Sherburne History Center Blog

Moses Sherburne (1808-1868) A recent search of the index to this blog revealed a significant failure on my part: at no time in the past eight years, since beginning this blog, has an article regarding the county namesake been produced.   So, I will correct that oversight today. Presenting Moses Sherburne:  Through a combination of politics and legal acumen, Moses Sherburne received a unique honor of having a county named in his honor, while still alive.   To quote a biographer of Sherburne, he “was a conspicuous figure in the early days of Minnesota and was largely instrumental in guiding the Territory into statehood.”   His political livelihood, as well as his law practice, shed an interesting light on one of the early settlers of Minnesota and Sherburne County.  Born in 1808, Moses Sherburne spent the first 45 years of his life in Maine.   He studied the law and received admission to the Maine bar in 1831.   While practicing law, his fi...

With the postponement of the baseball opening day, it seemed a good idea to look back, to think about the history baseball.   In Sherburne County, in the spring-time baseball became ubiquitous.   It was everywhere.      So, I invite you to take a look at a few photos from the Sherburne History Center collection and think about baseball in the past.   Take a close look at the uniforms and equipment from earlier generations.   Realize, baseball gloves, 150 years ago, were non- existent.   The glove evolved from a small padded hand covering to the large, webbed baskets of today.   In earlier generations, sharpened spikes gave base runners an advantage in breaking up a double play.      Look at the gloves, look at the shoes, and look at the bats from earlier times.   Think about the evolution of this wonderful sport.   Just wait, opening day will come soon. 

With all of the commentary about pandemics and COVID-19, research revealed the serious amnesia Americans develop regarding the multitude of diseases and infections ravaging the world.   It seemed a good idea to explore these epidemics and the impact upon Sherburne County.   Unfortunately, very little evidence exists about the pandemics and epidemics in Sherburne County.  In the twentieth century, at least six epidemics can be documented in Sherburne County.   Influenza raced through the county in 1918, 1957, and 1968. Lest we all forget, the most recent Influenza Epidemic lasted from April of 2009 until April of 2010.   In the twelve months, there were 60 million cases reported in the United States.   Over 12,000 people died, 67 of them in Minnesota.   Polio, another epidemic, seemed to attack the young children of the United States each year.   Until the late 1950s polio epidemics seriously threatened the population of Minnesota at leas...

After last week’s blog about George Dietz and the Fairway Market in Elk River, new information came to our attention.   We felt we needed to share, to add a bit more information and appreciation for George Dietz and his contributions to the community.   First, a bit of background information.   The oral history mentioned his work in markets in the Chaska area.   It also hinted about service in World War Two.   The unmentioned details include Dietz’s service record.   He spent 30 months in the army, fighting in Europe.   He was wounded twice, once during the Anzio beach landing, and the second time during the invasion of Southern France.   After the war, and after some time working in markets near the Twin Cities, on August 26, 1953 he opened his store in Elk river.   “Completely remodeled with a self-service cold meat department, new frozen food and new center gondolas,” the Star News reported about the store opening. ...

Fire became a greater concern for Sherburne county, as the residents entered the 1900s.   As more and more fires destroyed more and more property, the communities responded to this growing challenge.   In the west part of the county, Clear Lake and Becker both acquired equipment and trained volunteers to move beyond the basic bucket brigade of earlier times.   Clear lake seemed to lead the way in organizing a fire department and acquiring equipment.   Becker learned from the example set in Clear Lake and used the lessons to improve its own system of firefighting. The flaming destruction of the depot of the Great Northern Railway inspired Clear Lake to move into action and acquire firefighting equipment.   In March 1898, one year before the village of Clear Lake was incorporated, a call for volunteers resulted in the creation of a significant firefighting force.   Shortly afterwards, the community purchased a two-man fire cart.   Using soda and ac...