1921 Duluth & St Louis County MN, Van Brunt.pdf - Garon.us

DULUTH AND ST. LOUIS COUNTY 685
Lakes" was written into
1909.
the petition, which was filed December 15,
No action was taken by the county commissioners until the
March session of 1910. They then ordered hearing of objections to
the granting of petition at their board meeting at the Court House,
Duluth, on Friday, May 6th. On that day, no objections to such a
course having been made, they decided to grant the petition of the
residents of township 50-20. Accordingly that township was detached
from the Township of Prairie Lakes, which by that action was limited
to township 50-21, the extreme southwesterly township of St.
Louis County.
The first election in the new Township of Fine Lakes was ordered
to be held on the twenty-third day of May, 1910, at the Schoolhouse
No. 19, situated on section thirty of township 50-20.
There are several sheets of water in Fine Lakes Township, the
largest being Prairie Lake, which has an area of approximately two
square miles. The township is bounded on the east by Fond du Lac
Indian Reservation, on the north by the Township of Floodwood,
and on the west by Prairie Lake Township. Its southern boundary
is the county line between St. Louis and Carlton counties.
The assessed valuation of Fine Lakes Township in 1910 was
$67,017. Tax levy in that year, $2,781.21. It was $4,607.76 in 1919,
the assessed valuation then being only $62,776.
Prairie Lake Township (the two congressional townships) had
a population of forty-one in 1900, in 1910, the same territory was
inhabited by 199 persons. The 1920 census gives the following figures
Fine Lakes Township, 189; Prairie Lakes Township, 136.
Originally, Fine Lakes Township was served by School District
No. 74. That district, however, now covers more than the one township,
extending into township 50-19. There are four schoolhouses
in the district, the four frame buildings being in 1919 valued at $3,000.
Apparently only two are used, as the district only employs two
teachers (female), who are paid an average of $75 a month. The
total enrollment in 1919-20 year was thirty-two. The school board
officials in that year were : O. R. Bolstad, Floodwood, Minnesota,
clerk; N. O. Stageberg, treasurer; Adolph Ylen, chairman of direc-
tors. The school levy in 1919 was $2,421.73.
The ofificials of Fine Lakes Township in 1920 were :
Ole
H.
Gjora (chairman), E. Nordness and E. S. Smith, supervisors; N. O.
Stageberg, clerk, also assessor, and Hans O. Gjora, treasurer.
Floodwood. Organization.—The township of Floodwood is
one of the comparatively old townships of St. Louis County. Its
organization dates back to 1893, and when township organization
was first projected, it was thought to endeavor to secure the sanction
of the county commissioners to embrace within the porposed
new township eight congressional townships, extending from the
county line, two townships deep, to and including fifty-three north,
ranges 21 and 20 west. Petition to that effect was circulated within
the territory during February of 1893. And the paper was signed
by Dauvet (David) Hill and twenty-five other legal voters resident
in the region. However, before the petition was presented to the
county commissioners it was amended to pray for the organization
of congressional township 51-20 as the Township of Floodwood
under the laws of the State of Minnesota. 1878. chapter 10. The
petition was filed with the county auditor on March 2nd, and sworn
to on that day by George C. Blackwood, one of the signers.
Vol. II—12
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