1855 there were no church edifices in
Faribault, but religious services were held every
Sunday in unfinished buildings ...'' The second sermon
heard in Minnesota was in Crump's Hall. _
From an article in the Faribault Republican we
learned that the early settlers of this city were largely
from New England, were descendants of the Puritans
and brought with them a love for church and schools.
Five years after the first log cabins were built in
Faribault, the first churches were organized. Three
churches were organized in 1856: the Congregational,
the Baptist and the First Methodist.
When the Faribault Baptist church was organized
there were only six Baptist churches in Minnesota.
Twenty charter members united with the church
on September 6, 1856. Rev. Timothy R. Cressey was the
first pastor of the church. The group met in Phelps Hall
and subsequently in Metropolitan Hall which they
rented for three years. In 1862 the first church building
was erected; this church was dedicated February 4,
1863 during the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Hazen.
The second church was built during the pastorate
of Rev. A. E. Kelley, who prepared and drew the plans
for the building. This year 1920 was an important one
as it was at that time that the church building was paid
for in full.
The Rev. Glenn E. Saunders was pastor when the
present church at 1108 Westwood Drive was built. This
was on September 19, 1971, when the dedication
ceremonies were held.
The present pastor is Rev. Bruce Pickell who came
to Faribault from Silver Bay, Minnesota in July of 1974.
66

Early day Faribault scene
Immaculate Conception Church
In 1855 a group of settlers of various creeds and
ethnic backgrounds and nationalities came to this
territory. The Catholics, as well as other incoming
religious groups, wanted their own house of worship.
Alexander Faribault gave one thousand dollars to help
with the building of a church. This was the Mr.
Faribault, a fur trapper,. after whom Faribault was
named.
Father Augustin Ravoux, a remarkable
missionary priest, was the first priest to say mass in
Rice County- in Alexander Faribault's log houseand
was instrumental in getting the first church
planned and built. This church, called St. Anne's, was
ready in June of 1856. This, the first church of any
denomination, was burned to the ground the following
October. This was generally thought to be the work of
an arsonist.
Father George Keller of Alsace, France was the
first resident priest for Immaculate Conception parish.
He served that church, with missionary zeal, . for 12
years. In 1870 he was transferred to northern
Minnesota for further missionary work.
Between Father Keller and Father Genis there
were two priests, Father Renveille, whose pastorate
was a little over a year, and Father Scheve, who served
for two years. Father Renveille died from yellow fever,
Father Scheve, not in robust health, served but two
years and died at the age of forty-six. He is buried here
in Calvary Cemetery.
Father Claude Genis, also born in France, came to
Immaculate Conception parish in October of 1874.
Under his direction the church tower was completed,
the sanctuary was extended east and a sacristy was
added.
In 1878 the French and Belgian members of the
parish petitioned for a parish of their own. In answer to
this, Bishop Grace gave the choice of retaining
Immaculate Conception and shouldering the financial
burden of $12,000.00, or of leaving this to the Irish -
assets and liabilities - and organizing their own
parish. They chose the latter and organized the Sacred
Heart parish in 1879.
There have been many sincere and hardworking
priests who have served with distinction in
Immaculate Conception parish. One of the most
beloved priests was Father John Foley a native of
Prince Edward Island. He knew the meaning of
"ecumenism" and practiced it. He made many friends
throughout the entire Faribault community. He served
Immaculate Conception as a pastor for 36 years,
guided the parish to financial stability and was a model
of spiritual leadership.
67
/

St. Lawrence Church
At the time of the first settlers in Rice County
Catholic Church mission activities began. Father
Ravoux celebrated Mass at the house of Alexander
Faribault in 1&53. Father Ravoux came to Faribault as
often as he was able - he had such a large mission
area - and continued to conduct Mass in Mr.
Faribault's home.
When Father George Keller came in 1859 he
continued to use Mr. Faribault's house to offer Mass.
As the number of Catholics grew, they wished to
have a place of worship of their own, and in 1860 they
built a frame structure on a site donated by Mr.
Faribault, Mr. Paquin and General Shields.
Immaculate Conception Church is located on this site
today. Father Keller was in charge of this par .is~,
which took in all the Catholic people of the town, 1t 1s
said that each Sunday he preached in French, German
and English so all might understand.
In 1869, Bishop Grace gave the German Catholic
people of Faribault permission to sta~t their . o~n
parish. Twenty six families ~ere act~ve m ?rgamzmg
this new church, the first pansh meetmg bemg held on
September 19, 1869. They selected a site for a new
church, and the plot of ground on Fourth Street,
between First and Central A venues was bought. Here a
small frame church was built. First Mass was held on
February 2, 1870.
Soon the parish felt the need of a different location
and on August 26, 1872, they bought the present site
where St. Lawrence stands today.
Many hard working and inspired priests h~ve
served St. Lawrence parish, Father Fredenck
Tschann had the longest administration. He was a good
financier. He said that his job in a Northfield bank gave
him a good head for figures. Father Tschann's
retirement was in 1969. He left the parish with a sizable
savings arid debt free.
Father Francis Pouliot is the present pastor of a
congregation which numbers over 400 families.
Sacred Heart Church
The three Catholic Churches in Faribault share a
common heritage. Mass was offered for the first time
in Rice County by the Reverend Augustin Ravoux in
the lob cabin of Alexander Faribault, a fur-trader after
whom Faribault was named. This was in the year 1848.
In 1&56 the first Catholic church in Rice county was
built on the present site of the Immaculate Conception
church. Alexander Faribault donated one thousand
dollars towards its construction as well as the whole
block on which it stood. It was named St. Anne's in
honor of the patron saint of Canada. Many of the first
settlers here were the French-Canadians. The
following year this church was destroyed by fire. This
tragic happening was thought to be the work of
arsonists.
The first resident priest in the county was the
Reverend George Keller who was appointed pastor in
1&58. His parish extended from Rosemount on the north
to Blooming Prairie on the south, from Pine Island on
the east to Kilkenny on the west. He named the church
which replaced St. Anne's in honor of the Immaculate
Conception. It is said of Father Keller that on
Christmas day he used to say his first Mass in
Faribault, the second in Shieldsville, the third in
Kilkenny, traveling by horse and sleigh. At his Sunday
Masses in Faribault he regularly made the
announcements and preached in English, French and
German.
Because of the rapidly increasing Catholic
population groups were desirous of starting their own
churches. The Germans organized their parish. In 1879
the French parishioners withdrew from the
Immaculate Conception parish and built the Sacred
Heart church.
Father Payette was the fi rst pastor; he was soon
succeeded by Father Joseph Leonard who sang the
first High Mass in the new church on June 22, 1879. The
first baptism was that of Joseph Hautelot, the first
marriage that of Augustin St. Martin and Delphine
Favrault, the first funeral that of Etienne
Archambault.
Father Leonard was succeeded in 1880 by
Reverend John Van Leent during whose pastorate the
parish was organized as a legal corporation.
The funeral of Alexander Faribault was held
during Father Van Leent's pastorate. Mr. Faribault
had transferred from the Immaculate Conception
parish ''to which he had contributed so generously to
worship with his fellow Frenchmen at that time in a
church of their own.''
A number of well-remembered priests served
Sacred Heart parish. Among those who served were
Father Monge, Father Domestici, Father Durand,
Father Guillmette, Father Moorman, Father Roger
Blais, Father Joseph Schobert, Father Sterns, Father
Cecil Houle and the present priest, Father John Brown.
It was during the pastorate of Father Domestici that
the present building was erected. The cornerstone was
laid on May 28, 1922.
Ephphatha Church
For more than three quarters of a century the
Ephphatha Church located at 16 Sixth Ave. NE has
been serving the deaf and the blind of Faribault and
vicinity.
The first inter.est in the religious instruction of the
deaf and of the blind dates back to the year 1898 when
G. H. Bakken, pastor at Faribault, and Professor Olav
Lee of St. Olaf College recommended to the convention
of the United Norwegian Lutheran Church that a
mission among the deaf and the blind be started at
Faribault.
A committee was appointed to study the matter
and in 1900 this committee recommended to the annual
convention that a pastor be called to do the work,
dividing his time between the Lutheran children at the
\
I
I
68

'-
Faribault in 1887, looking north on Central Ave. from Second St.
state schools in Faribault and similar schools in other
states.
The Rev. C. M. Larson was chosen to be the first
pastor to the deaf and the blind. He was familiar with
the language of signs as he had a deaf brother, Lars M.
Larson. It is interesting to note that the latter was
instrumental in founding the schools for the deaf in
North Dakota and New Mexico and later settled down
to spend his sunset years in Faribault.
Pastor Larson was succeeded by the Rev. B. J.
Rothnem. He served the church for six years, from
1913 to 1919.
Up to this time the work had been conducted in a
church in the city. This was not a very good
arrangement as the children at the School for the Deaf
and at the School for the Blind had to cross railroad
tracks and go through town to attend services. The
viaduct had not been built.
In 1919 the Rev. Henry 0. Bjorlie, who had
previously started the work among the deaf in Sioux
Falls, S.D., was called to the Faribault field.
Pastor Bjorlie at once put his whole heart and
soul into the work. He saw the need for an edifice for
the exclusive use of his flock and purchased, on his own
account, an old two-room school house that he had
remodeled into a church.
Under the direction of Pastor Bjorlie the work
flourished. Every Sunday his little church on the hill
was filled. The need for a larger church in which to
minister to the deaf and the blind was evident.
Pastor Bjorlie, his devoted wife, Mrs. Lorraine
Bjorlie, and loyal friends worked tirelessly for a new
church and on Easter Sunday, April 13, 1941, the new
Ephphatha Church for the Deaf and the Blind was
dedicated. It stands as a monument to the Rev. Henry
0. Bjorlie.
For six years Pastor B jorlie carried on his
ministry in this fine edifice, the finest church for the
deaf in the world. Then the Master called Pastor
Bjorlie to His heavenly home. Mrs. Bjorlie has been a
faithful helper and pianist at the church for more than
a half century.
The Rev. Stewart Dale served as pastor from 1948
to 1953. In 1950 a new parsonage adjoining the church
was erected and dedicated in conjunction with the 50th
anniversary celebration of the work.
In 1953 the Rev. Ingvald Thvedt took over as pastor
and chaplain, ably assisted by his wife, an experienced
parish worker. In 1968 the Rev. Gordon Long joined the
staff and worked with Pastor Thvedt. This was a period
of great growth in the work.
Pastor and Mrs. Thvedt left in 1972 to take up work
among the handicapped and aged in Tucson, Arizona.
The Rev. Gordon Long has been carrying on the
work in Faribault alone since that time.
The Ephphatha Church is sponsored by the
American Lutheran Church and deaf and blind
students attend services. All protestant students are
welcome and the church also ministers to an adult
congregation.
The above history was written by Dr. Wesley
Lauritsen, former longtime member of the Minnesota
School for Deaf faculty, a 54 year member of
Ephphatha Church and president of the congregation.
69

Hope United Methodist Church
The Hope United Methodist Church, located at
Fifth Avenue and Sixth Street, N.W., in Faribault, is
now in its 98th year of Christian service and grew from
a class organized in 1878 by the Rev. G. W. Sydow.
Originally the church's name was Zion Church of
the Evangelical Association of North America. In the
early 1930's the name was changed to First
Evangelical. With the union with the Methodist Church
in 1968 the name Hope United Methodist was adopted.
The first building was constructed in 1878 on the
present site. It served until 1907 when the present
building was erected. An addition was built in 1956.
The Sunday School was organized at about the
same time as the church. About ten years later, special
emphasis on young people's work was stressed. The
Woman's Missionary Society, an active and
constructive church organization for 63 years, was
formed in 1913.
During the active existence of Hope Methodist
Church, the congregation served as host to the annual
Conference in 1907, 1917, 1928 and 1938.
The church through the years, has shown an
intensive, constructive interest in sociological,
cultural, educational and economic problems of the
Faribault community, in addition to carrying on a full
religious program for all ages.
As a result, the church's pastors during the past 45
years, including the Rev. A. B. Utzman, who was
active in the Faribault American Legion Post and later
served a congregation in St. Paul; The Rev. Edwin
George Moede; The Rev. B. C. Siewert, who was active
in scouting and served a church in Brainerd; the Rev.
Darwin Miller, who also was community-minded; The
Rev. Dave Schneider, who was active with young
people, foreign groups and the local Civic Music
Association, and the present pastor, the Rev. Melvyn
Budke, formerly of Lake Elmo, who definitely is
community-minded and is an active member of the 55
year old Faribault Lions Club, all have succeeded in
increasing the church's membership.
St. Luke's Church of Christ
St. Luke's United Church of Christ held its first
service of worship in its new church on May 17, 1970, at
10:30 a.m. That same day there was a brief closing
service at the old church at 9:30a.m.
The congregation held a groundbreaking service
on May 4, 1969. Construction began May 12, 1969.
Members of the congregation worked with the
contractor during the last year of building. They
estimated that they donated 5,000 hours of time.
There is room to seat 400 people in the nave of the
new church and 50 people in the balcony area. There is
church school space for 200 children. The
multi-purpose dining room will seat about 350 people.
The entire building, which consists of 18,000 square
feet, provides ample space for the office and library.
The building project took place during the
pastorate of the Rev. A. M. Guthmiller. Reverend
Guthmiller's replacement began to serve at St. Luke's
in February. He is Reverend James Laak.
Many members worked on the building project
along with the regular building committee: Walter
Koopmans, chairman; Paul Hachfeld, Marvin
Bauernfeind, Mrs. ·Kenneth Dean, Mrs. Arnold
Hafemeyer, Mrs. Edward Nems. The finance
committee consisted of: Warren Matthies, chairman,
along with Willis Hafemeyer, Gordon Reineke, Mrs.
Werner Helmer, Mrs. E. J. McCormick.
St. Luke's new church is located at 1100 Ninth
Avenue South West, on the edge of Faribault.
Seventh Day Adventist Church
The Faribault Seventh-day Adventist church of
Faribault was founded by R. F. Wolcott and Louise
Wolcott. The Minnesota Conference of the Seventh-day
Adventists of Minnetonka are owners of the church.
R. F. and Louise Wolcott, together with seventeen
charter members, organized the Seventh-day
Adventist Church in Faribault on August 24, 1929. For a
time the congregation was housed in the Wolcott home.
In 1930 the group bought a church building that was
located at Cannon Lake. This building was moved to
Faribault and was placed on a lot located on Lincoln
Avenue and First Street.
It was in 1970 that the group bought the brick
structure that was formerly the First Baptist Church.
This building, which is situated on the corner of Third
Avenue and Fifth Street North West, in Faribault is the
present location.
The school had its beginning in the home of R; R.
Randall in the year 1923. In 1930 it was moved to the
Church on the corner of Lincoln A venue and First
Street, which, in turn, was moved to the Church's
present site. ·
One charter member, Mrs. Iva (Wolcott, Everett)
Kisor, is living in the country near Faribault.
A fourth generation of the Wolcott family Janna
(Kisor) Borg is a member of the Faribault Church.
The present pastor, Ernest Dobkins, came to
Faribault in 1972. Through his efforts and leadership
the church has established a health food store,
"Nature's Nook," on Third Street North West in
Faribault.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church School was
organized in 1923. It had its beginning in the R. F.
Wolcott home, one of the charter members.
In 1930, when the first Seventh-day Adventist
Church building was purchased and located at Lincoln
Avenue the school was established there.
In 1970 the Church purchased property at Third
Avenue and Fifth Street, NW and the School was
located there.
Eight grades are taught in the school together with
classes in music, choir, and band. There is a
Pathfinder's Club, similiar to Boy Scout organization.
When the students graduate from the elementary
grades they go on to an Academy of their choice. Also
they choose their college in the same way.
70

Chapter m Faribault, City of Schools
Public schools
began here in 1856
By ROBERT NORMAN
The first school in Faribault, established in 1853,
was privately supported by Alexander. Faribault and
Luke Hulett for their own children. The teacher was
Edward Crump. Faribault School District No. 1 was
created by the County Commissioners on January 7,
1856. The first legal meeting of the school board was
held on January 31, 1856. Members present included R.
A. Mott and George Batchelder. An assessment of $600
was voted for a school building. In the school year
1857-58 three teachers were employed from November
through February. The reason for the short term was
the depression of 1857. The Faribault School District
was . made a corporate body by an Act of the
Legislature in 1864, under the control of a school board
of five members. The first school building of any size
was the Old Central School, built in 1867, and was
located on the site now occupied by the Faribault
Junior High School. A lot was purchased from General
Shields, who donated the adjoining lot.
High School subjects were gradually introduced into
the curriculum, and were taught by the superintendent
with the help of upper elementary teachers who
happened to have free time. The Faribault High School
became fully organized as such in 1878 under
Superintendent Pratt. In October 1878, the school board
instructed him to procure a teacher of high school
subjects. On November 5, 1878, R. A. Mott, Clerk of the
School District, advertised through the newspapers
that an examination for ·admission to the high school
would be held at Central School Hall on November 16,
1878, and all pupils passing the examination would be
admitted to the high school tuition free. The course of
.study was three years. High school classes were
conducted in the Old Central School Building. The first
class was graduated on June 20, 1879 and consisted of
Mary E. Howard, Mary N. Howe, and Rebecca
Mortenson. Miss Howe was presented with a medal
donated by Mr. H. H. Herbst of Faribault for standing
highest in the class in scholarship and deportment.
Four Divisions Created
'"In 1880 the school system was divided into four
divisions: Primary, Intermediate, Grammar, and
High School. There were 1,198 pupils and 20 teachers.
Besides the Old Central School, there were four
buildings on the west side of Faribault, each with 50
pupils, and one building on the east side for 100 pupils.
The annual school meeting of October 5, 1885 instructed
the Board of Education to prepare plans for a new
school building. The building was built on Block 16,
which is now the junior high physical education field.
The cost was $28,000. The land was purchased from the
Seabury Mission for $5000 with the stipulation that the
block was to be used forever for educational purposes.
In 1906 the Faribault High School was accredited
by the North Central Association of Secondary Schools
and Colleges. Faribault High School was one of the first
high schools in Minnesota to be so accredited.
The Old McKinley Elementary School was built at
the turn of the century, and on the assassination of
President McKinley was named after him. It served
until 1957 when it became the headquarters of the
Community Recreation Program. Other elementary
schools were built as follows: Lincoln 1905, Washington
1906, Garfield 1913, Jefferson 1954, New McKinley 1957.
Additions were built to these schools in 1913, 1925, 1954,
1961, and 1968. In 1914 a new high school building was
constructed on the site of the Old Central School, which
was demolished. The old high school was converted
into the Central Elementary School. In 1938 a
substantial addition was built to the high school.
In 1938, the high school enrollment in grades 7-12 was
1,068. Of these 192 were non-resident pupils. Only 50 per
cent of eighth grade graduates in the county entered
high school, and only 65 per cent of these graduated.
1ndependent District
In 1950 the Faribault School District became an
Independent School District. This change in
classification made the organization of the district
similar to that of other school districts in Minnesota
and gave the school board more authority in operating
the school system.
In 1960 a new Senior High School was completed on
38 acres in southwestern Faribault. It has a capacity of
800 students. The old high school became the Faribault
Junior High School.
In 1962 the Faribault School District became a
Consolidated School District and an extensive
transportation system was established. The area of the
School district is 220 square miles.
In 1964 the Faribault Area Vocational School was
built at a cost of one million dollars, with a capacity of
300 post secondary school students in 16 trades and
occupations. It is an outstanding school.
In 1971 the reorganization of the Faribault School
District was completed with the addition of the last
rural school district to the Faribault District. All the
rural schools were closed and the pupils transported to
71

~en 8?8/ow
Faribault Senior High School complex
including swimming pool, tennis c.ourts and
class buildings as well as Faribault Area
Vocational Technical Institute buildings (at
left) both in southwestern section of city.
Faribault except the eight teacher school at Nerstrand,
the three teacher school at Warsaw, and the one
teacher school at Shieldsville.
In 1972 the Faribault Area Training and Education
Center was established. The Faribault School District
was given the responsibility of educating the trainable
retarded children at the Faribault State Hospital.
The Faribault School District, in its 120 years of
active existence, has developed into one of the State of
Minnesota's leading districts offering a wide variety of
courses in excellent facilities. In December of 1975,
members of the Faribault Education Association,
composed of public school faculty members, called a
strike during negotiations for a two year contract.
The strike lasted for 45 days, including the entire
month of January with teachers daily walking the
picket lines. After several strike truce negotiation
sessions a settlement was reached and regular classes
were resumed in public schools in early February.
Elementary schools built
By CHARLOTTE 0. KNOSS
Soon after the turn of the century, Faribault
citizens were busily providing public Elementary
schools for their children. Most of the people favored
the neighborhood plan for providing schools, the school
being easily accessible to the pupils and their parents
in a close relationship. Strong loyalties were built up
toward the neighborhood schools which have persisted
to this day.
Washington School, on Shumway Avenue, on the
east side of town, was built in 1905. In the same year,
Lincoln Elementary School was constructed on the
west side of Lincoln Avenue. Following the
neighborhood trend, Garfield was built on Third
Avenue in Southern Heights in 1912, on a site on which
many Indian relics were found at the time of the
72

City of schools
in 1962-63. Both Lincoln and Jefferson added two-story
units in 1969. There has been quite a transformation
over the years in the Elementary system, going from
the four or six room structures to schools which house
four sections of each class, kindergarten through grade
six, plus facilities for physical education, music, art,
audio-visual, library, and food services.
Elementary school enrollment was constantly on
the rise from 1956 when there were 1042 students until
1974 when the enrollment reached 2326 children. The
latest figure, obtained in 1976, was an Elementary
public enrollment of 2225 students. It seems likely that
the enrollment will not drop appreciably in the near
future. Conditions seem to indicate this trend.
Faribault education plan
Old Central School, Faribault
excavation for the basement. It most likely was a part
of Tepee Tonka settlement.
These schools became too small to handle the
enrollment so additions were in order. The first of
these was at Garfield in 1925. Washington and Lincoln,
which were built somewhat larger than Garfield,
originally, received their first additions in 1954.
McKinley and Central, the earliest schools,
became known as "old" McKinley and "old" Central.
Central School was razed to make room for an athletic
field for the Junior High School Physical Education
program. A new school, named Jefferson School was
built on Home Place in Southwest Faribault in 1954.
The pupils who had attended Central were distributed
among Garfield, McKinley, and Jefferson Schools.
"Old" McKinley was replaced with a new McKinley
School, on a different location, on Fourth Avenue
between Ninth and Tenth Streets in 1959. Old
McKinley, although condemned as a school, was used
by the city recreation program for office space and for
some of their activities for several years. It was razed
in the summer of 1976.
Still later additions to Elementary school buildings
were occasioned by rising enrollments when thirteen
·rural districts were required, by law, to close because
they did not have grades one through twelve in their
buildings. At this period, Garfield received an addition
In 1891 Rev. James J. Conroy proposed to the
Board of Education of Faribault a plan as a solution of
uniting the parochial schools of the Catholic Church
with the public school system. The plan was sanctioned
by Bishop Ireland before Father Conroy proposed it to
the Board of Education.
The sisters teaching in the parochial schools of the
Immaculate Conception parish qualified as public
school teachers and were employed by the Board of
Education. The plan was adjusted and the "Hill
School" became part of the public school system.
The Faribault Plan soon became a matter of
comment and interest and created world wide
discussion. The press, both religious and secular, and
the pulpit of every Christian denomination in the U.S.
and Europe became involved in the spiritual
controversy. Archbishop Ireland supported the plan
vigorously, but was opposed by several Bishops of the
Church. The matter was finally taken to Pope Leo XIII
and he held that the Faribault Plan should be tolerated
by the church.
History of school districts
By ROBERT NORMAN
Rice County was detached from Dakota County
and organized into a new county by the Minnesota
Territorial Legislature in 1855. The first election was
held in November 1855 and F. W. Frink, Andrew
Storer, and George F. Pettit were elected county
commissioners. At the first meeting of the
commissioners on January 7, 1856, the first business
was the creation of School District No. 1 which
embraced most of the incorporated limits of the City of
Faribault. Also organized were school districts 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Thomas S. Buckham was appointed the
73

~en ~

City of schools
Lonsdale, Medford and Owatonna areas. The Academy
is incorporated by the State and is a member of the
following organizations: State of Minnesota, North
Central, National Catholic Educational Association,
Archdiocesan Educational System, and the
Independent Private School Association.
The growth and development of the Academy has
closely paralleled the growth of education in the city of
Faribault. The Sisters continued in the desire of their
precedessors, to bring and continue a solid Christian
education on the secondary level where values can be
shared and affirmed so that all students will be led to
appreciate the good, the true and the beautiful in the
light of the Good News and the teachings of the
Catholic Church.
Centennial Observed
Months of careful planning went into the
observance of the Academy's Centennial in 1965 and
the Centennial anniversary of the establishment in this
community of the Sinsinawa Wisconsin Dominican
Sisters. The Centennial committee was headed by
Sister Regina, OP, then principal of Bethlehem
Academy as coordinator and Thomas Dillon as general
chairman.
One of the highlights of the Centennial observance
was the presentation of a three act Pageant entitled
"Framing a Century" - the history of the local school.
It was written by Sister M. Caitlin of the Bethlehem
Academy faculty with a cast of 400 persons.
Academy graduates from its beginning held
reunions in various establishments in Faribault. The
weeklong observance ended with the commencement
exercises for the graduating class of 1965.
One of the highlights of the Centennial year was
groundbreaking exercises on April 25, 1965 for the new
convent of the Dominican Sisters of Faribault. The
weatherman provided a menu of snow and rain but the
ground breaking ceremony was held in spite of this.
Participating in the ceremony, each equipped with
a golden spade, were Mother Mary Benedict, OP,
Mother General of the Sinsinawa Dominicans; Sister
Regina, principal of Bethlehem Academy; the Very
Rev. Mark Farrell, pastor of Immaculate Conception
Church; the Rev. Cecil Houle, pastor of Sacred Heart
Church; and the Rev. Frederic Tschann, pastor of St.
Lawrence Church. Also participating _were Anthony
Reuvers, church official, and the Rev. Donald
Tomlinson, assistant pastor of the Immaculate
Conception Church.
Immaculate Conception
school history
With the advent of the first railroad in October 1865
many new families arrived. Soon it was evident that
the two class rooms could not accommodate the new
students and Sister Gertrude came from the Academy
and taught classes in the afternoon. Her class room
was a space between two rows of cordwood in the
basement of the church. Later another class room was
fitted up and Sister Angela was assigned to teach full
time.
The parish school was financed by the parents who
paid one dollar per month for each child, plus the
necessary books and supplies. For four years the
sisters made their way through the sunshine and
showers of summer and the blizzards and cold of
winter from the Academy to the parish school - a
distance more than a mile. In 1868 the Berglehner
residence was purchased and this became the home for
the sisters.
The parish school became crowded and the
Academy was well attended for those days. Father
Clement Scheve, who arrived in 1871, immediately
planned a new school and made house-to-house
canvass of the parish for funds. This drive was
successful and the new school was ready for the
opening in September 1872. This was a two-story
structure with four class rooms, a cloak room and a
hall on each floor. Three rooms were furnished for
immediate use with Sisters Veronica, Damien and
Matthias in charge. Four years later another room was
furnished and the faculty included Sisters Damien,
Sadoc, Calascanta and Alphonsa.
In 1876, the new Bethlehem Academy on its present
site was opened with Mother Gertrude, Superioress,
which post she held until 1892. She was assisted by
Sister Bertrand as Prefect, Sister Imelda, Directoress
of Music, and Sister Margaret in charge of the
household.
On Salary Basis
In the parish school Professor Reid was engaged in
1880 to teach the bigger boys and the following year
Professor Cleary came. Shortly after this a change was
made in financing the school by putting the sisters on a
salary basis. The parish sponsored fairs, bazaars to
raise the one thousand dollars needed annually to pay
the four sisters, each twenty-five dollars a month, for
the ten-month school year . This system continued until
the pastorate of Father Danehy put in the tuition plan.
In 1890 Father Conroy came and one of his
immediate problems was the school. Tuitions were
insufficient to meet the expenses. It was at this time
that Martin M. Shields, who had been superintendent of
schools in Scott county before coming to Faribault,
suggested that it might be feasible to do here what had
been done in Scott county. The plan was to have the
sisters teach in the parochial school under public
school auspices. After many conferences the proposal
was accepted by the Board of Education August 26,
1891, and was put in effect that same year. This, the
so-called "Faribault Plan" received wide publicity.
The school was known as the "Hill School." Attendance
increased but the experiment was short-lived.
In the spring of 1893 opposition developed and the
Board of Education wrote the Mother General at
Siqsinawa to ascertain whether the Sisters could wear
other garb than the religious. This request being
refused the lease was closed and the Immaculate
75

Conception was no longer a public school.
The School was reopened in September 1893 as a
parish school. The experiement was most interesting
and according to the Faribault Democrat, September
15, 1893, the school ''had been among the best in the
city,'' but the general public was not ready to accept it.
The school continued to function under the
direction of the Dominican Sisters and the old stone
school of 1872 served the parish well. But as time went
on the attendance grew and it soon became imperative
that better facilities had to be acquired. Many
unavoidable ci~cumstances delayed the building of a
new school. However, when Father Dolphin came he
made it his first order of business and the new school
was completed and ready for use in the fall of 1925. This
is the school we have today. It was built with foresight
and despite its crowded condition it is doing excellent
work. History repeats itself. It is again too small. It
seems inevitable that the near future will see an
addition to the Immaculate Conception School.
This is an excerpt from the pamphlet "Highlights
of the Immaculate Conception Parish during its first
one hundred years 1856-1956"
St. Lawrence School
The history of the school connected with St.
Lawrence Catholic Church dates back to 1871, when it
was decided to conduct school in the church. John
Vogelsberg was chosen to be the instructor.
Father J. Van Leent served the French and
German parishes from 1881 to 1886. During this time
the first parish school was erected and the Dominican
Sisters were secured to take charge. The hardships and
sacrifices which they endured were many. Their daily
walk from the convent down to St. Lawrence and back
again through all the rough winter weather showed
courage and zeal in their great work. They were truly
pioneers. Sisters Hildegard, Gertrudis and Sister
Katherine were remembered for a long time.
Father John Pavlin succeeded Father Van Leent in
1886, and remained until his death in 1896. His many
kind acts endeared him to his parishioners. His
greatest interest was in his school, and he made many
personal sacrifices to furnish the necessary
equipment.
His successor, Father Frederick Elshorst also had
a very keen interest in the parish school. Daily, he
conducted classes in German and other studies. His
keen foresight prompted him to purchase the property
across the street north of the parish for a new school.
At a meeting of the parish on October 7, 1912, it was
decided that the old school house behind the rectory
was inadequate to accommodate the growing needs of
the parish and a building committee, consisting of P.
H. Donkers, Peter Lonien, S. Kern, John Endres and
Nick Becker was appointed to take action toward the
completion of a new school. It was completed for the
opening day of school in the fall of 1913. The
approximate cost was $30,000.00.
On February 16, 1913, the house and lot, north of
the school were purchased for the Sisters residence. In
1921 the old residence was sold and moved and the
present convent built at an approximate cost of $8,000.
Another landmark in the history of the school is
1969 when Father Tschann inaugurated the new
Catholic Consolidated School System. The three
parishes in the city amalgamated the parish schools
into one big school operation, with one acting principal
and with a shared budget.
Sacred Heart School
The history of the parish school connected with The
Sacred Heart parish dates back to 1886. In that year
Father Van Leent served as pastor of both the French
and German parishes and had erected a two-story
frame schoolhouse, one room for the German pupils
taught by Sister Hildegarde and the other for the
French in charge of Sister Joseph, both Dominicans.
Father Van Leent resigned in 1887 and soon after, the
bi-lingual school, having proved unsatisfactory, the
French withdrew.
Father Monge's long cherished dream of a
parochial school became a reality in 1916 when the W.
M. Reid mansion was bought for $12,500. It was
remodeled to fit the needs of a school and staffed by
four Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters with Sister
Esperance as Superior. The first eighth grade
graduation took place on June 1, 1917, when the
following pupils received their diplomas: Mary
Louise La Rose, Theresa Le Blanc, Adelphine Le ·
Mieux, Roland Paquette, Hubert Plaisance, Dorothy
Roell and Laura Tousignant. French was taught in all
grades in addition to the usual subjects.
Sister Esperance remained in charge only one
year and she was succeeded by Sister Rodolpha for the
usual six year term. Sister Eunice held the office for
the next twelve years, to be followed by Sister Valerie
who stayed only one year. Then followed each with one
term: Sisters Venantia, Letitia, Herbert, Georgine,
and the present Superior, Sister Lourdine.
· A new school was built in 1933 to replace the one
destroyed by fire on February 28, 1933.
While Father Schabert was pastor, he realized that
the inadequate facilities of the parish school would not
be able to take care of the ever increasing number of
children seeking Catholic education. He talked up the
idea of a new school and began monthly Building Fund
collections for that purpose.
Property Acquired
In the midst of the program of repairs to the
buildings, Father Houle kept working on the idea of a
new school building and taking practical steps to its
achievement. The large porch on the convent, now
badly dilapidated and no longer safe, was taken down.
76

S1WW storm hits Faribault in January, 1886. Looking north on Central Ave. from Second Street
A new and larger water intake was piped into the
school. An opportunity awaited to purchase more
property.
All those who were thinking about the school
problem realized that to expand the present school it
would be necessary to have more property for the new
building itself and for more playground space which
had always been inadequate from the beginning.
During the summer of 1952 it became possible to
purchase the two large lots directly south of the school
on which was located the Petteys apartment building
for the sum of $23,500.
With the approval of His Excellency Archbishop··
Murray, the actual transaction was made on
November 1, 1952. A group of men solicited funds from
the parishioners at the rate of $100.00 per family and
that drive plus the annual profits from the apartment
rentals had reduced the debt on the new property to
$11,000 (1956 figures).
At the beginning of the 1954-55 school year, it
became apparent that a new school building had to be
provided for the following year or some pupils would
have to be turned away.
Plans Drawn Up
In January of 1955, Father Houle, Arthur Dube, and
William Anderson made a trip to St. Louis, Mo. to
investigate a new type of building which would be
faster and more economical, Penn metal construction,
a light weight steel, fire-proof type of construction.
In early February, Allen J. Ross, an architect from
Mankato, was asked to draw up plans for a new
building which would provide three new classrooms, a
principal's office, new toilet facilities, a large
multi-purpose room which could be used for hot
lunches, recreation, parish activities, etc, with a
kitchen and food and chair storage rooms.
To finance the new school, the pastor himself
undertook in January, 1955, the task of calling on all the
families of the parish, gathering census information,
and asking each family to donate $400.00 more if
possible, or less, according to circumstances, with a
down payment in cash and weekly, monthly, or yearly
installments until the entire amount would be
contributed.
Work on the new building progressed rapidly with
only minor delays in spite of the fact that this was the
biggest year of construction in the history of the U.S.
Many parishioners were able to obtain work on the
project since the pastor acted in the capacity of the
general contractor and some of the important
sub-contractors were members of the parish. The new
building was ready to be occupied in early March of
1956 and was blessed on Sunday, March 4, by
Archbishop John Gregory Murray, S.T.D., the
77

~en &?cf}low
Archbishop of St. Paul, assisted by a large number of
clergy, parishioners, people of the city of Faribault and
friends of the parish. The attractive school and church
social center has been popularly used in the years
following and the parish school has held class sessions
each year.
Trinity Lutheran School
Trinity Lutheran School began in 1875 in a
combination school-parsonage building which still
stands on the church premises at 521 NW Fifth Street.
The Rev. John Hertrich, pastor at that time, also
served as teacher for the school.
In 1881 Rev. Henry Schulz took over as teacher and
in 1883 a one-room frame school building measuring 45
by 26 feet was erected. By this time, there were one
hundred children enrolled in the school.
The first full-time teacher and principal of the
school, Martin Kirsch Sr., came in 1884. Martin Kirsch
taught for 29 years, until 1913. During this period,
religion classes and many language arts classes were
taught in the German language.
Continued growth crowded the school so that in
1902, the one-room building was sold and moved off the
premises. The old church building was then remodeled
into a two-room school. This building was used until
1915 when the congregation built a four-room brick
structure, with a basement assembly room. This
building is now part of the present structure.
The addition of three classrooms and a principal's
office was begun in 1952 and dedicated in 1953. In 1959
an auditorium-gymnasium, two additional classrooms,
locker and shower rooms, fellowship rooms, kitchen
facilities, and church offices were added, completing
the present facilities.
Trinity School has an enrollment of 200 students
served by 10 teachers.
P eace Lutheran School
Being highly concerned with the Christian
education of their children, the members of Peace
Lutheran Church opened its Christian Day School on
September 14, 1948 with 68 pupils enrolled in grades one
through eight. Classes were conducted in rooms at the
Ephphatha Church for the Deaf, Division Street and
Sixth A venue East, until the completion of the ranch
house school. This was being constructed at the corner
of Third Street south and Eighth Avenue S.W. The
ranch house style residence was adapted to provide
two emergency class rooms for the Christian Day
School of the congregation. It was dedicated on Oct.
31,1948. When the school was completed, the ranch
house was completed as a residence. Eugene Vetter
was the first teacher and principal with Miss Ruth
Severson teaching the lower grades.
Ground breaking ceremonies for the construction
of a parish school were held on Sunday, July 24, 1949.
The first unit of ow present structure, the school, was
dedicated to the Glory of God on May 7, 1950. Three
classrooms and an assembly hall, which served as the
chapel, were provided in this building. There are now
five classrooms, a library and church and school
offices.
A kindergarten in the school was inaugrated on
September 2, 1952. Peace school now offers complete
grade school education from kindergarten through the
eighth grade in all required subjects, meeting the
standards of the State Board of Education, all being
taught from a Christian viewpoint. Hot lunch program
is offered by the school.
On September 16, 1974, a pre-school nursery
program was opened. The program is licensed by the
State Department of Public Welfare. This program
differs from many in that it provides the setting for the
child to work and play in a Christian atmosphere with
children of his own age. The multi-media,
non-denominational materials stress the presence of
Jesus in the child's home, in his play activities with
friends, and in nature. Mrs. Margaret Beseman is the
head teacher of the nursery school with Richard
Timm, the director.
Peace School has sponsored Talent shows, Science
and Art Fairs, annual Operettas since 1959 in which all
the children in the school participate.
The first winterim mini-courses were completed
February 20, 1976. "We wanted to give the students an
opportunity to break from the routine," Richard
Timm, principal of the school said. ''For three days,
students .were able to choose from thirty or more
winterim mini-courses, such as indoor gardening, ice
fishing, painting, embroidery, woodworking, ice
cream making, candy making, baking and a number of
other activities. The goal of winterim is to spur
students' interests in areas which are not dealt with by
academic classes.
School principals who have served Peace School
are Julius Wantoch, Paul Groenke, Stuart Firnhaber,
Paul Obst, Robert Koring, Willard Kniep, and Richard
Timm from 1970. Teachers who have taught in our
school beside the principals are Arthur Nitschke,
Mabel Harris, Mrs. Paul Groenke, Martha Knutsen,
Arlene Rehwaldt, Peggy Wiedenheft, Marlys Gehrke,
Eleanor Mueller, Mrs. Viola Musegades, Mrs. LeRoy
Drier, LeVana Knehans, Mrs. Edith Glende, Mrs.
Randall Beinhom, Mrs. Clarence Spitzack, Milton
Kuball, Mrs. Eugene Blaker, John Briggs, Mrs.
Bernice Griggs, Carol Wackier, Mrs. Beata Borchert,
Mrs. Lois Gramse, Patricia Schaper, Janet Schrimper,
Mrs. Esther Burgdorf, Cleo Splinter, Mrs. Sherry!
Kniep, Mrs. Cheryl Carlson Lindner, Sally Hoffmann,
Mrs. Margaret Beseman, Mrs. Mary Sanborn, Mrs.
Betty Lindemeier Velzke, Mrs. Marlyss Wagner, Mrs.
Kay Cram and Allen Zum Hofe.
78

Early day view of the Minnesota State School for Deaf on the Straight River bluffs in Faribault
School for Deaf
113 years old
By WESLEY LAURITSEN, L.H.D.
1917 Graduate of MSD
The 116-acre campus of the Minnesota School for
the Deaf is located on the hilltop on the east side of
Faribault. A state representative recently said that the
campus was one of the most beautiful in Minnesota.
The School was established by an act of the
Legislature in 1858 and opened in 1863 with eight pupils.
The current enrollment is around 200. During the past
113 years more than 3,400 students have entered the
school.
The School is an educational institution in every
sense of the word. For years it has been run under the
direction of the Department of Welfare, but a recent
act of the Legislature placed the school under the State
Department of Education.
The School has a staff of about 30 certified
academic teachers and a dozen qualified vocational
teachers. These teachers give the deaf youth a
well-rounded education that will enable them to
continue their education in post secondary schools or
colleges, or to step into positions in their home town
communities.
Despite salaries that have not always been
attractive, the School has been fortunate in having a
staff of dedicated teachers, houseparents and
employees. They have helped to make the School one of
the outstanding schools for the deaf in the United
States.
The School has always been out of politics.
Through various forms of state administration the
superintendent has always been appointed on merit
and knowledgeable persons say that in each case the
best man available was always chosen to head the
school.
The School has had eight superintendents and
three acting superintendents. The latter served during
emergencies for a year or less.
Happy Students
In the early days children usually entered the
School at the age of eight, but now the entry age is
usually around five. This gives the child a good start on
his educational journey.
Many young children entering the School do not
know their own names or that they have a name. Yet
under the direction of competent teachers they are
able to get a well-rounded education, preparing them
to live a full life.
The children attending the School are a very happy
group. Most live in the dormitories under the care of
understanding houseparents. There are a few day
students whose parents live in Faribault and vicinity.
In the early days of the school children came in the fall
..md usually went home for a short Christmas vacation.
After they returned, they would stay until school closed
in the spring. In those days vocational classes were
held on Saturday and there were many events during
the weekends to keep them busy.
With improved transportation facilities, many of
the students now go home weekends and the school is
closed during the Thanksgiving and Easter vacation
periods.
The Minnesota School for the Deaf now uses what
79

~en~§Vow
Minnesota School for Deaf gymnasium
is called the Total Communication Method of Teaching
the Deaf. This includes child devised gestures, speech,
formal signs, finger spelling, speech reading, reading
and writing. Every child is provided the opportunity to
learn to use any remnant of residual hearing he may
have by employing the best possible electronic
equipment for amplifying sound.
Vocational Training
So that students may take their place as
self-supporting citizens in their home communities
upon leaving school, vocational training is begun early
at the Minnesota School for the Deaf. The girls learn to
prepare meals and they also learn to sew and make
their own dresses. Following recent trends the girls are
now also found in graphic arts classes and home
mechanics classes.
The younger boys are taught sloyd in a
well-equipped shop. Older boys learn cabinet making,
upholstering, printing, linotyping, and all phases of
offset printing.
Art, typewriting, photography, assembly, crafts,
sheet metal and welding are also offered students.
Driver training classes are open to all boys and girls of
legal driving age. A certified driver training instructor
is in charge and most students leaving school have a
state driver's license.
The Minnesota School for the Deaf is a member of
the Minnesota State High School League and both boys
and girls participate in a full schedule of sports.
Besides competing in regular conference schedules,
the football, basketball and track teams often meet
teams in nearby schools for the deaf. This offers the
students fellowship with deaf students in other states.
In 1938 the School basketball team won the Midwest
Schools for the Deaf tourney and drove to New York to
play in the National Schools for the Deaf Tourney.
There are a number of student organizations that
give the students an opportunity to serve. The Boys'
Athletic Association, now in its 54th year, helps sponsor .
the athletic program and student officers are
responsible for many projects. The student treasurer
handles up to $5,000 a year. His books are regularly
audited by staff members. A faculty adviser meets
with the boys regularly.
Professional Organizations
To keep up with the ever-changing conditions, the
teachers are members of a number of professional
organizations. They have their own Minnesota School
for the Deaf Education Association, are members of
the Minnesota Education Association, and many are
members of special groups promoting the education of
the deaf.
Graduates of the School are succeeding in
practically all walks of life. They are employed as
printers, linotype operators, bakers, cabinet makers,
farmers, teachers, college professors, ministers, and
business men.
That the State of Minnesota has a good investment
in the Minnesota School for the Deaf is at once
apparent when you learn that almost 100 per cent of its
graduates are self-supporting. And the School is proud
of the fact that not a single graduate has been
convicted of crime and sent to prison.
Graduates of the School are an integral part of the
economic, industrial and spiritual society of our great
state. Graduates have happy families. They fulfill
their citizenship duties. They ask no favors - want
none.
The eight superintendents who have given the
School outstanding leadership are: Roswell H. Kinney,
1863-1866; Jonathon L. Noyes, 1866-1896; James N.
Tate, 1896-1923; Elwood A. Stevenson, 1924-1928; Victor
0. Skyberg, 1928-1932; Leonard M. Elstad, 1932-1945;
Howard M. Quigley, 1945-1966; Melvin H. Brasel, 1967-
Credit should also be given to James L. Smith,
Nannie A. Pollard and Albert C. Esterline who served
. as acting superintendents for a year or less during
emergencies.
School for blind established
As early as 1863, a State Commission for the
Education of the Deaf and Blind had been created, but
only sufficient funds had been appropriated to finance
the opening of the Department of the Deaf.
In 1866, through the efforts of Miss Harriet Tucker,
a Department for the Blind was opened in connection
with a School for the Deaf and Blind. Both schools were
quartered in private residences until 1868 when a
building large enough to house both Departments was
erected on the heights east of Faribault.
In 1873, the Department for the Blind graduated its
first class of four students. At this time, students
between the ages of 10 and 25 years were admitted.
It had long been felt that the close association of
blind and deaf students worked hardships upon both
groups. In 1874, a new location for the School for the
Blind was acquired and the school is still located there
today. This change marked the beginning of
independent work in the education of the blind in
Minnesota, and by 1879 the two departments had been
completely separated. James Dow was named
Superintendent of the School for the Blind.
In 1884, Dow Hall was built to house the school. The
80

City of schools
First State School for Blind, Faribault
curriculum included reading, spelling, arithmetic,
music and broom and mattress making. By 1886, the
curriculum had been expanded to include a three year
high school course and the enrollment had risen to 50
students. Miss Ella Hofner was very instrumental in
the development of the curriculum during this period.
Soon several changes were made in school buildings: a
hospital, a school superintendent's home, an industrial
building and by 1898 a south wing was added to Dow
Hall for dormitory, library and music facilities.
At the turn of the century, the teaching staff
consisted of 12 persons and in addition there were
supervisors and other employes. Eighty five students
were enrolled in a complete 12 year course, including
the grades and high school. Optional courses also were
offered in musical and industrial fields. Two new
dormitories for boys were built about this time.
Summer School Established
By 1907, Dr. Dow began a summer school for men
who had become blind in later life. This school was the
first of its kind in the country, aimed at social
readjustment as well as industrial rehabilitation. In
1913, a summer school for blind women was opened.
Later the two sessions became a summer school for all
adult blind and the age limit for students attending
regular school was lowered to 21 years. Dr. Dow
retired in 1920 and his sister, Julia Dow, became
superintendent for two years.
Joseph E. Vance became the next superintendent
in 1922. Under Superintendent Vance, a Department of
Sight Conservation was begun in 1925. In place of
Braille used elsewhere in the school, children in the
Sight Conservation Department used Clear Type
materials.
When Superintendent Vance resigned in 1930,
Mendus R. Vevle became the new superintendent.
Through Mr. Vevle's efforts the School Library was
made a distributing center for the Library of Congress
Books for the Blind. The school became the first state
institution to have a degree librarian. Supt. Vevle also
combined the music, industrial and academic
departments into one comprehensive program under
one principal.
John C. Lysen became Supt. of the Minnesota
School for the Blind in 1934 and remained at the school
until1965. Under his tenure, the enrollment rose to 140
students, some of whom were day students. Three new
buildings were added during the era, the Industrial
Arts Building in 1942, the Activities Building in 1957 and
the Regional-School Library Building in 1959.
Meanwhile, existing structures were rehabilitated and
modernized. In 1953, the name of the school was
changed to the Minnesota Braille and Sight Saving
School in order to convey to the public a true concept of
its activities and the double purpose of the School.
New teaching methods
In 1965, the new superintendent, C. E. Ronayne,
introduced a new philosophy of education of the blind.
81

~en &?§Vow
He initiated the integration of senior blind students in
the Faribault Public Schools. Also, under Supt.
Ronayne, many more multiple handicapped students
were enrolled in the school. The population of the
school dropped considerably, with many students
returning to their home communities to attend school.
Melvin Voxland became superintendent in 1967.
The activating of a Deaf-Blind Department took place
while he was in charge. The Department undertook to
educate students who are both deaf arid blind. By 1974,
the Deaf-Blind Department had reached an enrollment
of 22 students.
In 1972, Vincent F. Svaldi replaced Supt. Voxland.
Under Supt. Svaldi, an off-campus co-ed Independent
Living House was established for older students.
Melvin H. Brasel became superintendent in 1976.
He serves as superintendent of the Minnesota School
for Deaf as well as the Minnesota Braille and Sight
Saving School. The two schools are situated on
separate campuses. The total school population at the
Minnesota Braille and Sight Saving School is
approximately 60 students.
The future role of the school in these times of
changing emphases is difficult to predict. For blind
people, as a whole, this school has made it easier to live
useful, happy lives in home and community.
Faribault State Hospital
Faribault's three state institutions, the Minnesota
School for the Deaf, Minnesota Braille and Sight
Saving School and the Minnesota State School were
founded as one school in 1863.
By an act of the State legislature, approved August
11, 1858, Faribault was designated as the location for a
state school for deaf mutes, on the condition that the
citizens of Faribault donate forty acres of land for a
site.
In 1863, the Deaf School was established in a
building originally built for a store. In 1866 a blind
department was added to the school and the combined
school was known as the "Institution for the Education
of the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind.'' After a few years trial,
it was found that educating the blind and deaf under
one roof was detrimental so in 1874, a separation was
made. The legislature of 1881 established a permanent
school at Faribault for idiots, imbeciles, and the feeble
minded, and thus three separate and distinct
institutions, each with its own superintendent and
employees, but all under the same board of directors
were established under the title of "Minnesota
Institute for Defectives."
Land was purchased above the bluffs east of the
Straight River. The Legislature provided $25,000 for
the construttion of new buildings.
An act of the Legislature of 1879 established a
commission to visit the hospitals for the insane and to
select feebleminded persons found there and turn them
over to the trustees of the blind and dumb and deaf
institution. They were to establish a school for their
training. This school was spoken of as the
Experimental School. It was organized by Dr. Henry
M. Knight, a veteran in the care and training of the
feebleminded. His son, Dr. George H. Knight was
elected superintendent on June 1, 1879. Fourteen
children -nine boys and five girls- comprised the
students at that first school.
New Building Authorized
In February of 1882, a new building was ready for
the care and training of the feebleminded. Another act
of the legislature of 1884 provided more money for
additional building and there was now room for one
hundred children.
In April, 1885, Dr. Knight resigned and Dr. A. C.
Rogers became superintendent in September 1885. He
pioneered programs for the mentally retarded.
Since 1885, each succeeding session of the
legislature has provided in part to meet the large
demand for admission to the Institution. In 1890, a farm
of 190 acres, known as · the Gilmore farm was
purchased. In 1894 "Sunnyside" was built, and 1896
found Skinner Hall being constructed. In 1900 a
building just for epileptics was built. In 1909 another
farm was purchased. Through the years new buildings
have been added: Rogers Building in 1959,
Administration Building in 1958, Linden Building, a
living unit for residents, was built in 1964.
The school has had a number of name changes:
1905, School for Feebleminded and Colony for
Epileptics; 1949, Minnesota School and Colony; 1955,
Faribault State School and Hospital; 1969, Faribault
State Hospital.
Superintendents who have served:
Dr. H. M. Knight - 1879-1885; Dr. Arthur C.
Rogers- 1885-1916; Guy C. Hanson; Dr. J. Moorhead
Murdock - 1927-1937; Dr. Edward J. Engberg -
1937-1969; Harold Gillespie - 1969-1973; Charles
Turnbull-1974.
Population:
Low: 21 residents, 1880; High: 3252 residents, 1956;
1976: 1025 residents.
Bishop Whipple, man of action
It has been said repeatedly by men. accustomed to
a judicious weighing of words that ''no bishop of the
church ever has given more striking evidence of the
fact that the highest order of the ministry of Christ
belongs not to a diocese alone, but to the whole Church
and to the Commonwealth, than the Right Rev. Henry
Benjamin Whipple, First Episcopal Bishop of
Minnesota." Faribault was chosen by him as the See
City of the Diocese.
Henry Benjamin Whipple was born in Adams, N.Y.
Feb. 15, 1822. The character of the man and the
preparation of his life of service to thousands began
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City of schools
Nov. 10, 1859, immediately began missionary work
among the Indians who became his staunch and loyal
friends and held his first service in the wooden chapel
in Faribault; Feb. 19, 1860. For 42 years as bishop he
gained national and world recognition for his dynamic
service to mankind.
His many projects, building the Cathedral of Our
Merciful Saviour, Faribault; founding the Whipple
Schools, Shattuck, Saint Mary's Hall and St. James
Schools in Faribault; building the Diocese of
Minnesota into an influential force for Christianity
earned worldwide acclaim.
He died Sept. 16, 1901 after being stricken with
pneumonia. His funeral, held at the Cathedral in
Faribault, was impressive with its sincere, eloquent
tributes to a man who lived a most purposeful life.
Mrs. Cornelia Whipple
Right Rev. H. B. Whipple, D.D. L.L.D.
several hundred years before this in the lives of his
ancestors and their descendants, who were among
some of the most honorable families of our country.
He was educated in private schools in the state of
New York and later attended Oberlin College, Oberlin,
Ohio, where he lived with his uncle, the Rev. George
Whipple, who was professor of mathematics.
His student life was interrupted by a severe illness.
In the weeks of enforced seclusion a vision of the needs
of perishing humanity took possession of him. Every
other consideration paled in the light of this great
vision. It was his clear perception of the highest values
of life which led him to decide what his life work should
be -
the Christian Ministry.
He received his theological training under that
eminent scholar, the Rev. Dr. W. D. Wilson of Cornell
University, N.Y. On August 26, 1849, he was ordained
Deacon by Bishop De Lancey, his loyal friend and
religious guide and in February, 1850 he was ordained
priest. His first call was to Zion Church, Rome, N.Y.
where he built up a large parish and erected a new
church. He then was called, in 1856, to the newly
organized "Free Church of the Holy Communion" in
Chicago.
Because of his phenomenal work there he was
elected to the Episcopate in 1859 in St. James Church,
Richmond, Virginia, at the session of the General
Convention. He was the youngest of all the Bishops.
He held his first service in Minnesota at Wabasha,
Scriptural praise from the Book of St. Mark,
chapter 14, verse 8, "She hath done what she could,"
voiced by the Rev. John S. Kedney, D.D., in a
memorial sermon before mourners who overflowed the
historic Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, Faribault,
Minnesota, eulogized the memory of Mrs. Cornelia
Whipple.
Mrs. Whipple, the wife of the Rt. Rev. Henry
Benjamin Whipple, first Episcopal Bishop of
Minnesota, died on July 16, 1890 following earlier
injuries received in a Georgia railway accident.
Her death, mourned by thousands in all sections of
this country and abroad, marked the close of a life
steeped in Christian unselfishness and piety. Her
constructive life was devoted to helpful service to the
poor and suffering, to the grateful Indians and to her
husband, the Bishop, who frequently mentioned that
Mrs. Whipple "was his right hand in all good work,"
particularly in laying the foundation of Faribault's
famed Episcopal Schools.
Mrs. Whipple was the eldest daughter of the Hon.
and Mrs. Benjamin Wright and was born in Adams,
Jefferson County, N.Y. Educated at Mrs. Emma
Willard's celebrated Troy Female Seminary, she
taught several years in South Carolina and provided
largely the means to educate her brother who became
a faithful minister of the church.
Married in 1842
In 1842 she was married to Henry Benjamin
Whipple, then engaged in the mercantile business in
New York. She led him to the Church and as they were
connected with the Parish of Zion Church, Pierrepont
Manor, her husband became a lay reader and held
services in the Adams Academy.
In 1847 Mr. Whipple became a candidate for Holy
Orders and was ordained Deacon by Bishop DeLancey
in 1849 and accepted the charge of Zion Church, Rome,