USA > Minnesota > Otter Tail County > Perham > Historical album and centennial book, Perham, Minnesota, 1871-1971 > Part 1
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HISTORICAL ALBUM
"PERHAM
1871
1971
PERHAM, MINNESOTA
and Centennial Book
1
TUFFY'S
1
PET FOODS
TUFFY'S
TUFFY'S
GOLDEN CHUNKS
NEW!
DOG FOOD
DOG FOOD
NET WT. 151/2 OZ.
WE THANK PERHAM FOR 25 YEARS OF PATRONAGE AND COOPERATION TO HELP US GROW!
Dorothy Koding Vergas.
COVER DESIGN BY CAROL FISTLER
---
5
THIS TABLET IS PLACED HERE TO COMMEMOR- ATE THE ARRIVAL OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILWAY AT PERHAM SEPTEMBER 30, 1871. THE FIRST RAILROAD TO ENTER OTTERTAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
Dedicated By The Otter Tail County Historical Society June 28, 1931
PERHAM NAMED AFTER JOSEPH PERHAM
Perham is the namesake of Joseph Perham of New York, the first man to conceive the idea of building a rail- road from Lake Superior to the Pacific coast. Perham was a wealthy man, but lost all of his money and property in an attempt to complete his idea and plan during the span of his life. Fate frowned, however, and Perham died before the completion of the great work which he fathered. He fought obstacles of every description. Congress op- posed him and capitalists of New York and Philadelphia called him insane for ever conceiving or entertaining such a stupendous undertaking. He did not fight in vain. Although he never lived to see it, his dream was fulfilled. Perham pays tribute to the spirit and courage of the man whose cognomen it bears - Joseph Perham.
PERHAM TOWNSHIP
PERHAM township, organized March 19, 1872, was then called Marion Lake township, for the lake adjoining its southwest corner; but March 1, 1877, it was renamed, to be like its village, by an act of the legislature. Josiah Perham, commemorated in this name, was the first presi- dent of the Northern Pacific railroad company, in 1864-65. He was born in Wilton, Maine, in 1803, and died in Boston, Mass., in 1868. Very interesting biographic notes, with narration of his enthuiastic efforts for construction of this transcontinental railway line, are given in Eugene V. Smalley's "History of the Northern Pacific Railroad" (1883, chapters XI-XV, pp. 97-132). Perham village, platted March 6, 1873, on this railroad, was incorporated February 14, 1881.
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EARLY DAYS IN PERHAM
To give the public a correct idea of Perham's history from its origin, it will be necessary to go back as far as the year 1866, when Rush Lake was first settled by a German Colony, from Mercer County, Ohio. This colony was headed by Rev. Joseph Albrecht. Among the early settlers, who arrived at that time are: Ferdinand Boedig- heimer, Leander Boedigheimer, Frank Boedigheimer, William Boedigheimer and Mrs. Jiachim Doll.
From this settlement. other hardy settlers pushed farther into the wilderness, but in 1869, two years prior to the construction of the Northern Pacific Railway through Perham, the large prairie on which the Village of Perham is now situated, contained only two families of settlers; Fred Mohr and his sons John, Fred, Peter and Nick, who lived in a small cabin approximately one mile from where the Village of Perham was later built, and the family of John Rock, which consisted of his mother, Susan Rock, Mrs. John Frisch, and her daughter, Susan Frisch. Among the early settlers also were John Doll, Joseph Doll, Joseph Weis and W. A. Doll.
At the time the first settlers arrived, St. Cloud was the nearest railroad town. The trip was made with oxen, and took two weeks. Supplies were hauled from St. Cloud, then the only sizeable town northwest of St. Paul, and the entreport of a vast unsettled region stretching westward to the mountains. The road travelled by the early settlers was the famous Red River Trail which crossed the prairie diagonally through the present site of the Village of Per- ham. It had been used for many years previous to the coming of the settlers as one of the main routes of the fur trade. Over it, in two-wheeled carts with wooden, un- greased axels drawn by oxen, moved the fur catches concentrated at Ft. Garry for transportation to St. Paul. Before it could change its character and become the high- way of later advancing settlers, the railroad, crawling westward, ended its usefulness. The settlers, breaking up the new land, first found outlet for their produce to new settlers passing through to settle at Oak Lake, Detroit, and other points; then to the railroad contractors to feed their hungry gangs and then through the rails to the broader and more substantial markets.
Coming with the opening of the country were the grist mills and the lumber mills. R. L. Frazee established a saw mill and flour mill at Otter Tail City, and lumbering furnished employment to many settlers. Cutting and saw- ing went on winter and summer, the lumber being sold green from the saw as fast as turned out, and sold at fabulous prices. In the winter he moved his mill to the southwest short of Big Pine, and his lumber was sold as far west as Oak Lake beyond Detroit. At the same time a Mr. McCally, who operated a mill at Fr. Ambercrombie, cut all of the best timber surrounding Big and Little Pine Lakes, floating it down the Otter Tail and Red River to the north. His first drive left here in 1869. Perham, in its early days, was the headquarters for logging operations on the Red River and after the Clark & McClure saw mill was destroyed by fire, large log drives were taken from Big Pine Lake to Winnipeg, Canada, requiring about four or five months to complete a drive.
About this time, Henry L. Kemper started a little store at Rush Lake, which was the first store to be oper- ated in this locality. Henry Drahmann became a partner with Mr. Kemper, and after the railroad had reached Perham, the store was moved to Perham. It was later replaced by a large brick building, which is now owned
and operated as a mercantile store, by Vince and Leo Drahmann.
After the Northern Pacific was completed as far as Perham, the Company established a Station, and built a side track and named it Negonama. This station was on the same place where the former Village of Richdale existed. Kemper and Drahmann received the first goods that were brought here by rail. The goods were unloaded in a hazel brush, and a guard was placed over them, un- til they were taken away by the owner.
In 1872, while Henry Kemper was Postmaster at Rush Lake, he received a communication from the Postoffice Department, informing him that the establishment of a new Postoffice had been petitioned for, and to be located at the Northern Pacific Railroad crossing, of the Otter Tail River, where Messrs Clark and McClure were at that time, building their saw mill. Henry Kemper informed the Department that the location would not be the proper one, on the grounds that the Northern Pacific Railroad Com- pany had already built a side track two miles west of the proposed Postoffice, and that a Townsite would soon be surveyed and platted, and that that would be the proper place for the Postoffice. At the same time, a petition was sent in, praying for the establishment of the Postoffice, and the appointment of Henry Kemper as Postmaster. The Petition was granted, the appointment made, and the Post- office in Perham established.
In June, 1872, Kemper and Drahmann erected the first wooden building in Perham, on the north side of the rail- road track. It required two days to put up the building, and on the third day Henry Drahmann brought part of the firm's goods from their store at Rush Lake, put it on sale in the new building and thus the first mercantile business was established in Perham. A boot and shoe box was se- cured and supplied with pigeon holes to serve as Post- office equipment. This was in keeping with the Post- master's salary which was then $12.00 per year. There were two tents in Perham before the building was erected. One, owned by E. Curo, served as a hotel, and the other, owned by Richard Connely, served as a saloon.
At this time the telegraph office was moved from Negonama. A large dry-goods box was placed on the street near the track where the Marckel Store now stands. The telegraph instruments were placed on this box and How- ard Wetmore, the first Station Agent, commenced operat- ing with only an umbrella over his head to keep the sun off. The old station at Negonama was torn down, moved up here on cars, and again built west of the present rail- road station tank.
ETYURAY LINE
Army Keerbs, Matt Paulson, and Otto Krueger with the Krueger Dray Line.
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For Auto Parts and Supplies
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At this time Joseph Schwab built a blacksmith shop, John Frisch, a butcher shop, and E. Curo moved up a building from Otter Tail City. All of the buildings were put on the north side of the track, and afterwards moved across to the south side.
In the month of July, 1872, the Superior and Puget Sound Company laid out the original townsite of Perham. After some difficulty with the agents for the Townsite Company, the settlers were given the privilege to choose lots where they wanted them, paying from $200 to $300 for each lot.
The Village of Perham was named after Mr. Per- ham of New York, the man who first conceived of the idea of building this great railroad from Lake Superior to the Pacific Coast.
The first car of wheat shipped from any point on the Northern Pacific was shipped by Kemper and Drahmann in the fall of 1872. Four carloads were the entire produce shipped that fall from a territory reaching as far as the Leaf Mountains and Fergus Falls. Perham soon developed into a wheat center, and flour was manufactured here which was shipped to Moorhead and from there by boat to Ft. Garry and other Canadian outposts.
In July 1874 the first newspaper was issued by Kem- per Bros. and Drahmann. The paper bore the name of the "Perham News." X. S. Burk was the duly accredited Editor of the highly influential paper. The paper in its early history did not prosper and changed hands several times, until in late years L. E. Davidson purchased the paper and emerged with the Perham Bulletin.
In July 1887, A. E. Luedke erected the first solid brick
Ludger Berry Sawmill - 1890
building in Perham. The same is now occupied by Knuttila Implement Company, Inc., the successor to the Marckel Company Hardware Store.
In August 1899 Henry Kemper started the Exchange Bank of Perham, which finally a year later culminated into the Bank of Perham, owned by Walz, Weber, and Kemper and now known as the State Bank of Perham. Up until this time the merchants of Perham did their banking with the banks in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
On the 14th day of February 1881, the State Legisla- ture passed a law authorizing the incorporating the Vil- lage of Perham and appointing Henry Drahmann, Louis Struett, and Samuel Caughey as Commissioners to con- duct the first election to be held at the Village of Perham, and pursuant thereto an election was duly held on the 21st day of March following.
FARMING IN THE OLD DAYS
THRESHING DONE BY TRAMPLING CATTLE
Picture taken by Major M. J. Burelbach, Brother of John
When harvest time came in 1867 the settlers had not even the crudest of threshing implements. A place was smoothed off and the wheat bundles placed on it. Oxen were driven around and around, trampling the kernels from the chaff while the men threw in more bundles,
shook the straw with forks and threw the chaff to one side. Oats, which separates from the straw more easily was threshed by laying it across a floor of logs, spaced slightly apart, and striking the grain with a flail. The oats dropped off and the chaff either blew away on windy days or was removed with a fork when the day was calm.
Rush Lake Threshing Crew
Stack threshing on the T. J. Delaney farm. Anton W. Doll at the thresher about 1920.
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Walt Shasky, Syl Wyborny, Jr., and Frank Shasky shock- ing grain.
Short History of Perham's First Store
This general store was started in 1876 by Henry Kemper at Rush Lake. He moved it to Perham when the Northern Pacific Railroad came through Perham in 1871. He was joined in this business by J. B. Kemper, grand- father of Bill Kempfer, and Henry Drahmann, and they formed the firm of Kemper Bros. & Drahmann. Besides the store, they operated a grain elevator and the Toad River Flour Mill, six miles from Perham.
The first carload of wheat ever hauled by the Northern Pacific Railroad was shipped by this firm. The first ship- ment of merchandise that came into Perham was received by Kemper Bros. & Drahmann.
In 1881 the store was taken over by John B. Drah- mann, who operated it until his death in 1907. At that time it was taken over by his sons Leo and Vincent Drah- mann. They operated the store until October 1964 when they sold out the business after 97 years of continuous operation.
Leo Drahmann died in 1968. Vince is the sole surviving 2nd generation businessman in Perham in 1971, the 100th anniversary of the coming of the railroad.
Drahmann's Store-Vince, Annie, Henrietta and Leo Drah- man and Jos. Bernauer.
John Schornack and William Lachowitzer harvesting in 1916 in the Alzheimer farm.
RUSH LAKE SCENE OF EARLY LOGGING DAYS
Rush Lake was the scene of earliest logging activities in the county. In the year 1869 a man by the name of Mc- Cally, then running a saw mill at Fort Abercrombie, made the first log drive down the Otter Tail river to Rush Lake.
Ludger Berry Sawmill, 1890. The original house still stands jon Berry farm, now owned by Ellis E. Whitney.
These loggers were a rough, jolly, untamed outfit. They bought all four kinds of whiskey Kemper had on sale - which four brands, incidentally, came out of the same barrel. Their foreman came into the store one day after their arrival. "Do you handle tobacco?" he asked. When an affirmative answer was given, he said, without asking price or brand, "I'll take all of it." The lumberjack danced with calk boots, on the upper floor of the small store until the floor was worn through.
Otter Tail City, then being the county seat, had the first jail in the county. The only mistake made in furnish- ing the jail was that they placed a Bible in the cell, as we shall shortly see. One bitter cold morning Father Frank Staab called at the office of Henry Kemper, justice of the peace at Rush Lake, and brought with him a well dressed but feeble looking Irishman who made a complaint that he had been knocked down and robbed by a burly Swede.
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Three $20 gold pieces, several $5 gold pieces and some bills, in all about $100, had been stolen from him. A war- rant was issued for the apprehension of the thief. The war- rant would make a good legal curiosity. Kemper had never seen a warrant but he did his best and here was the result:
"State of Minnesota, County of Otter Tail. To Mr. A. Anderson, Sheriff of Otter Tail County. Dear Sir: - A man has been knocked down and robbed by a big Swede man. Come and arrest him quick. Hurry up before he gets away. Henry Kemper, J.P."
A. Anderson was the first sheriff of Otter Tail County.
The big man was arrested, a preliminary hearing held and he was bound over to the district court for the
spring term. Failing to furnish bonds, he was locked in the new jail. Sheriff Anderson was a good man and tried to make a better man out of the prisoner. He furnished him with a big, old Bible. The prisoner made very good use of the Bible. He used it as a pry block, a piece of wood as a lever, pried the upper joists up, kicked out the boards of the gable end, jumped into the snow and "scrammed." Sheriff Anderson was again sent out to arrest the culprit, but when he arrived at Clitherall, where the Swede lived, the man's neighbors informed the sheriff that one arrest was enough for any one man, and to let the prisoner go. That settled the case.
Mr. Martin Fiedler of St. Joe was one of the original board of the county commissioners which met at Otter Tail City.
PIONEERS
Henry Kemper
Mrs. Henry Kemper (Regina Steinbach)
Mr. and Mrs. Math Burelbach, Wedding 1884
Nick Burelbach, 1916
Jacob Doll, one of the first pio- neers to arrive from Ohio and settle in Rush Lake.
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Doll about 100 years ago
George Burelbach
Henry Schmidt Family. Left to right: Paul, Hulda, Richard, Arnold, Emma, Robert, Edwin and Walter
Mr. and Mrs. F. D. Sieling and Family in 1893
Bernard and Kathryn Kemper Nov. 9, 1909
John Oswald
Bernard and Bill Kemper
Dr. Josiah S. Richardson
Albert and Katherine Shasky on their wedding.
Kunniginda Alzheiner, 1843-1910
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Sawyer
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Pelton Recalls Big Log Drive of Early Days
The following article is copied from "Memories" of the late E. A. Pelton, pioneer settler of Perham:
"I am now going to take you over to Perham where Clark and McClure had secured more than fifty million feet of standing pine in Otter Tail and Becker counties.
Wadena county was Mississippi logs and the balance was Red River. This was about the time the railroad got into Perham. Mr. Clark had built a large sawmill two miles east of Perham on the Red River of the North and a large boarding house and lumber yard. Across the track was a big brewery owned by Peter Schroeder of Perham.
Andrew McCrea, whose old home still stands in Win- nebago Prairie, was general manager.
We began operations and built logging camps all around Pine Lake. These logs we would run down the Red River to the mill, shipping to Moorhead, then by the Red River to Winnipeg or Fort Gray with Tom Scott of St. Cloud as agent. We would raft this lumber in cribs about 300 feet long with a long oar on each end to guide them.
Now I will return to Perham. In the fall men would be coming back, some from the Black Hills, Montana, and Winnipeg where they were rafting lumber, others from government forts where they had been putting up hay for the government. All those working for Clark and McClure came back to engage in the logging business, which took thousands of men. I have in my possession government contracts signed by the Governor and N. P. Clark, for delivering a million pounds of beef and a hundred barrels of pork and a hundred tons of different kinds of feed to all the government agencies and reservations. This was hauled from St. Cloud before the railroad came, but Per- ham was the headquarters for logging and the Red River.
The lumberjacks were from all parts of the country. They were all husky men and their main fault was drink- ing beer and getting drunk. They would not carry guns or knives, they did not steal and would simply fight with their fists. I have seen several hundred men in Perham - pretty lively at times. If their money played out and they had no booze, they would go down the track and hide and steal a keg of Pete Schroeder's best. Mr. Schroeder had a brewery near the mill. They had a big boarding house on the river by the sawmill and the young folks from all over would come every Saturday night for a dance in the old boarding house.
We hauled logs from as far as ten miles north of Pine Lake, enclosed them with a boom. Then the logs all up and down the Toad river would be driven down into the
The old Cooper Shop located near the Globe Mill where barrels were made.
lake. About six million feet would cover about ten acres. We would then take them across the lake in the night when there was no wind. We had a large raft with a wind lass, a sweep and a large anchor weighing 300 pounds tied to a rope 1,000 feet.
E. H. PELTON ADDS INTERESTING SIDELIGHTS
An addition to our account of the early settlement was written for us by the late E. H. Pelton, pioneer settler of Perham. Mr. Pelton was interested in the logging busi- ness at that time and gave us some interesting material of the early logging days.
Mr. Pelton wrote:
In 1869 Ed Curo graded the N. P. railroad from the Otter Tail river to the present site of Perham. His wife boarded the railway engineers in a large tent across the railway track north of the present city hall. Next year he built the first hotel in Perham, known as the Curo House and headquarters for lumbermen, as Mr. Curo was a heavy contractor in ties and logs. That hotel was lately dismantled after standing there for 63 years. The Pugit Sound and Town Site Company made its headquarters there when it was laying and platting the town site. It was represented by Mr. A. A. White of Brainerd. The stages at that time brought in from the west pempican smoked and dried buffalo meat.
The railroad arrived in Perham in June 1871. As soon as the railroad was completed to Moorhead, the Clark and McClure Mill was in operation. Most of this lumber was shipped to Ft. Garry as far as Moorhead by train, then rafted down the river. The first steamboat on the Red River was the Pluck hauled by Clark and McClure freight teams through Otter Tail City. Dan Bosworth from Long Prairie was foreman.
In 1873 Clark and McClure built a saw mill on the Otter Tail River two miles east of Perham. Their lumber office now is occupied by Mr. Miller as a jewelery store, hauled to its present site in Perham, over 50 years ago. Clark and McClure had secured over 80 million feet of standing pine in Otter Tail county; 60 million was manu- factured in this saw mill. The balance was driven down the Red River of the North to Ft. Garry, now Winnipeg, as I will explain later.
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