19th Century Morristown, MN Jonathan Morris was the founder of Morristown arriving in April of 1855.
http://ci.morristown.mn.us/
http://ci.morristown.mn.us/mhistory.htm
In April of 1855, Jonathan and Walter Morris came west
along the Cannon River from Faribault in search of mill power.
They followed the river as far as Waterville,
then returned to Mr. Storer's place, where they were treated to pioneer hospitality.
Pleased with the splendid water power they found there, they decided to stay.
In a few days they erected a log cabin located near the now restored mill.
Jonathan Morris also built the saw mill in 1855, and decided to lay a portion
of his claim into village lots.
But due to the hard work and exposure during the building of the water powered sawmill,
he became sick and died Mrs. Sarah Morris sold the mill to Christian Hershey in 1860
who remodeled and converted the sawmill to the grist mill of today.
The Morristown Historical Society has restored it to is original condition.
You can see it run during Dam Days and other special occasions.
After Jonathan's death, Mrs. Sarah Morris filed upon the track of land she and her husband settled on.
She had C.C. Perkons survey a portion of her claim into town lots.
Now that Christian Hershey's mill could grind wheat into flour for baking
it flourished and new business lined both sides of the main town road.
Now as Morristown grew the need for regular visits from the US Marshals had become a reality.
