"History and Description of Lyon County, Minnesota", 1884
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Town of Lynd.
Lynd lies west of the town of
Lake Marshall and is town 111, range 42.
The history of
Lynd is ancient history in its relation to
Lyon county, this town being the site of the county's earliest settlement.
There was a trading station for the Indian trade established here by
James W. Lynd probably as early as
1855 or
'57. His store was located, it is said, on the northeast quarter of section 33. This statement is contradicted by some who claim that it was on the southeast quarter of section 5 in
Lyons. In the latter place the early settlers found the remains of a building that had been burned, and in the spring of
1880 Mr.
Goodell in plowing his garden half a mile north of this spot plowed up a tub full of tools, consisting of handsaws, chisels, an auger, hoes, a hand axe, a flat iron, a tea cup and saucer. The tub was wholly rotted, leaving only the impression, and the tools were nearly destroyed by use. The Indians, it is said, point out section five of Lyons as the first trading post. On section 33 the first settlers found a log building still standing, which
L. Tickner used as a residence for a short time. It was later used as a school house, then as a store by
G. W. Whitney. It is quite probable that Lynd's post may have been moved to this point from section 5 in
Lyons after a burn out, or for other reasons.
The first permanent settlement in
Lynd was in
June 1867, when
A. W. Muzzy,
James Cummings and
E. B. Langdon took claims on section 32 and 33. In
September and
October of the same year, Mrs.
C. F. Wright and son.
L. Langdon and family,
Luman Tickner, wife and step-daughter (Miss
E. B. Taylor, now Mrs.
G. A. Wirt,)
M. V. Davidson and family and
D. M. and
E. E. Taylor made homes in
Lynd. Some half-breeds had taken claims in the town before this time, and two of them,
Thomas Robinson and
John Mooers, held claims respectively on sections 27 and 34, when the settlers above named arrived. They sold out to
R. Holland and
A. Ransom in
1868 and moved to
Lincoln county. In
1868,
James,
A. R. and
Geo. Cummings,
L. S. Kiel,
L. and
Geo. Marceyes,
A. D. Morgan,
J. Rouse and
John Clark settled in the town.
Mr. and Mrs.
A. Ransom became the parents of a daughter in
November of 1868, which was the first white girl born in the county. The first boy born in
Lynd was
Harry L. Cummings, son of
Geo. E. Cummings, in
1869.
The first death was that of Mrs.
Bowers, a daughter of Mr.
Muzzy,
April 20, 1868. She died of consumption one week after arriving in
Lynd.
The first religions meeting was a class meeting led by
A. W. Muzzy in the winter of
1867 and
1868 at
L. Tickner's. A Methodist church was organized by Rev
C. F. Wright at
L. Tickner's in the fall of
1868. The next year a union Sunday school was organized at the same place with a library of about 135 books, 100 of which were donated by the M. E. Sunday school of
Toulon, Ill., the rest by a M. E, book house in
Chicago. E. Lamb was superintendent.
In the fall of
1869 the Presbyterians organized a society, meetings, also being held at
L. Tickner's by Revs.
Carr and
Lyon. The Methodists of
Lynd built the first church in the county in
1871 on land owned by
M. V. Davidson. It was made of logs with floor and root of native soil. Another church was partly built in
Upper Lynd, and used one summer when it was moved to
Lower Lynd for a residence.
Lydia Cummings taught the first school in
1869, being paid by subscription. The school was taught in the old log building used in former years for an Indian trading post.
A postoffice was established at
Upper Lynd in
June 1868 with
D. M. Taylor P. M. It was held by him over four years. He also kept a grocery store the first part of his term.
L. Tickner opened a hotel at
Lynd in
1868. The travel through
Lynd at this time couldn't have been very large or regular. Bands of Flandreau Indians camped in the woods occasionally and a few travelers from Redwood Falls now and then stopped there as immigrants or on their way to settlements beyond. Between
Lynd and
Redwood Falls there was but one house. Lumber used was hauled 50 miles, generally from logs hauled the same distance to mill. Provisions not raised at home had to be brought from
St. Peter or
New Ulm.
The first regular mail carried to
Lynd from Redwood Falls and the first in the county, probably, was by
C. Hildreth. The contract was soon after let to
Wm. Jackson; who was the first white child born in
St. Paul.
James Cummings and
J. Rouse built a saw mill at
Upper Lynd in
1868. It was changed to a grist mill about
1872 by
Smith,
Ellis &
Rouse. This is now known as the Camden mill, and is owned by
V. M. Smith. It has three runs of stone.
H. R. Marcyes also built a three run mill on section 23. It is now the property of
B. F. Link.
Chas. Hildreth commenced the building of a mill on section 17about
1872. A substantial dam was made and for good reasons, probably, the scheme was then abandoned.
The village of
Lynd was laid out by Mr.
Muzzy on the south side of the
Redwood river on section 33. In
1871 he sold out to
W. T. Ellis who put up several buildings.
Lower Lynd was laid out in
1871 by
A. R. Cummings and
A. D. Morgan. A hotel was built and run there by
Morgan and
Kiel, and the former started a store there.
Ellis moved his business there from
Upper Lynd, and the P. O. was also moved there. About
1874 the P. O. at
Camden was established with
Ellis as P. M.
The older citizens of the county will remember
Ellis as a character. Governed mostly by impulse he was always ready to preach a sermon, run horses for the whiskey conduct a Sunday school or beat his best friend in a trade. Since leaving here he became the moving factor in a church row to such an extent as to get his portrait in the Police News. While here he was an energetic, fervid effervescent citizen who did considerable to build up the church and secular interests of
Lynd, and develop its latent possibilities. He opened a store at
Lynd and bought goods for it sufficient to stock several such settlements. His goods had to be brought by team from
New Ulm, and were caught in a heavy rain storm on the way. It is said the dried apples swelled so that all the other goods in that load were shoved overboard, and his load of codfish, bought at ton rates, probably on time, had to be spread over the hills of
Lynd to dry till the air of that settlement, it is claimed, reached the Flandreau Indians and seventy bucks went on the war path thinking they smelled the camp of another tribe.
The first marriage in the town was that of
W. H. Langdon and
Zilpha Cummings in
1868, Rev.
C. F. Wright officiating.
The first horses in the county were owned by
E. B. Langdon, first mules by
M. V. Davidson, first chickens and turkeys by
L. W. Langdon, first hogs by
L. Tickner, first dog by
J. Cummings.
L. Tickner plowed the first ground for crop in spring of
1868. The first wheat raised was by
A. R, Cummings in
1869
Fourth of July was first celebrated at
Lynd in
1868, and a merry celebration it was.
There are now two postoffices in
Lynd, one at
Camden with
J. Rouse, P. M. the other at what was formerly known as
Lower Lynd, with
L. S. Kiel, P. M. Both Upper and
Lower Lynd were for a time the county seat.
The
Redwood river flows through
Lynd, and a considerable body of timber is found along its banks, though the fuel demands of hard winters have made heavy inroads on it, and small quantities are now being marketed.
Three Mile Creek cuts the northwest corner of the town, and small branches of the
Redwood make the water supply of the town ample. The prairie portions of the town are excellent soil and the agricultural status of
Lynd is fully up to the standard.
The town of
Lynd was organized
Sept. 4, 1872, but no election was had. The county board appointed as its first officer
J. Rouse, chairman;
A. R. Cummings and
J. Stark, supervisors;
N. Davis, clerk;
G. E. Cummings, treasurer.
At the special election in aid of the Duluth railroad,
Feb. 23, 1883, Lynd east 72 votes, all in favor of bonding the county.
In
1883 it had 3,823 acres under cultivation, of which 1,642 were wheat, 896cats, 650 corn, 210 barley, 41 potatoes, 18 beans, 246 flax.
Its last assessed valuation was $103,997.
Its population is mostly Americans and intelligent, thrifty and desirable citizens.
There are five school houses in the town, and church services are held at
Lynd and
Camden
Town of Island Lake.
Town 111, range 43, was organized in
1878, the first election being held in
March 1879, electing
Robt. Gardner, chairman;
L. Grow and
Geo. George, supervisors;
J. R. King, clerk and assessor;
D. A. Kennedy, treasurer;
J. H. Sykes, constable.
The town takes its name from a lake in the south part of the town. The island in
Island Lake has an area of two and a half or three miles, and is covered with a substantial growth of trees. The lake, covering probably over 200 acres, has no outlet except in high water, when it runs into
Three Mile Creek.
It is fed by springs. Mr.
J. R. King, living near the lake, has a fine spring of soft water. The shores of the lake are dry. There are not many fish in the lake, but efforts have been made by Mr.
King and others to stock it with pike and other fish, and before many years this defect will undoubtedly be remedied.
Goose lake, a short distance west, abounds in fish. It covers about 160acres, has high rocky banks, and is an attractive lake.
North of the lakes
Three Mile Creek crosses the town from west to east. On the creek in section 24 there is a grove of natural timber, consisting of four or five acres. A branch of the
Yellow Medicine runs across the northwest corner of the town, and has some timber on its banks.
The surface of the town is not as level as that of some of its sister towns, a narrow range of the couteaus, gravel and stone hills, crossing the town from southeast to northwest. This couteau section interferes somewhat with the agricultural value of the town, but the valleys of the couteaus have been found to make the best grazing district in the county. The washings from the hills probably enrich them. At least the growth of grass is remarkably large and very nutritious. The rolling character of the pasture is said to make healthier stock than on level fields.
A glacial period or a drift from some other cause has deposited along these couteaus boulders and small ledges of lime rock. The latter is often found in large pieces, apparently dropped from some overhanging vehicle, sometimes standing on edge. Mr.
King ran a lime kiln for some years there on this supply, and abandoned it on account of cost of fuel.
The soil outside the couteaus is as good as that of any other part of the county, and produces large crops.
The first settlement of the town was made by Rev.
Williams on section 24,about the year
1870. In
1871
Lafayette Grow and Mr.
Fort settled on the
Yellow Medicine, and in
1872
John R. King settled on section 34, and kept the half way house between
Marshall and
Marshfield. For some years after the town did not settle very fast, but it is now fairly settled up with vigorous and thrifty farmers. Nearly every farmer has planted a grove of timber, which now begins to afford protection in winter, and greatly improves the summer landscape.
The first marriage of parties in the town was
J. R. King,
Dec. 24, 1878 to
Elizabeth Milner.
The first child born was
Ethel Hodgkins.
The first school was taught by
Ada Kennedy in
1879.
First religious services at house of
J. R. King by a Mr.
Dewey from
Chicago.
The reported acreage cultivated in
1883 was 1,601, 887 wheat, 370 oats, 173corn, 139 barley, 20 potatoes, 10 beans. There were 59 acres of forest trees and 750 rods set on highways.
39 votes were cast in
Island Lake at the special election,
Feb. 23, 1883, to bond the county for $40,000 in aid of the
Duluth, North Shore and Southwestern railroad, which proposes to run through the county from
Shelburne to
Lucas. All were for bonding.
The last assessed valuation was $30,396.
There are school houses in section 4 and section 34.