he township of Credit River was platted in 1854. European American settlers arrived to the area later that year. The first of these was John Spratt, who came from Illinois. Second was William McQuestion.
There are three different stories that describe how Credit River got its name, though none have been officially verified as fact.
The first says that the town and river were named after a generous shopkeeper who used to give “down on their luck” Irish families credit. The second story is similar, stating that the French traders of Mendota used to give Irish immigrants credit on their way up the Mississippi to the Minnesota river as they traveled West.
The third story is the most commonly told, and also the most dark. In this tale, Reverend Albert Ostet from Lakeville came to deliver mass at the Credit River settlement. On one of his trips the river was so swollen with floodwater that he couldn’t cross. He turned back towards home. When he got back to Lakeville he found out his mother was dying. He gave the river “credit” because if it hadn’t been flooding he wouldn’t have been able to see his mother before she passed away.
In 1855 many more families came to Credit River, with names that are still prominent in the area today: Cleary, Hough, Suel, White, Regan Reardon, Casey, Sherin, Flemming, Faricy.
For the Hough (later spelled Haugh) family, this was their second time in America. When they first came across the Atlantic, they decided that they didn’t much like the United States, and turned around for Ireland. When they got home, they unfortunately discovered that their land had been sold, and felt they had no choice but to make the journey to America once again. When they arrived for the second time they decided to settle in Credit River.
Some of the most well known of these early Credit River citizens was the family of Cornelius and Bridget Cleary. Cornelius came to the United States in 1850 from County Clare in Ireland to escape the potato famine. He lived in New York for five years and worked to pay for his family’s passage to the United States. After the entire family arrived they traveled to Dubuque, Iowa (a common waypoint for Irish families who were interested in homesteading in the West), and then claimed territorial land on the shores of the lake in Credit River.
The original 1857 Cleary log home. Photo from the Prior Lake American, March 19, 2005
There they built a log cabin, and became known in the area for allowing passing missionaries to stay in their home. The first church services in the township were held in the Cleary cabin, along with the first Credit River municipal elections.
In his 1875 obituary, Cornelius Cleary was described as “an excellent citizen and friend”, and “the real first settler of the town”.
In an interesting side note, William McQuestion, the second European American to settle in Credit River, eventually moved on to Prior Lake. His descendant Cora McQuestion became the first female mayor of Prior Lake (and one of the first in the nation) during the 1920s. She was elected to the position after singlehandedly foiling a bank robbery with her shotgun.