 Watertown History Cache
A cache by fidian Hidden: 4/17/2007
Size:  (Large) Difficulty:  Terrain:  (1 is easiest, 5 is hardest)
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You will need to read the cache page and learn a bit of the history
of Watertown in order to get the coordinates and combination to the
cache container.
Cache Is Not At Above
Coordinates!
In order to locate this cache, you must first learn some history of
the area.
The actual cache is located within two miles of the above
coordinates, and on private property (with permission, of
course). |
Please don't leave travel bugs in this cache unless they are
yours. Someone has broken into this container in the past and
took all coins and bugs, then just left the container open and then
a colony of ants moved in. Only put things in the cache that
you are willing to lose. This might be a good spot for your
larger toys and other kid items. Thanks to
Tonka Boy for letting me know about desiccants in general. I
then decided to make my own desiccant bags to keep my cache dry and
I posted the instructions online so
other people can use them too.
The Beginning
Watertown was settled in 1856 and large portions of the town were
filled in the following year. Most of the land where the town
currently is located was owned by Caleb Lewis, which is why the
traditional "Main St." is called "Lewis St." instead.
Originally the settlement was slated to be named "Rapid Waters",
which comes from the Dakota, "Ni' kaduza." It was believed
that Rapid Waters would be confused too easily with Little Rapids
and that mail would get misrouted. Caleb Lewis grew up in
Watertown, New York, and the town is near several lakes and had a
"mighty stream" named the Crow running through the area, so the
town was officially named the village of Watertown. The
naming was made official on April 13, 1858, with an election held
in Eli F. Lewis' general store. Eli was also made the acting
postmaster, with mail sent and received in his store.
The first couple years that people were settling into the area also
unfortunately marked the first death. The son of Thomson
drowned in Oak Lake in the summer of 1857. To offset that
news, Celestine Kohler had himself a baby boy on January 3, 1857,
which he named after himself. Also, the first wedding in
Watertown happened on Christmas day, 1857, between P.O. Johnson and
Josephine H. Brown.
The village was incorporated February 26, 1877. Within four
years, the town had three general stores, one hardware store, a
plow factory, a bell foundry, a grist mil, a saw mill, and a
brewery. There was also a fire department with engines, three
hotels, three churches, two secret orders, and other
associations. It also had two drug stores, two
confectioneries, two meat markets, three wagon shops, and four shoe
shops.
The Mills
Back in the day, Watertown was best known for its grist (grain) and
saw mills. The village's first saw mill was built on the east
side of the river in the fall of 1856.
Mill Street denotes the location of Watertown's earliest
mills. Soon after, Eli F. Lewis and Isaac I. Lewis purchased
the building, disassembled it, and rebuilt it on the west side of
the Crow in 1859. During the move, the Lewis's added a grist
mill to the structure, which could mill 40 to 50 barrels a
day. People from over 50 miles away would come to the village
to buy their ground flour. A horse-drawn wagon travels at 2.5
miles per hour, making the round trip about 40 hours of
riding.
In 1865, M.F. Lineau and Mr. Dressler purchased the mills, known
then as Union Mill. Dressler sold his interest in the mills
to Charles H. Lineau, brother of M.F. Lineau in 1870.
Unfortunately, the joint mills caught fire and burned down in
1874. C.H. Lineau sold his interest in the mills to George
Roeschiese and the mills were rebuilt the following year for a cost
of $8,000 and could produce 60 barrels per day. If you apply
inflation, the mill would cost $145,000 today.
Since the mills were so close to the river, a dam was constructed
in 1878 for $6,000 ($116,000 today). When available, water
power was used in addition to steam power. This arrangement
only lasted for two years, for in 1880 the mills burned down yet
again. The saw mill and grist mill were separated to prevent
similar tragedies, and the Watertown Roller Mills were redesigned
by M.F. Lineau and built by the Cooperative Business Men and
Farmers Association. The new saw mill was built for $2,000
($44,000 today) and had a capacity of 10,000 feet per day.
The newly redesigned grist mill cost $8,000 ($176,000 today) and
could now produce 75 barrels per day.
For several years, the mill worked well, but the millrace
eventually broke out. Water power was no longer an option and
the Watertown Mills ran solely on steam power. The grist mill
burned to the ground on December 20, 1920. A new mill was
built in less than a year and was under the control of the
Watertown Coop Grain and Fuel Association. Luckily, this one
was in operation for many years.
The Other Businesses
Watertown had a cannery, built by Duluth businessmen in 1918, who
joined together as Gopher State Canneries, Inc. In the first
"pack" year, 500 acres and 51 employees produced 30,000 cases of
corn. Gopher State Canneries became associated with the
Minnesota Valley Canning Company in 1927, leased to them in 1934,
then finally sold in 1938. The Minnesota Valley Canning
Company, who later became Green Giant, operated the factory through
the 1950's.
Cottage Hospital was built just after the turn of the century on
Angel Street by Dr. Hany Halgren, son of the town's first druggist
and a prominent local physician. Later, the Watertown
Community Hospital was built and this building was divided into
apartments and extensively altered since its construction.
The War
In 1862, $3,000 ($68,500 today) was raised to pay bounties to
soldiers; $259 ($5,800) per man. The next year, $900
($20,500) bonds were issued to fill the quota of the town, allowing
$300 ($6,800) to each man who enlisted. The population of all
males, including little boys and old grandfathers, in the township
of Watertown was 328. The number of men that were eligible,
who were between 18 and 45, was 103. Before 1865, 68 signed
up to fight in the war. As of 1865, the rest of the eligible
males enlisted to fight in the war.
The Quiz
There had to be an end to the history lesson. Select the
correct answer for each question and add up the numbers
given. "A" and "B" will be three digit numbers
and should be used in this set of coordinates: N 44°
5A.AA6, W 093 5B.BB0. The cache
container has a lock that has a four digit combination, which is
the "C" number. Before heading out to the cache, you
can use the
Geochecker to confirm your coordinates, which should also
ensure you have the right combination for the lock.
- There was a county-wide plague of grasshoppers in 1879.
By that year, how many times was the mill built?
- Once: A = 41, B = 93, C = 347
- Twice: A = 247, B = 12, C = 2694
- Three times: A = 375, B = 28, C = 2010
- Four times: A = 74, B = 42, C = 3241
- Mill Street in Watertown is on the east side of the river and
was named because of the number of mills on the road. The
Union Mill ended up on which side of the river?
- West: A = 75, B = 43, C = 1597
- East: A = 106, B = 08, C = 2605
- One of the hotels in 1881 conducted a stage line to
Delano. The route was a little over 7.5 miles. How long
would that take in hours for a horse-drawn wagon?
- One: A = 269, B = 06, C = 776
- Two: A = 34, B = 28, C = 952
- Three: A = 67, B = 12, C = 3454
- Four: A = 69, B = 76, C = 3403
- There were two secret societies in Watertown. Which one
was NOT one of the two?
- Druids (Franklin Grove No. 2 of United Ancient Order of
Druids): A = 99, B = 24, C = 2705
- Freemasons (Watertown Lodge No. 50 of Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons): A = 93, B = 57, C = 3157
- Geocachers (The Wander-In-Circles Clan of the Turned
Leaf): A = 47, B = 23, C = 921
- How many soldiers did Watertown recruit for the war?
- 328: A = 80, B = 95, C = 796
- 103: A = 85, B = 46, C = 1863
- 68: A = 115, B = 54, C = 589
The Sources
I would like to thank the Carver County
Historical Society for their help with my research. The curator
did everything for me except actually turn the pages in the book
that I was reading. My time spent in this project might be
considerable, but their help really got the research moving at a
great pace.
- Carver County: A Guide To Its Historic and Prehistoric
Places, Ted Lofstrom and Lynne VanBrocklin Spaeth, 1978
- History of the Minnesota Valley, Carver County
Historical Society, (maybe 1881)
- Compendium of History & Biography of Carver &
Hennepin Counties, Holcombe and Bingham, 1915
- History
of Watertown, City of Watertown Web Page, retrieved
2007
-
Our Communities: A Walk Back Through Time (Watertown),
Carver County Historical Society, retrieved 2007
- 2005
City of Watertown Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan
(47 megs), Urban and Regional Studies Institute, Minnesota State
University, Mankato
-
Watertown Township Map, Carver County
-
Carver County Ghost Towns Map, Carver County Historical
Society, retrieved 2007
- Inflation
Calculator, The
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2 user(s) watching this cache.
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