Volume XXXIV, Issue I, Winter 2009

The Northfield Historical Society (NHS) is looking forwriters interested in submitting manuscripts for theNorthfield History Series. Writers interested should submitby March 31, 2009, the Northfield History Seriessubmission form. The form and guidelines will be availableon the NHS Web site www.northfieldhistory.org/.

The series will include one or two short histories eachyear. “Topics could include dairies, the horse industry,military, the Cannon River–any topic as long as it’sNorthfield related and had an impact on the community,”explained Jeff Sauve, series coordinator.

Submission topics will be evaluated by the NHSPublications Committee based on audience appeal,originality, historical relevance and the author’s provenwriting skills. Authors selected will receive a stipend.

If you have questions, contact NHS Executive DirectorHayes Scriven at 507-645-9268 or by e-mail atinfo@northfieldhistory.org.

NHS Seeks Submissions

Museum Happenings: New Light BoxA handsome custom-made oak light box has

been installed as a permanent fixture in theNorthfield Historical Society (NHS) Museum. Itscontents house reproductions of 12 pricelessglass plate negatives taken by Ira Sumner shortlyafter the attempted bank raid by the James-Younger Gang in 1876. The original negativeswere gifted in May 2007 by Benjamin Nystuen, aformer Northfield resident, who stated, “This iswhere they belong.”

At the time of the donation, Hayes Scriven,NHS Executive Director noted, “I hoped thesenegatives were out there somewhere, but I neverimagined I’d see them. We’re eager to make themavailable to visitors.” After consulting withexperts this past year, Scriven said NHS “decidedto put reproductions on display to preserve theoriginals for future generations.” Thereproductions, made of acrylic glass, are thesame dimensions as the originals.

Feb. 12 marks the 200th birthday of AbrahamLincoln. What a more fitting birthday present than to devote our redesigned Scriver Scribbler to him.Although Lincoln never set foot in Minnesota, hisconnections and legacy affected our state greatly.Two articles in this issue–by Susan Hvistendahl andCarolyn Nitz–highlight Northfield’s connections toLincoln and the turbulent times of his presidency.

In connection with Nitz’s article, please take a closerlook at the press release insert from the Rice CountyHistorical Society. A great event at the UCC church inNorthfield will take place on Lincoln’s birthday. Theflag, of which Nitz detailed the history in her article,will be on display to help raise funds for its restoration.Members are encouraged to attend and help supportthis worthy cause.

Message from the Editors

The glass-plate negative display case is the newest addition to our exhibits.

2

THE

SCRIVER SCRIBBLER

Mission StatementTo serve as the primary stewards ofthe unique history of the Northfieldarea, fostering an awareness of itsmeaning and relevance through the discovery, documentation,

preservation and interpretation of our collective stories.

Vision StatementTo achieve a fiscally sound

organization driven by a large, diverseand engaged membership, innovative

educational exhibits and programmingand a successful presences downtown and throughout the Northfield area.

Editors:Jeff Sauve

sauve@stolaf.eduEvelyn Hoover

Writers:Susan Hvistendahl

Carolyn Nitz

Northfield Historical Society Board of Directors

Gail Jones Hansen, PresidentDeanna Kuennen, Vice President

Jodi Lawson, Vice PresidentChuck Sandstrom, Treasurer

Debby Larsen, SecretaryChip DeMannCarol DonelanAdriana EstillDan FreemanJeff Johnson

Dan JorgensenMichelle Millenacker

Heather ScottLora Steil

Earl WeinmannHayes Scriven,

Executive Directorscriven@northfieldhistory.org

Northfield Historical Society

408 Division StreetNorthfield, MN 55057

507-645-9268www.northfieldhistory.org

Production and PrintingBy All Means Graphics

17 Bridge Square, Northfield507-663-7937

Message from the DirectorHappy New Year to everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful

and enjoyable holiday season. Upon a closer look at 2008, itproved to be a good one for the Northfield Historical Society(NHS). Let me briefly recap some of our achievements:

• We continued to re-energize our committee base and workon new and different ways to preserve and promoteNorthfield history.

• The recent Silent Auction held in November was a completesuccess. I would like to thank the Auction Committee for itsmembers’ hard work and dedication.

• Financially, it is looking like NHS will enjoy its thirdcontinuous year in the black. This is strong testament to itsmembership during these tough economic times.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

As we look forward to the beginning of 2009, we are busy planning the yearahead. Events on the calendar include: unveiling the new Northfield history bookseries, celebrating the Annual Meeting Gala and co-hosting the National James-Younger Gang Convention the last weekend in September.

NHS’ work with the Northfield History Collaborative will also continue in 2009.Since September 2008, we have been fortunate to have Alicia Reuter, a St. Olaf junior,working almost daily on scanning and cataloging the objects that will be uploaded tothe collaborative website. A searchable website is expected to launch by March.

Since NHS recently changed its logo, we wanted the Scriver Scribbler to reflect a moreprogressive design. Comments are welcome. Also, watch for a new look for our website.Speaking of which, if you visit http://northfieldhistory.org/online-scriver-scribblers mostScriver Scribblers from volume 1 up to 2006 are available.

On a more personal note, I want to bring attention to the contributions made byJoan Olson, our Volunteer Archivist. If you have visited NHS archives in the past eightyears you have probably met Joan. Joan has had to step down from that positionbecause of health reasons. Few people have dedicated so much of their time andtalents to preserving Northfield’s rich heritage. She served as archivist for St. OlafCollege and St. John’s Lutheran Church in addition to volunteering on several NHScommittees and as President of the Board in the 1980s. When I started at NHS, Joantook me under her wing and mentored me. We shared many hours as colleagues andfriends. I will miss working with her. I, along with everyone at NHS, would like to sayTHANK YOU to Joan and best wishes for a return to better health.

Cheers!

Hayes ScrivenExecutive Director

Hayes Scriven

Since NHS recently changed its logo, wewanted the Scriver Scribbler to reflect a more

progressive design.

April is the cruelest month, breedingLilacs out of the dead land, mixingMemory and desire, stirringDull roots with spring rain.

So begins T.S. Eliot’s melancholicpoem, “The Waste Land,” with itsimages of a spring cruelly raising thendashing hopes of warmth and newlife. Minnesotans know this feeling

well. It’s been a harsh, old-fashioned winter, but we knowthat spring will come at last, and once again we will sensethings coming full circle and gratefully tune in to theuniversal rhythm of nature.

These lessons are similar to what historians must feelwhen their highly cultivated sense of “seeing it all before”is awakened–when they witness how in generation aftergeneration, century after century, the interminable cycleof glories and follies plays itself out, driven by roughlythe same human motivations. Historians kindly drawthese connections for us, enabling us to see the universalin the particular.

History in microcosm–say, in a small Midwesterntown–can be as instructive as the grand sweep of a nation’spast. One so easily can bring meaning down to the level ofthe individual. Let’s say you live in a big, drafty NorthfieldVictorian that took a small fortune to heat this winter.You’re curious about who lived in your house beforeyou–whose name by long Northfield custom it still bears,and will until you move, when it’s finally named after you.After some research you manage to learn something about

the kind of family who used to use your kitchen sink, andyou find them interesting. In this way your connection tothe community is strengthened. Who you are changes everso slightly, since part of your identity is rooted in the place,the sacred space, in which you live. Now you have a story totell your son and daughter.

Then one of your kids comes home from school talkingexcitedly about Northfield Historical Society’s (NHS)Traveling Trunk, and all of the cool, ancient stuff in it thatactually was used by Norwegian immigrants when they werescratching out an existence in early Northfield. You silentlynote that the five minutes your child spent sharing this is fiveminutes he or she is not playing video games. You may ormay not remember to thank the Northfield Historical Societyfor this minor miracle.

Making a connection to your town, understanding howyou fit into its rhythm and character, is important. That’s whyit’s critical that you get or stay involved in NHS. Once againthis year there’s especially good news for current NHSmembers, lapsed members or nonmembers (in other words,everybody). On Saturday, March 21, we’re hosting an AnnualMeeting Gala in Carleton’s beautiful Great Hall. The gala isfree if you’re a member, and costs the price of a year’smembership if you’re not. So in essence anyone who supportsour organization gets to attend gratis one of Northfield’s fewsnazzy, dress-up events of the year.

As we reach the end of our fiscal year and of my tenure asPresident, I want to say what a privilege it is to have served allof you. 2008 was a great year. This is a fine organization withso many capable, dedicated people, and it’s been a real honor.

Thank You to our New and Renewing Members! Join them today!Welcome to our new members, and a big thank you to our old friends for renewing their NHS memberships! Should you wish tomake an additional donation, please consider upgrading your membership. If you have any questions about your membership status,or to notify us of changes in your address or contact information, please call the NHS at 507-645-9268.

Message from the President

Elaine BensonDaniel BergesonBill BleckwehlArmand & Judy BoehmeJackie BorgesonJudy BroskeBill & Charlotte CarlsonArlene CarrollJames and Judith CederbergMarylou CleggBeth McKinsey & Tom CloughRichard & Katherine CollmanKeith CoveyRaymond & Ellen CoxEarl CrowDan CupersmithBruce DalgaardChrisma & Reidar DittmanDave Drentlaw

Marjorie Bingham & Thomas EganRay & Mary EngGilbert FeltonJames & Beverly FinholtRobert & Carroll FlatenBonnie Jean FlomEugene & Clair FoxMargit FredricksonHarold GargraveFrederick & Ruth GonnermanRobert & Nancy GranrudMarvin & Judy GrundhoeferThomas Hart Robert HickcoxBarry & Kristi HoldenSusan HvistendahlKathy JasnochMargit & Eric JohnsonGail Jones Hansen

Joann & Paul JorgensenLaurie and Flo KahnEdward KlinkhammerCarol KordaPaul KrauseDebby Larsen (Life Member)Else LovollEugene & Elaine LymanElizabeth McKinseyVictoria MorseWilliam NorthRaymond OzmunDonald & Bonnie PavekAmy & Bob PfefferleGeraldine ReuversRonald & Bettye RonningChris SawyerEugene & Joyce SchraderHayes & Jenny Scriven

Dorene ScrivernRoss & Jan ShogerSusan & Gary SingerArlene SivanichJudith SostedDavid SudermannWilliam TalenRobert ThiewesJulian & Betty TrangsrudClark & Eve WebsterDeWayne WeeGriff & Robbie WigleyBradley & Veronica WilleFrank & Ann WrightJames & Lynne YoungKathleen Yung

OrganizationsRice County Genological Society

Gail Jones HansenNHS Board President

3

By Susan Hvistendahl

Northfield can claim a special tie to one of our mostrevered presidents, Abraham Lincoln, through thetown’s founder, John W. North. A native of New York,

North was an ardent abolitionist. He engaged in anti-slaverydebates and attended the first state abolition convention in1835 at Utica. While attending Wesleyan University inConnecticut, he became an agent of the Connecticut Anti-Slavery Society. In 1849, he moved to St. Anthony, Minn.,with his second wife, Ann Loomis North, and opened a lawoffice. On Jan. 1, 1851, he became a member of the territoriallegislature and in the very next month introduced a billfounding the University of Minnesota.

In 1855, the Minnesota Republicans organized in theparlor of the North home in St. Anthony, the same yearthat North developed the town site of Northfield and builttwo mills on the Cannon River. His family joined him inNorthfield in 1856, and the next year he led the Republicanwing of the Minnesota constitutional convention, arguingfor suffrage for both women and blacks.

So, it was no surprise that, in 1860, North wasChairman of the Minnesota delegation to the RepublicanNational Convention. The events surrounding thosehistoric days were captured by his daughter, Emma, in a1924 magazine story, “Memories of a Frontier Childhood.”In it, she portrayed herself as a “little calico-clad, pinksun-bonneted child of eight years,” and she recalled herfather’s trip that spring to “some immensely importantmeeting in a far-away place called Chicago.” North’s“interests extended over a larger field than wascircumscribed by his saw-mill and his grist-mill on eitherside of the swift-flowing Cannon River,” and now he was adelegate to the “great Republican Convention.”

Letters HomeNorth’s family eagerly awaited the letters from Chicago.

They learned that meetings were in an immense woodenbuilding which Emma said “bore a name particularlyattuned to my frontier ears–the ‘Wigwam,’ the very name ofthe Indian tents with which I was familiar.” Emma said that,after some difficulty selecting a candidate (it had comedown to Seward and Lincoln, with Minnesota supportingSeward) and amid excitement and enthusiasm, word camethat “they had come to agreement on some one calledAbraham Lincoln.”

Another letter fromNorth told the familythat he had been sentby rail with others toLincoln’s home inSpringfield to “tellhim the great news.”When North got back toNorthfield, saidEmma, he told ofhis visit to the“tall, grave,kindly man andhis ‘lady’ in theplain home,and of thecelebrationthrough thetown.”

North’sbiographer, MerlinStonehouse, in JohnWesley North and the Reform Frontier (1965), wrote thatthe official delegation was received by Lincoln in his backparlor. Lincoln accepted the nomination, “shook each bythe hand, and harked to each name, all with an attentiveease and grace that surprised some of them.” After supper,the delegates heard speeches at the state capitol, saw afireworks display and boarded the train back to Chicago atmidnight (Stonehouse pointed out that there were nosleeping cars for this return journey).

Official AppointmentNorth campaigned in Illinois for Lincoln and, after the

election, joined other office seekers in Springfield, askingto be appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Lincolnwas noncommittal, but did invite North to join him andhis wife on the train to Chicago to meet vice presidentialcandidate Hannibal Hamlin. Lincoln also invited North tothe inauguration.

Hoping to press his case for an appointment, North wrote,“Things are in a whirl and I must grind out something in aweek.” On March 7, North called on Pres. Lincoln at theWhite House but, said Stonehouse, the Minnesota delegationwas “not about to cut themselves off from lucrative

John W. North’s Ties to Abraham Lincoln

4

Abraham Lincoln

patronage and perhaps graft by allowing the appointment ofa man of North’s principles” to the post North desired. Theyhoped that North could be “made governor of a distantterritory where his criticism and competition for local officewould be removed from Minnesota.”

President Lincoln appointed North to be surveyor-general of the new territory of Nevada, which was to becut off from Utah Territory. Looking back on that time,Emma was frightened to see how far away the area lookedon a map, and North wrote the family that he “felt at firsthe could not think of it,” but after friends talked of themining opportunities available there, North accepted.

Emma wrote: “My mother, always courageous, faced thesituation with the indomitable spirit which was continuallyan inspiration as well as a comfort and source of strength tomy father.” Emma wrote touchingly of familiar spots inNorthfield “growing dearer with the thought of leavingthem,” such as the “substantial house of wood with its longpiazza where we could play, and where the ever interestingstage-coach passed and re-passed daily.”

In the midst of dismantling their household came wordthat Fort Sumter had been fired upon and

Lincoln called for the first volunteersoldiers for the Civil War. Emma

watched wagons pass by thedoor, filled with friends andneighbors, all carrying flags.

Household goods wereshipped around Cape Horn

and North and an aunt wentahead, arriving in Nevada on

June 22, 1861. The rest of thefamily stayed for a year on a

family farm in New York,and then traveled by ship

via Panama, Californiaand by stage across

the Sierra Nevada toNevada territory.

HomecomingNorth returned to Minnesota in 1883, visiting

Northfield and the University of Minnesota campus. Healso made a last speech at a reunion of abolitionists in hisnative New York. North died on Washington ’s birthdayFeb. 22, 1890, and is buried in Riverside, Calif. Besidesfounding Northfield (1855), North also founded thecommunities of Washoe City, Nev. (1861), and Riversideand Oleander, Calif. (1870 and 1881 respectively).

To read more of North’s Nevada experience, see the NHSwebsite for Susan Hvistendahl’s unabridged article atwww.northfieldhistory.org.

Sources:Messer, Emma North. “Memories of a Frontier

Childhood.” Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine.August-October, 1924.

Stonehouse, Merlin. John Wesley North and the ReformFrontier. Minneapolis: University of MinnesotaPress, 1965.

Susan Hvistendahl has a B.A. in Spanish from St.Olaf College and an M.A. in English from Iowa State University. She writes a monthly column “Historic Happenings” for the Northfield Entertainment Guide.Hvistendahl currently serves as the chair ofthe NHS Oral History Committee.

5

North was an ardent abolitionist.He engaged in anti-slavery

debates and attended the firststate abolition convention in

1835 at Utica.

John Wesley North

Ann “Loomis” North

battlefields. In early September Col. H.H. Sibley led hisgreen forces to St. Peter and remained there for four daysof rudimentary training before heading to Fort Ridgley.Soon after their arrival at the fort, they came to the rescue

of Company A, whoseencampment was surroundedby Dakota warriors at BirchCoulee near Morton, Minn.

Hutchinson, who enteredthe Army as a private, waspart of this group. He rosesteadily through the ranks,starting with hispromotion to sergeant inOctober 1862. In 1864 hereceived threepromotions: secondlieutenant in February,first lieutenant inOctober and captain in December.

It is remarkablethat Hutchinson

progressed in spite of thehealth problems that plaguedhim from the summer of 1863until his honorable discharge

in 1865. He was hospitalizedwith typhoid fever during theIndian Campaign. Whilestationed at Helena, he was oneof many in his regiment whocontracted malaria. He washospitalized again and sent toFort Snelling to recuperate. Yearslater he received a medicalpension of $7.50 per month formalaria poisoning.

In spite of lingering healthproblems, Hutchinson was a well-respected and active member of the

Bridgewater, Dundas and Faribaultcommunities. He married Susan Patterson in January 1866,and together they had five children. He was a farmer,businessman and civil servant, serving as deputy countytreasurer, register of deeds, treasurer of the school board and

By Carolyn Nitz

Rice County possesses a significant piece of history:the battle flag carried by Company C, SixthMinnesota Volunteer Infantry, which included

many men from Rice County and Bridgewater Township.1

The 44-inch by 64-inch flag was made in thewinter of 1863 by the ladies ofFairmont, Minn., whileCompany C was stationedthere. The standard laterled the company to suchplaces as Helena, Ark., andMobile, Ala. Today it is in faircondition, requiringprofessional restoration.

While flags are no morethan bits of cloth woven intoartistic and colorful patterns,they are important because ofthe symbols and stories theyrepresent. To appreciate our CivilWar flag is to know aboutthe company that carried it,and the meaning it held forthose soldiers. Whatfollows is some of ourhistory embodied in thebattle flag of Company C.

Hutchinson’s StoryAt the close of the

war, the flag was given toCapt. Robert R.Hutchinson. Born inMontreal in 1838, at theage of 14 heimmigrated to NewYork with his family. In1858 Hutchinson settled inBridgewater Township and farmed untilenlisting in the army in July 1862. Because many men whoenlisted that summer were farmers, they were furlougheduntil after harvest. The U.S.-Dakota War, which started inAugust, however, canceled those furloughs. Wet-behind-the-ears recruits were ordered directly from farm fields to

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Our Civil War Flag:Symbols and Stories

Back

Front

Courtesy of Rice County Historical Society

7

city assessor. In both his military service and civilian life,Hutchinson represented the persistence and valor of a finesoldier and citizen.

Tales of PerseveranceCompany C’s history tells other stories of perseverance.

Originally, the Sixth Volunteer Infantry and several otherregiments were formed to reinforce the Union troopsagainst the Confederacy, but the Dakota War intervened.While Gov. Alexander Ramsey was under pressure to sendtroops south, settlers fleeing their homes demandedprotection. In August 1862, Ramsey appealed directly toPres. Abraham Lincoln:

The Indian outbreak has come upon ussuddenly. Half the population of the state arefugitives. No one not here can conceive of the panic in the state.

Lincoln replied, “Attend to the Indians,” and the newregiments were allowed to stay in Minnesota. When theconflict ended and many regiments were sent south, theSixth Infantry was garrisoned at Minnesota outposts, not

only to watch for Indians, but also to give settlers theconfidence to return home. During this duty, the soldiers ofCompany C were drilled and disciplined to battle-readiness.

In the spring of 1864, the Minnesota Sixth was finallyordered south. Col. William Crooks, commander of theSixth Infantry, hoped to join the Army of the Potomac toreplace the glorified but severely depleted Minnesota First.Instead, the regiment was assigned to Helena, a distantoutpost on the Mississippi River. They arrived June 23 andquickly fell victim to an unexpected enemy. Helena,located on a swamp, proved to be “a malaria-stricken,disease-fostering hole,” according to contemporary reports[The Adjutant General Report for 1866]. Within two weeksof their arrival, soldiers began to succumb.

The first reported fatality was Corp. John T.McClintock of Company C. As more soldiers becamesick and some died, all realized it was as much their dutyto bear the burdens of malaria as it was to endure death

in battle. An official report stated, “Its ranks were fullwhen the Sixth Regiment arrived at that Southern pest-hole, but soon reports reached us relating with whatfearful rapidity the flower of our young state wasstricken down by malarial diseases.” In October 1864, theregiment was ordered to St. Louis and the survivingsoldiers returned to health.

In its last year of duty, the Sixth Infantry served in NewOrleans and in the final Civil War skirmishes at FortBlakely and Spanish Fort in the defeat of Mobile. Thesoldiers returned to Fort Snelling, where on Aug. 19, 1865,Company C was mustered out and its story ended.

Stories of SacrificeWhat remains, our battle flag, symbolizes those soldiers

who sacrificed for home and country. They enlisted asinexperienced recruits and with pride and dedicationbecame honorable defenders of life in a young countryand an even younger state. The minutes of the regiment’sreunion in 1910 reflect members’ feelings: “While we didnot put down the rebellion...yet we did as all good soldiersdo–we obeyed orders promptly and were a credit to thestate sending us forth. ...We bore our colors away and webrought them back again.” In preserving this flag andknowing its stories, we honor these soldiers.

Thanks to Harriet Berg and the Rice County GenealogicalSociety for donating the research on Robert Hutchinson, andto Susan Garwood (Rice County Historical Society) forphotos and information on the battle flag.

Sources:The History of Rice and Steele Counties, Minnesota, Vol. II,

compiled by Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge, H.C. Cooper, Jr.& Co., Chicago, 1910.

Minnesota in the Civil War and Indian Wars, Vol. 1,prepared and published under the supervision of theBoard of Commissioners appointed by the Act of theLegislature of Minnesota of April 16, 1889, St. Paul,Minnesota. Printed by the Pioneer Press Co., 1890.

Rice County Journal, May 11, 1911.

Endnote:1 The flag, along with other Company C, Sixth Minnesota

Volunteer Infantry documents and artifacts, was donatedto the Rice County Historical Society on Sept. 29, 1944, byMrs. R.R. (Ella) Hutchinson, Robert’s daughter-in-law.

Carolyn Nitz, a Northfield resident,works in the Alumni office at St. OlafCollege and enjoys freelance writing.

While flags are no more than bitsof cloth woven into artistic and

colorful patterns, they areimportant because of the symbols

and stories they represent.

www.northfieldhistory.org

408 Division StreetNorthfield, MN 55057

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Northfield, MN 55057

Calendar of Events For the most up-to-dateinformation on the NHS visitwww.northfieldhistory.org

Have you renewed your membership? Call 645-9268 today to renew your membership

or join the Northfield Historical Society!

Feb. 12–Lincoln’s 200th BirthdayFirst United Church of Christ, 300 Union St., 7 p.m.

March 21–Annual Meeting/Membership BallGreat Hall, Carleton College

Check out our DigitalScribblers online at

www.northfieldhistory.org/online-scriver-scribblers

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