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

DULUTH AND ST. LOUIS COUNTY 711
Morse.—The Township of Morse, which embraces four congressional
townships, is particularly historic. Its organization dates back
to 1887, and its history to the pioneer mining days of Northern Minnesota.
The City of Ely, and Village of Winton are within its borders,
and some of the richest mines of the Vermilion Range. Its
valuation (assessed) has increased from $41,693, in 1887, to $6,768,738
in 1919, the last figure including the City of Ely, the assessed valuation
of which in 1919 was $4,767,996. The Township of Morse
contributed to the taxes of St. Louis County in 1887 only $366.90. In
1919, the tax levy (including Ely and Winton) of Morse Township
was $522,148.77. It will therefore be seen that Morse Township is a
factor of importance to and in St. Louis County.
The township was organized by the county commissioners at
their session of July 9, 1887, such action being taken in response to a
petition dated June 16, 1887, said petition having the signatures of
H. R. Harvey, J. H. Hopperton and others, and seeking the organization
as the "Town of Morse," of congressional townships 62 and 63
north, range 12 west, "and such portions of townships 63-11 and 62-11
as are in St. Louis County."
The election, or first town meeting, was ordered by the commissioners
to be held on July 28th
Building in the Town of Ely."
of that year, "at the Post Office
Thus, the Township of Morse came into being. There had been
an earlier attempt to organize township 63-12, as the township of
"Odanau," a petition to that effect having been prepared in May. 1887,
signed by Thomas Ross, D. A. Ross, and others, and dated May 31st,
but whether this petition came before the commissioners earlier than
that dated June 16th, upon which they acted, is not clear, the record
stating that the petition of Thomas Ross and others was referred
back to the commissioners without recommendation by the committee
appointed to examine and consider it. It came back to the
commissioners at the session of July 9, 1887, and was "laid on the
table," the commissioners on same day granting the Harvey-Hopperton
petition.
Ely, Village of.—Ely became a village in 1888, and a city in 1891,
as will be elsewhere reviewed in this work, and now has a population
of 4,902.
Winton, Village of.—The Village of Winton was incorporated
in 1901, a petition, dated May 22d, of that year, and signed by C. O.
Bystrom and John L, Olson and others then resident in the territory
concerned, sought to have incorporated all "that portion of the SE
qr. of NE qr., and the NE qr. of SE qr. of section 24 of township
63-12," as the village of "Fall Lake," under authority of chapter 145
of the General Laws of Minnesota, 1885, said land having been
platted, and the plat filed with the Register of Deeds, at the county
offices, Duluth, on October 5. 1899. and marked : "Plat of Fall Lake."
The petition was filed in the office of the county auditor on June
1, 1901, and came before the county commissioners for their consideration
and action on June 10th. They ordered a special election
to be held to ascertain the will of the voters of that territory, designating
the "lower room of building on lot 4, l)lock 5, of plat of Fall
Lake" as the place of assembly for voting, and setting July 23d as
the day of election.
The election having confirmed the petition, the commissioners
ordered election to be held at same place on August 10, 1901, to
bring the incorporation into operation by the election of village