EMMET AND DICKINSON COUNTIES 425
March 22, 1895. Office and plant of the Estherville Democrat
destroyed by fire.
July 26, 1895. Monument commemorating the Spirit Lake massacre
dedicated.
August 3, 1897. Upper Des Moines Valley Medical Association organized
at Spirit Lake.
May 25, 1898. Fifty-second Iowa Infantry mustered into the United
States service for the Spanish-American war. Eight Emmet County men
were enrolled in Company K.
‐ 1899. The Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad was built
through Emmet and Dickinson counties.
‐ 1900. A geological survey of Dickinson County was made
by Thomas H. MacBride. Mr. MacBride also made a geological survey
of Emmet County in 1903.
November 8, 1904. Dickinson County voters indorsed a bond issue
for the purchase of a county poor farm.
December 26, 1904. The Coon Block at Estherville, and several
adjacent buildings were destroyed by fire.
May 3, 1905. A destructive tornado swept over Dickinson County.
May 13, 1909. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad depot
at Estherville burned.
September 21, 1909. The Northwestern Iowa Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church began its session in Estherville.
November 8, 1910. At the general election on this date the voters of
Emmett County indorsed the proposition to buy a poor farm by a vote
of 1,357 to 504.
March 26, 1914. The publication office of the Estherville Enterprise
was destroyed by fire.
January 8, 1917. fire destroyed the Grand Theater at Estherville
causing a loss of nearly two hundred thousand dollarss. [sic]
POSTSCRIPT ‐ IN LIEU OF A PREFACE
To write of the deeds and achievements of those who have gone
before us; to profit by their mistakes as well as to emulate their examples;
to keep green the memories of by-gone days; to preserve a record of
past events, is but a duty that every individual owes to a common humanity.
It was with thoughts such as these in mind that this History of
Emmet and Dickinson Counties was undertaken.
Less than a century ago the region now comprising the State of Iowa
was part of the great "unexplored" domain of the United States. The
Indian and the wild beast were the only occupants. The hills and dales
of Emmet and Dickinson counties were covered with the primeval forests
or the tall grass of the prairie. The muskrat and the beaver inhabited
426 EMMET AND DICKINSON COUNTIES
the swamps unmolested. Then came the white man with plow and ax and
all was changed. The Indian and the wolf have departed. The swamps
have been drained and brought under cultivation. To tell the story of
the hardships of the pioneers, as well as the accomplishments of those
who followed them, has been the object in view in the writing of this
history. How well that object has been attained is for the reader to
determine.
In presenting this work to the people of Emmet and Dickinson counties,
the publishers desire to state that no effort has been spared to
make the history both authentic and comprehensive. Authentic, because,
as far as possible, the official records have been consulted as sources of
information; and comprehensive, because, it is believed, no important event
has been overlooked or neglected.
The work has been one involving great care and labor and at times
no little difficulty has been encountered. Much credit is due to old residents
and others for their ready and willing coooperation in the collection of data
regarding events in the years gone by, their scrap-books, etc.,
having played no inconsiderable part in the compilation of the history.
In bidding the reader good-bye, the publishers take this opportunity
to express their obligations to the county officials and their deputies; the
editors of the various newspapers, who generously permitted the use
of their files; and the librarians of the public libraries at Estherville
and Spirit Lake for their uniform courtesies while the work was in course
of preparation.
THE END