About

By Cindy Timm, Utica City Clerk
August 2008

According to information provided by the Winona County Historical Society, the first permanent settlement of Utica was an unincorporated village in the fall of 1854. Settlers included Andrew Peterman and Peter Raymond of Indiana, Henry and Lyman Raymond of New York, and a Rev. William Sweet, E.H. Barret, Dr. John Bentley and two others named Hall and Mallroy, who spent the winter here.

The 1883 Winona County History Book describes a colorful lore to Utica’s early settlement:

“Collin Rice also came and took claim and built a sod house in the fall of 1954; the next spring he brought his family and lived a short time in this house. Mrs. Rice relates that one morning while washing dishes she happened to look up and discover a snake lying close under a roof on a shelf formed by the sod wall, and surveying the scene with quiet contentment. The good lady’s contentment was not so quiet, and the intruder was soon banished”.

During the fall of 1854 the first child was born in the town to Dr. Bentley, and was christened Harriet. The first marriage in the town was performed in 1857 by Bentley, as justice of the peace, to unite Frank Gleason and Genevra Bruce. The 1883 history notes that the couple sampled Bentley’s easy manner of doing business when ordered by the doctor to stand and join hands and he stated “By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Territory of Minnesota, I pronounce you man and wife.”

Bentley was elected to his office as justice of the peace in the fall of 1855. Others elected to posts at this time were trustees Collin Rice, D. Cheatham and Moses Pike.

The City of Utica is in sections 18 and 19 of Utica Township (Organized May 11, 1858). Utica was platted in 1866 by Benjamin Ellsworth, and officially incorporated into a village on November 20, 1893. The town was named by Dr. John Bentley, a name derived from the ancient city of Utica, founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa. The post office began in 1856 in Bentley’s home, but was later moved to its own building.

Ellsworth owned the platted town site and constructed the first building in 1863, a grain warehouse, on the advent of the railroad. Utica was platted at right angles to the railroad, and had 50 lots. The next buildings erected were a store occupied by Gideon Peterman, another general store run by L.C. Bates and a hotel built by A.D. Ellsworth.

In 1873, Benjamin Ellsworth built a 17 room home constructed of brick made from the subsoil on his farm. The house still stands today on the north side of Utica across Highway 14. It houses a bed & breakfast, and family members Jim and Barb Ellsworth, still live in the home. In 1880 when a fire swept through Utica, the Ellsworth home was only one of two buildings to survive. A strong southwest wind spread the fire from building to building, and postmaster saved the mail by loading it into a wagon and removing it from town.

History notes that in 1889 the Chicago Great Western Railroad came to Utica, and in 1900 the Chicago Northwestern took over. Utica area farmers shipped their crops via the railroad, including potatoes, wheat, barley, corn and sugar beets.

The Utica Farmers Elevator was organized by a Robert D. Loudon in 1908, who also started the First State Bank of Utica in 1907. The business was run as a cooperative and handled 200,000 bushels of grain each year. Board members included William Sackreiter, Fred Robertson, Benjamin Campbell, Hugh Currie, L.J. Holt, Charles Kelley, Alexander Campbell, A.R. Klaveter and Loudon.

Loudon was not only known as the town banker and the fiscal director of the elevator, but was the first Utica resident to own a car. The car cost Loudon $1,500.00 and traveled 20 to 25 miles an hour. Winona County History books have recorded that Loudon and his wife built a “model” home in Utica in the early 1900’s. That home on 2nd St. still stands today and is owned by Isabelle Timm.

In terms of religion, the Presbyterians have had an enduring history in Utica. In the 1860’s Presbyterians met in homes and a school house. During 1892, the First Presbyterian Church was officially organized, and a church building constructed and completed in 1894 for about $1,800.00. That building still stands on South Center St., with the Presbyterians still using it for Sunday worship and other church activities.

Also, still standing on South Center St. is the historic brick building still known by townspeople as the Utica School. Constructed in 1914, the school housed generations of students until it was closed in 1968, sending first to six grade students into the St. Charles School system. Today the building is used as a community center.

The 1913 Winona County history book reported that during that year Utica had grown to 125 people. Included in the town were five stores, two blacksmiths, a creamery (closed in 1965), a church and eighth grade school (closed in 1968) and a bank (which closed in 1933).

Utica has celebrated three special anniversaries—the centennial on July 26 and 27, 1958, and the 125th event, June 24, 25 and 26, 1983. In 2008 the City of Utica, MN was one of many entities to be honored at the Winona County Fair for 150 years of heritage in Winona County. To celebrate, a special event was scheduled Sunday, August 3 to honor Utica’s Sesquicentennial.