Votes, Bribes, and Victory: The bitter battle for the Wadena County seat
by Trinity Gruenberg
and Devon Dougherty
Verndale lost the bid by a narrow margin for the county seat 151 years ago, competing with Wadena. Both sides used underhanded methods to sway votes. The city of Verndale tempted votes with the construction of a courthouse, offering it in exchange for Verndale to be named the county seat.
Augustus Aspinwall came to Minnesota in 1853; and with the coming of the Northern Pacific Railroad, a townsite craze began.
In November 1856, Aspinwall made his townsite claim at the crossing of the Crow Wing River. His brothers Ed and Nathaniel were with him then; Nathaniel, a civil engineer, blocked out the townsite in March 1857.
Aspinwall named the townsite Wadena in honor of Chief Wadena after a recommendation by Major Herriman, who was an Indian agent at that time for the Mille Lacs Indians, and Wadena was their chief who died around 1925.
The State of Minnesota was founded in 1858.
The legislature designated the Wadena settlement on the Crow Wing River as the county seat when the county was established on June 11, 1858.
Wadena—now called Old Wadena-land—was forfeited due to nonpayment of taxes on October 17, 1871....
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