This town derived its name from the Chippewa words, "cheng-wa" (pine) and "tana" (city), applied to an Indian village which from time immemorial had been located near the mouth of Cross lake. This locality had long been a rallying point for Indians and traders. When the writer visited it, in 1846, it had the appearance of an ancient place of resort. Half-breeds and whites with Indian wives settled here, and in 1852 there were several log houses, and a hotel kept by one Ebenezer Ayer. There was also a dam built for sluicing logs. Among the early settlers were Duane Porter, George Goodwin, Herman Trott, John G. Randall, Emil, Gustave and Adolph Munch. Mr. Trott built a fine residence on the shore of Cross lake, afterward the home of S. A. Hutchinson. The Munch brothers built a store and made other improvements. John G. Randall, in 1856-7-8, manufactured lumber, ran it down the Kanabec and St. Croix rivers to Rush Seba, Sunrise and Taylor's Falls. In 1852, and soon after the building of the government road to Superior City, a post office and a stage route from St. Paul to Superior City were established. The dam, to which reference has been made, was built in 1848, by Elam Greely. It is at the outlet of Cross lake and has ten feet head. The flowage covers many thousands of acres. The ownership has changed several times. The tolls levied amount to from ten to fifteen cents per thousand feet. The chartered operators control the flowage completely, opening and shutting gates at their pleasure. Many of the first settlers removed to other localities. Mr. Trott and the Munch brothers to St. Paul, J. G. Randall to Colorado, and Louis Ayd to Taylor's Falls. In 1856 an effort was made to found a village on the site of the old Indian town of Chengwatana. Judd, Walker & Co. and Daniel A. Robertson surveyed and platted the village of Alhambra, but the name was not generally accepted, and the old Indian name of Chengwatana superseded it. The town of Chengwatana was organized in 1874. The first supervisors were Duane Porter, Resin Denman and Ferdinand Blank. LOUIS AYD was born in Germany in 1840; came to America in 1852 and settled in Chengwatana. He served three and a half years as a soldier during the Rebellion, and was seriously injured in the service. On his return he settled in Taylor's Falls. He is a well-to-do farmer and dealer in live stock for the meat market. He has been a member of the Roman Catholic church from childhood. He was married to Rosabella Hoffman, of Hudson, Wisconsin, in 1871. DUANE PORTER, the son of a surgeon in the United States Army in the war of 1812, was born in Washington county, New York, in 1825; came West as far as Illinois in 1852, and to St. Croix Falls in 1844. He was married in 1848 to Mary Lapraire, and in the same year located at Chengwatama. His occupation is that of an explorer and lumberman. He has ten children living.