On this Date in Minnesota history: July 5

July 5, 1906 – Robert Henry Monteith, aged seventeen, seemed glad to be lodged in the Washington County jail in Stillwater. He is accused of committing an assault in Pine County upon 13-year-old Miss Frances Nemic. He admitted the offense before John Atkinson, a justice of the peace, when arraigned on the charge in Pokegama Township, Pine County. The complaint was made by James Nemic and threats of lynching followed the arrest.

After Monteith admitted the offense, there were mutterings among the people and the cry went out to lynch him. Sheriff Hawley put the man in a buggy and with a swift team drove across the country to Pine City, eluding pursuit. Later he brought the prisoner to Stillwater and locked him up for safekeeping until the meeting of the Pine County grand jury.

The Bemidji Daily Pioneer; “Mob Threatens to Lynch Youth Accused of Criminal Assault”; July 05, 1906; p. 4.

Pine County Courthouse

http://courthousehistory.com/gallery/states/minnesota/counties/pine