Benton County Historical Society & Museum

10/16/2026

The Benton County Historical Society would like to recognize the Williams Dingmann Funeral Home and James Neppi for sponsoring our very first cemetery tours. Thank you very much!

And thank you to all who were able to join us. We had a great time and are glad you did too.

For those of you unable to get tickets we will offer more tours next year. We also hope to offer tours in other parts of the county.

10/15/2026

We are grateful to the Williams-Dingmann Funeral Home for not only sponsoring our cemetery tours but parking their 1800’s glass encased hearse on our lawn for guests to see.

10/14/2026

St. Cloud Daily Times (St. Cloud, Minnesota) Monday 05 May 1913 Page 01
St. Cloud Daily Times (St. Cloud, Minnesota) Thursday 08 May 1913 Page 05

10/13/2026

This is sponsored by the Williams-Dingmann Funeral Home.

The museum number to call and reserve a seat is 320-253-9614

Thank you to the Sartell Historical Society for being an organizing partner and sponsor.

10/12/2026

Meet the People
By Wendy M. Wheeler

His father endured being a prisoner during the Civil War. His family survived the devastating Sauk Rapids tornado of 1886. He rose from modest beginnings to wealth and influence, only to disappear one day without a trace.

Meet James Willis Hoit

In the early 1900s, Minneapolis was the largest grain market in the world. Drawn by opportunities for financial success Hoit moved there. He became a grain commissioner and a member of the Hoit Grain Company, which operated for 30 years before closing its doors in 1907.

Hoit moved to Texas with another investor and purchased substantial tracts of land. He became a successful real estate and land speculator, a man of considerable means and a well-known pioneer promoter of the Rio Grande and San Antonio areas.

On November 24, 1922, his wife, Anna, dropped James off after lunch at a local bank in San Antonio, where he was to take a trip into the country for a business meeting. He told Anna he would probably be late for dinner.

When Hoit failed to return home, his wife and daughter notified the San Antonio police and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Department. A statewide search was quickly launched. Robbery was not considered a likely motive, as Hoit was reportedly carrying only a small of amount of cash when he disappeared. However, he had enemies, and threats had previously been made against his life.

An informant came forward stating that he had met Hoit at a hotel in Austin near the time of his disappearance. Their business discussion lasted approximately half an hour, and Hoit left without stating where he was going. The informant stated that Hoit appeared unwell, but otherwise seemed normal.

Hoit was regarded as a very healthy 64-year-old man. The theory of sudden illness was considered by those who knew Hoit best to be the most logical explanation. He had recently complained of indigestion. That, so far as was known, was the only ailment from which he had ever suffered. The thought was that perhaps it might have developed into an acute illness.

W. E. Stewart, owner of the Stewart Land Company, the Stewart Farm Mortgage Company and the Edinburg Irrigation Company, was charged with mail fraud in several states for allegedly using the mail to entice and defraud land buyers. The company advertised fertile land with dependable irrigation, high yields, substantial profits, and rapidly increasing property values. Thousands of people reportedly lost their life savings, filed complaints, and the company eventually collapsed. At the time, the Stewart Land Company scandal was considered one of the biggest real estate fraud cases of its kind.

The federal government took a special interest in Hoit’s disappearance because he was considered an important witness in the Stewart Land Company fraud cases. His extensive land holdings and years of experience developing property in the Rio Grande Valley made him particularly valuable to investigators. Only months earlier, Hoit had accompanied a U.S. district attorney and a postal inspector through Southwest Texas as they gathered evidence against the company. His disappearance raised concerns that he was the victim of foul play.

A $5,000 reward was offered for information leading to Hoit’s whereabouts and the identification of those responsible for his disappearance. The Bureau of Investigation distributed 5,000 circulars and 1,600 identification cards to law enforcement agencies throughout the country. His wife offered rewards, hired private detectives and enlisted radio stations to broadcast news of his disappearance and physical description across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and even to ships at sea. Hoit “sightings” occasionally surfaced but investigations proved they were not true.

A year after Hoit’s disappearance, his wife, Anna, filed a probate claim to execute her husband’s will. Her application stated that she believed James had died on the last day she saw him.

After many attempts to evade trial the Stewart Land Company went to court in 1923. Sixty-four witnesses testified and the trial lasted one month. Stewart was convicted of mail fraud and ordered to pay a $1,600 fine and spend five years in prison. It is unknown if he served any jail time. Stewart returned to court two years later and was acquitted of all charges.

W. E. Stewart got away with mail fraud. Did he get away with murder? Not a trace of James Willis Hoit was ever found.

Photo from the San Antonio Express

10/09/2026

Here is the updated list of names for our newest museum residents. We requested names with a first, middle, and surname. Those that did not meet that requirement were eliminated.

I was impressed with the creativity and cleverness but was expecting more traditional names that were unique such as Marilla or Zebulon.

Here is the updated list. Any favorites?

Male Names
Barey Bones Marrowlow
Billy Benton Graves
Skinny Ray Nobby Knees
Sylvester Leopold Hasenpfeffer
Skelly Ray Cyrus
Phil Moore Graves
Jon Bone Jovi

Female Names
Dolly Rib-becca Boneton
Minnie Day Nobby Knees
Dolly Spare Ribs
Ethel Gladiola Gildenkrantz
Paulton Bones Haunted
Scarilyn Rose Monroe

10/08/2026

10/05/2026

Meet the People
By Wendy M. Wheeler

Meet Hughes Van Etten

St. Cloud Daily Times (St. Cloud, Minnesota) Tuesday 19 Sep 1922 Page 01

“HUGH VAN ETTEN SHERIFF IS SHOT BY TWO GUN MEN
Former Sauk Rapids Man Is Seriously Wounded Attempting to Make Arrest.
POSSEE STARTS MAN HUNT
Fugitives Pursued into the Woods and One Is Shot and Killed by Posse.

(By Associated Press)
Joe Bushon, alias Bush, one of the two men sought in connection with the shooting of two police officers last night, was shot and killed by a posse near a swamp about two miles east of here at 1 p.m. today.

Bushon, or Bush as he was commonly known, sought to slip through the cordon which had been thrown around the area in which he was believed to be hiding, and when he was espied by possemen, he turned and fired twice at his pursuers, who returned the fire.

Shot twice, once to the heart. The fugitive fell and was dead when possemen reached him. His body was taken to International Falls.

The posse continued their search this afternoon for Joe Nigro, alias Nagl, who was with Bush at Nigro’s home last night when officers went to arrest Nigro on a forgery charge. Police authorities believe Bush fired the two shots that wounded Sheriff Hugh Van Etten and Patrolman McMicken.

The posse men had been stationed around the swampy land which is known as the French addition, an undeveloped tract. The men were placed 10 feet apart and about 175 men were in the cordon.

Just a few minutes before 1 p.m. Bush came out of the underbrush that fills the swamp and started towards the railroad tracks 700 yards away.
Almost immediately he was discovered, and the posse men set after him. He ran about 100 yards and then turned and fired twice, neither shot taking effect.

Two posseman fired simultaneously and Bush fell without an outcry.

Shortly after Bush was shot, posseman found the two ri**es the fugitives were known to possess, and also a bottle of moonshine.

Finding of the two guns prompted the belief on the part of some of the authorities that Bush may have been alone in Nigro’s shack last night and that he alone was responsible for the shooting of the two officers. However, a search is being continued in the vicinity of the place where Bush was slain for a possible companion.

Possemen were closing in this afternoon on a point in the brush near Rainier in the belief that it was the hiding place of Joe Nagle and Joe Bush, wanted here in connection with the shooting and wounding of two local police officers last night.
Chief of Police Thomas Tinchalla, in charge of the posse of 75 men, said at noon that he thought he had seen the two fugitives as they entered the clump of brush and a cordon was hurriedly thrown around the point.

Earlier today the possemen surrounded a cabin three miles east of here, but their efforts were futile, as the two men either never have been in the cabin or had slipped through the line of pursuers.

Joe Nagle and Joe Bush, who, the police declare, shot and seriously wounded Sheriff Hugh Van Etten and Patrolman Wilbur McMicken near here, last night, during an attempted arrest, are believed to be surrounded in a cabin, three miles from here by a posse of 100 men today.

The posse surrounded the cabin before dawn today, after an all night man hunt, following the shooting, which occurred when the officers attempted to arrest Nagel on a charge of forgery.

Bush was in Nagel’s cabin when officers, accompanied by William Carpenter, demanded admittance. Two bullets crashed through the door from the inside in reply and the officers fell. Carpenter rushed to town for assistance and a hastily organized posse, took up pursuit of the men who fled from the cabin. Sheriff Van Etten, who was shot through the hip, was reported to be in serious condition this morning. A physician who made an examination said that he bullet which entered near the pelvis had shattered the pelvic bone.

McMicken was shot through the left leg.
Hugh Van Etten is well known in St Cloud and Sauk Rapids. He is a son of the late Thos. Van Etton, at one time a prominent attorney of Benton county. His mother and his sister Elsie still live at Sauk Rapids.”

St. Cloud Daily Times (St. Cloud, Minnesota) Wednesday 20 Sep 1922 Page 01
“WOUNDED OFFICER DIES AND KILLER CAUGHT BY POSSEE
One of the Men Who Shot Sheriff Van Etten and Killed Police Officer is Caught
OTHER OFFICER SHOT DEAD
Sheriff Van Etten in International Falls Shooting Slightly Improved Today

International Falls, Minn., Sept. 20, -Joe Nigro, alias Nagl, who has been sought by a posse in connection with the fatal shooting of one police officer and the wounding of another Monday night, was captured early today near Eritsburg, 10 miles south of here.

Joe Busho, who fled with Nigro after the shooting at the officers during an attempt to arrest Nigro on a forgery charge, was killed yesterday near here when he sought to evade the posse which had surrounded him.

Nigro was brought to the sheriff’s office here, where he will be questioned.
Sheriff Hugh Van Etten, one of the officers shot Monday night, was slightly improved today. Patrolman Wilbur McMicken, the other officer shot, died yesterday.”

Bemidji Daily Pioneer (Bemidji, Minnesota) Friday 29 Sep 1922 Page 01
“SHERIFF H. VAN ETTEN DIES. RESULT OF WOUND.

According to a telephone communication to Sheriff Andrew Johnson this afternoon, Sheriff Hugh Van Etten of International Falls, who was wounded in an attempt to arrest Joe Bushon and Joe Nigro, the latter on a charge of forgery, passed away this morning at the International Falls hospital where he had been confined since the shooting.

The message also stated that Koochiching county authorities were then at Northome bound for Bemidji with Joe Nigro and they desired the Beltrami county sheriff’s office to receive the prisoner for safe keeping, the fear being expressed then an attempt to be made to lynch Nigro if he were allowed to remain in International Falls. Apparently, he had just started toward Bemidji just as soon as possible after Sheriff Van Etten died.”

The Koochiching county commissioners wrote and published a resolution of condolence in the October 12, 1922 edition of International Falls Press and Border Budget. It read, in part, “He [Hughes Van Etten] filled his office with an ability, fearlessness and faithfulness that will constitute a high ideal for officers who follow, He was generally loved and respected for his honesty and integrity and devotion to duty and on every hand, one hears expressions of love and sorrow for the man who gave his all ungrudgingly and who was faithful unto death.

The widow and daughter of the deceased have the consolation and the pride that Hughes Van Etten died no common death, but that he offered his life at the shrine of public duty.” His widow, Mary Ellen (May), was offered the opportunity to become sheriff and complete his unexpired term. She declined. Hughes was 41 years old at the time of his death.

Twenty indictments were brought against John Nigro, including four charges of murder.

Photo from findagrave