The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Jan. 10, 1902.
After Twenty-Seven Years
William F. Brown, the First Settler to Prove Up on a Rock County Claim, Visits the Scene of His Early Residence
Residents of Rock county, enjoying as they do more of the advantages and benefits of a well settled, cultured and prosperous community than many older communities, are apt to forget how short a time ago it was that the virgin prairies of this county had upon them no white habitation, when natural grasses grew where now are blue grass pastures, luxuriant meadows, or rick, highly cultivated fields dedicated to the production of corn and other cereals, and the territory now rich with fertile farms, comfortable homes and thriving towns was marked upon the maps as part of the great, unexplored American desert. Man nowhere engages upon labor more exciting and arduous and rigorous than that of reclaiming from nature the soil that has lain for aeons in its natural state, and except with great and unusual energy the period of the reclamation must be a very long one. That Rock county should be visited now in 1902 by the man who was first of all others to “prove up” on his claim and the second in the county to file a homestead claim is a striking reminder of the comparatively short time since the settlement of this section of the state began and the great energy and perseverance exerted by its early residents in bringing the county to its present state.
William F. Brown, brother of E. A. and cousin of James Brown, of this place, arrived last week from Seattle, Wash., for a visit with relatives and old friends and to view again the country of which he was a resident thirty-two to twenty-seven years ago. He had come to Rock county in June of 1870—thirty-two years ago—from Wisconsin, preceding his parents and other members of the family. He filed upon the east half of the northwest quarter, section 14, Clinton township, and was the first in the county to prove up on his claim. The life of the settler was a hard one and gave little indication of the comforts and wealth so soon to come. Mr. Brown resided on his claim for five years. In the first years he saw his crops taken by the grasshoppers and witnessed as well as suffered the full severity of the distress wrought by their visitations. He was one of a committee to solicit relief for the settlers in those times. Later his health failed and he concluded to go further west. In Wisconsin he had had experience in the timber and lumber business, and when he had removed to Washington, the present place of his residence, he naturally turned to that industry for his future occupation.
Mr. Brown’s business interests have carried him all over the state of Washington since he took up his residence there. He was at the one time surveyor of the county in which Spokane is located, he has been engaged in the timber and lumber business, in mining and railroading and is now connected with a company that has begun fishing operations on a large scale in the waters of the Pacific ocean and its connections.
From Luverne Mr. Brown will go to Chicago and other cities in the east on a mission connected with the enterprises in which he is interested.
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.