Edmunds Co., SD - Description and History, 1884 This file is a complete transcription of the descriptive information about Butte County as found in A. T. Andreas' "Historical Atlas of Dakota", 1884. EDMUNDS COUNTY Edmunds County lies nearly equi-distant from the 45th and 46th parallels of north latitude on the grand Plateau du Coteau du Missouri about equally distant from the Missouri and James rivers. It is bounded north by McPherson County, south by Faulk and Potter, east by Brown, and west by Walworth County. It contains, including Range 65, thirty-two congressional towns mostly composed of high, rolling prairie, with the usual rich black soil of this region. It has no large streams within its borders, the largest being branches of Snake River; and very little waste land in the way of marshes or lakes. Toward the western part of the county the country becomes somewhat more broken, and there are occasionally gravelly sections where the soil is thin; but these are not important. ORGANIZATION.-On the 14th day of July, 1883, L. F. Diefendorf, L. A. Barbour and C. N. Skillman were appointed by Governor Ordway to organize this county. Their first meeting was held at the Skillman House in Edmunds, on the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 5, Town 122, Range 68, on the 26 day of July, 1883. They adjourned until the following day, when they established the county seat at Edmunds, and appointed the following officers: Register of Deeds, C. L. Pratt; Sheriff, Jno. H. Hughes; Treasurer, A. B. Allan; Judge of Probate, J. A. Rice; Superintendent of Schools, J. W. Parmley; Assessor, J. W. Sweet; Coroner, C. L. Seabright; Surveyor, Wm. Bement; Justices, D. W. Lewis, A. E. Ashcraft, J. W. Fowler; Constables, Frank Tanner, J. D. Jones, Edw. Austin, L. Hordenberg. At a meeting held on the 1st of October, 1883, the county was divided into school districts and voting precincts. On the 1st of November, 1883, the county seat was, by resolution of the board of commissioners, changed to Ipswich; and the next day a number of the citizens gathered together and moved the court house to that point. At this meeting L. A. Barbour resigned his position on the board, and D. I. Mercier was appointed in his place. At a meeting held on the 3rd of December, 1883, L. F. Diefendorf resigned his position on the board and was succeeded by D. W. Garfield. EARLY HISTORY.-Probably the first settlement made in Edmunds County was in July, 1882, by Jno. Owenby, who located a claim on Snake Creek in Town 123, Range 63. Late in the fall of this year, Mr. Drew and family located near the town site of Georgetown, where they resided during the winter of 1882-3. W. V. Bold, now Postmaster at Ipswich, in company with Mr. Hunter, filed on a claim near the present site of Ipswich; Mr. Whittier, a surveyor and Mr. Thompson Spent the winter of 1882-3 in the county. In March, 1883, E. E. Noble, T. A. Gilmore, C. N. Skillman and W. H. Adams located on claims adjoining the town site of Edmunds, and during the same month A. B. Allan located on what was afterwards the town site of Freeport, where he erected a hotel. Miss Frank Baird, C. L. Pratt, George and Frank Jenkins, C. O. Curtis and Miss Anna Redding, also, during March located in Township122, Range 68. Early in the spring of 1883, Judge Rice settled in Township 123, Range 71, and on the 8th day of April built the first cabin in this section of the country, and on the 11th day of the same month he could stand at his cabin door and county twenty-one others and nine or ten tents. About the 4th or 5th of April, Charles Morgan located on Section 19, Township 123, Range 70, and set up a tent, 24 by 48, which he called the Cottonade Hotel. A considerable town grew up at Roscoe, on the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 19, Town 123, Range 70, during 1883, and the interests of the embryo city are well represented by the Herald, published by Messrs. Huck and Parmley. The first copy of this paper was issued in September of last year (1883). GEORGETOWN was located with scrip, and platted about the 1st of April, 1883. The town site of EDMUNDS was soon after laid out, and a few days later FREEPORT was platted. These three towns, situated within a few miles of each other, were all aspirants for the county seat, and each claimed to be on the route of the Hastings & Dakota Railway. Substantial buildings were erected in each town, and all grew and prospered; but as soon as the railway company platted the town of Ipswich, a general stampede took place to that point, which very materially accelerated its rapid growth. IPSWICH.-The town of Ipswich was platted on the 2nd day of October, 1883. The first building was moved over from Freeport five or six days prior to this date, by John Kearns. It was located on the corner of Fourth street and Railroad avenue, and used as a saloon. Mr. Kearns purchased the first lots sold-lots 1 and 2, in block 7. A few days after the town was platted, Messrs. Chubbick & Worthington moved the Dakota Tribune office from Freeport, and from that date buildings were rapidly moved from Freeport, Edmunds, and Georgetown to the new county seat. Lots were offered for sale through Messrs. Burke & Webster and S. H. Jumper, and so great was the demand that these gentlemen were kept busy recording transfers. The sales amounted to over $10,000. Both sides of Main street for three blocks are built up with nearly solid rows of substantial business houses. It is estimated that at this date (January, 1884), there are about 100 buildings, representing a value of $75,000 to $80,000. The population of the town is between 300 and 400. The Hastings & Dakota division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St./ Paul Railroad was completed from Aberdeen to Ipswich, on the 5th day of November, 1883, and daily trains have been running since that date. The Edmunds County Bank, owned by Messrs. Jumper & Caldwell, is one of the pioneer business establishments of the town. It is a branch of the First National Bank of Aberdeen, and is managed by John L. Wells. The Dakota Tribune, published by Messrs. Chubbick & Worthington, was formerly printed at Freeport, and was the first paper published in Ipswich. The Gazette, published by Messrs. Ruggles & Frost, and formerly at Georgetown, enjoys the distinction of being the official organ of the county. The Bulletin, published by Messrs. Adams & Montgomery, was formerly printed in Edmunds, and was the first newspaper outfit brought into Edmunds County.