Early Residents of Jackson Township
The first European American to establish a claim in the area that would become Jackson was Daniel Apgar. He came to Scott County from St Paul, but had family on the east coast. Soon after staking his claim in 1851, Daniel returned east, and brought his father Samuel Apgar, brother Ai G Apgar, and their wives and families. Ten people in total arrived in 1852. Daniel only lived on his claim for a short while, soon selling it and resettling in Stearns County. He died in an accident in 1870.
Samuel Apgar remained in the township, living there until his wife passed away in 1875. He then moved into Shakopee to stay with his daughter Mrs. Cogswell. Ai G Apgar staked a claim in sections 12 and 13 of Jackson Township. When Scott County was officially formed, he was elected sheriff and served for three years. In 1866 he sold his claim and moved into Minneapolis.
J. B. Conter owned Jackson County’s lime kiln. He was born in Mondorf, Grand Duche, Luxembourg, Aug 17 1832. In 1847 he immigrated with his parents to the United States. The family settled in Port Washington Wisconsin. Conter came to Scott County in 1854, and worked as a plasterer and bricklayer. In 1866 he claimed land in Jackson Township and started Shakopee Cement and Lime Manufacturing Company, which he ran until his death. Conter also served as president of the Merchants and Farmers National Bank of Shakopee. In 1959 he married Barbara Wagner and had nine children, six of whom survived to adulthood.
Hubert Rohel was Jackson Township’s first County Clerk. He was born in Honsfeld Achen, Prussia, June 17, 1818. When he was 35 he immigrated to the United States and moved to St Paul where he married Mary Wagner. In 1854 he came to the Shakopee area and worked as a surveyor, until one day his employer informed Rohel that he could not longer pay him. Rohel claimed land in a forested area of Jackson Township and built a log cabin. He spent the rest of his life creating and maintaining a farm on this land which, according to his obituary, brought him “great wealth”. He had five children, and passed away in 1897. His obituary stated that “his robust constitution stood him in good stead until his time came to die, and then he ceased to breathe as the pendulum of a clock run down ceases to swing.”
Herman Strunk was a prominent local businessman, and the first owner of Shakopee Brewery in Jackson Township. Strunk was born in Germany at Grossherzugthun, Oldenburg on May 14, 1818. Both of his parents died while he was young, and he decided to immigrate to the US in 1835. He worked in shipping on steamboats that ran between St Louis and Memphis for several years before deciding to settle in St Louis in the early 1840s where he married and had 4 children. Unfortunately, St Louis was swept by a Cholera epidemic in the early 1850s, and three of his children were killed by the disease. Seeking a healthier climate, the family decided to move north in 1854. He claimed land in Jackson Township and built a brewery which he ran until the early 1860s.
Strunk Drug around 1890. Photo from the SCHS Collections.
When the Civil War broke out, Strunk wanted to enlist, but was denied entry into the service because he was missing his two front teeth. At the time, many muskets used cartridges wrapped in paper which required the owner to bite off a twist at the end and release gunpowder. It was thought that, without teeth, Strunk would be unable to perform this task.
Soon after, Strunk was elected County Commissioner, and then County Coroner. He served in this role for two years. In 1871, Strunk moved into Shakopee and opened Strunk Drug- the establishment which he is perhaps best known for today. It was said that from then on, he walked to the store every day until his death to check on the business. He was elected mayor of Shakopee in 1877, and as Alderman in 1880.
Herman Strunk passed away in 1905. His obituary stated “One of Shakopee’s venerable and most highly respected citizens passed away, another of the little band of her remaining pioneer settlers was called home, and with more than a passing feeling of sorrow the death of H Strunk was received by the community with which the greater part of his long life has been closely interwoven and upon which during all those years was shed the benign influence of his upright life and sterling character.”
Hubert Nyssen at Shakopee Brewery around 1920. Photo from the SCHS Collections.
Hubert Nyssen owned Shakopee Brewery from 1875 until the facility was closed by prohibition. He immigrated from Belgium, and came to the Shakopee area in 1869 when it was “very much part of the big woods”. He initially worked as hired help and as a farm laborer. He said “You know, there was lots of hard work on the farm then. Everything was done by hand and everybody put in long hours. But I was young and healthy and able to do whatever was expected of me… I didn’t always get good wages though. I worked at whatever I could get to do and sometimes only received 50 cents a day. I remember working on the railroad grade one summer. It seems amusing to me now when I look back. We were doing some excavating work by hand. There were two crews and each tried to outdo the other.”
Nyssen began working at Shakopee Brewery in 1873. At some point, he also attended a brewing school in Milwaukee. In 1875, he married brewery owner Mary Winkler, and took over brewery operations. When prohibition closed Shakopee Brewery, Nyssen owned the St Paul Hotel in Shakopee. Nyssen also served on the elected board of Jackson Township for eighteen years.
Hubert’s wife, Mary Nyssen was born Mary Johnson in Weckway Sweden on February 5th, 1843. She immigrated to the United States with her brothers at age 14, initially settling in Stillwater. On June 16th, 1863 she married Andrew Winkler and moved with him to Scott County. Winkler eventually purchased Shakopee Brewery, but his ownership was short-lived. He passed away from typhoid in 1871. At the time, it was theorized that he had caught the illness from the chill of spending too much time in the brewery ice house. Mary took over management of the brewery, and ran it until she married Hubert Nyssen in 1875.