Part 54 (1/2)

The first co was held at the house of Joseph Brown, at the village of Humboldt, which was made the county seat and so ree The county was attached to Benton for judicial purposes until 1862 Prior to this Mr Brown's house was used for county cos and for courtrooms until burned down some years later, when the commissioners met at the house of John E Putnam

A court house was built at Elk River on lots donated by J Q A

Nickerson, the village donating 1,000 and the county the re

Prior to the forovernment, the county was divided into election precincts The first term of district court was held at Hu; J E

Putna as clerk The first co at Elk River were H Houlton, chairs were held at the house of J Q A Nickerson

In 1867 the St Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba railroad was coeneral course of the Mississippi river The North Pacific railroad, since built, runs parallel on the sarade The depots were built upon the same plan and placed on opposite sides of the two tracks The stations are Elk River, Big Lake, Becker, Clear Lake, and East St Cloud The Manitoba has a branch line from Elk River to Princeton and Milacca, built in 1884

The first deed recorded was transcribed from the Benton county records, transfers of property from James Beatty to Richard Chute and David Olmstead, and bears date of July 28, 1851

TOWNS

The towns in Sherburne are: Baldwin, deriving its na Lake, from the lake on which located; Becker, froh hill in the town; Clear Lake, from a lake of that name; Elk River, from the river on the shore of which it is located; Haven, from Hon

John Ormsby Haven, who represented his district in the state senate in 1872-73; Livonia, from the christian name of the wife of an old citizen; Orrock, froinally from Scotland; and Palmer, from Dr Palanized, and included the whole county

The first election was held Sept 30, 1858, at which the following board of officers was elected: Moderator, Alden B Heath; supervisors, J G Jae H

Davis

VILLAGES OF SHERBURNE COUNTY

Orono, a post office, was established at Orono in 1850 The office was ed into the Elk River post office in 1853 This post office, with the mills erected in 1851, became the nucleus of the Elk River settlee, within the corporate limits of which Orono is now situated Orono was surveyed and platted May, 1855; Ard Godfrey, proprietor

ELK RIVER,

Located originally about a e until 1865 J Q A and Julia Nickerson were the proprietors

It is on the east bank of the Mississippi, at its junction with Elk river, above which it now extends a distance of two miles It has a pleasant location It was incorporated in 1881, with C S Wheaton, president; W T Struble, recorder; N K Whittemore, H P Burrell and L Pollard, commissioners Elk river affords a fine water poith ten feet head Mills were erected here in 1851 A great fire in May, 1887, destroyed mill property valued at 50,000 Since the fire a flour mill with a capacity of 250 barrels a day has been completed at a cost of 25,000 A saw e has an elevator with a capacity of 10,000 bushels, 2 town halls, 3 churches, Episcopal, Free Will Baptist and Congregational; a first class school building, with roo at Orono, with two departments; and two railroad depots, built at a cost of 9,000

In June, 1885, a private bank was incorporated as the Bank of Elk River

EAST ST CLOUD,

In the town of Haven, is a thriving village It has one of the best granite quarries in the State The State, in 1887, located here its refor a donation of two hundred acres of land, covered with gray and variegated granite The village was surveyed and platted in August, 1853; Geo F Brott & Co, proprietors

CLEAR LAKE

Was surveyed and platted March 24, 1882; Alanson Potter and wife, proprietors

BECKER

Was surveyed and platted Dec 5, 1870; J Freeman and H C Fridley, proprietors Mr Vadnais was the first settler, in 1855

BIG LAKE,

Originally Hue, is located on Elk river, ten miles above its junction with the Mississippi Its first settler was Joseph Brown, a veteran pioneer, but not to be confounded with the invincible Joe R