Lake Francis is a
921-acre lake located in French Lake Township,
western Wright County,
and Kingston Township,
eastern Meeker County. Water
flows from Goose Lake, Lake John, Lake Sylvia,
and Lake Moses (also
known as Moose Lake )
into Lake Francis and
out to the North Fork of the Crow River near Kingston. In
June of 1857 speculators platted a town called Winchester on
the south side of Lake Francis
in Meeker County just
over the border of Wright County. 700
lots were platted. The
town was unsuccessful, and the land became the Damuth farm. In
1921 Camp
Wildwood Resort was started by August Nystrom on the same property. In
1951 Norman
Smith bought the property and sold lakeshore lots. The
area is now known as Wildwood Terrace. Part
of the land was recently developed (Hidden Forest). LakeFrancis had
two names.
1857 - Winchester plat
map called it Lake Francis. One
of the founders of Winchester was
Frank Reno, and it's possible the lake was
named for him (Francis).
1874
- Meeker County map called it Lake Hutchins.
1874
- Wright County
map called it Lake Francis.
1880
- Meeker County
plat map called it Lake Francis and
it remained that way.
1879
- Wright County plat
map called it Lake Hutchins,
and it remained that way until the 1940s (Lake Francis was
on the 1945 plat map).
The following early pioneers settled on the Wright County (east
side) of Lake Francis.
Samuel Bradbury Hutchins and Arvilla (Bailey) Hutchins - Samuel
was a carpenter who came to Kingston from Minot, Maine, in 1856 and
helped build the Kingston mill in 1856 and 1857. Six
children (5 boys and a girl) accompanied Samuel and Arvilla from Maine to
St. Anthony in the fall of 1855 and to Kingston in
1856. (Kingston
Townsite was platted in June 1858.) Two
sons, Moses and Charles, served in the Civil War from Meeker County. Samuel,
Sr. and Samuel, Jr. helped defend Kingston during
the 1862 Indian uprising. S.
B. Hutchins homesteaded
153 acres in French Lake Township on
the east side of Lake Francis in
1865. Lake Arvilla,
between Kingston and
Dassel, was named for Arvilla Hutchins, Lake Moses between Lake Sylvia and Lake Francis was
named for his eldest son, Moses, and Lake Hutchinswas
named for Samuel, Sr. Samuel
Hutchins, Jr. became an engineer on trains passing through South Haven. Samuel
and Arvilla's graves are on the northeast
banks of Lake Francis, marked
by a cement stone. The
top of the stone reads "Father
- Mother," and
has a Masonic emblem in the center. The
front of the marker reads "Samuel
Hutchins (1816-1892) and Arvilla Bailey Hutchins (1817-1890)." Hutchins
was justice
of the peace in Kingston in 1862, an officer in the Forest City
Masonic Lodge (formed 1867), an officer in the Wright County Old
Settlers (formed 1868), and a French Lake Township Assessor (1875).
Samuel and Arvilla Hutchins obituaries follow:
Litchfield Saturday
Review, March 22, 1890, Kingston News - Old
settlers will be shocked to learn that Mrs. Arvilla, wife of S. B.
Hutchins, died last Monday shortly after retiring. Her
general health has been rather poor the past few months, being
afflicted with the Grip. Mr.
Hutchins and family came to Meeker County in 1856, and lived through
those times that endeared so many who suffered in common, whom later
arrivals look upon as landmarks who are fast disappearing. Mrs.
H. would have completed her 73rd year
in another week. The
old gentleman is completely broken up, and has the sympathy of all
in his bereavement. The
funeral took place Friday at the home.
The News
Ledger, Litchfield, February 11, 1892 -
The following from the Austin Transcript tells the sad story that
our old friend Sam B.
Hutchins, formerly of Kingston but late of Austin, Minn., has passed
beyond the trials and cares of this life: "The
funeral of Mr. S. B. Hutchins took place this morning (Feb. 5) at 10
o'clock from the residence of his
son-in-law, Mr. George Remore, Rev. Briggs officiating. The
ceremonies were in charge of the Masons of which Mr. Hutchins was a
member. The
body was taken to the Milwaukee Depot and sent to Wright County for
interment, where Arvilla Hutchins, wife of the deceased, who died
two years ago, is buried. Mr.
Hutchins was born in the state of Maine in
the year 1816. He
came to Minnesota in
1855 and settled near St. Anthony Falls,
when Minneapolis was
but a small town. Mr.
Huchins and wife were blessed with six children, five of whom are
still living. Mr.
Hutchins has lived a wealth of golden years. He
passed away in the autumn of life, and now has passed into the
eventide of rest. With
his beloved wife in Glory he will know no more sorrow, and will be
forever in the presence of the King.
John Hasselberg purchased the Hutchins farm from George and Sarah
(Hutchins) Remore in 1898, and his descendants still own the farm. Some
of the lakeshore was sold for development and is now known as Rustic
Ridge.
Joseph N. Hamilton (1839-1924) - Joseph
N. Hamilton came to Kingston from Maine in
1866 after serving in the Civil War. He
married Mary Ella Morehouse in 1868. The
family homesteaded 80 acres near Lake Francis circa
1875. The Hamilton's
log house was built by S. B. Hutchins. Joseph
Hamilton and his family were instrumental in starting the Lake Francis School in
1886. His son
Nathan taught in FrenchLake Township schools,
and grandson Lewis Holm taught at Lake Francis School and
Meeker County District 33. The Hamilton land
was sold to his daughter Belle (Hamilton) Holm and her husband Leonard. The
farm was sold to Mildred and Carl Olson in 1943 and
remains in the Olson family.
Hedwin Olson - Hedwin
and Agneta Olson emigrated from Sweden in
1870 and homesteaded 57 acres between Lake Francis and LakeMoses. They
donated land for the Lake Francis School in
1886. The
Olsons moved across
Lake Francis to Cedar Point and then to 140
acres near Lake Union. In
1906 Hedwin and Agneta Olson donated land for the Lake Union Mission Church (now
Covenant) and were charter members. Their former Lake Francis farm
is now known as the Blaness farm. There
are many Olson descendants in the area.
Other Lake Francis Pioneers - Holm
Larson from Norway purchased
a farm between Lake Francis and Lake Moses in
1874. Holm and
Johanna Larson were the parents of Leonard Holm. The
farm is now known as the Christofferson place. John
Oscar Snabb was also a pioneer in the area as was Lars Berg. The
Berg land became the Hammersborg farm. Fred
Hammersborg sold the lakeshore, which became
Sunset Terrace.
Eagle Mills - The
town of East
Kingston was
platted southwest of Lake Francis January
23, 1871. East
Kingston was
another town that remained just a few farms. A
dam had been erected on Eagle Creek and a mill started in 1866 by
Jefferson Carville and A. H. Carville. An
1873 advertisement in the Litchfield Ledger reads: "J.
Carville, hardwood lumber, flour and feed, highest market price paid for
wheat at Eagle Mills, Kingston." Eagle
Creek flows out of Lake Francis to
the Crow River.
Lake Francis School - The
school was built in 1886 and completely rebuilt in 1912. Lake Francis School closed
in 1964 and consolidated with Annandale Public Schools. Mildred
Olson purchased the school in 1964 and used it for a summer school for
special needs children. The
schoolhouse is still a landmark on the east shore of Lake Francis. Note:
The schoolhouse was razed in October 2010.
Road by Lake Francis - There
were three versions of the road starting with a cart trail along the
lake, replaced by a gravel road (County Road 2). A
straightened paved road was built away from the lake in 1966.
Stanley Eddy Park - In
November 1967 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Eddy, who owned a nursery in Howard
Lake, donated 40 acres near the east side of Lake Francis for a Wright
County park. The
park was given in memory of their 16 year-old son, Stanley, who died in
1963 as a result of a fall from a tree. The
Stanley Eddy Park has grown to 650 acres in three different park
sections. Note: in 2007 Wright County added 181
acres to Stanley Eddy Park for a total of 879 acres.
James McGannon - 28
year old James McGannon was killed by Indians July 1, 1863. He
was shot by Hi-Uka (son-in-law of Chief Little Crow) near the bridge on
present day County Road 2 near Lake Union. His
body was discovered by the mailman and buried nearby. McGannon's
family later moved his remains to the Fair
Haven Cemetery. Little
Crow had McGannon's
jacket when he was killed July 3, 1863, ten
miles north of Hutchinson. [1862
Fair Haven Fort Marker, located at Fair Haven Park]
Resorts - There
were two resorts on Lake Francis in
the 1920s and 1930s. Camp Wildwood and
Cedar Point were both in Meeker County. There
has been a public beach and boat launch area on the northwest side in Meeker County since 1954. There
is also a boat launch on the south side of the lake.
In 1921 August Nystrom purchased a 50-acre farm on the South shore
of Lake Francis and started Camp Wildwood Resort.
Minneapolis Sunday Tribune,
June 29, 1924: Camp
Wildwood on Lake Francis - A
nice quiet place among the birches, 65 miles from
theTwin Cities between Dassel and
South Haven. Follow Trail No. 10 and White-Black arrow.
All new, clean, electric lighted cottages for
light housekeeping, fully equipped. Good store
and home bakery.
Rates $12 up. Telephone
Cokato Central or write A. Nystrom, South
Haven, Minn.
For more information about the Lake Francis area, read the following
two books:
- Stepson of the
Forest by Lewis
Nathan Holm (available through the GRRL library)
- Tiny Tenacious
Tilda by Mildred
Olson
