Sandstone at One Year Old – Part 1

From the Pine County Pioneer, July 20, 1888:

Sights Seen At Pine County's One-Year-Old City

On Tuesday of this week we paid the village of Sandstone a visit, and were surprised at the remarkable growth of the place since our last visit a few months since. The increase of business at the quarry as well as the business derived from the men who have been at work on the railroad during the past few months, has had a good effect on the prosperity of the town, and the indications for the future are continuously growing brighter and brighter. The sale of the quarry to the Eastern parties, who are now generally understood to be the stock holders of the Manitoba Railroad, will be of vast importance to the town. They will do their utmost to develop the quarry, as they will derive large benefits therefrom, in the way of transporting stone to the cities. A generally good feeling seems to prevail among all who are interested in the growth of the town and no better way of showing this can be found than by the increase of

Business Houses

The old pioneer merchants of Sandstone, J.P. Knowles & Co., have built an addition to their store and increased their stock. The interior of the store has been changed materially. New shelving has been put in all around, new counters have been built, and the whole has been painted so that it presents a very inviting appearance. The Post Office occupies a corner of this store and is presided over by W.H. Grant, Jr., P.M., and C.W. Finn and L.H. Bissonnette, the latter named gentlemen are also book-keeper and clerk for Knowles & Co. Up on the hill where the village is being built, Glasow Bros. have completed their new large store and have put in a large and well selected stock of general merchandise, which Albert Glasow, assisted by one clerk, deals out to the public. The railroad office for this station occupies the rear end of the store, and L.P. Carter, formerly agent at the Junction, is big mogul in the railroad and telegraphic department for the town. Finn Bros., who recently moved here from Duluth, have finished a very neat and commodious store and have it well stocked with general merchandise, and have settled down as one of our leading business firms. The appetite for wet goods is satiated by two firms. Staples & Smith succeed R.A. Smith, and have moved their bar from the hotel building into a large building recently built for that purpose and which is finely fitted up. They have fixed up as fine a place as one usually finds, while Kronenburg & Brandes continue at the old stand, and appear to be doing good business. They have also made numerous improvements and additions since our last visit. Jas. H. Houston has his new barber shop completed and running at full blast. while his meat market next door furnishes that very important article of diet. The Sandstone Hotel, R.A. Smith proprietor, has been so well patronized all summer that additional room has been found necessary, and is now being made by raising the roof of the annex and putting in new sleeping apartments. A Mr. McKenzie, recently from Stillwater, has commenced the erection of a new hotel just west of the Glasow Bros. store, which, while it will not be a very large building, will prove a valuable adjunct to our hotel accommodations. Burt Richardson now has a new store in course of construction, which he proposes to fill with general merchandise.