441 North Park Drive, Morton, MN 56270 [email protected] 507.697.6147

Bird Island Turned Down…Supreme Court of Minnesota Decides Her Petition an Illegal One… Published in the Olivia Times on August 2, 1900.

Subscribe
Voiced by Amazon Polly

The Supreme Court, by its decision on the 2nd of August, 1900, has turned the Bird Island petition down, holding in its decision that the Board of County Commissioners had no jurisdiction to act upon the said petition at the meeting which was called the 23rd of August, 1899, at which time, the Board of Commissioners decided that they had no jurisdiction to act upon the said petition at that time. The Supreme Court sustained them in that action.

Bird Island is no longer in the field as a contestant for county seat honors, the only fight now, is between Beaver Falls and Olivia, and all those who desire removal should support Olivia, as it is the only place to which the county seat can be removed from Beaver Falls.

The news of the court’s decision was received last Thursday and to say that the people of Olivia were jubilant, is, of course, putting it very mildly. For over twenty years the time-worn question of removing the county seat from its present location at Beaver Falls, to either Bird Island or Olivia, has been before the people of the county, but a stubborn resistance on both sides and much lawin’, has left the matter unsettled all these years much to the inconvenience and discomfort of those living any great distance from the county seat. The farmers and residents of other towns have all along asserted that the county seat must be moved toa more central point in the county, and have signified their willingness to support the contesting town securing a legal petition. Bird Island’s petition has been declared illegal by the highest court in Minnesota, which ends county seat matters as far as that place is concerned.

The 2nd Courthouse Built in Beaver Falls completed May 1900 for $2000.

Editor’s Note: You can buy a copy of The Renville County Courthouse Story via our website. We continue to research and learn every day!