Produced by K Nordquist, Dave Morgan, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: LUCY LEAVENWORTH WILDER MORRIS Originator of "Old Rail Fence Corners."] OLD RAIL FENCE CORNERS THE A. B. C's. OF Minnesota History SECOND EDITION AUTHENTIC INCIDENTS GLEANED FROM The Old Settlers By The Book Committee 1914 COPYRIGHTED 1914 BY THE BOOK COMMITTEE LUCY LEAVENWORTH WILDER MORRIS, EDITOR PUBLISHED BY THE F. H. MCCULLOCH PRINTING @ AUSTIN, MINN. In Memoriam Mr. Eli Pettijohn Mrs. Missouri Rose Pratt Mr. James McMullen Mrs. Samuel B. Dresser Mr. William W. Ellison Mr. Henry Favel Major Benjamin Randall Mrs. Duncan Kennedy Major S. A. Buell Mrs. Helen Horton Mrs. Mary Massolt Mrs. J. M. Paine Mr. Chas. Watson Mrs. C. W. Gress [Illustration: Map of OLD TRAILS AND ROADS COMPILED BY MR. GEORGE RALPH AND MRS. JAMES T. MORRIS] Explanatory How little we know about what we don't know! During my search for a map of the Old Trails and Roads of Minnesota, public libraries were thoroughly investigated, but no book or map could be found showing these old highways. A few old maps in the Historical Library bore snatches of them, but in their entirety they had disappeared from books and maps, as well as from our state. They might be the foundations for modern roads, but only the names of those modern roads survived, so they were lost. Months of this research work failed to resurrect them, although a map was made from the fragmentary pieces on old maps, filled out by what the pioneers who had traveled those roads could furnish. All old maps seemed to have disappeared from the state. "We had one of the new territory of Minnesota when it was admitted in '49, but just threw it out when we cleaned house lately. I think it came from Washington," said one dear old pioneer woman. "What do you want of those old roads anyway," said another. "If you had been over them as I have, you would know how much better these roads are, and be glad they are gone." It was hard to locate them from hearsay for when we asked "Did it go through Alexandria," the answer was, "There was no town on it after leaving St. Cloud, so I can't say just where it went, but we went to Fort Garry and crossed the river at Georgetown." Finally, after nearly a year's hard work, as we were on our way to the Capitol to look over the first government surveys, Mr. George Ralph was met, became interested, and drew part of these trails from the old plats for this map.