First of two parts.

By Ed Shannon, Tribune feature writer

Bancroft is a name which is used today for a township, creek, a bay and city park on the upper part of Fountain Lake, and a small community located to the north of Albert Lea and Interstate 90.

This community could actually celebrate several sesquicentennials starting this year. The 1911 book, &uot;History of Freeborn County,&uot; on Page 199 states Bancroft was &uot;first settled in July 1855 … (and) platted in the fall of 1856.&uot; And in the following year this community became a strong contender for the location of the courthouse in the newly created Freeborn County.

Bancroft was actually started by the Dakota Land Co. of St. Paul as a real estate promotion to create a town which would hopefully become the Freeborn County seat.

The town, creek and township were named for George Bancroft (1800-1891). Bancroft was the author of the 10-volume &uot;History of the United States,&uot; published between 1834-74. He served as the U.S. Secretary of

the Navy in 1845-46, was the founder of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and served as the minister (equivalent to today’s ambassador) to Great Britain in 1846-49, and to Prussia in 1868-74, There’s no indication that Bancroft ever visited the Freeborn County locality.

With the Dakota Land firm promoting Bancroft, people started to live in the new village and to establish business ventures. Before long there was a hotel, store, sawmill, saloon, post office, blacksmith shop and even a newspaper.

The printer-editor of the Bancroft Pioneer was a man named David Blakely who was to gain national fame later in life. His main goal in this frontier village was to publicize Bancroft as the logical choice for the county seat just prior to an election in the fall of 1857.

Bancroft lost out to Albert Lea for the county seat designation in an election held on Oct. 13, 1857. Final results gave 403 votes to Albert Lea, 199 votes for Bancroft, St. Nicholas received 29 votes, Shell Rock City (now Glenville) gained 10 votes, and one vote was cast for Freeborn.

This election resulted in the gradual decline of what has been called Old Bancroft. Most of the residents moved elsewhere and many of the buildings in the village were torn down or moved to nearby farms. By 1864 the place was nearly a ghost town.

One of the people who left Bancroft was Blakely. He moved to Austin in 1858 to start the Mower County Mirror. Then he went to Rochester to start the Post newspaper with a brother. In 1861 and 1862,

Blakely was the clerk for the Minnesota House of Representatives. From 1862 to 1866, he served as Minnesota Secretary of State. This was followed with the editorship of the Chicago Evening Post. He later held editorial positions with the St. Paul Pioneer and Minneapolis Tribune. However, Blakely gained fame in history as the business manager of Patrick Gilmore’s Band, then the nation’s best known musical group in 1876.

Blakely returned to Albert Lea in 1881 to be a speaker at the Old Settlers meeting.

In 1892 this march and military music enthusiast persuaded John Philip Sousa, leader of the U.S. Marine Band for 12 years, to start his own band with a guaranteed salary and Blakely’s financial support. Sousa’s Band became very profitable and world famous for the next four decades.

Blakely died on Nov. 10, 1896.

A historical marker was placed on the east side of County Road 22 near the junction with County Road 14 in 1973. It indicates that Old Bancroft, located to the west at the present site of the Good Samaritan Center, existed from 1856 to 1860. The portion of the village the marker calls New Bancroft existed from 1890 to 1965. Located to the east of County Road 22. The newer village consisted of the Bancroft Creamery Association, Bancroft Store and township hall. Yet, overlooked for the 30 years from 1860 to 1890, and since 1965, are two obvious facts. First, people have always lived near this particular crossroads area since 1855 or 1856. Second, for at least a century there was a rural school in this locality.

Next: There’s still another aspect or two regarding the history of the Bancroft community.

(Contact Ed Shannon at ed.shannon@albertleatribune.com or call 379-3434.)