Eden Township
The extreme northwestern township in Brown County is
called Eden. It contains all in this county of
fractional townships 111 and 112, range 33. Up to 1863
it formed a part of the Sioux Reservation. It is south
of Renville and Nicollet counties, west of Home
township, north of Prairieville township, and is bounded
on the west by Red wood county. It is without villages
or railroad lines. In 1910 its population was seven
hundred and nine. Its lakes include Tree Lake and a
small lake in sections 25 and 36. In 1866 this township
was attached to Home for official purposes and in 1867
became a separate civil township. The first township
meeting was held at the house of W. O. Hewitt, April 2,
1867; the officers then elected were: H. S. Eldred,
chairman; D. P. Winchel and Hiram Jones, supervisors;
Isaac Johnson, treasurer; H. M. Munsell and William
Brown, justices; Amos Root and O. A. Dresser,
constables.
First to Locate
The first to locate in Eden Township were Isaac John
son, W. O. Hewitt, O. A. Dresser, Samuel Tate and Abner
Franklin, who came in with their families in December,
1864, and located in the northwestern part of the town
ship. When the township was organized there were but
thirteen voters.
The first school was taught in the summer of 1867, by
Ellen Eldred. The first birth was Caroline, daughter of
Isaac and Elmira Johnson. The earliest death was that of
John, son of Amos Root, in January, 1866. The first
marriage in the township was Leslie Hillyer and Jane
Tate, on July 4, 1868.
Lonetree Lake post office was established in 1869, with
Ferdinand Hartwick in charge. The post office was kept
in a store in section 5, and a hotel was at the same
point. A store was opened in 1868 by Louis Erstman, near
the old government ferry, which was operated but a short
time. Charles Fletcher built a steam saw-mill in the
late seventies in section 34; it was run by a
forty-horse-power steam engine, and was later owned by
Charles Ritz.
Other settlers who developed this part of Brown County
were:
E. M. Ball
Henry W. Chase
James Clancy
Walter Doheny
Oscar A. Dresser
Rev. L. C. Gilbert
George Hart |
Jerome
Hewitt
Eugene Leatherman
Rev. V. E. Loba
Wesley Luddington
G. W. Robinson
David Sherman
Henry Winter |
Brown County |Minnesota
AHGP
Source: History of Brown County,
Minnesota, L. A. Fritsche, M.D., Editor, Volume I, 1916.
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