Surveying Meeker County

It was in 1856 that the first white settlers came to Kingston, Meeker County. The township and village were named after Kingston, Ontario which was the birthplace of J.B. Atkinson, an early settler and prominent citizen.

Jonathan Burnett Salisbury in his G.A.R. uniform, 1888

Prior to settlement, in 1855, Meeker County had been surveyed by Jonathan Burnett (J.B.) Salisbury. As he set the township lines, Salisbury was impressed with what he saw and staked a claim for himself in sections 18 and 19 in what would become Kingston Township.

The following year, Salisbury and his family moved to Kingston from east-central Iowa. There were no roads for much of their journey, so going was slowed. The family traveled with large wagons and they needed to cut down trees as they traveled north. It took a month to travel the distance that today would take a little over six hours to drive.

Once in Kingston, Salisbury, along with his in-laws, the Weymers, constructed one of the first homes in the county.

With the start of the US-Dakota War of 1862, the Salisbury family sought refuge in the village of Kingston along with many of the other local residents. J.B. helped to fortify the grist mill which was used as a fort and where the residents went for protection. Most of the Salisbury family would move back to Iowa for a few years while J.B. joined the First Minnesota Cavalry in the fall of 1862. These “Mounted Rangers” served in Minnesota and the Dakota Territories. This wasn’t Salisbury’s first military service. Previously, he had served a year in the Mexican War in the late 1840s.

Salisbury reenlisted in 1863 in Hatch’s Battalion which also served in Minnesota and the Dakota Territories. He would muster out in March 1866 as a 2nd Lieutenant. He and his family returned to Kingston that same year.

Model of Salisbury Cabin

By 1868, Salisbury was involved in local politics and was elected County Surveyor in 1870. In 1875, the family moved to Litchfield, bringing part of their Kingston home with them. One of Salisbury’s sons created a model of the original cabin using some of the home’s wood. The cabin is on display at the Museum. Also at the Museum is a survey made by Salisbury for the Kingston Riverside Cemetery.

J.B. and his wife Lydia Margaret (Weymer) had eight children. When J.B. died in 1901, the funeral was conducted by the Litchfield G.A.R. Hall where he had been a member since 1884.

In 1899, a steel truss bridge was built over the Crow River on the land the Salisbury family once called home. The bridge is known as the Salisbury Bridge, and while its condition is deteriorating, it still stands today.