A Post Office Heist

In Hollywood, banks are robbed by quirky crews of witty lockpickers, get-away drivers, and safecrackers.

In St. Paul Park, post offices are robbed by guys wielding dynamite, bars of soap, and stolen tools. Slightly less dramatic.

This is an interesting article because as it goes along giving details, it also practically provides instructions on how future robberies may be performed. Maybe this type of reporting was a reason the post office seemed to be a popular locale to “knock off”.

Also, if you remember the Old News in last issue, we discussed a “Simpl Way Of Spellin”. Well apparently the journalist of this article agreed with the idea, at least when it came to the spelling of the word “clue“.

Postoffice Robbed Again – Stillwater Messenger – October 6, 1906

The postoffice at St. Paul Park was entered by burglars early Tuesday morning, the safe was dynamited and the contents were stolen. The cracksmen did not get much, however, as the last remittance had been made on Monday. Chief Inspector Fosness of St. Paul made an investigation, but so far no clew [sic] to the burglars has been found.

The burglars secured a sledgehammer and several chisels from the blacksmith shop of F. H. Bowers and, entering the postoffice by prying up a back window, knocked off the tumbler of the safe and packed the door with soap. The noise of the explosion woke no one. The explosion demolished the safe and one set of postoffice boxes. The tools were found later hidden under the sidewalk in front of the office.

The postoffice at St. Paul Park has been broken into three times within two years, the last burglary having been committed last June. Joseph Trickey is the postmaster.

Burying Stillwater’s Dead

by Brent Peterson, WCHS Executive Director

Stillwater is known as the “Birthplace of Minnesota” and even though Stillwater has given birth to many industries, business, and of course people, there have been many deaths as well. When a person dies in Stillwater there are several cemeteries that our loved ones are buried in. But what happened to those settlers in the early days when there were no cemeteries?

Of course, a burying ground is not necessary unless someone dies.

The first deaths in this area were told about in a interview with Stillwater’s first female resident, Lydia Carli, She said that the, “first death in what is now Stillwater occurred July 14. 1843. The man was named Cole, and his death occurred in what was known as the Tamarack house.. The following night a stranger, an elderly man, whom no one knew, applied for lodgings, and in the morning, which was the 16th, he was found to be exceedingly no more. Nobody knew anything about him, not even his name, and he and the former deceased were buried up in the wilds, half a mile or so farther north. There was no monument erected or other evidence to indicate their burial place.”

As others died in this new lumber town, many were buried in a field owned by John McKusick at the top of the bluff. Eventually this site would overlook the old Minnesota State Prison and is today north of Laurel between Third and Fourth Streets. Another small cemetery was at the top of Myrtle Street where six to eight “old-timers” were buried. This smaller cemetery had to be moved to the “city burial ground” which must have meant to McKusick’s land north of Laurel. The move was made necessary because of the expansion of the city. When these bodies were moved, the March 16, 1858 Stillwater Messenger said that the “coffins were in a state of good preservation, and were decently re-interred. No sorrowing friends, or stricken relative, or imposing funeral cortege attended upon these second rites.”

As for the people themselves, the article says that “we have made some inquiry of those few who were then citizens of this place with reference to the person there interred, and find that most of them were person then employed up on the river, and that but little is known of their early history.”

Five years later, the Messenger make a call to its readers about the poor condition of the cemetery on the North Hill.

The June 2, 1863 article says that “the gates are down so that cattle range at large over the grounds breaking down the shrubbery and tomb stones. A large part of the grounds is growing up to bushes, which, in a few years, if not attended to, will become an impenetrable thicket.” It appears the repairs never materialized, the Messenger made a call for the creation of a Cemetery Association to solve this issue.

This first meeting was held, appropriately, on the evening of October 31st for the purpose of organizing such an Association. A committee was appointed to “select some suitable grounds for a cemetery” and to see at what price this land would be purchased for. The Committee consisted of Isaac Staples, R. Lehmicke and A.B. Stickney. Land was selected for this cemetery on South Fourth Street in Stillwater. The name given to the Cemetery Association was “Fairview.”

By the early 1870s, those buried in the cemetery at the north end of town were being removed and re-buried in the new cemetery. Did those people dig up all the bodies? Not really. When the new Lincoln School was built on the site, several bodies were found. Twenty years ago, another homeowner was digging for a pool when body turned up. A few years later, a couple making a garden in their back yard turned up a head stone with the date of death being 1863.

Be careful where you step in the “Birthplace of Minnesota” – we’ve had a lot of deaths here too.

Leaving Webster Spinning in His Grave

If you think that texting and instant messaging has butchered the English language, then let the following article assure you that dodging cleaver swings is nothing new for our wonderfully perculiar manner of communicating.

Is the following article meant to be sarcastic? It’s a bit hard to tell.

If the editor was sincere, you’ll notice that even in two short paragraphs they were unable to keep their “simpl system” consistent. For example, “have” is spelled both with and without the final “e”.

Despite the arguments presented, I think I’ll stick with dictionary English despite all it’s little quirks and silent letters.

Y Not Mak It Simpl? – Stillwater Messenger – September 22, 1906

A simpl styl of spellin has ben okd by som big men, and it has its gud points. But the list givn out is not big enuf. If we ar to hav a simpl system y not get down to bed rok rite of? Y not include al the words that can be speld in an e-zy way? Y b a thousn yrs doing something that can be don in one? Just think of the trubl to spel rite when it mite be so much ezier to tak a short cut.

Then u cud spel just as wel as the nex man and wud have no caus to blush because u sometims mist the way other folks spel. If we ar to hav reform let us reform in ernest. To b sure the simpl way wud lok funy at first but after a wile it wud be al rite, and think of the savin in tim, ink and papr! Ther is nothing lik getin ust to an inovasun. Then it comes as a mater of corse. We hav the simpl life y not the simpl spellin? We paus for anser.

The Adventures of Captain John Oliver

by Brent Peterson, WCHS Executive Director

In the early days of our country, sailing at sea was difficult and dangerous, and it took a certain type of man to do this. One of these early sea explorers found his way to Washington County, and told many exciting stories of his days on the sea.

John Oliver was born in 1796 in the county of Kent, England. His father died while he was very young, and due to difficult times, Oliver probably never received and proper education. He helped out at the family farm until the age of nine, when his desire to go work on the sea made him leave home.

Oliver’s first voyage was to Canton, China, and it was on this voyage that he learned, first hand, how cruel the treatment of seamen was by the officers. He was often kicked by the officers, and was also ordered to the masthead of the ship during the voyage while the seas were turbulent, just to test his nerve and courage.

On another voyage, this time to Calcutta, the crew deserted the ship due to severe officer cruelty. The crew planned to make their way to Bombay where they might sign on with another ship for a trip back to England. Oliver was with the crew as they made there way inland to avoid the natives along the coast. The group of men were in constant danger from the animals, both day and night. One night, the men made a fire circle and slept inside of it. However, in the morning, the man sleeping next to Oliver had disappeared. It is thought that he was taken by a lion or tiger during the night.

The men finally reached Bombay and signed on with a ship bound for Canton, China. While in Canton, John Oliver went to work on an American ship, and ever after that, Oliver claimed to be an American.

This American ship made many trips to the Marquesas Islands in the Pacific to bring back sandalwood to Canton. The Chinese used the sandalwood in their incense burners and there was a good market for the wood. After one such voyage the ship’s officers decided to leave two men on the island to collect sandalwood prior to their next return visit. Oliver was one of the two. The two sailors stayed with a native tribe who was eager to trade with the white men. However, the sailing ship never returned, and later it was assumed that the ship was captured by the British because this was the time of the War of 1812.

Oliver remained on the island for some time, and during that time he was welcomed into the native tribe. He was honored by participating in a tattooing ceremony in which nearly all of his body was tattooed with many designs and characters.

In 1813, the Commodore Porter of the U.S. Frigate, Essex, landed on the island. Oliver and his companion were able to get passage on the ship. However, the ship was hoping to capture an English ship. The Essex was soon surrounded and the crew taken to Halifax prison, in Nova Scotia. He was transferred to Dartmoor prison in England, just a few miles from his home and family.

Oliver was released after 13 months as a prisoner. He sailed to New York, the first time he had seen his adoptive country.

In 1820 he married Miss Sarah Spear, and the couple had several children. Oliver continued to work as a seaman in and around the Boston Harbor and eventually acquiring the title of Captain.

As his eyes began to fail in his later years, he had to give up his pilot duties, but his son, also named John, followed his father as a harbor pilot until 1848, when he came west and stopped in the Lakeland area of Washington County. Young John pre-empted 160 acres of land, and left his brother Edwin to watch over it, then returned to Boston to bring his father and family to Minnesota.

The family became well-known in the area and the Young John Oliver went on to operated the ferry boat from Lakeland to the Wisconsin shore.

It is everyone’s dream to live a exciting and adventurous life, and in the case of John Oliver, it certainly came true.

Stealing the Front Page

Typically the front page of the Stillwater Messenger was reserved for re-prints of national newstories from other papers. I usually have to dig to page 3 before I find any sort of local reports. However, the intensity of the Northfield Raid had thrust the encounter onto the national stage. The name “Heywood” would be read in homes across the country.

In the normally quiet rural bank at Northfield, a party of former Confederate soldiers had murdered Joseph Heywood, a man who had served opposite his killers as a corporal for the Union. As the details of Heywood’s death circulated the country, an outpouring of support and donations made their way to Heywood’s widow and young daughter. In the following months, the family received almost $13,000 (around a quarter million in 2015 dollars).

Stillwater Messenger – September 8, 1876

One of the boldest attempts at robbery ever made in this country took place at Northfield, Minnesota, about two o’clock yesterday afternoon. Eight powerful men, heavily armed, rode into the place at intervals during the forenoon from the same direction upon unusually fine horses. At the hour named a squad of them entered the First National Bank and commanded the cashier to open the safe, which he steadfastly refused, preserving its contents with his life.

Several shots had been fired at random in the streets previous to this, and a crowd assembling, one of the robbers shot the cashier, Mr. Heywood, in the head, killing him instantly, when the band decamped, two being killed on their flight and two wounded.

The robbers are supposed to have gone into the Big Woods southeast of Northfield. A large force of men started in pursuit, and it is hardly probably that they will escape.

Through the sublime heroism of Mr. Heywood the bank and depositors were preserved from loss. His death at his post of duty is a sad calamity, as he was one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Northfield. If lynching is ever justifiable it will be if these desperadoes are captured.

The Infamous Younger Brothers

by Sean Pallas

It doesn’t matter that Bob Dylan left Minnesota as soon as he could; you’ll still see a “Bob Dylan Way” in Duluth and a newly finished mural in downtown Minneapolis celebrating the musician. When aviator Charles Lindburg moved away from his boyhood home, he only returned to the property on a single occasion, yet, the town of Little Falls, Minnesota maintains the home in shrine-like fashion.

Here in Minnesota we’re a bit obssessed with the famous folk who were born or lived in our communities. Even if they didn’t exactly call our city ‘home’ by choice…

The core group of the James-Younger gang were comprised of two sets of brothers; Frank and Jesse James and Cole, Jim, and Bob Younger. The group had bonded years prior while serving together in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. After the war, the gang robbed a series of trains and carriages across the South and enjoyed a “Robin Hood”-esque reputation among the bitter defeated Southern states.

However, on September 7th, 1876 the gang had set their targets a bit northward.

Through half-whispers and rumors, the outlaws believed that General Adelbert Ames had recently deposited $50,000 into the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. Until recently, General Ames had been the hated military governor of the Younger’s homestate of Missouri. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation would not be created for another 50 years meaning that any money stolen from physical banks were simply gone. The lack of any sort of robbery insurance would ensure General Ames would feel every penny of his missing $50,000.

Shortly before noon on that Thursday morning, Jesse James, Frank James, Thomas “Cole” Younger, Jim Younger, Bob Younger, Charlie Pitts, Clell Miller and Bill Chadwell were sitting around a table at a local eatery near the town’s mill. The gang shared a meal of fried eggs and according to later testimony, smelling heavily of alcohol.

Over the next few hours, the gang trickled into town to avoid raising suspicion. In a moment of historic irony, Cole even found himself passing Gen. Ames himself on the street. The would-be bank robber, recalled tossing the General a sarcastic greeting before making his way into the town center.

The James brothers along with Bob Younger burst into the bank, quickly taking command of the frightened employees. The remainder of the gang were either guarding the doors of the bank or securing the group’s escape route across the town’s bridge.

So far the plan had gone without a hitch…but suddenly, the entire operation stalled. What ideally should have taken brief seconds was turning into minutes. Inside the bank, the robbers were growing increasingly frustrated at cashier Joseph Heywood’s refusal to open the safe. And outside, the citizens of Northfield began taking notice of the commotion.

Hardware store owner J.S. Allen saw the armed men through a bank window and instead of adding him to their pool of hostages, gang member Clell Miller made the fateful decision to instead sternly suggest that Allen should continue down the street minding his own business. The cool-headed man immediately raised the alarm once he was out of the gang’s sight.

Within moments, the whole street had turned into a warzone. Sharpshooting Northfield men made their way to every window and rooftop, quickly seizing the advantage against the outnumbered raiders. Both sides drew blood from one another.

Out of spite, Heywood had been slashed by a knife and then shot in the head by one of the Jameses. In the confusion and crossfire, another bystander, Nicholas Gustavson, had been gunned down as well. Clell Miller and Bill Chadwell were dead in the dust and all of the Youngers were sporting mild to serious gunshot wounds.

After barely escaping the disaster, the surviving robbers decided to split their party into two portions. The James boys would flee in one direction and the three Youngers and Charlie Pitts in another. Mr. Pitts selected the wrong travelling companions.

On September 21st, the hundreds of Minnesotans who were now hunting the fugitives managed to track the three Youngers and Pitts a swamp outside of Medelia. After another brief but intense firefight – Pitts was dead and as Cole Younger later described, the three brothers had been “shot to pieces.”

The photograph above was taken shortly after the Younger’s capture. You can see Cole’s eye swelled shut due to a bullet lodged underneath his skin. Jim had taken a shot to through his lip into the roof of his mouth that would cause him constant pain for the remainder of his life.

A few weeks later, the Youngers would begin their 25 year stay at the Minnesota State Prison in Stillwater and unwittingly secure their position as Stillwater’s most famous residents.

A Skeptical View on Movies

Is this a prime example of the old guard disrespecting a new wave? “Oh, movies will never catch on,” “Oh, the Internet is just a fad”.

They say that those who do not study history are doomed to repeat the past’s mistakes. Well, sometimes the past’s mistakes come from not being able to read the future.

Afton News – Stillwater Messenger – August 25, 1906

A traveling show tent has been giving moving picture entertainments in the village [of Afton] of the San Francisco horror. Ten cents was the entrance fee for children and adults twenty cents. They had full houses every evening as the people seemed to take delight in the process of being skinned at 10 and 20 cents per head.

Making Minnesota

from “1848 Stillwater Convention Meeting Minutes” recorded by William Holcomb and David Lambert, Secretaries

The meeting began at 10:00 AM on August 26th, 1848 in the top floor of John McKusick’s store on the corner of Main and Myrtle Streets in Stillwater. Among the sixty-one in attendance were lawyers, farmers, a ferry operator, a doctor of medicine, fur traders, and businessmen from all areas of industry. Earlier in the month, a similar meeting had been cancelled when too few representatives materialized.

After selecting a governing body for the convention, Joseph R. Brown was selected to chair “a committee of seven members [to] be appointed to draft a memorial to Congress for the early organization of the Territory of Minnesota”.

Four and a half hours later, their petition was presented before the convention:

“Whereas by the admission of Wisconsin and Iowa into the Union with the boundaries prescribed by Congress, we the inhabitants of the country formerly a portion of the said Territories, are left without a government or officers to administer the laws:

And whereas by the omission of Congress to organize a separate Territorial Government for the region of country which we inhabit we are placed in the unparalleled position of being disfranchised of the rights and privileges which we guaranteed to us under the ordinance of 1787; and without any fault of our own and with every desire to be governed by laws, are in fact without adequate legal protection for our lives or property;

And whereas having patiently awaited the action of Congress during its late session under the full hope and confidence that before the adjournment of that honorable body a bill would have been passed for the organization for a Territorial Government to embrace our section of the country, we have been disappointed in our hopes, and cannot believe that the omission of Congress to act in the premises can proceed from any other cause than the want of an adequate acquaintance with the position in which we are placed, the character of the country, its population and resources”

In the most diplomatic manner, Brown and his committee had decided that the only reason Congress had not already created Minnesota is because they simply didn’t know enough about this particular frontier land. The delegates offered the following paragraphs as enlightenment on the subject.

“That this region of Country is settled by a population of nearly 5000 persons who are engaged in various industrial pursuits; that it contains valuable pine forests, excellent arable land, mineral treasures, almost unequalled facilities for mills and manufactures, and possessing an exceedingly healthful climate, is capable of sustaining a dense and prosperous population; that its population is now constantly and rapidly increasing, and is characterized by industry, energy, and sobriety.

That having once enjoyed the rights, and privileges of Citizens of a Territory of the United States, they are now, without fault or blame of their own, virtually disfranchised. They have no securities for their lives or property but those which exist in mutual good understanding. Meanwhile all proceedings in criminal cases, and all process for the collection of debts, are suspended; credit exists only so far as a perfect confidence in mutual good faith extends, and all the operation of business are embarrassed.

Your Memorialists [the Delegates] would respectfully represent that even in a well ordered and law abiding community such as they feel pride in declaring their own to be, such a state of affairs is fraught with evils and dangers. Its continuance will tend to prevent the immigration of the more valuable class of Citizens of the United States, while it will open a door of invitation and allurement to the lawless and desperate. It will foster dishonest and disorderly principles and actions among their Citizens, and if suffered to exist for a long period will bring ruin upon a prosperous and fertile region.”

Because of these reasons, the resolution finishes with this plea:

“They now most respectfully lay their case before the highest Executive authority earnestly asking that your Excellency will call the attention of Congress to their situation at the opening of the next annual session, and recommend the early organization for the Territory of Minnesota.”

The petition was unanimously approved by the remaining delegates, who in their next unanimous decision selected Henry Sibley as the man to travel to Washington, D.C. to champion their interests.

Six months later, on March 3rd, 1849, the Delegates’ prayers were answered. Their home was officially recognized when Congress created the Territory of Minnesota. The St. Croix River was established as the eastern border and the new territory extended westward to the Missouri River.

At the time of it’s founding, only one county government had been organized. Naturally, it was Washington County – the Gateway to Minnesota History.

Stillwater at the Plate

..buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don’t care if I never get back… Oh! Excuse me, got swept up in the moment a bit.

We definitely are in the middle of baseball season! I’ve had the good fortune to enjoy a couple St. Paul Saints games this year and let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like sitting in a packed stadium on a warm night with a hot dog and a cold beer.

The only real trouble is that I think the actual game itself is a little boring…

Yes, it’s true, I hope you can forgive me (and if not, angry letters can be sent to our PO Box), but I’m just not the biggest sports fan in the world. But you know what? If the games of today had ridiculous scores like the ones reported below…maybe I’d be more interested!

(And be sure to check out the new St. Croix Base Ball Club – playing vintage rules base ball throughout the summer and fall!)

Base Ball – Stillwater Messenger – August 11, 1876

Interest increasing – St. Croix Park Opening To-Day – Notes Here and Elsewhere

Our citizens manifest an increased interest in base ball matters, and scan the daily papers closely to keep posted on matters pertaining to the noble game. Formal Opening The formal opening of St. Croix park to the public takes place this afternoon when a contest takes place between the Blue-Stockings of Minneapolis and our home nine, which will doubtless be most exciting and entertaining. Our club is stronger than ever, and if its opponents win the day they will have to play better than any club with which our boys have played the present season.

A game took place on Saturday at Osceola between a club in that village and the St. Croix nine, resulting in a score of 69 to 1 in favor of our boys. The contest at St. Croix Park on Saturday between the printers and painters of this city resulted: Printers 49, painters 20. Some good playing was witnessed on both sides, though the printers had a greater number of experienced players than their adversaries.

The Amateurs of Oshkosh, Wis., are making a tour of Minnesota. On Tuesday they defeated the Clippers of Winona by a score of 8 to 1, and on Wednesday were defeated by the Red Caps of St. Paul by a score of 30 to 3.

One Room Schools – Lesson #2 School Subjects

by Dustyn Dubuque

When a visitor is looking around the Hay Lake School Museum they will see many different items, one item being a report card for student Rodney Engquist (8th grade). This report card is from the 1918-19 season at the Hay Lake School. This report card is for the terms of fall and winter. Subject that Rodney learned were for industry, spelling, reading, penmanship, grammar, arithmetic, and U.S. History. The teacher during that season was Ruby Swenson, as seen on the picture provided gold stars were placed for a perfect score in a specific department. One can also see the “important” subjects that were needing to be taught as they were the ones with grades assigned to them.

Spelling was a very important subject in a one room school. Spelling bees were not uncommon and were a main source of competition between different students. Students used English, rhymes, and poems to perfect their spelling words. Spelling bees were also played between all the different grades, this was a common method of learning for all ages. Many children’s parents did not speak English so homework was often given to the kids to take home and teach their parents to speak English.

Arithmetic was also very important, much like today, and children would be split between groups based on their abilities. Third graders could often time be paired up with fifth graders if they were more advanced than others. A useful tool by a teacher would be to connect math problems with different problems or situations that happen on the farm.

Learning to write began at the first grade level, penmanship was a priority from day one. Each child was to learn cursive. All letters must connect in a smooth fashion so it was legible to read and it created a faster way to write. The teacher’s penmanship was used to a comparative tool to push children to learn to write the same or even better.

Science was a very hands on subject as many one room schools were in rural locations. Kids were allowed to go outside to look at different animals, go to the pond to look at aquatic species, or go into the brush to wrestle up different bugs and insects.

History was also important as many children were descendants of emigrants (Swedish in Scandia, MN) and needed to know the importance of our country.

The Fair Is Here!

Tomorrow is the start of the Washington County Fair! From July 29th to August 2nd, thousands of your neighbors will be chit-chatting, enjoying local music, and (perhaps most importantly) exploring interesting and deliciously unhealth food-options.

The Washington County Historical Society will be visiting with fair goers at our booth in Building C! Be sure to swing by throughout the fair to see our special exhibit, and chat with our board members, authors, interns, volunteers, and maybe even a ghost hunter or two!

To get you into the Fair going mood, we’ll take a look back at 1906 with this following announcement of the “second annual county fair” from 1906!

See you at the Fair!

Washington County Fair – Stillwater Messenger – July 28, 1906

The second annual county fair of the Washington County Agricultural Society will be held at Lily Lake Driving Park on August 28, 29, 30, 31, 1906. The farmers are taking considerable interest in this event and there is good reason to believe that it will be a grand success.

Remember the date and bring something to the fair.

Our Sharpshooting Mayor

by Brent Peterson

Many of the earliest settlers of Washington County were farmers and lumbermen looking for a new place to start. Most of them were looking for something, either material goods or something inside themselves. A person who didn’t know what he wanted to become in life came out here and found it. This is the story of the former Mayor of Stillwater, Mahlon Black.

Black was born in Hamilton County, Ohio on October 4, 1820. His grandfather was a naval officer during the Revolutionary War and a soldier in the War of 1812. Mahlon spent his early days on his father’s farm and received a common school education. At age 17 he began the study of medicine in Cincinnati Medical College, but not being that interested in medicine he decided not finish the course and set out to find what he wanted.

In 1842, he came west to Menominee Mills where he was employed in the lumber industry until 1846. In 1847 he became a part of a government survey crew and located in Stillwater. He married Miss Jane Stough in St. Anthony, the home of the bride’s mother, on September 21, 1850.

He was elected to the first, third and last Territorial Legislatures and was also a member of the extra session in 1857. During the term of 1852 the Territorial Legislature voted to outlaw the manufacture and sale of “spirituous or intoxicating liquors.” In April of that year, a vote of the territorial citizens voted 853 to 662 to outlaw intoxicants. The penalty was a $25 fine. However, Rep. Mahlon Black proposed a tougher penalty – death! Only two other legislators sided with Black’s proposal and that idea failed. By the end of 1852 the territorial court had thrown out the law, and the saloons were back in business.

Black also served as Stillwater’s Postmaster from 1857 to 1861 and was elected mayor of Stillwater in 1860 and 1861.

On January 4, 1862 he enlisted in the Second Company of Sharpshooters, which was at the outbreak of the Civil War and was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. He was promoted to Captain and Provost Marshall in the Second Division of the Second Army Corps, during which time he was one of Gen. Givon’s staff officers.

During his military service he was in 54 battles, in some of which over 100,000 men were engaged on each side. He was wounded four times during his 3 years of service. At the Battle of Petersburg he was nearly killed when a bayonet thrust pierced a “vital part of the body”.

He served until the close of the war being mustered out on January 3, 1865 and received a special and honorable discharge from his commander, Gen. Smyth.

In 1867, Black left Stillwater and settled in Minneapolis. He held the position of land examiner and auditor of Hennepin County from 1874 to 1878.

His health took a turn for the worse in the fall of 1901. In the afternoon of October 25, 1901, Mahlon Black died at the family home on Fourth Avenue South, Minneapolis.

The Stillwater Gazette said of him “Mr. Black was an exceedingly popular man and had very few enemies. He was of a cheerful temperament and always looked on the bright side of life, and, like the poet, whatever sky was above him, his was a heart for any fate. In any dark days of gloom or adversity, which are likely to come to any of us, there was a smile on his lips and a song in his heart.”

Logging Season

When you stroll down Stillwater’s Main Street today and pass malt shops, antique stores, and beautiful river scenery – it’s very easy to forget that originally Stillwater was an industrial center.

And the king of Stillwater’s industry was lumber.

Throughout the later half of the 1800s, Stillwater grew and grew around her lumber mills. Even though the industry had began to gradually slow down by 1900, this article from 1906 reveals that “slowing down” still meant an insane amount of lumber.

Boom Will Start Monday – Stillwater Messenger – June 2, 1906

The St. Croix boom will be started for the season on Monday. The supply of logs at the mills is very low and mill men have been anxious over the situation. Several log drives have arrived at Never’s dam, and there are about 28,000,000 feet in the boom, enough to keep the sorting works busy several weeks. By that time odd drives will begin to arrive.

The Man Who Made Stillwater Smile & Say “Cheese”

by Brent Peterson

A collection of John Runk’s films and photographs are available through WCHS.

His photographs are still used today and are among the most popular at the Minnesota Historical Society. He was a businessman, a lumberjack and an inventor. His name still is recognized throughout the St. Croix Valley even though half a century ago. He is John Runk.

Runk was born on May 10, 1878, in a little log cabin outside of Menomonee, Wisconsin. He was the second of seven children, and at age 5, he and his family moved to Nebraska, looking for a better life. The family tried to farm, but the soil was so dry, the family started back to Wisconsin. Upon coming to the lumber city of Stillwater, Minnesota, Runks father, John Sr., found work, and the family settled in the St. Croix Valley.

He started work at age thirteen, in a foundry, making cores at the Minnesota Thresher Company in downtown Stillwater, for fifty cents a day. Following the Thresher Company, Runk worked in machine shops, at the St. Croix Boom Company, on log drives and in the pineries. He built dams, trapped, hunted and fished, as well as loading railroad ties on boxcars.

His creative side included making wire jewelry, such as pins, rings, necklaces, and so forth that he would sell at fairs and carnivals.

Runk began his professional career as a photographer in 1899 when he set up the “American Eagle Studio,” with a photo of an eagle as his trademark. He started his business out of his home at 1710 North Main Street. He later moved closer to town at 110 North Main Street, and by the late teens, Runk was at 235 South Main.

Runk had a mechanical eye. He always was looking for ways to improve things, or for new inventions. On November 8, 1921, he registered a patent in the United States for an invention known as the “Kleantone,” which improved the sound of phonograph records. He also had it patented in Canada. He also invented things in the photographic field.

He devised a camera, which would do almost every kind of photography, including portraits, out door views, enlargements, reduction and general photography. It took Runk many years to perfect this camera, but it ultimately led to the creation of his historical collection.

Runk became the first photographer in Stillwater to use electric lights in taking portrait photos; the first to use cut-films instead of dry plates; and the first to use tinting in his work. Runk took many photos of the most interesting scenes in the St. Croix Valley.

Runk’s greatest contribution to this community was his passion for his historical collection. Runk not only took photographs of the area, but he also collected photographs from people. He made a specialty of reproducing old photographs of people and places. Runk announced to the public that to everyone who would bring in to him a suitable picture which he could reproduce, he would make a new picture for the owner, also returning the old, while putting a copy of it into his collection. This system was extremely successful.

By 1937, Runk’s collection numbered 435, and he donated the first set of the John Runk Historical Collection to the Stillwater Public Library. However, Runk, a very meticulous man, had made special asbestos lined metal boxes for the correct storage of the photographs. He also drew up a trust agreement with the library, then later on with the Minnesota Historical Society. Included in the agreement, is a portion titled “Injury to Photos from Insects.” Runk went on to name which insects are harmful and then gives a formula on how to get rid of them.

Runk said at the time of his first donation that it was only the beginning. He was right. The very next year, 1938, Runk had added another 187 photographs to the collection at the library, making a total of 622. By this time, he had moved his studio to 221 East Chestnut Street in the downtown of Stillwater.

Late in his career, Runk made movies. This was just a hobby he once explained, but many of the films were great demand and Runk would pass them around to various organizations.

By 1964, John Runk’s health began to fail and in October 1964, John Runk died.

John Runk’s passion became his life’s work. He spent most of his extra money on producing one of the most complete photographic histories of any area in the United States. Runk never intended on making a profit from his collection. “I’m not interested in making a pile of money out of this, but it’s my contribution to the city I’ve called home for so many years.”

Thank you, John Runk.