2. In 1894, the Oldenburg-Jasberg Land Company published a pamphlet to describe the beauty and prosperity of Nurmijarvi, or Finlayson as it was sometimes called, and to advertise the 23,000 acres of land the company was offering for sale. Settlers could purchase 40 acres for $35 down and $33 per year for five years. An 80 acre tract cost $70 down and $66 per year for five years, and 160 acres were available for $140 down and $132 per year for five years.
3. The Oldenburg-Jasberg Land Company donated 40 acres for a Finnish cemetery, church, and school. The company even refunded the train fare from Minneapolis for settlers who bought land near Nurmijarvi.
4. Mr. Oldenburg worked hard to improve Nurmijarvi. In 1896, he built a large white house, aptly named the “Villa Blanca,” for his new wife. Over the years, he also opened the Adalbert Hotel, a bank, and a mercantile store.
5. The 1894 forest fire burned right up to the southern outskirts of Nurmijarvi-Finlayson but did not destroy the town. A few buildings did burn, but no one died in the fire. The State Fire Relief Commission provided fourteen relief houses for residents who had lost property.
6. Finlayson's school district #29 was organized on July 11, 1898, and village residents constructed a schoolhouse shortly afterward. In 1913, the village built a new school because townspeople were concerned that the old one was too close to local saloons. The new school received an addition in 1918 and a gymnasium in 1938.
7. The village of Finlayson was officially incorporated after an August 22, 1905, election in which 21 of the 24 voters favored incorporation. N.D. Simpson served as the first village recorder. The name “Finlayson” seems to reflect the town's Finnish heritage, but the village was actually named for Scottish lumberman and sawmill owner David Finlayson.
8. Gust Holt was the first buttermaker at Finlayson's Farmer's Co-operative Creamery, which was organized in 1907. Oscar Bergseth took over the position in 1916 and served until 1948. By 1918, the successful creamery was paying out $150,000 annually to its patrons. In 1928, a new brick creamery replaced the earlier creamery building, and in 1947 the business added a warehouse and elevator that was equipped with a hammer mill and mixer.
9. The Finlayson First State Bank opened for business on March 10, 1908. J.H. Lingren, the first cashier and secretary of the corporation, received $720 per year in salary. His successor, George Carroll, received $1200 per year by 1910. H.E. Shafer took over the position in 1911. In 1918, Lillie B. Mack was hired as assistant cashier. Her name was always written as “L.B. Mack” in the bank's minute books to hide the fact that she was a woman.
10. By 1918, Finlayson could boast of being home to two hotels, four general stores, a bank, a furniture store, an undertaker, a barbershop, two potato warehouses, a creamery, a pickle factory, two blacksmith shops, a well digger, a billiard hall, a fire department, a brass band and orchestra, a newspaper (The Finlayson Register), and even an electric light and power plant.
Sources: Askov American newspaper, July 1, 1976; Pine County...and its Memories by Jim Cordes; One Hundred Years in Pine County; Long Winters and Other Short Stories, Part Two, by Joan Wiesner, editor
The Arth Bros. General Store, Finlayson
No comments:
Post a Comment