Part 1 (1/2)

Old Rail Fence Corners

by Various

Explanatory

How little we know about e don't know!

During my search for a map of the Old Trails and Roads of Minnesota, public libraries were thoroughly investigated, but no book or hways A few old maps in the Historical Library bore snatches of them, but in their entirety they had disappeared froht be the foundations for modern roads, but only the names of those modern roads survived, so they were lost

Months of this research work failed to resurrect thementary pieces on old maps, filled out by what the pioneers who had traveled those roads could furnish All old maps seemed to have disappeared from the state

”We had one of the new territory of Minnesota when it was admitted in '49, but just threw it out e cleaned house lately I think it caton,” said one dear old pioneer woman

”What do you want of those old roads anyway,” said another ”If you had been over them as I have, you would kno one”

It was hard to locate theh Alexandria,” the ansas, ”There was no town on it after leaving St Cloud, so I can't say just where it went, but ent to Fort Garry and crossed the river at Georgetown”

Finally, after nearly a year's hard work, as ere on our way to the Capitol to look over the first governe Ralph was met, became interested, and drew part of these trails frooes into a new country to overnment survey, he is required to place on that plat every trail, road or plowed field--John Ryan, orked in the forties was the only one we found who always followed these directions He would survey several townshi+ps, and there would be the much-wanted road Some other surveyor would do the one below and there would be a break, but John would take hold again a little further on and the trail could be joined from the direction shown

Later this map made was co in St Paul and found correct

The three great routes for the Red River carts to St Paul, the great fur market, which used to come down by the hundreds froh the Minnesota Valley; one through the Sauk Valley, and theValley by way of Leaf Lake They used to come to the head waters of the Mississippi in 1808[1] The Wabasha Prairie Road, called Winona Trail on thisto the sacred Pipestone Quarries and the sacred Spirit Lake There is a tradition that there was a truce between all tribes when these trails were followed

Mrs J T M

[Footnote 1: From Captain Alexander Henry's diary about the Red River country in 1801, presented to Ottawa He also says there were 1500 of these carts there in 1808]

The Reason

When I was a child randmother, Lucy Leavenworth Sherwood, used to show us a little map drawn on the back of a cotillion invitation, by her cousin Henry Leavenworth, the first officer at Fort Snelling He was there in 1819

It was yelloith age, but showed Fort Snelling, Lake Harriette, named for his wife, other lakes and two rivers That yellow bundle of letters read to us and the stories she told of this, her favorite cousin, as he had told them to her never failed in breathless interest Few of them remain with me The painted Indian in his canoe on the river, the Indian runner, stand out vividly, but the valuable stories contained in those old letters are gone Nothing was ever a greater surprise than the loss of those stories when I tried to recall them years later The Bible with the map and all those letters were burned when the home was destroyed by fire

These valuable data have disappeared The knowledge that this was so, reatest attention to stories told by the old settlers and record them All at once the realization ca their stories with theet all these precious reminiscences before it was too late It e number of interested woathered these data ly and financed this book The proceeds are for patriotic work in Minnesota as deemed best by the committee

It is hoped that our first ill be the raising of aheroines should not their heroism be heralded while some still live?

We thank these dear friends who have made this little volume possible by their warm interest Every item in this book has been taken personally from a pioneer

Each one is a mesh in a priceless lace fabric, that fabric Minnesota History

If each e has weakened them, does not the pattern remain?