LUCY LEAVENWORTH WILDER MORRIS
Originator of "Old Rail Fence Corners."
Old Rail
Fence Corners
THE A. B. C's. OF
Minnesota History
SECOND EDITION
AUTHENTIC INCIDENTS GLEANED FROM
The Old Settlers
By The Book Committee
1914
COPYRIGHTED 1914
BY
THE BOOK COMMITTEE
LUCY LEAVENWORTH WILDER MORRIS,
EDITOR
PUBLISHED BY
THE F. H. MCCULLOCH PRINTING @
AUSTIN, MINN.
In Memoriam
Mr. Eli Pettijohn
Mrs. Missouri Rose Pratt
Mr. James McMullen
Mrs. Samuel B. Dresser
Mr. William W. Ellison
Mr. Henry Favel
Major Benjamin Randall
Mrs. Duncan Kennedy
Major S. A. Buell
Mrs. Helen Horton
Mrs. Mary Massolt
Mrs. J. M. Paine
Mr. Chas. Watson
Mrs. C. W. Gress
Double click on image for larger version
Illustration: Map of OLD TRAILS AND ROADS
COMPILED BY MR. GEORGE RALPH AND MRS. JAMES T. MORRIS[Pg 3]
Explanatory
How little we know about what we 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 map couldbe found showing these old highways. A few old maps in the HistoricalLibrary bore snatches of them, but in their entirety they haddisappeared from books and maps, as well as from our state.
They might be the foundations for modern roads, but only the names ofthose modern roads survived, so they were lost.
Months of this research work failed to resurrect them, although a mapwas made from the fragmentary pieces on old maps, filled out by what thepioneers who had traveled those roads could furnish. All old maps seemedto 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 when we cleaned house lately. I think it camefrom Washington," said one dear old pioneer woman.
"What do you want of those old roads anyway," said another. "If you hadbeen over them as I have, you would know how much better these roadsare, and be glad they are gone."
It was hard to locate them from hearsay for when we asked "Did it gothrough Alexandria," the answer was, "There was no town on it afterleaving St. Cloud, so I can't say just where it went, but we went toFort Garry and crossed the river at Georgetown."
Finally, after nearly a year's hard work, as we were on our way to theCapitol to look over the first government surveys, Mr. George Ralph wasmet, became interested, and drew part of these trails from the old platsfor this map.
When a surveyor goes into a new country to make a government survey, heis required to place on that[Pg 4] plat every trail, road or plowedfield—