Viewing Edwin H. Canfield (1855-1936).Edwin H. Canfield (1855-1936).Edwin Canfield arrived with his wife and two daughters in Luverne in June 1881, was admitted to the bar the next month, and died there 55 years later. In the intervening five decades, he built a substantial law practice and acquired a reputation for "brilliance" at the bar. He also filled many of the roles lawyers were expected to perform in their communities in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was county attorney for many years, state senator for one term, school board member, director of the local bank and---most important---the inspired founder of the local public library. In an editorial following his death, the "Rock County Herald" acknowledged the community's debt to him:
|