7.1. SR 07-29-2002MEMORANDUM
TO:
Housing & Redevelopment Authority
Mayor & City Council
FROM:
DATE:
Stephen Rohlf, Building and Zoning Adrninisfrafor
July 29, 2002
SUBJECT:
Downtown Revitalization Project
- Consider Acceptance of Historic Contexts Study
Item 7.1.
Attachment
· Historic Contexts Study and Phase II Inventory (Doxvntown Elk River)
Background
The Historic Contexts Study and Phase II Inventory results were presented to the HRA and
City Council on May 28, 2002 by Carole Zellie of Landscape Research. At its June 24, 2002
meeting the HRA requested clarification on the recommendations contained in these
documents. Ms. Zellie has made additional revisions per the Housing and Redevelopment
Authority's (HRA) request.
Analysis
The purpose of completing the Historic Contexts Study was to provide a framework with
which to evaluate the historic, architectural, and landscape sigr~fic~nce of inventoried
properties. To satisfy potential federal requirements, a Phase II Inventory was also done on
the properties being considered in the Downtown RevitaLization Project. The Phase II
Inventory determined National Kegister eligibility of downtown properties and suggested a
dizection for future local designations. It is not a local historic dis~ict study.
Ms. Zellie found that none of the downtown properties appear to be eligible for the
National Register. With this finding, any of the buildings in the downtown study area 'may
be razed. The next question is whether or not the properties involved have local historic
significance.
When determining the direction and scope of a project in the downtown area, the HRA and
City Council will have to consider numerous issues. One of these issues is the local historic
sigrfificance of the properties affected by the project. It is the charge, of the city's Heritage
Preservation Commission (HPC) to review and make recommendations regarding local
historic designations. The HPC started reviewing the local historic significance of the
properties in the downtown area at their July 11, 2002 meeting using the criteria set forth in
the City's Ordinance. The findings in Landscape Research's Context Study and Phase II
Inventory will also be considered by the HPC in this process. They will continue this work
until it is finished, which may be as early as their August 8~h, 2002 meeting.
Recommendation
Staff feels that Landscape Research has fulfilled their responsibility to provide the City of
Elk River with a Historic Context Study of the entire city and a Phase II Inventory of the
pertinent properties included in the Do~vntown Revitalization Project. Staff is ,.
recommending that the HRA and City Council accept both the Historic Context
Study and Phase II Inventory.
ELK RIVE R
Elk River in 1903
Elk River Historic Contexts Study
and
Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
Prepared for the Elk River Heritage Preservation Commission
and the
Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority
Landscape Research
St. Paul, Minnesota
2002
Elk River Historic Contexts Study
and
Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
Prepared for the Elk River Heritage Preservation Commission
and the
Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority
by
Landscape Research
St. Paul, Mirmesota
2OO2
Table of Contents
Abstract / Executive Summary
Part One
Elk River Historic Contexts
Report Organization
Methods
Historic Contexts Defined
National Register of Historic Places
Landscape Setting, 1851-1950
Agriculture, 1850-1950
Transportation, 1848-1950
Industry and Commerce, 1851-1950
Residential Architecture, 1851-1930
Schools, Churches, Cemeteries, and
Local Institutions, 1854-1920
Recommendation Summary
7
11
17
25
37
41
44
Endnotes
Bibliography
46
48
Part Two
Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
Objectives
Methods
Summary of Findings
Study Area Map
49
5O
5O
5O
51
(continued)
Table of Contents, continued
Phase II Inventoried Properties
Address
304 Jackson Street
309 Jackson Street
313 Jackson Street
315 Jackson Street
323 Jackson Street
Jackson Square
657 Main Street
653 Main Street
651 Main Street
649 Main Street
647 Main Street
641 Main Street
701 Main Street
703 Main Street
705 Main Street
707 Main Street
709 Main Street
713 Main Street
715 Main Street
717 Main Street
720 Main Street
724 Main Street
322 King Street
Page
53
55
57
59
61
63
65
67
69
71
73
75
77
79
81
83
85
87
89
91
93
95
97
Abstract / Executive Summary
The Elk River Historic Contexts Study and Phase II Inventory of the downtown commercial area
was commissioned in 2002 by the Elk River Heritage Preservation Commission and the Elk River
Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Carole Zellie of Landscape Research served as the
principal investigator for both projects.
Historic Contexts
Part One outlines six Elk River historic contexts. Historic contexts provide a framework with
which to evaluate the historic, architectural, and landscape architectural significance of
inventoried properties. A property can be significant within one or more historic contexts.
Properties grouped within historic contexts share a common theme, geographical area, and time
period. Contexts studies typically precede intensive historic resource inventories that record a
variety of architectural and historical information useful in further preservation planning.
Further inventory of residential and agricultural properties is recommended; additional
recommendations follow each context and are summarized on pages 44-45.
The Elk River Historic Contexts identified in this study are Landscape Setting, 1848-1950;
Agriculture, 1950-1950; Transportation, 1848-1950; Industry and Commerce, 1851-1950;
Residential Architecture, 1851-1930, and Schools, Churches, Cemeteries, and Local Institutions,
1857-1920.
The Oliver Kelley Farm is the only property currently listed on the National Register of Historic
Places. No local designations have yet been made by the Elk River Heritage Preservation
Commission (HPC). The HPC was created in 2001.
Phase H Inventory
Part Two reports the results of a Phase II inventory of 23 properties in the Elk River downtown
commercial area. The study area is bounded by Highway 10 at the north, Main Street at the
south, King Street at the east, and Jackson Street at the west. The objective of the Phase II study
was to determine the significance of' historic resources in downtown Elk River and assess their
potential eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
The study found that none the properties appear to be eligible for the National Register.
However, five buildings on the west side of Jackson Street are recommended for further study.
They are significant as part of the core of early twentieth-century downtown Elk River and retain
varying amounts of their original historic facades. Futttre revitalization plans for this area are at
an early stage, and may include restorati6n of existing buildings as Well as new construction.
Coupled with the information contained in the Industry and Commerce historic context, the
Phase II study can contribute to plans for downtown revitalization and also assist the Elk River
Heritage Preservation Commission in determining future local designations, including a
potential downtown commercial historic district.
Preservation of Elk River's distinctive river setting and historic commercial buildings is an
important part of future downtown development. New downtown construction should be
compatible with the materials, style, placement, height, and pedestrian-oriented scale of existing
historic buildings.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase [I Downtown Commercial Area Study
2
Part One
Elk River Historic Contexts
Report Organization
Part One of the Historic Resources Study includes six historic
contexts that analyze the historical and architectural
development of Elk River. The contexts begin with permanent
Euro-American settlement in the late 1840s and 1850s and
extend to about 1950. Part Two contains the results of a
companion study, an intensive survey of the downtown
commercial area, and an inventory map.
Methods
The research was based on published histories such as the
History of the Upper Mississippi Valley (1881), Edward
Robinson's Early Economic Conditions and the Development of
Agriculture in Minnesota (1915), historic maps, photos and aerial
views, local newspapers, and federal census records. The
subject files of the Sherburne County Historical Society
provided information compiled by local historians over the
past eighty years. Reconnaissance-level inventories conducted
by the Minnesota Historical Society and the Sherburne County
Historical Society (ca. 1980-1998) were also consulted.
In addition to the Sherburne County Historical Society
ardaives, the Minnesota Historical Society collections were a
primary source of information. The City of Elk River also
supplied maps and other materials.
Of interest for future research are various manuscript
collections at the Minnesota Historical Society related to early
Elk River families. They include the papers of Charles Babcock,
Ard Godfrey, W.H. Houlton, and John Q. A. Nickerson.
A general windshield survey of Elk River accompanied the
development of the historic contexts. Fieldwork in the
commercial district included a Phase II study of historic
properties within an area bounded by Main Street at the south,
Highway 10 at the north, and King Street at the west.
The study was conducted in compliance with the Secretary of
the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and
Historic Preservation.
Tlw Elk River near its confluence
with the Mississippi River', 2002.
Elk River Historic Contexts arid Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
3
Historic Contexts Defined
Historic contexts are part of the foundation for preservation
planning, and assist in making decisions about planning,
identification, evaluation, registration, and treatment of
historic properties.~ Historic contexts provide a framework
with which to evaluate the historic, architectural, and
landscape architectural significance of inventoried properties.
A property can be significant within one or more historic
contexts. Properties grouped within historic contexts share a
common theme, geographical area, and time period. Elk
River's historic contexts intersect with broader statewide
historic contexts such as Early Agriculture and River
Settlement (1840-1870); Railroads and Agricultural
Development (1870-1940), and Hydroelectric Power (1880-
1940)."
When-combined veith an intensive historic resources inventory,
the historic contexts study will provide the City of Elk River
City with comprehensive information about the location and
significance of its remaining historic resources, including its
downtown, mill sites, and residential areas.
The following Elk River historic contexts were identified:
1. Landscape Setting, 1848-1950
2. Agriculture, 1850-1950
3. Transportation, 1848-1950
4. Commerce and Industry, 1851-1950
5. Residential Architecture, 1851-1930
6. Schools, Churches, Cemeteries, and Local Institutions, 1857-
1920
The National Register of Historic Places
One objective of d~,eloping historic contexts and historic
resources inventories is to determine which properties might
be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
The National Register was established by the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966. It is the official federal listing of the
nation's cultural resources deemed worthy of preservation.
The National Park Service maintains the list that includes
properties of local and state significance as well as those of
national significance.
A property listed on the National Register must meet at least
one of four criteria. Under the first criterion, a property may be
registered if it is associated with events that have made a
significant contribution to the broad patterns of national, state,
or local history. Under the second, a property may be
registered if it is associated with the lives of persons important
in the past. The third criterion addresses architectural
significance, and the fourth addresses archaeological
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase [! Downtown Commercial Area Study
4
significance. In addition, listed properties must be at least fifty
years old, should not have been significantly altered, and
should have not been moved. National Register nominations
must receive approval from the State Historic Preservation
Review Board, the State Historic Preservation Officer, and the
National Park Service. The Oliver Kelley Farm is the only Elk
River property currently listed on the National Register.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
5
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
6
EIk River Historic Context:
Landscape Setting,
1851-1950
Construction of the Highway 10
bridge over the Elk River, 1940.
Photo:MHS.
This historic context extends from the construction of the first
dam on the Elk River to the approximate completion of
Highway 10 in about 1950.
Elk River is located in east central Minnesota in Sherburne
County, about 125 miles south of Duluth and 30 miles
northwest of Minneapolis. Sherburne County was set off from
Benton County in 1856, two years before Minnesota statehood.
Highways 10 and 169 intersect south of the downtown, and the
Highway 101 bridge crosses the Mississippi River to Otsego in
Wright County. The Highway 10 bridge crosses the Elk River
north of the downtown across a narrows in Lake Orono. The
present incorporated limits of Elk River encompass 44 square
miles including the former townsites of Orono and Elk River,
as well as what was~ Elk River Township until its incorporation
in 1978.
The townsite of Orono was platted on the north bank of the Elk
River, northwest of the present city center. The Elk originates
in northern Benton County and has a discharge of about 250
cubic feet per second at Lake Orono, comparable to that of the
Sauk River where it enters the Mississippi? Near its confluence
with the Elk, the Mississippi River flows in a sharp bend where
it is flanked by steep bluffs and marshes. The river divides
Sherburne and Wright counties at this point. The nearby
townsite of Elk River was platted on the north bank of the
Mississippi, downriver from Orono.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Dozontown Commercial Area Study
7
The confluence of the Elk and Mississippi rivers was a well-
known locale to Indians, fur traders and explorers for centuries
before permanent Euro-American settlement. Historian
Warren Upham wrote that Elk River was called the St. Francis
River by eighteenth- and nineteenth-century explorers
including Carver, Pike, Long and Schoolcraft. Beltrami and
Nicollet, he notes, "used a Ojibway name for Elk River,
translated as Double River, or by Allen as Parallel River,
alluding to its course nearly parallel with the Mississippi?
Upham suggests that the herds of elk found in the vicinity by
Pike and later explorers and fur traders account for the present
name, and both Elk River and Elk Lake appear on the first map
of Minnesota Territory published in 1850.
This glacial landscape occupies an area of marginal terrain,
where woodlands edge prairies. Gravel deposits are common,
and the soils are not rich and do not retain moisture well. Like
much of surrounding Sherbume County, the relatively flat,
sandy soils of Elk River Township provided good acreage for
grazing and crop raising, and particularly potatoes.
Early permanent Euro-American settlers seeking farmland
found a hilly, forested belt in the northern part of the
township, while there was level prairie in much of the
southeastern comer. Trott and Tibbett's brooks drain the
township from east to west; early historians noted that hay
meadows gathered along their edges? There are several small,
shallow lakes, such as Twin Lakes in Section 24 and Eagle Lake
in Section 13. Small ponds persisted within the Elk River
townsite after settlement. One was located at Jackson and Main
streets and another at Minnesota and Main.
The steep bluffs and island and marsh landscape found by
early settlers has undergone great transformation. The natural
action of erosion and flooding has been greatly accelerated by
mill, dam, and road construction as well as agricultural land
use and gravel mining. The dam built by Ard Godfrey and
John Jameson in 1851 immediately flooded a large portion of
Section 32 above the river, a feature now known as Lake
Orono. Sedimentation and debris from log booms and saw
milling infilled the channels of the Elk and Mississippi during
the first decades of settlement.
There are several islands in the main channel of the Mississippi
at Elk River. The largest, opposite downtown, encompassed
about sixty acres in 1900. W. H. Houlton, J.B. Rogers, and
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
8
Chase and Frye owned three other islands to the west. In 1902,
the Davis Island Boom Company diverted the Mississippi
River channel around the Chase and Frye Island, but erosion
threatened the riverbank. The channel was subsequently
restored.
Between 1916 and 1978, Lake Orono served as the generator of
electricity for the Elk River Power and Light Company. The
lake level was lowered in 1978 to preserve the deteriorating
dam. In 1980 the dam was rebuilt. (See Transportation
Context.)
A.W. Jesperson of Elk River had another vision for the Elk
River that involved elaborate re-engineering at his Camp Cozy
resort west of Lake Orono to accommodate a golf course and
recreational canal.
Elk River and a portion of Elk River Township, Minnesota,
1903 Atlas of Sherburne County.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
9
Elk River, 1971. Photo: MHS.
Place Names
In addition to Uppertown and Lowertown, which seem to still
be recognized by some residents as early names for Orono and
Elk River, respectively, there are several other place names of
historic significance. Meadowvale was a small settlement of
Hill, Bailey, and other families in the northwestern comer of
the township. Houlton's Observatory, a wooden tower on the
bluffs north of Elk River near Highway 77 and Ridgewood
Drive was built by W.H. Houlton to provide a view of the
landscape and eight counties.6
Preservation Planning Summary:
Landscape Setting
Inventoried Resources
No specific landscape features have been inventoried.
Recommendation(s)
1. Continue to research and interpret the relationship between
the natural landscape, early settlement, agriculture, and
residential development of Elk River.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase lI Downtown Commercial Area Study
10
Elk River Historic Context
Agriculture, 1850-1950
While the development of this county has been retarded, by
reason oj: a large amount of land held by speculators, yet, the
fertility of the soil has attracted an honest and industrious
class of farmers ...
Sherburne County, in History of the Upper
Mississippi Valley (1880)7
Development of the waterpower on the Elk River was a notable
early accomplishment, but flour and sawmill construction took
place against the backdrop of agricultural settlement. Early
farmers, like millers, were part of an economy that also
included fur traders and those prospecting for suitable mill
sites and townsites. Within fifteen years after the first farmers
settled in Elk River, the railroad provided a wide market for
agricultural products. This historic context encompasses the
settlement of the first Elk River farm in 1850 through the post-
World War II period when the rural population continued its
gradual exodus to urban centers.
Threshing on the Specht family farm, 1924. Photo MHS.
Pioneer Settlement
An estimated twenty farms were established in Benton County
in 1850, which then included present day Sherburne County?
The first migration of Euro-American settlers, many of them
potential farmers, was encouraged by treaties that opened
lands west of the Mississippi. Many farmers in the Minnesota
Territory sought lands along the Root, Zumbro and
Elk Rivet' Historic Contexts and Phase [[ Downtown Commercial Area Study
11
Cannon rivers, and along the tributaries of the Upper
Mississippi. Early farms were subsistence operations, with
farmers supporting their own families with little to trade at
market. Improved transportation and new agricultural
machinery and techniques expanded the market for farm
products, and agricultural ournals and societies assisted
farmers in finding the best crops suited to their land. The
Benton County Agricultural Society was founded in 1852, the
first such County organization in Minnesota. Elk River's Oliver
H. Kelley was among the founders.
Elk River's first farm was reportedly that established by Silas
Lane in 1850.9 Lane claimed acreage in Section 33 that
included frontage on the Elk River and a promising mill site.
This mill site was immediately noticed by Ard Godfrey and
John G. Jameson, and was purchased by them in 1851. In 1855,
Godfrey platted the townsite of Orono On a portion of Lane's
farm. Lane's claim was followed by Charles M. Donnelly's in
Section 32, and those of L.B. Culver and Richard Davis in
Section 31.
The 1860 census shows that many early Elk River township
farmers were natives of Maine, with others from
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Illinois and a few from
New Brunswick, Canada, Ireland, Hamburg and Prussia
(Germany). By 1900, more Germans and farmers from Norway
and Sweden were represented, but the community's roots were
still predominantly from New England. 10 Some early farmers
found winter work in the lumber camps of Northern
Minnesota and Wisconsin.
A nineteenth-century barn and
early twentieth- century silo Oll
Main Street in 2002.
Northeastern Elk River
Township in 1903 shows
Hungarian fanlily farnls. Atlas
of Sherburne County.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Dozontown Commercial Area Study
12
Elk River's Hungarian colony was founded in the 1890s by
John, Martin and Andrew Fazekas. Arriving in the United
States in 1881, they came to Elk River in the late 1880s where
John purchased a farm in Section 10 in the hilly northeastern
part of the township. The Farzekas were the first of a
substantial group of relatives and friends who settled here,
many of whom became dairy farmers.~
Oliver H. Kelley
Elk River's best-known farmer was Oliver H. Kelley (1826-
1913). A native of Boston, in 1850, Kelley made a claim at the
southeastern edge of the township in Section 14.~2 A leader in
fotmding local agricultural societies, he turned to journals to
learn new farming methods. In 1867, he founded the National
Grange of the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry, an
organization that would have one million members by 1875.
The Grange was among a number of farmers' protest
organizations and movements in the mid-nineteenth century. It
was a response to farmer's struggles with new technology and
falling market prices for crops and livestock. In addition to its
political and fraternal work, the Grange promoted
experimental farming and other progressive agricultural
practices. Kelle was the author of Ori,in and Pro,ress o the
Order of the PatrYons of Husbandry (1875)i{3 The Kelley fam°fily
owned the farm until 1901, although Oliver left Minnesota in
the late 1860s to pursue Grange activities. The Grange
purchased the farm in 1935 and donated it to the Minnesota
Historical Society in 1961.
The Oliver Kelley House as it
looked in 1947. This was the
second farmhouse built by
Kelley on the site. Photo: MHS.
Sherburne County recorded 110 farms in 1860; by 1880 the
number rose to 599; to 775 in 1890; 1,054 in 1900; and 1,190 in
1910.~4 (In 1992, the number of farms was 530.)
Elk Riw'r Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
13
By 1910, the average Sherburne County farm was 172 acres,
considerably larger than Isanti and Anoka and Wright and
Hennepin counties, but comparable to Stearnes and other
nearby counties. ~s A total of eighty-two percent were operated
by owners?
In the early twentieth century, however, there was a general
downsizing of farms. The total amount of acreage devoted to
farms in Sherburne County, which was at 34 percent in 1860,
peaked at 55 percent in 19007 During this period, the county's
population rose from 490 to 7,281.
Elk River and the Potato
Sherburne County farmers appear to have followed the general
pattern of an initial reliance on wheat cultivation followed by
more diversification after the collapse of the wheat market and
soil depletion. With improvements in agricultural machinery
and the arrival of the railroad, more markets opened for
Sherburne County farmers. By 1880, the leading grain crop was
wheat, followed by oats, corn, rye, and buckwheat. Potatoes
were the leading produce crop, with over 4,000 bushels
produced. ~8
The sandy soils of Elk River Township have long favored
potato and rye cultivation. In the mid-1880s, a specialized
potato district developed north of the Twin Cities, with
markets as far as New England and the South. Starch factories
were also a by-product of the potato industry. 19
Elk River's production likely followed the trend of the county,
where the yield of potatoes rose from 14,290 bushels in 1860 to
963,073 in 1910. In 1910, Sherburne County was a part of the
potato belt, but was surpassed by counties such as Anoka
(1,255,880 bushels), Chisago (1,874,597) as well as Hennepin
(2,438,132), and Isanti (2,150,573).20 The years between about
1906 and 1910 were a boom period for potatoes, with three new
warehouses erected in Elk River in 1908, and a second starch
factory built in 1910. Photographs from this period show the
Elk River depot area packed with potato-laden wagons, ready
to load on railcars.
Dairying
By 1900, many Elk River farmers were operating dairy
businesses. The gambrel-roofed barn and complex of silos
synonymous with such operations were erected across the
township in the early twentieth century.
By 1900, there were 5,908 dairy cattle in Sherburne County, a
number that increased to 7,258 in 19107 By com arison,
Stearnes County boasted 36,272 dairy cattle. TM P
Elk River potato warehouse, ca.
1900. Photo: MHS.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Com~nercial Area Study
14
The Nickerson and Houlton farms were among the largest of
the local dairy and cattle businesses. In 1878, Henry Nickerson
built a farm at 436 3rd Street N.W. Henry was a brother of J.Q.
A.Nickerson, who owned much of the original townsite of Elk
River. By 1908, W.H. Houlton's 3,000-acre farm at Houlton
Siding included "400 head shorthorn of registered stock and
sixty angora goats for clearing brush." ,_3 The Elk River Cattle
Company owned by Henry C. Hastings had 600 head of
cattle?
Creameries
Two creameries served Elk River's dairy farmers. The first was
the Farmer's Coop Creamery of Elk River, a two-story frame
building located on Jackson Street north of the railroad. The
cooperative was incorporated in 1889. In 1918, the creamery
was leased to the Twin City Milk Producers Association,
another farmer's cooperative.2s By 1910 the Crescent Creamery
of St. Paul also occupied a Main Street location.
In 1921, the Twin City Milk Producer's Association built an Elk
River facility. Designed by Clarence Wigington of St. Paul, it
was located at the entrance to the city on the Jefferson
Highway and Main Street. 2~ The association felt that it was an
ideal spot for a creamery, with about 350 members in the
vicinity.
The design of the split-level, brick and tile building was
innovative, with gravity systems rather than pumps to move
milk and cream. The plant also processed cheese and
powdered milk? The creamery closed about 1957, when milk
was hauled directly to the Twin Cities for processing. The
building was used for City Hall and police offices and also
housed a tavern. It was torn down in 1991.
Through the twentieth century, much of Elk River's
agricultural land has gradually been transformed into
residential and commercial use, although Christmas trees and
nursery plants have been important new additions to
agricultural production.
Twin City Milk
Producer's Association
Creame~j in ca. 1925.
Razed. Photo: MHS.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Com~nercial Area Study
15
Its proximity to the metropolitan highway system, particularlv
Interstate 94 and upgraded highways 10 and 101 have laced ~e
population within commuting distance of the Twin Cities.
Cropland acreage fell from 116, 259 in 1967 to 85,600 in 1982
and continues to shrink, with the number of remaining historic
farmsteads and other agricultural properties also greatly
reduced?
Preservation Planning Summary:
Agriculture
Inventoried Resources
Several farmsteads were inventoried in Elk River Township in
previous reconnaissance surveys. Within Elk River, the few
properties associated with agriculture have been lost to fire or
demolition, including the T.C.M.P. creamery (1921), potato
warehouses, and related structures. The Oliver H. Kelley Farm
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.
It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
Recommendation(s)
1. Inventory of remaining farmsteads is warranted. Existing
survey information does not confirm the number of remaining
early farmhouses (ca. 1850- 1880) and other properties related
to dairy production and potato cultivation.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
16
Elk River Historic Context:
Transportation, 1848-1950
From the time of its earliest permanent Euro-American
settlement, Elk River has enjoyed a good location along well-
traveled river and land routes. The transportation context
extends from the construction of Pierre Bottineau's trading
post to the completion of Highway 10 after World War II.
The town sites of Orono and Elk River were adjacent to the Red
River Trail, an oxcart route used by fur traders that followed
the east bank of the Mississippi River between St. Paul and
Sauk Rapids and then west along the Sauk River to the
Canadian farming region at Pembina. It was in steady use by
the time that the Minnesota Territory was organized in 1849.29
Travelers forded the Elk River near its mouth and followed the
Mississippi to Sauk Rapids and north. By the mid-1850s, a 150-
mile military road was constructed from Point Douglas near
Hastings to Fort Ripley, on approximately the same route.
Pierre Bottineau is credited with establishing a trading post at
the mouth of the Elk River, in what became Orono, or
Uppertown. There is no evidence today of the log building
erected on Block 2, lots 5 and 6 of the Auditor's Addition to Elk
River. (Some accounts credit David Faribault with establishing
the post here in 1846, which he reportedly sold to Bottineau.)3°
The presence of a trading post and the military road was
attractive to those who made the first farm and mill claims in
the area. Bottineau, ever on the move, remained long enough
to build a hotel south of his trading post in Lowertown, or Elk
River.
Pierre Bottineau appears in many developing locales in the
Minnesota Territory as a trader and speculator. Born in what is
now Grand Forks, North Dakota in 1817, he was of French and
Ojibwe ancestry. He worked as a guide for Henry Hastings
Sibley and the American Fur Company, for army and
geological expeditions throughout his career, and as a hunter,
trapper, and land speculator and promoter of settlement.
About the time he set up the trading post at Elk River he was
an investor in the original plat of St. Anthony, and was
working as a guide on explorations and hunts. 32
Following the routes of explorers and traders, those seeking
good waterpower sites were attracted to the Falls of St.
Anthony as well as other places where tributary
rivers met the Mississippi. Steamboat and then rail
transportation was essential to the distribution of their
products. Steamboat traffic above the Fails of St. Anthony was
initiated in 1850-51 with the Governor Ramsey, which made
the hundred-mile trip between St. Anthony and Sauk Rapids in
six hours. 32
Map of General Government
Roads in the Territory of
Minnesota, September 1854.
A saw mill is shown on the Elk
River. (MHS)
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
17
Navigable water extended only to Sauk Rapids, except in times
of high water. Passengers and freight were carried on the
Governor Ramsey, as well as the North Star and H.M. Rice,
new boats that began service in 1855. Prone to low seasonal
water levels and in poor competition with railroads, regular
steamboats were generally discontinued by 1874. However,
the Davis Island Boom Company and other lumber interests
operated steamboats and a variety of craft for logging
operations; the 1900 census for Elk River notes that two young
natives of Quebec, John Ward and Humphrey Guane, were
among those employed as river drivers.
Conflicting with steamboat traffic, the dramatic log drives of
timber from the northern pineries were a seasonal event along
the river, with the traffic handled by boom companies.
Several early ferries shuttling passengers and goods across the
Mississippi were attempted in the mid-1850s, but the one
established in 1867 by Horatio Houlton appears to have
succeeded.33 The 1879 View of Elk River, Sherburne County
locates it just behind Horatio Houlton's Sawmill. Another
ferry route at the foot of Jackson Street is shown on the 1903
Map of Elk River.
The St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
The arrival of the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad was an essential
connection for Elk River, ensuring continuing success for its
mills and early town center, as well as passenger and freight
service. The railroad company was forn~ed in 1862 and first
built a line from St. Paul to St. Anthony. ~ The line to Elk River
was completed in 1864, and reached Sauk Rapids in 1867. 3s
The line bypassed the dam and mills at Orono, on a route that
allowed a crossing of the Elk River in Big Lake Township. The
depot and sidings became the focus of the Lowertown
settlement, and when the Elk River townsite was formally
platted in 1865 it was oriented toward the railroad and the
depot.3~
Ferny at Elk Ri'oer in about
1900. Photo: MHS.
The Elk River Depot in 1911
(razed). Photo: MHS.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase I1 Downtown Commercial Area Study
18
The railroad transformed the Elk River economy. In the 1860s,
outgoing freight included lumber and lumber products such as
shingles, chairs, and wooden shoes, and flour exported to
customers as far as Boston.
The St. Paul and Pacific was sold to the St. Paul, Minneapolis
and Manitoba line in 1879. In 1884 this company built its own
line parallel to the St. Paul and Pacific. Subsequently, the
company was purchased by the Great Northern Railway
Company. 37 A spur served the starch factory on Main Street.
The Great Northern operated the parallel tracks as a single
railroad. These lines merged into the Burlington Northern in
1970, now the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.
In 1886 the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba (Great
Northern) built a line to Princeton connecting to the
Minneapolis and St. Cloud Railway to Duluth and Superior.
This line incliaded in Houlton Siding, a small station three
miles north of Elk River and on the 3,000-acre property of
William H. Houlton (1840-1915), one of the area's leading
businessmen and political leaders.
By 1890, there were ten daily passenger trains stopping at Elk
River, in addition to freight and logging trains. Travelers were
greeted by a second hotel, the Sherburne House (later known
as the Merchant's and the Blanchett). By 1908, this well -
advertised hostelry featured thirty rooms, steam heat, and gas
lighting, since electrification had not yet reached the town.
Both hotels looked like New England boarding houses, with
gable roofs, clapboard exteriors, and long porches.
Good Roads and Charles M. Babcock
The territorial road that connected Minneapolis and St. Paul
with St. Cloud passed through Elk River, and was one of the
most heavily traveled routes in the state. By 1860, a system of
rough township and county roads linked Elk River to
Princeton to the north, to Big Lake at the west, and to Anoka
and points south.38
Over the next decades, villages, townships and counties
labored to improve roads between farms and trade centers.
Before a system of state and federally funded roads, much
planning for community infrastructure was done by local
business leaders. Around the turn of the century, however,
electrification and other municipal utilities and road
construction were primary topics and the capital and energy
once available for road building waned. By the 1890s--on the
eve of the introduction of the mass-produced
automobile--business leaders and other groups campaigned
for better roads under the umbrella of the Minnesota Good
Roads Association, founded in 1893.39
In 1898 the Good Roads Act was passed by the state legislature.
In 1905, the Minnesota Highway Commission was created to
plan local highway improvements and approve the
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
19
design of state-funded projects, including adoption of
standards for highway and bridge design.
The state leader in highway reform was Charles M. Babcock
(1871-1936) of Elk River. Trained as a civil engineer, he had a
career as a banker and merchant in Elk River, where his family
operated the Babcock Store. In 1917, Babcock became the first
commissioner of the Minnesota Department of
Highways. He served in this position until 1933, and authored
the "Babcock Plan" for the state trunk highway system.
Babcock Memorial Park (1938-1939) commemorates his tenure.
It was built by the National Youth Administration (NYA) and
the Minnesota Department of Highwaysfi°
The Jefferson Highway
Elk River's connection to the Jefferson Highway, a federally-
funded national route completed in the early 1920s, was
apparently ensured by Babcock. Among promoters of the
concrete-paved road were automobile associations, who had a
growing interest in automobile touring? Numbered as Trunk
Highway 3, the portion through Elk River used Depot, Main
and Fourth streets. The generally followed the territorial route
and carried much of the county's west-bound traffic, and also
the north-bound traffic on Highway 169, which branched at
Elk River.
The concrete Elk River Bridge was part of this improvement,
replacing the 1884 metal truss bridge. By 1928, a variety of
implement dealers, elevators and feed mills, potato and
produce warehouses, the Houlton lumberyard, and gasoline
filling stations lined the highway.
While Sherburne County's road planners were organizing for
better roads, some promoters seemed to be waiting for a
different transportation shoe to drop. In an article promoting
the county's agricultural opportunities, J.A. Monger
complained that the county's potential was untapped, noting
that this section was overlooked,
TIw Jefferson Highzoay on the
eve of construction of Highway
10, 1941. Photo: MHS.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
20
owing to the grasping greed of the raihvads to get the long
haul and settle up their railroad lands in remote regions of
the far Northwest with subsidized land men, who could turn
a larger commission for exploiting them, than the fertile
acres nearer home. As a result the fertile lands lying between
the Twin Cities and the head of the lake have been left to
shift for themselves..
Monger and others saw a shipping link to the Gulf of Mexico
and the Panama Canal as greatly benefiting Elk River. The
author was speculating on the potential of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers to widen and deepen the Upper River.
However, these improvements were not made, and river
transportation was not revived in the twentieth century.
About 1926, Trunk Highway 3 was designated as U.S.
Highway 10. In 1942, construction began to widen the highway
to four lanes and bypass the center of Elk River. 43 The project
was completed in 1948. Somewhat ironically, highway
construction razed the Charles Babcock house. It also took the
Sherburne County Courthouse lawn, a potato warehouse, and
other buildings. In 1969, construction began on a new route for
Highway 169 north of Elk River.
The Elk River and its Bridges
At least four bridges have cOnnected the north and south banks
of the Elk River. The first crossing of the Elk River was
probably over Ard Godfre~'s dam, which was of simple crib
and boulder construction.~A bridge over the Elk River was
built in Orono in 1860. ~s In 1886 a steel bridge was erected in
the same location as the present bridge. It was erected by the
Wrought and Iron Bridge Co. of Canton, Ohio and featured
two 128-foot spans.
The Hastings Bridge below the sawmill, which collapsed in
1898 shortly after construction, was among several lightweight
bridges attempted by mill owners.
Elk River roadside development
on an unidentified section of
Highway 10 in 1950. Photo:
MHS.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
21
In 1912, a spring flood washed out much of the dam at Orono
and also undermined the flourmill. The mill machinery was
sold in 1913 and by 1914 a plan to build a new hydroelectric
dam was in place. In 1915 the Elk River Power and Light
Company was formed, and on January 20, 1916 the first
electricity was produced by two hydro-generators. A new
bridge was discussed as an initial part of these dam
improvements, but was not constructed.
The new concrete bridge was finally completed in 1919 as part
of the Jefferson Highway improvement through Elk River. 4~ It
was designed by William A. Hewett of Minne.a, polis, a local
innovator in reinforced concrete construction? This bridge
was replaced in 1993-94. The Highway 10 crossing over the
Lake Orono portion of the Elk River was first completed in
1946.
A bridge over the Mississippi to Otseg0 W.as opened in 1906. Its
replacement was completed in 1985.
The steel bridge (1886) over the Elk River in ca. 1925. Photo: MHS.
Transportation and Tourism
Like many communities in the 1920s, Elk River attempted to
attract a new generation of automobile tourists traveling along
the Jefferson Highway. An ambitious project to bring visitors
to the Camp Cozy resort west of Lake Orono was planned by
J.B. Jesperson. The resort owner proposed a winding canal
locks, and bridges as well as gardens and a golf course on a
500-acre parcel. Cottages as well as permanent residences
were also planned? At least a portion of the original design
was completed.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase [[ Downtown Commercial Area Study
Preservation Planning Summary:
Transportation
Inventoried Resources
Transportation has played a critical role in the development of
Elk River, but few historic properties remain. Several
transportation-related structures such as the Elk River Depot
were included in previous inventories, but most have been
subsequently been razed. All of the historic bridges have been
removed, with the Elk River Bridge of 1919 replaced with a
new structure in 1993-4. The Babcock Memorial was
inventoried as part of the Minnesota Roadside Structures
Inventory conducted in 1996.
Recommendation(s)
1. Interpretation of the role of early routes and roads through
Elk River should be considered as part of new downtown
development.
Eli,' River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
23
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
24
Elk River Historic Context:
Industry and Commerce, 1851-1950
Elk River's industrial development began with the dam
constructed by Ard Godfrey in 1851, and its first stores
followed soon thereafter. This historic context extends from
1851 to the construction of Highway 10 after World War II.
Babcock Store (ca. 1900). This store stood at the north end of Jackson
Street, where Highway 10 is today. Such business blocks often had
offices and Masonic halls on the second floor, such as the I.O.O.F
shown here. Photo: SCHS.
Pioneer Townsites and Indust~j
With the construction of a dam and two mills by Ard Godfrey
and John G. Jameson in 1851-2, Elk River became the site of the
first mills built outside of the St. Anthony Falls and St. Croix
waterpower area.49
Hundreds of townsites were platted in Minnesota in the 1850s,
laid out and recorded by land speculators and others who
hoped to quickly and profitably sell lots. In Sherburne County
at least five townsites were recorded between 1855 and 1857,
including Orono (1855), Wheeler, (1856), Clear Lake (1856),
Groton (1857), Liberty (1857), and Marseilles (1857). so
Orono: "Uppertown "
The impetus for Orono was its fine mill site on the Elk River,
the proximity of the Red River Trail, and a potentially
productive timber and agricultural region beyond. Orono was
laid out by surveyor John O. Haven for its owner, Ard
Godfrey. The plat of Orono was a simple grid of about 14
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
25
square blocks arranged along the river and Godfrey's dam.
Streets were named for Godfrey's wife and daughter, as well as
Elk, Merchants, Minnehaha and Hiawatha. si
The core of Orono was the six-foot crib and boulder dam.
Drawing power from the Elk River, the lumber mill used
timber floated down the Mississippi in seasonal log drives. The
sawmill was fitted with one sash saw capable of sawing about
three thousand feet of lumber per day. Godfrey also opened a
general store, as did P.C. Hawes.
In addition to the mills and dam, Orono had a post office, a
scattering of small frame houses, a cemetery, a schoolhouse
built in 1857 that also served as the Sherburne County
'Courthouse, and the Trinity Episcopal Church.s2 By 1857, the
population of the settlement reached about 134.
Godfrey appears to have been in partnership in the lumber mill
with Charles Mansur, an Orono resident who left Minnesota
about 1862. s3 Godfrey also sold an interest to Ed Dickey in
1857. By 1880, the property was sold to E.P. Mills and W: H.
Houlton, whose lumber business would produce 1,200,000
board feet of lumber by 1880~
Ard Godfrey (1813-?) was born at Orono, Maine and grew up
in a family of millwrights. In 1847 he arrived in St. Anthony to
work as a millwright for Franklin Steele who was planning the
first dam at the falls. (The house Godfrey built in St. Anthony
in 1849 still stands.) Throughout his career, Godfrey sought
opportunities to develop mill sites and left St. Anthony to
briefly return to Maine. At his return he purchased the Orono
millsite, made a townsite plan in 1855, and an addition in 1857.
However, he does not appear to have permanently resided in
Orono, and well before he sold his last mill property about
1863 he devoted himself to his interests in Minneapolis,
including his saw mill and grist mill on Minnehaha Creek. s4
Pushing westward, he later built the first sawmill in
Montana. ss Godfrey's partner, John G. Jameson, was also a
native of Maine. He arrived in Minnesota in 1851. Unlike
Godfrey, after the sale of the mill property, he entered farming,
which he pursued until his death in 1869.~°
By 1899, there were two general stores and a wagon shop still
in operation near the dam, in addition to the Elk River Milling
Company's flour mill and the W. H. Houlton Lumber
Company's sawmill. While Godfrey established the dam and
early mills, it was W. H. Houlton's flour and lumber businesses
that would persist at this location for several generations, s~
Elk River: "Lowertown'
The arrival of the railroad encouraged growth downriver on
the Mississippi in what was known as Lowertown. The new
town site of Elk River was platted in 1865, then replatted in
1868, and incorporated in 1880-817 The original plat was
made by O.E. Garrison for J. Q. A Nickerson. The incorporation
included the townsite of Orono. Interest in the Mississippi and
The mill village in Orono in
1879. From tlw View of Elk
River, Sherburne County
(1879). Published ~t J. J.
Stoner, Madison, Wisconsin.
Godfrey' s saw mill was on the
south bank of the river and the
flour mill was on the north
bank.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
26
Elk River area as a location for commerce began in the 1850s,
with Pierre Bottineau's two-story Riverside Hotel. Built next to
an early log cabin that remained on the site for many years,
Bottineau sold the hotel to J.Q.A. Nickerson and Nickerson's
brother Henry subsequently owned it. An advertisement of
March 25, 1853 in the St. Anthony Express may have referred to
this property. It described a large tavern, store building,
dwelling and a barn and stables. The building burned in 1907.
(It is now the site of the First National Bank of Elk River.)
The Riverside Hotel in ca.
1900. Photo: MHS.
View of Elk River, Sherburne County (1879).Published by J.J. Stoner,
Madison, Wisconsin. Orono is at far right; the original business district of
Elk River is just below the railroad tracks.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
27
ELK Ri YE R
Elk River. Atlas of Sherburne County (1903). Orono is at left; the Elk River townsite and its additions occupy
the central and right portions of the'map.
The original townsite plat of Elk River was like those of many
railroad towns, where the streets straddled the trackage and
provided depot, warehouse, store, and hotel sites. The two-
block commercial district was centered on State Street facing
the tracks. An 1879 bird's eye view of Elk River shows the
collection of frame buildings, most with boom-town facades
(a usually squared-off and sometimes ornate front applied to a
smaller gable-roofed building). By the 1890s, there were about
twenty businesses in the area, including the Norval and
Wheaton general store, Baltzell Furniture, A.N. Dare's
newspaper office, Peter Moeger's tailor shop, the Heebner and-
Babcock general store, J.M Crockett's tin and hardware store,
and the Lewis and Crawford drug stores. The Bank of Elk
River, a G.A.R. Hall, a Music Hall and a roller rink completed
the area. The Sherburne House, a railroad hotel was built in
1867 on the south side of the railroad tracks. It was
subsequently enlarged and renamed the Merchant's and later
the Blanchett Hotel.
Elk River has had at least four major business district fires. In
1887 a fire destroyed Uppertown mills and businesses. In 1898
thirteen buildings were destroyed on State Street.
Subsequently businesses located closer to the river at Main and
Princeton (now Jackson) streets. Here, an open market square
on a wedge-shaped block was eventually improved into a
public park with a few trees and a wooden paviliondating
Elk River Historic Contexts and PImse II Downtown Commercial Area Study
28
from 1917. This space is now called Jackson Square and is a
parking lot.
The park was framed by a block of masonry buildings on
Jackson Street, most erected around 1898 and then rebuilt after
another fire in 1903. Another fire in 1914 destroyed four stores
on Main Street including the building housing the post office.
The earliest remaining downtown building appears to be the
J.H. Romdenne Drugstore at the corner of Jackson and Main
(now the Sunshine Depot). However, the exterior of the two-
story brick structure has been completely modernized.
Between ca. 1898 and 1920, two blocks of Main Street parallel
to the river developed with a modest mix of one and two-story
brick buildings housing a variety of businesses. After about
1914, Main Street also attracted a new generation of
automotive dealers and service garages, gradually replacing
liveries and blacksmiths. The Elk Theatre, Sherburne County
Farm Bureau, and furniture and general stores were among
early tenants on Main Street. A variety of automotive buildings
and a new theater (1947) were among additions between ca.
1920 and 1950.
Like periodic fires, highway construction remade downtown
Elk River. The construction of the Jefferson Highway by the
early 1920s, and the Highway 10 bypass in the 1940s
demolished a number of downtown landmarks. The present
alignment of Highway 10 also encroached on the northern end
of Jackson Street.
The Houlton Block and Jackson
Street, ca. 1910. Photo: MHS.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
29
In addition to the parking lot, other d0~vntown changes since
the 1970s include a variety of alterations or remodelings to the
exterior of historic commercial-buildings. The alterations are
most extensive on Main Street between Jackson and King
streets. It is not known how much original historic fabric
remains behind the wood screens and other new facades
applied over the original brick.
Early Trade
Early merchants were a small and generally persistent group,
with several families such as Houlton, Wheaton, Babcock, Dare
and Nickerson providing dry goods and services over several
decades. The Bank of Elk River established in 1885 was the
first in Sherburne County. The incorporators were W.L.
Babcock, Henry Castle, and W. H. Houlton. The Houltons were
among families who combined mercantile interests with
lumber, banking, farming and politics. This business core
served as promoters of the town, creating business associations
and campaigning for improvements that sustained the
community, such as telephone service, electric power, and
roads. This was especially important in the early twentieth
century, as the decline of industries such as milling demanded
that the town develop as a healthy trade center for the
surrounding agricultural hinterland. The publication of thd Elk
River Souvenir (1901) and special booster features in local and
regional newspapers were part of business leaders' efforts to
enlarge the market.
Jackson Street, 2002. The Houlton
Block is at far left.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
30
Local newspapers were important to the community's success.
The Sherburne County Weekly was published ca. 1869-70. The
Sherburne County Star and the Elk River Weekly were
inaugurated in 1875. In 1882, Arthur N. Dare purchased both
papers as the Sherburne County Star News.
The steel bridge and the Elk River Milling Company flour mill ca. 1910.
Photo: SCHS.
Industrial Development after Ard Godfrey
Spurred by the agricultural economy, the northern Minnesota
lumber boom, and an expanding population, Elk River's small
flour and lumber milling industry prospered for many
decades. Saw milling was the leading manufacturing activity,
sustaining local companies and employees from 1851 into the
early twentieth century. Flour and starch production also
contributed to early industrial activity, with both active into
the early twentieth century.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
31
The 1870 Federal Census reported six industrial concerns in Elk
River:
Firm Name Business
Capital Invested
Hou|ton and Nickerson Saw Mill
($30,000)
George Crocker Blacksmith
($1,000)
Eddy Dickey Carriages
($600)
Galley and Baltzell Furniture
($1,000)
John G. Jameson Blacksmith
($300)
Mills and Gardner Flour Mill
($20.000)
H. Houlton Saw Mill
($25,000)
Mills and Houlton Saw Mill
($7,000)
Mills and Houlton Flour Mill
($50,000)
George Crocker Blacksmith
($100)
Eddy Dickey Carriages
($ 600)
Henry Galley Chairs
($1,000)
John G. Jameson Blacksmith
($300)
By 1880, the early mills had been enlarged or replaced. The
census reported the following industries:
Featherston and Co.
($3,000)
Heebner and Co.
($1,000)
Baltzell and Son
($600)
John M. Crockett
($500)
John G. Jameson
($ 3,000)
Thomas and Squires
($10o)
Cooper shop
Tin and Ironware
Furniture Maker
Tin and Ironware
Blacksmith and Carriages
Blacksmith Shop
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Conlmercial Area Study
32
Sawmills
Mills and Houlton Lumber Mill
In Uppertown, Mills and Houlton's Lumber Mill on the site of
the former Godfrey Mill produced a variety of lath, single, or
sawn lumber. The saw and planning mill was later W.H.
Houlton and Company. With 60 workers by 1900, it was Elk
River's largest employer, s9 While the steam or water-powered
planing mill remained on the Elk River, in 1868 Houlton built a
new steam-powered sawmill on the Mississippi (see photo
below). Its log elevator, which conveyed the logs from the
river into the mill, was a distinctive feature of the structure.
In Lowertown, a planing mill was built in 1873 by Thomas S.
and W. C. Nickerson. One early resident remembered of the
Uppertown mill that
north of this mill was a 'city of Iumberpiles' with long
narrow sh'eets and what seemed to us in those days to be
regular skyscrapers of lumber on each side. At the northwest
side of the yard were the piles of slab wood ready for deIive~aj
to people in town. When the mill closed and the lumber yard
was finally abandoned there was still a large pile of kindling
wood there and for many years local people could go there
and dig up slabs.' oo
This mill bumed in1887 in the fire that spread to the chair
factory and various sheds and elevators.
Tire Houlton saw mill on the
Mississippi. Undated view. Photo:
MHS.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase [I Downtown Co~nmercial Area Study
33
Flour Mill
The flour mill is one of the institutions Elk River is proud of
and it is gratifying to know that it is doing a profitable
business.
Sherburne County Star, December 16, 1897.
Godfrey's flour mill in Uppertown burned in 1868, and the
firm of Mills and Houlton rebuilt it as a three-story frame flour
mill with a two hundred barrel per-day capacity. The Elk River
Milling Company (with W.H. Houlton, Henry Castle, and W.
G. Babcock as officers) produced a high grade of flour sold to
Eastern and European markets.6x The mill burned in 1902. The
property was sold and in 1907, a new four-story, 300-barrell
capacity mill was erected by John Hill and Charles Hartwell of
Massachusetts. During a May 1912 flood, the new flourmill
was undermined, along with the dam and bridge. The
Massachusetts buyers had failed to pay the mortgage and were
foreclosed in the same month that the dam broke, returning
ownership to Elk River interests. 62
Starch and Box Factories
Starch factories manufactured potato starch and provided Elk
River area farmers with another market for their produce. A
factory was opened in 1890 by T.S. Nickerson, and another in
1910 by C.H. Caley. About 1914 a factory was founded to
manufacture boxes for market crops.
Grain Elevators
Tine Graves and Bailey Grain Elevator was constructed in 1922
on the Jefferson Highway opposite Oak Street. It replaced O.J.
Whitman's feed mill on the same site. Adjacent to potato and
coal warehouses and the Northern Pacific Freight House, it
appears to be at least a portion of the structure at this location
today. Another elevator owned by the Elk River Milling
Company was located across the tracks to the north.
Flour milling on the Elk River apparently ended with the
devastating flood of 1912, and saw milling closed with the
Houlton planing mill fire in 1923. This reflected the general
demise of flour and lumber industries in centers such as
Minneapolis and Stillwater, but some early businesses have
persisted through changes of ownership to the present time, as
mills in Northfield and Hastings can attest.
In Elk River as in other river towns, mill owners acquired
considerable wealth and were influential citizens. While Ard
Godfrey had only a speculative interest in Elk River, the
Houlton and Nickerson families were engaged in milling and
banking for several generations.
Graves and Bailey Grain EIet~ator,
Highway 10. Photo 2002.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
34
William H. Houlton (1840-?) was a native of Houlton, Maine. 63
His family settled in Monticello, Wright County in 1856. After
the Civil War William and his older brother Horatio operated a
general store in Elk River. In 1873 he purchased a share of the
flour and saw mills originally built by Ard Godfrey. As noted,
his business evolved into the Elk River Milling Company and
his lumber interest as the W. H. Houlton Co. Houlton also
owned over 3,000 acres of farmland and was active in
Minnesota politics. In 1885 he was among founders of the
Bank of Elk River, and sold his interest to W.L. Babcock and
Henry Castle in 1899. In 1896 Houlton and Babcock opened a
real estate agency. ~ In1907 Houlton established the First
National Bank of Elk River, which was housed in the Houlton
Building at Jackson and Main streets.
William's brother Horatio Houlton (1834-?) farmed in
Monticello before operating a train to bring Hudson Bay goods
from St. Cloud to the Red River. In addition to operating a
general store with his brother William, Horatio opened an Elk
River sawmill and expanded his lumber interests in St. Paul
and West St. Paul.
John Quincy A. Nickerson (1825-?) was the first of his family to
play a leading role in the development of local industry.
Nickerson was a native of Maine and arrived in Elk River in
1853. He was in the lumber business until the 1870s, and also
operated a hotel and a general store, and was in the lumber
business until the 1870s.
Electrification and Water Supply
In these days of advancement and progress, electricity is the
key to success and is constantly coming into more general
use, not only in the larger cities and towns, but in nearly all
the smaller communities as well. Without electricity a city
or town cannot expect to keep up with its rivals, but is sure
to remain stagnant, while its more enterprising neighbors
continue to grow.
Sherburne County Star, July 2, 1914, p. 1.
Electrification Was well underway in small Minnesota towns
by 1912, and with its waterpower resource, city leaders were
frustrated that the city had no generating plant. In 1914, F.D.
Waterman founded the Elk River Power and Light Company.
A new 250-foot reinforced concrete dam powered by a 40-inch
waterwheel and a 150-kilwatt generator was built. A concrete
and brick powerhouse measuring 30' x 30' was located on the
east end of the dam. In 1915, a contract for an electrical
distribution and street lighting system for was awarded to
Sterling Electric. 6~
Private wells served Elk River before a municipal water system
was installed. The present downtown water tower dates from
1920. It was manufactured by the Minneapolis Steel and
Machinery Company.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Plmse II Downtown Commercial Area Study
35
In 1951 a coal and oil burning plant was built by the Rural Co-
operative Power Association to generate energy for northern
and central Minnesota. Construction of a nuclear reactor
began in 1958 and the first electricity was generated in 1963.
The plant was decommissioned in 1968. Today the Great River
Energy Corporation operates a refuse burning power plant at
the site.
Today gravel and concrete businesses are important Elk River
industries. Large gravel pits are operating in sections 10, 15,
and 16.
Preservation Planning Summary:
Commerce and Industry
Inventoried Resources
Previous inventories have not documented much of the
industrial and commercial history of Elk River. The current
Phase II study of the commercial district inventoried 23
commercial properties.
There appear to be no standing structures associated with
mills, but remnants of dams, foundations, and other structures
reportedly remain at the edges of the Elk and Mississippi
rivers. These remains are primarily submerged.
The one remaining grain and feed elevator on Highway 10 is a
significant feature of the early twentieth century transportation
and agricultural history of the city.
Recommendation(s)
1. Conduct an inventory of commercial properties north of
Highway 10. Early millsites on the Elk and Mississippi rivers
should also be documented.
2. Wherever possible, retain and rehabilitate Elk River's
remaining historic commercial and industrial buildings. As a
starting point, the Heritage Preservation Commission can
recommend properties and districts eligible for local
designation according to criteria in the Elk River Heritage
Preservation Ordinance. Design guidelines can assist in
reviewing proposals for alterations to designated properties, as
well as new construction within historic districts.
Rttral Co-operative Power
Association at Elk River in 1960.
Photo: MHS.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase [l Downtown Commercial Area Study
36
Elk River Historic Context:
Residential Architecture, 1851-1930
The residential architecture historic context encompasses the
first log buildings of the pioneer settlement and extends to the
creation of housing in Elk River before the Depression.
The small building that served as Pierre Bottineau's trading
post and residence was built of log, as were a number of the
first temporary shelters built by farmers. A manuscript map of
Meadowvale (on file at the Sherburne County Historical
Society) records at least six in that vicinity. The St. Anthony
Express of March 3, 1852 recorded a trip in the Elk River
vicinity, and noted the existence of a number of log houses
including those owned by Ard Godfrey.
1414 Main Street. This small frame house is typical of those of early Orono.
Although a modern entrance and picture window have been added, the
building retains much of its original character. Photo 2002.
A limited amount of lumber was locally available to settlers in
the early 1850s and was used for dwellings, farm buildings,
and stores. The first generation of houses in the mill and
railroad villages of Orono and Elk River reflect the New
England origins of the community, with a preference for frame
construction. B.F. Snow, an early resident, wrote that his house
"was 16' x 24' in size.., nearly all the houses in this county at
that time were built the same size, for the reason that the
lumber which we bought at the mill was 16 feet in length ...
so there was no waste in lumber and saved considerable time
in sawing." ~ The gable-roofed, Greek Revival style houses
were one or two stories, with a porch carried by square posts.
The 1860 census noted two local carpenters, 36-year old George
Davis, a native of New York, and William Adams, a 25-year
old Canadian.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Comnwrcial Area Study
37
The Charles Mansur House at 1808 Main Street, built in ca.
1856-1860 (not pictured), is thought to be the oldest extant
dwelling in Elk River. Mansur was a native of Ohio and
worked as a sawyer in the Godfrey sawmill. The streets of
Uppertown were built with a number of buildings like the
Mansur House. Although many of the exteriors have been
modernized, their symmetrical proportions, low-pitched gable
roofs, and regularly- spaced windows are keys to their likely
date of construction.
Early Elk River farmhouses were likely much the same,
although there are none known to be extant. An early view of
the first house built by Oliver H. Kelley in Section 14 shows the
Greek Revival style and clapboard exterior typical of pre-Civil
War farmhouses.
Despite his wealth and standing in the community, W. H.
Houlton did not build an elaborate residence. As illustrated in
the Elk River Souvenir in 1901, the large, .two-story Italianate
house had a simple roofline and a one-story wing. After the
Civil War, and with the growth of a small class of prosperous
merchants and millers, a few houses of more architectural
pretension were erected. Italianate and Gothic Revival style
houses were popularized by a variety of publications that
could be copied by local carpenters. Frame rather than brick
was chosen for most construction.
In the 1880s, a Queen Anne Style house was erected by Henry
Castle at a cost of $3,000.67 His clapboard and shingle-clad
house with much turned work boasted what were noted in the
local press as "devil points" in the cresting at the roofline.
Castle pumped interior water from a private tower shared with
three neighbors.
Frank T. White House in 1981. Photo: MHS.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
38
Frank T. White (1866-1947) built one of Elk River's most
impressive houses at 1135 Main Street. An attorney, politician,
and real estate developer, White chose a desig-n from the
Radford Plan Company of Chicago. The Colonial Revival
design was built in 190g on a large lot overlooking the Elk
River. It is one of several notable houses in the Houlton
Addition to Elk River.
In the early twentieth century there were many unbuilt lots
remaining from the original townsite plans of Orono and Elk
River. Among popular styles for new infill houses were the
simple foursquare cube, and the Arts and Crafts bungalow.
The development of Manor Place on the Mississippi riverbank
in the early 1920s included several stylish Period Revival
houses, including one for banker Charles Bade.
After World War II, a variety of one-story ramblers were
constructed on empty lots in central Elk River. The rambler
was often the house type chosen to replace older farmhouses in
the township. With the beginnings of non-farm construction
along newly laid-out cul-de-sacs off Highway 77 and 13, the
rambler and its variations were built in greater number. At the
same time, many older houses were remodeled with aluminum
and vinyl siding and stucco or brick facades, with a loss of
historic character. In recent years, some Elk River property
owners have restored such houses to their historic appearance
with good results.
Preservation Planning Summary:
Residential Architecture
Inventoried Resources
Only nine non-farm residential properties are currently
included in the State Historic Preservation Office database.
Recommendation(s)
Conduct a complete inventory of residential properties
throughout the city. The survival of early Orono and
Elk River townsite houses should be carefully
documented.
Encourage the conservation of all of Elk River's historic
buildings and particularly the original houses of the
Orono and Elk River townsites. The Heritage
Preservation Commission should identify residential
properties eligible for local designation.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Conllnercial Area Study
39
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
40
Elk River Historic Context,
Schools, Churches, Cemeteries, and Local Institutions,
1854-1920
Elk River School, ca. 1900. Photo: MHS.
In Elk River, local and county government created a collection
of buildings typical of nearly all settlements of its size. In
addition to schools and the county courthouse, private masonic
organizations such as the I.O.O.F. (International Order of
Foresters) also occupied space in business blocks. This context
covers the period when most of the community's schools,
churches, and other institutions and organizations were
founded.
Schools
Elk River's first public school was organized in 1854. Classes
were held in the Orono home of Mrs. Bean, a local resident. A
schoolhouse was built in 1857. With the shift of population to
the new village of Elk River, a one-room frame schoolhouse
was erected there in 1868. A new four- room school was
subsequently built on Thomas Street between Main and Depot
streets. It burned in 1882 and was replaced with a five-room
school on the same site. The Italianate style building had two
hip-roofed wings and paired segmental-arched windows. A
later addition was made to the rear. A tall bell tower rested
atop the central bay. 68
The school block included a small pond set in a deep bowl. The
pond was filled for an athletic field in 1921-22. By 1926 a
regulation football field and running track were installed. In
1939-40 the National Youth Administration hired local workers
to construct stone retaining walls, a warming house, and tarred
path to the floor of the stadium. The Elkhi Stadium was
dedicated in 1940. It has continued to serve as a spot for sliding
and skating. 69
A two-story brick high school was completed on this block in
1929-30. It is now an elementary school.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Com~nercial Area Study
41
Union Church, 1118 Fourth Street N.W. (1881). Photo 2002.
Churches
Elk River's New England roots were reflected in the founding
of the first churches as well as fraternal organizations and
societies. The first congregation in Sherbume County was the
Trinity Episcopal Church and its first building was erected in
the late 1850s at 1915 Second Street. ?0 The structure was
moved to Elk River in 1877. The present building at 1326
Fourth Street N.W. dates from 1890-1.
The United Christian Society of Elk River was organized ca.
1866, and the Union Church ca. 1875. The present Union
Church building at 1118 Fourth Street N.W. was erected in
1881. It was designed and built by W.F. Chadbourne of Elk
River. The memorial windows were dedicated in 1923. TM The
Meadowvale Church in Elk River Township was a branch of
this congregation; it was organized in ca. 1920.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1875. The
congregation met in the Orono schoolhouse until a church was
built north of the railroad tracks in 1889. A new church was
erected in 1916 along the Jefferson Highway near Minnesota
Street. 72_
The Emmanuel German Lutheran Church was organized in
1918. The congregation purchased the former Methodist
Church. Services were initially held in German and English;
one German service per month was still held in the late 1930s.
The Norwegian Lutheran Church was organized in 1933 with
about nineteen charter members. The congregation originally
rented the Episcopal Church for services, with each
congregation meeting several times per month. Services were
initially offered in both Norwegian and English.
Elk Rivet' Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
42
St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church was organized about
1890. The first church building was a simple frame structure. A
new building was begun in 1921 and the congregation
occupied the basement for a number of years until a new
structure was completed.
Cemeteries
There are four historic cemeteries in Elk River· Orono
Cemetery was established in 1855 on a small peninsula on the
south side of Lake Orono. Vernon Cemetery was established
ca. 1855 in section 34, two blocks west of Evans Street on
Railroad Drive. St. Andrew's Catholic Cemetery dates from ca.
1899. It is located at 193r~ Avenue and Highway 169 in Section
27. Meadowvale Cemetery is located on County Road 32 in
Section 6, partially in Livonia Township.
Sherburne County Courthouse
When Sherburne County was created from Benton County in
1856, the first seat was at Humboldt, later known as Big Lake.
There was no permanent courthouse and business was
transacted in private homes and schoolhouses. In 1867, Orono
became the county seat, and the schoolhouse was used for
county purposes. In 1877 a new courthouse was completed on
Oak Street between Main and Depot streets. The two-story,
hipped-roof frame building was designed by W.C. Warner and
built by Horatio Houlton, an Elk River contractor. The design
included a bracketed square tower with a pyramidal roof rising
over the entry. A new courthouse was erected in 1970. The
historic building was razed in 1995. Fraternal organizations
and societies met in a variety of buildings.
Masonic, Fraternal, and Other Organizations
Many local organizations were created in the late nineteenth
century and met in private homes as well as in meeting rooms
in downtown business blocks· Two early organizations are of
note. The Grand Lodge was organized in 1872. The
temperance convictions of early settlers were reflected in the
1877 organization of the Temperance Murphy Club. The group
campaigned against saloons and liquor consumption.
The Sherburne County Courthouse in 1981. Photo: MHS. Razed.
Preservation Planning
Summary: Schools,
Churches, Cemeteries and
Local Institutions
Inventoried Resources
There are two churches
listed on the State Historic
Preservation Office database.
Recommendations
Inventory all
nineteenth and early
twentieth-century
churches.
Encourage the
conservation of Elk
River's historic
churches,
cemeteries, and
related properties.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
43
Preservation Planning Summaries
The following recommendations were included with the previous historic contexts.
Landscape Settin?
Recommendation
1. Continue to research and interpret the relationship between the natural landscape, early
settlement, agriculture, and residential development of Elk River.
Agriculture
Recommendation
1. Inventory of remaining farmsteads is warranted. Existing survey information does not confirm
the number crf remaining early farmhouses (ca. 1850- 1880) and other properties related to dairy
production and potato cultivation.
Transportation
Recommendation
1. Interpretation of the role of early routes and roads through Elk River should be considered as
part of new downtown development.
Industry_ and Commerce
Recommendations
1. Conduct an inventory of commercial properties north of Highway 10. Early mill sites on the
Elk and Mississippi rivers should also be documented.
2. Wherever possible, retain and rehabilitate Elk River's remaining historic commercial and
industrial buildings. As a starting point, the Heritage Preservation Commission can recommend
properties and districts eligible for local designation according to criteria in the Elk River
Heritage Preservation Ordinance. Design guidelines can assist in reviewing proposals for
alterations to designated properties, as well as new construction within historic districts.
Residential Architecture
Recommendations
1. Conduct a complete inventory of residential properties throughout the city. The survival of
early Orono and Elk River townsite houses should be carefully documented.
2. Encourage the conservation of all of Elk River's historic buildings and particularly the original
houses of the Orono and Elk River townsites. The Heritage Preservation Commissionshould
identify residential properties eligible for local designation.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
Schools, Churches, Cemeteries and Local Institutions
Recommendations
1. Inventory nineteenth- and early twentieth-century churches.
2. Encourage the conservation of Elk River's historic churches, cemeteries and related properties.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
45
No tes
~See U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register Bulletin # 15.
2See Historic Preservation, Field Services and Grants Depart~nent 2001 Annual Report. (St. Paul: Minnesota
Historical Society, 2001), 20.
~Thomas F. Waters, The Streams and Rivers o. fMinnesota (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1977),
213.
4 Warren Upham, Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origins and Historic Significance (St. Paul: Minnesota
Historical Society, reprint edition, 1969), 514.
s N.H. Winchell, History of the Upper Mississippi Valley (Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical Society, 1881),
296.
~"Complete Unique Engineering Project at Camp Cozy." Sherburne County Star News 11 May 1925.
?Sherburne County Star News 15 Aug. 1907.
~ Winchell, 294.
~Edward Robinson, Early Economic Conditions and the Development of Agriculture in Minnesota (Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota, 1915), 43.
~ Winchell, 296.
~"1860 and 1900 Federal Census of Population.
~ "Pioneering of Three Brothers Brought Hungarian Settlement.' Sherburne County Star News 28 May 1936;
"Hungarian Farms Unique in Nation," Elk River Star News 2 Feb 1994.
~ See Thomas Woods, Knights of the Plow: Oliver H. Kelley and the Origins of the Grange in Republican Ideology
(Ames, Iowa: Iowa State Press, 1991).
~4 Robinson, 219.
~ Robinson, 219.
~ Robinson, 222.
v Robinson, 249-249.
~ Winchell, 296.
~ Robinson, 111.
- Robinson, 260-69.
2~ Robinson, 277.
-- Robinson, 276-79.
-'~ "Elk River Has Unlocked the Door of Opportunity," Sherburne County Star News, undated clipping ca.
1908.
'-~ Souvenir of Elk River, Minnesota (Minneapolis: Wall & Haines, 1901, n.p).
2.~ The building was razed in 1971 for a new fire station.
'-~ Clarence Wigington was the state's first African-American architect. See David Vassar Taylor and Paul
Clifford Larson, Cap Wigington (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2002).
-'~ "New Plant of T. CM.P.A. at Elk River Opens. "Twin City Milk Producer's Bulletin, May, 1921.
'-~ SCHS subject files.
- Rhoda R. Gilman, Carolyn Gilman, and Deborah M. Stultz, The Red River Trails: Oxcart Routes Between St.
Paul and the Selkirk Settlement (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1979), 279.
~' Some sources such as W.H.C. Folsom (1881) credit David Faribault with erecting the first house at this site
in 1846, but is not mentibned bY Winchell (1881). According to Folsom, H.M. RiCe and S.P. Folsom
purchased Faribault's improvements (p. 453). In his account, Faribault built the log cabin that was later
sold to Pierre Bottineau."
~ By 1852 Bottineau was in northern Hem~epin County, where he claimed land on Bottineau's prairie near
present-day Brooklyn Park and Osseo; in 1857 he platted the townsite of Breckenridge, the county seat of
Wilkin County~ He died in Red Lake Falls, Polk County, in 1895. See SCHS subject files.
~ SCHS subject files.
~3 Winchell, 297. The Map o. fElk River (1903) shows the ferry route.
34 See "Completion to Elk River," St. Paul Daily Pioneer, 4 Nov. 1864, p. 1.
~s SCHS subject files. See also the St. Paul and Pacific Railway Company, Histories and Related Papers,
Northern Pacific Railway Collection at the Minnesota Historical Society.
3~ Augustus J. Veenendaal, Jr. The Saint Paul & Pacific Railroad: An Empire in the Making, 1862-1879 (DeKalb,
Illinois: Northern Illinois University, 1999).
~ See Norene Roberts, "St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Depot National Register of Historic Places Inventory
Form," Statement of Significance, 12/15/84, p. 1. On file, State Historic Preservation Office.
3~ Sherburne County, Minnesota Historical Records Survey Project.
Division of Professional and Service Projects, Work Projects Administration (Saint Paul, Minn.: The Project,
1940), 17.
3~ Arthur J. Larsen, The Development of the Minnesota Road S~lstem (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society,
1966), 175.
'~ SCHS subject files.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
46
~ See Gemini Research, 'MNDOT Historic Roadside Development Structures Inventory SH-ERC-028,"
10/31/96. On file at Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office.
4_, Larsen, 447-468.
43 J.A. Monger, "Elk River has Unlocked the Door of Opportunity," Sherburne Coun~ £~ar Nezt,~, undated ca.
1908 clipping, SCHS subject files.
44 See Gemini Research, Phase I and II Investigation of Historic Structures Along T.H. 10 at Bailey, Sherbume
County, Minnesota." Submitted to the Minnesota Department of Transportation S.P. 7102-100 (T.H. 10),
April 4, 2001. On file at Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office. See sections 3.2-3.3 for a discussion of
the road's impact on Bailey's Station.
4s Jack Klein, "History of Lake Orono,' undated m,'muscript, 2/22/90, p. 2. See also Klein, "Bridge
Demolition Reveals Another Piece of History," Elk River Star News 9 Dec 1992. Klein reports that when the
1920 bridge was demolished in 1992, the logs from Godfrey's dam were visible, as were the one-inch square
metal spikes. Klein also reported that the boulders included "fiver-washed rocks, quarried granite blocks,
and handcut sandstone." See SCHS subject files. WPA, 17.
46 Minnesota Historical Records Survey Project, 17.
47 Jeffrey A. Hess, "Elk River Bridge (HAER No. MN-54).' Historic American Engineering Survey
Documentation. Prepared by Hess, Roise and Company for the City of Elk River, April 1992. On file at
Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office.
4~ Hess, 9-10.
~ "Complete Unique Engineering Project at Camp Cozy." Star News 11 May 1925.
so For a general overview of this topic see Robert Frame, Millers to the World: Minnesota's Nineteenth-Century
Water Power Flour Mills (Saint Paul: Minnesota: Mirmesota Historical Society, Division of Field Services,
Historic Sites, and Archaeology, 1977).
s~ Minnesota Historical Records Survey Project, 17.
s2 In addition to Pierre Bottineau's exploration of the area, trader David Faribault was reportedly camped in
the vicinity.
~'~ Jack Klein, "History of the Sawmill at Orono (Elk River), Minnesota." Undated manuscript, SCHS subject
files.
s~ Jack Klein, "History of the Sawmill at Orono (Elk River) Minnesota."
ss Jack Klein, "History of the Sawmill at Orono (Elk River) Minnesota."
~ J. Fletcher Williams, History of Hennepin County (Minneapolis: North Star Publishing Co., 1881), 552.
s7 Winchell, 304.
s8 Winchell, 296-97.
s~ Winchell, 297.
~0 SCHS subject files.
6~ "Memories of Other Days in Elk River: the Houlton Sawmill." Sherburne County Star News, 15 June 1933.
62Souvenir, n.p.
~"Flour Mill by September," Elk River Star Neu~s, 9 May 1907.
6~Winchell, 303.
6SCynthia SeeLhammer and Mary Jo Mosher, eds. The G~vwth of Sherburne County, 1875-1975. Becker,
Minnesota: Sherbume County Historical Society, 1982), 96, 99.
68Sherburne Counhd Star News, Oct (?) 1915. See also Sherburne County Star News 28 Oct 1920.
6~"History of the Family of BOnjamin Snow," in Mary Jo Allen, The Heath Family of Massachusetts, Maine, and
Minnesota (Woodbury, Minnesota: privately printed, 2002), 180, 214.
68 Seelhammer, 66.
6~ Sherburne County, Minnesota Historical Records Project, 15.
70 Elkhi Stadium subject file, SCHS.
?0 Winchell, 298.
7~Sherburne County Star News, 23 July 1931.
~Sherburne County Star Nmos, 23 July 1931.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
47
Bibliography
Allen, Mary J. The Heath Family of Massachusetts, Maine and Minnesota. Woodbury, Minnesota:
privately printed, 2002.
Atlas and Farm Directory with Complete Survey in Township Plats, Sherburne County, Minnesota. St.
Paul: Webb Publishing Company, 1914.
Folsom, W.H.C. Fifty Years in the Northwest. St. Paul: Pioneer Publishing Company, 1881.
Gilman, Rhoda R., Carolyn Gilman, and Deborah M. Stultz. The Red River Trails: Oxcart Routes
Between St. Paul and the Selkirk Settlement. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1979.
Hess, Jeffrey A. "Elk River Bridge (HAER No. MN-54).' Historic American Engineering Survey
Documentation. Prepared by Hess Roise and Co. for the City of Elk River, April 1992.
Larsen, Arthur J. The Development of the Minnesota Road System. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical
Society, 1966.
Minnesota Historical Records Survey Project, Sherburne County. Division of Professional and Service
Projects, Work Projects Administration. St. Paul, Minnesota: 1940.
Plat Book of Sherburne County, Minnesota. Minneapolis: Northwest Publishing Company, 1903.
Robinson, Edward. Early Economic Conditions and the Development of Agriculture in Minnesota.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1915.
Seelhammer, Cynthia, and Mary J. Mosher, eds. The Growth of Sherburne County, 1875-1975, As
Seen Through Local Newspapers. Becker, Minnesota: Sherburne County Historical Society, 1980.
Souvenh' of Elk River, Minnesota. Minneapolis: Wall and Haines, 1901.
Subject files. Sherburne County Historical Society, Becker, Minnesota. Elk River and related
topics.
Upham, Warren. Minnesota Geographic Names. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1969.
Veenendaal, Thomas Jr. The Saint Paul and Pacific Railroads: An Empire in the Making, 1862-1879.
DeKalb, Illinois: Northern Illinois University, 1999.
Waters, Thomas F. The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press, 1977.
Winchell, N. H., et. al. History of the Upper Mississippi Valley. Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical
Company, 1881.
Woods, Thomas. Knights of the Plow: Oliver H. Kelley and the Origins of the Grange in Republican
Ideology. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State Press, 1991.
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48
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Par~ Two
Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
Elk River, Minnesota
Main Street from King Street, looking southeast to Jackson Street, ca. 1910. The Oddfellows Block (I.O.O.F.) at middle
left'is no longer standing, but many of the other buildings in this photo remain. SCHS photo.
Elk River seems to be peculiarly unfortunate in the matter of fires for a town o, fits size, for besides
three disastrous conflagrations in recent years it has in the course o/tits history lost by fire two
flouring mills, two or three saw mills, planing factory and adjacent machine shop, two large stores
and several smaller ones at upper town, a brick school house and numerous residences.
Introduction
Sherburne County Star News clipping, ca. 1902.
Elk River's commercial architecture over the past 150 years has been of generally simple and
utilitarian character. In the 1850s, Ard Godfrey and other early business owners built small
frame stores near the Elk River dam. By 1900, several two-story brick blocks near the railroad
depot housed banks, stores, and offices.
Between 1887 and 1914, several fires destroyed the record of much of Elk River's nineteenth-
century commercial architecture. The 1898 Romdenne Block (now Sunshine Depot) at 701 Main
Street, appears to the earliest survivor of Main Street, but its later neighbors such as the W.H.
Houlton Block (1903; 304 Jackson Street) and the Bank of Elk River (1915; 315 Jackson Street) are
among locally significant downtown commercial buildings. Al1 have had exterior
modernizations, but a fair amount of historic fabric may survive behind the changes.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase [I Downtown Commercial Area Study
49
Study Objectives
The Phase II historic resources inventory conducted between January and April 2002 focused on
23 downtown properties located within a four-block area. The study area was bounded roughly
by Highway 10 at the north, Main Street at the south, King Street at the east, and Jackson Street at
the west. (See Study Area Map, page 51.) The study boundary was determined by the City of Elk
River and is consistent with the area being considered for future downtown redevelopment.
The study was conducted to determine if any properties are eligible for the National Register of
Historic Places. Downtown redevelopment is planned for this area, but plans have not been
completed, so no exact area of potential effect can be determined. A companion study "Industry
and Commerce, 1851-1950," was prepared as part of a city-wide historic contexts report. (See Part
One, pages 25-36, of this report.)
The National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) was established by the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966. It is the official federal listing of the nation's cultural resources deemed
worthy of preservation. The National Park Service maintains the list that includes properties of
local and state significance as well as those of national significance.
If any federally-funded new development, road construction, or other activities are planned that
might have an effect on National Register listed or eligible properties, the project receives careful
review at the state and federal level to assess the impact and plan mitigation if necessary.
With the Commerce and Industry historic context, the Phase II study can contribute to planning
for downtown revitalization and also assist the Elk River Heritage Preservation Commission in
determining local designations, including a potential downtown historic district along one block
of Jackson Street (304-323 Jackson).
A property listed on the National Register must meet at least one of four criteria. Under the first
criterion, a property may be registered if it is associated with events that have made a significant
contribution to the broad patterns of national, state, or local history. Under the second, a property
may be registered if it is associated with the lives of persons important in the past. The third
criterion addresses architectural significance, and the fourth addresses archaeological
significance. In addition, listed properties must be at least fifty years old, should not have been
significantly altered, and should have not been moved. National Register nominations must
receive approval from the State Historic Preservation Review Board, the State Historic
Preservation Officer, and the National Park Service.
Methods
Property records were supplied by the City of Elk River and the Sherburne County Historical
Society (SCHS). Of 26 properties currently listed on the State Historic Preservation Office
database, none are downtown properties. Some information has been compiled by the SCHS, but
there are no building permits or nineteenth- or early twentieth-century directories for Elk River,
and little information about previous building uses. Historic photos were useful in determining
some early business uses and tenants or owners. Fieldwork included preparation of exterior
descriptions and photographs for each property.
Summary of Findings
None of the 23 properties appear to be NRHP- eligible. However, the five buildings on the west
side of Jackson Street (304-323 Jackson) are recommended for further preservation study. In
particular, 313 Jackson Street retains a good deal of historic character, especially at the upper
story. The Jackson Street buildings are locally significant as the core of early twentieth-century
downtown Elk River, and retain varying amounts of their historic facades. With its flat roof,
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
50
masonry facade, and brushed aluminum details, the Kemper Drugstore at 323 is locally
significant as a well-conserved example of an early 1960s retail building.
While most of the buildings on the south side of Main Street date from 1900 to 1914, most have
been completely re-clad with wood or masonry facades that greatly alter their present
appearance. 641 Main Street (ca. 1920) stands out as an early twentieth-century building with an
intact roofline.
Although individual buildings have been modernized, much of the general historic character of
turn-of- the-century downtown Elk River has nevertheless survived. Character-defining features
of downtown include the pedestrian-oriented size and scale of Main and Jackson street buildings,
the integrity of the original street grid and its relationship to the Mississippi River, and the
arrangement of buildings around Jackson Square, once Elk River's downtown park. Despite
alterations, each downtown building possesses a rich record of connection with a century of Elk
River history. Most have the potential for restoration and adaptive reuse and can anchor well-
planned new downtown redevelopment.
The Elk River Heritage Preservation Commission may consider the local sigt~ificance of
proPerties in this study in recommending buildings and areas for future local designation.
~N
MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study Map
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
51
In 1894, most of Elk River's commercial buildings were north of the railroad depot.
The Elk River House (fo~nerly Riverside Hotel) and the Merchants Hotel (later
Blanchett Hotel), the Elk River Starch Company, liveries, dwellings, and a few
commercial buildings were located to the south. (Samborn Map Co., Minnesota Historical Society.)
In 1915, most commercial buildings north of the railroad depot are gone.
New business blocks line Jac 'kson Street south of the depot opposite the park
and bandstand. A row of one-story shops and a "picture theatre' are among
new additions to Main Street. (Sanborn Map Co., Minnesota Historical Society.)
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study.
52
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 304 Jackson Street
PIN: 75-405-0245
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-033
Historic Name: Houlton Building
Current Name: American National Bank
Builder / Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant:
ArchitectJSource: Thomas Tudor, Minneapolis, architect for remodeling
Date of Original Construction: 1903; 1955 remodeling
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie / Landscape Research
Photo: 1
Property Number:. 1
Description
This two-story, cream brick building occupies a prominent corner lot at the northeast
corner of Jackson and Main streets. The flat-roofed building has a canted corner still
crowned by a parapet inscribed for W.H. Houlton, the original owner. The rectangular
windows have prominent brick voussoirs and there are four courses of brick banding
under the deep wood cornice. Each window has a rusticated stone sill.
The original roofline of the building had stepped and gabled parapets, and tripartite
bays on the east and south elevations. The comer bay appears to have been a later
addition, and all the bays were removed by 1955. The 1955 remodeling included the
installation of a reddish-brown polished granite facing on the entire first floor, with
large display windows replacing the originals. The upper story windows were not
altered, but the tripartite comer window was removed. The interior was also remodeled.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase Il Downtown Commercial Area Study
53
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
304 Jackson Street, continued
Significance
This building is locally significant for its association with the Houlton family and Elk
River's early mercantile and financial institutions. The relocation of the First National
Bank at this key intersection was an important event after a series of downtown fires.
The present building was apparently completed in 1903, after a previous building also
erected by W.H. Houlton (ca. 1900) burned.
The building has housed many firms. In addition to banks owned by the Houlton
family, early tenants included the Heebner Mercantile Company and the Davis Bros.
Store.at the ground level, and masofiic organizations on the second floor, including the
G.A.R. Physicians' and other offices were also housed upstairs.
The First National Bank relocated to its present location on Main Street in 1972.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
54
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 309 Jackson Street
PIN: 75-405-0250
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-034
Historic Name: Johnson Clothing Store
Current Name: Antiques Downtown
Builder / Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect/Source:
Date of Original Construction: ca. 1911
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie ! LandscapeResearch
Photo: 2
Property Number: 2
Description
The two-story brick building on this parcel is clad in metal, with no upper story
windows. The first level has modem display windows. The historic building behind the
screen may have been damaged in a fire in 1914. Historic photos show an earlier
building with arched upper-story windows, and another view (ca. 1917) with large
rectangular upper-story display windows.
Significance
This building is locally sig-nificant as an important survivor of an early twentieth-
century commercial block. However, it is not known how much historic fabric survives
behind the metal screen.
A building shown on this site on the1899 Sanborn Map is labeled the Opera House. This
building was apparently destroyed in a fire and rebuilt by 1911. At one time the present
building housed the Johnson Clothing Store.
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Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
56
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 313 Jackson Street
PIN: 75-405-0255
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-035
Historic Name:
Current Name: Olde Main Eatery and Sweet Shop
Builder ! Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect/Source:
Date of Original Construction: ca. 1910
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie ! Landscape Research
Photo: 3
Property Number: 3
Description
This two-story brown brick building has a three-bay facade with brick pilasters and a
deep corbel course at the parapet. The first story has modern display windows and has
been painted white, but the upper story is well conserved. Long rectangular windows
have stone sills. Umbrella-style awnings cover some architectural detail.
Significance
This building is locally significant an important survivor of the early twentieth-century
commercial block opposite the former Jackson Square. The 1915 Sanborn map shows a
grocery at this location. Despite the alterations noted above it retains a good level of
historic integrity.
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Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
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Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Sibmificance
Address: 315 Jackson Street
PIN: 75-405-0260
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-036
Historic Name: Bank of Elk River
Current Name: Carlson Wagon lit Travel
Builder ! Contractor. A. Moorman Company, St. Paul
Original Owner/Tenant: Bank of Elk River
Architect/Source:
Date of Original ConstrUction: ca. 1915
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie ! Landscape Research
Photo: 4
Property Number: 4
Description
The Bank of Elk River is a two- story cream brick building with a flat roof. The first story
shows the original two-bay division of the fagade. The square pilasters with simple
capitals flank bays filled with modem display windows. Above a deep cornice trimmed
with a rusticated brownstone band, the upper story has six arched windows surrounded
by a featureless cream brick fagade of relatively recent date.
Several historic photos show the building before its upper story modernization and
could be of great use in restoration.
Significance
This building is locally significant as the second location of the Bank of Elk River, the
first bank in Sherbume County. Established in 1885 with W.L. Babcock, W. H. Houlton
and Henry Castle as officers, the first bank was located on the north side of the railroad
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
59
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
315 Jackson Street, continued
tracks. After an 1898 fire, it was rebuilt at this address but burned again in 1915. The
building was immediately rebuilt.
The present building was designed and built by the A. Moorman Company of St. Paul.
The building was completely wired in anticipation of the electrical service that arrived in
1916. The interior was furnished with,oak trim Italian marble counters and wainscoting,
and tile floors. The Northwestern Telephone Exchange occupied the second floor, along
with physicians' and attorneys' offices.
Bank of Elk River (ca. 1915). MHS photo negative # 53717, 1953.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
60
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 323 Jackson Street
PIN: 75-405-0265
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-037
Historic Name: Kemper Drug
Current Name: Kemper Drug
Builder ! Contractor:.
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect!Source:
Date of Original Construction: 1961
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie / Landscape Research
Photo: 5 ~
Property Number: 5
Description
Kemper Drug is a one-story stone-clad building with a flat roof and metal coping at the
parapet. The first story is filled with modem display windows sheltered by a brushed
aluminum marquee. The corner neon sign appears to date from the original
construction.
Significance
Kemper Drug is locally significant as a mid-twentieth century addition to the downtown
commercial district. The building has a good deal of original integrity. It replaced a two-
story brick building destroyed in a fire.
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62
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: Southeast corner, Jackson and Main Streets
PIN: 75-405-0320
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-038
Historic Name: Jackson Square
Current Name: Parking Lot
Builder / Contractor:.
Original Owner/Tenant: City of Elk River
Architect/Source:
Date of Original Construction: ca. 1900
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie ! Landscape Research
Photo: 6
Property Number: 6
Description
Jackson Square was created when the townsite of Elk River was platted in 1865, but most
the area around it was not built up until after 1900. The square occupied the northern
edge of the wedge-shaped block; the Blanchett Hotel was at the southern edge. The
space was not improved until the early twentieth century; photographs of 1917 show
that the square had a few large mature trees but it does not appear to have been formally
landscaped. A small wooden pavilion fronted on Main Street. The square is now a
surface parking lot.
Significance
Jackson Square was locally significant as the central public space in Elk River and the
focus of many community celebrations and events. These functions ceased when it was
converted to a parking lot.
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Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 657 Main Street
PIN: 75-405-0410
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-039
Historic Name: Elk River Theatre; Nu-Elk Theatre (ca. 1970s)
Current Name: Cinema Professional Building
Builder ! Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect/Source:
Date of Original Construction: 1947
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie /Landscape Research
Photo: 7
Property Number:. 7
Description:
This two-story building has a flat roof and is constructed of concrete block. The faCade is
covered in brick, wood paneling, and wood shingles. The original facade was reportedly
stucco-clad and appears to have had a central marquee that is boxed in by the
modernizations. A painted mural covers the north side of the building.
Significance
One of two theatres that stood on this block, this building was one of the last additions
· to Main Street before 1950. A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota (University of
Milmesota Press, 1977) noted that the building was "styled in the Streamline Moderne
with white stucco and glass brick comers (p. 160). At present the exterior does not retain
historic integrity.
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Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 653 Main Street
PIN: 75-405-0420
SHPO Inventory #-SH-ERC-040
Historic Name:
Current Name: Elk River Chiropractic
Builder / Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect!Source:
Date of Original Construction: 1915-1928
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie ! Landscape Research
Photo: 8
Property Number: $
Description
This one-story brick building has a modem stone fagade. The central entry is flanked by
two display windows that are partially filled with glass block and there is a glass block
transom over the door.
Significance
This building appears to have been constructed at about the same time as other one-
story commercial development on the block. At present the exterior does not retain
historic integrity.
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68
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 651 Main Street
PIN: 75-405-0430
· SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-041
Historic Name: Royal Theatre
Current Name: Dick's Main Tap
Builder ! Contractor:. -'
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect/Source:
Date of Original Construction: ca. 1915.
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie / Landscape Research
Photo: 9
Property Number. 9
Description
The former Royal Theatre is a two-story, brick-faced structure with a flat roof. The
building facade has been re-clad in brick, wood, and wood shingles and no original
features are visible. A curved parapet, possibly from the original roofline, remains intact.
Significance
This building appears on the 1915 Sanborn Map as a "picture theatre." Also known as
the Elk Theatre, the community's first "all talking picture" was shoWn here. (Sherburne
County Star News, 27 Feb. 1930, 1.) The building was electrified in 1916. At present the
exterior does not retain historic integrity.
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70
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Proper~ Description and Significance
Address: 649 Main Street (west unit)
PIN: 75-405-0430
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-042
Historic Name: Sherbume County/Elk River Star News
Current Name: Haberdashery
Builder ! Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant: Charles Babcock
Architect!Source:
Date of Original Construction: 1904
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie ! Landscape Research
Photo: 10
Property Number: 10
This one- story, two-unit store building has a flat roof. The red brick building has tWO
store unitS divided by a brick pier. The storefronts have been modernized and clad in
permastone, and the transom filled with glass block. The simple brick parapet with a
corbel course is intact.
Sioonificance
649 Main Street is typical of Elk River's smaller commercial buildings built between ca.
1904 and 1912. The 1915 Sanborn Map labels this building as'a print shop.
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Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 647 Main Street ( east unit)
PIN: 75-405-0440
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-043
Historic Name: 'Sherburne County/Elk River Star News
Current Name: Jenson and Associates Law Office
BUilder ! Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect/Source:
Date of Original Construction: ca. 1904
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie / LandscaPe Research
Photo: 11
Property Number: 11
Description
This one-story, two-unit store building has a flat roof. The red brick building has two
storefronts divided by a brick pier. The storefronts have been modernized and clad in
permastone, and the transom filled with glass block. The simple parapet with a corbel
course is intact.
Significance
647 Main Street is typical of Elk River's smaller commercial buildings built between.ca.
1904 and 1912. The 1915 Sanborn map shows the Crescent Creamery Company at this
location.
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74
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 641 Main Street
PIN: 75-405-0450
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-044
Historic Name:
Current Name: Nextel Cell Phone
Builder ! Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant: Sherbume County Farm Bureau
Architect/Source:
Date-of Original Construction: ca. 19207
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie ! Landscape Research
Photo: 12
Property Number: 12
Description
This one-story, gable-roofed frame building is clad in stucco. It has a boomtown facade
with a small pediment atop the parapet. The storefront has been modernized but the
building retains much of its historic integrity. There is a one-story modem building
(construction date unknown) at the rear.
Significance
This building is locally significant as a relatively intact early survivor of Main Street.
According to local historians, the Sherbume County Farm Bureau was housed here for a
number of years. The 1915 Sanborn map shows a post office in this approximate
location.
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Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 701 Main Street
PIN: 75-405-0555
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-045
Historic Name: Romdenne and Co.
Current Name: Sunshine Depot
Builder ! Contractor:'
Original Owner/Tenant: Joseph Romdenne
Architect/Source:
Date of Original Construction: 1898
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie ! Landscape Research
Photo: 13
Property Number: 13
Description
This two-story, flat-roofed store building is clad in cream brick. The original facade is
completely covered by a new brick and wood facade, capped by a wood shingled
mansard roof. It is not known how much of the original facade might survive' behind the
modernization. The original three-bay design had a central entry flanked by large
display windows and an upper story with three windows. The side chimney evident
today is seen on early photographs.
Significance
The Romdenne and Co. building has lost nearly all of its historic integrity because of
facade modernizations. One of the earliest commercial buildings in the town center
that developed at Main and Jackson streets, and one of the first built after the fire of
1898, it was owned by Joseph Romdenne. Romdenne and Co. was one of several
general a d drug stores in Elk River at the turn of the century. A livery stable is shown
on this site on the 1894 Sanborn Map prior to the construction of the present building.
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Dozontown Com~nercial Area Study
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78
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 703 Main Street (?
PIN: 75-405-0555
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-046
Historic Name:
Current Name: Sunshine Depot annex
Builder ! ContraCtor:
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect/Source:
Date of Original Construction: recent; exact date unknown.
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie /Landscape Research
Photo: 14
Property Number: 14
Description
This one-story brick building has a wood-clad facade completely clad with no openings
facing Main Street.
,.
Significance,
This property has no apparent historic significance and no historic integrity.
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Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
..'". L:. ::i'::gi!.':~:' ~'
Address: 705 ~ain Street
?TN: 75-~05-0560
SH?O inventor), #: SH-ERC'0~7
Historic Name:
Cu~ent Name: Water,aH Salon and Day Spa
Builder / Contractoc
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architec~Source:
Date o~ Original Const~ction: unknown
Date of Su~ey: ~arch 2002
~re~ared by: Carole Zellie / Landscape ~esearch
~hoto: 16
~rope~ Number: 16
Description
This building has a false gable roof above modem display windows.
Significance
The original appearance of this building is unknown and has no historic integrity.
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Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 707 Main Street
PIN: 75-405-0535
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-048
Historic Name:
Current Name: Cut Hut
Builder ! Contractor:
Original Ownerfrenant:_
Architect/Source:
Date of Original Construction: unknown
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie ! Landscape Research
Photo: 16
Property Number: 16
Description
The Cut Hut has a steeply-pitched roof and a central dormer above modem display
windows.
Significance
The original appearance of this building is unknown and has no historic integrity.
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Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 709-711 Main Street
PIN: 75-405-0515
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-049
Historic Name:
Current Name: Daddy O's
Builder ! Contractor:.
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect/Source:
Date of Original Construction: ca. 1911
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie / Landscape Research
Photo: 17
Property Number:. 17
Description
This appears to be one. of five stores in a one-story brick block that occupies Lots 3 and 4
of Block 5. All have been extensively remodeled with false fronts of various types. This
property has been re-clad with wood siding and a modem display window.
Significance
This building has no historic integrity, although it is possible that a portion of the
original facade survives behind the modernizations. The building under the facade
alterations was reportedly built in 1911, after an earlier fire that destroyed this section of
the block.
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85
Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Do~mtown Commercial Area Study
86
Elk River Downtown Commercial
Property Description and Significance
Address: 713 Main Street
PIN: 75-405-0530
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-050
Historic Name:
Current Name: Don's Bakery
Builder ! Contractor.
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect/Source:
Date of Original Construction: 'ca. 1911
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie / Landscape Research
Photo: 18
Property Number:. 18
Description
This building appears to be one of five stores in a one-story brick block that occupies
Lots 3 and 4 of Block .5.' All have been extensively remodeled with false fronts of various
types. This property has been re-clad with a shingled mansard and modem display
window.
Significance
This building has no historic integrity, although it is possible that a portion of the
original facade survives behind the modernizations. The building under the facade
alterations was reportedly built in 1911, after an earlier fire that destroyed this section of
the block.
713 Main
Street
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Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study
88'
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
t .......... ~.;::::~ ..
Address: 715 Main Street
PIN: 75-405-0525
SHPO Inventory #: SH-£RC-051
Historic Name: Ardy's on Main
Current Name:
Builder [ Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect]Source:
Date of Original Construction: ca.
. Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie [ Landscape Research
Photo: 19
Property Number:. 19
Description
This building appears to be one of five stores in a one-story brick block that occupies
Lots 3 and 4 of Block 5. All have been extensively remodeled with false fronts of various
types. This property has been re-clad with a shingled roof above a remodeled storefront.
Unlike the others, the red brick parapet of the ori~nal building is exposed.
Significance
This building has no historic integrity, although it is possible that a portion of the
original facade survives behind the modernizations. The building under the fagade
alterations was reportedly built in 1911, after an earlier fire that destroyed this section of
the block.
715 Main
Street
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90
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 717 Main Street/
PIN: 75-405-2520
/
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERK2-052
Historic Name: Mikol's
Current Name:
Builder ! Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect/Source:
Date of Original Construction: ca. 1911
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie ! Landscape Research
Photo: 20
Property Number: 20
717 Main
Street
Description
This building appears to be one of five stores in a one-story brick block that occupies
Lots 3 and 4 of Block 5. All have been extensively remodeled with false fronts of various
types. This property 'has been re-clad with a woc~den screen above a remodeled
storefront.
Significance
This building has no historic integrity, although it is possible that a portion of the
original facade survives behind the modernizations. The building under the facade
alterations was reportedly built in 1911, after an earlier fire that destroyed this section of
the block.
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Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 720 Main Street
PIN: 75-405-0235
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-053
HistOric Name:
Current Name: Bumper to Bumper
Builder ! Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect!Source:
Date of Original Construction: unknown
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie / Landscape Research
Photo: 22
Property Number: 22
Description
This one story, brick-clad building has an extensively modernized facade.
Significance
The exterior of this building has no remaining historic integrity due to modernization.
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Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Prope.rty Description and Significance
Address: 724 Main Street
PIN: 75-405-0225
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-054
Historic Name:
Current Name: . Elk River Meats
Builder ! Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant:
Architect/Source:
Date of Original ConstructiOn: ca. 1904-1915
Date of Survey: March 2002
Prepared by: Carole Zellie / Landscape Research
Photo: 21
Property Number: 21
Description
This one-story, flat-roofed building is clad in tan brick. The parapet of the original
design is evident above the modernized faqade.
Significance
Although this building has lost historic integrity through storefront modemizati0n, the
original roofline is intact. It is typical of the one-story buildings erected along Main
Street in the early twentieth century. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps show a meat market
in this approximate location by 1904, but possibly in an earlier building.
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96
Elk River Downtown Commercial Area
Property Description and Significance
Address: 322 King Street
PIN: 75-405-0215
SHPO Inventory #: SH-ERC-055
Historic Name:
Current Name: Municipal Utilities Building
Builder ! Contractor:
Original Owner/Tenant: City of Elk River
Architect!Source:
Date of Original Construction: ca. 1920
Date of Survey: March 2002
Photo: 23
Property Number: 23
Description
This one-story building has a brown brick facade with concrete window sill and lintels.
There is a metal-capped, stepped brick parapet filled with tapestry panels trimmed with
tan stone insets. The windows and entry are modem metal units. The side and rear
elevations have been re-clad with modem paneling.
Significance
322 King Street was constructed as a municipal building and has housed a number of
offices and other uses including the city library and fire station. The building retains
generally good exterior integrity.
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