USA > North Dakota > Dickey County > History Of Dickey County, ND, 1930 > Part 11
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Many of the founders of Oakes had belonged to some fraternal organiza- tion before coming to their new home, and a number of these societies were established early. At first they met where ever they could find a good room but finally secured Union Temple, a good building on South Second Street. It was built in 1892 by a stock company, but the shares were taken up by the Masonic, Odd Fellow and Workmen lodges, who own it jointly. The lodge rooms are on the second floor, the first floor being a business place. The secret societies represented in Oakes in early times were the Masonic bodies, the Odd Fellows, United Workmen, Modern Woodmen of America, Yeomen, Woodmen of the World, Red Men, Eagles, Maccabees, with their auxilaries. Order of Eastern Star, Rebekahs, Degree of Honor, Royal Neighbors. In recent years there is a Post of the American Legion and the Auxiliary. There is a good Boy Scout organization which promises much help to the boys, and the Camp Fire Girls have an association. For several years there has been a live Den of Lions International, giving the city one of the best service clubs. There was in Oakes a Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, the General Burnside Post, with its auxiliary of the Women's Relief Corps,
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but its members have passed on to the higher roll call with the exception of Mr. Curtis of Yorktown, who is now at the Soldiers' Home at Lisbon, and Mr. Payton of Glover.
From the first Oakes has maintained good schools for its children. The first school was held in a little building on Second Street just north of where the Oakes National Bank is located, along side the little hotel building used by Mr. Ladd in 1886, and the first teacher was Miss Belle Brainard. The first school building was erected in 1887, on the south side of the block that is now the location of the new school building. This first school house was of wood construction, two stories high with four rooms. It served the
Oakes Public School
school children until 1902, when a wing was built of brick, and the frame structure of the old building was brick veneered and remodeled throughout. Two years after that, or in 1904, another wing was added, and this was the school house for twenty years, except as it was necessary to provide for more room before the new building was constructed.
The St. Charles Parochial School was built on North Fourth Street in 1907. Mr George Baldwin of Appleton, Wisconsin, owned many quarter sections of land in eastern Dickey County and was around Oakes frequently. Mr. Baldwin became interested in this school and gave it a quarter section of land and other substantial support, and it is now known as the Baldwin Memorial St. Charles School. It occupies a fine building on a beautiful site
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and has a good attendance, maintaining good scholarship standards. The school was closed for three years from 1922-1925, but was reopened.
The founders of the new city wanted it to be a beautiful place in which to live, they bought from Mr. Marshall all but four lots which had been sold to private parties of the block on the southeast corner of Union and Fourth Streets and donated it to the city as a park. It has become a beauty spot known as Central Park. About 1909 it was found that Mr. Marshall owned the land just beyond the city to the east and south of the extension of Union Street, and that he would make an attractive price to the city. The citizens went around and got subscriptions and bought ten or twelve acres, which they gave to the city as Donation Park. It now has a ball diamond, extensive play and picnic grounds, and facing Union Street one of the prettiest tourist camp grounds in the country. The whole park is kept up with pride and is a monument to the foresight of its citizens.
Nearly every new town has its fire. It may be one of several, or a great conflagration. In the month of October, 1907, a fire started in the Economy store owned by J. H. Jesson, in the center of the Roberts Block, and burned the entire business block which was housing the Corner Hardware store of J. W. Bush, the Economy store and the Senate Cafe, besides accommodating several people on the second floor. The postoffice building just to the east was burned and the fire got into the Kennedy Block through an open coal window so that block was consumed. The fire was stopped on that side of the street by the solid brick wall of the Lockie Block. As it was, the fire got into the second floor of this building and did considerable damage. There was a high wind at the time so the fire spread across the street and burned the Argyle Hotel, Young's Drug Store, the Union Meat Market owned by W. R. Bishop, and run by Amos Fordyce, and the Fenton Hard- ware store. There was a vacant lot between the hardware store and the building now occupied by W. H. Bush so the fire was stopped there. There was some feeling against Mr. Jesson, but the sites of most of these buildings were soon occupied by substantial structures that have really made a better looking street.
The city had put in a system of sewers and water works in 1904. Drainage was made to the James River. Three artesian wells, each having a pressure of ninety to one hundred twenty five pounds to the square inch, had been installed, with good four inch mains and hydrants placed at ad- vantageous points throughout the city. Nearly all the business places and residences had been connected with these modern conveniences. With such good water so easily obtained the people had been in the habit of using sur- face wells for drinking and domestic purposes. These wells were shallow and it was found that they were liable to contamination, so some points were driven down in Elm Street just off of Second Street, and in 1927 a water tower with a capacity of a hundred thousand gallons was erected and the city is furnished with first class water from the city system. It was
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discovered that a strong underground current of good water ran under the city from east-north-east, but on account of the possibility of contamination the points are put down about forty feet. There are still three or four artesian wells in operation in Oakes (1929) and several citizens are still using their surface wells. The city has been remarkably free from any disease that could be traced to a water supply.
In 1903 the business men demanded that the city be better lighted so a stock company was formed known as the Oakes Commercial Company and a gas plant with mains was erected, so that the streets could be well lighted with acetylene gas. Most of the business places and many residences were connected with the gas lines. It was the age of electricity, and Dr. Blakeslee of Bemidji came over and started the General Utilities Company in 1912. A direct current system was established in that year. This came into the hands of the Mid West Power Company, and this company sold to the Otter Tail Power Company in 1923. This company was organized at Fergus Falls in 1907 and made its first development by building a line from Fergus Falls to Wahpeton. Shortly after it extended its lines in Minnesota, and about 1920-21 began to extend in North Dakota. In 1923 their lines were built into Dickey County at Oakes. The company has continued to expand until they have over 3500 miles of transmission lines and are furnishing nearly 300 towns and cities. They have a generating capacity of over 25,000 horse power, have over 30,000 customers and are serving a population of over 140,000 people. The Otter Tail Power Company has five hydro and five steam plants. The steam plants are operated from fuel taken from their own mines at Wilton, N. Dak. In 1927 they generated 48,027,747 kilowatt hours of electricity and are supplying twelve of the good sized towns of North Dakota. Oakes is the only town in Dickey County to which the Otter Tail Power Company furnishes current.
The telephone is a modern convenience that is almost indispensable. A telephone system was organized in Oakes by Dr. Boardman in connection with Mr. Ed. N. Leiby of Ellendale and Mr. J. F. Zietlow of Aberdeen. Fourteen phones covered Oakes and there was a long distance line to Ellendale and Aberdeen. A few years later the system was incorporated with the Dakota Central Telephone Company, and since about 1904 the service has required three operators. Mr. H. V. Hemenway, the son of the builder of the Argyle Hotel, is the local manager, and the company has a neat office on the north side of Union Street beyond Third Street.
From its convenient location and excellent train service Oakes has been quite a convention city. Several political conventions have been held here, a notable one in 1900 and some in recent years. It entertained the state encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1904 and the State Firemen's Convention and Tournament in 1907. In 1919 the south- eastern division of the State Teachers Association held its convention here, meeting in the C. M. Hall. Through sleeping cars to Minneapolis and
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Omaha have made it convenient for speakers of national note to come to this city.
The school facilities for the children of Oakes became inadequate by 1915 or before. To relieve the congestion a class was established in the council room of the city hall, and later some temporary buildings were hauled up to the school ground to care for some of the classes. Finally it was decided to erect a building fitting and adequate, and bonds were voted accordingly. A fine modern structure was erected on the north side of the school block. As the city had no auditorium nor adequate library accommodation the people voted bonds for the erection of a gymnas- ium and a library and united their funds with those of the school to complete the plant. As built the school has a fine auditorium, a commodious and well equipped gymnasium, study rooms, a good library room and full class room space, a credit to any city and a monument to the appreciation of education by the people of Oakes. The school has always maintained a high standard and from its classification is known as the Oakes State High School. The first class was graduated in 1892 and consisted of three girls; Grace Boehmler, Della E. Ladd and Jennie May Root. As the school was not at that time classified these girls. had to take the state examination in all the subjects and were given diplomas accordingly. The Class of 1893 consisted of one girl, and the high school was officially established and recognized by state authorities in 1893-94. In athletics and in debating the high school has held high rank in recent years.
The old Union depot became inadequate for the growing business of the railroads so in 1917 a new brick depot was built across Union Street to the south and a single office has served since then for both the Northern Pacific and the North Western.
Another new building is that of the Oakes Mercantile Company on Union Street just across the track of the Northern Pacific from the old Union depot. This firm, composed of the members of the Leach & Gamble Company of Wahpeton, saw the strategic location of Oakes for a wholesale grocery house. They incorporated in 1924 and began business in the building of the Oakes Auto & Machine Company, a bankrupt firm. The venture was successful so in 1926 the wholesale house put up a splendid building along the railroad track, and Gordon S. Bader is manager of the company.
The greatest business enterprise in Oakes and in Dickey County is the North American Creamery Company at its branch opposite the Soo depot on South Second Street. The head office of this company is at Paynesville, Minnesota. In May, 1904, this company located a branch in Oakes as the North American Storage Company with a good sized place of business west of the Union depot. They bought cream and made butter and handled eggs, doing an excellent business and proving that there was a real field in butter making in Dakota. Several other ventures had proved successful,
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but this branch operated as a storage company up to 1915. They were not churning and were not a creamery in the full sense.
In 1915 Mr. Walter T. Noonan, now Vice-President of the Company came to Oakes to open it as a creamery. The old Storage Company building was sold and became the Bottling Works. A new building was erected on the new site on the Soo Line and the company made butter, repacked eggs and dried the butter milk until 1925. From that time on they have handled poultry, have opened a feed and poultry dressing station, and also installed a chick hatchery. In 1926 they added a down town retail store to sell bottled milk. They have added to their building every year, the greatest addition being made in the fall of 1925. They now have a capacity for making 10, 000,000 pounds of butter a year, a capacity in the poultry department of 2,000,000 fowls, and are equipped to handle 75,000 cases of eggs. They have a hatchery with six units of 16,000 capacity each. They operate as a centralized creamery for the south half of the state east of the Missouri River. There are now (1928) seventy-eight farmers who sell them whole milk. The buttermilk is dried and powdered so that it makes a good com- mercial product. In 1927 the company shipped 378 carloads of butter to the Eastern market. They have their own selling agency in Boston where most of their shipments go. They are one of the largest manufacturing plants in the northwest. During turkey week in December 1928 they bought 125,000 pounds of turkeys at an average of about 34 cents per pound.
The business men of Oakes believe in recreation and take time for pleasure as well as business. They have a very wide awake Golf Club and have laid out excellent golf links four miles north of Oakes on the Singleton place north of Bear Creek. The course is well kept and affords grounds worthy of any one's best sportsmanship. As evidence of the appreciation of this sport it may be said that the Club has taken an option for the pur- chase of eighty acres on which the links are located, and if they conclude it advisable the enterprise of the members will complete this deal.
In addition to the railroads Oakes has two excellent highways, as No. 1 runs along Fourth Street in its course across the state north and south, and No. 11 comes in from the east to go south to Ludden and west to Ellendale and on to the Missouri River country. There is also a well graded country road to the west of Oakes. To make their city free from dust and mud the streets are oiled and the city is comparatively free from dust annoyance. It is a city of fine homes. Mr. Noonan's residence is one of the best in the state and the home of the mayor, Mr. Bergenthal, comes next. It is a growing city and has justified the expectation of its founders and those citizens who have come later to live within its borders.
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CHAPTER XII
ELLENDALE TOWNSHIP, 129-63
[Authorities for this chapter are; Ralph Griffin, A. W. McDonald, Chas. Saunders, L. H. Hull, Nels Bjornstad, Ed McShane, J. M. Johnson, Ed. Pehl, and others who knew it in the early days.]
T HE story of this township is so closely interwoven with that of the City of Ellendale that the same sources of information are largely drawn upon, mostly the recollections of old settlers and the files of the county papers, with township and school district records.
The Milwaukee Railroad came into this township in 1881, before there was any organized local government, and has aided the farmers in the up- building of their homes, as has also the Great Northern which built into Ellendale in 1887. The township to the north came very near getting the city, but by the railroad's backing down three miles the city fell into the territory of this township.
The Sunshine Highway crosses from north to south and State Highway No. 11 runs east and west across the township. With these highways and its graded township roads, Ellendale is better provided for as to traveling facilities than any other town in the county. There are now (1929) seven miles of graveled roads in the township with more to be made in the near future.
This township was the first to be completely surveyed in Dickey County, and it is said that Mr. C. H. Pryor of the Milwaukee hired this surveyed at his own expense. The land was taken up earlier than any other, and has always been sought after for homes on account of being close to school, church and market. The land has been largely used for mixed or general farming, as the City of Ellendale affords a home market for farm produce.
Alonzo Griffin had emigrated from Nova Scotia, his birth place, to Boston in 1870. Some of his friends had been in the Black Hills gold rush and had come home with great stories of the vast prairies that were being . developed out in Dakota. He came out to Minneapolis, where he heard of Aberdeen and a new branch that was being pushed north into a new country. He went to Aberdeen and he and four other men secured a hand car and pumped it to the end of the line three miles north of where Ellendale is now located. They expected to find a town, but there was none, so Mr. Griffin got off the hand car and walked west to look over the land. He took a pre-emption on Section 3, later locating on the north half of Section 7,
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where the family home was maintained for many years. It was on March 27, 1882 that he landed in this region.
He built a shell of a frame house on his pre-emption in the summer of 1882 and his family came out on the 6th of August. When the family reached Ellendale they all got into the farm wagon and Mr. Griffin took them out with a yoke of oxen. That first winter in the shell of a house was a cold one for there was no plaster and only a cook stove for heat. As they had to establish a residence on the homestead they were moving out on April 30th from the pre-emption. They had to get the fire out of the stove so they could move it. One of the children took the hot ashes outside and the wind whipped a spark into some hay which set the house on fire. It burned and nearly everything they owned in the way of household goods went with it. Some wheat was stored in it which they were able to save as it was sacked and could be dumped outside. They tried to save the family organ which they had brought out from Boston, but it was too late. The neighbors were very kind and helped them out; one brought a ham, another a jar of butter and others provided clothes so they were able to get along. Mr. Griffin had built a house in town, 12 by 14 with a car roof, in the winter of 1882-83. When the snow came he dragged it out to the homestead and it was into this they were moving when the fire destroyed the other house on the pre-emption.
The children were too small to help much with the work, but a school was held in the south part of the township, with Miss Owen as the first teacher. Miss Winship was one of the earliest teachers.
Mr. Griffin did some freighting business from Grand Rapids in the winter of 1882-83, and then tried a crop in 1883. Albert Meadows, his hired man, was an expert seed sower for he could sow grain with both hands. He was in great demand as he could sow very fast and evenly. He had a sack with a hoop in the top to open it. It held about a bushel and was carried suspended from his neck.
The Griffins had three bad fires after they located in Dakota. The first was when the house on the pre-emption burned, April 30th, 1883; the second on the property in Ellendale, and again when the house burned out on the road west of Ellendale where Ralph Griffin now lives.
There were three of the Saunders brothers who came to this region in 1882. Steve Saunders, Joe Kilby and L. H. Hull had come by way of Fargo to Jamestown on the train, thence down to Grand Rapids by stage, from which place they walked to Ellendale. They had come down to get land, expecting to take squatters' rights until it was open to settlement. After the land was located they went back to the vicinity of Fargo to work until the next spring. Ed. M. Saunders came out in the spring of 1883, and the group put in the summer improving their places. That spring they were able to file on their land but during the summer Mr. Hull sold his re- linquishment to Ed Saunders and after that worked in Ellendale. Chas.
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Saunders came out in August, 1884. He was not able to get a claim but bought a relinquishment nearby and filed on it. They were located three and one half miles southwest of Ellendale.
Charles Saunders and Mr. Hull were among the early stage drivers. Steve Saunders was elected County Auditor and left the farm on the flats. He built the first creamery in Ellendale, and was postmaster of that city at the time of his death. Charles and Ed. Saunders moved out to the hills, in Albertha township, in 1895, and were out there in the winter of the big blizzards of 1896-97. Their homes have been out there except that both families moved into Ellendale at intervals to gain school privileges for their children.
Alexander Wright came from Scotland. He had a cousin who owned land north of Ellendale, and it was probably through him that Mr. Wright got the notion of coming to Dakota. He secured land seven miles northwest of Ellendale and brought his large family out to the new country where there was plenty of room for everybody to work. Mrs. Chas. Saunders, who came after the family was located, and Mrs. Shimmin were two of the daughters, Alex Wright Junior, one of the sons, was with the Dickey County Leader at Ellendale for some time and for many years was publisher of the Oakes Times at Oakes, where he is now (1929) postmaster. His brother, Robert Wright, and family, also reside in Dickey County near Forbes.
Nels Bjornstad came to Bismarck in 1882 with the expectation of looking for land in the Mouse River country. Not liking the looks of that country he came back to Jamestown but was unable to secure hotel room, consequently could not get out of his frozen clothes and was ill for several days. When he was able to get around he caught a ride to Grand Rapids, and from there he and Henry Oberman walked to Keystone, where Oberman found some land. Mr. Bjornstad came on to Ellendale, where he helped settlers find land and erect their shanties. Mr. Bjornstad and N. T. Holte bought out a furniture store, in spite of the fact that they had very little money. The store flourished and the business then started has continued ever since, although Mr. Bjornstad sold out his part many years ago, and has been engaged in other business, in later years farming southeast of Ellendale.
Among the many fine farms of the county that of A. W. McDonald on Section 17 is an example of excellent management. The owner came from Ontario, Canada, in 1884, and has made this farm one of the best producers, as well as a real home. He raised a family of three children and amassed a competence.
In April, 1882, John J. Scott loaded an emigrant car at Lyle, Minnesota, and came to Ellendale, Dakota Territory, his being the first emigrant car unloaded in Dickey County. The horses and cows were got out by the piling up of railroad ties, there being no stock-yard or chutes, in fact there was no agent or depot as yet. Mr. Scott "squatted" on the northwest
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quarter of Section 21, Township 129, Range 63, which he homesteaded when the land came into market. He returned to Lyle, and the next spring, in 1883, he moved his family to this territory. There were four children; Charles E., James, Margaret, who afterwards married Will Arnold, and Mamie, who became Mrs. Boyd. Two brothers of Mr. John Scott came to Dakota afterward, William and J. T. Scott, the father of Bruce Scott and Mrs. Henry Oberman, who settled near Monango. Charles Scott married Miss Mary Pehl, and they are now (1929) living on Fourth Street in Ellen- dale.
Andrew Pehl came out in May, 1883, and homesteaded the southeast quarter of Section 30,-129-63. His son, Ed. Pehl now lives on the home farm. The family of seven children grew up and four of them are among the leading citizens of the county; Hannah (Mrs. Ed McShane), Sophia (Mrs. A. W. McDonald), Mary (Mrs. C. E. Scott), and Ed, who is one of the most ex- tensive farmers and stock raisers in this section of the state. Will Pehl is proprietor of a large farm at Terry, Montana, while Andrew is in business at Seattle, Washington.
Patrick McShane came out from Wisconsin Falls in 1882, about the 1st of May. He and Jim McGlynn shipped out several cars of oxen from there to be used in their places in Dickey County. McGlynn started a little lumber yard in Ellendale, and it is probable that he brought part of his original supply in the cars that came with them. They turned the stock out on the prairie when they got unloaded, and put up a shed along the track to stay in till they could locate on their own land. They had looked over land east of Ellendale, but thought it seemed too low and might flood in wet weather so they located to the southwest, two miles from the Elm River. In the fall of 1883 they went back to Wisconsin again and left a Mr. Lemke, who had come up with them, in charge of the stock. A year or two later Mr. Lemke took up a claim of his own and lived on it for many years. In the spring of 1884 both McGlynn and McShane brought out their families. They also shipped out three cars of goods including some horses, household goods, machinery and supplies. Ed McShane rode one of these cars and his two brothers were with him most of the time. The father rode on the passen- ger train to Minneapolis and stopped there till they came along to see that they were all right.
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