Excerpt from The Heritage of Blue Earth County by Julie Schrader, Topic 113, available in the Research & Genealogy Center.

“Alfred Howe built a steam saw mill on Section 19 in 1857. The mill was not successful and after two years it moved away.

“The township was created April 16, 1858, and the first town meeting was held May 11, 1858. The following officers were elected: Supervisors: Timothy Sullivan, chairman, Robert Heslap and John Cummins; clerk: A.P. Davis; Assessor: Solon Webster; Collector: Patrick Mullen; Justices: Lawrence Byrne and J.L. Burgess; Constables: George Bennett and Timothy Murtaugh. At the time Jamestown included all of LeRay Township except for the southern tier of sections. On January 4, 1860, the township 108 (LeRay) was separated from Jamestown.

“In 1872, L.D. Saylor purchased a sawmill from Owen Edwards from South Bend and moved to Jamestown Township, where he operated it for a number of years. In 1880 A.B. Hough built a sawmill on Darrow’s Point at the north end of Madison Lake.”