Albert Lea

Albert Lea Drinking Water Report Info
In 1835, Companies B, H, and I of the United States Dragoons, under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen W. Kearney, came through Freeborn County. One of the individuals from the campaign was Lieutenant Albert Miller Lea, topographer. Lieutenant Lea portrayed the framework of the lake that he named "Fox Lake". Joseph Nicollet later renamed the lake, Lake Albert Lea. In 1855, a little settlement started on the northwest edge of the lake and the town wound up known as Albert Lea, named after the lake—which was named out of appreciation for Lieutenant Albert Lea. "The first pilgrim on the present site of Albert Lea was Lorenzo Merry, who, coming here in June, 1855, manufactured a lodge at the… intersection of Washington and Water streets." (Tribune, p. 11) George Ruble went to the territory in July 1855, to discover a factory site. Ruble assembled a log home close to the proposed dam and factory site. At the point when the dam was constructed at the east finish of the bog territory, a waterway was made. It was later named Fountain Lake. (Legacy, p.37) The beginnings of a prosperous little town were showing up. In 1856, a stage line started going through Albert Lea. (Neill, p.364) The first store established… was that of Julius Clark, who coming west from Ohio in the spring of 1856, was influenced by Mr. Ruble to establish his business in the pioneer network. (Tribune, p.11) The start of 1857 discovered six structures in the town. The Ruble house was at 522 Bridge Street, and his factory was at the foot of Fountain Lake. The Thorne house was on Park Avenue, among Grove and Fountain streets. An unfilled structure, raised as a store, later was utilized as a school building… ; Clark's store was at 119 East Clark Street, and Merry's home was at the southeast corner of Washington and Water streets. (Curtiss-Wedge, p. 252) Albert Lea town was platted by Charles C. Colby and recorded on the 29th of October 1856, in Dodge County… On the 24th of February, 1859, it was recorded in the Register's office of this [Freeborn] county… (Neill, p. 360) … the Original Plat included around 36 square squares along Washington Avenue, Broadway, and Newton Avenue. In spreading out the town plat, one square was assigned for the future site of a town hall, one square was assigned for a City Park (Central Park) and property along Spring Lake was assigned for a school site. No school at any point emerged at that site which later moved toward becoming College Addition. (Legacy, p. 37) The first term of government funded school started in December 1857 of every a little log building. Martin V. Kellar, a student in this school, reflected with the accompanying record: "… three little windows outfitted the light, for seats three long sections from Ruble's factory were made into seats without backs; a wide piece resting on substantial wooden pegs in the north divider was the main work area; a good old box stove, was the majority of our furnishings. No chime sent forward its pleasant notes declaring that Albert Lea had a school, for the main ringer yet heard in this county was on the old mottle dairy animals. School was called by overwhelming beating on the window with a book or record… . Our most significant issue was the scarcity… in books." (Curtiss-Wedge, p. 146-147) "Until May 11, 1858, the town had no nearby government, yet around then the natives of Albert Lea township consummated a town government for the town of Albert Lea, choosing a town leading group of directors with Dr. A. C. Wedge as director. With the development of the town, be that as it may, issues were experienced… " (Tribune, p.11) The requirement for neighborhood city government wound up evident. "In the winter of 1878, the city sanction was conceded by the State Legislature… Having been acknowledged by a vote of the individuals, on the twelfth day of May, 1878, the city government was composed, the first officers being: Mayor, Frank Hall; Board of Aldermen, W. P. Sergeant, President, J. W. Smith, R. E. Johnson, John F. Anderson, and E. D. Watchman, two from each ward; Clerk, Fred S. Lincoln." (Neill, p. 371) According to the government registration of 1860, the number of inhabitants in Albert Lea town and township was 262. By 1880, the city of Albert Lea's populace was 1,966 people. From a modest start, Albert Lea developed into a prospering town. Bibliographic Sources: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn, History of Freeborn County, Minnesota. Chicago, IL: H.C. Cooper, Jr. and Co., 1911. "Epitomizing Progressive Albert Lea," The Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, MN. Vol. XV, No. 147, May 21, 1912. Freeborn County Historical and Genealogical Societies, Freeborn County Heritage, Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing Co., 1988. Neill, Edward D, History of Freeborn County. Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical Company, 1882. For more data about Albert Lea, the city and the Lieutenant, please visit the Freeborn County Historical Museum or its site https://www.freeborncountyhistory.org.