History Notes- - Waseca County Historical Society

Alex McColley wore his
St. Mary Township t-shirt to the
opening—he purchased it at the
Waseca County Fair last summer!
5
sota became the nation’s 32nd state of the union. On May
17, Okaman was changed to Janesville. On November 1,
New Richland was organized first as Norway, then changed
to New Richland; and Byron. Freedom and Alton Townships
would not be organized until 1864 after the Winnebago
or Hochunk tribes were moved and the reservation
lands were made available for sale to settlers. By 1864 Waseca
County had 12 townships identical in size, surveyed
and marked with 36 sections. In those early days each
township board had a meeting place in Section 16--the center
of each township.
Dealing with the county finances dominated the first
half of the county agenda, but by July and August 1858 the
weather caught everyone’s attention. It was said that storm
after storm raged through the county flooding settlers along
the Le Sueur River bottom lands. Trees were washed out,
fences torn down, hay and grain stacks carried downstream.
Wheat, oat, potato, corn and garden crops were lost; and of
course, food and livelihood for the coming year was gone.
Crop destruction created such incredible deprivation that
many settlers gave up and left. But those who stayed created
one of the most agriculturally rich counties in the entire
state. In later years Waseca County set records for various
crop production per acre—wheat, corn, soybeans.
Township government is truly “grassroots government.”
It was the beginning of how we were all going to
live together in this new land. It was the beginning of how
we would take care of each other, provide for the good of
all--creating the roads and bridges to get crops to market. It
was the beginning of making choices for ourselves in a free
society where that is possible. Opportunities were everywhere
for those willing to work at it. Providing food, services,
goods, transportation, churches, were all immediately
necessary for survival.
WCHS’s Townships exhibit is divided into the 12 individual
townships histories, photographs, stories and artifacts.
The centerpiece of each is a copy of the original survey
plat maps created between 1848 and 1857 by the U.S.
Surveyor General of Iowa and Wisconsin, headquartered in
Dubuque, IA. The narratives about the beginnings of each
township, the early settlers and officials were originally
researched and written by Donna Fostveit and published in
the Waseca County 1879 Plat Book. At the beginning of the
exhibit is an assortment of items that new immigrants and
settlers may have had with them traveling to the new territory
in the 1850s-- “What would you bring with you, leaving
home forever, to make a new home in unknown territory?”
The survey maps are available online through the collaboration
by the Minnesota State Archives of MHS, the
Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Office of
the Secretary of State, the Department of Administration’s
Land Management Information Center and the
Minnesota Association of County Surveyors.