Marshall County, covering an area of 1,675
square miles, is situated in the northwestern part of Minnesota
bordering on the Red River of the North. The county was
named in honor of William Rainey Marshall, one of
Minnesota’s esteemed governors. (1)
The county is bounded on the north by Kittson
and Roseau counties, on the east by Beltrami.County, on the south
by Polk and Pennington counties, and on the west by the Red River
which separates it from North Dakota.
Marshall County lies in the Red River Valley,
the great wheat raising section of the country. It is a part of
the old bed of glacial Lake Agassiz, and the glacial drift left a
thick coating of rich soil extending over several miles of nearly
level prairie land. Herds of buffalo roamed over these prairies,
and Indians hunted them for food and clothing. Elk, deer, and
prairie chickens were plentiful and occasionally, a bear was
caught. The Indians were not aware, however, of the richness of
the soil. The squaws raised a few vegetables and a little corn,
and as hunting declined, this became a more important item in
their livelihood, but the agricultural value of the land was not
developed until the white men settled on it.
As early as 1812, Lord Selkirk opened
settlements from Winnipeg to Pembina, and in 1821, many Swiss
people were induced to settle there to promote agriculture.
Storms, floods, poor harvests, grasshoppers, and famine
discouraged the people so that many soon left, passing through
what is now Marshall County on their way to Fort Snelling and
points farther south.(2)
Marshall County was in a direct line from the
Selkirk Red River Settlement to the Mississippi River and one of
the early trails passed through the county. Over the trail, furs
were carried beginning in the early 1800's. In 1823, Major
Stephen H. Long led an expedition to explore the region of the
Red River Valley. The expedition went down the east side of the
Red River to Pembina, thus passing through area that became
Marshall County. With Major Long on this expedition was Giacomo
Constantino Beltrami. The Red River became a highway of travel in
the late 1850's when steamboats began running down the river to
Fort Garry, Canada. The first steamboat was assembled in 1858 at
a little town site called La Fayette, opposite the mouth of the
Sheyenne River. (3)
There were very few white settlements in this
area before the railroads were built in 1872 and 1873. The
railroads brought a wave of immigration, and in about 10 years,
nearly all the land was taken by homestead and preemption claims.
In the forties and fifties a missionary, Rev.
Sela G. Wright, was stationed on a mission farm on Red Lake. He
wrote as early as 1848 of a farm that could produce 3,000 bushels
of corn and 2,000 bushels of potatoes besides other vegetables,
when all the rest of the northern and western Minnesota was a
wilderness. Wright told of a trip to the Red River Settlement in
December 1843 to purchase oxen and cows. (4)
The government had encouraged settlement by
granting land as subsidies to railroad companies on condition
that they extend their lines, and by selling land to actual
settlers, who, under certain circumstances, could obtain as much
as 480 acres. Long processions of emigrant regions, called
"prairie schooners," passed along the trails to settle
in the Red River Valley. Many settlers came from the south and
the east, and others came directly from Europe, especially from
Norway and Sweden; others were Germans, Britons, Scots, and
Irish. (5)
The first settler to remain on his homestead
was Michael McCollough, a hunter and trader, and an outstanding
character, who arrived about 1872. He did not file on his
homestead near Stephen until May 6, 1879. Others had filed on
claims before him, but had abandoned them later. He became a.
close friend of Charles Wentzel, a.sturdy German blacksmith, who
came from Prussia and arrived in 1874, settling near the present
site of Warren. Mr. Wentzel lived in a log shanty for a few
years, later building a log house, and in 1880, a frame house.
Others who came in 1878 and settled near Wentzel were Frank
Smith, W.A. Wallace, A. P. McIntyre, James B. Titus, Emmet W. Rossman, J. W.
Slee, Ed Slee, A. E. Flint, A. B. Nelson, J.
McCann, and G. O. Gross. (6)
Early in 1879, Nels Malm, while on a business
trip from Willmar to Crookston, met Peter Jarvis, a settler from
Argyle, (then Lousia) who told hire that the "cream of the
valley was around Lousia" and persuaded him to make a trip
up there to look over the land with a prospect of settling. The
railroad had just completed its road to St. Vincent in 1878 but
there was no scheduled train service. Mr. Malm says he passed
only two buildings between Crookston and Argyle and one of these
was at Warren in Marshall County. It was March and there was very
little snow on the prairie. Much impressed by the prospects of
the land, he returned to Willmar relating his experience to
others. That fall he, with several families, left Willmar in
eight covered wagons traveling over land to Argyle. Mr. Malm and
one of the men walked, driving a herd of 62 cows. It took them 24
days and they arrived in Argyle on election day, November 4,
1879. (7)
On December 15, 1879, Charles A. Bergland, an
agent for the Cunard Steamship Line, coming directly from
Gothenburg, Sweden, in the interest of the Swedish Emigrant
Association, made a call at Warren. He was so well pleased with
the country and its prospects that he expected to send 100
families to settle near Warren. (8)
With the coming of these settlers, the need of
a trading point was necessary, and a post office was established,
named, "Farley," and A. T. Minor appointed postmaster.
Later the name was changed to Warren in honor of the general
superintendent of the railroad. In 1878, the railroad was
extended to St. Vincent, and a station was built on the site of
Warren through the efforts of Mr. McIntyre. This brought many
more settlers in 1879 and 1880.(9)
Although this land had been pictured as a land
of "milk and honey," the early settlers found much to
discourage them. They had barely established themselves when a
terrible prairie fire occurred in 1879, destroying much grain and
hay and burning some of the settlers. The winters brought
blizzards, which were just as discouraging. But these hardy
pioneers were not overcome by discouragement. They could acquire
land for very little and the richness of the soil would enable
them to make a good and honest living for themselves and their
families.
It was not long before capitalists saw the
profitable prospects of these grain fields, and they bought land
from the railroads and the settlers, and established what were
called "bonanza farms," some of which contained as many
as 40,000 acres. Before 1870, the farmers of the Red River Valley
found that this region was more adapted to the raising of spring
wheat than to winter wheat. However, the methods then generally
in use in the milling of the spring wheat produced a dark flour
which did not sell as readily as white. This difficulty was
overcome by the introduction of the middlings purifier and steel
mill rollers at Minneapolis beginning in 1870. The subsequent
tremendous demand for Minnesota flour made from spring wheat by
the perfected process placed a premium on that grain, and created
a heavy demand for it. The result was that immigration into the
valley increased rapidly.
Marshall County was created from Kittson County
by an act of the legislature in 1879. The boundaries were again
defined by acts of the legislatures of 1883 and 1885. (10)
The act to establish the county in 1879
directed the governor to appoint three qualified electors to
serve as a board of county commissioners which was given
authority to appoint all county officers, except the clerk of the
district court, who was to be appointed by the judge of that
court. These appointed officers were to hold office until their
successors were elected and qualified. The county was attached to
Polk County for judicial purposes.
In accordance with this act, the governor
appointed H. Craig, William A. Wallace, and Edwin S. Radcliff as
county commissioners. The county commissioners appointed Henry B.
Lane, auditor; A. P. McIntyre, assessor; James P. Nelson,
attorney; Wm. H. Gilbert, sheriff; Thomas R. Craig, register of
deeds; and Frank Smith, treasurer. The first general election was
hold on November 4, 1879, and the following officers were
elected: commissioners H. M. Craig, Chris Anderson, and Alfred
Diamond; sheriff, Willis T. Lackey; treasurer, William A.
Wallace; register of deeds, Thomas R. Craig; attorney, A. E.
Flint; auditor, O. Taylor; judge of probate, John Slee; court
commissioner, court appointed James P. Nelson, clerk of the
distract court in the board appointed M. Bauchman on June 1 1880,
to complete the term. On March 17, 1880, Mr. Wallace resigned as
treasurer and the board appointed James C. McCrea in this stead.
At the same meeting, the board appointed W. Carrese as coroner.
(11)
Although the office of assessor is not a county
office, assessors were appointed by the county commissioners at
various times to act for the unorganized parts of the county.
They, however, were termed "county assessors." In April
1879, board appointed A. P. McIntyre as county assessor. (12) In
January 1830, three commissioner districts were to serve also as
road districts, and the board appointed A. P. McIntyre, George Foresythe, and John Hughes each as assessor and road master for
districts one, two, and three respectively. (13) Other county
assessors were appointed in following years for the unorganized
parts of the county as late as 1909.
There are 49 townships in
Marshall County. The first townships organized were: Middle
River, township 156, range 48: Tamarack, 157-48; and Wallace,
155-48, on October 7, 1879. (14) On March 13, 1880, the township
of Wallace was joined with 155-47 and called Warrenton. (15) On
July 27, 1880, the following townships were organized: Viking,
155-45; Comstock, 155-46; Oak Park, 155-49; Vega, 155-50; Big
Woods, 156-50; and Fork, 157-50.(16) The last township organized
was Mud Lake, 156-41, on March 12, 1912.(17)
The first school district was organized at
Stephen in Tamarack Township, on December 23, 1679. (18) Today
there are about 163 school districts in the
county.
When Marshall County was established the
boundary lines were as follows: commencing at the intersection of
the middle line of the main channel of the Red River of the North
with the line between the townships 154 and 155; then cast to the
southeast corner of township 155; then north on a line between
ranges 38 and 39 to the intersection with the townships line
between 158 and 159; then west to the center of the main channel
of the Red River, and up the main channel of the river to the
place of beginning.(19) Legislative acts of 1883 and 1865
provided for a change of the county lines of Marshall and Polk
counties.(20)
Like other counties, Marshall had its contest
over the county seat. Although the county commissioners had not
definitely designated the county seat, the town of Warren was
considered as such. The town of Argyle, a few miles north of
Warren, made efforts to have the county seat placed there. On
February 8, 1881, the board of county commissioners passed a
resolution that the safe be placed in charge of the sheriff and
moved to Argyle, and that the county business be transacted
there. The commissioners met at Argyle a few times and on
February 27, 1882, passed another resolution authorizing the
chairman to hire men and teams to haul the safe and other county
property from Argyle to Warren and place it in the county
building. (21) In 1881, the legislature passed an act to legalize
the location of the county seat at Warren, and later in the same
year, definitely established it there.(22)
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized at
Warren in the fall of 1879, the first sermon being preached by
Reverend Samuel Kerfoot in November of that year. There being no
public buildings this first service was held in the barroom of
the Commercial Hotel. The next service was in the law office of
J. P. Nelson. The erecting of a church was begun in the spring of
1882 and it was completed and dedicated on November 25, 1888. The
Reverend Frank Doran preached the dedicatory sermon.(23)
The first brick manufactured in the county was
in 1880, by August Lundgren in the southwest quarter of section
36, Warrenton township, range 48. The first brick building
erected was the bank at Warren in 1883. Brick making has become a
profitable industry.(24)
On March 5, 6, 1935, the following resolution
was adopted: "Whereas, the so-called "Old Mill
Site" in Marshall County, Minnesota, is a natural
amphitheater and playground, used by the people of Northwestern
Minnesota for years as a picnic ground, pageant site, and meeting
place, and whereas said site has a historical background with an
old mill and millstones, with a stream and natural woods and a
hillside providing adequate seating capacity for an outdoor
amphitheater, which site is centrally located and better adapted
for such purposes than any other in this part of the state, and
its establishments as a state park is being promoted by the
Marshall County Historical Society, the Warren Commercial Club,
and other civic organizations, and a plat and maps thereof are
being prepared by such organizations to show the location.
Adaptability and extent thereof: Therefore be it resolved, that
the Board of County Commissioners of Marshall County, Minnesota
go on record in favor of the establishment of a State Park at the
Old Mill Site above described."(25) The state has acquired
this site and it is in process of development.
Early travel was by way of rivers and trials.
These trails were not real roads, but merely well worn paths. One
important trail through Marshall County was the East Plains Trail
over which the early ox carts carried furs from Fort Garry and
Pembina to near St. Paul, returning with merchandise and other
supplies. Better transportation became a necessity as settlements
grew, and as soon as counties were established, the county boards
made provisions for roads. In Marshall County, the first
consideration in 1879 was for bridges. (27)
Road districts were established in January
1880. (28) At a special meeting on August 21, 1880, bids were
received for building bridges. A contract was let to E. C. Davis
for bridges across Snake, Middle, and Tamarack rivers. An
appropriation was also made for the work. (29) Other early
considerations for roads and bridges were made in 1881. (30)
In 1871, railroads were completed to
Breckenridge and Fargo, but none reached Marshall County until
1878. Today, the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie
crosses the central part of the county from south to north, and a
branch of this road crosses the southern border from Thief River
to the Dakota line. The Great Northern railroad crosses the
western part of the county from south to north, and also crosses
the central part of the county.
In 1880, one-third of the farms in the county
averaged over 1,000 acres. By 1910, 49.6 percent of the land area
was in farms and in 1935, it had increased to 76.2 percent.
However, diversified farming has become popular since single crop
fanning develops weed pests, plant diseases, insects, etc, which
lower the fertility of the soil. Therefore, the raising of
cattle, sheep, and hogs has become important. (31) Many factories
for cheese and butter making have been established in the area.
Statistics of the fifteenth census of the
United States in 1930 show that there were 3,256 foreign-born in
the county. Of these, 1,292 are from Norway; 1,148 from Sweden;
224 from Canada; 147 from Poland; 59 from Denmark; 56 from
Finland; 41 from Czechoslovakia; 23 from Scotland; 25 from
England; 14 from Ireland; 13 from France; 12 from Austria; 11
from Russia; and 36 from other countries. (32)
The population, which began about 1878 with
only a few families, increased to 992 in 1830 and to 17, 003 in
1930.
