EARLY REMINISCENCES OF MOWER COUNTY
Hon. B. F. Langworthy of Brownsdale,
One of the Earliest Settlers of the County,
Will Give a Series of Interesting Articles
The first constitutional convention of Wisconsin was in
session in Madison, the territorial capital, between October 5th and
December 16, 1846.
They formed a constitution, which on being submitted
to the people, was defeated by a vote of 14,119 for, 20,231 against.
Another convention was called, which convened at Madison October 18,
1847, and made provision for a second constitutional convention. This was
held at Madison from December 15, 1847, to February 1, 1858. In March, the
people voted on the new constitution, and it was adopted by 16,799 ayes and
6,384 nays. Wisconsin was admitted into the union of states by the act of
congress approved May 29, 1848. The county of Winnebago was represented in
the first convention by ex-governor J. D. Doty, and the second by Harrison
Reed, both of Neenah and both intimate friends of mine. I had the privilege
of voting for both constitutions.
In 1846, I was called on business to Dubuque, Iowa, and
was in that state during the time of voting for their constitution. It
was a close vote, 18,528 votes cast in all, and a majority of only 356 for
adoption. In the late fall, I returned to Oshkosh to close out my business
as I had made arrangements to remove to Dubuque, but I remained in Oshkosh
until the summer of 1854, and then removed to Dubuque to make my home with
my wife and little girl. I built me a home and thought that I would make
that city my permanent home, but it was not to be so. I had four cousins
there who had resided in Iowa territory since 1825. In 1845, they started
in the banking business, under the firm name of J. S. Langworthy and
Brothers. While I was visiting there in 1846, one of the firm with a
few friends had formed a company and bought eighty acres of land lying
east of the city among the islands for $8,000. I purchased a one-sixteenth
interest in the tract for $500. When I returned from Oshkosh in 1855, they
had recommended to fill in the sloughs on our property which afterwards
became the east division of East Dubuque. My cousin took me by surprise
by informing me that I could sell my interest for $4,000. I took the offer
and the next day had $4,000 to my credit in the bank.
The bank of J. L. Langworthy & Brothers wished to start
at that time a branch office in Chatfield, Minnesota. They sent up a young
man named I. F. O'Farrell to build a suitable office building. The land
office had just been moved to Chatfield, from Brownsville on the Mississippi
near the extreme eastern end of the Southern Minnesota land district. J.
L. Langworthy & Brothers requested me to come up and go into the banking
and land warrant business under the name of Langworthy & O'Farrell. The
business was good and there was a crowd at the land office every day.
There was a great call for land warrants and money loaned readily at twelve
percent interest. I arrived with my family in Chatfield in August 1856.
When the U.S. land office concluded to remove the office from brownsville
to some point nearer the center of the land district, they came to Spring
Valley and proposed to the then proprietors to bring the office to Spring
Valley provided that they would donate a few lots on which to put up a
suitable building for their use. The proprietors did not propose to donate
anything, but they would sell them the lots. The land agents were not
anxious to buy and so they went over to Chatfield and made them the same
proposition. The Chatfield proprietors were most anxious to accommodate
them. They told them to select what lots they wanted and they would make
out deeds for them. The Chatfield proprietors knew a good thing when they
saw it.
As soon as the building was ready, Capt. McKinney and Major
Bennett, the officers at Brownsville, removed the land office to Chatfield.
In August I came with my wife and daughter and found that I.F. O'Farrell
had got into his office and I immediately had all the work that I could
attend to. All were anxious to take up land and those persons who had
not taken up their preemption rights were anxious to do so now. I was
one of these. We had the plans of the government lands in our copies and
regularly corrected them so that when I went out to make a selection, I
soon came across a quarter section that suited me. I was looking over the
land in the eastern portion of Mower county. I came across a Norwegian old
bachelor who had preempted eighty acres of timber and built his cabin. As
his eighty of timber was on the west line of township 103, range 14, there
was a fraction between this eighty and the quarter section of prairie in
township 103, range 15. He could not preempt the prairie. I saw at once
that there was my chance. I bought his timber eighty at five dollars an
acre, all he asked. I then filed upon the quarter section of prairie which
was the northeast quarter of section 12, township 103, range 15.
A few weeks after I had got the land, I had a brother and
brother-in-law come to Minnesota to make their homes. They thought my new
purchase would be a good place for a temporary home until they could do
better. They commenced breaking the prairie and it was not long before
they had their crop growing. Along in the summer, there came a Hoosier
from Indiana to Chatfield, bringing a drove of young cattle. He did not
find ready sale for them and after a few weeks delay he offered me fifty
head of them at a greatly reduced price to close out his drove so as to
return to his home in Indiana. He agreed to deliver at my farm in Mower
county the fifty head of young cattle which I had brought from him. I
accompanied him out there and we got to the farm after dark.
In the morning he got up and coming out to where I and my
brother were, he stopped and looked around. Looking to the north, to the
west and south, he could not see a house or a tree -- nothing but grass
about eighteen inches high. He exclaimed, "My Gosh, what a Grand Meadow!"
The next spring I concluded to leave Chatfield and the loan and land warrant
business, and move out and commence farming. While I was young, I did so.
I soon had a cabin built and we really enjoyed the change. Letters soon
came in and the land was soon all taken up. As the postoffice at the
village of Frankford was too far off, a few of us got up a petition and
sent it to our member of congress from this district to have a post office
be called Grand Meadow. As soon as the petition was sent to Washington
the office was established and a commission for me as postmaster was
received.
B. F. Langworthy
(To be continued)
[Mower County Transcript, Wed., Feb. 26, 1902, page 4, col. 4 -- 3rd article
in the series]