Pictured is a school souvenir from the Twin Lake School from 1902.

Shelburne did not become an organized township until Aug. 17, 1879, nine years after Lyon County was organized. The first town meeting took place on September 6 at the home of C.P. McCann. The following officers were named at the meeting: C.P. McCann, chairman; D.A. Aurandt and W.F. Randall, supervisors; W.N. Olin, clerk; Erick Peterson, treasurer; F.W. Howard, assessor; E.F. Dickson and H.P. Sanders, justices of peace; C.P. Howard and A. Gilbertson, constables.

The C.P. Mann farm, located 2 ½ miles east of Florence on U.S. Hwy 14, not only had the first Shelburne township meeting, but the first school was organized there in 1881. The first school teacher was Miss Sadie Bartlet. In 1889, this school was moved to Burchard and became one of the four rural districts of the township (District 49). The last rural school to close in Shelburne township was District 78 in Florence, which closed in 1967.

An early tragedy that happened in Shelburne township occurred in 1877, two years before the township officially organized. In September 1877, a fire started in Sioux Falls, SD and was driven by a strong southwest wind and burned a considerable part of western Lyon County. H.P. Senden, E.K. Ronning, C.P. Myron and Christopher Johnson had finished threshing and started for Marshall each hauling a load of wheat with ox teams. Reaching Russell, they looked back to their homes and they saw a fire closing in on them. Within a short time, the prairie was a blackened wasteland. Mrs. C.P. Myron, two children, and Mrs. Hendrick Jorgenson were at home when they saw the fire approaching. Mrs. Myron and the children reached the dugout, but Mrs. Jorgenson perished. Everything on the property, except the dugout, was destroyed by the prairie fire.

The photograph featured this week shows the inside of a souvenir booklet in the Lyon County Museum’s collection. This souvenir booklet was given to students at the Lyon County School District #57 in Shelburne Township, the Twin Lake School, in 1902. The inside lists the teacher, pupils, and school board members.

The Lyon County Historical Society (LCHS) is a nonprofit, member-supported organization. LCHS operates the Lyon County Museum at 301 West Lyon Street in Marshall. The Lyon County Museum is open year-round to visitors. To contact us, visit our website: www.lyoncomuseum.org, call: 507-537-6580, email: director@lyoncomuseum.org, or on our Facebook page.