Category
Walking Tour
Bergquist Cabin-Moorhead’s First Home
Bergquist Cabin in Moorhead, Minnesota is a small, 14’ x 20’ log cabin made with hand-hewn oak logs, the largest of which reaches one foot in height. Its original brick chimney and shingle roof is still intact, although the placement of its windows and doors has changed over the years as the needs of the cabin changed. It is located on a bend of the Red River, today on the edge of a park. What makes this cab
Read MorePeter Meehan and G.A. Saumweber
Four men were arrested in Moorhead by the federal prohibition agents Wednesday March, 15. The establishments that raided were, Peter Meehan, the soft drink parlor on 23 Fourth Street South, The Oxford club, 224 First Avenue South, Martin Redman Cigar Store, 11 Fourth Street North, and G. A. Saumweber barber shop, 15 Fourth Street South. No liquor was found at the Oxford club or the Redman establishment. The liquor wa
Read MoreRandom Crimes
Clarence Gillette, of First Avenue, South Moorhead, was arrested by officer Swanson. He was charged with being drunk and bootlegging. He had four pints of homemade whiskey that were found in his possession. In his home were a still for making whiskey. The still he had made himself was out of a cream can to which he attached a copper to be as a condenser. The alcohol he made was from molasses and rye, was as strong as
Read MoreCrime and Bootlegging
Discovery of a whiskey ring in Minnesota with bootleggers and moonshiners and organized crime. Bootleggers were people who sold alcohol in small amounts, either in small bottles in the pockets of their jackets, or maybe in their boots like the name suggest. Moonshiners made illegal hard liquor, which was very dangerous and illegal, as it is today. Clay County was not exempt from the market of Canadian and moonshine w
Read MoreThe Fairmont Creamery Company Building: Moorhead
“Confidence in the future development of the Country and not the immediate requirements promoted the building of the Moorhead plant at its present site.”—J.H. Deems, first Plant Superintendent of the Moorhead Fairmont Creamery, Fairmont’s Magazine, October, 1928 The Fairmont Creamery Company building in Moorhead was the result of humble beginnings in Fairmont, Nebraska which incorporated as a business on
Read MoreRandolph Probstfield
Randolph Michael Probstfield was born in Germany in 1832. When he was 22, he left Germany and traveled to the United States. He worked many odd jobs including a treasurer, clerk, school director, county commissioner, member of the senate, and of course, a farmer. In 1868, Probstfield and his wife, Catherine Goodman Probstfield, established a homestead in Oakport Township. This made Probstfield one of the earliest set
Read MoreThe Architecture of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church One church in Moorhead stands out among all the rest for its unique style and that is St. John the Divine Episcopal Church on 8th Street. Its unique style is known a s “shingle style” and it is the only such building in the area. Built with a cruciform, that is, the shape of a cross, layout, the church features a tower and low dormer windows. It was the work of renowned archite
Read MoreWarren Magnuson-From Moorhead to D.C.
Warren Grant “Maggie” Magnuson had humble beginnings in Moorhead, Minnesota. The date of his birth is sealed in the Clay County Courthouse, but most give it as April 12, 1905. Abandoned shortly thereafter, he was soon adopted by William and Emma Magnuson, who owned a bar in Moorhead. They would later adopt a daughter, Clara. William left the family in 1921 and Emma turned to bootlegging in order to su
Read MoreSolomon Comstock
Solomon Comstock came to Moorhead in 1871. He came from a modest background, born in May 9, 1842, in Maine. His father was in the lumber business and from a young age Comstock knew that was not what he not what he wanted to do with his life. Comstock attended the Maine Wesleyen Academy in Readfield, Maine in his early twenties. It was known for its law degrees. Comstock received practical training in a law office of
Read MoreThe Federal Post Office Building
The Federal Post Office Building in Moorhead, Minnesota, was built in 1915 to serve as both the federal courthouse and the post office. The building architect was Oscar Wenderoth, who was a government architect who designed several federal courthouse buildings across the country during his active years, mostly between the years of 1910-1915. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 during a
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