Sherburne History Center Blog

Every so often we acknowledge leaders of Sherburne County.  No real criteria exists for selecting these profiles of greatness.  We simply select individuals we believe played an important role in the history of Sherburne County.  With this column, we look at the life of newspaper editor and politician Arthur N. Dare.  Arthur Dare--1850 to 1923 Born in Onondaga County, New York on May 25, 1850 Arthur N. Dare lived an early life packed with adventure.  Living in New York until age 18, he traveled with his family to Wisconsin, and from there, at age 20, he landed in Minneapolis.  While in the cities, he studied for four years as a printer.  In the early 1870s he signed on as a sailor on a whaling ship to see the world.  After a quick journey into the South Pacific, he returned to Minnesota and settled in Elk River.  In 1878 he purchased half ownership in the Elk River newspaper.  In less than a year he had purchased the other half ...

Elk River factories circa 1900 SHC photo collection Always regarded as an industrial town, Elk River supported a number of factories and shops in its early history.  The barrel hoop factory must be regarded as one of these shops that branded the community as an industrial center. Opening in 1895 and operating for only a brief time, the factory employed ten men and boys around the Lake Orono industrial area.  The Sherburne County Star News described the factory as a “veritable bee-hive of industry.”  Using the best cuts of elm trees, the factory trimmed and shaved the wood into thin strips.  Factory workers then heated the wood, molded, and nailed into the appropriate size hoops for wood barrels.  The newspaper went on to explain that “the very best of timber is required in the manufacture of hoops.”  The scrap wood became fence pickets and fire wood.  The opening of the factory created an unusually high demand for elm wood. The paper repo...

Advertising War Savings Stamps in the Sherburne County Star News , 1918 Paying for war is often a challenge for the United States government.  In the 1800s, financing war meant the government borrowed money from rich financiers.  Only with World War One did the United States government appeal to the general public for aid in paying for war.  The Liberty Bonds sales appeared to be very successful and often viewed as patriotic tests.  In Sherburne County, local leaders actively promoted the bond subscription drives and claimed significant success. The government created four Liberty Bond programs in 1917 and 1918.  In 1919 the government also issued a fifth Victory Liberty Loan bond.  In total, Liberty Bonds raised $21.5 billion for the war effort.  With each bond program, Sherburne County received a quota of funding the county must raise.  The first Liberty Bond quota called for $130,000 from county patriots.  The Sherburne County...

Unidentified soldier from World War One SHC collections The United States declared war on Germany and its allies on 6 April 1917.  Men not yet enlisted in the National Guard were subject to the draft.  In Sherburne County, several hundred men entered the army as a result of the Federalization of the National Guard and the draft.  Although events in training camps were never typical, letters sent home, and later published in the Sherburne County Star News , give a sense of life in the camps. In a letter published in the Sherburne County Star News Theodore Coder described daily life in Camp Cody, New Mexico.  “We left Fort Snelling Oct. 10 and arrived at Deming, adjacent to Camp Cody, on Oct. 15,” he wrote.  “Had a delightful trip, or at least it was to me, but I did not fall in love with the country on first sight or have no deep affection for it yet.”   He went on to describe the hazards of camp life.  “The sand blows here like the snow ...

Shortly after the United States declared war in April 1917, citizens realized in addition to the necessary rations of U. S. soldiers, there existed the starvation of civilians throughout Europe.  The government created the U. S. Food Administration to encourage rationing and conserving food.  Under the direction of future President Herbert Hoover, the administration instituted a voluntary rationing program that included Meatless Tuesdays and Wheatless Wednesdays.  Through the year of war and into 1919, consumption of meat in the United States dropped more than 15 percent.  Exports of food to Europe increased significantly. Locally, the Sherburne County Star News promoted the rationing.  Referring to the Meatless Tuesdays and Wheatless Wednesdays, the paper opined, “If these measures are necessary to win the war, let us all munch corn meal and be thankful.”  The paper went on to suggest the rationing of bacon.  “Bacon is the soldiers’ real food fr...

Elk River Base Ball Club, circa 1900 April is fast approaching, that mean spring training ends and Major League Baseball begins.  Although Sherburne County has never fielded a professional or semi-professional ball club, baseball was taken very seriously in the county.  Just a sampling of news reports in 1895 reveals several of the baseball clubs in Sherburne County and the serious nature of the sport.  In June of 1895, with the start of the local season, the Sherburne County Star News presented a brief history of the rivalries in the area.  Elk River and Monticello ball clubs long remained top of the list of serious rivals.  “In olden times there used to be some battles royal between the base ballists of these two towns,” the newspaper reported.  “”Monday reminded us a little of those old times, the chief difference being that Elk River was defeated this time which didn’t used to be the case.”  In this particular “battle royal” Elk River fel...

1910 through 1930 was a transition period for Sherburne County as can be seen with both automobiles and horse drawn wagons in this photograph.  Only very gradually did pavement replace dirt and gravel on the roads of the county. With road construction season arriving, I wonder about the times of road construction before the big trucks and monstrous land movers.  I wonder about the construction of Highway 10 through Sherburne County.  Why did it happen?  How did it happen? When we explore the actual construction the true impact of Highway 10 becomes apparent. Construction of Highway 10 in Elk River used “one of the biggest and latest improved concrete mixers and pavers in the state and it has the capacity of paving 600 feet a day,” the Sherburne County Star News reported.  Although small compared to modern equipment, the newspaper claimed the machines inspired crowds to gather each day and observe the work.  Credit for Highway 10 and the benefi...