History of New Rockford

On the evening of October 22, 1901, a prairie fire burned about twenty sections northeast of New Rockford. It destroyed around a $1,000 worth of J.W. Rager’s property eight miles east of town: one granary with over a 1,000 bushels of wheat, one barn, 500 bushels of barley, some oats and a fanning mill. The full amount was covered by the St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company. Dan Larsen lost 75 tons of hay, all his pasturage, some grain and some straw stacks. Many other farmers lost hay and feed. Frank Lies in Wells County lost property to a fire: a large barn, 1,200 bushels of oats, 1,500 bushels of wheat, 500 bushels of seed flax, four horses, some cattle, harness, a carriage and a repair shop. Lies had also purchased insurance from the St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company and had been paid off in 48 hours. The previous two weeks had been sunny, which had dried the prairies to a tinder causing prairie fires throughout Eddy and other counties.

On October 23, the Tiffany Ladies Aid Society met at the home of Mrs. Peter Crane. James Graham was in from eastern Eddy County. Peter P. Halverson came over from Harvey to look after his business interests and visit his brother H.P. Halverson. Thomas Turner shipped two of the biggest carloads of flax ever out of Barlow; each car was loaded with 80,000 lbs. That night M.T. O’Connor lost about 150 tons of hay to a fire; arson was suspected. From that evening until the next day M.F. Kepner was in Kensal on business.

On October 24, Mrs. George Fields, Miss Winifred Canning, Mrs. Peter J. Butler and Mr. and Mrs. Scott Knable were in shopping. A.J. Richter was in New Rockford. Mrs. Charles H. Rattinger returned to Fargo after her visit. S.N. Brownell and his judge friend left for their home in Jamestown, N.Y., after visiting his son G.W. Brownell and family. S.N. Brownell was the guardian of the Auiler girls [former residents], who were “almost young ladies now.” That evening Captain Alberti, a Russian exile, lectured in the courthouse with illustrations using a stereopticon to show views from Chicago all the way to Russia and Siberia. He also lectured on his exile to Siberia. A.H. Johnson was among the attendees, as were Dr. W.M. and Mrs. Bartley and Mr. and Mrs. F.L. Kermott, all of Sheyenne. The “lecture on Russia and Siberia and moving picture exhibition [not films] was attended by an overflow crowd….” John Oard went to Carrington to furnish music at a going-away party for ex-State’s Attorney and Mrs. Soliday.

On that afternoon Adolph F. Carlson and Minnie H. Johnson were married by Rev. J.R. Beebe at the home of the Carlson Bros. three miles west of New Rockford.

The October 25, 1901, Transcript mentioned the following newspapers: Litchville Bulletin, Wimbledon News, Larimore Pioneer, and Barlow Recorder.

A subscription deal from the Transcript: two dollars would get a year’s subscription to the Transcript, the weekly Chicago Inter-Ocean, and the twice-weekly Minneapolis Tribune.

In school news the primary department students were drilling in measurements. The eighth graders were about to start Walker’s “Physiology,” while the advanced algebra class would start pure quadratics. The eighth grade arithmetic class was doing problems in plastering, carpeting, and painting. The sophomores were studying Hebrew history in their world history class. Martha Pompelly and Margaret Reily were absent a few days that week. Lizzie Wenz was absent from the second primary all week. Hazel Hall was absent from the grammar department on October 23. On that day Mary Carlson joined the Kindergarten class. On October 21, Carnie Parker and Urban Wiltsie entered the sixth grade. Katherine West had been promoted to the second grade.

Mack Campbell of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was visiting his cousin Dr. Charles MacLachlan.

John Schmid of Barlow had harvested 900 acres, resulting in 4,000 bushels of flax, 5,000 bushels of wheat, and 3,000 bushels of oats and other small grains.

James A. Manly was having his house painted. A.C. Jones and Charles Lyman had purchased the two-story business block on the east side formerly occupied by D.Y. Stanton. [Lot 3, Block 23; just south of the Brown Memorial]

Dentist F.D. Norton had been confined to his home for 10 days because of rheumatism, but he was improving.

There was an ice shortage in New Rockford. The hot temperatures of the week had forced a large demand for ice by the hotels, meat markets and fruit vendors.

During the week, Thomas Adam had purchased from W.C. Flint, the guardian of W.H. Flint, former Eddy County Sheriff, some of Flint’s land: 160 acres for $1,850 and another 160 acres for $1,750. J.G. Dailey bought 160 acres, price unknown. John A. Ducke bought a two-third’s interest in the 160 acres containing the Tiffany townsite for $1,000.

The previous week, I.F. Studebaker went to Cando, where he bought 160 acres for a third party, but failed to purchase the 3,000 acres he wanted. D.Y. Stanton purchased John Oard’s barber shop; Stanton would vacate his east side shop and move his chairs and furniture to the steam-heated barber shop in the Maddux brick block, making for three or four chairs in operation.

On October 25, Dr. John Crawford came down from Esmond to obtain workers and materials for a building “in that new town” where the doctor was going to locate; the building would be his drug store. R.E. Turnbull was over from Kiner. O.L. Couch and W.L. Buttz returned from Fargo, where they had passed the State Board of Pharmacy examination; only 10 of 25 men passed the test. That afternoon the grammar department students presented a program of rhetorical exercises: a song by the students; quotations given by the students; recitation by Minnie Syftestad; autobiography by Nellie Walden; medley by Laura Dafoe; trio (Pearl Armstrong, Hazel Hall and Sarah West); prophecy, Ethel Bauer; recitations, Harry Dunham; song by the students; “Journey,” Sarah West; soliloquy, Hilda Johnson; story, Evalyn Mattson; personification, Edith Angliss; recitation, Marguerite Ford; essay, Agnes Shanahan; song by the students; dialogue (Emelia Carlson, Grace Foster, Pearl Anderson, Walter Stitzel and Leonard Olsen); recitation, Rachel Olson; select reading, Willie Shanahan; paper, Fred Davies and Clement Weimals; debate, Walter Stitzel and Asa Hilton; song by the students.

That evening there was a going-away party for Miss Kathryn Sheehy at Mr. and Mrs. H.J. Mitchell’s. Miss Sheehy had resigned as the delivery clerk at the New Rockford post office and would return home to Carrington the next day. The party was hosted by Misses Alber, Henry, and Davis.

There were teachers’ exams in the courthouse at 9:15 a.m. October 25 and 9 a.m. October 26. Grace B. Putnam, County Superintendent of Schools.