Worthington, Adrian battle for county seat Adrian proposed dissecting Nobles County so it could reign over a new county Globe archives WORTHINGTON — Nobles County was created by an act of the Minnesota legislature May 23, 1857. The question of where the county seat would be located plagued the county until the mid-1890s. Worthington became permanent county headquarters after defeating Adrian’s earnest struggle to steal the position. During the first decade, Gretchtown was designated the county seat. Gretchtown, however, was merely a phantom of the prairie. It never really existed. The earliest county commissioners met at members’ homes near Graham Lakes. When Worthington was founded in 1872, the colonists asked that the
county seat be established here. Ex-Gov. Stephen Miller, a later Worthington resident, introduced a bill in the 1873 legislature providing for the colony’s wish. Not wanting arbitrarily to locate the county seat in Worthington, the legislature passed a bill to remove the county seat from Worthington to Hersey, now Brewster, along with the Miller bill. The residents were thus required to vote to decide which of the two towns would become the county capitol. Worthington was logically the best location. It was centrally situated and had the greatest population. The county conceded its support to Worthington in the November election by a vote of 379 to 104.
Immediately after the first bill was passed in St. Paul, the county commissioners set up shop in a leased back room of the Worthington post office. The first official meeting was held there on June 10, 1873. The Sioux City and St. Paul Railroad had given Worthington the courthouse square in 1871. Financial difficulties of that decade made construction of a courthouse impossible. County funds were urgently needed to relieve destitute victims of the grasshopper scourge. When the community recovered, a temporary building was erected on the site. A structure built in 1877 for $1,124 served as the Nobles County courthouse for 18 years.
The next year, hundreds of German and Irish Catholics settled in Bishop John Ireland’s colony at Adrian. The community grew quickly and soon threatened Worthington’s primary position in the county. The 1885 census listed Worthington’s population as 997 and Adrian’s as 533. Adrian petitioned to remove the county seat from Worthington, but the effort produced only 600 signatures. Later, when the legislature adopted a county seat removal law, the western rival attacked again. During the 1890s, the western portion of the county surpassed the eastern section’s population. When it proved practically impossible to
wrench the focus from Worthington, Adrian proposed dissecting the county. Worthington could remain the county seat for the eastern half, and Adrian could be the county seat for a new county to the west. A conference was held between representative groups from both towns in 1893. No decision was made, but a committee was organized to investigate the proposed schism. People living in the center tier of townships opposed any county division. They called an immediate conference at Rushmore and drafted a resolution condemning the Adrian plan. They had no desire of splitting their land between two rival counties.
Meanwhile, the county commissioners in Worthington rushed plans for building a new courthouse and combination jail and sheriff’s office. D.J. Forbes of Adrian filed a suit against the county and forced an injunction to halt construction of either building. The case, known as D.J. Forbes vs. J.J. Kendlen, was carried to the state supreme court, where the injunction was finally dissolved. With Adrian’s hopes destroyed, Worthington proceeded with the project, completing the jail in 1894 and laying the cornerstone for the courthouse in the center of downtown Worthington.
Great Depression had tremendous impact on Worthington’s history
An early day gathering at Worthington's Chautauqua Park.
Worthington’s first 50 years included paved streets Globe archives WORTHINGTON — Running boards, rumble seats and canvas tops marked Worthington’s entry into the fabulous “Roaring Twenties.” Cars had come to the mud trails of the prairie and the arrival of the automobile meant a street paving program to accommodate the vehicles. The city’s first paving program “made 56 blocks of concrete out of the prairie mud,” according to a newspaper report of Oct. 28, 1920. The community celebrated with a dance at the National Guard
Armory and a big street parade through the downtown area. Gasoline was 16 cents per gallon, the price was 15 cents for children and 25 cents for adults for a ticket at the Grand Theatre. The Grand Theatre, one of the finest movie houses in the area, was sold to George Ehlers and Nic Casareto, and the two men made the official announcement that a 700seat, all-new theater would soon be opened on the city’s main business street. Wortington soared to a new population of 3,481 persons — an
increase of 45% from 1919’s official census report of 2,395. Ten pounds of sugar sold for 75 cents, three loaves of bread were 20 cents and men’s suits were $23.85. The railroads, so important to the settlement of the region and to the community, gave way to the Fords, the Graham-Paiges and the Hupmobiles. By 1920, there was only a short segment of concrete running three miles west of Worthington and another short stretch at Rushmore. County commissioners were promising (in
1921) that 240 miles of improved (graveled) roads would be completed and that 90% of Nobles County residents would be no more than two miles away from “permanent roads.” The 240-mile objective was somewhat strong, however, as the board was letting bids before the end of the year in an attempt to reach the 200-mile mark. The first year of the decade also marked the arrival of a new businessman, Jack Boote. From Hawarden, Iowa,
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Sioux natives arrive.
TIMELINE
Globe archives WORTHINGTON — The Depression had a profound effect on American life. It brought about a whole new lifestyle. It changed lives and attitudes permanently. It inspired new political, social and economic philosophies. Yet it is largely an untold story. Little has been written about the era. Perhaps people don’t want to recall “how it was.” Perhaps the depression will ever be “The Invisible Scar,” as Caroline Bird, the era’s best chronicler, has said. One Worthington woman who was close to the welfare scene expressed it another way: “I never told my kids how tough we had it. And I forgot it as soon as I could.” Yellowing newspaper pages and fading memories are about the only sources for piecing together the local depression story. When the decade began, Worthington had two weekly competitive papers. When it closed, the Times had folded and the Globe had become a daily paper. The evidence of poverty and tough times
were only hinted at on those pages. For the most part, both papers were community boosters, ever reflecting a Chamber of Commerce sort of Hey-we’re-great posture. The papers suggest impending prosperity and constant community development. A beacon on Worthington’s courthouse illuminated the new airport and the light could be seen for 40 miles. Billboards in 1935 proclaimed Worthington as “The Business Heart of Southwestern Minnesota. Population 4,800. Featuring good schools, fine churches and beautiful homes.” But everyone was aware of “Hobo Jungle” down by the Omaha Railroad tracks, a stopping point for hundreds of homeless transients, many on their way to work in camps in Minnesota. Kids were told to stay clear of the place. People were advised not to feed tramps but to send them to the Chamber office where they would receive a ticket redeemable for 15 cents worth of food any place in the city.
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Joseph Nicolas Nicollet explores region.