Todd County
Todd County is located in the exact center of the state. The surface is undulating or rolling. It is well watered by the Long Prairie, Sauk, Partridge, Eagle and Wing rivers and numerous tributary streams, springs and lakes. While the county is generally timbered with a fine quality of hardwoods, it contains a number of large and many small prairies and numerous natural meadows. The soil is a sandy loam, with a clay subsoil, and is very productive.
This region is well adapted to general farming, stock raising and dairying. The average yield of all farm products for the whole country, for the past twenty-five years, as shown by the state auditor’s returns, is large and a general failure of crops is unknown. The productions consist of wheat, oats, corn, rye, barley, flax, hops, potatoes, garden vegetables, berries and small fruits. The luxuriant growth of rich native grasses affords ample pasturage for stock, and red clover grows to an enormous height. Timothy and clover wherever sown are proving very satisfactory, many times making yields equal to Iowa and Illinois. These facts, brought to the minds of prospective homeseekers in the east and south, where lands are valued at from $40 to $75 and often $100 per acre, are sure to bring a family for every quarter section of this park region land. Here we have no hot winds, no alkali water, plenty of fuel, cheap lumber, the best of markets, a progressive people and a country that is desirable both for a home and a safe investment.
For local markets the Great Northern railway crosses the country from north to south, while the Northern Pacific railroad crosses the northern portion.
These counties are well supplied with churches, schools, creameries and cheese factories. There is plenty of timber for all building, fencing and fuel purposes. There are numerous meadows, with fine living water in streams, meadow brooks or lakes. The soil is a yellow, sandy loam, with leaf mold and marl, with clay subsoil, growing very successfully corn, clover, timothy, potatoes, root crops and all small grains, making these counties unexcelled for stock raising, dairying and mixed farming.
Stock get to feed earlier in the spring, remain later in the fall and have fine timber protection all winter long, with no blizzards so fatal to stock in the Dakotas; and there are no hot winds, droughts or crop failures in Minnesota.
Do not follow the example of the early farmers who kept at grain farming until bankrupt, and then took to stock to regain their fortunes, but come to these counties, select a tract of this land, and with stock raising, dairying and mixed farming, you will soon have a fine home with the comforts and wealth the first settlers of the older states now enjoy. Do not delay, come at once and secure present low prices and the choicest selections.
Farm lands run from $18.00 to $35.00 per acre, and are going up fast. Now is your time, buy a ticket over the Northern Pacific railroad and stop off at these towns and see for yourself and you will never return. You will find business men in these towns always ready to show you the town and county and make you at home while in the towns, as they all pull together for these towns.
STAPLES
Staples is a flourishing town situated on the main line of the Northern Pacific railroad, and is the terminal point of the Lake Superior division. Also the Fergus Falls branch of the same railroad, 140 miles northwest of St. Paul, 150 miles west of Duluth and 32 miles north of Long Prairie, the county seat. It is the division headquarters of the Northern Pacific railroad, which employs about 300 men, the pay roll being about $35,000 per month. Staples is a city of about 2,500 people and is growing very fast.
At present there are no vacant dwellings in the city and they are in demand all the year round. The Northern Pacific railroad has a trackage here for 1,750 cars and roundhouse for twenty-one engines here at a time. Forty-two men under D. E. Tall, the agent, are kept busy at the transfer office and transfer; one transfer shed is 625 feet long and the other 450 feet. Fourteen passenger trains come and go out of this town in a day besides the numberless freight trains, and about twelve million pounds of coal is used at this point in one day. The town contains four churches, two public schools and one high school and about 625 pupils, with fifteen teachers, two planing mills, two brick yards, one them a mile from town and the other about two miles east of town on the main line to Duluth, with about two million brick on hand, and they intend to make about three million this spring. They employ about forty men. Two lumber yards, three implement stores, two banks, one large department store, the largest in the state outside the Twin Cities, one large general store, two dry goods stores, two clothing stores, two grocery stores, two drug stores, two hardware, one harness shop, two meat markets, one furniture store, one flour mill, 150 barrel capacity, two elevators, four hotels, one a $2.00 per day house, two restaurants, one bowling alley, one billiard parlor, two barber shops, one shoe store, two shoe shops, three liveries, one laundry, one cigar factory, two confectionery stores, one bakery, two blacksmiths, one marble works, four real estate agents, two lawyers, three physicians, one weekly newspaper, one racket store, eight saloons, two jewelry stores, electric light plant, owned by a private party, and up to date fire department, H. C. Miller, chief.
The business men of the town all pull one way; and in doing this are building up a fine town. Following are a few of the leading business firms:
W. E. and O. C. Poor are leading dealers in groceries, crockery, flour, feed, baled hay and wood. W. E. Poor is the youngest groceryman in the state and is also manager of the opera house of the city, which seats about 500 people. This firm opened up business in 1904 and have a good trade.
D. E. Tull, the agent for the Northern Pacific railroad at this place, is the right man in the right place and makes lots of friends for the company.
Mrs. W. Flynn runs the St. Charles hotel, one of the leading hotels of the town, and has a lunch counter and bar in connection; has been in the town fifteen years and in business five years.
H. J. Porter & Co. are proprietors of the leading bakery, confectionery, fruit, cigar and tobacco store of the town; also soda water and ice cream parlors. W. J. Kiester, one of the firm, is cashier of the Citizens State bank.
Charles Batcher is proprietor of the Staples Hardware company and manufacturer of sash, doors, moldings and masons’ material; also mill and shop work done to order, building and contracting a specialty, and agency for woodworking machinery.
H. L. Rondorf is proprietor of the Staples laundry and city bath rooms; he has local agents in all the small towns. Established in 1890; came from La Crosse, Wis.
Fred Ahlbrecht & Sons are the proprietors of the Staples Milling company. This mill was built in 1901 and has a 150 barrel capacity, run by steam; mill storage, 8,000 bushels, and elevator storage of 15,000 bushels. The firm came from Glencoe.
A. B. Martin is proprietor of a leading livery, feed and sale stable, buys and sells horses; in business four years; has seven fine turnouts and can handle parties of twenty people, and knows the country well.
H. J. Dower has just opened a very fine staple and fancy grocery store, also flour, feed, crockery and glassware, has been in the county twenty-seven years and was treasurer for the Dower Lumber company five years.
Gus Schilling is proprietor of the City meat market, also game in season; in business fourteen years and came from Brainerd.
I . G. Tuttle is manager of the Dower Lumber company and came from Sauk Center. This yard was started in 1901.
H. C. Miller is proprietor of the largest department store of the state or west outside of the Twin Cities. The building is 125 feet by 145 feet, two story and basement and a stock of goods that would do credit to a town of 25,000 people. Has been in business for fifteen years and owns about 400 acres of farm land near town.
Ed. Fletcher is proprietor of the leading European hotel of the town and is soon to make it American plan, $2.00 per day, forty room house, electric lights and steam heat, good bar in connection.
Citizens State bank of Staples is the leading bank of the town, established in 1903, capital $15,000, surplus $750.00, does a general real estate, insurance, first mortgage loan, collections and general banking business. E. E. Green, the president, has been here sixteen years and has about 10,000 acres of improved and unimproved farm land for sale.
R. M. Jerome is proprietor of “The Racket” store and has a very large stock of goods, in business for five years and came from Iowa. Mr. Jerome has great faith in this country for dairy business.
C. A. Remillard is a dealer in staple and fancy groceries, crockery, flour and feed. He was the first man in Staples and came from Long Prairie.
A. F. Borchert is president and manager of the Staples Lumber company, established in 1903, and came from Hutchinson, and has branch yards at Wadena, Parkers Prairie and at Wyndmere, N. D.
H. L. Waldron is the leading jeweler and optician of the city and watch inspector for the Northern Pacific. He has been in business for ten years and village clerk for eight years.
William F. Muehe is proprietor of the National hotel, the leading $2 per day house of the town. This is a 30 room house, steam heat, electric light, free sample rooms and good bar in connection.
Wolf & McLagon are the proprietors of a very fine livery, feed and sale stable and have five turnouts and can handle parties of twenty-five people. Mr. Wolf is mayor of the city.
W. F. Hurd is one of the leading dealers in fresh and salt meats, hides, furs and copper, in business ten years and came from Wisconsin and has been in the business all his life.
John D. Marlin Jr. is the real estate and insurance man of the town, has been in business for fourteen years and was in the banking business here for years. He has about 50,000 acres of improved and unimproved farm land in Todd, Wadena, Morrison and Cass counties for sale, running in price from $7 to $35 per acre, knows every section in these counties, and also makes first mortgage loans. Any further information wanted of this county write Mr. Martin and he will answer and send advertising matter. (The Saint Paul Globe, Tuesday Morning, April 4, 1905, Volume XXVIII, Number 94, Page 6)