At the Big Bend of the Redwood River, Marshall was located. Prior to white settlement, Big Bend and present-day Marshall was inhabited by the Dakota people. Marshall was an ideal location as trails extended from it in four directions: northward to the Lac Qui Parle surrounding area; southward past Lake Marshall, to the Cottonwood River area including Lake Shetek; southwest up the Redwood River, to the Lynd woods and the Pipestone quarries; northeast down the Redwood, to the present site of Redwood Falls and the Minnesota River.

In the summer of 1869, white settlers began making their first claim and early CH Whitney secured the first post office on his claim and name the new post office, Marshall. The name Marshall likely due to the proximity of Lake Marshall which was named after Minnesota’s fifth Governor, William R. Marshall.

As governor, Marshall repeatedly urged passage of a black suffrage amendment. After defeating it twice, the legislature finally adopted the amendment and inspired Gov. Marshall to declare that the “free young state of Minnesota” is “now altogether free.”

During Gov. Marshall’s administration, his adoptive state experienced a post-Civil-War surge of growth and development: Minnesota’s population doubled to 350,000, its railroad mileage quadrupled, and its commercial endeavors flourished. This same growth and development that helped Minnesota’s growth and development helped Marshall’s early population grow.

In 1872, the first train arrived and became the primary source of supplies and settlers.

But then the winter of 1872 arrived with brutal snow and winds that meant railroad tracks were covered with drifts. It wasn’t until the spring of 1873 when much building construction continued with seventy-nine permanent buildings located in Marshall in August of that year. In November of 1873, Marshall was elected to be the county seat and helped Marshall flourish further. In April of 1874, the town’s newspaper estimated the population at 300.

The settlers of Lyon County confronted many hardships and difficulties in the late 1800’s. Crops were frequently damaged by storms. Winters continued to be severe, especially noting 1880 to 1883 with many blizzards hitting the area. During 1880 to 1884 the population increased very little.

The federal census of 1880 gave the population as 961 while the census of 1885 showed a population of 986. The harvest in 1882 was the first in several years to be without suffering any damage and prosperity started to begin again.

It was in 1884, when Protestant businessmen of Marshall began to garner financial support for a Catholic church. The reasons for their interest were civic pride, competitiveness, and the desire to attract new customers– aiding the future growth of Marshall. By 1886, Marshall’s population grew to 1,500 residents.

The timing of rail construction– along with corporate ambitions to sell land and town lots efficiently and to control farm-commodity, and timber were the most critical factors in siting and platting railroad towns, including Marshall.

In 1860 nearly 80 percent of Minnesota’s American-born residents were from New England and New York (referred to as Yankees), with the latter contributing more than half of the total Yankee population. For Marshall in 1880, the Yankees comprised over 85 percent of the population. In 1910, they were over 50 percent of the population of 2,152. With three banks, five hotels, a flour mill, an opera house, municipal electricity, heat and water plants, a public library, and seven churches, by 1918, there were 3,000 people living in Marshall.

The 1920s saw low farm prices, failed international markets, followed by national crisis and an economic depression. The meant Marshall’s population stagnated. Then, the 1930s saw Marshall’s population grow 40% as a result of city’s growth in industry and New Deal money.

Although Marshall early on was dominated by Yankees, it was also home to other ethnic groups. Drawn by the lure of inexpensive farmland and a growing industrial base, diverse groups continued to migrate to Minnesota and Marshall, with the majority from Southern, Eastern and Central Europe.

Between 1875 and 1910, Norwegians made up between 3 and 6 percent of Marshall’s population. The Swedes were between 2 and3 percent of the city’s total population, while Danes made up between 1 and 3 percent of Marshall’s population in the year 1880-1910. In 1880, Icelanders made up about 3 percent of the population. In 1895, Germans were the largest ethnic minority in Marshall and comprised 6.5 of the population; by 1905 Germans were nearly 17% of the total population.

Future years of Marshall’s growth, would be buoyed by industrialization, transportation, post-war modernization, and enhancements in agriculture production, including food production. It was however early settlement that paved the way for Marshall’s future growth as a regional center.

— Sharon Hanson is the city administrator for the city of Marshall