CHAPTER IV.

DAY COUNTY

Greeley County.—The legislature of Dakota Territory, in its session of 1873, established the boundary lines of this county, which included the present counties of Day and Marshall, excepting the townships of Egeland, Wheatand, Highland, York, Troy and Oak Gulch. The county was named in honor of Horace Greeley, America's noted Journalist and Educator, whose advice to all young men of his time was, "Go West and grow up with the country."

The first white settler to come to this region was Francis Randell, (Rondell). He came to New Orleans from France in 1858. From here he proceeded up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, where he came into the employment of the American Fur Co. His company sent him up the Missouri river to Sioux City; then he proceeded up the James river, establishing a post in Brown County, which still bears his name.

Mr. Randell soon established himself among the Sisseton Indians who were able to furnish him with plenty of furs. These Indians had for a long time dealt with white traders, since it is generally accepted that a fur trading post had been established in the early years of 1800, by Colonel Robert Dickson, in the vicinity of White Rock. The people with whom he traded soon became his people and he entered into their life wholeheartedly, exercising quite an influence among them. According to a custom among the Indians, any man possessing means was entitled to as many wives as he could support. Mr. Randell married not less than five Indian women. Due to the ever-growing scarcity of game he made his permanent home in the county about the year 1870, building a log cabin on the peninsula of Rush Lake.

Mr. Randell was born 1814 and died 1896. He was laid to rest in the cemetery of the Indian church at Enemy Swim Lake. Many of his descendants still reside in Day County.

Others among the very early white settlers of this county are: Albert Barse, June, 1876; E. P. Owen and G. W. Spencer, June, 1877. The first white men to file on claims in this county were: Theodore and Louis Schafer, May, 1879; in June, of the same year, Joseph Gruba, Matt Reese, John Hedke, Joseph Helvig and Paul Kurkowski, D. W. Paul, and his sons, W. M. and J. L., Oscar Stevens, George and Thomsas Burns. All of these men selected claims in the lake region, being anxious to secure timber lands.

The Territorial legislature of 1879 made a re-division of all the Counties of the Territory. In most cases these counties were re-named in honor of distinguished men of the Territorry.

This County was named in honor of Councilman Merrit H. Day, from Bon Homme County. (A councilman was a member of the upper house of the Territorial legislature.) Mr. Day settled in the Dakota Territory just after the close of the Civil War, in which he had served with distinction, being discharged as a captain of a Wisconsin regiment. During the Sioux outbreak at Pine Ridge, he exhibited the qualities of statesman, diplomat, and soldier combined. Rapid City was in a panic when Captain Day took charge of the situation, organizing a company of volunteers. He patrolled the surrounding country, erected temporary forts for the protection of stockmen and sent messengers to confer with the hostile Sioux. Conditions soon improved and the people returned to their homes. Who knows what slaughter and bloodshed may have been averted? This sturdy pioneer died at his home in Rapid City, leaving a large vacant place in his city and state. It is with a mingled feeling of pride and pleasure that we accept for our County the name of so honorable a pioneer.

In 1880 the newspapers throughout the country opened an intensive campaign for the purpose of booming the Dakota Territory settlement. They wrote at great length regarding the fact that the Hastings and Dakota division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Co., which had already reached Ortonville, Minnesota, was rapidly pushing Westward. New towns would rapidly be started in the heart of some of the very best agricultural lands in the possession of Uncle Sam. Anyone over the age of twenty-one years could now be the possessor of at least four hundred and eighty acres of this splendid land comprising a homestead, a preemption and tree claim of a hundred and sixty acres each. In surveyed townships the land seeker had only to make selections and present descriptions of desired land to the U. S. land office and if it was vacant the filing was accepted. In many localities some of the earlier settlers possessed themselves with township maps in order to assist new settlers in locating claims. While these land locaters generally charged a small fee for their services they were, nevertheless, anxious to attract newcomers into their vicinity.

Thus was started that rapid settlement of Dakota Territory which soon doubled the population. In June, 1881, a number of the ambitious citizens became anxious for the organization of Day county and so a mass meeting was called for that purpose. This assembly met in front of the Balzer hotel, which was then under construction at Webster. There were settlers enough at this meeting who felt that conditions were not ripe for county organization and through their opposition the movement was temporarily defeated. The assembly broke up and the men went back to the work of improving farms, building homes and towns. In December of the same year, however, a properly signed petition, as required by Territorial Statute, asking for the organization of the county and for the appointment of county commissioners signed by Chauncy Warner of Webster, Lansing Sykes of Waubay, and George Bryant of Andover, was forwarded to Governor Ordway. This petition was granted and so on the 2nd day of January, 1882, the commissioners met in the depot at Webster. The meeting was called to order and Chauncey Warner was elected chairman. The following county officers were appointed: register of deeds and county clerk, F. H. Dutton; sheriff, I. J. Hanson; county treasurer, George E. Bryant ; county superintendent of schools, E. R. Thompson ; county assessor, J. P. Webster ; judge of probate, Timothy Lowell ; county surveyor, W. R. Ruggles ; justices of the peace, J. A. Lee, and Thomas Brigham ; constables, W. M. Paul and M. W. Fritz. The Reporter and Farmer was made the official paper. Webster was designated as temporary county seat with the understanding that suitable quarters be furnished for county offices, free of rent; these to be approved by the board and to be situated within a half mile of the railroad station in said town. In May, 1882, Thomas A. Bones, who had been appointed as clerk of courts for Day county by Judge Kidder of this district, came to Webster. He continued in this office until 1889 when we became a state.

In the November election of 1882 Webster was maintained as temporary county seat by a handsome majority vote, but this was only the beginning of the struggle which took place regarding this matter, as there were other towns seeking this advantage. In order to strengthen Webster's position a number of the citizens got together and secured the present court house block, built the original part of the old court house upon it and presented it to Day county with the understanding that it should remain county property as long as Webster remained county seat. This gift was accepted by the county commissioners in their meeting of May 14, 1883. During the years of 1882-3 the population of the county increased very rapidly. This meant a change for the center of affairs, since the North Western part of the county received its increase as well as did the Southern and Eastern portions. The citizens of Webster soon realized the fact that their geographical location would make it difficult to retain the county seat. At the district legislative convention held in 1884 the delegates from Day county secured the nomination of a candidate to the legislature who was to bend his efforts toward the passage of a bill for the division of Day county. This was accomplished when in March 1885 the legislature passed a bill providing the division of Day county North of township 124; The Northern portion to become Marshall county and the Southern portion with the addition of townships : Egeland, Wheatland, Highland, York, Troy, and Oak Gulch to become Day county. This to become effective after a favorable vote of the majority of the people concerned at an election, authorized to be held May 2, 1885. This measure succeeded by a majority vote of 550.

Now the question of where the county seat should be located was practically settled, but it was not officially accomplished until the November election of 1886 when it was conceded by a unanimous vote.

After accepting the deed for the court house block with the incomplete structure in May, 1883, the commissioners let a contract for the completion of the lower part of the building in June of that year. The old court house was completed 1893. This structure proved satisfactory until 1903 when the present court house was built.

DAY COUNTY COURT HOUSE

The first official election of Day county was held in November, 1882. The polling places for this election as appointed by the county commissioners were: District No. 1 Blue Lake (now Waubay), at Stephenson's hotel, section 34-122-54; No. 2 Waubay at house of D. W. Paul, section 12-122-54; No. 3 Webster at Prior house; No. 4 Bristol at Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul R. R. depot; No. 5 Andover at Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul R. R. depot; No. 6 Fort Sisseton, including practically all of what is now Marshall county and the soldiers at the fort were permitted to vote with the population of this district.

Officers elected at this time were: Commissioners Thomas Brigham, B. D. Fish and Timothy Lowell, register of deeds and county clerk, F. H. Dutton; sheriff, 1. J. Hanson ; treasurer, L. G. Ochsenreiter; judge of probate, George Bryant; coroner, M. Johnson. At a meeting of the Commissioners January, 1883, Rev. W. G. Dickenson was appointed county superintendent of schools and Samuel Denton as county surveyor.

The commissioners requested superintendent Dickenson to organize the county into school districts, as soon as the growth of population would permit. Dickenson proceeded with this work at once and at the close of the first year he had organized the first ten, which included practically all of what is now Day county. The remaining eight, comprising what is now Marshall county were organized later. Webster, which was the largest district, comprised Webster, Rusk, East half of Butler and Kidder and the West half of Racine and Morton townships. No district was to be smaller than two civil townships. These districts were for voting and for school purposes, as many of the present congressional townships had not been surveyed at that time.

CLAIM SHANTY—W. E. STEVENS, YORK TOWNSHIP