Center Township

The organizational meeting for Center Township was set for February 26, 1920. The officers elected at the first meeting were: Fred Howe, Chas. Shipka, Fred Stropp, supervisors, T.H. Eaton, Clerk; A.L. Gage treasurer. On May 1, 1920 a petition was presented to the county commissioners asking the name of the township be changed to Ossipee. The townsh... ip is located in the center of the county. There is fair proof that the name was coined by J. V. Brower. IN 1897, he explored the mound and village sites of the pre-historic mound-building people. Two of the sites are located in Center Township. The area which became Center Township was the location of one of the earliest settlements in Crow Wing County. IN 1857, Rev. Ottomar Cloeter responded to an appeal for a missionary to come to this part of what was then the Minnesota Territory and established a mission near the mouth of Mission Creek. The mission was named Gabitaweegama. There is a marker near Evergreen Cemetery in Center Township commemorating the mission. The 1860 census indicated a population of 8 in this area, at that time known as Pine River. The 8 were: Rev. and Mrs. Cloeter and their four children, Sophia Moll, age 15 years; and F.W. Peake, a merchant mentioned frequently in Crow Wing County history. The Cloeter family left the area during the 1862 uprising. By 1897 the population was increasing rapidly. IN that year, a school district was organized, and the Ossipee post office was established with Emma Lougee as postmistress. Another school district, the Ossipee School, was established in 1903, and the Lord School was established in 1914. In 1919, the Ossipee post office was discontinued. The township then had no post office, village or church. When the town hall was built, it served all needs for a community center. A Friendly Reminder to All TownshipRead More