When the village of LaPorte, Minnesota became incorporated in May of 1908, it came after a decade of frontier struggles. The Brainerd and Northern Railway cut its grade through in the spring on 1898, and that same spring, Carl Datte came to settle on Horseshoe Lake in the spot he called home for sixty years. Shortly after, was the Battle of Sugar Point on nearby Leech Lake in Walker. This proved to be the last Indian uprising in the continental United States, but left the settlers in Walker uneasy.
Nelson Daughters became the first postmaster on March 23, 1899, but the position was short-lived. Daughters was charged with illegal liquor trafficking, which went against an 1855 treaty with the Indians that forbade the sale of liquor to Indians. Daughters was then taken to Walker, but on an impulse, he slipped away to return home and resume handling the mail. The deputy sheriff at the time learned where Daughters was picking up the mail, and ambushed him, shooting and killing Daughters with the mail bags on his back. Afterward, the position was filled by Martin Johnson until the office was discontinued on October 21, 1899, just a few months after Daughters took up the position. The post office was not reestablished until May the following year.
The early 1900s was a time of many ‘firsts’ for the area. The first school came in 1900, with Florence Stuart as the teacher. Classes met in part of a building that also housed the post office and a store until a schoolhouse could be built. In March of 1901, the Robert Blacks homesteaded just west of town, and had their daughter, Jeanette, who was the first white child born in the area. The first funeral service was also that year, for Mrs. A.D. Stanley, who was the wife of the section foreman. It was also in 1901 that the city previously known as Lakeport changed its name to the city we now know as LaPorte.
When the settlers began to realize the need for a church, they remembered Reverend L.R. Steinhoff, a missionary for the Minnesota Baptist Convention, who had held the final rites for Mrs. A.D. Stanley. On October 4, 1902, he met with an interested group to help them establish a church. Services were held in the schoolhouse until the church was built in about 1904. The stained glass window was bought by the Little Mother’s Club, which met from about 1903-1906, and bought with money purchased by selling a handwritten newspaper that was the first periodical in LaPorte. The Ladies Aid actually pre-dated the organization of the church, and began organizing on August 28, 1902 in the home of Mrs. C.E. Crandall over their store on Main Street.
The first election in the Village of LaPorte was held May 19, 1908 in the Woodman Hall. James Niles and Frank Selhover were chosen as judges of election and Frank Simpson as clerk. J.C. Stuart received 22 votes as President of the council and F.M. Crandall received 19. C.E. Crandall, William Fenley, and Henry Williams were elected Trustees, and A.H. Underhill was elected Treasurer. C.E. Strong was clerk and John Drake and Henry Williams were Constables. The village was separated from the township in June.
Clearly, the city of LaPorte has a rich, and colorful history, even predating its incorporation.
By Lani and Connie Greenway
Nelson Daughters became the first postmaster on March 23, 1899, but the position was short-lived. Daughters was charged with illegal liquor trafficking, which went against an 1855 treaty with the Indians that forbade the sale of liquor to Indians. Daughters was then taken to Walker, but on an impulse, he slipped away to return home and resume handling the mail. The deputy sheriff at the time learned where Daughters was picking up the mail, and ambushed him, shooting and killing Daughters with the mail bags on his back. Afterward, the position was filled by Martin Johnson until the office was discontinued on October 21, 1899, just a few months after Daughters took up the position. The post office was not reestablished until May the following year.
The early 1900s was a time of many ‘firsts’ for the area. The first school came in 1900, with Florence Stuart as the teacher. Classes met in part of a building that also housed the post office and a store until a schoolhouse could be built. In March of 1901, the Robert Blacks homesteaded just west of town, and had their daughter, Jeanette, who was the first white child born in the area. The first funeral service was also that year, for Mrs. A.D. Stanley, who was the wife of the section foreman. It was also in 1901 that the city previously known as Lakeport changed its name to the city we now know as LaPorte.
When the settlers began to realize the need for a church, they remembered Reverend L.R. Steinhoff, a missionary for the Minnesota Baptist Convention, who had held the final rites for Mrs. A.D. Stanley. On October 4, 1902, he met with an interested group to help them establish a church. Services were held in the schoolhouse until the church was built in about 1904. The stained glass window was bought by the Little Mother’s Club, which met from about 1903-1906, and bought with money purchased by selling a handwritten newspaper that was the first periodical in LaPorte. The Ladies Aid actually pre-dated the organization of the church, and began organizing on August 28, 1902 in the home of Mrs. C.E. Crandall over their store on Main Street.
The first election in the Village of LaPorte was held May 19, 1908 in the Woodman Hall. James Niles and Frank Selhover were chosen as judges of election and Frank Simpson as clerk. J.C. Stuart received 22 votes as President of the council and F.M. Crandall received 19. C.E. Crandall, William Fenley, and Henry Williams were elected Trustees, and A.H. Underhill was elected Treasurer. C.E. Strong was clerk and John Drake and Henry Williams were Constables. The village was separated from the township in June.
Clearly, the city of LaPorte has a rich, and colorful history, even predating its incorporation.
By Lani and Connie Greenway
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