Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Waseca County
    Waseca County
    Waseca County
    Ebook151 pages39 minutes

    Waseca County

    By Waseca County Historical Society

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Waseca County, Minnesota, is comprised of a number of unique communities-Alma City, New Richland, Waldorf, Otisco, Janesville, Palmer, and the county seat of Waseca-each adding to the county's rich history and remarkable scenic beauty. The county can boast of nine architectural gems on the National Register of Historic Sites. These distinctive landmarks include the Richardsonian Romanesque-style Waseca County Courthouse, the Greek Revival-style Janesville Public Library, and the Gothic Revival-style Vista Lutheran Church in Otisco Township. Historic houses include the P.C. Bailey House, built in 1868 and one of Waseca's oldest homes, as well as the R. Percy Ward House, home to one of the area's most prominent turn-of-the-century businessmen.With over 200 vintage photographs Waseca County showcases not only the buildings and businesses of this historic county, but also the people who helped contribute to its growth and prosperity, people whose devotion to education, history, and a sense of community continues to grow.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439630273
    Waseca County
    Author

    Waseca County Historical Society

    To know the past is to understand our link to the future. This is the motto of the Waseca County Historical Society. Its members and volunteers are devoted to the task of preserving their history, and this book is the product of countless hours of research, documentation, and preservation; it will be cherished by all who call Waseca County their home.

    Related to Waseca County

    Related ebooks

    Photography For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      TEXANA Making Space

      Jul 18, 2023

      TEXANA Making Space
      5 min read

    • Article

      Looking Back 200 Years

      Mar 16, 2020

      Looking Back 200 Years
      4 min read

    • Article

      Silent As The Grave

      Feb 23, 2023

      Silent As The Grave
      6 min read

    • Article

      Finding Home(s)

      Jun 27, 2023

      Finding Home(s)
      2 min read

    • Article

      Good Neighbors

      Oct 31, 2019

      Good Neighbors
      9 min read

    • Article

      Let’s Celebrate

      Oct 30, 2019

      Let’s Celebrate
      3 min read

    • Article

      Indianola, Onward

      May 14, 2019

      Indianola, Onward
      11 min read

    • Article

      The Long Road home

      Oct 20, 2022

      The Long Road home
      13 min read

    • Article

      Cast in Iron?

      Apr 2, 2020

      Cast in Iron?
      7 min read

    • Article

      BROKEN STARS & SILK DREAMS

      Sep 3, 2020

      BROKEN STARS & SILK DREAMS
      12 min read

    • Article

      TOOLS of SURVIVAL

      Jul 14, 2023

      TOOLS of SURVIVAL
      3 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Nov 15, 2022

      Email wdytyaeditoriai@ourmedia.co.uk Write to WDYTYA? Magazine, Eagle House, Bristol BS1 4ST WIN an AncestryDNA test kit from ancestry.co.uk WORTH £79 The writer of our star letter wins an Ancestry DN A test worth £79 - so d rop us a line and share y

      7 min read

    • Article

      Nebraska

      Aug 18, 2020

      Nebraska
      5 min read

    • Article

      Nantucket Doesn’t Belong to the Preppies

      Aug 30, 2021

      Photographs by Amani Willett I caught the fast ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket, 30 miles off the coast of Massachusetts. As the boat plowed the waves, I was taken aback by my first view of the island. I could see it all at once, end to end, 14 miles

      12 min read

    • Article

      Nevada

      Oct 18, 2022

      Nevada
      5 min read

    • Article

      Celebrating Black History on Staten Island

      Apr 1, 2020

      Celebrating Black History on Staten Island
      2 min read

    • Article

      Last Stop, Independence

      Oct 1, 2023

      Last Stop, Independence
      2 min read

    • Article

      Burntwood Omission

      Jan 30, 2024

      Email wdytyaeditorial@ourmedia.co.uk Write to WDYTYA? Magazine, Eagle House, Bristol BS1 4ST WIN an AncestryDNA test kit from ancestry.co.uk WORTH £79 The writer of our star letter wins an AncestryDNA test worth £79 – so drop us a line and share your

      7 min read

    • Article

      Beside Still Waters

      Aug 27, 2018

      Beside Still Waters
      9 min read

    • Article

      Kansas

      Aug 17, 2021

      AT THE HEART OF AMERICA’S HEARTLAND, Kansas has played a pivotal role in shaping America’s migration routes, the battle over slavery, and the cultivating of the nation’s breadbasket. For those fortunate enough to have Kansas ancestors, a treasure tro

      5 min read

    • Article

      Your LETTERS

      Feb 12, 2021

      Your LETTERS
      11 min read

    • Article

      FAMILY Fortunes

      Dec 8, 2023

      FAMILY Fortunes
      6 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Jun 30, 2020

      Letters
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Waseca County

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Waseca County - Waseca County Historical Society

      possible.

      INTRODUCTION

      The history of Waseca County, Minnesota, is like weaving a large coverlet that touches us all. The warp is the past that was given to us as a gift. The woof is what we weave into the fabric to leave our mark on history. Now we can each take our turn to weave that one small piece of woof that could make the fabric of our history weaker or stronger.

      Waseca County was named from the Native American word for Fertile Soil. The county boundaries were formed in 1857; Minnesota became a state in 1858.

      The History of Steele and Waseca Counties, Minnesota, Union Publishing Company, 1887, told of the strength of the warp that was laid out for us. Says Hon. William Brisbane, in speaking of hard times in early days: Speaking of graham bread, I can assure you that twenty-eight years ago a loaf of graham bread or a corn dodger, with a very thin sprinkling of molasses, would have been thankfully received and no questions asked. Those were the days that tried men’s stomachs as well as their souls, but we lived and hoped for better days, for we had faith in the resources of Waseca County. Thanks to the industrious energy of the people, our expectations have been fully realized; as the Good Book says: ‘The rain is over and gone, and the time of the singing of birds has come’; yet I never knew or saw a tragedy acted but there was always some comical or ludicrous scenes interlarded with it ...

      This county was populated by many nationalities. It started with the Native Americans and the French traders. It is known that one small group of Alexander Faribault’s men were in the area for a year trading with the Native Americans. The Europeans arrived later by covered wagon and by foot. The main nationalities appear to have been Norwegian, Swedish, German, Irish, and English, and they came for the land. It was cheap, fertile, and promised a better life for themselves and their families. The main migration was through Wisconsin but certainly not limited to that direction. With the coming of the railroads, the population shifted and some communities flourished and others became memories. All of the men, women, and children who came to Waseca County and called it home, for a day or a lifetime, had a place in its history.

      The religions of Waseca County pioneers and later residents were as diverse as their nationalities, which makes it impossible to publish each of the church histories in this edition. So, we have chosen to include whatever space allows and extend an open invitation to everyone to use our facilities to research the rest of them.

      We have tried to select photographs for this book that have not been seen in print before. Our brief captions try to show the flavor of the county, the diversity, and the similarities. All of the photographs have come from the files of the Waseca County Historical Society. Dates, locations, and names are occasionally missing from photo identification. We wrote only what we knew about these photographs and felt that you would enjoy them as much as we do. We used information given to us at the time of the photograph donation and we did research in the P. C. Bailey Research Library, locally known as the Lewer House. Some of the resources used were newspaper files, indexes from our Internet site, family files, census records, and atlases.

      Thank you to all the people of Waseca County for giving us the opportunity to learn and try to interpret your history. To say it has been interesting is an understatement. We at the Historical Society learn something new every day and know we will continue to learn from you as time goes on.

      We hope you will enjoy Images of America: Waseca County, Minnesota as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.

      One

      AGRICULTURE

      Eliza Hollingsworth Sutlief, together with her husband, Asa, and their children, Delancey and Rhoda, were the first white

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1