ADA, NORMAN COUNTY, THE GARDEN SPOT OF MINNESOTA
If one wishes to see the garden spot of Minnesota let him come to Ada. Surrounded as it is by beautiful flower-besprinkled prairies drained by forest-fringed rivers, it is not surprising that Goldsmith’s line, “Loveliest Village of the Plain,” is often applied to it.
Ada, the county seat of Norman county, Minnesota, is situated in the heart of the famous Red river valley, and with its 2,000 inhabitants is the pride of all who make it their home. The town is located in a rich farming community and has all the late improvements such as electric lights, water works, telephone system with local exchange and long distance connections, Artesian wells, flowing an abundance of pure, soft water, are easily obtained.
The town has the usual number of business houses and professional men found in towns of a like population, but there are openings in nearly all lines of trade and professions. Among the public buildings are to be found a $75,000 court house, and mapped out for this year yet are a $7,000 city hall and a $30,000 school house.
Ada has a sawmill of 50,000 daily capacity, planing mill, flour mill, creamery, brick yard, cigar manufactory, bakery and bottling works.
Ada is now offering inducements for a hospital, woolen mill, starch factory, sash and door factory, and numerous other avenues of trade are waiting development.
Ada is a fine market for the rich farming community round about it. Five large elevators line the track of the Great Northern railroad and into these roll huge tanks of wheat that cause the stranger to gaze in astonishment.
At the head of Long lake, just within the corporate limits of the village, stands the sawmill of the Wild Rice Lumber company. This mill, together with a brick yard manufacturing 20,000 brick daily, makes the price of building material reasonable.
The city also has water works and sewer system, two parks, a race course and fair grounds, five churches, two banks, two newspapers, large school building and several brick business blocks. The beautiful tree-lined streets and stately dwellings in the residence portion of the town would do credit to a city twice its size.
Norman County.
Far up on the world-renowned and romantic Red River Valley of the North, where the level, grassy plains run out to meet the sky in all directions, lies the county of Norman, so named by the early pioneers from the Scandinavian peninsula who settled here in the early ‘70s.
Here one sees immense level tracts once roamed over by countless herds of buffalo that cropped the rich, luxuriant grasses and were in turn cropped by bands of roving red men.
Norman county produces heavy crops of wheat, oats, barley and flax, and on old, cultivated soil corn is raised with good success. Norman county ships annually 21,000,000 to 22,000,000 bushels of grain, besides fat cattle and hogs. The Red river forms the western boundary of Norman county, which is also watered by the Marsh river, the Wild Rice river and the Spring creek, all good-sized streams. Norman county is about 250 miles from St. Paul, somewhat north of the west central part of the state, and the county has an area of about 864 square miles.
Soil.
The county is blessed with as fine soil as can be found anywhere in the world. Besides being unsurpassed in its fertility, the soil seems almost inexhaustible.
The soil is found to be mixed with rich mineral salts, organic matter, and in fact all the elements that are conducive to the production of luxuriant vegetation. Its depth is from two and a half to three feet, with a clay strata underneath. This clayey subsoil holds the moisture and prevents it from becoming lost in the depths below, while the spongy nature of the deep, black loam enables it to withstand either drought or abundant moisture and produces abundant crops of wheat, flax, oats, rye and crops of grain and vegetables of all kinds.
Climate.
The air is clear and dry in winter. No malaria, no ague, but all enjoy that greatest blessing possible to mankind – clear head and healthy bodies.
Fuel.
The rivers are all forest-fringed, while some of the townships in the eastern part of the county are entirely covered with timber. This makes fuel cheap and of easy access. Mill wood can be bought in Ada at $1 per load.
The exhibit which Norman county made at the state fair for 1903 was a revelation to all who visited the fair. When the fact is taken into consideration that the visitors at the fair numbered those who came from the older settled states where the raising of grains and all farm produce has had the start of this section of Minnesota for two score years or more, it is the occasion of much credit to this county for the remarkable showing made at the fair. All its competitors were counties that had made exhibits for a number of years, and were to be counted as “professionals” along this line. Twenty-five years ago Norman county was then unknown, being a part of Polk. The citizens who have settled here have been of the energetic class – the most of them coming here with only a capital of sturdiness and determination to succeed. That they have done the latter one need but take a drive through the county and notice the fields of grain, the herds of blooded stock, the co-operative creameries and the comfortable farm homes that dot the country here and there.
Norman county is the pioneer county in the valley in the dairy industry and has twelve prosperous creameries within its borders. These creameries pay out on an average $1,000 monthly. The dairy industry is rapidly growing throughout the Northwest, and Norman county is in the van of all her sister counties in this industry. The fact that this county captured seventh place with its exhibit at the state fair is ample evidence that all that has been said regarding its productiveness can be proven by actual experience. This was the first effort that the county had ever made to be represented at the state fair, and the success with which the effort was crowned was something which no other county in the state has ever done. All other counties carrying off prizes had made several exhibits before they were successful in capturing anything. It must also be taken into consideration that all the counties scoring higher than Norman were located in the southern part of the state. Norman scored eighty-one points and Wabasha, the winner, scored ninety-four points, or only thirteen more than Norman. In the Norman county exhibit were to be found bundles of grain measuring six feet in length, corn nearly fifteen feet tall, some of the finest samples of grasses that have ever been grown in the Northwest and which will be taken to the world’s fair at St. Louis to fully demonstrate the possibilities of the state in growing tame grasses. Many think this marvelous for a county situated so far north as Norman, but those who have made it their home for a number of years consider it a very commonplace occurrence, and state that in another five years this will be the greatest tame grass country in the Northwest. Clover, timothy, millet and all the varieties of grasses are grown here. The display of fruit which made up a part of the state exhibit was composed of home grown apples as large as are grown in any part of the state. Many of the farmers have their own apple orchards and several have a number of acres planted to apples trees which are bearing good crops each year. The committee having the state exhibit in charge were Sam Olson, A. M. C. Gerber, A. K. Strand, of Ada; Nels Distad, of Perley; A. O. Th. Solem, of Halstad, and John Homelvig, of Twin Valley.
Norman county court house is one of the finest in the state; it is of stone and brick. The exterior is faced with Twin City pressed brick and trimmed with Portage entry red sandstone. It a slate roof, copper cornices and metal work. The tower is covered with red slate. The building is fire proof. The vaults have walls of brick and are absolutely fire proof. All the corridors and halls have high marble wainscoting and floors of tiles.
Following are a few of the firms doing business in Ada:
Wesley Jenkins, an old pioneer of the county, is serving his first term as mayor of the city and is also president of the fair association.
Gray & Gray are the leading law firm of the town and have a very large practice. They are from the same town as the writer and are the sons of the Hon. A. D. Gray, of Preston, one of the leading attorneys of the state of Minnesota.
E. O. Weygauh runs a very fine drug store and has been in business for sixteen years at this town and comes from Albert Lea, Minn.
Fulton & Patterson are dealers in farm lands, loans and insurance. They have been in business for twenty-five years and can answer all questions about the lands in this section.
Olson & Roosch are the proprietors of the One Price Clothing house and have a very fine store. Mr. Olson is the secretary of the Business Men’s union, of Ada.
A. C. Gerber is the local agent for the Norman County Land company and the Chicago offices, 1001-1002 Chamber of Commerce building, and will furnish all information of this country free.
C. C. Allen & Co. run the main lumber business of the city and make a specialty of furnishing estimates on cost of farm buildings. C. C. Allen is president of the Business Men’s union.
Betcher, Busse & Gaetke are the leading implement house of the town, having been in business for two years, and twenty-five years in the county.
Amundson & Widen are the new proprietors of the Northwestern hotel, the first-class $1 per day house of the city.
The Ada Cigar company is the manufacturer of fine Havana and domestic cigars. It has a fine trade in Northern Minnesota, and rush the famous Red River Valley 10-cent cigar.
J. E. Volland, better known as “Jake,” has been in Ada for nineteen years, and for twelve years in the real estate business. He has charge of the lands of seven different companies, and is prepared to suit any customer.
Ben Holter runs the main livery, sale and feed stable of the city, and has been in business for five years.
C. R. Andrews & Co. are one of the largest general merchants of the city, having been in business here for seventeen years and eight years at Glyndon, Minn.
C. H. Brown is proprietor of a very large hardware and implement store, and has been in business for twenty-three years.
Skanrud & Hanson are proprietors of the Ada Roller mills, and are manufacturers of the famous brands, Ada’s Best and White Dove.
E. J. Herringer is the county auditor of Norman county and has served seven years; also secretary for the A. R. and I. O. of P. lodge.
The First National bank is one of Ada’s solid banks with a capital of $25,000 and $10,000 surplus. C. M. Sprague, president; A. L. Hanson, vice president, and C. J. Lofgren, cashier.
E. C. Helland is treasurer of Norman county and is in his third term; also owns a quarter section of land.
W. C. Patterson is the proprietor of the Hotel Ada and runs a first class hotel in every point and is the right man in the right place.
A. Lofgren is manager of the Boston Clothing company’s store and has built up a very large business in two years.
First State Bank of Ada is the oldest bank in the county and has a very large business. Sylvester Peterson, president; H. Jenkins Jr., cashier; B. F. Tenney, vice president.
Charles E. Ward is the clerk of the district court of Norman county and also manager of the Norman County Index, one of the leading papers of the county.
Bloom & Forseth have run the up-to-date meat market of the town for thirteen years and are rustlers.
Elmanuel Nielsen is serving his second term as register of deeds of Norman county and gives good satisfaction to all.
Fred Luethge is one of the leading wine, liquor and cigar dealers of the town, and is from Red Wing, Minn.
Hotel Allen was opened Sept. 12 by A. W. Allen, and is first-class throughout. Rates, $1.50 per day and up.
Ole Sundsruch is one of the leading wine merchants of this city and has been in business for six years.
Becker Bros. & Roesch are the proprietors of the Ada Bottling works, manufacturers of the highest grades of soft drinks. They have been in business two years and have a large trade.
Onstad & Co. are one of the leading general stores in Ada. Mr. Onstad is clerk of the board of education.
J. R. Miller & Sons are a hustling real estate firm and have a large list of fine land in Norman county and Canada, from $9 to $40 per acre. Write them for any information.
William Bosworth is vice president of the Business Men’s club and one of the leading contractors of the county.
G. L. Thorpe is manager of the Thorpe Produce company; also owns the Thorpe Elevator company, and owns 5,500 acres of land in this county. Eighty acres of this land joins the city limits. It was through the efforts of Mr. Thorpe that the Ada and Spring ditches were located and established.
Source:
The Saint Paul Globe
Monday Morning, November 9, 1903
Volume XXVI, Number 313, Page 3