Thursday, June 9, 2011

Volume 94; Number 52

www.bladepublishing.net

A community newspaper serving Browerville, MN and surrounding areas. USPS 067-560

75

Clarissa Brickyard provided the building blocks for much of Todd County
Clarissa brickyard. DeLaurier describes it this way: In 1880, Eagle Valley began an industry that promised to give considerable employment and bring money into the community. A fine quality clay was found in Section 35, about a mile west of Nickeys mill. George C. Howe became interested in the beds of clay. He bought, or had control of the land containing these deposits. Taking samples, he had them analyzed by experts in Minneapolis who pronounced the samples of fine quality (Oct. 21, 1937). DeLaurier continued, [I}n 1880, Mr. Howe opened up his yard and that year burned kilns aggregating 80,000 brick. The following year his output was increased to 125,000. In 1883 brick were brought from this Eagle Valley yard to build the new school house in Long Prairie, which was at that time the finest structure for educational purposes in the county. Old timers will remember this building, a light colored brick, standing on the site of an old Indian agency field in the northeast part of the village. The same year, the County of Todd purchased brick from this yard to build the present court house (Ibid.) The report of the Minnesota Geological Survey, published about 1887, makes the following comment on brick from this year: Near the center of Section 35, in Eagle Valley, two miles southeast from Clarissa, brickmaking was begun in 1880 by George Continued on page 16.

After 26 years of service, Romaine Winkler will be retiring from Christ the King at the end of August. Romaine has served as the Christ the King Catholic Parish and School custodial engineer. Above: Romaine receives a blessing that was done at the last student Mass on May 27.

Sheriffs Water Patrol donation

The yelow tinted bricks produced at the Clarissa brickyard were used for many buildings in Todd County, including St. Marys Catholic Church in Long Prairie. By Rin Porter This is the story of one of the early businesses in Eagle Valley Township and the people who owned it. The Clarissa brickyard was the source of the yellow bricks used to build the Historic Courthouse in Long Prairie and for many homes and commercial buildings. The story starts in the 1870s with George G. Howe, a native of Utica, New York, born in 1825. Howe was an agent for Lewis Bischoffsheim, a banker in London, England and a land speculator. After the Dakota Conflict of 1862, the government took over the Minnesota land formerly controlled by the Dakota Indian bands in Central and Southern Minnesota not already ceded by federal treaties, and released this land for sale through the Homestead Act of 1862. Bischoffscheim purchased thousands of acres of the best land in Todd County during the 1870s. According to O.B. DeLaurier of The Long Prairie Leader, these lands centered about what became later Clarissa and Eagle Bend (Oct. 21, 1937). When it was decided the Sauk Centre Northern Railway would be built through the region, the railroad promoters needed to purchase land, but had difficulty in dealing with Mr. Bischoffsheim. As a result, in order to get the project completed, James J. Hill, president of the St Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company, who really wanted the railroad to go through here, bought all of Bischoffscheims lands and kept George Howe as agent. The railroad company hired Clough Brothers workers to cut down many of the trees. They took out the oak timber to use for railroad ties and railroad car timbers, and left the rest for the settlers who would purchase the land. Howe sold all the lands, keeping for himself a piece of land in Section 27 of Eagle Valley Township. He then platted the townsite for Clarissa on July 21, 1879 (DeLaurier, Oct. 21, 1937). He also had a farm south of the village. Howe was active in establishing businesses in the area. One of them was the

Phil Miller, right, accepted a check for $500.00 on behalf of the Todd County Sheriffs Water Patrol. The money will be used for updating equipment for the department. The water patrol plays an important role in helping to keep our boating experiences safe for everyone to enjoy. Dr. Dean Grabinger presented the donation on behalf of the Browerville Sportsmans Club.

WEEKLY WEATHER REPORT

Wed. June 8 Windy 71/47 Thur. June 9 Partly Cloudy 64/47 Fri. June 10 Partly Cloudy 68/51 Sat, June 11 T-Showers 66/54 Sun. June 12 Partly Cloudy 72/55 Mon. June 13 Showers 75/56 Tue. June 14 Showers 73/55