THE HISTORY OF AKELEY Published by English III Class Compiled, organized, and written by members of the English III class of Akeley High School in 1933. Editorial Committee Iver Carlson Dorothy Watt Lyle Johnston Carl Johnson Faculty Advisor Miss Mary Ella Clark Class Members Iver Carlson Helen Parks Lela Clark Lee Rich Carl Johnson Melvin Robinson Lyle Johnston Blanche Watt Joseph Malerich Dorothy Watt Dorothy Kurtz Donna Williams Proof Read by Mr. Otto C. Perske & Mr. Fred W. Sanders Dedication This magazine is dedicated to all those who have assisted us in securing accurate information concerning the history of this city. FOREWORD History is a record of things accomplished or attempted by a group of people. At first this record is rather vague and uncertain. It is unwritten. It lives in the memories of men and women, or in landmarks which time has set up. But the memories of men and women fail to retain all things with certainty or to reproduce them with accuracy, and old landmarks are more or less movable things. Besides the mind of man is creative, and what creation is more pleasing than a good story? Thus fiction gets mixed with fact, and much of real historical value is lost. Then comes one who loves truth, who knows the value of our inheritance from the past, and who is willing, at great cost, to gather up the narratives of the past and separate fact from fiction. And thus much of real historical value is restored. But the historian is not born full-fledged. The little truth loving spark must be fanned into flame, and the powers of expression must be cultivated. This little booklet is the result of a teacher's high inspiration and deep insight into the ways of learning, and of a desire on the part of inspired pupils to perform a real service for the community. It does not pretend to be a finished history. It is only a first exploratory attempt, and it is sent out with the hope that it may tempt some other historian to put into permanent form the narrative of our community. Fred. W. Sanders TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword, Mr. Fred Sanders Chapter I The Beginning, Iver Carlson Chapter II The First Settlers, Carl Johnson and Melvin Robinson Chapter III The Mill, Blanche Watt and Helen Parks Chapter IV The Building of Akeley, Lela Clark, Donna Williams, and Lyle Johnston Chapter V The Moving of the Red River Mill, Dorothy Kurtz and Joseph Malerich Chapter VI Our Present Vicinity, Dorothy Watt and Lee Rich CHAPTER I THE BEGINNING Akeley is located in the east central part of Minnesota at the head of the famous Crow Wing chain of lakes. This chain consists of eleven large lakes with Akeley situated on the eleventh. These lakes have beautiful lake shores and eighteen varieties of fish make their home in them. These attractions bring many tourists to northern Minnesota every year. Before the settlers and tourists came to make this their playground and home, the land was covered with timer, tall and large, of which we see little today. On the present site of Akeley the finest White pine and Norway pine in Minnesota once stood. In the year 1876 T. B. Walker, who was then surveying for the government, passed through this part of the state and noted the large forests of good timber and also the location of the Crow Wing chain. This gave him an idea, and he dreamed of a saw mill and the lakes used as a conveyance to get the logs to the mill. At that time White pine lumber was in demand all over the world because there wasn't a builder who didn't know the good qualities of White pine. Shortly after this, T. B. Walker formed a partnership with H. C. Akeley and bought large tracts of the excellent timber from the government. He then "let" parts of the timber to smaller contractors to cut and prepare the logs for the mill. These men had many difficulties in making the roads and other conveyances they needed to get the logs down to the lake. All their camps were north of Eleventh Lake, and the remains of them are still present. These men cut logs for two years before the Red River Lumber Company put its mill into operation. The teamsters would haul the logs to the lake where they were skidded into the water ready to be floated to the mill. At one time the men could walk across the lake on the logs, so many had been cut and put into the water. H. C. Akeley and T. B. Walker being partners and lumbering where the present sites now stand, the towns were named after these men, Walker being started a short time before Akeley. CHAPTER II THE FIRST SETTLERS After 1895, settlers began to flock into the vicinity of Akeley because they had heard about the good soil and excellent timber. Among these settlers were Bert Locher; M. L. Moore, and E. L. Moore, Sr., both of Sauk Center; Ed. Barnaby, Erwin Farris, George Elliot, Severt Jacobson, and William Plumber. These settlers picked the choice land directly south of Akeley for their homesteads. They could get this land by going to the nearest land office, pay sixteen dollars, and get the number of the township section and county. Before six months were up there had to be some buildings and improvements on the land. One could live here for seven years without paying taxes, or one could prove up in five years and receive a clear deed to the land. The homesteaders lived far apart and were usually situated many miles from town. There were no roads to the towns and no other means of transporting their provisions but by walking and carrying them. One settler, Mr. Barnaby, used to walk to Park Rapids and carry his provisions back. Trails were soon built to the nearest towns, on which they drove oxen and later horses. They usually went to town only once a month to bring back the necessary provisions as traveling by oxen was slow and tiresome. Later there was a general store built in the community and managed by A. L. Cole; a drug store run by E. M. Irish; and a blacksmith shop owned by Same Hasbrook. With the coming of the railroad in 1899 the town grew in both structure and population. Then came the rush to the land by the Iowans. They had heard of the new land, its good soil, and favorable climate. These people chose the land farther south of Akeley and started Badoura and White Oak Townships. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Krueger, Otto C. Perske, B. F. Daniels, C. W. Winkelmann, Joe Doppler, Fred Clark, and Bill Byers, were among these first homesteaders. Andrew Nelson was the first homesteader east of the present site of Akeley, and Mr. Mullen was the first on the north side of Eleventh Lake. CHAPTER III THE MILL The Red River Lumber Company's plans for starting the mill in Akeley in 1893 were delayed until 1898 on account of the panic which brought all business to a stand still. The Red River Lumber Company moved its mill from Grand Forks to Akeley and located on Eleventh Crow Wing Lake. Shortly after, logging operations started in this vicinity and approximately eight million logs were cut and milled by the Red River Lumber Company. T. B. Walker and H. C. Akeley, partners in the standing timber chain, had purchased land extending from present Akeley to within one mile of Itasca State Park. This vast forest made possible a continuous sawing of lumber for seventeen years. Timber was of the finest quality and the great demand for White pine throughout the entire world, made possible a market for this tremendous amount of lumber. The vast amount of timber taken from this vicinity of Akeley reached its height in 1916 when one hundred and one million feet of lumber was sawed. This is the largest cutting in the state of man for one year, with the exception of the A. C. Smith mill of Minneapolis. The first mill, which was constructed in 1898, burned to the ground in 1911. On the same site another mill, known as the "Saw Tooth Mill," was immediately rebuilt. This mill was modern in every detail and was called the "Saw Tooth" because of its peculiarly constructed roof, which resembled a huge saw. One of the modern details of this mill was the "hot pond" which was constructed in Eleventh Lake. This pond was made by fencing off several acres of the lake near the mill. A large burner where all refuse of the mill was burned supplied the heat for the pond. Pipes lined this large burner through which the water circulated and went back into the enclosure, thus keeping the water hot at all times. Into this hot pond logs were placed, and this made winter sawing possible. Logging roads were built throughout the entire woods north and northwest of Akeley for hauling the logs to the lake where they were skidded in and floated down to the mill. These roads united the forty-five smaller camps with the large mill in Akeley. Beside these roads, several logging trains ran night and day bringing logs to the mills. Many logs were also floated up the chain of lakes from near Itasca Park. Men still reside in Akeley who played an important part in the big mill. William Regan was brakeman and engineer on the railroad; Oscar Ericson was fireman on the railroad; John Bell, clerk; Hermon Krueger, time-keeper; John and Frank Robinson were contractors for hauling logs to the mill; Otto Perske, scaler; Mike Munson, millwright; Gut Axelson, George Johnson and John Baker, yard men. CHAPTER IV THE BUILDING OF AKELEY Up to 1899 there was little progress made towards building a settlement, just a few settlers could be found directly south of the village. Then came the mill and the possibilities of work drew many settlers. At this time Akeley was known as the "village of stumps," with buildings nothing more or less than tar paper shacks. It was the general opinion that the village would be hastily built and last only a couple of years, as was the case of many northern Minnesota milling towns. The settlers here before Akeley was built had to do their trading at Park Rapids or Walker. At first it was not convenient to travel, as the only means of transportation was narrow foot paths and logging roads. In 1899 the steel was laid between Park Rapids and Akeley, this made traveling much easier and faster. The fist store of Akeley was owned by Mr. Platt and located on the shore of Eleventh Lake. When the town was moved back from the shore this store moved up to what is now Main Street. As the town grew an educational system was started. District Number 20 was organized on July 19, 1895 and the first school building was built where the water tank now stands. In 1898 it was removed to Second Street and here it later served as a town hall. The increase in population made the school house over-crowded and one room was added in 1899. In 1900 it was necessary to build a new school building. The Building Committee was elected, and they first considered a three room building but because the town was so steadily increasing, they built a six room structure instead. The Building Committee had planned none too well for in three years it was necessary to add two more rooms, giving us the present old building standing on the corner west of school house used today. Miss Johanna Velikanji, the first principal, was elected in 1902, the year the Akeley school was placed on the state graded list. she took a great interest in organizing the school and it was through her efforts that the first high school was started. She was succeeded by O. F. Hawkins in 1905; he was principal until 1909. In 1906 the first high school class was graduated. This was a class of four, Dr. Thayer Davis of Wadena; Mabel Fritcher of Flint, Michigan; Eugene Brown and Carl Olson, both deceased. The high school grew until it reached the point where a four year high school was maintained with facilities for laboratory work in Physics and Chemistry. In 1906 the total number of pupils in the schools was 494. A larger school building was soon needed and the brick building of thirteen rooms, which is still used, was built. The mill was now running night and day, and the people continued to settle in Akeley. Thus Akeley became a village of beautiful homes and in the year of 1909 there was a population of 2,200. The first post office was established on the Plumber homestead about two hundred yards from where the home of Charles Mikel is now located. The office was transferred to George Elliot and located on the shore of the old saw mill plant. Robert Dunn, the first presidential postmaster, was put in charge of the post office, which was then in the rear of the building now occupied by Regan's Toggery. Later Mr. Dunn erected the brick building, now known as the State Bank building, and moved his office there. At the expiration of his term, President Roosevelt appointed Charles F. Scheers as postmaster. He was re-appointed for his second term by President Taft. When President Wilson was elected Mr. Scheers was succeeded by O. W. Ramsdell and at the election of our next president, our present postmaster, Mr. E. R. Bell, was given care of the institution. On the M. L. Moore farm, now owned by Frank Brean, a bed of clay suited for brick manufacturing, was located. The Moore brothers built a brick factory and a manufacturing colony. Bricks for the new school building, Akeley State Bank, and Malerich store building were made. The ruins of the kilns, darkey engine tracks, and such, are still standing, and the brick industry is a thing of the past. Akeley had two institutions that she was proud of: the fire department and the library. The fire department was organized early and has many times proven that it was very much needed. It ranked second best voluntary fire department in Minnesota. The library was then located in the building now known as the town hall. It was a very attractive, complete library and in former years it was a great asset to our community. Some of the earliest business places were hotels and rooming houses. As the mill was built up the number of such places increased and Akeley was had some of the best hotels in this part of the state. The first hotel was built and run by O. Neil. Charles Greson had a hotel on the site facing the depot and this burned some time ago. One of the hotel owners was a Great Northern conductor and a street was named after him, Gracin Avenue. His hotel was later sold to Denis Therioult who owned it until 1925, when he sold it to Kenuberg of Staples. At this time there were ten hotels in the town. Ministers of every denomination flocked to the village interested in starting churches. They found the people of the vicinity very interested and willing to give their support. The first Methodist service was held on the lot where the present Methodist church now stands. Through the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. T. B. Walker, Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher Walker, Mr. and Mrs. M. L. Moore, and a group of other loyal affiliates, the present Methodist church was built. The first minister was Rev. Clark. The first Catholic church services were held in the first school building. The altar and trimmings had been furnished by a group of Catholics, led by Miss Bell Gross, a homesteader; Mrs. E. A. Farris; and a group of ardent Catholic supporters who took the first steps in establishing a church. Rev. Father Walch of Cass Lake was the first priest and the fine church and parsonage were built soon after organizing. Mr. Leesberg and Mr. Allen built the Akeley German Lutheran church in the year 1922. The Rev. Carl Mundinger was the first pastor and the first confirmation class was confirmed in 1925. In 1909 the Norwegian Lutheran church was established. Soon after the organization started the church building was built which is being used at the present time. A Baptist church was erected on the corner of south of the Welker residence but it was soon removed to Nevis because it lacked sufficient support. The land for the cemetery was purchased east of the Otto Strand farm about a mile east of Akeley. The first one buried here was a baby daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kenyon; as there was no minister or undertaker here Mr. and Mrs. Scheers filled this capacity. A terrible epidemic of typhoid fever swept the village in 1902. Doctor irish, the only doctor in the village at this time, worked day and night; yet many died and the entire community suffered greatly. It was found that the germs were in the water of an old pump. After this the mill company improved the village by adding a water system so that the people could have running water in their homes. Along with the rest of the lumbering industry came a factory. Mr. Frank B. Canada of Osakis, erected a factory the product of which was mostly granary and barn doors. It wasn't long before a good share of the timber was cut in the vicinity and the people had to turn from the forests to another source of living. Many found the newly cleared lands to be very suited to agriculture. Here they settled and began to raise crops and develop a dairy industry. A large creamery was erected just west of town. This was later moved to North Marie Ave. where it is now operating at full capacity. Dairying is now the most important industry here. Being in the heart of the lake region we also have a fishing industry of some importance. No less than a thousand barrels of croppies were caught in the Crow Wing lakes and shipped to market in the Twin Cities. CHAPTER V THE MOVING OF THE RED RIVER MILL The Red River Lumber Company moved from Akeley in 1917 because of their failure to secure more timber which they needed to continue the operation of their mill on a large scale. They purchased 870,000 acres of timer in Westwood, California, where they established their mill which is still operating. Many of the men who had worked for the Red River in Akeley moved along with the mill to their present location. This started the gradual decline in population of the once flourishing town. Shortly after the Red River Lumber Company moved its mill from the shores of Eleventh Lake, B. F. Canada purchased their planer and box factory remodeling it into a mill of his own where he sawed grain doors and other lumber. Canada got his supply of logs by purchasing the supplies different individuals still held on their own land. After buying these stumpages he erected small mills in the woods which sawed the timber into lengths and slabbed them. Then the product was brought into his mill in Akeley and re-sawed into lumber. This gave employment to a number of men, nailing grain doors. Canada had as many as fourteen small mills sawing at one time for him; all of these mills were located south of Akeley. They were not permanent, only lasting from six months to a year, depending on the supply of timber they had to saw, then the mills was moved to a new location. In 1927 Canada's mill was sold to its present owners, Rathbone, Hare, and Ridgeway. This mill still operates during the summer and is located north of the railway depot. Even with the growth of the smaller mills, the population was never brought back to what it was during the Red River days. CHAPTER VI OUR PRESENT VICINITY In 1926, during Easter vacation, Akeley suffered a severe loss of many public buildings on the north side of Broadway, these buildings being destroyed by fire. The flames started in the Bliss Grocery store, by an explosion, and rapidly spread from one building to another. There was a scarcity of water, and the firemen worked hard to get the flames under control, which was an almost impossible task. The buildings which were destroyed were the Hysing Hotel, Bliss Grocery store, Bliss Flour Mill, Winkelmann's store, the Printing Shop, and another building east of the hotel in which Louis Kruse had a cream station. In order to save the buildings on the south side of the street and the remaining buildings on the north side, the firemen had to blast Windelmann's store with dynamite so it would fall away from the other buildings. Not all of these uildings were rebuilt. A feed mill and a new printing office were erected as soon as possible after the fire. On April 8, 1929, Akeley again suffered from a disastrous fire which burned buildings on the north side of Broadway. This time the Regan building, barber shop, and Hysing's building were damaged by the flames. The barber shop found another location soon afterwards. The third of this series of destructible fires occurred on Christmas Day, 1930, when the C. P. Anderson drug store burned. After this fire the drug store moved to the south side of Main Street. The most recent fire which did great damage was in 1932 when the interior of Bell's Confectionery burned. The fire started in the back part of the store, and water and smoke were the cause of most of the destruction. However Mr. Bell soon had his store in running order again. Since the mill moved, and up to 1930, the town gradually decreased in size. In the summer of 1931 Mr. Walker erected a fine modern hotel which was a great improvement to the business district. Located around the vicinity of Akeley we have some beautiful summer resorts. Around our irregular shores are seen some of the most picturesque scenes where the birch, pine, poplar, and elm form shady sheltered coves. Howard Lake is well known around Akeley, it is one of the deepest of the northern lakes with twelve miles of shoreland and it has no inlet, fed entirely by springs. Moore's Springs resort which is located by Howard Lake is the first and best known resort near Akeley. Two years ago Aunt Polly's Camp for girls was opened. This is a lovely place, and Christian Science girls from the large cities come here to spend the summer. In 1930, there was a population of 4512, and there has been a gradual increase since then. We who live here are content and feel Akeley is a friendly vicinity and a fine place to live. Transcribed and contributed by Phyllis Turner This page copyright Phyllis Turner 1998; it may not be used or reprinted without permission. 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