Trekking to the west near the (future) Morris

A sign along the narrow and winding roads out by Wintermute Lake reminds of the oldest chapter in our community's history. (Photo by B.W.)

I would bet most long-time Morris residents have never seen Wintermute Lake. It can't be seen from any artery for transportation. There are few clues along Highway 59 North that you're passing a lake.

You can get a glimpse of the lake from dirt roads that aren't the best. If you pass by Heartland Motors and keep going north you'll see it.

That road is a short distance from where I live but I rarely take it. I took it once going out to the chili feed for the annual predator hunt. I wanted to mutter some bad words under my breath about how poorly maintained the road seemed in winter.

My point is that Wintermute Lake seems remote. It seems like a typical obscure Minnesota lake. There seem to be no recreational possibilities. But any lake affords aesthetic pluses.

Some nice homes are out there, located in a scattered sort of way. That's the way development seems out along Highway 59 North: scattered.

Some very narrow but paved roads wind out and around at Wintermute Lake. "Sunday drivers" should be aware you might end up at a dead end. You could end up in the yard or driveway of Roger McCannon. The McCannons have a nice tucked-away residence that gives you a great view of Wintermute Lake and its still pretty much untouched surroundings.

You might want to close your eyes and imagine how the intrepid 19th Century settlers headed west saw it. Wintermute Lake may seem like a non-descript Minnesota lake but it's significant historically. It was a backdrop for the Wadsworth Trail.

As a kid my first reaction to hearing of this trail was to think of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. No connection. The name inspiration was from General James E. Wadsworth, Civil War general.

The Wadsworth Trail proceeded to Fort Wadsworth, west of present-day Sisseton, South Dakota. Things were pretty quiet out here on the pristine prairie in the mid 19th Century. What a blessing that was, compared to the stuff going on back east.

The Wadsworth Trail and the fort were established in 1864. It was the last full year of the U.S. Civil War, the unspeakably bloody conflict. The kind of conflict that happened at Spotsylvania Courthouse showed human beings at their worst.

Some of the most uncivilized conflict was inland quite a ways in what was then called the "west" like in Kansas. The movie "The Outlaw Josey Wales" was very instructive. What demons lurk in our souls sometimes?

West Central Minnesota was too remote to be touched by any of that. The Sam Smith statue reminds us of our ties to the Civil War. But Sam did his fighting in the east, then came out here to live a peaceful life.

Morris history really begins with Gager's Station, a collection of log buildings amidst the trees near Wintermute Lake. There were several barns and a building to accommodate travelers. The post office there was called "potosi" - a wooden box with pigeon holes.

Other features were a blacksmith shop and grog shop. It was the temporary county seat.

The first general election here was in 1868. The people heading west in that time were a fascinating assortment. They were willing to endure a substantial risk in order to try to find a new life.
Many of the protections of a civilized and well-ordered society faded or disappeared as one plunged into the interior of the continent or began the trek across the seemingly endless plains.

The east was much more developed, to be sure. The U.S. Civil War contradicted that attribute. The South after the Civil War was a smoldering and dangerous mess. Up here, European civilization was just starting to stretch its legs.

The Wadsworth Trail cut through Stevens County in an east-west direction. The trail wasn't totally fixed, as adjustments were made depending on the season, weather and road conditions.

The people taking the route embraced adventure. I'm reminded of Arthur Fremantle, British observer with the Confederate Army at the height of the Civil War, who described the inhabitants of Texas in the same way. He listed all the categories of fascinating people, in a conversation with General James Longstreet.
Fremantle saw Texas because his options for entering the country were limited by the Union army.

He might have been describing patrons of the humble grog shop at Gager's Station - nothing more than a keg of whiskey and a glass, overseen by a Swede. There wasn't even a shanty or tent.

The land offices were humming in Alexandria and St. Cloud. The first real settlement here was in 1866, in Framnas Township. The U.S. government christened the Wadsworth Trail. The trail had its role in county history from 1864 to 1871.

The wide spectrum of folks you encountered along the trail were a hint of the kind of melting pot America would become. No inhibitions and no aristrocracy. America was free soil.

Colonel Fremantle, who made his name with the Coldstream Guard, could have been listing intrepid folks along our trail. There were government supply teams, traders, "soldiers of fortune," gold seekers en route to the Black Hills, Native Americans with their dogs and ponies, and of course settlers.

The stated purpose of the Wadsworth Trail was to transport supplies from St. Cloud to Fort Wadsworth near present-day Sisseton. Fort Wadsworth became Fort Sisseton in 1876.

The Wadsworth Trail got established as cannons roared in the eastern U.S. The fate of the Union hung in the balance. It seems the South was simply resisting destiny. General U.S. Grant launched "total war." The secretary of war was Edwin Stanton whose son Lewis came to Morris to live. The cannons finally fell silent.

One would expect some conflict to the west where law and civilization were so fledgling. Think of "North Fork" in the TV series "The Rifleman" (with Chuck Connors, perhaps the best western actor ever).

Today the law penetrates into all aspects of our lives, to our annoyance sometimes (as with wearing seat belts). Imagine back when law was hardly established. A territory couldn't become a state until the law could be asserted without resistance.

The people using the Wadsworth Trial had fresh memories of the Sioux uprising. It has been called the "Minnesota massacre."

There was a fear the Sioux might join hands with tribes further to the west. Soldiers were dispatched out here to try to quell any such resurgence in hostile efforts. European settlers needed basic protection.

The Wadsworth Trail was a stage route. (I remember a stand-up comic once who mused on western movies and how a female character would step out of a stage absolutely exquisite in appearance, when in fact there must have been considerable dust and dirt.)

Transportation evolved. In the early days of the fort, supplies and equipment came up to St. Cloud on the Mississippi River. After 1866 the rails took over with the St. Paul and Pacific Railway.

Proceeding from St. Cloud into what must have seemed like a "great unknown," the route followed the already-established Red River Trail. This proceeded to Sauk Centre. There a new path was carved out, destination Glenwood. It snaked around south of Lake Minnewaska and came out here through present-day Hodges Township.

But as stated previously, it wasn't fixed. The travelers eventually preferred skirting Lake Minnewaska on the north side, and they arrived here through the northern part of present-day Framnas Township.

I have read that Gager's Station was a stopping place of some distinction along the trail. Part of me wants to dismiss that as back-patting for us. But let's assume it's true.

Henry Gager got established here in 1866. The location was Section 12, Darnen Township. This was merely temporary. The next year saw him re-locate to Section 12, Morris Township, adjusting to the more northerly route. Log buildings sprouted. A small trading post was established.

The place was abuzz with the sharing of news. Teamsters, stage coaches and ox carts would make their way.

Henry Gager is remembered as one of the frontier's "good guys." He saw to the education of children around the settlement. One would think piano lessons would be the furthest consideration from anyone's mind, but Henry saw that his daughter Carrie got such instruction, and sent her on the stagecoach to Sauk Centre for this.

We mustn't sugar-coat what life was like, though. Rough edges of the frontier made their presence felt. The likes of cattle rustlers and horse thieves might make their way through Gager's.

Several men of mysterious means and background seemed to hang around also, fond of gambling and idle time. There was a tacit understanding their livelihood was by unsavory means - theft of "luckless animals" etc.

Gager's Station was a vital but transitory chapter in our county's history. It was transitory because development was coming in giant steps. Henry Gager left the county in 1870 to be followed later by wife Mary. Word had spread that a new town was to be established.

Morris came officially into existence in 1871. I remember the year well because I participated in the Centennial in 1971.

Gager's Station faded into history. The railroad surged into the picture with enormous transformative force. The year of Morris' founding, as a "tent town," was when the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company reached here.

In 1880 the railroad reached Browns Valley. Fort Sisseton (or Wadsworth) was closed up in 1889. Civilization, European anyway, took root here by leaps and bounds.

The 1880s saw Victorian style houses, a symbol of wealth, sprout here. Lewis Stanton established one such home, still standing (on Park Avenue).
The environment was deemed most accommodating to many people who set down roots. They must have thought "the trees were the right height," just like Mitt Romney in Michigan (LOL).

Click on the link below to read more on this subject from my companion website, "Morris of course." Here is the permalink:
http://www.morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2012/03/wadsworth-trail-drew-intrepid-eccentric.html

- Brian Williams - morris mn Minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com