The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village ( from 01-14-20 edition of the Star Herald)
 
         In the fall of 1880 a side track was constructed, and a correspondent predicted that Ashcreek was about to shape itself into a metropolis. The extent of the subsequent building operations, however, was the erection of a second grain warehouse, 16x30 feet in size, put by E. A. Brown, who at the time commenced his successful career as a Rock county grain merchant. A box car was placed at the new station to answer the purpose of a depot building.
         An event of the year 1882 promised great things for the embryo town. This was the sale of the Kniss and Brown farm, upon which the station was located, to Col. Alfred Grey, an English capitalist and a large owner of real estate in this section of the state and Iowa. Col. Grey proposed to build a flourishing town at Ashcreek, to be the headquarters for his various interests, much after the English baronial system. A year elapsed before the promoter commenced the execution of his plan. A survey of a townsite was completed in August, 1883, by James P. Gilman, and the dedication of the site was made September 6, 1883, by James B. Close, Col. Grey’s agent. The plat included eight blocks. The owner was fully honored in the names bestowed upon the streets running east and west, which were Colonel, Grey and Alfred. The intersecting streets were designated as First, Second and Third.9
         Coincident with the platting, three dwellings, each a two-story structure covering a ground space of 24x36 feet, and three barns were built by Col. Grey for the accommodation of the employees on his nearby farms. There was persistent talk of a store on the site, but it remained for other than the Grey interests to supply the want. J. T. Woodrow, whose store was completed in October, 1884, was the first merchant and for a number of years the only one in Ashcreek. The Ashcreek postoffice was moved to the new store and Mr. Woodrow commissioned postmaster.
         There was some progress during the half dozen years following the opening of the pioneer store. In 1885 the railroad company established stockyards at Ashcreek, and one year later erected a serviceable depot. Early in 1886 the believers in Ashcreek’s future greatness became convinced that the dawn of a new era was at hand because of the proposed building of the Burlington railroad to Sioux Falls from Ellsworth. At an enthusiastic meeting held February 20, plans to induce the new railroad to change its route so as to pass through Ashcreek were considered. It was proposed to offer $15,000 as a bonus to secure this change of route, but the attempt to make of Ashcreek a railroad center came to naught.
         The Congregational church society, organized in the spring of 1889, erected a neat church edifice in the village the same year. The church, built at a cost of $1100, was dedicated Sunday, February 9, 1890. Rev. William Fitch was the pastor at the time.
         L. S. Welker succeeded to the business of J. T. Woodrow in the summer of 1888. A grist mill was established by C. A. Delamater in January, 1890, but it continued in operation only a few months. The Ashcreek farm of 894 acres was sold by Col. Grey in 1891 to Ezra Rice and James H. Gray, and this transfer was the commencement of better days for the humble village. The new owners were men intensely interested in the advancement of Rock county. Progress commenced at once. In September, 1891, J. T. Fort, a blacksmith, located in the town, and E. A. Brown erected a second elevator. The year following, E. C. Palmer came from Sioux City and established a new store and lumber yard.
         Ashcreek in more recent years has been added to gradually, and at no particular period has experienced a boom or unnatural condition to force the extension of its limits. A creditable school building was erected in 1903. A public hall is maintained, and in the village are to be found residences that would do credit to a more pretentious community.
         9One addition to Ashcreek has been platted: Kitterman’s by Benjamin T. Kitterman and William Lemka, December 12, 1896; surveyed by J. P. Gillman.
 
         The story of the village of Bruce will begin in the Jan. 28 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village (continued from 01-07-20 edition of the Star Herald)
 
Ashcreek
         The little village of Ashcreek, the first  station south of Luverne on the Doon extension of the Omaha railway, is one of the two Rock county hamlets in Clinton township. The platted town is on section 23 of that precinct. Though it has never assumed proportions that would warrant its being set off as an independent municipality, Ashcreek for many years has justified its existence as a trading point and grain market for a rich farming community.
         The building of the Doon branch and the subsequent location of a station on section 23, Clinton, were conditions undreamed of when Ashcreek was first placed on the map as a country postoffice, the second postoffice established in the county. The southern part of Rock county, especially Clinton and Martin townships, was an early field for settlement. By the summer of 1871 the population of these two precincts exceeded that of all the rest of the county, and a demand was made for better postoffice facilities. The only office in the county at that time was located at Luverne, and the trip to that point was much of an undertaking for a majority of the settlers living in southern Rock county in the days when ox teams were practically the only mode of conveyance.
         The agitation for a second postoffice bore immediate fruit. Out of several applicants for the position of postmaster, Mrs. L. B. Kniss was chosen and the office was established on the George W. Kniss homestead, one half mile distant from the future Ashcreek station. The office was named for the creek flowing near by. To members of the pioneer Estey family was given the naming of this stream. The incident of the christening, which occurred on Christmas day, 1867, has been told in Colin J. Estey’s own words:
         In the afternoon Byron and I went to tend our traps. He had one set for a fox near where Saint’s Rest now stands, and on that day he caught a coyote. Byron was about eight years old then. As we went out to look at the traps we crossed Rock river at a point about where M. C. Smith’s ford was eventually located and followed up what is now known as Ash creek. Byron, boy-fashion, asked the name of the creek, and I told him it had no name and that he might name it. He looked the surroundings over carefully and said: “Well, there is a lot of small ash growing at the mouth, so I guess we will have to call it Ash creek.” Next summer when the government surveyors were sectionizing Rock county we gave the name in to them and the stream has been so called ever since.
         The Ashcreek postoffice was located on the mail route connecting Luverne with Doon and LeMars, Iowa, which was first operated by Sam Bellesfield. Mrs. Kniss continued in charge of the office until 1873,8 when she removed from the locality and was succeeded as postmistress by Mrs. Susan M. Brown, who held the office seven years.
         So, Ashcreek, which nominally came into being in the early seventies, advanced no further than the country postoffice stage until about a dozen years later. Then it was through the agency of the railroad that it was enabled to assume a more pretentious air.
         The branch road from Luverne to Doon was built in 1879, the first trains being operated in November. The rudiment of a station was established on what then was the Kniss & Brown farm, on section 23, Clinton, which was to develop gradually, but with a certainty, into the village of Ashcreek. The initial improvement in the town-to-be, and the only one recorded for the year 1879, was a small grain warehouse erected by Traux & Co. This firm had extensive farming interests in the immediate vicinity, and the warehouse erected was solely for the purpose of taking care of the products of its own farms.
         8Mrs. Kniss has given some interesting statistics relating to this early day postoffice:
         “Our local paper was then the Jackson Republic, as those who wished to prove up on their claims had to go to Jackson, the nearest land office, and so their names and their witnesses were published in the paper. A paper was also printed at Rock Rapids. There were six subscribers to the paper and nine to the Jackson Republic. The total number of regular subscription papers was twenty-three and one magazine was taken by a patron of the office, although a great many were sent by friends in the east.
         “The receipts for stamps sold during the quarter ending September, 1872, were $6.47, and that was when postage on a letter amounted to three cents. Notwithstanding the fact that the postmistress was expected to be at home any time a patron should happen to call, the department paid the munificent sum of $12.00 a year for services rendered.”
        
         The story of the village of Ashcreek will continue in the Jan. 21 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village (continued from 12-31-20 edition of the Star Herald)
 
         For several years following its founding, Virginia was at a standstill so far as any material growth was concerned. It proved its advantage as a grain market from the start, but it was not until the early nineties that development along broader lines commenced. Among the early business enterprises was a lumber yard established by J. H. Zenker in March, 1890. The town experienced the most pronounced era of progress in building operations and expansion during the period which included the years 1891 to 1894. Early in 1891 the pioneer store was taken over by the firm of Miller & Roan, formerly of Rock Rapids. A second general store was established later in the same year by Hensing & Thorstad.7 C. C. Berge was the first hardware merchant. The E. M. Dickey Co., which established the first grain warehouse in the year of founding, was the first to erect an elevator, which was done during the summer of 1892. The year 1893 was an especially active one and witnessed a number of substantial building and business improvements.
         In 1895 a town hall was built by a stock company organized by the citizens of Steen. A business directory compiled in July of that year contained the names of the following men: George J. Roan, general store; W. E. Bauer, general store; C. Clemetson, billiard and pool hall; T. L. Peyer, harness shop; George Heath, blacksmith; O. A. Helgeson, livery and feed barn; C. Brant, manager Edmonds Co. elevator; Dickey & Co., elevator; J. H. Zenker, lumber and fuel; C. C. Berge, hardware; G. N. Graves, agent Illinois Central railroad; C. H. Peterson, postmaster.
         On February 24, 1900, Steen was visited by a fire which consumed the two elevators of the town and destroyed 20,000 bushels of grain contained therein. For a time the depot building was threatened with destruction, but the energetic work of the citizens prevented further spread of the conflagration. Both of the elevators were rebuilt.
         In late years Steen has enjoyed with others of her sister villages the prosperous times that have been incident to Rock county’s marvelous agriculture development.
         One of the finest little school houses in the county is found at Steen. It was erected in 1905 and was occupied for the first time at the beginning of the September term. This building replaced a former one, erected in the days of the town’s infancy.
         There are two church organizations that maintain houses of worship in Steen — the German Evangelical and German Lutheran. The Lutheran church was organized in the summer of 1890 with sixteen charter members by Rev. Theodore Maesse, of Fulda. The present church edifice, the first in the village, was erected in 1895 at a cost of $1800 and was dedicated on October 20 of that year. Rev. H. W. Baumann, of Luverne, is the present pastor.
         7This partnership did not exist long. E. J. Thorstad, the junior partner, became sole proprietor in October, 1891.
         The story of the village of Ashcreek will begin in the Jan. 14 edition of the Star Herald.
        
Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village (continued from 12-24-20 edition of the Star Herald)
 
Steen
         In the list of Rock county’s unincorporated villages Steen ranks among the foremost, both in size and importance. It is located on the northwest quarter of section 32, Clinton township, near the southern boundary of the county, and is a station on the line of Illinois Central railroad connecting Sioux Falls with Chicago. Steen makes no pretense of metropolitan greatness but is content with being a prosperous and substantially built hamlet, surrounded by a rich farming country. Several lines of business are represented, including a bank, general store, hardware store, drug store, furniture store, hotel, blacksmith shop, harness shop, pool hall, lumber yard, two elevators, livery barn, fuel dealer and stock buyers. The town also has a town hall, two churches and a first grade public school, employing two teachers.
         The land on which the town of Steen is located was taken as a homestead in 1871 by John P. Steen. A brother, Ole P. Steen, filed a homestead claim to the quarter section adjoining the year before, and it was in honor of these two pioneers that the village was given its permanent name.4
         The last few years of the eighties witnessed the founding of three towns in southern Rock county as a direct result of the construction of two new lines of railroad, the Illinois Central and the Sioux City & Northern. Included in this number was Steen, or Virginia, as it was originally known, on the Illinois Central, which commenced laying rails on the extension from Rock Rapids to Sioux Falls in September, 1887. The station of Bruce, seven miles to the west in Martin township, was the first of these to be located, the site being selected in December.
         Early in the year 1888 the Illinois Central authorities announced their intention to plat and develop a town on the line between Bruce and Rock Rapids, in Clinton township. A number of the residents of that precinct at once became interested in the project and lent their assistance in its furtherance. It was the offer of John P. Steen to donate twenty acres of his homestead for townsite purposes that influenced the railroad company to locate the proposed station on his land.
         The track-laying on the extension was completed so as to permit the operation of the first passenger train on June 2, 1888. In the course of the same month the townsite of Virginia was surveyed by J. F. Whalen. The plat, made to comprise thirteen blocks, was dedicated on June 13 by N. T. Burroughs, president, and W. A. Sanford, secretary, of the Cherokee & Western Town Lot & Land company, and it was placed on record September 3.
         The farm house of John P. Steen was the only building on the Virginia townsite prior to the activities of the railroad company at that point. No sooner had the survey been completed than work was commenced on a depot building and a flat grain warehouse, and before the summer of 1888 was over, there were signs of a promising village.5 Two grain warehouses, one erected by John Butler, and the other be E. M. Dickey, had been established, and the pioneer merchant, C. C. Clemetson was actively engaged in business. A petition signed by residents in the vicinity of the new town asking for the establishment of a postoffice was granted, and before the year had closed an office was being operated in the store with Mr. Clemetson as postmaster.6
         4At the time application was made for a postoffice at this point, in 1888, the name asked for by the petitioners was Virginia. This request the postmaster general would not grant because a postoffice previously established on the Iron Range in the northern part of the state bore that name. It was then decided to name the postoffice Steen. The station located by the Illinois Central, however, was designated as Virginia and was known as such for a number of years. The name of the station was then made to agree with that of the postoffice. The last mention of the town as Virginia in the local press was made in the summer of 1893. In July of that year reference was made to the town of Steen, and Virginia, Rock county, became an incident of history.
         5“Virginia, the new town in Clinton township, on the line of the Illinois Central, is getting to the front. It has two warehouses, a depot and a store.” —Rock County Herald, September 14, 1888.
         6Steen has been served by five postmasters since the office was established. Those who have succeeded Mr. Clemetson, in the order of their succession, are J. P. Steen, George J. Roan, C. H. Peterson and Chris Clemetson.
        
         The story of the village of Steen will continue in the Jan. 7 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village (continued from 12-17-20 edition of the Star Herald)
 
         The matter was brought to a conclusion at the meeting of the commissioners on January 8, 1903, when a request signed by twelve of those interested in the proposed incorporation, asking for a withdrawal of their original petition, was presented. Although no later attempt has been made to bring about the incorporation of Kenneth, there is every reason to believe that in the near future the town in Vienna township will be in a condition to successfully inaugurate such a movement.
         Kenneth’s growth has been slow but substantial. It experienced a setback during the years 1903 and 1904 because of the destruction, by hail and rains, to the crops in that section which finds its market in Kenneth. Since that time, however, the town has maintained its own and is still unsurpassed as a grain market and trading point.
         Kenneth’s school history began almost with the founding of the town. In April 1901, a petition asking for the creation of a new school district to include the town of Kenneth was favorably acted upon by the board of county commissioners. Following this action, on May 2, a meeting of the citizens of Kenneth was held and the organization of the district perfected. B. Halverson was elected director, J. L. Hogan, clerk, and George Watson, treasurer. At a meeting held later in the same month it was voted to raise $2500 for the erection of a school building. The edifice, two stories in height, 28x40 feet, was erected by Hackett & Robinson, of Luverne, and was completed in time for the opening of the winter term on December 6, 1901. School opened on that date with Nellie Morse as teacher and with an enrollment of thirty-two pupils.        
         Two church organizations are maintained in Kenneth, the Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran, and both possess church edifices. The Catholic church building, which formerly occupied a site in Lismore township, Nobles county, was moved to Kenneth early in 1903. The Evangelical Lutheran church was erected during the season of 1907.
         The Kenneth State Bank is an outgrowth of a private institution which began business July 1, 1901, as the bank of Kenneth, with R. B. Hinkly, president, and A. D. Parker, cashier. The bank erected a building of its own during the summer of 1903. The Kenneth State Bank, following the reorganization, commenced business July 10, 1907, with capital stock of $12,000. The incorporators were Andrew Messner, A. D. Parker, John Engebretson, John Wonderle, L. W. Johnson, Chris, Haiback, B. Halverson, Kittil Olson and L. Kreun. The first officers and board of directors consisted of Andrew Messner, president; A. D. Parker, cashier; John Engebretson, assistant cashier; Chris Haiback.
        
         The story of the village of Steen will begin in the Dec. 31 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village (continued from 12-10-20 edition of the Star Herald)
 
         The year 1901 was one of substantial improvement. The town’s first blacksmith, E. M. Newell, came from Edgerton in February, erected a shop and was ready to serve his patrons by the twentieth of the month. Thomte & Johnson were on the ground in March and commenced the erection of a livery barn. In the course of the next month the same firm saw a hotel building, a two story structure, 24x50 feet in size, well under way. The hostelry was opened the second week in May. The first sidewalk in the town was constructed early in April. Another business enterprise was added to the village during the same month by Walter Bemis, one of the grain buyers, who engaged in the farm implement business in connection with his other interests. The first dwelling house in the village was brought to completion early in May and was occupied by Section Forman Solen. This was only the beginning of other improvements of the same nature that were consummated during the course of the year.
         A visitor to Kenneth, writing in the Rock County Herald of May 3, 1901, pictures the condition of the flourishing hamlet at that date:
         Unostentatiously, but none the less surely, a new town, small but enterprising, has grown up in Rock county and gives promise of many good things in the future—greater growth, population, business and importance. One year ago Kenneth, Minnesota, had no existence; today it is a bustling burg with every equipment for transformation into a city. Peopled by enterprising, thrifty and progressive citizens, its business enterprises in the hands of public spirited and far-sighted men, and surrounded by a rich and productive agricultural country, Kenneth enters the list of Rock county towns with every promise of growth and prosperity. Where one year ago was but a fertile field are now two well stocked general merchandise stores, a hardware store, a commodious hotel, a lumber yard, a blacksmith shop, three elevators, livery stable, restaurant, two dray lines, farm machinery and implement business—all housed in handsome and substantial buildings.
         There was a marked and steady growth throughout the whole of 1901. The population of the village had reached a point where the erection of a commodious two-story school building became advisable and the building was completed late in the year. The business interests of the young town continued to prosper, and a number of enterprises were added. Among these was a bank, an institution much desired. The bank opened for business July 1 in the A. D. Parker building, with Mr. Parker in charge. In September the town was supplied with a physician. Dr. Van Krevelen, formerly of Holland, moved to Kenneth and opened a drug store which he conducted in connection with his practice. A number of new business buildings were brought to completion during the season of 1901.
         The question of the incorporation of Kenneth became an issue in 1902. The substantial and increasing growth of the town, together with the splendid material advancement that it had been privileged to enjoy during the short time of its existence, seemed in the eyes of the town’s business men to justify the desire to assume the privileges and obligations of local self government. Several obstacles confronted the promoters of the plan for incorporating. It was found necessary to extend the bounds of the proposed corporation for a number of miles in each direction from the village in order to secure the population required by law before any village is entitled to form itself into an independent municipality. There was considerable opposition to the scheme, especially by many farmers whose lands it was proposed to include within the corporation. A petition signed by A. D. Parker and thirty-seven others, asking for the incorporation of Kenneth, was presented to the board of county commissioners and was considered by that body at its regular meeting on December 19, 1902. A petition of remonstrance signed by B. Halverson and seventeen others was submitted to the commissioners on the same occasion, and the matter was brought to a focus. Both sides to the controversy were represented by authorized representatives and arguments for and against incorporation were made. The board ordered that the petition be referred to the county attorney for his opinion as to its legality, especially in regard to the quantity of territory which had been included.
 
         The story of the village of Kenneth will continue in the Dec. 24 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village (continued from 12-03-20 edition of the Star Herald.)
 
Kenneth
         Located on the line between sections 1 and 2, Vienna township, on the Worthington-Hardwick branch of the Rock Island railroad, seven miles southeast from Hardwick, is Kenneth, the youngest of Rock county’s towns. Although it was the last to come into existence, it has outdistanced some of the other villages, and today is the largest of the county’s unincorporated towns. Since its founding, Kenneth has been distinguished as a leading grain market and derives its support from a rich farming section. It is well supplied with the various business enterprises that go to make a prosperous country community.
         Kenneth came into being as a direct result of the building of the Burlington road extension from Worthington to Hardwick, during the year 1899-1900, and was one of the four towns, three of which were located in Nobles county, that were created by this agency a decade ago. Plans for the new town of Kenneth were in the making for several months before the rails were laid to the proposed location. The track-layers reached Lismore, the nearest station on the east, June 9, 1900, and from that point continued their way westward into Rock county, passing through the Kenneth townsite during the month of July and reaching the terminus at Hardwick on the 4th day of August.
         Before the spring of 1900 opened, negotiations were under way by T. H. Brown & Co., the townsite company connected with the Burlington road, for the purchase of a desirable site for the new town it had been decided to establish in Vienna township. The deal as finally closed in April for the promoters by their agenda, J. A. Kennicott, resulted in the transfer of twenty acres on sections 1 and 2. It was decided at that time to name the town Kenneth, for the eldest son of Mr. Kennicott, in recognition of that gentleman’s efforts in the company’s behalf.1
         The townsite was surveyed by County Surveyor W. N. Davidson, the dedication was made by Thomas H. Brown July 20, 1900, and the papers filed for record ten days later, on July 30. The plat created from this survey formed the town into four blocks. The streets running east and west were named First, Second and Third, and were intersected by First Avenue west, Main avenue and First avenue east. A second plat of Kenneth was surveyed by W. N. Davidson for Andrew Messner2 on April 2, 1902. This survey was filed for record in May, 1902. No additions to the original townsite have been platted.
         Simultaneous with the arrival of the connecting iron band to the undeveloped townsite of Kenneth, during the latter part of July, 1900, building operations were commenced and the town assured of a reality. Before the month of August had passed three elevators had been completed and were prepared to handle the person’s business. The three grain firms initially represented were Bemis & Howard, Ryan & Berg and E. A. Brown.
         Although the greater part of the year 1900 was over before activity in the promotion of the new town was commenced, it saw the establishment of a number of enterprises. Early in October James A. Palmer opened his saloon. The pioneer merchant and first postmaster was J. L. Hogan. He was not long to have an unopposed field in the general merchandise business, for during the winter A. D. Parker became a resident of Kenneth and established a second general store. Mr. Parker at once created a building, 60x22 feet in size, to house his business. About the same time the firm of Trotter & Trotter, hardware dealers, commenced business. The St. Croix Lumber company, during the same season, established a branch yard in Kenneth and installed Frank Underwood as agent. The depot was also erected in 1900, and James Costello became the first station agent.
         1“The new town on the Burlington extension has at least been definitely located. The site chosen is twenty acres on the farms of Nelson & Wold, A. B. Turner, Eric Engebretson and Ben Hoven, on the line between sections 1 and 2 in Vienna township. About five acres is taken respectively from the northwest and southwest quarters of section 1 and the northeast and southeast quarters of section 2. The new town has been named Kenneth, in honor of the son of Jay A. Kennicott, Mr. Kennicott owns a section farm half a mile south of the new town and has been instrumental in securing the location of the town.”—Rock County Herald, April 20, 1900.
         2Mr. Messner purchased the Kenneth townsite from its original owners in June, 1901, and was responsible for its later development.
 
         The story of the village of Kenneth will continue in the Dec. 17 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village (continued from 11-25-20 edition of the Star Herald.)
 
School
         A completely   equipped, nine grade school is maintained in Magnolia. It is conducted in a two-story building, erected in 1893 at a cost of several thousand dollars. Before that year the site was occupied by a small district school house, in which a school was established at a time when there was little prospect of Magnolia ever attaining proportions above that of a small railroad station. This original building, 16x24 feet in dimensions, was sold and made over into a business house. The first teacher to conduct school in the new building was Frank Ferguson.
Church
         Magnolia’s only church is styled the Holbert Methodist church of Magnolia. It was so named in honor of Capt. E. H. Holbert, who took the initial steps toward the erection of the church building in 1892. It was the original intention to use the building for a union church, but at the dedication it was taken over by the Methodist society, members of which were in a majority. The first board of trustees, elected in March, 1893, consisted of P. Phinney, D. Aney, George Ott, A. C. Crawford, W. W. Bullis, P. O. Goembel, E. H. Holbert, G. M. Henton and E. H. Bronson. The church is now without a resident pastor.
Lodges
         The Modern Woodmen of America lodge and its auxiliary, the Royal Neighbors of America, maintain organizations in Magnolia. The Woodmen own their own hall, a two story frame building, erected n 1900.
         Magnolia Camp No. 3911, M. W. A., was granted its charter of organization on May 27, 1896. The names of the nineteen charter members were F. E. Ayers, T. H. Bennett, William Brittson, H. V. Bullis, A. C. Crawford, W. E. Dunbar, C. Jorgenson, W. F. Kleine, C. P. Leonard, G. A. Lohr, John McGee, J. S. Oleson, Charles Pickett, A. P. Prescott, W. Soutar, A. K. Turner, D. W. Turner, G. W. Turner, Alexander Walker.
         Marguerite Lodge No. 1332, R. N. A., was instituted January 25, 1899, with the following list of first members: Dora Dunn, Hattie V. Kleine, Alexander Walker, F. A. Baker, Mary G. Knowlton, Lena M. Kleine, Anna Carlson, G. W. Turner, Hattie B. Baker, Martha A. Crawford, Clara Nordene, Eva C. Ferguson, Elizabeth Tepler, Anna Bonnett, Ella A. Rolph, Nora B. Turner, Annie Knowlton, Emma Bethel, Caroline Ekman, Nellie Knowlton, W. F. Kleine.
Bank
         The one banking house in Magnolia, the Magnolia State Bank, has been in operation since October 1901. It was organized at that time with a capital stock of $15,000, with Charles Mylius, W. R. Mansel, Alexander Walker, Thomas R. Roach and Albert R. Brooks as the principal stockholders and W. V. Kennedy as cashier and active manager of the institution, succeeded to the position of Mr. Kennedy in January, 1905.
 
         The story of the village of Magnolia will continue in the Dec. 10 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village (continued from 11-19-20 edition of the Star Herald.)
 
         The proposition was carried by a majority of four votes, there being twenty cast in favor of the project [to create a municipality] and sixteen against. The election to select the first officers under the new government was set for October 2. Following is the result of the first and subsequent elections held in the village:27
         1894—President, L. E. Woodruff; trustees, P. Phinney, E. L. Hartwell, G. W. Gleason; recorder; F. A. Baker; treasurer, A. J. Calkins; justices, A. Walker, John Carlson; constables, S. Pokett, C. Johnson.
         1895—President, L. E. Woodruff; trustees, A. Walker, C. E. Kleine, J. K. Wiegel; recorder, G. W. Turner; treasurer, S. L. Long; justices, I. M. Cady, G. W. Turner; constable, John Carlson.
         1897—President, L. E. Woodruff; trustees, C. E. Kleine, A. P. Prescott, Joseph Mueller; recorder, G. W. Turner; treasurer, Frank Ferguson; justice, P. Phinney; constable, F. G. Domrese.
         1898—President, L. E. Woodruff; trustees, C. E. Kleine, Will Soutar, M. Pickett; recorder, G. W. Turner; treasurer, Frank Ferguson; justice, I. M. Cady; constable, W. W. Pickett.
         1899—President, L. E. Woodruff; trustees, C. E. Kleine, Will Soutar, M. Pickett; recorder, G. W. Turner; treasurer, M. J. Phinney; justice E. Pokett; constables, R. B. Pickett, W. H. Baker.
         1900—President, L. E. Woodruff; trustees, C. E. Kleine, M. Pickett, A. Walker; recorder, G. W. Turner; treasurer, M. J. Phinney; justice, N. A. Christianson; constable, W. F. McGee.
         1901—President, M. Pickett; trustees, A. Walker, H. Dickey, M. J. Sheeran; recorder, G. W. Turner; treasurer, M. J. Phinney; justice, I. M. Cady, constable, W. T. Dean.
         1902—President, L. E. Woodruff; trustees, A. Walker, H. Dickey , J. Miller; recorder, G. W. Turner; treasurer, M. J. Phinney; justice, Calvin Ott; constable, M. J. Ellsworth.
         1903—President, A. Walker; trustees, J. Miller, Johm McLeisch, H. Dickey; recorder; G. W. Turner; treasurer, W. V. Kennedy; constable, M. J. Ellsworth.
         1904—President, A. Walker; trustees, John McLeish, H. Dickey, J. K. Wiegel; recorder, G. W. Turner; treasurer, W. V. Kennedy; constable, F. G. Domrese.
         1905—President, A. Walker; trustees, John McLeish, H. Dickey, J. K. Wiegel; recorder, W. Innes; treasurer, Alex Brown; justice, I. M. Cady; constable, W. T. Dean.
         1906—President, A. Walker; trustees, John McLeish, H. Dickey, A. Bird; recorder, W. Innes; treasurer, Alex Brown; justice, I. M. Cady; constables, George Trowbridge, E. Pockett.
         1907—President, A. Walker; trustees, John McLeish, E. L. Hartwell, G. W. Turner; recorder, R. H. Adams; treasurer, Alex Brown; constable, H. M. Rider.
         1908—President, John McLeish; trustees, A. Bird, E. L. Hartwell, H. M. Rider; recorder, R. H. Adams; treasurer, Alex Brown; constable, D. M. Hileman.
         1909—President, John McLeish; trustees, A. Walker, R. H. Adams, F. A. Baker; recorder, I. M. Cady; treasurer, Alex Brown; justice, I. M. Cady; constable, F. G. Domrese.
         1910—President, A. Walker; trustees, R. H. Adams, John McLeish, F. A. Baker; recorder, I. M. Cady; treasurer, Alex Brown; justice, I. L. Ackley; constable, Henry Wiegel.
         1911—President, A. Walker; trustees, John McLeish, F. A. Baker, R. H. Adams; recorder, I. M. Cady; treasurer, Alex Brown; justice, I. M. Cady; constable, T. G. Domrese.
         Since incorporation Magnolia has advanced steadily and its growth has been of a substantial nature. The first few years following the dawn of the new century were especially important ones. The building improvements for 1902 exceeded $15,000, in which was included the one brick block in the town, the building occupied by the bank, an institution which came into existence the preceding year. The federal census taker of 1900 found 176 inhabitants in the village. An increase of 20, a total of 196, was revealed by the state enumeration of 1905. In 1910 the population was 189.
         27At only a few of the annual village elections in Magnolia has the question of issuing licenses been submitted to the voters. At each of the three elections so held the victory has been for high license. In 1896 by a vote of 31 to 19, in 1899, 21 to 11, and in 1907, 35 to 9.
 
         The story of the village of Magnolia will continue in the Dec. 3 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.