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

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
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