Sherburne History Center Blog

  Newsletter advocating for reactor in Elk River, 1955 A truly unique anniversary passed this week, 57 years ago, on August 24, 1963.   On that date , the Elk River atomic reactor generated the first nuclear power in Minnesota.   After eight years of campaigning and planning, the Elk River nuclear plant opened for business.   Unfortunately, the plant operated for only a brief time.   Yet, it served as a highly informative experiment in nuclear plant operations.   Only ten years after nuclear power proved its strength, the Rural Cooperative Power Association of Elk River developed a campaign to introduce nuclear energy into the upper Midwest.   According to a proposal submitted to the Atomic Energy Commission in June 1955, a nuclear plant in Elk River could reduce electricity production costs by fifty percent in five years.   The Atomic Energy Commission looked favorably on the Elk River proposal.   In 1958, they granted approval to the p...

Recent discussions of early settlement presented an individual to consider as a pioneer serving a significant, yet unheralded, role in the settlement of Sherburne County.   We need to look at the life and times of Joseph F. Bean of Livonia Township.   Joseph Bean spent his childhood and early days in New Hampshire.   He made his way to Sherburne County, stopping first in Wisconsin before landing in Elk River.   Finally, in 1856, he and his new bride, Betsy, settled in an area of Livonia Township. The Bean homestead located on the stagecoach road between Elk River and Princeton.   In addition to farming, Bean also provided rest to travelers along the road.   He also served the role of Postmaster, the mail for area farmers being delivered by stage and later by the early morning trains.   In addition, both Bean and his wife Betsy emphasized education.   Both worked as teachers before settling in Livonia Township.   Evidence suggests the Bean...

  The anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan arrived this week. It seems an appropriate time to recognize the impact of the war on Sherburne County. Unfortunately, and tragically, World War Two impacted everyone. Whether through rationing or military service, or a multitude of other means, every individual in Sherburne County, between 1940 and 1945, felt the war.    An oral history collected from Edmund Babcock makes an interesting point of this: “When my high school class had its fiftieth reunion, we invited every class member to get up and take the microphone and tell a little bit about what had happened in their life since graduation from high school. We invited a dear lady who was one of those teachers that everybody in the class knew and liked. She was getting to be an elderly person at that point. Her daughter, who happened to be a medical docto r, drove her out from Minneapolis and stayed with her through the whole evening. We had a reception the ne...