After the signing of the 1851 treaty, settlers and speculators rushed into the new territory. Between 1852 and 1855, several town sites here were laid out for sale. The first outfit to offer land was the Traverse des Sioux Land Company, with politician Henry M. Rice as president. Land certificates, including one associated with this place, were printed before the U.S. government granted official permission to settle. Edward Drew, who came to Minnesota in 1852 and settled in Winona County, later recalled hearing in June 1852 that Congress had ratified the treaty with the Indians, bringing relief because before that settlers really had no business occupying the lands, a fact the Indians knew well and over which they had been bothered a great deal.