USA > Minnesota > St Louis County > Duluth > Duluth and St. Louis County, Minnesota; their story and people; an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development, Volume II > Part 7
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Hibbing in 1895 .- One writer, who visited Hibbing for the first time in 1895, described the place as follows :
In those days Hibbing lacked much of being a "right smart place." * *
* It was only a step from hotel to swamp, muskeag, or an outcrop of rock.
Many of those steps, too, had to be taken over a couple of planks, instead of a cement sidewalk. Archie Chisholm was cashier in a dinky little bank, limited in personal purse, but with a soul rich in hope. W. P. Mars, now an official in a wholesale hardware firm of international importance, then conducted a retail hardware here and did much of the heavy work with his own hands. On that visit I met John A. Redfern. It was a warm sunny day and he was setting a new boiler at the Penobscot mine, garbed in a red undershirt that harmonized with his perspiring face and his rather vivid head of hair.
In those days, Hibbing certainly was an ugly duckling. The U. S. Steel Corporation had not yet been organized, and Victor L. Power was wearing knee trousers, playing hookey, and thinking over whether he had better be a sailor or a soldier.
Notwithstanding appearances, conditions were brightening for Hibbing in 1895. Atkinson writes :
The coming of the summer of 1895 brought brighter prospects with it. The D. M. & N., which had established its depot building at what was then the south end of Third avenue, and did considerable track-laying, which gave needed employment to the people. The Lake Superior Consolidated Iron Mines *
* began preparation to open several mines, and that gave * the future a brighter tint than it ever had before. Property along Pine street began to come up a little, and lots advanced in price from almost nothing to $300, in some instances. The Itasca Mercantile Company purchased the lots it now (1902) occupies, at the corner of Pine street and Third avenue, from Ole Hagerson, paying $750 therefor. The same lots cannot be had today (1902) for twenty ttimes that sum. The year 1895 saw the opening of several iron mines, and the town began to grow.
The City Hall was erected in 1895, and the village became a place of dignity when in the winter of 1895-96 Frank Hibbing so far showed his confidence in the future of Hibbing as to build "the first hotel of first-class character erected on the range."
The Opening of the Hotel Hibbing .- The Hotel Hibbing was opened on February 22, 1896, and "it was an event that interested the people of the entire range." Atkinson writes :
The Hotel Hibbing was opened with a grand ball on Saturday, Feb- ruary 22, 1896. Excursion trains were run from Duluth and all of the range towns and our good neighbors drove across country from Grand Rapids to join-in the festivities. The reception committee was: F. Brady, F. H. Dear, Frank Hibbing, P. F. Eagan, James Gandsey, Garry Graham, W. L. Hon- nold, M. H. Godfrey, James Geary, J. B. Beethold. A. M. Chisholm. Dr. D. C. Rood, C. H. Munger, Dr. G. N. Burchart, P. Mitchell, and Dr. M. H. Man- son. The floor committee of the memorable ball was Wm. H. Wright, D. McEachin, F. E. Halbert, A. H. Sicard, C. F. Sheldon, W. L. Selden, and Thomas J. Godfrey.
The Hibbing, until quite recently, when it became necessary to remove the lower end of town to the new townsite at South Hibbing, was the more exclusive of the two leading hotels of Hibbing. But it, and the other hotel, the Oliver, would, in any event, be hope-
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lessly outclassed by the four-story fire-proof structure that was in process of erection in the fall of 1920 at South, or new, Hibbing. The Androy Hotel, a palatial hostelry of 162 rooms and 100 baths, prom- ises to excell all hotels in the county, even including the Spaulding of Duluth.
However, such a structure was not even the subject of the craziest dream of even the most optimistic Hibbingite, of the '90s.
Hibbing for Long Literally a Mining Village .- As a matter of fact, Hibbing for very many years was a mining village, a place where- in mining was supreme, and where all other considerations were sec- ondary. Hemmed in as she was by mines on three sides of her, and actually not owning the ground upon which she stood, her position, as a municipality, and as a place of homes, was not an enviable one. The attitude of the mining company was that the people were there because of the mines; which of course was true. They argued, or thought, that the people without the mines, without the employment the mines gave and the money the mines circulated, would starve; consequently, the comfort and interests of the people must be sub- ordinate or secondary to the interests of the mining companies. And when it became necessary to blast, for instance, within dangerous proximity to the home of the people, the people must make the best they could of such conditions, which were unavoidable. One writer, who may have been perhaps, somewhat too graphic in his description, pictured the condition in the following words :
You sit with your little family around the table, partaking of the humble repast your daily pittance allows you. Suddenly a mighty roar and blast shakes everything in view, and a few seconds later there comes crashing through your roof, or windows, the upheaved rocks and debris, endangering your lives and the lives of your loved ones. Picture the condition as a daily occurrence. Likewise imagine yourself walking upon the public streets of a town and then be suddenly forced to flee for safety into shelter, from sim- ilar causes.
Put yourself in the place of a merchant, having erected a suitable build- ing for your use, to wake some day to see the yawning abyss right at your door, with the hungry maws of the steam shovel tearing away at your streets. And this is just what happened here.
Such a condition has been duplicated, in respect to caving, in quite recent years in the great city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, where cavings have dropped buildings, or parts of buildings, without warn- ing, 20, 30 or 40 feet into the bowels of the earth. But at any time in early, or in modern, times such a state of things is deplorable. It held Hibbing down for many years, just as similar conditions in Scranton, Pennsylvania, resulted in an increase of only 3 per cent in its population during the last decade. However, most wrongs are righted eventually. Unreasonable conditions cannot prevail for long. But the righting of Hibbing's wrong came by an unusual sequence of events. The condition at Hibbing in its early years, and the ulti- mate remedy were referred to in the. "St. Paul Despatch," of May 29, 1918, thus :
In the carly days, open-pit mining encroached upon the town of Hibbing from all sides, and the clatter and roar of the steam shovels and the blast of explosives filled the air day and night. The din resembled at all hours a miniature battle of the Aisne.
With each and every blast, the rocks and shale had a most unpleasant way of coming down through one's roof, or giving one a sudden attack of heart failure, by falling in one's immediate neighborhood. Hibbing was being literally blasted off the map. But nobody complained. It was expected as a matter of course-an hourly occurrence. It was Iren, and Hibbing was iron. The iron and the blasting went hand in hand, and there could be no com- plaint.
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But Fate had written that things were to change. Down near the edge of Sellers' open-pit mine lived a Swede named Iver Lind .. Lind owned a span of Kentucky mules. These animals, lean and angular, powerful and stubborn, were Lind's choicest possession. Long ago they had become ac- customed to the din of the dynamite and the steam shovel.
One morning Lind was harnessing his mules, preparatory to starting his day's labors. Half harnessed they were, and Lind was sweating and swearing over their stubbornness, congratulating himself, withal, upon owning such a perfect span when, suddenly the whistle in the Sellers' mine blew a warn- ing note.
A blast was due. It was too late for either Iver or his mules to get to shelter.
Bang. The blast tore loose. It sent a barrage of stones and gravel high in the air. * *
* One of the descending rocks struck one of Lind's mules.
This was something to which the mule had never become accustomed. With a kick and a bray he broke loose. The bray filled the air, while the kick found lodgment in Lind's anatomy.
Iver rose full of wrath. First, the mules and then the mining company was to feel the weight of his anger. Into the barn, with accompanying blows and curses, went the mules. To the office of power went Iver.
At once the Swede wanted to start injunction proceedings against the Sellers' Mining Company. The ensuing action affected only Lind's property, but its results were far-reaching.
It started a legal battle in Hibbing which extended over several years, and attracted and aroused the interest of the entire country.
Here are some of the results of the suit, and the resultant injunction:
a. It cost the mining companies several million dollars. they now admit.
b. It paved every street in Hibbing.
c. Likewise, in every street it installed a white-way.
d. It woke the people of Hibbing up with a start.
e. It brought them a clearer realization of a number of problems affect- ing their welfare than they ever had before.
f. It roused the Hibbing spirit, and that sustained the people of Hib- bing through one of the most trying periods in the history of the town.
g. It put thousands of dollars into the pockets of the people, who now are disposing of their holdings on the "north forty."
It is the best thing all round, that ever happened to Hibbing, and every- body realizes it now.
And so, with an injunction growing out of a kick of a mule, peace, com- parative quiet, and much prosperity, came to Hibbing.
The Outstanding Figure .- The outstanding figure in this period of Hibbing's history, this period of evolution-it has been called revolution-undoubtedly was Victor L. Power, "who worked his way through the mines as a blacksmith" and thus knew mining conditions almost as well as he knew Blackstone and state law, when he took up the legal fight for the people of Hibbing against the mining com- panies. He has been termed: "Hibbing's Fighting Mayor," and again : "Little Giant of the North," and in the years of litigation, so strenuously prosecuted by the mining companies until they came to the realization that human rights, the right of life and limb, are pre- eminent, Attorney Power demonstrated his ability at the legal bar.
He has many enemies-that much may be inferred ; every forceful successful man is envied ; indeed, the man who never made enemies, never did anything worth envying-but Victor Power is undoubtedly the outstanding figure in the municipal history of Hibbing, and Hib- bing has been wonderfully transformed since he became mayor, in 1913. Quoting from a campaign statement recently issued by the "Power Administration," it appears that extraordinary development has come to Hibbing since 1913. The statement reads, in part :
Victor L. Power's first service as a village official began in March, 1912. At that time Hibbing was a ragged village of only 8,250 souls. Today, the population has incerased to 15,082.
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When the so-called "Little Giant of the North" first became president of the Village of Hibbing, there were only one and a half miles of pavement; today there are fifteen miles. In addition, there are twenty-six miles of graded and gravelled streets. In 1912 there were not more than seven miles of concrete sidewalks; today there are twenty-two miles. Then full account must be taken of forty miles of water mains and sanitary and storm sewers. * ¥ * a beautiful park system has been developed. First came Mesaba Park, in the very heart of the village, with greenhouse, grassy lawns, shrubbery, flowers, rustic seats and a bandstand. It was a small, but very attractive, breathing place. * * *
Then came Bennett Park, 61 acres in area and developed at a cost of $300,000, as artistic as anything ancient Greece ever possessed * neat * * * * * * fences, * * * * bandstand, White-way, X
driveways,
* conservatory, *
* refectory, a swimming and wading pool for children,
apparatus *
* for children's games, and fifteen out-of-door picnic stoves for the use of picnic parties. Athletic Park, embracing 20 acres, improved at a cost of $20,000 * *
* for baseball, basket ball, * * *
a warming house for winter skating, and other features.
a public library building that cost $250,000.
a complete new water system, at a cost of $750,000.
An up-to-date electric power and municipal heating plant *
* the * admiration of engineers of international fame; its cost was $1,300,000. A mu- nicipal gas plant * * * $289,000; and a city incinerator, cost $55,000. * a detention hospital, finished in 1920, at a cost of $35,000. * * a newer, bigger, and carefully-planned town (on the new town- site) South Hibbing.
The most recent aim of the Power administration is to bring into operation a city form of government, which "will bring in much out- lying territory, and make a city of about twenty square miles." Cer- tainly, the advance of Hibbing during the years of the Power ad- ministration has been rapid. And, fundamentally, Victor L. Power seems to be obsessed by the desire to institute public improvements which will bring to the realization of the alien people who have been attracted to the district by the opportunity of work (which it must be admitted is lucrative) in the mines, that their lot in America is not merely a day of toil and a night of domestic squalor. The wonderful schools of Hibbing and other range places, and the parks, libraries, and suchlike provisions have their effect. Hibbing is no longer a "mining camp"; it is a metropolitan, cosmopolitan city, in which the horny-handed miner may, and does, hold his head high, and provide for his family a typical American home. Hibbing has changed. Not many years ago "Hibbing, as a town, looked little better than some of the mere mining camps, ramshackle and tough in exterior, and with housing conditions of a kind that put the blush of shame on the slums of our biggest cities." Today Hibbing is an object lesson in what is possible in "the Melting-Pot of the World."
Of course, all the credit is not due to the Power administration ; the mining companies are deserving of part. Without the co-opera- tion of the mining companies, such advancement would be impossible, and it will probably be admitted that they have gone "more than half-way" in recent years-since they reached the point where they appreciated that the mining company did not have supreme jurisdic- tion over all the affairs of the miner that life and limb have right of place even before the vital interests of great industrial enterprises. New Hibbing is a convincing demonstration of the good that comes by union of classes, by co-operation of employer and employee. All prosper; and accomplish marvels.
There is little more space available, so the remaining historical records must be briefly stated.
Annexations and Additions .- The Pillsbury addition was the first made to the boundaries of the village of Hibbing ; that comprised forty
UPPER LEFT-THE $1,000,000 POWER PLANT, NEW HIBBING; UPPER RIGHT-MARKET DAY AT HIBBING MUNICIPAL MARKET; LOWER LEFT-THE WASHINGTON GRADE SCHOOL, HIBBING; LOWER RIGHT-HIBBING'S TRAVELING LIBRARY, THE FIRST IN MINNESOTA
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acres, adjoining the original townsite on the south. It was platted in 1896. In 1902 another forty acres, known as the Southern addition, was brought within village limits; it lies next south to the Pillsbury addition. In 1910, Hibbing sought to annex the townsite of Brooklyn, and election was held on April 19, 1910. Brooklyn was added to the village, and Ansley's addition came in 1916. Alice came into the vil- lage in 1913, including Koskiville and Sunnyside, and on September 13, 1919, the se. qr. of ne. qr. of 57-21, adjoining Alice came in to provide the site for New Hibbing, where the other additions known as Central, Sargent and Eastern additions, belong to the Oliver Iron Mining Company.
Village Hall .- The first city hall was built in 1895. It was re- placed in 1909 by an imposing block of pressed brick, with Bedford stone trimmings, the three-story structure costing $135,000 and pro- viding quarters for all municipal departments. New quarters, it seems, is to be provided in the new Hibbing.
Public Library .- In 1907 Andrew Carnegie was approached and promised to donate $25,000 toward the cost of establishing a public library. The building was constructed, and opened in 1908. Its cost, including site, was $35,000. Improvements since made, in 1917, at a cost of $100,000, give Hibbing a public library better than any other on the ranges. The library had about 23,000 volumes to open its circulation with. In 1920, it had 8,414 active borrowers, and the circulation for the year was 171,032 books.
The original librarion was Miss Margaret Palmer, who came to be recognized as the "Dean of the Range Librarians." Latterly, Miss Dorothy Huilbert has had charge of Hibbing library. Mainly through the initiative of Captain Wm. H. McCormack, Hibbing soon estab- lished a unique library service. Its "traveling library," a circulation of books in outlying locations by means of a bus, was instituted in 1910, and has been the subject of many magazine articles since that time. The service is a praiseworthy and appreciated one. Miss Charlotte Clark is the "traveling librarian," and the bus serves 25 mining locations in an area of 160 miles. A gong announces the arrival of the "Traveling Library," and it is heard in each location once a week, summer and winter. Hibbing also has two branch libraries.
Oliver Club .- The Oliver clubhouse was an appreciated com- munity service . It was built by the Oliver Mining Company, at an expense of $20,000, for the use of its employees, and their friends, and was equipped with many of the conveniences of a modern city clubhouse.
Banking History .- The first bank organized and established in Hibbing was the Bank of Hibbing. It was merged into the Lumber- mens and Miners Bank, in 1894, A. M. Chisholm being the first cashier of the latter bank. A bank known as the Security was founded in the nineties, and conducted business for some time, but was absorbed by the Lumbermen's and Miners', which remained a private banking house, owned by A. D. Davidson, A. D. McRae and A. M. Chisholm. In 1901 the First National Bank of Hibbing was organized, to succeed the Lumbermen's and Miners'. Its original capital was $25,000, but it subsequently was increased to $50,000, and it now has a surplus of more than $60.000. The original officers of the First National were : A. D. Davidson, president : A. D. McRac. vice : F. S. R. Kirby. cashier. The present officers are : S. R. Kirby, president : Dr. D. C. Rood and Pentecost Mitchell, vice presidents ;
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Lewis C. Newcomb, cashier; L. O. Kirby, John A. Redfern, and R. L. Griggs, directors.
The Merchants and Miners State Bank was incorporated on De- cember 31, 1903, and opened for business on February 1, 1904. Its original capital was $25,000, and its first officers were : J. F. Killorin, president; A. M. Chisholm, vice president; L. G. Sicard, cashier. It prospered, and on September 1, 1909, increased its capital to $50,000. Since 1916, Gust. Carlson has been president, and the present vicc presidents are G. L. Train and B. M. Conklin. The succession of cashiers of the institution is as follows: L. G. Sicard, A. W. O'Hearn, J. L. Lewis and A. L. Egge, present cashier. The business of the bank is, it is stated, about five times more than it was in 1904.
The Security State Bank of Hibbing was organized on February 9, 1911. Its original capital was $25,000, and its first officers : Hans C. Hansen, president ; H. P. Reed, vice president ; W. R. Spenceley, cashier. Mr. Hansen did not qualify and C. A. Remington was elected as the "first acting president." The capital of the institution has never changed ; the only change in official roster was the election of H. C. Hansen, as president, in 1919, and the addition of Emil Sal- minen, as assistant cashier. Deposits are near $800,000, and there is now a surplus of $5,000.
There is now a fourth bank, the Hibbing State Bank, which was organized on November 10, 1919, and serves the people of South Hibbing. First officers were: H. P. Reed, president; W. J. Ryder, vice president ; E. G. Hoskins, cashier. The capital is $25,000 with surplus of $5,000.
Hospitals .- Hibbing has three hospitals. The first to be estab- lished was the Rood. Dr. D. C. Rood came to Hibbing in 1893-94, and soon established his hospital which served the village and the mining companies. In 1898 Dr. H. R. Weirick came to Hibbing, and ever since has associated with Dr. Rood in the hospital service. In 1920, the new Rood Hospital at South Hibbing was completed at a cost of $350,000. It is by far the finest hospital on the range, and the same two physicians, Drs. Rood and Weirick, head the medical staff. They have had enviable part in the development of the community, also during the last 20-25 years.
The Adams Hospital was first opened in June, 1902, by Dr. B. S. Adams, and provided accommodation for fifteen patients. The hospital has developed considerably since that time.
Hibbing in addition has a detention hospital owned by the municipality. It was completed in 1920, at a cost of $35,000, and "is the only hospital in St. Louis county, if not in all Minnesota, that has a receiving ward for tubercular patients."
Churches .- The pioneer church activity has already been re- ferred to. The first church services, it appears. were held in Murphy Brothers' store. The religious meetings were of union character. There are ten or more strong church societies in Hibbing today, all with church buildings, the largest being the Methodist Episcopal.
The Catholic church was early active in the pioneer village. Fathers Joseph F. Buh and Mathias Bilban were the early attending priests, being in the village in 1894. The first mass was offered up on January 27, 1895. by Rev. C. V. Gamache, and for the next three years mass was held in the city hall. The first Roman Catholic church was built in 1897, but not completed until 1900, the first resi- dent pastor being Rev. C. V. Gamache. Unfortunately space in which to enter into details of church history is not available. The Church of the Blessed Sacrament, the oldest Catholic church of
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Hibbing, has the largest membership of any church society of the village. Rev. James Hogan has been pastor since 1911. The Church of the Immaculate Conception, of which Catholic church Rev. Raphael Annechiarico is pastor, is attended by Italians and Southern Euro- peans, generally.
The Presbyterian church has one of the strong memberships of Hibbing churches. Present pastor is Robert von Thurn.
The Episcopal church maintains its dignity and service, and its church building adds to the beauty of modern Hibbing. Present pastor is R. A. Cowling.
The Grace Lutheran has a substantial church at South Hibbing. Pastor is Rev. Walter Melahn.
The First Methodist Episcopal church, the largest in Hibbing, is on Sellers Street, and has a very strong membership. The Metho- dist church society dates back, in Hibbing history, to the early years of pioneer struggle. Present pastor is H. W. Bell.
The Swedish Methodist Episcopal church has a strong member- ship. Its present pastor is Rev. C. M. Carlson.
The Immanuel Swedish Lutheran is in charge of Rev. G. P. Wil- liams; and Our Saviour's Lutheran, at South Hibbing, is the pas- torate of A. E. Baalson. There are also two Finnish Lutheran churches, which together have a larger membership than any other Hibbing society. There is also a Norwegian Lutheran.
Then there is the Union church, at Alice, the Christian Science church, and the Jewish Synagogue .. Certainly, in church attendance, and religious observance, Hibbing has long since passed out of the category of a "mining camp." She has, of course, in all things, and there are just as many devout men in Hibbing as in the average east- ern city of like size. Possibly the people of Hibbing are even more liberal and loyal in the support of its church societies than is the general experience in other places.
The New Power Plant .- Hibbing has a "million-dollar" power plant. The magnificent plant built in 1919-20 at new Hibbing was estimated to cost $900,000. It was decided upon in 1918, when it be- came evident that the original site of Hibbing would be needed soon for mining purposes. In any case, a plant would have soon been necessary, the existing plant having become inadequate. So it was decided to build "for the future," in new Hibbing. Contract was awarded in April, 1919, and the plant completed in September. 1920. Technical description cannot here be given, but it should be stated that the completed plant as it stands is a credit to its designer, Charles Foster, who is general superintendent of the Hibbing Water and Light Department, and supervised the construction. There is not a finer municipal power plant in St. Louis County, it is claimed.
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