I just can’t resist a mystery so I’ve been digging into the history of Sumner Elementary School and why it was named “Sumner.”

In Mill on the “Willow: A History of Mower County, Minnesota,” the story behind the Sumner name was cited as unknown. After some research, I could not find anything definitive.

However, I have found some interesting possibilities:

Sumner Township in the northwest corner of Fillmore County, Minn. was founded in 1853.

Fort Sumner was built in southeastern New Mexico in 1862 and named after General Edmond Vose Sumner, a Civil War military leader. There is also a small city in New Mexico named Fort Sumner.

Jethro Sumner was a military figure of note in the Revolutionary War. Sumner County in Tennessee is named after him.

Charles Sumner was a Massachusetts Senator, in office from 1851 to 1874. He was known as a symbol of the anti-slavery movement because he was beaten and almost killed on the Senate floor by South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks because of a speech Sumner gave against slavery.

Cities named Sumner were named after him in Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska and Washington as well as Sumner County, Kan.. Sumner Elementary in Topeka, Kan., was built in 1936 and named after Charles Sumner. It was involved in the 1954 Supreme Court Brown vs. Board of Education racial segregation case.

William Graham Sumner was an academic known for his influential ideas on sociology, political theory and anthropology. He was a professor at Yale from 1872 to 1910.

Austin’s Sumner Elementary was built in 1894. I think it is most likely named after Charles Sumner. I’ll keep looking for the answer.

 

Monday: Floral Club, 1 p.m.

Wednesday: tour from Montgomery, 9:30 a.m.

Thursday: Spruce Up Austin, 7:30 a.m.; Y’s Women, 6 p.m.

 

Coming Soon

Social Concerns: 100 Years Later — How Our Girls Are Doing by Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 10 a.m. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to the HHH office at 433-4243 by 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 17.

10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Hormel Family, presented by Laura Helle and Dustin Heckman, director of the Mower County Historical Society at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24 at the HHH. This presentation is free to members of the HHH or MCHS and $5 to non-members. Register at the HHH office at 433-4243.

Kids Costume Dance and Spooky Mansion Tour, with costume contest on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 3 to 5 p.m. $1 admission, concession stand available. Haunted House from 8 to 11 p.m., $5 admission. Hosted by the HHH and Mower County 4-H Ambassadors.