Book of plat maps of all the townships in Olmsted County, Minnesota, with owners' names and a farmers' directory. Produced by The Farmer: A Journal of Agriculture, which was based out of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Book of plat maps of all the townships in Olmsted County, Minnesota, with owners' names and a farmers' directory. Maps of the United States and the world are included along with written histories and descriptions of each.
A group of men are posed on the sub floor of a cottage being built for Burt W. Eaton. Piles of lumber and nail kegs are visible in the foreground. This cottage was being constructed in Oronoco in 1914. Oronoco was a popular recreation area for residents of Rochester.
Handwritten document by Edward "Ned" George containing biographical information about his father, James George, including family, education, work experience, military service, religion and politics.
The E. J. Rice Store is pictured on the corner in this street scene. The store was built by M. W. Clay in 1874. In 1895, Rice bought the store from the McCray Brothers and it burned in Dec. 1907. An early automobile, closely resembling a buggy, is in the foreground, surrounded by a group of interested people.
The dam, mill and cooper shop are located at the joining of the South Middle Branch and the North Middle Branch of the Zumbro River. This was the second mill, built after the first mill was destroyed by a fire in 1879. The mill was built by A. D. Allis.
A car is driving across the concrete bridge (built in 1918) at Oronoco. Several men appear to be fishing in the river under the bridge. The photo is taken from below the site of the present dam, looking west. The dam gave way in 1924 and there was no lake for the next 13 years. The present dam was built in 1937 by the W.P.A. and federal government funding.
The banks of the Zumbro River are spanned by a bridge at Oronoco. This bridge, built about 1876, was the second bridge at this location and was later replaced by a concrete bridge in 1918.
James George was born in 1819 in New York state. In 1942, he married Rhoda Pierce. He lived for a time in Ohio where he was elected to Register of Deeds for Butler County (Ohio). James George served in the military during the Mexican War. He moved to Minnesota in 1854 and settled in Oronoco township (Olmsted County) on land acquired with a government warrant issued for payment of his services during the Mexican War. In 1858 he moved to Dodge County and help found the village of Wasioja. He later became interested in recruiting soldiers for the Civil War. He served in the Second Minnesota Volunteers and raised many of the recruits for Company C of that unit. At the close of the Civil War, he returned to Oronoco. In 1870, he opened a law office in Rochester and practiced law for many years before he died in 1882.
A Plat Book of the villages, cities and townships of the county, Map of the State, United States and World, Farmers Directory, Reference Business Directory and Departments devoted to general information. Analysis of the System of US Land Surveys, Digest of the System of Civil Governments and more.
This is an original plat of Olmsted County with many handwritten notes and drawings showing early Minnesota settlers, farmers and other town landscape features. This map is the earliest documentation we have found in our collection of the farms, towns, and topography of Olmsted County, Minnesota.