Williamsburg, Minnesota is an extinct town,"National Registry of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, Lac qui Parle County Courthouse"
''National Park Service''. Retrieved July 10, 2024. and the first townsite in Lac qui Parle County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

."2022 Madison Visitor's Guide"
''The Western Guard''. Retrieved July 10, 2024.

Land ownership

The area of Williamsburg has been home to Native American peoples for over 9000 years. The first European nation claim to the area was

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1682 when explorer La Salle claimed the

Mississippi Watershed The Mississippi River is the primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, ...

as a part of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

. As a result of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, the land was given to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in 1763. The land was then back in French hands in 1800 before being sold to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1803 as a part of the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

. In 1851, the United States officially declared the area Dakota reservation land as a part of the Treaty of Traverse de Sioux. However, on February 16, 1863, the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

broke all treaties with the Dakota as a result of the US-Dakota War of 1862. This put the land under the ownership of the State of Minnesota, which opened it for European American settlement.

Founding

William Mills, an early settler of Lac qui Parle County, settled on the banks of the Lac qui Parle River in 1868. In 1869, Peter Jacobson led twenty

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

n families to the same place. Jacobson's claim was next to Mills's claim, and the two

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted Williamsburg during the summer of 1869.

History

During the fall of 1869, Peter Jacobson opened a store on his farm as well as trading with Native Americans for furs and other supplies. On June 1, 1870, the first

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church in Lac qui Parle County and the Upper Minnesota Valley was organized in Williamsburg. The congregation held services in homes and outdoors until April 1871 when the congregation became interested in finding a church and cemetery site. A site was chosen and a cemetery started, however due to accessibility concerns for the church structure, the actual church was built one mile west of the cemetery."Lac qui Parle County Park Master Plan"
''Lac qui Parle County Park''. 1 May 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2024 The cemetery was used until 1884"Lac qui Parle County Park"
''Marshall Independent.'' 24 February 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2024. and the church (Lac qui Parle Lutheran Church) is still active today. The first election of the area was held in the house of William Mills, which elected county officials despite the fact that a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

representing the area had not been formed yet. Lac qui Parle County would not be legally created until 1871. In November 1871, an official election was held to elect an official county board which would be responsible for denoting a

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. The two towns hoping for the county seat position were Williamsburg and Lac qui Parle Village. Supporting Williamsburg were S. A. Anderson, Jacob F. Jacobson, and Frederick Ehlers, while Browning Nichols and Colben Anderson represented Lac qui Parle. Browning Nichols, Colben Anderson, and Frederick Ehlers won the election and on January 11, 1872, Lac qui Parle Village was named the county seat. In 1889, Madison would be named the new county seat.

Abandonment

In 1870, Mr. Donaldson would open his own store, however after Lac qui Parle Village was named county seat, he moved his store there. This would be true for much of Williamsburg. The naming of Lac qui Parle Village as county seat was a "death knell" for the town. Today, the land that housed Williamsburg is located in the Lac qui Parle County Park and much of what is left is relegated to the cemetery and Lutheran church.Damon Farbe
"Lac qui Parle County Park"
8 May 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2024

References

{{Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota Ghost towns in Minnesota

Land ownership

Founding

History

Abandonment

See also

References