We have previously stated that Mr. Mottet had leased the school section where the town of Connell stands. When the first settlers and business men came in 1900 and 1901 no town site had been platted. The buildings were erected on land to which the owners had no title and which they occupied merely as squatters. In 1902 Mr. Mottet gave up his lease to enable the land to be sold. In May of that year The Franklin County Bank was incorporated in Connell with F. D. Mottet, President; B. S. Wadsworth, Vice President; and M. M. Taylor, Cashier. The bank purchased the town site, and in order to encourage participation by the business men of the community they organized and incorporated the Connell Land and Improvement Company in December of that year. The company was capitalized at $20,000. Half of the stock was allocated to the Bank and the other half to the business men. B. S. Wadsworth was made President.

In order to make the major investment in the Franklin County Bank, and through the bank in the Connell Land and Improvement Company, Mr. Mottet sold 6000 of his sheep. His planning and foresight played a large part in getting the new town started as an orderly and businesslike community. At the time he was reputed to be the wealthiest man in Franklin County. Whether his heavy investment in the new town really paid off for him is not known. Certainly he helped largely in starting the town off on a solid basis. When the town site was platted one of the streets was named after him, but this was later changed when all of Connell's streets were renamed. About the only thing still in the town which reminds us directly of Mr. Mottet as the real founder of the modern town of Connell is the brick building which now houses the American Legion. It was build as the second home of the bank of which he was President.

The part of the town site originally platted consisted of 60 acres, 36 on the west side of the tracks and 24 on the east side. There were approximately 350 lots. Streets were wide. Some of the lots had a fifty foot frontage and the others twenty five. The lots were priced from $25 to $300 according to location and advantages.

Previously some of the business houses had squatted on the west side, particularly the earliest ones, and others in the southern part which came to be known as Chickasaw Flat. Now, however, the new business district was entirely located on C Street, now know as Columbia. The selling of lots began in January 1903, and the great move started in March of that year. Many of the business buildings were moved from the west side and from Chickasaw Flat, but others built new.

Up to this time, the town had no water supply other than that obtained from the railroad well. This first railroad well had been dug rather than drilled and was located in the southern part of the town. The water was lifted by a steam pump fueled by coal to and overhead large wooden tank.

Apparently the water supplies had to be hauled or carried to the homes and business houses from the railroad water tank or from the standpipe at the section house. The town and the country around it was settled so rapidly and the demand for water increased to the extent that the railroad could not supply the entire demand in addition to its own needs. Besides, a piped water supply was overdue. In October 1902 Herman Sohm obtained from the County Commissioners a franchise to provide water, but this franchise was taken over the the Connell Land and Improvement Company in January 1903. The company proceeded almost immediately with the drilling of a well on the hill in the west part of the town and in April a good well was achieved at a depth of 268 feet. A pump was a great source of satisfaction to the citizens of the community and the farmers in the surrounding countryside. The following quotation is taken from the Franklin County Register of June 19, 1903:

"Every day long strings of farmers' teams have lined up and received pure, sparkling water, and have gone on their way rejoicing. The pump has now been running for a week and there has not been the slightest indication of the supply of water in the well being reduced."

The town was settled so quickly beginning in 1900 and continuing during 1901 that it is difficult to determine which were the first stores and businesses established. It seems certain that Mrs. Finkbeiner's hotel and boarding house can be called the first business established in Connell after 1900. Very soon afterward a man by the name of Charles Joyce established a store which was at first little more than a shed, but which he then enlarged into a two-story building with the store on the first floor and a hall upstairs. This hall was used for most of the early meetings in the community and also for informal religious and educational purposes. Mr. Joyce later moved to a farm which he had purchased three miles south of Connell. He sold the store to Mr. W. A. Campbell and his son, Lloyd. They then incorporated as the Campbell Mercantile Company. When the new town site was platted they moved their building to the north end of C Street where they operated the largest store in the town for a number of years. Meanwhile, the building had again been remodeled so that the entire building was used for the purposes of the store, with living quarters upstairs but with no public hall.

It seems that the second store was established by W. T. Anderson, but he soon pulled up stakes and moved his business to the new town of Mesa. Soon a third store was established with several changes in ownership. By the time it was moved to the new town site, it was known as Janosky and Gaiser. Later, Joe Janosky became associated with C. M. Taylor who had in the meantime started a general merchandise business with his sons, Lawson and Thurman. Ernest and Herman Sohm started the first hardware store under the name of the Connell Hardware Company. Charles Kirchner established a tinsmith and plumbing business in the back of the hardware store. Henry Sohm, a brother to Ernest and Herman, opened a furniture store and later also became and undertaker. Both W. H. Panhorst and Otto Ulrich started harness shops, but Ulrich soon also became a real estate agent and gave up his trade as a harness maker. Emery Troxel was soon appointed postmaster and continued in that office until after a Democratic Administration was elected in 1912 when he was succeeded by C. G. Gehres, father of Adrian Gehres.

Almost every trade and profession was soon well represented in the new town. There was a good doctor by the name of Gallagher; Isaac Dirstine was the druggist; a lawyer by the name of Charles Hutson soon became a prominent citizen of the county. the Franklin County Register became Connell's first newspaper on September 20, 1901 and continued its vigorous existence for a number of years. We have already mentioned the Franklin County Bank. After moving to the new town site, they built the brick building which later became the Connell Post office. C. F. Younce was among those who first established his business as a squatter and then moved his meat market to a new location on C Street.