Page "Rushford, Minnesota" Paragraph 1

Prior to settlement, the tract of land that became known as Rushford had been a favorite planting and camping ground for the Sioux and later Winnebago.

In the winter of 1840 the one-eyed Winnebago Chieftan De-co-ray made his camp in the valley where the Rush Creek and Root River, known to the Native Americans as the Hokah River, met.

Seven lines of Indian trails converged in what became of Rushford, and likely guided the first settlers down into the valley.

Although a few expeditions of white men had come into the Root River valley where Rushford stands, the first settler, E. K.

Dyer, arrived in May of 1853.

Upon his inspection of the area Dyer discovered the grave of a previous caucasian, marked by a crude wooden marker.

Around the time that Dyer broke ground to plant corn the first Norwegian settlers were coming into the area and were laying claim to lands to the west and south.

In March of 1854 Joseph Otis, a Vermont native, arrived on foot from LaCrosse, WI.

Otis decided that this beautiful land was a perfect spot to stake a claim and decided on a small tract of land east of the Rush Creek, in the area now known as Brooklyn.

By December of 1854 this area that Dyer had been calling Pomfret was renamed Rushford after a vote during a Christmas dinner served at Dyer's home.

Named for the spot where the nearby Rush Creek could easily be forded.

Every adult citizen of this small settlement signed the small petition ; E. K Dyer and his wife, William Johnson, Joseph Otis and his wife, Hiram Walker and his wife, Joseph Pease and R. H. Valentine.