The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village of Hills continued from 7-02-20 edition of the Star Herald.
 
         Since Hills has become an incorporated town, its growth has been steady. Over $30,000 were expended on building improvements in 1904. The state census of 1905 gave the town a population of 320. In 1908 the building improvements footed up over $15,000 and in 1909 to the same figure. The census of 19010 showed a population of 398, giving Hills second place among Rock county towns.
         The School — The first school taught in Hills was conducted by Miss Jennie Wright. The district had not been organized and the expenses were paid with money raised by subscription. The district, comprising five sections, was organized in 1893, and the school that year was taught by Miss Myra Ferguson in the town hall. The members of the first board of education were Olaf Skyberg, P. H. Bly and Nels Iverson. In 1894 a block of land was purchased by the district and a two-room frame building was put up at a cost of $3000. A S. Johnson and Betsey Rovang conducted the first school in the building. As the town grew, the old building became too small to accommodate the district  and in the fall of 1903 an addition was built at a cost of $3000. Just after its completion, January 7, 1904, the building was totally destroyed by fire. Steps were at once taken to rebuild, and early in September the present four-room school house, 32x72 feet, was completed at a cost of $7800.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village of Hills, continued from 6-25-20 edition of the Star Herald.
 
Hills became an incorporated municipality in 1904. It had a population to warrant taking the step ten years before, but the fear of many of the residents that incorporation would result in the licensing of saloons precluded taking any action at that time. In the fall of 1899 the matter was made an issue and came to a vote. A census of the village was taken, showing a population of 282. A petition was circulated10 and presented to the county board, asking for action looking toward incorporation. The commissioners took favorable action and named November 29 as the date and the opera house as the place for holding an election to decide the question. The result was a tie, thirty votes being cast for and the same number against incorporation. This defeated the proposition. Almost every year thereafter until incorporation was effected in 1904, the question was agitated, but sentiment was against taking the step because of fear that it would lead to the opening of saloons.
A census of the proposed incorporation (including 390 acres on sections 21 and 28), taken September 13, 1904, showed a population of 351. On that date another petition was circulated,11 asking the required steps to be taken by the county commissioners. The petition was presented September 14, and two days later was acted upon favorably, the commissioners naming John Helgeson, William F. Finke and Ole M. Ruud inspectors to conduct an election November 15, 1904. At the incorporating  election sixty-eight votes were cast, of which fifty-three were in favor of and eighteen against incorporation.
The first municipal election was held December 8, 1904, when the village’s first officers were chosen. A few days later those elected qualified and entered upon their duties. The results of the annual elections have been as follows:
1904—President, O. B. Severson; trustees, W. A. Larson, J. N. Jacobson, J. C. Steensen; recorder, Olaf Skyberg; treasurer, S. A. Christianson; justices, F. B. Myrick, O. T. Rovang; constables, Oswald Ruud, Gulick Rogness.
1905—President, O. B. Severson; trustees, W. A. Larson, J. N. Jacobson, K. K. Hellie; recorder, Olaf Skyberg; treasurer, S. A. Christianson; justices, A. C. Finke, O. M. Ruud; constables, Edward Larson, J. H. Finke.
1906—President, O. B. Severson; trustees, J. N. Jacobson, W. A. Larson, K. K. Hellie; recorder, Olaf Skyberg; treasurer, S. A. Christianson; assessor, F. C. Nuffer; justices, A. C. Finke, H. A. Twange; constables, Henry Nelson, F. E. York.
1907—President, W. F. Finke; trustees, J. N. Jacobson, W. A. Larson, Anton Hynden; recorder, Olaf Skyberg; treasurer, O. J. Nash; assessor, F. C. Nuffer; justices,12 S. J. Froshaug, A. C. Finke; constables, H. A. Nerison, M. P. Halvorson.
         190813—President, W. F. Finke; trustees, G. O. Rue, Otto Nelson, K.  K. Hellie; recorder, Olaf Skyberg; treasurer, O. J. Nash; assessor, K. N. Knudtson; justices, B. O. Mork, A. C. Finke; constables, M. P. Halvorson, H. A. Nerison.
                  1909—President, W. F. Finke; trustees, H. M. Moen, K. K. Hellie, Otto Nelson; recorder, Carl Omodt; treasurer, O. J. Nash; assessor, F. C. Nuffer; justices, K. N. Knudtson, Niels Jacobson; constables, H. A. Nerison, Oscar Qualley.
         1910—President , J. N. Jacobson; trustees, W. F. Finke, K. K. Hellie, William Thompson; recorder, J. B. Stordahl; treasurer, O. J. Nash; assessor, F. C. Nuffer; justice, K. N. Knudtson; constable, A. G. Qualley.
         1911—President, J. N. Jacobson; trustees, K. K. Hellie, W. F. Finke, P. P. Sundahl; recorder, J. B. Stordahl; treasurer, C. J. Woodrow; assessor, F. C. Nuffer; justices, Niels Jacobson, H. A. Twange; constable, E. Nerison.
10 Signed by August C. Finke, O. F. Starr, W. J. Kinne, F. C. Nuffer, A. V. Greene, L. Quam, W. Jennings, Hans Nelson, John Helgeson, Martin B. Hippi, S. S. Brovald, D. S. Walter, Anfin Osboe, O. T. Rovang, S. Hagen, Ole Lund, E. W. Munson, Halvor Julson, P. H. Bly, H. E. Wyum, J. F. Jordan, John Rudd, F. W. Purcell, Helge Rue, G. Rue, J. N. Jacobson, M. Anderson, G. B. Anderson, Ole Severson, F. H. Fritz, Ole O. Rue, Jr., J. R. Wright, F. A. Webster and Ole M. Ruud.
11Signed by John Helgeson, P. L. Breden, R. G. Garner, A. C. Finke, O. T. Rovang, J. H. Finke, O. J. Nash, J. H. Cox, C. W. Olander, Edward Larson, G. Rogness, Fred York, J. F. Jordan, F. B. Myrick, O. B. Severson, W. Jennings, Lars Engebretson, A. Hynden, Iver Thompson, H. A. Twange, Jacob Nerison, John Thorson, Carl, Loftness, Evan Sather, D. S. Walter, J. N. Jacobson, Halvor Julson, Nels G. Sundem, W. F. Finke, K. O. Rue, W. A. Larson, S. S. Brovold, A. T. Sexe, William Thompson, A. E. Cleveland, H. E. Wyum, Martin Nelson, Ole O. Rue, T. Nigaard, Peder Holverson, T. Lien and K. K. Hellie.
12Were appointed.
                  13Hills has never had a licensed saloon. Prior to 1908 the question was not put to a vote and the council did not grant license. In 1908 the vote was twenty-three for license to forty-seven against. In 1909 the question was not an issue and in 1910 the vote was twenty-eight for to sixty-two against.
        
         The story of the village of Hills will continue in the   July 9 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village of continued from 6-18-20 edition of the Star Herald.
 
The next item we have to consider in the history of Hills was also an important one — no less than the removal of the entire business section of the town. The village was originally located three blocks west of the present location, on low ground. In 1893 F. C. Finke platted an addition on the higher ground, and early in the year 1895 he submitted a proposition for the removal of the business houses to Summit avenue of his addition, which would place it about midway between the two depots. A meeting of the property owners on main street was held early in April, when Mr. Finke made his proposition, to the effect that in case the move was made each property owner should receive free a lot of relative location to the one on Main street and that each building should be moved free of cost to the owner. On April 20, at another meeting, the proposition was accepted. Ole Sandbo, William Thompson and A. O. Skattum were appointed a committee to represent the business men in the legal transaction. To the committee Mr. Finke delivered a bond, signed by himself, Goodman Anderson, J. C. Steensen and J. R. Wright, pledging the removal of the buildings free of cost and damage. The contract was signed on May 4, and at once the fourteen buildings comprising the business portion of the town were moved to the present site.
After the hard times period, during the closing years of the decade which had ushered in Hills, steady improvement was made. In 1896, although a full recovery from the hard times had not been made, the building improvements amounted to $12,640, according to the figures of the Hills Crescent. Among the principal buildings were the Hills creamery, implement house and residence of Ole Severson and a residence by P. H. Bly. In 1897 the improvements reached a total of $13,000, including the Presbyterian church; in 1898 they were placed at the same figure; and in 1899 at $11,550, including the Rock County Banking company’s brick block, Wright & Munson’s elevator and J. R. Wright’s residence.
The year 1902 was an exceptionally prosperous one in Hills, the building improvements for the year amounting to $53,500, including many handsome residences. On March 13, 1902, the Crescent boasted of the following enterprises: two banks, two department stores, two hardware stores, two hotels, five elevators, two lumber yards, two implement houses, two harness dealers, three fuel dealers, three wall paper dealers, one furniture store, one machine repair shop, two stock yards, one feed mill, one restaurant, one real estate firm, one meat market, one drug store, one confectionary store, one stock buyer, one laundry, one millinery store, one newspaper, one photograph gallery, one barber shop, one shoe repair shop, one bicycle shop, one billiard hall, three dress-making establishments, two railroads, two express agencies, one undertaker, one carpenter shop, seven carpenters, two dray lines, one bakery, five insurance agencies, three painters, one physician, a detention hospital, a telephone system, three churches and three lodges.
        
         The story of the village of Hills will continue in the   July 2 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village of continued from 6-11-20 edition of the Star Herald.
 
The growth of Hills during 1892 was substantial and its permanency was assured. It distanced some of the neighboring villages and boasted a larger growth than its rivals.9 Among the new enterprises of the year were the town’s first hotel by T. O. Strandness, a bank under the management of J. R. Wright, a harness shop by H. Julson and a pool hall by H. O. Rue. The building improvements amounted to over $17,000 and were as follows:
A. T. Sexe, store building — $4000; Sandbo Brothers & Skattum, drug store and harness shop — $3000; A. T. Sexe, residence — $2000; J. Helgeson, residence —$1500; H. Nerison, residence — $1500; T. O. Strandness, hotel — $1200; Olaf Skyberg, residence — $1000; P. H. Bly, residence — $1000; O. Rue, residence — $800; Iver Heyme, residence — $600; M. Olson, residence — $300; W. P. King,  photograph gallery — $200; Total — $17,000.
Despite the fact that there had been so much activity during the first few years of existence, when the Hills Crescent was founded in August, 1893, it is learned that the total population of the village was not over forty. There was some advancement during the first half of the year 1893, and the report of the railroad business at the station for the year indicated a healthy business. Three hundred twenty-seven carloads of grain and forty-three of stock were shipped from the station; there were received twenty-one carloads of lumber, forty-four of coal, thirty of merchandise, two of salt and thirty-two of miscellaneous goods. The panic of 1893 and the few years succeeding hard times had a depressing effect on the little village and not much progress was made until the late nineties.
An item of the greatest importance in the history of Hills was the establishment of the station on the Illinois Central road. Ever since the founding of the town its citizens had endeavored to bring about this much desired action, but the Illinois Central interests had been more interested in their town of Bruce and had steadfastly refused to entertain the idea. The people of Hills raised $400 by subscription to donate toward the building of a depot and during the winter of 1893-94 the station was established and the depot built, resulting, practically, in giving the town a new railroad. The occasion was duly celebrated in a jollification held on the evening of January 3, 1894.
 9“Hills, in its march of progress, is crushing the hopes and aspirations of some older towns, passing on over the dead and buried remains of the neighboring villages. It is the eternal law of life and growth. Something must die that other things may live. There is a ‘survival of the fittest.’ “-Correspondent, September, 1892.
 
         The story of the village of Hills will continue in the   June 25 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village of Hills, continued from 6-4-20 edition of the Star Herald.
 
         In April the store building of Jacobson & Sexe was moved across the fields from Bruce, and early in May that firm opened a general store one block north of the Thompson store. The same month A. T. Sexe moved his lumber yard from Bruce and installed P. H. Bly as manager. At the same time Ole Lund, the Bruce blacksmith, moved to the more promising village with his family — the first  family to locate in Hills — and erected a shop and residence.
         Many of the settlers of Martin township and most of the first business men of Hills were Norwegians. When the seventy-sixth anniversary of the independence of Norway, May 17, 1890, occurred, all living in the vicinity joined in celebrating the event, although only the above mentioned people were residents of the town. A bowery was erected and the exercises were held in a downpour of rain. Niels Jacobson was president of the day; Nels Iverson, vice president; Charles Nelson and George Anderson, marshals. The advertising matter promised one hundred guns at sunrise and a mammoth parade, headed by two brass bands.
         So early as February a petition had been circulated among the farmers in the vicinity of the proposed town, asking for the establishment of a postoffice, and during the summer the office was established with J. N. Jacobson as postmaster.7
         7Mr. Jacobson served a four year term, being succeeded in 1894 by F. H. Fritz. Olaf Skyberg received the appointment in 1898 and has held the office since. One rural mail route is in operation from Hills. It was established April 1, 1904.
         Besides the business enterprises mentioned, a few others were put in operation before the close of the year 1890. Warehouses were put up by Anderson & Finke, who also engaged in the stock business, and A. T. Sexe, and an elevator was built by the J. Q. Adams company. A. Hendrickson, a carpenter, erected a residence late in the year. A correspondent writing November 17 said: “We have every prospect for making a good town … We have three elevators, one general store, one large hardware store, one blacksmith shop and one large lumber yard, also two stock firms and two coal and wood firms.” From the time the station was opened until the first of the next year over $7000 worth of freight business was done at the Hills station, according to a statement by the agent, B. F. Heastand. The growth during the first year of its history had been substantial, and the year 1891 opened with more improvements in prospect.
         During the second year of the town’s history a two-story town hall costing $1500 was put up by a stock company, composed principally of farmers residing in the vicinity and a few business men of the town; a $3000 brick church was erected; Erick Colby established a livery and feed stable; Olaf Skyberg rented a part of the town hall and founded the second general store; Dr. C. P. Bissell put in a stock of drugs in Jacobson & Sexe’s store and practiced his profession; L. A. Gilberts and the Midland Elevator company erected warehouses; W. P. King established a photograph gallery; and six residences were built.8 A business directory of Hills on November 20, 1891, shows the following: Jacobson & Sexe, general merchandise; Olaf Skyberg, general merchandise; William Thompson, hardware; A. T. Sexe, lumber, fuel, feed and grain, P. H. Bly, manager; C. P. Bissell, physician and drug store; Erick Colby, livery barn; Ole Lund, blacksmith; A. Hendrickson, carpenter; B. F. Heastand, railroad agent; J. Q. Adams & Company, elevator, A. J. Barbour, agent; L. A. Gilberts, grain dealer, John Helgeson, manager; Midland Elevator company, W. F. Johns, manager.
         8“To say that Hills is booming is not saying much at present. The fact is, we lack words to express the enterprise and thrift noticeable in all lines of business. All our business men are kept so busy that they must put out of consideration both comfort and repose to keep pace with the progress of the town. Lots and building materials go like hot cakes. Houses go up and new business enterprises are established. Hills is destined to become the metropolis of Rock county, to say the least, and the present outlook warrants us in predicting that such will be the case in the no distant future.” —Hills Correspondent, September 2, 1891.
        
         The story of the village of Hills will continue in the June 4 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village of Hills continued from 5-28-20 edition of the Star Herald.
         The farmers residing in the vicinity were given the privilege of christening the new town. They chose the name Oslo, but before the site was platted, late in October, it was learned that there was a town of the same name in Marshall county, Minnesota, and those interested decided on Grant for the name. That name was also short lived, for when the local passenger tariff of the new road was issued early in December, the new station was listed Anderson, in honor of Goodman Anderson, then a resident of Martin township, now of Hills. The station was known by this name until the following spring.
         The townsite was surveyed in November, 1889, by O. C. Pitkin. The dedication was made February 17, 1890, by E. W. Skinner, and the instrument was filed for record May 31 of the same year.3 The track was laid to and beyond the site of the town in the fall of 1889, and before the first of the next year a depot, section house, windmill and tank were erected. No one made his home there, however, and prior to the year 1890 Hills (or Anderson, as it was then called) did not have a single inhabitant.
                  3The original plat consisted of sixteen blocks. North and south the avenues were named Main, were numbered First to Sixth. Additions to Hills have been platted as follows:
         Lars O. Kolsrud’s, by Lars O. Kolsrud and Andrew Gunderson, July 21, 1893; surveyed by W. N. Davidson. F. C. Finke’s, by Frederick C. Finke, May 12, 1893; surveyed by W. N. Davidson. County Auditor’s Outlots, by County Auditor, October 16, 1909; surveyed by W. N. Davidson.
 
         The first inhabitant of Anderson was Olaf Nordby, who came in January, 1890, as section foreman. The section house was occupied by one of his men who had a family, and Mr. Nordby boarded with them. Early in February B. F. Heastand came to Anderson as agent for the Sioux City & Northern and opened the station. The matter of selecting a permanent name for the town-to-be became a live issue early in the year and the matter was argued in the year and the matter was argued for several weeks before any business enterprises were started.4 On March 1 a public meeting was held, at which the name Hills was decided upon. This was given in honor of Frederick C. Hills, who was at the time the president of the Sioux City & Northern railroad.5
         4“The parties interested in the new town of Anderson in Martin township are having a little squabble over the name,” — Beaver Creek Newsletter, February 21, 1890.
         5Frederick C. Hills was born in England January 23, 1842, and came to America with his parents at the age of seven years. He served three months in the Civil War, being discharged because of physical disability. He located in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1864, was one of the organizers of the Sioux City & Northern, and for seven years served as president and general manager of that road. He died from poisoning in Sioux City, November 23, 1899.
 
         In the spring of 1890 Hills became a town in fact as well as in name. Several business enterprises were started, and before the close of the summer season there were quite a number of stores, shops and warehouses, the greater number of which had come in their entirety from the neighboring village of Bruce. To William Thompson, who lived on his farm adjoining the townsite, and Orval E. McClarey belong the honor of being the first to engage in business in Hills. In March these gentlemen erected the first business house in the town, on Main street, one block from the depot, and on April 28 opened a grocery and hardware store, also engaging in shipping livestock.6 While Thompson  & McClarey were establishing the first business house, others were putting up buildings in the new town, and immediately after the pioneer store was started other business enterprises were founded.
 
                  The story of the village of Hills will continue in the June 11 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911.
 
Rock County Village of Hills
         Ranking second in size among Rock county villages is Hills, situated in the southern part of Martin township, two miles from the Iowa state line. It is located at the junction of the Great Northern and Illinois railroads, giving it transportation facilities excelled by no other town in the county excepting Luverne. As regards trade territory, Hills has a strategic location, drawing its trade from an area of exceptionally prosperous country — a finer agricultural country than which it has never been the fortune of the author of this volume to see. The village itself is in keeping with the country surrounding. It is compactly built and presents an attractive appearance, being generally regarded as the neatest looking municipality in Rock county. It has broad streets, lined with substantial brick and frame business houses and handsome residences, and shade and ornamental trees cover the entire townsite.
         Although Hills takes a high rank in the matter of size and importance, it is one of the younger villages of Rock county, having come into existence after, and as a result of, the building of the Sioux City & Northern (now a branch of the Great Northern) railroad from Sioux City to Garretson The first building erected on the townsite was put up prior to this time, however, — long before the location of a village there was thought of. This building was a church, the house of worship of the Immanuel Norwegian Evangelical Union (Synod), which was erected in 1885. From that date until late in the year 1889 the church alone occupied the townsite of Hills.
         The Illinois Central railroad was built through the neighborhood in the fall of 1887, and men who were following the fortunes of that road founded the town of Bruce, a couple of miles west of the future town of Hills, which, of course, precluded any idea of founding a town in such close proximity by the Illinois Central interests. But when the line of the Sioux City & Northern was definitely located and grading was commenced late in July, 1889, the farmers living in the vicinity of the point where the new road would cross the Illinois Central interested themselves in inducing the railway company to locate a town at that point. In August, before track laying was begun, a number of Martin township farmers raised $1,000 by subscription, with which they purchased of F. C. Finke a forty acre tract on the northeast quarter of section 28. This they turned over to the railroad authorities, with the understanding that a station should be located thereon and a townsite platted. The matter of the establishment of the new town hung for some time,2 but the representative of the railroad company accepted the forty acre tract and in September purchased a seventeen acre tract adjoining from William Thompson.
 
                  2There appears to be some question as to whether or not a new town will be started at the crossing of the Sioux City & Northern and the Illinois Central near Bruce, in Martin township. A tract of forty acres has been donated to the company for a townsite at the point mentioned, but it appears that the Central road is opposed to the scheme and it is stated on what appears to be pretty good authority that the Sioux City and Northern company has no intention of putting in a depot there.—Rock County Herald, August 30, 1889.
 
         The story of the village of Hills will continue in the June 4 edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

Rock County will celebrate its 150th Anniversary this year. The news will be the history of Rock County, townships, and communities. The following appeared in the Rose History of Rock County, printed in 1911.
 
County and Township Organization — 1870-1878 (continued from 05-14 edition)
Dover (Denver)
          One of the townships comprising the original Gregory township had seceded until with the organization of Rose Dell the name found lodgment in the territory now known as Denver township. As the several precincts withdrew no arrangement was made for apportioning the debt of the mother township, and the last one found itself saddled with a good sized debt and not much to show for it except the name Gregory. The inhabitants of that territory asked for relief, presenting a petition, headed by Lars G. Kartrude, on July 15, 1878. The matter was referred to the county attorney at that time, and on July 24 the commissioners made provision for the reorganization of the township under the name Dover.
         Dover township was organized and the first officers chosen at the home of Lars G. Kartrude on section 32 on August 12, 1878. It went under this name until January 6, 1880, when the commissioners changed the name to Denver, having been notified by the state officials that there was another Dover township in Minnesota and that law or custom forbade two precincts in the state to bear the same name. In Denver township the United States has granted land titles as follows:
         Lars G. Kartrude (32), Maren Anderson (30), Gottlieb Rogge (6), Andrew Peterson (30), John Gilbertson (30), Asle A. Thorson (34), Terge Jensen (32), Tobias Simenson (34), John M. Grant (28), John Shertzer (12), Horace Goodale (10), Charles Gates (6), Anton E. Anderson (28), James E. Black (8), James B. Andrews (20), James Larkin (12), Artemus Kimball (6), Robert J. Cobban (20), Knud H. Braaten (6-18), John A. Mills (4), Kleber Wilkenson (18), Peder O. Froke (28), James Murphy, Jr. (24), Wilson Belknap (20), Marshall s. Blasdell (12), Jeremiah Tierney (26), Philo Hawes (4), Abagail Webber (2), Peter Von Levern (14), Ferdinand Lemke (4-22), Herman Lenz (22), Andrew M. Helgeson (8-32), Torkel O. Sundre (34), George G. Quailey (8), Mikkel O. Bakke (20), Stephen Dockstadter (14), Johanne Houg (26), Ingre Riste (6), James Harding (14), Henry G. Brown (34), Torkel O. Bredbaken (18), Joseph Wade (2), Edwin W. Devine (28), Lars Hauger (30), Sylvester T. Wade (2), Otter Otterson (26), John W. Anderson (6), Heirs of Frederick Lenz (22), Reuben Williams (8), James Murphy (24), Dennis S. Murphy (24), Gilbert A. Williams (2), Ole H. Ellefson (18), Heirs of Samuel K. Hovey (20), William C. Mead (10), Charles McEmery (34), George A. Maderson (10), Levi M. Grandy (14), Charles Hill (10), Thomas E. Jones (12), Thomas Gleason (22), Sam Anderson (24), Richard Streeter (26).
         Denver was the last of Rock county’s twelve townships to organize. Since the new name was bestowed on that precinct all the townships have continued under local government with the same names and boundaries as described in this chapter.
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

Rock County will celebrate its 150th Anniversary this year. The news will be the history of Rock County, townships, and communities. The following appeared in the Rose History of Rock County, printed in 1911.
 
County and Township Organization — 1870-1878 (continued from 05-07 edition)
Rose Dell
          The petition for the organization of Rose Dell township was presented by W. T. Vickerman and others, and the township was declared created by the country board August 17, 1877. Mr. Vickerman suggested the name, giving it in honor of a rocky gorge, filled in the summer months with beautiful wild roses. The gorge is situated on section 25, of the fraction, a few rods west of Mr. Vickerman’s pioneer home. The meeting to organize and select the first officers was held at the home of William T. Vickerman on September 4, 1877. Those who received government land titles in Rose Dell township:
         William D. Allen (18), Wallace Searles (32), Joseph H. Craig (4), Eugene A. Loomis (36r47), Anton Larson (26), Charles H. Tinkham (32), Charles S. Bruce (20), William T. Vickerman (30), Nels O. Wemark (14r47), Charles H. Vickerman (30), Sherman E. Hawes (34), William E. Stark (4), Jerome T. Daggett (20), Gunder Hanson (12), Marthia Gilbertson (26), Frank Walsh (8), Knud K. Steen (14), Thomas E. Vickerman (18), Henry B. Noble (34), Francis Weeliver (10), Horace E. Loomis (26r47), Peter H. Norvold (2), George A. Blanchard (20), John J. Vickerman (6), Thomas McDermott (30), George W. Ganfield (12r47), Joseph Bell (22), Hans Larsen (12), William J. McGowan (2r47), Thorvold O. Holm (10), Olaf T. Engebretson (10), George Carnegie (12r47), Ole G. Twenton (4), Frank Walsh (22), Wilber H. Spooner (28-32), Thomas Ganfield (14r47), Engebret H. Ellefsen (2), Ellef H. Ellefsen (14), Ole Gulbranson (24), George Ganfield (14r47), Christian E. Lee (24r47), Engebret Lee (24r47), John Milne (2r47), Ludwig Schroeder (10), Lawrence Connelly (6), Merrick E. Kidder (20), Ludvig M. Larson (26), George Bieber (2), Halvor Ellefson (14), Lars Haraldson (12), Anton Larson (26), Wells J. Willyard (24r47), Andrew Olson (12r47), John J. Vickerman (28), Thomas J. Vickerman (8), Howard Boice (24r47), William E. Stark (4), Martin H. Ansen (22), Ellen Halvorson (28), George W. Vickerman (18), James Carnegie (2r47), William H. Storts (14), Josiah Kimble (32), Swain Kittleson (24-28), Isaac A. Vickerman (2), Henry B. Noble (34), Norman F. Phillips (6), Syver Haraldson (12), George H. Carr (8), Marinuis Enger (8), Jane Hendershott (26r47), Jacob O. Tveidt (22r47), Ole A. Olson (12r47), Tollef Knudson (10r47).
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.