From Trygg Historical Maps, Trygg Land Office, Ely, MN www.trygglandoffice.com/maps.html b=bottom land, m=marsh, p=prairie, s=swamp

Basic Facts: Township 131N, Range 36W First Settled 1870 Government survey 1871 Organized July 29, 1875

History

[Copied by Lory Brasel, lbrasel@leagent.net, from the book "History of Otter Tail County" Volume I - 1916 by John W. Mason]

The township of Eastern (township 131, range 36) was organized on July 29, 1875, on the petition of S. L. West and others, representing a majority of the legal voters of the said township. The first election was held at the house of S. L. West on the 16th of the following month.

This township was attached to Jasper [later Parkers Prairie] in response to a petition of the legal voters of that township to the commissioners dated January 4, 1870, which contained the following signatures: Henry Asselm, Henrick M. , J. Drayer, Charles J. Velden, Benjamin L. Pease, J. S. Hogen, H. H. Carpenter, August Benggvist, Charles Svenson, Andrew Hanson, Sven Carlson, Hans Anderson, John Svanman, John Hakenson, Amor Bacon, Horis Aatkinson, Byron Rathbust, Hamilton Hall, Peter Lindall, W. A. Rathbun, Peter Jensen, G. I. Lundquist, P. A. Lundquist, P. Nelsen, P. N. Lundquist, A. Lundquist, John G Nelson and John N. Nelson.

The petition for the creation of this township was not presented to the commissioners until five years after this first petition. It was dated at Parkers Prairie, July 19, 1875, and contained the following names: S. L. West, William Melugin, William Boath, J. J. Melugin, Thomas Knott, John Tanglen, Peter Hakinson, John Svanman, C. Nyman, S. Caltras, Joseph Livesnosh, A. Peterson, Phillip S. Ireland and C. Haugen.

This township is the extreme southeastern township of the county and its location sufficiently accounts for the name which was given it by the county commissioners. It has six lakes of good size, Annalaid, Mary, Long, Rich, South and North Maple. The northern part of the township drains into Wing river and the southern portion is crossed by Spruce creek, which leaves the county in section 33. There is much valuable farming land in the township, and with drainage much more land can be brought under successful cultivation.

This is one of the several townships in the county without railroad connections with the outside world and this fact in part accounts for the township having no village. Earlv in its history sawmills were established in the northwestern corner of section 13 and in the northern part of section 33. At the present time the sole industry of the people of the township is farming, and the well-improved farms to be found indicate that the pursuit of this time-honored occupation has been successful.

The present township officers are as follow: Supervisors, Hans Arvedson, Frank Fox and O. K. Hanson; clerk, A. C. Rosenquist; assessor, Oliver Williams; justice, Nels Benson; constables, J. E. Nelson and J. A. Peterson.

Population

Population totals in state and federal census summaries.

	Eastern
1870
1875
1880	244
1885	341
1890	385
1895	475
1900	548
1905	553
1910	522
1920	516
1930	446
1940	473
1950	444
1960	339
1970	294

Places of birth for Eastern Township in the 1905 state census.

Native (USA)	76	14%
Minnesota	296	54%
Foreign	181	33%
Germany	10	6%
Sweden	144	80%
Norway	6	3%
Canada	3	2%
Ireland	2	1%
Denmark	3	2%
England	3	2%
Poland	0	0%
Finland	0	0%
Russia	5	3%
Scotland	2	1%
Other	3	2%

Land Maps

Names

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