stand in our new school building and behold the process there daily going on of fusing nationalities in the crucible of intelligence and mental culture. Let facilities there be added for instructions in the classics, the higher mathematics; for everything lower than the college, drawing into it the patronage of the country, while it gives increased advantages to our own children, and more will come from this to give us prosperity and character than one would at first suppose. Our cemetery I would be glad to see the property of an association, and not a private individual, and better improved as it should be. Also a monument upon the court house square, or some other place, to the deceased soldiers of the county, as in every county there ought to be, and then with other things attended to that would naturally follow I would like to meet you, if God will, on other thanksgiving occasions, with humble thankfulness to our heavenly Father, with social life, friendly feeling, intelligence, virtue, and piety growing among us, with continued blessings of God from year to year.

By us precedents are being set, and customs established. We stand at the head of influences whose flow is to be as permanent as the river and the hills that enter into the beautiful scenery of our home. Let us be faithful to our trust.

LATER HISTORY.

Before proceeding with the sketch of Decorah and events following those described in the discourse of Mr. Adams, it will be well to locate some of the buildings mentioned by him.

The "Howell House" is the old frame building on the southeast corner of Water and Court sts., recently occupied as a tin shop in connection with the adjoining tin shop on Water street.

Mr. Goddard now has a pleasant home on the slightly elevated plateau south of the C., M. & St. P. Ry. depot, where are the fine residences and grounds of Hon. T. W. Burdick, and Conductor L. L. Cadwell, as well as those of Geo. Pennington, A. Tracy, P. A. Whalen, D. N. Hawley, Geo. Q. Gardner, Conductor J. W. Hogan, and others.

The opposite corner on the same side of Water street, mentioned as the residence of Horace S. Weiser, has just become the home of Dr. C. W. Amy, a brother of Mrs. Weiser, and his wife, Dr. Harriet Bottsford Amy. Mr. Weiser commenced his new residence on the southeast corner of Broadway and Grove streets, and diagonally opposite the elegant house and grounds of Judge E. E. Cooley, in the spring of 1872, and completed it in 1873. It is now occupied by his widow, Mrs. H. S. Weiser and family.

The "Old Norwegian College buildings-occupied by them as a school and college before the building of the Norwegian Lutheran College were what is now the St. Cloud Hotel, on the northwest corner of Main and Winnebago streets, and the residence

just west of it on Main street, recently occupied by C. W. Burdick. The St. Cloud hotel has since been enlarged by a fourth story, counting the basement, in which is the dining room, kitchen, etc. O. T. Hamre is its present landlord.

"The Decorah House" was the large frame building standing on the southeast corner of Water and Washington streets and now occupied by several small branches of business.

The "Central House" was a stone building which occupied the site where now stands Dakyn's livery stable, on the southwest corner of Washington and Main streets.

The house spoken of as occupied by Dr. Bolles, stood over on the flat beyond the present Decorah public school building.

"Cruson's Hollow" is the valley across the river through which flows the stream from the springs in A. C. Ferren's place, Cruson's notorious place being this side of Ferren's, near the site of the old brick yard.

The first school house, built in 1854, has given place to the present three-story brick building on the northwest corner of Winnebago and Vernon streets, built in the season of 1866, and so far completed that year, that the lower floor was occupied, the other floors being furnished and occupied soon afterward.

The oldest horse mentioned-"Dandy."-the property of Mr. H. S. Weiser, was carefully cared for by Mrs. Weiser till it died in January, 1880.

The Winneshiek House, built in 1854 by Wm. Day, whose death August 7, 1860, leaving a widow who is still living, more particularly referred to in the chapter on County Chronology, has always been a prominent and popular hotel, and its fame has extended to other parts of the country. It was greatly enlarged and improved in the latter part of 1876 and early in 1877 magnificently furnished and re-opened Wednesday, April 18, 1877; Seibert's St. Paul band furnishing music for the occasion. Its handsome front looks down Washington Street, and its location is still a prominent and convenient one. Present landlord, A. J. McClaskey.

Mr. Adams mentions the Tremont House, burned in the winter of 1867. Early in 1876 the project of building an up-town hotel on the Tremont site was agitated. It resulted in the erection of the fine three-story hotel building, known as the Arlington, costing about $16,000. It was opened in grand style February 1, 1877, and did a good business for some time, but was closed on the leaving of landlord Dow, and is now used as a boarding-house, of the Decorah Institute.

One of the oldest but later hotels of Decorah was the Union House, on the south side of Water Street, below Washington Street, kept by Felix Curran, now a resident of Alexandra, Dakota. It was destroyed by fire on the night of November 28, 1879.

Besides the leading hotels, the Winneshiek House and the St. Cloud Hotel, Decorah, has the old popular farmer's hotel, the Stiles House, and several other smaller ones.

The cemetery mentioned by Mr. Smith, thanks to the enterprise of J. E. Simpson and others, has become a large and beautiful resting place for the dead. Situated on the elevated rolling grounds south of the city, partly covered with a grove of young trees, is well laid out and kept in good order. But the very few recent graves testify to the healthfulness of the city.

Mr. Adams refers to the solemn resurrection of the alleged remains of the Indian Chief Decorah, after which this city was named. This event, which took place August 4, 1859, and the second resurrection on the 6th of June, 1876, when the Court House grounds were graded in order to terrace them, are desscribed at some length in a preceding chapter, relating to the Winnebago Indians. Judge M. V. Burdick asserts, however, that he has frequently seen the noted Indian chief since the time of such resurrection and re-interment. His name was Wachon-Decorah, and from him our neighboring town of Waukon also takes its name. He was more commonly known, however, as "one-eyed Decorah," from the fact of his having but one eye. Judge Burdick says that he must have been very old, as his form was much bent-a thing uncommon even with very aged indians, or squaws, who have seen many years of toil. He died, according to Judge Burdick, in the winter of 1880-81, on an island in the Mississippi River, above Lansing, near the Wisconsin shore.

The record of Decorah and her people in the war of the Rebellion is given in a previous chapter on the military history of the county. Her railroad history has also been given in that of the county and in the chronological history of events, and will be referred to later in this volume so far as concerns the present. Many prominent events, including criminal trials, storms and floods, not recorded in county history, are noted in the chronological history of the county, and we will not repeat them here. But there are some things not specially noted that deserve a more extended mention than has been given them.

On the first Monday in April, 1857, a meeting was held to incorporate Decorah as a village. Resulting from this an election was held on the 30th of June, 1857, when E. E. Cooley was chosen President of the incorporated government. Decorah continued as an incorporated town until 1871, the control of affairs being invested in a board of five aldermen or councilmen, elected from the town at large.

Among its executive officers following Mr. Cooley, we find, W. F. Coleman, elected Mayor in March, 1861; again in 1862, and repeatedly elected to that office till 1870.

Early in 1871 Decorah was incorporated as a city of the second class and divided into four wards, represented in the city council by two aldermen or councilmen from each ward. At the election held March 6th, 1871, the following officers were elected:

Mayor, Charles F. Allen; Clerk, G. W. Patterson; Treasurer, E. I. Weiser; City Attorney, E. E. Cooley; Marshal, John T. Baker; Aldermen, G. O. Rusted, G. W. Adams, N. Burdick, John Greer, J. L. Pennington, A. D. Thomas, J. H. Montgomery, O. J. Clark. We have had for Mayors since that time the following wellknown residents of Decorah, elected as follows: Frank E. Baker, in March, 1873; Wm. H. Valleau, in March, 1875; and twice re-elected, holding the office for three years. E. E. Cooley, elected in March, 1878 and again in 1879; Dr. H. C. Bulis, elected in March, 1880, and again in 1881; Wm. H. Valleau, elected in March, 1882, and present incumbent.

The following are the present officers (1882) of the Decorah city government: Mavor, Wm. H. Valleau; City Attorney, O. J. Clark; City Clerk, W. R. Toye; Treasurer, George Q. Gardner; Assessor, Cyrus Adams; Street Commissioner, A. W. Bonstell; Marshal, Ed Bean; Night Watchman, John Wilson.

The members of the City Council, elected for two years, one being chosen each year from each ward, are:

1st Ward, H. Engerbertson, Geo. L. Wendling; 2d Ward, E. P. Johnson, Wm. Jennisch; 3d Ward, R. B. Tuttle, John Curtin; 4th Ward, James Alex Leonard, J. H. Baker.

In the chronological history of the county, several mentions are made of the Norwegian Lutheran College, erected on its large grounds, and commanding site in West Decorah, and its progress from commencement to completion. The college has thirty-two acres of rolling ground connected with it, and is an imposing edifice in the Norman-Gothic style of architecture, three stories in height, and costing $100,000. The main building and one wing were erected in 1865; the other wing, completing the original design, in 1874. This college was at first opened at LaCrosse, Wis., in 1861, was transferred to Decorah in 1862, and occupied what is now the St. Cloud Hotel, till 1865, when it moved into its present building. It began with eleven students in LaCrosse, had thirty-two on its commencement in Decorah, and eighty on entrance into its present building. Now it has an average of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred students, often approaching the latter number. Its president is L. Larsen, an able and efficient one. It has nine professors which are selected from the ablest of the scholars and educators in Europe and America. The college and the cause of learning recently sustained a severe loss in the death of Prof. J. D. Jacobson, but in that case as in other vacancies, they are filled with the best men that can be found. The Norwegian Lutheran College is the representative institution of that nationality for this country and especially for the northwest.

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Its pupils are more particularly from Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. It is chiefly supported by contributions from Lutheran congregations. The college is not strictly theological -those who wish to study theology can be prepared in it to enter the Norwegian Lutheran Theological Seminary at Madison, Wisconsin, or Concord College, a German Theological school, at St. Louis, Mo. The course of study embraces a preparatory department and a full college course. Thirty dollars per year is charged for tuition, and $70 for board; but aid is afforded to students not able to pay their way. The college has its literary societies and a library of several thousand volumes. The college choir is a popular institution with the people of the city, as is also its orchestra and its excellent cornet band, which has furnished music on many public holidays and celebrations in Decorah.

The Decorah public school building has been previously referred to in this chapter. It cost, exclusive of furniture, $20,000. It was thought to be ample for the educational wants of the city for years, but has become so crowded that additional room will have to be secured, as there are over 600 students enrolled this early in the school year; the enrollment last year was 688, and the number this year will probably be greater. This does not inIclude the West Decorah school. The school is divided into nine grades, in which all the branches from the primary to the High School course are taught. A new and advantageous feature is the system of special teachers for a particular branch in the various departments, thus securing the benefit of special fitness for instruction in each study taught, instead of one teacher giving instruction in all the studies in his or her department. The school possesses appropriate apparatus. A special High School department was established a few years ago, and the first class, nine in number, graduated in the latter part of June, 1881, with credit to themselves and the school, as did the class which followed them this year-1882.

The following is the corps of teachers for the present school year, they all being so successful in their several departments as to be re-elected from the previous year:

H. L. Coffeen, Principal; Misses Lou Hughes, Julia Curran, Mary Helgerson, Ada Bulis, Eva Benedict, M. E. Riley, Emma Shipley, Emma Telford. Susie Duffin and Mrs. M. E. Jester. C. H. Valder, Teacher of Penmanship.

The Board of Education, which has management of the schools, is as follows: E. Cutler, President; Joseph Hutchinson, W. F. Coleman, Geo. Q. Gardner, B. Annundson, Edwin Klove.

In our chronological record will be seen mention of the Winneshiek Normal Institute, with Sherman Page as principal. This institution suspended during the war, Mr. Page taking a position in the army. It was afterward revived under his management for a