Rock County will celebrate its 150th Anniversary this year. The news will be the history of Rock County, townships, and communities. The following appeared in the Rose History of Rock County, printed in 1911.
County and Township Organization — 1870-1878 (continued from 02-20 edition)
Luverne
The petition asking for the creation of Rock county’s first township was dated February 15, 1871, and was presented to the county commissioners on that date. It was signed by E. N. Darling, Ed McKenzie, P. J. Kniss, William Blasdell, G. W. Daniels, Horrace Plum, L. A. Daniels, Philo Hawes, William Greer, John Jones, H. Sawyer, J. C. Phelps, G. Webber, S. Wilcox, S. D. Gregory and C. C. Jones. The commissioners took the requested action on February 16 and created Luverne township (named after the village), embracing the present townships of Luverne and Mound and the east half of Magnolia.
Two days later the southern tier of townships was authorized to being township government under the name of Grant. The few settlers in other parts of Rock county were then without township organization, and to bring all parts of the county under legal government the commissioners on May 27, 1871, declared Luverne township’s boundaries extended to include all of the nine present day northern townships. The action taken in response to a petition to that effect signed by J. F. Shoemaker, P. J. Kniss, E. S. Gregory, H. A. Gregory, G. W. Daniels, P. F. Kelley, L. A. Daniels, L. McDermott, James Kelley, Horace Plum, Philo Hawes, John Ryan, Ed McKenzie, J. C. Gregory and Stephen Wilcox. Luverne township included all this territory until it was reduced by the various acts of creating other townships.
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.