Freeborn County, MN


Cities and their Histories

Transcribed and Submitted by Michael Nelson


THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF ALBERT LEA

In 1835, Companies B, H, and I of the United States Dragoons, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen W. Kearney, came through Freeborn County. One of the members of the expedition was Lieutenant Albert Miller Lea, topographer. Lieutenant Lea sketched the outline of the lake that he named “Fox Lake”. Joseph Nicollet later renamed the lake, Lake Albert Lea. In 1855, a small settlement began on the northwest edge of the lake and the town became known as Albert Lea, named after the lake—which was named in honor of Lieutenant Albert Lea.

“The first settler on the present site of Albert Lea was Lorenzo Merry, who, coming here in June, 1855, built a cabin on the corner of Washington and Water streets.” (Tribune, p. 11) George Ruble came to the area in July 1855, to find a mill site. Ruble built a log home near the proposed dam and mill site. When the dam was constructed at the east end of the slough area, a body of water was created. It was later named Fountain Lake. (Heritage, p.37) The beginnings of a prosperous little village were appearing. In 1856, a stage line commenced running through Albert Lea. (Neill, p.364). The first store established…was that of Julius Clark, who coming west from Ohio in the spring of 1856, was persuaded by Mr. Ruble to establish his business in the pioneer community. (Tribune, p.11)

The beginning of 1857 found six buildings in the village. The Ruble house was at 522 Bridge Street, and his mill was at the foot of Fountain Lake. The Thorne house was on Park Avenue, between Grove and Fountain streets. An empty building, erected as a store, later was used as a schoolhouse; Clark’s store was at 119 East Clark Street, and Merry’s house was at the southeast corner of Washington and Water streets. (Curtiss-Wedge, p. 252)

Albert Lea village was platted by Charles C. Colby and recorded on the 29th of October 1856, in Dodge County… On the 24th of February 1859, it was recorded in the Register’s office of this [Freeborn] county…(Neill, p. 360) …the Original Plat included about 36 square blocks along Washington Avenue, Broadway, and Newton Avenue. In laying out the town plat, one square block was designated for the future site of a courthouse, one square block was designated for a City Park (Central Park) and property along Spring Lake was designated for a college site. No college ever materialized at that site which later became College Addition. (Heritage, p. 37)

The first term of public school began in December 1857 in a small log building. Martin V. Kellar, a pupil in this school, reflected with the following account:

“…Three small windows furnished the light, for seats three long slabs from Ruble’s mill were made into benches without backs; a wide slab resting on substantial wooden pegs in the north wall was the only desk; an old fashioned box stove, was all of our furniture. No bell sent forth its pleasant notes announcing that Albert Lea had a school, for the only bell yet heard in this county was on the old brindle cow. School was called by vigorous pounding on the window with a book or slate…. Our most serious problem was the scarcity...in books.” (Curtiss-Wedge, p. 146-147)

“Until May 11, 1858, the village had no local government, but at that time the citizens of Albert Lea township perfected a town government for the village of Albert Lea, electing a village board of supervisors with Dr. A. C. Wedge as chairman. With the growth of the village, however, problems were encountered…” (Tribune, p.11) The need for local city government became apparent.

“In the winter of 1878, the city charter was granted by the State Legislature. Having been accepted by a vote of the people, on the 12th day of May, 1878, the city government was organized, the first officers being: Mayor, Frank Hall; Board of Aldermen, W. P. Sergeant, President, J. W. Smith, R. E. Johnson, John F. Anderson, and E. D. Porter, two from each ward; Clerk, Fred S. Lincoln.” (Neill, p. 371)

According to the federal census of 1860, the population of Albert Lea village and township was 262. By 1880, the city of Albert Lea’s population was 1,966 individuals. From a modest beginning, Albert Lea grew into a flourishing village.
Bibliographic Sources:
Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn, History of Freeborn County, Minnesota. Chicago, IL: H.C. Cooper, Jr. & Co., 1911.
“Exemplifying Progressive Albert Lea,” The Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, MN. Vol. XV, No. 147, May 21, 1912.
Freeborn County Historical & Genealogical Societies, Freeborn County Heritage, Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing Co., 1988.
Neill, Edward D, History of Freeborn County. Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical Company, 1882.

LORENZO MERRY BUILT A CABIN
Twenty years after Albert Lea Visited Area, A City Was Started
Albert Lea Tribune
Sunday, July 4, 1976, Pg 1
Transcribed and Submitted by Michael Nelson

Twenty years passed between the expedition of Lt. Albert Miller Lea into Freeborn County and the arrival of the first settler to the site that would bear his name.

Lorenzo Merry, a New York state native, came to the present site of Albert Lea June 1, 1855 and built a cabin on land that would become the Southeast corner of Washington Avenue and Water Street. However, he had previously been there earlier in the year and had camped for several days.

Merry acquired property on what is now the west side of Broadway Avenue and sold some of it to Thomas Thorne and Lucius P. Wedge. He reserved for himself small parcels of land, including the site of his home. In 1858, he moved to Faribault County, five miles northwest of Wells, where he built a farmhouse that he operated as a country hotel. He later moved to North Dakota.

Despite being Albert Lea's first settler, Merry was considered coarse, uncouth and an impediment to progress.

The 1911 "History of Freeborn County" said, "The greatest blessing which Albert Lea has ever had was the sale of the major portion of the Merry claim to Lucius P. Wedge."

Wedge was described as a, refined man with good business ability. Although he died early, his ownership of a part of the original town plat was considered important in making Albert Lea a successful town. The purchase of the property brought other members of the Wedge family to Albert Lea, who played an important role in the new community.

Lucius Wedge went to Wisconsin after the winter of 1856-57. He moved to different, places attempting to improve his health and died without seeing Albert Lea again.

The second settler in Albert Lea was George S. Ruble, who came from Beloit, Wis., in July 1855. Ruble decided that the lower end of the slough that later became Fountain Lake would be a good location for a dam and mill.

But searching further, Ruble concluded that a site on the outlet of Albert Lea Lake was a better location. Two men named Ly Brand and Thompson had started the village of St. Nicholas nearby and Ruble was convinced that one town would be better than many.

So Ruble proposed that he go into business with Ly Brand and Thompson and be given half the St. Nicholas town site in return for building the mill and plugging the village for the county seat.

That may have spelled the end of Albert Lea. But the offer was rejected and Ruble decided to establish a village of his own. So he brought his wife and son to the Albert Lea site, built a log cabin on what is now Bridge Avenue and made business plans.

Ruble originally built the dam for his mill on the southeast corner of Fountain Lake, formerly Willow Street and now East Fountain Street. The mill was built in the winter and Ruble expected that when the ice melted the dam would fall into place. Instead, the logs drifted away.

The dam was then built at another location in 1856 and the sawmill was started on Bridge Avenue, where the present dam is located. Late in 1857 a corn cracker was put in and in 1859 a flourmill was added. In 1861, there was a washout and the mill was damaged beyond repair.

For most of the 1860’s Fountain Lake remained a swamp, filled with wild rice sometimes as high as eight feet. In 1867, Francis Hall repaired present Fountain Lake. He then operated a flourmill at the main outlet of the lake.

The site of Morin Park was also formerly a lake. Spring Lake was initially used by settlers for watering livestock and many pioneer youths were said to have used it for swimming.

Originally the lake was called Merry’s Little Lake. It then became Morin's Lake and in time Spring Lake. The waters were eventually drained into Fountain Lake and in 1911 the land was used for the park, at one time called Spring Lake Park. The land also became used by an electric light plant, a blacksmith shop and homes.

The park area was deeded to the city in 1880 by William Morin, Clarence Wedge and Mary F. Armstrong.

In addition to the early pioneers that settled at the future site of the village of Albert Lea, a settlement was also made in the northwest part of the township in 1855, where a party from the East came.

Also in 1855, the post office and village of Albert Lea received their name. One summer evening George S. Ruble, Joseph Walford and Lorenzo Merry met by chance in a tent on Ruble's property and decided to name settlement after the lake. The post office was for a time was known as “Lake Albert Lea. In the earliest days the settlement was commonly known as “Ruble's".

The spring of 1856 began with five houses at or near Albert Lea. But 11 other persons came, that spring and more people came during the rest of the year. Albert Lea was platted in 1856 by Ruble, Merry and Thorne. Each donated a square for public use. The courthouse square, now the Freeborn County Courthouse site, was given by Ruble, and the public square, now Central Park, by Merry. Thorne donated the third block west of Broadway, north of College Street and south of the former Spring Lake for college use. Thorne's property was not used for that purpose.

The plat was surveyed by C. C. Colby and was filed with the register of deeds at Dodge County on Oct. 29, 1856. The Original plat called the town “Village of Lake Albert Lea". The plat was filed in Freeborn County on, Feb. 24, 1859.

A sidelight to the platting was the attempt of Ruble to found another town site to the east. Ruble and Thomas J. Smith of Red Wing advertised the other plat widely as Albert Lea, county seat of Freeborn County. Some lots were sold, the plat was vacated, and the property became the Ruble's farm.

Julius Clark was Albert Lea's first merchant. He brought goods from Ohio and early settlers helped him build a log store, on what became Clark Street. The store opened in June 1856 and closed in 1858 when he moved back to Ohio.

Upon opening the business, Clark became deputy postmaster and for a time kept the mail on a shelf in his store. The first post office had been established in Merry's home in 1855 and he was the first postmaster.

The first blacksmith shop was opened in the spring of 1857 by David Crowfoot on Bridge Avenue. He began work under a large oak tree, but in a few weeks built a shop. He moved that fall to a claim three miles east of the city.

Albert Lea's first attorney, Augustus Armstrong, erected a general law office just north of the Wedge drug store about 1857.

Albert Lea became the county seat in 1857 after what was described as a free-for all election. Albert Lea had earlier been designated as the temporary county seat in March 1857 when Freeborn County was organized.

The county' seat election was held Oct. 13, 1857 and the results were as follows:

Freeborn, 1 vote; Shell Rock, 10; St. Nicholas, 29; Bancroft, 199; and Albert Lea, 403.

In 1869, the village of Itasca attempted to challenge Albert Lea for the county seat. But the results were so overwhelmingly lopsided in favor of Albert Lea that, according to the 1911 county history, there seemed to be no record of the vote.

The towns of Freeborn County had no local government until May 11, 1858 when the citizens of Albert Lea Township formed a town government." Dr. A. C. Wedge was elected chairman of the board of supervisors.

As the village of Albert Lea grew, problems evolved with a general statute conferred on the town supervisors. As a result, a special act was passed by the legislature in 1870 to give the supervisors authority to conduct village affairs. The act was amended and amplified by subsequent legislatures.

As time went on, though, it became more apparent that a village government separate from the township was needed.

There were a number of pro and con arguments. The press discussed the issue, there were formal debates, and there were bitter feelings on both sides, especially on the topic of taxation. Another point was saloons; the community was divided into pro and anti-saloon groups.

During the argument, a committee of villagers secretly drew up a bill that was presented to the legislature in the spring of 1878 and was passed after a heated fight.

The charter election was held at the courthouse the first Monday in Aprilof 1878 and passed by a 72-vote majority.

The new charter provided for a mayor, treasurer, two justices, and six aldermen, two from each of the three wards. Other officers were to be appointed by the council.

The first election of officers under this act was held the second Monday in May 1878. The people in the first ward voted at the office of W. P. Sergeant on Broadway, second ward at a house on the corner of Broadway and Main, and third ward, at the courthouse.

The first city officers in 1878 were: Francis Hall, mayor; W. Sergeant (president) and J. Smith, first ward aldermen; A. E. Johnson and Ellend Erickson, second ward aldermen; John Anderson and E. D. Porter, third ward aldermen; Fred S. Lincoln, clerk; John Anderson, attorney; D. N. Gates, assessor; Joseph France, street commissioner; E. D. Patrick, day police; D. K. Stacy and T. L. Torgerson, night police; Ira A. Towne and F. C. Stacy, justices; H. A. Hanson, treasurer; and H. D. brown, surveyor.

The following describes how some services developed in Albert Lea.

PAVING

The first paving was done in Albert Lea in the summer of 1908. One block of an alley between William and Main Streets was laid with brick. The subject had been discussed for several years, but without petitions from property owners the City Council refused to order the work.

In 1908 a majority of property owners on Broadway, between Clark and College Streets, and the block on Clark Street, between Broadway and Washington, petitioned the council for paving. After debate over creosote wood blocks or bricks, the council let a contract for creosote block paving. When the paving was completed, most property owners were pleased with the results. In 1910, another contract was awarded to bring the total number of blocks paved with creosote blocks to 23. The same year alleys were paved with brick in the business section.

In 1911, more paving was done to bring the grand total up to 50 blocks, with 11 blocks of brick paving in alleys. Creosote was used on all the work in the streets, except on steep grades, where sandstone was used. By the end of the 1911 construction season almost all of the business section had been paved.

STREET LIGHTING

Charles H. Farnsworth was given an electric light franchise in 1886 and the first lights were turned on that November.

The service wasn't satisfactory and in 1889 the council adopted a gasoline street lighting system, which was used until 1895, when the streets were again lighted by electricity

WATERWORKS

A city waterworks plant was put into operation in 1891. Previous to that time water for fire protection was obtained from a number cisterns at different points in the city and from wharfs on the shores of Fountain Lake.

The water supply for private use had been obtained from wells and about 50 or 60 springs in Fountain Lake.

SEWERS

The first sewer system was installed in 1897 in alleys behind main business streets, but little was done for the next 10 years. A new trunk sewer was constructed in 1908 that enlarged the capability of the system to permit future connections to residential areas.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

The first meeting of Engine Company No. 1 was called to Order July 18, 1879, by the Rev. J. R. Chambers. A constitution was accepted July 26 that year, and F. B. Fobes was elected chief.
Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1 was organized Sept. 14, 1888. The two companies were organized as a department that same day and W. P. Sergeant was elected chief.

PUBLIC LIBRARY

In the spring of 1897, a few women banded together to form the Albert Lea Library Association. The library opened in May that year in a room in a house at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Water Street. The first librarian was Mrs. Wyman Greene. There were about 50 books on the shelves and $13 in the treasury.

Soon after a depot was built several stores opened and two blacksmith shops began operating and more businesses followed.

Prior to 1871, Gem Lake, now Morin Lake, was a wild slough. The marshy area became a lake when a dam was built through the efforts of Morin, Hall and P. Hansen. In 1883 and 1884, C. N.

City Hall in Albert Lea began when an engine house was erected in the summer of 1879 on lots given to the city by William Morin and Thomas H. Armstrong on Main Street, west of Broadway Avenue. The engine house was ready for occupancy in January 1880

In 1885 a story was added to the engine house for meetings and cells were constructed in the rear. A bell tower was added in 1893. This facility was used until Dec. 23, 1903 when a new city hall opened on North Broadway.

The new three-story building was made of red sandstone and pressed brick, with St. Cloud granite columns. The cost was $30,189.77.

The lower floor of the new facility was occupied by the fire department and their equipment in front, the offices of the city engineer and chief of police, with the city jail in the rear. The second floor housed the city clerk and council chamber. The third floor was used by firemen on duty and in the rear, for a municipal courtroom.

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