The county was formed from territory within Wabasha County on March 5, 1853. County boundaries were defined in 1854 and further refined again in 1855.
Hamline University, Minnesota's first college of higher learning, was originally located in Red Wing, Minnesota. It opened its doors in 1854 but closed during the Civil War
due to low enrollment. Hamline University re-opened in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1869.
The county was a leading producer of wheat during the mid-nineteenth century and for several years the county boasted the highest wheat production in the country, sending
wheat through numerous mills in Red Wing and then transporting the grain along the Mississippi River.
The confluence of fires at two of Red Wing's mills in the 1880s and developing railroad routes across Minnesota incited farmers from neighboring counties to begin
sending their wheat to Minneapolis mills, reducing the county's importance in the wheat trade by the turn of the century.
Table of CONTENTS
CHAPTER I. NATURAL PHENOMENA. pack
Location — Area — Water Courses — Surface Features — Ancient River Beds —
Elevations — Soil — Forest Trees — Artesian Wells — Sources of Wealth —
Native Animals 1
CHAPTER II. GEOLOGIC AGES.
Formation of the Earth — Cooling of the Crust — The Various Periods as
Outlined by Scholars — Appearance of Vegetation — First Animal Life
— Geologic* Formations of Goodhue County — Influence of These Dis-
tance Periods on Modern Existence 11
CHAPTER III. EVIDENCE OF THE MOUNDS.
The First Human Inhabitants of Goodhue County — Indications That They
Were Indians — Location and Shape of the Mounds — Their Purpose —
What Excavation Has Revealed — Fort Sweney — Stone Cairns — The
Lowland Mounds — Reign of the Sioux — By Edward W. Schmidt 18
CHAPTER IV. EARLY DAYS.
Possession by Indians — The Dakota? — Traditions and Opinions — Col. Col-
vill's Views — Origin of Name '-Rd \\ ,'i ; — The Raidssjn-
Groseillers Allegations — No Proof That These Men Ever Saw Goodhue
County — Hennepin Lands at Red Wing's Village — Duluth Passes the
Village — LeSueur at Prairie Island — Fort Beauharnois and Its Suc-
cessors- — Carver Passes Through Wisconsin Channel — Pike and His
Narrative — Meets Red Wing and Calls Him by His English Name —
Leavenworth — First Steamers — Denton and Gavin — Aiton and Han-
cock — Tribute to Rev. Hancock — Early Schooling — The Pioneers
Arrive— By Dr. W. M. Sweney 33
CHAPTER V. FORTS AT FRONTENAC.
Landing of Count Frontenac — Building of Fort Beauharnois by Du
Boucher in 1727 — Work of the Jesuits — Disastrous Freshets — Capture
of Father Guingas — Linctot's Stockade — St. Pierre and His Meeting
With Washington — Abandonment of Stockade — Marin's Fort in 1750
— Final Evacuation by the French — Modern Evidences 6S
CHAPTER VI. UNDER EUROPEAN KINGS.
French and English Claims — Spanish Rule— The Louisiana Purchase — A
Part of Louisiana Territory — Under Successive Jurisdiction of Mis-
souri. Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa — No Man's Land — General
Sibley's Duties — Minnesota a Territory — In Statehood Days— A Full-
Fledged County
CHAPTER VII. INDIAN TREATIES. page
Prairie du Chien in 1825— Second Treaty in 1830— Treaty of 1837— Doty
Treaty in 1841 — Treaty of Mendota in 1851 — Land Open to Settle-
ment — Prairie Island Indians 74
CHAPTER VIII. INDIAN TROUBLES.
Half-Breed Tract — The Location and Purpose — Issue of Scrip — Difficulties
Which Ensued — Threats ami Recourse to Washington Finally Settle
the Matter — Spirit Lake Massacre — Investigation by Red Wing Men —
Uprising of 1862 90
CHAPTER IX. BEGINNING OF THE COUNTY.
Boundary Lines Given — First Election — "Judge" Young and His Ballot
Box — Imported Yoters — County Officers Appointed — First Session of
Board — Court House Resolution — School Districts — A Few Early Ses-
sions — Court House Contract — 1849-1858 97
CHAPTER X TOWNSHIP SYSTEM.
An Experiment in County Government — Members of First Board of Super-
visors — Two Chairmen — Party Feeling High — Sheriff Preserves Order
— Another Version — Court House Trouble — Meeting of Second Board
— Resumption of County Commissioner System — History of Court
House — ( lounty Poor Farm — Political History 110
CHAPTER XL DR. SWEXEY s NARRATIVE.
Denton and Gavin — Aiton and Hancock — Bush, Bullard, Post, Snow and
Gould — Potter, Young and Day — Sweney, Freeborn and McGinnis —
Friendliness of the Indians — First Winter — Arrival of the Scandi-
navians — Digging Potatoes — Fishing in Stream and River — A Sporting
Clergyman — Some of the Indian Braves — Farming in the Old Indian
Cornfield — Squaws as Farmhands 120
CHAPTER XII. TOWNSHIPS AND VILLAGES.
Organization ami Original Names — Belle Creek — Belvidere — Burnside —
Cherry Grove — Central Point — Early Settlement 142
CHAPTER XIII. CANNON FALLS.
First Settlement — Platting the Yillage — Village and City Incorporated —
Water Power and Mills — Fraternities — Hotels — Newspaper — Modern
Cannon Falls— Industries — Business Houses — Schools — Commercial
Club — Banks — Cannon Falls Township — Early History — Veterans of
the War 159
CONTENTS xiii
CHAPTER XIV. TOWNSHIPS AND VILLAGES.
Featherstone — Florence — Frontenac — Goodhue Township and Village —
Advantages and Growth — Holden — Kenyon Township and Village —
Modern Progress — Leon — Minneola 169
CHAPTEB XV. TOWNSHIPS AND VILLAGES.
Pine Island Township and Village — Progressive and Prosperous — Roscoe —
Stanton — V a s a — Wacoota — Wanamingo — Wanamingo Village —
Warsaw — Dennisou Village — Welch 206
CHAPTER XVI. ZUMBROTA.
Zumbrota Village — Its Situation and Advantages — Modern Zumbrota —
Water, Sewer and Public Halls — Fire Department — Industries — Banks
— Hotels- — Mills and Klevators — Creamery — Fraternities — Village His-
tory and Officers — T. P. Kellett 's Speech — Military Company — Village
Schools — Public Library — Zumbrota Township — Township Officers
Since Early Days — Soldiers from This Township 234
CHAPTER XVII. COUNTY SCHOOLS.
First School Taught — First District Organized — Anecdotes of the Early
Days — Statistics — Summer Schools — Library Association — High
Schools — Church Schools — City Superintendents — County Superin-
tendents — Sunday School Work — Hamline University — Red Wing
Seminary- — Villa Marie — Lutheran Ladies' Seminary — Orphans' Home
— State Training School — Business Colleges — By Prof. Julius Boraas. 271
CHAPTER XVIII. POSTAL HISTORY.
Red Wing — First Post Master — Stage Coach Days — Growth and Progress-
Other County Officers — Discontinued County Officers — New Federal
Building— Statistics 298
CHAPTER XIX. THE PHYSICIAN.
His Proud Achievements — His Solemn Oath — His Ethics — The True Physi-
cian — His Reward — His Delicate Relation to the Human Family — His
Inventions and Discoveries Free Gifts — The Pioneer Doctor — His
Character — His Services — His Limitations — The March of Medicine —
Biographies — A Roll of Honor — The Goodhue County Medical Society
— The Twentieth Century — Preventive Medicine — The Physician as an
Educator— By George C. Wellner, M. D 315
CHAPTER XX. SONS OF THE VIKINGS.
Discovery of America — Modern Norwegian Immigration — Mathias Peder-
sen Ringdahl — Early Settlers — Anecdotes — Officeholders — Newspapers
— Norwegians as Pioneers — Their Present Status 333
xiv CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXL SWEDISH SETTLEMENT.
Early Colonies — Coming to Minnesota — Mattson, Willard and Norelius —
Story of the Early Swedes Told by Dr. Norelius — The Churches at
Eed Wing and Yasa — Keminiscences by Early Settlers — Character-
istics of the Swedes 340
CHAPTER XXII. THE GERMANS.
Origin of Race — Colonial Germans — Prominent Teutons — Germans in Good-
hue County — Early Settlers in Various Townships — German Soldiers —
German Officeholders — St. John's Hospital and Training School —
German Industries — German Churches — Written by Prof. P. W.
Kalf ahs 365
CHAPTER XXIII. LAND OFFICE RECORDS.
Government Records of Those Who Took Claims in Goodhue County Be-
fore 1858 — A List of Hardy Pioneers, Nearly All of Whom Are Now
Dead — The Year and Month in Which They Came and the Section,
Township and Range in Which They Settled — Many of Their Claims
Still in the Possession of Their Families 384
CHAPTER XXIV. GOODHUE COUNTY CHURCHES.
Religious Influence — Norwegian Lutheran — Norwegian Methodist —
Swedish Lutheran — English Lutheran — Swedish Mission — German
Churches — German Methodism — Swedish Methodists — Roman Catholic
— Congregational — Presbyterian — Episcopal Baptis; — Swedish Baptist. 404
CHAPTER XXV. ANECDOTES AND ADVENTURES.
Address by Judge Wilder — Office Experiences — A New Setting to an Old
Tale— Pleasures of the Early Days— On Thin Ice— C. J. F. Smith's
Adventures — His Arrival — An Early Journey — Writings of the Rev.
J. W. Hancock — Indians and Whisky — Difficulties of Travel — A Canoe
Trip on Land — The Mysterious Wild Girl— Oil Wells in Red Wing —
Coal and Gold Also Found 458
CHAPTER XXVI. OFFICERS AND POPULATION.
List of Men Who Have Represented Goodhue County at St. Paul Since
Territorial Days — List of County Officers — Men From This County
Who Have Occupied Positions, of Higher Trust and Honor — Popula-
tion of the County by Nationality and Occupation, With List of
Growth Since the Earliest Census 478
CHAPTER XXVII. CALAMITIES.
Terrible Cyclone — Vnsa the Greatest Sufferer—" Sea Wing" Disaster —
Lis* of Those Who Perished — The Survivors — Terrible Blow to the
Whole Countv — ' ' Galena ' ' Burned at the Levee in Red Wing —
Shooting of Chief Daily and Officer Peterson — Red Wing Fires in By-
gone Days 490
CHAPTEB XXVIII. MILITARY HISTORY.
First War Meeting — Colonel Colvil] 'First Man to Enlist — Mustering in of
First Companies- — First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh,
Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Volunteer Infantry — First, Second, Braekett's
and Independent Cavalry — Heavy Artillery — Light Artillery — Colonel
Hubbard's Bravery — Colonel Coivill's Charge — Spanish-American War
— History of Local Company — Complete Roster of Soldiers and Offi-
cers from Goodhue County in the Philippines 507
CHAPTER XXIX. REW WING AS A HAMLET.
Origin of the Village — First Settlement — Rev. Hancock's Arrival — The
Early Settlers — Claim Hunters — Incidents of Village Life — Great
Events of Those Days — Burning the Indian Tepees — First Farming — -
First Stores — First Churches — Pioneer Politics — Principal Events from
1852 to 1859 — Business Directory Published in 1869 — Poem by Julia
B. Nelson 529
CHAPTER XXX. THROUGH FIFTY-TWO YEARS.
Principal Events in the Government of Red Wing Since Its Incorpora-
tion — List of Mayors, Aldermen and Other Officers — Railroads, Tele-
graph, Street Car and Other Franchises — Sewerage System — Water
Works — Fire Department — Public Buildings — Bonds and Improve-
ments — Memorials — Red Wing Township — Veterans 550
CHAPTER XXXI. "THE DESIRABLE CITY."
Its Many Advantages — Desirability as a Home City — The Carnegie-
Lawther Library — T. B. Sheldon Memorial Auditorium — Red Wing
Civic League — Fire Department — Water Works — Ferries — Wagon
Bridge — Associations and Clubs — Banks and Banking- — Business and
Professional — Red Wing Fraternities 579
CHAPTER XXXII. RED WING INDUSTRIES.
Busy Manufacturing Plants That Furnish the Foundation for Red Wing's
Prosperity — Pottery and Sewer Pipe Making — Malting Houses — Shoes
and Shoe Pacs — Hats — Furniture — Iron Works — Advertising Novelties
— Lighting Facilities — Milling Concerns — Lime Burning — Linseed
Products — Sand — Telephones — Job Printing — Utilizing the Forests —
Brick Making — Other Concerns — Edited by Jens K. Grondahl 616
CHAPTER XXXIII. MODERN RED WING.
Its Advantages, Opportunities and Wealth — Some of- the Things Which
Have Made It Famous — History of the Various Newspapers Which
Have Been Published Here — Associations and Societies — Miscel-
laneous 645
CHAPTER XXXIV . LIVES OF LEADING MEN.
Principal Events in the Careers of Pioneers Who Have Now Passed
Aivmv — Biographies of Men Who Are Still Active in Business. Pro-
fessional and Commercial Interests — Gathered with Care from Various
Sources, Carefully Compiled and Submitted for Approval 666
“In the preparation of the following pages, we have aimed at
conciseness and accuracy rather than elegance of diction and high-
sounding phrases. We are in the midst of mighty progress and
marvelous development, and men will not wait to study fine-spun
theories and pore over the intricate details of the metaphysical
world. They want facts plainly stated, and couched in language
brief, pointed, and applicable to the practical affairs of life.
”It has been our object to present, in a readable manner, as much
information as could be given in the space allotted the several
divisions of this book.
“Owing to the obscure and imperfect county war record which we
had to unravel, and the preponderance of foreign population with
which we had to contend — many of whom could not readily compre-
hend our motive — we .found some difficulty in the early stages of
the work in collating our data and laying the foundation upon which
to build a reliable superstructure. As we progressed with the
enterprise, however, and the people learned more of us, encourage-
ment and words of good cheer greeted us from all classes, thence-
forth we found the way plain and the work more easy.”