Men of the Olde Stone Age

Here are the stones which were part of the foundation of Gust Opseth's house in Rosewood. If you wish a larger version, just give me a shout.

When I went to the Marshall County museum to see the stones, I told the man who was the caretaker of the grounds that they were not in order. He told me I could rearrange them if I wished. Neither of us wanted a hernia; they remain as they were placed.

Some of us saw the carvings in place in the house and have the image to arrange them in our minds. Stone cutting is a rigid art form. It is not known if Gust actually cut these stones or placed them with a flat side to the inside. Considering other places he worked as a stone mason it is my opinion that he cut them.

I am wondering if Marshall County was full of rocks. We know it was full of Norwegians and Swedes; they are rock-hard stubborn. Does that count?

I want to go back to a dropped stitch. We talked a little about the land that Gust bought. It was questioned just why this land wasn't picked up earlier, as it was a portion of the Act of Congress of April 1820. The land, as you remember, was acquired in 1903.

To make it clear, let's first review how a township is laid out.

First, let's identify Marshall County, which is 1, 675 square miles. There are forty-nine townships in the county. The Township identifies a major subdivision of the public lands under the rectangular system of surveys. Most Townships measure approximately 6 miles on each side and contain approximately 23,040 acres. The sections are numbered to identify a tract of land, usually 1 mile square, within a township. Most townships contain 36 sections. Standard sections contain 640 acres. A section number identifies each section within a township.

A section contains 640 acres,- a half section contains 320 acres,- a quarter section contains 160 acres,- a half of a quarter contains 80 acres, and a quarter of a quarter contains 40 acres.

The plat map of New Solum Township, Township 155 includes part of Township 154; Gust's land was on 154 which was Pennington County.
NENE 15/ 154-N 44-W No 5th PM MN Pennington

The land which he owned was in Pennington County, not Marshall as first thought. The map shows us that his land was not marsh like land and had an intermittent stream running through it. On an up to date map, the land shows Federal Highway 75 running through the land. In viewing a US map, we see the "king of Trails" highway is border to border. The highway runs through Warren, Marshall County. Marshall County and Pennington County butt up to each other. This is where the land is. It is not known if he farmed it, cut timber, or just owned it. We do know that he owned 40 acres. We also know 40 acres is a quarter of a quarter.

Are we confused yet? Come! Jump in the truck with me! We will set the GPS for the perimeters listed and go to Gust's land.